Gold Box Gold Box & other SSI D&D classics released on Steam & GOG

[RPK]

I was rading the FR and Dragonlance novels as they became available as a teen. I always felt they were better than the flak they receive. I also thought they were written to become pnp modules, which is limiting for the writer….. so to me they were pretty solid considering the inherent handcuffs.

They were a great gateway drug to fantasy for teenagers (speaking from experience). Now a days, rereading them, you can see their shortcomings, but the DL ones, at least, can still be fun. Haven't read a FR novel in 20 years.
Fwiw, my wife, a voracious reader, enjoyed, but didn't love the DL books when she read them as an adult with no nostalgia rose colored glasses.

 

[octavius]

I reread the first DL trilogy 10-15 years ago, and I was suprised that I still liked them (unlike for example Feist's Magician).

 

[RPK]

From what I recall, the 'legends' trilogy, focused on Raistlin and Caramon was better. and the 4th book of the original trilogy :D Dragons of Summer Flame was one I remember very fondly.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

I was rading the FR and Dragonlance novels as they became available as a teen. I always felt they were better than the flak they receive. I also thought they were written to become pnp modules, which is limiting for the writer….. so to me they were pretty solid considering the inherent handcuffs.

They were a great gateway drug to fantasy for teenagers (speaking from experience). Now a days, rereading them, you can see their shortcomings, but the DL ones, at least, can still be fun. Haven't read a FR novel in 20 years.
Fwiw, my wife, a voracious reader, enjoyed, but didn't love the DL books when she read them as an adult with no nostalgia rose colored glasses.

The Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy by Weis & Hickman was well-written and sold beyond TSR's wildest dreams in 1984-1985, prompting them to belatedly expand with novels in the new campaign settings. Weis & Hickman wrote the sequel Dragonlance Legends trilogy (1986) and contributed a novella to each of the Dragonlance Tales anthologies (all three published in 1987) but then parted ways with TSR. As the number of D&D/AD&D novels published by TSR increased with each passing year, the general quality tended to decline. Jeff Grubb's Azure Bonds from 1988 is about as good as any of the novels not written by Weis & Hickman; Troy Denning also deserves mention for the first Dark Sun novel (The Verdant Passage in 1991) and the only Planescape novel (Pages of Pain in 1996), the first third of which is astounding.

 

[octavius]

I liked Richard A. Knaak's DL books too.
But I need to read Azure Bonds before replaying the game again.

 

[The Limper]

For anyone wanting a small step up from the TSR novels, i would suggest Glen Cook’s ‘The Black Company’ novels. The 1st 3 are terrific.

 

[mondblut]

Jeff Grubb's Azure Bonds from 1988 is about as good as any of the novels not written by Weis & Hickman; Troy Denning also deserves mention for the first Dark Sun novel (The Verdant Passage in 1991) and the only Planescape novel (Pages of Pain in 1996), the first third of which is astounding.

Denning is good shit. So is James Lowder. "Prince of Lies" and "Crucible: the Trial of Cyric the Mad", the sequels to (pretty mediocre) Avatars trilogy, are terrific.

 

[ColonelMace]

For anyone wanting a small step up from the TSR novels, i would suggest Glen Cook’s ‘The Black Company’ novels. The 1st 3 are terrific.

Some of the best fantasy novels I've read. The books of the south also ended up growing on me (but the first read was rough as hell).

 

[rojay]

For anyone wanting a small step up from the TSR novels, i would suggest Glen Cook’s ‘The Black Company’ novels. The 1st 3 are terrific.

Username checks out. Those books are great and I'd say the first four he wrote were terrific.

 

[Glop_dweller]

Bungie's video game Myth was loosely based on The Black Company novels; that and to have combat reminiscent of the film Braveheart.

 

[rojay]

Bungie used to be a great developer.

 

[santino27]

For anyone wanting a small step up from the TSR novels, i would suggest Glen Cook’s ‘The Black Company’ novels. The 1st 3 are terrific.

The series ended well too, though it went through a few stumbles in the south to get there imo.

 

[The Limper]

For anyone wanting a small step up from the TSR novels, i would suggest Glen Cook’s ‘The Black Company’ novels. The 1st 3 are terrific.

The series ended well too, though it went through a few stumbles in the south to get there imo.

Agreed. When it flipped to Murgen’s perspective it took some adjustment/getting used to.

 

[Lt Broccoli]

I'm on a (very) long-term project to read nearly all of the D&D novels by publishing date, in paperback, published since 1984.

Currently up to April, 1992 (R. A. Salvatore's Cleric Canticle series - 'In Sylvan Shadows').

Overall impression is very positive and you get to know the writing style of certain authors.

