It’s one of my bragging points (in all honesty, should not be a bragging point but should make you feel sad) that I have been the main game-runner of RPGs for my group for nearly 20 years. From my first session of 16 people in Dungeons & Dragons (3rd Edition) way back when I was 15 years old to now, I’ve been the guy among my groups that would write up adventures and challenges. I actually have several files in the cabinet with “Campaign” marked on it, some with “Finished” and most just unresolved. That’s the way of it, unfortunately.
But one of my players, the guy I usually call “my buddy” because he’s the friend I talk to every day but likes his privacy on the Internet, reached out to me a week ago with a proposal: he wanted to get a group together for a game.
This is not new to me. I’m used to one player getting to me with a “I want to play this scenario!” idea, and I agree to it. I love writing up plots and challenges, seeing what the players would do in a given situation. Sometimes it gives me the opportunity to try out a new monster, trap, or puzzle. My favorite was a chess-style challenge that stumped the players for, I kid you not, over an hour. I was stupidly impressed by their willingness when I said “For this part of the game, I need all of you to turn in your phones and tablets so you cannot cheat” and six adults put their cell phones and computers into a basket in order to keep playing. That’s one hell of a compliment.
But this time, my buddy had something different. “I want to have a game based in WarHammer 40K, and I want to run it.”
Well. Holy shit.
WH40K is the only tabletop game I did not get into. I’ve delved into at least 20 different systems and games, up to and including GURPS and Call of Cthulhu. I did not get into WH40K because, to put it bluntly, I could not paint all of the miniatures. I’m not talented in that respect and I did not want to flaunt my lack of skill in the area. So, I left that world alone.
So, imagine my sheer terror when my buddy says “The game is based in the WH40K universe, all about a ship and crew, and I want you to be the captain of the ship”.
Just gonna sweat in my utter ignorance of the world I’m supposed to be knowledgeable about, especially when I gather a crew (players) among my local group to find out most of them are extremely avid WH40K players. I twitched when, in the group chat between the other players, I made a suggestion and they just responded “We put our faith in the captain. It’s your call.”
Y’all, I’m not used to that.
For once, I’m being given the responsibility of “Party Leader”. I’ve played in a few one-shots over the years, sure, but I always, always, made sure I was someone that did not make the crucial decisions. I am so used to making the “Big Decisions” as the GM (DM) and that was something I could simply do. To think I’d be making the decisions and then have to look at someone else who actually made the rules?
Holy Control-Issues, Batman.
I will say that I’m enjoying learning about the universe I’ll be stepping into, soon. The history-nerd in me is champing at the bit to explore all the nooks and crannies of this extremely rich world, though my buddy is putting restrictions on what I should read (which, as his usual GM, I understand) and I have to stop myself from digging too deep.
I might actually post write-ups of those adventures here, so if you’re curious as to how well the GameMaster-turned-Lead-Player does in a crisis, follow this site and I’ll set up a page for it.
Cheers, folks.
Swift's Corner 