#8: ICE, Part One: 1980-1992

[RPGnet Columns]

http://www.rpg.net/columns/briefhistory/briefhistory8.phtml

Summary:

The early days of Rolemaster and MERP.

Go to the column (http://www.rpg.net/columns/briefhistory/briefhistory8.phtml) for more information.

[ob1knorrb]

An excellent article, very informative. I'm looking forward to seeing the second half. I've been a fan of ICE for a long time and there were still a few things in the article that I wasn't aware of.
I've also got what I believe to be a complete list of the Roleplaying products that ICE has produced over the years. The index to it can be found at:

http://www.icewebring.com/ICE_products.php

[ShannonA]

Thanks. I actually used your site a few times to get some publication dates right.

[Skiorht]

Thanks again for an incredibly informative article, Shannon. It inspired me to write up a few comments on ICE products in the RPGNet index.

The column brought back a lot of memories, since MERP was the second game I ever played, and our early gaming life was closely tied to ICE's production schedule - it basically set the pace of our Rolemaster/Middle Earth campaigns. ICE also had a huge local impact in Finland, with RM outselling AD&D at times and both RM and MERP being some of the most successful RPG translations (right behind RQ). In 1989 I remember counting all the campaigns my gaming friends and acquaintances were involved in, and realising that out of 19 campaigns, 12 were MERP/RM campaigns. Interestingly enough, none of them were set in the time of the War of the Ring, with most sticking to ICE's 1640 setting or going back even further.

The relatively rules-free nature of the campaign supplements was not an isolated example in the 1980s, since it parallels the method used in Columbia's Hârn products, which admittedly lack game stats altogether. A lot of the earlier Talislanta products were also pretty devoid of rules crunch. I would even go as far as claim that ultra-detailed world-building was one of the defining trends of 1980's gaming.

I'm looking forward to the next instalment. Any chance of compiling these articles into a book sometime in the future?

[ShannonA]

Thanks again for an incredibly informative article, Shannon. It inspired me to write up a few comments on ICE products in the RPGNet index.

I saw that and was quite pleased, as you were writing some informative stuff. I (somewhat embarassingly) have an almost complete set of MERP modules (missing just 2 or 3) and I've never read most of them.


I'm looking forward to the next instalment. Any chance of compiling these articles into a book sometime in the future?

I would definitely like too. The biggest question will be, when is the set of companies complete enough?

Well, White Wolf and GDW are both on my "soon" list, and they're clearly necessities. TSR too.

[Old Scratch]

Wow! Thanks Shannon for the trip down nostalgia lane. I remember ICE's Mines of Moria sourcebook being one of the first gamebooks I bought with my own money.

And while I now look at all the RM and MERP stuff I own with a certain degree of befuddlement, I sure enjoyed it when I was younger. It was nice to learn a little bit more about the company, a very informative article. I think it raises the bar for the other columns here. Nice work.

[Skiorht]

I saw that and was quite pleased, as you were writing some informative stuff. I (somewhat embarassingly) have an almost complete set of MERP modules (missing just 2 or 3) and I've never read most of them.

I've read most of them, and played or GM'd the vast majority of them. Most of the modules are surprisingly good in gaming value, if you have the sort of group that gets excited about exploring the setting and values verisimilitude. They are not the equal of Hârn products, but come fairly close, and I have to say that the area maps in MERP modules have never since been equalled.

Oh, and I hope to get around to writing comments on every ICE product I have used over the years. It's going to take a while, but I prefer giving reasons for my rankings, as unexplained ratings irritate me in places like RPGNet index and BGG (and I REALLY should update my ratings and comments there).

Well, White Wolf and GDW are both on my "soon" list, and they're clearly necessities. TSR too.

I'd add FASA and Steve Jackson Games to the necessities list. Other strong candidates would be Judges' Guild, West End Games, Hero Games and Fantasy Games Unlimited. I'd also like to see an article on Columbia Games, since they are one of the very few companies surviving from the early days and the only one I can remember combining wargames and RPGs successfully.

[Brandir]

Can't wait for the next installment and your take on the Tolkien licence. Should be an interesting read.

Perhaps you will also get around to doing a history of GW.

[jcfiala]

Big thanks from me on this series, Shannon. I'm afraid I don't often read the columns here anymore, but these histories of various companies are really facinating.

There's been a hundred different histories of TSR put out (some of them by TSR), but I can't say I'd ever seen a history of ICE before.

Please, keep it up!