-
Playtest Group of the Month
(May)

More About Us

The Group

The current incarnation of this Northampton (UK) based gaming group formed a little under a decade ago, under the auspices of Dungeon Master Ian Malcomson and his Aldor D&D campaign setting. Originally consisting of members of the defunct Towcester Wargamers Club, a few friends, and a few friends of friends, the group has evolved from a bunch of people meeting on a Sunday afternoon to kill a few goblins into a band of steadfast friends whose social activities together involve everything from simply having a few beers to playing together in rock’n’roll bands. True proof that there is far more to gaming than the games themselves!

Ian R Malcomson (Dungeon Master, age 29)

I’m a freelance technical author—or rather meant to be, but a working relationship with ProFantasy formed through the Forgotten Realms® Interactive Atlas project has (happily) driven my professional life in quite a different direction. My introduction to the D&D game came at the tender age of seven, when an older friend showed me a funny set of rules that fuelled my already overactive imagination. From that point on, there was little turning back.

A member of the RPGA, then the UK Players’ Association, and now the RPGA-UK, I’ve always enjoyed meeting new people and hearing their thoughts and ideas through this mutual hobby of ours. To me, the social element of the hobby has always been just as important as the game itself.

I am all for flexibility in game systems, allowing players to create the characters they really want to play, and to this end I believe 3E to be a great step forward for the D&D game. By allowing such flexibility without sacrificing at the altar of complexity, 3E hails brightly the next decade of fantasy adventuring. And, being somewhat of an Oriental Adventures fetishist, it is nice to see the welcome return of the monk to our D&D games.

Although most of the conventions I’ve attended I have done so in the capacity of referee (including DMing a Dark Sun® tournament as a last-minute replacement without ever having seen, let alone read, the scenario to be played!), I have netted a 3rd place in the Spelljammer® tournament at Euro GenCon ‘92, and followed that up the following year with a 1st place Oriental Adventures trophy. Readers of Dragon® Magazine may also be familiar with my name from the Dark Ages campaign setting described in issues #257 and #263. Other RPG accolades include the aforementioned position of Project Manager for ProFantasy Software Ltd. on the Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas project, and cartographical material for GURPS: New Sun, published by Steve Jackson Games.

Kevin Collings (age 34)

From an earlier background of Avalon Hill-type wargaming, I got into role-playing and D&D around 1978/79. At that time I also played Traveller, RuneQuest, and Call of Cthulhu. Music lured me back into the real (?) world for a few years. But fate plays funny tricks, and it was music that enticed me back to AD&D about 10 years ago in the form of Ian Malcomson, with whom I was in a band at the time, and in pursuing both, the balance has been restored. Both hobbies help me to avoid growing up for just a little bit longer. I’ve also rediscovered wargaming in recent times, but now with a computer instead of a board.

I prefer to play a variety of different types of characters, from eloquently intelligent wizards to eminently stupid half-ogres. It keeps the brain on its toes! The new 3E system seems (at last!) to be a true revision of the AD&D game, one which 2nd Edition failed to address. It seems to be a good step in the right direction.

Jason Sidwell ("Jay", age 28)

Originally from Bedworth, in Warwickshire, I now live and work in Northampton fixing microwave ovens and other electrical appliances. I started playing several different role-playing games during the heady days of the mid-1980’s, both as player and referee. In recent times, I’ve combined my roleplaying with my love for Egyptian mythology and history by creating a campaign world that draws on such for inspiration. Along with role-playing and Ancient Egypt, my interests expand to zombie movies, heavy metal music, the Manchester United football club, and the various tales of the Star Trek universe.

As one of those who prefers 1st Edition AD&D, the return of certain "old" elements to the core are welcome, particularly half-orcs and, to a certain extent, assassins.

Claire Gentle (age 25)

I work for a paper merchant in Northampton—the town in which I also live and play. I began playing roleplaying games when I was 16, mainly as an "active observer"—taking on the role of characters for players that could not attend a given session. My first (and still my favourite) full-time character, a dwarven cleric named Wilbur Hammerstein, I created after joining Ian’s game.

I prefer playing single-classed characters—usually clerics, fighters, or wizards. Thus, it is these three character classes I stuck with when entering into the 3E playtest. Perhaps because of my lack of experience with different role-playing games (I tend to learn by playing with more experienced participants), I found the 3E rules initially difficult to grasp, but I eventually found (with the help of some explanations from Ian) the basic concept—that a single type of die roll is used for all situations—very easy to use. In fact, I believe the new system to be much easier to learn and play, once one has figured out the specifics that pertain to a given character.

Caroline Malcomson (age 30)

I am an office manager for a furniture retail store in Northampton. I’m an absolute newcomer to role-playing games, and have only been playing over the past year. 3E D&D is really the first game of this type I’ve ever learned to play. I’ve been married to Ian Malcomson for around 3 years.

At first, I considered most role-players to be geeks and weirdos, but after meeting my husband, I discovered that this was not the case. Given that a fair proportion of Ian’s office and life is given over to these games, it was inevitable that I would, at some point, get involved. After I was subtly pushed into the world of RPGs by drawing a few maps for the Forgotten Realms Atlas, Ian persuaded me that I may enjoy playing the games themselves, and the opportunity to playtest 3E provided him with an ideal carrot to bring me into the fold.

I’ve always loved wizards, but, since I’m still finding my feet, I’ve been trying to steer clear from the extra complexity magic creates. However, the game itself has been fun and easy to learn—especially compared to certain other games Ian has attempted to describe for me.