What licenses are left?

[Morrus]

The other option to obtaining a new license is to buy one the owner is willing to sell. (assuming, of course, the price is reasonable, and the results of your forecast are favorable/meet your expected ROI)

You mean just buy the IP outright? At that point, it’s not a license. You’re just using IP now own.

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

I bought my fist and second tarot deck for it.

A Fist Tarot would be a decided nope over here.

 

[darjr]

A Fist Tarot would be a decided nope over here.

What if it was for this RPG?

Anyway that’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

 

[Swanosaurus]

There was a d20 conversion in Dragon magazine. With over 30 books published, I think there'd be plenty to do with it. I can think of plenty of unique mechanics you could derive from it, like how magic has a price, changes you, one way or another.

I think Shannara is a lot better than its rep. Yes, the first book was terribly derivative. But Terry already started deconstructing a lot of the tropes in Elf-Stones. I don't remember much about Wish-Song, I felt it was pretty boring, but the four book series after that was pretty great und really made a lot out of the fantasy post-apocalypse setting. I never got beyond that, and more recently, I tried to start were I'd left off about 30 years ago and just couldn't get into the writing anymore ... but I'd wager that all in all, it would make a much better RPG setting than novel series.

 

[dragoner]

You mean just buy the IP outright? At that point, it’s not a license. You’re just using IP now own.

I remember you saying how much licensing costs for IP's, and I think that might have something to do with the situation is either that the profitable ones are taken and what is left, it would be difficult to break even with them.

 

[R_J_K75]

I can imagine (theoretical) RPGs based on individual music videos

Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Iron Maiden come to mind.

 

[Gradine]

I think Shannara is a lot better than its rep. Yes, the first book was terribly derivative. But Terry already started deconstructing a lot of the tropes in Elf-Stones. I don't remember much about Wish-Song, I felt it was pretty boring,

Wishsong was always my favorite; it had the most interesting magic, Cogline ruled, and it was my first high fantasy experience with a female viewpoint protagonist, which needless to say, had an influence on me

 

[Swanosaurus]

Wishsong was always my favorite; it had the most interesting magic, Cogline ruled, and it was my first high fantasy experience with a female viewpoint protagonist, which needless to say, had an influence on me

Curious, I remember next to nothing about it ... maybe I should re-read it.

I actually just downloaded Ilse Witch, the first Shannarah novel I haven't read, as an audiobook and started listening to it. Audiobook seems to be a good format for it, I can follow easily, as there's little dialogue and lots of description and exposition. Reading it, it would probably feel a little too slow, but listening to it while cleaning the kitchen is ideal. It sounds like real good setting material.

 

[RyeVsWorld]

Bizarrely, I was thinking about unrealised IP’s only this morning. I came up with the filing list for a potential TTRPG:

Centurions, Mask, Poll Position, Ulysses 31, Bucky O’Hare, Visionaries, Starcom, Knightmare & Jayce and the wheeled warriors.

(P.S. I omitted my number 1!)

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I think Shannara is a lot better than its rep. Yes, the first book was terribly derivative. But Terry already started deconstructing a lot of the tropes in Elf-Stones. I don't remember much about Wish-Song, I felt it was pretty boring, but the four book series after that was pretty great und really made a lot out of the fantasy post-apocalypse setting. I never got beyond that, and more recently, I tried to start were I'd left off about 30 years ago and just couldn't get into the writing anymore ... but I'd wager that all in all, it would make a much better RPG setting than novel series.

Once you get past the first book, it really starts to develop its own themes. Likewise, I stopped reading after the second series. Years later, I tried to pick up with whatever the latest book was and just couldn't. Time had passed, I had changed, but also, a series accumulates a ton of lore and new characters when it's been going for decades. I couldn't just drop into it. But I do revisit the old books from time to time.