Collectors' Lists

My TSR D&D product list is an extension of the list posted on Grognardia. Here are other lists I find useful:

• Heroic Worlds: all RPG products published as of 1991
• The Acaeum TSR D&D and printing variants up to c. 1990
• Judges Guild Booty List Judges Guild
• The non-TSR xD&D item list by Afterglow older list
• TSR Archive TSR RPG products incl. international versions
• Wayne's Books: RPG Reference used RPG retailer
• TSR Products (xls) downloadable spreadsheet

TSR Dungeons & Dragons

Numbers of interest to the collector.

In a previous post I made a list of the titles that TSR released for Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Here's how many titles were released for each system:

system
AD&D	660
D&D	148

The "D&D" count includes the six "original" Dungeons & Dragons titles and the Holmes box set.

Next a chart showing number of titles released by year:

The list of titles follows the format of the product chronology by Maliszewski whose list ends in 1988, however. Like him I broke the titles down into four types:

type
accessory	336
adventure	349
boxed set	95
hardcover	28

TSR also made periodicals, dice, miniatures, and sets of cards. I've left those out of the list.

The use of settings as a brand for AD&D titles started in 1984.

setting
no setting	364
Forgotten Realms	130
Greyhawk	65
Ravenloft	64
Dragonlance	48
Planescape	29
Birthright	28
Dark Sun	25
Spelljammer	21
Al-Qadim	14
Lankhmar	13
Mystara (2E)	7

Usually the setting is made clear on the cover, but early modules were sometimes set in Greyhawk and the only indication was a note in the text.

Many D&D titles were set in a world called the "Known World", the "Dungeons & Dragons Game World", or "Mystara". The "Known World" is what Moldvay and Schick called their personal campaign setting. The map in X1 was derived from that setting. The name "Mystara" was first used in 1991 by the Rules Cyclopedia. None of these names were used as brands on the covers of D&D titles. In 1994 TSR converted Mystara to an AD&D 2E setting.

TSR Dungeons & Dragons Products by Year

TSR released over 800 titles for Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. In the list below D&D appears after Dungeons & Dragons titles; Advanced Dungeons & Dragons titles have nothing or a setting code after them. The list is available as a CSV file.

1974: 
Boxed Sets: 
Dungeons & Dragons D&D

1975: 
Accessories: 
Supplement I: Greyhawk D&D
Supplement II: Blackmoor D&D

1976: 
Accessories:
Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry D&D
Supplement IV: Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes D&D
Swords & Spells D&D
Dungeon Geomorphs Set One: Basic Dungeon D&D

1977: 
Hardcovers: 
Monster Manual

Boxed Sets: 
Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set D&D

Accessories: 
Character Record Sheets D&D
Dungeon Geomorphs Set Two: Caves & Caverns D&D
Dungeon Geomorphs Set Three: Lower Dungeons D&D
Outdoor Geomorphs Set One: Walled City D&D
Monster & Treasure Assortment Set One: Levels One–Three D&D
Monster & Treasure Assortment Set Two: Levels Four–Six D&D

1978: 
Hardcovers: 
Players Handbook

Accessories: 
Monster & Treasure Assortment Set Three: Levels Seven–Nine D&D

Adventures: 
B1 In Search of the Unknown D&D
D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth
D2 The Shrine of the Kuo-Toa
D3 Vault of the Drow
G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief
G2 The Glacial Rift of the Front Giant Jarl
G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King
S1 Tomb of Horrors GH

1979:
Hardcovers: 
Dungeon Masters Guide

Accessories: 
Dungeon Masters Screen
Non-Player Character Records
Permanent Character Folder and Adventure Records
Player Character Record Sheets

Adventures: 
S2 White Plume Mountain GH
T1 Village of Hommlet GH

1980: 
Hardcovers: 
Deities & Demigods

Accessories: 
Dungeon Geomorphs Set One-Three D&D
Dungeon Masters Adventure Log
Monster & Treasure Assortment Set One-Three D&D
Player Character Record Sheets D&D
The Rogue's Gallery
World of Greyhawk GH

Adventures: 
A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity GH

B2 Keep on the Borderlands D&D
C1 The Hidden Shrine of Tomoachan GH
C2 Ghost Tower of Inverness GH
Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits
S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks GH

1981: 
Hardcovers: 
Fiend Folio

Boxed Sets: 
Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set D&D
Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set D&D

Adventures: 
A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade GH
A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords GH
A4 In the Dungeon of the Slave Lords GH
B3 Palace of the Silver Princess D&D
D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth
G1-2-3 Against the Giants
I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City GH
L1 The Secret of Bone Hill GH
U1 The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh GH
X1 The Isle of Dread D&D

1982: 
Adventures: 
B4 The Lost City D&D
I2 Tomb of the Lizard King
I3 Pharoah
N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God GH
S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth GH
U2 Danger at Dunwater GH
WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun GH
X2 Castle Amber D&D
X3 Curse of Xanathon D&D

1983: 
Hardcovers: 
Monster Manual II

Boxed Sets:
Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: Basic Rules D&D
Dungeons & Dragons Set 2: Expert Rules D&D
World of Greyhawk GH

Accessories: 
AC1 The Shady Dragon Inn D&D

Adventures: 
B5 Horror on the Hill D&D
EX1 Dungeonland
EX2 The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror
I4 Oasis of the White Palm
I5 Lost Tomb of Martek
I6 Ravenloft RL
L2 The Assassin’s Knot GH
M1 Blizzard Pass D&D
M2 Maze of the Riddling Minotaur D&D
O1 The Gem and the Staff D&D
U3 The Final Enemy GH
UK1 Beyond the Crystal Cave GH
UK2 The Sentinel GH
X4 Master of the Desert Nomads D&D
X5 Temple of Death D&D

1984: 
Boxed Sets: 
Dungeons & Dragons Set 3: Companion Rules D&D

Accessories:
AC2 Combat Shield & Mini-adventure D&D
AC3 3-D Dragon Tiles featuring The Kidnapping of Princess Arelina D&D
AC4 The Book of Marvelous Magic D&D
AC5 Player Character Record Sheets D&D

