Author: Michael Thomas
Dreamscape Design
Approx. 120 pages
Available on Lulu ($24.99 hardcover; $14.99 softcover)
Blueholme: Journeymanne Rules essentially is a restatement and expansion of Holmes’s basic edition of Dungeons & Dragons, which in turn was a restatement of the original edition of the game and some of its supplements further edited in anticipation of the publication of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Whereas Holmes’s basic edition only covered the first three levels of play, Blueholme aims to be a complete roleplaying game, supporting play through level twenty.
The rulebook is divided into several sections, including but not limited to:
- 11 pages on character creation that cover four classes—clerics, fighters, magic-users, and thieves—as well as armor, equipment, and weapons;
- 31 pages of spells: 8 spells per level, spell levels one through seven, for clerics; and 20 spells per level, spell levels one through nine, for magic-users;
- 9 pages of combat-related rules, which includes some Holmesian elements like parrying, attacks provoked by retreat, and the effect of cover;
- a 26-page bestiary detailing 123 monsters (more when different subtypes are accounted for; e.g., different types of giants and dragons); and
- 19 pages on treasure, including a table of treasure types, which are referenced in monster entries, and a wealth of magic items.
In comparison, Holmes’s basic edition was just 48 pages. But Blueholme’s increased page count is not unreasonable given its expanded scope. And Blueholme generally does a nice job of revising and condensing Holmes’s prose while retaining its clarity.
Blueholme likely will not appeal to those who prefer AD&D to other editions. But for those who want a less complicated, more streamlined version of the game, Blueholme is a very good alternative. Class, spell, and monster descriptions are far more concise than those in AD&D. In general, Blueholme is better organized than its inspiration, not that Holmes’s basic edition was poorly organized.
Blueholme’s artwork is strong. Its cover depicts an adventuring party in a cavern gathered before a treasure chest and hoard; a dragon reminiscent of the one on the cover of Holmes’s basic edition lurks behind them in the shadows on the periphery of the party’s light source. Stylistically, the cover art melds old and new in a manner well suited to a restatement and expansion of an older edition of the game; its color scheme, which features gold and aquamarine hues, is appealing to the eye.
The interior of the rulebook includes a lot of old-school style black-and-white artwork, including a really nice callback to the cover art by a different artist that depicts the adventurers in combat with the dragon amidst the treasure hoard. Some of the interior art might be considered too racy for younger readers:
- a sorceress with ample cleavage;
- some bare-breasted water nymphs;
- an amazon archer with exposed breasts;
- a trio of saggy-titted harpies; and
- a half-serpent woman who’s mislaid her blouse.
This is not inconsistent with Holmes’s basic edition, which included a buxom, bare-breasted harpy. Nor do I personally find this artwork objectionable (even for younger readers). But some might not care for such nudity or so much of it.
I’m not especially knowledgeable about Holmes’s basic edition (or other editions of the game for that matter); however, to my non-expert eyes, Blueholme appears to emulate its namesake well. A few interesting features traceable to Holmes’s basic edition that differ from at least some other editions of the game include:
- a five-point alignment system: lawful good, chaotic good, neutral, chaotic evil, and lawful evil;
- an initiative system that largely turns on the relative dexterity scores of the individual combatants, subject to the following attack sequence: spell-casting, missile weapons, and melee combat;
- a combat round that is 10-seconds in duration (as opposed to OD&D’s and AD&D’s one-minute combat round);
- simple rules for magic-users to create level-appropriate new spells and scrolls without first attaining several experience levels; and
- good and evil clerics are limited to casting opposite versions of certain spells (e.g., cure light wounds for good clerics and deal light wounds for evil clerics).
Like the scroll-making mechanic for magic-users, Blueholme adds similarly simple rules allowing clerics to create holy water and healing potions.
At least one significant deviation from Holmes’s basic edition stands out. Holmes’s basic edition has specific rules as to the abilities of dwarves, elves, and halflings; it also limited the classes available to demi-humans. Blueholme leaves these racial abilities and class availability to the discretion of individual DMs. It does refer the reader to monster entries for demi-humans, which specify various racial abilities that could be applied to characters as well. But this is not the only place the racial abilities of demi-humans are discussed. Racial modifiers for several types of demi-humans regarding thieves’ abilities are included at the very beginning of the chapter on monsters, and some additional rules about elves and secret doors and dwarves and traps are included in an altogether different section of the rulebook. This leaves a bit to be desired in terms of organization.
