The "Competition"

Today, I purchased a 500+ page guidebook purporting to "provide the key" to unlocking your imagination and teaching you how to be an RPG game master.  Well-stocked on the shelf of my local Barnes & Noble, well reviewed on Amazon, this book is a USA Today bestseller (meaning it's one of the top 150 books by volumes sold considering all media across all outlets) and its author a winner of numerous game-related awards.

I went to the store, deliberately, with the intention of purchasing the book, for the following reasons:

• As someone working on a similar work, I thought it only "due diligence" to check out the competition and see what was deemed to warrant such rave reviews. 
• As someone working on a similar work, I thought it only "common sense" to see if there was anything left for me to ADD with a book of my own, seeing as how this one was designed to take you "right from the beginning of prep to running a successful game" (in the words of one reviewer).
• I needed to do some Christmas shopping at the bookstore anyway.
• I recently received a fat payment and had money burning a hole in my wallet.

So, I picked it up and, after a hearty meatball sandwich lunch, spent the afternoon reading it from cover-to-cover, mainly skimming it (there are a lot of examples and diagrams) but diving into the parts that seemed to present newer info, thoughtful advice, or deep(ish) ideas and "guidance."

Then I drove back to the store and returned it, getting a full refund.

You will notice that I am not naming the author nor the book in question. I have two reasons for this:

1. As a person who has written books before, and who is undertaking a similar gargantuan task of explaining how to DM this game I love, it is clear that the author put a crap-ton of effort into this book...a monumental investment of time and energy. While I may have a negative opinion of the work itself, I'm going to give the author some credit just for birthing this thing. 
2. In general, I don't believe in "bad publicity," and as such I usually don't name things...positive or negative...unless I'm okay with people putting 'em in their shopping cart. That's just a me thing. Yeah, I broke that rule when I wrote about the 2024 DMG, but that was more akin to a public safety announcement...I knew people were going to buy that (regardless) and felt a "warning label" of sorts was necessary.

The bottom line is this: yeah, a book like the one I'm writing is still needed. Maybe I'm not the one to write it, but if THAT thing is considered the pinnacle of "how to DM" books, than the bar has been set extremely low.  Most of the information in it wasn't anything more than what you'd get reading Moldvay's Basic book (a lot of the "adventure design" seemed to be taken directly from Moldvay with slight adjustments and a LOT of extra word count) and the NEW "guidance" was...bad. Just bad from the opening chapters. Always saying yes to players, just as a default...um, no. Explicitly stating that the DM's job is EASIER than the players' job? Um, sure...if you SUCK at being a Dungeon Master.

Do we really need a book to explain dice nomenclature? Isn't that on page one of every edition of every RPG ever? And you state right up front that you're not going to teach the rules, so they need to read the instructions so then what's with the elementary intro crap?

*sigh* That's enough. I could keep piling on but that's not productive. And it wasn't a waste of my time to read through it...it gave me solid ideas of what I should and shouldn't be doing with my own book, AND boosted my spirits that I'm not totally reinventing the wheel. That's a comfort. 

Now back to work.

; )

Your "Story" Is The Problem

I am nearly done with Reddit. The other day I wrote I was seeing a "common theme" of discontent, but there is an even greater, pervading and UNDERLYING theme that I see over and over again, in complaint and questions alike...it goes something like this:

"Person (X) is being a jerk but I can't kick them because they're integral to the story..."

"Person (X) and (Y) don't get along but..."

"I'm trying to save my campaign that's been going on for (X number) of (months/years), but..."

"Our campaign is getting derailed because people aren't showing up..."

And blah blah blahdiddy-blah.

It's all the same problem: the "story" is getting wrecked, and everything is (thus) CHAOS. Pain and suffering and sorrow...oh, my!

I can't relate.

I can't relate because this has never been a problem for me. Just...never. Not even when I was a player in other people's games. Not even back when I was running Vampire the Masquerade, acting as the "Storyteller" of a "Saga" (rather than the Dungeon Master of a campaign).

We are playing a game...a GAME. The players are playing a game. No one is so "integral" to what's going on that the loss of one or more is going to END EVERYTHING. I mean...

(*sigh*)

Forget for a moment that we are playing (or discussing) Dungeons & Dragons. Let's just...for the sake of discussion...say you're running a game of Vampire. Oh, man, I ran so many "stories" (VtM's word for "adventures") back in the day. Blood Bond. The Succubus Club adventures. Diablerie: Mexico. Ashes to Ashes. The stuff in Denver by Night. Those are just off the top of my head...after all, it's been 30 years since I did the Vampire thing.

Did I ever have players who didn't show up, couldn't show up, or (in one guy's case) just did not want to show up (because he decided he hated VtM and would rather play Toon instead)? Yes, of course. Did it bother me if one of the regular players didn't show up to a session? Yeah, it did. Did it stop the session from happening? Nope...not once. Did it ever "derail" the campaign...er, "saga?"

Never. 

