Wow, this takes me back. I played my first D&D game in 1981. Our DM was using the newly released (at the time) Moldvay-edited edition. The sense of adventure and mystery when drawing out my first dungeon on regular notebook paper (we didn't have any graph paper) with a good, old-fashioned #2 pencil (lots of erasures) was amazing. I'm not really familiar with the Blueholme rules, but this episode really took me back. Thanks!
I'm liking more and more the flatter stat D&D stuff. S&W, WBFMAG, Iron Falcon, Blueholme, it's all wonderful. no min-maxing, but also open to houseruling.
Very nice dedicated channel taking the time to take a scholarly approach to D&D! I have other vids on my watch list. I can definitely appreciate the time & commitment and love of D&D in a way you don't see often on RUclips. And thank you for the comment on my Holmes boxed set video. Happy retro gaming!
Great review cap. I like that you went in a bit deeper than I did on my Ol' Man Grognard review. BTW, Michael Thomas also did layout on Mazes and Perils, another Holmes clone, before this one. I think that gave him the impetus to do this fantastic product.
The disadvantage of separating weapon damage is that players will gravitate to the weapons with the best stats. By making all weapons d6, the player can customize the weapons their character carries without feeling penalized. The best option is to have special abilities that balance out the weapons. Higher damage = slower attack or poor parry. Lower damage = higher speed or parry.
Right, but what's happening here is that stats are not that big a factor with these rules. It can be a bit jarring when you first read it... but, its an interesting variation and worth a look!
Thanks so much for this review , I still play red box original dungeons and dragon with my two children and a group of their friends, going now to see where I can buy this set!
I started with Moldvay basic, and I played a fighter, KOTBL. Classic. When I went to by my own copy of D&D basic, I actually picked up the Holmes version because I liked Trampier's artwork better. Of course my friends were eager to point out that I had the 'wrong rules'. Ha! What did they know? The first scenario I ran as DM was the Tower of Zenopus!
Wow this was very interesting. Also the section about the weapon damages....actually I think I might like that system. So it is possible to do just as much damage with a dagger as a great sword but the chances are very low. So when it does happen it the dagger hit a vital organ or something.
I love the fact that Blueholme has official rules for playing ANY monster species as a player character. It really sets it apart from other ODND, B/X, ADND retro clones.
Thanks for the video Capt. The pod looks amazing. If I pick it up it will be one part of my collection. I've heard it said Holmes is the weaker of all the versions. Not sure why.
A lot of people focus on ability score bonuses as a measure of character strength. Holmes doesn't adhere to that at all. That doesn't mean that ability scores don't matter, they just are a focus of the game.
Great overview (as always). I've always been intrigued by the Magic Missile spell needing a roll to hit. I think I first heard of that in the Save or Die podcast. I have yet to play Holmes or a retro-clone that is based on it. I need to rectify that.
While it does need to roll to hit, it does 1d6+1 damage, which is pretty deadly. Also keep in mind, that given a week, and the right materials, a Magic-user can create his own scrolls. Thus, before a dungeon excursion, a M-U would be wise to spend a few weeks creating several scrolls. When I DM these things, I allow a M-U to start off with at least one scroll of every spell they can cast, which is how many DMs did it, and its mentioned in the rules I believe. In Blueholme, clerics can do the same with potions. Thus, these casters, while only having one spell slot, certainly could do more than that.
11:48 Wow! If I played in one of your campaigns, I'd always choose the quarterstaff as my weapon! 21d4 damage!! (might have to buy a few more d4s though) 😁
Love the content. Never played the blue box, I started back in 83 with the basic D&D red box-god what would I do to get a hold of those Original blue dice set... memories😀😀😀
@@Kunstdesfechtens My Holmes edition didnt even come with dice. They came with a cardstock numbers for each die that you would have to cut out. You then randomly drew one from a bowl or something as back (I got my set in 78) then you simply could not go out and buy D&D dice.
