After the Red Box

What's Next?

I am of the opinion that the 1983 Basic Set frequently referred to as the "Red Box" version of Basic is the single best introduction to the hobby of tabletop role-playing that has ever existed. The combination of readability, a programmed learning approach, and solo and beginner adventures, both included in the two volumes, taken all together make this a most excellent product for beginners, "aged 12 and up". The Red Box contains some useful advice even for more experienced players and referees, and I still find the red cover booklets to be an enjoyable read  - almost 40 years after I first opened and experienced that new red box edition of the Basic Game.

Like previous versions of the Basic Game rules, Red Box follows a format established by J. Eric Holmes in his 1977 Basic Game by limiting the Basic system included to playing the first three levels of character experience. For players seeking higher levels of play, and more powerful characters, monsters and magic, the publishers recommend consulting either the Expert rules or the Advanced Game system. I am going to break with this advice and suggest the next place to go after mastering Basic is to the independent publisher products, specifically I suggest one give a serious look at the Index Card RPG Core, published by Runehammer Games.

Index Card RPG is a personal vison of how to make The World's Most Popular Role-Playing Game a more playable and dynamic game - written a very gifted and dynamic person! I think publisher/author Runehammer/Brandish Gilhelm succeeds admirably in achieving this vision. Mr. Gilhelm takes the familiar "basic game" mechanics off the beaten path by combining new ideas and fresh advice regarding just how to create your own setting, how to leverage the maximum fun potential in the game, and how to keep things moving along at an exciting pace while playing an awesome fantasy adventure tabletop game. The attributes found in many of the better third-party publisher products often address one or more of these topics to be honest, but none do a better job of it in my opinion than ICRPG. 

The truth is that independent publishers in all fields of endeavor can take things to "eleven" because they are not overly concerned with answering to the stock-holders bottom line. They often publish unconventional works by new and upcoming artists who are experimenting and are unfettered by conventional practices. They express a level of creativity that would make the corporate types "uneasy". If you want something new and different, I have found the independent publishers are a good place to look for such. 

To illustrate my point, I will give one example of creative thinking to be found in Index Card RPG - I turn to magic, which is of course one of the defining elements of any "fantasy" genre product. ICRPG uses magic items (mostly discovered through adventuring) as the basis of the game's magic system in the ICRPG game. The referee will stock the setting (dungeon, etc.) with various and original magic items, many are single use items such as scrolls and potions, but often they are not from the standard list of spell effects. Finding (or at higher levels, creating) such items empowers the player character with "magic" that is novel and interesting and ultimately at his/her/their command, at least until the magic runs out and the item becomes inert. Gone are the classic spell-by-level tables one finds in many versions of the game (including Red Box) as ICRPG does away with such mundane magics. Spell casting in ICRPG is by reading a scroll, or by pointing a wand, or by activating that precious ring you found in the goblin's lair. Of course, one can combine the two magic systems by using a blending of Red Box magic spells and ICRPG item magic to take your game to the next level!

There are many more creative innovations beyond a unique take on magic to be found in ICRPG and a referee aspiring to run creative and fun games can pick and choose among them all, adding what seems most useful while retaining as much of the original system from Red Box as seems appropriate. 

Worldbuilding is an aspect of the hobby which I particularly enjoy and the advice and game world examples found reading through ICRPG are some of the best ideas I've seen. If vanilla fantasy is your goal, you probably don't need (or want) the sort of information found here, but if originality and playing in a world of open potential in setting design is desired, ICRPG and many other indie market game products are an excellent place to look. 

Where one takes their game once the Basic Set rules have been mastered is a matter of personal choice. Do you seek originality or something tried-and-true? Fresh or familiar? If having a real "choice" matters to you, I highly recommend exploring one, or preferably many, of the creative offerings to be found outside the corporate publishing world. 

The Best Introduction

Red Box!

After years of viewing, reading and playing a number of tabletop role-playing game products aimed at introducing new players to the hobby, I have a favorite in this category and therefore a recommendation. In 1983 TSR released a new version of their D&D "Basic" version of The Original Fantasy Role-Playing Game.

Commonly known as "The Red Box", the new "introductory" version of the game is edited by Frank Mentzer and comes just about three years after the release of the "Basic" book edited by Tom Moldvay (commonly referred to as B/X). Mr. Moldvay had done an excellent job compiling the rules of the game to date (1981) and his version of the rules, together with the "Expert" book written by David "Zeb" Cook with Steve Marsh, remains one of the most popular versions of the game (B/X). So why re-write the Basic Set so soon after its Basic predecessor?

