BX ‘

BX Player s Guide
Fantasy Adventure Game Rules for Players

e
fil
e
pl
m
Sa

Pacesetter
G A M E S & S I M U L A T I O N S
Sa
m
pl
e
fil
e
 BX Player’s Guide

Contents

e
Forward ...................................................... 4
Introduction ............................................... 5

fil
Character Creation .................................... 6-14
Sample Character ...................................... 15
Character Classes/Races ........................... 16-43
Spells, Arcane & Clerical .......................... 44-45
Spell Charts ................................................ 46-50

e Spell Descriptions ...................................... 51-99

Turning Undead, Example ....................... 100
pl
Character Sheet .......................................... 101-102

Pacesetter Game & Simulations

2699 Katie Lane
Milford, Michigan 48380
m

pacesettergames.com

BX Player’s Handbook
Product Number: 9002
First Print, August 2019

©2019, Pacesetter Games & Simulations

Sa

Credits
Designer: Bill Barsh
Project Manager: Ben Barsh
Cover Illustrator: Raven Evermoor
Interior Illustrations: Al Cook, Matt Costanzo,
Luigi Castellani
 FORWARD

The Secret Origin of

Basic & Expert Dungeons & Dragons

e
Making Dungeons & Dragons playable right out of the fied whole. I think everybody did a great job on that
box, without anyone teaching you, was my (unspoken) front, and it’s some of the work I remain proudest of to

fil
personal goal for D&D when TSR hired me to be an edi- this day.
tor in September of 1980. Perhaps not coincidentally, that Production’s final job was to oversee the art, typeset-
was also the aim of TSR’s whole creative division, espe- ting, and the rest of it all the way through final print-
cially those of us in the Production Department (which is ing. More than once, on Basic & Expert, that meant arriv-
what TSR called Editorial back then). ing at the printing plant before dawn, proofing, editing,
I’m sure that TSR’s upper management was happy with and sometimes rewriting material as it came out of the
playability being an objective for what people now call typesetting machine, and then getting the pages pasted
the Moldvay/Cook edition of D&D, too, but they also had up and made into printing plates, before finally returning
another desire: to distinguish Dungeons & Dragons from at home late at night.

e
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, for legal reasons. My
memory is that they wanted to separate Gary Gygax’s
royalties for AD&D from those of Dave Arneson for
“just” D&D.
Sometime during all that madness, I wrote the back-
cover copy for both boxes — and almost got fired for
spelling out the word “and” in Dungeons & Drag-
ons. Nobody had told Production—or anybody in the
pl
This meant that those of us working on Basic & Expert Creative Division—that TSR had only trademarked the
D&D, from designers Tom Moldvay and Zeb Cook name with an ampersand! Once that little goof was fixed,
(misleadingly dubbed “editors” in the credits) on down, though, Basic & Expert hit the stores and the rest, as the
could only use ideas and rules introduced in the original, tale says, is gaming history.
small-format D&D books—and not use anything from So, now there’s a new edition of the game based on the
AD&D. This was incredibly restrictive but also conversely work that Tom and Zeb and all of us worked on so hard
m

freeing, because we could then create new ideas to re- nearly 40 years ago.
place the things we couldn’t use from AD&D. I think I speak for everyone involved in the originals
So, Tom and Zeb put their hearts and souls into work- when I say that we hope y’all enjoy this version just as
ing with both old and new to produce what many con- much as you enjoyed the original. You might even keep
sider to be the best version of D&D ever. They then these books on your gaming shelf next to your beloved
turned Basic & Expert over to Development (Devo) to Moldvay/Cook Basic & Expert Dungeons & Dragons!
make sure the whole game (still) worked, and then Devo
Sa

turned it over to Production (Editorial) to make all that Happy Adventuring!

