Brings back great memories. I remember the entire neighborhood of kids learning to play with this box set on a picnic table. These rules hold a special place in my heart too.
I didn't have a problem with the character generation method in basic d&d then, and still don't now. I find it exciting to see my character come to life as I roll the dice. I enjoy all classes, so it really doesn't matter what class I play.
LOVE your enthusiasm!!!!! It’s people like you that help keep dreams alive! Good on ya!!!! I’ve been playing for over 40 years and love the old school now more that ever! Beyond hard to find players wanting to play my style but that’s ok! Playing solo random dungeons is cool too!❤️🤗
Marcel Parent old school rules 👍 where you can have a hopeless character and death is more common. Old school was you have 0 hit points too bad your dead character gone😢👍.
Try the internet and conventions. There are a fair number of old school gamers out there and the new Necrotic Gnome Old School Essentials stuff has really generated interest in B/X since it's based on it.
It really comes down to preference. Yes there is definitely a more lethal aspect to older games, but that’s not necessarily bad. Some folks prefer more of a challenge, a grittier game with higher stakes, just as some folks prefer more epic characters that can overcome all obstacles thrown at them. Neither is right, and neither is wrong, it just comes down to personal preference.
Salomon is really tough, he only has a 7.5% chance of being instagibbed every time a level 1 mook with a sword takes a swing at him. He should be able to survive at least a total of 12 rounds of combat in his career.
I'd take 12 rounds of meaningful exciting combat over 12 levels of easy mode min/maxed, over optimized, over powered, no threat of death, no threat of consequence any day. But that's me :)
@@RollStats except if you are wearing plate, you are not risking death. Not in real life. Look up full metal jousting. That's how vulnerable a knight in full plate harness is. Not to mention shields. Again, check out Roland Warzecha on youtube to see just how much of a gamechanger a shield is. I'm not really complaining here, just taking a jab at the fact that 0d&d rules for combat might work for entire units, but are really inadequate for combat on a personal level. Still, b/x is my favourite ruleset (though i have a soft spot for ad&d2e). I recently picked up OSE, including the advanced fantasy rules. Really awesome. Would love to hear your thoughts on OSE.
@@jakubfabisiak9810 I'm not familiar with Roland Warzecha, but I'll go check out his channel, thanks for the recommendation! I backed the most recent OSE Advanced Kickstarter at a level that includes all of the previous books (including the B/X clones) just waiting for it to ship! A full review will follow trust me, I'm excited to receive it!
@@RollStats the layout is amazing in OSE, and the biggest complaint I have for the advanced book is that the knight is not called the cavalier. I mean, they have the acrobat, barbarian, ranger - you see where i'm going with this. And speaking of warrior-related stuff, i am going to shamelessly plug "Born for the saber" (find it on vimeo for a few bucks, trailer on youtube).
You rolled freaking GUTS from Berserk. I'd love to DM for him. As a GM, your enthusiasm for the character is inspiring. So inspiring I created a "Solomon Blood" NPC for my next Lion & Dragon adventure.
Stumbled across your page today. Watching this video really made me smile. Seeing you laugh, smile , and not take it so seriously as you rolled was a joy to watch. Happy gaming!
I'm DMing a BECMI campaign for my players next month (we are using Rules Cyclopedia thanks to the dmsguild POD version), and we are going to play in the Kingdom of Ierendi ! I allowed them to roll 3 sets of stats (3d6 in order) and to choose which one they prefer, and it turned out pretty great ! Only one player got really bad sets of stats (like 3 6s or no stat higher than 11) so I allowed him to roll a 4th set of stats, and he is now playing a merchant dwarf with a 16 charisma ! I think it is easier to roll 3d6 in order with Basic D&D than with newer editions because the adjustments aren't that important, even if they can make a difference (in BECMI, a 6 is a -1 penalty, whereas in 5e it is a -2 for example). We are starting with characters with 2500xp (magic users lvl 2 and thieves lvl 3) so they begin with a little more hp (we played 2 one shots to try the system, and we don't want the characters to die in one blow for the campaign)... But our thief still managed to get only 4 hp at lvl 3 ! Anyway, character creation was really fun. I hope we will soon hear the adventures of Solomon Blood the badass ! ;)
I love this! I was hoping for an invite to play Solomon Blood in your game :) but I love this! You definitely have to come back and update us on how it's going! Thanks so much for watching and joining the conversation!
