tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post7488266410658922644..comments2024-03-28T21:13:53.845+00:00Comments on Fabled Lands: A rare vintageDave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-53369447662770154422015-02-27T10:18:34.342+00:002015-02-27T10:18:34.342+00:00It was absolutely nothing to do with me, anyway, b...It was absolutely nothing to do with me, anyway, but you can find Orb material on Megara Entertainment's website.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-5418916530609710292010-08-02T13:20:39.639+01:002010-08-02T13:20:39.639+01:00Hello - I'm also a big fan of Orb. I compiled ...Hello - I'm also a big fan of Orb. I compiled an encyclopaedia from snippets of information in the published books, which has been put on the web. I'd be thrilled to read any Orb-related material on the blog, but as you say it was Mark Smith's creation really.Schmeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-71612834724771597722010-04-16T20:47:15.112+01:002010-04-16T20:47:15.112+01:00Great Gygax, may he rest in peace.Great Gygax, may he rest in peace.Jodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141040276995651861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-40288167975189760062010-04-16T14:32:54.951+01:002010-04-16T14:32:54.951+01:00Hi Shin, no need to apologize. I don't think e...Hi Shin, no need to apologize. I don't think either Joe Dever or Jamie & Mark would claim to have invented that blend of ninjas, orcs and medieval magic as it is really a fantasy zeitgeist of the time. If anybody gets the credit, I guess it should be Gygax and Arneson!Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-39409164219772250182010-04-16T11:21:55.947+01:002010-04-16T11:21:55.947+01:00I beg pardon. I was fooled by the fact that both &...I beg pardon. I was fooled by the fact that both "talisman of death" and "the way of the tiger" came in Italy only 4-5 years after Lone Wolf. Sorry.Jodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141040276995651861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-40679185091266908482010-04-15T12:58:28.067+01:002010-04-15T12:58:28.067+01:00I just got Jamie's comment on this. He writes:...I just got Jamie's comment on this. He writes: "Orb was in no way influenced by Magnamund. I was playing in the Orb role-playing campaign in 1978, and it was already fully fleshed out then. Talisman of Death came out at least one year before Lone Wolf and that was the first time Orb appeared in public." So it seems that neither influenced the other.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-82987050998644166322010-04-15T10:42:16.391+01:002010-04-15T10:42:16.391+01:00I am a huge fan, so I can confirm the date of crea...I am a huge fan, so I can confirm the date of creation of Magnamund in the same time. I obviously own all the BloodSword books, I used to play them as Team Solo (though I tried to play it with friends too). They were among my favourite, along with Steve Jackson's "Sourcery!", shame there aren't gamebooks anymore, videogames took all the place.<br />About your joke, there are movies took from books which are really poor (thinking to Twilight, or Narnia) if compared to your work, it's not about being kind, it's realism.Jodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141040276995651861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-84866136745607533342010-04-15T00:41:21.175+01:002010-04-15T00:41:21.175+01:00You're too kind, Shin! I am still waiting for ...You're too kind, Shin! I am still waiting for the offer from Warner Brothers to make a series of Bloodsword movies...<br /><br />I can guarantee that Orb predated Magnamund. Min created it in about 1975-76, and while Joe Dever might have been creating his world at the same time they didn't know each other back then. I suspect they both drew on the same sources for inspiration, which could explain similarities.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-58940598540456643662010-04-15T00:22:46.130+01:002010-04-15T00:22:46.130+01:00Well, though Orb was influenced IMHO by Joe Dever&...Well, though Orb was influenced IMHO by Joe Dever's Magnamund, it had some really shiny pearls. Many foreign languages were used for the creatures (e.g. O'Bakemono as a zombish creature while Bakamono means STUPID in japanese or Dorè Le Jeune as Le Jeune means YOUNG in french, the god KWON is korean, and so on), the characters were really well-designed, so were the maps... I really loved Orb, it's something I am a little sad it's been lost. Or take Bloodsword too... your work (Morris, Smith, Thomson) it's hundred times better than rowling's harry potter. Word.Jodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141040276995651861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-34121862663900322922010-04-15T00:00:28.101+01:002010-04-15T00:00:28.101+01:00It's really Min's world. In fact, he creat...It's really Min's world. In fact, he created Orb for D&D games when still at school, then used it for the classic FF book Talisman of Death, and later of course for WotT. Not even Jamie knows the full secrets of Orb ;-)Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-69870053264531184742010-04-14T19:56:16.553+01:002010-04-14T19:56:16.553+01:00You and Jamie could always finish the series :'...You and Jamie could always finish the series :')Mike Mielkehttp://www.mikemielke.mpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-54746596363632737072010-04-14T18:40:19.460+01:002010-04-14T18:40:19.460+01:00Jamie did tell me that they had signed to do the D...Jamie did tell me that they had signed to do the Duelmaster books so didn't have the time to write more Way of the Tiger as well. I think the publisher probably would have liked the series to continue (it sold very well) but Min and Jamie were just too busy on other projects by then. That could also explain why the last WotT book seemed a bit rushed. Though I still don't know why it ends on a cliffhanger if they didn't expect to be doing any more books..?Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-49146363723238118762010-04-14T17:45:34.841+01:002010-04-14T17:45:34.841+01:00Hello to you both !