cool material into a printable game. Basic & Expert was an
“All Hands on Deck!” project, and the whole Creative
Division housed above the Dungeon Hobby Shop
(including the Art Department) gave it our best.
Production at the time was headed by Harold Johnson
and included Frank Mentzer, Jon Pickens, Ed Sollers, Pat- Stephen D. Sullivan
rick Price, and me. As I said up top, every one of us was Editor, Artist, Map Maker, Designer, Author
dedicated to making Basic & Expert playable right out of April 2019
the box. To that end, Production/Editorial had to do quite
a bit of editing and rearranging, not only to make the
game(s) easy to read and use, but also to meld Tom and
Zeb’s somewhat different game approaches into one uni-

4 Pacesetter Games & Simulations ©2019 BX Player’s Guide

 INTRODUCTION

When I first formed Pacesetter Games & Simulations, I modules—solo adventures that let you map as you go.
had one purpose: create and publish adventure modules No invisible ink, no red-light readers, just straight-up
for the Dungeons & Dragons game system— specifically, mapping. We created the first adventure series that lets

e
B/X D&D. My first module was T1 The Thing in the Val- you start your adventure with D&D characters, then
ley. The module was printed and made available in late travel through time to the ages of Boot Hill, Top Secret,
October 2009 and it sold out in 24 hours. I was floored and Gamma World—all the while the players use the
and honored by the event. But it showed there was a hun- same characters and following a campaign-style story arc.

fil
gry and passionate market for this type of adventure. We With this in mind, we launched the idea of the BX
produced two modules over the next few months and just RPG—a re-mastering of the original Basic and Expert
like T1, they both sold out in less than a day. 10 years sets. And by re-mastering, we mean expanding and inno-
later, five or more printings later, we still produce and vating. To create a natural evolution of the game based on
sell these adventures. This is a testament to the B/X all the core rules of the original. Sure, TSR created
player. As we continued to produce new products, we BECMI, but in my opinion, as great as it is, BECMI is just
were besieged with requests to make our products fit the another version of Basic / Expert—one that lost some of
AD&D game system and we did just that. After all, the that vibe created by Moldvay, Cook, Marsh, Sullivan,

e
systems were very similar and to be perfectly clear, many
of the original manuscripts for our later adventures were
already designed using the AD&D system. Our first three
modules were specifically designed using B/X back in the
among others. We did not want to completely re-write
Basic / Expert; we decided to bring it into modern RPG
world, but without redesigning its core rules. In short, we
hoped to create a B/X game that if it was not released in
pl
1980s, and the The Thing in the Valley manuscript was 1980, could be released today. That means adding some
actually purchased by TSR back in 1981, but didn’t sur- character classes, adding some additional abilities for all
vive the end of the B/X system, as BECMI arrived. the classes, adding spells, magical-items, monsters, and
In the years that have followed, we at Pacesetter have more. Yet, with all these additions, you can use these
produced more than 50 adventure modules, several books to run all of those classic TSR adventure modules
boxed sets, digest adventures, and more. In that time, I as written.
have always wanted to return B/X—my favorite D&D This was our goal. I truly hope you find these books a
m

game system. This past year, I decided that it was time to fit for your game table. The Basic / Expert game system
publish a string of adventures that are sequels to those deserves a place in the modern world of RPGs. Not just
original adventures as well as mini-campaign that was because of its legendary heritage, but because it is a great
written back in the 1980s using the B/X system. game that stands on its own, even today, 40 years later.
Therefore, Pacesetter would expand its B/X adventure Lastly, what you will not find in these books are in-
line up as well as producing some conversions of our solo structions for the new gamer. We designed these books
Sa

modules. But the original B/X rule books are getting for those of you who are already experienced in RPGs.
harder and harder to find. There are some great retro Whether you ever played Basic / Expert is irrelevant. If
clones out there, but just not our vision. We hatched the you know how to play an RPG or create a character, you
idea of printing up a revision of the B/X system in will find these books easy to use, and hopefully, intuitive
Player’s Guide and Dungeon Guide formats. The books and fun!
were compiled and tested. We were not considering the
creation of a whole new game, just easy access to the All the best,
original rules in a slightly easier-to-use format.
Then we completely changed our minds. We liked the
two books but they seemed lacking. At Pacesetter, we
Bill Barsh
Pacesetter Games & Simulations
pride ourselves on innovation and, in particular, taking
what is old and “Pacesettering” it. More than a face-lift or
clone, but a re-mastering and expansion based on the core
of the original concept. That is why we created our solo

