Return to the Keep on the Borderlands (1999)

From the back cover:

First published in 1981, B2, The Keep on the Borderlands by Gary Gygax has been played by more people than any other roleplaying adventure, providing an introduction to the hobby for hundreds of thousands of gamers.

Now, almost twenty years later, the Keep has declined into a sleepy outpost settlement. The trained warriors once stationed here and the experienced adventurers who once flocked to the spot are long gone. But evil once again stirs in the fabled Caves of Chaos. Humanoids, undead, and evil minions of a dark goddess plot to destroy their enemies. Only novice adventurers who have come to try their hand at dungeon delving in this traditional training spot stand in their way.

Light your torches, assemble your marching order, draw your weapons, and sharpen your wits. It's time for a new generation of heroes to take on the challenge.

This 64-page book includes:

• A special "Advice to the DM" section for beginning Dungeon Masters, offering tips and tricks of the trade.
• Detailed descriptions of the Keep and its inhabitants.
• Wilderness encounters with a wide range of classic monsters.
• Room-by-room descriptions of every chamber within the Caves of Chaos.

 

CM1: Test of the Warlords (1984)

From the back cover:

The king requests your presence in the honorable kingdom of Norwold. If you're worthy, you may be appointed lord of a dominion filled with friendly villages, sturdy fortresses, and raging bands of monsters.

Raging bands of monsters?

Well, yes, and you may have to lead your forces into a war or two. But you'll be ready for the challenge. You'll be ready for treacherous spies who conspire to steal your land. You'll be ready for a foul band of frost giants that raids your dominions. And you'll be ready for the inevitable clash of empires, the outcome of which may alter the fate of millions, You'll be ready! Won't you?

Test of the Warlords includes a complete campaign setting, several new NPCs, dungeon and wilderness encounters, and guidelines for running a war between empires.

 

GA 2 - Personal and Vehicular Basic Loads and The Morrow Project Role Playing Expansion (1981)

From the back of the book:

LOAD UP!

With this new basic loads package for the Morrow Project!

This package contains both Personal and Vehicular basic loads comprising all of the following:

Vehicles:

• MARS
• Science
• SKS
• V-150 APC
• V-150 TOW
• V-150 81mm
• V-151 20mm
• Commando Scout
• XR 311
• Commando Ranger
• Air Scout
• HAAM Suit

All 22 Personal Loads: Rifles, Machine Guns, and Sub Machine Guns, Laser, Dragon Missile, Flame Thrower, Medical and more.

Computer compiled Structure Point/Blood Point Tables to aid in character generation.

Separate, new format character sheets

And

The all new Role Playing Expansion Booklet
Making possible new skills, college degrees, prior military service, and more!

Your Morrow Project Games Can Only Get Better!

 

DA4: The Duchy of Ten (1987)

From the back cover:

The Well of Souls...

That's what Zugzul bade the Afridhi call the evil artifact that he had taught them to make. They must call it the Well of Souls, and they must carry it before them into every battle—and they would be mighty. Thus said the god of the Afridhi, Zugzul the One.

So the Afridhi did as they were bade. Seeking the volcano called the Hill of the Hammer in the far Barrens of Karsh, they built in its heart a great forge. There, as Zugzul had promised, efreet came to help them make the mighty artifact. There, amid vile, unholy rites, they bound the souls of men into its very substance, and, as it took shape, they sharpened their swords for the red-handed work that must surely follow hard upon its completion.

Many were the men who guarded the Hill of the Hammer during the days of making—for their foes in hated Blackmoor would try to unmake that which they had wrought. Yet, it was not men that would keep the Well of Souls from destruction, but a prophecy—that the artifact would be unmade only by the hand of one as yet unborn!

 

DA3: City of the Gods (1987)

From the back cover:

"New Magic... That's what the flying egg has. New magic unlike any ever encountered in Blackmoor. New magic of a type that could give the fledgling kingdom an important edge in the wars that are brewing on its borders.

There are only a few minor problems. Like the fact that the magician who piloted the metal egg to one of Blackmoor's southern outposts was killed before he could utter a word. And the fact that Blackmoor's sworn enemies, the monks of the evil and eccentric Order of the Frog, are also interested in the magic represented by the egg. And, most important, the fact that the egg came from the distant and dangerous City of the Gods.

Set amidst the blistered salt flats of the Valley of the Ancients, the City of the Gods is a strange and deadly metal metropolis whose powerful guardians do not welcome intruders. Yet it is to this place of deadly menace that Blackmoor's leaders now send a daring expedition - to bargain for aid in the coming wars - or to steal the magic of the gods."