Very cool. I haven’t played in decades but I am interested in getting my son started. Actually he has been playing Hero Kids for years and has both an old school Monster Manual and Fiend Folio for the fun of looking at the creatures, but now that he is almost eleven, I think he may be ready to start playing a more complex game. I purchased the official starter set and their new kid focused books... but part of me wonders if the OSR scene is the better place to start kids out. I have a complete set of the first AD&D books for nostalgia mostly... but if I recall, when those came out is when I started losing interest in playing the game by the rules. For the next few years my friends and I used those books as only general guides for a very imaginative and loose game. When I lost that group and tried to play with others who were more strictly following the AD&D rules it was just not the same (I have learning differences and the study elements quickly became overly tedious when they had to be adhered to closely). So every time I tried to play after was a unpleasant as the rules spun out of control and you needed a whole bookshelf dedicated to the things we used to just do in our imaginations. The best experience I ever had with the rules was that awesome blue box of wonder that sucked me in so completely in the first place. Maybe it’s wrong to try to “re-create” that for my son... I mean fifth edition is supposed to be great and much more streamlined (that wouldn’t be hard from the little I saw of fourth edition), and that’s the game most people will be playing. I just had a thought... the blue box basic seemed like it was put together by people like us... a small business, one step above DIY. Maybe that’s part of what gave so many of us a sense that we could be like them and create our own adventures. It was like an invitation to join them in creation of worlds. Do these overly slick and costly fifth edition books extend the same welcome?
Great video as always :) The info on how initiative works is really interesting. I have been flirting with the idea of using the Greyhawk Initiative that was in a recent UA. I like that the players have to decide what they're going to do ahead of time, but I'd be worried about my players spending a lot of time planning for contingencies, thus slowing everything down.
Yeah, I read that and hated it right away. lol. As I said in the video, initiative is a record keeping task. It exists solely to allow the DM to set order to the combat round, and time dedicated to it should be minimal as possible. In my own games, I use a computer and roll ALL initiatives for both the pcs and the NPCs with 1 click. Combat goes extremely fast. The idea of having everyone declare, then roll a specific die based on their declarations makes my head hurt. Furthermore, combat being what it is, things might change as the combat progresses, that might nullify the declarations. At least in the UA version. In the Holmes version, that's not really an issue, as you don't have to default to a die roll.
Looking at this version, I have to say I haven't been as taken with an RPG book since I discovered DCC years ago. Yeah, I had Basic Fantasy and White Box before now, and those are great games, but the books for them can feel a little uptight and overly-serious at times. This game, in comparison, feels more laid back in tone. It's still unapologetically dangerous for the characters, but the book encourages the group to take it all in stride and have fun playing whatever characters they can hash out and reasonably justify at the table. You wanna play a low-level lich? Skeletal Magic-User. Done. You want a dragon man with a once-a-day breath weapon? You got it. You don't need 50 expansion books and a load of racial modifiers and strict, granular abilities. Just imagination, logic and some dice. Genius. Even the inherent mechanical differences give this game its own flavor. The fact that complex combat modifiers aren't really a thing, but the game uses multiplication and percentiles for the thief is hilarious and charming to me. It's taking a little bit to understand the system, but the different mechanics and light, but weird tone could very well make this game my preferred equivalent to B/X.
Great review, i'm also into OSR, i'm reading and hopefully playing Kevin Crawford's Godbound, by Sine nomine Publishing, it's amazing, give it a try it's free to download from drivethruRPG, and am also considering, the purchase of adventures in middle earth, to 5th ed from cubicle 7, keep it up game on
From reading the recent book about Holmes, ironically he didn't really even play with the holmes rulebook. He mainly used some old 3rd party supplements to D&D.
Kinda reminds me of how Gygax, Arneson nor any of the original TSR employees ever exactly ran D&D by the book either. Especially Arneson but the Gygax one surprises more people, because he's the one who brought AD&D to the world, but in practice he mainly used the original OD&D booklets with many houserules.
Back when I was a kid TSR had a spacefaring game and a spy game and I think maybe a western. Can anyone tell me the names of these games? I've been out collecting second edition dungeons and dragons that I've been using to play with my children. I would at least like to get my hands on the original box sets so I can delve into these other games as well. That's exceedingly hard without even knowing their names. Also in the late 80s it was a marvel comics box set as well. I believe that may have been TSR as well but I'm not sure. Please if anyone could point me in the right direction with the names I'd appreciate it.
