Friday, June 15, 2012
Open Friday: White Whales
I mentioned the other day that, for a long time, GDW's Azhanti High Lightning was a product of which I could never managed to obtain a copy. I'm curious to know if anyone else has a similarly elusive "white whale" gaming product that they've hunted for and never managed to acquire. If so, share it in the comments below.
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A print of the "Valshea" cover of Dragon. Almost had one on Ebay years ago, but got sniped.
ReplyDeleteI've always been on the hunt for the Oriental Adventures AD&D 2E supplement. Though, I must confess that I haven't ever tried that hard to find it, and am only somewhat sure it exists. I know there was an Oriental Adventures book, but my memory may be playing tricks on me as to whether or not it was ever adapted to 2E rules.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to have a copy of most of those nice little teeny mini 1st ed AD&D reprint replica books that some Italian publisher did a long time ago. I'd like to have a copy of "The Thieves World Companion" book from Chaosium. And a copy of 3rd edition Pendragon and Knights Adventurous. Other than that, not really. 8)
ReplyDeleteI've had trouble finding the original TFT books.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for "things I'd like to have actually surface so's I could get a copy", I'd have liked Paizo's "Savage Tide" and "Age of Worms" to get the same hardback treatment gotten by "Shackled City" so i could get a copy of that.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd like to have a PDF version of the /first/ printing (not revised edition) of 5th Edition HERO.
The poster TSR put out with the Trampier cover art from the 1st edition of Gamma World. It says Gamma World Is Here! On it and I'd pay good many to own it. I almost sagged Gary's personal copy in an auction a few months ago but lost out in the last minute. Been trying to get my hands on it for almost 10 years now :/
ReplyDeleteA Hard Copy of GAZ1 with maps. I have a spiral bound printed pdf, but it's not the same.
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for a copy of Open Design's steam and brass - only a few were made, its out of print, and it contains information about the city I base my campaign in. Yes, yes, it's for 3.5, but its tremendously rare.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a copy of the Marvel Superheroes Ultimate Powers Book, but its long gone. I've been trying to find a copy in print for more than a decade.
ReplyDeleteMore recently I finally harpooned another white whale: Gamma World 2nd Ed box set.
Besides a lot of the stuff I used to own before giving it all away when I joined the Navy in 98, I really want the hardcover of Monte Cook's Ptolus: City by the Spire.
ReplyDeleteFor the longest time I was wanting a copy of the LBBs. I finally got those. Then it was "Palace of the Vampire Queen" but I got one of those too. So presently I am without a White Whale to speak.
ReplyDeleteFor Ogre miniatures, the MK VI and Dopplesoldner figures (although since the minis are going to be back in production, I'm probably going to get those new).
ReplyDeleteIn terms of RPG stuff, "Booty and the Beasts", the Erol Otis D&D supplement from 1979, is one I'm less likely to ever find for anything approaching a reasonable price.
Castle Zagyg Vol. 2
ReplyDeleteLBBs w/ the supplements.
Outdoor Geomorphs set 1
WTF is this disquis thing? Can't see the comments!
ReplyDeleteTSR's Divine Right was my last "white whale".
ReplyDeleteI've been fortunate enough to have been patient (read "cheap") and waited for years to get certain items. In some cases, I decided to turn right around and sell them, but Divine Right, and the original Crimson Skies were keepers.
Oddly enough I recently saw a copy of divine right for sale. I believe it was incomplete in some way, but it was in original box.
DeleteThe module Seren Ironhand by Tom Moldvay is the big one for me.
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted a copy of DGP's Grand Census. I have Grand Survey and WBH, but I've never been able to obtain a copy of GC.
ReplyDeleteThere was a bound-RPG where you began life as an amoeba. So detailed in it's small print it made Chivalry & Sorcery easy! The name, of couse, eludes me. Anyone know of this? I believe a biologist created the game - over 100 pages, early 80s era.
ReplyDeleteEvery volume of Castle Zagyg on my end.
ReplyDeleteDragon Magazine #1 (the full set of Strategic Review were easier)
ReplyDeleteWhite Dwarf Magazine Archive 1977-1987 DVD
ReplyDeleteThis one's proving so difficult I'd settle for a functional burned copy, but (unbelievably) those don't seem to be out there either.
It's the Dickey Moe I'd love to reel in.
HA! Dickey Moe! I had completely forgotten about that...
