I freely admit to being a packrat. I don't collect RPGs, I accumulate them. Some years ago, I sold off a chunk of my collection. Even after disposing of what was originally a couple thousand dollars worth of books, I still had something like sixty linear feet worth of RPG material on my bookshelves and more in storage in the garage.
Then, there's the less organized stuff. The boxes of loose paper and odds and ends that have traveled with me through the years, partway across the state, and through six residences that I can count. The rubbish carried in my wake, as it were.
Long story short, I recently dove into those boxes. Mostly, they were full of junk (and in one case, a fully articulated rat skeleton). But one box held a bit of personal treasure. (Link opens PDF file. It's safe.)
The 1983 Hero Games catalog. And my Adventurer's Club membership card. I got the card when I signed up for a subscription to AC magazine (Hero's house organ) at Origins so I could attend the members-only party at the con. Which brings up a host of memories. Origins was the first big gaming convention I ever attended, and it was a doozy: I met all of the Hero Games crew (including my idol at the time, Aaron Allston), got to play Champions with George MacDonald, had breakfast with Ray Greer and Doug Garrett (Doug, by the way, is more responsible for everything good I do as a GM than anyone else I ever met), met and gamed with Lee Gold (from Alarums & Excursions), saw the old Steve Jackson Games "battle damaged" delivery van, bought some art from Mark Williams, and flew on a plane for the first time in my life.
It's no wonder I didn't go to a major con again for nearly 20 years; how could I top that?
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