I am surprised they aren't doing this, or if they are I guess haven't been paying attention. They should just put all the First Edition stuff into one or two books, you could put it in a special 50 Year Collectors Edition book. From what I seen of the first D&D rule books they just look like paper back books and those don't look sturdy at all so finding intact original copies probably hard to come by. Just a thought.
Well you have a point about die hard collectors. I guess was more thinking of those who might have not experienced First Edition back in the day and might not able find original copies of the rules. Was thinking of a First Edition Book presented in the style of 5th Edition Books.
There is the 50th anniversary book. Which says it will have a never seen version of Gygax’s first draft. Though your request is a little complicated by what, exactly, is 1st edition. AD&D? BECMI (Holmes or Moldvay)? The white box? Chainmail? I know what I think of, but I also know that’s not universal.
There is the 50th anniversary book. Which says it will have a never seen version of Gygax’s first draft. Though your request is a little complicated by what, exactly, is 1st edition. AD&D? BECMI (Holmes or Moldvay)? The white box? Chainmail? I know what I think of, but I also know that’s not universal.
Well, '50th anniversary' only supports one of those options, as TSR only published one product in 1974.
There is the 50th anniversary book. Which says it will have a never seen version of Gygax’s first draft. Though your request is a little complicated by what, exactly, is 1st edition. AD&D? BECMI (Holmes or Moldvay)? The white box? Chainmail? I know what I think of, but I also know that’s not universal.
Well, '50th anniversary' only supports one of those options, as TSR only published one product in 1974.
It’s a bit of a retrospective, as I understand it. But as much as I love this game I don’t see myself shelling out $100 for it.
They were hardcover books. They have a very small utilitarian font with loads of information. But, information on to-hit tables and saving throws was hidden in the DMG away from players. But, most groups just copied the to-hit table for their class right out of the DMG onto their character sheet.
There was information in the Deities and Demigods book that was copyrighted and the TSR folks had to stop printing, so that book never came out again.
Part of the charm of the books is they sort of poked fun at the game in a light hearted way. Much of the artwork was campy by intention. There were loads of subtle jokes and stuff.
In addition to the original four, I also have the Fiend Folio and The Monster Manual II. I also have either the Wilderness Survival Guide or the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide. I wanted both but could only afford one.
There were a couple other books published before the second edition, I believe. There was at least one additional printing of the original books too, but with different covers.
My books are not in great condition. We used them ... alot. But I wonder what they would be worth?
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Yeah, that's basically a intentional collector's item, sort of like the Legend Lore special edition sometime in the past year, and the special editions of Art and Arcana. But to the OP's point, that's the product they're answering with folks looking for a "celebration" book of sorts. They're really using the 50th anniversary to roll out the revamped 5e and related products though, as that's the game they'll continue to support into the future and the anniversary gives WotC an opportunity to further it.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
If the OD&D that will be in the anniversary book isn't what you're after, your best bet is to get the PDF you're looking for off DMsGuild and then pay a Kinkos-style print shop to bind it up for your personal use.
The alternative is to hit up eBay and find an intact, well-maintained version of the real deal - but you'd be paying collector prices for that, and subjecting those books to the wear-and-tear of actually using them to play would probably be a bad idea.
They were hardcover books. They have a very small utilitarian font with loads of information. But, information on to-hit tables and saving throws was hidden in the DMG away from players. But, most groups just copied the to-hit table for their class right out of the DMG onto their character sheet.
There was information in the Deities and Demigods book that was copyrighted and the TSR folks had to stop printing, so that book never came out again.
Even though the copyrighted stuff has since become public domain (some of it already was, but TSR's lawyers got gunshy after the suit by the Tolkien Estate).
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
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I am surprised they aren't doing this, or if they are I guess haven't been paying attention. They should just put all the First Edition stuff into one or two books, you could put it in a special 50 Year Collectors Edition book. From what I seen of the first D&D rule books they just look like paper back books and those don't look sturdy at all so finding intact original copies probably hard to come by. Just a thought.
Well, they sell the PDF version. Pretty sure most collectors who would care about a physical copy would want an original, not a reprint.
Well you have a point about die hard collectors. I guess was more thinking of those who might have not experienced First Edition back in the day and might not able find original copies of the rules. Was thinking of a First Edition Book presented in the style of 5th Edition Books.
There is the 50th anniversary book. Which says it will have a never seen version of Gygax’s first draft. Though your request is a little complicated by what, exactly, is 1st edition.
AD&D? BECMI (Holmes or Moldvay)? The white box? Chainmail? I know what I think of, but I also know that’s not universal.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1660-dungeons-dragons-turns-50-see-how-were-celebrating#making-of-dungeons-dragons
Well, '50th anniversary' only supports one of those options, as TSR only published one product in 1974.
It’s a bit of a retrospective, as I understand it. But as much as I love this game I don’t see myself shelling out $100 for it.
I still have the "First Edition" AD&D books.
They were hardcover books. They have a very small utilitarian font with loads of information. But, information on to-hit tables and saving throws was hidden in the DMG away from players. But, most groups just copied the to-hit table for their class right out of the DMG onto their character sheet.
There was information in the Deities and Demigods book that was copyrighted and the TSR folks had to stop printing, so that book never came out again.
Part of the charm of the books is they sort of poked fun at the game in a light hearted way. Much of the artwork was campy by intention. There were loads of subtle jokes and stuff.
In addition to the original four, I also have the Fiend Folio and The Monster Manual II. I also have either the Wilderness Survival Guide or the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide. I wanted both but could only afford one.
There were a couple other books published before the second edition, I believe. There was at least one additional printing of the original books too, but with different covers.
My books are not in great condition. We used them ... alot. But I wonder what they would be worth?
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Yeah, that's basically a intentional collector's item, sort of like the Legend Lore special edition sometime in the past year, and the special editions of Art and Arcana. But to the OP's point, that's the product they're answering with folks looking for a "celebration" book of sorts. They're really using the 50th anniversary to roll out the revamped 5e and related products though, as that's the game they'll continue to support into the future and the anniversary gives WotC an opportunity to further it.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
If the OD&D that will be in the anniversary book isn't what you're after, your best bet is to get the PDF you're looking for off DMsGuild and then pay a Kinkos-style print shop to bind it up for your personal use.
The alternative is to hit up eBay and find an intact, well-maintained version of the real deal - but you'd be paying collector prices for that, and subjecting those books to the wear-and-tear of actually using them to play would probably be a bad idea.
Even though the copyrighted stuff has since become public domain (some of it already was, but TSR's lawyers got gunshy after the suit by the Tolkien Estate).
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.