OSR and John Eric Holmes

Today's blog is about J.E. Holmes, a DnD legend, who introduced many to the game in the late 1970s. Today, I learned page 45 of “Dungeons and Dragons: Rules for Fantastic Medieval Role Playing Adventure Game Campaigns,” is the first place John Eric Holmes is acknowledged as editor the now famous ‘Blue Book’ DnD Basic rules (1977).

Holmes lived from 1930 to 2010. He was a US Marine who served 2 years in Korea and was neurologist and a neurology professor at UCLA. He was the first editor of Gygax's little brown books (lbb) of Original Dungeons and Dragons. Today, I wanted to share tidbits about J.E. Holmes, for us, 'Sons of Holmes.' 

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As of today, for $7.99, you can buy a copy of Holmes' Basic Human Neurophysiology (1984). For $17.95 you can get Maze of Peril (1986), his collection of short stories about his son’s DnD character.

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In 1980, Holmes was interviewed for Psychology Today. He said a nurse in his game played a gnome who was "always wondering off and getting into trouble." He also said, "In my work as a physician, I endure the deaths of persons I feel responsible for; in my fantasy world, I don't want that to happen."

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The words "loved" and "treasured" recur in Holmes' son's account of his favorite writers. "Edgar Rice Burroughs was his first literary love," "He loved Conan the barbarian," "Eric discovered and fell in love with J.R.R. Tolkien in the 1950s," and "H.P. Lovecraft was Eric's most treasured writer." In his son's website, you can read a funny line, "Towards the end of his life, he was inspired to read 'Paradise Lost' and the 'Iliad.'  I hope nothing so ambitious ever occurs to me."

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At the website https://isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?2750, you can see a list of Holmes' novels, stories, and articles. I'm sure to read the short stories "Trollshead" and "The Sorcerers' Jewel."

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Holmes' son Chris, perhaps inspired by his father, posted his own artwork.

[art by Chris Holmes, posted at HolmesWest]

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Holmes' died after a second stroke. At the memorial service, his son Tristan said, Holmes had a "wonderful capacity for empathy. When any of us hurt, he hurt right along with us, and when his children had troubles, it was usually tougher on Eric than it was on the kids."

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Holmes' Basic - rules for an old school dungeon master!


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading! 

 

 



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