tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post183665031868786167..comments2024-03-29T07:35:51.362+00:00Comments on Fabled Lands: From Fighting Fantasy to the Empty QuarterDave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-26949487565232178102014-06-02T12:33:53.954+01:002014-06-02T12:33:53.954+01:00Strangely, one review took me to task, saying that...Strangely, one review took me to task, saying that it was peculiar to see magical elements like jinn added onto the historical world of the 9th-century Caliphate complete with Muslims, Christians, Jews, etc. I guess that guy never actually heard of the Thousand and One Nights, then!Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-82851496356551249322014-05-16T09:03:25.373+01:002014-05-16T09:03:25.373+01:00I think it's fair to say that Paul's conce...I think it's fair to say that Paul's concepts for interactive fiction were a little more ambitious and original than the FF series was able to support. Those books were just aimed at middle graders, after all. I'd love to see him have a crack at something like my interactive Frankenstein app which, being published by Profile Books, was able to reach an adult literary readership.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-34900353424833088062014-05-16T06:28:37.430+01:002014-05-16T06:28:37.430+01:00I'm not sure I'd have liked to read one by...I'm not sure I'd have liked to read one by Paul; to me he's always been a writer who tells a great story (eg. The Crimson Tide), but not one that lends itself to the gamebook format. Of course, I'm solely basing that on his FF titles, so may be doing him a disservice.MikeHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-41092386192045503292014-05-15T08:42:51.694+01:002014-05-15T08:42:51.694+01:00I would have liked to see one by Paul, but the ori...I would have liked to see one by Paul, but the original plan was just four by me and four by Mark Smith. So I guess it would have been another Orb one, but Mark had no specific plans for it that I'm aware of.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-55734556452435160562014-05-15T08:36:54.380+01:002014-05-15T08:36:54.380+01:00So what was the eighth book supposed to be, or am ...So what was the eighth book supposed to be, or am I missing something obvious? Was that Paul Mason's book?MikeHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-77908157533810097402014-05-13T08:04:09.014+01:002014-05-13T08:04:09.014+01:00Oh, um, d'oh! I did know that, owning a copy o...Oh, um, d'oh! I did know that, owning a copy of 'Twist of Fate' already. My excuse is that it is in a box in my parents-in-law's attic and I haven't seen it in years (and have never read it thoroughly even before that). Time to try and find it I think (or maybe I'll just buy a copy of 'Once Upon a Time in Arabia').Paltoguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00961821462981797028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-43879158704753651202014-05-12T14:43:30.696+01:002014-05-12T14:43:30.696+01:00Good question, twice :-) I often use campaigns for...Good question, twice :-) I often use campaigns for gamebooks, but the gamebook will never be an authentic role-playing experience because in a real RPG you can respond the the players' goals, so nobody can quite predict where the narrative will take you. You could, for example, reverse engineer a Legend campaign out of the Blood Sword books, but there'd be no guarantee it would end up at Spyte in the year 1000.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-37057810195165540782014-05-12T14:39:16.590+01:002014-05-12T14:39:16.590+01:00It's by Russ Nicholson and it's from Once ...It's by Russ Nicholson and it's from Once Upon a Time in Arabia.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-6933929435381572952014-05-12T14:38:10.122+01:002014-05-12T14:38:10.122+01:00I still think of Baghdad as a magical place, but i...I still think of Baghdad as a magical place, but it's hard to reconcile that with recent history. You'll be happy to know that the book as published is indeed set in the quasi-historical world of the Arabian Nights and not in Fighting Fantasy's DnD style version.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-89311376071810059502014-05-11T00:11:11.861+01:002014-05-11T00:11:11.861+01:00Where does the second picture come from? Where does the second picture come from? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-72857427317428886392014-05-09T19:43:30.647+01:002014-05-09T19:43:30.647+01:00I love this, but with it being so full-on Arabian ...I love this, but with it being so full-on Arabian Nights I feel I'd want it to actually be set in the fantastical Islamic world of the tales. Oh, and isn't it such a pity that nowadays places like Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Homs and Cairo are synonymous with unrest and war? They sound so exotic and magical in the Arabian Nights.Paltoguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00961821462981797028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-34372943476657377372014-05-09T17:20:32.536+01:002014-05-09T17:20:32.536+01:00Brilliant question. I was about to ask the same. :...Brilliant question. I was about to ask the same. :)Ikaroshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13713846838494518139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-31894620720085136212014-05-09T05:42:38.311+01:002014-05-09T05:42:38.311+01:00Do you think there are good points in baaubg a gam...Do you think there are good points in baaubg a gamebook on an rpg campaign? WOTT did it. If so, what are the pitfalls.?Stuart Lloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com