This
article focuses on TFT Material that was either being planned or about to be
published at the time of Metagaming’s demise. There were a lot of interesting
ideas in the pipeline, including a variety of adventure and rule supplements
for the game. Much of this information was obtained from letters and status
reports by Kevin Hendryx, written in early 1982, and also Interplay and Space
Gamer magazines.
1. [Worlds/Nations/Realms]
of Cidri
A
final title had not been decided on at the time of the proposal. This
supplement would have been aimed at the Game Master and would cover
outdoor/wilderness adventuring. Included would be information on how to
organize and establish a nation/continent/ world, movement and scale in the
wilderness, random encounter tables (scaled according to terrain and climate
conditions), descriptions of regions and states suitable for adventuring in,
some new monsters, and mini-adventures or scenarios to get the GM started on a
campaign. This supplement might also have included topographical maps. Note
that Interplay No. 5 had an article pertaining to the in-game effects of winter
conditions. (ref: Product Proposal letter by Kevin Hendryx dated 3/16/82 and
Status Report by Kevin Hendryx dated Feb ’82. See also Interplay No. 5)
2. Affray
This
proposed TFT Aerial combat module developed by Ian Bell; was in playtest and evaluation
as of 2/19/82. This was originally requested in Interplay, to cover aerial
combat between creatures, specifying that "The best approach is to do
something that plays well but doesn't try for realism." (ref: Status
Report by Kevin Hendryx dated Feb ’82 and Interplay No. 2)
3. Ultra Force – In the
Name of Justice (a.k.a. “Herodium”
or “In the Name of Justice”)
Comic
book super-hero TFT supplement by Peter Christian. In Interplays No. 3 & 7 a
different title, “In the Name of Justice” was given, and Interplay No. 8 gave
the title as “Herodium” However, Scanner
in Space Gamer No. 61 gives the final title. The target price was $7.95, the
same as Conquerors of Underearth and Dragons of Underearth, implying that it
would have been released in the same MetaGame style format. According to Scanner, this was planned for a late
spring release. (ref: Status Report by Kevin Hendryx dated Feb ’82, Space Gamer
No. 61, and Interplay Nos. 3, 7, & 8. See also Space Gamer No. 65 for
Ronald Pehr’s article on this subject of Superheros)
4. Nosferatu
Adventure
supplement designed by John Sullivan. This was not regarded as requiring too
much time to edit. Note that Interplay No. 3 had an article entitled “Vampyre”
by the same author; presumably Nosferatu would have used elements of this
article. (ref: Status Report by Kevin Hendryx dated Feb ’82 and Interplay No.
3)
5. Infantry
Listed
as a Modern Military RPG - probably intended to be a TFT supplement as a blurb
in Interplay mentioned that a WWII supplement was in the works. Authored by
Thomas Trunzo (ref: Status Report by Kevin Hendryx dated Feb ’82 and Interplay
No. 1)
6. The Runesword of Regalan
(a.k.a. Runesword at Regalan)
TFT
MicroQuest by Anthony Affrunti, intended for release in March 1983 at a price
of $2.95, which was a dollar off from the usual $3.95 price tag for Micros at
this time. It is not clear what the actual title was, as the two sources give
it slightly differently, but Kevin Hendryx gives it as “Runesword of Regalan,” and
this is likely the correct version. (ref: Status Report by Kevin Hendryx dated
Feb ’82 and Space Gamer No. 61)
7. Prison of the Spectral
Demon
Another
MicroQuest by Robbins and Wittke, intended for release in March 1983 at $2.95.
(ref: Status Report by Kevin Hendryx dated Feb ’82 and Space Gamer No. 61)
8. Pthantium Hall
This
was a MicroQuest authored by Robert Schlott. No other information is available.
(ref: Status Report by Kevin Hendryx dated Feb ’82).
9. High Noon
TFT
Western gunfighter supplement by David Tepool. This was regarded as a big
undertaking, and one of the problems they were having was a lack of suitable
playtesters. This product had been officially accepted for $500. Note that
Interplay No. 2 published a rules set called “TFT: Wild West” by Fred Askew;
not clear if there was any relationship (ref: Status Report by Kevin Hendryx
dated Feb ’82 and Interplay Nos. 1-3)
10. Energy Crisis - Land
Beyond the Mountains
THIS
is a fascinating item. It is only referenced by title, unfortunately, but it is
clear that they were looking at all sorts of adventures for the LBTM campaign.
