Tell me about these older edition D&D products [list updated: Nov 20/10]

[Knightfall]

Wow! That last book-hunting foray was really fruitful! I'm quite jealous of some of the ones you got!

Thanks. I'm happy with my day.

I only wish that Wizard's had a copy of Return to the Keep on the Borderlands too. There is a second "Wizard's" store in the city but I don't know if that one also has older RPG books available for half price.

I'll call them tomorrow to find out.

Regardless, first I'm going to the comic store I mentioned, this Wednesday. If I'm lucky, there will be some D&D v.3.5 books I can flip to Whyte Knight. (The owner doesn't want 3.0 books, and I don't blame him.) If not, then hopeful I'll be able to get one or two books I want.

Btw, congratulations on getting Champions of the Mists and Carnival. You won't [regret] it.

Wizard's has two more copies of Carnival, if you can believe that! They look relatively unused. I'm now seriously considering the Van Ritchen compendiums since Wizard's has all three. I definitely want the third one, but I haven't decided regarding the other two.

Edit: Also, The Evil Eye is a great adventure. It's considered one of the best of the Ravenloft 2e line, by most fans of the setting.

Well, I've already decided to add that one to my "to get" list as well as Dark of the Moon. What's your personal opinion regarding Vecna Reborn and Web of Illusion?

FYI... I'm going to look at some of the reviews on FoS right now.

EDIT: Adding Circle of Darkness to my "to get" list.

 

[Dimitri Mazieres]

Wizard's has two more copies of Carnival, if you can believe that! They look relatively unused.

If they're not too expensive (i.e. less than MSRP) you might consider getting another copy. They're quite hard to find at decent prices, at least online, and you may be able to make some money out of it if you ever decide to go the eBay route.

I'm now seriously considering the Van Ritchen compendiums since Wizard's has all three. I definitely want the third one, but I haven't decided regarding the other two.

I'd say that if you like the concept of the VRGuides, and don't have the original ones, it's a nice option to have all of them in a nice matching set. Plus, in case you care about the interior art, they feature illustrations by Kevin McCann, which IMHO was the best Ravenloft illustrator ever.

What's your personal opinion regarding Vecna Reborn and Web of Illusion?

Those are two adventures I don't have. I guess that, at the very least, they could be useful for getting some information on the domains they're set in (Sri Raji, Tovag and Cavitus) which there isn't much of.
As a little trivia, Vecna Reborn is one of the few Ravenloft items that usually sells for higher prices than MSRP on eBay. I don't know if that's because of rarity (low print run?) or because it was written by Monte Cook. As far as I recall, it wasn't particularly well received by Ravenloft fans when it was released.

FYI... I'm going to look at some of the reviews on FoS right now.

I think that you should be able to find more detailed information than I could provide you on a number of products. Still, if you have any Ravenloft-related questions, fell free to ask.

 

[Knightfall]

I just discovered this free PDF book on FoS...

Ravenloft: Van Richten's Guide to the Mists

Excellent!

 

[Dimitri Mazieres]

EDIT: Adding Circle of Darkness to my "to get" list.

That is another good adventure I still have to get my hands on...

Btw, here's another place where you can find a wealth of reviews on practically every Ravenloft product released up until 2003: the Secrets of the Kargatane Reviews page (kindly brought back from the dead by the Wayback Machine ). This was the official Ravenloft website from 1999 until 2003.

 

[Dimitri Mazieres]

I just discovered this free PDF book on FoS...

Ravenloft: Van Richten's Guide to the Mists

Excellent!

Ah, yes. That was the last official 3.5 product for Ravenloft, while under White Wolf's tenure. They allowed the license to revert to WotC since, apparently, the (increased?) cost of renewing it was more than it was worth to WW. That was a sad thing. It would have been interesting to see the Gazetteer series expanded beyond the Core..

 

[Knightfall]

If they're not too expensive (i.e. less than MSRP) you might consider getting another copy. They're quite hard to find at decent prices, at least online, and you may be able to make some money out of it if you ever decide to go the eBay route.

