Timescape

Issue #26 of TSR UK's Imagine magazine contained the advertisement above, which awakened some long-forgotten memories of reading an article about Treasure Trap, an early LARP that took place in an English castle. Though I can't be certain, it's likely the article in question appeared in the pages of White Dwarf, my main source for gaming news outside North America. In any case, I was enthralled by the idea of fantasy roleplaying "for real" and hoped one day to participate in such an event. 

I was an exchange student in London for a few months in 1987 and had hopes that I might be able to visit Treasure Trap, but never did so for various logistical reasons. In the years since, my interest in this sort of activity has waned considerably (I have, in fact, never LARPed), though I retain an academic interest in historical reenactment and related hobbies. I've had a few friends who were casual participants in SCA events, but, again, have never attended one myself. The SCA is another huge lacuna in my knowledge of the history of our hobby. Its influence on roleplaying isn't huge but it's there, particularly on the west coast scene. I am led to understand that the Perrin Conventions, a set of OD&D house rules and the ultimate origin of Chaosium's influential Basic Role-Playing, owe a lot to Steve Perrin's experience in the SCA, for example.

It's frankly amazing to me that, even after all these years, there are still plenty of nooks and crannies in the history of the hobby that are poorly explored and documented. Had I the resources to do so, I'd love to look into some of these more seriously.