Adventures:
B6 The Veiled Society D&D
B7 Rahasia D&D
B8 Journey to the Rock D&D
BSOLO Ghost of Lion Castle D&D
C3 The Lost Island of Castanamir
C4 To Find a King
CB1 Conan Unchained!
CB2 Conan Against Darkness!
CM1 Test of the Warlords D&D
CM2 Death’s Ride D&D
CM3 Sabre River D&D
DL1 Dragons of Despair DL
DL2 Dragons of Flame DL
DL3 Dragons of Hope DL
DL4 Dragons of Desolation DL
DL5 Dragons of Mystery DL
MV1 Midnight on Dagger Alley
N2 The Forest Oracle
O2 Blade of Vengeance D&D
UK3 The Gauntlet GH
UK4 When a Star Falls
UK5 Eye of the Serpent
UK6 All that Glitters…
WG5 Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure GH
X6 Quagmire! D&D
X7 The War Rafts of Kron D&D
X8 Drums on Fire Mountain D&D
XL1 Quest for the Heartstone D&D
XSOLO Lathan’s Gold D&D

1985: 
Hardcovers:
Oriental Adventures
Unearthed Arcana

Boxed Sets: 
Battlesystem
Dungeons & Dragons Set 4: Master Rules D&D

Accessories: 
Lankhmar: City of Adventure LNK
AC6 Player Character Record Sheets D&D
AC7 Master Player Screen featuring The Spindle D&D
AC8 3-D Dragon Tiles featuring The Revenge of Rusak D&D
REF1 DM Screen

Adventures: 
B9 Castle Caldwell and Beyond D&D
C5 The Bane of Llywelyn
CA1 Swords of the Undercity LNK
CM4 Earthshaker! D&D
CM5 Mystery of the Snow Pearls D&D
CM6 Where Chaos Reigns D&D
DL6 Dragons of Ice DL
DL7 Dragons of Light DL
DL8 Dragons of War DL
DL9 Dragons of Deceit DL
DL10 Dragons of Dreams DL
DL11 Dragons of Glory DL
H1 Bloodstone Pass
I7 Baltron’s Beacon
M1 Into the Maelstrom D&D
T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil GH
UK7 Dark Clouds Gather
WG6 Isle of the Ape GH
X9 The Savage Coast D&D
X10 Red Arrow, Black Shield D&D
XS2 Thunderdelve Mountain D&D

1986: 
Hardcovers: 
Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide
Wilderness Survival Guide

Boxed Sets: 
Dungeons & Dragons Set 5: Immortal Rules D&D

Accessories:
AC9 Creature Catalogue D&D
REF2 Character Record Sheets
REF3 Book of Lairs

Adventures: 
A1-4 Scourge of the Slavelords GH
B10 Night’s Dark Terror D&D
CA2 Swords of Deceit LNK
CM7 The Tree of Life D&D
DA1 Adventures in Blackmoor D&D
DA2 Temple of the Frog D&D
DL12 Dragons of Faith DL
DL13 Dragons of Truth DL
DL14 Dragons of Triumph DL
GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders
H2 The Mines of Bloodstone
I8 Ravager of Time
I9 Day of Al’Akbar
I10 Ravenloft II: The House on Griffon Hill RL
IM1 Immortal Storm D&D
M2 Vengeance of Alphaks D&D
M3 Twilight Calling D&D
N3 Destiny of Kings
N4 Treasure Hunt
OA1 Swords of Daimyo
OA2 Night of the Seven Swords
RS1 Red Sonya Unconquered
X11 Saga of the Shadow Lord D&D

1987: 
Hardcovers:
Dragonlance Adventures DL
Manual of the Planes

Boxed Sets: 
Forgotten Realms Campaign Set FR
Kara Tur, the Eastern Realms FR

Accessories: 
AC10 Bestiary of Dragons and Giants D&D
AC11 The Book of Wondrous Inventions D&D
FR1 Waterdeep and the North FR
FR2 Moonshae FR
GAZ1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos D&D
GAZ2 The Emirates of Ylaruam D&D
GAZ3 The Principalities of Glantri D&D
GAZ4 The Kingdom of Ierendi D&D
REF4 Book of Lairs II

Adventures: 
B1-9 In Search of Adventure D&D
C6 Official RPGA Tournament Handbook
CM8 The Endless Stair D&D
CM9 Legacy of Blood D&D
DA3 City of the Gods D&D
DA4 Duchy of Ten D&D
DQ1 The Shattered Statue FR
H3 The Bloodstone Wars FR
I3-5 Desert of Desolation
I11 Needle
I12 Egg of the Phoenix
I13 Adventure Pack I
IM2 The Wrath of Olympus D&D
IM3 The Best of Intentions D&D
M4 Five Coins for a Kingdom D&D
M5 Talons of Night D&D
N5 Under Illefarn FR
OA3 Ochimo: The Spirit Warrior
OA4 Blood of the Yakuza
S1-4 Realms of Horror GH
X12 Skarda’s Mirror D&D
X13 Crown of Ancient Glory D&D

1988: 
Hardcovers: 
Greyhawk Adventures GH

Boxed Sets: 
City System FR

Accessories: 
DM's Design Kit
FR3 Empires of the Sands FR
FR4 The Magister FR
FR5 The Savage Frontier FR
FR6 Dreams of the Red Wizards FR
GAZ5 The Elves of Alfhiem D&D
GAZ6 The Dwarves of Rockhome D&D
GAZ7 The Northern Reaches D&D
GAZ8 The Five Shires D&D
GAZ9 The Minrothad Guilds D&D

Adventures: 
DL15 Mists of Krynn DL
DL16 World of Krynn DL
FRC1 Ruins of Adventure FR
H4 Throne of Bloodstone FR
I14 Swords of the Iron Legion FR
OP1 Tales of the Outer Planes
WG7 Castle Greyhawk GH

1989:
Hardcovers:
Dungeon Master's Guide
Player's Handbook

Boxed Sets:
FR8 Cities of Mystery FR
The City of Greyhawk GH
Dawn of the Emperors: Thyatis and Alphatia D&D
Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space SJ
Time of the Dragon DL

