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Voros

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So I was thinking of a few games I love that are currently out-of-print and often going for crazy prices online.

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Although MSH can still be found for reasonable prices in used bookstores but the other two are rare and expensive. Sure pdfs are out there but I like these games enough to want something I can fondle at the table.

Thanks to my fellow Pubbers I was able to get my hands on reasonably priced copy of Everway and the James Bond RPG.

My copy of the anniversary edition of the WEG SW just arrived Friday. In an ideal world similar special editions of these games would become available. I know that is unlikely but one can dream can't they?

Any other games come to mind? If anyone sees a good lead on a reasonably price copy of a good game let us know here too, assuming you aren't scooping it yourself!
 
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I missed the original Marvel and DC games and have always wanted to dig into them.

My nomination goes to FASA's Behind Enemy Lines:


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I don't know from best, but I know the ones I really enjoyed and wished had remained in print.

Darkurthe Legends - for me this had the perfect mix of settings, with enough history and description provided to get a good feel for the cultures and conflicts, but enough left undefined to customize it to suit your preferences.

Ringworld - One of the few licensed settings that I was willing to run a game in. One of my favorite settings from SF.

The Primal Order - This was more a meta-system supplement, but very useful. Also, killed by the emergence of Magic: The Gathering.
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Boot Hill, Gamma World, and TSR D&D are all available again last I checked, and The Fantasy Trip is being revised and reissued, so in addition to the ones mentioned earlier:
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The Traveller Book is available POD on DriveThruRPG. Weren't the LBBs also reprinted in a landscape format book a few years ago?

I could have sworn I saw Gangbusters 3e on DTRPG as a POD book a short time back. I guess not.
 
The Traveller Book is available POD on DriveThruRPG. Weren't the LBBs also reprinted in a landscape format book a few years ago?

I could have sworn I saw Gangbusters 3e on DTRPG as a POD book a short time back. I guess not.
There are minor but meaningful differences between the original 1977 edition of Traveller and the 1981 and later editions. Unfortunately for some reason they only reprint the later versions.
 
Boot Hill, Gamma World, and TSR D&D are all available again last I checked, and The Fantasy Trip is being revised and reissued, so in addition to the ones mentioned earlier:

We think alike! Most of those passed through my mind when I looked at this thread.
 
Ghostbusters and TSR's FASERIP Marvel Super Heroes line tops my list. I know there's an OSR style recreation of FASERIP, so it's still in print minus the license. There's also Spooktacular, so Ghostbusters is still kinda in print minus the license as well.
 
Stormbringer/Elric! for sure. I've got the physical books, and Magic World is a good enough rehash of the mechanics, but the Elric! book is such an exemplar of layout and editing, and the SB5, SB4 books have so much flavor and stuff you can rob and put in other games, even if you're not playing in the Young Kingdoms.
 
Now I wish that someone made a Buck Rogers XXVc retroclone. It's easy to strip Buck Rogers and associated characters like Wilma Deering and Dr. Huer out of it as they were only window dressing anyhoo. If only I was a writer and wasn't so lazy... :tongue: The XXVIIc RPG! :grin:
 
There are minor but meaningful differences between the original 1977 edition of Traveller and the 1981 and later editions. Unfortunately for some reason they only reprint the later versions.
I wish they would put CT'77 up on DrivethruRPG/RPGNow. If it was there, I wonder if there's any real cost to having something available POD from there?
 
I guess that I ... don't regard POD versions of old stuff to be 'in print', but I'm not sure why I think that...
I definitely consider POD to be in print, heck, I even consider PDF to be in print these days (which means most of the Traveller catalogue is in print from my perspective - though there are some annoying holes and some folks need to let go of whatever it is that is keeping then from allowing Marc Miller to put the products in PDF form...).

Given that, what do I miss as not being in print or at least available anymore? I don't know there's any RPGs not available anymore that I would actually likely run. There are definitely supplements I wish were available, but actual core books? Not much.

That said, some things that aren't available anymore that I had good times with back in the day:

Chivalry & Sorcery
Bunnies & Burrows (but I think that's on it's way to being available again)
Top Secret (or is that available, I haven't actually looked)
Top Secret SI

Frank
 
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Now I wish that someone made a Buck Rogers XXVc retroclone. It's easy to strip Buck Rogers and associated characters like Wilma Deering and Dr. Huer out of it as they were only window dressing anyhoo. If only I was a writer and wasn't so lazy... :tongue: The XXVIIc RPG! :grin:

Well, it's basically just AD&D2e in space and everyone uses the Thief skill rules. That's a gross oversimplification, but I'm sure you see what I mean.

