Islandia modules • Page 5 • Collecting General

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Islandia modules
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mbassoc2003
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Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2023 5:51 am

Badmike wrote in Islandia modules:Three years later and it appears mbassoc and I were right lol. I still hope we can see updated printings of this stuff in my lifetime.

Mike B

This won't be published until the IP owner speeks to someone who is interested in bringing the product to market and establishing a digital legacy for the authors' works.
As it is we have some greedy f"ck who turned up here to explain why he wanted money out of this.

This week I've been mostly eating . . . The white ones with the little red flecks in them.

Deadlord
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Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2023 9:25 am

It seems to me the gaming world has shifted from DMs mostly coming up with their own material to purchasing books and adventures and reading them off to players. Imagination in gaming died out quite a while ago due to the player base becoming less and less equipped mentally and psychologically to come up with their own stuff. Remember how we as DMs would constantly be trying to think up new things to add to our campaigns? That doesn't happen anymore.
Very few of the current generation of gamers are interested in "old" stuff. Due to the influence of video games, they are more interested in half blue dragon/half ochre jelly ninja paladins who start out with +3 swords of mutilation and have abilities like "Spinning strike: hit all enemies within 50'". So basically, I think any older product that was updated would look almost nothing like the original.

If you hit a Rowsdower, you get to keep it.

aia
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Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2023 12:20 am

Deadlord wrote in Islandia modules:It seems to me the gaming world has shifted from DMs mostly coming up with their own material to purchasing books and adventures and reading them off to players. Imagination in gaming died out quite a while ago due to the player base becoming less and less equipped mentally and psychologically to come up with their own stuff. Remember how we as DMs would constantly be trying to think up new things to add to our campaigns? That doesn't happen anymore.
Very few of the current generation of gamers are interested in "old" stuff. Due to the influence of video games, they are more interested in half blue dragon/half ochre jelly ninja paladins who start out with +3 swords of mutilation and have abilities like "Spinning strike: hit all enemies within 50'". So basically, I think any older product that was updated would look almost nothing like the original.

Man you made my day!
...and moreover that is one of the concepts i wrote in the intro of my game! (I didn't use the half dragon/half jelly, i used the ninja/pirate example however...)

mbassoc2003
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Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2023 2:53 am

Blue Dragon/Ochre Jelly Ninja/Paladins? Can they p!ss Bud Lite?

In defence of the current generation of authors in the OSR space, those who write backwards compatable products, there is a lot of tallent in that author pool, and publishers that assemble that work into pretty attreactive reading materials. Today's published content is as good as I've seen it. But ofcourse that talks to the demand in the market for creative and tallented people to do the thinking and sketching for the masses who choose not to think for themselves.

It used to be a case that what was published by the likes of Judges Guild and TSR was not so far removed from the creative abilities of many DMs (access to professional typesetting aside), whereas today, the gulf between the creative author and the avergae 5e DM is astonomical. As a newbie DM picking up D&D/OSR today, it must seem impossible ever have the tallent or imagination to think for ones self when presented with the quality of published materials.

This week I've been mostly eating . . . The white ones with the little red flecks in them.

ZardokhasSpoken
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Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2024 7:20 pm

Back in 2008 someone on the paizo forums asked about The Companions products and this was the one reply:

Wm John Wheeler, one of the authors in question, honored me with his close friendship for the past 12 years. He recently died from complications of diabetes.

I have a great deal of his source material on Islandia, as well as a good deal of material he worked on afterwards. I am in the process of completing a module he and Peter started called "The Black Riders".

I am in touch with Peter Rice occasionally, and will float to him the idea of publishing some of the material in pdf form. I'm not sure what the legalities are, though, as the older works were sold to various publishers.

-Scott Thompson

Does anyone have any info on Scott Thompson?

Cheers!

Zardok

mbassoc2003
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2024 9:21 am

There was someone here on Acaeum who cropped up talking about publishing/re-publishing works, but he made it very clear that he was not interested in preserving Wheeler & Rices legacy. He wanted to make money from it, and if he couldn't make money he was not interested in publishing anything. The guy seemed like a paracite and I'm sure the conversation would be findabe. Indeed it may be earlier in this thread but I'm not gonna go hunting.

This week I've been mostly eating . . . The white ones with the little red flecks in them.

throwi
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2024 11:28 am

I had also volunteered to assist reproducing any Companions work or completing unpublished work in the same earlier thread.

I met both Wm John Wheeler and Peter Rice at MassConfusion in 1984 and spent an hour talking to them about writing and publishing. I bought Brotherhood of the Bolt from them at that con (spent nearly 25% of my weekend budget and went without dinner that night!)...

I love their work and genuinely would love to assist in anyway. I'd volunteer my time to help in whatever way possible. I consider the Companions work some of the best 3rd party material ever made.

To anyone with the power to move forward with Companions work, either old or new, I can be of assistance.

--Thom Wilson, ThrowiGames LLC

aia
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Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2024 2:42 am

Ditto!

mbassoc2003 wrote in Islandia modules:There was someone here on Acaeum who cropped up talking about publishing/re-publishing works, but he made it very clear that he was not interested in preserving Wheeler & Rices legacy. He wanted to make money from it, and if he couldn't make money he was not interested in publishing anything. The guy seemed like a paracite and I'm sure the conversation would be findabe. Indeed it may be earlier in this thread but I'm not gonna go hunting.

I remember that discussion and it ended in the usual way: a couple of acaeumites gave their availability to give a hand or to support any new or reprinted Companion product! Iirc i was in that list as well... and i would volunteer again now!

ZardokhasSpoken
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2024 7:23 am

Still curious if there is any info on this Scott Thompson who claimed to have materials directly from Wm John Wheeler. I am not very adept at tracking people down on the internet. Was hoping to get some help finding and contacting him. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Zardok

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