[Thieves' World] Interview with Lynn Abbey and Robert J. Schwalb

[Pramas]

In case you aren't excited enough about Green Ronin's upcoming Thieves' World line, we've just put up an interview with author Lynn Abbey and game developer Robert J. Schwalb. They talk about where Thieves' World is at these days and what you can expect from our line of d20 books.

http://www.greenronin.com/thieves_world_devlog_entry.php?id=198_0_19_0

Enjoy!

 

[thalmin]

I can't wait!

 

[DaveMage]

I've never read any of the Thieve's World books.

I have also never read any of the Black Company books.

...But I bought the Black Company Campaign Setting and, though I have not had a chance to read all of it (or even most of it), the parts I have read were quite engaging, and I look forward to reading more.

So I'm glad that GR is making these types of products - if for no other reason than to expose me to these types of books through a game system that I *do* know very well.

So...thanks.

 

[Crothian]

There is some good information in that interview, thanks very much. I am waited anxiously for these books. Its nice to have something coming out that I really want again!!

 

[trancejeremy]

Hmmm, so the "new" Thieves World novels are set 35 years after the first ones and all the original characters are dead and gone?

I have to say, that pretty much kills off any interest I had in them (or this product). I hate it when companies (or authors) kill off a setting I like, in favor of a new improved one that has nothing in common with the original save the name...

 

[Crothian]

Hmmm, so the "new" Thieves World novels are set 35 years after the first ones and all the original characters are dead and gone?

I have to say, that pretty much kills off any interest I had in them (or this product). I hate it when companies (or authors) kill off a setting I like, in favor of a new improved one that has nothing in common with the original save the name...

That's not true. While the main characters of the new books are new, there are old characters that make appeaneces, it is like a passing on of the torch. They did a very good job with it. And one character, argueible the most important is still there in full glory: The city herself.

The RPGs though are going to cover both eras of play to some extent from what I've read.

 

[NSpicer]

I hate it when companies (or authors) kill off a setting I like, in favor of a new improved one that has nothing in common with the original save the name...

You might want to hold off on torching the new Thieves World RPG just yet then. Read one of the new books first. Look through the new supplements from Green Ronin. And then make your comparison and decide after that. I think you'll find that these products (both the new books and RPG supplements) have plenty in common with the original besides just the name. And they have lots of new stuff that should pique your interest, too.

Regardless, for what it's worth, settings that stay static from their very first incarnation often lose their appeal over time. If nothing else, they keep you locked within a circle of similar themes and "stories" that rehash themselves time and again. Personally, I think it's much better to look for living, breathing settings where change occurs. After all, the historical timeline that serves as the background for a campaign setting represents the passage of time and the changes that affected its landscape in the past. So why wouldn't you make room for the same thing occuring for a campaign setting's future, too?

Put another way, Thieves World was founded on the principle that separate authors could contribute new characters, new stories, and new changes to a shared literary setting. Now, Green Ronin and GMs who use these resources can essentially extend that concept into a rolelplay setting. I say more power to them!

My two-cents,
--Neil

 

[Pramas]

The RPGs though are going to cover both eras of play to some extent from what I've read.

That is correct. It would be silly of us to ignore the lion's share of the series.

Chris Pramas
Green Ronin

 

[Pramas]

Dang double post.