Jason Zavoda wrote:
J. Eric Holmes Basic set mention in The Wild Hunt #52
From Steve Marsh's The Heroquestor (1980)
Page #1 Paragraphs 4-6
"After the guys decided I wasn't too incompetent I began to do some real work. TSR is currently doing EXPERT SET and rewriting BASIC SET. These are rewrites of D&D (as opposed to AD&D which is a completely different system). There are very few changes except for format. The goal is to make the system understandable by a kid who is the only person on his block to have even seen the rules.
I am working on some modules on my own time (as per previous agreement and a current one) and have one (OLD SHARDS) in Gary's hands for a final gloss. I proofread BASIC SET and am doing parts of EXPERT SET (rewrote the monsters from ELEMENTALS to WYVERNS). I am currently on magic items.
D&D means the first three books plus Eric Holmes BASIC SET. We are tied to that because most of our sales are of that volume (over 500,000 this year for example). The "collector's edition" is not being pushed at all and there are enough in stock to last forever."
Wonder what ever happened to his module draft, "Old Shards"?
ReplyDeleteThere were a number of things that I recall he was working on for Gary that never survived the hostile takeover.
ReplyDelete"as opposed to AD&D which is a completely different system."
ReplyDeleteHehe :)
The 'collector's edition' is not being pushed at all and there are enough in stock to last forever.
ReplyDeleteNice thought ... :-)
The 500,000 copies... is that the Holmes set?
ReplyDeleteIs this the same Steve Marsh who was designer of TSR's 1980 minigame, "Saga?" http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2214/saga
ReplyDeleteThe very same.
ReplyDeleteGreat find, Jason! Is there an exact month for Wild Hunt #52? Also, is Steve's zine have its own date?
ReplyDeleteSteve Marsh also contributed to the Blackmoor Supplement - particularly the aquatic monsters - which Gygax used in the Monster Manual. Steve is thanked in the preface. He posts over the Acaeum occasionally so perhaps I can ask him more about this.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't find a monthly date on the zine. It is sometime after Origins and before the MIT summercon held at the end of July. There is a handwritten note that the next collation is August 10th.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Origins 1980 was in late June so we'll say ~July 1980.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Issues #34-41 are indexed at RPGGeek: https://rpggeek.com/rpgperiodical/1497/wild-hunt