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Old 12-30-2017, 09:12 AM   #121
JoeHartley
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Default Re: December 26, 2017: The Fantasy Trip Returns Home

I'm amazingly happy to hear about this news.

I've been running a mailing list for Metagaming and TFT since the late '80s as well as providing some web resources for players over at https://tft.brainiac.com and never really thought we'd see a reprint of this material.

Congratulations, Steve.
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Old 12-30-2017, 09:20 AM   #122
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Default Re: December 26, 2017: The Fantasy Trip Returns Home

This is wonderful news!

My local group, several of whom still game together, fondly recall our many years of playing TFT.

I started with the Melee microgame when it first came out and bought every expansion.

I wrote for The Space Gamer and even contributed an article for TFT ("Magic Backlash in TFT" The Space Gamer 54 (1982).

I cannot wait to see what Steve Jackson does with TFT next!
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Old 12-30-2017, 09:42 AM   #123
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Default Re: December 26, 2017: The Fantasy Trip Returns Home

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That is a brilliant idea! Dammit, why didn't I think of doing that?

Gee maybe you guys at SJGs can come up with something like that as a way of presenting certain maps (one on the inside of the top cover for dungeon rooms/caverns, and one on the bottom for outdoors/arena areas! ;-)
You can't see it in the picture, but the other side of the lid (the top) is a sand-textured, full megahex map. About 15x13 hexes. Each hex is about 18mm flat-to-flat. That's smaller than standard M/W hexes, but it allowed me to get many more hexes and full megahexes onto the 9"x11" surface, and works better with 15mm minis. It took a lot of experimentation to get just the right mix. One thing I realized while messing with it was that, IMO, the original megahex maps were better suited for the counters (of course) and 25mm minis. Shrinking the scale down better conveys that minis in adjacent hexes are actually standing next to each other.

I pulled some of this stuff out this week and will snap some pics and post a link later.
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Old 12-30-2017, 09:51 AM   #124
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Default Re: December 26, 2017: The Fantasy Trip Returns Home

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Originally Posted by JoeHartley View Post
I've been running a mailing list for Metagaming and TFT since the late '80s as well as providing some web resources for players over at https://tft.brainiac.com and never really thought we'd see a reprint of this material.
Joe, thanks for keeping the torch lit all these years. It seems that folks like you, "The Maverick", Brett Slocum and David Miller have been there almost since the beginning of web browsers. It was kind of important to me to find that I wasn't the only one who loved and treasured The Game, even though we "knew" this day would never come.
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Old 12-30-2017, 11:03 AM   #125
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Default Re: December 26, 2017: The Fantasy Trip Returns Home

Liz did the cover (gargoyle) didn't she? And I thought she was responsible for the counters.

I could ask!
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Old 12-30-2017, 11:12 AM   #126
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Default Re: December 26, 2017: The Fantasy Trip Returns Home

I know Ms. Danforth is still doing art; she did all the new illustrations in the latest edition of Tunnels and Trolls. (Which is gorgeous and awesome, speaking of retro titles.)
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Old 12-30-2017, 11:24 AM   #127
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Default Re: December 26, 2017: The Fantasy Trip Returns Home

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I know Ms. Danforth is still doing art; she did all the new illustrations in the latest edition of Tunnels and Trolls. (Which is gorgeous and awesome, speaking of retro titles.)
Yuppa-yuppa, I did some proofreading and (minor) development of DT&T! My copy of the hardcover is sprouting bookmarks at the moment; I'm working on a GM adventure.

Liz has a Patreon now, FWIW.
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Old 12-30-2017, 11:53 AM   #128
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Default Re: December 26, 2017: The Fantasy Trip Returns Home

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Originally Posted by SirRoke View Post
...

I wrote for The Space Gamer and even contributed an article for TFT ("Magic Backlash in TFT" The Space Gamer 54 (1982).
I remember that article! I thought it was a great idea at the time (I hadn't run across the concept before, but I'd only played white-box D&D and TFT at that time), and very well written. It's informed my GM-ing ever since (magic is DANGEROUS). So thank you for sharing it! My paper copy died long ago, but thanks to the magic of Warehouse 23, I have it in electronic version! Now I need to go back and re-read that one again too!

(If anyone wants to do a service to the TFT community, we could use an index of all those Spacegamer articles on various aspects of TFT; even though most of the ones published by Steve prior to release of ITL were actually incorporated in some way in Advanced Melee, or Advanced Wizard...)

A person named Jsnead over at RPG.net had this suggestion:

"That's awesome. My ideal would be a mildly tweaked and improved rule system (specifically including rules for buying additional talents and spells w/o having to increase INT), maybe a few more talents and spells, a bit more info on Cidri, and that's pretty much it. If the kickstarter did well, a SF version would also be wonderful."

Frankly, I think that describes what I would want in an ideal world as well. Steve has the opportunity to tweak the system now, and it would be a shame to "waste" it, but massive re-writes wouldn't be either necessary or desirable IMHO. And Jsnead cuts right to the heart of what I actually think DOES need tweaked. So count my vote for the above, as well!

Last edited by JLV; 12-30-2017 at 12:05 PM.
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Old 12-30-2017, 12:21 PM   #129
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Default Re: December 26, 2017: The Fantasy Trip Returns Home

I just heard back from Liz via Twitter:

Quote:
Yes, I did 1st edition Melee cover and (shudder) counters (with bell bottoms) because I was young and couldn't draw feet well.
I thought those counters were great, actually, including the bell bottoms!

Oh . . . more from Liz:
Quote:
Somewhere out there is a blog post by SOMEone about the awfulness of bellbottom pants on the counters. Steve didn't have me change them at the time, although (obviously) he got different ones afterward.

The drawings were SO SMALL, and I was maaaybe in my early 20s ... feet were HARD TO DRAW and bellbottoms were standard fare on the street and at university (I was still in college) so why not? But no... not one of my prouder moments.

I am, however, VERY proud of that cover even now.
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Old 12-30-2017, 02:02 PM   #130
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Default Re: December 26, 2017: The Fantasy Trip Returns Home

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(If anyone wants to do a service to the TFT community, we could use an index of all those Spacegamer articles on various aspects of TFT; even though most of the ones published by Steve prior to release of ITL were actually incorporated in some way in Advanced Melee, or Advanced Wizard...)
If you go over to boardgamegeek or rpggeek.com (links directly to TFT listing) and scroll down to "Linked Items", you'll see all the products listed. Click on any of those, scroll down to their "Linked Items", and you'll see that they have details about any "Periodical Articles" published that were related to the product; zines like "The Space Gamer", "Different Worlds", "Pegasus", "Interplay" and so on.

For instance, here's the link to Melee, that summarizes articles like "Adding Muskets to Melee", "Weapons for Hobbits in The Fantasy Trip", and "Ships & Swords" (one of my faves). RPGG and BGG are invaluable resources for a peek into the past.
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