DEMOn1n3 wrote:so does AD&D encompass the basic and expert rules?
Not really. For you own sanity consider B/X and AD&D different games. B/X takes D&D into the simplicity of the original game where dwarves are classes and the rules take a simpler, yet vague in areas, approach. The term "Advanced" was often misunderstood in the 80's where one thought it was a more "Advanced" game than "Basic". This is not the case at all. If you feel you need more things spelled out for you, then AD&D has that where Basic gives you a very light framework to then run your game. There is nothing wrong with either version...it is all a matter on how you feel you need to play some good old D&D. I myself prefer AD&D and then strip out the stuff I don't want to use instead of playing Basic where I would then add stuff and have loose papers of house rules.