@@captcorajus Now you mention it I actually watched that video, guess I'm getting old and forgot. I have the 3E of Hyperborea, it's amazing. But as I've gotten older and my life busier and my friends lives busier with jobs and kids and what not I find that not everyone has the time to read the rule set like me. (Yes I read rules books and settings for fun) So I've been leaning towards things like the white box and although it's not OSR something like DM Scotty's EZD6. Have you take a look at World's with out number and the recently releases atlas of the latter earth - kind of old school, Vancian type world and multitude of DM/GM/Referee tools!
I'm really starting to love your channel, but you need a better microphone and a higher bit rate my brother. The sound quality is just way too muffled. Consider it please.
Capt. what are you playing right now? would you consider recording a game session of your table as you play through some of these old school adventures?
Sunday we are playing 5E, Princes of the Apocalypse. Monday, I have another group, and we are playing 5E Primeval Thule, though this Monday we are playing Blueholme, the Necropolis of Neuroman. I've definitely considered recording and possibly doing a twitch stream, but I'd like to do that right, which means I need more cameras. So yea, its a possibility.
That depends on what you want. Are you looking for something for personal use? A google search is always useful in that regard. Are you looking for perhaps a published collection? Or are you looking for something for professional use? Pinerest has a massive list you can draw from. Professionally, you'd need to actually contact the artists if you wanted to use their art in a publication.
@7:30 Hmm, Holmes Basic doesn't have much to offer other than nostalgia, Moldvay is a much cleaner editio... good God, is that an alien bugman next to the human and dwarf??!
Its in the works. I finished the voice over editing for the 'Tomb of the Lizard King' video today, and that should be out tomorrow. At the same time, I've also finished the rough draft of the Tomb video. So that's certain to get recorded by the end of the week. The thing that takes the longest is adding the slides and syncing them to the voice over.
I love the fact that a highly successful neurosurgeon took the time to help write a D&D product to help people get into the game.
A psychopath one, judging by his article. Maybe he was responsible for the outcry that started the Satanic Panic.
Wow, this takes me back. I played my first D&D game in 1981. Our DM was using the newly released (at the time) Moldvay-edited edition. The sense of adventure and mystery when drawing out my first dungeon on regular notebook paper (we didn't have any graph paper) with a good, old-fashioned #2 pencil (lots of erasures) was amazing. I'm not really familiar with the Blueholme rules, but this episode really took me back. Thanks!
I'm liking more and more the flatter stat D&D stuff. S&W, WBFMAG, Iron Falcon, Blueholme, it's all wonderful. no min-maxing, but also open to houseruling.
Very nice dedicated channel taking the time to take a scholarly approach to D&D! I have other vids on my watch list. I can definitely appreciate the time & commitment and love of D&D in a way you don't see often on RUclips. And thank you for the comment on my Holmes boxed set video. Happy retro gaming!
I'm fairly new to RPGs, so I don't have the same nostalgia some might have, but wow is that artwork still evocative and inspiring!
C. Scott I was new a couple of years ago, so I just immersed myself in the old games and retroclones and old school RPG art.
You guys need to peek at Lamentations of the Flame Princess Grindhouse Edition!
Great review cap. I like that you went in a bit deeper than I did on my Ol' Man Grognard review.
BTW, Michael Thomas also did layout on Mazes and Perils, another Holmes clone, before this one. I think that gave him the impetus to do this fantastic product.
Darn tootin'!
Any video from the Capt is an automatic thumbs up! Thanks for the great content.
Oh wow. Thank you!! I hope to always live up that!
The disadvantage of separating weapon damage is that players will gravitate to the weapons with the best stats. By making all weapons d6, the player can customize the weapons their character carries without feeling penalized. The best option is to have special abilities that balance out the weapons. Higher damage = slower attack or poor parry. Lower damage = higher speed or parry.
Happy Day! Thank you Capt! This video was just the pick me up I needed.
You're welcome!
