Dungeons & Dragons vs Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (Holmes)
Compare Dungeons & Dragons and Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (Holmes) side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons | Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (Holmes) | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Vancian Casting, Ascending AC | Classic Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Resource Management, Random Character Creation, Deadly, Vancian Casting, Descending AC, Map-Drawing |
| Core Mechanic | Make a D20 Test by rolling d20, adding relevant modifiers, and comparing the total to a target number. Ability checks, saving throws, and attack rolls use this procedure. Advantage and disadvantage use two d20s and keep the higher or lower result. | Roll 1d20 and meet or exceed the target supplied by the attack or saving-throw table. Exploration, reactions, thief abilities, doors, and treasure use separate d6 or percentile procedures rather than one universal action rule. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | Very High | Very Low |
| Runnability | Very High | Low |
| License | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | Unavailable |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast | Tactical Studies Rules |
| Year | 2024 | 1977 |
| Languages | English, French, Italian, German, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want heroic fantasy with configurable tactical combat, broad character options, and campaigns that span multiple levels. | Groups who want a referee-led, map-and-torch dungeon campaign with low-level adventurers, treasure-driven advancement, tactical table-based combat, and room for improvised rulings. |
| Highlights | Advantage and disadvantage resolve common situational effects by selecting the higher or lower of two d20 rolls. Backgrounds, classes, subclasses, and feats distribute character choices across creation and advancement. Weapon Mastery gives qualifying weapon users distinct tactical effects without replacing the action economy. | Ten-minute turns make mapping, searching, light, rest, and wandering monsters central expedition pressures. Worked melee and referee-player examples demonstrate combat, formation, secret-door searches, and encounter pacing in context. The included Zenopus dungeon and removable reference tables provide a ready starting site and consolidated table aid. |
| Considerations | Spell preparation, spell slots, class features, and conditions create several interacting resources for players to track. High-level characters combine many spells and features, increasing adjudication work for the DM. Bastions add a separate downtime procedure for campaigns that use the stronghold rules. | The rulebook covers only the first three character levels and points longer campaigns toward Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Combat, saving throws, thief abilities, doors, traps, and reactions each use separate procedures instead of one task mechanic. Low hit points, poison, paralysis, and other severe effects can remove characters abruptly, and no current legal complete-core storefront was located. |