bei Flaming Cobra

or einiger Zeit berichtete ich über die Abenteuer-Spielebücher oder Fighting Fantasy. Moritz berichtete hier auch schon einmal darüber. Nun kündigt Mongoose an eine dieser Reihen neu aufzulegen. Das schöne ist das Sie sich just diese ausgesucht haben, auf die ich ohnehin am meisten abfahre. Magnum Opus Press und Mongoose Publishing bringen zusammen unter dem Imprint Flaming Cobra, auch schon verantwortlich für CthulhuTech und Spycraft eine überarbeitete und auch mit neuen Illustrationen versehene Version von Dragon Warriors! Eine Cover Preview lässt sich hier bestaunen. Zu Dragon Warriors heißt es:

Dragon Warriors was originally published by Corgi Books between 1985 and 1986, as a series of six regular-sized paperback books. These have been out of print for more than twenty years and command high prices on the collectors’ market. The world and its heroes lived on in the Bloodsword series of books published by Knight Books in the late 1980s, and then in the Chronicles of the Magi trilogy of novels in 1997.

Dragon Warriors is a game of adventure, magic, folklore, superstition and horror. Players take the roles of gallant heroes in a world of fantasy who undertake dangerous missions and adventures, sometimes for money, sometimes for honour, and sometimes for more personal reasons. The game is set in a world known as Legend, based on western Europe after the end of the medieval crusades. Human civilisation is spread across the world, but its links are fragile and are often broken by conflict, invasion, or reasons natural or supernatural. Creatures from folklore and myth roam outside the human communities, or sometimes inside them, spreading fear and ruin. And there are ancient quests and long-dormant discoveries to be unearthed by the brave, and riches and status to be gained.

The Dragon Warriors rules are specifically designed to be fast-playing without sacrificing detail or immersion. They are ideal for beginners or newcomers to roleplaying games, but offer depth and intricacy to old hands. The basic game contains seven classes based on heroic archetypes: knights and barbarians stand shoulder to shoulder with sorcerers, warlocks and elementalists, while assassins skulk in the shadows.

For this release the original Dragon Warriors material from the first six books has been re-edited and updated by two of the UK’s top RPG writers, Ian Sturrock and Adrian Bott. New covers and artwork have been prepared by Jon Hodgson and Erik Wilson, and new maps by Andy Law. The new material has been overseen and blessed by the original DW authors Dave Morris and Oliver Johnson, and Dave has penned a new introduction to the rulebook, giving his very personal history of Dragon Warriors.

In der Mitteilung von Mongoose Publishing ist zu lesen:

ANNOUNCEMENT CONCERNING THE RE-RELEASE OF THE ‘DRAGON WARRIORS’ RPG

30th June 2008

The short version: it’s Mongoose

The longer version:

Magnum Opus Press is proud to announce that it has signed contracts with Mongoose Publishing Ltd to release new editions of the renowned classic RPGs Dragon Warriors and The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchaunsen, as well as other properties to be announced in the future. The games will be released under Mongoose’s Flaming Cobra imprint, which is already has hits such as Cthulhutech and Spycraft 2.0.

Under the terms of this deal Magnum Opus Press will retain full creative control over the games, and will do all the design, writing, illustration and layout for the products. Mongoose will handle all printing, publicity, sales and distribution.

The first Magnum Opus products are due to hit shelves in games stores around the world in September this year, with a new edition of the 1998 Origins Award-nominated RPG The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen., described by cartoonist John Kovalic as „Utter brilliance in RPG form“. This ‘new’ version, a facsimile of the suppressed 1808 printing, is roughly double the length of the 1998 release and contains 55% more insults about the French.

The revised Dragon Warriors rulebook and the first supplement for the system will follow a month later. These will present a re-edit of the original British fantasy RPG by Dave Morris and Oliver Johnson, a best-seller in the UK in the 1980s and a cult classic today, with all-new covers and artwork.

„Flaming Cobra is a natural home for these great British RPGs,“ said James Wallis, director of Magnum Opus Press. „The imprint allows Magnum Opus to play to its strengths as a creative powerhouse and ideas factory, while tapping into the UK’s most developed and successful sales and distribution systems for RPGs.“

Magnum Opus Press is the new publishing company from James Wallis, who ran Hogshead Publishing (Warhammer FRP, Nobilis) from 1994 to 2003. It will continue to publish non-gaming titles outside the Flaming Cobra deal. Magnum Opus Press is a subsidiary of the games-consultancy Spaaace.

All rights in Dragon Warriors remain the property of Dave Morris and Oliver Johnson, and are used with permission by Magnum Opus.)

Links:

• Mongoose Publishing
• Magnum Opus Press
• The Underdogs
• The Unofficial Dragon Warriors Homepage
• DW Repository
• Yahoo! Dragon Warriors Group