Acaeum Forum Members …

Open for discussion … an item called (for lack of a better name), an “Original Dungeons & Dragons Combination Correction Sheet / Reference Sheets” for the original woodgrain 3-book boxed D&D set.

These OD&D Sheets are different than the D&D Reference sheets and the Greyhawk Reference sheets which appear on Acaeum’s site.  Following is what I know … what I suspect … and hopefully what the forum can contribute … as far as information concerning this item.

What I know …

These OD&D Combination Correction Sheet / Reference Sheets consist of 5 loose leaf pages, printed on both sides, on off-white or cream-colored paper.  The OD&D Sheets would be equivalent to a 20-page booklet, if folded in half.  The page which has the correction sheet has the GK logo on it.

These OD&D Sheets DID NOT come with my original boxed D&D set, which I purchased between late 1974 and early 1975.

I received these sheets thru the mail (early to mid 1975) … either because I purchased one of the original boxed D&D sets, and/or because I was a subscriber to the Strategic Review Newsletter.

These sheets are DIFFERENT from the D&D Reference sheets which were included in subsequent boxed sets, because my OD&D Sheets have the correction sheet as part of the reference sheets.  Also, my OD&D Sheets DO NOT have a cover page.

Also, there is a difference in the print typeset of the OD&D Combo Sheets, and the D&D Reference Sheets.  The OD&D Sheets used a smaller typeset (with additional words appearing at the end of each line of various paragraphs).  This can be readily seen by comparing the paragraphs on both versions of the sheets.

What I suspect, and/or what others have speculated …

These OD&D Sheets were printed in late 1974 or early 1975, for the woodgrain colored boxed sets.

Someone who attended gaming conventions speculated that these sheets are similar to the sheets handed out at the booths, and these are probably extra copies sent to customers on the mailing list who purchased one of the early version boxed D&D sets.

What the Forum can contribute …

The actual exact date when these sheets were created …
The origin and purpose of these sheets …
The rarity of these sheets …

I have not seen anything similar to these OD&D Sheets on any other website, or on E-Bay.

Finally …

When I heard back from Scott at Acaeum, he suggested I put this item on the forum, and stated the following in his e-mail response …

“We've been remiss in cataloguing the Reference Sheets printings, as there's a bunch of them and almost no two seem to be exactly alike.  It's clear that your copy is one of the earliest, if not the earliest printing.
I'd recommend you register an account on our forums and post a message there about them, get the community's input.”

… So, this is the information I know so far.  Please contribute any other information you know, and let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks.

hello aia, thanks for responding ...

i did not notice the attachment option before ... so i will gladly attach the pictures i have of the correction / reference sheets.

i also have an ebay auction with pictures of each individual sheet ... which might be just as easy to get a close-up zoom of the sheets.

i did send photos of the sheets to the Acaeum site already, but they were not published yet.

looks like the software only allows 3 attachments per response ... so i will send 4 separate responses, so all 12 pictures are available.

here are another 3 attachments ...

These are ref sheets of a woodgrain box... Nice item but nothing special... It might be interesting for those who own an incomplete woody.

You say nothing special, so there already exist numerous complete sets of these "woodgrain" correction / reference sheets for the woodgrain boxed set.  I have not seen them mentioned on Acaeum, nor any other site.  Does this mean that almost "every" woodgrain boxed set already has the sheets???

Another question ... So what was so special about the Greyhawk Reference Sheets which sold for over $3200.00 US on E-Bay 3 or 4 months ago ... these woodgrain correction / reference sheets are much older than the Greyhawk Reference Sheets???

Welcome to The Acaeum!

Every woodgrain boxed set should have had some of these sheets, so when it was stated that they are nothing special, that's in reference to the woodgrain boxed sets.  These boxed sets would have all had the reference sheets, and in some 2nd and 3rd prints, the correction sheet.  It's important to note that these sets were hand-assembled, and quality control wasn't the best, so there were occasionally missing and/or mixed components.  The woodgrain boxed sets are very rare today, so these sheets are still special, and they do have a decent value, but not a lot when put into perspective of an intact woodgrain boxed set.

On your second question, the Greyhawk reference sheets were a separate distribution, probably only in-house at TSR and maybe obtained by a few lucky people outside of TSR.  They are incredibly rare, and there isn't a lot known about them.  That being said, some are owned by Acaeum members, so the content of these sheets is fairly well-known.

Bottom line, the reference/correction sheets are not worth anything near what the very rare Greyhawk reference sheets are worth.  If you wanted to sell your sheets, you should list them with a low starting bid and see where they go.  That's the best way to list a component of a boxed set.

You can check out some additional details here, if you haven't already:

Original D&D Set

DM Aids

dbartman wrote in OD&D Combination Correction Sheet / Reference Sheets:
Bottom line, the reference/correction sheets are not worth anything near what the very rare Greyhawk reference sheets are worth.  If you wanted to sell your sheets, you should list them with a low starting bid and see where they go.  That's the best way to list a component of a boxed set.

dbartman's advice is sound here ... it's hard to put a reliable price on a component of a game set (even a rare one). I have a few booklets from woodgrain sets hanging around and would happily buy these sheets from you (who knows, one day I will manage to get a whole set piece by piece!). So, to give you a data point, I would be willing to go around $100 (ish..) for a complete set of woodgrain reference sheets, but there may be others who would pay more (i.e. I also have to pay for an absurd London mortgage). You don't know till you put it up for auction (or, I guess alternatively, a reasonable buy-it-now). Good luck with whatever you decide  

Thank you, dbartman and red_bus … your input and assistance has been most helpful and informative …

Perhaps, someday, Acaeum will create an entry on their inventory list for these “woodgrain” correction / reference sheets (I have already supplied scans of each side of every sheet).

Also, perhaps, the next time the Valuation Board meets, they could discuss these sheets as well.

So, I guess what I thought was a diamond in the rough, turned out to be nothing more than a very shiny river rock.

I guess I was one of the “lucky” ones who got an incomplete hand-assembled “woodgrain” boxed set, and it was only by having my name on the mailing list that I eventually received a set of the missing correction / reference sheets.  As a side note … I sold my original D&D boxed set almost 20 years ago, so I know there is at least one incomplete boxed set out there somewhere.

In answer to stratochamp … NO, I did not ignore advice given … my E-Bay auction was put out over a month ago, and I only signed on to the Acaeum Forum 2 days ago.  My auction was based on information I had gather (or failed to gather), on the age of the “woodgrain” sheets in my possession vs. the D&D Reference Sheets and the Greyhawk Reference Sheets, on the comparisons of both sets of sheets, and on the fact that the Greyhawk sheets sold for over $3200.

So, I will adjust my E-Bay auction.  I already had multiple offers for between $200 and $250, but I thought those offers were way too low … obviously, they were in the ballpark.  I still assume the sheets should be worth a little more than that in auction … but ultimately, an item is only worth, what someone is willing to pay for it.

Thanks to everyone for your input, information and assistance … it is greatly appreciated.

Just checked with other 2 sets but 4th print (aka white box!): these ref sheets are used in there as well! I compared my ref sheets from a woody 3rd print and a whitey 4th print and there are no differences... Therefore those sheets might come out from a 4th print set... definitely not ultra rare!
I'd accept the offer of 200/250 bucks without doubts!

Otvarh the Great Druid wrote in OD&D Combination Correction Sheet / Reference Sheets:Also, the back of your page 5 and your page 6 are both blank ... but the back of my page 5 is the same as your page 6.  Thus, your 6 sheet set, and my 5 sheet set.

The 5-page printed of both sides are commonly found in 4th printings... I have two* of them and i checked my copies against your pics and they match at 100%.

* Actually i have 3 4th prints... The last one is missing these sheets...