ECOF 2000 UPDATE SITE

EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS CHAIN OF FRIENDSHIP
Hosted by Jim Thompson
Guests:

Barry Stubbersfield

Mary Burroughs
CLARKSVILLE, TENNESSEE
MAY 18 - 21, 2000

A first in ERB Convention History!

This year's ECOF will host the debut of the
Barsoomian Brawl
an Extraterrestrial Extravaganza
the one, the only
John Carter of Mars SPI game!

"Pitmaster" for this event will be yours truly, Tracy Griffin

For those unfamiliar with SPI's "John Carter of Mars", this is a role-playing game issued circa 1978, based on military and sci-fi role-playing game formats. The game consists of maps and charts, little cardboard character counters, and accompanying rules. Players choose one of six heroes and a villain (the latter to oppose another player). The villains and their retinues abscond with the princesses, and it's up to the heroes to catch them. The heroes (and their retinues, if any) must first cross great expanses of the Martian terrain by flyer, thoatback, or foot, while battling savage men and even more savage beasts (and maybe rescuing another beautiful princess in the process). Once they arrive in the villain's city, they begin a search for clues for the villain's hiding place, while the villains' troops try to capture the hero and his men for an ignominious death in the arena. If you aren't careful, the villain will pull up stakes and flee to another city, and the chase is back on!

The six hero characters available for play are: John Carter, Carthoris, Gahan, Vad Varo, Tan Hadron, and Vor Daj. I will be assuming the role of Vor Daj, in the guise of Tor Dur Bar, for the first game; if we have enough interest for two rounds, I may take John Carter in a second outing. The game lasts 4-6 hours, and we can play a few rounds at a time over the course of the weekend. The first game will kick off as soon as we have enough people (I plan to arrive Wed. night or Thurs. morning).

Players can join in the fistic festivities at the ECOF, or you can order photocopies of the materials from me for a $5 materials  fee (sent via Priority Mail) if you'd like to get a jump on the competition (I recommend this, since the game is a bit convoluted until you get the hang of it).

The length of these documents available is as follows (all on 8 1/2 x 11 paper):

Rule book - 28 pages, pretty dense copy. I don't expect participants to have a full working knowledge (that's what Pitmasters are for), but boning up on the rules and strategies will give you a competitive edge in the proceedings.

Charts and tables - 8 pages and 1 errata insert - these charts are used to determine the outcome of various duels, encounters, and other such shenanigans (via die roll)

Glossary - 16 pages - This essentially reprints the info in J.F. Roy and is probably unnecessary for participants (it's geared to people unfamiliar with Barsoom). However, if the participants want it to make their rules set complete, I can copy it.

Map - I can also make 11 x 17 color copies of the various sections of the map, just for reference, since it's too large to fit on one sheet. It will give players a better idea of what's going on in the rules, since they aren't illustrated.

Interested parties should contact me via private e-mail
GriffiT@towers.com
and list your character preference (first-come, first served), along with their arrival date at ECOF. If you know anyone who's not on the listserves who would be interested, put them in touch with me. If you're not going to be at the ECOF, but just want the materials, please indicate this (gimme gimmes like EvH know who they are!). I'll make extra copies of the materials, but first priority will be to get the participants' materials into the mail.

Tracy Griffin

---

THE 1st ANNUAL TARZAN FILM FESTIVAL

TARAK - The Tawny-Haired Barbarian

TARAK asks:

What kind of TV room facilities do they have for ECOF, OJT?  I was going to ask JON to bring a few Tarzan movies.

Is there some main area where we could watch Tarzan movies?  If several people brought copies of a few of their movies, we could watch Tarzan films and see films we've never seen. I've never seen many of them. I'd be happy to buy a film nobody else is bringing and to bring that film to contribute. If ten people each bring a movie or two, we could watch some ape-man classics some of us have never seen.

Plus, we'll have lots of comic  books to read.
Whew!
... and cigars to smoke...
and tales to swap

Jim Thompson encourages all attendees to
bring their favourite ERB movies for this event.