Basic Series

Modules

Basic SeriesB1 - B12, BSOLO

Basic Series modules, created for use with the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set.

B1 In Search of the Unknown by Mike Carr

B2 Keep on the Borderlands by Gary Gygax

B3 Palace of the Silver Princess by Tom Moldvay and Jean Wells

B4 Lost City by Tom Moldvay

B5 Horror on the Hill by Douglas Niles

B6 Veiled Society by David Cook

B7 Rahasia by Tracy and Laura Hickman

B8 Journey to the Rock by Michael Malone

B9 Castle Caldwell and Beyond by Harry Nuckols

B10 Night's Dark Terror by Jim Bambra, Graeme Morris, and Phil Gallagher

B11 King's Festival by Carl Sargent

B12 Queen's Harvest by Carl Sargent

BSOLO Ghost of Lion Castle by Merle Rasmussen

Modules B1, B2, B3, and B7 have separate pages dedictated to them; follow the links.

Modules B1 - B9 were later compiled into supermodule B1-9 In Search of Adventure.

Some copies of B1, B2, B3, and B4 were three-hole-punched at the factory. This was intended to capitalize on the Trapper Keeper three-ring binder craze in U.S. schools.

The working title for B4 Lost City was "The Lost City of Cynidecia".

B6 Veiled Society includes cardstock miniatures and 16 pages of fold-together buildings. A scan of the pre-production cover is here; it's one of the few pre-production covers that is almost identical to the eventual production version.

B10 Night's Dark Terror is a "bridge" module between the Basic and Expert D&D sets. It includes a large, 2' x 3' fold-out map and 120 cardboard counters. Thanks to James Caldwell for help with this info.

B12 Queen's Harvest is the sequel to B11 King's Festival. The cover artwork would later be recycled for the cover of WGQ1 Patriots of Ulek. Thanks to Raymond Lugo for noticing this!

Expanded Description

Printing Information

The three-hole-punching on some of the early B-series modules does seem to indicate a different printing (probably earlier), but this is not proven.

The scarcity of these modules increases sequentially; modules B1 - B6 are fairly common, while B10 - B12 are somewhat rare. This is probably due to diminishing print runs as time went on.

The different printings of B1, B2, B3, and B7 can be accessed through these links. Otherwise, only B4 Lost City has any distinguishable printings.

B10 Night's Dark Terror has a UK version, which is identical in all respects to the US version except it has a "B/X1" sticker over the "B10" code on the front cover. TSR UK, who developed the module, originally intended it to bear the B/X1 code (since the module is a bridge between the Basic and Expert sets), but were overruled by TSR USA. The "B/X1" version is substantially rarer than the "B10" version. Thanks to Graeme Morris and Bill Wilkerson for this info.

B4 Lost City

First (1982): Angled yellow banner in upper left. TSR Face logo. ISBN on back cover bottom left, Product Number (394-52498-5TSR0550) back cover bottom right.

Second: Contents identical to First, but has a cardboard header stapled to the top of the module, with the D&D logo and some other advertising. Note that the module itself, separated from the header, is indistinguishable from a First print. Further info on header modules is here. Thanks to Michael Deaton for this info.

Third: Angled yellow banner in upper left. TSR Face logo. ISBN is centered on the back cover bottom, and Piece Code (9049XXX1401) is on back cover bottom right instead of the Product Number.

Fourth (1983?): Red banner across top and more modern "Dungeons & Dragons" logo. Angled TSR logo. ISBN and Product Number back cover bottom center, Piece Code back cover bottom left. Thanks to Michael Deaton for this info and the scan.