Accessories:
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Preview
City of Waterdeep Trail Map FR
Eastern Countries Trail Map D&D
Kara-Tur Trail Map FR
Monstrous Compendium Volume One
Monstrous Compendium Volume Two
Monstrous Compendium Volume Three: Forgotten Realms Appendix FR
Western Countries Trail Map D&D
World of Krynn Trail Map DL
FR7 Hall of Heroes FR
FR9 The Bloodstone Lands FR
FRC2 Curse of the Azure Bonds FR
GAZ10 The Orcs of Thar D&D
GAZ11 The Republic of Darokin D&D
GAZ12 The Golden Khan of Ethengar D&D
LC1 Gateway to Ravens Bluff, the Living City FR
PC1 Tall Tales of the Wee Folk D&D
PC2 Top Ballista D&D
PHBR1 The Complete Fighter's Handbook
PHBR2 The Complete Thief's Handbook
REF1 Dungeon Master's Screen
REF2 Character Record Sheets
REF5 Lords of Darkness FR
WG8 Fate of Istus GH

Adventures:
B11 King's Festival D&D
B12 Queen's Harvest D&D
DLE1 In Search of Dragons DL
DLE2 Dragon Magic DL
DLE3 Dragon Keep DL
FRE1 Shadowdale FR
FRE2 Tantras FR
FRE3 Waterdeep FR
OA5 Mad Monkey vs. the Dragon Claw FR
WG9 Gargoyle GH
WG10 Child's Play GH
WG11 Puppets GH

1990:
Hardcovers:
Forgotten Realms Adventures FR
Legends & Lore

Boxed Sets:
Castles: A 3-Dimensional Game Accessory
Hollow World Campaign Set D&D
The Horde Barbarian Campaign Setting FR
Ravenloft: Realm of Terror RL

Accessories:
The Forgotten Realms Atlas FR
Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix DL
Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix GH
Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix FR
Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix SJ
DLR1 Otherlands DL
DMGR1 Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide
DMGR2 The Castle Guide
FOR1 Draconomicon FR
FR10 Old Empires FR
FR11 Dwarves Deep FR
GAZ13 The Shadow Elves D&D
LC2 Inside Ravens Bluff, the Living City FR
PHBR3 The Complete Priest's Handbook
PHBR4 The Complete Wizards's Handbook
SJR1 Lost Ships SJ
PC3 The Sea People D&D

Adventures:
Dark & Hidden Ways
Wild Things
DDA1 Arena of Thyatis D&D
DDA2 Legions of Thyatis D&D
DLA1 Dragon Dawn DL
DLA2 Dragon Knight DL
DLA3 Dragon's Rest DL
DLC1 Dragonlance Classics: Volume I DL
FA1 Halls of the High King FR
FRA1 Storm Riders FR
FRA2 Black Courser FR
FRA3 Blood Charge FR
FROA1 Ninja Wars FR
HWA1 Nightwail D&D
HWA2 Nightrage D&D
LNA1 Thieves of Lankhmar LNK
LNA2 Nehwon LNK
LNR1 Wonders of Lankhmar LNK
OA6 Ronin Challenge FR
OA7 Test of the Samurai FR
RA1 Feast of Goblyns RL
SJA1 Wildspace SJ
SJA2 Skull & Crossbow SJ
SJA3 Crystal Spheres SJ
WG12 Vale of the Mage GH
WGA1 Falcon's Revenge GH
WGA2 Falconmaster GH
WGA3 Flames of the Falcon GH
WGA4 Vecna Lives! GH
WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins GH

1991:
Hardcovers:
Rules Cyclopedia D&D
Tome of Magic

Boxed Sets:
Dark Sun Boxed Set DS
Greyhawk Wars GH
The Legend of Spelljammer SJ
Maztica Campaign Set FR
The New Easy to Master Dungeons & Dragons Game D&D
Ruins of Undermountain FR

Accessories:
Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix FR
Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix
Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix RL
Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II SJ
DDREF1 Character Record Sheets D&D
DMGR3 Arms and Equipment Guide
FOR2 Drow of the Underdark FR
FR12 Horde Campaign FR
FR13 Anauroch FR
GAZ14 Atruaghin Clans D&D
HR1 Vikings Campaign Sourcebook
HWR1 Sons of Azca D&D
HWR2 Kingdom of Nythia D&D
LC3 Nightwatch in the Living City FR
LC4 Port of Ravens Bluff FR
LNR2 Tales of Lankhmar LNK
PHBR5 The Complete Psionics Handbook
PHBR6 The Complete Book of Dwarves
RR1 Darklords RL
RR2 Book of Crypts RL
RR3 Van Richten's Guide to Vampires RL
SJR2 Realmspace SJ
SJR3 Dungeon Master's Screen SJ
SJR4 Practical Planetology SJ

Adventures:
DDA3 Eye of Traldar D&D
DDA4 The Dymrak Dread D&D
DLS1 New Beginnings DL
DLS2 Tree Lords DL
DLS3 Oaklords DL
DLS4 Wild Elves DL
FA2 Nightmare Keep FR
FMA1 Fires of Zatal FR
FMA2 Endless Armies FR
HWA3 Nightstorm D&D
LNA3 Prince of Lankhmar LNK
RA2 Ship of Horror RL
RA3 Touch of Death RL
SJA4 Under the Dark Fist SJ
SJS1 Goblin's Return SJ
WGS1 Five Shall Be One GH
WGS2 Howl from the North GH

1992:
Hardcovers:
Dragon Kings DS

Boxed Sets:
The Dragon's Den D&D
The Goblin's Lair D&D
Forbidden Lore RL
From the Ashes GH
The Haunted Tower D&D
Land of Fate AQ
Menzoberranzan FR
Tales of the Lance DL
War Captain's Companion SJ
Wrath of the Immortals D&D
ALQ1 Golden Voyages AQ
GR1 Strongholds
GR2 Dungeons of Mystery

Accessories:
Arabian Adventures AQ
Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog FR
Character & Monster Assortment D&D
Magic Encyclopedia, Volume 1
Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix AQ
Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix: Terrors of the Desert DS
Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix
Thunder Rift D&D
Volo's Guide to Waterdeep FR
AC1010 Poor Wizard's Almanac & Book of Facts D&D
CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook SJ
DLR2 Taladas: The Minotaurs DL
DMGR4 Monster Mythology
DSR1 Slave Tribes DS
DSR2 Dune Trader DS
DSR3 Veiled Alliance DS
DSR4 Valley of Dust and Fire DS
FOR3 Pirates of the Fallen Stars FR
FR14 The Great Glacier FR
FR15 Gold & Glory FR
GR3 Treasure Maps
HR2 Charlemagne's Paladins Campaign Sourcebook
HR3 Celts Campaign Sourcebook
HR4 A Mighty Fortress Campaign Sourcebook
HWR3 The Milenian Empire D&D
PC4 Night Howlers D&D
PHBR7 The Complete Bard's Handbook
PHBR8 The Complete Book of Elves
REF6 Rogues Gallery
RR4 Islands of Terror RL
RR5 Van Richten's Guide to Ghosts RL
SJR5 Rock of Bral SJ
SJR6 Greyspace SJ
WGR2 Treasures of Greyhawk GH
WGR3 Rary the Traitor GH