In France, it is said that Ma...Hello to you both !<br /><br />In France, it is said that Mark Smith may have been forced to end the series, so he wrote this strange disappointing book... <br />But, we can console ourselves with the great ending of Blood Sword !(and the well-made final fight)cafaristeirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915889856526586336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-34507376069599041712010-04-14T13:26:41.261+01:002010-04-14T13:26:41.261+01:00Comment didn't show up.
I thank you for reply...Comment didn't show up.<br /><br />I thank you for replying, you were really kind.<br /><br />I was sincerely wondering why the series came to such a brutal ending. I mean, in Italy we had the idea that Mark Smith (since you say he is the authot) either was bored of writing about Avenger, or that he was forced to end this.<br />It happened on another side.<br />Joe Dever's Lone Wolf series were planned to be 32 books, but only 28 were released due to the gamebooks losing fans and selling less than expected in their last years. In book 28, story ends quite like book 6 of WoT, but in this one the Uber Boss is quickly defeated without efforts which is lossy since the great story behind him.<br /><br />I have been wondering for years what the plan behind Avenger's last adventure was, at least I got an answer. Thank you very much.Jodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141040276995651861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-11762515427392215302010-04-14T10:48:06.282+01:002010-04-14T10:48:06.282+01:00Okay, so I asked Jamie and he said Min (ie Mark Sm...Okay, so I asked Jamie and he said Min (ie Mark Smith) wrote that book, so Jamie doesn't know much about it. I'm guessing now, but I think Min's intention was to experiment with a hopeless quest - you go to the Rift and you die because no-one can survive that. Like the ending of Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, or Get Carter..? I'm not sure, we'll try and remember to ask Min when we see him.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-76777025967880505352010-04-14T09:13:59.103+01:002010-04-14T09:13:59.103+01:00Hey Shin - anything to do with anything Jamie and ...Hey Shin - anything to do with anything Jamie and I have written is fair game around here.<br /><br />I can't answer that question, though - over to Jamie...Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-53517024843130269522010-04-14T01:25:37.362+01:002010-04-14T01:25:37.362+01:00Hi.
I first beg pardon if this is somehow inappro...Hi.<br /><br />I first beg pardon if this is somehow inappropriate, that's not the way I meant.<br /><br />I have browsed the whole net in order to find sir Morris and sir Thomson because I carry a question from my childhood, and I never had any chance to have it replied.<br /><br />I was a great fan of "The way of the Tiger" and I have been puzzled for years because of the series ending. What does it mean?<br /><br />If somehow either sir Morris or sir Thomson could ever satisfy this curiosity of mine, I'd be really really grateful. I again ask pardon if this is not the place to post this.Jodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141040276995651861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-26268267864718623732010-04-13T20:22:43.235+01:002010-04-13T20:22:43.235+01:00Yes - ahem. Thank you for waiting, ladies and gent...Yes - ahem. Thank you for waiting, ladies and gentlemen :-)Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-62646447450861017612010-04-13T19:24:48.743+01:002010-04-13T19:24:48.743+01:00"A very patient person"? (just joking!)"A very patient person"? (just joking!)Alberto Francesco Lemmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03659098504663047007noreply@blogger.com