1) Domesday Books  

2) All of the Pathfinder line (as opposed to just a select few items)

Hey everyone,

I agree with David it's gotta be MERP.
I've probably got around 15 or 16 of the campaign books and modules, but I was lucky in that I purchased them at retail.

I can't even imagine trying to pick up any other ones that I am missing because of the current asking prices.

Best regards,
Ronald

I was lucky enough to complete my MERP collection in the 90s before the LOTR movies came out and made the prices jump. Now such a collection is unaffordable by normal humans.

If I had the money I would get into OOP lead miniature lines from the 70s and 80s  like Texas Minis, Martian, Ral Partha, Wizzards & Warriors, etc. So many great old minis I'd love to see again! Then I'd hire someone to paint them all so I could use them in game (no way in hell I'm going to get around to doing it myself).  Also on the list would be complete runs of fanzines and gaming mags like Wild Hunt,  Alarums & Excursions, Beholder, Tortured Souls, etc

Mike B.

Four quick votes for MERP.  Interesting.  There's not much in the line that's really THAT pricey (say $100+), yet we must be perceiving something in the quality, Rolemaster rules, trueness to source material, etc. that adds up to it not being a good value.  Or maybe it's the thought of the many items in the mid-range (maybe $25-50) adding up to a pretty expensive group overall.

Noone said D&D?

I wonder at the MERPs popularity and havet o think it's due to the richness of the content.  Really expanded on Tolkein's magical world.  Fanzines would be cool and I'd settle for electronic collections.  Obviously IP concerns shoot that idea in the foot  

Badmike wrote:

simrion wrote:I wonder at the MERPs popularity and havet o think it's due to the richness of the content.  Really expanded on Tolkein's magical world.  Fanzines would be cool and I'd settle for electronic collections.  Obviously IP concerns shoot that idea in the foot  :(

Merp material is kind of the "perfect storm".  It's out of print; was never printed in large numbers; was never reprinted and will never be reprinted due to licensing questions; deals with an extremely popular fantasy world that transcends the gaming community to bleed into Tolkien fandom; the supplements have some of the best artwork and maps of any FRP product ever produced; and they contain a lot of content fleshing out Tolkien's world that is available no where else.  So basically sellers can ask for $40-$50 per item (with many that sell over $100 apiece) and not have to worry about anyone undercutting their prices.  A really hard line to collect at this point.

Mike B.

I agree with this analysis.  I have been collecting for many years and I too completed my MERPS collection while it was still cheap and readily available.  

As for Fanzines, I collect them and it is indeed a challenge to get complete runs.  I have found that buying lots of stuff help!  I do have almost all of the Alarums & Excursions (missing some higher numbers) and Wild Hunt.  For me the fun is trying to complete these obscure sets.  

One thing I do find onerous in collecting is the new Fantsy Flight Warhammer and Warhammer 40k stuff.  Its all pricey and they pump out quite a lot of it.  Now they have Star Wars (which I collect) so in order to keep up you need to outlay $100 - $200 per month at retail or hope for somebody to blow out it all later (like modern Runequest).

I'm sure a couple of us will take some issues you don't want;)

Brette:)

beasterbrook wrote:I'm sure a couple of us will take some issues you don't want;)

Brette:)

I'll see if I can track down my list, Brette, and will let you know.  But if I recall, none were all that early.