Gaming tie-in media

[Gringnr]

There is so much gaming tie-in media out there. Novels primarily, but also comics, movies, even the occasional TV shows (remember the awful Kindred: The Embraced?), audio dramas and music. I wanted to make a thread for discussion, criticism and recommendations (or warnings lol) of various gaming media.

I sometimes like to read gaming novels as a prelude to running or playing a game, as a way to immerse myself in the "feel" of it. It isn't always necessary that the book be good, but it helps. In general, I tend to be more forgiving with gaming fiction than I would otherwise. Let's face it, its primary function is to sell stuff, just like Saturday morning cartoons. It ain't always gonna be high art.

One novel I read every few years is Netherworld (a World of Darkness: Vampire book), by Richard Lee Byers. I couldn't tell you if it's any good, but I enjoy it. It has a good plot hook (boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl disappears practically in front of him, boy searches for girl, boy discovers that there is a lot more to the girl- and the world- than he ever could have imagined), and strikes just the right balance of conforming to the lore of its source material without awkwardly shoehorning it in.

There are a few Traveller novels, spanning several iterations of the game, that have been written, some of which are quite good (one even written by Marc Miller himself!). There are also quite a few "unofficial" Traveller novels out there, many written early in the game's history by people like Jefferson Swycaffer (8 books, currently selling for a buck each on Amazon)and Gregory P. Lee (author of many early Traveller supplements), although his books are described as merely "inspired by". I am slowly working my way through the Swycaffer ones, and despite his (admitted) shortcomings as an author, I am enjoying them. I saw recently that game (and gaming fiction) author Paul Kidd (writer of the ultra-obscure 1st and 2nd editions of the Albedo roleplaying game, as well as some D&D and Gamma World novels) has written a trilogy of unofficial Traveller novels, whose protagonists are gay space pirates! So, if you've ever felt that there just weren't enough gay pirates in Traveller, well, he's got you covered.

Years ago, I read all of Gary Gygax's "Gord the Rogue" books. Can't remember too much about them, but I finished them. Either they were good, or I was really bored. I read some other D&D stuff, Salvatore and Niles, but nothing really grabbed me. The sheer volume of D&D tie-in books! Who could read them all? I'm sure someone has.

Same with the Warhammer and 40K books. There are so many! No, Warhammer has never been my cup of tea, setting-wise, but I do enjoy the claustrophobic theater of Space Hulk. There is a novel based on it, it sits on my "one of these days" pile.

I read a Paranoia novel once, Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Shot, by Ken Rolston. It was very good. Perfectly captured the setting. Now that I think about it, There was a 6-issue comic series from Malibu based on Paranoia that was quite good as well. Must be something about that setting that lends itself to other media.

Speaking of comics, there are , naturally, comic series based on superhero RPGs Champions and Villains & Vigilantes. I haven't read the Champions ones (there are a lot of them), but the V&V one was not very good. I'm a big fan of Jeff Dee (who did the art), but it is what it is.

Lately, I've been listening to Space: 1889 audio dramas. I've never really listened to audio dramas, but I've been listening to them during my workouts, and it's been pleasant.

Anyway, I'm not trying to write a LiveJournal here. I just wanted to start some discussion about Gaming-related media. Do you read/watch/listen to it? If so, what and why? Anything you want to recommend as being exemplary? Anything you want to deride as terrible? Has it improved your gaming experience?

Discuss.

P.S. Sorry if there was already a thread for this. I looked, and didn't see one.

P.P.S. Is there any C&C fiction? Seems like there would be (I just checked, and there is). Heck, there are THREE anthologies of fiction for All Flesh Must Be Eaten. Chill (2nd edition from Mayfair) put one out, but it was just a bunch of horror stories, of which only a few had any actual link to the game...

[Buttmonkey]

My take is gaming tie-in media almost always sucks. Hard.

[Gringnr]

Yeah, well, somebody's buying all of those 40K novels. I thought Titanic was terrible, that didn't stop it from setting records.

[Treebore]

I've read some that I have liked over the years, but I have found that I have enjoyed the more general sci fi, fanrtasy and horror, and then got better results adapting it myself to whichever RPG I wanted to explore the ideas with.

[Gringnr]

I've read some that I have liked over the years, but I have found that I have enjoyed the more general sci fi, fanrtasy and horror, and then got better results adapting it myself to whichever RPG I wanted to explore the ideas with.

Yep. Whenever I read a good non-gaming book, I try to think of ways to use the ideas in games...

[serleran]

Would it have to be a book?

[Treebore]

Would it have to be a book?

Definitely not! TV series, movies, comics, they all work!

[Gringnr]

Would it have to be a book?

