Palace of the Vampire Queen

Palace of the Vampire Queen

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First in a series of three unrelated modules produced by Wee Warriors, Ltd, at the dawn of the Original D&D game. Subtitled "Dungeon Masters Kit".

Palace of the Vampire Queen by Pete and Judy Kerestan

The early printings of this module were distributed (but not actually produced) by TSR. Palace of the Vampire Queen has the distinction of being the first D&D module ever published (module G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief was the first module produced by TSR; the first scenario was "Temple of the Frog", included in the Blackmoor D&D supplement, which predates PotVQ by a few months).

The second "Dungeon Masters Kit" by Wee Warriors is Dwarven Glory. The third and final module in the series, Misty Isles, is not covered on The Acaeum, since it was neither produced nor distributed by TSR.

Printing Information

The contents of all versions of this module are identical, with the exception of format and cover artwork.

Palace of the Vampire Queen

First (1976)
- Black-foldered version with red foil (artwork by Judy Kerestan)
- Produced by Wee Warriors, distributed by TSR
- Offset printed, with gray grid on maps
- Either 18 or 24 total pages, standard-sized (8.5" x 11") loose-leaf (some copies have double-sided pages, others have single-sided)
- Copyright page: Yellow or white, taped or glued to the inside cover of the black folder
- Intro page: Yellow, single-sided
- Contents page: White, double-sided. Front has a repeated "This Kit Contains" section, followed by a "Kit Use" section and a map legend. On the back is an expanded "Background" section
- Five pages of Encounter Descriptions. White, double-sided
- Ten pages of Maps. White, single-sided
- The "quality" print, printed in El Segundo, CA at Judy Kerestan’s cousin Jerry Wellfonder’s print shop
- TSR (who was the distributor) was replicating occasional missing pages of this print on their in-house photocopier; these replacement pages will show copier streaking on the lower right corner of the page
- The only reference to PotVQ in TSR literature (that we’ve found, at least) mentions the black folder
- Thanks to Matthias Bock, Kynan Connor, Frank Farris, Mike Hurley, Michael McAffee, Jeff Philbrick, Alan Silcock, and David Witts for help with this info
Second (1976?)
- Bagged, yellow-covered (no artwork) version
- Produced by Wee Warriors, distributed by TSR
- Offset printed, with gray grid on maps
- This offset printing is of slightly lower quality than the First print's; under magnification, the halftone dots that comprise the gray grid on the maps can be seen as splotchy and/or not uniform in size
- Either 17 or 24 total pages, standard-sized (8.5" x 11") loose-leaf (some copies have double-sided pages, others have single-sided)
- Intro page and Copyright page (one sheet): yellow (although a copy has been spotted that is white). Front (Intro page) has scrollwork on the outside border, and "This Kit Contains" and "Background" sections. On the back (Copyright page) is the module title and copyright information. Note that this page serves as the only "cover" for this print
- Contents page: White, double-sided. Front has a repeated "This Kit Contains" section, followed by a "Kit Use" section and a map legend. On the back is an expanded "Background" section.
- Five pages of Encounter Descriptions. White, double-sided
- Ten pages of Maps. White, single-sided
- Our theory here is that these Second print copies were run off the same (but now dirty) printing plates as the First print's. However, due to cost reasons, a black folder was not produced for this print run. However, the module's author, Pete Kerestan, has stated that this print was actually the First, and that the black folder was printed later and bundled with leftover copies of this print. We disagree with this statement solely based on the "dirty plate" evidence in the printing
- We have not spotted any TSR-photocopied replacement pages in this print
- Thanks to Mike Hurley, Pete Kerestan, Jeremy Ligman, Michael McAffee, Ian Montgomery, and Paul Stormberg for help with this info
Third
- Bagged, yellow-covered (with artwork of a tower) version
- Produced by Wee Warriors, distributed by TSR and/or Lou Zocchi
- Photocopied, with a black, jagged grid inside the rooms on the maps