 

DA2: Temple of the Frog (1986)

From the back cover:

"Green Death... That's what old hands call the Great Dismal Swamp. For centuries, this tangled maze of sluggish watercourses, stagnant ponds, and festering marshes has defended Blackmoor's southwestern frontier. Large armies and smaller parties have disappeared altogether inside its vast, dripping, claustrophobic corridors.

Among those who have dropped from sight in this arboreal hell is young Rissa Aleford, one of Blackmoor's most important leaders. Carried off to the sinister City of the Frog, she is now being held by the eccentric Monks of the Swamp. By making the baroness captive, the deranged monks have seriously weakened Blackmoor at a time when enemies already threaten it from all sides.

Yet, even as the Froggies gloat, the king of Blackmoor dispatches a small band of bold adventurers to the rescue. Deep into the Great Dismal Swamp they must go - far from sunlight and sanity - there to seek and save the captive baroness from the foul Monks of the Swamp. There to find - the Temple of the Frog."

 

FR7: Hall of Heroes (1989)

From the back cover: 

The FORGOTTEN REALMS fantasy world has been the site of many great adventures and home to countless valiant heroes and infamous villains. Many a talk of derring-do has been recounted in novels like the Moonshae trilogy by Douglas Niles, The Crystal Shard by R.A. Salvatore, Azure Bonds by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb, and Spellfire by Ed Greenwood (creator of the FORGOTTEN REALMS fantasy world).

Until now, the characters from these FORGOTTEN REALMS novels have been unavailable to AD&D game players. But no longer.

Hall of Heroes provides complete histories and AD&D game statistics for such beloved characters as Elminster, the greatest sage and magic user of the Realms, Tristan Kendrick and Robyn of the Moonshae isles, Wulfgar the Barbarian, Drizzt the dark elf, and Bruenor the dwarf, all from the northern reaches, plus Alias and Dragonbait, Shandril and Narm Tamaraith and many more.

But the Hall of Heroes is more than a listing of game statistics: It's also a sourcebook describing (among other things) artificial and magical lifeforms of the Realms, as well as the lives of the world's elves, dwarves, lizardmen, and exotic creatures

Whatever your interest in the FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign setting, you'll find much to entertain and intrigue you in this volume.

 

A Naturalist's Guide to Talislanta (1987)

From the back of the book:

"The TALISLANTA series continues with the NATURALIST'S GUIDE, a compendium of selected flora and fauna native to the magical realm of Talislanta.
Compiled from the notes of Tamerlin-traveler, self-styled wizard and author of THE CHRONICLES OF TALISLANTA -the NATURALIST'S GUIDE features illustrations and descriptions for over a hundred different creatures and beings, including:

Ahazu: fierce, four-armed warriors from the jungles of the Dark Coast...

Exomorphs: predatory beasts feared for their uncanny, chameleon-like powers...

Gnomekin: diminutive, furry-maned humanoids who make their home in underground "nooks" and tunnels...

Monoliths: gigantic beings of earth and stone, believed to be the oldest living entities in the world...

Sardonicus: evil geniuses known as "bottle-imps," favored as familiars and sorcerous advisors...

Snipes: an intelligent (and insatiably curious) species of mud-dwelling mollusk known to inhabit the Sinking Land...

Vorls: Insidious creatures whose bodily forms are comprised of animate mists and vapors...

plus Mandragores, Shadow Wizards, Nightstalkers, Werebeasts, and many, many more...

With a separate section for fantasy role-players featuring game statistics and additional information."

 

The Bestiary (1986)

From the cover:

A compendium of creatures and beings from the lost world of Atlantis.

 

The Lexicon: Atlas of the Lost World of Atlantis (1985)

From the Introduction:

"Unlike most of the FRP campaign supplements available on the market, The Lexicon presents an entire world for the players and Game Judges to explore. In addition to the many different countries and territories delineated in the text, The Lexicon contains five of the largest cities..."

"Another interesting aspect of The Lexicon is that all of the places and cultures described in the book either existed or were at one time believed to have existed."

 From the web:

"The world map presented in The Lexicon is that of the Earth at a much earlier time. The sea level is higher, so the coastlines of the continents are much different (e.g., Africa has an inland ocean, the Sahara Sea), and continents have drifted (e.g., the land forming the modern day Middle East is disconnected from what is now India and the rest of Asia). In addition to Atlantis, many other legendary lands are present: Mu, Lemuria, Gondwana, Jotunland, Hyperborea, etc. Culture inhabiting the area receives approximately a one page overview, but they are left intentionally vague for players and game masters to flesh out.

