I'm not complaining when I say that I have 101 things on my brain at the moment. The day job is keeping me busy, fatherhood is awesome, there's always a two minute DIY job around the house that takes an hour and I'm bouncing off the walls happy about starting out as a zine publisher.
I did NaNoWriMo years ago now and they had a line as part of their advertising pitch that busy people were perfect for doing NaNo. Busy people have ways to cope with being busy most of the time: they manage everything, keep plates spinning and friends, family and customers smiling.
That sentiment is something that I've come to appreciate more and more. As I said on a G+ post yesterday, even if you enjoy your work, it's still work, it still takes effort and so on, but you do at least enjoy it. And that's cool too.
All of that aside, I am very busy, so why the heck am I thinking about writing my own simple OSR/D&Dish system? Come on brain, give me a break!!
Showing posts with label osr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label osr. Show all posts
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Sunday, 21 February 2016
Working on a Sunday
Is it work if you love what you're doing? Yes, but at least it's enjoyable.
I've just placed the order for the print run of A Random Encounter #1, my zine - the first issue of the first zine I've ever done, the first time I've ordered a print run - I'm kind of excited. After testing the waters with Oddpool, and figuring out the mechanics of making something - by no means mastering the mechanics at all - I felt quite happy to take the next step and do a 100 copy print run.
A Random Encounter is also going to be available in pdf, but I want the print run to be here before I launch the pdf on Payhip and DriveThruRPG too. I also ordered myself some "sender address" stickers to put on envelopes. It was an annoyance to write my address by hand on 25 envelopes for the Oddpool print edition, so writing 100s of labels this year for A Random Encounter (and maybe some other projects) would have got really annoying really quickly.
"But, Nathan," I hear you ask, "What is A Random Encounter #1 all about?"
I'm glad you asked imaginary reader: it's a zine where I interview RPG creators about the games they play, the things they make and how they try to do both well. That's the one liner pitch I keep refining. You can pre-order issue 1 on the zines page, but here's the description from that page, plus the cover:
Issue 1 of A Random Encounter focuses on David McGrogan, aka noisms, whose blog Monsters and Manuals was the starting point for one of 2015's indie RPG success stories, Yoon-Suin. We talk about how Dave got into games, the origins of Yoon-Suin, his creative process and a lot more. Matthew Adams has produced an amazing colour cover, and the issue features more art by Matt, Kelvin Green and me. 22 interior pages, colour cover and a back page advert for something called Oddpool.
A Random Encounter #1 is available to pre-order now, and I'm expecting to get all pre-orders in the mail on Saturday 27th February (based on when I'm expecting the print run to arrive). It will also be available for £2 in pdf from Payhip and DriveThruRPG then too, and pre-orders will receive a pdf copy of the zine in addition to their print copy.
The interview for issue 2 is recorded and being transcribed now, and I think I have an interviewee for issue 3 too (TBC). I'm aiming to do four or five issues per year, but honestly this is already so much fun I'm wondering how to make time to do more. If you like the look of this, please pre-order a copy, and if you know someone who might like it then tell them too, thanks.
Gameable things coming soon now that my brain is not thinking about how to publish something!
I've just placed the order for the print run of A Random Encounter #1, my zine - the first issue of the first zine I've ever done, the first time I've ordered a print run - I'm kind of excited. After testing the waters with Oddpool, and figuring out the mechanics of making something - by no means mastering the mechanics at all - I felt quite happy to take the next step and do a 100 copy print run.
A Random Encounter is also going to be available in pdf, but I want the print run to be here before I launch the pdf on Payhip and DriveThruRPG too. I also ordered myself some "sender address" stickers to put on envelopes. It was an annoyance to write my address by hand on 25 envelopes for the Oddpool print edition, so writing 100s of labels this year for A Random Encounter (and maybe some other projects) would have got really annoying really quickly.
"But, Nathan," I hear you ask, "What is A Random Encounter #1 all about?"
I'm glad you asked imaginary reader: it's a zine where I interview RPG creators about the games they play, the things they make and how they try to do both well. That's the one liner pitch I keep refining. You can pre-order issue 1 on the zines page, but here's the description from that page, plus the cover:
Issue 1 of A Random Encounter focuses on David McGrogan, aka noisms, whose blog Monsters and Manuals was the starting point for one of 2015's indie RPG success stories, Yoon-Suin. We talk about how Dave got into games, the origins of Yoon-Suin, his creative process and a lot more. Matthew Adams has produced an amazing colour cover, and the issue features more art by Matt, Kelvin Green and me. 22 interior pages, colour cover and a back page advert for something called Oddpool.
A Random Encounter #1 is available to pre-order now, and I'm expecting to get all pre-orders in the mail on Saturday 27th February (based on when I'm expecting the print run to arrive). It will also be available for £2 in pdf from Payhip and DriveThruRPG then too, and pre-orders will receive a pdf copy of the zine in addition to their print copy.
