Pregame Q&A

[dmw71]

Then I gave in and grabbed the reprint of A0-4

Here's how badly I "gave in":

- [x] AD&D 2nd Ed. Greyhawk Adventures City of Greyhawk boxed set TSR 1989 [Very Good]
- [x] AD&D Slavelords Series Lot - A1, A2, A3, & A4 Modules
- [x] AD&D Official Game QUEEN OF THE SPIDERS TSR 9179 GDQ1-7 With Maps by Gary Gygax.
- [x] Dungeons and Dragons Lot Reprint of Queen of Spiders G1-2-3, D1-2, D3, Q1
- [x] Vintage AD&D Module T1: The Village of Hommlet 9026 (1979) TSR PASTEL
- [x] Deities and Demigods (144 pages)
- [x] Dungeons and Dragons Reprint of Monochrome T1 The Village of Hommlet
- [x] Dungeons and Dragons Reprint of A1-A4 Against the Slave Lords and Preclude A0!
- [x] Dungeons and Dragons Reprint of The Temple of Elemental Evil
- [x] Slavers
- [x] A0-A4: Against the Slave Lords (1e)
- [x] Manual of the Planes
- [x] Monster Manual (Orange Spine)
- [x] A1-A4: Scourge of the Slave Lords
- [x] Dungeon Masters Guide (Orange Spine)
- [x] Wilderness Survival Guide
- [x] Players Handbook (Orange Spine)
- [x] Oriental Adventures
- [x] Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide
- [x] World of Greyhawk Campaign Setting
- [x] Deities and Demigods (128)
- [x] Field Folio
- [x] Monster Manual 2
- [x] Monster Manual
- [x] Unearthed Arcana
- [x] Dungeon Masters Guide
- [x] Players Handbook
- [x] Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set with Modules B1 B2 1001 Tactical Study Rules AS IS
- [x] AD&D Modules D1 D2 D3 1978 Gary Gygax - Lot of 3 Dungeons And Dragons Modules
- [x] AD&D Module T1: The Village Of Hommlet HP
- [x] AD&D TSR Temple Of Elemental Evil T1-4 9147 W/Map VG

Plus the six available PODs from DriveThruRPG of the core books plus the three monster books.

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This was all accumulated during November and December of last year.

And, except for the PODs, it's all just for collection and nostalgia.

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Any guesses to the most expensive purchase?

[Rex]

Not sure on the most expensive purchase but I have all but 2 of those plus several not on your list. I am missing the Deities and Demigods 144 pages and Oriental Adventurers. Mine were all purchased before they became collectors editions of course and some are in pretty rough shape. And several I have duplicates of. It looks to me from that list like you need to run the Slavers series. Which I would love to be a player in.

[Edeldhur]

Dang! That is a NICE collection.
And I am guessing Rex's is also impressive.

The most expensive... Hmmmm... The price on that GDQ1-7 must have been no joke

My in print AD&D collection is MUCH shorter, since I basically started playing with 2e.
I have only the Orange Spine stuff and some bits and bobs, found here and there.

[dmw71]

The most expensive... Hmmmm... The price on that GDQ1-7 must have been no joke

Very good guess! That was the second most expensive, at $255.17.

One item came in higher, at $285.00. Think rarity.

[Edeldhur]

The most expensive... Hmmmm... The price on that GDQ1-7 must have been no joke

Very good guess! That was the second most expensive, at $255.17.

One item came in higher, at $285.00. Think rarity.

Deities and Demigods?

[dmw71]

Deities and Demigods?

We have a winner!

The earlier printings of Deities & Demigods with Cthulhu mythology can be quite pricey when they're in good condition, which my copy is.

I've never read a single sentence of Lovecraft, and have such limited knowledge of Cthulhu, but felt, as a collector, I needed to secure a copy with those details.

[Rex]

I bid on the older Deities book on ebay a couple of weeks ago but was outbid. That is the only one I would really like to pick up. We rarely ran the published modules back in the 80's so don't actually have a lot of them, just a few of the classics. I think the most used by far for me is B1, both as a player and a DM.

[dmw71]

I think the most used by far for me is B1, both as a player and a DM.

Would you believe that I’ve never played or run B1?

[Rex]

I am not surprised actually. It seems from reading gaming forums online that it wasn't really popular or at least doesn't get mentioned much. Around here in the early 80's (I started playing in the summer of 79) it seemed every group had it and was running it. I have played in B2 a couple of times and DMed it a couple as well but it was no where near as common around here and seemed to be later that B1 by a couple of years. I wonder if some areas of the country got different basic boxed sets shipped to them and maybe we were getting B1 longer then some of the more populated areas.

[SterlingBlake]

The more I type about this, the more I realize that the "preparations" I like/need to have in place center about game details. Not necessarily the adventure itself.

Funny thing is, I thought that was your intent from the start. A case of hearing what I wanted to hear instead of what you said, I'm afraid.

I had in my mind that you would have a rules set, a setting (geography, polities, gods, general threats and trends, at least locally), and no "adventure" at all. That's the kind of game I like best to play in and to run.

[Rex]

The more I type about this, the more I realize that the "preparations" I like/need to have in place center about game details. Not necessarily the adventure itself.