Unfortunately, we are french and I don't think my players are able to roleplay in english (+timezone would make it difficult to play with you). But I would have loved to have you in our group !
I'll let you know how it goes ! For their first session, I plan on DMing a scenario inspired by "The Game" (David Fincher 1997). The Kingdom of Ierendi is a fertile archipelago (inspired by New Zealand and Australia with a touch of Carribean) where tourists come from other kingdoms for their vacations. My plan is to embark the group on a "fake adventure" where a rich noble pays adventurers to accompany him on a staged adventure in which he in fact is never in danger (I prepared a partner troll who is ok being beaten by tourists as long as he is fed, and stupid traps which aren't lethal). But on their way back to the main island, they are all kidnapped by what seems to be real dangerous pirates that my group would not be aware of (although they are part of the stage). From that point, the line between what is staged and what is real should blur, and my PCs should start becoming worried. I can't wait to see how it goes !
I love your enthusiasm for old school gaming. This video took me back in time. Honestly I really miss playing old school D&D. I didn’t mind THAC0 all that much. Great video!
That think really didn't stick with most 10 to 12 years old kids. We create the character we want and didn't care if will be fit. If a sister wants to be a wizard unicorn we didn't care that by the dices would be a dwarf, she played as a wizard unicorn. Also, we create our own spells based on cartoons.
Thanks for posting this! :-) Stephen Colbert said he & his friends would just let their PCs become farmers if they rolled up hopeless characters in D&D, and reroll new PCs. I think the ultimate challenge would be to successfully play a "hopeless" character in a campaign.
RobertWF42 YES!! You played the hand you were dealt. Also you died at 0 HP. The old school rules built character😃 Heck they said some people even offed themselves and others in real life. Old school rules 😱😱!!
We always played with a mercy rule. If the character was clearly worthless you were never forced to play it. Hell you were never forced to play any character, but I agree. I think some of my favorite characters over the years were always those that were flawed.
Old School Rules provide more of a challenge, for sure. Not every one prefers that, certainly. But that’s the beauty of choice. There are more than enough RPG systems out there for every one to find their own favorite.
Roll first is a must. "I want to be a Fighter"... ok, and you roll Str 9, that's great. You're a Fighter and you have to think outside the box. Anyway, following the video I rolled a character too... And this is the abomination I rolled: Str 14, Dex 13, Con 8, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 12. I ROLLED THE FREAKING STANDARD ARRAY OF ABILITIES FROM 3RD EDITION.
Speaking about Alignment, we had a similar philosophy to you with it but we did add a morality system to it which was from one of the gazeteers iirc. This had a number of traits with a scale of 1 - 20. For example one trait may be greed at a 1 and charity at a 20 so where your character fell on that scale would be a guideline for your character during game play. This was then adjusted over time by the player performing extreme actions that fell outside of the guideline. Some other traits we used off the top of my head were: bravery/cowardice, chastity/lust etc. the 7 deadly sins and heavenly virtues were a great starting point. We found this system far superior to the old alignment system
I can't remember off the top of my head but i'll have to look into it over the next few days when i find time. Just found something along the same lines on p23 Players handbook in 4th edition. The one I remember was much more fleshed out on a 1-20 scale. Anyway, i'll keep looking
after a bit more searching and thanks to google I found the system. its on p10 of the player book in Gazetteer 7: The Northern Reaches. It incorporates rolls which we did to start with and then let players adjust as the wished. After we started using this then the traditional Alignment system was redundant and this made for a much richer system. Also thought you could use something based on the Immortal spheres, ie: entropy, matter, time, energy and air iirc After having a little read through the system again I would thoroughly recommend this system for anyone wanting a better alignment system regardless of which D&D edition you use
I remember making level 1 character with this rule set, and buying full plate for 60gp. Then the AD&D people freaking out because because plate was way more expensive in those rules. Telling me you can’t buy plate at 1st level :(
tbh, the guys making those rules knew fuck-all about medieval weapons and armour. Things like maille (no such thing as chainmail), swords, or a full plate harness were really expensive, for how much raw material, and time they consumed to make. Hell - in Elizabethan England, nobles would go into debt to comission a suit of armour from the royal armour workshop (for which they needed a special permission from the queen to even commision the armour in the first place). Then you have that whole thing about shields only giving +1 to AC, which is really silly. It's all good fun, mind you, but once you know the basics of how medieval combat works, it is painfully clear the combat rules in d&d are horribly inadequate.
