Quote from: Akrasia;514802There are some subtle, but I think important, differences between B/X D&D and BECMI (RC) D&D.

Do tell...

Quote from: CRKrueger;514831Do tell...

More in emphasis. Spell advancement is somewhat different in Cook/Marsh I believe a 6th level cleric has access to 4th level spells...

As a rule book Expert is brilliant. It really takes the world of Basic and expands it in all directions. The rules for travel, construction, followers, hirelings and retainers, construction, etc are great. Plus expanded magic monster lists. it's all good.

B/X is still my favorite edition of the game published to date.

Expert clerics DO rule. Check the spell progression charts compared to the Mentzer set ones. :jaw-dropping:

Cook/Marsh Expert takes everything that is a PITA out of high level play and leaves the good stuff.

There isn't a better version of D&D (especially for the page count) out there.

Oh, as for the game world, the expert set introduced The Known World which was an awesome map with a few notes about the major features leaving the rest to develop as you please. This later became the core of Mystara and spawned the Gazetteer series. While these are cool, you can easily run a full campaign without them.

There were a fair number of cool adventures for expert D&D in the early days of Dungeon mag.

I spent part of last night helping my son make a dungeon using the stocking tables in the basic book. I pulled a random geomorph map from Dave's Mapper and then we went through all the steps from designing a scenario on. It was cool. I really like the step by step instructions Moldvay provides on adventure creation.

In other news, Jeff37923 has offered to send me a copy of the expert book.

Thanks Man! I hope you don't mind me outing how awesome you are.

I've never actually read this edition.  I only had the Mentzer basics, and the RC.

The basic set box for this is not cheap.

Quote from: J Arcane;514934I've never actually read this edition.  I only had the Mentzer basics, and the RC.

The basic set box for this is not cheap.

I got the book for five USD at a used bookstore. The same place i got my  the Holmes box and book (no module) for 14 bucks.

Quote from: J Arcane;514934I've never actually read this edition.  I only had the Mentzer basics, and the RC.

The basic set box for this is not cheap.

The full intact box can be fairly expensive. The actual booklets sans box or dice can be had for very little:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0935696296/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&condition=all

I have enough B and X books for my entire group.  $3-$5 a pop on eBay.

Quote from: Akrasia;514802Instead, Mentzer re-wrote the Basic and Expert rules a couple of years later, and then the Companion and Masters rules.  A few years after the BECMI series was completed, Aaron Allston compiled the BECM rules into the Rules Companion..

You mean Rules Cyclopedia.

RPGPundit

Quote from: KenHR;514962I have enough B and X books for my entire group.  $3-$5 a pop on eBay.

Compared to how expensive Rules Cyclopedia is, that's nice.

Quote from: boulet;515140Compared to how expensive Rules Cyclopedia is, that's nice.

I got my Rules Cyclopedia in '95 or '96 at a used CD store(!!) for $12....

Quote from: Aos;514792How does LL compare to B/X in the flavor department; also does LL use ascending AC?

If you prefer Ascending AC, I recommend you get BFRPG. It's very similar to B/X, except for ascending AC and no race as class (any race can be any class in BFRPG).

Quote from: Aos;514917I really like the step by step instructions Moldvay provides on adventure creation.

There is a similar section for wilderness adventures in the Expert book. There is also a B/X companion which was created in the vein of B/X (hence it is quite different from the BECMI version).