Holmes for the Holidays 2020

Back for the pandemic, it's "Holmes for the Holidays"!

For this year, I've got an extra copy of Dragon #58 (February 1982), which features the Boinger and Zereth story, "In the Bag". The condition isn't the best: while the front cover looks like fine (see above), the back cover has a tear 2/3rds of the way across (it could be taped pretty easily), and the "Spellminders" counters from the center of the magazine are missing. Buy hey, it's free!

"In the Bag" was the last of Holmes' three Boinger and Zereth stories to appear in Dragon, and also the last of his writing of any kind for the magazine. Chronologically, it is set after "The Sorcerer's Jewel", as Boinger mentions that adventure, which had appeared one year earlier in Dragon #46 (February 1981). Murray and Olaf from The Maze of Peril also return in this story, and there are also references to Amazons and Dagon from that story (which at the time of this story, had been written but not yet been published).

The story is delightfully illustrated throughout by Donna Barr, an artist I'm not otherwise familiar with, but per wikipedia she illustrated other RPG products and comics books. While the Tales of Peril compilation includes "In the Bag", it does not include Barr's illustrations, which means this issue retains some draw for the Holmes collector.

The cover of Dragon #58 is by Clyde Caldwell - his second for the magazine - and features a castle with a skull-shaped gate reminiscent of Skull Mountain or Castle Greyskull (although Caldwell's painting is dated 1981 and it says here that the first He-Man toys were released in 1982). And to me, the lizard-riding, spear-wielding dwarf also recalls the lizard rider image featured at the top of this blog. 

The issue also include an article by the late Lenard Lakofka, "Beefing up the cleric", that details a bunch of new "official" cleric spells, which were later compiled in Unearthed Arcana. The article is introduced by Gary Gygax, who writes "All readers should be aware that Len Lakofka has been of considerable aid and assistance in formulating the whole of the AD&D game system".

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For the give-away I will use the same system as before: 

If interested, leave a comment in reply to this post within the next two days, before automated moderation kicks in on this post. After two days, I will treat the list of comments as a table and roll randomly for the winner, using dice from a Holmes Basic set.

I'll cover postage (media mail) for any U.S. address. I can ship to other countries but I ask that you cover the difference (any amount over $4) in shipping by PayPal; so if you are overseas please only participate if you have a PayPal account and willing to chip in the extra. I'll estimate the exact shipping by weight and refund the difference if I overcharge.

Please note that due to the date I'm starting this that I probably won't get it in the mail until after Christmas.

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12/29 Update, including the Results:

I recruited two dice elves to make the rolls. There were less than 20 comments, so we used a Holmes white 20-sided die (numbered 0-9 twice) and an orange 6-sided die as the control die (1-3 = 1-10, 4-6 = 11-20).

After warming up the dice, we made the official roll...

...which indicates that number 7 is the winner! (the control die being a "1" means that it's "7" instead of 17). That's The Great Khan! 

Thanks to all who commented, and hopefully 2021 will be a better year for all.

Holmes for the Holidays 2018

"Holmes for the Holidays" is back for 2018!  

This year I'm giving away a paperback copy of the first issue of the new Cthulhu RPG zine Bayt El Azif, which as described previously has an article that I wrote about Holmes' role bringing the Cthulhu Mythos into D&D, with a new illustration of a Mythos creature by Chris Holmes.

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For the give-away I'm using the same system as before: if you are interested, add a comment in reply to this post within the next two days. The two days are the time limit before moderation starts on posts on this blog. After two days, I'll stop accepting entries and treat the list of comments as a table and roll randomly for the winner, using dice from a Holmes Basic set.

I'll cover postage (media mail) for any U.S. address. I can ship to other countries but I ask that you cover the difference (any amount over $4) in shipping by PayPal; so if you are overseas please only participate if you have a PayPal account and willing to chip in the extra. I'll estimate the exact shipping and refund the difference if I overcharge. Note this is intended for folks who don't yet have a copy of the magazine.

