Select Reviews:
The Spawn of Fashan
40th Anniversary Edition
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