TSR Unearthed Arcana II (cancelled 1986 book)

[LordEntrails]

Not on his website. Jeff Easley · Contact

 

[jsaving]

Edit: Considering the timeline, I wonder if the 1986 TSR Catalog was produced before Gary Gygax was removed from TSR (October 1985), and that Unearthed Arcana II was going to be more of his work? I know he had alluded to some classes (the Mystic and the Mountebank) that never materialized.

Yes, that is precisely what Unearthed Arcana II was going to be.

 

[Quickleaf]

That image is a Jeff Easley piece for Daoud's Wondrous Lanthorn as depicted in the Encyclopedia Magica, Vol II, TSR, 1995, page 638.

I wouldn't rule out the possibility of an Unearthed Arcana II being in the works once upon a time, but I would not necessarily rely on that art piece as proof.

 

[Rabulias]

That image is a Jeff Easley piece for Daoud's Wondrous Lanthorn as depicted in the Encyclopedia Magica, Vol II, TSR, 1995, page 638.

I wouldn't rule out the possibility of an Unearthed Arcana II being in the works once upon a time, but I would not necessarily rely on that art piece as proof.

Good find! I think the TSR Catalog entry itself (regardless of the art it used) proves Unearthed Arcana II was at least "penciled in" for the 1986 schedule.

 

[Fifth Element]

I wouldn't rule out the possibility of an Unearthed Arcana II being in the works once upon a time, but I would not necessarily rely on that art piece as proof.

I would say the fact that it was listed in the 1986 TSR retailer catalogue is pretty good evidence that it was in the works once upon a time...

 

[Fifth Element]

That image is a Jeff Easley piece for Daoud's Wondrous Lanthorn as depicted in the Encyclopedia Magica, Vol II, TSR, 1995, page 638.

Got a response on facebook - someone pointed out that it was used on the cover of the July 1984 edition of Amazing Stories. So it may have been placeholder art the whole time, given that it had already been used.

 

[zenopus]

During that era, TSR constantly made catalog placeholders for advance products, typically using recycled artwork or rough guides. See a bunch at once from a 1985 catalog in this Acaeum thread, including products both produced and unproduced.

The product code, 2020, was later assigned to the Wilderness Survival Guide, which was published November 1986, pretty close to the projected date (October 1986) for the Unearthed Arcana II in the catalog listing.

Now, was the Unearthed Arcana II simply an undeveloped placeholder so retailers could place advance orders, or was it an actual in-development project that was shelved in favor of the Survival Guides? Impossible to know without more insider knowledge.

Gygax was asked about it a few times, once on Dragonsfoot, and once in an interview, but didn't indicate any familiarity with the concept, stating that it would have been after his time.

As I departed TSR on the last day of 1985, I can not comment on anything thereafter.

No, I have no idea as to what was then being planned by TSR. From a speculative standpoint, I would suggest that TSR was then seeking another hit with a hardbound supplement to AD&D, but before it was completed Williams directed that AD&D Second Edition be done instead. As she was much opposed to me, she undoubtedly wanted to stop production of the original books, as I received royalties from their sale.

Of course, it is still possible that it was an idea that originated in his time, and he had just forgotten about it.

 

[Thunderfoot]

If I'm not mistaken, a lot of the Dragon content ended up in the 'Best of' compilations, specifically 3, 4 and 5, all of which went heavy on 'NPC' classes and options. Best of 1 had what eventually become the AD&D Druid for OD&D so, really anything is possible...