For the Old Skool Gamer

[bluegargantua]

My age is showing...

Takes a minute to download, but I think it's well worth it...

Damn you, Bargle!
Tom

Comments

[bluegargantua]

The D&D Basic Set of the early 80's came in a red box. It was Basic D&D so it only covered levels 1-3 -- and demi-humans weren't a racial class...they were class and race all in one. You couldn't be an elf fighter, you were just an elf.

Anyway, the red set had this "choose-your-own-adventure" tutorial that walked you through all the D&D stuff you had to do. You played a fighter on a solo adventure, but along the way you got hurt and this hot cleric showed up. She healed you and then asked if you'd team up with her to take out this evil magician named Bargle.

The two of you have a grand old time smacking kobolds and then you run into Bargle. Who promptly kills her with a magic missle and then Charm Person's you into helping him get away. He kills your best friend and first gameboy love and you never manage to track him down.

Tragic I tells ya...
Tom

[drwex]

OK, first of all your memory for this kind of thing is distressingly good.
Second, my D&D basic set came in a blue box. Is the blue box older than the red? I don't remember any tutorial in there.

(Of course, by the time the blue box came out I'd been playing the six-book "original" D&D for some time...)

[bluegargantua]

Blue box with like a wizard on the front? Yeah, I think that was before this set. The art on the box wasn't by Elmore and is kinda cheesy 70's fantasy. The D&D Basic set I started on had Elmore art on the lids.

Tom

[twwombat.livejournal.com]

The D&D Basic Set Chronology:
1) Cheesy little bound pamphlets to expand the Chainmail rules (Original D&D, 1973)
2) Blue Box w/ Sutherland Red Dragon cover art (1977)
3) Fuchsia Box w/ Otus Green Dragon cover art (1981) (my first set)
4) Red Box w/ Elmore Fighter vs Red Dragon cover art (1983) (the Bargle set)

So I learned D&D with a pre-Bargle set. Which makes me feel older than I do already. *grin*

FYI you can look up all the D&D rule set history and trivia you never wanted to know here:
http://www.acaeum.com/DDIndexes/SetPages/Basic.html

[mpgalvin.livejournal.com]

omg omg *digs through The Archives*
i think i had that particular box, cause i still have the unusually pointy dice from it.