Likely set in Soukhor in a Mnoren ruin of some sort. Status report included
this in a list of manuscripts “closest to being publishable”. It is interesting
to note that this was in work months before either the Darok or Dihad modules
had been published. Written by Keith Gross (ref: Status Report by Kevin Hendryx
dated Feb ’82 and draft notes of same dated 2/16/82).
11. Dragons of Underearth
Of
course, this was published, but it is interesting that the original title was
“Dragonslayer” and that Keith Gross was paid $750 for it. Note that the normal
rate for a MicroGame was $500. (ref: Status Report by Kevin Hendryx dated Feb
’82 and Interplay Nos. 3 & 8).
12. Tollenkar’s Lair Revision
Apparently
they were thinking of revising the adventure. It appears that they intended to
both update and expand the module, perhaps with better maps, adding counters,
etc. (ref: Status Report by Kevin Hendryx dated Feb ’82 and Interplay No. 6).
Certainly, I would have had any number of ideas for revising it; see my review here.
13. Conquerors of Underearth
CoU
(also called CUE) is mentioned as having been very close to publication –
Scanner in Space Gamer No. 61 stated that it was due for a late spring release
with an asking price of $7.95. Another Keith Gross game, this one at least was
described in some detail, taken from a Designer’s Introduction to DoU by Keith
Gross in Interplay No. 8:
- DoU
was actually a *byproduct* of CoU, but got published first owing to its
simplicity
- CoU
was intended to be a combination MicroGame-MicroQuest
- A
full designer’s intro to CoU was intended to be published in Interplay No. 9
(which, naturally, never saw the light of day)
- CoU
was intended to use DoU characters on a LoU scale strategic map, with
MicroQuest paragraphs
- CoU
dealt with adventurers entering a Goblin fortress and encountering organized
military units, and as such involved 10-20+ warriors per battle
- There
was an implication that CoU was originally intended to be a TFT supplement, but
because of the large numbers of combatants, use of AM/AW/ITL slowed things up
too much, thus the decision to design a streamlined “Son of the Fantasy Trip”
- Talents
listed in DoU were going to be described in CoU
It
was also mentioned that CoU could use more playtesting, and that some rules had
been omitted from the manuscript that were considered critical to the
continuity of the other Underearth games. Further, about twice as much editing
would be required over DoU, since it is a complete game with scenarios rather than
a set of RPG rules. Interestingly, a mass combat game of this sort had been
envisioned from the very beginning; the Designers Notes article in TSG No. 12
specifically mentions the concept of a “wargame” version of TFT. The review of
Dragons of Underearth in TSG No. 55 mentioned the fact that talents were going
to be described within CoU. The 1981 Metagaming Catalog stated that this was to
published in a MetaGame format. (ref: Status Report by Kevin Hendryx dated Feb
’82, Interplay Nos. 6, 7, & 8, Metagaming Catalog 1981, and Space Gamer Nos. 12 & 55, and 61).
14. Soldier City - Shaylle
This,
interestingly enough, did get published as City of the Sacred Flame by
GameLords, Ltd. for their Haven campaign under the Thieves Guild
rules system. Originally written to describe the capital of Darok in detail,
Gamelords rewrote it when Metagaming tanked by removing some of the TFT game
mechanics and Land Beyond the Mountains background, but kept all of the
basic encounters. There is, thus, a very noticeable “substrate” of TFT-LBTM
material in the module, if you look closely. Certain mentioned spells, talents,
and even creatures are straight TFT (one description of a pet “monkey” shows
how quickly they edited it - at the end of the paragraph they forgot to put
“monkey” in place of “slinker”, showing the original intended TFT critter).
Indeed, one could rewrite it back to something closely resembling its original
intended form. The hard part is figuring out the names and especially some of
the historical background, as they ended up changing a lot of details to “fit”
into the Haven campaign. Worse, since they only had the Darok and Dihad
components, they made the two of them mortal enemies, rather than their mutual
enemy, Muipoco. Of note is that the encounters that I have read through are
actually pretty interesting and well thought out; it’ll take sharp players to
catch what is really going on (ref: City of the Sacred Flame, Interplay
No. 7, and 1/3/03 e-mail from author Walter Hunt, formerly of GameLords,
mentioning how it was altered after HT cancelled the contract.)
15. Intrigue in Plaize
As
with “Soldier City” this was similarly rewritten by GameLords and published as Within
the Tyrant’s Demesne. Originally intended for release in April of 1983.
