A big lot of kudos to Goodman Games for their work with historic Judges Guild material – and most especially one of my all time favourite modules The Caverns Of Thracia! Goodman Games have run 2 Kickstarter Campaigns recently to produce deluxe oversize hard cover volumes containing some of the most significant and historic Judges Guild Dungeons & Dragons material and related content. The first of these completed last year (around September 2020) and the second is nearing completion now (November-December 2021).

“Judges Guild is the reason adventure modules exist. At the time Judges Guild began, TSR was not publishing adventure modules, and the company’s sentiment was that gamers would not be interested in buying supplemental materials or ready-made adventures. With its incredible playing aids and imaginative adventuring worlds, Judges Guild changed all that.”

Volume I

The original Kickstarter Project was to reproduce the initial work of Bob Bledsaw one of the original co-founders of Judges Guild. The project included a large oversize hard cover book containing digitally restored copies of Tegel Manor, Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor, and Citadel of Fire Dungeons & Dragons Adventures; five issues of the Judges Guild Journal, and additional articles and new game material. The secondary object was to produce standard sized table-top edition soft cover reprintings of each of these products: Tegel Manor, Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor, Citadel of Fire, and Dark Tower¹ Dungeon & Dragons Modules.

You can read more at the Kickstarter Page, but as the campaign is now fulfilled there are limited copies available new and second-hand of the first hardcover book in the Judges Guild Deluxe Volumes set. Goodman Games do not appear to have any remaining stock so you will need to check Amazon, EBay, ABE or dealers like Noble Knight Games – I managed to pick up a mint copy from the latter. I have not yet investigated what if any of the standard sized, table-top soft cover modules are available.

“This second volume in the series focuses on materials created, illustrated, and produced by Jennell Jaquays: the Dungeoneer zines; Dark Tower; The Caverns of Thracia; The Book of Treasure Maps; and more… Bob Bledsaw Sr.’s creations defined the early release schedule of Judges Guild, but soon another creator emerged. With permission from TSR, Jennell Jaquays self-published issue #1 of The Dungeoneer in the same month that The Dragon #1 was published. She quickly established a name as a designer and D&D enthusiast. Soon she was hired by Judges Guild, and went on to write and illustrate adventure modules that are famous to this day.“

Volume II

The second of the Judges Guild Deluxe Volumes includes one of my all time favourite modules, and if it was an official TSR one would likely be in the top 5 modules for Dungeons & Dragons: The Caverns of Thracia. The Judges Guild Deluxe Collector’s Edition Volume II is the same oversized 13”x18” hardcover as volume I but is much larger at approximately 275-300 pages (versus the 232 pages of the prior book). As well as the 3 Jennell Jaquays’ D&D Modules it includes full reproductions of the first 6 issues of the Dungeoneer (see reference to Jaquays in my Old School Dungeons and Dragons post). This zine was independently published by Jennell Jaquays and her college gaming crew before later being acquired by Judges Guild.

It also includes selected covers and excerpts from Dungeoneer #12, Judges Guild Journal 14, and Judges Guild Journal 16, all of which feature Jennell Jaquays art. Additionally, the volume includes a complete scan of Judges Guild Journal issues M and O (most game historians consider the Judges Guild Journal to be of comparable quality to the early issues of The Dragon). Finally, this Judges Guild Deluxe Collector’s Edition includes a wealth of material for the Judges Guild collector, such as a number of articles by and interviews of Jennell Jaquays, as well as photos and other images selected from her personal collection.

Judges Guild Deluxe Volume II Optional Extras

Finally the Volume II campaign which is just ending offers the following optional items, including some carried over from the Volume I campaign (and also the option to get the Volume 1 Hardcover Book as well – see the Volume II Kickstarter Page). These are all 8.5″x11″ editions (in softcover I believe):

• Tegel Manor [includes fold-out poster map] (Bob Bledsaw Sr.)
• Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor (Bob Bledsaw Sr. & Marc Summerlott)
• Citadel of Fire (Bob Bledsaw Sr. & Marc Summerlott)
• Dark Tower (Jennell Jaquays)
• Caverns of Thracia (Jennell Jaquays)
• Book of Treasure Maps (Jennell Jaquays)

Be sure to also check out my post on Goodman Game’s Original Adventures Reincarnated hardcover reprints of classic D&D Modules incorporating lots of bonus material.

Notations

¹ Note Dark Tower is not included in the Volume I book, but is included in Volume II – it was one of the modules written by Jennell Jaquays and Volume II is devoted to Jaquays’ work while at Judges Guild, including that module. Standard size versions of all 3 Jaquays’ modules are optional add-ons with Volume II.