D&D White Box? [Archive] - Wizards Community

D&D White Box? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
ritznbitz
07-30-07, 08:59 PM Hi, I'm a D&D collector and was wondering if anyone else out there had ever gotten their hands on a 70's white box set? I've seen a few here or there but haven't ever been able to get my hands on a set.

How much do you think they are worth and where would be a good place to start?

I've read that in those sets the rules were a lot different than what they are now or even were in AD&D. For one the classes and races weren't broken down there was just class like Fighter, Dwarf, Elf, Magic-User -- is that true?

Second, did they use the same type of dice that we use today?:confused:
Mistimp
07-30-07, 09:12 PM Second, did they use the same type of dice that we use today?:confused:

If you mean d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20, then yes. However the d20 was numbered 0-9 twice and you used a crayon to color in the numbers, so depending on personal preference a red 0 might be 10 and a green was 20.

As for what that old box would be worth, no idea. Wouldn't sell ours for anything. Of course it is rather beat up from much use and 33 years of moving from place to place.
Another_Poet
07-30-07, 09:15 PM I'm sorry, you colored the dice with a crayon?

Are there any old timers out there who know why it was set up that way rather than just 1-20?

ap
Solaris
07-30-07, 09:23 PM You can buy PDF versions of the white box and supplements at RPG Now:
http://rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=22428
Solaris
07-30-07, 09:26 PM Are there any old timers out there who know why it was set up that way rather than just 1-20?
Because there was no d10; once upon a time, dice came only in the five platonic solids.

If you needed 1-20, it was common to roll another die with the d20, adding 10 to the d20's outcome if the second die rolled high. For example, if you rolled a 7 on the d20, then a 4,5,6 on an accompanying d6 would make it a 17.

For 1-10, the d20 was read as it fell.
Mistimp
07-30-07, 09:28 PM I'm sorry, you colored the dice with a crayon?

Are there any old timers out there who know why it was set up that way rather than just 1-20?

ap

Oh, I forgot to mention that the plastic was softer and that the edges wore down with use. Many of those original d20's are now nearly round.

As to why, I am sure no one bothered to ask. Thats just how dice were back then. As for the crayon, if you can find one of the old D&D boxed sets and look on the back you will see that it included the crayon to color the numbers on the dice. I think most people ended up using a Sharpie instead though.
ritznbitz
07-30-07, 09:42 PM k, i just found a reference to a BROWN box on google. Is that the same thing? Why are there so many colours?

my friend is saying they have red and blue boxes too? :confused:

Is white for starters then, blue, green, yellow? LoL What?:eek:
Solaris
07-30-07, 09:45 PM Go here:
http://acaeum.com/ddindexes/rulebooks.html

Dungeons & Dragons was first published in brown and then white boxed sets from 1974 to 1976. A white box called the "Original Collector's Edition" (OCE) was published from 1977 to 1979, with all of the Tolkien references from the original removed or changed. These editions are OD&D (Original Dungeons & Dragons).

In 1977, TSR started publishing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D).

At the same time, they published what was intended to be a simplified version of AD&D, called Basic Dungeons & Dragons. This boxed set was written by J. Eric Holmes, and covered character levels 1-3. Since AD&D hadn't been fully defined at that point, however, Basic D&D differs from it substantially. This edition is often referred to as Holmes Basic D&D.

In 1981, Tom Moldvay and Dave Cook wrote a revision of the Holmes boxed set. It came in two boxed sets: Basic, for character levels 1-3, and Expert, for character levels 4-14. These are often referred to as B/X D&D (Basic/Expert Dungeons & Dragons), or Moldvay/Cook D&D.

In 1983, Frank Mentzer wrote a new revision, with Basic (red), Expert (blue), Companion (green), Master (black), and Immortals (gold) boxed sets, covering levels 1-3, 4-14, 15-25, 26-36, and beyond, respectively. These are often referred to as BECMI D&D (Basic/Expert/Companion/Master/Immortals Dungeons & Dragons) or Mentzer D&D.

