just to show i dont have anything against 3E despite the fact that i dont really like it (:D)...i thought i would ask this:



we look back at 1E/OD&D and we have a large batch of really rare stuff, such as ST1, the R series and the RPGA series, to name but a few. they are classics and are rare in their own right and can demand hefty amounts of money.



so concentrating on 3E only, you guys in the know, with what is available now and maybe to come, what do you feel will be of similar ilk in say 20 years, relating to 3E products? is there anything that stands out that will be a classic? what will be rare?



good discussion point imo and would be very interested in your thoughts...



Al

How about Goodman Games's "Haunted Lighthouse"?



Still, I doubt it'll ever reach the level of values and collectability we see with the original stuff.

The conversion guide, the Greyhawk Gazeteer (REYNOLDS YOU FUCKER YOU ARE NOT MORDENKAINEN YOU CHAIN-SMOKING NO TALENT BALD HACK)...oooh, there's this company and I can't remember who it is but they released a slew of $1.99 modules that were like two or three pages long; really badly produced but the content seemed solid for a threetarded product...hm, I bet those will get expensive when I'm ready to retire.



Of course by then copies of ST1 will sell for a half-mil easy, and Paul will be able to buy most of Fiji with his Woodgrain set auction.

Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil will be considered classic -- It is OOP but still a popular module which sells quite well on Ebay.

I have a feeling the new not-for-sale printed RPGA modules will become some of the "rares" of the future.

Cheers,
Curt

I would definitely say the Gen Con special The Haunted Lighthouse is defintely a keeper,and to be honest all the early Goodman Games 3.0 modules will probably get good prices. RTTOEE will also probably always command good prices due to its pedigree and connection to the original, abut due to its high print run I dont think it will ever command super high prices. I also believe that the RPGA special Greyhawk Gazetteers will be very collectible 20 years down the road as well.

Aside, why does it seem that this site is becoming more and more filled with 3rd edition stuff.  Nothing at all against 3rd edition, but this site is definitely not a 3rd ed site and yet a lot of the recent threads are focusing on 3rd edition.

bclarkie wrote:I would definitely say the Gen Con special The Haunted Lighthouse is defintely a keeper,and to be honest all the early Goodman Games 3.0 modules will probably get good prices. RTTOEE will also probably always command good prices due to its pedigree and connection to the original, abut due to its high print run I dont think it will ever command super high prices. I also believe that the RPGA special Greyhawk Gazetteers will be very collectible 20 years down the road as well.

Aside, why does it seem that this site is becoming more and more filled with 3rd edition stuff. :? Nothing at all against 3rd edition, but this site is definitely not a 3rd ed site and yet a lot of the recent threads are focusing on 3rd edition. :?

I think the site is seeing more third edition traffic because as people play third edition they gain interest in what there was in the past so they gravitate here. Also I am not sure there are that many other good AD&D/D&D sites out there, are there? Maybe there could be a 3E/D20 section created.

Something else to consider is that rare items can be effectively "created" by a Game publisher at any time.   This has already happened many times - just take the mono C2, Tamo and Tsojconth as examples.  Even though the thinking at the time wasn't:

"Let's create a limited run module only available at this Con and someday it will be a collector's item"

. . .  Nevertheless, that is exactly what happened.  Same with ST1.


Future rares will likely occur the same way:  Wotc (for instance) will make a very limited edition item (maybe with print runs of 500 or less) and it will become a new "rare".  Of course, the collector's market will ultimately determine if the value is just $50 or $500.

This may happen deliberately as well . . . comic books caught onto that and in recent years have started to inundate the market with limited run "alternate covers", "re-sketched" editions, etc.  Eventually, overproduction of "rare" items, leads to their loss of value as well.  (So what if there are only 100 issues of a particular type . . . if you do it with 100 different comics it looses its appeal).


The other thing to watch out for are "error" or recalled items.  (like an OB3).  These can pop up by accident at any time and become a bonafide "rare" item.  For instance, what if by some gross editing error, WotC released an item with a potential inflammatory "politically incorrect" statement . . . or maybe an item that infringed on the copyright of another company.  They were recalled (or destroyed), but a few copies managed to get into circulation . . .   Presto!  A modern rare!

beyondthebreach wrote:The other thing to watch out for are "error" or recalled items. (like an OB3). These can pop up by accident at any time and become a bonafide "rare" item. For instance, what if by some gross editing error, WotC released an item with a potential inflammatory "politically incorrect" statement . . . or maybe an item that infringed on the copyright of another company. They were recalled (or destroyed), but a few copies managed to get into circulation . . .  Presto! A modern rare!

It will most likely be something recalled or some printing error. Someone here was selling the misprint character sheets from Hackmaster or Goodman Games on eBay recently. It did not make the reserve though. They said there were maybe 300 (not sure of the number) that were made like that. I bid (though not high enough) thinking that they might be something worth something in the future. The most recent example of something worth way more than could be expected because it was recalled or cut short is the Dune game that was sold a few years ago.

Wizards does appear to be trying to generate the scarcity rares though. You have the , limited number, 3E books sold at release that were signed by different people. You have the special edition DM guide, though not sure of those numbers. There is also the limited run prints and lithographs they were, or are still are, selling with Magic and D&D art.

mbassoc2003 wrote:

Marlith wrote:Wizards does appear to be trying to generate the scarcity rares though. You have the , limited number, 3E books sold at release that were signed by different people. You have the special edition DM guide, though not sure of those numbers. There is also the limited run prints and lithographs they were, or are still are, selling with Magic and D&D art.

An artificially engineered rarity market will always be just that. Artificial. People see it for what it is and avoid it. WoTC are just banking on the fact that some mugs will buy the stuff thinking its rare and not just the same crap they haven't been able to shift already.

I can see your point of view but am not sure it will stand the test of time. The items are rarer than the normal items and in the case of the limited edition (leather bound etc) they are uniquely different. If an item being crap yet scarce making it not so valueable why do we all want and ST1 or are willing to pay good money for 10th Anniversary packs (which were the crap they could not sell back then). A rare piece of crap is still rare. It may not be widely desireable but to a collector (and most collectors are print run or completist junkies) it will still be desireable and as the 3E people become the 40 and 50 year old bread winners of tommorrow they will want to complete their 3E collections to regain or relive their youth (like I and some here probably do with basic and 1E).