Adventures:
Assault on Raven's Ruin D&D
The Jade Hare D&D
Quest for the Silver Sword D&D
Sword and Shield D&D
DLQ1 Knight's Sword DL
DLQ2 Flint's Axe DL
FMQ1 City of Gold FR
FRQ1 Haunted Halls of Evening Star FR
FRQ2 Hordes of Dragonspear FR
HHQ1 Fighter's Challenge
HHQ2 Wizard's Challenge
HWQ1 The Milenian Sceptre D&D
LNQ1 Slayers of Lankhmar LNK
RQ1 Night of the Walking Dead RL
RQ2 Thoughts of Darkness RL
RQ3 From the Shadows RL
SJQ1 Heart of the Enemy SJ
WGQ1 Patriots of Ulek GH

1993:
Hardcovers:
Book of Artifacts
Monstrous Manual

Boxed Sets:
The Astromundi Cluster SJ
Castles Forlorn RL
Champions of Mystara: Heroes of the Princess Ark D&D
City of Delights AQ
Dragon Mountain
Dwarven Kingdoms of Krynn DL
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting FR
The Ivory Triangle DS
ALQ2 Assassin Mountain AQ
ALQ3 A Dozen and One Adventures AQ
ALQ4 Secrets of the Lamp AQ

Accessories:
Lankhmar: City of Adventure LNK
Magic Encyclopedia, Volume 2
Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night RL
Volo's Guide to the North FR
AC1011 Poor Wizard's Almanac II & Book of Facts D&D
CGR2 The Complete Gladiator's Handbook DS
DLR3 Unsung Heroes DL
DMGR5 Creative Campaigning
DMR1 Dungeon Master Screen D&D
DMR2 Creature Catalog D&D
DSS1 City State of Tyr DS
DSS2 Earth, Air, Fire and Water DS
DSS3 Elves of Athas DS
FOR4 The Code of the Harpers FR
FR16 The Shining South FR
FRS1 Dalelands FR
HR5 The Glory of Rome Campaign Sourcebook
PG1 Player's Guide to the Dragonlance Campaign DL
PG2 Player's Guide to the Forgotten Realms FR
PHBR9 The Complete Book of Gnomes and Halflings
PHBR10 The Complete Book of Humanoids
PHBR11 The Complete Ranger's Handbook
RR6 Van Richten's Guide to the Lich RL
RR7 Van Richten's Guide to Werebeasts RL
SJR7 Krynnspace SJ
SJR8 Space Lairs SJ
WGR4 The Marklands GH
WGR5 Iuz the Evil GH
WGR6 The City of Skulls GH

Adventures:
Dark of the Moon RL
In the Phantom's Wake D&D
The Knight of Newts D&D
Rage of the Rakasta D&D
DLC2 Dragonlance Classics: Volume II DL
DLT1 New Tales: The Land Reborn DL
DSE1 Dragon's Crown DS
FRM1 Jungles of Chult FR
FRQ3 Doom of Daggerdale FR
GA1 The Murky Deep
GA2 Swamplight
GA3 Tales of Enchantment
HHQ3 Thief's Challenge
HHQ4 Cleric's Challenge
RM1 Roots of Evil RL
RM2 The Created RL
RM3 Web of Illusion RL
RM4 House of Strahd RL
WGM1 Border Watch GH

1994:
Boxed Sets:
Caravans AQ
Cities of Bone AQ
City by the Silt Sea DS
City of Splendors FR
Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game D&D
Corsairs of the Great Sea AQ
Council of Wyrms
Elminster's Ecologies FR
Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure M2E
Masque of the Red Death and Other Tales RL
Planes of Chaos PS
Planescape Campaign Setting PS
Ravenloft Campaign Setting RL
The Ruins of Undermountain II: The Deep Levels FR
Ruined Kingdoms AQ

Accessories:
Book of Lairs DL
Book of Lairs FR
City Sites
The Complete Sha'ir's Handbook AQ
Cormyr FR
Encyclopedia Magica, Volume I
Fighter's Player Pack
Fighter's Screen
Marco Volo: Journey FR
Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One
Mystara Monstrous Compendium Appendix M2E
Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix PS
Poor Wizard's Almanac III & Book of Facts M2E
Priest's Player Pack
Priest's Screen
Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendix III: Creatures of Darkness RL
Thief's Player Pack
Thief's Screen
Treasure Chest
Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast FR
The Will and the Way DS
Wizard's Player Pack
Wizard's Screen
DMGR6 The Complete Book of Villains
FOR5 Elves of Evermeet FR
HR6 Age of Heroes Campaign Sourcebook
HR7 The Crusades Campaign Sourcebook
PHBR12 The Complete Paladin's Handbook
PHBR13 The Complete Druid's Handbook
RR8 Van Richten's Guide to the Created RL
RR9 Van Richten's Guide to the Ancient Dead RL

Adventures:
Adam's Wrath RL
The Awakening RL
Black Spine DS
The Deva Spark PS
The Eternal Boundary PS
Fighter's Challenge II
Forest Maker DS
Hour of the Knife RL
Howls in the Night RL
In the Abyss PS
Marco Volo: Arrival FR
Marco Volo: Departure FR
Rogues in Lankhmar
Temple, Tower & Tomb
Well of Worlds PS
Wizard's Challenge II
DLC3 Dragonlance Classics: Volume III DL

1995:
Hardcovers:
Dungeon Master Guide
Dungeon Master Option: High-Level Campaigns
Player's Handbook
Player's Option: Combat & Tactics
Player's Option: Skills & Powers

