Sunday, April 14, 2013

Basic Rulebook - New Print Variant


Back cover of newly discovered "6th printing"; screenshot from ebay auction

A keen-eyed Acaeum member, Lurker Below, alerted me to a completed ebay auction with pictures of a previously unknown printing of the Basic rulebook. It's a variation of the 2nd edition, November 1978, with prices missing from the back cover. This follows the general trend of earlier TSR product listings including prices, and later ones having them removed. The module B1 follows this trend, and was in fact often packaged together with the 2nd edition rulebook in the Basic Set. Updating the known printing list, we can place this newly discovered variant as the sixth printing overall:

Holmes Basic rulebook printings
1st edition, 1st print: code F116-R, Lizard Logo
1st edition, 2nd print: code 2001, Lizard Logo, Jan 1978
1st edition, 3rd print: code 2001, Lizard Logo, May 1978
 

2nd edition, 1st print: code 2001, Wizard Logo, Nov 1978, back cover B1 price $4.49
2nd edition, 2nd print: code 2001, Wizard Logo, Nov1978, back cover B1 price $5.49
2nd edition, 3rd print: code 2001, Wizard Logo, Nov 1978, no prices on back cover


3rd edition, 1st print: code 2001, Wizard Logo, Dec 1979, no ISBN on pg 1
3rd edition, 2nd print: code 2001, Wizard Logo, Dec 1979, ISBN on pg 1, "USING THE DICE OR CHITS" on pg 46
3rd edition, 3rd print: code 2001, Wizard Logo, Dec 1979, ISBN on pg 1, "USING THE DICE" on pg 46
 

Silver Anniversary reprint, 1999

Here are the the cover and title page of the newly discovered printing:



See also: List of Changes Made to the Holmes Basic Rulebook

4/16 Update
 Plaag on the Acaeum writes: 
"2nd edition, 3rd print Holmes Basic rulebook would probably be after the 3rd & 4th print PHB were out (so 6+/1979) as they still had prices in them."

This fits well with the supposed timeline: the 2nd edition first appeared in Nov 78 and the 3rd edition in Dec 79, so the 2nd edition, 3rd printing should be in the later part of 1979.

Several other copies of the printing have already been reported , so I imagine it's actually fairly common, just never distinguished before. The Acaeum only tracks the boxed set so the rulebook printings have only been hashed out in piecemeal. I have one 2nd edition, with prices, so I rely on others to notice any discrepancies in copies they have versus my list.

2 comments:

  1. Now you've got me looking at my copy of the Holmes Basic Set. It's 3rd Edition, 3rd Printing with the ISBN number.

    It still astounds me how "transitional" this product was and how many changes it when through as TSR tried to reconcile it with AD&D.

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  2. The two copies I have are the one above and the one that came right after. Great info as always, thank you.

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