Editing Companion Set

The '''Companion Set''', or '''Companion Rules''', are the high-level rules in the [[Tom Moldvay]] spinoff of the original Not-[[AD&D|Advanced]] [[D&D]] rules. They kick in around 15th level after the Expert rules taper off. [[Frank Mentzer]], after a thorough [[retcon]] of Basic and Expert, put this out around 1983ish.

Since the targeted levels overlap high-level AD&D, there is where - finally - the party will meet the [[Ghost]] and the [[Beholder]]. (Tho' not yet the [[Lich]]. Nor any [[demon]]s.)

Here come the seventh and eighth level tiers of spellcasting, where [[mage]]s really start to kick some ass. Also brought here are the [[Druid]], and some way for the [[Elf]] and other demihumans to keep progressing along with the humans - by way of [[What|alphabet-levels]], in lieu of numeric-levels. Well not every idea here is perfect.

At 15th level on up, really 9th on up, the PCs should be considering doing a [[Conan]] and ruling domains of their own, delegating other - lowlevel - adventurers to do shit like goblin hunting. There are some brilliant ideas in the Companion DM section on what PCs can do in the meantime; most salient, that domain-ruling mechanic (better keep that Confidence Level high, folks!) and also the [[WAAAGH]] Machine, sort of a "Take Two" for old [[Chainmail]]. Although the 'Machine was somewhat Strategic for tactical tabletop gamers' tastes, so [[BATTLESYSTEM]] would serve that niche.

Beyond 24th level, PCs would be moving on from Mature to Epic, so the Master's rules kick in after that.

The modules in this system began CM-. Some of them are good, although [[CM1: Test of the Warlords|it all starts out]] as a bare showcase for the system.

Overall, the Companion Rules were [[awesome]], or at least formed a serious competitor for high-level AD&D. They both scaled better than AD&D 1e ''and'' provided some large-scale heroics for parties beyond just bashing skulls.

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]]