Tell me about these older edition products [old list]

[Treebore]

[*]Apocalypse Stone, the- Lousy adventure, don't recommend.
[*]Axe of the Dwarvish Lord Worth geting if you want maps for a big dwarvish stronghold, other than that, pretty lame.

[*]Bestiary of Dragons and Giants- Yuck!
[*]Book of Marvelous Magic, the -- This book is definitely available at a used book store here in Edmonton. -You likely have better material form your 3E purchases. Decent back in its day, though.

[*]Book of Wondrous Inventions-definitely better stuff available nowadays.

[*]Creature Catalogue- Probably not worth it, especially if you never play on playing thsi edition again.


[*]D&D Rules Cyclopedia-always worth having

[*]Die Vecna Die-Cool read, some good ideas on how to run a high level game, lots of bad ideas too.

[*]Dungeon Master's Guide [1e]- Always worth having

[*]Fiend Folio [1e] Slaadi, Death Knights, Skeletal Warrior, etc... make their first MM (meaning non module/Dragon magazine) appearance. So worth having if you want that, otherwise you probably like newer versions better.

[*]Fires of Dis-I liked it, lots of good ideas, never used it as is though.

[*]Gates of Firestorm Peak, the -One of those adventures that I mined for ideas, but never had a desire to run.

[*]Ravenloft: Domains of Dread [2e hard cover] -- This book is definitely available at a used book store here in Edmonton.- Well, hard to say since Ravenloft never excited you. I love Ravenloft and love this book.

[*]Reverse Dungeon- I think this sucks
[*]Shady Dragon Inn- I like it, glad I have it.

[*]Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry -- I'd likely get the PDF version Other than from a gaming history aspect, not worth getting. There is a much better written version available on line, in the same way OSRIC is a good way to get the 1E rules. I think Mythmere wrote it and a link is available at Lulu. I think he called it "White Box edition".

[*]Tales from the Infinite Staircase-sucked

[*]TSR Jam 1999-sucked

[*]Vecna Lives!-generally sucked, good ideas about high level play, and also bad ideas.

 

[Treebore]

So, with these two books I'll get pretty much everything I'll need for truly understanding how OD&D works? I'm not looking to run an OD&D campaign, but I could see myself playing it online.

Well, if you only see yourself playing, no need to get the monsters. The RC is good for a whole lot more than playing. Read it, its probably the finest single rule book ever written for D&D.

 

[Knightfall]

The Dungeon Masters Guide 1e
It may not be worth much now when compared to the 4e DMG, but its still a classic. Features include: a random dungeon generator, disease charts, random monster tables, a "+2 backscratcher," the combat tables NOT FOUND in the 1e PHB!, Gygazian Prose, and poor organization of subject matter (especially went compared to later books).

Just get it.

i know that the 1e DMG gets a lot of praise for being the "best" DMG ever made, but I've asked why before. It sounds like its the charts and tables that make it great. How does the randon dungeon generator work exactly?

The Fiend Folio 1e
This tome has the flumph, the only LG monster in the entire book. If you manage to kill a PC with a flumph, the player will never live it down. Other classic monsters like the Githzerai and Githyanki originate from this book. Since the book was compiled from a bunch of monster design submissions, the quality of monsters varies. You get outstanding monsters like the Death Knight to lame monsters like the Flail Snail and the Tirapheg (what the hell is that?)

I'm interested in this one mainly to learn more about the background of classic monsters. How much fluff is there for each monster entry?

 

[Knightfall]

The Fires of Dis
I thoroughly enjoyed running the Planescape adventure. A paladin's holy sword has been stolen and must be retrieved. The PCs must explore Dispater's tower in the Iron City of Hell to find clues to its whereabouts--this part has the most screwed up but interesting encounters I've ever read. At one point, the PCs come to a balcony over looking the City of Dis. They have a chance of going insane because they can see the city all at once, even though the city is infinite. They even get to meet Dispater himself--but can he be trusted to keep his word? All he wants is an eyelash as restitution for the PCs breaking into his home!

Other encounters include sneaking through Tiamat's lair, a polymorphing pit-fiend, and a possessed paladin.

Fires of Dis-I liked it, lots of good ideas, never used it as is though.

How much detail does the adventure give about Dis? I'd be mainly buying it get an overview of the city. Is it mainly an adventure set in Dis, or an adventure/accessory that details the city?

