So clerics now get fewer spells as they level up, but also have earlier access to sixth level spells similarly turning is slightly powered down while a new "D+" result is introduced, to destroy more undead than ever. This is one large, systemic change in the Expert Rules: all of the human character progressions are slowed down - though usually that's offered hand-in-hand with some new advantages. What a Difference an Edition Makes: Room to Grow. Many of them would make a return in X7: "The War Rafts of Kron" (1984). However, aquatic monsters also took a serious hit - perhaps because of the absence of aquatic fan Steve Marsh. Some higher-leveled monsters would return in the Companion Rules. Finally, one of his biggest changes was to the monster section, where he added the giant bass and insect swarms while cutting a dozen monsters. Mentzer also did away with the idea that anyone could find traps, offering better niche protection for thieves. Much of Mentzer's new material focused on the setting and on campaign design, but he also made any number of minor adjustments such as differentiating dwarf and halfling saving throws, updating wandering monster tables, changing weapon damage, and revamping encumbrance values. That's because Mentzer felt that Expert designer David "Zeb" Cook "had done a great job on the earlier version", so "it was just tweaked to bring it in line with the overall plan".
#DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS EXPERT RULES SET 2 PDF UPDATE#
Compared to Mentzer's major update of the Basic Rules, the changes in the new Expert Rules are quite subtle. They were also intended to be more approachable for new players - though this was less important for the second box in the series. They were intended to be attractive and professional, which is reflected in better graphic design and layout and a unified set of artwork by Larry Elmore. The new Expert Rules had the same goals as the Basic Rules before them. The new Basic Rules came out around May 1983, then the Expert Rules followed, perhaps as early as August 1983, perhaps as late as early 1984. Frank Mentzer planned the two new rules sets together and even announced them in the same article, in Dragon #77 (September 1983). When TSR decided to revamp the Basic D&D line in 1982, that meant revising both the Basic Rules and the Expert Rules. Mentzer had no objections because he thought that "Isle of Dread" was "one of the best design jobs ever".
Because the new Basic Rules didn't have an adventure module, they said there "darn well better be one in Expert". The inclusion of "Isle of Dread" was apparently a requirement from the powers-that-be at TSR. This was a new, second edition of "Isle of Dread" (1983), laid out in TSR's new D&D trade dress and featuring a more attractive interior thanks to TSR's new Product Finishing department. Instead of a having second rulebook, the Expert Rules' second book is X1: "The Isle of Dread" (1981). However, the Expert Rules is unique among the BECMI boxes because it's the only one where the rules are contained in just a single, 64-page book. The Expert Rules box also contains another set of "low impact" dice and a crayon for coloring them in. Like the rest of the BECMI series, this one came as two books in a box: the "blue box", not to be confused with the original Holmes edition of the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1977), which is also blue. To highlight the wilderness focus of the Expert Rules, the new cover features a fighter on horseback battling a dragon out in the middle of nowhere.Ībout the Box. Larry Elmore continues to keep dragons front and center on the BECMI covers. Starting with the Companion Rules (1984), all the Frank Mentzer's D&D rules would follow this new format for naming.Ībout the Cover. For their second printing that title was updated to "Set 2: Expert Rules", which definitely makes more sense. Frank Mentzer's Expert Rules were originally published as "Expert Rules Set 2". It was published in August 1983 - or perhaps a bit later.Ībout the Title. The D&D Expert Rules Set (1983), by Frank Mentzer, is the second iteration of the boxed Expert Rules for Basic D&D and the second volume in Mentzer's BECMI rules series. This product does not include X1: "The Isle of Dread". This is the 1983 edition of the D&D Expert Rulebook, part of the "BECMI edition."
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