Today being “Free RPG Day,” it seemed like an excellent occasion to stop in and visit my local game store to see what sort of things might be going on. Truth told, I was hoping to score a copy of this year’s Lamentations of the Flame Princess freebie, but also planned on picking up a proper book while I was there. My local shop stocks LotFP on the shelf and everything (no “ordering it in!”), so I wanted to vote with my dollars to help raise the profile of the publisher in the store and be a customer clamoring for the wonderful weirdness coming out of Finland. I wasn’t quite successful in either endeavor– the very limited Eldritch Cock was already out (darn!), and, well, I got distracted before I could buy a print copy of Jeff Rients’ wonderful Broodmother Skyfortress.
One of the things that I noticed about my (new to me after the move) local shop is that they have a robust “used” section, both of board games, and RPG books. Today, they had a pile of a whole bunch of stuff that they’d been saving for the increased traffic from the special event. A few caught my eye as another customer was sorting through them– mostly just a variety of old TSR modules of varying age, but one bright red cover with a yellow corner band snagged my attention. It was an old copy of what’s usually referred to today as “Moldvay Basic!” And furthermore, packaged with it, the companion “Expert” volume! They were a little beat up, sure, but they didn’t seem abused. I couldn’t resist, and I made a bit of an impulse buy. Skyfortress will have to wait a little longer, but they do have two copies on the shelf, so I think I’ll be able to swing in next month.
Will I be playing a game of old B/X Dungeons & Dragons in the future? I don’t know, to be honest, but I kind of like it as a historical document and shelf reference. Most of my “classic” collection consists of PDFs, but there’s something nice about the tactility of the work on paper, and as an artifact of its era. And besides, with the baby in the house now, I’m trying to be a better role model about my reading habits, and even though I’m “reading a game book” when I’m looking at my phone, I think it might be more beneficial for him to see me interacting with a real object, and not being yet another adult staring at a little glowing box in his palm.
Here’s a few interior photos– the covers are a little scuffed, but the pages really are in nice shape, at least as far as forty year-old books go!
