On Sept. 3, 1981, The Spawn of Fashan roleplaying game made its debut at the Denvention II World Science Fiction Convention in Denver. Though only 17 copies were sold, magazine reviews ripping, roasting, and praising the rulebook turned Spawn into a global mystery and industry phenomenon. After four decades of limited or no availability, creator Kirby Lee Davis released this 40th anniversary edition presenting The Spawn of Fashan in its original format, along with the forward to the 1998 reprints, a new look at the game's humorous history, a long-missing table of contents and index, and other examples of the author's singular wit.