Birthday Bash: Level Up to 17 in the Sci-Fi Urland Universe (November 27th, 1987)
Seventeen. The big one-seven. For a sci-fi and gaming fanatic like myself in Flagstaff, Arizona, November 1987 wasn't just about the turning of another year older – it was a full-blown level-up event in my own personal Urland Universe. Especially since it landed right after Thanksgiving, making the whole weekend feel like one extended celebration.
The air was getting crisp in Flagstaff, hinting at the winter to come, but inside, my world was heating up with the arrival of some seriously epic loot. Forget just socks and sweaters (though I probably got some of those too, Mom!). This birthday was all about diving deeper into the galaxies far, far away and the final frontier.
The first treasure? The Holy Grail for a budding tabletop adventurer: the Star Wars Roleplaying Game from West End Games! I remember tearing off the wrapping paper, my mind already racing with possibilities. Finally, I could not just watch the Rebel Alliance take on the Empire – I could join them. The d6 system felt like pure potential, a set of dice that held the keys to smuggling runs, Jedi training, and daring escapes from the Death Star (or at least, my own version of it in the growing corners of my Urland Universe).
But the cosmos decided to bestow even more gifts upon this newly minted 17-year-old. Nestled amongst the wrapping paper were the keys to another beloved universe: the Star Trek Role Playing Game from FASA! Suddenly, alongside the Force, I had the Prime Directive to consider. Beaming down to strange new worlds, encountering new life and new civilizations – the possibilities were staggering. And to top it off, the Federation Away Team Manual arrived with it, promising detailed gear and protocols for all those away missions. My GM senses were tingling, especially thinking back to my first Starfleet experience aboard the U.S.S. Lexington, during the original series timeline, where I was a young cadet acting as Ensign Hedges for my midshipman cruise, under the command of Captain Lee Sterling. That early journey definitely helped shape my understanding of the vast Urland Universe.
And as if those weren't enough fuel for countless hours of imaginative adventure, Santa (or my awesome family, who were definitely in tune with my nerdy heart) also delivered a stack of Star Wars comics – issues #1 through #15! The artwork, the expanded stories, the chance to delve even deeper into the lore… it was like unlocking a secret history of the galaxy within my expanding Urland Universe.
That birthday wasn't just a marker of age; it was a launchpad. The Star Wars campaign I started running soon after became legendary in our small group of friends (at least, in my memory!). And the Star Trek universe was just waiting for the USS [You can insert the name of a ship you might have imagined then, or the USS Urland!] to set course on new five-year missions within the ever-branching timelines of the Urland Universe.
The soundtrack to this birthday bash? A glorious mix of the 80s hits battling it out with the classic rock anthems and country storytelling that always filled our Flagstaff home. Maybe even The Highwaymen were playing in the background as we rolled those first d6s, dreaming of adventures across the Urland Universe.
Looking back, that 17th birthday was a pivotal moment, a convergence of my passions that would shape many adventures to come – both on the tabletop and in the vast expanse of my imagination within the Urland Universe. It was a birthday that truly took me across time and space, long before Captain Hedges officially took the helm of the USS Urland Uiniverse.
Yours for now Captain Hedges
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