Detailed the capitol of Dihad. Again, this one could also be “restored” to
something like its original state, though the initial impression is that this
one seems trickier than the Shaylle module. The rewrite, according to Richard
Meyer, took about six weeks. (ref: Within the Tyrant’s Demesne, Space
Gamer No. 61, Fantasy Gamer No. 1, and 1/3/03 e-mail from Walter Hunt, formerly
of GameLords, mentioning how it was altered after HT cancelled the contract.)
16. TFT Yearbook
Published
only once as the “Fantasy Master’s Codex” in 1981, it was intended to be
released annually with updates, new material, errata, and so forth. It is strange
that nothing was released in 1982.
17. Campaign Guides
There
was a stated intention to introduce TFT supplements to detail particular
cultures, such as medieval Japan (“Samurais”) and China, Vikings, Egyptians,
Aztecs, Zulus, Hellenes, Mongols, and Incas. Interest was also expressed in
creating fantasy campaign backgrounds, to include new races, monsters, magic
and so forth (ref: Interplay Nos. 1 & 2)
18. Monster Manual
This
concept goes back to the beginning, with mention of a monster manual in the
Designers Notes article in TSG No. 12, which would incorporate (edited) gamer
ideas. In a reply to a reader’s inquiry in Interplay, Trace Hollowell mentioned
that some sort of a monster compendium was in the works, and William Gustafson
also stated that a new monster book was to be the first book for a revised 2nd
Edition of ITL. This was supposed to have a LOT of monsters. (ref: Interplay
Nos. 3 & 4 and Space Gamer No. 12)
19. Second Edition TFT/ITL
Mentioned
in Interplay No. 4. William Gustafson was to be the author. No details given as
to the kinds of changes that were to be made, though it is a safe bet that any
“Steve Jacksonisms” would have been written out with extreme prejudice… (ref:
Interplay No. 4 and Space Gamer No. 12)
20. Religion Rules Supplement
This
was requested in Interplay #2, and that it was intended to be “broad enough to
handle all Terran religions and religions for other races” and emphasized that
a separate form of magic should NOT be created. Paul Manz wrote a set of rules
in Interplay No. 4 that were basically inspired by D&D (ref: Interplay Nos.
2 & 4; see also the Letters section in Interplay No. 7 for critiques of Manz’s
article).
21. Mounted Combat MicroGame
To
be used with Melee to augment the fast rules given in Advanced Melee. The
article in Space Gamer #18 predates publication of Advanced Melee, and is thus
not really relevant (ref: Interplay No. 2 and Space Gamer No. 18).
22. Ship Combat Module
Requested
in Interplay No. 2 and intended to cover combat aboard and presumably between
ships in TFT terms. Something like this based on Ramspeed appeared in
Space Gamer No. 24. Interplay No. 6 mentioned that a new ship combat module for
use with TFT was in the works, to be done by the Ramspeed game designer
Colin Keizer (ref: Interplay Nos. 2 & 6 and Space Gamer No. 24)
23. Building Rules
Intended
to cover rules for construction, costs, time, etc. (ref: Interplay No. 2)
24. Magazine expansions
Not
really a supplement, per se. Interplay was slated to grow to 48 pages, with an
increase in cover price. A TFT specific magazine was proposed as well, that
would have been a full colour quarterly featuring an adventure in each issue and
a cover price of 4 to 5 dollars. (ref: Interplay No. 5)
25. Additional MicroQuests and
TFT Campaign Modules
In
the works were 4 to 6 new Microquests and 3 to 4 TFT campaign modules. It is
likely that the campaign modules were for the Land Beyond the Mountains
campaign. Some of the other material has probably been described above. (ref:
Interplay No. 5)
26. Trevalia
An
offhand statement on p. 18 of “Warrior Lords of Darok” indicated that a
supplement for this province, located somewhere west of Darok, over the
mountains, was coming out “…when time
permits.” Presumably a separate module might also have been written for
this province’s capitol, Triyal, as was intended for the other LBTM materials.
(ref: Warrior Lords of Darok)
27. Starman
A
tactical man-to-man future combat intended to be compatible with TFT - this
probably became Starleader: Assault! (ref: Space Gamer No. 17)
28. Medieval Siege Game
This
was mentioned in Space Gamer but nothing seems to have come of it. While it was
a stand alone MicroGame, there is a possibility that it might have been made
TFT compatible, as was done with “Lords of Underearth”. (ref: Space Gamer No.
