Here's one:

D&D Basic set 2nd Printing Jan 1978 w/lizard logo. Per Acaeum it comes with Geomorphs Set One 2nd printing. I've got Geomorphs Set Two! Everything else jives just fine. Think they ran out and substituted?

I'm checking on the DL1 thing...I seem to remember seeing the same thing about a price on the back...

Hmm, I didn't know that.  Interesting.


One other:  I've seen people mention that they've found two different shrinkwrap versions of M1, Blizzard Pass.  One has the blue pen with the yellow cap, the other has the solid blue pen.  Since the solid blue is found with all known printings of M2, it's likely the 2nd print.

Not sure if this qualifies as a "printing" since the module itself is unchanged, and the only way to differentiate is if the item is sealed.  But as precedent, the "header" modules are designated as different printings.

Thanks, zanarchist.  I've never seen an M2 with blue and yellow.


So perhaps the chronology is like this?
[1] M1 1st print, with blue and yellow, 1983
[2] M2 1st print, with blue and yellow, 1983
[3] M1 2nd print, with blue, c1984?
[4] M2 2nd print, with blue, c1984?

A Look at the AD&D Coloring Album

I was asked to describe this item for a friend of mine who has never seen it.  It is quite cheesy, and yet surprisingly filled with lots of interesting "Gygaxian" details on monster lore and descriptions, different clothing and behaviors between the demi-human races, and more.  If you've never seen it, this is a quick summary of the book's story.  It offers a few nice glimpses into Greyhawk.  Enjoy.


The adventure begins at none other than the Green Dragon Inn -- the legendary City of Greyhawk establishment owned by Sir Robilar himself.  This site dates back to Rob Kuntz' campaigns of 1972; odds are that the first use of the "You go to the local tavern, looking for fellow adventurers" plot hook was put to use here before it was anywhere else.

It is interesting to note that the City of Greyhawk is not mentioned by name -- it simply states, "a busy inn in a town on the shores of the Lake of Unknown Depths"; coupling this location with the Green Dragon, there is no other place that this could be.  Whether Gygax wanted to distance this work from Greyhawk, while still using the setting, is uncertain.

One of the chief party members is Sertern, a cleric of St. Cuthbert.  Whether or not this personage is identical to Serten, of Serten's Spell Immunity etc., is not known.

Once the group is ready, they set out for "the ruined castle keep" -- if this is a matter of obfuscation similar to that for the City of Greyhawk, above, then this can be no other than Castle Greyhawk itself.

Interestingly, their very first encounter occurs when a bulette thunders out of the earth and devours one of the horses.  The illustration reveals that this is a mirror of the event depicted on the first page of the original Monster Manual.  (Take a look there!)

Surviving this, they delve into the dungeons below the ruins.  It is very clear that this is a high-level adventure -- their first opponent there is a lich.  The nameless lich uses a Power Word Stun to disrupt its enemies, but Sertern manages to turn it.  It is worth noting that the power to turn undead is here called "the prayer of abjuration against the undead" -- the earliest instance I know of where the nature of turning is explored by Gygax, however slightly.

In revenge, the lich summons his lover (!), Strovolla the Night Hag, from Hades.  She appears, riding a nightmare, but apparently too late to stop the party, which has fled the encounter and gone deeper.

The fun doesn't stop.  They plunge from the dungeons into caverns, and cross an old bridge that leads over a black river.  A beholder (!) appears to block their way.  Erghwi, a dwarf fighter, is slain by the Death Stare.  The party fights back and kills the monster.  It is here explained what happens when a beholder dies -- it loses its powers of levitation, and crashes down into the river.

Its treasure includes an arcane tablet.  An ever-curious halfling thief reads it (of course!) and vanishes into thin air.  Little known to his friends, he has gone to the ethereal plane, where he befriends a ki-rin and its griffon servant.  He is granted a Pearl of Forseeing which will become instrumental later on.  Clearly the ki-rin wants the party to succeed!

Meanwhile, the rest of the party presses on, believing the halfling to have been lost. They are attacked by an umber hulk, which they kill.  Sertern uses "laying on hands" (describing clerical healing, which is thus identical to the paladin power) to heal one of the wounded adventurers.  The halfling thief pops back into the party at this time, pearl in tow.

The leader of the party, Parlun Jall, asks the halfling to use the pearl to determine which path they should take.  A dwarf named Trelli Grey-Sides takes it from him, and uses its magic to enter into a trance.

What he sees down the eastern passage is not encouraging -- there dwells Demogorgon himself, surround by Vrock and Hezrou demons!  Needless to say, they don't go that way.

