This month, thirty years ago, a discovery was made that not known at the time would be a part of a hobby that I still have involvement in. That discovery came in a red box and started a saga that is still on going.
Eventually, when the players within the group had "levelled" up several times and the resulting party suffered a total party kill at the hands of a GM who introduced NPC's that could match the party's fire power. The fight at the Falling Bridge is still a grand memory of those early gaming days. There was a fair deal of upset caused and a new group sprang forth from the ashes of the last, similar to the phoenix in mythology.
This group were looking for a little more detail and ventured into new realms, well in gaming terms, that is. The resulting games followed the literary exploits of two very different authors: Tolkien and Moorcroft
The games were also very different as were the resulting campaigns for both, however, one system eventually won over the over the other and a new era began. It was the time of Rolemaster
Tables and charts became the norm, as did crunching numbers and looking for more "realism" in character development and combat. Companion followed companion, characters gained new heights, only to loose them shortly after. For years the game continue as a gaming world was developed and expanded. However, things change and people do to. For some the system became everything and the quest for realism, eventually undid it all, as the essence of the game became lost in the rules behind it. The essence of the game being fun and banter around a table.
As Dungeons and Dragons moves into its 5th edition and gaming is changing. No longer do people have to be in the same room around the same table. No longer is realism the centre of the game. Now table is virtual and a new era has started, the game is different, as are the rules, but the essences are still have returned to those found in that red box: fun and banter.
Cheers for now
