When Did I Start GMing – RPGaDay 2022

The question is: When did I start Gamemastering?

1985.

The Middle Earth Role Playing game was released as a boxed set by Games Workshop with a stunning cover by Chris Achilleos.

It was a repackaged set of the US original with a core rule book, maps, cut-out-and-fold minifigs, a book of tables and mini-maps for easy reference and a couple of dice.

It is not the easiest game to learn nor the most ideal fit for Lord of the Rings, but I really enjoyed running games in that world with that system. I have no recollection of the detail and the arc, but I did run a homebrew campaign that didn’t end at all well.

Somewhere around here, I have one of the character sheets from that campaign, Celafin. He was an elf.

The experience of running the game has stayed with me, lingering with a love of this not-quite-perfect RPG that extends to a need to complete the collection. However, the books are much sought and LONG out of print, so they’re getting harder and harder to acquire at a reasonable price.

It might be time to find satisfaction in the memories of what was possible with the little I had back then. My Middle-Earth was not the one from the books or the movies — Tolkien would turn in his grave.

These days, I’m the almost-forever GM. I know in some groups the forever-GM arises from the lack of interest in anyone else to take the role, but for my part, I find it comfortable compared to the wide-eyed terror of being a Player in someone else’s game.

RPGaDay is a prompt-driven experience in tabletop roleplaying, initiated by Dave Chapman of Autocratik, and powered by me and you.

The prompts for this year are as follows — and you can find out more on Dave’s website.