Two Decades??

De-Gunking My Head Again.

I saw someone post that they've been blogging for years, so I thought I'd check the history here at the Gaming Den of Iniquity. And I took a step back.

Twenty Years? And almost a month.

But TWENTY Years?

Twenty Years Ago

On 29 July 2005, a Friday, I had a 2-month-old at home. I was self-employed, looking for contract gigs to pay the mortgage. My steady, 10-year-old D&D 3.5E game was going on permanent hiatus, because most of the group had newborns at home and thus higher priorities than gaming. I needed a game-oriented outlet.

So I started a blog. This one, right here. Go check the first two posts. I'll wait.

The Alchemy of Original Thought

Can we create new ideas from whole cloth any more? We've had 50+ years of TTRPGs, and the market has mostly settled into recognizable genres and flavors, such as generic fantasy, heroic, alternate history, horror, modern, cozy, espionage, near-future (and now alternate present like Cyberpunk), gritty, interstellar, war, and far future. Is there room to fit a new genre in that spectrum? Sure. But it'll definitely show its roots. Same with systems. Are there still innovations to be made that aren't roll+modifiers beating a target, dice pools, or roll+spend? Sure. Are they really bringing new technology to the table? Possibly, but I'll need convincing.

By the same token, can we find a fresh game hidden in something archaic? Is unearthing a tired system that nobody plays anymore valuable? The OSR certainly thinks so, even though a large part of the movement focuses on making new games to fix whatever the designer doesn't like in the older game. Then again, would I play PsiWorld again, even though the system has holes and needs an edit? Absolutely.

"And the world, the world turns around.
And the world and the world, the world drags me down."
  - The Cult "She Sells Sanctuary"

Jammin' and Publishin'

Hey there, Yawning Chasm That Is The Intarwebz. How y'all been? It's been a hot minute since I just talked to you, so I thought I'd do something like that now.

I basically gave this blog over to my current campaign setting Fellport over the past 2.5 years, posting nothing but NPCs, locations, items, groups, and related snippets to use in your game if you want. I shifted focus from my thoughts to stuff I made, thinking nobody would care about this aging white guy's opinions. Maybe that's true. Maybe the void will eat my thoughts and never give anything back. But does that negate the effort or the accomplishment of having strung together words in hopes of clarifying my thoughts and working through what I might think? I don't think so. I'm writing here mainly for me, but if these words reach anyone with similar beliefs and biases, great! So let's get to it.

Just to let you know, things have shifted for me since April, and things have shifted more in the past 6-7 weeks. Lemme 'splain.

(WARNING: Brain Dump Below The Cut! Double-check your safety gear now!)

Bolthaven Folio #1: Coming Soon

Draft of Bolthaven Folio #1

I've been fighting with myself for a long time. I'm just an editor (even though it's never "just" editing). I'm not a game designer (even though I've been doing it since I started playing, and I even have a card). I'm not good enough (even though friends keep asking for me to run more games for them).

It took time and effort, but I can finally talk over my Brain Weasels.

I have ideas. Given the 240ish posts here about Fellport over the past 2 years, apparently I have plenty of ideas. That's never been the issue. Developing the idea and sticking with it until there's something solid that can stand on its own has been my stumbling block. Now, I think I have something worthwhile. I thought I'd start a series of zines to start getting these ideas out into the world, called Bolthaven Folios.

Cass Flamespitter

Cassandra De Groot grew up in the Barbary capital city of Grondstad, learning how to make jewelry and carry on the family business. She lived up to her family name, her orcish body growing tall early and earning her share of teasing from the other children in her neighborhood. She always met teasing head-on, giving as good as she got. When her magical abilities started manifesting, she learned to cause pain with her words through vicious mockery. Her favorite prestidigitation trick involved setting her tongue on fire, just to intimidate her bullies into silence. Soon everyone called her Cass Flamespitter.

She had a talent for words from a young age, employing colorful and complex insults in both Brak'val and Common. She's starting to branch out into Occam, Steinrede, and Gladlam, though fluency still eludes her. Cass found jewelry making tedious, preferring to talk with people and boost their confidence. She found a Bratach merchant from Dunhill selling cosmetics, and she never looked back. She left her parents at age 15, after they gave her the ultimatum to join the business or get out.