...is it hard to find? I have just edited an article for DM Magazine issue 20 about Lion Rampant and my urge to get one is itching again  

I have already noticed that...

There are two versions of the 1st edition.  That one shown above is the first printing and the harder of the two to find (or, at least, the more expensive).

The second printing has a different illustration in the red sphere, and is somewhat easier.

That said, it's one of those things where, if you wait, you'll find one soon enough/eventually.

Alexander1968 wrote:I'm a patient predator: I'll hide in the eBay bush and when an unsuspecting seller tries to sell his manual, I'll strike  

You'll take a first-printing from me over my dead body!  (That and Bats of Mercille -- which I've accepted that I'm never going to find -- are the only Lion Rampant-era products I'm missing.)

For the record, the second printing of the first ed looks like this: http://index.rpg.net/pictures/show-pic. ... icid=11790

g026r wrote:There are two versions of the 1st edition.  That one shown above is the first printing and the harder of the two to find (or, at least, the more expensive).

The second printing has a different illustration in the red sphere, and is somewhat easier.

That said, it's one of those things where, if you wait, you'll find one soon enough/eventually.

There are actually at least two printings of the 1st edition of the Ars Magica rules:  see http://www.ars-magica.net/index.php?id=65&L=1 and I thought that there were perhaps three.  My recollection is that ArM 1st editions had different color back covers inks/fonts, in addition to the different image on the front cover.  My first printing has black text ink on a white background color, with red hand signs.  Anyone else able to confirm other colors/variants???

And it was book format, never a boxed set.

grodog wrote:
There are actually at least two printings of the 1st edition of the Ars Magica rules:  see http://www.ars-magica.net/index.php?id=65&L=1 and I thought that there were perhaps three.  My recollection is that ArM 1st editions had different color back covers inks/fonts, in addition to the different image on the front cover.  My first printing has black text ink on a white background color, with red hand signs.  Anyone else able to confirm other colors/variants???

And it was book format, never a boxed set.

Doing some Ars Magica research this morning, so a little thread resurrection to say, "Yes, my first print matches that."