ReplyDelete@Ron Lipke : Half Price Books in North Austin had a copy several weeks ago when I was there, I'm sure they would ship!
ReplyDeleteI'm relativity new to the old school and I don't read tons of sourcebooks, so there's a lot of fish in the sea for me. I can fire a harpoon in any direction and hit something new and awesome but if I had a white whale sourcebook it would be the 1e core books which I've picked up recently.
ReplyDeleteBut my real white whale is a good old school DM.
It's available out there. I know 'cause I'm the one that originally seeded it.
ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt, "Lair of the spider mother".
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nobleknight.com/ProductDetail.asp_Q_ProductID_E_-1091040739_A_InventoryID_E_2147841975_A_ProductLineID_E_-953532404_A_ManufacturerID_E_384375319_A_CategoryID_E_901_A_GenreID_E_
But i'm planning to buy it in the end.
i have it, it's on the WWW as an iso file but in some well hidden places.
ReplyDeleteOA was never adapted for 2E. It was only ever a 1E hardbound. Sorry! :(
ReplyDeleteLater on it was also a 3E book.
Oh, and a copy of the old version of Caverns of Thracia.
ReplyDeleteI have Booty and the Beasts as a PDF copy :)
ReplyDeleteif you want, contact me.
I think Fantasy hero 1st edition is quite an interesting game, and it is overlooked but it dserves more. Alas, 1st edition is not out there in pdf, you can find only later bastardized versions.
ReplyDelete"I'd like to have a copy of most of those nice little teeny mini 1st ed AD&D reprint replica books"
ReplyDeleteAgain, contact me if you are interested in purchasing them.
A friend of mine has several of those.
very good choice, that has been my holy grail for quite some time, now it has been replaced in my heart by Lair of the S.M. by Mercury games.
ReplyDeleteSorry, you misunderstand. I have a copy of 1st edition Fantasy Hero, but that's not what I was talking about. I was talking about the _first_ printing of the Fifth Edition HERO core rulebook. When they did the _second_ printing of the 5th edition, they revised its contents, and the PDF of the 5th edition rules is of that second printing. I don't want that version for my PDF, I want a PDF of the _first_ printing of the 5th edition. (Because I want to use that first printing as my reference edition and so share PDFs for assistance out to potential players for when we play.)
ReplyDeleteOn the list of "games I wish had actually seen the light of day" is AI, a game that was supposed to have been done and released by DGP but never got finished (as far as I know).
ReplyDeleteA while ago my White Whale was Griffin Mountain (having drooled over the descriptions and praise in years past). Fortunately I was able to get a copy at a reasonable price.
ReplyDeleteNow, possibly the 1st 2 modules of something called "Compleat Dungeon Master Series" (which if you google, in quotes, I only get an old Usenet email of mine ... lol). I have 3 and 4. From the UK in the A4 format.
I'd say 'Ringworld' is the one for me.
ReplyDeleteFor many years, it was a copy of Dungeon #12. I had every other issue from 1-100. Finally scored a copy at GenCon one year.
ReplyDeleteNow, it's I'm trying to get a copy of the Dungeon Magazine CD archive. I keep getting outbid on eBay...
This perhaps speaks more to my very limited budget rather than any sort of actual rarity, but I have yet to find a copy of the Rules Cyclopedia (My favorite first party D&D) at a reasonable (Under $50) price.
ReplyDeleteBoth the Heritage Models and SPI "John Carter: Warlord of Mars" games from '78, and TSR's Warriors of Mars.
ReplyDeleteReally Really dislike this "new" Disqus thing. Its terrible. That asside...
ReplyDeleteWhat i really want is a copy of "Aeon" its a super limited release of a game White Wolf was forced to renamed "Trinity" that had a really odd design. I'm a huge fan of that game line and it is the only one i don't have.
I'd like to find a copy of Discworld for a reasonable price.
ReplyDeleteMagic Realm - Avalon Hill boardgame
ReplyDeleteThe Realm of Yolmi is on my list of White Whales...as is Witch Hunt from StatCom.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's MB's Space Crusade and Hero Quest, both as near to mint as possible (and both in danish... it's a nostalgia thing...) other then that I think it would be as near to mint Space Hulk and the deathwing expansion pack (those where never printed in danish...)
ReplyDeleteAs for D&D it would be advanced 1st. ed. DMG, Players and Monster Manual... (I'm thinking of getting the wotc reprints)
Andrew, would it suffice a pdf version?