5 Pacesetter Games & Simulations ©2019 BX Player’s Guide

 CHARACTERS - ABILITY SCORES STEP 1

Character Ability Scores magical or physical. Dwarf characters typically have high
Each character has six ability scores that are randomly constitution scores, though it is not a prime requisite of
generated by rolling 3d6 for each score. There are several any class.

e
methods that can be used to generate these scores
(detailed below). The ability scores are Strength, Intelli- Charisma: Charisma is a measure of a characters appear-
gence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma. ance—generally in physical terms, but also how well he
Ability scores determine the basic statistical values of can communicate with others. It also affects a character’s

fil
each character— i.e. how much the character can lift or ability to lead others (such as henchmen or retainers) as
carry, how many languages the character can learn, etc. well affecting morale of the same. Charisma can affect
Furthermore, each character has a prime requisite (or how a monster reacts (called reaction) to simply seeing a
two) which specifically increases that character’s prowess character.
in their chosen character class.
Generating Ability Scores
Strength: Strength defines the character’s ability to per- As mentioned previously, an ability score is randomly
form acts that require physical feats such as lifting heavy generated by rolling 3d6. Each score, therefore, has a

e
objects, breaking down doors, melee combat, and thrown
missile combat. Characters with a strength score of 13 or
higher are excellent candidates for the fighter, dwarf,
halfling, elf, paladin, or ranger class.
value range of 3 to 18. The higher the score, the “better”
value for game play. An ability score of 3 represents the
lowest possible score and suffers the most penalties. A
score of 18 is, for the most part, the pinnacle. Any score
pl
above a 13 generates bonuses for the character, while a
Intelligence: Intelligence is the measure of a character’s score of 7 or less incurs penalties (directly related to that
ability to learn and use knowledge. It also determines the ability score). Each ability score has a corresponding chart
number of languages a character knows. Characters with that identifies bonuses and penalties.
an intelligence score of 13 or higher or excellent candi- While the simplest way to generate a character’s ability
dates for magic-user, elf, gnome, or necromancer class. score is to just roll 3d6 six times and record the results in
order, it is not the only way. Here are some options, albeit
m

Wisdom: Wisdom refers to the character’s ability to make others can be created by the Game Master (GM):
sound judgments and intuition. Not specifically related to
intelligence, wisdom helps characters make decisions and Roll and Place: This method allows the player to roll 3d6
solve problems. Characters with a wisdom score of 13 or six times and then place them in the ability of his choice.
higher make excellent clerics and paladins. This method allows the player to determine his class first
and then attempt to roll and place his attributes to make
Sa

Dexterity: Dexterity is a measure of speed, agility and the most of his class selection.
balance. It determines whether a character is clumsy or
agile. Dexterity also reflects how well a character manipu- Attribute Adjustment: The player rolls his 3d6 and places
lates his hands and appendages. Armor class and all them in order as rolled. He can then subtract one point
ranged missile combat is adjusted by high (and low) dex- from any ability score and add it to another. However, he
terity scores. Characters with a dexterity score of 13 or can only add a maximum of three points to any single
higher should consider the thief class. Also, halflings ability score and he cannot reduce any ability score below
benefit from high dexterity scores. a value of eight.

Constitution: Constitution is reflects a characters physi- Roll Four: The player rolls his 3d6 and places them in
cal, and somewhat mental, stability, fortitude, and endur- order as rolled. However, the player can roll 4d6
ance. A high constitution score grants characters addi- (selecting the highest three dice) for his character’s prime
tional hit points and ability to resist certain attacks— requisite score(s). No other adjustments are allowed.

6 Pacesetter Games & Simulations ©2019 BX Player’s Guide