Many people mistakenly refer to the latter three "D&D" games as "OD&D". But while Holmes has some similarities to OD&D, Moldvay/Cook and Mentzer deviate significantly from it. AD&D is much closer to OD&D than they are.
ritznbitz
07-30-07, 10:13 PM I found this in google:
http://www.therpgsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6825

2500 bucks for the thing, I don't have that much to pay.:mad:

is it worth that much, really?:confused: :confused:

I also found this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120146477696&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=002

do you think it is worth it? :confused: i really want one of these old things, i have alot of ad&d books but i can't justify spending 2500 on it. i mean my car isnt even worth that much (my parents are cheap :( ).

should it have dice or no?
Solaris
07-30-07, 10:30 PM do you think it is worth it?
It's only worth it to the serious collector who wants bragging rights or a museum piece. If you just want to read and play them, buy the PDFs.
Solaris
07-30-07, 10:39 PM You can find a lot of players of classic editions of D&D on the forums at dragonsfoot.org: http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums

There's also an out of print section here at wizards.com: http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54
Diamondfist
07-31-07, 12:19 AM Here is a link where I got the "white box" edition:

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=28306

Here is one I just found as a bundle product, meaning you get all the books in the bundle but with separate download links:

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=28307

The "white box" edition is included in both links, but the second one has the other books as supplements. I think this is on sale until July 31.
ritznbitz
07-31-07, 06:55 AM cool, thx for the links. I think im gonna get the pdf to look through before i try to buy the other one. im just not sure history is worth a hundred bucks:P
Mark Thorson
07-31-07, 09:32 AM I miss my old white box set.:( I had the old silver Chainmail rule book also.:(
Steely_Dan
07-31-07, 09:47 AM 2500 bucks for the thing, I don't have that much to pay.:mad:

Wow, is it really worth that much?

My brother got the White Box and Palace of the Vampire Queen for me about 10 years ago.

I don't know if I could bring myself to sell either of them, though…
Shiftkitty
07-31-07, 10:25 AM I have a White Box set with the 3 original books. Paid 1$ for it at a thrift store. I have a Brown Box set with ALL of the books, Chainmail and supplements included. It's somewhere in the garage. We're tearing the place apart looking for it. The white box is going for about 75$ last I heard, and the brown box is up to four digits, I'm just not sure of the exact amount. It assumes that everything is in mint condition.

I wouldn't shell out 2500$ for it unless I had a buyer who was willing to pay even more. It's more for history's sake.
Kursk
07-31-07, 10:33 AM I'm sorry, you colored the dice with a crayon?

I used a colored grease pencil. The numbers didn't come already colored.

Are there any old timers out there who know why it was set up that way rather than just 1-20?

They were also used as % dice. That's the reason.
Shiftkitty
07-31-07, 03:11 PM I still have a d6 and a d4, and maybe a d8 from the Basic set I got in 1981, and I even have a few of those old, now-round-as-a-marble d20s, one of which came from a Star Fleet Battles game. All of those d20s are 0-9 twice. I've also collected some odd dice, such as a d30, d34, one of those 100-sided d100s, a pair of d7s, spherical d6es and an 8-sided d4, wich is just a d8 numbered 1-4 twice. The strangest pair of dice I have is a set of d6's that are shaped like mutant cubes. There are no 90 degree angles on them, but according to the manufacturer, the pips have been drilled to keep the rolling fair, so that they aren't biased to one particular side.
Stardrake
07-31-07, 03:18 PM As a certified olde-phart, I have a bit to add about dice. The dice sold by TSR were made of that nasty plastic, but there were better dice available. I have 2 Zocchi/Gamescience d20s that show little wear indeed--and they even came with the numbers already painted in! (They're yellow, with one set of numbers in black and one in green) And BEWARE an old Zocchi d4--they weren't cutting the points off in those days, and they were SHARP! A friend of mine once needed stitches in his hand after falling on one! That's why d4's are now either rounded or clipped off at the tips of the pyramid.
Shiftkitty
07-31-07, 03:27 PM I had wondered about that with the d4s. I've stepped on my share of them! They still don't hurt much less, but at least they're less lilkely to draw blood.
Ash2Dust
07-31-07, 03:38 PM So the joke about d4s as caltrops once had some basis in reality?

