updated 3/4/04
CONTENTS:
The Pick a Path to Adventure Series
TSR's Forgotten Realms: The Grand
Tour
TSR's D&D Coloring Books
The UK Annuals
Marvel's Super Special (1987) Prison
Without Walls
Le Grand Jour (A French
book)
![[Pick a path to adventure books]](books/pickapath.gif){kind=small}
This series of six children's books was published in 1985 by TSR. Each book puts the reader in the shoes of a different kid, pitting them against Venger and other wicked foes. They were printed and sold in the United States, and to my knowledge remain the ONLY books starring the characters that were available in America.
(Click on the thumbnail to see the cover; the title link leads to the full text of the book, if available)
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by Margaret Weis You are Bobby. Venger holds your companions captive in the fearful Tower of Midnight Dreams, where dreams come alive, and it's up to you and Uni to save them! |
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by Jean Blashfield You are Presto. You and Eric are stranded in a weird land, and worst of all, your spells are working all wrong. |
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by Linda Jacobs You are Sheila. Agnes the witch has lost her spellbook, the only source of a spell that can save her home from Tiamat. |
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by Linda Lowery You are Eric's brother, Michael. How you got to this weird Realm is beyond you, but you're stuck in a maze with your obnoxious older brother, tyring to save a golden dragon from Venger. |
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by Linda Jacobs You are Hank. You must help Folderol, a laughing blue monkey-like Nablob, find the missing true King of Aknar before Venger takes over the kingdom. |
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by Linda Lowery You are Diana. The evil Star Snatcher has captured your friends! The wicked fairy steals stars from the sky, and it's up to you to stop her, save your friends, and restore the stars to their rightful place. |
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"Preston" and his five friends meet Elmister...apparently our gang never made it out of the Realm. Elmister takes Preston on a tour of the Forgotten Realms, teaching him little lessons along the way. This was a free "TSR Limited Edition" promotional comic distributed to comic shops and at conventions in 1996 (there are three others with similar themes displaying other TSR worlds like Ravenloft.). Click here for more information and pictures. |
![[Coloring Books]](books/coloring.gif){kind=small}
There were at least five AD&D coloring books that
were sold in 1983. They did not star the kids- they starred TSR's
other liscenced characters who later made cameos in the D&D Cartoon
(Strongheart, Warduke, and Kelek). There is, however, an ad for the
cartoon show in the back of the book. The story of the lost wand
seems a cross between a D&D campaign and a cheesy cartoon, demonstrating
theif abilities and spells, etc. I've only managed to get copies
of two of them, but here are the rest of the titles that I know of:
The Characters Coloring Book
The Lost Wand
The Crown of Rulership
The Rescue of Ringlerun
The Magical Coloring Book (super-size)
These two hardcover books were published in Great Britain
by World International Publishing Limited, one in 1986, one in 1987.
The 1987 Annual is harder to find, which is just as well because it is
atrociously bad. Both of the books are full of mistakes- Eric carries
a sword in the stories, Presto uses a pouch instead of his hat, and Uni
is male. And only those who actually posess the model sheets would
realize that all of the pictures were copied directly from them...
But enough criticism-- take a look and judge for yourself!
The 1986 Annual contains the following stories:
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Quest for the Stolen Sapphire Gruesome Goblins Circus of Monsters Mine of Terror A Cold Spell The Forbidden Valley |
The 1987 D&D Annual:
The quality dropped enormously in this annual.
The stories are feeble (Presto rebells against DM?) and you can
tell by the cover that whoever drew it knew nothing about the series.
(Is that Venger
RIDING Tiamat?!
Eh? And since when is he SMALLER than DM??) It contains the
following stories as well as a pathetically drawn version of "Eye of the
Beholder" (changed to "Eye of the Watchman") that was so awful I didn't
even bother scanning it.
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Everything in the Garden...Is Lovely? The Key to All Power Eye of the Watchman |
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This is pretty much a straight retelling of the episode 'Prison Without Walls,' in which the kids must find and free the Spellbinder Lukion before the three suns converge. The interesting thing, however, is that it looks like it was drawn in another language (Spanish or Italian, perhaps?) then the dialogue retranslated back to English. The art is decent and I'll scan in a few pictures soon. |
Le Sourire Du Dragon:
![[Le Grand Jour]](books/legrandjour.gif){kind=small}
This book was produced in France, and is a retelling
of Eric's "Day of the Dungeonmaster." Kimmy, who was lucky enough
to find it and kind enough to send pictures, says: "Basically these
are kid books that are a very rough outline of the episode. They don't
contain all the cute banter/fun lines that bring the characters to life.
Just the episode's nitty-gritty. And all the pics are drawings that look
half taken from the model sheets and half from the episode."
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La Derniere Illusion- The Last Illusion
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