Holmes Basic, Page By Page Part 3

  We've come to the title page on our journey through Holmes D&D, and my version of the manuscript is the third edition from December 1979.  According to the Zenopus Archives, my copy is the first printing of the third edition, and there are nine known printing runs, which is a testament to the popularity of the original Basic Set.  There are several changes made between editions, and I'll try to highlight these as we go along.

  The illustration on the title page is by David C. Sutherland III, and in my opinion it may just be the finest piece of old school D&D art ever created.  Blasphemy, I know, as Sutherland is widely considered a distant third to the likes of Trampier and Otus, but before you rile the local villagers into a frenzied mob to destroy my laboratory of obvious evil, hear me out.

  Composition wise is where everything goes wrong, and right at the same time.  You almost can't see the cleric (armor and mace, looks like a cleric to me) smiting the vile pig-faced orcs with extreme prejudice, as the fighter obscures most of the that action.  The wizard's spell also fades into the background, and is covered up by the cleric's mace.  There's so much going on, and everything gets in everything else's way.  But, if we look beyond the obvious flaws, there's more going on here than at first appears.

  We have three characters facing off against a horde of orcs, at least 18 by my count, and probably more that we can't see.  Two orcs are already dead, with a third apparently wounded enough he's having trouble getting up.  Notice the wounded fellows shield.  It's been through a beating, and shows signs of distress, unlike all the other shields wielded by orcs. 

  The characters have positioned themselves defensively, ready for a fighting withdrawal up the stairs, a tactic that has reduced the orcs numerical advantage.  The wizard has ascended the stairs so he can fire over the front rank, and is using that column as partial cover!  He's also firing into the middle ranks, helping to disrupt their charge.  These are players who know how to use tactics to their benefit.

  Dungeons and Dragons is a thinking man's game.  Brute strength alone will not win the day, one must use their wits to survive and prosper.  Sutherland has encapsulated that concept into the art, and that's his great strength as an artist, no matter how simple his drawings may appear. 

Holmes Basic, Page By Page, Part 2

  Onward in our journey into Holmes Basic, we come to something that was never meant to be there, the cardboard insert with chits, provided because of a lack of available polyhedral dice.  My copy has the insert, but the chits are no longer there.  Here's a scan of the insert, including a coupon to get a free set of dice (a $1.50 retail value, please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery).  

  When Holmes Basic was published, 1977 to 1980, polyhedral dice were something of a novelty, and TSR had some trouble maintaining a steady supply.  Many of the Basic Boxed Sets came without dice, and so a cardboard insert was added with cut-out chits to take the place of dice.  Instructions were provided on their use (see the pictures above) which also included how to use the dice once you had them. 

 

  Strangely for a set that was aimed towards beginners, John Eric Holmes provided no details on how these funny little pieces of polyhedral plastic were to be used.  The d20 was marked 0 to 9 twice, and was to be used as a d20, d10 and d%, but how was one new to the hobby supposed to know that?  It's a glaring mistake on JEH's part, and TSR, and details on the dice had to be added to the back of the last page, plus on the chit insert.  

Holmes Basic, Page By Page, Part 1

  My introduction to Dungeons and Dragons was through the classic B/X sets in 1981.  There was a dim realization that an earlier version of the game existed, but I only caught a glimpse it once before the advent of the interwebs.  I think it would be fun and informative to look over the Holmes version of the rules,  something I've never really had a chance to do before.  Thanks to the magic of Ebay, I have a nice copy of Holmes'  rulebook, though it didn't come with the box.

 
  As in anything, you should always start at the beginning, this being the box itself.  The dimensions of the box are just about identical to my beloved B/X versions, and it's a kind of Golden Ratio for old-school goodness.  For gamers older than I am who started with the LBB's, it may not evoke the same feelings, but for me, anything that comes in that size box just feels right. 

  The cover artwork, while not as powerful as Erol Otus' masterpiece on the 1981 Basic Set box, does what it is supposed to, namely pique your interest and depict what the game is succinctly.  We have a dungeon, a dragon, treasure, and a pair of (outclassed, it seems) adventurers.  The work is by David C. Sutherland III, and is one of his better pieces, though even his lesser works still speak to me more than most contemporary fantasy art.

  More to come...

   Bonus!  Here's a full-size version of the box artwork without the text!  Enjoy!