Hello all,
I was going through my records the other day and I found some points of rarity where I disagree with the Acaeum. I'd like to open these for discussion, to see if other people have seen the same trends that I have.
I'm not sure if my collection size is large enough to provide an accurate sample; I've purchased or traded for about 4,900 modules total over the past 24 years, and my personal collection right now is around 400. That may sound like a lot, but if we combine the knowledge and collections of everyone on the forum, it's really not much at all. I'm sure some other people who have gone through large inventories over the past couple decades will have some insights to add as well.
Here's the items I feel should have changed rarities:
A1: Should be downgraded from 2 to 1; it's not as hard to find as A1-4, which is also a 2. It is the rarest in the series, but not a 2. I usually find ~8 copies of A1 to every 10 copies of A2 and A3, and about 2 extra copies of A4.
B8: Upgrade to 2. It did not have nearly the print run that
B3 through B7 did.
B9: Upgrade to 3. This module is much harder to find than either B11 or B12. In fact, I find complete copies of B10 more often than B9, even after considering the market demand for B10 complete.
C3: Upgrade to 2. For some reason, it's harder to find than C4.
CM6, CM7, CM8: Upgrade to 2. CM6 is borderline, but CM7 and CM8 are definitely (in my experience) harder to find than a complete CM5.
DDA3, DDA4: Upgrade to 2. Print runs seem to be much lower than DDA1 and DDA2, which I run across much more often.
FR9: Possibly upgrade to 2. I think it was printed just as much as the others, but collectors did a run on this one when the popularity of R.A. Salvatore's novels was climbing. It's out there, but collectors hold onto this one more than the others. In other words, I feel this item has market rarity, if not actual rarity.
FR16: Upgrade to 2. Much, much smaller print run than either FR14 or FR15.
FRC2: Upgrade to 2. Quite a bit harder to find than FRC1.
I12: Upgrade to 3 (market rarity, if not actual).
LC1: Upgrade to 3. I have owned over 100 LC-series modules, and copies of LC1 were in the single digits.
N4: Upgrade to 3. It's harder to find than N5.
OA6, OA7: Downgrade to 1. My theory is that these modules had larger print runs, due to the Forgotten Realms logo being attached and the audience being larger. OA5, however, seems rarer than these two.
WGA1, WGA2, WGA3: Downgrade to 1. This series did not sell well. Whenever I buy out old game store stock from the early 90s, I find multiple shrinkwrapped copies of these. Supply exceeds demand by quite a large margin.
WGA4: Upgrade to 3 (market rarity, if not actual).
WGQ1: Upgrade to 2. I run across about as many copies of this one as I do WGM1; but it's by no means as common as a
B3 or a
T1.
WGR3: Upgrade to 3. This seems to be the module that had the lowest print run in the entire series.
WGR4: Possibly upgrade to 3, because WGR5 and WGR6 are much easier to find.
X8: Upgrade to 2. Harder to find than X1 through X5.
X12: Upgrade to 3. I know X9 and a complete X10 are the most popular collector's items in the series, but this one seems to have had the lowest print run and is really pretty hard to find.
X13: Upgrade to 2. I have found about as many copies of this as I have X6.
XSOLO: Downgrade to 1. It's much more common than XS2.
Let me know what you think, especially if there's any you disagree with. I'm interested in knowing what other people's experiences have been.
