Canadian-based game publisher Guardians of Order announced that it has reached an agreement with George R. R. Martin to publish a role-playing game line based on Martin's award-winning series of fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire.  The role-playing game will debut in the autumn of 2003 with products that will explore the characters, settings, and events of the first novel in Martin's series, A Game of Thrones.  The RPG will start with two main rulebooks -- one for the d20 system and one for Guardians of Order's proprietary Tri-Stat system.  All supplementary books in the line will feature mechanics for both game systems.  Future Guardians of Order supplements will detail Martin's story as it unfolds in the subsequent novels in the series: A Clash of Kings, A Storm of  Swords, and A Feast of Crows.

With sales of over a million books already, Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire has a built-in audience among fantasy fans.  And the series is still going on -- A Feast of Crows will be published later this year, so this is a property with plenty of life left in it.  For Guardians of Order, A Song of Ice and Fire represents a strong move into classic fantasy adventure gaming.  Already well known for their anime RPG (Big Eyes, Small Mouth), anime reference guides, and the Silver Sentinels Superhero RPG, the Canadian publisher has made an aggressive move by acquiring licensed properties, such as A Song of Ice and Fire and the DC/Wildstorm comic book series The Authority (see 'Guardians Of Order Plans Authority/StormWatch RPG').