Pre-d20 Kingdoms of Kalamar help needed • Page 2 • Collecting General

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Pre-d20 Kingdoms of Kalamar help needed
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Mars
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Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 1:47 pm

I have 3 copies of the Sovereign Lands book and all are 2nd printings. The colour of the cover does seem to vary a bit between more greyish and more browish.

The colour wrap around covers are loose on the books and were available with the ones that sold separately. I have one but it is in shrink so I haven't opened it to see if it is a 1st print or not. I also just placed an order for the other one. Chances are that the colour cover sheets were lost or destroyed if the shrink was opened and the book not stored in a plastic bag - they are rather fragile.

I think the open questions are:

1) Did 1st print books (sold individually) come with colour wraparound covers?
2) Did 2nd print books (sold individually) come with colour wraparound covers?

TheHistorian
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Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 2:44 pm

3) Did any box sets have 1st print books?

The color difference I noticed was significant - tan/beige (2nd) vs. significantly dark grey (1st).

Deadlord
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Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 8:31 pm

I'll scan them in and post a link if you guys would like to hammer out the details.

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TheHistorian
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Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 10:36 pm

If you've got a minute, go for it. Thanks Frank.

Deadlord
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 9:55 am

Glad to help. I wish I could remember where/when I got it. I do know it came in the poly bag it's in now.

If you hit a Rowsdower, you get to keep it.

TheHistorian
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Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 3:59 pm

Here are some images to compare. The darker is the first printing of volume one. Volume two has matching coloration.

Mars
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Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 4:04 pm

I've also determined that both of my books with the colour cover sheets are 2nd prints as well.

TheHistorian
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Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 4:42 pm

Interesting.

I'm not sure what the heck that tells us, but it's interesting.

So that answers question 2, leaving 1 and 3 still open.

Mars
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 1:20 pm

Since it was determined that I don't have any first print Kalamar items, I ended up buying this lot:

** expired/removed eBay auction **

It sounds like First Prints were not available in a boxed set but more of a ziplock. Included are the two books, two maps, hex overlay and comment card.

TheHistorian
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 2:17 pm

That matches what Frank and I found when digging through his stuff.

So that's probably first, then color covers loose and brown covers boxed second.

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jkason
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 12:12 am

Curiosity has now stung me....

What are the printing dates for the two versions?

Dave, get the barbarian in the corner a drink, quick!

TheHistorian
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 12:20 am

1994 and 1995, if I remember right.

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Mars
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 9:52 am

Ya, the dates are 1st: July 1994 and 2nd: March 1995.

jkason
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 9:54 pm

Okay. Now I have a theory.

Since (David) Kenzer is/was a corporate lawyer, he saved up his coin and printed the 1st print run (ala Gary Gygax), which funded the second print run, which was a box set.

That, in turn funded the printing of Tradgedy in the House of Brodeln (1995), Secret Temple of Adajy (1997), and Beneath the Waves (1998).

While these were being produced, Dave and his friends came up with ideas for adventures, but they couldn't produce them all in a standard-size format; hence, we get the digest-sized Kalamar Quests series (all printed 1999-2000).

After the relese of 3e, Dave signed a deal with WoTC to license the D&D logo to put on his campaign materials - likely all funded by those adventures (and a little comic called Knights of the Dinner Table).

Just a theory.
Sorry - didn't feel like hot-linking everything.

Dave, get the barbarian in the corner a drink, quick!

TheHistorian
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:04 pm

Seems viable.

Go to the Kenzer Co forums and ask. David posts there pretty much daily, so I'd be surprised if you didn't get an answer.

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Mars
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:00 am

Just to sum up, we believe that rule books were available as follows:

* 1st print - Volumes 1 & 2 in Ziplock Bag with maps, overlay and comment card

* 2nd print - Volumes 1 & 2 with maps in boxed set

* 2nd print books sold separately with colour covers

* 2nd print books sold separately without colour covers

TheHistorian
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 9:38 am

The box set has the plastic overlay as well.

Do you really think the separate books came two ways? Not just copies with the color covers torn/worn off? I don't know either way, just asking.

Areas of interest/knowledge: Harn, WFRP, Ars Magica, anything BRP based such as CoC, Runequest, Pendragon and all their related games

Mars
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 9:55 am

TheHistorian wrote:The box set has the plastic overlay as well.

Do you really think the separate books came two ways? Not just copies with the color covers torn/worn off? I don't know either way, just asking.

I'm not 100% sure but it seems that most of the copies I have come across don't have the colour cover - I think I've had 5 or 6 copies of Volume 1 pass through my hands without the colour cover. It seems like too many to have been lost.

Probably a good question to ask over on Kenzer. If it was only available in the boxed set or with colour cover then I would guess the colour cover is now fairly rare.

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