It started with a Hobbit

Well...it sort of started with the Hobbit. Picture the scene if you will. It's 1978 and a young me is off to the cinema to see Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings. I didn't know what the film was about, other than the cool poster

The film just captured my imagination and I have a soft spot for the movie today. I still own a copy! I found myself wondering about this story. The young me wondered if it had anything to do with the Hobbit. A story that had appeared on a kids show of the time called Jack-a-nory. I wondered if it had anything to do with those intimidating books I saw in the library. The drama teacher at my school had posters of certain characters on his wall. I had wondered for years who they were. Now I knew. It had captured my imagination in ways that no other kids movie had. I started reading fantasy. I started reading those intimidating books. I played the Hobbit on my old spectrum 48k (very old school home computer). That might have been that though, had it not been for the fact that I also had joined a wargaming group, roughly about the same time. 

One day I saw an advert for our wargame club, with a new offering called "Middle Earth" gaming. I was excited. When I saw one of the teachers who ran the club, I asked him what "Middle Earth" gaming was about.

His reply was:

"Not really sure to be honest. Something about knights charging each other in tunnels"

I tried to imagine what that would look like. I also couldn't recall anything like that happening in Lord of the Rings. And so I walked away, slightly deflated.

When the club met later that week, I had a chance to see "Middle Earth" in action. A group of boys had got a table at the back of the room. A green cloth had been thrown over it. Books were placed underneath to make hills. A few props placed on it. Some large miniatures were present that sort of looked like hobbits.

I watched this game for a short while. I have to be honest, I was not impressed. They spent most of the evening arguing over rules. The rules were of course the original dungeons and dragons boxed set. I didn't know what dungeons and dragons was, but what I did know, is that this game had nothing whatsoever to do with "Middle Earth". I got tired of watching this group go round robin on some interpretation of the rules. I didn't get it and frankly didn't care to.

And so the years pass. Middle Earth faded from view. Real life intervened and I could easily have gone down a different path. One Saturday, I chanced across a sci-fi magazine in the local news agents. It was an American mag, called Astounding tales. Quite rare to see something like that in the UK at that time. It was an impulse buy and it put me back on the path so to speak. It was the usual collection of articles and short fiction. As I read it, I found one article in it concerning something called "Roleplaying Games" - I didn't know what these were, but I read the article all the same. Man! That article lit a fire in me that day. It not only explained what the hobby was, but gave a description of a crazy game that was a mix of high fantasy and Sci-fi. I was completely hooked. The passion with which the author had treated his subject, sold me on roleplaying. I also realised that this is what those boys from my time in School had tried to do but failed. They were playing it wrong - came the cry. (an issue for another blog perhaps) I would do better I thought. The problem was - how? I was too young and inexperienced to consider homebrewing something. I knew I had to get my hands on one of these games. It was then that fortune fell in my lap in the shape of an old wargaming magazine, called "The Wargamer" - this issue though, was a roleplaying special. I'm having that I thought and raced off home with my treasure. In it, it had a few essays on the hobby, but it also had a "pick your path to adventure" solo scenario. I can't remember much about it, but it was the first time I had an example of what a game could be like and let me try it out. The magazine had one more surprise for me. It had a review of a game being released in the UK. The game was called: Runequest. The review was quite the glowing one and I was determined to get a copy in my hands ASAP.  I had to wait a while, but one Xmas eve I was given money to go and buy it. (My folks were worried they'd end up buying the wrong thing.) I went to a game store (long since gone sadly) and picked up a copy and was advised to also pick up a packet of Dragon Dice, which I did. It will come as no surprise to anyone, that I started reading it as soon as I got home.

Runequest 2nd edition. It was everything I could have wanted. It was also a very easy system to pick up, especially for someone who was coming into this via an old movie and some magazine articles. It was clear from the outset that the game was a bronze age setting. The ducks threw me (ducks are playable race in the game) but the rest of the setting gave off strong vibes of Conan, Robert Adams Horse clans, the Sinbad movies like Eye of the Tiger and the old Jason & the Argonauts movie from the 60s. Runequest was a world with some very unique ideas at the core of it. It was a mix of ancient Babylon, Ancient Greece, Rome and plains Indians of America. It had no orcs or goblins. Trolls were an ancient race and not evil. Elves looked like man sized Ents. And yes, lets not forget the the Ducks. Everyone can use magic, Rune Lords and Rune Priests could wield God Power. Spirits could be captured and bound. Hero Quests could be attempted were characters would reenact ancient deeds of valour. At the heart of it was a very simple percentage system. First chance I had, I ran the first scenario set in the town of Apple Lane. From that moment the die had been cast and my path set.

From Glorantha, I would be dungeon delving in Tunnels and Trolls. Flying rusty old Free Traders in Traveller. Play survivors of the apocalypse in games like Aftermath, The Morrow Project and Gamma World. I play in westerns and play as Samurai in games like Bushido. Fought ancient alien and godlike beings in Call of Cthulhu. And yes - I finally got to Middle Earth via the Middle Earth roleplaying game. It would be a full 10 years before I finally encountered Dungeons and Dragons again. This time it was 2nd Edition "Advanced" Dungeons and Dragons. The difference here, apart form the mechanics. Was that the previous games all had worlds built around them. AD&D had none as part of its core rules. You had to buy into a world separately. But I encountered most of them From Greyhawk to Spelljammer, though I still rate the old Lankhmar setting as my favourite. I like the old sword and sorcery tales best.

It was quite a convoluted journey to get into the hobby. A movie. A terrible example of D&D. A couple of magazine articles. Glad I took the trip.