Basic Dungeons & Dragons (1977 - 1991) was originally introduced in 1977, and edited by brain surgeon John Eric Holmes.note Originally it was a starter set for new players to more easily learn Dungeons & Dragons (which was considered rather difficult to learn from the original set). The first release only covered levels 1-3, and players were intended to move on to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition after this. It is commonly called Holmes Basic.
The first revision was published in 1981, edited by Tom Moldvay. It simplified the game further, making it a distinct game system and product line. The most notable simplification is that Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling are counted as classes, not races that could choose a class separately the way humans did; so only humans could play anything but a standard version of their species – i.e. classes are archetype-based. An Expert Set expansion edited by David "Zeb" Cook accompanying the 1981 version let players advance with these simpler rules up through 14th level. This is often referred to as Moldvay Basic, Moldvay/Cook or most often, simply B/X.
The next revision was the BECMI series of boxed sets by Frank Mentzer (Basic, Expert, Companion, Master, and Immortal, respectively), begun in 1983. This version made the line its own complete game, which extended character levels up to 36th and beyond with the Immortals set. The rewrite also turned the Basic set into an excellent tutorial for players and DMs completely new to role-playing games. The rules from the first four of the BECMI series were later compiled in 1991 into the Rules Cyclopedia written by Aaron Allston, which is still considered a classic.note A revision of the Basic Set was published in the same year, now covering levels 1-5. This is usually referred to as Mentzer Basic or simply BECMI (usually pronounced "beck-mee", although there are a few "bess-me" holdouts!)
The final entry in this line was the last version of the Basic Set from 1994, called The Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game.
- Basic Set (Holmes) (1977)
- Basic Set (Moldvay) (1981)
- Expert Set (Moldvay ) (1981)
- Basic Set (Mentzer) (1983)
- Expert Set (Mentzer) (1983)
- Companion Set (Mentzer) (1984)
- Master Set (Mentzer) (1985)
- Immortals Set (Mentzer) (1986)
- The New Easy-to-Master Dungeons & Dragons Game (1991)
- Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991)
- Wrath of the Immortals (1992)
- The Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game (1994)
See also the entry for Mystara, the default setting of all editions of Basic, and thus the first D&D setting for the many players who discovered the game with these sets.
Tropes in this RPG include:
- Actual Play: BECMI has the distinction of being home to one of the very first actual-play serializations of a TTRPG - that being Record of Lodoss War, which originated as a series of write-ups of play sessions in Comptiq Magazine
in Japan. Launched to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Mentzer Basic's Japanese-language launch (and to help promote the continued release of the rest of the line), DM Ryo Mizuno took his players across three campaigns of rollicking adventure on the island of Lodoss. He would later compile these adventures into a set of adapted novels, and Lodoss became a full fantasy property in its own right. An English translation of the original BECMI adventure, featuring Parn's party, can be found here. - Alien Geometries: A significant example is found in Basic D&D's Immortal Set. The game describes up to 5 dimensional planes, giving rules for how they work. They also describe that mortals exist in three dimensions, immortals exist in four, and Old Ones exist in five. In addition, normal mortals exist in dimensions 1, 2, and 3 while mortals from the nightmare plane exist in dimensions 3, 4, and 5.
- Another Story for Another Time: The DA1 module Adventures in Blackmoor has a DM background section written like a narrative, which uses this.
- Armor and Magic Don't Mix: Trope Codifier and co-Ur-Example alongside The Fantasy Trip, which released the same year as D&D's original Holmes Basic Set. In the Holmes (1977), Moldvay (1981) and Mentzer (1983) Basic sets, magic users cannot wear armor.
- Balloon of Doom: In the supplement The Book of Marvelous Magic, some magical balloons are dangerous to those who approach them. They include: Carnivorous (drains 2-12 Hit Points of blood by contact), Poison (releases a deadly poisonous gas), Rust (destroys metal objects that touch it) and Soap (sprays a soapy fluid that blinds victims for ten minutes).
- Beast in the Maze: A Basic module, B2 Keep on the Borderlands had a minotaur with its lair inside a maze. The minotaur has a cave complex inside the Caves of Chaos. Its caves have a spell on them that causes intruders to lose all sense of direction.
- Bloody Horror: Module X2 Castle Amber. One of the castle's features is the Blood-Stained Arch. A steady patter of blood flows from the underside of the arch, with no apparent source. The blood is in atonement for all of the bloody crimes committed by the Amber family.
- Circling Vultures: Module B8 Journey to the Rock. When the PCs reach the Cave of Sanctuary they will see sinister vultures circling lazily overhead: they're about to snack on the body of a recently killed gnome.
