Palace of the Vampire Queen

First in a series of three unrelated modules produced by Wee Warriors, Ltd, at the dawn of the Original D&D game. Subtitled "Dungeon Masters Kit".

Palace of the Vampire Queen by Pete and Judy Kerestan

The early printings of this module were distributed (but not actually produced) by TSR. Palace of the Vampire Queen has the distinction of being the first D&D module ever published (module G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief was the first module produced by TSR; the first scenario was "Temple of the Frog", included in the Blackmoor D&D supplement, which predates PotVQ by a few months).

The second "Dungeon Masters Kit" by Wee Warriors is Dwarven Glory. The third and final module in the series, Misty Isles, is not covered on The Acaeum, since it was neither produced nor distributed by TSR.

Printing Information

The contents of all versions of this module are identical, with the exception of format and cover artwork.

Palace of the Vampire Queen

First (1976):

Black-foldered version with red foil (artwork by Judy Kerestan)

Produced by Wee Warriors, distributed by TSR

Offset printed, with gray grid on maps

Either 18 or 24 total pages, standard-sized (8.5" x 11") loose-leaf (some copies have double-sided pages, others have single-sided)

Copyright page: Yellow or white, taped or glued to the inside cover of the black folder

Intro page: Yellow, single-sided

Contents page: White, double-sided. Front has a repeated "This Kit Contains" section, followed by a "Kit Use" section and a map legend. On the back is an expanded "Background" section

Five pages of Encounter Descriptions. White, double-sided

Ten pages of Maps. White, single-sided

The "quality" print, printed in El Segundo, CA at Judy Kerestan’s cousin Jerry Wellfonder’s print shop

TSR (who was the distributor) was replicating occasional missing pages of this print on their in-house photocopier; these replacement pages will show copier streaking on the lower right corner of the page

The only reference to PotVQ in TSR literature (that we’ve found, at least) mentions the black folder

Thanks to Matthias Bock, Kynan Connor, Frank Farris, Mike Hurley, Michael McAffee, Jeff Philbrick, Alan Silcock, and David Witts for help with this info

Second (1976?):

Bagged, yellow-covered (no artwork) version

Produced by Wee Warriors, distributed by TSR

Offset printed, with gray grid on maps

This offset printing is of slightly lower quality than the First print's; under magnification, the halftone dots that comprise the gray grid on the maps can be seen as splotchy and/or not uniform in size

Either 17 or 24 total pages, standard-sized (8.5" x 11") loose-leaf (some copies have double-sided pages, others have single-sided)

Intro page and Copyright page (one sheet): yellow (although a copy has been spotted that is white). Front (Intro page) has scrollwork on the outside border, and "This Kit Contains" and "Background" sections. On the back (Copyright page) is the module title and copyright information. Note that this page serves as the only "cover" for this print

Contents page: White, double-sided. Front has a repeated "This Kit Contains" section, followed by a "Kit Use" section and a map legend. On the back is an expanded "Background" section

Five pages of Encounter Descriptions. White, double-sided

Ten pages of Maps. White, single-sided

Our theory here is that these Second print copies were run off the same (but now dirty) printing plates as the First print's. However, due to cost reasons, a black folder was not produced for this print run. However, the module's author, Pete Kerestan, has stated that this print was actually the First, and that the black folder was printed later and bundled with leftover copies of this print. We disagree with this statement solely based on the "dirty plate" evidence in the printing

We have not spotted any TSR-photocopied replacement pages in this print

Thanks to Mike Hurley, Pete Kerestan, Jeremy Ligman, Michael McAffee, Ian Montgomery, and Paul Stormberg for help with this info

Third:

Bagged, yellow-covered (with artwork of a tower) version

Produced by Wee Warriors, distributed by TSR and/or Lou Zocchi

Photocopied, with a black, jagged grid inside the rooms on the maps

13 double-sided pages, standard-sized (8.5" x 11") loose-leaf

Cover page: title and a crude drawing, same artwork as the black folder of the First print

Intro page and Copyright page (one sheet): White. Front (Intro page) has scrollwork on the outside border, and "This Kit Contains" and "Background" sections. On the back (Copyright page) is the module title and copyright information