Because even when I was playing a game that used rather explicit language about how it was a "storytelling" game, even when the "adventure" being told was about a particular "story" (for example, a vampire girl who falls in love with one of the PCs but is already blood bound/enslaved to another vampire, etc., etc., blah-blah-blah)...the story is about the story, NOT about the characters. It doesn't matter how "integral" a character is to the story being told (and...spoiler...no PC is "integral")...you're running a world and a situation and if the PC isn't there (because the player isn't there)...so frigging what?

Look, an example: in the Blood Bond adventure (if I'm remembering right...Jeez it was a long time ago) there's this girl (Alicia? I think) who's supposed to fall in love with a PC. And then maybe she gets murdered. Or maybe she doesn't. Regardless it cause a big cluster that has to be resolved by the players. In my game, the PC she fell for was this guy named Michael. But what if I'd had her fall for Ben instead (the guy who really didn't want to play a vampire game but was only doing it because of his friends)...and Ben decided to ditch the campaign? Well, then, we'd say Ben's character disappeared one night (and who knows what happened to him...another mystery to solve!)...and then Alicia would either die or not die, maybe turn to a different PC for love/affection/protection (or not)...and the story would continue on, being a big cluster BUT WITHOUT BEN. Because you have to treat these NPCs as if they have lives and motivations of their own. And Ben (or Michael or Mike) is just ONE PERSON in the (imagined) "world" of the game. And that's how you treat the world as a Game Master.

Back to Dungeons & Dragons.

First off, what part of "Dungeons" and "Dragons" don't these whining people understand? Do their games not have dungeons? Do they not have dragons? What a jaded, sorry-ass world we live in when these things are not enough to get the juices of adventure flowing. NO. We must add DRAMA. And STORY. And BACKSTORY. Because MEANING.

Okay, sure, whatever. So you have some Big Bad Person who has "beef" with one of your PCs and you've laid out this whole series of events...plot points...to try to make an "engaging story" (i.e. "railroad") for the dumbass, er ignorant, er young and inexperienced players to enjoy. And then one of the players turns out to be a secret Nazi or something and the group needs to kick her Hitler-saluting ass to the curb. 

Oh, Nos! Our story!

What on earth is the problem? So, the PC just got eaten by a passing wyvern while relieving herself by the side of the road (it's D&D...shit happens) and now you simply need to adjust your Big Bad's actions to account for the fact that his beefing partner is out of the picture. What? Is he going to retire to a hermit hut and grow strange fruit a la Thanos? Or does he have some other nefarious plan to carry out now that the object of his ire is gone? 

Dungeon Master! Wake up! It is YOUR JOB to think for the NPCs!

You are not writing a script. Stop it! You are not writing a teleplay. Stop it! You are running a D&D game...I don't care if its 4E or 5E or 5.5 or Pathfinder 2 or whatever. You are supposed to BUILD A WORLD with CHALLENGES for the players to EXPLORE. Yes, it is OKAY for those challenges to take the form of an Apocalypse Clock situation or Yet Another Big Bad Evil Guy (emphasis on the YA part of the acronym)...but once you create the thing and set it in motion you must run it without attachment to an outcome. 

This is not scripted television. You are not Matt Mercer. You will (probably) not be paid money for running this game. FORGET PLOT. Forget it! Stop it! Your attachment to outcomes is the thing that causes every one of your complaints. "But, but, Sheila's supposed to defeat Baron Badness and avenge her father's death! I can't let Sheila walk from the game!" Why the hell not? Baron Badness can't make enemies of the other PCs? Heck, the other PCs can't avenge Sheila?

"But, but I created this awesome encounter that can only be resolved by a cleric of the time sphere with a specialization in abjuring magic..." [or insert some other gibberish that means nothing to me...a "Circle of the Moon Druid" or an "Oath of Vengeance Paladin"...whatever] So f'ing what? What would happen if something happened to the character BEFORE your quantum ogre encounter showed up? Huh? Would it happen at all? Is it logical for this shit to go down and mash the PCs? Then best to telegraph it so they know (and can either avoid the encounter or find a suitable replacement for the missing PC). That's nicer than how things work in the real world (where they'd just get mashed) which is FINE because, guess what, it's a game, not the real world. But don't throw a hissy fit about it!

Your "story" IS the problem...that's what this all comes down to. You want to tell me that you're the one who plays D&D the right way, that I am behind the times, that the game has moved on from my clunky 1E, etc., etc....fine. But I'm not the one bitching and moaning about how my game has gotten wrecked because one player or another misses a session or quits or had to get shit-canned for being an [insert-]phobe of some type. I've been playing RPGs for a long time and I've NEVER had this problem...but sure, pal, YOUR way of playing is the "right" way. Got it.

*sigh* Tell your stories if you must. Play your no stakes, no threat, "tea party" version of D&D if that's what floats your boat. Dive into "character development" and your character's inner mental space with all the fervor of a Freud fanboy psych major. Coolio...you do you. 

