Shortly after, I shifted game system to Mythras Classic Fantasy and things spiralled upward from there. Things truly began to take form as a larger entity following the invitation of Rodney Leary to add it to the official Greymyr setting for Mythras Classic Fantasy. How could I say no?

Eventually, however, my energy for the realm petered out – not least because, when I look back on it, I was setting up huge expectations for myself as Game Master. The biggest of those was expressed more recently in one of my Thirteen GM Rules:

Rule 3: The GM needs to know everything about the game system and the game world before play begins.

“Thirteen Game Master Rules”, Roleplay Rescue, S8E2, January 2nd 2021.

The Road Back…

In recent months I have taken two steps which ended up with me arriving back in Mystamyr over past weekend:

1. I began to design the maps for and run games in my long-talked-about megadungeon, The Fire Citadel of The Dragon Kings.
2. I moved the megadungeon game back to its home realm of Mystamyr, digging out the old Fire Island map and asking the players if they would mind me shifting the setting.

The practical upshot was that, on Saturday evening, I played my first game in Mystamyr in more than 2 years. It was a hoot to dig out my old maps and notes, presenting some of that old material in-game for my GURPS Dungeon Fantasy group. It appears the players had a good time too!

What’s my point?

For too many years, I have allowed myself to believe that once a game collapses you are done with all that stuff you created. I used to throw away maps, ditch notes, and start over. But that has been a huge mistake.

I’m looking through old notes for Mystamyr and seeing what I can recycle, reuse, or build upon. It’s good to recognise the good quality of stuff I have created in the past and repurpose it for a new game. I’ve found new energy and interest in those old notes and felt the impetus to create some more.

What’s lurking in your old folders, real and digital alike? Is there something you could dig out and put into play? If so, why not actually pull it out and use it?

Game on!