other literary RPGs?

[Morrus]

But I'm thinking less Vance and more Beowulf,

Ah yes there is a Beowulf TTRPG too!

By Handiwork Games.

 

[Ulfgeir]

And if comics (graphic novels), count as literary, then there is an Atomic Robo rpg from Evil Hat, and I believe 2 different Hellboy rpg. Not to forget Judge Dredd.

Otherwise, isn't there a game based on Peter Pan? And you have at least one D&D 5e compatible game based on Wizard of Oz.

 

[BigJackBrass]

And you have at least one D&D 5e compatible game based on Wizard of Oz

And one using Fudge.

 

[latho]

Hi guys!
I thought for my first post I could do something constructive...

A few that came to mind (and are stored in my rpg shelf):

The Expanse (James Corey) - the version I have doesn't even have images from the tv series

Flashing Blades (Alexandre Dumas) - one of FGU's delightful fire-and-forget rpgs from the 80s

A Song Of Ice And Fire Roleplaying (George R.R. Martin) - also according to the books

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

While it’s not based on one book or even one writer, Space:1889 is grounded in and extrapolates from the writings of HG Welles and Jules Verne.

Any Burroughs DNA?

(Edgar Rice, that is. William S. would be weird.)

 

[John Dallman]

(Edgar Rice, that is. William S. would be weird.)

Call of Cthulhu works because of Lovecraft's focussed descriptive style and detailed imagination. Imagine horror RPGs based on J G Ballard, Angela Carter, or William S Burroughs . . .

 

[Mannahnin]

The John Carter Series has both Space: 1889 from GDW and now published by some other company, and the official John Carter of Mars 2d20.

Space: 1889 has nothing to do with the Burroughs John Carter (A Princess of Mars, etc.) stories, does it? I've never heard of any connection there.

While it’s not based on one book or even one writer, Space:1889 is grounded in and extrapolates from the writings of HG Welles and Jules Verne.

THAT matches my recollection.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Any Burroughs DNA?

(Edgar Rice, that is. William S. would be weird.)

It slipped my mind because the Verne/Welles influence is so strong and part of the core, but the way Mars was handled was VERY Burroughs. There’s “wild” and civilized Martians. Their cities are big, there’s canals. They have flying ships thanks to “liftwood”- as opposed to the Terran aether propellers.

FWIW, even though I have several copies of the core rulebook*, I’ve never run Space:1889 as written. Instead, I’ve used the campaign setting to run superheroic games in HERO 4th and M&M 2Ed.





* I think the campaign setting is so well written that I didn’t want to lose it due to deterioration or damage due to use while running games with it. So I’ve bought multiple copies over the years.

 

[Mannahnin]

It slipped my mind because the Verne/Welles influence is so strong and part of the core, but the way Mars was handled was VERY Burroughs.

Could you expand on that? Are there analogues to the red, green (etc) martians?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Could you expand on that? Are there analogues to the red, green (etc) martians?

I expanded a bit in my edited post, above.

The wild and civilized martians are very similar, but the wild ones have gliding membranes and a gland that produces the same anti-gravity chemicals as found in liftwood. This means they’re the only Martians with the power of unassisted flight. They also have fully prehensile feet.


This link gives you more.

Space 1889 - Martians