TFT: The Land Beyond The Mountains

All this talk of sandboxes has me thinking of Metagaming's still-born foray into the mega-campaign sandbox marketplace, a product that was designed for use with its The Fantasy Trip role-playing game.

Entitled The Land Beyond The Mountains, and published in 1982, shortly before the demise of Metagaming, that mega-campaign sandbox setting is comprised of two published adventure supplements, The Warrior-Lords of Darok and The Forest-Lords Of Dihad. Two additional adventure supplements were announced, for the provinces of Muipoco and Soukor, but never saw the light of day.

In this sandbox setting, all four provinces (Darok, Muipoco, Dihad and Soukor) are bounded by impassable hills, mountains and wastelands to the west, north and east. To the south is the sea. Each of the provinces are at odds with each other, and the overall setting is post-apocalyptic, with scattered ruins, mysteries, monsters and artifacts left behind by a vanished and technologically and magically advanced culture.

The adventure supplements for Darok and Dihad are slim: 32 pages each. An interesting innovation of this series is a fold-out 11x17 hex-map of the featured province, attached to the supplement cover. Other than the roads, rivers, settlements, mountains and sea hexes, the map is open for the gamemaster to add her own hex-crawl elements.

The first three pages of each supplement are identical. They briefly cover the history and legends of the overall mega-campaign region, and explain some of the shorthand and symbols employed throughout the supplements. The bulk of each supplement is filled with significant personalities, treatises on the culture of that province, along with sample towns, encounters and scenarios, and supported by several random tables.


The Land Beyond The Mountains is billed as a perfect vehicle for sandbox play: "Here lie rich deposits of gems and ore, and the buried relics of a forgotten golden age. Here are wizards and warriors aplenty, scheming to seize new territories for their liege lords or striving to keep the major trade roads safe and free for all. On these pages you will meet spies and scholars, raiders and traders, and many wondrous and dangerous beasts. In short, a myriad of opportunities for players to make and lose their fortunes, or attain positions of great political influence within a fast-changing, often unpredictable environment."

Even considering the thin-ness of the adventure supplements, I don't think the above statement is entirely over-reaching. After all, the benefit of supplement slimness is that it gives the gamemaster greater latitude and opportunities for sandbox play, beyond the adventure-as-written.

TFT: The Land Beyond The Mountains

All this talk of sandboxes has me thinking of Metagaming's still-born foray into the mega-campaign sandbox marketplace, a product that was designed for use with its The Fantasy Trip role-playing game.

Entitled The Land Beyond The Mountains, and published in 1982, shortly before the demise of Metagaming, that mega-campaign sandbox setting is comprised of two published adventure supplements, The Warrior-Lords of Darok and The Forest-Lords Of Dihad. Two additional adventure supplements were announced, for the provinces of Muipoco and Soukor, but never saw the light of day.

In this sandbox setting, all four provinces (Darok, Muipoco, Dihad and Soukor) are bounded by impassable hills, mountains and wastelands to the west, north and east. To the south is the sea. Each of the provinces are at odds with each other, and the overall setting is post-apocalyptic, with scattered ruins, mysteries, monsters and artifacts left behind by a vanished and technologically and magically advanced culture.

The adventure supplements for Darok and Dihad are slim: 32 pages each. An interesting innovation of this series is a fold-out 11x17 hex-map of the featured province, attached to the supplement cover. Other than the roads, rivers, settlements, mountains and sea hexes, the map is open for the gamemaster to add her own hex-crawl elements.

The first three pages of each supplement are identical. They briefly cover the history and legends of the overall mega-campaign region, and explain some of the shorthand and symbols employed throughout the supplements. The bulk of each supplement is filled with significant personalities, treatises on the culture of that province, along with sample towns, encounters and scenarios, and supported by several random tables.


The Land Beyond The Mountains is billed as a perfect vehicle for sandbox play: "Here lie rich deposits of gems and ore, and the buried relics of a forgotten golden age. Here are wizards and warriors aplenty, scheming to seize new territories for their liege lords or striving to keep the major trade roads safe and free for all. On these pages you will meet spies and scholars, raiders and traders, and many wondrous and dangerous beasts. In short, a myriad of opportunities for players to make and lose their fortunes, or attain positions of great political influence within a fast-changing, often unpredictable environment."

Even considering the thin-ness of the adventure supplements, I don't think the above statement is entirely over-reaching. After all, the benefit of supplement slimness is that it gives the gamemaster greater latitude and opportunities for sandbox play, beyond the adventure-as-written.

Wizards' Wizards And More Wizards

Earlier, I mentioned that the quality of The Fantasy Trip (TFT) micro-art reaches its zenith with Death Test.

Two TFT products precede Death Test: Melee and Wizard. I like the micro-art from both sets of counters. The art is minimalist but for the most part highly effective at communicating the essential character of the depicted Wizard.

Melee has its' bell-bottom wearing warriors and giants. Wizards, by way of contrast, introduces vaguely oriental-style 4- and 7-hex dragons, and trippy-tropey Wizards. Here are several of those Wizards, gracing, well, the Wizards' counters.

