So, in early 1981 we got a new version of the Basic Set which included character sheets, dice, rules and the B2: Keep on the Borderlands adventure module. I’ve covered Keep on the Borderlands before as it came out officially in 1979, so the only truly new thing in the set are the new Basic Rules. This rule book is basically an update of the 1977 J. Eric Holmes rules but there are some considerable changes.

One of the most immediately apparent changes is the fact that it’s just a better and easier read. The rules are similar but better explained with more practical examples and some cool illustrations, also including a nice directory of monsters and magical items to be used in adventures spanning levels 1 to 3. One of the effects of this set, coming out. as it did, during the height of D&D fame, was to make Keep on the Borderlands one of the most popular of all adventure modules and certainly one of the most widely played. 

There is another major change for the game, however. While Holmes’ version created a continuity between D&D and AD&D, telling players that when they “graduated” from third level they should look to AD&D rules to continue playing their characters, this version distances D&D from AD&D by directing players to the Expert Set of D&D therefore not directing players to the Advanced version at all. With this set D&D is now a completely distinct game from AD&D, which even if that was the official position by Gygax in the pages of Dragon magazine, for example, was not really the case in practice. Next up, we will look at that Expert Set that came out at the same time as this Basic one.