I've gotta say I'm fairly "sated" with my D&D collecting.  As I'm a gamer first and collector distant second, having good working copies of stuff is just about enough for me, but there's still one or two things I wouldn't mind having...

Case in point: while I know that by the time I can afford one at today's prices they'll be out of reach, I'd love to have a copy of Lost Toamachan - if for no other reason that Dave Sutherland's character portraits therein.

Plus I'd like to have a nice, boxed OCE, "Just 'cause".  Maybe I can find one of those one day.

Now, don't get me wrong - if I found a super-duper rare thing (an orange B3, an ST1, a Lost Caverns of Tsojconth wintercon, etc.) lying around at the local used bookstore I'd pounce on it!

But as active pursuit goes, aside from pastel modules (which are common enough - I got a damn near mint copy of C1 for like $7 total with shipping as a BiN offa ebay), I think those two I mentioned above are the ones I'd really, really love to have for my own.

Schopenhauer was right.  We are caught between boredom on the one hand, and constant striving and pain on the other.  

red_bus wrote:Schopenhauer was right.  We are caught between boredom on the one hand, and constant striving and pain on the other.  

You must be looking in my window, Steven!

Anyway, I'd say the one thing that's been gnawing at me for a while is a nice woodgrain.  I have this fantasy that once I finally find one, I'll sit back and take a breather.

On a somewhat related note, and since we've been discussing collecting as an investment strategy on another thread, I'd have to say that for me it's not about the monetary value or potential appreciation thereof of the items I collect.  It's about owning a piece of the history of this incredible game.  I know I've paid too much for some of the rares I have, but f*ck it, now I have them.  And I sure as hell love taking them down and looking at them, and in some cases, actually using them.  Damn, that can be quite a rush.

Prolly unattainable, but...

During my RPGA days I pasted copies of some of the original OD&D art (Greg Bell & others) into the Polyhedrons. A couple of the originals were still around, but nobody seemed to know where they were, not even Dave Sutherland.

If they survived... now, THOSE would be an ultimate treasure. Sketchy and crude as they were, those OD&D illos represent the birth pangs of an entire industry.


On a related note, I have a couple of the original B&W pieces used to illustrate my R series, but that's all. Would love to buy back the rest from whoever got 'em (and who fails to realize what treasure they have...).

Since the only true "rare" I ever possessed was an orange B3...given to me as part of a whole collection someone no longer wanted and which I gave away not long after because I "already had a copy of that module"...I'd like to have another of those.

But really...a mint true 1st DMG would probably be my choice because it's the book that really started me on my long adventure and the one I far and away spent the most time reading....and still do. Is that sad? I don't care. Other than that, I'd really just like to talk to my favorite authors/creators from back in the day...you know, a place like this one.  

As for the "value" of collecting...I'm a player first, always have been, always will be and a reader second. Collecting is merely a by-product. I think it's the greatest game ever invented (with the possible exception of chess) and I just enjoy it for all it has given and continues to give me. I don't really care what someone else says it's worth (well, except the seller and insurance company), it's about what it's worth to me.

I'm nearly through unpacking and cataloguing my collection and adding the main missing pieces of import and they are now proudly displayed for the first time in years, although not in the main room where I think they belong (wives...). Just seeing them sitting there gives me pleasure. That's what it's about. Nostalgia, fun, value, all of it.

Am I sated? Not really and doubt I ever will be. And that's a good thing. It insures I have something relatively trivial to pursue to keep me busy and excited. For another thing, I'm not in the market for rares but if I had the cash, I probably would be. Maybe one day I will. But I am happy. The pieces that mean the most in my value system are in place and where I can see and handle them.

Does that answer your question? Heh...

Well, I just scored a non-OCE edition of the white box along with all original supplements, so I'm happy on that front. As a result a wood grain seems superfluous right now, but if I came across one cheap or in a unique place I'd jump on it of course (need to spend my money on other items I don't yet have).

What I really would love to have right now are RPGA modules R1-4 and RPGA1-8! Not super rare, but I'd like to have a copy of H1 if I could find it.

Thanks deimos but a man can dream...seriously, something along the lines VF would be more than sufficient for my tastes or even VG, provided the wear was of the type that doesn't really bother me.

...perhaps if some board members expressed an interest in seeing a printed up version of this concept that would motivate me! Of couse if I did make such a module it would only be a couple copies offered for free to interested board members!

--->Alright! I love D3 and I fell in love with the whole Dark Elf Underdark back when I got D3. Talk about a strange new world to be discovered. So write away, I look forward to your first draft!

As far as what I don't have but want...just about everyone else's collections would be nice.

grodog wrote:Canonfire! at http?www.greyhawkonline.com/OJ_14.pdf

Better make that:

http://www.greyhawkonline.com/canonfire/OJ_14.pdf