Well, I only paid CAN $10 (US $8.23) for mine, so I'd be able to buy the other two for the same price. More than likely I'd buy one as Whyte Knight "trade bait" or to trade to someone else here on EN World for something I'd really want.

Heh.

I'd say that if you like the concept of the VRGuides, and don't have the original ones, it's a nice option to have all of them in a nice matching set. Plus, in case you care about the interior art, they feature illustrations by Kevin McCann, which IMHO was the best Ravenloft illustrator ever.

Well, the third one interests me because it has the "hags" guide in it. However, I've wanted to get the Werebeasts VR guide again for some time, so I could see myself getting the first one too. If I did that then I'd have to have all three... just because!

I haven't decided yet.

Those are two adventures I don't have. I guess that, at the very least, they could be useful for getting some information on the domains they're set in (Sri Raji, Tovag and Cavitus) which there isn't much of.

Web of Illusion definitely interests me more than Vecna Reborn.

As a little trivia, Vecna Reborn is one of the few Ravenloft items that usually sells for higher prices than MSRP on eBay. I don't know if that's because of rarity (low print run?) or because it was written by Monte Cook. As far as I recall, it wasn't particularly well received by Ravenloft fans when it was released.

Really? That's interesting since Wizard's has, at least, two of them. ("Don't quote me on that, however.")

I think that you should be able to find more detailed information than I could provide you on a number of products. Still, if you have any Ravenloft-related questions, fell free to ask.

Well, some of the products on that page have reviews but some do not. Plus, reviews by die hard fans tend to be either glowing or scathing. I prefer to get the opinions of those with some.. neutrality.

Still, I've added some of the v.3.5 Ravenloft books to my "to get" list after browsing/skimming through the reviews. The overviews for those products were very useful.

 

[Knightfall]

That is another good adventure I still have to get my hands on...

Btw, here's another place where you can find a wealth of reviews on practically every Ravenloft product released up until 2003: the Secrets of the Kargatane Reviews page (kindly brought back from the dead by the Wayback Machine ). This was the official Ravenloft website from 1999 until 2003.

Yep. I know all about that site. I don't think about it because I consider it a "dead" site. Heh. I made a bad punny.

 

[Knightfall]

Ah, yes. That was the last official 3.5 product for Ravenloft, while under White Wolf's tenure. They allowed the license to revert to WotC since, apparently, the (increased?) cost of renewing it was more than it was worth to WW. That was a sad thing. It would have been interesting to see the Gazetteer series expanded beyond the Core..

I only have one of the 3rd Edition Gazetteers so far but I want to get them all. Another FLGS here in Edmonton is selling tons of old d20/OGL books, including the Ravenloft books, for half price. While I don't think that sore has them all, I'm hoping they have a few of the gazetteers and the Ravenloft PHB, at least.

I'm going there tomorrow.

 

[Crothian]

to trade to someone else here on EN World for something I'd really want.

What do you really want? Heck, I'm sure you've got access to more then a few things I'd be looking for.

 

[Dimitri Mazieres]

Really? That's interesting since Wizard's has, at least, two of them. ("Don't quote me on that, however.")

Curse my luck for being limited to buying online and not having a handy discount book store with small treasures such as you have...

Well, some of the products on that page have reviews but some do not. Plus, reviews by die hard fans tend to be either glowing or scathing. I prefer to get the opinions of those with some.. neutrality.

Well, I don't think I'm quite impartial as far as Ravenloft goes, but neither am I a "Ravenloft rulz! Everything else sux!!" guy.

Yep. I know all about that site. I don't think about it because I consider it a "dead" site. Heh. I made a bad punny.

Dead as a doornail Still, those reviews are priceless if you're looking for information on the Demiplane's products.

I only have one of the 3rd Edition Gazetteers so far but I want to get them all. Another FLGS here in Edmonton is selling tons of old d20/OGL books, including the Ravenloft books, for half price. While I don't think that sore has them all, I'm hoping they have a few of the gazetteers and the Ravenloft PHB, at least.

I'm going there tomorrow.

Best of luck, then! Getting the complete Gazetteer series would be quite a feat nowadays (again, speaking from an online buyer POV )