Boxed Sets:
Birthright Campaign Setting BR
Cities of the Sun BR
Dark Sun Campaign Setting Expanded and Revised DS
Glantri: Kingdom of Magic M2E
Introduction to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Game
Night Below: An Underdark Campaign
The Nightmare Lands RL
Planes of Conflict PS
Planes of Law PS
Ruins of Zhentil Keep FR
Spellbound FR

Accessories:
Beyond the Prism Pentad DS
Blood Enemies: Abominations of Cerilia BR
Castle Sites
Chronomancer
Country Sites
Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium Appendix II: Terrors Beyond Tyr DS
Dungeon Master Screen & Master Index
Dungeon Master's Survival Kit M2E
Elminster's Ecologies Appendix I: The Battle of Bones & Hill of Lost Souls FR
Encyclopedia Magica, Volume II
Encyclopedia Magica, Volume III
Encyclopedia Magica, Volume IV
The Factol's Manifesto PS
The Gothic Earth Gazetteer: A Masque of the Red Death Accessory RL
History of Dragonlance DL
In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil PS
Joshuan's Almanac & Book of Facts M2E
Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two
The Moonsea FR
Pages from the Mages FR
Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix II PS
Player's Secrets of Ariya BR
Player's Secrets of Endier BR
Player's Secrets of Ilien BR
Player's Secrets of Medoere BR
Player's Secrets of Roesone BR
Player's Secrets of Talinie BR
Player's Secrets of Tuornen BR
Player's Survivial Kit M2E
Shaman
Thri-Kreen of Athas DS
Volo's Guide to Cormyr FR
Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs DS
Wizards and Rogues of the Realms FR
DMGR7 The Complete Book of Necromancers
FOR6 The Seven Sisters FR
FOR7 Giantcraft FR
PHBR14 The Complete Barbarian's Handbook
PHBR15 The Complete Ninja's Handbook
RR10 Van Richten's Guide to Fiends RL
RR11 Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani RL

Adventures:
Avengers in Lankhmar LNK
Chilling Tales RL
Circle of Darkness RL
Cleric's Challenge II
Cutthroats of Lankhmar LNK
The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga
Elminster's Ecologies Appendix II: The High Moor & The Serpent Hills FR
The Evil Eye RL
Fires of Dis PS
Harbinger House PS
Labyrinth of Madness
Neither Man Nor Beast RL
The Return of Randal Morn FR
The Secret of Spiderhaunt FR
Sword and Crown BR
The Sword of the Dales FR
Thief's Challenge II: Beacon Point
Warlock of the Stonecrowns BR
When Black Roses Bloom RL

1996:
Hardcovers:
Player's Option: Spells & Magic

Boxed Sets:
Bleak House: The Death of Rudolph van Richten RL
Complete Starter Set
Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar LNK
Havens of the Great Bay BR
Hellbound: The Blood War PS
Naval Battle System: The Seas of Cerilia BR
Netheril: Empire of Magic FR
The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier FR
Requiem: The Grim Harvest RL
The Rjurik Highlands BR
The Rod of Seven Parts
The Wanderer's Chronicle: Mind Lords of the Last Sea DS

Accessories:
The Book of Magecraft BR
Children of the Night: Vampires RL
Defilers and Preservers: The Wizards of Athas DS
Den of Thieves
Faiths & Avatars FR
A Guide to the Astral Plane PS
A Guide to Transylvania: A Masque of the Red Death Accessory RL
On Hallowed Ground PS
Heroes' Lorebook FR
I, Tyrant
Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three
The Planewalker's Handbook PS
Player's Secrets of Baruk-Azhik BR
Player's Secrets of Binsada BR
Player's Secrets of Halskapa BR
Player's Secrets of Khourane BR
Player's Secrets of Stjordvik BR
Player's Secrets of Tuarhievel BR
Psionic Artifacts of Athas DS
Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendices I & II: A Chilling Collection of Ghastly Creatures RL
Treasure Tales
The Vilhon Reach FR
Uncaged: Faces of Sigil PS
Volo's Guide to All Things Magical FR
Volo's Guide to the Dalelands FR
Warriors and Priests of the Realms FR
Wizard's Spell Compendium, Volume One
World Builder's Guidebook
DMGR8 Sages and Specialists
LC5 Player’s Guide to the Living City Campaign FR
RR12 Forged of Darkness RL

Adventures:
Death Ascendant RL
Death Unchained RL
Doors to the Unknown PS
Eye of Doom
Eye to Eye
Eye of Pain
The Gates of Firestorm Peak
A Hero's Tale
How the Mighty are Fallen FR
Legends of the Hero-Kings BR
The Silver Key
Something Wild PS
The Sword of Roele BR
Undermountain: Maddgoth's Castle FR
Undermountain: The Lost Level FR
Undermountain: Stardock FR

1997:
Hardcovers:
Domains of Dread RL

Boxed Sets:
Lands of Intrigue FR
Tale of the Comet

Accessories:
The Book of Priestcraft BR
Children of the Night: Ghosts RL
Faces of Evil: The Fiends PS
Living City Campaign, Procampur Expansion Packet FR
Powers & Pantheons FR
Prayers from the Faithful FR
The Sea Devils
Tribes of the Heartless Waste BR
Wizard's Spell Compendium, Volume Two
DMGR9 Of Ships and the Sea

Adventures:
Castle Spulzeer FR
Dead Gods PS
Evil Tide
The Forgotten Terror RL
Four from Cormyr FR
The Great Modron March PS
King of the Giantdowns BR
Night of the Shark
Sea of Blood
The Star of Kolhapur

1998:
Box Sets:
Empires of the Shining Sea FR
Return to the Tomb of Horrors GH

Accessories:
The Adventure Begins GH
Calimport FR
Children of the Night: Werebeasts RL
The City of Ravens Bluff FR
College of Wizardry
Cormanthyr: Empire of Elves FR
Demihuman Deities FR
Dungeon Builder's Guidebook
A Guide to the Ethereal Plane PS
The Illithiad
The Inner Planes PS
Jakandor, Island of War
Jakandor, Isle of Destiny
Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four
Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix III PS
Player's Guide to Greyhawk GH
Player's Secrets of Hogunmark BR
The Shadow Rift RL
Tales from the Infinite Staircase PS
Villains' Lorebook FR
Wizard's Spell Compendium, Volume Three
Wizard's Spell Compendium, Volume Four
FOR8 Cult of the Dragon FR
RR13 Champions of the Mists RL