Im a Moldvay fan. A bit different stats 13-15+1, 16-17+2, 18+3. Different weapon damage,etc.
Right, but what's happening here is that stats are not that big a factor with these rules. It can be a bit jarring when you first read it... but, its an interesting variation and worth a look!
Thanks so much for this review , I still play red box original dungeons and dragon with my two children and a group of their friends, going now to see where I can buy this set!
I just found an original copy of Holms Basic D&D! So happy! Just kinda afraid to open the bag it's in until I get some gloves.
First D&D game I played was Keep on the Border Lands using AD&D rules. Fun stuff.
I started with Moldvay basic, and I played a fighter, KOTBL. Classic. When I went to by my own copy of D&D basic, I actually picked up the Holmes version because I liked Trampier's artwork better.
Of course my friends were eager to point out that I had the 'wrong rules'. Ha! What did they know? The first scenario I ran as DM was the Tower of Zenopus!
Wow this was very interesting. Also the section about the weapon damages....actually I think I might like that system. So it is possible to do just as much damage with a dagger as a great sword but the chances are very low. So when it does happen it the dagger hit a vital organ or something.
I love the fact that Blueholme has official rules for playing ANY monster species as a player character. It really sets it apart from other ODND, B/X, ADND retro clones.
it is time... I can play a dragon
Great review!
Best intro music on RUclips.
💕 .
I really want to learn everything i can about TTRPG'S from before the 2000s and OSR scene .
Thanks for the video Capt. The pod looks amazing. If I pick it up it will be one part of my collection. I've heard it said Holmes is the weaker of all the versions. Not sure why.
A lot of people focus on ability score bonuses as a measure of character strength. Holmes doesn't adhere to that at all.
That doesn't mean that ability scores don't matter, they just are a focus of the game.
So much fun to watch and sold me on this book. Thank you. Game On!
Hope you enjoy it!
Great overview (as always). I've always been intrigued by the Magic Missile spell needing a roll to hit. I think I first heard of that in the Save or Die podcast. I have yet to play Holmes or a retro-clone that is based on it. I need to rectify that.
While it does need to roll to hit, it does 1d6+1 damage, which is pretty deadly. Also keep in mind, that given a week, and the right materials, a Magic-user can create his own scrolls. Thus, before a dungeon excursion, a M-U would be wise to spend a few weeks creating several scrolls.
When I DM these things, I allow a M-U to start off with at least one scroll of every spell they can cast, which is how many DMs did it, and its mentioned in the rules I believe.
In Blueholme, clerics can do the same with potions. Thus, these casters, while only having one spell slot, certainly could do more than that.
Great point about scrolls and potions.
More OSR product content reviews please!
11:48 Wow! If I played in one of your campaigns, I'd always choose the quarterstaff as my weapon! 21d4 damage!! (might have to buy a few more d4s though)
😁
Lol... never noticed my own typo before. Good eye!!!
Thanks for another (!) great video. I really appreciate your thoughtful approach to the history and development of fantasy RPGs.
Quarterstaff 21d4! Staff of Caltrops' Doom! Painful irl also, watch your feet during the night, OUCH!
Love the content. Never played the blue box, I started back in 83 with the basic D&D red box-god what would I do to get a hold of those Original blue dice set... memories😀😀😀
suanniiq I managed to score basic sets (both Holmes and Moldvay) with original dice over the years. The blue Moldvay dice weren't even opened!
Kunstdesfechtens that’s an awesome story, and a great find!!!!
@@Kunstdesfechtens My Holmes edition didnt even come with dice. They came with a cardstock numbers for each die that you would have to cut out. You then randomly drew one from a bowl or something as back (I got my set in 78) then you simply could not go out and buy D&D dice.
Meepo's companion is great.
I quite like the worst vs best roll for heavier weapons. Adds an extra element to PC decision mechanics
I rate this video a 'Natural 20'. A Critical Hit!
Thanks!!