I'm reaching the era when a swag of campaign settings were concurrently published including: Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Spelljammer, Ravenloft and Dark Sun. (Even Mystara's 'The Tainted Sword' with its kick arse cover coming up with its first book in Oct-92). So a lot of variety.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

I'm on a (very) long-term project to read nearly all of the D&D novels by publishing date, in paperback, published since 1984.

Currently up to April, 1992 (R. A. Salvatore's Cleric Canticle series - 'In Sylvan Shadows').

I still think this is the oddest expression of masochism ever seen on the Codex.

 

[Late Bloomer]

I'm on a (very) long-term project to read nearly all of the D&D novels by publishing date, in paperback, published since 1984.

Currently up to April, 1992 (R. A. Salvatore's Cleric Canticle series - 'In Sylvan Shadows').

Overall impression is very positive and you get to know the writing style of certain authors.

I'm reaching the era when a swag of campaign settings were concurrently published including: Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Spelljammer, Ravenloft and Dark Sun. (Even Mystara's 'The Tainted Sword' with its kick arse cover coming up with its first book in Oct-92). So a lot of variety.

Do you keep a masterlist? I am interested in what the entirety of it looks like.

 

[mondblut]

I'm on a (very) long-term project to read nearly all of the D&D novels by publishing date, in paperback, published since 1984.

Currently up to April, 1992 (R. A. Salvatore's Cleric Canticle series - 'In Sylvan Shadows').

I still think this is the oddest expression of masochism ever seen on the Codex.

I've been doing the same, but mostly limited to FR alone and in electronic format. Got bogged down by the time it got to truly irrelevant "series" like "cities", "fighters" and shit like that.

 

[Lt Broccoli]

I'm on a (very) long-term project to read nearly all of the D&D novels by publishing date, in paperback, published since 1984.

Currently up to April, 1992 (R. A. Salvatore's Cleric Canticle series - 'In Sylvan Shadows').

Overall impression is very positive and you get to know the writing style of certain authors.

I'm reaching the era when a swag of campaign settings were concurrently published including: Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Spelljammer, Ravenloft and Dark Sun. (Even Mystara's 'The Tainted Sword' with its kick arse cover coming up with its first book in Oct-92). So a lot of variety.

Do you keep a masterlist? I am interested in what the entirety of it looks like.

I do indeed. I pulled most of the data off Wikipedia and then filtered out some novels ('Young Adult'/Endless Quest, Compilations)

Below is an extract until the end of 1992. The full database is 576 novels. Other data in the master file includes the ISBN, short story titles/authors belonging to anthologies, where I ordered the book, purchase price, delivery status and comments on the order.

As I read the novels I take notes on all key characters major actions/attributes and which novels they appear in.

