tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post8280473779959303194..comments2024-03-29T07:58:31.156-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: White Dwarf: Issue #28James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-54518314951555624812022-02-26T04:57:14.554-05:002022-02-26T04:57:14.554-05:00James, I think you've answered your own questi...James, I think you've answered your own question there! <br /><br />Dick, I'm not sure there was much competition between the two rule sets: the author of Laserburn was Bryan Ansell, the same person who ran Citadel Figures that produced the Spacefarers line of figures that the GW rules were named after.Krhysdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10584640780539225554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-59230486758434987512022-02-24T07:04:04.587-05:002022-02-24T07:04:04.587-05:00@clawcover is spot on. There wasn't much to bu...@clawcover is spot on. There wasn't much to buy in the wsy if fantasy except Tolkien, Lieber, Howard and Donaldson.<br /><br />But there were paperbacks of Foundation everywhere.Sir Harrokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11064391207365006286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-71562757046152163072022-02-23T08:41:57.934-05:002022-02-23T08:41:57.934-05:00Ah, thanks. That makes more sense. Don't thi...Ah, thanks. That makes more sense. Don't think it would be an exaggeration to call the Phoenix RPG obscure, whereas I actually owned a copy of the GW one by 1985 or thereabouts. Not a bad set of minis rules although we played it entirely with 15mm Laserburn figs - which is pretty ironic, considering the competing history of teh two games.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-13216159318958428462022-02-22T21:17:02.792-05:002022-02-22T21:17:02.792-05:00It's the GW Spacefarers.It's the GW <i>Spacefarers</i>.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-64576528222268931052022-02-22T21:14:04.050-05:002022-02-22T21:14:04.050-05:00Hmmm...I'm a little confused about that conver...Hmmm...I'm a little confused about that conversion article, specifically the Spacefarers to Traveller bit. Are we talking about the late 70s Spacefarers from Phoenix Games (which was definitely an RPG, although I never saw a copy in person) or the 1981 Spacefarers from Games Workshop? The latter was more of a very small model count minis game with some light RPG elements, but it was also brand new, and from GW, and I can see where it could be converted to Traveller easily so the 15mm scale minis range could be used with Snapshot/AHL/Mercenary/Striker.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-81157683387419993982022-02-22T21:08:41.728-05:002022-02-22T21:08:41.728-05:00FGU's Space Opera had come out in 1980, and wa...FGU's Space Opera had come out in 1980, and was making some waves at that point. Being in bed with Martian Metals didn't hurt any with that.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-73525048125677479372022-02-22T12:01:01.073-05:002022-02-22T12:01:01.073-05:00En Garde! is niche, but it's audience was alre...En Garde! is niche, but it's audience was already established by that point. And my impression is that it was always bigger in the UK than the US; certainly it was prominent enough that I picked up my copy from Virgin Megastore. (The jokes write themselves really, don't they?)Shock Sloganshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06453687268664353943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-70913512022185470452022-02-22T10:48:27.019-05:002022-02-22T10:48:27.019-05:00On the obscure conversions to Traveller, Space Que...On the obscure conversions to Traveller, Space Quest and Spacefaring, while obscure, were among the few contenders to Traveller.<br /><br />En Garde and Chivalry and Sorcery make sense, and I believe C&S had particular popularity in the UK.Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15855679156477779666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-44444087435443268142022-02-22T10:45:18.171-05:002022-02-22T10:45:18.171-05:00One consideration for The Dragon - TSR's only ...One consideration for The Dragon - TSR's only SFRPGs at the time were Metamorphosis Alpha and Gama World.Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15855679156477779666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-3443334068069862452022-02-22T09:56:43.936-05:002022-02-22T09:56:43.936-05:00Quite possibly; it's all a bit before my time,...Quite possibly; it's all a bit before my time, but the Anderson stuff was constantly repeated as I was growing up a few years later, so I can well believe they were around 79-81 too.thekelvingreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928260185408072124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-92049861411371454242022-02-22T09:49:52.340-05:002022-02-22T09:49:52.340-05:00SF was prevalent in popular culture at that time. ...SF was prevalent in popular culture at that time. Dr Who and Blakes 7 have been mentioned. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy had expanded from radio series to novels to TV. 2000 AD was widely read and very influential, at least in my peer group. Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers might have finished but we were still eagerly awaiting the third film in the Star Wars trilogy.<br /><br />The SF sections in bookshops still boasted shelves full of Anderson, Asimov, Dickson, Harrison, Silverberg, Van Vogt, etc. There was high fantasy too, of course, but it was not the publishing behemoth it would become. (The Belgariad was just around the corner.)<br /><br />Perhaps it's less surprising that White Dwarf should feature SF so heavily than that Dragon did not.ClawCarverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07236809815213343281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-62156225644829647922022-02-22T09:01:32.070-05:002022-02-22T09:01:32.070-05:00"Basically, McWilliams presents a situation i..."Basically, McWilliams presents a situation involving multiple alien life forms with which the characters are not familiar and only be observation and thought can they be sure which is – or is not – a threat."<br /><br />That sounds like something from James White or Poul Anderson, both of whom wrote stories where the protagonists are confronted with unfamiliar species and have trouble figuring out which ones are even sapient, much less dangerous. Good concept for a mystery adventure, especially if there's a time pressure element built in - a medical emergency for White's work, or pursuing enemies for Anderson.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-52920484393574520412022-02-22T08:53:52.604-05:002022-02-22T08:53:52.604-05:00Wasn't there also a lot of influence from Gerr...Wasn't there also a lot of influence from Gerry Anderson's shows? Space 1999 was running throughout the mid-70s, and his earlier shows (both UFO and the puppet stuff) must have still been in reruns.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-46331626526358893702022-02-22T06:56:42.077-05:002022-02-22T06:56:42.077-05:00Very possible. The popular Tom Baker era had just ...Very possible. The popular Tom Baker era had just finished in March 1981. <i>Blakes 7</i> had also just finished in December 1981.thekelvingreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928260185408072124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-19497812061639077862022-02-22T04:37:12.746-05:002022-02-22T04:37:12.746-05:00Just making a guess here, but the reason for more ...Just making a guess here, but the reason for more prominence of science fiction in White Dwarf might be down to Dr Who. Certainly it was prominent in the TV schedules in the late 70s and early 80s when we only had 3 TV channels broadcasting. Dr Who was also the keystone of the science fiction and fantasy section of my local libraries. There was far more SF than fantasy available to me.Jacob72https://www.blogger.com/profile/17268402292420473229noreply@blogger.com