This, That, and the Other
Today's post briefly addresses a variety of topics, so let's get to it.
On the other hand, my wife's work schedule (and the fact that we only have one car) is complicating that particular game night, with the possible result that I'll only be able to attend partial sessions in the future. Stay tuned, but be prepared for the possibility that I might not be able to keep that up.
Meanwhile, I'm continuing to flesh out the campaign premise. Given the newbie players, newbie adventurers and even newbie town, the game will have a definite theme of finding your place in the world. Thus, it seems appropriate that the villain would operate along a similar theme. Here's my idea:
The village (which I still need to name, come to think of it) is being built on the site of a previous town that fell to ruin centuries ago. The villain is an elf who — by virtue of his race's incredible lifespan — was a resident of the original town and is initially excited to see people return to the area. However, as the village develops, its identity diverges more and more from the town which used to occupy that space. The elf's enthusiasm turns to bitterness and resentment, and eventually drives him to take drastic, violent measures to try and keep the newcomers from (in his eyes) defiling his hometown.
Additionally, I had the thought that perhaps the noble who's financing the village's construction is also a newbie of sorts, being a young teen trying to prove to their noble family that they have what it takes to be the patron of a town and make it succeed.
Dragon Heist
First and foremost, I don't have a session summary of my Thursday night Dragon Heist game this week, because I wasn't there. Not long before the game, I was in a fender bender with a hit-and-run driver. I'm okay, and there's no damage to speak of, but it shook me up a bit and I needed some quiet time at home rather than a trip out to be around people. Hopefully next week I'll be able to get you up to speed.On the other hand, my wife's work schedule (and the fact that we only have one car) is complicating that particular game night, with the possible result that I'll only be able to attend partial sessions in the future. Stay tuned, but be prepared for the possibility that I might not be able to keep that up.
Newbieville
In other D&D news, I've started gathering players for my newbies-only game that I've talked about before. Sadly, there are already more awesome newbies than I could possibly seat, and it's only been a day, so I'm gonna have some hard decisions next week.Meanwhile, I'm continuing to flesh out the campaign premise. Given the newbie players, newbie adventurers and even newbie town, the game will have a definite theme of finding your place in the world. Thus, it seems appropriate that the villain would operate along a similar theme. Here's my idea:
The village (which I still need to name, come to think of it) is being built on the site of a previous town that fell to ruin centuries ago. The villain is an elf who — by virtue of his race's incredible lifespan — was a resident of the original town and is initially excited to see people return to the area. However, as the village develops, its identity diverges more and more from the town which used to occupy that space. The elf's enthusiasm turns to bitterness and resentment, and eventually drives him to take drastic, violent measures to try and keep the newcomers from (in his eyes) defiling his hometown.
Additionally, I had the thought that perhaps the noble who's financing the village's construction is also a newbie of sorts, being a young teen trying to prove to their noble family that they have what it takes to be the patron of a town and make it succeed.
Journey Away
I don't think I've mentioned this here yet, but I've recently published an original fantasy RPG called Journey Away, which is now available for purchase on DriveThruRPG! It's a very different, very niche game, with most people either loving it or hating it — not a lot of in-between so far. If you like trying out unique indie games, if you're not afraid to learn that your gaming experience isn't as varied as you thought, or if you just want to help support me and the content I make, you can pick up your copy HERE. As of this post it's still electronic-only, but I'm in the process of setting up print-on-demand in case you prefer physical products. If you like it, please remember to leave a review. If you don't like it, thoughts and prayers are good enough.
DMs Guild
I don't talk about it much here, but in case you didn't know, I also publish content for D&D. I've got seven publications so far, and you can find them all HERE. There are two free products (a beginner's guide and an anthology of content I've designed for various giveaways), one pay-what-you-want product (a just-for-fun subclass inspired by the Stranger Things line about adding a "zoomer" to the party), and four paid products for less than $3 each (a background bundle and three full PC classes). If you like this blog, there's a good chance you'll like one or more of my D&D creations, so maybe check them out? Again, if you like them, reviews can really make a difference, and if you don't, then thoughts and prayers are fine.
Patreon
Another thing I don't talk about very often here is my Patreon page. I want to offer gaming-related content to people whenever I can and I don't want it to feel like I'm always begging for money. Even so, today is the day I mention my Patreon.
You can find my Patreon HERE. Even just a dollar a month helps, as does sharing the link on whatever platforms you might have an audience. In return (depending on level of support) you'll get to make requests in my monthly D&D design giveaways, get early playtest versions of my content, get sneak previews of art commissions, or even get final copies of the stuff I publish. Also you contribute to me not starving, which is significant.
Let's Get Real for a Moment
Speaking of Patreon and not starving and so forth, I'm gonna open up a bit about my position in life right now. A year ago, I quit a stable but toxic and harmful job I'd been working at for 9 years. I've been living off my savings ever since, and trying to get some momentum as a game designer in the meantime. During this past year, I've earned about a month's worth of living expenses. My wife got a new job, but it only pays about half of what we need to live on.
Put it all together, and if nothing changes I'll be homeless in less than a year.
I'm trying to make ends meet, but it's hard. I keep applying for jobs (both freelance and traditional), but to no avail. My wife's job is exhausting and she can't keep it up forever. My old job didn't offer any marketable skills, leaving me as a 30-something with a resume not too different than that of a kid fresh out of college (game design experience doesn't get you much credibility outside of that industry). And now, the cherry on top is that the Trump shutdown makes the job market even more anemic.
For now, all this means a couple of things:
1) I'm going to append a footer to all future blog posts linking my publications and my Patreon. I don't think that will have much impact on your reading experience, but maybe it'll help me?
2) Once this blog has been going for another couple of months, I believe it will be eligible for ad support. I dislike the idea, but I dislike starving to death even more.
3) I won't ask you to spam links on my behalf, but could I ask you to share links to posts you particularly like? Especially with the aforementioned footer, extra traffic could bring me that much closer to financial security.
4) And finally, keep me in mind if you know of any work opportunities. I can do game design work, as well as many of the peripheral tasks related to publishing: writing, editing, managing freelancers, and so forth. I'm a bit new to all of it, but I learn quickly and value what I do. Maybe hit me up if you hear of an opportunity, or need work done yourself?
That's all for today. Until next time, take care of each other, okay?
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