Adventures:
Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad GH
A Darkness Gathering
Dawn of the Overmind
Destiny of Kings
Doomgrinder GH
Faction War PS
The Fall of Myth Drannor FR
For Duty and Deity FR
Hellgate Keep FR
Jakandor, Land of Legend
Kidnapped FR
The Lost Shrine of Bundushatur
Masters of Eternal Night
Moonlight Madness
A Paladin in Hell
Return of the Eight GH
Reunion AQ
Road to Danger
Seeds of Chaos DL
Servants of Darkness RL
The Star Cairns GH
Vecna Reborn RL

1999:
Hardcovers:
Campaign Option: Council of Wyrms

Boxed Sets:
Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Game D&D
Silver Anniversary Collector's Edition

Accessories:
Axe of the Dwarvish Lords
Bastion of Faith
Carnival RL
Children of the Night: The Created RL
Demihumans of the Realms FR
Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark FR
Guide to Hell
Priest's Spell Compendium, Volume One
Priest's Spell Compendium, Volume Two
The Scarlet Brotherhood GH
Sea of Fallen Stars FR
Skullport FR
Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium, Volume One RL
Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium, Volume Two RL
Warriors of Heaven

Adventures:
The Accursed Tower FR
Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff GH
Chaos Spawn: A Chaos War Adventure DL
Dragonlance Classics: 15th Anniversary Edition DL
Dungeons of Despair
Ravenloft (25th Anniversary) RL
Return to the Keep on the Borderlands
Return to White Plume Mountain GH
The Shattered Circle
The Sylvan Veil DL
TSR Jam 1999
Wand of Archeal
Wyrmskull Throne FR
L3 Deep Dwarven Delve GH

TSR Dice: Mentzer Basic

TSR replaced the Moldvay edition of the basic set with the Mentzer edition in 1983. At perhaps the same time TSR started producing dice from new molds.

Like the Moldvay dice, the new dice came unpainted in a baggy with a crayon. They were also sold separately from the basic set in a blister pack.

TSR Dice: Moldvay Basic

DiceCollector.com has diagrams for identifying dice manufacturers. The diagrams are partial dice nets—they show the digits on the faces adjacent to the face with the highest digit. The orientation of the digits on the faces is also significant. Even though the diagrams don't describe all the faces, they often narrow down the possibilities to a single manufacturer.

The problem with partial dice nets is they require having the die in hand. To make it easier to identify dice in photos, I thought it would be nice to make some complete dice nets available.

My first set of dice nets are for the dice which came with the Dungeons & Dragons Basic set edited by Tom Moldvay. The copyright on the rulebook is 1980, but the product wasn't announced in Dragon Magazine until August 1981. There were four identifiable printings of this box set. I have the 3rd and 4th printings. Both came with a set of the light blue dice pictured above. The dice came sealed in plastic with a white crayon.

My apologies there is no dice net for the d10.

Update: d10 dice net courtesy of Scott Sturm:

Bookshelf

When Did RPG Become Collectible

Three events point to 1991 as the year your RPG crap became collectible.

Yes, there were a few people collecting before 1991. I don't mean players, of which there were millions. I mean people buying stuff when it was still in print and leaving it in the original shrink wrap. People who maybe had uncommon foresight. Or maybe a type of compulsive hoarding disorder.

Ignoring such people, 1991 was the year the collecting started. I couldn't say what it was about 1991, exactly. The Mentzer box sets, also known as the BECMI rules, went out of print.  Their passing made some people wistful. They introduced a lot of people to the game.

My argument that 1991 was the year the collecting started rests on three pieces of evidence.

Exhibit 1: Heroic Worlds

Lawrence Shick finished Heroic Worlds in 1991. It lists nearly every RPG item published before 1991! It presents over 3000 items organized by genre.

Heroic Worlds told collectors what was out there to be collected. Here is what it says about the original set:

230-010.1/900-74. Digest-sized, boxed: three digest-sized books ("Men & Magic," 36 pp.; "Monsters & Treasure," 40 pp.; "The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures," 36 pp.), six reference sheets of tables and charts. Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), 1974 (1st ed., brown wood-grain box, white sticker cover). 1st and 2nd pr. have drawing of mounted warrior on "Men & Magic" and box cover. 2nd pr. says so inside "Men and Magic."

230-010.2/900-76. As above, but all-white box. "Men and Magic" has fighter with sword on cover. Early printings refer to the J.R.R. Tolkien creatures "hobbits" and "ents"; after legal hassles, these were changed in later printings to "halflings" and "treants." Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), 1976.

The description identifies at least four printings of the original edition. Collectors care about printings.

Today we know there were in fact three printings of the wood-grain box and three printings of the white box.

The original set isn't the oldest item in Heroic Worlds. Here is the description for Chainmail:

Medieval miniatures rules. The 2nd and 3rd eds. contain the "Fantasy Supplement" section that directly contributed to the development of D&D. The supplement includes rules for individual wizard, hero, and super-hero characters, plus hobbits, dwarves, elves, goblins, orcs, trolls, dragons, elementals, balrogs, and ents. Wizards can throw fireballs, lightning bolts, and eight other types of spells; hero-types can use magic weapons.

230-005.1/379-71. Digest-sized, 36 pp. Guidon Games, 1971 (no Fantasy Supplement).

230-005.2/379-72. Digest-sized, 44 pp. Guidon Games, 1972 (2nd ed.).

230-005.3/900-75. Digest-sized, ring-bound, 44 pp. TSR, 1975 (3rd ed.).

The description makes a case for the historical importance of Chainmail. Collectors care about historical imporance.

Schick must not have had access to the 1st printing of Chainmail, since it does in fact contain the Fantasy Supplement!

Next let's look at the description of Deities & Demigods:

Supplement describing deities of 17 different mythoi, with rules on how to incorporate them into AD&D. Unfortunately, the book is usually used merely as a sort of Monster Manual that describes very high-powered monsters. This usage is encouraged by the book's format, which emphasizes the gods' physical abilities over their religious significance. A descendent of the Original D&D supplement Gods, Demigods, and Heroes, the book covers 12 pantheons of gods from myth and folklore (Egyptian, Norse, etc.), plus gods for various AD&D nonhumans, and four fictional groups: Arthurian heroes, Fritz Leiber's "Newhon Mthos," Michael Moorcock's "Melnibonéan Mythos," and H.P. Lovecraft's "Cthulhu Mythos," (The latter two mythoi were removed from the 2nd ed., thus giving the 1st ed. a high collector's value.) The 3rd ed. was repackaged and retitled Legends and Lore (see listing).