Funny thing is, I thought that was your intent from the start. A case of hearing what I wanted to hear instead of what you said, I'm afraid.

I had in my mind that you would have a rules set, a setting (geography, polities, gods, general threats and trends, at least locally), and no "adventure" at all. That's the kind of game I like best to play in and to run.

That pretty much defines my HarnMaster game on here. In my FTF games lately I have been running more "Adventures" than I usually do but more to just mix things up lately.

[archolewa]

The more I type about this, the more I realize that the "preparations" I like/need to have in place center about game details. Not necessarily the adventure itself.

Funny thing is, I thought that was your intent from the start. A case of hearing what I wanted to hear instead of what you said, I'm afraid.

I had in my mind that you would have a rules set, a setting (geography, polities, gods, general threats and trends, at least locally), and no "adventure" at all. That's the kind of game I like best to play in and to run.

That pretty much defines my HarnMaster game on here. In my FTF games lately I have been running more "Adventures" than I usually do but more to just mix things up lately.

That's how my Dark Dungeons X game is as well.

[Leitz]

I had in my mind that you would have a rules set, a setting (geography, polities, gods, general threats and trends, at least locally), and no "adventure" at all. That's the kind of game I like best to play in and to run.

As a DM I prefer to throw the players into the crucible early on, like the first real post. It gives them a solid anchor to the setting so they can define their characters by their actions, and it eliminates a lot of the minutia of buying gear and finding one's place in the world. All it requires is working with the player on why their character is present in the action; they take it from there. In writing, the phrase is in medias res.

[SterlingBlake]

I had in my mind that you would have a rules set, a setting (geography, polities, gods, general threats and trends, at least locally), and no "adventure" at all. That's the kind of game I like best to play in and to run.

As a DM I prefer to throw the players into the crucible early on, like the first real post. It gives them a solid anchor to the setting so they can define their characters by their actions, and it eliminates a lot of the minutia of buying gear and finding one's place in the world. All it requires is working with the player on why their character is present in the action; they take it from there. In writing, the phrase is in medias res.

I can see the argument for that approach. Especially when the goal is a story, that makes a lot of sense. There may be a pretty big difference between what works face-to-face versus play-by-post that factors into this argument too.

The problem I have with it though is explicit in those words, in medias res. You, the referee, have decided for the player what the central matter is, rather than leaving that to the player to decide.

[Leitz]

I had in my mind that you would have a rules set, a setting (geography, polities, gods, general threats and trends, at least locally), and no "adventure" at all. That's the kind of game I like best to play in and to run.

As a DM I prefer to throw the players into the crucible early on, like the first real post. It gives them a solid anchor to the setting so they can define their characters by their actions, and it eliminates a lot of the minutia of buying gear and finding one's place in the world. All it requires is working with the player on why their character is present in the action; they take it from there. In writing, the phrase is in medias res.

I can see the argument for that approach. Especially when the goal is a story, that makes a lot of sense. There may be a pretty big difference between what works face-to-face versus play-by-post that factors into this argument too.

The problem I have with it though is explicit in those words, in medias res. You, the referee, have decided for the player what the central matter is, rather than leaving that to the player to decide.

I will confess that story is the only type of game I enjoy, and my thoughts are based on that. However, dropping the PCs into the middle of the initial scene, and deciding what the central matter is, are two different things. Think of it as a three part task; we want to know who the PCs really are, once you get past whatever backstory has been provided. Some players provide none, and they deepen their character as they go. That can take a while if the PCs wander about, and their understanding of the setting grows at a slow pace. Also, given that few players build back-story together, there's no external reason for them to actually meet, much less trust each other with their lives.

The third, and most vital part of the task is establishing connections. If a group wanders into a village they players can demonstrate who they are to each other. With Post #8, we've tossed aside the travelogue and laid down the challenge. Had this turned into a campaign, the PCs and players would be emotionally and factually connected to each other and the setting. What would come after that? It would depend on the players.

[SterlingBlake]

...the phrase is in medias res.

...problem I have with it though is explicit in those words, in medias res. You, the referee, have decided for the player what the central matter is, rather than leaving that to the player to decide.

I will confess that story is the only type of game I enjoy, and my thoughts are based on that. However, dropping the PCs into the middle of the initial scene, and deciding what the central matter is, are two different things. Think of it as a three part task; we want to know who the PCs really are, once you get past whatever backstory has been provided. Some players provide none, and they deepen their character as they go. That can take a while if the PCs wander about, and their understanding of the setting grows at a slow pace. Also, given that few players build back-story together, there's no external reason for them to actually meet, much less trust each other with their lives.

The third, and most vital part of the task is establishing connections. If a group wanders into a village they players can demonstrate who they are to each other. With Post #8, we've tossed aside the travelogue and laid down the challenge. Had this turned into a campaign, the PCs and players would be emotionally and factually connected to each other and the setting. What would come after that? It would depend on the players.

I played on the literal meaning of the phrase too strongly. Despite decidedly not wanting story designed into a game, throwing the characters into an active situation at the outset is something I have remorselessly done at times as well. Probably especially in this medium, where a whole lot of pregame chit-chat about our plans for our characters as we roll them up isn't practical, it makes extra good sense.