Thanks so much! That really means something coming from you! I watch everything you put out. I hate to sound like a fan boy here, but I love your channel man!
Here is mine: Itheril Moonheart - Str 11 Int 16 Wis 3 Dex 11 Con 9 Cha 9 Elf Infravision 60' , 1-2 on a d6 when looking for hidden or secret doors, cannot be paralyzed by ghouls, read & write native language +2 other languages; -3 on magic based saving throws, max. retainers 4 & morale of retainers 7. HP 3. Veteran-Medium 1st Level Spell: Sleep. Alignment: Neutral. AC: 7 To hit AC (AC:to hit) - 9: 10 8: 11 7: 12 6: 13 5: 14 4: 15 3: 16 2: 17 1: 18 0: 19 Short bow, quiver with 20 arrows, sword, dagger, leather armor, backpack (hammer, mirror, Rope 50', tinder box, iron rations, large sack, 6x torches, bunch of wolfsbane, iron spikes); wineskin with wine & waterskin. 6gp
That was fun to watch, basic D&D will always be my favorite version and the my first introduction to the RPG world of the 80’s! Be fun to play it again, but if it isn’t Pathfinder or 5e (which has that basic feel at times)-it’s like pulling teeth and suddenly everyone is busy lol...
B/X was my first and is still my favorite rules set. That said, 5e definitely harkens back to that more open narrative homebrew sort of thinking and I’m loving it the most of any set since B/X.
Really? I checked out 5e and utterly loathed it for the way it constrained creativity, encourages min/maxes and nerfs everything like saves. Advantage & disadvantage? Really? Just lame. I find everything after TSR to be DINO (D&D in Name Only), but then again, I'm a real grognard. I basically alternate between various OSR games mixed with 1e, with periodic forays back into BECMI. With Old School Essentials out now I'm leaning towards going to that. At my age (playing since 1981) I just don't want to learn new systems and if you've got good players, there's no need for a raft of feats, skills, and specialized builds. But I know some people love 5e.
@@RollStats I got it as a Christmas present. Haven't gotten the hard copies yet, but they give you the pdfs too. It's pretty good because it's well organized, but I still have the Rules Cyclopedia so I didn't really need it except for the Advanced expansions, which b/xify the AD&D classes and add a bunch of race classes. Those are pretty cool because they are streamlined for b/x play but add some twists.
There is no DC in these rules. You can buy the rules pdf on Drivthrurpg. Easy to understand if you have a chance to read over the rules. Simple charts.
There are no DC rolls in this system. The idea is rolling dice shouldn't replace or precede description of actions. Players are supposed to describe what they are doing to spot things, and the DM then describes what they see. It emphasizes role-play over mechanics.
Actually there are Saving Throws, the "DC" is a number based on your class and level, and you have to roll higher. Wisdom helps only if it's magic based, which can be confusing. For example, how can saving vs Wands not be magical? Because you save vs Wands for everything, including rocks falling on your head. Slip and fall on some ice? Save vs Wands. Someone slams a trapdoor on your hands? Wands. If someone casts a spell on you with a wand? Save vs Poison. Hah, just kidding, also save vs Wands. Unless you mean Spell Save DC, in which case it doesn't matter who casts the spell, it's just Save vs Spells I guess (caster skill or level doesn't matter, just the target). Unless the spell comes from a rod, staff or wand, in which case use the appropriate number.
Exceptional strength is highly extraordinary which gives fighters an additional percentile roll for fighter's starting strength of 18. Moldvay forgot that one for the b/x book.
That’s not a B/X rule, that is an AD&D concept. I like to think it was left out intentionally because it simply adds another mechanic that doesn’t need to be there :)
nice rolls. personally I would have dropped one of the 12's to a 10 and bump a primary to 13 as I like to play an elf in B/X. P.S. where did you get the epic shirt - would love to get hold of one myself
Believe me, I thought about it! I think I was trying to prove that you could end up with a completely playable character without fiddling with the numbers though. By just rolling straight 3d6 it is possible to end up with a viable character :) And thank you! I ordered it from Amazon, I'll go back and find the link for you!
