High Fantasy - Jeffrey C. Dillow 1978

[oldgamer]

Hello,

I'm still working my way through all the old games I had stored at my parents home when they were alive. My latest question is about an old RPG called High Fantasy, Fantasy Productions, by the afortementioned Mr. Dillow.

The copy I have is an 8 1/2"x11" stapled pamphlet/booklet , orange front with mostly white interior pages ( a couple of colored pages for tables, as I recall ) . 44 pages.

Just wondering if you folks had an idea as to value.

I am about to place a used copy of Goblin ( Dwarfstar ) on eBay, and thought I would list this one as well, but I wanted to put an appropriate reserve on the rpg, on the off chance it had any value.

One of the interesting points regarding this publication is that he dedicated the game in memory of two people, James Brodar and Spencer Eschbach, it left me wondering what the story was there, what happened to them, etc.

Any info you could provide as to valuation would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[oldgamer]

btw, just a quick vent, one of the things that just irritates the heck out of me. eBay now thinks it is pretty cool, I guess, to automatically switch a search keyword out if your original search had 0 results. So, rather than me getting 0 responses to my search of "Jeff Dillow", whereby I could immediately modify the search to my needs, and hone in on the ellusive High Fantasy RPG I am looking for, I get to look at 54 Jeff Gordon Pillow results. Seriously, eBay, don't mess with me today. At least they didn't try to sell me Jeffrey Dillow Pillows, that would have felt vaguely, ahh, awkward.

[Mars]

We have a thread with a bunch of High Fantasy prints here:

http://tomeoftreasures.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=568

If you are talking about the earlier version with the orange cover, it would probably be about $150 or so.

[oldgamer]

Yeah, the orange cover is the one I have. It doesn't look as professionally done as the newer versions. Thanks!


Here is a pic of the front:



Basically, it's been in a box with other books and games since I bought it, probably from a game store in Indianapolis or Bloomington, in late seventies.

[jcdillow]

I don’t normally respond to questions about High Fantasy but you asked one that I cannot ignore. Jim and Spencer were my best friends in college. I wrote High Fantasy while attending Indiana University. I played with Jim and Spence every week while I perfected the rules. Shortly after graduating Jim and Spence went on a weekend vacation and I was supposed to follow. I cancelled at the last second.

They both passed away from a boating accident. They were caught off guard by a large storm that capsized the boat. One of them made it to shore looked around and saw that our friend was still out on the lake. Without hesitating he swam back out to try and find him. Then he too passed away.

My wife and I took what little cash we had and published the orange High Fantasy book you possess. Despite the limited artwork it sold enough to gain the attention of a hobby store distribution company. A color version was created and it in turn sold enough to catch the attention of Reston Publishing/Prentice Hall. A series of books followed. There was even a Wizards and Warriors television series that came out. If you look closely enough at the fine print at the end of the series you can see a thank you or some type of acknowledgement to High Fantasy.

Real adventures, real friends and really missed.

Jeffrey C. Dillow

[oldgamer]

Wow, thanks for the information. That is very touching, and an amazing account of what true friendship really means, going back into danger to help save someone. I am sure it probably hurts to think about it, even now.

My mom passed away, and I have been reminiscing about my old games and times as I cleaned all of my stuff out of her house. This was one of several rpgs that I had stored from back in the day. Back then, 'avid gamer' wouldn't have begun to describe me. I was the kind of guy that broke his bed down and stored it for four months, so he could play a game of Terrible Swift Sword with friends, lol. So, I bought everything I could get my hands on.

Someone PMmed me here and offered to buy this copy, but I have not gotten organized and responded with pictures.

Thanks once again, Mr. Dillow, for your response, it made me sad, but in a good way.

Have a great life.

Oh, p.s., I went to IU too, class of '84, and I would have gotten a lot better grades if role playing games had not existed. Too much fun!

**ack had to change 'Killer Angels' to 'Terrible Swift Sword'.

[Mars]

Its always nice to have an author stop by and give us a personal tidbit on the history of their item - even if it is a sad story.

We have identified several different prints of High Fantasy listed here:

http://tomeoftreasures.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=568

http://tomeoftreasures.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=571

It seems like in the earlier days of High Fantasy that a few different prints were made when stock ran out - the inside cover was udpated and eventually put on the book as a cardstock cover. Do you by chance remember how big these print runs might have been?

[scribe]

Welcome Jeff! If you have a few moments, it's always great to get some insight from the authors. Thank you for stopping by to register.
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