Dark Tower by RPG Realms? • Judges Guild • The Acaeum

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Dark Tower by RPG Realms?
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Magelin
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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:18 pm

I was wandering through our local 1/2 Price Books the other day and stumbled across a copy of Dark Tower that I'd never seen before.

It looks very much like a comic book graphic novel and has a copyright date of 2001. On the back, it's got the logos for Judge's Guild, RPG Realms (?), the d20 logo, and another logo from a company called "Quicklink Interactive."

Does anyone know anything about this product? I dropped $3.98 to purchase it and am wondering if I just bought a 25 cent book or if I may have stumbled across something unusual.

Any help would be appreciated!

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jamesmishler
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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:32 pm

It's not very collectible, really. Quicklink/RPGRealms were the first licensor of Judges Guild products after Bob Bledsaw returned to the gaming scene in the late 90's. They published the d20 version of Dark Tower you have, as well as a new edition of the Treasury of Archaic Names. Neither did very well, and soon thereafter QLI/RPGR and JG parted ways.

If you don't have the original Dark Tower, the QLI version is passable. Worth about what you paid for it, maybe, if you play d20 3.0, but certainly not collectible.

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Magelin
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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:40 pm

Thanks for the info. Ebay, here it comes...

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Mars
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Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:22 am

jamesmishler wrote:Worth about what you paid for it, maybe, if you play d20 3.0, but certainly not collectible.

This one like many others have had their day on Ebay. I have seen this one sell a couple of times at $50+ but lately doesn't seem to do very well.

As far as collectible, it may not be highly desired at the moment - it is not very old and is D20 related. However, if you are looking for a future collectible, then it has some potential: classic JG module, didn't sell well, small press, etc.

The same company also released a few Traveller items.

Plaag
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Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 5:08 pm

There is a website for Judges Guild :wink:

RPG Realm Dark Tower

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Magelin
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Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:04 pm

Thanks, guys, for all the info!

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Badmike
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Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 11:10 pm

The Goodman Games version is much better. However, with the low print run and how hard this version is to find, I would think in a few years it might be a collector's item to a dedicated JG collector. I would hang onto it and see what develops.....

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Melan
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Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:22 am

I read somewhere that it did not sell well and much of the print run was pulped, so it might be worth something in some time. Contentwise, it is identical to the Jaquays original except the d20 stats and some actually very cool artwork.

leadjunkie
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Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 6:01 pm

I have heard that they botched the d20 stats and the editing was terrible. I picked up a copy only for the nostalgia value.

copycat
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Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 11:03 pm

I remember seeing this in a store when I was still in California, and I almost bought it, just to have a Dark Tower. I'm glad I did not. However, it would also appear that it might have been a good idea, in another few years when it becomes more scarce and the d20 boom/flop has worked its way out.

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Melan
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 1:57 am

leadjunkie wrote:I have heard that they botched the d20 stats and the editing was terrible. I picked up a copy only for the nostalgia value.

Can't comment on the d20 stats, since even then, they made my eyes bleed with all the details. I am sure they must have contained the all-important errors some folks just love to point out, but really, they seemed functional...

I don't think there was much editing going on in that versions; they probably just reformatted the old text a bit and put the stats in an appendix.

If you wish to play the module in 3.5, of course, Goodman's version is the better one.

robertsconley
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 1:16 pm

Melan wrote:If you wish to play the module in 3.5, of course, Goodman's version is the better one.

And it has my maps. ;-)

I was able to make a confusing area on level 1 clearer on the versions I did. (I drew it as a small sub level).

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