12 Blog Posts of December Day 7 - Adapting the Elf Class to 5E Is Simple

On the first day of my 12 Blog Posts of December... Egad's it's almost midnight by me! I've got to crank out my Day 7 post if I want to achieve twelve blog posts in December! No time for such a holiday related opening.


So what's my topic for Day 7?


Yesterday, I received a copy of D&D Rules Cyclopedia for Christmas.


Of late, the desire to play an Elf, as in the Elf class from BECMI, has been strong. While I do own a digital version, there's nothing quite like holding a physical book in one's hand. Weirdly enough conversion work is easier the physical work as opposed to reading it from a monitor or tablet. Believe there's been studies highlighting the phenomenon too. I'm not the only one!


By conversion, my intention is to emulate the BECMI Elf class in D&D 5E. Flipping through the pages of the Rules Cyclopedia I finally understand how to do it. Like a light bulb being lit!


First, forget everything you've gleaned from the AD&D 1E > AD&D 2E > D&D 3E > D&D 5E tree. Oh, both elf trees fit.


It's just that the BECMI Elf ISN'T a master of stealth. The Elf class isn't a junior ranger. Not by stats anyway. What the DM allowed the Elf PC to do was simply arbitrary. Note: I haven't read the skills section within the Rules Cyclopedia; however, I am sure the Stealth isn't a skill.


Second, select Fighter as class. The Elf class was primarily a fighting type with spell-casting. Ergo, Eldritch Knight will be the Martial Archetype.


Third, or maybe this should be second, select High Elf as the subrace. None of the other options fit the BECMI Elf more. However, the extra language does emulate three extra languages (other than elf) the Elf class knew. Select either orc, gnoll, or goblin.


Fourth, customize a background to acquire a couple more languages if you really want the three.


Fifth: The find secret doors ability can be reflected by having the Investigation skill. So select or customize a background to have said proficiency.


Voila!


A BECMI Elf emulated in D&D 5E.


Really was much, much simpler than I thought!


Happy Holidays!


Only 5 more blog posts to go.


Next time.

12 Blog Posts of December Day 6: Christmas Day

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Yule! Etc...


I'm going to keep this short and sweet, relatively. No on the first day of my 12 Blog Posts of December spiel today. It's Day 6 of my 12 Blog Posts of December AND it's Christmas Day. However, I am not blogging to proclaim Merry Christmas. That would be too easy...


First, recall yesterday's post on adapting the Life & Adventures of Santa Claus to D&D 5E stats? Yesterday, there was a link to suggestions on how to adapt Santa's foes the Angwas to D&D 5E stats. Well, today on En World (an http not an https site), the same author has posted suggestions for his allies. Here are the Immortals. I am not quite satisfied with recommendations on how to convert the Immortals to PC races. It's basically: take this PC race and perform a minor tweak. Really hope the Patreon goes into more detail than what's provided here for free. As NPCs, they're pretty much top-notch conversions. Suppose the Immortals may be too powerful to be PCs... Well, if the conversion is free anyway... However, the suggestions work in a pinch.


Second, I discovered the old D&D Rules Cyclopedia was available Print on Demand from DriveThru RPG. For those new to the hobby, the Rules Cyclopedia compiled the majority of the rules from the Basic, Expert, Companion, and Masters sets of Dungeons & Dragons. With rules for players and DMs along with maps and brief setting information, it is pretty much the closest to a complete game all-in-one book for Dungeons & Dragons that has ever come out.


I remember checking out this book from the library several times and marveling at the completeness of the book. Until I purchased the ebooks for Original Dungeons & Dragons (0E), it's the closest I had come to the EARLY days. When elf and dwarf were a class. Plus, it was my first exposure to Mystara outside of the Red Steel expansion for AD&D 2E. In addition, there were all sort of nifty rules that were new to me. Alas, there were pages torn out. Eventually, the library's copy disappeared. The book was Out of Print. When I purchased a digital copy, the hardcopy fetched collector prices so it would have to do.


Until now.


I was quite excited while unwrapping gifts to discover I now held in my hands my very own copy of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia! Holding the book in my hands, flipping through the pages, and skimming portions the book is as an exact match to my recollections. Plus, no missing pages! For instance, there's the charts from the Weapon Mastery table for each given weapon. Had no memory of those pages. Maps all intact. Book is quite readable too.


The PoD copy does seem larger than I remembered. Hardcover trim ends roughly a quarter of an inch over the trim of the interior pages. Cover looks lovely. Book feels nice to the touch. Know how some books you just want to hold in your hands? This printing of the Rules Cyclopedia matches the feeling. My only complaint is the binding may be fragile to heavy use. If I played BECMI regularly and it was traveling book, I would worry about pages falling out. Fortunately, I don't play BECMI regularly if at all. So the book's durability isn't a pressing concern. The binding does seem durable enough for pleasure reading. Besides, I do own a digital copy, which I could use as my traveling copy if need be.


Not quite sure if I'll provide a full review or review the book in stages.


Third, I read some classic newspaper strips of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates posted on a social media group. Must've missed some strips as I used Facebook's Save feature as I encountered gaps. Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates matched my recollection of when I read the colored strips compiled in page form within the pages of a magazine years ago. Only one strip seemed to come out of nowhere. The Joe Kubert art was lovely. As for the Rudolph strip, it seemed like the strip either tried to find new uses for his nose or ways Rudolph could contribute without the use of his nose. There even was a helicopter?! Overall, a pleasant way to spend time on Christmas Day.


Lastly, 2018 marks Mickey Mouse's 90th Anniversary. While I picked up both a DVD celebrating Mickey Mouse and a book from Fantagraphics collecting his early comic strips colorized, I don't know if I'll blog about either them during the remainder of the year. Not to say, I won't spend any homage to Mickey during his 90th on this blog. Why? For the first time in over a decade, I watched Mickey Mouse's Christmas Carol! Fondly recall the rollout to the "movie's" debut all those years ago. There were plushes of the various Disney characters adapted to Dickens's characters available for a limited time. I got the Donald Duck, but I digress. Anyway, when I watched Mickey's Christmas Carol as a kid I absolutely loved it! In fact, it's how I primarily know the Christmas Carol story, which I haven't actually *ahem* read. Like many classic Disney shows featuring their IP, every time Mickey's Christmas Carol aired it was an event. Then I stopped seeing it.


So what better time than during Mickey's 90th then to pick up a copy on Blu ray? Furthermore, what better time than to watch it on Christmas Day? Mickey's Christmas Carol was about as good as when I saw it back as a wee little lad. Plus, after all these years, it felt like watching it for almost the first time! Didn't watch the extras nor the intermission though. Perhaps next Christmas season?


Once again, I hope everyone has a Happy Season!


Only 6 more days of my 12 Blog Posts of December!


Next time.