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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules $0.00
Average Rating:4.3 / 5
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by Frank W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/07/2020 07:37:57

Better cover art than the original it strives to emulate. Still has some errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation throughout (much like this review). Suffers from not having an index. Decisions in formatting makes it difficult to determine when you have left one section of book/pdf and moved to the next. Fantastic public domain art throughout. Rules are much clearer and succinct than the original it’s based on. Section on campaigns and the art of the referee aren’t fleshed out as well as the original. Better/clearer tables and charts than the original its based on. Could have benefitted from example dungeon with maps and a walkthrough for new referees. Great that a blank character sheet was added for immediate use. Worth the buy. Will investigate the Journeymanne Rules based on this purchase.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 07/25/2019 15:14:30

Full review posted here: http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2019/07/review-blueholme-journeymanne-and.html

The Blueholme Prentice Rules came out first as a preview of the Journeymanne rules. These rules cover the basic rules as the Journeymanne rules, save only to level 3. In this respect it is actually closer to the Holmes set than the maine (manne?) rules.

In character creation, the choices of Human, Elf, Dwarf, and Halfling are given. The same basic four classes of Cleric, Fighter, Magic-user, and Thief are here.

From here the Prentice rules parallel the Journeymanne rules, there is just less of them. This is a truly Basic set of rules with everything to get you started for the price of dice.

The Prentice Rules has the same cover art, albeit in a monochrome format (not unlike Holmes) and features Public Domain art inside from Henry J. Ford. Now personally I LOVE the art. These old images from old fairy tales really sets the mood for me and gives this game a different feel.

Bluehlome Prentice Rules are a perfect solution for someone wanting to get into an Old School game and does not know where to start or what to do, and maybe not spend a lot of money upfront. For a PWYW PDF and print copies under $6, it has replaced Basic Fantasy as my OSR game of choice to hand out to people I want to introduce to old-school play.

Blueholme is a great addition to the vast and growing library of OSR games. It might be one of my favorites, to be honest.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by Itai G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/13/2019 03:31:45

If you're a fan of the OSR movement, you should definitely give this product a look, you will like what you see.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by Benjamin B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/15/2019 16:13:56

Amazing. I started with Holmes "blue box" in '78 or '79; mine had the "chits". My friends and I had no idea what we were doing (at the time), but it was a hoot! That lead to 1e by the late '80s. Recently I went through the 5e basic rules; and liked it, but it wasn't the same. Blueholme hit the spot. Perfect. Easy and fast to play: the mechanics, once learned, fade into the background so the "RP" in RPG can come to the fore. There are plenty of OSR games out there to choose from, but this one really captures the essence of the late '70s game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by David B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/08/2017 16:30:21

A very well crafted retroclone. One of the best on the market.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by dave a. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/24/2016 22:42:09

First impressions. May not be correct.

Page 5 has no modifiers for strength listed.

Movement is unclear. Is running is permitted in combat or only sprinting? Charging into combat? Fleeing from combat? What is the movement rate?

pg. 12-13

Running for armoured man is 540 ft per turn (normal turn or combat turn?) 1 round =10 seconds normal turn = 60 rounds =10 minutes combat turn =10 rounds =100 seconds So an armoured man can run 54 ft per round? As opposed to 15 ft sprinting per round?

Many tabletop gamers use the 1 inch = 5 feet rule. It might be neater if all movement were a multiple of 5. The 7 ft move of an armoured and loaded character for example.

pg. 14 Armour Class

What is the base AC of an unarmoured character? AC 9? There is a table of adjustments, but it's not stated what you are subtracting them from. A listing of AC per amour type would be good.

What actions are permissible in a round? Can you move then attack (melee/missile/spell) in the same round? Or attack and then move? Ex. An archer kiting a slow opponent.

Is the +2 extra attack against retreating combatants limited to melee weapons or can missile and spell attacks be made?



