BLUEHOLME JOURNEYMANNE RULES REVIEW

Blueholme Review:

As I've said, I'm interested in running a more old school game, after looking at our ACKS and Wilderlands logs.   I'm most interested in a stable baseline to build upon, with an easy framework.   I've bought a couple copies of the Blueholme Journeymanne Rules, which is a retro-clone of the original D&D basic set by Eric Holmes from 1977, the version I started playing with, only expanded to level 20 characters.   While the fundamental D&D-ness of the game is clear and foremost,  I decided to make a review of what the noticeable unique features, good and bad are.

Ability Scores:



Ability scores are so unimportant, it's almost comical.  

Strength:  if you are a fighter, high strength gets you more XP, and that's all it does.

Wisdom:  if you are a cleric, high wisdom gets you more XP, and that's all it does.

Intelligence:  really key for magic-users, like super important in your choice and number of spells in your book.   Everyone gets bonus languages from INT.

Constitution:  you can get bonus hp from high (15+) con, otherwise nothing

Charisma: tells you number of henchmen, that's it.

DEX: high dex (15+) gives +1 to hit with missiles.  Combat order/initiative goes in order of DEX score.

There are no standardized bonuses for most of the "usual" stuff.

CLASSES:

4 classes,  Fighter, magic-user, thief, cleric.

Fighter:  highest hit die, best hit progression, all armor and weapons, some damage bonus at highter level

Cleric:  turn undead, spells (at second level), all armor, blunt weapons, makes healing potions.  Clerics actually have spell books too (but all spells of level included).  Evil clerics only cast reverse versions of spells, no neutral clerics

Magic-User:  wide range of spells, weak in combat, makes scrolls easily.  Magic missile isn't an auto-hit. 

Thieves: skillful and weak.

Multi-classing:  all multiclasses permitted (except good aligned cleric-thieves).  Neat method where just add 2 classes xp to get next level target.  No mention of racial limitations.

RACES  (called SPECIES in book)

Any creature from the monster section is available as a classed character (at DM's discretion).  DM has to decide classes, scale the abilities of creature to level-system.  Pretty darn cool,

COMBAT:  initiative a little different:  surprise attacks, then spells, then missiles, then melee, then move.  In each phase go in descending DEX order.

Level draining undead grant a saving throw.

Weapons:  biggest weakness of system.  Every weapon does 1d6 damage that's it, except some go at range.  The "optional variable system" just makes everything worse--daggers strike twice and do worse of 2d6 damage.  Medium weapons strike once and do 1d6.  Heavy weapons strike once every other round for better of 2d6.   I would not play with either weapon system, but it's really the only turd in the book.

OVERALL:  I kind of love it, except for the weapons.   It all fits into a short 120 page booklet (including a crap load of monsters and spells).    Additionally, it's fully compatible with OD&D, and any of the basic sets, and with minimal adaptation most of the ACKS and AD&D stuff that's around.