Meanwhile, In The Game Box...

So I'm dealing with a VPN issue which makes working nearly impossible. I'm waiting for updates to install, and I dig out my Game Box.

The Game Box

Yes, that's my original name tag from freshman orientation at WPI way back in 1987 on the lid. I open it, which I haven't done in a while...

Idea Treasure!

...and I start digging. I find my old Hero System binder for the modern-day game...

This is Blade. He's basically Wolverine
with more sharp edges and more issues.

...and I see the character sheet for Gregor Ramon, a swarthy chap. He's a gypsy art thief, one of Derek's characters. Derek has been gone a long time, and losing him still cuts me when I least expect it.

Digging deeper, I find Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue, which still rocks.

Still a great resource for fantasy gadgets
and high magic pseudo-steampunk inventions.

And I found the 7-pointed star of correspondences, lining up my system of gods, colors, WoD magic spheres from Mage: The Ascension, Chakras, and Egyptian souls.

And this is why an Elder Sign works.
It doesn't have Time nor Prime, so it'll eventually fail.

For those of you wondering how a systems guy tries to make the world fit together, keep staring at the star until something clicks for you.

I found the notebook from my several Highcastle games, started back in 1985.

Highcastle and northern environs.
Includes the Rat Cave, where normal rats
made for the scariest adventure ever.

The Tomb of Tor-Kantor.
He's an insane undead elven general.
The PCs lived, but set him free to seek revenge.

I even kept my visual aids from when the Lizardmen and Dragons tried to invade Highcastle.

Priests of Kreigan try to cover for the
routed conscript spear units, heading for the walls.

I remember they had to rebuild a few wall sections after the battle, but they held firm and pushed the invaders all the way back into the sea, 20 miles away.

I even found some magic items I had made and transferred to 4x6 index cards for reference.

This is Water Brand, a Footman's Mace
with a Decanter of Endless Water in its head.

And yes, I colored the pictures in my Player's Handbook. At least I used colored pencils and not crayons.

I'm never selling it.
Don't judge me. You did similar things.

Every piece of paper holds something precious. The smell of old line printer paper, a scribbled map, a jotted idea, photocopied flags of Japanese Prefectures. Research of things never quite real to begin with, but cast in concrete memory of challenges and laughter. And I miss diving into the guts of a long campaign and juggling the rest of the world while the players dance on center stage.

So that's the photo diary of this morning's trip into my Box of Games Past.

What's in your archives?