 

[Knightfall]

Domains of Dread
This book attempted to make Ravenloft a campaign setting--as opposed to a prison that the PCs must escape from. Domains of Dread compiled rules from earlier sources and features revised systems for Fear, Horror, and Madness checks. Four new character classes are introduced: the avenger, the anchorite, the gypsy, and the arcanist. The book is set after the Grand Conjunction and the formation of the Shadow Rift. Realms and darklords are detailed. Players should only have access to the appendices for character creation.

Back when I ran 2e, I used rules from this book in my homebrew campaign. So it is useful for ideas.

Ravenloft: Domains of Dread [2e hard cover] -- This book is definitely available at a used book store here in Edmonton. - Well, hard to say since Ravenloft never excited you. I love Ravenloft and love this book.

I've been considering this book simply because I want to have one Ravenloft reference that details the entire setting without taking up too much room. I don't really have a lot of space for more boxed sets; therefore, this book might be what I get. However, I've heard it's not great. Basically, I'd be getting the book for the fluff.

 

[Knightfall]

The Apocalypse Stone
Warning! This adventure will end your campaign and destroy your world!
--page 3

Apocalypse Stone, the- Lousy adventure, don't recommend.

Off my list.

Eldritch Wizardry
Eldritch Wizardry introduces druids, psionics, demons, more spells, artifacts and relics (THE WAND OF ORCUS makes its first appearance!). And the artwork on the front cover depicts a naked chick on an altar--so you know its got to be good, right?

Well, a lot of the material is rehashed and clarified in AD&D. The only reason I own Eldritch Wizardry is for its nostalgia factor--I've never used it.

Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry -- I'd likely get the PDF version Other than from a gaming history aspect, not worth getting. There is a much better written version available on line, in the same way OSRIC is a good way to get the 1E rules. I think Mythmere wrote it and a link is available at Lulu. I think he called it "White Box edition".

I don't think I want this one either. At least, it's not worth buying as a PDF. Now, if I could get the real thing in good condition...

 

[Treebore]

I've been considering this book simply because I want to have one Ravenloft reference that details the entire setting without taking up too much room. I don't really have a lot of space for more boxed sets; therefore, this book might be what I get. However, I've heard it's not great. Basically, I'd be getting the book for the fluff.

I don't remember why this book was considered bad by others. If I am vaguely recalling correctly it was over certain changes done to the setting, which I found easy enough to change back or simply ignore.

I do know I found the complaints to be more an issue of laziness, much like how people think 3E is totally incompatible with 3.5 E. They are very easy to use together as long as you know what is different. So "Domains" may have a similar issue for you, but as for basic history and understanding of the setting? It does the job well enough. Just realize there may be new domain lords in this book. In fact I think this book is where Soth becomes a Domain Lord. Hopefully someone who is much more up to date on the Ravenloft history will come along and clear this up. I haven't ran a setting game since 2002, so my Ravenloft memories are extremely hazy.

As for what you seem to want, I think it fits your need very well.

 

[Treebore]

Off my list.




I don't think I want this one either. At least, it's not worth buying as a PDF. Now, if I could get the real thing in good condition...

Well, if you mean in "good" collector edition your going to pay a lot. If you mean just complete and readable you may find one at a low enough price, but those conditions aren't offered very often.

The "White Box" PDF I mentioned earlier is free. You only pay if you want a printed version, much like OSRIC.

Since its free I could e-mail it to you if you can't successfully search for it on Lulu. I think my PM here still works too.

 

[Andre]

So, with these two books I'll get pretty much everything I'll need for truly understanding how OD&D works? I'm not looking to run an OD&D campaign, but I could see myself playing it online.

Kind of. For real grognards like myself, OD&D means the white box books, sometimes including the supplements (Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, etc).

Rules Cyclopedia is a one-volume version of BECMI, the boxed sets of D&D marketed as Basic, Expert, Companion, etc. These were published simultaneously with 1E AD&D.

Unless you have a real desire to play the original white box D&D, the Rules Cyclopedia is an excellent choice for playing the old style game.

 

[Crothian]

This is one I've been seriously considering. I assume it takes place mainly underground, right?

The wedding part is more like in Hill Dwarf area I think. The bulk of the adventure is in a large underground structure. There is also a lot of good background information making the adventure rich in flavor.