[CZ] Jeff Talanian terminates association with Gygax Games

[T. Foster]

The amount of stuff Mongoose Publishing releases is truly amazing -- I'm convinced they publish more than every other rpg company combined. A look at their website shows that as currently active rpg product lines they've got: 1) Conan, 2) RuneQuest, 3) Elric, 4) Hawkmoon, 5) Traveller, 6) Paranoia, 7) Babylon 5, 4E/GSL stuff, and now 9) Lejendary Adventure. Plus they release miniatures games, a magazine, and it looks like they're now acting as a distributor for small-press stuff as well.

I actually had a feeling Gygax Games might strike a deal with Mongoose, based on 1) their existing relationship with Gygax (he wrote a couple d20 books for them), 2) their retro-appeal track record (bringing back Paranoia, Traveller, and RQ), and 3) the fact that they obviously aren't afraid of saturating the market or competing against themselves

[James Maliszewski]

Not that I suspected it, but doesn't surprise me in the least. Mongoose has a reputation for being a rather ... aggressive company (some would say "predatory") that goes for the jugular when they sense an opening. I'm quite sure they've been paying attention to the Gygaxian nostalgia/old school resurgence and they see it as a chance to cash in. I say that not as an absolute criticism; it's a smart business move and Mongoose has, of late anyway, done right by the old games they've been bringing back into print.

The question now is if they've also snagged the Castle Zagyg license ...

[TRP]

Mongoose has, of late anyway, done right by the old games they've been bringing back into print.

Are we going to have to agree to disagree about their treatment of Runequest?

[James Maliszewski]

Are we going to have to agree to disagree about their treatment of Runequest?

Probably not. I haven't seen it myself. I do understand there's some disagreement among RQ fans as to how good a job they did. I presume you're among those who disliked it?

[PapersAndPaychecks]

RQ 2 > RQ 3 > RQ 1 > MRQ imo.

[James Maliszewski]

RQ 2 > RQ 3 > RQ 1 > MRQ imo.

That's intriguing. I had no idea MRQ was so poorly regarded, but my own acquaintance with RQ is in fact quite limited. I never played much of it and was constantly baffled by the large of articles devoted to it in White Dwarf back in the day, not realizing how popular it was in the UK.

[northrundicandus]

I haven't even looked at their Elric game, given how piss poor MRQ seems to be.

If you've never played RQ, you've done yourself a grave disservice. Chaosium released some of the absolute best RPG products ever printed during RQ2's heyday.

[James Maliszewski]

If you've never played RQ, you've done yourself a grave disservice. Chaosium released some of the absolute best RPG products ever printed during RQ2's heyday.

Oh, I did play RQ -- RQ 2 anyway -- just not as often or with the same interest as I played D&D. Pavis remains one of my favorite gaming products of all time and I have many fond memories of using it and Griffin Mountain.

[TRP]

RQ 2 > RQ 3 > RQ 1 > MRQ imo.

I agree with your assessment. Hmm .. maybe a bit more: RQ 1 >>> MRQ. There you go.

Note, I'm going on about the MRQ system itself, and not even addressing any editing and layout issues.

[PapersAndPaychecks]

not even addressing any editing and layout issues.

TLG --> Mongoose... I don't think GGG are worried about editing or layout issues either.

[JRMapes]

Jeff,

This is a disappointment to this old grog. What you did is not what I would have preferred but what you did was one of the best pieces of work I have seen in a long time considering the scope of the project.

I was looking forward to the next installment but not anymore.

My condolences on the loss of the job. But I am sure this will be only a minor setback in the long run. You have too much talent for this to ever be considered a swan song.

Also, glad to hear you plan on staying around K&K. Great members are hard to come by.

Jerry

[ffilz]

Hmm, I almost agree with P&P on RQ, except that I consider RQ 1 approx. equal to RQ 2. But then I used all the supplements that really were RQ 2 (they just played just fine with RQ 1) (though Apple Lane which was an RQ 1 supplement is still probably one of the best modules ever, Balastor's Baracks and the stat books which were the only other RQ 1 supplements were not so much to write home about). I only recently actually acquired an RQ 2 rule book having previously seen no need to own one, I did use photocopies of some pages of RQ 2 (primarily the creature stats but also the appendices).

I used to be pretty adamant that I ran RQ 1. Now I would admit that I probably do run RQ 2, but don't whine if I happen to prefer an interpretation from my RQ 1 rule book...

Frank

[BlackBat242]

That sounds like most AD&D players/DMs... they play a fusion of 1E & 2E, not a "pure" version of either.



On the Traveller boards there was a lot of dread when Mongoose got the license to do Traveller... based on the rather poor quality & production effort that had been turned in on MRQ.

It appears Mongoose learned from their mistakes, and got it right with RTT (Riki-Tiki-Traveller).

I have heard nothing but praise for their production quality... and when they found they had followed every other version of Trav in having messed-up deck plans, they quickly issued a free set of corrected plans that everyone (not just those who bought the game) could get.

It also didn't hurt that when a lot of long-time players complained about some of the new rules in the test version, they changed them to ones much closer to CT... which were well-received by nearly everyone who got/looked at the finalized version.

[Ghul]

Jeff,

This is a disappointment to this old grog. What you did is not what I would have preferred but what you did was one of the best pieces of work I have seen in a long time considering the scope of the project.

I was looking forward to the next installment but not anymore.

My condolences on the loss of the job. But I am sure this will be only a minor setback in the long run. You have too much talent for this to ever be considered a swan song.

Also, glad to hear you plan on staying around K&K. Great members are hard to come by.

Jerry

Thank you for the kind words and the well wishes, Jerry. I'm afraid I'm at a loss when it comes to speculating the potential quality of future Castle Zagyg products. Maybe it will be excellent. Who knows? It is no longer my privilege to develop the work, so like every other fan of Gygax, I can only hope for the best.

I hate dwelling on what could have been. When I knew I'd been dismissed, I sulked for a bit, and then at once I went back to work on a new project, something I hope to talk about in the future here at K&K if it's not in poor taste. I don't want to spam the place, you know?

Other than that, yeah, do not count me out of K&KA by any stretch. I've ensconced myself here whether you like it or not! So there!

Best,
Jeff T.

[tacojohn4547]

Hey Jeff,

If you're still reading this thread, I just wanted to thank you publicly for your attention to detail, your faithfulness to the spirit of The Castle, and your resolution to see the Castle Zagyg: Upper Works through to completion. I’m not near the Greyhawk loremaster that many of my peers are, but I can appreciate the historical significance of your contribution to the legend of The Castle.

I can also appreciate the long hours and commitment that you devoted to this project to bringing this installment of Castle Zagyg to the gaming community. You are a class act from the word go, and we are deeply indebted to you for your efforts.

Good luck in your future projects – I’m looking forward to the next one already. And the next time you’re back at Gen Con, let’s try to get together.

jon