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Playtest Copies of Original D&D Rules - Do Any Exist?
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CelticTony
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 1:49 pm 
 

Does anyone know if there are still any existing copies of the Original D&D Playtest Rules that were sent out by Gygax?  Also, any idea about what one would go for if it went up for auction? :)


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mbassoc2003
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:12 pm 
 

Why? Do you have a copy?


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CelticTony
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 3:35 pm 
 

mbassoc2003 wrote:Why? Do you have a copy?

Man, I wish!  I'm really interested to know how many copies were sent and how closely the rules conformed to what was eventually released.


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Post Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 5:22 pm 
 

This has been discussed somewhere before, although it may have been a passing comment. You might try the Dragonsfoot forum. EGG answers questions there and there's an active thread for asking him stuff.


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Post Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 6:34 pm 
 

IIRC from the Ongoing Research page here @ http://www.acaeum.com/library/research.html, a set of these rules were sold at GenCon in 1995 or so.  

Ongoing Research @ Acaeum wrote:Original Dungeons & Dragons Manuscript.  This is the second draft of the rules notes described below, and was directly formed into the Original D&D Set.  According to Gygax, this manuscript numbered 150 pages, and was distributed to roughly thirty playtesters in the Lake Geneva area, circa 1972.  A copy of this manuscript sold at the 1995 GenCon, but it was gone before I got a chance to look at it.

Original Dungeons & Dragons Rule Notes.  This is a 50-page manuscript detailing a "Supplement to Chainmail", by Gary Gygax, circa 1972.  Roughly twelve of these manuscripts were passed around to Lake Geneva-area wargamers for critique.  The feedback from that critique, as well as subsequent gaming sessions, led Gygax to develop the Original D&D Manuscript noted above.


Frank Mentzer, do you recall any details about that item's sale?


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ExTSR
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 7:11 pm 
 

No I don't. :/

Wish I'd had money back then... ;>
  

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Post Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 12:01 am 
 

It was sold in the dealer room, not the auction.  I remember passing by it, seeing it on a shelf at about eye level, with a typed front page.  As I was walking around the room, I was thinking to myself, "what exactly was that?", and I returned to the booth, only to find that it had already sold.

No further info, I'm afraid.  In 1995, I was primarily interested in Dragon magazines, so I didn't pay too much attention to it.

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Post Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 12:20 am 
 

Foul, do you recall who the dealer was:  Zocchi, Crazy E, etc.?


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Post Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 2:05 am 
 

Nope.  It wasn't Crazy Egor's, as I clearly remember digging through their Dragon magazines boxes and being irritated by the inflated prices.  I think I was aware of Zocchi at that time, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't them.  And it wasn't the dealer who sold me an Orange B3 for $160 or so (sucker).  Beyond that, I dunno.

Foul

P.S.  I do remember asking the dealer in question, "what exactly was that?".  He replied that it was an original D&D manuscript, but didn't know much more about it (and I don't think I asked).  I vaguely remember the price sticker on it was $300, which is why I walked on by the first time (way out of my post-college budget).
  
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