As the series continues, additional invasions occur, and the city is taken over by the snake-worshipping Beysib as the Rankan empire collapses.

Imagine the story potentials.”[2] Abbey described the 1978 meeting as "a casual conversation [that] changed the lives of a couple dozen people who had no idea what they had been missing or what they were getting into.

"[3] The writers who were recruited for the series saw Thieves' World as both a challenge and an opportunity to bring "new oddments of human behavior, new quirks of character that the authors wouldn't dare put in a universe for which he or she was solely responsible.

"[4] The city itself was envisioned as a late medieval town with similarities to the Shambles in York, England, and additional elements of Baghdad.

"[5] In an interview for Green Ronin's Sanctuary-based roleplaying guides, Abbey explained the increase of interconnected storylines as the series progressed.

"When we went to work on 'new Thieves' World', we tried to find a happy medium between stand-alone stories and densely interwoven plots.

"[14] In the editorial essay included in the second volume, Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn, Asprin noted that, though fan response was mostly positive and high sales had led to sequels and the development of the Chaosium board game, many readers had written to the publisher to comment on the series' overall lack of humor.

Janet Morris introduced The Sacred Band of Stepsons in Thieves' World and expanded their story in a series of novels about them and their ancient cavalry commander, Tempus.

Marion Zimmer Bradley was an early contributor to the Thieves' World anthologies, but spun off her main character in the novel Lythande (1986) and did not return for later volumes.

Published by Starblaze Graphics and illustrated by Tim Sale, the original series was produced in black and white except for the covers.