Whilst reading Pegasus magazine issue #8, i stumbled upon a pretty positive review written in July 1982 about the game "Beasts, men & gods" which was recently republished in its 2nd edition.
The reviewer goes so further as to say that BMG is "one of the better fantasy role-playing systems around today". Because the time was 1982, there already were several fantasy rpg's to which you could make a comparison (see here).
As for the magic system we learn that "it is extremely logical, and other systems would do well to examine this one".
The only shortcoming of the book seems to lie in the absence of an introductory adventure/scenario, as the reviewer stresses at the end of page, without forgetting to heartily recommend the game to the audience.
I admit that i've never played this game, but at the same time i am baffled by the lack of posts in the OSR blogs about it.
Being apparently a good fantasy rpg and given that it was re-released in our time for OSR enthusiasts (who should presumably rejoice when old fantasy games resurface in our epoch), to what one can ascribe this lack of interest?
![]()
The only reason i can think of is the usual one: lack of awareness about these games of niche, as i am realizing more and more while i read Designers & Dragons (link). I was so excited about such a book when i heard about it, i purchased it and though it covers a lot of useful information it entirely skips many fantasy games just because they didn't quite "hit" the market at that time.
It is such a pity. There are so many gaps to be found in even such a great book as Designers &Dragons above.
But as for Beasts, men & gods, i suspect that there is something more to blame. We are not living in the eighties now, and we all are globally connected.
The fact that an old fantasy game, albeit available doesn't rise interest or curiosity at the very least makes me wonder that at the bottom there is a sort of psychic lethargy underlying. One more time, the history of our hobby is neglected and i surmise it will always be. The RPG encyclopedia does a better job at covering all the rpg's published through the years than does Designers & Dragons. It is to no avail to list the big games and pretend that the story ends right there, because it is just not true.
The reviewer goes so further as to say that BMG is "one of the better fantasy role-playing systems around today". Because the time was 1982, there already were several fantasy rpg's to which you could make a comparison (see here).
As for the magic system we learn that "it is extremely logical, and other systems would do well to examine this one".
The only shortcoming of the book seems to lie in the absence of an introductory adventure/scenario, as the reviewer stresses at the end of page, without forgetting to heartily recommend the game to the audience.
I admit that i've never played this game, but at the same time i am baffled by the lack of posts in the OSR blogs about it.
Being apparently a good fantasy rpg and given that it was re-released in our time for OSR enthusiasts (who should presumably rejoice when old fantasy games resurface in our epoch), to what one can ascribe this lack of interest?
The only reason i can think of is the usual one: lack of awareness about these games of niche, as i am realizing more and more while i read Designers & Dragons (link). I was so excited about such a book when i heard about it, i purchased it and though it covers a lot of useful information it entirely skips many fantasy games just because they didn't quite "hit" the market at that time.
It is such a pity. There are so many gaps to be found in even such a great book as Designers &Dragons above.
But as for Beasts, men & gods, i suspect that there is something more to blame. We are not living in the eighties now, and we all are globally connected.
The fact that an old fantasy game, albeit available doesn't rise interest or curiosity at the very least makes me wonder that at the bottom there is a sort of psychic lethargy underlying. One more time, the history of our hobby is neglected and i surmise it will always be. The RPG encyclopedia does a better job at covering all the rpg's published through the years than does Designers & Dragons. It is to no avail to list the big games and pretend that the story ends right there, because it is just not true.