Old D&D books available via print on demand, now!

[Deleted]

Hi, all!

Via the Piazza:

www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=16833

Not sure how relevant this is for our particular happy little few, in that most pre-AD&D material will likely not be included in the program.
- But this obviously is huge news for the hobby, and for the whole oldschool community: I have high hopes for what this might do for bringing some of the older settings back.

Yours,

Rafe

[Zenopus]

The OD&D pdfs are currently available for sale on that site. They were completely re-typeset, so should print crisply. Why do you think they won't include them in the print-on-demand?

Edit:
BTW, here is a direct link to the products currently available for P.O.D:
www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?filters=45471_0_0_0_0_0_45547_0

Wrote a blog post about the new offerings:
zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2016/11/tsr-print-on-demand.html

[Deleted]

As I understand it, they are going to add things gradually to this to see how it goes. Hopefully it will go well enough that they will eventually include everything.

[Vile Traveller]

I wouldn't buy modules in this format, the detachable covers and stay-open properties of saddle-stitching are vital components IMO. Would probably be tempted by an RC, though I already paid for the PDF.

[Deleted]

Nov 15, 2016 23:49:03 GMT -6 Zenopus said:

Why do you think they won't include them in the print-on-demand?

As TPD hinted to, from what I understand, it's a question of demand - on the different oldschool PDF stores, late 2e usually seems to do best. Pre-1981 stuff was not available for many years, back when SVGames (?) still did the PDF sales, and now, with POD, I expect the process to be about the same. If we will get POD versions of the old supplements, at all, I expect it to be way later. That said, I'm happy if I'm wrong.

[Zenopus]

Nov 17, 2016 11:50:07 GMT -6 @rafael said:

As TPD hinted to, from what I understand, it's a question of demand - on the different oldschool PDF stores, late 2e usually seems to do best. Pre-1981 stuff was not available for many years, back when SVGames (?) still did the PDF sales, and now, with POD, I expect the process to be about the same. If we will get POD versions of the old supplements, at all, I expect it to be way later. That said, I'm happy if I'm wrong.

I think you may be right. The first release last week had one 1981 product (L1 Secret of Bone Hill) and some others from a few years later in the '80s, but this week the oldest is from 1992, and the others are all from later editions:

This week's D&D list

The oldest item is one of the Thunder Rift modules, Assault on Raven's Ruin. This was the last line of Basic D&D modules. A good choice for print-on-demand because they came with fold-up minis and poster map, which are often missing from second hand copies and drive up the prices. It will be interesting to see how they handle these. Will they be bound directly into the product? If so, you'll have to cut out several pages from your printed copy to use them. The pdf scan looks nice but doesn't show the minis or map.

[Finarvyn]

I'd love to buy some backup copies of my OD&D booklets. I assume that those aren't on their list yet....

[Deleted]

Nov 22, 2016 8:29:12 GMT -6 Zenopus said:

Nov 17, 2016 11:50:07 GMT -6 @rafael said:

As TPD hinted to, from what I understand, it's a question of demand - on the different oldschool PDF stores, late 2e usually seems to do best. Pre-1981 stuff was not available for many years, back when SVGames (?) still did the PDF sales, and now, with POD, I expect the process to be about the same. If we will get POD versions of the old supplements, at all, I expect it to be way later. That said, I'm happy if I'm wrong.

I think you may be right. The first release last week had one 1981 product (L1 Secret of Bone Hill) and some others from a few years later in the '80s, but this week the oldest is from 1992, and the others are all from later editions:

This week's D&D list

The oldest item is one of the Thunder Rift modules, Assault on Raven's Ruin. This was the last line of Basic D&D modules. A good choice for print-on-demand because they came with fold-up minis and poster map, which are often missing from second hand copies and drive up the prices. It will be interesting to see how they handle these. Will they be bound directly into the product? If so, you'll have to cut out several pages from your printed copy to use them. The pdf scan looks nice but doesn't show the minis or map.

Precisely. One has to understand, old RPG books are not a money market; for years, WotC was an easy market leader, by selling around 7.000 PDFs per month - worldwide, and of their most recent publications. That is an insanely small number, and that they even bring old supplements back, and that they even install a POD service has more to do with brand control, than with actual gains. - Because the PDFs are circulating everywhere, and custom printing is extremely easy these days. So, WotC can either have PDF POD go on unregulated - or, they again try make it their own. - In general, a pretty positive development, of course. Myself, I've always liked Carl Sargent's style of RPG writing, and I'd like to reread the whole Greyhawk sourcebook series that he penned. But preferably as a bound book, not as a PDF...

[ravenheart87]

Patience. We got reprints of the old editions' core books, later got them in pdf too, I'm sure POD will be the next step - just who knows when.

[archersix]

Hoping they keep this going long enough for me to get freshly printed B/X books and OD&D + supplements

[ritt]

Is it just me or that page kinda confusing to navigate?

Most folks 'round these parts probably have it already, but X2: Castle Amber is really underrated.

[archersix]

Has anyone bought a module through that yet? I'm curious about how they do the maps

[idrahil]

Nov 30, 2016 19:02:22 GMT -6 archersix said:

Has anyone bought a module through that yet? I'm curious about how they do the maps

I got B1 Search for the Unknown and it seems they are pretty good scans of the original maps.

[Zenopus]

zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2016/11/monochrome-d2-print-on-demand.html?m=1

Not quite OD&D, but not far off. We finally get a '70s module with the print option: Gygax's D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa

[foxroe]

Dec 1, 2016 7:48:35 GMT -6 Zenopus said:

zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2016/11/monochrome-d2-print-on-demand.html?m=1

Not quite OD&D, but not far off. We finally get a '70s module with the print option: Gygax's D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa

I wonder how they'll do a 2-page map.

[Deleted]

Nov 22, 2016 8:29:12 GMT -6 Zenopus said:

Nov 17, 2016 11:50:07 GMT -6 @rafael said:

As TPD hinted to, from what I understand, it's a question of demand - on the different oldschool PDF stores, late 2e usually seems to do best. Pre-1981 stuff was not available for many years, back when SVGames (?) still did the PDF sales, and now, with POD, I expect the process to be about the same. If we will get POD versions of the old supplements, at all, I expect it to be way later. That said, I'm happy if I'm wrong.

I think you may be right. The first release last week had one 1981 product (L1 Secret of Bone Hill) and some others from a few years later in the '80s, but this week the oldest is from 1992, and the others are all from later editions:

This week's D&D list

The oldest item is one of the Thunder Rift modules, Assault on Raven's Ruin. This was the last line of Basic D&D modules. A good choice for print-on-demand because they came with fold-up minis and poster map, which are often missing from second hand copies and drive up the prices. It will be interesting to see how they handle these. Will they be bound directly into the product? If so, you'll have to cut out several pages from your printed copy to use them. The pdf scan looks nice but doesn't show the minis or map.

Perhaps several hundred of us should buy L1 Secret of Bone Hill, and all of us leave a positive review with a list of even older stuff that we would like to buy. Perhaps that would sway the order of release a bit.

While I am not particularly interested in the modules, there are other things I would like to get, and if at least 10 or more of you post that you will buy L1 Secret of Bone Hill and leave a review as I suggest, I will commit to joining you and doing the same.