On the 28th November 2018, the eight minute and 14 second episode zero of Roleplay Rescue was aired. Now, as we reach the fifth anniversary of that fateful episode, I’m wondering… has it been worth it? What have I learned?

Looking back, I see that the seeds of what I am playing now in Fellmyr were sown in 2018 when the then-new School Club played Basic D&D in the legendary, “Caverns of Thracia”. Running a new classic fantasy game brought to life by the artistry of Fernando Salvaterra is a delight – check out the Fellmyr adventurer’s map below:

While I have resisted the implications of this for a long time, the truth appears to be that I enjoy classic fantasy campaigning. Certainly, I would prefer to play a more robust and detailed set of rules than raw Basic D&D but, at heart, I find joy in the tropes and challenges of open world fantasy.

Underneath this lies a desire to find and provide genuine player agency in a world with sensible cause and effect. The old rules have been improved upon admirably over the years, so I don’t have to reinvent the tools I need to enjoy a fantastic simulation of a believable world.

Five years on, I’m finding joy in showing my players a cool map and letting them explore it at their own pace. Today I got to do that once again at the School D&D Club, wherein the player characters delved deeper into the Lakeside Ruins and unearthed more than 3000gp in jewellery and coin.

Has it been worth it? Certainly. I got to meet fantastic guests and some heroes of the hobby, chatting to them for the podcast. I got to meet a fabulous community of like-minded gamers. Most of all, I got to rediscover the roots of my own lost roleplaying games hobby.

Game on!