3rd party publishers for 1st and 2nd AD&D?

[Maggan]

Hello!

We all know that the torrent of d20 material produced by third parties was strong, powerful and , it seemed, unrelenting. I have guesstimated this to be over 2500 books, but it could very well be a lot more, close to 3000 even.

Now, my curiosity lighted a flare calling for attention recently. And what it wanted to know was ...

What 3rd party support was there for AD&D1 and AD&D2? Official or unofficial?

I know Judge's Guild created material for 1st edition, and I have an adventure by Timothy Brown with the serial numbers filed of, which is compatible with 2nd edition. I also have a few books from Mayfair Games on my shelves.

What else from 3rd parties was produced?

/M

 

[Melan]

Look here, and get ready for a whole lot of browsing: http://www.afterglow2.com/
Note also that most of these materials saw very low circulation, in the hundreds or maybe in the low thousands.

Judges Guild was much more prolific and successful, with several titles of large print runs to their name: http://www.acaeum.com/jg/IndexbyTitle.html

 

[Maggan]

Look here, and get ready for a whole lot of browsing: http://www.afterglow2.com/

Wow. Great link!

Note also that most of these materials saw very low circulation, in the hundreds or maybe in the low thousands.

Much like the current d20 market, I wager. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

/M

 

[SavageRobby]

Much like the current d20 market, I wager. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

A big difference then was availability. There weren't online gaming supershops, and there wasn't a resource like RPGNow allowing for very small page count products. There also weren't the availability of product reviews like there is now from all the various sources, nor online forums to discuss stuff. Products were far more regional - if your local game store carried JG or Mayfair stuff (if you had a local game store, even), then you might see it in games in your area. Otherwise, no way.

Another difference was general production value. With the advent of desktop publishing, even the most threadbare of publishers these days has higher production values than a lot of the old 3rd party stuff. Old JG products have (often) great content, but the production values ... well, stink.

 

[Voadam]

Excellent link thanks.

I wish more were available on rpgnow.

 

[Ranger REG]

What else from 3rd parties was produced?

The Role Aid book series from Mayfair Games. (Unofficially supported 1e.)

The current edition Hackmaster series is based and adapted from 1e and 2e material, with exclusive permission granted from WotC.

 

[Treebore]

Goodman Games have printed a couple of 1E conversions of their DCC's. DCC 12.5 last GenCon, then two this GenCon sold as what looks like a boxed set.

Then there is OSRIC, which has two modules I have bought and really like. I beleive Kuntz and his Pied Piper does what is essentially 1E. Grodog would have to give you solid info on that, though.

But yeah, in the old days it was mostly Mayfair and JG that was third party.

Fortunately two nice d20 conversions of Citadel of Fire (awesomely wicked mod) and Thieves of Fortress Badabaskar (very nice) have been released by Goodman Games, and Dark Tower is forthcoming. Sales will determine what comes after, if anything.

 

[grodog]

Goodman Games have printed a couple of 1E conversions of their DCC's. DCC 12.5 last GenCon, then two this GenCon sold as what looks like a boxed set.

My understanding is that Castle Whiterock (the big $100 box set) is for 3.5, not for 1e.

Then there is OSRIC, which has two modules I have bought and really like.

There are actually several OSRIC modules available now; see http://www.knights-n-knaves.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2257 for details.

I beleive Kuntz and his Pied Piper does what is essentially 1E. Grodog would have to give you solid info on that, though.

Rob's books are OGL-based 1e-compatible adventures, including two that were originally part of the original Castle Greyhawk (with more to follow); see his site at www.pied-piper-publishing for details.

 

[Treebore]

My understanding is that Castle Whiterock (the big $100 box set) is for 3.5, not for 1e.
.

I know. I am talking about a 1E conversion that they have available on line now, but premiered at GenCon, was limited to 3 copies per person, etc...

 

[grodog]

I know. I am talking about a 1E conversion that they have available on line now, but premiered at GenCon, was limited to 3 copies per person, etc...

Ah, gotcha; that's Saga of the Witch Queen, which I had the pleasure of playtesting the AD&D conversion for! Details @ http://www.goodman-games.com/GC07preview.php