The elf uses the pearl next, to look to the west.  There lies a huge underground fortress, where armies of hobgoblins and gnolls are battling one another.  The party doesn't wish to be swarmed by hundreds of these creatures, so they don't go that way either.

So Parlun uses the pearl, to look to the north.  There, he sees an enormous ettin riding a titanothere.  Although they could probably overcome this, Parlun declares that they must find another way.

So Sertern, at last, uses the pearl to look south.  He sees a number of encounters, with a salamander, a su-monster, a quasit, and a xorn.  The xorn looks back at Sertern -- it can see him through the trance!  It demands the Pearl of Foreseeing, devours it, and Sertern wakes.  Sertern says they must go south, even though he has foreseen his own death.  They grimly pass on.

Overcoming these monsters (and apparently getting revenge on the xorn), the party moves on, but Sertern does indeed die.  They come upon the lair of a wizard, trapped in an enchanted sleep.  He is freed.  Gratefully, the wizard joins the party, opens a gate to the City of Brass, and summons an efreeti.  He demands that it grant the group three wishes to aid their quest.

We get a nice look at the nastiness of wishes, when the efreeti holds the wizard to the letter of his words.  Wishing to reach the last goal of the quest, the efreeti obeys, and teleports them there.

They find themselves in the lair of Tiamat herself!  She sits atop a treasure hoard beyond compare.  The party is doomed.  The wizard, frantically, uses his second wish, banishing Tiamat back to Hell.  "Send this monster back to Hell's floor, but keep us safe!"  The nasty efreeti acknowledges this command as two separate wishes.  Tiamat disappears, with all of her treasure as well.  The efreeti, freed from its service, vanishes.

The wizard laments their failure.  Parlun Jall is simply glad to be alive, and notes that an ascending passage seems to offer the way out of Greyhawk's dungeons, and away from the failed quest.  The wizard and the group part ways.

Later, a dwarf named Ukeli finds one last door, and can't resist opening it.  Inside, they find a colossal hoard of treasure, nearly rivaling Tiamat's own.  They take as much as they can carry and leave the dungeon.

How did they have such fantastic luck?  Far away, the ki-rin looks on with approval.  Through its manipulations, Tiamat has been banished.  He and the griffon turn their attention elsewhere, leaving the Greyhawk adventurers to their rewards.

There are a few other details of interest in the book, as follows:
•        The mini-game included in the book details the quest to find the Holy Talisman of St. Cuthbert, of "great power against the hordes of Evil threatening to overwhelm the Kingdom of Good."  Although presented as a throwaway line, this likely relates to the machinations of Iuz later detailed in Dragon magazine and then the Gord novels.
•        Four other adventurers are named -- Adelhardt the Paladin, Krylla the Rangeress, Ibli the Dwarven Fighter, and Regalan the Wizard.  This is the only place I know of where Gygax gives the female title of Ranger as Rangeress.
•        The dungeon of the game is entirely different from that in the story -- perhaps another level of Greyhawk Castle?  The monsters faced include:  another beholder, a type IV demon, giant rats, an ogre mage, an ochre jelly, a gorgon, a giant octopus, a carrion crawler, another xorn, a remorhaz, a giant spider, another umber hulk, and a unique type of super-skeletons, the Iron Skeletons of Grusyin (yet another one of Greyhawk's mad arch-mages from long ago).
•        This dungeon's layout pays definite tribute to the Dungeon of Zenopus, as described in the 1978-1979 "blue book" basic rules.  Check out the skeleton crypts, and the underwater river and lake in the southwest corner.

All in all, it's a very interesting look at two different dungeon adventures, presented by Gygax in the glory days of the game.  Needless to say, this often-overlooked book is highly recommended.

Howdy All,


I have a bit of research I'm conducting here:

Interesting Items Previously on eBay • Page 43 • Collecting General •  The Acaeum

Also, I have a 1977 character sheet pad with Lizard logo and F1009 code - a newly discovered TRUE 1st print!


Futures Bright,

Paul

Just got Dark & Hidden Ways and Wild Things with their respective WSG & DSG.



The Bar Codes are, indeed, X'ed out on the Guides.

War of Wizards -- A  Look at the Original Wizard Dueling Game



Hi all,



This is an overview of War of Wizards, an interesting 1975 TSR release by M.A.R. Barker.  I thought those of you who haven't seen it might be curious as to its contents.  This review covers the 2nd Printing, from 1976.



It's an intriguing piece -- it is set in the Hirilakte Arena of Tekumel (Empire of the Petal Throne), but is easily used to mirror magical duels in D&D as well.  (The back catalog entry states, "excerpted from EPT, usable in D&D.")  The forward is by Gary Gygax dated May 1st, 1975.  The game predates Magic:  The Gathering by 18 years, and was likely the inspiration for the Wizard game (in Steve Jackson's The Fantasy Trip) as well.