Year	Campaign Setting	Title	Author	Series
Feb-78​	Greyhawk	Quag Keep	Andre Norton	Quag Keep
Apr-84​	Dragonlance	Dragons of Autumn Twilight	Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman	The Chronicles Trilogy
Apr-85​	Dragonlance	Dragons of Winter Night	Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman	The Chronicles Trilogy
Sep-85​	Dragonlance	Dragons of Spring Dawning	Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman	The Chronicles Trilogy
Oct-85​	Greyhawk	Saga of Old City	Gary Gygax	Gord the Rogue
Feb-86​	Dragonlance	Time of the Twins	Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman	Legends Trilogy
Feb-86​	Greyhawk	Artifact of Evil	Gary Gygax	Gord the Rogue
May-86​	Dragonlance	War of the Twins	Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman	Legends Trilogy
Aug-86​	Dragonlance	Test of the Twins	Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman	Legends Trilogy
Mar-87​	Dragonlance	The Magic of Krynn	Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman editors	Dragonlance: Tales I
Mar-87​	Greyhawk	Master Wolf	Rose Estes	Greyhawk Adventures
May-87​	Forgotten Realms	Darkwalker on Moonshae	Douglas Niles	The Moonshae Trilogy
Jun-87​	Greyhawk	Sea of Death	Gary Gygax	Gord the Rogue
Jul-87​	Dragonlance	Kender, Gully Dwarves, and Gnomes	Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman editors	Dragonlance: Tales I
Aug-87​	Greyhawk	The Price of Power	Rose Estes	Greyhawk Adventures
Sep-87​	Greyhawk	Night Arrant	Gary Gygax	Gord the Rogue
Oct-87​	Dragonlance	Love and War	Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman editors	Dragonlance: Tales I
Nov-87​	Greyhawk	City of Hawks	Gary Gygax	Gord the Rogue
Jan-88​	Forgotten Realms	The Crystal Shard	R. A. Salvatore	The Icewind Dale Trilogy
Feb-88​	Greyhawk	The Demon Hand	Rose Estes	Greyhawk Adventures
Mar-88​	Greyhawk	Come Endless Darkness	Gary Gygax	Gord the Rogue
Mar-88​	Dragonlance	The Legend of Huma	Richard A. Knaak	Dragonlance: Heroes I
Apr-88​	Forgotten Realms	Black Wizards	Douglas Niles	The Moonshae Trilogy
Jun-88​	Greyhawk	The Name of the Game	Rose Estes	Greyhawk Adventures
Jul-88​	Forgotten Realms	Spellfire	Ed Greenwood	Shandrill's Saga
Aug-88​	Dragonlance	Stormblade	Nancy Varian Berberick	Dragonlance: Heroes I
Oct-88​	Forgotten Realms	Azure Bonds	Kate Novak & Jeff Grubb	The Finder's Stone Trilogy
Nov-88​	Greyhawk	Dance of Demons	Gary Gygax	Gord the Rogue
Dec-88​	Dragonlance	Weasel's Luck	Michael Williams	Dragonlance: Heroes I
Jan-89​	Forgotten Realms	Streams of Silver	R. A. Salvatore	The Icewind Dale Trilogy
Feb-89​	Forgotten Realms	Darkwell	Douglas Niles	The Moonshae Trilogy
Apr-89​	Dragonlance	Darkness and Light	Paul B. Thompson & Tonya R. Carter	Dragonlance: Preludes
Apr-89​	Forgotten Realms	Shadowdale	Scott Ciencin	The Avatar Series
Jun-89​	Forgotten Realms	Tantras	Scott Ciencin	The Avatar Series
Aug-89​	Forgotten Realms	Waterdeep	Troy Denning	The Avatar Series
Aug-89​	Dragonlance	Kendermore	Mary Kirchoff	Dragonlance: Preludes
Aug-89​	Greyhawk	The Eyes Have It	Rose Estes	Greyhawk Adventures
Nov-89​	Forgotten Realms	Pool of Radiance	James M. Ward & Jane Cooper Hong	The Pools
Dec-89​	Dragonlance	Brothers Majere	Kevin Stein	Dragonlance: Preludes
Jan-90​	Forgotten Realms	The Halfling's Gem	R. A. Salvatore	The Icewind Dale Trilogy
Jan-90​	Dragonlance	Riverwind the Plainsman	Paul B. Thompson & Tonya R. Carter	Dragonlance: Preludes II
Feb-90​	Forgotten Realms	The Wyvern's Spur	Kate Novak & Jeff Grubb	The Finder's Stone Trilogy
Mar-90​	Forgotten Realms	Ironhelm	Douglas Niles	Maztica Trilogy
Apr-90​	Forgotten Realms	Horselords	David Cook	The Empires Trilogy
Apr-90​	Dragonlance	Kaz the Minotaur	Richard A. Knaak	Dragonlance: Heroes II
May-90​	Dragonlance	Flint the King	Mary Kirchoff & Douglas Niles	Dragonlance: Preludes II
Jul-90​	Forgotten Realms	Dragonwall	Troy Denning	The Empires Trilogy
Jul-90​	Dragonlance	The Gates of Thorbardin	Dan Parkinson	Dragonlance: Heroes II
Aug-90​	Forgotten Realms	Homeland	R. A. Salvatore	The Dark Elf Trilogy
Aug-90​	Forgotten Realms	Viperhand	Douglas Niles	Maztica Trilogy
Nov-90​	Dragonlance	Tanis, the Shadow Years	Barbara Siegel & Scott Siegel	Dragonlance: Preludes II
Dec-90​	Forgotten Realms	Exile	R. A. Salvatore	The Dark Elf Trilogy
Dec-90​	Dragonlance	Galen Beknighted	Michael Williams	Dragonlance: Heroes II
Jan-91​	Forgotten Realms	Crusade	James Lowder	The Empires Trilogy
Feb-91​	Dragonlance	Firstborn	Paul B. Thompson & Tonya C. Cook	The Elven Nations Trilogy
Mar-91​	Forgotten Realms	Song of the Saurials	Kate Novak & Jeff Grubb	The Finder's Stone Trilogy
Apr-91​	Forgotten Realms	Feathered Dragon	Douglas Niles	Maztica Trilogy
Apr-91​	Dragonlance	Kindred Spirits	Mark Anthony & Ellen Porath	The Meetings Sextet
May-91​	Forgotten Realms	Sojourn	R. A. Salvatore	The Dark Elf Trilogy
Jul-91​	Spelljammer	Beyond the Moons	David Cook	The Cloakmaster Cycle
Jul-91​	Forgotten Realms	The Parched Sea	Troy Denning	The Harpers
Aug-91​	Dragonlance	The Kinslayer Wars	Douglas Niles	The Elven Nations Trilogy
Sep-91​	Dragonlance	Wanderlust	Mary Kirchoff & Steve Winter	The Meetings Sextet
Sep-91​	Ravenloft	Vampire of the Mists	Christie Golden
Sep-91​	Spelljammer	Into the Void	Nigel Findley	The Cloakmaster Cycle
Oct-91​	Dark Sun	The Verdant Passage	Troy Denning	The Prism Pentad
Oct-91​	Forgotten Realms	Canticle	R. A. Salvatore	The Cleric Quintet
Oct-91​	Forgotten Realms	Elfshadow	Elaine Cunningham	The Harpers & Songs & Swords[nb 18]
Nov-91​	Dragonlance	The Qualinesti	Paul B. Thompson & Tonya R. Carter	The Elven Nations Trilogy
Dec-91​	Ravenloft	Knight of the Black Rose	James Lowder
Dec-91​	Forgotten Realms	Red Magic	Jean Rabe	The Harpers
Jan-92​	Dragonlance	Dark Heart	Tina Daniell	The Meetings Sextet
Feb-92​	Forgotten Realms	Pools of Darkness	James M. Ward & Anne K. Brown	The Pools
Mar-92​	Forgotten Realms	Prophet of Moonshae	Douglas Niles	The Druidhome Trilogy
Apr-92​	Dark Sun	The Crimson Legion	Troy Denning	The Prism Pentad
Apr-92​	Dragonlance	The Reign of Istar	Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman editors	Dragonlance: Tales II
Apr-92​	Forgotten Realms	In Sylvan Shadows	R. A. Salvatore	The Cleric Quintet
May-92​	Dragonlance	The Oath and the Measure	Michael Williams	The Meetings Sextet
May-92​	Spelljammer	The Maelstrom's Eye	Roger E. Moore	The Cloakmaster Cycle
Jun-92​	Forgotten Realms	The Night Parade	Scott Ciencin	The Harpers
Jul-92​	Ravenloft	Dance of the Dead	Christie Golden
Jul-92​	Dragonlance	The Cataclysm	Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman editors	Dragonlance: Tales II
Aug-92​	Forgotten Realms	Night Masks	R. A. Salvatore	The Cleric Quintet
Sep-92​	Dragonlance	Steel and Stone	Ellen Porath	The Meetings Sextet
Sep-92​	Forgotten Realms	The Coral Kingdom	Douglas Niles	The Druidhome Trilogy
Sep-92​	Forgotten Realms	The Legacy	R. A. Salvatore	Legacy of the Drow
Oct-92​	Mystara	The Tainted Sword	D.J. Heinrich	The Penhaligon Trilogy
Oct-92​	Dark Sun	The Amber Enchantress	Troy Denning	The Prism Pentad
Nov-92​	Dragonlance	The War of the Lance	Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman editors	Dragonlance: Tales II
Nov-92​	Spelljammer	The Radiant Dragon	Elaine Cunningham	The Cloakmaster Cycle
Nov-92​	Forgotten Realms	The Ring of Winter	James Lowder	The Harpers
Dec-92​	Ravenloft	Heart of Midnight	J. Robert King

