It all began one day approximately 25 years ago in 1982. I was 11 years old. My elementary school had all day rehearsals (that's right, no classes for a whole day) for the Christmas program. All six grades other than kindergarten were involved in the show. The sixth graders had speaking parts (Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, the head foreman elf, etc.) and contributed to the
show's plot. The younger grades each came in for a scene and
same a song. One grade was the elves, another were singing toys, another Christmas snowmen, another a team of reindeer, etc. My 5
th grade class were Christmas angels.
We ran through the play again and again. During the hours between the appearance of the your grade's group on stage (assuming you weren't a sixth grader with a speaking part in the plot), your class sat still in the folding chairs that were
arranged in the gym for that purpose. You could bring coloring books or reading materials to bide the time.
My best friend at the time brought a small box: a Dungeons and Dragons Basic Set. He pulled out a dungeon made on graph paper and I rolled up a character. Thinking of
Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings,
I asked if I could be a wizard. My fifth grade friend said "No" and made me roll up a fighter. I later learned that he didn't understand the magic system.
I was hooked. Gaming (
RPGs) has been something that has followed me to some degree or another for the last 25 years. It was responsible for a lot of social networking over the years in my life (particularly during high school and college).
Now, it brings a certain thrill to me to be working on a gaming supplement of my own. Coming in 2008 (and in bits and pieces as fair game for Sneak Peek Thursdays on the website), is "Gaming the
Smerdiverse" an
RPG supplement using the "M and M
Superlink" open gaming license agreement of the "Mutants and Masterminds" system. ("Mutants and Masterminds" is wholly owned by and is published by Green
Ronin Publishing. Our product will be published with a different publisher but will be compatible through the open gaming license.)
For those of you who play
RPGs (know in layman's terms as role-playing games), there will soon be published stats on pocket dragons and other characters and alien races of
the Smerdiverse, including the upcoming third "Rush and the Grey Fox" novel, "Shadows of Destiny."
As always, we'd love to hear what you think. I will be
playtesting the M & M product at the December 2007 meeting of
GameClubHQ (
http://www.gameclubhq.com). All those who play in the test game will be given
playtester credits in the final product.
If you game in Missouri, click on their link and check 'em out. They're a fun and awesome group! Good times!
Until next post,
