dungeondevil
3rd Level Troll
Give me grain and I'll give you guns!
Posts: 174
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Post by dungeondevil on Apr 11, 2017 15:13:10 GMT -5
Does anyone know if the Sorcerer's Apprentice magazine is available in PDF form like the rulebooks and the adventures? I don't know of any places that have all 17 (?) available together in one bundle, and Ebay doesn't have much to choose from.
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Post by ProfGremlin on Apr 11, 2017 23:24:11 GMT -5
DungeonDevil, check-in with Rick over at Flying Buffalo. They published the 'zine in the first place and their page indicates they have back issues every once in awhile. I take that to mean they trip over an old box in the storeroom and find some issues that were never sold. Just scroll down on the linked page for the listing.
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Post by bigjackbrass on Apr 12, 2017 1:51:12 GMT -5
The problem with reprinting magazines is generally down to who owns the rights to all of the content. With a supplement or adventure you're dealing with only a few people, but tracking down the rights holders for a magazine is a huge task.
Dragon, White Dwarf, Heroes... they've all had PDF releases that were hastily withdrawn. Although some magazines are available electronically (you can legally obtain copies of Space Gamer andFantasy Gamer, for example) they tend to be the exceptions. Gaming mags rarely made money in print, so it's hard for a publisher to justify the expense and effort involved in republishing them thirty-odd years later.
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dekh
5th Level Troll
dekh by Grumlahk
Posts: 622
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Post by dekh on Apr 12, 2017 4:18:57 GMT -5
I've asked Rick this in the past, the answer is along the lines of FBI only had first print rights and it's pretty much impossible to track down current copyright holders to negotiate a digital release.
Your best bet is to try the second hand market though FBI may still have copies of some issues.
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Post by nebless on Apr 12, 2017 9:35:09 GMT -5
If you're looking for the adventures that were in the magazine, Flying Buffalo came out with the "ADVENTURERS COMPENDIUM" a while back that includes the 9 solo adventures and 3 GM adventures that were printed in SA. You can find it here halfway down the page: www.flyingbuffalo.com/solo.htm
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dungeondevil
3rd Level Troll
Give me grain and I'll give you guns!
Posts: 174
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Post by dungeondevil on Apr 12, 2017 10:48:44 GMT -5
Is there content in the mags worth seeking out beyond the adventures?
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Post by mgtremaine on Apr 12, 2017 11:40:28 GMT -5
Is there content in the mags worth seeking out beyond the adventures? Yes.. SA was one of the all time best magazines content wise. The fiction, the rules, the art.... Truly a gem. I was lucky enough to have a subscription back in the day. -Mike
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Post by khaboom on Apr 12, 2017 19:02:55 GMT -5
I have a pretty full set - I wholeheartedly agree with the acclaim
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Apr 12, 2017 21:29:23 GMT -5
I had all but the first or second issue. All destroyed in a flood. The loss of SA hurt worse than my (few) copies of Marvel Mystery Comics from 1943.
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andrew
3rd Level Troll
Posts: 110
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Post by andrew on Apr 12, 2017 21:42:51 GMT -5
Is there content in the mags worth seeking out beyond the adventures? They were able to get some big name fantasy authors' work to appear in their pages--Roger Zelazny, Karl Edward Wagner, Manly Wade Wellman, Tanith Lee, Frederik Pohl to name but a few. For a "small" game magazine to pull that off is a huge achievement.
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dungeondevil
3rd Level Troll
Give me grain and I'll give you guns!
Posts: 174
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Post by dungeondevil on Apr 13, 2017 12:52:33 GMT -5
Sounds pretty schweet. Shame it's now hard-to-find. I'll try to contact FB and see what they may have.
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Post by zanshin on Apr 13, 2017 13:00:20 GMT -5
Is there content in the mags worth seeking out beyond the adventures? Yes.. SA was one of the all time best magazines content wise. The fiction, the rules, the art.... Truly a gem. I was lucky enough to have a subscription back in the day. -Mike I have to assent - the only magazine that came close was early White Dwarf (before it became the promozine for Warhammer products). Very high quality in every regard. I have not got a complete collection but I treasure the ones I do have.
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Post by peterpanda on Apr 13, 2017 13:45:58 GMT -5
I'm slowly unpacking from our house move of over a year and a half ago (I know, pretty pathetic, but we both work full-time jobs and are raising a kid) and in one of the remaining boxes to be opened is my complete collection of SA magazines. I had a subscription back in the day, although it started with Issue 3 so I had to go to my local "Hobby Lobby" to find Issues 1 and 2. Sadly, the cover for my Issue 1 tore off, although it did so cleanly so I still have them together, just no longer attached. I also have an additional copy of Issue 3 that has blank pages in it due to a printing mistake (apparently this happened to other subscribers as well because FBI sent me a replacement copy).
As Andrew mentioned, one of the most noteworthy achievements of SA was managing to get unique fantasy fiction story contributions from big-name authors. I believe that in some cases the only appearance of the story is in SA which for fans of the author in question makes tracking it down a bit of a challenge.
It was a great magazine but it wasn't profitable so, sadly, it was discontinued.
PeterPanda
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Post by bigjackbrass on Apr 13, 2017 14:03:20 GMT -5
I also have an additional copy of Issue 3 that has blank pages in it due to a printing mistake (apparently this happened to other subscribers as well because FBI sent me a replacement copy). My copy of issue 7 is the same, a couple of pages unprinted. Rick Loomis kindly supplied photocopies of what was missing, as by the time I bought it the magazine was long OOP.
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Post by peterpanda on Apr 24, 2017 13:47:13 GMT -5
My unpacking continues, and just yesterday I uncovered a manila folder containing all of my correspondence with the fine folks at Flying Buffalo, Inc. back in the day. And, by "back in the day," I am referring to 1979-1986. Honestly, I'd forgotten that I'd saved all these letters so it was kind of a neat find for me.
The file contains letters from Debra Wykle, Mike Stackpole, Jason Sato, and, of course, Mr. Grimtooth himself. Anyway, many of the letters pertain to Sorcerer's Apprentice Magazine and my feedback to FBI/Blade on what I liked and what I hoped to see in future issues. The last one, dating from 1986 and from Mike Stackpole, informed me that future issues of SA were going to come out by a Mr. Bob Liddil, located in Peterborough, NH. This is probably old hat news to the folks here, but just in case it's not, I thought I'd pass it along.
The letter mentioned that the folks at FBI would continue to support Bob and had already sent him material for the next issue, but, obviously, it appears things didn't work out.
Just thought this little historical tidbit might be of interest to some.
PeterPanda
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