The interview for issue 2 is recorded and being transcribed now, and I think I have an interviewee for issue 3 too (TBC). I'm aiming to do four or five issues per year, but honestly this is already so much fun I'm wondering how to make time to do more. If you like the look of this, please pre-order a copy, and if you know someone who might like it then tell them too, thanks.
Gameable things coming soon now that my brain is not thinking about how to publish something!
Tuesday, 22 December 2015
An Odd Christmas
A festive little something for Into The Odd, in the style of some of Chris McDowall's encounter tables...
"Keep Christmas in your own way" is an expression often heard in the districts of Bastion and beyond. Indeed, while people throughout the world do a multitude of things their own way, there is only the time around the Winter Solstice with which they demand and expect that they be allowed to do things exactly as they want.
If you are travelling at that most special time of year you encounter people or other things celebrating Christmas in their own way, perhaps you will be invited to join in...
"Keep Christmas in your own way" is an expression often heard in the districts of Bastion and beyond. Indeed, while people throughout the world do a multitude of things their own way, there is only the time around the Winter Solstice with which they demand and expect that they be allowed to do things exactly as they want.
If you are travelling at that most special time of year you encounter people or other things celebrating Christmas in their own way, perhaps you will be invited to join in...
Wednesday, 16 September 2015
OSRewind: September 16th
Yesterday I shared the idea of a daily digest that looks back at the posts made in the OSR (or maybe games blogs in general?) in previous years. There's lots and lots and lots of ideas out there, with more being shared every day. A look back could highlight ideas that have been forgotten or showcase the origins of concepts that are part of the language of the OSR now.
I'm quite taken with the idea but not sure if it's something I can commit to exploring along with the other projects that I have underway. But for today at least, and because the term "OSRewind" popped into my head as I was thinking about this, here's a quick jaunt through the last few years...
I'm quite taken with the idea but not sure if it's something I can commit to exploring along with the other projects that I have underway. But for today at least, and because the term "OSRewind" popped into my head as I was thinking about this, here's a quick jaunt through the last few years...
- 2014: [Tuesday Map] Hubert's Tower/The Butcher's Tower - Dyson's Dodecahedron - I really like the step-by-step approach and the details of how this was done. I'm quite keen on the how-to of maps at the moment so seeing this was serendipitous!
- 2013: Demogorgon implies.... - Playing D&D With Porn Stars - A really cool method for world building and inspiring interesting ideas for sandboxes. If I get around to running Oddpool on G+ some time soon I think I'll be using this method to set the city up.
- 2012: The Verbs of Madness - False Machine - My nephew and his friends were players in a campaign that Patrick ran and which I turned up to sometimes. Being teenagers their minds quickly turned to evil, and they ended up allied with a genuine Dark Lord. In this post Patrick describes how the Dark Lord comes up with his orders.
- 2011: Faking It; or, you'd better be Al Pacino; or, stop rolling the fucking dice - Monsters and Manuals - a short rant about player agency, DM fiat and Quantum Ogres goes on to generate 121 comments! Hoo-ha!
Tuesday, 15 September 2015
On This Day
I've grown to love exactly one aspect of Facebook over the last few months. I hate the interface, I hate the notifications I get when I logon, I hate that I see things that people have liked, I hate to see that a friend-of-a-friend has posted something and a friend has liked it. There's a lot to hate.
But one thing I love is the "On This Day" feature, letting me look back and see what happened in years gone by. For post-fatherhood this is quite nice, it lets me see my daughter a year ago (and soon, two years ago) and I can do that whole "Awwww, she's grown so much!" thing that some people find sickening. It also lets me peer back to the early days of married life, and even further to my PhD days - in fact, exactly seven years ago today I said goodbye to that and started my business!
Time flies.
In the last few days I recorded an episode of A Gaming Podcast About Nothing, and Dave and I got on to talking about terminology and blogging and "has everything been said already?" - things of that nature. This conversation is on my mind, as is "On This Day"...
People have said in the past that it might be difficult to do a regular "OSR Digest" as a site or a newsletter, but I wonder if there is some value in a site that looks through the back catalogue of the OSR and does a regular link share about posts from days gone by - with or without commentary.
For example, on this day:
But one thing I love is the "On This Day" feature, letting me look back and see what happened in years gone by. For post-fatherhood this is quite nice, it lets me see my daughter a year ago (and soon, two years ago) and I can do that whole "Awwww, she's grown so much!" thing that some people find sickening. It also lets me peer back to the early days of married life, and even further to my PhD days - in fact, exactly seven years ago today I said goodbye to that and started my business!
Time flies.
In the last few days I recorded an episode of A Gaming Podcast About Nothing, and Dave and I got on to talking about terminology and blogging and "has everything been said already?" - things of that nature. This conversation is on my mind, as is "On This Day"...
People have said in the past that it might be difficult to do a regular "OSR Digest" as a site or a newsletter, but I wonder if there is some value in a site that looks through the back catalogue of the OSR and does a regular link share about posts from days gone by - with or without commentary.
