{"product_id":"hardcover-dungeons-and-dragons-rules-cyclopedia-basic-becmi","title":"HARDCOVER Dungeons and Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (Basic) BECMI","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Western;\"\u003e👉\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis HARDCOVER reprint is an unread casewrap bound copy that is made to order. Any foldout maps (if any) that were included in the original print are separated and bound all together as 8.5 x 11 inch pages.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Western;\"\u003e👉🏼These reprints are made to order. Please allow 1-2 weeks for your order to ship. A tracking number will be provided when your order ships.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Western;\"\u003e👉🏽These reprints are fully licensed by Wizards of the Coast and printed on demand from original edition scans or digital files (if available). Please allow 1-2 weeks for your order to ship. A tracking number will be provided when your order ships.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #333333;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Western;\"\u003e👉🏾All orders are packaged safely in boxes for shipping.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #333333; font-family: Western;\"\u003e👉🏿All books ship for FREE and thus have FREE combined shipping!\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #333333; font-family: Western;\"\u003e📧Please get in touch if you want a particular title! TSR, WOTC, R. Talsorian and more are available!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eWhether you're a player or a Dungeon Master, the \u003cem\u003eDungeons \u0026amp; Dragons Rules Cyclopedia\u003c\/em\u003e is now the comprehensive sourcebook you need for the original fantasy roleplaying game! For ages 12 and up, the \u003cem\u003eCyclopedia\u003c\/em\u003e contains the compete game system and hundreds of features, including the following:\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eAll the rules from the D\u0026amp;D boxed set series, including Basic, Expert, Companion, and Masters\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eGuidelines to develop and play characters from levels 1-36\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eComprehensive lists of weaponry and equipment\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eExpansion rules including optional skills and talents\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eAn overview of the Known World and the HOLLOW WORLD game setting, the official D\u0026amp;D campaign world; and Rules to convert D\u0026amp;D games and characters into AD\u0026amp;D 2nd edition game statistics and back again\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eFully compatible with the new DUNGEONS \u0026amp; DRAGONS Boxed Set, this volume allows players the full scope of fantasy role-playing from dungeons to the Outer Planes. Now, more than ever, the DUNGEON \u0026amp; DRAGONS game is ready and waiting for you.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003e*****\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eProduct History\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eDungeons \u0026amp; Dragons Rules Cyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e (1991), compiled and developed by Aaron Allston was the triumphant finale to the BECMI edition of D\u0026amp;D (1983-85). It was published in November 1991.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe End of Basic D\u0026amp;D.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e By 1991, Basic D\u0026amp;D was TSR's longest running roleplaying line. TSR traced the history of the game back to the release of the original D\u0026amp;D (1974). Even if you don't count that, the first game labeled as Basic D\u0026amp;D - the J. Eric Holmes Basic Set (July 1977) - appeared five months prior to the release of AD\u0026amp;D's \u003ci\u003eMonster Manual\u003c\/i\u003e (December 1977). It had since undergone two major revisions: the Tom Moldvay \u003ca\u003eD\u0026amp;D Basic Set\u003c\/a\u003e (1981), which was part of the B\/X release, and which kicked off Basic D\u0026amp;D in its modern form; and the the Frank Mentzer D\u0026amp;D Basic Rules Set (1983), which was the first book in the BECMI revision. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eBasic D\u0026amp;D had sold incredibly well at first, back in the late 70s and early 80s. Thanks in large part to the extensive publicity that D\u0026amp;D received from the James Egbert affair, new players were flocking to try out the game, and most of them went to TSR's introductory game - Basic D\u0026amp;D. That interest was in large part what led to the creation of the B\/X and BECMI editions of the game, each of which expanded Basic D\u0026amp;D to allow for even more long-term play.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eUnfortunately for Basic D\u0026amp;D, the pendulum began to swing toward AD\u0026amp;D as time went on. By the mid-80s, when popular books like \u003ci\u003eUnearthed Arcana\u003c\/i\u003e (1985) and \u003ci\u003eOriental Adventures\u003c\/i\u003e (1985) were released, AD\u0026amp;D was clearly in ascendency, and Basic D\u0026amp;D was increasingly becoming the unwelcome relative who'd overstayed its welcome. The B-series (\"Basic\") adventures largely ended in 1985. The rest of the BECMI coded adventures finished up in 1987; other than the production of two final introductory adventures, \u003ca\u003eB11: \"King's Festival\"\u003c\/a\u003e (1989) and \u003ca\u003eB12: \"Queen's Harvest\"\u003c\/a\u003e (1989) a few years later. The \"GAZ\" line of Known World setting books then stumbled to a halt in 1991, with just one book published in each of the last years.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eAlthough there were some new efforts like the \"DDA\" adventures (1990-91) and the Hollow World Setting (1990-92), it was clear that Basic D\u0026amp;D's flame was quickly fading.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Black Box and a Hardcover Book.