Select Reviews:
The Spawn of Fashan
40th Anniversary Edition
"fairly middle of the road..."
Jan. 5, 2025 - Four out of five stars at goodreads.com
Most of the "bad reviews" of it back in the day were far too harsh on it as a ttRPG system... If you look at various ttRPGs of the time, it is actually fairly middle of the road. The various "problems" with it are stuff that could have easily been fixed with a few erratas added onto the "first edition".
-- Katrina Payne
Useful as an example of a bygone era
Aug. 27, 2024 - Three out of five stars at Amazon.com, Canada
Fun to read, but I do not think this is a playable ruleset. It represents a nearly extinct branch of RPG game design, wherein pedantry eclipses useability, and the conventions of gameplay were less rigid. Still, thank goodness for playtestin. Still, the author's pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps gumption is admirable.
-- Pibbsworth Zwischenlanken, verified purchase
The Loonie's favourite game
June 14, 2023 - Four out of five stars at Amazon.com, Sweden
...So why do I recommend it for rpg-makers? Because this edition include the whole story how this game came to be. The author wanted first to write about a fantasy world of his own, but suffered from a writer's block, but then he came across D&D and saw roleplaying games as a mean to overcame the block. Although he wasn't satisfied with D&D so he went on to create "Spawn of Fashan" a sort of advanced D&D taking place in the world Fashan....
-- Magnus Karlsson, verified purchase
There's a game in here, somewhere
Feb. 23, 2022 - Three out of five stars at Amazon.com
Spawn of Fashan was the target of some legendary, scathing reviews when it originally came out. I bought this edition knowing this, and, sure enough, it didn't disappoint on that score. It is a chaotic mess of a game.
That said, I commend the author for publishing his own game in an era before commodity home printers or publishing sites like lulu. I will never play Spawn of Fashan, but it does look like a more dedicated archaeologist could find a way to understand the rules. If so, it might even be fun.
-- M. W. Perry, verified purchase
This 40th Anniversary Edition is a tremendous collectable.
Oct. 11, 2021 - Five out of five stars at Amazon.com
This 40th Anniversary Edition is a great value and a tremendous collector's edition. Great investment for the sci fi collection. I particularly enjoy the introduction and history contained therein.
-- Dana Davis, verified purchase
Legible copy: a real treasure
Sept. 30, 2021 - Five out of five stars at Amazon.com
Spawn of Fashan has been a fave of mine since e'en afore I got my first copy. Back in the Compleat Strategist's order catalogue, SofF was listed, but I ne'er could get one.
Decades (and a fancy electronic copy of ill-repute) later, I were hooked, I were.
Now wiff me four softback copies, I can share me love of Spawn of Fashan with others.
-- Bonnie Engles, verified purchase