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Hello Dave, thanks for taking the time to look into the BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules! I have some answers to your questions: BLUEHOLME™, like the Holmes on which it is based, has no modifiers for high or low Strength, only and XP modifier if if it is a prime requisite. Sprinting, or combat speed, is the fastest movement possible, and is not intended for use outside combat. As you say, there are 60 rounds in 1 turn, so sprinting (combat) speed of 15 feet per round for an armoured or loaded character would translate to 900 feet per turn compared to a running speed of 540 per turn. Movement rates are given per normal turn, not per combat turn, which is I think where your confusion arises. Combat turns only really affect spell durations. I will endeavour to clarify this next time the rules are updated. I see where you're coming from with 5-foot steps for the convenience of battlemaps, but with the large variety of movement rates for non-character creatures and the fact that BLUEHOLME™ is not generally designed for grid combat, it was decided that accurate granularity and scaling was preferable. Absolutely correct about armour class - unarmoured = AC9, an unforgivable oversight, which will also be corrected in the updated version. A character can move and perform one other action in a round (usually attack or cast a spell). The attack can happen at any point in the character's movement, e.g. a character with 15 feet of movement could move 5 feet, attack, and move another 10 feet. Note that, as BLUEHOLME™ combat is less rigid than with a battlemat, it doesn't matter that much - characters within 10 feet of one another are assumed to be engaged in melee combat. The +2 bonus to attack fleeing characters only applies to engaged characters, i.e. those within 10 feet of the retreating combatant. However, if you as the referee want, there is nothing to stop you from granting missile attacks the same benefit. Generally speaking, BLUEHOLME™ - like most OSR games - is intended to allow referees a great deal of freedom in interpreting things in their own way. Does magic missile have a visual component? Do clerics represent a monotheist church, or do they worship multiple panthons? If the answer is not explicit in the rules, you can pretty much do whatever you prefer. I hope this answers at least some of your questions. If you'd like to chat further, you can contact me via https://dreamscapedesign.net/contact/ - I would be happy to hear from you.
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by Chet C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/11/2016 11:51:38

Updated, upgraded, and this is still the "basic" version - can hardly wait for the completerish rules. If we can still call them "rules," after the excellent introductory essay "THERE ARE NO RULES."

inspiration to count as a new game, and actually much easier for a non-gamer to understand. It deserves six stars out of five. Like all retro clones, it can't really be D&D without beholders - which is why I don't buy printed versions of retclones. (I add a copy of the Greyhawk beholder description and illo to my own printed copies of retclones - and to my copie of Tunnels & Trollsas well as Runequet. I recommend you do the same.

*jeep!

-Grandpa Chet



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for the kind review! FYI the \"Journeymanne Rules\" - which cover levels 1-20 for the basic four classes, plus additional spells, monsters, magic items, and the like - are pretty much ready for art, so keep an eye out for a crowdfunder within the year. Pity about the old beholder, but then Holmes never mentions it in his works so it doesn\'t really qualify for BLUEHOLME™. Carrion crawlers and displacement beasts are more of an issue, as they are not only in the Holmes rules but Chris Holmes (Dr J. Eric Holmes\'s son) drew some great illustrations of them in the original Holmes Basic manuscript. Thus they will show up, in the grand OGL tradition, under pseudonyms. ;-)
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by Michael E. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/01/2015 08:31:45

I couldn't afford the original Holmes Basic D&D set so I was advised to get this one instead and I have to say it's brilliant! The fact that it was free only adds to the fantastic worth of this volume.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Hope you are getting some good use out of it, whether gaming or just reading!
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by Greg L. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/26/2015 13:15:01

I just downloaded it and I can't read it for love nor money....I can see that there are words there but I can't read it, blurred and the letters are not filled in....



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
I suggest trying it on a different PDF reader, or re-downloading it. From time to time people have issues with PDFs from DTRPG, but it\'s usually solvable.
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by Michael M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/15/2015 06:59:09

If you have an imagination this is all you will ever need in regards to rules sets. The perfect page count for simple fun.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by Andrew G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/03/2015 13:24:44

Version 1.2 didn't render at all on OS X. Does on Windows/ipad. Version 1.3 renders except charts. Content is awesome.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
I\'ve worked with DTRPG\'s very nice publisher liaison people on the PDF rendering issue, so I hope it\'s working for you now. If not I suggest trying a few more different readers - there are sometimes quirks with reader-hardware combinations but you should be able to find something that works.
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by William M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/01/2013 15:51:57

Loving it! The layout is clean and crisp, the writing is accessible and a nicely polished and overall it is a fun read. I've read just about every retro clone out there, and while I genuinely like most of them to a degree or another, this one grabs my attention. I am eagerly awaiting the release of the Compleat rules.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules
Publisher: Dreamscape Design
by Alessandro V. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/25/2013 14:12:34

Besides delivering on its promises (it contains the rules of the blue edition with a good presentation), the graphical part of this book is fantastic! The choice of images chosen is really great and well edited!



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Matching Henry J. Ford\'s great illustrations to the text was tremendous fun - my favourite is the PC hiding behind his hireling on p.54! Mr Ford certainly sets a high standard to match for the upcoming art crowdfunder for the Journeymanne Rules.
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