Like Holmes’s basic edition, Blueholme emphasizes that players can play just about any creature detailed in the section on monsters, subject to the DM’s approval. In particular, it suggests dreenoi—humanoid insect-men—as a racial option in addition to dwarves, elves, and halflings, because Holmes played such a character. But the monster description for dreenoi does not necessarily provide any meaningful abilities for them apart from the possibility of telepathy, which they are said to use only in communicating with one another. For an experienced DM, the lack of default rules concerning the abilities of demi-humans and the classes available to them won’t pose too much difficulty. But less experienced DMs could find the lack of default rules a little more challenging; making demi-humans distinct and interesting while not rendering humans a second-class species can be tricky.
Nor is that the only instance in which Blueholme might be less user-friendly for inexperienced DMs. To take a relatively minor example, the monster entry for "gnoll" provides no clue as to what one is apart from “bestial, vicious, and stupid”; whereas, Holmes’s basic edition succinctly identifies gnolls as “beings like hyena-men.” The same is true of the entry for "spectre." Blueholme says spectres are “incorporeal” but not much else, while Holmes’s basic edition references Tolkien’s Nazgul. If one does not already have a sense of what these monsters are, Blueholme does not clarify matters. For monsters that are well known outside of roleplaying games, like vampires or zombies, descriptions might not be necessary. But for lesser known monsters, like gnolls and spectres, some rudimentary description might be helpful.
Blueholme deviates from Holmes’s basic edition in some minor ways as well. One notable instance—it adjusts the experience points required per level by one so that each class begins first level with one experience point rather than zero. Why? The rulebook does not explain, and this revision is sufficiently atypical that an explanation would be useful. I surmise that this change might have been made to distinguish adventurers from “normal humans,” who are 0-level and belong to no class, based on a couple of references within the section on monsters, specifically the entries for “normal human” and “vampire.” But this is a guess, and its in-game significance is unstated. My hunch is that 0-level retainers who return from an adventure and are awarded experience then take on a class and become first level.
Like any revision or expansion of a prior edition, Blueholme has some material that is new (or at least it’s new to me and appears to have no precedent in Holmes’s basic edition). One of the more intriguing bits is its optional rule regarding light and heavy weapons. Under this rule, one can attack with a light weapon (e.g., dagger) twice per round but rolls two damage dice per hit and takes the lower result; one can attack with a heavy weapon (e.g., great sword; light crossbow) once every two rounds but rolls two damage dice per hit and takes the higher result. Standard weapons (e.g., long sword) allow one attack per round and one damage die. The damage die for all weapons is a d6. I’m not sure how this shakes out mathematically (i.e., whether it confers a relative advantage on the use of light or heavy weapons).
Blueholme’s monster entry for “demon” is another addition. Whether due to space limitations or some other consideration, Holmes’s basic edition consciously excludes demons. Rather than including numerous entries for the various subtypes of demons made famous by OD&D’s supplements and AD&D, Blueholme includes a single entry with a table for generating random demonic abilities along with the guidance that demons “come in all shapes and sizes, and may have wings, extra limbs, horns, scales, tails, or any number of usually grotesque physical features.” A creative DM could expand on this entry with additional tables for physical attributes as well as additional abilities to create a wide array of unique demons (or types of demons). This is a nice way of making something familiar new again while conserving space.
Arguably, the weakest section of Blueholme is the final one on campaigns, which discusses dungeons and the wilderness. This material generally is new. Its shortcomings relate not so much to what is there as what is not; this section spans just five pages and omits key material that Holmes’s basic edition includes, specifically a cross-sectional dungeon map and sample dungeon. Blueholme states that these materials are omitted due to space considerations, however, and that an introductory adventure—The Shrine of Sobek—is available in .pdf for free that discusses dungeons and the wilderness in further detail. This adventure has not been released yet, but it likely will make up for this material’s absence from the rulebook.
Blueholme is very well done overall. Its strengths far exceed any ostensible weaknesses. Many of my criticisms may be attributable to hard choices posed by considerations of space and price point. Personally, I’d rather pay a little more for some additional content, but that’s a judgment call. That said, this rulebook makes me want to run a Blueholme game, and that’s probably the highest praise one can give a product of this nature. Kudos to Michael Thomas for his excellent work.
[cross-posted at Knights & Knaves Alehouse]