You know, I never understood what benefit the Rocketjock class got when piloting a spaceship. IIRC, they just get a bonus to their skill check, but how the skill can interact with the tactical starship combat is never even remotely addressed.

I always thought the Scout got the best end of the deal, with all their skill points counting double or something like that.
 
If pdf counts as in print, then my list is actually pretty small. I have games like Millennium's End that are neat and out of print (at least as far as I know) but I don't know that it is really that great. It looks neat, and I like the setting, but never had much opportunity to play it. The rules could suck for all I know, although they look decent.


Behind Enemy Lines is way up there on my list, but the core rules are technically available in pdf form at Drive Thru. For an actual in print copy though it certainly qualifies, Noble Night has a copy of the box set for $85.

I think I can safely put Task Force Games' Delta Force on the list as I'm not aware of it in any form. It was very similar to FASA's BEL just set during the 80s instead of WW2 and expanded a bit.

The original RPG Inc Recon is worth a mention, it is on again, off again available as a pdf download at Palladium's whims. By today's standards the system is nothing spectacular, but with the original setting text it is a solid Vietnam war RPG. In print form is is also a fun reminder of the state of the industry in the early 80s with its mix of small digest sized books and newsprint supplements.

Along that note, I'd also like to have a copy of the much simpler 1st ed Call of Cthulhu boxed set without sacrificing half of my SAN.

Luckily in the early 2000s I discovered eBay before a lot of the games I always wanted but didn't have, had gone batshit crazy in price so there aren't a whole lot that I feel I need to add. I would like to see them more widely available though so others could find and appreciate them.


Pdf and POD are wonderful things for returning many long lost classics. 5 years ago my list would be much longer.
 
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Top Secret (or is that available, I haven't actually looked)
Top Secret SI

Is this nostalgia speaking or do you actually find that it was a good system. I found my copy a few years back and reading through it was surprised at what a hot mess it was. Didn't stop us from having a blast with it back in the day, but I was kind of surprised by the rules reading through them, lets just say "many" years later (don't really want to count how many :shock: ).

I will never forget the inclusion of a termite bomb. :hehe:
 
Is this nostalgia speaking or do you actually find that it was a good system. I found my copy a few years back and reading through it was surprised at what a hot mess it was. Didn't stop us from having a blast with it back in the day, but I was kind of surprised by the rules reading through them, lets just say "many" years later (don't really want to count how many :shock: ).

I will never forget the inclusion of a termite bomb. :hehe:
Well, there was a reason I said "I had good times with back in the day", so yea, a lot of nostalgia. I did generally like TSSI's hit location and damage system. It seemed pretty reasonable in allowing for called shots without making every shot a called shot or never being worth it.
 
Tunnels and Trolls - my second favourite fantasy game behind Runequest II and ahead of MERP Although it seems to have had a recent reprint that's also now seems to be out of print. There is a website for it, though so maybe it doesn't quite count as out of print, and there are electronic versions on DriveThru.

Take that, you fiend.
 
Is this nostalgia speaking or do you actually find that it was a good system. I found my copy a few years back and reading through it was surprised at what a hot mess it was. Didn't stop us from having a blast with it back in the day, but I was kind of surprised by the rules reading through them, lets just say "many" years later (don't really want to count how many :shock: ).

I will never forget the inclusion of a termite bomb. :hehe:

What I remember most from Top Secret’s hit locations system is that Agents seemed to get their hands and feet blown off all the time. It was kind of funny in a black way.

I think I always liked the ‘fluff’ more than the system in TS, although I believe TSI was a big improvement.
 
Is this nostalgia speaking or do you actually find that it was a good system. I found my copy a few years back and reading through it was surprised at what a hot mess it was. Didn't stop us from having a blast with it back in the day, but I was kind of surprised by the rules reading through them, lets just say "many" years later (don't really want to count how many :shock: ).

I will never forget the inclusion of a termite bomb. :hehe:

I sometimes think gaming (and most entertainment) wasn't considered quite so critically once upon a time, and people just tended to enjoy it more because of it.

That said, I enjoyed Top Secret SI back in the day and would now, probably, think it a hot mess.
 
I sometimes think gaming (and most entertainment) wasn't considered quite so critically once upon a time, and people just tended to enjoy it more because of it.

