Hail and well met!
My name is Michael Gross. I "met" Jeff on the Troll Lord Games boards and/or Dragonsfoot boards over 10 years ago. Like Jeff, I was selected to write for Gary Gygax's Castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh project -- namely the Rivergate sector of the Free Town, but had to withdraw due to an illness in the family.
I remained the team's cheerleader until Gary Gygax's passing and subsequent dissolution of the project. I have kept an eye on Jeff's work since, tracking down Fight On! and Knockspell magazines as money allowed and eventually purchased the AS&SH PDF years ago, not long after its post-Kickstarter release. I regret, Scalydemon, that I was not able to keep up with AFS magazine after procuring its debut issue. At long last, I was able to purchase a copy of the ASSH box itself. It arrived last week.
My approach to the ASSH game is a little different in that, sadly, I did not read much of the source material that feeds the milieu. Only in recent years have I purchased a compilation of HP Lovecraft's works, for example. I watched the Conan movies but did not own any REH works until I bought the Complete Conan tome at about the same time as the HPL book. I have yet to read that one beyond a cursory glance.
I have played some form of Tabletop RPG from 1980-1990 and since 2000. It started in 3rd grade with a classmate running OD&D (or maybe it was Holmes BD&D, I never saw her books). She had a classmate roll up a PC and told me I could do the same at recess the next day. Sure enough, I rolled 3d6 in order and "Thor" the fighter was born. Later, a cousin DM helped me append a surname (so as to differentiate him from the Norse god) and as "Thor Guth" was he then known. My parents bought us the new Moldvay Basic set in 1981 for my brother and I. I have pretty much been a DM ever since.
Anyway, I had been looking for a perfect RPG system and ASSH seems to be "it." Not as clumsy or bloated as the more modern games. An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age. 
I do hope to connect the Hyperborea setting to my own Greyhawk campaign via "The Land of Black Ice" and auroras rumored to be sweeping away unsuspecting folk! I see some familiar screen names here and hope to join in when I can. For now, I am stocking up on popcorn and spare cash for the Kickstarter. 
Happy gaming,
Michael / Zudrak
Krath wrote:
