WotC to Release 1st Edition Premium Core Rulebooks Reprints

thedungeondelver · Jan 19, 2012

Odhanan said:
Thank you Wizards.

No.

Really.

THANK YOU.

I didn't think I would see that. And yet. OMG. I'm actually lacking words.

Thank you so much.

It's 9:05 AM here and I'm honestly thinking about having a glass of wine to celebrate this. You with me, Ben?

thedungeondelver · Jan 19, 2012

Layander said:
Please tell me how or when I can buy these I need them now. I am so excited!

If you're in the states, hit your FLGS. Beg 'em to order you a copy. I bet they will!

HRG · Jan 19, 2012

thedungeondelver said:
Testing the waters my man, testing the waters...! The more folks buy the bigger the chance these'll go on to see full reprints!

I'll be very surprised if these don't fly right off the shelves, assuming they don't print an absurd number of them.

Mercurius · Jan 19, 2012

I don't want to pour water over the excitement in this thread, but I'm honestly curious: why is this such a big deal to you? From a purely practical standpoint, I would guess that every single person who has expressed excitement about this already has these books (I do, and I haven't played 1E since, well, 1987 or so); secondly, as has been noted, these books are available used for quite a bit cheaper on Ebay, and there is just no beating the old vintage covers (especially the first PHB with the statue and the 2nd DMG with the wizard opening the doors).

This seems to be a good move by WotC from a PR standpoint--this thread bears that out (even James M of Grognardia claims he'll get a set, his first WotC purchase since 2007). But I'm just wondering why there is such excitement. I mean, I would think what 1E fans would really want is new material, an actual reboot of the line with ongoing support, even if it is only one product a quarter (now that would be really cool). Or, perhaps, more practical products that aren't readily available, like a compilation of 1E adventures as delericho mentioned.

Again, I'm not criticizing the joy--I'm actually quite glad to see Old Schoolers excited about a "new" WotC product. I'm just trying to understand the specific/actual reason for the happiness. Is it because this gives a certain kind of respect for AD&D and the Old School community? Is it the new covers and the collectible factor? Is it the possibility that they might be re-printing more? Or something else?

thedungeondelver · Jan 19, 2012

Olive said:
I was excited and then I noticed they weren't going to be available outside the hobby channel (fine) and not outside North America.

Reprinting the 1e books? Great move!
Supporting local gaming stores? Wonderful!
Helping the Gygax Memorial? Even better!
Denying gamers outside the US/Canada the chance to buy these things? Really, really irritating.

Well at the risk of sounding prosaic, I know my fellow geeks here in the CONUS will do everything we can to sell these suckers out and show WIZARDS OF THE COAST that they should do an expanded market on!

thedungeondelver · Jan 19, 2012

HRG said:
I'll be very surprised if these don't fly right off the shelves, assuming they don't print an absurd number of them.

Honestly I hope it falls somewhere squarely between "limited" and "absurd number", IOW 20-25k print runs. Selling out of 5000 or so copies would even in this day and age be no trick. Selling out of bonkers amounts would show them we mean business! No, literally, sales of 1e products mean more business for them.

bouncyhead · Jan 19, 2012

thedungeondelver said:
I wonder if the new covers will be callbacks to the old covers? How cool would that be?

Very cool. But for me, if they could get them to smell like the original books... that would be something.

Actually, that makes me sound weird.

thedungeondelver · Jan 19, 2012

Quickleaf said:
Well they've got to pay for trapping the statue after all.

DM: "You see before you a statue of the grandfather of role-playing games, Gary Gygax, whose ideas inspired generations of gamers."
Player: "I search for traps...with my ten foot pole."
DM: "Show me where you're standing sucka..."

Yesssss. Then Gail stroll up and charge people 10 GP for a rope to climb out of the hole. "Or class ring, or whatever credit cards are in your wallet, dear! Just toss them up!"

Divine Bobhead · Jan 19, 2012

Wow this is truly surprising and utterly awesome. I still have my originals but it sure would be nice to have some nice new copies and the money goes to a good cause. Very, very cool!

ShinHakkaider · Jan 19, 2012

Reynard said:
People keep saying this and I think it is sad. AD&D is not 3.x or 4E -- hell, it's not even OD&D or B/X -- but it is a great game on it's own.

Maybe WotC could do a limited edition 1E conversion of some well liked 3E or 4E adventure just to get folks to experience the game. After all, if the 5E designers sat down to play all the D&D editions, shouldn't we do the same?

I dont understand why it's sad. Is this a slam? I'm not saying that AD&D is bad. but much like when I "graduated" from MARVEL SUPER HEROES (FASERIP) to DC HEROES and CHAMPIONS. I cant ever go back to FASERIP.

There are very few games from my teenage / younger years that I'd go back to playing again.

I've had some of my best gaming experiences with AD&D (I've run AND played in G1-3, I've run A1-4, T1, and D1-3 and Q1. In fact when I got rid of my hard copies of most of my Hardcopy AD&D stuff I kept most of the classic modules because I love them so.) but I cant go back to playing it. I've definitely moved on.