Considering The Past - Part II
I reckon that many of us discover roleplaying games during the years that we are at university or college. It's that time of our lives when we are discovering anything new, and our minds are most open to diverse possibilities. So it was with myself.
My early D&D games were memorable. They most often are. I remember my first character: Rath, the Fighter. I was reading the Conan stories at that time, so Rath was really a Conan-clone - but soon, I made him more than that. Rath survived the Slave Pits of the Undercity and the Lost Temple of Tharizdun - only to come undone (as many did) in the dreaded Tomb of Horrors.
It wasn't long before I was trying my hand at Game Mastering, and with that came my first attempt at creating my own world - The Kartoumian Spheros. Thinking back this weekend about that world led me to search through some old paper files I hadn't looked at for many years. In there, I found the original map I drew for this world (in early 1983), and here it is:
And here's a B&W close up of the Western Continent (where I set most of my home-brew adventures):
Anchorage (top left of map) was the dominant state in the region. It was Romanesque in its politics, and was constantly warring (unsuccessfully) with neighbouring states. The capital was Barn City, most notable for its School of Wizardry. Ironically, most of my games were set in the state of Frakor (bottom left peninsula). Frakor was still, by and large, an untamed wilderness - with only a few "points of light". The main centre of commerce was Gem City - but it was more of a town than a city. Here's my original map below. I've long since lost the map key, so I've not idea of what is where beyond the few places obviously labelled.
I do remember, however, that No. 8 was the infamous Gem City Saloon - a terrible den of booze and iniquity that my players spent many hours in. Right across the road (at No. 3) was the Gem City Sheriff's Office and local gaol. The office was presided over by a dark figure of a man known only as "Boone". Many times, Boone and PCs clashed - in fact it became de rigeuer for players to purposefully play cat and mouse with Mr Boone, and there was much fun had by all.
As time went by, the PCs learned that Mr Boone was in fact a Lord who had been exiled from the Barn City school of wizardry. He was a moderately high level wizard who had killed a student during what should have been a simple conjuring exercise. As he was a Lord, he was spared the hangman's noose, but he took himself into exile and set up a new life as a "fighter" in Gem City. Lord Boone quickly went from being a dour figure of mystery, to being someone with a past seeking redemption and reconciliation. During the campaign climax (in January 1984), Lord Boone sacrificed himself by drawing the attention of an invading army (accompanied by an evil sorcerer), allowing the PCs to infiltrate the enemy ranks and confront the General and his entourage - thus saving Gem City.
Lord Boone was never seen again. In Gem City that is ...
In the Christmas of 1983, my parents very kindly bought me the World of Greyhawk boxed set. I had never thought much about using pre-packaged worlds before this time, mostly because I was having so much fun designing my own stuff.
However, there was something that touched me deeply about this world and piqued my interest from the start. I quickly fell in love and set about collecting every module written for this setting. Throughout most of 1984 and early 1985, I switched my regular gaming group to play in the World of Greyhawk - once again, though, I made up my own stories and only used the pre-made modules for inspiration.
In late 1984 and into 1985, I started two more games with two other groups of friends (some of whom crossed over). One game was set back in the Kartoumian Spheros, and centred primarily on a quest to the Cape of Last Hope (at the bottom tip of Frakor). The other game was a Traveller (Sci-fi) game set in the wonderful Imperium. These were the days of the "little black books", and I collected them all. Sadly, they were all stolen from me during a party at my house in the late 80's.
During this time I also started reading a lot of Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft. One of my gaming friends informed me that there was a very good game based on Lovecraft's stories: Call of Cthulhu. I quickly went out and purchased a copy of the rulebook and devoured it eagerly. I played a few games during this time, but not many, as my friends were more into sword & sorcery (as opposed to going slowly insane).
Over the course of 1983, 1984 and 1985 I also became heavily involved in the local Sydney gaming convention scene - and very early versions of organised play (the RPGA was still in its infancy). I have a lot of fond memories of the Tin Soldier Trophy, MacquarieCon and SydCon in those early years. Out of that scene I met a lot of really wonderful people like Craig Williams and the incredibly talented Su Nicholson (who only recently sadly passed away).
In late 1985, I graduated from teaching college and discovered I had been selected for remote service. My new job was going to take me 750 km west of Sydney (and far away from my role playing friends and community).