The first Wizard, above (or is that Sorceress?), you've seen in one of my earlier posts. It is Mistress J, with her blond hair a-fluttering, her cape a-flowing, and her armored bikini glinting in the torchlight. I posted this counter earlier, as it is one of my favorites from the Wizards set of counters. Simple, evocative micro-art. I wonder if she gets an armor bonus.

The next counter (below) is somewhat of a mystery. The figure suggests a female form, with the face in profile -- a Sorceress sporting a gossamer gown or dress. The upper, casting hand is oddly distorted, and the midriff, thighs and posterior have a strange, bloated quality (consider in particular the placement of the belly-button). I never used this counter during a game. I find it vaguely disturbing rather than entrancing. It's too bad, because there is something compelling about this piece of micro-art, particularly the hair, lower legs and feet, and the hand by the figures' side. The hair almost says Medusa. I'm not sure if the artist (Pat Hidy?) was going for a gossamer effect with a dress, or if that is a spell-effect enveloping the Sorceress.

Is this next counter Fu Man Chu or Dracula? Only the TFT player using this counter knows for sure. Consider the odd placement of the fingers. You don't notice these things when you are looking at the original 3/4" counter, but at this resolution, you can see the compromises the artist has to make to give these drawings some character, without mucking it up by adding too much detail. I love the fog or mist he is conjuring, you want to pick a spell like that for him, don't you, just to go with the over-all theme?

Who hasn't always wanted to play a speedo-sporting, wand-waving, pointy-shoe shod Elf, with droopy digits and weak wrists, like the one below? You even get to start his name with an "E". Ebberbobble? Elfy the Elf? Well, you get the idea, something silly or insipid. The ear and shoes give away his elfin heritage.

If you don't name the next Wizard Gandalf, when you use this counter to represent your character, there's something seriously wrong with you.

The next counter, the mysterious Wizard Q, inspired the "tween" me to write my own supplement for TFT, focused on clerics. Thankfully, that document is buried deep in the Spy Hill landfill. He's bald. He's knelling. And he's got a crystal ball. Which is odd, since scrying is not high on my list of activities when facing a death-duel against another Wizard. He should get a movement penalty for being on his knees. Having said that, there's no doubt about what fantasy trope he represents.

Here's the counter I often used to represent my character. Goatee-Wizard R. The illustration on this counter was sufficiently active that you felt like he was all wound-up, ready to spring into action at any moment.

This last counter is another female, who looks rather uncomfortable leaning as she does at a precarious angle. Her spell-casting efforts has caused her face to burst into flame. Perhaps she is part of the coven that is conjuring the dragon appearing on the front cover of the Wizards microgame.

Well, there's a meandering tour of some of the micro-art on the Wizards microgame counters. What I like about these counters, and TFT micro-art more generally, is that the art is sufficiently universal that you can put that counter down on the table, and anyone picking it can create their own backstory to fill in the character details.

Wizards' Wizards And More Wizards

Earlier, I mentioned that the quality of The Fantasy Trip (TFT) micro-art reaches its zenith with Death Test.

Two TFT products precede Death Test: Melee and Wizard. I like the micro-art from both sets of counters. The art is minimalist but for the most part highly effective at communicating the essential character of the depicted Wizard.

Melee has its' bell-bottom wearing warriors and giants. Wizards, by way of contrast, introduces vaguely oriental-style 4- and 7-hex dragons, and trippy-tropey Wizards. Here are several of those Wizards, gracing, well, the Wizards' counters.

The first Wizard, above (or is that Sorceress?), you've seen in one of my earlier posts. It is Mistress J, with her blond hair a-fluttering, her cape a-flowing, and her armored bikini glinting in the torchlight. I posted this counter earlier, as it is one of my favorites from the Wizards set of counters. Simple, evocative micro-art. I wonder if she gets an armor bonus.

The next counter (below) is somewhat of a mystery. The figure suggests a female form, with the face in profile -- a Sorceress sporting a gossamer gown or dress. The upper, casting hand is oddly distorted, and the midriff, thighs and posterior have a strange, bloated quality (consider in particular the placement of the belly-button). I never used this counter during a game. I find it vaguely disturbing rather than entrancing. It's too bad, because there is something compelling about this piece of micro-art, particularly the hair, lower legs and feet, and the hand by the figures' side. The hair almost says Medusa. I'm not sure if the artist (Pat Hidy?) was going for a gossamer effect with a dress, or if that is a spell-effect enveloping the Sorceress.

Is this next counter Fu Man Chu or Dracula? Only the TFT player using this counter knows for sure. Consider the odd placement of the fingers. You don't notice these things when you are looking at the original 3/4" counter, but at this resolution, you can see the compromises the artist has to make to give these drawings some character, without mucking it up by adding too much detail. I love the fog or mist he is conjuring, you want to pick a spell like that for him, don't you, just to go with the over-all theme?

Who hasn't always wanted to play a speedo-sporting, wand-waving, pointy-shoe shod Elf, with droopy digits and weak wrists, like the one below? You even get to start his name with an "E". Ebberbobble? Elfy the Elf? Well, you get the idea, something silly or insipid. The ear and shoes give away his elfin heritage.

