Close
Close
Advanced Search

D&D Basic Set - Player's Manual (BECMI ed.) (Basic)Click to magnify
Quick Preview
/gs_flipbook/flip.php?xml=/demo_xml/116578.xml&w=500&h=326
Full‑size Preview
https://watermark.drivethrurpg.com/pdf_previews/116578-sample.pdf

D&D Basic Set - Player's Manual (BECMI ed.) (Basic)

ADD TO WISHLIST >

This is the 1983 edition of the D&D Basic Set Player's Manual, part of the "BECMI edition" Red Box Set.

Product History

The D&D Basic Rules Set (1983) by Frank Mentzer was the third and final iteration of the boxed Basic Rules for Basic D&D. It was released in summer 1983.

The Evolution of Basic D&D. By 1983, Basic D&D had gone through two major editions. The first was edited by J. Eric Holmes (1977) and was essentially an introductory set for the original D&D game (1975). The second was edited by Tom Moldvay (1981); it was the first truly standalone version of Basic D&D, and the start of the short-lived (but well-known) "B/X" edition.

Frank Mentzer's version of Basic D&D, which would come to be called the BECMI edition (1983-86), was thus the third edition - or fourth, if you count original D&D as part of the sequence of games. BECMI would also be the most long-lived edition of Basic D&D, lasting almost eight years from the publication of the this Basic Set until it was superseded by The New Easy to Master Dungeons & Dragons Game (1991) and the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991).

A New Introductory Game. Mentzer claimed that the main reason behind this new edition of Basic D&D was that previous versions "were not 'revised', merely 'reorganized.'" He clearly wasn't talking about the mechanics, which demonstrably had been revised in Moldvay's version of Basic D&D, but instead how the game and its rules were structured. Mentzer's version of Basic D&D thus made some large changes to how the game was taught and presented.

Menzter's first two goals for the new Basic D&D were to make the game approachable by beginners and to make it learnable from the rules. Mentzer's Basic Set is thus laid out almost as a tutorial, with new rules and concepts being introduced to players very carefully; the rules about GMing are then introduced only after all of the basic player concepts have been discussed.

Mentzer also had three general goals for the new Basic D&D: it should be fun, playable, and true (i.e., to the spirit of D&D).

A New Art Design. Mentzer's Basic D&D took advantage of the new "Product Finishing" Department at TSR, whose goal was to make TSR's books look as good as possible. You can best see their work through the upgrades to the trade dress of D&D that occurred in 1983. However, it's also very obvious in the Menzter Basic D&D, which is full of attractive graphic design (for the era), as well as artwork that's all by iconic D&D artists Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley.

Color-Coding the Boxes. Some people like to classify the D&D boxes by color. This is thus the "Red Box," to differentiate it from the "Magenta Box" edition, which was the previous edition edited by Moldvay.

New Adventures. The new Basic Set was the first D&D rule set to include a solo adventure, intended to make it easier for a player to learn the game even if he didn't know the rules yet. This was just TSR's second stab at a solo adventure for D&D, following M1: "Blizzard Pass" (1983), which was published earlier in the year. Of course, it wasn't a first for the industry; that was Buffalo Castle (1976) for Tunnels & Trolls (1975), published a full seven years earlier.

Mentzer's Basic Set also included a GM adventure that was meant to be an introduction to and tutorial for the rule system.

TSR's new tactic of trying to teach the game via a rulebook that acted as a tutorial and which contained carefully crafted teaching adventures was a technique that was very popular in roleplaying at the time. Yaquinto (1982-83) and Pacesetter (1984) were two other companies that pushed hard on the same idea.

Goodbye to the Keep. The expansion of the Basic Set into two rulebooks meant that something else had to go... and that something else was B2: "The Keep on the Borderlands" (1979), the adventure that had been packaged with Basic D&D since around December 1979. It was the end of an era for TSR's best-selling adventure, which thereafter faded away; the Acaeum reports that its seventh and final printing occurred in 1983, the same year that Mentzer's Basic Set was published.

About the Creators. Frank Mentzer was one of the star creators at TSR in the early to mid-80s, working closely with Francois Marcela-Froideval and Gary Gygax on the most important rulebooks for D&D. Mentzer took total control of Basic D&D around 1982 when Gygax approved the BECMI project, and would remain in that position through his work on the Immortals Set (1986).

