TSR NuTSR Sells Rebound 1E Core Rulebooks For $650 Each

Despite being embroiled in ongoing legal disputes with WotC regarding use of the TSR trademark (amongst other things), NuTSR has posted images of leather-bound compilations of AD&D 1E books they say are rebindings of old material, complete with the disputed logo. They're selling these books for $650 each.

The Deities & Demigods book (middle top in the image) has a typo on the front cover.

TSR - The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR

Because the Saga of TSR3 has been ongoing for a while, with many landmarks, I thought I'd do a quick timeline for those who haven't had the time (or, frankly, inclination) to keep up with the whole palaver. As multiple entities refer to themselves as TSR, I will use the nomenclature (1), (2)...

www.enworld.org

About these books, NuTSR says "Look what just came in. Sorry, we didn't have these in for TSR CON. (in the beginning, WotC said similar to what people below are saying. We said they are rebound of old material. Long story short, WotC said ok no problem, we have it in writing)"

As rebindings, these would be existing books simply being resold. However, the covers with the disputed logo are new.

In early March WotC launched a lawsuit -- (PDF attachment of filing) -- naming TSR, TSR CEO Justin LaNasa personally, and the Dungeon Hobby Shop museum. WotC seeks a judgement that TSR hand over all domains, take down all websites, pay treble damages and costs, hand over all stock and proceeds related to the trademarks, and more.

 

[FangTheDelectable]

In 40 years the people who value these books will largely be dead.

Will any original 1e books be valuable in 40 years after everyone who played it is dead?

 

[Orius]

What you know and what you can prove are 2 different things. WotC probab believes- as do many people- exactly what you say. But unless and until they can prove it, it won’t develop into anything.

If, OTOH, WotC wins big and gets their hands on LaNassa’s books and they show no acquisi of material to be rebound, or if the printers come forward and say they were print8ng from PDFs, etc,, THEN WotC has something they can work with.

Of course, by that point, La Nassa et alia may be “judgement proof.”

Yeah, we don't know where he got these books in the first place. I wouldn't put it past Mr. Grits to print out a PDF because that's how trustworthy he is. Though the Deities and Demigods copy wouldn't be a legit PDF either, since I'm pretty sure the DriveThru ones don't have the Cthulhu and Elric material. However, I could see a huckster like LaNasa printing out pirated PDFs and then selling them. If it's a bad scan with crooked pages and such, it would match the cover with typos! Hell, he'd probably go so far as to use pirated PDFs as a point of pride since they're not "tainted" by content warnings.

My contempt for LaNasa grows. As much as I am not fond of the content warnings and such myself, he has nary a shred of my respect. He comes off as nothing but a two bit con artist. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him, and he's nothing but a stain on TSR's legacy.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

A related factor is that in order to be collectible, there have to be enough things in the world for people to collect. If there's only 4 of these ever, that's not a collectors market, that's a museum market.

It depends on how you define the market in question. Lots of collectibles fall into multiple collectible markets. Someone who collects RPG or litigation memorabilia will not be put off by only 4 copies existing- that rarity would be a selling point.

 

[Deset Gled]

Will any original 1e books be valuable in 40 years after everyone who played it is dead?

Not sure if you're serious but the answer is: if the D&D brand retains value, the original items retain value. If the brand dies, the collector market dies.

Go on eBay and compare Roy Rogers toys to Star Wars toys. Roy Rogers was the most popular name around for decades, and there are things on there that are very old and very rare. But Star Wars toys that are just a little rare and not very old (comparably) will be more expensive because Star Wars is a household name and no one cares about Roy Rogers.

 

[CleverNickName]

... go so far as to use pirated PDFs as a point of pride since they're not "tainted" by content warnings.

Just a reminder, the Legacy Content disclaimer does not appear anywhere on the PDFs or the POD copies. It only appears on the product information page of the websites where those items are sold (such as on DriveThruRPG). As much as NuTSR and others would like to believe otherwise, these products themselves do not have any kind of content warning or disclaimer and never have, and WotC has never indicated they intend to add one.

The PODs and PDFs still have the old TSR logo and addresses on them, even.

 

[Yaarel]

So, off the main topic. Do you keep your books in anything to help preserve them, or just on the shelf? (The paper and cover in my DMG is starting to show its age, and we have an unfortunate number of silverfish in other parts of the house that periodically make it to the bookshelf...)

For mold on books: put it in a large ziplock bag with some baking soda to keep it dry. Then put the books in the freezer for a few days. It kills the mold and the books come out fresher. Remember to let the books reheat to room temperature before opening the sealed ziplock, so the air moisture doesnt condense on it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Remember that WotC served the DHSM and LaNasa personally. At the very least, there's the real estate from the museum to lose. At most, there's Justin's personal assets. If it comes out in the bookkeeping that he's as bad at separating his businesses as he appears to be (remember, the online payments go through Port Kava, his coffee/vape shop), there may be more to go after than we would expect.

By “judgement proof”, it is usually meant that the party being sued is beyond any reasonable possibility for ever actually satisfying the judgement imposed. I know of parties whose annual income is less than the annual accrued interest & penalties on lawsuits they’ve lost.

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

Will any original 1e books be valuable in 40 years after everyone who played it is dead?

Unless they were printed on acid-free paper[1], they won't be in any shape to be valuable by then.

[1] And kept out of reach of silverfish

 

[Orius]

Just a reminder, the Legacy Content disclaimer does not appear anywhere on the PDFs or the POD copies. It only appears on the product information page of the websites where those items are sold (such as on DriveThruRPG). As much as NuTSR and others would like to believe otherwise, these products themselves do not have any kind of content warning or disclaimer and never have, and WotC has never indicated they intend to add one.

The PODs and PDFs still have the old TSR logo and addresses on them, even.

That's not how the thinking likely goes though. It's the idea of spending money on a page with the warnings going to a company that issued the warnings that's the thing. Using pirated material here comes from the line of thinking of "sticking it to the Man" or some such nonsense.

 

[CleverNickName]

That's not how the thinking likely goes though. It's the idea of spending money on a page with the warnings going to a company that issued the warnings that's the thing. Using pirated material here comes from the line of thinking of "sticking it to the Man" or some such nonsense.

Yep, I know. Justin is relying on gullibility and misinformation among fans to garner their support (and eventually, their money). Get people riled up enough, they will believe anything you tell them without question. That con is as old as gossip itself...neither new nor original.

The best thing we can do is reveal the flaws and inconsistencies early, and often. Stepping in with clarification and sources will help more people stay focused on the truth, and keep misinformation from gaining momentum. Justin knows this, so he's deleting comments and blocking people who call him out.