Not at all, see the OP

[Buttmonkey]

Yeah, well, somebody's buying all of those 40K novels. I thought Titanic was terrible, that didn't stop it from setting records.

The OP did ask if there is anything I want to deride as terrible. I may shake my head at people who enjoy gaming tie-in media, but I don't look down at them.

[Gringnr]

Yeah, well, somebody's buying all of those 40K novels. I thought Titanic was terrible, that didn't stop it from setting records.

The OP did ask if there is anything I want to deride as terrible. I may shake my head at people who enjoy gaming tie-in media, but I don't look down at them.

I'm not critiquing you, or necessarily disagreeing with you. Most gaming fiction is pretty bad. But, hey, I like a lot of bad movies, too.

[DMMike]

There's already Victorious fiction in one story of the Capes & Clockwork II anthology, though several of those stories could be useful to a Genteel Magistrate both as inspiration and possible NPCs.

As for others, I know I'll get crap for it...but I liked Paul Kidd's D&D novels! Sure they're not Epic Fantasy (TM) but they're a lot of fun. They stay faithful to the genre (They are set in Greyhawk) and hold together better than any other D&D I've read. His Gamma World novel was fun too, but not in the same way as his D&D work. In fact, I think Paul Kidd did some C&C supplement?

I wasn't fond of Kidd's Traveller novels (I did the review on Amazon as Zombie Chow) but nobody's perfect.

The animated Dragonlance movie wasn't awful, and of course the D&D cartoon from the 80s is fun if not entirely faithful to the game. The All Flesh anthologies were fun, but many of the stories weren't consistenc, having all sorts of zombie types or outbreaks so that it felt like a 'normal' horror anthology based on zombies and not game fiction.


More as I think of 'em...

GM Mike

[Gringnr]

There's already Victorious fiction in one story of the Capes & Clockwork II anthology, though several of those stories could be useful to a Genteel Magistrate both as inspiration and possible NPCs.

As for others, I know I'll get crap for it...but I liked Paul Kidd's D&D novels! Sure they're not Epic Fantasy (TM) but they're a lot of fun. They stay faithful to the genre (They are set in Greyhawk) and hold together better than any other D&D I've read. His Gamma World novel was fun too, but not in the same way as his D&D work. In fact, I think Paul Kidd did some C&C supplement?

I wasn't fond of Kidd's Traveller novels (I did the review on Amazon as Zombie Chow) but nobody's perfect.

The animated Dragonlance movie wasn't awful, and of course the D&D cartoon from the 80s is fun if not entirely faithful to the game. The All Flesh anthologies were fun, but many of the stories weren't consistenc, having all sorts of zombie types or outbreaks so that it felt like a 'normal' horror anthology based on zombies and not game fiction.


More as I think of 'em...

GM Mike

I'm a big fan of Kidd's work on the Albedo RPG , even though furry stuff is def not my cup of tea. I'll have to check out his novels.

[alcyone]

Reminds me I have to read the second Mystara Penhaligon book, The Dragon's Tomb. The first one wasn't too bad. I wanted more Mystara background but it really could have taken place anywhere.

For C&C fiction there's the stuff from the Crusader, notably the Lay of the Lothian Princes series about the cursed mist elf Meltowg, which I don't think is finished.

[finarvyn]

I think that if the other media is done first, it's often better.

For example, the James Bond novels are excellent and the movies are mostly decent. They are great tie-in to the old 007 RPG. The Lord of the Rings novel and movies are great tie-ins for the RPG. The Star Wars movies are better than most of the modules, and the old WEG Star Wars RPG was pretty darned good. The Amber novels are pretty well reflected in the Amber Diceless RPG. All of these (and many more) are great examples of making a tie-in between an established literary world and an RPG.

Dragonlance was written specifically for the RPG setting, as were the Forgotten Realms and Ravenloft books.The original TORG trilogy was pretty decent and I enjoyed at least one Castle Falkenstein book. A mixed bag of quality and I don't see any of these as being as awesome as James Bond or Lord of the Rings novels.

I particularly like it when there is a board game tie-in above and beyond the RPG. John Carter has an old SPI board game plus OOP TSR miniatures rules (in addition to the books and the one movie) that all tie together. Dune has an old Avalon Hill board game which is pretty decent (plus movies and books) but not much RPG.

So ... if the question is about tie-ins to an RPG setting which was established first then my answer would be that the quality is often decent but not amazing. If the question is about tie-ins between established literary or movie settings and their RPGs then my answer would be a lot more positive.

