Reprint Registry: The Dungeon Alphabet
Welcome to the Reprint Registry! This occasional feature documents the reprints of Goodman Games products. Collectors often ask us for detailed printing specs on our many reprinted titles, especially the DCC line. Over the years, some of our out-of-print titles have commanded impressive sums on the secondary market. We’ve been told it is helpful for collectors to have some background on the titles they are collecting or selling.
Some dedicated fans collect all the various printings of their favorite adventures. With each new printing of a book, we typically do a fresh editorial review to catch any remaining typographical errors. We often add new content or interior art of some kind. And we occasionally commission entirely new cover art.
And some editions or printings that are just hard to find. Some cover variants were originally released only for a certain convention or as a pre-order bonus item. Other titles have been translated into foreign languages, and the diehard collectors want to find every version including the translations.
The Reprint Registry will provide some answers on these topics. Up until now, often the only way to get an exact answer was to pin down Joseph Goodman and see what he remembers. In the Reprint Registry, we will start writing down the details for all the fans to read. At least, the details as well as Joseph can remember! In some cases we didn’t keep as clean a record as we should have, so there may be some vague answers, or even some areas where we ask you, the fans, for additional help. As part of compiling this feature, we’ve also found some inconsistencies in our own internal numbering of editions. D’oh! We’ll do the best we can! And now that we have this feature, perhaps future printings will be more ordered.
Our first installment of the Reprint Registry covered the Dungeon Crawl Classics core rulebook, and you can check it out here. Next we took a look at DCC’s radioactive little cousin, Mutant Crawl Classics, which you can peruse here. Now we are venturing into the depths to give you the A-to-Z on The Dungeon Alphabet. Here are all the printings, their covers, and the particularities of each.
The Dungeon Alphabet Printings
First Printing
1st printing, hardcover. Only one cover for this edition, featuring “Great Price 9.99” in upper right. Endsheets are black.
Second Printing
2nd printing, hardcover. Like the 1st edition, there is only one cover for this edition, featuring “Great Price 9.99” in upper right. Interior credits say ‘second edition,’ and endsheets are ‘TSR blue.’
Third Printing
3rd printing, hardcover. ‘Expanded Third Printing’ on cover below title and on spine, North Texas RPG Convention award logo on bottom left. More content added and increase in cover price.
For new letters, the 3rd printing added: A is also for Adventurers, B is also for Battles, D is also for Dragons, M is also for Maps, P is also for Potions, R is also for Relics, S is also for Stairs, and T is also for Treasure Chests.
Third Printing Gold Foil Edition
3rd printing, gold foil. An alternative gold foil cover was also produced for this edition, ‘Expanded Third Printing’ can be seen on the back and spine.
Fourth Printing
4th printing, hardcover. ‘Expanded Fourth Printing’ on cover below title, ‘Expanded 4th Printing’ on spine. Silver clothbound spine and integrated ribbon book mark. All cover versions have dustjackets.
For new letters, the 4th printing added even more: C is also for Crypts, E is also for Entrances, G is also for Guardians, H is also for Hazards, L is also for Levels, O is also for Omens, Q is also for Quests, U is also for Underwater, and V is also for Vegetation.
Fourth Printing Gold Foil Edition
4th printing, gold foil faux leather cover. ‘Gold Foil Edition’ on back. Dust jacket and sewn-in ribbon bookmark.
Fourth Printing Real Leather Edition
4th printing, gold foil on genuine leather. ‘Real Leather Edition’ on back. Dust jacket and sewn-in ribbon bookmark.
Fifth Printing
5th printing, hardcover. Features a new cover design utilizing the same classic Erol Otus cover art.
Adds one more new letter, C is also for Cypher
German Edition
German Edition. German translation of US 5th Printing, oversized, slipcase.
New letters for The Dungeon Alphabet in some cases appeared in our Goodman Games Gen Con Program Guides before being collected in the subsequent printing of The Dungeon Alphabet. Dedicated collectors of The Dungeon Alphabet memorabilia may also wish to collect these titles where new letters first appeared:
