Considering The Past - Part VI

In 1995, I got my first "internet-connected" computer. Before too long, I was using it to prep my games (which were few and far between). To while away the time in-between weeks of no gaming, I joined a Greyhawk Newsgroup. Newsgroups were a kind of early "group-email-forum" where folks who had a particular interest in something very specific could share their common geekery. On the list were luminaries from AD&D past (Rob Kuntz) and it's future (Eric Mona). There were not many of us on the list, so were all got to contribute, ask questions (of Rob), and generally get excited about the possible return of Greyhawk as a publication. It was great fun, and I used my time there to learn as much about Greyhawk and gaming as I could. It was also my first step into networking in the wider gaming world.

Over 1997 and 1998 we all got excited when some new Greyhawk material was released ("Greyhawk, The Adventure Begins") - but it turned out to be mostly reprinted material in a fancier format. Nothing particularly new. When word came that Wizards of the Coast had bought out TSR, we all thought the worst: the fantasy world we knew and loved would be gone forever.

Then, WotC announced the pending publication of 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons. It was due to land May 2000, and the best news was that it was going to use the World of Greyhawk as its "base setting"! I eagerly acquired all the Core Books as soon as they released, and devoured the rules and committed them to memory (as it was all so new and fresh compared to 2nd Edition). I had just started a new gaming group (most of whom are still with me) and I remember saying to them: "How about we give the new Edition a try? If we don't like it, we can go back to 2nd Edition after a few one-shot adventures."

We never went back.

Then, on the 2nd October 2000 I read a newsgroup post that would change my life:

There was a new "Living Campaign" starting and it was set in Greyhawk. Australia had been given the land of Perrenland to oversee, and there was one position left on the Perrenland Triad. I mustered up the courage and applied ...

... and I was accepted! For those of you who do not know, the Living Greyhawk Campaign broke up the World of Greyhawk and distributed it to US States and Countries around the world; each "region" being responsible for a "region" of Greyhawk. The idea was that every year there were 20 Core Scenarios released (mostly set in Greyhawk City and environs), and then 8 scenarios from each of the regions. Everybody could play in Core and their own region (or another region if you visited). The "Triads" were responsible for overseeing the general plot points of the regional campaign, as well as write one adventure per year. Later, the campaign expanded into Metaregional Adventures (and Perrenland fell under the Iuz Metaregion). 

When I first joined the Perrenland Triad, I found myself in the position of having to quickly churn out my first scenario. I cheated a bit, and tidied up a home-grown adventure I had recently played with my Cairns group. I called it Swamp Things. 

I submitted Swamp Things on time (November, 2000) and waited ... and waited ... and generally heard nothing back. Then, I heard that Perrenland had already reached it's yearly quota for Year 1 (which ran from October 2000 to December 2001). So, it looked like Swamp Things would never see the light of day. One evening, I opened an email from Stephen Radney McFarland, and he was asking me if I would allow Swamp Things to be released as the final Core Adventure for Year 1. I was surprised and extremely chuffed. After some re-editing (Swamp Things started as a local Perrenland Adventure - hence the Germanic names which survived the edit) and re-placing it closer to Greyhawk City, the adventure was finally published in late 2001 as COR1-09 Swamp Things. 

Over the next 3 years, over 100,000 people played Swamp Things, and I've been told it was downloaded half-a-million times over the course of the LG Campaign. Still today, I get email requests from people asking me about Swamp Things. For a 32 page adventure, it holds a place dear in my heart (and clearly in the hearts of many gamers around the world).

Swamp Things led to many more writing opportunities, and when the LG Campaign closed in 2008, I moved on into the Living Forgotten Realms Campaign. These were wonderful years, thanks to so many great friends and colleagues in the gaming industry: Eric Mona, Stephen Radney-McFarland, Jason Bulmahn, Chris Tulach, James Wyatt, Creighton Broadhurst, Shawn Merwin, David Christ, Pieter Sleijpen, Ed Greenwood, Wes Nicholson, Mark Somers, Patrick Williamson, James Dempsey, Dru Moore, Joe Fitzgerald, Colleen Simpson, and many more! 

Thanks must also go out to my long suffering home game group who have borne the brunt of a million playtests: Antigone Paris, Dudley Powell, Libby Powell, Boyd Theime, Joey Schibberas, Robin Farnsworth, Dru Moore, Suzie Allen, Jireh S., Sam Riley, and Ben Bolton.

So - that's The Past. In 2011, I retired from the Living Forgotten Realms Campaign. I left on a high, and really had to because my day job was taking up more of my time. But that's life! What's next? Mmmm ...

NEXT UP ... My Writing Resume.