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What games from the early 80's are still being published?
- Thread starter Garmorn
- Start date
Four Colors (AKA "4C", and not to be confused with a completely different superhero RPG by Cynthia Celeste Miller) is a "retro-clone" of the original ("FASERIP") Marvel Super Heroes game. Of course, that is only basic game mechanisms, not the precise terminology -- much less the Marvel Comics properties.
David "Zeb" Cook's Conan game for TSR came out in 1985, a year past the cutoff. Nonetheless, I think it worth noting that the game-mechanical (if not the Hyborian Age) essence is captured in ZeFRS.
I don't know how much the latest edition -- as distinguished from the D&D 4e spinoff -- of Jim Ward's Metamorphosis Alpha resembles the 1976 original. However, Mr. Ward has put that original (and a lot of supplementary material) online for free. By the early '80s, TSR had replaced MA with Ward's successor game of mutants, Gamma World. However, I and others were (and are) still delighted to play it.
David "Zeb" Cook's Conan game for TSR came out in 1985, a year past the cutoff. Nonetheless, I think it worth noting that the game-mechanical (if not the Hyborian Age) essence is captured in ZeFRS.
I don't know how much the latest edition -- as distinguished from the D&D 4e spinoff -- of Jim Ward's Metamorphosis Alpha resembles the 1976 original. However, Mr. Ward has put that original (and a lot of supplementary material) online for free. By the early '80s, TSR had replaced MA with Ward's successor game of mutants, Gamma World. However, I and others were (and are) still delighted to play it.
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1. Whoa, cool! Besides TMP 3rd ed. (not familiar to me, as I played only 1st), Timeline, Ltd. also has Time & Time Again and Holy Warriors.
2. GW? I don't think so. "The D&D Gamma World Roleplaying Game offers hours of rollicking entertainment in a savage land of adventure" from Wizards of the Coast -- but it sure as heck is not the same as the 1st and 2nd editions that saw play back in the 1980s. "This product is a complete, stand-alone roleplaying game that uses the 4th Edition D&D Roleplaying Game system as its foundation."
Besides that, it appears not to be in print yet! (Release Date: October 19, 2010)
Empire of the Petal Throne (1975) was TSR's second RPG, and in the early 1980s Different Worlds Publications brought it back after a period of being out of print (which is probably par for the course for these games). Now, a very nice PDF of the original is available -- along with classic supplements.
Tita's House of Games offers reprints of the DWP edition, as well as of the incomplete Swords & Glory (Vols. 1 & 2, Gamescience, 1983; Vol. 1 later broken into 3, two published by DWP).
Tita's House of Games offers reprints of the DWP edition, as well as of the incomplete Swords & Glory (Vols. 1 & 2, Gamescience, 1983; Vol. 1 later broken into 3, two published by DWP).
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When did R. Talsorian's Cyberpunk makes its appearance? I recall scouring the thin black books in creative writing class.
Although I'm not sure I care to defend the latest Cpunk release as a near-variant (even if they copied-pasted some of the text directly over).
Edit: 1988 via Wikipedia.
Although I'm not sure I care to defend the latest Cpunk release as a near-variant (even if they copied-pasted some of the text directly over).
Edit: 1988 via Wikipedia.
darjr
I crit!
If we are including pdf and earlier games than 1980 then Metamorphosis Alpha counts. 1st edition is still available from drive thru rpg here also the official forums still have some activity. There is even a very profesionally done newly released old school adventure for it called Dire Straits that I've run at two different cons and run part of for friends of mine converted to savage worlds. I'm putting together a hex crawl through the ship I'm going to test a bit at a local game day May1st.
I'm dar over there at the forums, stop and say hi.
btw, I love this thread.
I'm dar over there at the forums, stop and say hi.
btw, I love this thread.
Lancelot
Adventurer
Dragon Warriors (Magnum Opus Press), as featured in Ordo Draconis (i.e. the magazine of which you got issue #2 for free, if you're an EN World subscriber).
Originally published in the 80's, and reprinted by Mongoose recently... and with new supplements. Rules haven't changed at all, except for minor balancing and errata.
Also, in response to the original poster, I'd argue that 3e was the breakpoint for D&D no longer being the "same game", not 4e. 1e, 2e and BECMI D&D are all recognizably the same game, and almost interchangeable. You could run "G1-3 Against the Giants" with any of those rulesets without too much modification.
However, 3e was a radically different game to 1e/2e (and 4e is radically different to either). AC goes up not down, prestige classes, 9 levels of spells for non-wizards, multi-attacks for all classes, no level limits, massive integration of skills and feats, monster templates, unification of rules into d20 standards, OGL, etc, etc.
Originally published in the 80's, and reprinted by Mongoose recently... and with new supplements. Rules haven't changed at all, except for minor balancing and errata.
Also, in response to the original poster, I'd argue that 3e was the breakpoint for D&D no longer being the "same game", not 4e. 1e, 2e and BECMI D&D are all recognizably the same game, and almost interchangeable. You could run "G1-3 Against the Giants" with any of those rulesets without too much modification.
However, 3e was a radically different game to 1e/2e (and 4e is radically different to either). AC goes up not down, prestige classes, 9 levels of spells for non-wizards, multi-attacks for all classes, no level limits, massive integration of skills and feats, monster templates, unification of rules into d20 standards, OGL, etc, etc.
Stormonu
Legend
I'd say Warhammer Fantasy, but its 3rd edition had quite a mechanics change and seems to be copying D&D 4E in many ways. The 2E stuff is available via PDF, however.
When did Shadowrun come out?
<edit> Looks like '89.
There is also Twilight 2000, though it has been updated to be Twilight 2012.
Hmm... can we also count Star Wars (1987 by WEG, in print until a few months ago by Wotc).
When did Shadowrun come out?
<edit> Looks like '89.
There is also Twilight 2000, though it has been updated to be Twilight 2012.
Hmm... can we also count Star Wars (1987 by WEG, in print until a few months ago by Wotc).
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Mongoose Traveller is pretty similar to Classic Traveller, or more accurately quite similar to Classic Traveller as it was before it was 'updated' to MegaTraveller. And until very recently the directly reprinted material was available.
Pendragon is very similar whichever edition you're using, although I'm not sure whether it was originally published before 1984.
Thinking about it, most Chaosium games would qualify where they're still available at all. It's only Runequest that might not, depending on how you feel about the Mongoose version and it's differences from the originals. I don't see the changes as being particularly noticeable, though I know plenty of people disagree.
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