The more you know, I guess.
GnomeBoy
07-31-07, 05:46 PM I don't have one in front of me, at the moment (but I do still have some 70's d20s), but IIRC the numbers were fairly large compared to these new-fangled d20s -- I doubt they could have had two digit numbers on them without serious problems (well, they had serious problems as it was, but we rolled them and loved it anyway...).
ritznbitz
08-04-07, 09:42 PM I didn't have a chance on this item! It went for over $500... I guess I will just get the pdf :mad:
Shiftkitty
08-04-07, 11:09 PM Yeah, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Get the PDFs. The info is the same, and you don;t have to fight anybody over it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ritznbitz 07-30-07, 08:59 PM	Hi, I'm a D&D collector and was wondering if anyone else out there had ever gotten their hands on a 70's white box set? I've seen a few here or there but haven't ever been able to get my hands on a set. How much do you think they are worth and where would be a good place to start? I've read that in those sets the rules were a lot different than what they are now or even were in AD&D. For one the classes and races weren't broken down there was just class like Fighter, Dwarf, Elf, Magic-User -- is that true? Second, did they use the same type of dice that we use today?:confused:
Mistimp 07-30-07, 09:12 PM	Second, did they use the same type of dice that we use today?:confused: If you mean d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20, then yes. However the d20 was numbered 0-9 twice and you used a crayon to color in the numbers, so depending on personal preference a red 0 might be 10 and a green was 20. As for what that old box would be worth, no idea. Wouldn't sell ours for anything. Of course it is rather beat up from much use and 33 years of moving from place to place.
Another_Poet 07-30-07, 09:15 PM	I'm sorry, you colored the dice with a crayon? Are there any old timers out there who know why it was set up that way rather than just 1-20? ap
Solaris 07-30-07, 09:23 PM	You can buy PDF versions of the white box and supplements at RPG Now: http://rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=22428
Solaris 07-30-07, 09:26 PM	Are there any old timers out there who know why it was set up that way rather than just 1-20? Because there was no d10; once upon a time, dice came only in the five platonic solids. If you needed 1-20, it was common to roll another die with the d20, adding 10 to the d20's outcome if the second die rolled high. For example, if you rolled a 7 on the d20, then a 4,5,6 on an accompanying d6 would make it a 17. For 1-10, the d20 was read as it fell.
Mistimp 07-30-07, 09:28 PM	I'm sorry, you colored the dice with a crayon? Are there any old timers out there who know why it was set up that way rather than just 1-20? ap Oh, I forgot to mention that the plastic was softer and that the edges wore down with use. Many of those original d20's are now nearly round. As to why, I am sure no one bothered to ask. Thats just how dice were back then. As for the crayon, if you can find one of the old D&D boxed sets and look on the back you will see that it included the crayon to color the numbers on the dice. I think most people ended up using a Sharpie instead though.
ritznbitz 07-30-07, 09:42 PM	k, i just found a reference to a BROWN box on google. Is that the same thing? Why are there so many colours? my friend is saying they have red and blue boxes too? :confused: Is white for starters then, blue, green, yellow? LoL What?:eek:
Solaris 07-30-07, 09:45 PM	Go here: http://acaeum.com/ddindexes/rulebooks.html Dungeons & Dragons was first published in brown and then white boxed sets from 1974 to 1976. A white box called the "Original Collector's Edition" (OCE) was published from 1977 to 1979, with all of the Tolkien references from the original removed or changed. These editions are OD&D (Original Dungeons & Dragons). In 1977, TSR started publishing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D). At the same time, they published what was intended to be a simplified version of AD&D, called Basic Dungeons & Dragons. This boxed set was written by J. Eric Holmes, and covered character levels 1-3. Since AD&D hadn't been fully defined at that point, however, Basic D&D differs from it substantially. This edition is often referred to as Holmes Basic D&D. In 1981, Tom Moldvay and Dave Cook wrote a revision of the Holmes boxed set. It came in two boxed sets: Basic, for character levels 1-3, and Expert, for character levels 4-14. These are often referred to as B/X D&D (Basic/Expert Dungeons & Dragons), or Moldvay/Cook D&D. In 1983, Frank Mentzer wrote a new revision, with Basic (red), Expert (blue), Companion (green), Master (black), and Immortals (gold) boxed sets, covering levels 1-3, 4-14, 15-25, 26-36, and beyond, respectively. These are often referred to as BECMI D&D (Basic/Expert/Companion/Master/Immortals Dungeons & Dragons) or Mentzer D&D. Many people mistakenly refer to the latter three "D&D" games as "OD&D". But while Holmes has some similarities to OD&D, Moldvay/Cook and Mentzer deviate significantly from it. AD&D is much closer to OD&D than they are.
