Ok, I'm confused, or just stupid, but I just acquired a copy of this book and, while not in the greatest condition (definitely not in collectible shape; I'd rate it as one step above poor, or Poor +), is an interesting read... it still has me baffled. According to a website I found (I think it was the Afterglow Rare Non-TSR one) it lists that title as being published by a company called Imagination Unlimited. The copy I have says 1st printing, written by Bill Underwood, but published by The Game Masters in 1980.

Anyone know more about it?

Are there two different books with the same name, released by two different companies at the same time?

I hate not being knowledgeable.

Thanks.

Hey, guess what? That's me

Sorry for the delayed response. I hope you see this.

I am Bill Underwood and I am honored to be told that it was a good set of rules. It doesn't quite play as well as I had wished but it was probably well regarded back in 1980 when I wrote it.

I was a senior at K.U. and I printed 500 copies at the local university press. I had it perfect bound at Messeraul (?) printing in Lawrence, KS. I incorporated in Kansas with some friends as Imagination Unlimited, LTD. We had originally called the company "The Game Masters".

We sold out of the first 500 copies and printed 1000 more but that was about it. We had production problems and for various obscure reasons, the company folded around late 1983. We only printed the one book (2 editions) and a few other things. One module "Ice Tower of the Frozen Wind" was a BMG tournament scenario at Fool Con 1983 (?) (sci-fi fantasy convention in Overland Park, KS) and a hundred or less copies of the scenario were published. We also printed "Geomorphic Wilderness Hexagons", a referee outdoor wilderness utility.

Thanks for asking,

===Bill Underwood===

Wow, sweet. An answer from the one man who could be considered the only expert on the matter. 500 copies, only, bear the "1st print" stigma, huh? Yay! That makes me even more happy with my acquisition.

I must say I hold the book as one of my favorites, placed, easily, in my top 20 non-TSR items. Even if it might be considered "clunky" or "weird" these days, its full of inspiration and that's what I look for when I play.

What I like the most is that its not simply an expansion, but a system in itself, much like The Arcanum or Arduin.

Anyway, thanks for the response!

Hey, I have a real question, if you can answer (or if you don't, that's OK too): do you own the rights to the material? Interested in allowing it to be back in print? And, yes, I am serious.

i think having a word with grodog on here might establish whether that can be done!

i am certainly very interested - this is the kinda thing i love to collect!

great to see another item come out of the wilderness so to speak!

serl, could you scan the cover ?

thanks

Al

which reminds me...whats happened to ian these days?

I believe mine was a first printing. It was definitely one of my top 10 items.

serl, could you scan the cover?

I sure can, but part of the reason my copy is listed as Poor + (as I judge it - others might consider it better, or worse) is that there's a tear and lots of curling. I got the book in a lot (had to fight off some of you fellows to do so, too) but if you really need to see it, I can do so. Give me a little bit since I have to exhume the scanner.

At least I finally got the smoke smell out. Made me sick just trying to read the book.

Actually, I don't think I transferred the copyright over to the other company, so it still belongs to me, AFAIK. Besides, the company has been defunct for more than 20 years now, so if the copyright goes back to the orignal author, it is mine that way too.

I could always consider cutting the binding off of one of the remaining copies and flat-bed scanning it - then doing an OCR treatment of it and issue a reprint. But then again, it would mean that I would have to find all the original artists because I would owe them royalties. That would be just about impossible. Hmm..

I probably wouldn't want to change it, aside from correcting a few things, even though (to be fair) even the 2nd edition combat system was too concerned with game mechanics and too cumbersome for simple battles.

On the other hand, there were *some* interesting rules variants for Beasts, Men & Gods that I came up with later that I wish I could find some way to wedge into d20 rules.

I'll send you an email this evening perhaps. And all preliminary, of course.