The "Non-TSR Recent Fun Finds" Thread

Posts: 405 · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 6:51 pm

FormCritic wrote:

My wife just called from Goodwill to mention that she picked up Palladium's Robotech RPG and the Macross 2 supplement for, like $3 each.

And I think I mentioned earlier...but maybe not...she's really hot too. cheers

So is it Robotech or the wife you're classifying as the recent fun find?

Relax, relax, I've already got my coat.

Posts: 342 · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:37 pm

Picked up a Thieves World boxed Adventure pack. Didn't know that it was done by Chaosium and Midkemia. I think people get it confused with the Sanctuary boxed game.

Posts: 3999 · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:42 pm

The Thieves World stuff was all Chaosium, as I recall. The boxed sets are a pretty good gaming value, since you get a city, personalities and an undercity map.

Midkemia and Chaosium shared publishing on items like Tulan of the Isles and City, as well as some other Midkemia-related publications.

According to Greg Stafford (founder of Chaosium), there was once a jolly age in which people were friends and who owned the rights to what was not so much an issue as publishing good items and enjoying the hobby business.

Posts: 2611 · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:43 pm

One of my favorite all-time items. Not that that stops me from getting the name mixed up with Thieves Guild all the time ...

Posts: 342 · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:55 pm

FormCritic wrote:

The Thieves World stuff was all Chaosium, as I recall. The boxed sets are a pretty good gaming value, since you get a city, personalities and an undercity map.

Midkemia and Chaosium shared publishing on items like Tulan of the Isles and City, as well as some other Midkemia-related publications.

According to Greg Stafford (founder of Chaosium), there was once a jolly age in which people were friends and who owned the rights to what was not so much an issue as publishing good items and enjoying the hobby business.

I thought the Thieves World work was all chaosium, but Midkemia is one of the credited contributors on the boxed adventure pack

Posts: 342 · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:57 pm

Xaxaxe wrote:

One of my favorite all-time items. Not that that stops me from getting the name mixed up with Thieves Guild all the time ...

I liked the Thieves Guild stuff at the time, too, but I fondly remember reading the Thieves World books as they came out and robbing them for gaming ideas.

Posts: 3999 · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:58 pm

Xaxaxe wrote:

One of my favorite all-time items. Not that that stops me from getting the name mixed up with Thieves Guild all the time ...

Thieves Guild: Haven

Thieves World: Sanctuary

The city names invite confusion, since they are essentially the same name.

As I understand from conversations with those connected to the two projects, the apparent convergence is the result of synchronicity, rather than a plan.

Thieves World carries more literary weight because of the number of name authors who have added to the background. The setting is less attractive to me since it has a slight Asian feel to it...one has the feeling that the stories take place in Burma or a world where Asian themes have leaked over to Europe. (Rather like a Conan story, now that I think about it.)

Thieves Guild is more fun for me just because the works convey a greater sense of just amateurs having fun. Aside from Thieves Guild II, The Tombs of Shael Chun, which has a decidedly Near Eastern feel to it....the Thieves Guild materials feel more European and the city of Haven is basically a rendition of Paris. Thieves Guild III, The Duke's Dress Ball, is one of my favorite outlaw scenarios.

Posts: 2853 · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 12:46 am

JZavoda wrote:

I thought the Thieves World work was all chaosium, but Midkemia is one of the credited contributors on the boxed adventure pack

That's for the city random encounters section, which is basically adapted from Midkemia's Cities book.

Posts: 1193 · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 2:20 am

FormCritic wrote:

Thieves World carries more literary weight because of the number of name authors who have added to the background. The setting is less attractive to me since it has a slight Asian feel to it...one has the feeling that the stories take place in Burma or a world where Asian themes have leaked over to Europe. (Rather like a Conan story, now that I think about it.)

Wow, just piqued my interest. I had owned all the Thieves World stuff at one point but sold it without ever getting the chance to read it. Can you give me a better idea of the Asian feel to the setting before I go out and try repurchasing the stuff? Thanks!

Posts: 342 · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 11:35 am

mandalaymoon wrote:

Wow, just piqued my interest. I had owned all the Thieves World stuff at one point but sold it without ever getting the chance to read it. Can you give me a better idea of the Asian feel to the setting before I go out and try repurchasing the stuff? Thanks!

At one point in the stories the city is invaded and the invaders have an oriental-ish culture. A little bit after that I lost interest in the series myself (ended up being 12 shared worlds and maybe a dozen novels by individual authors. I believe Lynn Abbey started to continue the series again) I haven't looked through the adventure pack yet so I don't know how much of the invaders are a part of it (I didn't think they were mentioned in the RPG material, but it has been decades since I last checked these out and I'm not sure).

