Hot Grail Winter

 

I have not put in a lot of major effort of tracking down my "Grail" games in a long time. My list of grail games is small and usually includes games I had when I was younger then went the way of the dinosaurs for various reasons or games that did not survive one of my purges which I highly regret. 

Due to happenstance and some serious luck, I have been able to acquire a good number of my grail games over the last month. This has made me overly happy with lots of feelings of content. There are still a few games on my grail list but I guess those will come in time. 

For those of you at home that does not know what a grail is, it is a highly sought after game (or other object) that is difficult to come by for numerous reasons but the common reasons include being out of print, low print runs, and popular when it was released so people are reluctant to part with them for those who have then. The term grail comes from the "Holy Grail" and the epic quests that follow its hunt. Same could be said about Excalibur and so on. 

1.The First Fantasy Campaign by Dave Arneson: Well, I do not know what else can be said about this legendary tome that houses Dave Arneson's Blackmoor campaign from the early years. This includes the maps and the various dungeon levels that were explored and have yet to be explored. I have owned the pdf copy for a while now (which I printed out and bound for easier reading) but the original copy has always alluded me because people like to sell their copies for around $300-600 dollars and that is just to rich for my blood and people should be ashamed of themselves. I got lucky and ran into (online meeting) a person who had a copy and was willing to barter for it. The copy is in a good condition except for pages 51-56ish that have come free from the staples. I have looked into getting in rebound in a hardback but I am unsure if the paper is going to be to brittle and the rebinding place is about a 45 minute drive from where I live. Still do not know what I am going to do about that aspect but regardless, I am beyond exciting to have an original copy in my hands. Sadly, the PDF has been removed by Judges Guild for reasons I am not privy to.

2. Dust Devils: Stories in the Old West: This game was initially released in 2002 (the same year the game won a bunch of awards including Best Indue Game) and got a Revenged Edition in 2007 - I common consensus is that the changes made the game even more enjoyable. I first encountered this game circa 2009 when I played in a three part story ran by someone at a local store. This was one of the first "story" focused games that I experienced and probably was one of the first of the "story game" genre in general. It was also an excellent entry into the “conflict resolution” era of game design. That is, folks play and describe and build toward a conflict, and when a facilitator decides a conflict is at hand, then you stop narrating and switch over to the resolution game. The game does not used dice, but uses a deck of cards and some poker chips. I have to say, playing Dust Devils was one of the most rewarding gaming experiences I have and there intense experiences when facing my character’s Devils. The thing about your Devil is that not only do you name the dark drive (misogyny, greed, racism, cold-bloodlessness, whatever), you also write a little sentence about your character’s perspective on why they are the way they are. Same with your past and present lines. It is a great and innovative process. But I digress, after I played in the short little adventure I was not able to acquire a copy at the time due to finances and then as the years went on the game sold out and became hard to find. Once again, I got lucky that I ran into Matt Snyder (digitally) and he was willing to look around for a copy and sign it even! I really can't wait to get this to the table. 

3. Toon Deluxe Edition: This game was initially released by Steve Jackson Games in 1984, had a handful of supplements, and the Deluxe Edition was released in 1991 that included all the stuff from Toon Silly Stuff, Son of Toon, and Toon Strikes Again. This is one of my old Game Master's favorite filler game when there was not enough players to play in the regular campaign or would be a quick pick up game on a just hanging out night. I never ended up getting the game at the time and actually completely forgot about its existence until I cam across a youtube video talking about it, which increased my nostalgia by 9,000! I then set out on a quest to try to track down a copy but all of the copies I came across were going for obscene prices but by dumb luck I came across someone selling a lot of books and this was included and the person was willing to let it go for a reasonable price that I could not pass up. 

4.Vampire the Masquerade (2nd Edition, First Printing): Believe it not (I am sure I have mentioned this somewhere on this blog) that my first role playing experience was not Dungeons and Dragons and had nothing to do with the fantasy genre. I cut my ganging teeth on Vampire the Masquerade 2nd edition at a comic store in the early nineties. I was actually there for an anime convention and to play Magic and I noticed this group in the corner with various vampire books and character sheets. The people at the table noticed my interest and invited me over, explained what they were doing, and I guess my eyes must have lit up because they invited me to play and helped me make a character. My first character was an Assamite named Val - he was a righteous bastard. Anyway, I actually still have my copy but the pages were falling out of the binding and for awhile I have been looking for a mint copy that is safe to read through without causing more damage. I was able to acquire a copy in mint condition and an easy price and I am happy as a vampire in a blood bank. 

 

5. Basic Role-Playing - An Introductory Guide: I have had a handful of great experiences with various BRP games but outside that handful, a lot of the time the experience fell flat. This failure had to do more with the over complication of the system then anything else. When I learned that the BRP system originally existed in a 16-page booklet, I was ecstatic but quickly found it was something that was hard to get as Chaosium itself did not sell any copies and claimed to not even possess a digital copy. I came to find out that there were multiple printings of this booklet that was included in some of the original box sets of Runequest, Call of Cthulhu, and Worlds of Wonder. By some dumb luck, I was able to acquire two copies for under $15 each. 

These are my current acquisitions at the moment. For those that are interested I am still in the hunt for:

• Vampire the Masquerade 1st Edition
• Dogs in the Vineyard
• Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium (Last Unicorn Games)
• TSR Presents Deities and Demigods (1st-2nd Printing with the Cthulhu and Melnibonean pantheons) 
• Ghostbusters Box Set from West End Games)
• Gamma World Box Set, 2nd Edition