RE: RPG books as paperbacks: back in 1984, the game "Maelstrom" (set in Tudor times) was published by Puffin in the UK as a slightly oversized paperback; in 1985-86, Corgi books published "Dragon Warriors" in "regular" paperback, which was a complete system + a campaign in 3 paperbacks (and later on, 3 additional ones with more rules and adventures). And there was a paperback "Fighting Fantasy" RPG, based on the solo gamebooks which were quite popular in the 1980s.
I own some Fighting Fantasy books but I feel like they've taken their own design trajectory. These other examples are really interesting, thanks for sharing. If you know any write-ups about them, please let me know!
RE: RPG books as paperbacks: back in 1984, the game "Maelstrom" (set in Tudor times) was published by Puffin in the UK as a slightly oversized paperback; in 1985-86, Corgi books published "Dragon Warriors" in "regular" paperback, which was a complete system + a campaign in 3 paperbacks (and later on, 3 additional ones with more rules and adventures). And there was a paperback "Fighting Fantasy" RPG, based on the solo gamebooks which were quite popular in the 1980s.
I own some Fighting Fantasy books but I feel like they've taken their own design trajectory. These other examples are really interesting, thanks for sharing. If you know any write-ups about them, please let me know!