Contents page: White, double-sided. Front has a repeated "This Kit Contains" section, followed by a "Kit Use" section and a map legend. On the back is an expanded "Background" section

Five pages of Encounter Descriptions. White, double-sided

Five pages of Maps. White, double-sided

Produced at an unknown print shop in CA. Due to printing costs, this third printing featured a yellow-paper cover (with artwork) instead of the expensive foil-stamped black folders they were getting for a big discount at Jerry's shop. Many copies of this print were distributed by Lou Zocchi, and some feature his sticker on the copyright page

Thanks to Matthias Bock and Mike Hurley for help with this info, and for the scan

Fourth:

Bagged, yellow-covered (with artwork of a tower) version

Unknown who produced or distributed these copies

Photocopied, with no gray grid inside the rooms on the maps. The copier was evidently set too light to pick up the gray grid at all

13 double-sided pages, standard-sized (8.5" x 11") loose-leaf

Cover page: title and a crude drawing, same artwork as the black folder of the First print

Contents page: White, double-sided. Front has a repeated "This Kit Contains" section, followed by a "Kit Use" section and a map legend. On the back is an expanded "Background" section<

Five pages of Encounter Descriptions. White, double-sided

Five pages of Maps. White, double-sided

The "Bella PotVQ", so named due to the auction where this print was discovered

Unknown where this was done, but due to the age of the bag and other indicators, was probably done in the 1970's as opposed to recently

Thanks to Matthias Bock, Mike Hurley, and Stephen Post for help with this info, and to Matthias Bock for the scan

Fifth (1977 noted on second interior page):

Pamphlet-sized book, with the cover in a heavy parchment-colored paper stock (similar to the Original D&D Supplements of the same time frame)

Produced and distributed by Wee Warriors

Artwork on cover is by Morno (Brad Schenck), and is monocolor brown

There are 30 pages. Printing is on both sides of the pages except for the maps in the center of the booklet, which are single-sided and are printed in black. The maps are stapled inside the booklet. Thus, to really use the adventure, you have to take it apart

This is simply the content of the previous editions diminished into a half-size book, similar to the later printings of Dwarven Glory

Thanks to Matthias Bock and Jeff Philbrick for help with this info, and to Daniel Blum for the scan<

Sixth (1977 noted on first interior page):

Pamphlet-sized book, with the cover in a heavy parchment-colored paper stock (similar to the Original D&D Supplements of the same time frame)

Produced and distributed by Wee Warriors

Artwork on cover is by Morno (Brad Schenck), and is now rendered in red and green ink. Two lines have been added to the bottom of the front cover: "Palace of the Vampire Queen" and "Pre-Factored Adventure For Use in Role Playing Games"

There are 28 pages. Printing is on both sides of the pages except for the maps in the center of the booklet, which are single-sided and are printed in a magenta color. The maps are stapled inside the booklet. Thus, to really use the adventure, you have to take it apart

On the last interior page is an advertisement for Planetmaster

This is simply the content of the previous editions diminished into a half-size book, similar to the later printings of Dwarven Glory

Thanks to Matthias Bock and Jeff Philbrick for help with this info, and to Jeff Philbrick for the scan<

Current Market

Any printing of Palace of the Vampire Queen is exceedingly rare, but especially the full-sized printings.

The following represents The Acaeum's current valuation of these items, dependent upon condition. Values are updated at the beginning of the month, provided there were new public sales. Click the titles to view active eBay auctions!

	Fair	Good	VGood	Fine	VFine	NMint

Palace of the Vampire Queen 1st print	Fair$598	Good$1076	VGood$1435	Fine$1794	VFine$2153	NMint$2392
Palace of the Vampire Queen 2nd print	Fair$381	Good$685	VGood$913	Fine$1142	VFine$1370	NMint$1522
Palace of the Vampire Queen 3rd print	Fair$417	Good$751	VGood$1002	Fine$1252	VFine$1503	NMint$1669
Palace of the Vampire Queen 4th print	Fair$100	Good$180	VGood$240	Fine$300	VFine$360	NMint$400
Palace of the Vampire Queen 5th print	Fair$166	Good$299	VGood$399	Fine$498	VFine$598	NMint$664
Palace of the Vampire Queen 6th print	Fair$449	Good$809	VGood$1079	Fine$1348	VFine$1618	NMint$1798