ritznbitz 07-30-07, 10:13 PM	I found this in google: http://www.therpgsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6825 2500 bucks for the thing, I don't have that much to pay.:mad: is it worth that much, really?:confused: :confused: I also found this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120146477696&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=002 do you think it is worth it? :confused: i really want one of these old things, i have alot of ad&d books but i can't justify spending 2500 on it. i mean my car isnt even worth that much (my parents are cheap :( ). should it have dice or no?
Solaris 07-30-07, 10:30 PM	do you think it is worth it? It's only worth it to the serious collector who wants bragging rights or a museum piece. If you just want to read and play them, buy the PDFs.
Solaris 07-30-07, 10:39 PM	You can find a lot of players of classic editions of D&D on the forums at dragonsfoot.org: http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums There's also an out of print section here at wizards.com: http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54
Diamondfist 07-31-07, 12:19 AM	Here is a link where I got the "white box" edition: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=28306 Here is one I just found as a bundle product, meaning you get all the books in the bundle but with separate download links: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=28307 The "white box" edition is included in both links, but the second one has the other books as supplements. I think this is on sale until July 31.
ritznbitz 07-31-07, 06:55 AM	cool, thx for the links. I think im gonna get the pdf to look through before i try to buy the other one. im just not sure history is worth a hundred bucks:P
Mark Thorson 07-31-07, 09:32 AM	I miss my old white box set.:( I had the old silver Chainmail rule book also.:(
Steely_Dan 07-31-07, 09:47 AM	2500 bucks for the thing, I don't have that much to pay.:mad: Wow, is it really worth that much? My brother got the White Box and Palace of the Vampire Queen for me about 10 years ago. I don't know if I could bring myself to sell either of them, though…
Shiftkitty 07-31-07, 10:25 AM	I have a White Box set with the 3 original books. Paid 1$ for it at a thrift store. I have a Brown Box set with ALL of the books, Chainmail and supplements included. It's somewhere in the garage. We're tearing the place apart looking for it. The white box is going for about 75$ last I heard, and the brown box is up to four digits, I'm just not sure of the exact amount. It assumes that everything is in mint condition. I wouldn't shell out 2500$ for it unless I had a buyer who was willing to pay even more. It's more for history's sake.
Kursk 07-31-07, 10:33 AM	I'm sorry, you colored the dice with a crayon? I used a colored grease pencil. The numbers didn't come already colored. Are there any old timers out there who know why it was set up that way rather than just 1-20? They were also used as % dice. That's the reason.
Shiftkitty 07-31-07, 03:11 PM	I still have a d6 and a d4, and maybe a d8 from the Basic set I got in 1981, and I even have a few of those old, now-round-as-a-marble d20s, one of which came from a Star Fleet Battles game. All of those d20s are 0-9 twice. I've also collected some odd dice, such as a d30, d34, one of those 100-sided d100s, a pair of d7s, spherical d6es and an 8-sided d4, wich is just a d8 numbered 1-4 twice. The strangest pair of dice I have is a set of d6's that are shaped like mutant cubes. There are no 90 degree angles on them, but according to the manufacturer, the pips have been drilled to keep the rolling fair, so that they aren't biased to one particular side.
Stardrake 07-31-07, 03:18 PM	As a certified olde-phart, I have a bit to add about dice. The dice sold by TSR were made of that nasty plastic, but there were better dice available. I have 2 Zocchi/Gamescience d20s that show little wear indeed--and they even came with the numbers already painted in! (They're yellow, with one set of numbers in black and one in green) And BEWARE an old Zocchi d4--they weren't cutting the points off in those days, and they were SHARP! A friend of mine once needed stitches in his hand after falling on one! That's why d4's are now either rounded or clipped off at the tips of the pyramid.
Shiftkitty 07-31-07, 03:27 PM	I had wondered about that with the d4s. I've stepped on my share of them! They still don't hurt much less, but at least they're less lilkely to draw blood.
Ash2Dust 07-31-07, 03:38 PM	So the joke about d4s as caltrops once had some basis in reality? The more you know, I guess.
GnomeBoy 07-31-07, 05:46 PM	I don't have one in front of me, at the moment (but I do still have some 70's d20s), but IIRC the numbers were fairly large compared to these new-fangled d20s -- I doubt they could have had two digit numbers on them without serious problems (well, they had serious problems as it was, but we rolled them and loved it anyway...).
ritznbitz 08-04-07, 09:42 PM	I didn't have a chance on this item! It went for over $500... I guess I will just get the pdf :mad:
Shiftkitty 08-04-07, 11:09 PM	Yeah, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Get the PDFs. The info is the same, and you don;t have to fight anybody over it.