Anyone familiar with the red box Basic Set will likely know the answer - because red box is so very beginner friendly! Starting with the Basic Set edited by J. Eric Holmes (1977), TSR had been looking for a way to introduce completely new players to the game, thereby spreading the fun to a wider audience and not coincidentally, also broadening the company's consumer base. The original version of the game that I call "White Box" was aimed at experienced wargamers who were interested in "fantasy" and it includes very minimal introductory material that would be any help to a novice in their efforts to grasp the essential elements of play. In the late 1970s Gary Gygax was busy writing the Advanced game books and the task of creating an introductory game version aimed at the non-wargaming or new hobbyists fell on the able and willing shoulders of Dr. Holmes. The version of the game he wrote is in a number of ways very close to the white box version, but it also contains some references to the Advanced game as "the next step" and which was still being written at the time. 

The last volume of the Advanced game (Dungeon Masters Guide) is released in 1979 and perhaps due to a lawsuit happening with Dave Arneson, the Advanced game is marketed as a completely new and separate product line distinct from the original game, which is now termed "Basic D&D" or simply by the original name, "Dungeons & Dragons". This marketing change undoubtedly contributes to the rewriting of the Basic Set as released in 1981.

Efforts at making the game more accessible to non-wargamers ultimately paid off nicely and the hobby is growing dramatically during the period of the late 1970s and early '80s. Unto this scene comes our Red Box (pictured above). The illustrations are captivating (financial success allows TSR to hire more art talent including the gifted Larry Elmore), the printed text is nice and big, the presentation eye-catching, and the rules are written in a step-by-step approach to learning the game, either along with your friends or by oneself. 

And what an introductory adventure it is! Who among hobbyists of my generation doesn't remember the fate of our friendly cleric Aleena, killed in such a dastardly way by the evil magic user Bargle? By the time I had access to the red box version of Basic, I had been playing various versions of The Original Fantasy Role-Playing Game as well as many other games that came after and felt pretty comfortable with the hobby, but I still enjoyed the solo adventure format used by Mr. Mentzer to teach us the game. (A recent re-reading produced similar enjoyment!) The solo has a good story to tell and engaged my imagination then - and frankly it still does. 

The decades since 1983 have seen the release of many a subsequent starter set and various beginner kits all aimed at either teaching an experienced player their new game, or at introducing the totally uninitiated new-comer into the hobby of tabletop role-playing games through their product line. Many are quite good, some are less "inspiring" - at least in my estimation. For me, none have equaled, let alone surpassed, the Red Box version of Basic, especially for easing one into the hobby and doing so with such inspiring context. I venture to say, that most who have come into the hobby through the Red Box have fond a hobby they can enjoy for years.
Following the practice initially established by Dr. Holmes and followed by Mr. Moldvay, Mr. Mentzer in the Red Box, character advancement is only supported in the Basic Set through three levels of play. You are encouraged to purchase subsequent products in order to continue your adventuring careers to higher levels. 

The Red Box stands up quite well in comparison to more recent game releases. The presentation, the writing and artistic style, and the programmed approach to learning the game, taken together all make this the single best introductory product in the hobby and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting this sort of beginner friendly product. (At present, Red Box Basic is available in digital format.)

The Game is Yours

...to do whatever you wish!

Combat is not everyone's favorite part of tabletop role-playing, but for some it's the reason they play. Players may build their character to maximize damage delivered during combat encounters, and referees may excel at designing clever combat encounters with an eye to challenging their players and their player character's abilities. Slaughtering hordes of villains can be a fun power fantasy.

I started my foray into this hobby with The Original Fantasy Role-Playing Game, which I approached much as I would have a typical skirmish combat game, except with some fantastical elements added in. The Original Fantasy Role-Playing Game remains my first love, but...is there more?

My search has led me to trying many games over the years since my discovery of those three little brown books. Many doors have been opened, a few closed and I have learned a thing or two about what i like in my game, and what I don't.

Chaosium has excelled as a publisher of TTRPGs, most offering more than a simple combat skirmish game. RuneQuest, is built around its unique setting of Glorantha, Call of Cthulhu, which features investigative role-play, and Pendragon, which focuses on multi generational play, all focus on the fictional setting and the cast of player characters as part of a culture and society in ways that matter in game play. To approach these games as mere "game engines for combat" would be to miss out on most of the fun they can provide. Yeah, it took me a while to figure this out!

Chaosium's family of Basic RolePlaying (BRP) games, as mentioned above, all rely on the player imagining their character to be a member of a fictional group, with connections and relationships to the setting beyond the basic exploitation and killing of monsters. BRP games encourage player to be asking questions, reaching out beyond the known game world horizons to explore the depths of our imagination through discovery of a fictional world and yes, the games will include some combat, usually in a context where it serves a purpose other than wanton killing, but there is also so much more. Chaosium games have taught me a lot about what this hobby can offer.