26)
29. Khitin’s Hive
This
title was noted on a Metagaming order form dated February 1982, with a
scheduled release date of October 1982. This might have been a sequel of some
sort to Chitin I, however, rather than a MicroQuest. (ref: Vindicator No. 2)
30. LBTM Module for Muipoco
Mentioned
in the introductions to Warrior Lords of Darok and Forest Lords of
Dihad, it was supposed to come out later in ’82 - obviously that never
happened! One wonders what “theme” this province would have had, and how they
manage to survive fighting in a two front war (yes, the Soukhori are
manipulating things, but there *has* to be some superior military capability to
provide a basis for success). Since the Darok module had a focus on warriors
and battle magic, and Dihad on magic and trade, one would surmise that Muipoco
had something of both. Their military is implied to be quite good, perhaps at a
Renaissance level with a professional mage corps for magical support - maybe a
little like Venice in the 16th century, but with sorcery. This is
reinforced by the references to gunrunners in the Dihad module. Perhaps the
title could have been either “Warlords of Muipoco” or “Merchant Lords of
Muipoco”? Both have a certain ring to them, but I have no idea what might have
been. (ref: WLD and FLD)
31. LBTM Module for Soukhor
Also
mentioned in WLD and FLD; would have been released at the same time as the Muipoco
module. This one, at least, is a little easier to get a grip on - obviously a
heavy focus would be on excavating Mnoren ruins and investigating various
technological artifacts. I can even hazard a credible guess at what the title
may have been: “Tech Lords of Soukhor”. In fact, I will go one step further and
propose cover art for the module: have a king or ruler sitting on throne,
contemplating an offering brought in by some peasant, who kneels before him
holding up a broken TV; flanking the throne are a pair of Reptile Men, armed
with halberds and large six-shot revolvers strapped to their sides. A
hodge-podge of modern items may be seen displayed as trophies on the walls of
the room, including random car parts, a stop sign, a computer printer, a bazooka,
etc. (ref: WLD & FLD)
32. Microquest Sequel to Silver Dragon and Unicorn Gold
Howard
Thompson stated the following in his designer’s notes: “TREASURE OF THE UNICORN GOLD is a sequel to TREASURE OF THE SILVER
DRAGON. UNICORN is the second of a planned treasure hunt trilogy. The third
hunt will come after the UNICORN has been found.” So, how does one top a
Silver Dragon and Gold Unicorn, you ask? Presumably a Platinum something or another... Perhaps, in
keeping with the Meso-American theme of the previous two MicroQuests, it might
have been a Coatl, a feathered
serpent of that culture’s mythology. Mention of a third quest is also made in
SG No. 33 “News and Plugs.” Of course, this project might have been derailed by
the problems Unicorn Gold ran into with the U.S. Forest Service, even if
Metagaming had stayed afloat. (ref: Space Gamer No. 33 and Interplay No. 3)
33. The Inner Sea
TFT
Campaign supplement by Jack Burlin. Was playtested by Bill Gustaphson and awaiting
final decision from Thompson. Alas, no further information is available.
(Source: Status Report by Kevin Hendryx dated Feb ’82.)
34. The Kanirvan Conspiracy
This
proposal by Kevin Hendryx has a convoluted history. The genesis of this
supplement goes back to when Kevin was working at TSR. He had been assigned the
task of rewriting Len Lakofka’s original manuscript for The Secret of Bone
Hill, which had been deemed “unsuitable” as submitted. Kevin’s rewrite was
very extensive, and also expanded upon the original scenario by adding a new
dungeon inhabited by an evil cleric and his lizard men minions. When Len heard
about the rewrite, however, he contacted Gary Gygax and protested. Gary then ordered the
design department to simply edit the original submission. Thus, Kevin’s
rewritten material was discarded. So as not to waste all of this effort,
however, Kevin resubmitted the dungeon and plot as a separate module, Against
the Cult of the Reptile God.
When Kevin resigned from TSR
and went back to Metagaming, he took this proposal with him, reworking it and
renaming it to The Kanirvan Conspiracy. But somewhat soon afterwards,
Howard Thompson decided to eliminate his design staff, and by early 1983
Metagaming folded, and this proposal was never realized.
Curiously, TSR had not
forgotten about the concept, and in late 1982 the published it as module N1.
35. The Forest Oracle
Another
proposal by Kevin Hendryx that was originally made to TSR but later made to
Metagaming when he came back there. Later published by TSR as module N2. It is
not clear if this was part of the rewrite to the original Secret of Bone
Hill manuscript, or a separate proposal altogether. Also unknown is whether
this was the title proposed to Metagaming, or if Kevin called it something else.
36. Sword of the Jorisseri
Written
by Jeff Edmunds. Not clear if this is TFT or not; the note indicated that it
was “un-publishable as is” but also that it had been “accepted, unfortunately.”
