Carew said:
http://blog.mongoosepublishing.co.uk/?p=849
Not a single word about Legend. Not. A. Single. Word. Not one. Not a mention in passing, not a breath, not a 'we're doing nothing with Legend in 2018, but haven't forgotten.' Its as though the game doesn't exist and never did exist.
It's certainly disappointing. But I don't think it's malicious. Mongoose seem to have abandoned fantasy RPGs in general since the end of the D&D 4e era. Even though the market for fantasy has revived, they have concentrated on other markets.
Carew said:
Is it fair to say Legend has been abandoned comnpletely? Sure looks like it from here. If it hasn't, why no mention of it in State of the mongoose for the second year running? Traveller? Check! Paranoia? Check! Victory At Sea? Check and Check. Legend? Yeah, right.
Based upon previous statements for Matt, I get the feeling that they would like to do something with Legend, but don't have the resources to do so. They had a very aggressive publishing schedule for Traveller in 2017 and were also committed to delivering on the Paranoia kickstarter.
I suspect that sales of Legend products have not been strong enough to justify making the game a priority. From memory, the 2016 Bundle of Holding for Legend raised about $5-$6 K. This is respectable, but not in the same league as bundles such as the PARANOIA Classic bundle the previous month (which raised $31.4K). The relative financial numbers may explain why one game gets more attention than the other.
I get the feeling that Mongoose were surprised by the initial success of Legend and didn't really know how to capitalize on it. People forget that Legend was initially a solid best-seller for Mongoose - after some disappointing results for MRQ II. They never developed a strategy around the game and allowed it to be eclipsed by RQ 6 (which had superior production values and clarified many rules).
Also, the market for D100 games is in a state of flux right now. Consider the rise of RQ 6 / Mythras and the shifting plans of Chaosium with regard to Runequest. And consider the growing prominence of variants such as OpenQuest, Renaissance, and Revolution D100. It may be that Mongoose are concerned that the d100 market is getting a bit too crowded to jump back in.
I'd argue that there is still space for Legend, but it needs to carve out a clear niche for itself - OpenQuest offers a streamlined play experience, Renaissance focuses exlusively on the early modern era, and Revolution is more experimental in nature. Given that the best selling Legend sourcebook appears to be the Spider God's Bride, this may hint where the game should focus. Legend could focus on delivering a solid pulp fantasy / swords and sorcery experience for the D100 system. Most of the pieces are there already - it just needs a bit of work to pull them together.
Carew said:
Kind of confirms what we'd suspected before I guess. Let the system quietly die, unloved and unwanted, in the corner, where no on notices. Very sad,
Legend is released under the Open Game License, so it is only dead if we let it die. The compatibility licence is very permissive and anybody can produce new material for the game. The key text reads:
The entire text of the Legend RPG is designated Open Game Content, as is the entire text of all books in this line with plain colour covers and the words ‘… of Legend’ in their title.
By using any Open Content material in any of these books, you also have permission to freely use the Legend Compatible logo on any publication or web site where this Open Content is used or modified. The Legend Compatible logo may be re-sized but may not otherwise be altered in any way.
Legend, the text of Legend rulebooks, the Legend logo and the Legend Compatible logo remain Copyright Mongoose Publishing 2011.
Any and all artwork included in Legend rulebooks is specifically not designated as Open Content, and may not be used without written permission from Mongoose Publishing.
Heck, we could even fork it and produce our own version if we want to.