Hahahahahahaha! It crossed my mind for half a second, but I think I was really envisioning a fighter. Solomon spoke to me :) the dice God's spoke to me, and I had no choice but to heed the call!
Kinda weird that you got chain mail if you wanted to be a knight in shining armor, instead of plate since you could afford it... I know this is a year old video but it just showed on my UA-cams heh.
@@RollStats Another fun thing I noticed, the attributes other than Str, Dex and Con barely matter (you probably want to be able to read as a wizard tho, because spellbook) except for a 5-10% XP bonus, so you can be a Wis 3 cleric and your spells should work exactly the same, and Saving Throw bonus works for all classes).
@@SergioLeRoux Valid, but by using the roll under stat mechanic (i.e. roll under your stat, with modifier if needed) stats actually do start to matter. Granted, charisma, wisdom, and intelligence may matter less, subjectively. But, I feel like it does make stats matter. It ensures that the strong characters do strong things, the smart characters do smart things, the face character does charismatic things, and the wise character does wise things... It's not perfect, but I think it works pretty well to make all of the characters feel special, and needed in their roles. It has always been less about numbers and more about narration for me :) Just my preferred style.
@@RollStats well I mean they don't affect class features. Being wise would be useful for anyone who wants to do wise stuff, but not for Cleric powers, and so on. Dexterity makes everyone harder to hit, not just rogues, and doesn't affect rogue abilities. Strength is good for anyone doing melee, so Clerics and Rogues also benefit. What I mean is no class ability depends on an attribute, even fighters don't have a monopoly on hitting things (as a Magic-User you'll probably spend half of your levels using a sling every round and with crap armor you probably benefit from Dex and Con more than Int). I guess my point is that doesn't matter what you roll in what order, unless you're a Fighter, in which case low Str and Con sucks, but Cleric is almost a fighter too, so they're better off having high Str and Con also. So your rolls don't /quite/ dictate your class, almost, if you don't care about a 5% XP bonus :D Advanced editions made Int limit the number of spells in your book, I think, but that's about it. Not in these tho.
@@SergioLeRoux All valid points for sure! This is why I love the comments so much :) The ability to get real thoughts and opinions from real gamers! Thanks, man!
Brings back great memories. I remember the entire neighborhood of kids learning to play with this box set on a picnic table. These rules hold a special place in my heart too.
Ohhhhh the nostalgia! :) I really do love this system!
I didn't have a problem with the character generation method in basic d&d then, and still don't now. I find it exciting to see my character come to life as I roll the dice. I enjoy all classes, so it really doesn't matter what class I play.
CON roll was a 14; not that it matters much for bonuses, etc.
Ha! Thanks for pointing that out... Beacause... Math :)
Love the energy and the memories that returned! Potentially looking to run a Basic/Expert campaign in the near future.
Your enjoyment is contagious. I enjoyed watching this character.
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. The B/X Expert set is rolling out next week, so stay tuned!
LOVE your enthusiasm!!!!! It’s people like you that help keep dreams alive! Good on ya!!!! I’ve been playing for over 40 years and love the old school now more that ever! Beyond hard to find players wanting to play my style but that’s ok! Playing solo random dungeons is cool too!❤️🤗
Marcel Parent old school rules 👍 where you can have a hopeless character and death is more common. Old school was you have 0 hit points too bad your dead character gone😢👍.
Try the internet and conventions. There are a fair number of old school gamers out there and the new Necrotic Gnome Old School Essentials stuff has really generated interest in B/X since it's based on it.
sunsin1592 awesome! Thanx for the suggestions!!
Thanks, Marcel! Glad to have you here! Sounds like our styles are the same, I’d be happy to play your style!
It really comes down to preference. Yes there is definitely a more lethal aspect to older games, but that’s not necessarily bad. Some folks prefer more of a challenge, a grittier game with higher stakes, just as some folks prefer more epic characters that can overcome all obstacles thrown at them. Neither is right, and neither is wrong, it just comes down to personal preference.
Salomon is really tough, he only has a 7.5% chance of being instagibbed every time a level 1 mook with a sword takes a swing at him. He should be able to survive at least a total of 12 rounds of combat in his career.
