Odd Items

Odd Items

click thumbnails to enlarge

Various odd items, grouped here for convenience.

Dragon Dice
Dragon Dice Percentage Generators
First Quest Music Album
Monster Cards
Official AD&D Coloring Album
Understanding D&D / What D&D Is All About
Your Personal Invitation to Adventure

Dragon Dice was TSR's attempt to cash in on the inroads third-party companies had made into the market for dice. Not to be confused with TSR's later "Dragon Dice" dice game, released in the 1990's.

Dragon Dice Percentage Generators were a bit more useful. Also initially produced in 1981, this blister pack contained four ten-sided dice -- two sets of "percentage generators" (rolling two d10's, one for the "tens" digit and one for the "ones" digit, gives you a number from 00 to 99).

The First Quest Music Album is a compilation of original D&D-themed scores (mostly synthesizer music), released only in the United Kingdom, by FILMTRAX under TSR license. The cover artwork is the Jeff Easley painting from the Dungeon Masters Guide, flanked by DragonLance-style borders. This item comes in two flavors: LP record album (33 RPM) and cassette tape. It has an AD&D mini-module by Dave Miller, printed on the two records' protective inner sleeves (on the cassette version, it's printed on the fold-out flap -- note that to fit it all, the text had to be printed near-microscopically!). The adventure is split into half wilderness, half dungeon (hence two maps). It is your typical module layout, with numbered rooms and monster stats, but is lacking in the way of descriptive info; the music on the album is intended to be atmospheric, with the different tracks keyed to encounters. The album music proved rather unpopular in either format, and it is quite rare today (thanks to B.D. Cook, Bruce Robertson, and Daniel Thingvold for this info, to Bruce Robertson for the scan of the cassette tape, and to Daniel Thingvold for the scan of the record).

The Monster Cards were produced in four sets of 20 cards each in 1982. Each set came in a clear plastic case. The front of each card features an average-quality monster picture for the players; the back has statistics for the DM. The vast majority of the monsters are from the Monster Manual (which every player has memorized!), with a few others from the Fiend Folio (thanks to Michael Anderson for help with this info). Additionally, at the time of their publication (in 1982) each of the sets contained three previously unreleased monsters. These "new" creatures were then incorporated into the Monster Manual II published in 1983 -- presumably because the decision to abandon the Monster Cards line had been made during the new hardcover's compilation (thanks to Ed Jendek for this info).

The Official AD&D Coloring Album has an adventure that you color (by Gary Gygax, illustrated by Gregory Irons), and it's halfway decent. It was published by Troubador Press under TSR license, and runs 32 pages (thanks to Gus Landt for the scan). Contributor Kent Kelly has written an article on the specifics of what's found inside -- and you might be pleasantly surprised!

Understanding D&D / What D&D Is All About was a promotional flier released in early 1979 and distributed to retailers, in an effort to educate the public on the merits of the game. It consists of four pages (a single 11" x 17" sheet, printed front and back and then folded in the middle to form four 8.5" x 11" pages). The first two pages are labeled "Understanding D&D", and provide an overview of the game for retailers, including a section on the sales potential and how to market the game. The last two pages are entitled "What Dungeons & Dragons Is All About", and was intended for interested customers. Its brief overview of the game is followed (on the last page) with a listing of currently-available items. Incidentally, a small note on page 2 informs retailers that the "What Dungeons & Dragons Is All About" section was also separately available (presumably to be passed out to customers). (Thanks to Michael Bivens, Leonard Riotto, and Rhea Shelley for this info). A similar item was apparently available in the United Kingdom around 1977 (unknown if it was also released in the U.S.), and was titled the D&D Explanatory Sheet (in early Games Workshop ads in White Dwarf magazine). More info on this is needed! Lastly, an excerpt of this product was released by Uptown Sales, Inc, apparently of their own volition (and presumably without TSR permission). It is an 8.5"x11" page, printed on both sides, with the TSR wizard logo and name on one side and the Uptown Sales name and address on the other (thanks to Paul Stormberg for this info, and the scan).

