Hey all,

The other day I sort of lost my shit in the thread regarding 4th print Dungeon Masters Guides and I shouldn't have.  I know that it isn't like demios or anyone else is out there serruptitiously buying off good, usable prints of the thing by the pallet-load from Addall, eBay and Amazon and putting them to the torch.

I've seen some copies of the DMG of various print in local used bookshops that I felt would have been better served going in to a land fill than a gamer's hands: books with stiffened, stuck-together pages stained from page 1 to 233 with some mysterious brown substance (spilled soda or coffee, I'd wager), or books with spines and covers so destroyed as to make the books nigh-unusable.

It isn't like the suggestion was posed that all but a few true-1st DMGs be destroyed, or anything near that.  Copies like those I described above really should be out of circulation; trying to use books in that damaged a condition is at the very best frustrating.

So my apologies for being snarky about the matter, and best of luck in the investigation.  Knowing and understanding D&D, especially old, out of print versions, involves not only the rules and the adventures but the history of the company and I understand now that this is what you're striving for.  I'm still not a big fan of "board and hoard" on OOP products but ultimately the longer the game is preserved, the longer it has the potential to be played.

Bill Silvey,

TheDungeonDelver