I'd take 12 rounds of meaningful exciting combat over 12 levels of easy mode min/maxed, over optimized, over powered, no threat of death, no threat of consequence any day. But that's me :)
@@RollStats except if you are wearing plate, you are not risking death. Not in real life. Look up full metal jousting. That's how vulnerable a knight in full plate harness is. Not to mention shields. Again, check out Roland Warzecha on youtube to see just how much of a gamechanger a shield is.
I'm not really complaining here, just taking a jab at the fact that 0d&d rules for combat might work for entire units, but are really inadequate for combat on a personal level.
Still, b/x is my favourite ruleset (though i have a soft spot for ad&d2e). I recently picked up OSE, including the advanced fantasy rules. Really awesome. Would love to hear your thoughts on OSE.
@@jakubfabisiak9810 I'm not familiar with Roland Warzecha, but I'll go check out his channel, thanks for the recommendation! I backed the most recent OSE Advanced Kickstarter at a level that includes all of the previous books (including the B/X clones) just waiting for it to ship! A full review will follow trust me, I'm excited to receive it!
@@RollStats the layout is amazing in OSE, and the biggest complaint I have for the advanced book is that the knight is not called the cavalier. I mean, they have the acrobat, barbarian, ranger - you see where i'm going with this.
And speaking of warrior-related stuff, i am going to shamelessly plug "Born for the saber" (find it on vimeo for a few bucks, trailer on youtube).
@@jakubfabisiak9810 I can't wait to receive OSE! And I'll check out "Born for the Saber"
Looking to run Old School Essentials soon. This video helped me understand how old school characters are meant to be made. Thanks!
You rolled freaking GUTS from Berserk. I'd love to DM for him. As a GM, your enthusiasm for the character is inspiring.
So inspiring I created a "Solomon Blood" NPC for my next Lion & Dragon adventure.
Background of all the books is great!
Stumbled across your page today. Watching this video really made me smile. Seeing you laugh, smile , and not take it so seriously as you rolled was a joy to watch. Happy gaming!
Thank you so much!!
Oh man I remember that character sheet.
It's the best! I really want to play this character!
I’m so glad I found this video. Thank you so much for the BX character creation process.
I'm DMing a BECMI campaign for my players next month (we are using Rules Cyclopedia thanks to the dmsguild POD version), and we are going to play in the Kingdom of Ierendi ! I allowed them to roll 3 sets of stats (3d6 in order) and to choose which one they prefer, and it turned out pretty great ! Only one player got really bad sets of stats (like 3 6s or no stat higher than 11) so I allowed him to roll a 4th set of stats, and he is now playing a merchant dwarf with a 16 charisma ! I think it is easier to roll 3d6 in order with Basic D&D than with newer editions because the adjustments aren't that important, even if they can make a difference (in BECMI, a 6 is a -1 penalty, whereas in 5e it is a -2 for example). We are starting with characters with 2500xp (magic users lvl 2 and thieves lvl 3) so they begin with a little more hp (we played 2 one shots to try the system, and we don't want the characters to die in one blow for the campaign)... But our thief still managed to get only 4 hp at lvl 3 ! Anyway, character creation was really fun.
I hope we will soon hear the adventures of Solomon Blood the badass ! ;)
I love this! I was hoping for an invite to play Solomon Blood in your game :) but I love this! You definitely have to come back and update us on how it's going! Thanks so much for watching and joining the conversation!
Unfortunately, we are french and I don't think my players are able to roleplay in english (+timezone would make it difficult to play with you). But I would have loved to have you in our group !
No worries! I'm just excited to play this character :) Thanks again for watching, and I do want to hear how youe BECMI campaign rolls out!
I'll let you know how it goes ! For their first session, I plan on DMing a scenario inspired by "The Game" (David Fincher 1997).
The Kingdom of Ierendi is a fertile archipelago (inspired by New Zealand and Australia with a touch of Carribean) where tourists come from other kingdoms for their vacations. My plan is to embark the group on a "fake adventure" where a rich noble pays adventurers to accompany him on a staged adventure in which he in fact is never in danger (I prepared a partner troll who is ok being beaten by tourists as long as he is fed, and stupid traps which aren't lethal). But on their way back to the main island, they are all kidnapped by what seems to be real dangerous pirates that my group would not be aware of (although they are part of the stage). From that point, the line between what is staged and what is real should blur, and my PCs should start becoming worried. I can't wait to see how it goes !
Sounds fantastic!
