RPGA SeriesR5 - R10

Limited-edition modules printed and used exclusively at AD&D Open tournaments.

According to author Frank Mentzer, these modules are set in the World of Greyhawk, though at the continent opposite the one in the published campaign setting.  The plan was to eventually incorporate them into another World of Greyhawk set, as part of an "Acquaria" or "Aqua-Oeridian" campaign; plans that ended when Gary Gygax left TSR in 1985. Thanks to Brett Easterbrook and Frank Mentzer for this info.

Unlike modules R1 - R4, none of these modules were ever actually released outside their respective tournaments.  Most copies were retrieved from the DMs at the end of the convention, but a rare few managed to escape this.

R5 Great Bugbear Hunt was used at GenCon South in February 1982.  It consists of a dot-matrix printout, which was then mimeographed for use at the tournament, and was 61 pages in length (including 11 pages of hand-drawn maps, one of which is by Jim Roslof).  The module was later published in Polyhedron #28. Thanks to Frank Mentzer for help with this info.

R6 Bigby's Tomb was used at an unknown tournament in 1984.  It was later published in Polyhedron #20 (and re-titled The 384th Incarnation of Bigby's Tomb).  Code R6 was originally assigned to the first RPGA tournament module, Eye of the Bog, written by teenage newcomer Eric Shook (though why they skipped over code R5, which was not used until the next year, is unknown).  This module was used at GenCon South in Feb 1981, but never published outside the tournament -- nor were any tournament copies given to players.  Like many other tournament modules of the era, it consisted of a dot-matrix printout, which was then mimeographed for use at the tournament.  It was 33 pages in length.  Possibly the only surviving copy of Eye of the Bog was auctioned on eBay in Mar 2006 for an unknown amount; a cover scan of this would be appreciated! Thanks to Frank Mentzer and Eric Shook for this info..

R7 "Dwarven" Quest for the Rod of Seven Parts was used at the RPGA AD&D tournament of GenCon II East in 1982.  It is the first of a four-part tournament adventure (the other three parts being R8, R9, and R10), collectively called "The 'Dwarven' Quest for the Rod of Seven Parts".  R7 is further broken down into two separate modules, "Igax Pass/The Fiery Fortress" (used for the opening round) and "Thor's Fountain" (for the semi-final round).  It totals 77 pages.

R8 Yog's Dessert is the second episode of "The 'Dwarven' Quest for the Rod of Seven Parts", and was used as the final round of the RPGA AD&D tournament at GenCon East II in 1982.  It totals 63 pages.

R9 Tinker's Canyon is the third episode of "The 'Dwarven' Quest for the Rod of Seven Parts", and was used at the RPGA AD&D tournament at GenCon XV in 1982 (the cover sheet incorrectly states it was used at GenCon East II).  R9 is further broken down into two separate modules, "Tinker's Canyon" (used for the opening round) and "Tinker's Canyon Part II" (for the semi-final round).  It totals 63 pages.

R10 Air Plane! is the fourth and final episode of "The 'Dwarven' Quest for the Rod of Seven Parts", and was used as the final round of the RPGA AD&D tournament at GenCon XV in 1982 (the cover sheet incorrectly states it was used at GenCon East II).  It totals 45 pages.

A plot summary of R7-10 can be found at Allan Grohe's Greyhawk Online website.

The later 2nd Edition AD&D product Rod of Seven Parts bears no resemblance to these tournament adventures.

Thanks to Allan T. Grohe for the information on modules R7 - R10.

These modules had but a single printing each, at their respective tournaments (aside from the two Polyhedron modules, which were released to all RPGA members).  We estimate approximately 60 copies of each tournament module were printed.

Thanks to Frank Mentzer for the scan of R5, Scott Cordiner for the scan of Great Bugbear Hunt (Polyhedron #28), and to Doug Behringer and Allan T. Grohe for the scans of R7, R8, R9, and R10.

Please note that we have digitally altered the module scans of R5, R7, R8, R9, and R10 in order to remove a particular identifying feature (as an anti-counterfeiting measure, since these modules would be relatively easy to forge).  Please contact us if you need to verify a module.

We've never seen a tournament copy of R6 Bigby's Tomb, though a copy sold at the 2004 GenCon.  The Polyhedron versions of R5 and R6 are commonly available in their respective issues ("SW" condition refers to the presence of the mailing cover; neither were actually shrinkwrapped).

Modules R7 - R10 are commonly grouped together and referred to collectively as "The 'Dwarven' Quest for the Rod of Seven Parts".  That said, only one has been sold (directly from author Frank Mentzer, at GenCon), and they were sold as a collective group.

Being unpublished tournament versions, we do not offer estimated values for these items.  Needless to say, they are extremely rare and very valuable.