How To Collect RPGs

Pen and paper roleplaying games used to be the only show in town. Before video games, computer gaming, and collectible card RPGs, tabletop roleplaying games were the only show in town. The golden age of tabletop roleplaying games was the 1970s and 1980s, after the publication of Dungeons & Dragons by a company called TSR in 1974. By the 80s, roleplaying games of all types were being played on tabletops around the country based on everything from Star Wars to the Old West.

Now that fans of those original tabletop roleplaying games are getting older (and acquiring larger checking accounts) is serious business. Older gamers are looking for games and gaming materials from their youth, even if they don't intend to play the games anymore. Sometimes just the sight of an original D&D box set is enough to bring a tear to a middle-aged gamer's eye.

Collecting RPGs is a matter of searching for original editions of roleplaying books. Many of these books were printed in a limited run, meaning they're collectible in their own right. You look for these books anywhere you'd find collectible or rare books of any kind. Rare book shops, eBay, comic book stores, and trading card shows are the most likely venues to find old table top roleplaying game books, though comic and fantasy conventions and niche market websites and personal blogs are also common haunts for old school RPGs.

There are two basic reasons for collecting tabletop RPG games: for nostalgia or for the value of the books. Value collectors are looking for items that are new, still in their original packaging, "sealed", or as part of a collector's or limited edition. Nostalgia collectors probably don't want a copy still sealed in the original packaging, since they're more likely to read the book or play a game or two with friends.

There's a tabletop RPG for every taste. Comic book fans would love to add a book from the DC Heroes RPG to their collection, especially the much sought-after Who's Who character supplements that list DC characters stats and abilities. These supplements sell for around $100 from online retailers these days. Star Wars roleplaying games were produced by a couple of different publishers, including Wizards of the Coast. Star Wars rulebooks published by WoTC are selling for around $40 in today's market.

Collecting RPGs connects older gamers to the old RPGs of their childhood. These books are also highly collectible, since they appeared in limited editions at the time of publication. Whether you're a value or nostalgia collector, the world of tabletop RPG collecting has something for everyone interesting in RPG gaming.

As a longtime collector of roleplaying games, Randy Ray has owned and played any number of classic tabletop RPGs. He is also a whisky aficionado and a man that enjoys a good round of table tennis.