- Dump Stat: Basic D&D permits a limited means to reduce one stat to raise another, but only allows reducing strength, intelligence, and wisdom. Of those stats, strength increases melee damage, intelligence gives additional languages, and wisdom affects saving throws against spells. Stat dump is safe with early characters, but additional rules (e.g. ability checks, skills, etc.) change this.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Starting with this edition, D&D no longer required owning a different tabletop game to play. Many features that are now commonplace in modern D&D were introduced here, but the mechanics were still a long way away from becoming standard, as seen below:
- As part of preventing the game from getting too complicated, different levels of gameplay are broken up into different boxed sets; Basic (levels 1-3), Expert (level 4-14), Companion (15-25), Master (26-36) and Immortal (Godhood, beyond 36th level). Nowadays, modern DMs would fret having to dish out another copy of the game because one player reached a level beyond the current set being played. Modern gameplay allows players to continue playing the same game regardless of level.
- Nonhuman races are considered their own class, so one is simply a 2nd level Elf rather than Elf Fighter or Thief. Though later sourcebooks do implement the idea of "race plus class" as variants, allowing for players to play things like Dwarf Clerics or Elf Shamans.
- Gold–Silver–Copper Standard: D&D is one of the early trope codifiers. Prices are usually listed in g.p., unless they're small prices, in which case they're listed in s.p. or c.p.. The exchange rates were as follows:
- 10 c.p. = 1 s.p.
- 5 s.p. = 1 e.p.
- 2 e.p. = 1 g.p.
- 5 g.p. = 1 p.p.
- Honest Rolls Character: Rules Cyclopedia D&D was probably the biggest stickler for this rule, to the point of having rules for increasing ability scores by lowering others.
- Magic Fire: In Basic Dungeons and Dragons, Halfling clan strongholds each have a Crucible of Blackflame. Blackflame is a strange reverse fire that "burns" ashes and returns them to their original form.
- Matchstick Weapon: The Basic D&D version written by Tom Moldvay. An insect swarm (created by the spell Insect Swarm) and the monster known as yellow mold take 1-4 Hit Points of damage from a lit torch.
- Monster Munch: Basic supplement GAZ1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, adventure "Toys of the Madman". The PCs and a few NPCs are kidnapped and placed in a dungeon. Some of the NPCs are there to be killed and eaten by monsters to show the PCs what they're up against.
- No Campaign for the Wicked: From the Immortals boxed set, player controlled PC Immortals are forbidden to be from the Sphere of Entropy, because creatures from that Sphere are all evil. All Entropy Sphere Immortals are NPCs.
- Special Ability Shield:
- Magical shields can have different effects, from the Boomerang Shield (can be used for a ranged attack and instantly reappears on the wielder's arm), to the Shield of Shouting (the wielder's voice is ten times louder), to the Shield of Missile Attraction (halves damage from ranged attacks, but causes them to converge on the wielder).
- An Artificer can craft a Shield of Repulsion, which shoves an enemy back 15' after being a Shield Bash.
- The Shield of Absorption can negate energy level drains against its wielder.
- The Shield of Charm causes anyone who strikes it to fall under the control of the wielder.
- The Shield of Cure Wounds can heal its wielder.
- The Shield of Energy Drain drains a level of experience from anyone who hits it.
- The Shield of Ethereality allows the wielder to enter the Ethereal Plane.
- The Shield of Fly can cast a Fly spell on its wielder.
- The Shield of Haste allows its user to move and attack at double normal speed.
- The Shield of Invisibility can make the user invisible.
- Rheddrian's Mirror-Shield allows the user to cast the spells Teleport, Legend Lore and Monster Summoning.
- The Shield of Remove Curse can cast a Remove Curse spell on its user.
- Supernormal Bindings:
- In The Wrath of Olympus, a group of Immortals (minor deities) illegally interferes on the Prime Plane. The forces of Entropy capture them and secure them with chains that not only render them helpless but drain their internal power (Life Energy) as well.
- Irons, from the Basic D&D supplement The Book of Marvelous Magic, are magical confinement devices combining manacles (wrists) and shackles (ankles). The Irons of Imprisonment can only be broken by a Wish spell or a blow from a plus 4 or better weapon.
- Wandering Culture: In BECMI module CM1 Test of the Warlords, nomadic barbarian tribes wander the land of Norwold year round. As long as dominion leaders allow them free passage, the barbarians won't cause any trouble. If the dominion leaders do try to block them, they could go to war.
- The War Just Before: Basic D&D module CM4 Earthshaker. In recent years the country of Stamtral has raided the PC's country Vyolstagrad several times, but the two nations are currently in an uneasy peace. If the PCs don't play their cards right another war could break out as a result of their actions.
