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vivsavage
Independent Procrastinor
Validated User
- Apr 27, 2013
- #1
Which do you prefer and why? To muddle the waters more, also consider B/X versus ONLY the BE of BECMI.
Valerie Vixen
Valerie Vixen
Validated User
- Apr 27, 2013
- #2
vivsavage said:
Which do you prefer and why? To muddle the waters more, also consider B/X versus ONLY the BE of BECMI.
Going just off of B/X vs. BE I'd say I prefer B/X mainly for the layout and presentation. I find B/X to be more succinct and handy to reference. BE is... rambling and disjointed in comparison, IMO. Also I prefer the art in B/X. I think it has more charm.
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InkMeister
0
Validated User
- Apr 27, 2013
- #3
B/X, hands down. Mainly because B/X is more concise, more adult, and written to be more usable as a reference. BE is more kid-friendly, and more of a tutorial for non-gamers. Also, B/X has the Erol Otus art that many find to be so cool.
As far as rule differences, they aren't substantive enough to care about... Most house-rulings are far more game changing than the miniscule rules differences. B/X is a little more restrictive towards magic users (and most people, I think, ignore this restrictiveness, or fail to even notice it to begin with), and a little more friendly towards thieves (slightly more favorable skill progression). Also, I like the idea of the game topping out at level 14, and not level 36. Honestly, I think level 10 (or even less) would make a better stopping point.
Ultimately though, the differences between, say, OD&D, B/X, BECMI, and various retroclones are pretty insignificant. You could play Swords and Wizardry and it will feel like D&D, or you can play Labyrinth Lord, and it will feel like D&D, or you can play B/X... or whatever.
JoshR
Active member
10 Year Stalwart!
- Apr 28, 2013
- #4
It depends on my wants and needs.
At the moment, it's B/X because the group only meets once a month, and I want to explore D&D as an exploration adventure game, with a clear endgame of the PCs getting their strongholds.
However, if I had a group that met weekly, and I wanted to do more of a gonzo heroic adventure game, I'd go with BECM, introducing the awesome weapon mastery rules, dominion rules, and plane jumping.
The "kiddiness" of BECMI is overstated, IMO. It basically amounts to one part of the Basic Rules Players Manual. The rest of Basic, Expert, Companion, and Master rules are just as adult as any other edition of D&D or AD&D. The Companion and Master Rules, in particular, are pretty dense.
Skiorht
Despair Shouter
20 Year Hero!
- Apr 28, 2013
- #5
B/X, by a considerable margin. The Moldvay edition is the single best D&D edition in terms of clarity of presentation and use as a reference during play. The procedures are clear, and the game focuses on its core almost like a laser. Also, the art is better.
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ken-do-nim
0
Validated User
- Apr 28, 2013
- #6
Having a lot of experience with both, here's how I see it. I love B/X like everybody else, but you can't ignore the BECM line because the rules are better in a lot of little ways. For instance, in B/X, they left out the radius of the sleep spell effect. In B/X they left out the detect invisible spell description altogether. You don't get strength damage applied to thrown weapons in B/X, but you do in BECM.
The really big difference aside from 'errata' like the aforementioned is that in B/X, a magic-user can't add spells to his spellbook from scrolls, and he can't have more spells in his spellbook than his memorization limit. In BECM, it is more standard D&D where a magic-user can pump up his versatility by copying scrolls to his spellbook, thus having more to choose from. Plus, the Companion supplement adds badly needed grappling rules, an ability for pcs to restore drained levels, etc.
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Nexus Crawler
Two heads need two hats.
Validated User
- Apr 28, 2013
- #7
I've got both, I use both at the same time. B/X are my "core rulebooks" though. BECMI has some good stuff, it is a little more newbie friendly and while the layout leaves something to be desired, it explains the how and why of the rules better for someone learning the game (as was the intended purpose) but B/X is closer to the original feel of OD&D, certainly it is closer to how I like my campaign worlds and is easier to reference during play if I need it.
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fullerena
Validated User
Validated User
- Apr 29, 2013
- #8
I prefer B/X.
ken-do-nim said:
The really big difference aside from 'errata' like the aforementioned is that in B/X, a magic-user can't add spells to his spellbook from scrolls, and he can't have more spells in his spellbook than his memorization limit. In BECM, it is more standard D&D where a magic-user can pump up his versatility by copying scrolls to his spellbook, thus having more to choose from.
This is one of the reasons!
I can't remember many of the other reasons as the last time I sat down and compared them was ages ago, but I remember my conclusion.
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