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Re: (TFT) Associatin of Fantasy Trippers
From: Rogers Cadenhead <rogers@cadenhead.org>
I don't post on this list, but I check it out from time to
time on the Web to see if anyone has pried TFT rights away
from Howard Thompson.
Rogers,
Thanks for your input. I'm always glad when any fantasy tripper can
find the news group, even if not subscribed. A friend of mine was suprised
to find such an active community. He commented that "for ever one person
subscribed there may be a hundred who don't know its out there."
Your plan strikes me as a really good way to get sued.
I agree.
Didn't Ty Beard or someone else on this list reach Howard
through his son earlier this year to inquire about the
sale of the rights?
Yes, that is correct. I have been following this with some interest as
well. As it stands Howard doesn't want to be bothered, unless someone
serious has a substantial cash offer to make. By substantial, no one is
sure what he means.
If the members of this mailing list locked away their
Metagaming products and wrote a new RPG from scratch that
embodies the kind of rules you like, it would probably be
a great de facto successor to TFT.
I can only speak for myself here. It is in the works. I have something
that playtesting has shown to be fairly hot. My plan is to publish in 2002.
Put all the money aside. Then make my own offer to Howard.
The problems here are obvious. The first being the asumption that I will
make dollar one. The other is that its just another old school paper and
pencil game for people sitting aound the kitchen table. The market is
fairly thick in that area. Its hard to stand out, or even get a try from
many dedicated gamers.
On top of that I have found that TFT players don't really "get" the
system. They keep trying to treat it like MELEE. I find that non TFT
players take to it quicker, not knowing what inspired it. Thus all my
development of it has been off list. This is why you haven't heard of it
before.
I'd love to see a game like that, because I haven't been able
to get my hands on TFT due to collectors buying it up whenever
one shows up on EBay.
I'm curious to find out why the game continues to have fans 20
years after it ceased publication.
That last sentences sums it all up. Couldn't have said it better myself.
My number one reason for still being a fan is that it is a dead game. I
find that many RPGs don't survive being constantly "revised", "improved" or
even made "advanced". Take the early editions of D&D for example.
In the back of "Chainmail" a hero was listed as equal to four heavy
horse. In D&D a hero was 1D8 hit points. In AD&D he was 1D10 with a
possible +4 for high constitution. Then in the book "Dieties and Dimi-gods"
heros average 126 hit points. I can only call this hit point inflation.
Also consider Mar Barker's "Tecumel". He had a miniature war game system
that went with it. And he was notorious for revision. Every so often he
would release a new version that superceeded the previous ones. It would
contain subtle changes, but changes with profound consequences. With each
revision a different unit became "the best" one to have.
TFT has been frozen in amber. It hasn't suffered from this kind of
inflation. The original balanced system is still intact and hasn't been
warped by some well meaning revision. Even from its designer. On top of
that it still does far more, with far less, and take the least amount of
time to make a character while offering the greatest flexibility of any
system ever written.
I don't think there ever will be another game like TFT.
David Michael Grouchy II
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