General TFT:ITL discussion

[Nimiriel]

My dad taught me to play ITL several years ago, but I've never met anyone else in the solid world that plays it. Does anyone here ever play it?

 

[Crothian]

What does TFT:ITL stand for?

 

[Steel_Wind]

I presume he means The Fantasy Trip: In the Labyrinth. Steve Jackson's old gig from the late 70s.

It evolved and became GURPS over time.

 

[SWBaxter]

If you do mean The Fantasy Trip, I never got a chance to play it when it first came out, but in the last couple of years a company named Dark City Games has published a "compatible" ruleset (in the same sense that OSRIC is compatible with AD&D 1E) and a bunch of adventures. It's a decent little system, if maybe a bit on the lethal side. You might find their website interesting, the rules and a couple of sample adventures are free, other stuff costs.

 

[RFisher]

I only discovered TFT a few years ago. I've played a bit solitaire, but that's all. It seems like a lot of fun, but maybe a bit too combat oriented for me currently.

You can find discussion among people who played (& play) TFT at the TFT mailing list.

 

[Rothe]

I played it long ago around 1982-83; loved it. Recently rediscovered it. TFT is one of the unsung classics cut short by the owner of Metagames wigging out and Steve Jackson moving on. I read from a Steve Jackson post that the game was at one time the 2nd best selling fantasy RPG in the US. There are several great sites still around for it.

 

[Nimiriel]

I wish someone would persuade Steve Jackson to give up the copyright, or at least reprint. I have a bunch of friends that would love it, but they can't buy the books anywhere. The only way to get a copy of any of the books is to have someone you know scan/photocopy their copy and send it to you. This is probably illegal, but until someone reprints ITL it's what we do.

 

[Nimiriel]

By the way, I'm NOT a HE...I am better than that.

 

[Theron]

I wish someone would persuade Steve Jackson to give up the copyright, or at least reprint. I have a bunch of friends that would love it, but they can't buy the books anywhere. The only way to get a copy of any of the books is to have someone you know scan/photocopy their copy and send it to you. This is probably illegal, but until someone reprints ITL it's what we do.

Steve doesn't own the copyright. The IP belonged to a company called Metagaming. When he initially approached them about purchasing the game, their asking price was allegedly ridiculous. So he went and developed GURPS instead. Years later, when someone looked into it, the rights were such a tangled mess due to inheritance and other deals that there was no real hope of freeing them up.

 

[el-remmen]

I can't believe I've never heard of this before. But I certainly am curious now. . .