Yesterday was the first session of a new dark fantasy campaign set around the village of Falcon Ridge. As I was putting the finishing touches to the first scenario, I recognised that I was drawing on a few ideas that first emerged in my play back in 2016. As I typed the title sheet for my GM’s screen, the realisation clicked: the After Ruin setting was Mystamyr… re-imagined.

Mystamyr is what I named the classic fantasy realm that I created for myself way back around 2016. It began with a delve into the classic Dungeons & Dragons “Red Box” adventure that is cunningly named, “First Adventure”. Shortly after, I shifted game system to Mythras Classic Fantasy and things spiralled upward from there. 

Over the past month, I’ve been on a journey to present the kind of fantasy roleplaying experience that I feel excited about. It’s a mix of tapping into the fourteen-year-old imagination that inspired my gaming interest alongside digging into the discoveries I’ve been making recently about my (and my players) preferred style of play.

The idea of a dark and post-apocalyptic fantasy has been hovering over my consciousness for years. Due to some unhelpful thinking habits, and not a little anxiety as a result, there has always been this part of me that holds back and tries to please my friends at the table. Pushing (just a little) harder against these habits has unlocked creative enjoyment.

But I didn’t realise that Falcon Ridge was a bridge back to Mystamyr… albeit in an alternate dimension. The themes and flavour of my first adventure tapped into the inspiration that fuelled some of my favourite locations and characters from that old campaign. The words on the GM Screen seemed to type themselves: dark fantasy adventure in the realm of Mystamyr.

There’s a new map and a different, much darker post-Cataclysm reality in this reimagination. But also some of the most iconic themes and elements from the earlier iteration have resurfaced: undead stalk the land; the goblins are coming; and there’s a dark secret to be unearthed from the realm.

Falcon Ridge expresses my love of classic fantasy but twists it and enjoys the freedom that GURPS offers me by breaking away from rigid character classes and Vancian magic. This is a grounded and realistic flavour of fantasy which, although beginning with familiar elements, feels like it’s going to explore a darker weirder part of my psyche.

Thanks to the Nottingham Roleplayers for their willingness to venture forth from Falcon Ridge. I can’t wait to find out what we unearth.

Game on!

Some artwork © 2015 Dean Spencer, used with permission. All rights reserved.