I bought and used them bitd. I like them just fine, though I tend to avoid commercial modules as a general rule these days. Back when I was first starting off as a referee they sure came in handy, though.
I'm a fan, but JG was an acquired taste. ;) For many years I would only get TSR products, but after looking through a friend's copy of Role-Aids Wizards & Giants, I decided that 3rd party D&D products weren't too bad after all. I hadn't actually picked up any JG products until just a few years ago, however. Thank you, internet for allowing me to find oop products sold by, or gifted to me from other gamers!
Their best (generally meaning the products written or co-written by Bledsaw, Owen and Jaquays) is the best old D&D has to offer - and in my mind, better than TSR. Many of their later publications were filler where the cover was the best part of the deal. The good stuff is raw, full of energy, and a great deal of fun to use.
FAN! Loved their stuff... Some of my earliest memories were breaking into the Overlord's treasury in the CSIO and stealing an Orb of Dragonkind. And "Caverns of Thracia"? Hello! One of the best early dungeons available for the game.
Was never a fan of JG stuff back in the day (like Bob Weber), with the exception of Caverns of Thracia which I bought and loved (in particular for the beastmen and the Mycenean bronze plate mail). At the time, I discounted the rest since they tended to have lower production values than TSR stuff (no cardstock covers with maps on the inside panels, for instance). In recent years, I've come to really love a lot of the old JG stuff (CSIO, Modron, Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor, et al); for the newbie looking at the whole range, I think the only tough thing is picking out the good (mostly earlier) stuff and knowing what JG stuff (mostly the later, crank-out-product pieces) to avoid. Overall though, a big thumbs up!
I was never a fan back in the day except for the likes of Dark Tower, Tegel Manor, and City State of the Invincible Warlord. I too was put off by the cheap paper stock and poor production values.
Nowadays, I have a newfound appreciation of the Ready Reference Sheets and The First Fantasy Campaign and other great items that I never encountered when they were new. I've become a recent fan of the Guild.
Loved 'em then; love' em now. The production quality kept dropping and so did the quality of the material at the last. But JG created the pre-packaged adventure module market, and probably showed most of us how to create adventures and campaigns ourselves. If that was all they did, they would be remembered as heroes in gaming history.
But they go beyond just heroes, because:
Traveller Logbook, City-state of the Invincible Overlord, Wilderplaces of Everywhere, First Fantasy Campaign, Dark Tower, Duck Tower, any TnT anything, maps and maps, Judges Guild Journal, Dungeoneer Journal, and the list goes on.
I bought and used them bitd. I like them just fine, though I tend to avoid commercial modules as a general rule these days. Back when I was first starting off as a referee they sure came in handy, though.
ReplyDeleteim a paperstock snob and disliked production values but i found some a few years back and really liked them - lotsa tables was very my cup of tea
ReplyDeleteGenerally a fan. Quality varied, but certainly there's nothing to strongly object to.
ReplyDeleteFan! Although I first got into JG through their RuneQuest modules.
ReplyDeleteUhhh...big JG fan, just like you, Andy! That's a nice license sticker!!
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan, but JG was an acquired taste. ;) For many years I would only get TSR products, but after looking through a friend's copy of Role-Aids Wizards & Giants, I decided that 3rd party D&D products weren't too bad after all. I hadn't actually picked up any JG products until just a few years ago, however. Thank you, internet for allowing me to find oop products sold by, or gifted to me from other gamers!
ReplyDeleteMassive fan
ReplyDeleteTheir best (generally meaning the products written or co-written by Bledsaw, Owen and Jaquays) is the best old D&D has to offer - and in my mind, better than TSR. Many of their later publications were filler where the cover was the best part of the deal. The good stuff is raw, full of energy, and a great deal of fun to use.
ReplyDeleteGabor Lux Here here!! Well said, my friend!
ReplyDeleteFAN! Loved their stuff... Some of my earliest memories were breaking into the Overlord's treasury in the CSIO and stealing an Orb of Dragonkind. And "Caverns of Thracia"? Hello! One of the best early dungeons available for the game.
ReplyDeleteWas never a fan of JG stuff back in the day (like Bob Weber), with the exception of Caverns of Thracia which I bought and loved (in particular for the beastmen and the Mycenean bronze plate mail). At the time, I discounted the rest since they tended to have lower production values than TSR stuff (no cardstock covers with maps on the inside panels, for instance). In recent years, I've come to really love a lot of the old JG stuff (CSIO, Modron, Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor, et al); for the newbie looking at the whole range, I think the only tough thing is picking out the good (mostly earlier) stuff and knowing what JG stuff (mostly the later, crank-out-product pieces) to avoid. Overall though, a big thumbs up!
ReplyDeleteI was never a fan back in the day except for the likes of Dark Tower, Tegel Manor, and City State of the Invincible Warlord. I too was put off by the cheap paper stock and poor production values.
ReplyDeleteNowadays, I have a newfound appreciation of the Ready Reference Sheets and The First Fantasy Campaign and other great items that I never encountered when they were new. I've become a recent fan of the Guild.
Fan! Last year I adapted a later underappreciated JG module The Corsairs of Tallibar for a local con. #judgesguild
ReplyDeleteThe Ready Reference Sheets book was the real zero edition DMG. It even had it's own version of the very dumb Saucy Strumpet table.
ReplyDelete.
I think the JG product names were often far more imagination provoking and useful than the actual content was, but there are some gems.
ReplyDeleteLoved 'em then; love' em now. The production quality kept dropping and so did the quality of the material at the last. But JG created the pre-packaged adventure module market, and probably showed most of us how to create adventures and campaigns ourselves. If that was all they did, they would be remembered as heroes in gaming history.
ReplyDeleteBut they go beyond just heroes, because:
Traveller Logbook, City-state of the Invincible Overlord, Wilderplaces of Everywhere, First Fantasy Campaign, Dark Tower, Duck Tower, any TnT anything, maps and maps, Judges Guild Journal, Dungeoneer Journal, and the list goes on.