Jasper here. Awesome video. Thanks for the shout out for the character sheet.
Thanks for creating the character sheet! I love it!
This is a fun video. I love the enthusiasm when rolling up the character.
I love your enthusiasm for old school gaming. This video took me back in time. Honestly I really miss playing old school D&D. I didn’t mind THAC0 all that much. Great video!
Glad you enjoyed!
I'll take that challenge of DMing Solomon. ;)
Your excitement is contagious, my friend!
I am so down for that, my man! We really do need to set up a game!
That think really didn't stick with most 10 to 12 years old kids.
We create the character we want and didn't care if will be fit.
If a sister wants to be a wizard unicorn we didn't care that by the dices would be a dwarf, she played as a wizard unicorn.
Also, we create our own spells based on cartoons.
Your world can and should be whatever you want it to be! The rules should not determine your vision!
Thanks for posting this! :-) Stephen Colbert said he & his friends would just let their PCs become farmers if they rolled up hopeless characters in D&D, and reroll new PCs. I think the ultimate challenge would be to successfully play a "hopeless" character in a campaign.
RobertWF42 YES!! You played the hand you were dealt. Also you died at 0 HP. The old school rules built character😃 Heck they said some people even offed themselves and others in real life. Old school rules 😱😱!!
We always played with a mercy rule. If the character was clearly worthless you were never forced to play it. Hell you were never forced to play any character, but I agree. I think some of my favorite characters over the years were always those that were flawed.
Old School Rules provide more of a challenge, for sure. Not every one prefers that, certainly. But that’s the beauty of choice. There are more than enough RPG systems out there for every one to find their own favorite.
Roll first is a must. "I want to be a Fighter"... ok, and you roll Str 9, that's great. You're a Fighter and you have to think outside the box. Anyway, following the video I rolled a character too... And this is the abomination I rolled: Str 14, Dex 13, Con 8, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 12.
I ROLLED THE FREAKING STANDARD ARRAY OF ABILITIES FROM 3RD EDITION.
This was lovely to watch. Enjoyed every second!
You couldve added some demon music when those three 6's came up! 😂😂😂
Hahahahaha! Fair enough!
Speaking about Alignment, we had a similar philosophy to you with it but we did add a morality system to it which was from one of the gazeteers iirc. This had a number of traits with a scale of 1 - 20. For example one trait may be greed at a 1 and charity at a 20 so where your character fell on that scale would be a guideline for your character during game play. This was then adjusted over time by the player performing extreme actions that fell outside of the guideline.
Some other traits we used off the top of my head were: bravery/cowardice, chastity/lust etc. the 7 deadly sins and heavenly virtues were a great starting point. We found this system far superior to the old alignment system
That is awesome! Do you happen to remember which Gazeteer it's from? I'd love to check that out!
I can't remember off the top of my head but i'll have to look into it over the next few days when i find time.
Just found something along the same lines on p23 Players handbook in 4th edition. The one I remember was much more fleshed out on a 1-20 scale. Anyway, i'll keep looking
after a bit more searching and thanks to google I found the system. its on p10 of the player book in Gazetteer 7: The Northern Reaches.
It incorporates rolls which we did to start with and then let players adjust as the wished. After we started using this then the traditional Alignment system was redundant and this made for a much richer system.
Also thought you could use something based on the Immortal spheres, ie: entropy, matter, time, energy and air iirc
After having a little read through the system again I would thoroughly recommend this system for anyone wanting a better alignment system regardless of which D&D edition you use
It sounds fantastic! I think I'll incorporate it into my 5e game!
I remember making level 1 character with this rule set, and buying full plate for 60gp. Then the AD&D people freaking out because because plate was way more expensive in those rules. Telling me you can’t buy plate at 1st level :(
Been there too! :)
tbh, the guys making those rules knew fuck-all about medieval weapons and armour. Things like maille (no such thing as chainmail), swords, or a full plate harness were really expensive, for how much raw material, and time they consumed to make. Hell - in Elizabethan England, nobles would go into debt to comission a suit of armour from the royal armour workshop (for which they needed a special permission from the queen to even commision the armour in the first place).
Then you have that whole thing about shields only giving +1 to AC, which is really silly.
It's all good fun, mind you, but once you know the basics of how medieval combat works, it is painfully clear the combat rules in d&d are horribly inadequate.