The Lexicon is not designed for any particular RPG. As such, there are no player of non-player character stats or mechanics."

Providence: Main Rule Book (1997)

From the web:

A well regarded RPG that mixes Superpowers and Fantasy elements in a player friendly game design with a rich campaign world. 

The publisher says "This book provides the complete rules system for the Providence role-playing game, providing players with everything they will need to start a game of Providence. Learn how to be a hero again. ".

 

High-Level Campaigns (1995)

From the back of the book:

What's a DM to do when the player characters in his campaign become so powerful that nothing in the world is a challenge for them anymore? Just what are the essential ingredients in an adventure geared toward high-level play?

Here is a trove of advice and new rules for every AD&D game Dungeon Master who wishes to create adventures for truly legendary heroes. Find everything you need to create encounters that confound the craftiest wizard and chill the most valiant warrior's heart. Discover the power of True Dweomers, the mightiest spells ever. Build new realities for your heroes to explore. Learn how to conduct magical duels and oversee the creation of magical items. Expand the horizons of your gaming experience with High-Level Campaigns.

 

Rolemaster Companion IV (1990)

Back cover summary: Rolemaster Companion IV continues the tradition of earlier RMCs by expanding the classic Rolemaster system with a variety of optional rules and guidelines. Containing something for every RM Gamemaster and player, Rolemaster Companion IV provides material for all RM campaigns, from low-level to Lord-level. So, summon your sages, get out your spell books, and sharpen your quill pens -- your campaign is about to face Rolemaster Companion IV!

Rolemaster Companion IV provides:

• A complete index of all spells and spell lists from Spell Law, the Rolemaster Companions, and Elemental Companion.
• A complete Gamemaster Checklist and Index of all optional rules, professions, races, and spell lists in Rolemaster, Creatures and Treasures (I & II), and the Companions.
• New professions, skills, spell lists, and individual spells.
• New optional rules and guidelines for: maneuvers, maneuver fumbles, revised combat sequences, subdual attacks, shield bashes, spell catalysts, power point undercasting, spell memorization, power from the gods, meditation, spell mastery, omens, unnatural phenomena, selectable background options, quick NPC generation, and much more.

 

Rolemaster Companion II (1987)

From the web:

Rolemaster Companion II was a book put out by Iron Crown Enterprise to supplement the core roles of their fantasy role-playing system Rolemaster.

This book includes new character classes, many pages of new character skills, new spell lists, and obscure maneuver charts for things such as controlling fear of the undead, polevaulting, juggling, tightrope walking, and controlling lycantropy.

The new character clases include the dancer, the scholar, the trader, the beastmaster, the dervish, the warriormage, the necromancer, the warlock, the witch, the conjuror, the sage, the runemaster, the shaman, and additional information for the paladin.

 

Deep Horizon (2001)

From the back cover:

The Underdark Holds Many Secrets

A series of earthquakes and eruptions have rocked a normally placid land. Strange creatures sighted in the dark of night raise fears across the already disturbed countryside. As tales of a lost race that once warred with the drow begin to surface, only the boldest adventurers dare to descend into the shadowy darkness.

Deep Horizon is a stand-alone adventure for the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS(R) game. Designed to challenge 13th-level D&D(R) characters, it presents a long-forgotten civilization for heroes to discover and save, if they can.

 

Monster Manual (AD&D 1e)

From the web:

The first book of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons line.

Like the Players Handbook, this has an odd printing history.

The first three printings are actually really easy to tell apart.

1st: Lizardman logo, red centered "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons*" with a small note under that "* TM Reg. Applied For"
2nd: Lizardman logo, red centered "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons(R)"
3rd: Wizard logo, red centered "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons(R)"

After that, it gets a little weird.

For some reason TSR ran out of covers for the third printing long before anything else, so pseudo 4th printing covers were used with 3rd printing interiors. However, the covers actually differed slightly from the 4th printing covers in that there was no ISBN number on the back. More of these were printed than any of the Player's Handbook or Dungeon Master's Guide hybrids, and they are certainly easier to spot.

 

Best of The Dragon Vol. I

Best of the Dragon Vol. I
From the Strategic Review and The Dragon Vol. I & II
 

Dragon #73 - May 1983

Vol. VII No. 11 of Dragon Magazine.

Cover Art by Susan Collins.

This issue featured Forest of Doom, first place winner of the Module Design Contest, category A-2 (AD&D, levels 4-7).