If you don't name the next Wizard Gandalf, when you use this counter to represent your character, there's something seriously wrong with you.

The next counter, the mysterious Wizard Q, inspired the "tween" me to write my own supplement for TFT, focused on clerics. Thankfully, that document is buried deep in the Spy Hill landfill. He's bald. He's knelling. And he's got a crystal ball. Which is odd, since scrying is not high on my list of activities when facing a death-duel against another Wizard. He should get a movement penalty for being on his knees. Having said that, there's no doubt about what fantasy trope he represents.

Here's the counter I often used to represent my character. Goatee-Wizard R. The illustration on this counter was sufficiently active that you felt like he was all wound-up, ready to spring into action at any moment.

This last counter is another female, who looks rather uncomfortable leaning as she does at a precarious angle. Her spell-casting efforts has caused her face to burst into flame. Perhaps she is part of the coven that is conjuring the dragon appearing on the front cover of the Wizards microgame.

Well, there's a meandering tour of some of the micro-art on the Wizards microgame counters. What I like about these counters, and TFT micro-art more generally, is that the art is sufficiently universal that you can put that counter down on the table, and anyone picking it can create their own backstory to fill in the character details.

Swashbuckling Octopii (And Other Horrors)

Following the success of Death Test, Metagaming published Death Test 2. Included in Death Test 2 are swashbuckling octopii, like the ones pictured here.

In addition to their handweapons -- either 3 swords or a sword and battleaxe -- the Octopii encountered in Death Test 2 also sport crossbows, which they can manipulate and fire with their tentacles.

I'm pretty sure that skeletons make their first appearance in The Fantasy Trip line of game products in Death Test 2. Prior to Death Test 2, the monsters and beasts encountered in The Fantasy Trip were giants, dragons, wolves, bears, goblins and such.

The illustrator for Death Test 2 is Roger Beasley, although the cover art for Death Test 2 is by Pat Hidy. The interior art for Death Test 2 is by Beasley, but it's hard to know whether he also produced the micro-art appearing on the game counters.

Swashbuckling Octopii (And Other Horrors)

Following the success of Death Test, Metagaming published Death Test 2. Included in Death Test 2 are swashbuckling octopii, like the ones pictured here.

In addition to their handweapons -- either 3 swords or a sword and battleaxe -- the Octopii encountered in Death Test 2 also sport crossbows, which they can manipulate and fire with their tentacles.

I'm pretty sure that skeletons make their first appearance in The Fantasy Trip line of game products in Death Test 2. Prior to Death Test 2, the monsters and beasts encountered in The Fantasy Trip were giants, dragons, wolves, bears, goblins and such.

The illustrator for Death Test 2 is Roger Beasley, although the cover art for Death Test 2 is by Pat Hidy. The interior art for Death Test 2 is by Beasley, but it's hard to know whether he also produced the micro-art appearing on the game counters.

The Fantasy Trip: Death Test Art

I've already posted a number of pieces of artwork from The Fantasy Trip. Here are some illustrations by Pat Hidy, whose artwork appears in several Metagaming microgame titles.

I always preferred the black and white Pat Hidy pieces. The color cover (above) of the Death Test microquest is by Pat Hidy, as is the black and white illustration (below) that appears on the inside front cover. I much prefer the illustration below. Thought I have little use for much of what comes out of The Forge, I do like this article entitled "Naked Went The Gamer" by Ron Edwards, about the sanitizing of Dungeons and Dragons art.


Edwards makes a good observation about this, and much of the other "controversial" D&D artwork from the late 70's. That artwork was naturalistic, while the recent artwork appearing in fringe fantasy games seem purposely risque or shocking. The above illustration is my favorite one from the TFT line.

I promised one of my commentors that I would post the "Oops, I crapped my pants" giant from Death Test. Here he is. This giant appears pretty formidable, but I have a difficult time taking his oversized diaper seriously.

The Fantasy Trip: Death Test Art

I've already posted a number of pieces of artwork from The Fantasy Trip. Here are some illustrations by Pat Hidy, whose artwork appears in several Metagaming microgame titles.

I always preferred the black and white Pat Hidy pieces. The color cover (above) of the Death Test microquest is by Pat Hidy, as is the black and white illustration (below) that appears on the inside front cover. I much prefer the illustration below. Thought I have little use for much of what comes out of The Forge, I do like this article entitled "Naked Went The Gamer" by Ron Edwards, about the sanitizing of Dungeons and Dragons art.


Edwards makes a good observation about this, and much of the other "controversial" D&D artwork from the late 70's. That artwork was naturalistic, while the recent artwork appearing in fringe fantasy games seem purposely risque or shocking. The above illustration is my favorite one from the TFT line.

I promised one of my commentors that I would post the "Oops, I crapped my pants" giant from Death Test. Here he is. This giant appears pretty formidable, but I have a difficult time taking his oversized diaper seriously.

The Fantasy Trip: Melee Art