004-228.1/900-80. Hardcover, 144 pp. TSR, 1980.

004-228.2/900-81. Hardcover, 128 pp. TSR, 1981.

Ignore the part about gods having stats blocks. That's Schick telling you how to play the game. Focus on the comment about the 1st edition. That's Schick telling you what to collect.

Another cue for collectors is found in the description of B3: Palace of the Silver Princess, where Schick alerts us to the existence of the recalled edition:

Scenario for character levels 1–3 describing a ruined palace and the evil creatures that have taken it over. The 1st ed. is similar to B1 in that monster and treasure listings are left open for the GM to decide. The 1st ed. was released, then quickly recalled and destroyed due to several illustrations that were deemed to be in poor taste. (Look for the captured princess tied up with her own hair!) There may be fewer than 300 copies in existence; it is highly collectible. The 2nd ed. was entirely rewritten and largely reillustrated. It is a more standard dungeon, without fill-in encounters.

230-204.1/900-81. 32 pp., outer folder. TSR, 1981 (1st ed., tan border on cover).

230-204.2/900-81. 32 pp., outer folder. TSR, 1981 (2nd ed., dark green border on cover).

Exhibit 2: Gen Con Auctions

Consider this advertisement for Gen Con 91 from the June 1991 Dragon:

It mentions the opportunity to "bid on treasures in games and art auctions". In 1991 Gen Con started catering to collectors.

In truth, I'm not sure when auctions started at Gen Con. The ad from 1991 is the first mention I've found. There were auctions at Gen Con 92 as well; they became a regular feature.

Exhibit 3: Zocchi's TSR Collector Treasures Sale

The last exhibit contains the full page ads Lou Zocchi took out in the Dragon to sell used TSR products. Zocchi placed 10 of these ads between May 1991 and December 1996. Here is the ad from October 1991:

A PDF of all of the ads is available here.

Like the Gen Con auctions, the Zocchi ads cater to collectors. Collectors are mentioned explicitly in the title of most of the ads!

I take prices which are several times the original list price as evidence of collector interest. There are a few such prices in the original ad: the "Chainmail Rules" for \$30, a "Fine 1st Printing White Box D&D" for \$80, and "Deities/Demigods 1st Ed. damaged" for \$50.

If we compare ads we see items appreciate. In October 1993 the "D&D White Box Set" is \$110 and the "Deities & Demigods, 1st Ed." is \$130. The first issue of Dragon becomes available for a record price of \$230. That's \$384.16 in 2016 dollars!

The final ad in December 1996 has an even more expensive item: a "B3: Palace of Silver Princess (Brown cover ed.)" for \$250.

By the way, are Zocchi and Schick both color blind? The recalled edition of B3 had an orange cover.

Appendix A: The Dragon Shuts Down

After the December 1996 issue came out, the Dragon shut down. TSR had gone bankrupt. When the Dragon resumed in August 1997 it was owned by Wizards of the Coast.

Zocchi had been a monthly advertiser in the Dragon for years. The TSR collector treasures sale was just one of the angles he was working. Most months his ads were for Gamescience dice or Zocchi's own RPG products. He owned the rights to some Judges Guild titles and he sold a game designed by Jeff Dee called TWERPS.

For whatever reason, Zocchi didn't place any ads in the Dragon when it got back on its feet.

For collectors it was just as well. They were discovering AuctionWeb, which changed its name to eBay in September 1997.

Update

I've since found Gen Con advertisements in the Dragon mentioning auctions before 1991.

Buying Dice

What dice you need; whose dice to buy.

Knowing most readers would sooner give advice than receive it, we state our opinions softly.

Which Dice You Need

The original edition of the game called for two sets of polyhedral dice and 4 to 20 six-sided dice. Polyhedral dice aren't hard to get these days, so no reason to limit yourself to two sets. Also, modern gamers will want percentile dice.

As a general principle, our group likes to resolve a character's fate with a single cast of the dice. If you find yourself rolling a die repeatedly and summing the numbers in your head, you don't have enough dice! Or so we think.

Another group custom is we expect the host to provide dice for everybody. We stopped carrying dice bags around almost thirty years ago. Possibly related: Jay sometimes calls other players "dice bags" when he doesn't like their style of play.

With that said, here is what I set out for the players:

For the record—and for the search engine—the image shows eighteen d6 with pips, two d100, three d4, three d6 with digits, three d8, three d12, and three d20.

I also keep a set of polyhedral dice behind the screen for sealing the players' fate in secret.

Whose Dice to Buy

Chessex

My fave manufacturer right now is Chessex, founded in 1987. They sell dice in sets of seven like the one above.

Chessex sells dice with swirls and speckles. The speckled dice were introduced in 1995. They also sell transparent dice. None of these are to my taste. Sometimes I have to poke around to find the solid-colored, opaque dice with high-contrast paint that I like. I want dice that are easy to read.

Chessex dice are made from a hard thermoplastic. They are cast from molds, painted, and then polished in a rock tumbler. The polishing removes paint from everywhere except the indented numerals. The polishing also rounds the edges.

By the way, note the distinct way Chessex numbers the d4. Not many manufacturers use this style.

There are some other traits that can be used to recognize Chessex dice. One is that opposite sides of a Chessex die sum to a consistent number. In the case of a d20, opposite sides always sum to 21.

If you take a Chessex d20 and look at the 1-face, it shares edges with the 7-face, 19-face, and 13-face. I'm not sure if Chessex dice have always had this arrangement, but molds are expensive, so manufacturers don't change them often.

Finally, I'll mention some traits which Chessex dice have and which in my mind all good dice should have.

6s and the 9s should be distinguished. Chessex dice use underlines. However, the underline on the Chessex d20 is so thin it doesn't take paint well.

The d20 should be numbered from 1 to 20, and not 0 to 9 twice.

In a set of percentile dice, the tens die should be distinguished from the ones die with an extra zero digit on each face.

