Planet Stories - Paizo • Collecting General

The Acaeum Forums • Collecting General - Non TSR

Planet Stories - Paizo
	Page 1 of 1

Author

FormCritic
Grandstanding Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 6720
Joined: Jul 16, 2005
Last Visit: Sep 30, 2022

Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 7:06 pm

http://paizo.com/planetStories

I got three of these books from Paizo as door prizes at PaizoCon 2010.

They handed out the three Moocock pastiche novels about Mars:

Masters of the Pit

City of the Beast

Lord of the Spiders

As examples of the genre, they actually don't suck.

Question is...do these count as "game publications?" They were printed by a gaming company and given out at a gaming convention..... :?:

"But I have watched the dragons come, fire-eyed, across the world."

copycat
Sage Collector

Posts: 2736
Joined: May 31, 2007
Last Visit: Mar 22, 2021

Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 7:11 pm

I would say no, unless they demonstrably add something to a game, such as Gord the Rogue does for details about Greyhawk (and even then, I would argue that they are not game material, either, but this is more my dislike for "game novels" than anything about them specifically.)

Those who can, don't. Those who should not, do.

JohnGaunt
Sage Collector

Posts: 2332
Joined: Feb 20, 2006
Last Visit: Aug 27, 2017
Location: Shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods

Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 10:03 pm

FormCritic wrote:As examples of the genre, they actually don't suck.

That is the answer . . . they are fantasy novels and not game materials. They show a writer who is honing his skills. They are a nice door prize, regardless.

Plaag
Long-Winded Collector
Subweb Admin
JG Valuation Board

Posts: 4541
Joined: Nov 08, 2002
Last Visit: Mar 27, 2023
Location: Land of 10,000 ponds

Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 10:48 am

Paizo does have Pathfinder Tales now, with books set in their world of Golarion.

ShaneG.

I reject your reality and substitute my own

Keith the Thief
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1026
Joined: Jun 05, 2005
Last Visit: Oct 30, 2022
Location: Huntsville, Ala.

Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 10:46 pm

FormCritic wrote:http://paizo.com/planetStories

I got three of these books from Paizo as door prizes at PaizoCon 2010.

They handed out the three Moocock pastiche novels about Mars:

Masters of the Pit

City of the Beast

Lord of the Spiders

I wasn't aware of the fact that Moorcock had done a series set on Mars.
Were Moorcock's novels done as an homage to Burroughs?
Or did he actually write novels with the same setting as Burroughs' Mars books?

By the way, A Princess of Mars is actually on summer reading lists now for the local schools.

formcritic wrote:As examples of the genre, they actually don't suck.

Question is...do these count as "game publications?" They were printed by a gaming company and given out at a gaming convention.....

Do they tie-in to one of the Adventure Path series, by chance?
That'd be really, really cool if they did.
And it wouldn't surprise me, either.
Pathfinder's authors do a damn good job of following the creative spirit of OD&D, with its suggestions to use Tharks and White Apes, and so on.

AKP

"Never let it be said I didn’t do the least I could do."

faro
Long-Winded Collector

Posts: 3155
Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Last Visit: Feb 05, 2016
Location: UK

Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 11:26 pm

Keith the Thief wrote:Were Moorcock's novels done as an homage to Burroughs?

More for fun, although comparisons are inevitable; q.v. http://www.blackgate.com/city-of-the-be ... -moorcock/

=

@Mark: Moocock? Sounds very un-Shakespearean, that. *whips typo into line* :twisted:

(Oh; and good timing on picking up Bottle City, btw

)

"7.3 ORGANIZING THE PARTY: Always have a keg, even if it's BYOB...
7.4 TAKING THE GAME SERIOUSLY: Don't"

Keith the Thief
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1026
Joined: Jun 05, 2005
Last Visit: Oct 30, 2022
Location: Huntsville, Ala.

Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 9:30 am

faro wrote:More for fun, although comparisons are inevitable; q.v. http://www.blackgate.com/city-of-the-be ... -moorcock/

My interest has been piqued.
Was there ever a RPG or D&D campaign setting for Burroughs' Mars?

