GMs -- Don't we all want to roll our own?

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by balzacq

That's why I won't run Star Trek, Star Wars, Middle Earth, or the 3d Imperium. A "common frame of reference" means I can't freely make my own creative decisions.[/SIZE]

The hell you can't. Fanfic writers have the acronym "AU" for a reason.

When I ran my first Middle-Earth campaign, I spent the first two sessions getting the PCs together, with a guarantee that they would come out at the end with exactly the traits that were on their character sheets: no deaths, no new lasting injuries, no new enemies. And I took them on a tour of Middle-Earth: Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Pippin, and Eomer dead at the Battle of Minas Morgul; Faramir killed in the final defense of Minas Tirith; Eowyn leading the Rohirrim refuges away from the overrunning of Rohan; the ents burned to death when Sauron captured Isengard; the Beornings slaughtered by orcs from the Misty Mountains; Elrond driven mad and opening the gates of Rivendall to the invaders; the Shire enslaved; the ships at the Grey Havens burned. It shocked ME what a grievous spectacle it all was. But by the time I was done, there was no question that this was MY Middle-Earth, to do with as I saw fit.

Bill Stoddard