Artwork Reproductions.  Mentioned on the back page of early printings of the Original D&D booklet Men & Magic (as well as in Strategic Review #1), these were supposedly three sets of clear, 8 1/2" x 11" reproductions of monster artwork, five monsters per set.  According to Dave Sutherland (an artist with TSR in the early days), the sets were an idea of Tim Kask's (editor of The Dragon magazine), but were never actually produced. (Thanks to Keith Dalluhn for this info).  This research item is closed, but will remain here for trivia purposes.

BX1 (or SX1) Islandia Campaign.  An unreleased module, based on previous modules by "The Companions", and authored by William John Wheeler and Peter L. Rice (the cover artist erred).  TSR earmarked a stock # (9216) for it, and cooked up a pre-production cover (shown here; incidentally, it's the cover artwork from Dragon #86).  Official mention of the module was made in the 1987 TSR Fall Catalog (where the scan came from; thanks to Curt Gould): a supermodule (128 pages), comprised of four sections entitled "The Curse of Hareth", "Plague of Terror", "Brotherhood of the Bolt", and "Street of Gems".  It was scheduled to be released in December of 1987.  TSR Worlds issue #1 newsletter describes the module's campaign world of Islandia (which was to be separated from the normal D&D world by "strange ocean currents") having an emphasis on "limiting power", with character levels maxing out at 10th level and magic items being hard to come by.  Of course, this "maxing out" feature is contradicted by the cover scan, showing the module is for characters levels 10-14!  This module was never produced.  Author John Wheeler states: "The campaign, as written, WAS for low level characters.  I believe the cover art was a hurry-up job, and it had no relationship to anything inside.  Furthermore, the material I sold to TSR only included The Curse on Hareth, Plague of Terror (highly edited), and Brotherhood of the Bolt.  It did NOT include Streets of Gems nor Gems for Death.  Also, Sacrifices to the Orc Lords was never more than sketched out, though maps had been drawn and some adventure areas detailed.  No plot line had been developed when The Companions folded."  Contributor Tim Kindred, who was present during much of the design sessions of the modules, relates that in order to create a realistic geographic setting for the world, a topo map of the state of Maine was obtained, and flooded to a depth of 500 feet.  What remained became Islandia.  Module code BX1 should not be confused with B/X1, the code on the UK version of B10 Night's Dark Terror.  This research item is closed, but will remain here for trivia purposes.  (Thanks to Tim Kindred, John Rateliff, Adam Shultz, and John Wheeler for help with this info).

• City Geomorphs.  We were pretty sure that this actually existed... until several people failed to cough up a scan.  Those that did were confusing this rumored accessory with Outdoor Geomorphs Set One: Walled City.  Legend has it that City Geomorphs was released at a convention in West Chester, PA (Origins?) at the TSR booth.  Supposedly, it was similar in size and style to the Dungeon Geomorphs, i.e. blue print on cardstock, with two full geomorphic squares and a semi-geomorphic rectangle on each sheet, at a scale of 1 square = 20 feet.  There were sections with no wall, sections with square towered walls, sections with round towered walls, a palace and a citadel.  It came with a sheet giving DMs hints on how to write up a city and a list of possible city locations and occupations.  Quite possibly, City Geomorphs was a pre-publication version of the aforementioned Outdoor Geomorphs.

City of Brass modules.  Rumor had it that Robert Kuntz, one of the founding fathers of D&D, wrote a three-part adventure for the 1987 DragonCon RPGA tournament.  The adventure was The City of Brass, and the three parts were To the City of Brass (available in our Library section), Within the City of Brass, and Beneath the City of Brass.  The actual tournament module used was To the City of Brass; the latter two segments were never created. (Thanks to Erik Mona and Robert Kuntz for this info).  This research item is closed, but will remain here for trivia purposes.

DA5 City of Blackmoor.  See below, Mystara vaporware.  This research item is closed, but will remain here for trivia purposes.

Daystar West Eye of the Dragon.  Another Daystar West module, Eye of the Dragon, was planned but never produced.  The Hickmans did, however, run off five hundred copies of the planned cover, which put them in a significant financial hole -- prompting them to make arrangements with TSR for the sale of Pharaoh, Rahasia, and Ravenloft.  The Hickmans apparently still have all copies of this module cover in storage at their home.  Thanks to David Smith for this info.  This research item is closed, but will remain here for trivia purposes.

• Daystar West Vampyr.  An individual contacted us concerning the rarity and worth of three Daystar West modules that he allegedly possesses:  Pharaoh, Rahasia, and "Vampyr".  This individual further stated that he used to game with Daystar West founder Tracy Hickman back in the early 1980's, and that these modules were passed out to members of that group.  Never having heard of Vampyr, we requested some additional information about it.  The individual has not responded.  Author Tracy Hickman has confirmed that the preliminary draft of I6 Ravenloft was indeed entitled Vampyr, but denies that it was ever published.  He states specifically, "Vampyr was still in design stage when I took my job at TSR and the sale of that uncompleted adventure help finance our relocation."  If copies exist, they are most likely only the handful passed out to Hickman's gaming group.  In issue #250 of Dragon, Hickman is quoted as saying, "Vampyr was tested every Halloween for five years before it was printed (as Ravenloft)."  More information, including a cover scan, needed!  (Vampyr should not be confused with "Vampyre", a microgame released by TSR in 1981).
   
• Domesday Book.  A magazine / newsletter published by the Castle & Crusade Society (Gary Gygax's old gaming group) back in the late 60's / early 70's.  Click the link for a full page on what we've found so far.
   