Basically, the game consists of two players using magical spells to defeat one another in a controlled environment.  Players choose to control either sorcerers or priests.  The classes are largely similar, but use different hand weapons (daggers or maces), and each has a few exclusive spells.



Each character has 3 attributes:  Physical Power, Attack Strength, and Defense Strength.  Each of these attributes can range from 2 to 200 -- and these values are arrived at solely by the use of percentile dice, 2d100!  Needless to say, the random element will often put one player at a severe disadvantage before the game even begins.  But fortunately, the game is heavily skill-oriented, and all but the worst deficits can be overcome with clever play.



There are 71 spells in all.  Most are used to summon monsters, to fight in your stead.  Others are used to attack or defend.  Some of the more interesting ones include:

•        The Hands of Kra the Mighty:  Basically a crushing Bigby's Hand spell.  Perhaps the inspiration?

•        Necromancy:  Allows you to summon undead, or to steal undead that were summoned by the opponent.

•        Control Terrain:  Allows you to defend yourself with walls of stone, or to open a chasm under your opponent's feet.

•        Invisibility:  Allows you to send forth invisible creatures.  The mechanics are rather interesting, since this is a board game and both players can see them!  The creatures are face-down (identity known only to the caster) and have special bonuses until detected.



Summoning spells are the primary mode of attack -- the more targets the opponent has to deal with, the more likely you are to move and proceed unhindered.  Many spells (such as Control Terrain) have a dual use -- you can either attack with them, or defend.  Others have specific counterspells -- for example, if you have Vapour of Death cast on you, you can cancel it out with Neutralize Poison.  The give-and-take nature of the battlefield, with monsters appearing and destroyed, walls placed in defense, counterspells flying, and strategies mutating according to your rival's casting, has a lot of the flavor of an early (circa 1993) Magic:  The Gathering game.  If only TSR had considered the use of cards instead of basic gameboard pieces … the collectible card game revolution might well have begun two decades earlier, and TSR might still be around!  



The trick to the game is that your rival's wizard is the "chess king" -- you can knock down his summoned monsters all you like, but you won't win the game until he himself is defeated.  Which class you play can have a major effect on your tactics.  Sorcerers exceed at offense and trickery, and priests are capable of healing and defensive counters.  Interestingly, you can shunt points between your three attributes, with some restrictions.  Attack Strength is needed to cast offensive spells, Defensive Strength is used to cast counters and wards, and Physical Power is a mutable resource that can be given to either.  However, if your Physical Power is entirely depleted, you lose the game.



The game is fast-moving, cinematic, and addictive.  The simple pieces are largely replaced by the imaginary events of the duel, making this a very fun 1-on-1 venture for those nights when you don't have enough players for a D&D game.



The only downside is that the random character creation element removes a great deal of the inherent strategy -- whichever player has a higher attribute total is much more likely to win.  To circumvent this, I recommend that each player be given an equal, fixed amount of attribute points, to allocate as they see fit:



Short game:  200 points

Intense game:  400 points

Epic game:  600 points



And it then becomes much more fun.  Just make sure that each player determines their totals without seeing what the other is up to.  Unless there is a neutral referee around, the totals will need to be shown before play begins.  But "blind man's bluff" games can be very tense!



It's recommended to anyone -- not just as a collectible, but as a game that is still very enjoyable to play.



Lastly, for those who keep track of such things, these are the products listed in the back, available as of May 1976:  Tractics, Panzer Warfare, Boot Hill, Little Big Horn, Tricolor, Cavaliers and Roundheads, Don't Give Up the Ship, Classic Warfare, Fight in the Skies, Airpower, Chainmail, Dungeons & Dragons, Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, Dungeon!, Empire of the Petal Throne, War of Wizards, Star Probe, Multi-Sided Die Sets, Percentile Dice (d20s numbered 0-9 twice, heh), The Character Archaic, Complete Catalog (I would love to see this!), The Dragon, and Little Wars.



More reviews to come!

On all of the first printing Dungeon Masters Guides that I have seen the D at the end of advanced on the yellow banner seems to be trying to sneak off the top of the cover.



Also, the early printings of the Dungeon Masters Guide, Players Handbook, and Monster Manual have their bindings sewn up with 17 stitches. A red and yellow striped cord stretches across the top and bottom of the binding.

ifearyeti wrote:On all of the first printing Dungeon Masters Guides that I have seen the D at the end of advanced on the yellow banner seems to be trying to sneak off the top of the cover.

This could be useful. Can anyone else confirm this? It would be nice to have a fairly reliable way to tell a first print or a true first print of the DMG just by looking at a cover scan.



Cheers,

Curt