[Gringnr]

While I can't disagree with your point, you seem to be talking about media tie-in gaming, rather than gaming tie-in media. Naturally, most media that serves as an inspiration for a game is usually going to be better than a game or supplements that are based on it. There may be exceptions. Paul Kidd was mentioned above, his Albedo RPG was excellent, and in my opinion, equal to the (equally unknown, sadly) comic which inspired it. In fact, one of the modules he wrote for the game was originally intended to be a novel. Would it have been comic book tie-in gaming tie-in fiction?

Then again, I'd say with confidence that the Star Wars "prequel" movies were so terrible that there are at least a couple of the old WEG Star Wars products that are better, story-wise. So, if we widen the net, so to speak, we might find reasons not to view the original media in such a favorable light. For example, you mentioned Ian Fleming's Bond books, which are excellent, according to many who have read and loved them. But if we include Bond novels written by authors other than Fleming, I think that even the most diehard James Bond fan would be forced to admit that there are some real turkeys among them. Law of averages, I guess. Mass production will almost always compromise artistic quality. I once read an interview with Rod Serling in which he described half of his Twilight Zone Scripts as "dogs".

I recently read somewhere that the Star Wars Rebels cartoon series has been found to contain references to things and events from West End Games' Star Wars RPG, which I thought was very interesting. It seems that media tie-in gaming has found its way into the official Star Wars canon! Either that, or some sneaky scriptwriter was letting his geek flag fly. But from what I read there have been many such references in the Rebels series.

Come to think of it, Isn't George R. R. Martin's long-running "Wild Cards" series of novels based on a Superworld campaign he's been playing for decades? Does that count as gaming tie-in media?

And, perhaps, one day, Joss Whedon will finally reveal the name of the RPG that inspired Firefly (*cough* Traveller *cough*), making that show one of the more successful examples of gaming tie-in media ever...

[serleran]

I've been thinking of a board game with RPG elements based on the Rings of Brass, where the board itself, initially, is a ring. Then things get more complex because I like games that change each time they're played... something like old school Warhammer Quest and a survival horror thing, maybe. Have some very basic concepts noted in the "Big Book."

[DMMike]

I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier, but wasn't there a Battletech cartoon in the 1990s? How was that as compared to the game? Novels by Stackpole?

Mike

[Gringnr]

There were three novels based on Car Wars. They were written by fairly well-known sci-fi authors David Drake, Mick Farren and Aaron Allston. The Drake one was good, and surprisingly dark. Haven't read the other two yet. There was also a tie-in Car Warriors comic from Marvel's Epic imprint, written by noted comic writer Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Steve Dillon (R.I.P.), who would go on to work on Hellblazer and Preacher.

[finarvyn]

While I can't disagree with your point, you seem to be talking about media tie-in gaming, rather than gaming tie-in media. Naturally, most media that serves as an inspiration for a game is usually going to be better than a game or supplements that are based on it.

Agreed, but my main point is that many of my favorite RPG campaigns have novels, movies or other components other than just the RPG. It's hard to find good examples where the RPG came first, probably because many of the media tie-ins for an RPG are written by folks who are not accomplished writers. If they would take a game setting and turn it over to a real writer (David Drake and Car Wars, for example) instead of an in-house guy, they would probably get better books.

[Gringnr]

Perhaps. Noted sci-fi and fantasy author Andre Norton wrote "Quag Keep" based on a D&D game she played at the invitation of Gary Gygax. Set in the world of Greyhawk, and published in 1978, the novel has mixed reviews.

[Treebore]

I turned this book into a great, saying so myself, of course, adventure scenario/mini campaign for one of my old face to face D&D groups. I have been thinking of doing it again for my newer online groups.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004AM5R2U/ ... TF8&btkr=1

There is another I have been trying to recall the name of, that was set in the mountains of South America, and involved caves, lost religions, and other creatures, but I can't even recall the author, let alone the book title. Pretty sure it was a horror novel, so likely written by one of my favorites.

[DMMike]

To be fair, David Weber started as an "in house" author for TFG's Starfire game. He wrote 3-4 novels based on that game/universe and it got his career jump started. So, not all in-house writers are bad!

GM Mike, hoping to be a in-house writer some day...

[Tadhg]

Great thread, Gring!

Much reading for thought. Still digesting.

I don't have anything to add, but I'm reminded that I need to read M.A.R. Barker's book and the one that Jim Ward said inspired his creation of MA.

With regard to your comment about Gord the Rogue - I've only read the first book and it was fabulous, in that it brought the World of Greyhawk alive in a way that was probably had to do back then.

I think TLG has succeeded mucho with their modules enhancing their world of Aihrde, much like Gary's GH modules did with The WoG ~ meaning that the mods gave a lot of life to the campaign world that wasn't there upon reading the dry descriptions from the WoG boxed set (or The Codex of Edre - which, btw was a better attempt at a campaign world book than was WoG).

