WotC to Release 1st Edition Premium Core Rulebooks Reprints

Morrus · Jan 20, 2012

frankthedm said:
A 25% size increase in a book is pretty easy to pull off with a few formatting tweaks and more art.

Yeah. Just increase the font size a bit. Make the margins slightly wider. Voila! An extra 50 pages for free!

w_earle_wheeler · Jan 20, 2012

I think I will remain a little underwhelmed until I learn who is doing the new cover art and what percentage of the money is going toward the memorial (and honestly, the "memorial" leaves me a bit underwhelmed as well, unlike something such as a Gygax Grant or Scholarship fund would).

People claiming that the current prices are "in-line" with inflation are forgetting many important key elements:

1. The D&D hardcovers were considered to be very high-priced items in their day.
2. Smaller print-runs equal higher cost per unit.
3. The original products were also "paying" for the cost of their development.

In any case, I hope this is a good product and that it succeeds. I would love to see a similar release for an Arneson related fund.

Nikosandros · Jan 20, 2012

Could someone explain to me the reason for the North-America only restriction? :erm:

I'm naturally disappointed, but also perplexed by this. I'm sure there is some kind of reason and I was wondering about it.

Henry · Jan 20, 2012

w_earle_wheeler said:
People claiming that the current prices are "in-line" with inflation are forgetting many important key elements:

1. The D&D hardcovers were considered to be very high-priced items in their day.
2. Smaller print-runs equal higher cost per unit.
3. The original products were also "paying" for the cost of their development.

I disagree on two of the three points:

1. Just like with this reprint -- people are saying they're high-priced, also.
2. Agreed -- just basic print economics.
3. The development cost for AD&D was I believe relatively low, given some interviews with people like Gary and with Tim Kask -- I believe Mr. Kask said a lot of Holmes D&D's and AD&D's development was taking a pile of notes on individual rules items and previous articles in the brown booklets, going through each one, deciding what was to be included in an "introductory D&D" vs. the "Advanced" one, and tacking them to a wall to separate them, or something to that effect. Then he turned the task of proper organization and rewrite to Dr. Holmes for the Basic, and then himself for the Advanced. Gary's been quoted as saying, "Every single word in the OAD&D Player's Handbook and DMG was written by me." So development cost was pretty much him (and Tim Kask).

mudbunny · Jan 20, 2012

Nikosandros said:
Could someone explain to me the reason for the North-America only restriction?

I'm naturally disappointed, but also perplexed by this. I'm sure there is some kind of reason and I was wondering about it.

I have poked WotC to find out what is the reason behind it. It being friday, it may take some time to get an answer, so I make no promises.

Knightfall · Jan 21, 2012

Echohawk said:
The only differences between the original 2e DMG and the revised black-cover version are the inclusion of the errata and the new formatting, layout and art. The actual content is the same. The higher page count is simply because of the larger font and increased white space. (The black cover PH had a similar increase in pages, from 256 to 320.)

frankthedm said:
A 25% size increase in a book is pretty easy to pull off with a few formatting tweaks and more art. IMHO the revised black cover 2E PHB and DMG art choices were a bit lacking at times.

I still like it.

But I understand about the artwork. The first 2e core books had great artwork. The revised ones aren't as good. Yet, the art doesn't ruin them for me. In fact, it reminds me a lot of the art from the Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure boxed set, which is one of my favorite 2e products.

And adding errata is a good thing. :angel:

But, I'm not going to try to convince you. I have a feeling that would be pointless.

Morrus said:
Yeah. Just increase the font size a bit. Make the margins slightly wider. Voila! An extra 50 pages for free!

I like free.

Aaron L · Jan 21, 2012

Wow. This actually makes me feel good about WotC again, something haven't felt since 4E came out.

I am definitely buying a set. Even though I have my original 1E books on a shelf 3 feet away from me at the moment (including a copy of Deities & Demigods with the Cthulhu Mythos that took me quite a while to track down back before the Internet was widespread) I want these; to support the Fund, to have new books so I can set my old ones aside to save on the wear (even though the tank-like DMG is in fine condition, my PHB and MM are a bit worn) and simply to have NEW 1E BOOKS! Too bad no Unearthed Arcana... every copy of UA I've ever seen has the same chunk of pages coming loose, and a new printing of it with a solid binding would be rad, but I digress...

This might even be enough to get my old DM to start up a new 1E campaign, something he's ALMOST done 3 times over the past 2 years but kept getting sidetracked by Real Life. It'd be totally RAD to roll up a new 1E Ranger and go to town again.

Even though I was only 1 year old when 1E came out, the majority of my gaming has been 1E, and I still love it.

If this is any indication that 5E will take old-timers into consideration I will be very, very happy. (Man, old-timer at 35...geez! Never trust anyone over 30, indeed! Damn, I've been posting on ENWorld for a decade! Holy crap!)

Tanstaafl_au · Jan 21, 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.

This.
Bah.

Restrains self from entitlement filled rant.

At least I have my originals.

Warunsun · Jan 21, 2012

Nikosandros said:
Could someone explain to me the reason for the North-America only restriction?

Likely it ties into the "Encounters" retail program. Do they allow "Encounters" overseas? The PDF sheet says they are also denying the book-trade access to these special books so any hobby store that doesn't directly deal with the WotC retail program or a WotC approved game distributor even in USA will not likely be able to get them.

One thing I am very curious about is are they reprinting these books with similar paper and ink or are they using the newer cheaper papers and inks of modern D&D books? Even with a new cover they will not look right on that nasty glossy paper. You spill even a drop of Mountain Dew on it and the ink runs too. For that premium price I hope for a premium printing.

Nikosandros · Jan 21, 2012

Warunsun said:
Likely it ties into the "Encounters" retail program. Do they allow "Encounters" overseas?

I'm currently out of the loop, but there certainly was an Encounters program at my FLGS.

Also, I can understand tying playtesting to the Encounters program, but how could it be related to the release of some books?