I bought the first issue of Space Voyager magazine* which had some great stuff on Blakes 7 (Liberator blueprints) and also an article on roleplaying and the different types of games (1981). The description fascinated me but none of the local shops stocked any of these games. I read the magazine again and again and the itch to explore these games more never went away.
Eventually I bought my own copy of the newer edition.
Somewhere between the two versions of the book (in 1983 I think), a copy of OGRE and Holmes Basic D&D landed in the local toy and gift shop. I saved up to buy Basic D&D and was gutted when it had gone and they told me that they didn't know when they'd get it again. Unbeknownst to me, my mum had bought it as a gift for me (for Christmas from my aunt).
I went to Chester, in September, just after I started High School for a birthday shopping trip, and looking for a copy of D&D or Traveller. I couldn't find any, but then found a copy of the just printed Games Workshop 2nd Edition Call of Cthulhu boxset. So, I went away happy with this and ran it for my friends, eventually setting up the school RPG club.
Basic D&D arrived at Christmas and I loved it. The Keep on the Borderlands formed a base for many a fun game where we raided the Caves of Chaos. Sometime in 1984, I finally got hold of Traveller (because every time I ordered it from Games Workshop mail order I ended up with a credit note rather than a game). And from that point things just progressed.
1984 was notable for another reason; I can remember reading the first books of the Belgariad (I'd already done Tolkien) and this 'new' magazine hitting the newsstand called White Dwarf at issue 52(!). I subscribed for the next fifty to sixty issues before it became a miniatures catalogue.
Anyway, what attracted me to roleplaying games was the huge scope, freedom and opportunity to play in different worlds and explore them with my mates. It has introduced me to many lifelong friends and pointed me at many new authors whose books I've enjoyed. It started me writing. The skills of being a GM and running games have made me more confident, and forced me to plan and think things through. I don't regret this slippery slope, and I'm glad my parents encouraged me and also the fact that our RE teacher - Miss Smith - (at a Roman Catholic High School) supported us in setting up the club and let us use her classroom.
17th May 2020
| Space Voyager - the catnip that drew me in. |
(*great article by Paul Cockburn here on Space Voyager)
Sometime in 1982 I picked up a copy of 'What is Dungeons and Dragons?' by John Butterfield, and it made me determined that I wanted to play these games. I read the first edition, and repeatedly took it out. I'm not sure about the 'fantasy cult' reference, but it certainly didn't put my parents off me reading it. There's a great section in the book which has a narrative description of what was going in a scenario as if a novel, and the facing page had the mechanics and game activity. This made me determined that I wanted to try these games.
Sometime in 1982 I picked up a copy of 'What is Dungeons and Dragons?' by John Butterfield, and it made me determined that I wanted to play these games. I read the first edition, and repeatedly took it out. I'm not sure about the 'fantasy cult' reference, but it certainly didn't put my parents off me reading it. There's a great section in the book which has a narrative description of what was going in a scenario as if a novel, and the facing page had the mechanics and game activity. This made me determined that I wanted to try these games.
Somewhere between the two versions of the book (in 1983 I think), a copy of OGRE and Holmes Basic D&D landed in the local toy and gift shop. I saved up to buy Basic D&D and was gutted when it had gone and they told me that they didn't know when they'd get it again. Unbeknownst to me, my mum had bought it as a gift for me (for Christmas from my aunt).
I went to Chester, in September, just after I started High School for a birthday shopping trip, and looking for a copy of D&D or Traveller. I couldn't find any, but then found a copy of the just printed Games Workshop 2nd Edition Call of Cthulhu boxset. So, I went away happy with this and ran it for my friends, eventually setting up the school RPG club.
Basic D&D arrived at Christmas and I loved it. The Keep on the Borderlands formed a base for many a fun game where we raided the Caves of Chaos. Sometime in 1984, I finally got hold of Traveller (because every time I ordered it from Games Workshop mail order I ended up with a credit note rather than a game). And from that point things just progressed.
 |
| My first White Dwarf. |
1984 was notable for another reason; I can remember reading the first books of the Belgariad (I'd already done Tolkien) and this 'new' magazine hitting the newsstand called White Dwarf at issue 52(!). I subscribed for the next fifty to sixty issues before it became a miniatures catalogue.
Anyway, what attracted me to roleplaying games was the huge scope, freedom and opportunity to play in different worlds and explore them with my mates. It has introduced me to many lifelong friends and pointed me at many new authors whose books I've enjoyed. It started me writing. The skills of being a GM and running games have made me more confident, and forced me to plan and think things through. I don't regret this slippery slope, and I'm glad my parents encouraged me and also the fact that our RE teacher - Miss Smith - (at a Roman Catholic High School) supported us in setting up the club and let us use her classroom.
17th May 2020
(Expanded from a shorter post on the Tavern).
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