About me

Who the heck am I?

Hi - I'm Steve Hatherley and I've been playing roleplaying games since about 1981. Traveller was my first, followed by Call of Cthulhu.

A little history

In the 1980s and early 1990s, I wrote for a few ttrpg fanzines and even had Call of Cthulhu investigations published by Chaosium.

I played my first freeform larp (Home of the Bold in 1992) and was immediately blown away by the game. Here was a type of roleplaying game that absolutely anyone could play.

So in 2001 I started Freeform Games, a company dedicated to publishing murder mystery freeform larps.

Since then, I've written and co-written and edited and developed dozens of freeform larps. And in 2023 I published Writing Freeform Larps, a book about how I write freeforms.

I've been published in various magazines and supplements, and some of my work is available via my website.

The daily grind

I was once a chartered civil engineer, but I'm better now. I gave that up a few years ago to concentrate on Freeform Games and bring freeform larps to an unsuspecting public.

Casting me in a larp

And if you're casting me in a larp, this is what I like:

I like to be busy: I like having lots to do - particularly stuff that's meaningful (so I don't mean busywork). That doesn’t have to mean lots of goals, but it often does.

I like to have someone I can trust in a game: I really like having at least one close ally in the game that I can definitely trust. That doesn’t have to mean romance - just a trusted friend is enough.

I like being part of a group: I’d rather be part of a group than a loner. And if I must be a loner, then I would like lots of strong links to other players.

(This was buried in a blog post from years back. I've put it here so I can remember it easily when it comes to casting questionnaires.