For example, on this day:
- in 2008, Dave shared a post of random spellbook appearances on Monsters & Manuals, which is a neat way to spice up your fantasy game;
- in 2011, Patrick was asking whether or not he had invented drawing a dungeon on a polyhedron, and a couple of related questions;
- also in 2011, Zak S shared the Caves of Chaos as a really neat one-page dungeon;
- and also in 2011, Chris shared six random jerks you annoy in town!
Monday, 11 August 2014
Game Idea: A Year Of Festivals and Special Dates
A few days ago I spotted a small hardcover address book (the kind with A to Z running down the edge of pages and little bits cut out etc) for 68p in the supermarket. I guess it was reduced to that price because no-one has these anymore, all your numbers are in your phone and people don't send letters - at least, that's what the news says.
But anyway, I picked it up because I thought "Hmm, for things like my various LotFP games I could come up with a book of NPCs..." The idea being that I wouldn't just default to random tables as I typically do, but I would have a book of people. Maybe I would take one randomly, maybe if a player says "Do we know any journalists?" I could think Ah-ha! and look up Reg Cutter, the sleazy journo for the Wetham Herald... It might be fun.
Today I spotted a marked down diary. I didn't buy it because it was a pretty poor looking little thing, but afterwards it got me thinking: there are always events and festivals and special days in cities. When you add in religions and organisations then there are feast days and observances and so on and so forth. There is always something happening in the background.
So: how about a book with 365 days of festivals listed? Some religious, some street things, some business, some cultural. Potentially adding nothing more than a little flavour ("On 9th December, watch out as children run through the streets with strings and ribbons to try and create a trap for Santa!") or maybe having mechanical effects ("17th July is the god Honarius summer feast day; Honarius is the god of winter and daggers, and those who make an offering before sunrise in his name will find that their short blades strike cold and true until sunset (+1 to hit for daggers, on a 3 or 4 re-roll as the blade freezes the wound)").
Perhaps this is something else to add to my Big List O' RPG Projects... At the minute it is just a little idea.
But anyway, I picked it up because I thought "Hmm, for things like my various LotFP games I could come up with a book of NPCs..." The idea being that I wouldn't just default to random tables as I typically do, but I would have a book of people. Maybe I would take one randomly, maybe if a player says "Do we know any journalists?" I could think Ah-ha! and look up Reg Cutter, the sleazy journo for the Wetham Herald... It might be fun.
Today I spotted a marked down diary. I didn't buy it because it was a pretty poor looking little thing, but afterwards it got me thinking: there are always events and festivals and special days in cities. When you add in religions and organisations then there are feast days and observances and so on and so forth. There is always something happening in the background.
So: how about a book with 365 days of festivals listed? Some religious, some street things, some business, some cultural. Potentially adding nothing more than a little flavour ("On 9th December, watch out as children run through the streets with strings and ribbons to try and create a trap for Santa!") or maybe having mechanical effects ("17th July is the god Honarius summer feast day; Honarius is the god of winter and daggers, and those who make an offering before sunrise in his name will find that their short blades strike cold and true until sunset (+1 to hit for daggers, on a 3 or 4 re-roll as the blade freezes the wound)").
Perhaps this is something else to add to my Big List O' RPG Projects... At the minute it is just a little idea.
Monday, 25 March 2013
Creature: TU-Rats
Two foot high ratlings, humanoid, dressed in simple leather and cloth garments and carrying needle knives (sometimes poisoned) and tiny bows and slings.
They are primitive by some measures, but civilised, living (typically) in large nest communities. Teams of TU-Rats have been known to ride pack-horses and other large domesticated animals. Unlike other rats and ratlings they have long outgrown scavenging as a way of life.
Oh, and TU stands for Telepathically United.
The cranium of a TU-Rat is slightly larger than might be expected for a bipedal rat of their overall size. They create an open psychic field to other TU-Rats. They are individuals but share and coordinate via a groupthink as situations require. A TU-Rat is always aware of every other TU-Rat within 50 feet, and can transmit to TU-Rats much further away by a mental relay effect: messages are passed on but are not instantaneous.
TU-Rats trade with other intelligent races sometimes. They are not aggressive generally, but can be territorial. A TU-Rat by itself will not be a great challenge for a party of adventurers if they have to kill it. Problems occur when dealing with large groups of TU-Rats that attack en masse and which can overcome even the most hardy of warriors. The TU-Rat psychic field can have an effect on humans and other races.
Oh, and TU stands for Telepathically United.
The cranium of a TU-Rat is slightly larger than might be expected for a bipedal rat of their overall size. They create an open psychic field to other TU-Rats. They are individuals but share and coordinate via a groupthink as situations require. A TU-Rat is always aware of every other TU-Rat within 50 feet, and can transmit to TU-Rats much further away by a mental relay effect: messages are passed on but are not instantaneous.
TU-Rats trade with other intelligent races sometimes. They are not aggressive generally, but can be territorial. A TU-Rat by itself will not be a great challenge for a party of adventurers if they have to kill it. Problems occur when dealing with large groups of TU-Rats that attack en masse and which can overcome even the most hardy of warriors. The TU-Rat psychic field can have an effect on humans and other races.
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