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8/7/2025, 4:08:09 AM
>>96256493
I’m speaking personally, for me as a guy whose been an active D&D guy since 1981 and whose spent the much of the 1980s and 1990s running the BEC portion of BECMI, and now runs BX and CP2020 almost exclusively (and plays in my son’s 5E game).
For me, he BX books are just better laid out. As much as I love the CYOA in the basic book (the best tone setter I’ve played for D&D ever), it eats up too much space and throws off the presentation. I also hate that the rewrite into BECMI added a lot of rules vagaries that feel like they’re trying to make it babby’s first AD&D instead of the complete better game it really is on its own. The max level increase just added a fuck tun of useless bullshit that wasn’t gonna get used anyway since demihumans couldn’t play at that point anyway.
The way the BX books present the rules make it very clear that while it is a complete game with an intended way to play, it is still the Dungeon Master’s game to personalize. All later versions of D&D, starting with AD&D 1st-ed but really blowing up in 2E and WotCD&D, make it stupidly clear that if you’re not playing it TSR’s way, you’re not doing it the right way.
I do love the art of BECMI tho. The consistent art style in fully rendered grayscale is great. I often still use the art from it with the VTT when I play online with my old navy buddies across the world.
I’m speaking personally, for me as a guy whose been an active D&D guy since 1981 and whose spent the much of the 1980s and 1990s running the BEC portion of BECMI, and now runs BX and CP2020 almost exclusively (and plays in my son’s 5E game).
For me, he BX books are just better laid out. As much as I love the CYOA in the basic book (the best tone setter I’ve played for D&D ever), it eats up too much space and throws off the presentation. I also hate that the rewrite into BECMI added a lot of rules vagaries that feel like they’re trying to make it babby’s first AD&D instead of the complete better game it really is on its own. The max level increase just added a fuck tun of useless bullshit that wasn’t gonna get used anyway since demihumans couldn’t play at that point anyway.
The way the BX books present the rules make it very clear that while it is a complete game with an intended way to play, it is still the Dungeon Master’s game to personalize. All later versions of D&D, starting with AD&D 1st-ed but really blowing up in 2E and WotCD&D, make it stupidly clear that if you’re not playing it TSR’s way, you’re not doing it the right way.
I do love the art of BECMI tho. The consistent art style in fully rendered grayscale is great. I often still use the art from it with the VTT when I play online with my old navy buddies across the world.
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