That said, I enjoyed Top Secret SI back in the day and would now, probably, think it a hot mess.

Mostly what I remember was finding many examples of "ok, so here is this bit, but how is this supposed to work exactly?" and "wait a minute, isn't that exactly the opposite of what I read on page x?" Actually quite common with a lot of games from around that time.

I remember being quite stoked when I got TS SI when it came out. It just doesn't seem like the game has aged well. We did have fun with it, and I think you are right, we were a lot less critical and just did a lot of "well of course that is how it works, how else would it work?" where now we are accustomed to 6 pages of explanation for a simple rule and still debate how it works. :smile:

Ok, there is some merit to "Shut up and play"
 
Tunnels and Trolls - my second favourite fantasy game behind Runequest II and ahead of MERP Although it seems to have had a recent reprint that's also now seems to be out of print.
It's still in print. Flying Buffalo do run out of either hardback or paperback, but the plan as far as I know is to reprint as demand and available cash allows.

It's also worth pointing out that playable versions of the rules are also included in things like T&T Japan Adventures as well as the being several editions available in PDF. Considering you can now legally buy at least four different editions it's arguably never been more in print.
 
Well, it's basically just AD&D2e in space and everyone uses the Thief skill rules. That's a gross oversimplification, but I'm sure you see what I mean.

You know, I never understood what benefit the Rocketjock class got when piloting a spaceship. IIRC, they just get a bonus to their skill check, but how the skill can interact with the tactical starship combat is never even remotely addressed.

I always thought the Scout got the best end of the deal, with all their skill points counting double or something like that.

I always thought the Rocketjock was there because "Ah crap, we should at least give Buck Rogers his own class." As for tactical starship combat, I used the examples from the Buck Rogers XXVc video games. The Rocketjock pilots, while everyone else mans the weapons systems, takes care of the engines, etc.
 
It's still in print. Flying Buffalo do run out of either hardback or paperback, but the plan as far as I know is to reprint as demand and available cash allows.

Yeah. It looks like you can buy a print version from the Flying Buffalo site, but that will hinge on whether you trust that site after you see it. I'm not making any accusations. All I'm saying is that their site where they expect you to add the items to cart and do a paypal transaction looks like a Geocities site that was abandoned in 1998. It doesn't inspire confidence.

I don't know what concerns there are or hoops that need to be jumped through. But purely from a customer standpoint, I'd prefer the book was available POD from known quantity like DTRPG.

All that said, I got the Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls book from another source. It's very nice.

I always thought the Rocketjock was there because "Ah crap, we should at least give Buck Rogers his own class." As for tactical starship combat, I used the examples from the Buck Rogers XXVc video games. The Rocketjock pilots, while everyone else mans the weapons systems, takes care of the engines, etc.

Yeah, that's basically what I mean. There's really nothing for them to do that another character couldn't. Since I don't recall pilot skill checks really being needed for anything via the rules, then any character that can pilot the ship will do. So for a one man fighter, it seemed to me that a Warrior was a better pilot than a rocketjock since they at least got better chances to hit.

That said, it's been a while since I read the box set. I've always had a soft spot for it, but never played it.
 
Yeah. It looks like you can buy a print version from the Flying Buffalo site, but that will hinge on whether you trust that site after you see it. I'm not making any accusations. All I'm saying is that their site where they expect you to add the items to cart and do a paypal transaction looks like a Geocities site that was abandoned in 1998. It doesn't inspire confidence.
Rick's been in business for 49 years now and FBI is almost certainly the oldest hobby gaming company still operating. A flashy website is no real guarantee of anything.
 
Yeah. It looks like you can buy a print version from the Flying Buffalo site, but that will hinge on whether you trust that site after you see it. I'm not making any accusations. All I'm saying is that their site where they expect you to add the items to cart and do a paypal transaction looks like a Geocities site that was abandoned in 1998. It doesn't inspire confidence.
Geocities is really an unfair comparison. There's no flashing text, animated gifs, or seizure-inducing text color changes. The FBI site looks like a fairly professional site design circa 1995. That said, if I were ordering from it I'd probably do what I would have done in the 90s; printed the order form and mailed it with a money order.
 
My favorite out of print RPG is Albedo, either first or second edition. I think Albedo: Platinum Catalyst from Sanguine is still in production, but it's an entirely different game/system. So, Albedo for sure. In fact, it'll probably be my next "Let's Read", if and when I finish doing Prime Directive.
 
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