Please note that due to the date I'm starting this that I may not have time to get this in the mail prior to Christmas, and it almost certainly won't be received by then. If you'd like get a copy of this sooner you can try ordering over at DrivethruRPG (link includes my affiliate number). And if you are looking for other gifts try my recent post "Things I've Written Published Elsewhere".

1/7 Update, including the Results:

A happy New Year everyone. My apologies for the delay in announcing these results.

I recruited a dice elf to make the roll for me. There were 36 comments (only 31 of which were entries), so we used Percentile Dice (pink 20-sider for 10s, white 20-sider for 1s), re-rolling any score for non-entries or and any over 36. 

After a few practice rolls, we made the official roll...

...which indicates that number 21 is the winner! That's Tony Rowe, who I will contact via email.

Thanks to all who entered the contest! Hope to have a new Holmes Ref sheet out soon.

Holmes for the Holidays 2017

After an absence of a few years, "Holmes for the Holidays" is back for 2017! 

This year I'm giving away a copy of Holmes' Mordred that I liberated from languishing on the shelf of a local used book store earlier this year. A photo of this book is above.

A bit about this book. It's an authorized direct sequel to the original "Buck Rogers" novel Armageddon 2419 A.D, published by ACE in 1980. Although the publication of this was almost certainly spurred by the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV series that started airing in 1979, there's no relationship between the two other than the white outfit that Rogers is wearing on the cover. And due to licensing differences between the original novel and the original comic strip, Rogers is not even called "Buck" here, instead he's just "Rogers" throughout, which is short for the original "Anthony Rogers" name. Holmes talked about this once in an interview with John Martin of Erbmania:

"In writing "Mordred," Holmes told me he originally included a line in which Anthony Rogers tells someone: "You can just call me Buck." But the editors told him: "No, he CAN'T just call him Buck!" Due to various copyright considerations, the name "Buck" was not available for use by ACE Books. The company owned only the rights to the novel concept, and didn't own anything else associated with Buck Rogers properties."

I read Mordred back in 2012, and posted a short review in a comment to a post on the space 1970 blog about this book series. Here's what I thought back then:

"Holmes' story is a faithful continuation of Nowlan's Armageddon 2419 novel (a fix-up of the original two stories), which was republished by Ace in a mass market paperback in Aug 1978, possibly in advance of the TV show. While the original novel is clearly the "primary invention", in some ways I found Holmes' Rogers story (which begins 60 years later after the death of Wilma) to be more engaging (better/more dialogue and characterization), though the endless descriptions of dis ray attacks (also shared with the original) were still a bit taxing to this reader."

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For the give-away I'm using the same system as before: if you are interested, add a comment in reply to this post within the next two days. The two days are the time limit before moderation starts on posts on this blog. After two days, I'll stop accepting entries and treat the list of comments as a table and roll randomly for the winner, using dice from a Holmes Basic set.

I'll cover postage (media mail) for any U.S. address. I can ship to other countries but I ask that you cover the difference (any amount over $4) in shipping by PayPal; so if you are overseas please only participate if you have a PayPal account and willing to chip in the extra. I'll estimate the exact shipping and refund the difference if I overcharge at all.This is intended for folks who don't have a copy of the novel, so please don't post if you already have a copy.

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12/17 Update, including the Results:

I recruited a dice elf to make the roll for me. There were 18 entries, so we used a spread of 1-20, with a 19 or 20 being re-rolled if it came up. To generate 1-20, we used dice from a Holmes set: a white twenty-sided die (numbered 0-9) and an orange six-sided die as a "control die". If the d6 comes up 1-3, the white die is read as-is, and if the d6 comes up 4-6, 10 is added to the white die. After a few practice rolls, we made the official roll...

...which indicates that number 5 is the winner! That's Patrick Usher. Patrick, please get in touch with me at zenopusarchives at gmail.com.

Thanks to all who entered the contest. I hope to do a few more of these type of contests during the year next year as I have accumulated some extra stuff around here. Stay tuned, and happy holidays!