Your Personal Invitation to Adventure was a similar promotional flier, released in 1980, but aimed directly at potential players instead of retailers. It consists of one 11" x 17" sheet folded in half to make four pages, and describes the D&D and AD&D games in simpler terminology than that used in Understanding D&D. We don't know how this flier was distributed, although there's some indication that they were handed out to dealers; any further info is appreciated! (Thanks to David Ford and John Proctor for help with this info).

Printing Information

Monster Cards and Understanding D&D had but single printings. The First Quest Music Album had two versions, but only one "printing" of each.

Dragon Dice

First (1981): Six opaque plastic dice, wax crayon. Both yellow and black crayons have been spotted, depending on the color of the dice. The dice themselves come in a variety of pastel colors, though the dice in each blister pack are all the same color.
Second (1983): Updated Elmore art on the blister pack. Angled TSR logo. Six translucent, pre-colored dice. No wax crayon.
Third (1991?): Identical art to Second print, but now has the Gold Angled TSR logo. Six solid-color (cheaper!), pre-colored dice. No wax crayon.
Fourth (1993?): Identical art to Second print, but now has the TSR Anniversary logo. TSR also abandoned the "Dragon Dice" moniker on these, simply titling them "Role-Playing Dice". Six solid-color, pre-colored dice. No wax crayon.

Dragon Dice Percentage Generators

First (1981): Four opaque d10's, wax crayon.
Second (1983): Updated Elmore art on the blister pack. Four translucent, pre-colored d10's. No wax crayon.

Official AD&D Coloring Album

First (1979): Rear cover has an ISBN on the upper right, but not on the lower left. Introductory page does not state printing number, but has a standard printing indicator (numbers 1 through 0 in a row). (Thanks to Adrian Newman for this info).
Second: Introductory page has a standard printing indicator (numbers 2 through 0 in a row). Aside from this printing indicator, it's identical to the First print. (Thanks to Mark Barr for this info).
Third: Introductory page has a standard printing indicator (numbers 3 through 0 in a row). Aside from this printing indicator, it's identical to the First print. (Thanks to Scott Cordiner for this info).
Fourth: Rear cover has an ISBN on the upper right as well as the lower left. Price code on the rear cover reads "009-2/350", indicating a price of $3.50. Introductory page states Fourth Print. (Thanks to Adrian Newman for this info).
Fourth+: Rear cover has an ISBN on the upper right as well as the lower left. Price code on the rear cover is now covered by a grey sticker reading "009-2/395", indicating a price increase to $3.95. Introductory page does not state Fourth Print, but has a print run indicator of “4 5 6 7 8 9 0.” (Thanks to Kent Kelly for this info).

Your Personal Invitation to Adventure

First: Back page lists only four hardback AD&D manuals (omits the Fiend Folio).
Second: Back page now has all five hardback AD&D manuals.

Thanks to Michael Deaton for this info.

Thanks to Michael Bivens for the scan of Understanding D&D, and to David Ford for the scan of Your Personal Invitation to Adventure.

Auction Commentary

Both Dragon Dice and Dragon Dice Percentage Generators in the unopened packs are extremely rare. Opened, the dice are indistinguishable from dice otherwise available elsewhere. Therefore, the conditions and values noted should be reflective of unopened packs only -- a "Poor" condition Dragon Dice would be a blister pack that's battered nearly beyond recognition, but still has the blister pack present. Missing blister packs effectively relegate this item as worthless.

The First Quest Music Album is extremely rare in the U.S., and probably quite scarce overseas too. "Poor" condition below assumes the cassette tape / records are damaged and/or their jackets (with the adventure) are missing.

The Monster Cards are uncommon, probably due to poor sales.

The Official AD&D Coloring Album is fairly rare, especially in pristine (i.e., non-colored-in) condition. Obviously, not many collectors put this one up on the shelf as opposed to handing it to the kids.

Values for Understanding D&D and Your Personal Invitation to Adventure are extremely subjective; we are unsure of their rarity, and infrequently see either one sold at auction.

Current eBay Auctions