I really enjoyed watching this! Great video!
Thanks so much! That really means something coming from you! I watch everything you put out. I hate to sound like a fan boy here, but I love your channel man!
Here is mine:
Itheril Moonheart - Str 11 Int 16 Wis 3 Dex 11 Con 9 Cha 9 Elf Infravision 60' , 1-2 on a d6 when looking for hidden or secret doors, cannot be paralyzed by ghouls, read & write native language +2 other languages; -3 on magic based saving throws, max. retainers 4 & morale of retainers 7. HP 3. Veteran-Medium 1st Level Spell: Sleep. Alignment: Neutral. AC: 7
To hit AC (AC:to hit) - 9: 10 8: 11 7: 12 6: 13 5: 14 4: 15 3: 16 2: 17 1: 18 0: 19
Short bow, quiver with 20 arrows, sword, dagger, leather armor, backpack (hammer, mirror, Rope 50', tinder box, iron rations, large sack, 6x torches, bunch of wolfsbane, iron spikes); wineskin with wine & waterskin. 6gp
I'm feeling a game coming together here! :)
One of the best fighters I ever had only had a STR of 11 and DEX of 16
That's great! I love playing less than optimal characters :)
Great video. I still have some of those character sheets in the original green paper lol.
Awesome! Thanks so much for watching and commenting! I say you put them to use and we play some B/X D&D! :)
That was fun to watch, basic D&D will always be my favorite version and the my first introduction to the RPG world of the 80’s! Be fun to play it again, but if it isn’t Pathfinder or 5e (which has that basic feel at times)-it’s like pulling teeth and suddenly everyone is busy lol...
I know! I wish more folks were open to playing older games. Everyone wants to play 5e!
B/X was my first and is still my favorite rules set. That said, 5e definitely harkens back to that more open narrative homebrew sort of thinking and I’m loving it the most of any set since B/X.
Really? I checked out 5e and utterly loathed it for the way it constrained creativity, encourages min/maxes and nerfs everything like saves. Advantage & disadvantage? Really? Just lame. I find everything after TSR to be DINO (D&D in Name Only), but then again, I'm a real grognard. I basically alternate between various OSR games mixed with 1e, with periodic forays back into BECMI. With Old School Essentials out now I'm leaning towards going to that. At my age (playing since 1981) I just don't want to learn new systems and if you've got good players, there's no need for a raft of feats, skills, and specialized builds. But I know some people love 5e.
Old School Essentials is my next purchase! Have you picked it up yet? What are your thoughts?
B/X needs to make a resurgence! Quick! Everyone get Old School Essentials and let’s set up a game!
@@RollStats I got it as a Christmas present. Haven't gotten the hard copies yet, but they give you the pdfs too. It's pretty good because it's well organized, but I still have the Rules Cyclopedia so I didn't really need it except for the Advanced expansions, which b/xify the AD&D classes and add a bunch of race classes. Those are pretty cool because they are streamlined for b/x play but add some twists.
I like this channel. Sure hope it makes a return.
Love! Love! That shirt!
Ha! Me too! It's my favorite :)
you forgot to record your saving throws hehe but other than that I like your new character he should be a lot of fun :)
+Darkgael Yah, I noticed it during editing. I was too lazy to set back up and reshoot the sequence 😀
Hi, can you show the Save DC how can one know for each?
There is no DC in these rules. You can buy the rules pdf on Drivthrurpg. Easy to understand if you have a chance to read over the rules. Simple charts.
There are no DC rolls in this system. The idea is rolling dice shouldn't replace or precede description of actions. Players are supposed to describe what they are doing to spot things, and the DM then describes what they see. It emphasizes role-play over mechanics.
Exactly!
@@RollStats Totally. No perception checks here baby!
Actually there are Saving Throws, the "DC" is a number based on your class and level, and you have to roll higher. Wisdom helps only if it's magic based, which can be confusing. For example, how can saving vs Wands not be magical? Because you save vs Wands for everything, including rocks falling on your head. Slip and fall on some ice? Save vs Wands. Someone slams a trapdoor on your hands? Wands. If someone casts a spell on you with a wand? Save vs Poison. Hah, just kidding, also save vs Wands.
