Just got my first copy of Holmes basic. Just the book, not the entire box with B1 or B2. It is fun to read the system and compare/contrast to the other early editions.
Very fun, and super deadly to play RAW. I ran several months of weekly, online play with four players. I used the Monster and Treasure Assortment Set 1, and random maps created on davesmapper.com - Dave's Mapper The PC body count was on par with a DCC funnel! We had one PC that made it halfway to 2nd level, and considered it a major success.
Funny you mention the lethality angle, Shawn Sanford - that and the low power level is why I like Holmes not just as a Basic set, but as a self-contained / standalone system for low-powered swords & sorcery gaming (low power in the sense of intentionally capped at 3rd level, akin to the capped-at-6th-level "Epic 6" concept for 3.x). Great stuff.
Andy C I have heard some other people mention the same thing, and it is something I keep in mind: hitting level 3 is the end of the campaign etc. I'll play it be ear, but it will likely depend more on the players interests.
David Ferguson Beautiful condition! I hope it didn't set you back too much, but it certainly is worth it anyway! My cat coughed a hairball or bezoar or something onto mine when I was 10 and the stomach acid obliterated the cover image. But the interior contents were still intact, and I still treasure the same book 38 years later.
Andy C About Holmes as a great low-power swords & sorcery standalone system- Yes! Bryce Lynch of tenfootpole dot org often points out the sad contortions that designers undergo to gimp high level characters and their magic in their adventures, when if they had just designed for levels 1-3 they could have imbued the adventure with more of a sense of risk, spurred players' resourcefulness, etc.
It's a lovely beast : )
ReplyDeleteAmazing.
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ReplyDeleteVery fun, and super deadly to play RAW. I ran several months of weekly, online play with four players. I used the Monster and Treasure Assortment Set 1, and random maps created on davesmapper.com - Dave's Mapper The PC body count was on par with a DCC funnel! We had one PC that made it halfway to 2nd level, and considered it a major success.
ReplyDeleteFunny you mention the lethality angle, Shawn Sanford - that and the low power level is why I like Holmes not just as a Basic set, but as a self-contained / standalone system for low-powered swords & sorcery gaming (low power in the sense of intentionally capped at 3rd level, akin to the capped-at-6th-level "Epic 6" concept for 3.x). Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteShawn Sanford I am not familiar with Dave's Mapper, but will check it out. My intent is to run some games on discord.
ReplyDeleteAndy C I have heard some other people mention the same thing, and it is something I keep in mind: hitting level 3 is the end of the campaign etc. I'll play it be ear, but it will likely depend more on the players interests.
ReplyDeleteDavid Ferguson "That's good. You've taken your first step into a larger world" ☺️👍
ReplyDeleteDavid Ferguson Beautiful condition! I hope it didn't set you back too much, but it certainly is worth it anyway! My cat coughed a hairball or bezoar or something onto mine when I was 10 and the stomach acid obliterated the cover image. But the interior contents were still intact, and I still treasure the same book 38 years later.
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ReplyDeleteAndy C About Holmes as a great low-power swords & sorcery standalone system- Yes! Bryce Lynch of tenfootpole dot org often points out the sad contortions that designers undergo to gimp high level characters and their magic in their adventures, when if they had just designed for levels 1-3 they could have imbued the adventure with more of a sense of risk, spurred players' resourcefulness, etc.
ReplyDeleteDavid Ferguson Awesome, man. It really is an interesting edition of the game. Very worthy pick-up.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it David. I played 3 characters at first, but my dungeon master was very easy. Karel, sorry about the acid damage.
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