- 13 double-sided pages, standard-sized (8.5" x 11") loose-leaf
- Cover page: title and a crude drawing, same artwork as the black folder of the First print
- Intro page and Copyright page (one sheet): White. Front (Intro page) has scrollwork on the outside border, and "This Kit Contains" and "Background" sections. On the back (Copyright page) is the module title and copyright information
- Contents page: White, double-sided. Front has a repeated "This Kit Contains" section, followed by a "Kit Use" section and a map legend. On the back is an expanded "Background" section
- Five pages of Encounter Descriptions. White, double-sided
- Five pages of Maps. White, double-sided
- Produced at an unknown print shop in CA. Due to printing costs, this third printing featured a yellow-paper cover (with artwork) instead of the expensive foil-stamped black folders they were getting for a big discount at Jerry's shop. Many copies of this print were distributed by Lou Zocchi, and some feature his sticker on the copyright page
- Thanks to Matthias Bock and Mike Hurley for help with this info, and for the scan
Fourth
- Bagged, yellow-covered (with artwork of a tower) version
- Unknown who produced or distributed these copies
- Photocopied, with no gray grid inside the rooms on the maps. The copier was evidently set too light to pick up the gray grid at all
- 13, double-sided pages, standard-sized (8.5" x 11") loose-leaf
- Cover page: title and a crude drawing, same artwork as the black folder of the First print
- Intro page and Copyright page (one sheet): White. Front (Intro page) has scrollwork on the outside border, and "This Kit Contains" and "Background" sections. On the back (Copyright page) is the module title and copyright information
- Contents page: White, double-sided. Front has a repeated "This Kit Contains" section, followed by a "Kit Use" section and a map legend. On the back is an expanded "Background" section
- Five pages of Encounter Descriptions. White, double-sided
- Five pages of Maps. White, double-sided
- The "Bella PotVQ", so named due to the auction where this print was discovered
- Unknown where this was done, but due to the age of the bag and other indicators, was probably done in the 1970's as opposed to recently
- Thanks to Matthias Bock, Mike Hurley, and Stephen Post for help with this info, and to Matthias Bock for the scan
Fifth (1977 noted on second interior page)
- Produced and distributed by Wee Warriors
- Pamphlet-sized book, with the cover in a heavy parchment-colored paper stock (similar to the Original D&D Supplements of the same time frame)
- Artwork on cover is by Morno (Brad Schenck), and is monocolor brown
- There are 30 pages. Printing is on both sides of the pages except for the maps in the center of the booklet, which are single sided and are printed in black. The maps are stapled inside the booklet. Thus, to really use the adventure, you have to take it apart
- This is nothing more than the content of the previous editions diminished into a half-size book, similar to the later printings of Dwarven Glory
- Thanks to Matthias Bock and Jeff Philbrick for help with this info, and to Daniel Blum for the scan
Sixth (1977 noted on first interior page)
- Produced and distributed by Wee Warriors
- Pamphlet-sized book, with the cover in a heavy parchment-colored paper stock (similar to the Original D&D Supplements of the same time frame)
- Artwork on cover is by Morno (Brad Schenck), and is now rendered in red and green ink. Two lines have been added to the bottom of the front cover: "Palace of the Vampire Queen" and "Pre-Factored Adventure For Use in Role Playing Games"
- There are 28 pages. Printing is on both sides of the pages except for the maps in the center of the booklet, which are single sided and are printed in a magenta color. The maps are stapled inside the booklet. Thus, to really use the adventure, you have to take it apart.
- On the last interior page is an advertisement for Planetmaster
- This is nothing more than the content of the previous editions diminished into a half-size book, similar to the later printings of Dwarven Glory
- Thanks to Matthias Bock and Jeff Philbrick for help with this info, and to Jeff Philbrick for the scan

Auction Commentary

Dwarven Glory appears to be slightly more rare than comparable printings of PotVQ.

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