Quote from: MisterK on October 06, 2024, 11:47:37 AM

I don't know if you talked about Terry's canon and non-canon opinion in your introduction, but I really think you should, if only because it provides an explanation for some glaring inconsistencies between Terry's "approved list" and those that were definitely written without his supervision (and vision for Shadow World) - The Shade of the Sinking Plain being a prime example if the latter, but Sky Giants, among others, can be included in that list. I mean, Sky Giants can be used as inspiration material, but it only pays lip service to the Shadow World canon, and Terry barely mentions its existence in his products (during the timeline, in the dates about the expansion of Rhakhaan into Wuliris).

For those wondering what we mean when we refer to "canon," here's a brief history of Shadow World's publications:

In the beginning, around 1980, only a few standalone modules like The Iron Wind and, later in 1984, The World of Fog Mur were released. These were not part of a larger campaign world but functioned as independent modules.

These early modules were set in different time periods, and even later works like The Cloudlords of Tanarra were revised by T.K. Amthor to align with a more consistent history much later on.

In 1989, the first Master Atlas (Shadow World boxed set) was released. At the same time, various authors (including T.K. Amthor) began publishing additional modules for the campaign. However, there wasn’t much attention to consistency, leading to discrepancies between the different publications.

After a period of rapid growth, financial struggles, and eventual consolidation, T.K. Amthor took the helm as the line editor or sole author of Shadow World. His goal was to create a more coherent and unified campaign world. As a result, many earlier products were revised in their 2nd editions to resolve past inconsistencies. This was well-received by much of the fanbase, and the overall quality of the material improved significantly.

During this time, a "canon" list was developed and published, identifying which products could be used in a Shadow World campaign with minimal discrepancies and ensuring they were set in the same time period.

If you'd like to see which products are officially part of a cohesive Shadow World campaign as authored by T.K. Amthor, you can check here:
 https://ironcrown.co.uk/ICEforums/index.php?topic=9612.msg123852;topicseen#msg123852
If you are interested in the whole history, look at this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_World_(role-playing_game)#:~:text=As%20with%20Rolemaster%20and%20HARP,%20Shadow
Have fun
Micael

I don't know if you talked about Terry's canon and non-canon opinion in your introduction, but I really think you should, if only because it provides an explanation for some glaring inconsistencies between Terry's "approved list" and those that were definitely written without his supervision (and vision for Shadow World) - The Shade of the Sinking Plain being a prime example if the latter, but Sky Giants, among others, can be included in that list. I mean, Sky Giants can be used as inspiration material, but it only pays lip service to the Shadow World canon, and Terry barely mentions its existence in his products (during the timeline, in the dates about the expansion of Rhakhaan into Wuliris).

I also think that you should refrain from including Duranaki Chronicles since, as far as I know, it was published without Terry's approval (and could be argued to constitute a copyright breach). Which is sad in a way, because the parts that take place on Kulthea are more or less faithful to canon [I would advise people who are interested in using it as inspiration to stick to the first volume and ignore the second - the author was obviously interested in Shadow World but not in Space Master's Imperium, and the second is more than half space opera :p]

I find it odd that you don't include a single book from Terry's fourth edition work - SWMA4, Powers of Light and Darkness, Emer1-3, Xa-ar, and the revised Haalkitaine, Eidolon and Jaiman books - except Tales of the Green Gryphon. I would have started with the books that provide the most context. I mean, Vog Mur is great (and certainly a fond memory), but it does not provide much of a framework for Shadow World, since it was written before the World of Loremasters became Shadow World (Tanara and Iron Wind were in the same situation - all three are among the best SW products in my opinion, but the adaptation work required is not insignificant if you want to use those setting in the 'current time' of the official timeline).