Very cool. I haven’t played in decades but I am interested in getting my son started. Actually he has been playing Hero Kids for years and has both an old school Monster Manual and Fiend Folio for the fun of looking at the creatures, but now that he is almost eleven, I think he may be ready to start playing a more complex game. I purchased the official starter set and their new kid focused books... but part of me wonders if the OSR scene is the better place to start kids out. I have a complete set of the first AD&D books for nostalgia mostly... but if I recall, when those came out is when I started losing interest in playing the game by the rules. For the next few years my friends and I used those books as only general guides for a very imaginative and loose game. When I lost that group and tried to play with others who were more strictly following the AD&D rules it was just not the same (I have learning differences and the study elements quickly became overly tedious when they had to be adhered to closely). So every time I tried to play after was a unpleasant as the rules spun out of control and you needed a whole bookshelf dedicated to the things we used to just do in our imaginations. The best experience I ever had with the rules was that awesome blue box of wonder that sucked me in so completely in the first place. Maybe it’s wrong to try to “re-create” that for my son... I mean fifth edition is supposed to be great and much more streamlined (that wouldn’t be hard from the little I saw of fourth edition), and that’s the game most people will be playing. I just had a thought... the blue box basic seemed like it was put together by people like us... a small business, one step above DIY. Maybe that’s part of what gave so many of us a sense that we could be like them and create our own adventures. It was like an invitation to join them in creation of worlds. Do these overly slick and costly fifth edition books extend the same welcome?
Great video as always :)
The info on how initiative works is really interesting. I have been flirting with the idea of using the Greyhawk Initiative that was in a recent UA. I like that the players have to decide what they're going to do ahead of time, but I'd be worried about my players spending a lot of time planning for contingencies, thus slowing everything down.
Yeah, I read that and hated it right away. lol. As I said in the video, initiative is a record keeping task. It exists solely to allow the DM to set order to the combat round, and time dedicated to it should be minimal as possible.
In my own games, I use a computer and roll ALL initiatives for both the pcs and the NPCs with 1 click. Combat goes extremely fast. The idea of having everyone declare, then roll a specific die based on their declarations makes my head hurt.
Furthermore, combat being what it is, things might change as the combat progresses, that might nullify the declarations. At least in the UA version.
In the Holmes version, that's not really an issue, as you don't have to default to a die roll.
Looking at this version, I have to say I haven't been as taken with an RPG book since I discovered DCC years ago. Yeah, I had Basic Fantasy and White Box before now, and those are great games, but the books for them can feel a little uptight and overly-serious at times.
This game, in comparison, feels more laid back in tone. It's still unapologetically dangerous for the characters, but the book encourages the group to take it all in stride and have fun playing whatever characters they can hash out and reasonably justify at the table. You wanna play a low-level lich? Skeletal Magic-User. Done. You want a dragon man with a once-a-day breath weapon? You got it. You don't need 50 expansion books and a load of racial modifiers and strict, granular abilities. Just imagination, logic and some dice. Genius.
Even the inherent mechanical differences give this game its own flavor. The fact that complex combat modifiers aren't really a thing, but the game uses multiplication and percentiles for the thief is hilarious and charming to me.
It's taking a little bit to understand the system, but the different mechanics and light, but weird tone could very well make this game my preferred equivalent to B/X.
*Please do review as many OSR & TTRPG'S from before the 1990s .*
Damn, 21d4 damage from a quarter staff... Seriously, though, great video.
Great review, i'm also into OSR, i'm reading and hopefully playing Kevin Crawford's Godbound, by Sine nomine Publishing, it's amazing, give it a try it's free to download from drivethruRPG, and am also considering, the purchase of adventures in middle earth, to 5th ed from cubicle 7, keep it up game on
Whoa, a new video, amazing!
From reading the recent book about Holmes, ironically he didn't really even play with the holmes rulebook. He mainly used some old 3rd party supplements to D&D.
Do you have a link to direct me to this book?
Kinda reminds me of how Gygax, Arneson nor any of the original TSR employees ever exactly ran D&D by the book either. Especially Arneson but the Gygax one surprises more people, because he's the one who brought AD&D to the world, but in practice he mainly used the original OD&D booklets with many houserules.
Nice video. I'd like to hear your thoughts on Adventurer Conqueror King by Autarch.