Games designed with an interesting setting at their core will often do this. They excite the sense of wonder and curiosity. They delight in revealed secrets that amaze. They push the participants to go beyond their real-life selves, and the world we live in, to imagine things that transcend reality. Incidentally, this is one of the reasons I enjoy reading setting books, even though I seldom run anything other than my own homebrew.

I have frequently found that games that focus on the fun of tactical combat often either omit any reference to a specific setting or include something very generic.

The 4th Edition of The World's Most Popular RPG- and to some extent the current edition - is an example of a tabletop game system built with combat at its core. While it leverages a very generic fantasy setting, one that does little to encourage exploration, a creative and ambitious referee can add what's missing. At this point there is not much novelty to reveal in the realms, and adding your own ideas seems desirable. This is precisely the way that an imaginative (and perhaps willfully independent) referee can adapt the edition to suit their needs. 

I find 4th Edition a remarkably good tabletop miniatures combat game. But that is not all that I desire from my hobby. The rest of what I crave in an RPG experience has to be supplied using my own resources and creations, if I am running a 4e game. Personally, I am not opposed to that approach, so I continue to referee my version of 4th Edition inserting various homebrew elements to deliver the game I am more content to be running. Unfortunately, 4th Edition, with or without modifications, is not an easy game to find players for. My quest continues.

So I ask myself this question, "What do you want from your game?" The question is, I believe, a pertinent one given the limits of time and money, and the host of competition for both in terms of my hobby, and because certain games inherently offer one thing over others. 

Is there a game that I can be truly satisfied with? Maybe this is not possible. I wrote recently about wanting a game where I get to "make stuff up" in terms of rulings as well as world-building.

I will close this post with a quote from the 1983 Basic Dungeon Masters Rulebook wherein Frank Mentzer writes in his Preface,  "A big part of the game is the mystery and excitement that comes from not knowing all the answers."

Making The Game Your Own

A Personal View on "How to Play The Game."

I am a firm believer in making the game your own. Each person who assumes the role of referee is entrusted with a special privilege - the creation of a fantastic make-believe world to be experienced by their players. The players get to return the favor by engaging with the game, and by attempting to add enjoyment through dialogue and the actions of their characters. It's a fairly common scenario today, but this wasn't always the case.

I recall the struggles (at least some of them) I experienced while learning to play this new type of game. I came to The Original Fantasy Role-Playing Game in 1977 as an adult with years of experience at playing all sorts of games, including organized sports. I recall feeling that I had a pretty fair grasp of what "play" was all about. That is until I encountered the three little brown books in the white box and a handful of its similar format supplements. 

"What do I do with this?" I recall asking myself this very questions, then I asked others. (I was not fortunate enough to know anyone who understood the game much better than I did, however.) Reading and re-reading not only the little books, but any articles or related publications that I could find at the time, I slowly began to make a bit of sense out of the "game". Being a fan of the fantastic and supernatural tales that had so obviously inspired the authors of this new "adventure game" I kept at it, until at some point I decided all the details needed to play this game in a logical manner were simply not present in those little brown books. I concluded that in order to play, I would need to start making some stuff up. I even surmised that may have been the author's intent. So I gathered some friends with similar interests and we started playing, even though we were making stuff up as we went. 

Once I settled upon this approach, I quickly found that I liked "making stuff up". In fact, this seemed to be the entire point of the game - making up the characters, making up monsters and dungeons and wilderness adventures and other stuff, it all seemed so obvious and therefore making up the rules went hand-in-hand with this imaginative creative approach.

Forty-five years later I am even more convinced that "making stuff up" is entirely the point of this hobby. To strictly play another's game, consulting the tome of rules for everything, following every word of the adventure path written by another, and adding nothing of my own is simply boring - at least to me. Rules, setting material, published adventure modules, they are all suggestions and inspiration sources to be used by me (or any other referee for that matter) to combine together with liberal amounts of my own ideas to create the game I would like to play while offering it to others interested and trusting enough to join me.

Our Story Begins...

In the third year of the reign of king Humbarton the First, known locally as Humbarton the Cruel, near the settlement of Wolfberry Farm located above the falls of The River Hardbye, a peasant with the martial name of Hector smoked a troll from its lair and together with a mob of angry townsfolk who had lost various livestock and kin to the depredations of the vagrant troll, slew the beast, dismembered it and fed the pieces into the fire. Hector had the good fortune to be the only one bold enough to enter the foul beast's underground lair once the smoke abated and therein he discovered beautiful maiden. Exactly what transpired next is a matter of some debate, but Hector emerged alone and in possession of a goodly suite of armor and a determination to set right the wrongs of this world, gaining gold and glory aplenty through his labors.

A few spoken lines may excite our imagination and set the stage for action to come. The art of saying enough, but not too much can be elusive. 

I think I will end this post here.