One of the things I remember most about Games Workshop of old was its publication of UK editions of American RPGs, often in a better and more attractive format. Unfortunately, most of these editions never made it across the Atlantic, so I only ever had the chance to see photographs of them rather than physical copies. In the years since, I've rectified this somewhat, as in the case of the 1987 version of Stormbringer, and these UK editions are every bit as remarkable as I hoped they'd be.
One I have never seen, though, is the 1985 version of the Middle-earth Role Playing boxed set, which boasted this cover:
I only even know of the existence of this version because of advertisements I saw in the pages of White Dwarf. The artwork really grabbed my attention in a way that the US ICE version did not and I hoped I might one day be able to see it in the flesh, so to speak.
Did anyone reading this ever own or even see a copy?
A friend in Rome owned a copy. I never had the chance to open it, but I remember it being a big box, Avalon Hill style, with a dark purple-blue side
ReplyDelete.... I found some pictures. I didn't know it had cardboard heroes by Dennis Loubet!
ReplyDeletehttps://shopontheborderlands.co.uk/product/middle-earth-role-playing-merp-boxed-ice-games-workshop-edition/
Ooh, Loubet artwork is always a positive selling point for me. Love his style.
DeleteYes. But I'm British and loved MERP
ReplyDeleteIn years of watching Ebay, I've seen it show up just a few times.
ReplyDeleteIt's an amazing piece that still haunts me after all these years. Possibly my all-time favourite RPG cover in fact.
ReplyDeleteThe cover almost looks like WFRP, in contrast to the secession-like Liz Danforth artwork.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm pretty sure the cover artist is Chris Achilleos
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed.
DeleteChris was at Fighting Fantasy Fest 3 in 2019, offering amazing insights into painting fantasy art over the last few decades (such as the amazing covers of Out of the Pit and Titan), but sadly passed away in 2021. A titan of the genre and much missed. RIP
DeleteI'm British, so of course I owned the American version! I now own both (and the other versions too) - and despite my love of MERP art I'm not convinced by the illustrations for the rulebooks. The original cover - of a party searching through a treasure pile, not noticing the wight behind about to attack - evokes adventuring (like the AD&D covers) but is unconvincing in its execution. This one to me is more suited to a Games Workshop wargame than an RPG. The next cover has the Fellowship on it - which is clearly selling it as Tolkien - but they're kind of stood around posing for an informal photograph. The 2nd edition cover is the Nagul attack on weathertop and one Nazgul is looking at another as if to say "I thought my LARP getup was unconvincing - but what on earth possessed you to wear that helmet?". Probably the best MERP rulebook cover is the redone version of the third one that's on the cover of Against the Darkmaster!
ReplyDeleteI did have a copy of this given to me by someone who was clearing out his collection. I sent it to top rpg artist Jez Gordon because I knew he was a bigger fan of Lord of the Rings than I was!
ReplyDeleteI have the GW versions of Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest 3, and Stormbringer. I believe the GW CoC got a fairly wide release in the US as it was the official third edition, but I may be wrong on that.
ReplyDeleteThe holy grail for me is the GW edition of D&D with John Blanche cover art. I suspect I will never find a copy, but I keep an eye out, just in case.
I spotted the GW CoC 3rd Edition in a used bookstore in a small city in the Midwest in the mid-90s. I sometimes kick myself for not picking it up.
DeleteGW Stormbringer (my favorite edition) was quite easily available in Italy bitd.
ReplyDeleteI've seen some 3 or 4 copies in my circles (including my copy :) )
Same goes for RQ, both the GW prints of second edition and the AH edition got some circulation here
I have the Revised 1st Edition (American) - have never seen the others! The McBride art does make it feel grounded and "real" as it has the look of his Osprey work on real life ancient warriors.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're blogging again! I just found out. (I know.)
ReplyDeleteCurrently reading your Mörk Borg review.
Man, do I ever have some catching up to do.
Looking forward to it.
I had and still have this. In a classic case of the grass always being greener, I preferred the US art, but I've never seen a physical edition of that.
ReplyDeleteI had a huge poster of these picture over my bed in my parents house room. ¡Amazing remembers!
ReplyDelete