ReplyDeleteUsed to be the lbbs and supplements but now i have at least 5 copies of each...
ReplyDeleteObsessed maybe?
Good for all people out there who long for a reasonably priced copy...
DeleteAmazingly enough i find a lot on amazon. Good prices too. I wouldnt even look at ebay.. Too inflated
DeleteAt one time Expedition to the Barrier Peaks and 4th Ed. Gamma World could have counted. I could bought both years earlier, but could only find them at a king's ransom.
ReplyDeleteBut out of the blue a friend randomly sent me a copy of Barrier Peaks which he no longer wanted. And late last year a copy of GW went on sale at Amazon for <$60, so score!
I guess the only thing I'm still holding out hope for is a legally obtained copy of the Dragon CD ROM archive. Passed up the chance a decade ago due to financial circumstances and regretted it ever since.
No white whales for me. I've acquired whatever I've searched for through patience, and by spending a little more, if necessary.
ReplyDeleteThis Ahab's current whale is PC2 Top Ballista. Gotta get me some sky gnomes in my games!
ReplyDeleteAll the TSR Mini-Games.
ReplyDeleteRight now it would the Otosan Uchi boxed set for Legends of the Five Rings, but there are a couple of older games I would love to look at. One is Woof Meow, the game of cats and dogs, and the crayfish & doodads RPG. Weird, but I am just intrigued.
ReplyDeleteI have an occasionally reoccurring dream in which I'm looking through an old bookstore and I find a forgotten trove of Metagaming Microgames with 1981 price stickers.
ReplyDeleteI don't really have one, but I did purchase a friend's white whale recently and mailed it to him - Wizards the Avalon Hill boardgame.
ReplyDeleteSame here. I've got everything but the chits and box.
ReplyDeleteHave you played RealmSpeak?
So, I have to use Disqus just to read comments? Don't enough companies track us already? Sign me OUT. And I used a temporary email address just to post this.
ReplyDeleteI suppose early issues of the Wild Hunt APAzine. Back in the 90s it was the original Greyhawk supplement but I have that now.
ReplyDeleteI love the whole PC line of expansions for the M/C rules set.
ReplyDeleteJudge's Guild City State supplement "Wraith Overlord." It's out there, just expensive as heck...
ReplyDeleteFor over ten years, my white whale was Brotherhood of the Bolt from the Companions. I finally scored that one just this past December. Another one is the wargame Siege from Standard Games. One of these days I'll just break down and blow $100 on it.
ReplyDeleteJust found Siege unpunched on Ebay for $45. That's a little less than its original price. Another white whale bites the dust!
ReplyDeleteWar of the Ring by SPI. Can't be had for much less than $200. If a cheap ever comes up on Ebay I am snagging it.
ReplyDeleteNo one I knew ever wanted to play, so I traded my two 1st edition (hard plastic cover) to noble knight.com last year. They might still have them.
ReplyDeleteI have a few. I mentioned in that earlier thread The Arctic Environment for Traveller. Add to that Lords of the Middle Sea, a neat wargame from Chaosium, and In The Labyrinth. I can't think of others at the moment, though I am sure that there are more.
ReplyDeleteIs this the wrong moment to say that I have two copies (one with the 1st edition rules, but missing one chit, and one with the 2nd, and complete), and used to have a third which got destroyed over the years?
ReplyDelete"Lair of the Spider Mother" was a pretty lame module, so you're really not missing anything.
ReplyDeleteSeren Ironhand, OTOH, is pretty decent, and I hope to reprint it eventually, along with CH-1 The Morandir Company and CH-3 The Mountain King.
Allan.
Easy: the hardcover book The Lost and The Damned, Volume 2 of the Realms of Chaos series for the 1st edition Warhammer/WH40K. I passed on the chance to buy it in the store 20+ years ago and have been kicking myself ever since.
ReplyDeleteThere's not a lot of old stuff on my white whale list. Possibly a copy of the Military Races expansion for Fifth Cycle. Maybe some of the old SPI games that got lost when moving. Some of the garage-press RPGs of the late 70s and early 80s. A copy of the Orilla supplement for 3rd edition Starguard. Replacing some of the games that got stolen from me. Nothing really exceptional and nothing that I'd actually go hunting for.
