The Chaosium Box Set

12 fantasy writers, including Poul Anderson, created Sanctuary in the books 'Thieves' World' and 'Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn'. Now, 9 major game designers bring you the city & it's inhabitants transcribed for use in any of the major fantasy role-playing systems including Dungeons & Dragons, Traveller & RuneQuest.

In 1981 Chaosium released a boxed set describing the town of Sanctuary from Robert Asprin's Thieves' World books, (called, not surprisingly, Thieves' World).

This included characteristic for major characters from the books, and notes concerning rules adaptions needed to run Thieves' World for AD&D, Adventures in Fantasy, Chivalry and Sorcery, Dragonquest, D&D, The Fantasy Trip, Runequest, Traveller, and Tunnels and Trolls, written with the full permission and approval of each games publishers, (and sometimes by either the game designer or a staff designer from the publisher of the game).

Interesting features include: a very short discussion about how to handle gods, two new monsters, rules for Adepts using more than one College of Magic, and mention of the contents of Arcane Wisdom (shaping magics, lesser summonings, and rune magics). A good source of NPC's as well.

You get a complete Game Master's Guide that provides not only detailed plans of the city, but also the most complete encounter tables yet devises that cover everything from a picked pocket to an invasion by demons, in a format that is easy to use. Two Players Guides are also included that will make them 'streetwise' to Sanctuary. All aspects of town life are described from the people's occupations to their oaths. But the core of the pack is the impressive guide 'The Personalities of Sanctuary' in which major characters of the city for use in your chosen game system, and in a way that enables you to use the characters as either non-player or player characters.

"To quote from the game's compiler & editor, Greg Stafford, 'Thieves' World' has given me a good feeling from its conception to its completion. I hope some of that is conveyed to you as well.' Yes, oh yes." -Warlock, The Gamer.

Details of the box set components.

A review of the box set at at RPGnet.

^top

Last Revised: April 2000.