• G1-4 Revolt of the Giants.  The 1986 TSR catalog lists this as an upcoming module, which obviously never came to fruition.  The stock number assigned to it (9179) was eventually re-assigned to GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders.  Anyone know the backstory behind its cancellation (or more specifically, why did TSR decide to have tie-in module G4 created in the first place, and then what made them change their minds)?  Additionally, the mock-up cover scan of this module, from the 1986 TSR catalog, would be appreciated!  Thanks to Mark Petrick for pointing this out.
   
• L4 and L5.  Len Lakofka (author of the L-series modules) stated in 1999 that these modules are in an unfinished state, and it would be a "200-hour project" to bring them to production level.  In August 2000, Lakofka stated that since Wizards of the Coast used only about 90% of his material from the original L3 Deep Dwarven Delve (the remaining 10% being WotC's own edits and material), that he is none too eager to hand over the rights to any more of his work.  Module L4 Devil's Spawn is to be set in Kroten and the Trollheim Mountains.  (Thanks to Matt Borselli and Daniel Thingvold for this info).  Please pass along any further details you should hear about these modules!  Update: modules L4 and L5 are both planned to be published by www.dragonsfoot.org in the near future (probably in electronic format).  Additional modules in the series are also on the drawing board.

Mystara vaporware.  Quite a few new Mystara products were on the drawing board when TSR decided to cancel the entire campaign in late 1992.  Visit this page for a full list.  This research item is closed, but will remain here for trivia purposes.

• Original Dungeons & Dragons Manuscript.  This is the second draft of the rules notes described below, and was directly formed into the Original D&D Set.  According to Gygax, this manuscript numbered 150 pages, and was distributed to roughly thirty playtesters in the Lake Geneva area, circa 1972.  A copy of this manuscript sold at the 1995 GenCon, but it was gone before I got a chance to look at it.
   
• Original Dungeons & Dragons Rule Notes.  This is a 50-page manuscript detailing a "Supplement to Chainmail", by Gary Gygax, circa 1972.  Roughly twelve of these manuscripts were passed around to Lake Geneva-area wargamers for critique.  The feedback from that critique, as well as subsequent gaming sessions, led Gygax to develop the Original D&D Manuscript noted above.
   
• Random Events.  An in-house newsletter of TSR, entitled Random Events, ran at least 18 issues during the 1980's.  A set of these (18 total) sold at the 2004 GenCon for $420.  (A scan of the Jan 81 issue is here, and the Apr 82 issue is here; thanks to Todd Gabel and Devon Hibbs).  Todd describes the two issues he owns as strictly intra-company memos, inside jokes, etc.  We'd appreciate more info on these, as well as cover scans!
   
• Unearthed Arcana II.  Advertised in the 1986 TSR catalog, but obviously never published.  Anyone know why?  The stock number assigned to it (2020) was eventually re-assigned to Wilderness Survival Guide.  Also, if someone could scan the mock-up cover of this from the 1986 TSR catalog, we'd appreciate it!  Thanks to Mark Petrick for pointing this out.

Wasp Nest: City State of Stoink.  A module by Gary Gygax that was apparently on the verge of publication when Gygax had his falling-out with TSR management, and the project was yanked.  The module was never published in any form.  This research item is closed, but will remain here for trivia purposes.

WG7 Shadowlords.  From the Summer 1986 Mail Order Hobby Shop catalog:  "A high-level module set in the World of Greyhawk.  Journey to the perilous Plane of Shadow to rescue Princess Esterilla and confront the master of the plane... where you find yourself an unexpected guest at a wedding where the guests include a lizardman, a catlord, and a mistress of illusion!".  Assigned TSR stock # 9184.  Gary Gygax and Skip Williams were collaborating on the project, but it was shelved due to Gygax's lawsuit with TSR.  Gygax has since stated that while Wizards of the Coast has given permission to have the module published, the fact that it will be produced "on spec" (no contract nor advance payment), makes it unlikely that he or Skip will be undertaking the project anytime soon.  The original mention of it is in Dragon Magazine #37, page 10, where it's called "Shadowland".  We'd be interested in getting a scan of the pre-production mockup cover for this module, which apparently appeared in one or more of the 1986 - 1987 TSR product catalogs.  This research item is closed, but will remain here for trivia purposes.

WGRX Ivid the Undying.  Never released to the public, this module was supposedly on the cusp of publication when the project was yanked.  A TSR Stock number (#9399) was assigned, but later re-assigned to WGR5 Iuz the Evil.  The text of Ivid the Undying was released by Wizards of the Coast and is freely distributable (and an extensively re-worked and re-formatted version is available for download in our Library section).  A supposed cover scan of the module even surfaced (it can be viewed here).  The painting is by Mark Nelson, though Nelson has stated that the image was used as interior artwork in an issue of Dragon magazine, and was not used as a module cover.  The scan is a clever forgery.  Mike Kline, the CEO of Gamer's Realm, recently informed us that the he has written testimony from the "compiler" of the cover describing how he made it.  Erik Mona, editor of Dungeon magazine, states that the true planned cover of Ivid the Undying was actually painted by Jeff Easley, and appears as the cover of "Blood Enemies of Cerelia," a late-era Birthright product.  In fact, in a Jeff Easley trading card set released by FPG in the mid/late 1990s, the "Blood Enemies" cover art is actually called "Ivid the Undying."  The artwork has been used as a mock cover on the module version available for download in the Library section.  This research item is closed, but will remain here for trivia purposes.

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