 

Dragon #72 - Apr 1983

From the web:

Vol. VII No. 10 of Dragon Magazine.

Cover Art by Clyde Caldwell.

This issue contained File 13 - the game of games - by Tom Wham, and a special section:

April comes and April goes...
...but fools live on forever

 

Dragon #71 - Mar 1983

Vol. VII No. 9 of Dragon Magazine.

Cover Art by Clyde Caldwell.

This issue featured The Taming of Brimstone, the first announced winner in the BOOT HILL category of the Module Design Contest.

 

Dragon #66 - Oct 1982

From the web:

From the editor-in-chief's description of the issue:

We've heard it said that the best way to get ahead in this world is to keep your ears and eyes open - and your mouth shut. Certainly that axiom applies to the adventurers in Paul Sonju's cover painting, and it's also good advice to follow with some of the articles in this issue. With languages, for instance, you've got to look and listen before you can learn to speak. And, when confronted by an illusion, what you see and hear (or don't hear) is a lot more important than what you say.

You can enhance the use of languages in your D&D or AD&D adventuring by using this issue's special inclusion - a dictionary of Thieves' Cant vocabulary that you can fold and trim to fit in pocket or pouch. To go with it, we've assembled a special section of "language lessons" you can use to add more detail and more flavor to that aspect of your campaign.

By their very nature, illusions (and the characters who cast them) are always subject to interpretation. Inside you'll find a couple of articles suggesting how to keep illusions and illusion-casters in proper perspective. Immediately preceding those stories is an extra-long edition of From the Sorceror's Scroll, wherein Gary Gygax unveils twenty-six new, official spells for illusionists in the AD&D game.

An edged weapon has two sides - and so does the debate over the weapon-use rules in the D&D and AD&D systems. Both sides of the topic are examined at the start of our feature section, with John Sapienza advocating an alteration of the rules, and Bruce Humphrey offering his rationale for why the rules are fine just the way they're written.

For the thousands of ELFQUEST fans, and the thousands who have yet to discover Cutter and the rest of the crew, we present the principal characters in the saga described in AD&D terms - illustrated with full-color portraits by Wendy Pini.

In Featured Creatures this month, Gary Gygax fills out the family of geniekind with official renditions of the marid, dao, and jann. In Leomund's Tiny Hut, Len Lakofka offers some of his creature creations - intriguing low-level monsters guaranteed to make even high-level characters use their wits instead of just their weapons. - KM

 

Players Handbook (AD&D 1e)

From the back cover:

"No more searching through stacks of books and magazines to find out what you need to know. The Player's Handbook puts it all at your fingertips, including:

• All recommended character classes - Fighters, Paladins, Rangers, Magic-Users, etc.
• Character Races - Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Half-Orcs, Humans, etc.
• Character level statistics
• Equipment lists with costs
• Spell listings by level and descriptions of effects (including many new spells)

As a Dungeon Adventurer or a Dungeon Master, you will find the contents of this book to be what you have been waiting for. All useful material is now compiled under one cover, especially for players!"

 

Unearthed Arcana

From the back of the book:

This, the latest of the AD&D game books, further defines and describes the game system. Inside are new spells, character classes, magic items, weapons, and much more for both players and Dungeon Masters.

 

Monster Manual (AD&D 1e)

From the web:

From the front cover:
"An illustrated compendium of monsters: Aerial Servant to Zombie"

From the back cover:
"OVER 350 MONSTERS
This book provides a complete alphabetical listing of all 'monsters' encountered in the various works which comprise the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game system. It is an invaluable aid to players and dungeon masters alike!

For example:

QUASIT

FREQUENCY: Very rare	DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below
NUMBER APPEARING: 1	SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
ARMOR CLASS: 2	SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MOVE: 15"	MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
HIT DICE: 5	INTELLIGENCE: Low
% IN LAIR: 0%	ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil
TREASURE TYPE: Q (X3)	SIZE: S (2' tall)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1

The quasit is the unchanged form of the familiar of a chaotic evil magic-user or cleric. As such it is very rarely encountered except in the planes of the abyss or upon the death of its master or ..."

Ninth Printing - August 1987
Tenth Printing - November 1987
Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth Printing - November 1988
Fifteen Printing - July 1989

These all have updated cover art, "angled" TSR Logo, orange spines, and the printing number and date are noted on the copyright page.

