.. amongst the kid games in the thrift shop (and pray, it's not an Essentials box)



Which it wasn't! No, a mint Mentzers box, dice'n'all (not the crayon ones) at the modest price of a little less than 2$

Sp what's been your best rpg find for less than, let's say, 10$? And most unlikely place you've found good loot?

Mine's not that spectacular but keep in mind that it's not so common to find old RPG books at all here, let alone outside a gaming store. I came across LUG Star Trek TNG in V&D (Vroom & Dreesmann) in Utrecht sometime in the late 90s/early 00s. It was just sitting there among the scifi and fantasy novels in the English-language section. At that time gaming stores were only stocking WoD and D&D/d20 anymore so this was a rare and odd find. Still puzzles me how the heck it got there. I believe it cost me the equivalent of no more than 10 euros!

I got a true-1st printing copy of the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide and a true 1st printing copy of the Monster Manual, both in damn near mint condition, for $2.50 each at a used bookstore.

If you're not familiar, the DMG's first printings (not counting the screwed up ones with upside-down MM pages in the middle which are very rare) stopped at around 218 pages, no Appendix-N (for example) and had some minor art differences.  The Monster Manual had some minor art differences and a few errors here and there, and had a different looking front cover layout (same art though).

I later picked up a true 1st Players Handbook at the same store for $4, IIRC.

my first Original D&D books were gotten for the price of free from a friend who bought them for $5 each at a Friends of the Library sale in Gainsville, FL.  It was just Men & Magic and The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures; Monsters & Treasures wasn't there (I bought one of those later for like $20).  The clerk said "Well, the cover says $5, so $5 it is."

The only stuff I've been able to pick up are the usual suspects from ebay: BECMI Red Box (with original dice and crayon!) at a reasonable price. Not as steal like yours though!

I did get two of the AD&D Wizard Spell Compendium and two of the Priest Spell Compendium here in Japan for about 800 yen each (less than $8 a pop). That was nice considering they go on Ebay at more than that. A lot more at times.

Planescape campaign set came in at half of what it usually goes for on the second hand market. It's nice, never used it and the box is in reasonable shape.

A softback, digest edition of Robotech Shadow Chronicles for about $7. Waste of $7 considering it reads like it was written by a potato.

A couple of years ago I found a Moldvay/Cook Pink Box Basic (My favorite version of D&D) at a Salvation Army in rural Illinois. One dollar. When I opened the box I discovered that in addition to the usual Basic set contents it also held a Expert ruleboook, The Isle of Dread, and two complete sets of 1981 TSR dice.

Only tangentially related to gaming: At the same SA I also found a very nice, framed, classic-portrait-style oil painting... of Steel. The DC Comics 1990's-Black-Superman-in-Homemade-Power-Armor. Some talented amateur artist was obviously a BIG fan of the character. Two dollars. A true psychotronic artifact that now hangs proudly in my home office.

Not a RPG find, but a Board Game find, my mother ran across two Heroscape Master sets (Rise of the Valkyries and the Marvel Set) for 5 bucks each at a yard sale.

They had each only been played once, and had all the pieces. She called me to ask if I wanted them since she knew I was into "those complicated board games". Considering that each set goes for like, 70-100 bucks on Ebay, I told her yes. Even if I hated the game I could sell them for a profit.

Everything I've collected in the last 5 years has been a free pdf. So, that's a bargain. Thanks, OSR!

First post - and hello! :-)

At a car boot sale a few years ago, I found 4 TMNT rulebooks for about £8, but my favourite find? A copy of Peterson's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters in our local Oxfam shop a year or two ago. It cost me £4.

I was very pleased that day.

Quote from: 3rik;758194Mine's not that spectacular but keep in mind that it's not so common to find old RPG books at all here, let alone outside a gaming store.

Same here - I don't think there a chance in hell of finding stuff like the older AD&D things mentioned in the thread around here, as roleplaying generally didn't make its way here untill the early 90s. But that of course only makes it double fun when you stumble across some good stuff.

Boardgames on the other hand are quite common finds. I've found three of the BoardgameGeek top-20 (El Grande, Euphrat & Tigris and Samurai) in charity shops for less than 15$ all'n'all.

Quote from: DKChannelBoredom;758325Same here - I don't think there a chance in hell of finding stuff like the older AD&D things mentioned in the thread around here, as roleplaying generally didn't make its way here untill the early 90s. But that of course only makes it double fun when you stumble across some good stuff.

True, but others may not consider my find at all remarkable or even worth picking up, hehe.

Just remembered another surprise find, as Gamma World never really was a thing in these parts of the wood. Picked up during a half-price sale at a used books shop. Gamma World 4th Edition + Home Before the Sky Falls + The Overlord of Bonparr.

Price: around 15$.



I might never play it, but I think it's a nice batch.

Great deal!

I picked up the D&D black box set for $5 about 14 years ago.  Grabbed it mainly for the dice.  I wasn't expecting it to rekindle my love for basic and the repurchase of the Mentzer books and RC.  For that, it will always be my best deal.

Whilst being drug through the hell that is "antiquing," by the Mrs. years ago, I happened across a first edition FASA Star Trek boxed set that still had the dice, maps of the Klingon D7 and Constitution/Enterprise as well as having the two or so more sourcebooks.  Bought it, of course, despite never, ever having anything to do with FASA Trek but being a Trek fan nonetheless.

Fast forward to this year - around 3 or 4 weeks ago to be precise - and I find another bundle of FASA Trek goodness at this antique mall in Virginia.  I passed on the goods this time as I'm just not the collector of stuff that I used to be (getting rid of things is more my speed these days).

I'll just revive this thread as I yesterday found Apocrypha Now and Castle Drachenfels, both for WFRP 1st Edition at the humble price of 3$ a piece - perfect as I plan for yet another Enemy Within-run and especially Apocrypha seems packed with stuff that fits it.