Fudgerylog

Not that anyone has asked my opinion of what the covers of the new Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition reprints should look like, but if anyone were to ask, I would suggest that the publisher, Wizards of the Coast, should keep two goals in mind. The first is that you want to appeal to your intended audience. Who is the intended audience? It is primarily those who bought and played 1st edition AD&D when it was originally in print, some of whom are currently part of the Old School Renaissance. It is partly nostalgia and partly genuine appreciation, but most of all it is recognizability that will appeal to this audience. Gamers who would be interested in this product ought to recognize it on a store shelf instantly. The second goal is that you want to differentiate it as a reprint and convey that difference as desirable without negating the first goal. This can be done by such a simple means as rendering the title in gold leaf (or some semblance thereof) and adding the words “Commemorative Edition” (or words to that effect).* The original art is thereby retained, and the shiny new title serves the dual function of drawing attention and informing the prospective customer that this is an attractive reprint of a classic.

* It is highly advisable that the original title be retained insofar as the edition is known officially as ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (with all capital letters as it was spelled and enforced by its original publisher, TSR). Changing the title (by dropping the word “Advanced,” for instance) creates confusion and doubt. The game was not then, nor is it now, referred to as Dungeons & Dragons, 1st edition or otherwise (and that reopens and exacerbates yet another can of carrion crawlers regarding the issue of edition numbering). If the title has been changed, gamers will ask, what else has been altered? This will diminish the appeal for those who are interested in a true reprint of the content. D&D Next may be just Dungeons & Dragons (or whatever they decide to call it), but AD&D is ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. If you respect the history of D&D, don’t try to rewrite that history. Most role-playing gamers have long memories.