All that from a hugh Gary/GH fan,

Rhu, cleric of Zagyg!

[Gringnr]

Great thread, Gring!

Much reading for thought. Still digesting.

I don't have anything to add, but I'm reminded that I need to read M.A.R. Barker's book and the one that Jim Ward said inspired his creation of MA.

With regard to your comment about Gord the Rogue - I've only read the first book and it was fabulous, in that it brought the World of Greyhawk alive in a way that was probably had to do back then.

I think TLG has succeeded mucho with their modules enhancing their world of Aihrde, much like Gary's GH modules did with The WoG ~ meaning that the mods gave a lot of life to the campaign world that wasn't there upon reading the dry descriptions from the WoG boxed set (or The Codex of Edre - which, btw was a better attempt at a campaign world book than was WoG).

All that from a hugh Gary/GH fan,

Rhu, cleric of Zagyg!

Thanks, Rhu!

M.A.R. Barker is an interesting case, because he wrote his first Tekumel novel, Man of Gold, years after his Empire of the Petal Throne RPG, set in Tekumel, was first published. But, Barker had been developing Tekumel (he had, as a young man, written a short story set on Tekumel) for decades before the game came out, indeed, before such games even existed. As a sort of hobby, Barker had been fleshing out the details of Tekumel- customs, language, dress, and more, since childhood.

[Gringnr]

A decade or so ago, heavy metal band The Lord Weird Slough Feg released a concept album based on Traveller. The album is called, simply, "Traveller". It's classic style heavy metal (that is to say, it's more like Iron Maiden than it is like Slipknot), if you're into that sort of thing. A very good album, IMO.

The Lord Weird Slough Feg - TRAVELLER: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8DEC72A8939762D4

[Gringnr]

Something interesting I just remembered: Gary Gygax's first two Greyhawk novels, featuring his anti-hero Gord the rogue, were published by TSR. After Gygax left TSR in the late 80s, his remaining Gord books were published by someone else, New Infinities, I think? Anyway, Rose Estes then wrote 5 more Greyhawk novels for TSR, published between 1987 and 1989. I was reminded of this because I found them on one of my old hard drives tonight...

[Gringnr]

In one of the weirder instances of gaming tie-in media I've found, there is Hero Games' Champions RPG and its comic spinoffs. In 1986, Eclipse Comics (who also produced a Villains & Vigilantes comic that year) published a Champions mini-series. The book featured characters from the game, many of whom had been actual characters created and played by the game's creators and playtesters. I dunno how well the series sold, but the comic writers/artists started to publish a long-running Champions series, as well as several spinoffs. Not under the Eclipse imprint, but under the name
of Hero Comics (later Hero Graphics, later still Heroic Publishing). I am unsure of the timeline, but I know these characters were used in the first three editions of Champions (so between 1984 and 1989). At some point, creative differences caused a split between the two entities. Champions (the comic book), and its ever-increasing number of spin-offs continued on, even if some of the character names had to be changed for copyright reason (Foxbat became The Flying Fox, Marksman became Hunstman, and so on).

Heroic Publishing still makes comics using these characters, but they seem to be taking a, er, rather weird approach to marketing them. Male characters are kind of taking a backseat to female ones. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but they are being marketed as (and I quote from Hero Publishing's site) "Sexy and powerful super-heroines". I mean, I guess they still put out a lot of team/male super hero stuff (they have a lot of output, actually, I wonder why they aren't more well-known), but the covers of the books featuring female heroes are rather.... suggestive. Actually, "crude" might be a better description for some of them. I'm no prude, but let's just say that some of these covers are NOT appropriate for children. I mean, I don't know how to describe them without going into an appropriate level of detail, so I won't try. I just found it kind of odd. The books themselves are hit and miss, as is to be expected with this many titles, I suppose.

[Gringnr]

In a similar vein to the above post, RPG illustrator Bill Willingham used some characters he created for Villains & Vigilantes in a comic book he created, The Elementals.

[Tadhg]

In a similar vein to the above post, RPG illustrator Bill Willingham used some characters he created for Villains & Vigilantes in a comic book he created, The Elementals.

Great artist (and a nice fellow) ~ I'll have to check this out!

[Treebore]

A decade or so ago, heavy metal band The Lord Weird Slough Feg released a concept album based on Traveller. The album is called, simply, "Traveller". It's classic style heavy metal (that is to say, it's more like Iron Maiden than it is like Slipknot), if you're into that sort of thing. A very good album, IMO.

The Lord Weird Slough Feg - TRAVELLER: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8DEC72A8939762D4

My kind of metal...