 

[Lt Broccoli]

I'm on a (very) long-term project to read nearly all of the D&D novels by publishing date, in paperback, published since 1984.

Currently up to April, 1992 (R. A. Salvatore's Cleric Canticle series - 'In Sylvan Shadows').

I still think this is the oddest expression of masochism ever seen on the Codex.

I've been doing the same, but mostly limited to FR alone and in electronic format. Got bogged down by the time it got to truly irrelevant "series" like "cities", "fighters" and shit like that.

My initial project was to limit my collection to just Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Ravenloft and Planescape, but as the books were delivered and the gaps on the master list became apparent, I worked out that it was feasible to own and read the entire paperback collection so I expanded to all campaign settings. I read some Dragonlance and Mystara before so it didn't take too much convincing myself...

I considered reading them in electronic format, but as I had around 80 paperbacks from my youth it was an easy decision to expand the paperback collection. There is something very tactile of holding the book and seeing the three-dimensional object than an electronic version. Hell, the stacked books within the bookshelf even smell awesome. You get a surge of pride seeing them all together. That all said there are several novels only released in electronic format like Erik Scott de Bie's 'Shadowbane' or Bruce R. Cordell's 'Sword of the Gods: Spinner of Lies'.

I'd like to expand further to D&D modules/adventures, but I literally don't have enough of a lifetime to read the lot and still keep reading other genre/series.