ColoradoMarmot wrote in Introduce Yourself, Fellow Collectors:Greetings everyone!  Another old guy here, started playing in junior high school around the time AD&D was published, then skipped 2e, and rejoined in the 3/3.5 era, and have been playing ever since.

I've been going back and collecting for a few years now.  Fortunately most of my books are early or even first editions (like Deities), or rares/odd ones (like the UK Fiend Folio I bought on a trip there).  Unfortunately, well, I was in junior high school, so they aren't exactly Boba Fett in original blister back condition :-), but good enough, and they have a special place since they were the ones I used. Somehow I still have my original dice too, though the 10's (well, 20's) are almost spheres at this point!

Since I started collecting more seriously, I've gotten a number of modules recently, including 1sts of G/D/Q, and Tomb of Horrors, and even found my beloved Gamma World and my unicorn - Metamorphosis Alpha 1e.  They're all waiting to be framed and displayed.  I had copies of all those, but some were the later 'color covers', so going to get the originals that my buddies used when they DM'd (and killed) me through it is a real joy.

I posted a separate thread about my white whale - the Dwarven Quest for the Rod of Seven Parts.  I heard about it from one of my teachers (who was a big gamer) way back when, and have been looking for it for a long time.  That's one I know I'll never have an original of (my CFO aka wife - would never approve of a purchase that large), but I just hope to be able to read it someday.

My new goal is to start getting some original art - not necessarily what was used in print, just current originals from the artists.

Anyway, I'll be around from time to time, looking forward to chatting!

Cheers,

Doug

Welcome ColoradoMarmot!

Your collecting journey has parallels to many other collectors on these forums.  And whenever you have question, there are people here who really know their RPG's.

Good luck in your quest to buy original art.  Many of the pieces we remembered are in collections that aren't for sale.  There are some artists who sell reprints of their art at much more affordable prices, like:

Jeff Easley

Larry Elmore

Shop – Keith Parkinson

Interestingly, members of these forums organized and commissioned large, original, limited-edition, giclee art pieces from Erol Otus, Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley which were available for around $200 each.  Sometimes these become available for sale on eBay, but not often.

I wish you the best!  :)

Welcome Doug!
Have fun here!
Ciaooo

Yeah, it really is my white whale.  I wonder if Frank a) has the rights and b) would be interested in doing a limited publication of it (not scans, want to protect the collectors)....I think he pops in here from time to time?

Hi Everyone!  I am Shawn from Ottawa, Canada.  I started playing D&D in December 1980 when a friend ran some of us through the monochrome B1, using Holmes.  My MU died rapidly, but I was hooked.  I had already picked up some Ral Partha figures and Witches Cauldron (which I parted with long ago to my current regret) but D&D took it to a new level.

I quickly “upgraded” to AD&D because that was what we thought big kids did at the time (I was 13).  I played way too much, neglected homework, etc.  Quickly found and fell in love with Judges Guild products.  Eventually moved on from /expanded beyond D&D to Traveller, C&S, Cthulhu, James Bond 007, Gamma World, Morrow Project, Twilight 2000, Bushido, Aftermath, Daredevils, Harn as well as dozens more games I bought but only read.

Then, interest and time dwindled by the 90s as grad school, marriage, work, etc. all unkindly began to intrude.  I THEN GOT RID OF MOST OF MY COLLECTION.  (There, that’s out now, phew.) I only retained a few things like my three core 1E rule books, C1, S1 and S3.  I bought and read the 3E, 3.5E, 4E and 5E rule sets but none did anything for me and I quickly sold them off.  I played 3.5E once and 5E a couple of times. Not my cup of tea.

From the 1990s to 2010s I collected other stuff – WWII Soviet Militaria, Roman and other ancient coins, Roman antiquities (fibulae, buckles), mace heads, armour bits.  I even have a book out on Roman Coins: A Handbook of Late Roman Bronze Coin Types 324-395, published by Spink Books.

I started playing RPGs again circa 2014.  Since then I have played (usually GMing) Cthulhu, Traveller, Mindjammer and the OSE B/X clone.  I have been collecting RPGs again over the last few years.

In the collecting world I am an amateur.  No rarities.  No multi-versions.  No shrink or perfection.  Just aiming for stuff that was around in hobby stores from 1974-1984.  I don’t limit it to D&D though and have gone fairly wide within those years.

SMC

Welcome Shawn.  Glad you are back into collecting!

Welcome ratikranger!  :)

Welcome ratikranger, your story reminded my German period in Muenchen where a great FLGS was my 'base for operations' collecting-wise!
Servus!