How did this compare with AD&D?

>>51893131
It was a lot less advanced.

>>51893131
It was better.

>>51893131

Less dumb clunky rules, more fun. Ask the OSR general, Basic's their jam. Especially Moldvay/Cook, or B/X.
(Mentzer's BECMI, what you've posted there, is a case of severe feature creep with stuff going to level 36 and beyond, and all sorts of add-on rules and things)

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>>51893342
This.

>>51893131
Less clunky. AD&D in practice more closely resembles BECMI.

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This >>51894097 basically.

Basic D&D, particularly Moldvay Basic, is more streamlined and elegant than AD&D. However, it also lacks the same kind of options and detail. The thing is, most of the additional material is either derivative, or it just isn't as well executed. Additionally, even the stuff the systems have in common (spells they share, for instance) is often made more complicated with no real payoff. And then there are extra restrictions and such that do little to make the game more fun.

So for what it does, Basic is definitely the better game. It's just a question of whether Basic does enough for you. With that said, it's pretty easy to use Basic as your base system and selectively import shit from AD&D. (In fact, Labyrinth Lord's Advanced Edition Companion is more or less Basic's simpler core system with AD&D's options added on top, though it still adds in too much of AD&D's fiddly bullshit for my taste).

>>51893131
Immortal Rules was some cool shit.

"Congrats, you're now a minor divinity! Here's an amorphous blob of a plane to call home which you can do whatever you like with, have fun with it!"

>>51893131
>>51896190
This. BD&D stands for Best D&D. Especially the Moldvay/Cook edition. Holmes is good too. Mentzer is kinda ok.

>>51893131
BD&D: Easier to learn, faster to get started, the rules are elegant and easy to read, it has a number of good modules, but not many people currently play it in-person.

AD&D: The rules are a mess and it's harder to learn, but it has a lot more options for players, it has a LOT of really great modules, there are still a bunch of people playing it in-person.

Personally, I would go Moldvay B/X and then tack on CMI as needed before playing AD&D.

>>51893131
As a kid I really felt for the red dragon on the Basic cover. It looks like that sword is going to knock him right in the nostrils or front teeth.

>>51893131
Less moving parts, a fuckload more elegant, and better optional rules with nothing on par with the wrestling rules from AD&D. It's way better unless you specifically need something from AD&D, and even then it's easy to backport material.

>>51897081
Can you play Advanced modules with Basic? (the ones without psion stuff, obviously).
Is conversion hard?

>>51899512

Yes, you can; no, it's fairly trivial. Ask the OSR thread if you need help with anything, old D&D and modern clones thereof are the thread's whole raison d'etre.

>>51893131
almost as good as B/X