 

Oriental Adventures

From the Back Cover:

Oriental Adventures introduces the infinite worlds of fantastic Asia to the Dungeons & Dragons game. In these pages, you'll find:

• 5 new races, including Hengeyokai, Nezumi, and Spirit Folk
• 5 new classes, including the Samurai, the Shugenja, and the Wu Jen
• Over 23 new prestige classes, including the Ninja, the Tattooed Monk, and the Yakuza.
• 100 new spells
• 75 new monsters
• A complete campaign setting: Rokugan, the world of the Legend of the Five Rings Trading Card Game.

 

Agone - Core Rules

From the back cover:

AGONE, an epic role-playing game in the Twilight Realms

At the dawn of time, the Muses breathed life and magic into Harmundia. Then the Masque came, a renegade set on putting all mortals under his yoke. The Eclipse darkened the sky and Twilight descended upon the world. Since then, the humans and the nine seasonling races have build the Twilight Realms. Now the enemies are more deceitful and more powerful than ever. The Masque has returned, and the evil Darken is creeping into the Realms. Once again, as the Eminences Grise foretold it, war is setting Harmundia ablaze!

Let the Drama begin!

Born in the wake of Agone of Roundrock, the Inspired have already led full lives and believe their hour of glory has come and gone. But fate has decided otherwise, for they carry the Flames of the Muses. As an Eminence Grise, the time has come for you to bring those inspired by the flame - lords, merchants, highwaymen and magicians - together to fight the enemy.

You are the last hope!

Discover a dark and baroque Heroic Fantasy world where weapons clash and spells thunder. In this setting of intrigues and marvels, be a baron respected by his subjects, a magical minstrel admired by all, an elusive acrobat assassin, or a Machiavellian spy. Learn to master the four Magical Arts and the Ascendancy, the magic of the Dancers. Play the part of a brawny ogre, a mysterious black fey, a hunting sprite, a plotting medusa, a wandering spriggan, a sturdy dwarf, a Minotaur or an awe-inspiring giant!

Will you be able to protect your flame at all costs?

 

Imagine Player's Guide

From the back of the book:

The Imagine Player's Guide is the culmination of years of work and development. Never before has anyone combined fun, creativity and playability into a role playing game of this caliber. Imagine a world limited only by the bounds of your mind. Imagine a game unlike any you have played before. Imagine no more, we have made it a reality.

Can you imagine...

Introducing:

• 12 Attributes
• 18 Races
• 26 Classes
• Over 340 Skills
• More than 450 Spells and Invocations
• Over 150 Different Weapons and Armor
• More than 500 Items of Equipment

Now if you dare, discover what role playing is all about.

 

The Book of the Righteous (D20)

From the back cover:

"Speak in my voice, you gods, you lords of Heaven, for it is your tale I tell!"

"Some men journey to the ends of the world in the name of Honor. Some men stand alone against a marauding army with nothing but a sword and a prayer in the name of King and Country. All I have done, and all I will ever do, is in the name of Truth. Know this, my reader: What you read is true."

So speaks the Great Sage Matalou, as he welcomes you into the world of The Book of the Righteous. The Great Tree Eliwyn reaches to Heaven where the gods watch the toilings of the mortal races, and grant their power to those that honor them sufficiently.

The Book of the Righteous is the most comprehensive religious tome the d20 System has ever seen. While other books waste pages on god stats you'll never use, The Book of the Righteous gives you a dynamic, lifelike religion that add depth to any campaign. Like Green Ronin's Freeport series, The Book of the Righteous can be used in any fantasy world, Between these covers you'll find 320 pages, jam packed with information:

- 23 pick-up-and-play churches, lavishly detailed. Each church includes in-depth information on holy orders, dogma, and prayers.

- 6 evil or heretical cults, and tie-ins to Green Ronin's popular Legions of Hell and Armies of the Abyss.

- A complete mythology and cosmology.

- A new core class, the holy warrior, and 15 holy warrior orders.

- 27 clerical orders.

- 16 religious prestige classes.

- A plethora of new feats, creatures, spells, and domains.

- Art fit for the gods

 

Random Ravenloft Materials

I am not sure what set these were from. I don't think it is a complete set either. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

Dungeon (Issue 1 - Sep 1986)

From the web:

Volume I number 1

Cover by Keith Parkinson

Issue quote:
"Sorry! I don't want any adventures, thank you. Not today."
-- Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

From the table of contents:
"DUNGEON Adventures is a new periodical from TSR, Inc. in which you, the readers, may share your own adventures and scenarios from AD&D and D&D gaming with the legions of other fantasy gamers. Each issue offers a number of fairly short (but often quite complicated and long-playing) modules, selected from the best we receive."