Likely was a MicroGame, rather than a TFT related item, but it is mentioned
here in the off chance that it was TFT related (ref: Status Report by Kevin
Hendryx dated Feb ’82).
Other
Material that Could or Should have been in Work:
According
to the Introductions to WLD and FLD, companion volumes detailing the life and
denizens of the capitol cities for Muipoco and Soukhor were also to be
published. As a point of fact, though, neither of these two provinces were
sketched out beyond the most hazy of outlines, according to Gamelords president
(and, as he put it, “chief bottle washer”) Richard Meyer in personal
communication. Going beyond that, one might envision supplements or MicroQuests
involving Skull Rock in Darok, the Dwarven city of Rhuz in the Asenborgs, or
Mnoren ruins in Soukhor (as noted previous one may suspect that this last may
have been the root of the Energy Crisis module - would that more
information was available on it). There certainly was plenty of room for
further development, here.
One
might think that more MicroQuests or even a Campaign Module might have been
called for as a sequel/expansion to either or both of the Death Test/Orb Quest
and Silver Dragon/ Golden Unicorn series. For example, I could see a MicroQuest
to bring down whoever it was that was gathering the Orbs and attempting to
bring down the Thorsz, or a module along the lines of WLD or FLD to expand the
Dragonodon gameworld.
Elyntia
could also have supported a number of modules, if only for the Duchy of Dran,
the Gargoyle Mountains, and so forth. An expanded map would have been nice, as
well, to show where everything (i.e. LBTM, Elyntia, Tanander, Underearth) was
located in relationship to one another. Of course, that might well have been
covered in Kevin Hendryx’s proposed “Realms (or whatever) of Cidri.”
It
is also to be noted that Steve Jackson apparently had some additional material
for TFT/Cidri. In his article regarding the development of TFT and errata for
the published game in The Space Gamer No. 29, July 1980, Mr. Jackson stated
that:
“One supplement
that I designed, and several that I edited, are at Metagaming now and may
eventually be published. There is dispute over the status of another supplement
originally designed for TFT. I have literally reams of notes that were intended
for later TFT games or supplements. If these ever are used, they will probably
appear in a generalized form, suitable for any fantasy system.”
One can only speculate as to whatever became of the supplement that he designed; it is obviously
something apart from Death Test II. That last statement regarding “reams of
notes” is particularly interesting; it would suggest that at least some of the
material that ended up in the original release of GURPS, including perhaps Caravan to Ein Arras, All in a Night’s Work, (both of these in
the original GURPS boxed set) Orcslayer,
and GURPS Fantasy, were perhaps
modified from their original TFT/Cidri form and put into GURPS instead.
Conclusion:
Amazing
what might have been, particularly when one considers the genuine quality of Orb
Quest and the Land Beyond the Mountains modules, (to include the
final capitol modules intended for Darok and Dihad). Why oh why couldn’t
Thompson have waited a couple of months (at least) to close the doors! Think of
it – Ultra Force, Conquerors of Underearth, Runesword of
Regalan, and Prison of the Spectral Demon, along with Intrigue in
Plaize, and Soldier City: Shaylle in their originally intended
forms, would all very likely have been released, along with perhaps another
issue or two of Interplay. Alas for TFT fans everywhere! What a tragic and
inexcusable loss.
One
has to wonder what held up publication of some of the above, though. For
example, both Conquerors of Underearth and Nosferatu were
apparently nearly complete back in February of 1982. Surely they could have
gotten them done well before Metagaming collapsed over a year later! One
becomes even more perplexed contemplating the six months between the release of
Interplay No. 8 (the last issue) and the closing of Metagaming - even
considering that the last issue was delayed owing to the company’s move they
still should have managed one or even two more issues. It does make one curious
as to what was going on internally at Metagaming from March 1982 to April 1983
when they officially ceased operations - obviously the collapse was not sudden,
and had been building for some time.
Also
of great interest are the hints of a 2nd Edition ITL. I wonder how
far along they had gotten when Metagaming went under? One also wonders what
sort of direction they were going to take the game in terms of rules changes,
new material, etc.
As
an aside, I wonder if manuscripts for any of these proposed games, supplements,
or MicroQuests survived, and might be available in some fashion or another? Or
at the least more useful descriptions of some of the un-described materials,
perhaps related by the authors themselves (if they can even remember after all
these years). If anyone has any additional information, or knows someone that
does, now is a good time to come forward! I would pay hard cash for any
surviving draft manuscripts, for their collector’s value.