Koplow

I have several sets of Koplow dice. Koplow used to sell sets where each die was a different color. I like these sets because they make it easier to find the die I want.

The dice in the above picture were sold as two sets: a set of 6 polyhedral dice, and a set of 4 "value dice".

Koplow dice are manufactured the same way as Chessex dice. The edges are more rounded than Chessex dice.

Koplow Games was founded in 1974. They make more than dice and I'm not sure when they started making polyhedral dice—I bought a few sets in 2005.

Traits for recognizing Koplow dice: opposite faces on Koplow dice don't always sum to the same value. In my set, the d6 and the d10 do, but the rest of the dice don't. Oddly, among the "value dice", the ones die does, but the the tens, hundreds, and thousands dice don't.

On a Koplow d20, the 1-face shares edges with the 6-face, 13-face, and 10-face.

6s and 9s are underlined, except on the d20, where a lower right dot is used.

I bought the "value dice" because I wanted the percentile dice. The ones, tens, and hundreds dice together make a set of per mille dice. Is such a set useful? The Treasury of Archaic Names contains a table with 1000 entries, but most players will find both the hundreds and thousands die to be superfluous.

Collecting Dice

I'll mention a few more manufacturers. Most of these are no longer in business, but good to know about if you are interested in old dice.

Creative Publications

Creative Publications started selling polyhedral dice in 1972. They were the only supplier of polyhedral dice—at least in the United States—when the original edition of the game came out in 1974. TSR resold them at prices ranging from \$1.49 to \$3.00. The dice were included with the Holmes Basic set. In fact, most dice were probably sourced by TSR directly from manufacturers in Taiwan Hong Kong.

The Creative Publications dice were made from a soft plastic that didn't wear well.  The dice would lose their color and the d20 would become nearly spherical. Players took to calling them "low impact" dice when harder dice became available.

The Creative Publications d20 was numbered 0 to 9 twice. Opposite faces have the same number. The 1-face shares edges with the 5-face, 9-face, and 6-face. Creative Publications dice are easy to identify because the same color was always used for each shape.

Creative Publications was located in Palo Alto, CA. They became a supplier of dice to gamers by accident, as they were primarily a publisher of educational titles. One of these is "Polyhedra Dice Games: For Grades K to 6" from 1978. The book contains 40 games, each of which requires one of the polyhedral dice for play. Each game requires a skill such as counting, adding, or distinguishing odd from even. Otherwise they are simple games of chance and not interesting to adults. The cover shows a sea of dice from the collection of Dale Seymour; a few of the Creative Publications dice are mixed in.

TSR also sold sets of two d20s numbered 0 to 9 twice. They were used for percentile rolls—the pink die was the tens digit. I'm not sure if Creative Publications ever sold sets with a pink die in them.

Gamescience

Gamescience has been run by Lou Zocchi since 1973. They are still in the dice-making business. Most of their dice are sold unpainted; an ultra fine Sharpie can be used to ink in the numbers.

Gamescience dice are not polished, so they may have burrs left over from the molding process. The molding industry calls these burrs flash. Some people sand them down with fine sandpaper.

Gamescience made a name for itself by introducing dice made out of harder materials. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, they popularized the terms "high impact dice" and "low impact dice". They also introduced dice in a number of new shapes, the most important being the d10, which they starting manufacturing in 1980. Update: In a 2015 interview, Lou Zocchi credited TSR with introducing the first d10 circa 1980. These were the dice in the Moldvay basic box set. Zocchi also says these were the first sets with a d20 numbered 1 to 20. Gamescience was the first company to introduce a d10 numbered 00, 10, ..., 90 for the tens digit in a percentile roll. The die was advertised in the April 1990 issue of Dragon magazine:

Gamescience was an early distributor of TSR products. Zocchi and Gygax were acquainted; both wrote for Guidon Games. As a reseller of TSR games, Zocchi started ordering dice from Creative Publications. Zocchi was dissatisfied with the price and the availability, so he started making his own dice—initially just a d20—in 1974.

The original Gamescience d20 was numbered 0 to 9 twice. Early gamers would ink half of the numbers with a different color so a number from 1 to 20 could be generated. In 1980 Gamescience invested in a mold where half of the faces had + next to the numbers. The dice with + signs aren't common; d20 dice numbered 1 to 20 became the standard soon after.

Some traits useful for identifying Gamescience dice: the d4 are truncated tetrahedra. The d20 has a small capital G on the 1-face in addition to the numeral 1. The d20 1-face shares edges with the 11-face, the 19-face, and the 18-face.

Opposite faces on the Gamescience d20 sum to 21, and opposite faces on the d6 sum to 7. The other dice don't have faces that sum to a consistent number.

The Armory

The Armory was a gaming shop in Baltimore, better known as a dealer in miniatures. I've read that the Armory got started in the dice business by inking or painting Gamescience dice and re-selling them. This was back in the 1970s.

Eventually they had their own molds made. The earliest Armory dice used the letter A instead of the numeral 1 on the 1-face of the d4, d8, and d20. As far as I know this was not done on the d6 and the d12.

The Armory introduced a d30 die around 1982. The older d30 is numbered 0 to 9 thrice, each digit appearing with a plus sign, minus sign, or no modifier. The newer d30 is numbered 1 to 30. The dice were supported with a book called "The Armory's 30 Sided Dice Gaming Tables". It could be used with any of the fantasy RPGs of the time.

In later years, they seem to have outsourced manufacturing to other companies. In 1998 they merged with Chessex. Dice aren't being sold under the Armory brand anymore.

TSR

TSR resold Creative Publications dice for many years. Update: the dice in the above picture come from two different molds. The blue dice came with the first printing of the Moldvay basic set. The green and orange dice came with the first printing of the Mentzer basic set. For a guide on how to distinguish them, see this post and this post.

By 1981 TSR was having their own dice manufactured. Pictured on the left below are dice from the Moldvay basic set; on the right are dice from the Cook expert set.

The dice did not come painted or inked in. Crayons were provided to color in the numbers.

The dice seem too small to me. The dice in my expert set are a mix of colors, but I think that is atypical. I've seen all-brown and all-orange sets.

The dice in the first printing of the Mentzer basic set were sold separately in a blister pack as "Dragon Dice". They are unrelated to the collectible dice game, also called "Dragon Dice", which TSR introduced in 1995.