That's similar to how I found my OD&D Whitebox on the shelf of a game store around 1988 or so. A smaller store but in a high traffic downtown shopping center so was surprised they still had it.

I bought a stand-alone Holmes Basic rulebook new at a Toys R Us store in 1986 or 87. It must have been gathering dust in a warehouse for years - no idea why it wasn’t returned to TSR or pulped but I was thrilled to find it. I’d never even seen that version before (I started with the 1983 Basic set)

Infocom computer game ad in the back of the book:

Yes, though I can't look at it again until we have finished exploring, and with our irregular play schedule it could be months!

True. Most of the TSR catalogs and price lists from the era list the Holmes Basic rulebook as available separately for $5.

True. Most of the TSR catalogs and price lists from the era list the Holmes Basic rulebook as available separately for $5.

The Arnesonian model. Even more difficult to map, as everything is on an angle! TSR didn't publish any modules in this style, but you can also see it the Blackmoor Dungeons in the First Fantasy Campaign published by JG in 1977.

The Arnesonian model. Even more difficult to map, as everything is on an angle! TSR didn't publish any modules in this style, but you can also see it the Blackmoor Dungeons in the First Fantasy Campaign published by JG in 1977.

It's the closest published module map to the style that Gygax, Kuntz and other were using for their home dungeons like Castle Greyhawk. Where almost every square of the graph paper is filled with corridors and rooms.

The Roman numerals are just an oddity from the early days. Probably something Mike Carr used while writing it; perhaps he thought it gave an ancient vibe. When the module was revised for B/X the numbers were updated to standard numbers.

It's the closest published module map to the style that Gygax, Kuntz and other were using for their home dungeons like Castle Greyhawk. Where almost every square of the graph paper is filled with corridors and rooms.

Great post! My favorite kind of D&D archaeology

Overall, it's neat to see someone recognizing gaps in the rules and filling them in themselves. I did this myself in the same place in my original Holmes Basic rules, adding things like a Grappling Hook, Bracers and Scroll Tube. Some of which I had come across in other sources like AD&D.

Overall, it's neat to see someone recognizing gaps in the rules and filling them in themselves. I did this myself in the same place in my original Holmes Basic rules, adding things like a Grappling Hook, Bracers and Scroll Tube. Some of which I had come across in other sources like AD&D.

Cloaks appear in Holmes only as Elven Cloak, and in the goblin room in the Sample Dungeon (Room A). The owner may have noticed them there and realized they are not on the equipment list.

The AD&D Players Handbook also has a Hammer and Sling, but the prices are wildly different (Hammer - 1 gp / Sling - 15 sp).

I also just checked and the prices for the Warhammer (5 gp) and Slingshot (2 gp) match those in the later Moldvay Basic rulebook (1981), so it's also possible they sourced those from there.