Somewhere, in back of my mind, I seem to recall his estate keeps his stuff close-hold. Or maybe I'm thinking of something else, like breakfast

AKP

"Never let it be said I didn’t do the least I could do."

faro
Long-Winded Collector

Posts: 3155
Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Last Visit: Feb 05, 2016
Location: UK

Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 11:09 am

They weren't exactly keen on TSR's Warriors of Mars whereas Heritage's John Carter, Warlord of Mars was licensed and also skirmishes close to RPG territory.
Most "true RPGs" (ymmv definition) in the territory tend to be deliberately oblique in their approach for those "estate" reasons (I suspect this one was squashed for that reason; anyone know?), but don't forget that OD&D is deliberately ERB (& JRRT) compliant.

Hmm... breakfast is good, too, of course.

"7.3 ORGANIZING THE PARTY: Always have a keg, even if it's BYOB...
7.4 TAKING THE GAME SERIOUSLY: Don't"

Keith the Thief
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1026
Joined: Jun 05, 2005
Last Visit: Oct 30, 2022
Location: Huntsville, Ala.

Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 2:09 pm

faro wrote:They weren't exactly keen on TSR's Warriors of Mars whereas Heritage's John Carter, Warlord of Mars was licensed and also skirmishes close to RPG territory.
Most "true RPGs" (ymmv definition) in the territory tend to be deliberately oblique in their approach for those "estate" reasons (I suspect this one was squashed for that reason; anyone know?), but don't forget that OD&D is deliberately ERB (& JRRT) compliant.

Hmm... breakfast is good, too, of course.

Shadows of a Dying World doesn't make any pretenses at all, does it?
Might be worth tracking down if there were a hardcopy version.
I wouldn't be interested in a CD.

Savage Worlds Mars seems more like what I'd be interested in.
It may go on my wish list, but closer to the bottom than the top.

Wonder why the Burroughs estate is so strict.
You can download his books for free.
I understand the Tolkein estate's POV, but is the Burroughs family making any real money these days?

Breakfast was good, btw.
I knew you'd been wondering: Scrambled eggs with cheese, toast and real butter. Hot coffee.
The kids love it when I cook.
My wife, not so much (j/k)

AKP

"Never let it be said I didn’t do the least I could do."

SoulCatcher78
Prolific Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 580
Joined: Mar 17, 2009
Last Visit: Dec 11, 2022
Location: Indiana, USA

Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 7:17 pm

Exile Game Studio is going to produce Secrets of Mars next year for Hollow Earth Expeditions. I wonder how involved they had to be with the Burroughs estate.

faro
Long-Winded Collector

Posts: 3155
Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Last Visit: Feb 05, 2016
Location: UK

Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 8:03 pm

Keith the Thief wrote:Shadows of a Dying World doesn't make any pretenses at all, does it?
Might be worth tracking down if there were a hardcopy version.
I wouldn't be interested in a CD.

After a quick look around, since I hadn't seen any further news about this one for some time... try http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/e ... ld/4287389

Keith the Thief wrote:Breakfast was good, btw.
I knew you'd been wondering: Scrambled eggs with cheese, toast and real butter. Hot coffee.
The kids love it when I cook.
My wife, not so much (j/k)

AKP

Darn, hungry again... probably not a good idea at 1am. :lol:

"7.3 ORGANIZING THE PARTY: Always have a keg, even if it's BYOB...
7.4 TAKING THE GAME SERIOUSLY: Don't"

FormCritic
Grandstanding Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 6720
Joined: Jul 16, 2005
Last Visit: Sep 30, 2022

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 2:03 am

The Moorcock books were originally published under the name Edward P. Bradbury, with the double intent of using last Bradbury's name and placing the paperbacks on the shelf next to Burroughs.

So, a shopper sees Burroughs, looks for another book about Mars and finds a novel about "Kane of Old Mars." Ka-ching!

Again, for what they are, they read pretty well. The main character lives by a modified Code of the Old West and makes the usual mistakes. Basically, he fails to take elementary precautions about anything...and so ends up tumbling through battles and quests in an exotic science/fantasy world, with the usual not-shocking plot twists and long-foreseen-by-the-reader fortuitous coincidences. (Sort of like the Harry Potter novels, actually.)

You could do worse...especially if you paid 50 cents for a paperback in the early 70's.

"But I have watched the dragons come, fire-eyed, across the world."

FormCritic
Grandstanding Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 6720
Joined: Jul 16, 2005
Last Visit: Sep 30, 2022

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 2:03 am

faro wrote:(Oh; and good timing on picking up Bottle City, btw )

Thanks for pointing it out.

"But I have watched the dragons come, fire-eyed, across the world."

The Acaeum Forums • Collecting General - Non TSR

Page 1 of 1