The glory of OD&D

[Philotomy Jurament]

AFAIK, there are no legal PDFs of the original three books. However, PDFs of Chainmail and the supplements (Greyhawk; Blackmoor; Eldritch Wizardy; Gods, Demigods, & Heroes; and Swords & Spells) are all available from Paizo. Also, I believe Dave Arneson has made the Blackmoor supplement available for free, but I don't have a link handy.

It's odd that all the supplements are legally available, but the OD&D "core rules" are not. I bought a set off of ebay and paid around $40.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I know there are pdfs out there, but I don't know if they are legal. Probably not.

Yeah, I haven't seen any legal pdfs. It's odd that they haven't been offered for sale yet.

Keep an eye on ebay. Some copies are in great condition and sell for way too much, but let the collectors buy those. Look for more used or worn copies, as long as the pages are legible.

Ironically, the steep buy-in price for the game is prohibitive, as is the general rarity of the boxed set. It's been a long time since I saw the set go affordably. I grumble at book prices when the book is a nice, pretty hardback; no way am I paying $100+ for what are, essentially, booklets. With any luck, we'll see either pdfs or facsimiles (along the lines of what they've done with the original Arduin booklets).

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I bought a set off of ebay and paid around $40.

That would be one of the best prices I've seen them go for in years. Heck, I've been trying to get a complete set of Chaosium's old Ringworld RPG and haven't seen it go for less than $60.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Like many of you I've been reading Diaglo's posts for years. I never gave him much attention and just read over his posts in amusement. But this past weekend I had the honor and privledge of talking to him directly about od&d and I can't believe how wrong I have been. I'm now a convert, I'm killing my current game and starting a new one. We are getting the old books and we are playing like Diaglo intended, 3d6 in order straight down.

I'll also be starting a massive convertion of taking all my d20 stuff and making it work for oD&D. It is the one true game and I am thankful that Diaglo was there to show me the light.

I, for one, welcome our new alien overlords.

 

[T. Foster]

With any luck, we'll see either pdfs or facsimiles (along the lines of what they've done with the original Arduin booklets).

I've been lobbying for this for years. I still can't understand why WotC haven't done this (especially back in '04, in celebration of the 30th anniversary). Hopefully someday...

 

[Crothian]

I, for one, welcome our new alien overlords.

Shapeshifting Space Aliens!!

 

[Crothian]

If one were to pursue this dark path of Diaglo, exactly which products would one need to aquire? Are such books even within the reach of poor radio DJ Drew? And, at what point do I get to learn the "real spells?" I've got a real need for a good old Mind Bondage spell.

There is just the box set that is needed though others have listed the supplements. They can be hard to find and expensive so it might not be easy to atain especially cheap. I'm still looking.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

That would be one of the best prices I've seen them go for in years.

Well, it was just the books from an OCE set (i.e. no box), and they were in fair-good condition. The lot also included a musty-smelling 1E Field Folio. I got it for $46 + $7 shipping. The week prior to winning that auction I had bid on another OCE set that went for something like $57, I think. If it's not a "collectible" set then the prices don't seem to be too bad.

There's a white box set up for auction right now.

 

[Particle_Man]

So diaglo, in addition to the original three books, which supplements do you recommend? Also, does one need the original Chainmail rules?

 

[Xyanthon]

It's a regular revolution. I won an eBay auction a couple of weeks ago for the boxed set and should be recieving it in another couple of weeks. I started with 1e so I never even have seen the OD&D book in person. I can't wait to get them!