About the Product Historian

The history of this product was researched and written by Shannon Appelcline, the editor-in-chief of RPGnet and the author of Designers & Dragons - a history of the roleplaying industry told one company at a time. Please feel free to mail corrections, comments, and additions to shannon.appelcline@gmail.com.

We (Wizards) recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website does not reflect the values of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.

pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
 
 Customers Who Bought this Title also Purchased
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
Reviews (9)
Discussions (53)
Customer avatar
steve V November 29, 2023 4:45 pm UTC
PURCHASER
POD hardcover PLEASE!!!!!
Customer avatar
darren W September 06, 2023 5:32 pm UTC
still no POD? please release a hardback version!
Customer avatar
William H February 24, 2023 9:34 pm UTC
Do these have the front and rear covers included?
Customer avatar
Brian E January 17, 2023 4:50 pm UTC
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Make these PODs, I so want the books not just a digital file!!!
Customer avatar
Futoshi N January 13, 2023 4:31 am UTC
Hi are there any prints available? I'd like to buy all of the rule books in this series
Customer avatar
Jonas M December 13, 2022 11:06 am UTC
It is really weird this is sold separately when D&D Basic Set came with both Player's Manual and DM's Rulebook. They were basically in the same box.
Customer avatar
Tapio P November 03, 2022 2:36 am UTC
PURCHASER
POD Please
Customer avatar
Shane M June 30, 2022 4:34 am UTC
Yes, POD hardcovers for all five boxed sets. PUH-LEEEEZ

yes. Some content may be problematic, but the disclaimer covers that. Written in a different day and age.

Just like Huck Finn. We know it’s wrong, we don’t copy, but we see the time capsule in front of us.

Customer avatar
Christopher C May 31, 2022 3:12 pm UTC
Someone from WotC MUST check this, so...POD 8x11" Hardcovers for ALL of the BECMI sets would make you a LOT of money. Something to consider.
Customer avatar
Rob S April 30, 2022 9:34 pm UTC
I’ve seen this in a print and form before and I just recently received the Star Frontiers box set as a pod book…. So why’s there no option here to get these printed ? I’d pay for all the old sets
Customer avatar
Jay G March 25, 2022 6:34 pm UTC
I would love to get a POD of this!
Customer avatar
Tapio P March 21, 2022 2:35 am UTC
PURCHASER
POD Please!!
Customer avatar
Chris W March 14, 2022 1:33 am UTC
PURCHASER
POD!
Customer avatar
Eric S February 27, 2022 6:23 pm UTC
POD!!!!!!
Customer avatar
Charles B February 20, 2022 12:51 am UTC
POD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
See 16 more
Browse Categories
$ to $
 Follow Your Favorites!
NotificationsSign in to get custom notifications of new products!















Product Information
Mithral seller
Author(s)
Pages
64
Publisher Stock #
1011
File Size:
31.75 MB
Format
Scanned image Click for more information
Scanned image
These products were created by scanning an original printed edition. Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher.

For PDF download editions, each page has been run through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to attempt to decipher the printed text. The result of this OCR process is placed invisibly behind the picture of each scanned page, to allow for text searching. However, any text in a given book set on a graphical background or in handwritten fonts would most likely not be picked up by the OCR software, and is therefore not searchable. Also, a few larger books may be resampled to fit into the system, and may not have this searchable text background.

For printed books, we have performed high-resolution scans of an original hardcopy of the book. We essentially digitally re-master the book. Unfortunately, the resulting quality of these books is not as high. It's the problem of making a copy of a copy. The text is fine for reading, but illustration work starts to run dark, pixellating and/or losing shades of grey. Moiré patterns may develop in photos. We mark clearly which print titles come from scanned image books so that you can make an informed purchase decision about the quality of what you will receive.
pixel_trans.gif
Original electronic format
These ebooks were created from the original electronic layout files, and therefore are fully text searchable. Also, their file size tends to be smaller than scanned image books. Most newer books are in the original electronic format. Both download and print editions of such books should be high quality.
File Information
Watermarked PDF Click for more information
Watermarked PDF

These PDF files are digitally watermarked to signify that you are the owner. A small message is added to the bottom of each page of the PDF containing your name and the order number of your purchase.

Warning: If any files bearing your information are found being distributed illegally, then your account will be suspended and legal action may be taken against you.

Here is a sample of a page from a watermarked title:

File Last Updated:
October 31, 2013
This title was added to our catalog on July 16, 2013.