ReplyDeleteMost of my white whales are actually modern stuff where I can't justify the shipping and handling fees to myself. I could get a copy of The Gray Papers for Agone for US$5 - and US$90 for shipping. Or a copy of Ironclaw STC for US$50 (and US$60 for shipping since they are not using the normal game distribution channels). These are the things that inspire more debate. Wanting the next new thing is my white whale!
Realms of Chaos. I could buy them, but they're so expensive.
ReplyDeletePDFs exist of CDM 1 and 2? That would be a cool read. Where can I find them?
ReplyDeleteI've looked at it but never played it. Doesn't seem the same somehow.
ReplyDeletecheck my blog and you'll see something soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's on 4shared.com.
ReplyDeleteI agree - this disqus thing is awful and unnecessary: how many of these parasites do we need to deal with just to read a blog?
ReplyDeleteYes, but the rules for 1E and 2E are almost identical. You can definitely use the original Oriental Adventures book with 2nd edition!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can sympathize with the John Carter game. Saw one on ebay once... was going for the equivalent of a car payment!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I posted on this thread on Friday and my original comment has disappeared. I'll just reiterate and say my "white whale" was an affordable copy of Gamma World 2E and I was able to snag that a few months ago. The one that's eluded me though is a print copy of Marvel Super Heroes "The Ultimate Powers" book.
ReplyDeleteMy two "white whales" are supplements that were teased by the publishers but never actually released: the "Elementals" sourcebook for Villains & Vigilantes, and the "Amerind Empire" sourcebook for The Morrow Project.
ReplyDeleteYES! Even though I've pretty much obtained all of these that I want, I would still be awestruck to find what you describe. It took me quite a few years to get my Metagaming collection, to include all the early Space Gamers, Interplay mags., etc., along with the games themselves.
ReplyDeleteI suppose if I had a "White Whale", it would be to stumble upon the final draft manuscripts of "Conquerors of Underearth" and other Microquests that were due to be released about the time Howie closed up shop and fled under a rock, or the unmodified TFT/LBTM versions of "City of the Sacred Flame" (i.e. "Soldier City: Shaylle") and "In the Tyrant's Demesne" (i.e. "Intrigue in Plaize")
Heck, if any of the draft manuscripts for some of the other to be released micros were available, such as the follow on modules to Starleader: Assault I would be very much interested as well...
But I'm sure Howard Thompson, the Evil One, destroyed them all...
It was never finished. Apparently, the manuscript was lost in a catastrophic drive crash shortly before it was to go to press.
ReplyDeleteOK. Will do.
ReplyDeleteRPGs: Creeks & Crawdads, Melanda, Neighborhood, and Uuhraah
ReplyDeleteWar games: Don't Give Up the Ship, Ironclad, Wings, Wooden
Ships & Iron Men, and the Tékumel miniature war game (the name of which I forgot)
Board games: Dark Tower, Dungeon (Roslof cover), Grav Ball, and others.
Villains & Vigilantes 1st edition. I had a copy and gave it away to a friend. Would like to find another one on the cheap someday.
ReplyDeleteI've been toting a copy of this around for 30+ years. Never played but I don't think I would ever get rid of it.
ReplyDeletePtolus
ReplyDeleteA copy of Credo (Chaosium) and City of Sorcerors (Standard Games). My copies of both of these went walkies some time ago. I'd add a copy of Credo II except I only played the prototype of this - it never was published.
ReplyDeleteLittle help?
ReplyDeletelegion1 (AT++) telus [-=dot=-] net
So much appreciated.
Legion
Like others my White Whale list contains more wargames than RPGs and, like others, I've actually dreamed of finding coveted games and RPGs in dusty bookstores. Pretty sad, huh? :)
ReplyDeleteIf forced to choose, I say Task Force Game's "Cerebus" and Yaquinto's "Ironclads" expansion are at the top of my list.
For a while it was the teo Realms of Chaos books but i snagged.them at a decent price. I also used to want the LBBS but luckilly i got.them on PDF whenstill available.and that will do me.
ReplyDeleteNow its all "never released" stuff i crave. City of Sin for D&D 3E in particilar.bugs.me as it was completed but unreleased for other reasons. Similarly i know some stuff was done on the supplements for LUGs Dune but for fear of lawsuit.the authors.cant release it.
I have the pdf, but I like to sit and read a hardcopy, as I'm slightly backward as I don't have a tablet or reader, my smartphone is too small to see and I hate stiting in front of a monitor - hurts my back.
ReplyDelete