An Acknowledgement and Thanks ...

Something I should have done at the very beginning of this blog, and it has been very remiss of me, I admit, is to say a big 'thank you' to all those players that have sat round the table with me.  I am aware that most likely 99% will never get to read this, but I feel strongly enough to do it.
A DM without players is just a person reading a book.

Revenge ... A Powerful Driving Force.

Each session begins with a recap from the previous week's events.  This is a good practice for two reasons - it helps to reinforce placement of characters, what's been gained, lost, destroyed and who needs healing or  the learning of new spells.  But primarily, it helps me to get things organised and in the mood for what lies ahead.

Tarl & Grudge: RPG mechanics breakdown

Copyright © Mark Kelly 2025

That's the funny thing about role playing games, in the planning phase as a DM you have all these little scenarios and threads mapped out (either on paper or in your head), and what happens?  It all goes tits up.

Take the last encounter with our reluctant heroes of the moment.  Ideally the encounter should have gone without a violent contact between the characters and the riders.  But I hadn't taken into account Cat's reaction to the scene presented before his character and Steven's all-too-willingness to have his character engage the riders. But then, that just adds to the excitement of being a DM.

Dragon Warriors - The First Encounter

So, Tarl and Grudge (a.k.a. Neil (Cat) and Steven respectively) had been trawling about a number of small hamlets and the odd village, when our two erstwhile heroes stumble across a remote farm.  In dire need of provisions, and severely short of water, the companions take up a vantage point near the farm to discuss the next plan of action.

Dragon Warriors - My Game of Choice.

Dragon Warriors was my first ever rpg system for DM'ing.  It was basic, straight forward - a critical hit meant instant death - and easy to get into.  But the best part?  It was all contained within 6 paperback book volumes ... sheer bliss!

It's now twenty-plus years on from the first time I thumbed through the Dragon Warriors book set, and the books are decidedly delicate looking, and in need of some hard earned TLC.  The spines on two have been reinforced with sellotape; each volume has relevant sections tagged for quick and easy access - not that I really needed them, but in the heat of battle when a player would ask a question regarding a certain ruling, there it was at the tip of my fingers.

Thar Be Dragons!

Rummaging through my various boxes of stored rp gear I uncovered a long forgotten treasure, still in its box, the sellotape keeping it sealed browned and brittle.  It was a Great Spined Dragon.  Now a rare beast indeed, and still unassembled.

Old, But Not Forgotten

There are tables, then there are tables.  This particular table, albeit a rather light and tiny affair, holds a special place in my evil DM's heart as it was the first - yes, THE first gaming table from which I ran my opening role playing session.  And many more would follow.

Another Year Rolls By.

Copyright © Mark R Kelly 2026

Yup, another year slowly rolls by, as if trying not to get noticed too closely.  But, even though my failing brain cells are becoming more forgetful, seemingly by the month, I am still conscious of the fact time skulks away like a reluctant party goer at a very dull and boring engagement party disco.

But worse - I now no longer have an active role playing group.

My 'hardcore' Role Players have taken up responsible roles within their careers and family lives. No longer in possession of the luxury of free time required to devote to a single role playing session, once-a-week.

Fantasy vs Sci-fi vs Fantasy vs Reality. What?!

Why can’t I get my friends to play sci-fi RPGs? And what does it say about gaming today? 

Looking back, this is the question I ask myself:  Why was I unable to garner interest in people to 'try' science fiction based role playing?  

I think the answer lies in identity.  

For some odd reason, players I have gamed with have a difficult time connecting with a Science Fiction driven universe and all its modern trappings. Whereas Fantasy, no problem.  Could it be an historical thing?  Or as children, we are more often told, and read, stories firmly rooted within the 'traditional' fantasy setting of witches and fair young maidens, or dragons and brave knights?  As opposed to battle-suited, laser-blasting-troopers versus homicidal space amoeba, within the depths of deepest, darkest space?

Advice to Aspiring Game Masters / Dungeon Masters.

Veering away from the history of my climb to DM notoriety - in a good way, naturally - I feel the need to jot down some thoughts, ideas and practices of my own, some of which I hope might help the budding Games Master (Dungeon Master for fantasy - I feel fits in better).

This post is slightly longer than usual, so please, don't be put off.

Some of you may think, 'Ach, this is nothing new.' Others might think, 'He's totally off my rocker', and for some it's just too much effort.  

But there will be one or two out there, reading this, that may well have a moment of sheer elation and jump out of their chair doing a Meg Ryan moment screaming, 'Yes! YES! YESSS!', though I doubt it.

If so, I do not in any way, shape or form accept liability or blame for reactions by friends, partners and or family members - you're on your own (please picture a smiley face of your choosing).

In advance, for those of you reading this who absolutely loathe lists, my apologies... but what can I say?

It's not all about space, you know!

For those of you kind enough to follow this sapling blog, I just wish to inform you that this will not be entirely about science fiction based role playing games. 

Far from it.  

The fact is, the sci-fi aspect of my rp experience most likely accounts for twenty-twenty-five percent of it - if that.  

So there is a lot of fantasy rp tales of daring-do and dice-fumbling to come, in the form of Dragon Warriors and Dungeons & Dragons, to name but two.

Spacefarers, ahoy!

During my celestial search for adventurers willing to brave the depths of cold space and the quiet hum of a space craft engine (and my cups of tea/coffee), I stumbled across a little known gem of a rule book for tabletop sci-fi encounters/gun battles, and the odd adventure, in the form of 'Spacefarers'.

No sooner had my grubby little fingers began turning the pages, exposing the gloriously imagined characters of this little space opera illustrated within, was I bitten.  Add the fact there was not another copy to be found where it lay.

Clutched to my chest like some ancient, long-lost treasure, I scurried to the chap at the cash register, happily handed over my glorious find and the cash required to secure its release, watching with impatient delight as the shop assistant placed it carefully into a brown paper bag, sealed with a strip of Sellotape.

Funny, isn't it, when you have something in your possession that almost makes you giddy with excitement you never really notice the journey home, even though part of your mind thinks it is taking longer than normal.  Well, that's how it was for me as I carried this mini-tome of sci-fi delights to its new destination and home.

Desert Island RPG ...

Copyright © 2011 Mark Kelly

If I am honest, I found the whole 'Traveller' rule set intimidating and often confusing.  But that didn't stop me from creating several planets, no end of NPCs and a rather flimsy plot-line.  

So where were the players?

It would seem, back in the day, not many role players (of those within my circle) were very much into the idea of sci-fi rpgs.  I continued to collect various 'Traveller' scenarios, figures and even a whole campaign. 

Still no players though.

Move forward another year, and I discover a role playing group. Their game night is held once-a-week in a reception room at a rather seedy-looking hotel at the far end of St. Mary's Street in the heart of Cardiff city centre, literally within spitting distance of Cardiff Central Railway Station... needless to say, not the safest of areas for folks to frequent after dark, let alone a teenage lad.  True what they say about ignorance, it covers you in a shield of fearlessness so you hadn't a clue as to what the heck was going on about you.