Holmes for the Holidays IV

 

The Maze of Peril (image recycled from last year)

Welcome to the fourth annual 'Holmes for the Holidays' where I send a present to a randomly selected reader. This year I am again giving away a brand new copy of Holmes' 1986 D&D novel The Maze of Peril.

Same system as before: if you are interested, add a comment in reply to this post within the next two days. The two days are the time limit before moderation starts on posts on the blog. After two days, I'll stop accepting entries and treat the list of comments as a table and roll randomly for the winner, using dice from a Holmes Basic set.

I'll cover postage (media mail) for any U.S. address. I can ship to other countries but I ask that you cover the difference (any amount over $4) in shipping by PayPal; so if you are overseas please only participate if you have a PayPal account and willing to chip in the extra. I'll estimate the exact shipping and refund the difference if I overcharge at all.

This is intended for folks who don't have a copy of the novel, so please don't post if you already have a copy. Last year we had about 45 entrants.

Update 

We have 40 comments, so I rolled a Holmes "d10" (a white d20 numbered 0-9 twice), with a d4 as a control dice. With this the d10 determines the "ones", and the d4 determines the "tens" (i.e., a 1 on the d4 = 1-10, a 2 on the d4 = 11-20, etc). My trusty dice elf took a few practices rolls and then I called for a winning roll:

The winner is comment #6...Kean Stuart! I have contacted him for his mailing address.

Thanks to everyone who entered, and thanks for the many kind comments about my blog.
In the next few weeks I hope to finish the Holmes Manuscript analysis, and eventually put the whole thing together into one document.

Happy Holidays & New Year!

Holmes for the Holidays III - the winner is...

Welcome to the third annual 'Holmes for the Holidays' where I send a present to a randomly selected reader. This year instead of a copy of the Holmes Basic rulebook I have a brand new copy of Holmes' 1986 D&D novel The Maze of Peril to give away, pictured above. 

Same system as previously: if you are interested, add a comment in reply to this post. I'm going to run the entries for just two days this year, as that is the time limit before moderation starts on posts on the blog. After two days, I'll stop accepting entries and treat the list of comments as a table and roll randomly for the winner, using dice from a Holmes Basic set. 

I'll cover postage (media mail) for any U.S. address. I can ship to other countries but I ask that you cover the difference (any amount over $4) in shipping by PayPal; so if you are overseas please only participate if you have a PayPal account and willing to chip in the extra. I'll estimate the exact shipping and refund the difference if I overcharge at all.

This is intended for folks who don't have a copy of the novel, so please don't post if you already have a copy. 

Update #1: It's been two days - 41 entries. A winner will be selected soon.

Update #2: We made the official dice roll using the original TSR 'Percentile Dice' - a white d20 for tens, and a pink d20 for ones. We simply rerolled any number over 41. After three practice rolls, my dice chucker rolled '20' for the official result, so the winner is...

Alfons Holzli! I'll be contacting him privately now.

By the way, if you are still hankering for The Maze of Peril, there are two places it is currently available (I am not affiliated in any way with either of these companies):
(1) Noble Knight has 8 copies in stock for $9.95 + shipping. This is where I got it for this contest. They take Paypal or credit cards, and you can order on-line.
(2) Space & Time, the original publisher, still has the original book in stock for $6.96 + $1.50 shipping. But they require check or money order, and you have to mail the order to them, so less convenient. I'm guessing that Noble Knight has been ordering from them.


Happy Holidays!

Holmes for the Holidays II (the winner is...)

Click for a larger view

Original Post from 12/12 (see updates below):

Ho, Ho, Holmes! 

For the holidays, I will once again be giving away a surplus Holmes Basic box set, pictured above, that I acquired during the past year. Same rules as last year: if you are interested, add a comment in reply to this post. By the end of the weekend I'll treat the list of comments as a table and roll randomly for the winner, using dice from a Holmes Basic set. The goal here is to get Holmes Basic to someone who doesn't yet have one, so if you already flush please don't participate.