This was my first set in 1980.
Back when I was a kid TSR had a spacefaring game and a spy game and I think maybe a western. Can anyone tell me the names of these games? I've been out collecting second edition dungeons and dragons that I've been using to play with my children. I would at least like to get my hands on the original box sets so I can delve into these other games as well. That's exceedingly hard without even knowing their names. Also in the late 80s it was a marvel comics box set as well. I believe that may have been TSR as well but I'm not sure. Please if anyone could point me in the right direction with the names I'd appreciate it.
Star Frontiers, Boot Hill and Top Secret. I had them all. :)
captcorajus thank you friend do you recommend them?
@@wolfandfx8846 Star Frontiers is awesome and is available for POD that Drivethru rpg.
I just rewatched this today. I recently picked up Blueholme Prentice rules. My guess is that is just a starter set in comparison to Journeyman?
Looks awesome!
It is!
Very nice review as always.
What is your favourite OSR rule set @captiancorajus?
I actually did a video on that. But its the Hyperboria RPG from Northwind Adventures.
@@captcorajus Now you mention it I actually watched that video, guess I'm getting old and forgot. I have the 3E of Hyperborea, it's amazing. But as I've gotten older and my life busier and my friends lives busier with jobs and kids and what not I find that not everyone has the time to read the rule set like me. (Yes I read rules books and settings for fun) So I've been leaning towards things like the white box and although it's not OSR something like DM Scotty's EZD6. Have you take a look at World's with out number and the recently releases atlas of the latter earth - kind of old school, Vancian type world and multitude of DM/GM/Referee tools!
A combination of some good ideas and some bad ones. I think Old School Essentials of Basic Fantasy would suit my style better.
what campaign would you pair with this book?
Mystara
Is this rule set compatible with BX and BECMI modules?
Yes
Still waiting on those Traphouse Guccimane rules.
lol
I'm really starting to love your channel, but you need a better microphone and a higher bit rate my brother. The sound quality is just way too muffled. Consider it please.
Already done
11:52 Quarter staff doing 21d4 is a bit much, don't you think?
I'm sad that this review doesn't include a score because I just discovered this rule and I love how it is both simple and amazing
Capt. what are you playing right now? would you consider recording a game session of your table as you play through some of these old school adventures?
Sunday we are playing 5E, Princes of the Apocalypse. Monday, I have another group, and we are playing 5E Primeval Thule, though this Monday we are playing Blueholme, the Necropolis of Neuroman.
I've definitely considered recording and possibly doing a twitch stream, but I'd like to do that right, which means I need more cameras. So yea, its a possibility.
Capt. can you recommend a source for getting a collection of this and other old school RPG art? Your videos are top notch, Im a big fan of yours!
That depends on what you want. Are you looking for something for personal use? A google search is always useful in that regard. Are you looking for perhaps a published collection? Or are you looking for something for professional use?
Pinerest has a massive list you can draw from.
Professionally, you'd need to actually contact the artists if you wanted to use their art in a publication.
I was thinking more of a personal collection. Perhaps a book with the old school art work.
Maybe I'm wrong but it seems Drivethrurpg only has a pdf on this collection. Is this available in hardcopy?
I just ordered the hard copies from lulu. Cheers.
The hard and soft cover copies are available as POD at LuLu
Holmes had the superior alignment system and Elves had better chance of finding secret doors.
which dragon magazines are those in your video?
@7:30 Hmm, Holmes Basic doesn't have much to offer other than nostalgia, Moldvay is a much cleaner editio... good God, is that an alien bugman next to the human and dwarf??!
You're completely entitled to your WRONG opinion! :)
Who was the writer for this game
Michael Thomas
@@captcorajus ok thanks
Where is that tomb video captain 😀🐲🐲
Its in the works. I finished the voice over editing for the 'Tomb of the Lizard King' video today, and that should be out tomorrow. At the same time, I've also finished the rough draft of the Tomb video. So that's certain to get recorded by the end of the week. The thing that takes the longest is adding the slides and syncing them to the voice over.
captcorajus excellent ! 👍👍 love your videos 🐲🐲