Posts: 1245 · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 2:49 pm

Quote:

The Thieves World stuff was all Chaosium, as I recall.

There are a few FASA items, as well. I think only 2. Both modules.

Posts: 2198 · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 3:11 pm

serleran wrote:

There are a few FASA items, as well. I think only 2. Both modules.

Yes, 4 FASA items actually: Blue Camel (con giveaway), Traitor, Spirit Stones and Dark Assassin.

Posts: 3999 · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 4:58 pm

mandalaymoon wrote:

Wow, just piqued my interest. I had owned all the Thieves World stuff at one point but sold it without ever getting the chance to read it. Can you give me a better idea of the Asian feel to the setting before I go out and try repurchasing the stuff? Thanks!

I am referring specifically to the novels and short story collections and I am talking in terms of stereotypes...with no particular intent of slandering Asians in general.

The stories features things like monks, sinister Asian-like cults, bizarre names and a despised government that reads like the Mongol Empire or a Chinese dynasty.

YMMV, but I see the Hell Hounds (the local city guard force) as wearing pointy, Persian helmets, carrying scimitars and generally acting like Hyrkanians from the Conan stories.

The characters act and think like Chinese peasants from a martial arts movie, despising the authorities because they have no stake in the government or society at large, and obeying the laws so long as there is a threat of immediate punishment...rather than from any sense of right or wrong. (Even given that these stories are about thieves, everyone in the stories seems to think this way.) Everyone is cynical and self-interested. Religion is a force to be feared and religious figures are self-seeking opportunists. Judges are always corrupt and the police are licensed criminals.

Most of the villains would fit nicely in an Indiana Jones movie...one of the politically incorrect ones, where sinister cults stalk India and turbaned stereotypes run through the city tossing daggers, betraying each other and sneering over their pointy beards. Most of them could be named Fu Manchu or Emperor Mung without detracting any from their descriptions or behavior patterns.

I am talking about the feel of the fiction, which has that alien quality that anything from Asia carries when viewed by Westerners. (I imagine that Asians view Western things in a similar way.) There is nothing of the high fantasy genre here. I could picture myself in a setting like Tolkien...but I cannot pick out a single character in the Thieves World stories to identify with, or any reason to cheer from them over the villains.

Posts: 2611 · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 5:22 pm

It's an interesting thing about literature ... people can come away with completely different impressions.

I read the first three TW volumes for sure and I seem to remember starting on the fourth before losing a bit of steam ... and I never got a single impression of Asia! Smile

The Middle East, maybe ... but no Asia for me. I just don't remember that at all.

Disclaimer: Mark is likely right; he strikes me as a careful reader. Plus, at that age, I was more focused on finding any scenes with boobies.

Posts: 2611 · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 5:50 pm

Sigh ... yet another Acaeum-inspired impulse buy:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320264356993&s sPageName=STRK:MEAFB:IT

Yeah, it makes perfect sense to buy new stuff when you're moving. But, damnit, I wants to read me some Thieves World.

Posts: 3999 · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 5:53 pm

Remember that the Middle East is pretty much in Asia, with a string of desert countries across North Africa tacked on.

Posts: 342 · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:07 pm

Xaxaxe wrote:

Sigh ... yet another Acaeum-inspired impulse buy:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320264356993&s sPageName=STRK:MEAFB:IT

Yeah, it makes perfect sense to buy new stuff when you're moving. But, damnit, I wants to read me some Thieves World.

Looks like you have the first four Thieves World books (and a few of his myth books). These had the best stories and best writers for the series.

Posts: 7604 · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:16 am

i finally got hold of small town shops, by sage lore productions, at long last. been after that a while, so happy i now have it in my hands!!

Posts: 2198 · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:22 am

killjoy32 wrote:

i finally got hold of small town shops, by sage lore productions, at long last. been after that a while, so happy i now have it in my hands!!

Nice pick up Al! The cover price looks different from the one here:
http://tomeoftreasures.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2490

Great, another one to add to the list.

Posts: 7604 · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:28 am

Mars wrote:

Nice pick up Al! The cover price looks different from the one here:
http://tomeoftreasures.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2490

Great, another one to add to the list.

yeah i checked that - it has that price on the page itself and then a sticker placed over it with the $8.95 price, but in the same font as the one below it. so done at source?

great item though - i really like stuff like this.