Man, Myth & Magic RPG - Classic Reprint Tabletop Roleplaying Game | Fantasy Adventure for Game Nights & Storytelling

One of the greatest injustices in the history of role-playing games (if you'll pardon me the hyperbole) was the excessively harsh reception of Man, Myth & Magic by Herbie Brennan. This game was, unfortunately, about 10 years ahead of its time and all of the professional reviewers were blind to its potential. Ken Rolston in Dragon Magazine #80 (December 1983) was exceptionally critical. He claimed that the game couldn't decide whether it wanted to be historically accurate, or a fantasy, complaining about a Tyrannosaurus Rex in Rome. Apparently he didn't actually bother to read the game fully since the introduction to that adventure itself states “the scenario should provide a useful psychological bridge between the historical realism of the BASIC game and the more imaginative legendary settings of its advanced version” (page 72 Precis Intermedia edition). Seems pretty clear to me. He also complained that “there is little new or unconventional in the systems or design.” This is the only game system I have every encountered where “reincarnation metamorphosis” is an integral part of the game. How does the DM get around a character dying in the middle of an adventure? The player randomly rolls up a new reincarnated character to be introduced as soon as possible. The reincarnation classes range from Visigoth Merchant or Hebrew Priest to African Wisewoman or (WTF?) Hibernian Leprechaun. How, in any universe, is this not “new or unconventional”? Finally, he complained that the “wordy style make the game unpleasant reading”. This is where his lack of foresight really comes into play. Man, Myth & Magic came out in 1982 when the height of module design was pretty much “You enter a 10 x 10 room. 4 orcs are playing knucklebones.” Man, Myth & Magic has long detailed passages explaining the backstory and NPC motivations, and also giving a lot of setting description. This very same style later became the norm in award-winning books by Chaosium (Call of Cthulhu) and White Wolf (Vampire). One of the other reviewers, Marcus Rowland (White Dwarf #41 May 1983), ironically used this same style of writing when creating latter adventures for Call of Cthulhu and Space: 1889. Granted, he only criticized the layout, and not the writing style of Man, Myth & Magic. So, in conclusion, completely ignore what the professional (or should I say “paid”?) reviewers have said about this game. It is an extremely enjoyable old-school game that has been sadly overlooked. I am very happy that Precis Intermedia has reissued it since I couldn't find it for love nor money when I was a kid and I always wanted to read it. NOTE: You have to remember that this was made way back in 1982 so you need to look at it as an excellent proto-RPG. What was new and innovative in 1982 is taken for granted now. Sadly, what was really new and innovative in 1982 was overlooked as such. If you enjoy reading old games from the late 1970s and early 1980s to see how game-design was developing, and you want an interesting game in and of itself, you can't go wrong with Man, Myth & Magic.