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e TSR tried to revive Basic D\u0026amp;D one last time in 1991 with a pair of new rules releases. The first was \u003ci\u003eThe New Easy to Master Dungeons \u0026amp; Dragons Game\u003c\/i\u003e (1991), called alternatively the \"Black Box edition,\" the \"fifth edition,\" and \"ten-seventy\" (its product code, 1070) internally at TSR. It was a boxed D\u0026amp;D set that TSR described as \"the first truly introductory version\" of the game (as they had with every other \"Basic\" version of the game). The Black Box used cards to teach the game, something that had been advocated by Lorraine Williams based on the SRA reading programs (1957).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eThe Black Box is reported to have sold quickly and well. Approximately a half-million copies were purchased worldwide. It was also supplemented by a set of adventures that were almost boardgame-like with their colorful dungeon maps and figures. Unfortunately, the Black Box had one problem, the same problem that D\u0026amp;D \"Basic\" sets always had: it was limited in level, though it actually went up to 5th level, a bit higher than Basic's 3rd-level standard.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eThis limitation dovetailed nicely into TSR's other major plan for Basic D\u0026amp;D in 1991. Though the BECMI set of Basic D\u0026amp;D rules had always been well received, \u003ci\u003eeveryone\u003c\/i\u003e thought it was quite troublesome to go through seven booklets totaling 368 pages when trying to track down a specific spell or magic item. Thus TSR decided to compile all of the rules into one hardcover book. The \u003ci\u003eRules Cyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e was the result - and it also offered somewhere for the Black Box players to go when they finished with fifth level.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eIronically, this was reportedly the exact same setup that Gygax had planned for the J. Eric Holmes Basic Set and also for AD\u0026amp;D, way back in 1977.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Compilation.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e The \u003ci\u003eRules Cyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e is a compilation of the D\u0026amp;D Basic Rules Set (1983), the D\u0026amp;D Expert Rules Set (1983), the D\u0026amp;D Companion Rules (1984), and the D\u0026amp;D Master Rules (1985). It contains not only the rules from those boxed sets, but also the monsters, making the \u003ci\u003eCyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e one of two great sources for Basic D\u0026amp;D monsters, the other being the \u003ci\u003eCreature Catalog\u003c\/i\u003e (1986, 1993). Rules for skills and magic item creation from the \"GAZ\" Gazetteers (1987-91) are also included, making the \u003ci\u003eCyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e a truly massive compilation of about a decade's worth of Basic D\u0026amp;D rules.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eImmortals Rules\u003c\/i\u003e (1986) are notably not included in the \u003ci\u003eCyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e, although it does contain seven pages from the Master Rules that include basic information for immortals, including rules on PCs ascending to those lofty ranks.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eRules on jousting in tournaments and on artifacts were also left out of the \u003ci\u003eCyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNot an Introductory Book!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e Unlike every other iteration of Basic D\u0026amp;D, this one was \u003ci\u003enot\u003c\/i\u003e intended to be an introductory roleplaying book. It was instead a reference for Basic D\u0026amp;D play, which matched TSR's thinking about the AD\u0026amp;D 2e rules.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eExpanding the Known World.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e The \u003ci\u003eCyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e doesn't expand the Known World in any notable way, but it does include a rather impressive atlas, featuring 16 full color maps, including the maps from the Gazetteers and the world maps from the Master Rules and the \u003ci\u003eHollow World Campaign Set\u003c\/i\u003e (1990).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFuture History.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e The Black Box rules and the \u003ci\u003eRules Cyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e got some joint support in the form of the \"Thunder Rift\" series of low-level adventures (1992-93). The \u003ci\u003eRules Cyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e also was supplemented with a few boxed releases, the most notable of which was \u003ci\u003eWrath of the Immortals\u003c\/i\u003e (1992), a new set of immortals rules.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003eHowever, after the Black Box was revised one more time as \u003ci\u003eThe Classic Dungeons \u0026amp; Dragons Game\u003c\/i\u003e (1994), all support for the line ended. After 22 years (or 19 if you prefer), Basic D\u0026amp;D was finally dead.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAbout the Creators.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e Though lots of people worked on the \u003ci\u003eRules Cyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e, the two most notable creators are Frank Mentzer, who wrote all the original boxes, and Aaron Allston, who led the \u003ci\u003eCyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e project. Mentzer had left TSR for New Infinities back in 1986, which was likely why he wasn't directly involved in this project. Allston didn't work for TSR at all, but instead had been a freelance RPG writer since 1983. Though he only tended to write one or two books for TSR each year, by the early 90s he was writing the biggest releases for Basic D\u0026amp;D, including the \u003ci\u003eHollow World Campaign Setting\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eD\u0026amp;D Rules Cyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eWrath of the Immortals\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Chaos Lord Games","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47290699120834,"sku":"ltR-804-3d","price":77.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0741\/0591\/3538\/files\/s-l1600_afdbac14-e8cd-43db-a5eb-b8db87da769a.png?v=1774706405","url":"https:\/\/chaoslordgames.com\/products\/hardcover-dungeons-and-dragons-rules-cyclopedia-basic-becmi","provider":"Chaos Lord Games","version":"1.0","type":"link"}