And so I planned one last hurrah: The Spectacular Barn City Banquet!
To be continued ...
My early D&D games were memorable. They most often are. I remember my first character: Rath, the Fighter. I was reading the Conan stories at that time, so Rath was really a Conan-clone - but soon, I made him more than that. Rath survived the Slave Pits of the Undercity and the Lost Temple of Tharizdun - only to come undone (as many did) in the dreaded Tomb of Horrors.
It wasn't long before I was trying my hand at Game Mastering, and with that came my first attempt at creating my own world - The Kartoumian Spheros. Thinking back this weekend about that world led me to search through some old paper files I hadn't looked at for many years. In there, I found the original map I drew for this world (in early 1983), and here it is:
And here's a B&W close up of the Western Continent (where I set most of my home-brew adventures):
Anchorage (top left of map) was the dominant state in the region. It was Romanesque in its politics, and was constantly warring (unsuccessfully) with neighbouring states. The capital was Barn City, most notable for its School of Wizardry. Ironically, most of my games were set in the state of Frakor (bottom left peninsula). Frakor was still, by and large, an untamed wilderness - with only a few "points of light". The main centre of commerce was Gem City - but it was more of a town than a city. Here's my original map below. I've long since lost the map key, so I've not idea of what is where beyond the few places obviously labelled.
I do remember, however, that No. 8 was the infamous Gem City Saloon - a terrible den of booze and iniquity that my players spent many hours in. Right across the road (at No. 3) was the Gem City Sheriff's Office and local gaol. The office was presided over by a dark figure of a man known only as "Boone". Many times, Boone and PCs clashed - in fact it became de rigeuer for players to purposefully play cat and mouse with Mr Boone, and there was much fun had by all.
As time went by, the PCs learned that Mr Boone was in fact a Lord who had been exiled from the Barn City school of wizardry. He was a moderately high level wizard who had killed a student during what should have been a simple conjuring exercise. As he was a Lord, he was spared the hangman's noose, but he took himself into exile and set up a new life as a "fighter" in Gem City. Lord Boone quickly went from being a dour figure of mystery, to being someone with a past seeking redemption and reconciliation. During the campaign climax (in January 1984), Lord Boone sacrificed himself by drawing the attention of an invading army (accompanied by an evil sorcerer), allowing the PCs to infiltrate the enemy ranks and confront the General and his entourage - thus saving Gem City.
Lord Boone was never seen again. In Gem City that is ...
In the Christmas of 1983, my parents very kindly bought me the World of Greyhawk boxed set. I had never thought much about using pre-packaged worlds before this time, mostly because I was having so much fun designing my own stuff.
However, there was something that touched me deeply about this world and piqued my interest from the start. I quickly fell in love and set about collecting every module written for this setting. Throughout most of 1984 and early 1985, I switched my regular gaming group to play in the World of Greyhawk - once again, though, I made up my own stories and only used the pre-made modules for inspiration.
In late 1984 and into 1985, I started two more games with two other groups of friends (some of whom crossed over). One game was set back in the Kartoumian Spheros, and centred primarily on a quest to the Cape of Last Hope (at the bottom tip of Frakor). The other game was a Traveller (Sci-fi) game set in the wonderful Imperium. These were the days of the "little black books", and I collected them all. Sadly, they were all stolen from me during a party at my house in the late 80's.
During this time I also started reading a lot of Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft. One of my gaming friends informed me that there was a very good game based on Lovecraft's stories: Call of Cthulhu. I quickly went out and purchased a copy of the rulebook and devoured it eagerly. I played a few games during this time, but not many, as my friends were more into sword & sorcery (as opposed to going slowly insane).
Over the course of 1983, 1984 and 1985 I also became heavily involved in the local Sydney gaming convention scene - and very early versions of organised play (the RPGA was still in its infancy). I have a lot of fond memories of the Tin Soldier Trophy, MacquarieCon and SydCon in those early years. Out of that scene I met a lot of really wonderful people like Craig Williams and the incredibly talented Su Nicholson (who only recently sadly passed away).
In late 1985, I graduated from teaching college and discovered I had been selected for remote service. My new job was going to take me 750 km west of Sydney (and far away from my role playing friends and community).
And so I planned one last hurrah: The Spectacular Barn City Banquet!
To be continued ...
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