I'll cover postage (media mail) for any U.S. address. I can ship to other countries but I ask that you cover the difference (any amount over $4) in shipping by PayPal; so if you are overseas please only participate if you have a PayPal account and willing to chip in the extra.

More details on the item:
The rulebook is a 2nd edition, Nov 1978, and is in very nice shape. The inside is very clean - no marks that I could see - although the map of the Sample Dungeon has a slight printing defect - part of the background is gray rather than black. The reference sheet is attached. The B1 module is in excellent shape but more usd, with most of the keys filled in with pencilled numbers & letters from the monster & treasure list. There's also a smudge inside the cover and a piece of tape stuck to the page with the lists. The box is fairly worn with some split and taped corners, creases, and torn-off surfaces. But it still does its job of sturdily protecting the contents. Alas, no dice are included.

Update: Note that I have moderation on for any posts over 1 day old, so your comments to this post will not appear until I approve them. I set this up so I could get rid of that onerous captcha but keep spam comments at bay. I have been getting occasional spam comments in the posts I made about the WOTC T-shirts, so I'm going to leave the moderation on. After you post a comment, you should see this message:

  
Update #2, 12/17: Okay, I'm stopping the commenting now. 30 commentors. Will roll the dice soon.

Update #3, 12/19: Tonight I had my trusty assistant make the roll. To generate a random 1-30, we used the method suggested in the back of the Holmes rulebook: "If 1-30 or 1-36 are desired, read the 6-sider with the 20- or 12-sided die, with 1-2 equalling no addition, 3-4 adding 10, and 5-6 adding 20" (pg 45 of the 2nd printing). Note that the original white 20-sided die from the Holmes set is numbered 0-9 twice. And here is the result:

2 + 20 = 22. By my count, the savage halfling is the winner! I have sent an email to the address on his blog notifying him. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 2012 to all! 

Until next year!

Holmes for the Holidays (the winner is...)

See Update #3 below.

Anybody want this Holmes Basic Set for Christmas?

A few months ago I bought this set on Ebay solely to get an obscure TSR catalog that was included (more on TSR catalogs in the future). I don't need the rest of the set so I thought I'd give it away to a reader of this blog. 

It's fairly worn but is complete (except for dice) and usable/readable. The box is sturdy but there's one split in the top edge. When I got the set the rulebook (2nd edition, 3rd printing - no prices on the back cover) had the upper right corner of the cover torn off, and the first page was also torn. I repaired these with packing tape. The interior pages have yellowed with age, except for a few in the middle which are mysteriously still bright white. The B1 has a missing upper left corner and some gouges near the spine.  As a warning, the box had some loose lead miniatures (not included here) in it when I bought it but I wiped it clean.

If you are interested, just post a comment here. I'll randomly pick (dice roll) one commenter to receive the set. I'll cover postage (media mail) for any U.S. address. 

Update: Since there's interest - shipping to other countries/overseas is fine, too, but I just ask that you cover the difference in shipping by PayPal.

I need to give credit to Theodric the Obscure at Mythopoeic Rambling - I appropriated the title of one of his posts for this one.

Update #2:The responses to this have slowed down. 33 right now (2 comments are mine). I'm going to cap the number at 36, and roll a 1-36 according to the method in the back of the Blue Book (d6 + d12):

d6 1-2 = 0 + d12 = 1-12
d6 3-4 = 12 + d12 = 13-24
d6 5-6 = 24 + d12 = 25-36 


Update #3:

We inched up to 36 entries today, so we rolled for the winner tonight. Following a few practice rolls, I called the official roll and my assistant rolled the dice: a 6 & 11. This translates as 35, so the winner is Tigerbunny. (Tigerbunny, I'm going to send you an email through the address on your blog)

Thanks to all for participating & Merry Christmas. I have some other extras around here so I hope to give away some more stuff during the year next year. Stay tuned.