Pyramid Review
Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game
Written and Published by Chris Gonnerman
Art by Erik Wilson, Steve Zieser, Matt Finch, Dan Dalton, Luigi Castellani, Nick Bogan, Mike Hill, and Kevin Cook
Available for free as a PDF download, or for purchase in print (hardcover, softcover perfect bound, or softcover spiral bound) via LULU ($7.57 or $20.04)
With the recent passing of E. Gary Gygax, I found myself contemplating what my history with roleplaying games has meant to me. In fact, I started searching places like Half Price Books and eBay in an attempt to purchase some of the classic products that defined my childhood: the old red-box Basic Dungeons & Dragons, the blue-box Expert Set, even the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons tomes that defined a long and beautiful journey that has been -- so far -- 30 years in the making. My game group and I will be playing a "Tribute to Gary Gygax" campaign that will start with The Keep and the Borderlands and go for as long as they want to, all using the box Basic Dungeons & Dragons rules set.
So there I am, looking over the material and refamiliarizing myself with things. I remember the old adventures. I am amazed with each page how solid these rules really were. And to be honest, I started wondering about what it was that pushed me to leave Basic Dungeons & Dragons and move on to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. I really don't recall what it was. Part of me wonders why such rules were not kept in print. But then reality slaps me squarely . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: May 9, 2008
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