[Astrifiammante] Gary Gygax's Necropolis: published vs unpublished version

The quirky tag ‘Astrifiammante’ of this post signals that the topic, while still RPG-related, concerns obscure, vintage, or collector’s curiosity RPGs.

If you're a fan of such tidbits, this post is for you. If you're only interested in the VI·VIII·X RPG, then this post covers something else entirely.

Recently, I was lucky enough to come across a very particular item: a pre-publication draft of an unpublished adventure by Gary Gygax. I’m referring to the 1989 Necropolis module from New Infinites which has never seen the light whereas many of you might instead be familiar with the version published in 1992 for the Dangerous Journeys RPG.

Since several people have asked me about this module, I decided to write this post and share a link with anyone interested in taking a glance at this obscure item. Some time ago, I would have written about this in Italian on Astrifiammante, but given the interest from those who reached out, I’ve decided to write it here in English, though I still want to honor Astrifiammante, because this kind of post is exactly its territory!

This is a comparison of the two versions: a 128 single-face printed draft with plastic binding and a 224-page softback book.

Comparisons of tables of contents

The comparison of the two tables of contents helps to understand where and how the module has been changed from the first unpublished version to the second one.

The three following pictures are the preface pages, where the second one helps the reader to be introduced in the line of products of the New Infinites:

The following four pages are the introduction of the adventure:

Hope you enjoyed this trip through the first pages of this module, this is the Astrifiammante will to spread knowledge and curiosity on old fashioned (and mostly forgotten) fantasy RPGs bitd!