Unless you mean Spell Save DC, in which case it doesn't matter who casts the spell, it's just Save vs Spells I guess (caster skill or level doesn't matter, just the target). Unless the spell comes from a rod, staff or wand, in which case use the appropriate number.
Exceptional strength is highly extraordinary which gives fighters an additional percentile roll for fighter's starting strength of 18. Moldvay forgot that one for the b/x book.
That’s not a B/X rule, that is an AD&D concept. I like to think it was left out intentionally because it simply adds another mechanic that doesn’t need to be there :)
OK, where did you get that shirt?
It's awesome right? It's my favorite, I ordered it on Amazzon!
Great vid, thanks man. But Mathematical truth is.... even given AC and HP, an average of 4 attacks from any cobold and the guy will be dead XD
What happened to him? Please do a combat example with him. Level him up for the expert set. Did you get a campaign to play in?
You rolled three 6s ontop of a mat with a skull....satanic panic ensues lol.
Hahahahaha! Here we go again! :)
nice rolls. personally I would have dropped one of the 12's to a 10 and bump a primary to 13 as I like to play an elf in B/X.
P.S. where did you get the epic shirt - would love to get hold of one myself
Believe me, I thought about it! I think I was trying to prove that you could end up with a completely playable character without fiddling with the numbers though. By just rolling straight 3d6 it is possible to end up with a viable character :) And thank you! I ordered it from Amazon, I'll go back and find the link for you!
I got a red one from my local F.Y.E. It was part of the Stranger Things display from Season 2
Rolls 16 on 3d6: “not bad.” Lol
Awww should have gone elve you would have been the muscle beach man of elve society. "Puny Orcs step aside !'
Hahahahahahaha! It crossed my mind for half a second, but I think I was really envisioning a fighter. Solomon spoke to me :) the dice God's spoke to me, and I had no choice but to heed the call!
I think the xp requirement scared him off, lol
Von Choker. Do elves require a lot more ? Its been a long time since I have played basic.
4000 xp to reach 2nd lvl instead of 2000 for a fighter
Von Choker Ahh yeah I remember now, thieves went up fastest I think.
He rolled a 14 for constitution.
Kinda weird that you got chain mail if you wanted to be a knight in shining armor, instead of plate since you could afford it...
I know this is a year old video but it just showed on my UA-cams heh.
I'm glad you finally found it :) And I'm okay with Chain mail, plate is too gaudy for Solomon. He's not afraid to take a hit! :)
@@RollStats Another fun thing I noticed, the attributes other than Str, Dex and Con barely matter (you probably want to be able to read as a wizard tho, because spellbook) except for a 5-10% XP bonus, so you can be a Wis 3 cleric and your spells should work exactly the same, and Saving Throw bonus works for all classes).
@@SergioLeRoux Valid, but by using the roll under stat mechanic (i.e. roll under your stat, with modifier if needed) stats actually do start to matter. Granted, charisma, wisdom, and intelligence may matter less, subjectively. But, I feel like it does make stats matter. It ensures that the strong characters do strong things, the smart characters do smart things, the face character does charismatic things, and the wise character does wise things... It's not perfect, but I think it works pretty well to make all of the characters feel special, and needed in their roles. It has always been less about numbers and more about narration for me :) Just my preferred style.
@@RollStats well I mean they don't affect class features. Being wise would be useful for anyone who wants to do wise stuff, but not for Cleric powers, and so on. Dexterity makes everyone harder to hit, not just rogues, and doesn't affect rogue abilities. Strength is good for anyone doing melee, so Clerics and Rogues also benefit. What I mean is no class ability depends on an attribute, even fighters don't have a monopoly on hitting things (as a Magic-User you'll probably spend half of your levels using a sling every round and with crap armor you probably benefit from Dex and Con more than Int).
I guess my point is that doesn't matter what you roll in what order, unless you're a Fighter, in which case low Str and Con sucks, but Cleric is almost a fighter too, so they're better off having high Str and Con also. So your rolls don't /quite/ dictate your class, almost, if you don't care about a 5% XP bonus :D
Advanced editions made Int limit the number of spells in your book, I think, but that's about it. Not in these tho.
@@SergioLeRoux All valid points for sure! This is why I love the comments so much :) The ability to get real thoughts and opinions from real gamers! Thanks, man!
Con is a 14, ???? 5,6,3= 14
Yeah, good catch! Apparently I couldn't math that day :)