BUT, for the love of all things holy, STOP having an attachment to how you think said story "should" go or which particular PC is supposed to be "protagonizing" in any given session. Rather than spotlighting players, spotlight the WORLD...the campaign that you are created through the adventures/situations you are (hopefully) designing for your players to tackle. Let the "story" unfold as it unfolds, not as scripted by you...that script is the reason you can't have nice things.

Okay. I'm done.

AD&D Assumptions

The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game operates under a few assumptions that need to be understood by both the Dungeon Master and the players at the table. If these are NOT understood, then "trouble" can arise during the session.

Assumption #1: the game SCALES:

When you pick up an adventure module that says its written for PCs of "6th-8th (or whatever) level," you can bet that it has challenges and rewards suitable for characters of that level range...at least, if the designer is worth a damn. A bulette is not an encounter for low level characters...neither is a mind flayer. Likewise, if an adventure is written for 10th level characters, the only orcs are going to be encountered in staggeringly huge numbers and are led by real hard cases: powerful warlords, fiendish sorcerers, etc. 

Now, of course, by "encounter" I mean combat encounter. It's perfectly acceptable to place (for example) a high level Druid in a low level adventure (N1: The Forest Oracle) assuming the party is not so stupid as to pick a fight with the guy. Likewise, it's acceptable to have individual weaklings pop up in a mid-high level adventure if they are simply there for information purposes and/or (sigh) "comic relief" (see gully dwarves in DL1: Dragons of Despair). 

IN GENERAL, when DMs write adventures for their group, they should be keeping these scales in mind. The DMG encounter tables gives a good baseline for a standard range of encounters for PCs of a particular level, and the later monster books (the Fiend Folio and Monster Manual II) list "LEVEL" for each of their entries. Make use of these resources.

As for treasure...well, I've already discussed its importance (and the importance of stocking appropriately) on upteen numerous occasions. No need to rehash that all here.

Assumption #2: you need a TEAM:

You can play AD&D as a 1-v-1 game (I've done it...as both a DM and as a player); heck, you can even play the game SOLO using the random dungeon generation tables from the DMG. But the scope of play, even with allied NPCs is going to be extremely limited without additional players. The game assumes you have a party of adventurers...more bodies to give (and receive) blows from opponents, more shoulders to carry bags of treasure recovered from the dungeon (or haul fallen companions). The monster scale (i.e. difficulty to dungeon level) is based on a GROUP of characters not a single PC.

Likewise, because of asymmetric skill sets, it is assumed that this team is going to be a mixed bag of character types. Just like a sports team needs different players with different talents playing different positions, the adventuring party NEEDS a mix of skills: fighting prowess, magic, healing, and thieving. Not only that, it helps to have redundancy...to have more than one type of teammate to fill positions when one individual is downed. I still remember when one of my groups abandoned an entire three-level necropolis I'd designed for them after their only cleric got killed in one of the first couple encounters...a wise choice on their part (given the sheer number of undead) but something that could have been offset with more than one cleric in the group.

[to be fair, we were playing B/X at the time and just creating a new cleric would not have proven helpful given the relative worthlessness of the 1st level cleric in B/X]

It's the best reason to include multi-class characters: they add skills and redundancy to an existing party, filling holes. For players who play solo, multi-class is the only viable way to go (my days of solo campaigning were always with a bard character). 

Assumption #3: the RULES that exist are IMPORTANT

Although I'll add the caveat that I'm only referring to rules given in the first three books (the Monster Manual, Players Handbook, and Dungeon Masters Guide). These books codified YEARS of play-testing, and are not just thrown in for shits-and-giggles. The AD&D core books were purposefully designed and built upon each other, each book adding its own adjustments to the game. Where concepts were considered "optional," they are usually labeled as such...where there is room for elaboration of a concept, this is often explicit in the text. 

Some rules seem non-sensical until used in play. Some rules work on unstated assumptions of "common sense" that may not be readily apparent. Some rules are what they are because they facilitate the GAME that is being played, even if they don't seem to model a particular reality. The game has its own "reality" (as all games do), and within the game's reality the rules and procedures are the "natural laws" of that reality...as important to AD&D as gravity is to real world humans. They are not to be ignored or discarded willy-nilly. 

Assumption #4: the game is about ADVENTURERS

When you sit down to play AD&D, the players should understand that in this game they are fortune-seeking adventurers. NOT (necessarily) "scurrilous rogues" but treasure hunters nonetheless. Even the paladins and rangers, heroic paragons of good and virtue, are there to earn a buck. That is what they do; that is their job. 

Why is the paladin digging around in subterranean ruins instead of defending a village or holy temple from (potential) danger and depredation? The same reason the adventuring cleric is out in the wilderness rather than home 'minding the flock.' These are adventurers,  taking wealth from the wicked for a just cause (i.e. the enrichment of the righteous who need funds to stave off evil). Whether you buy such justifications of murder and robbery, in the minds of the characters (i.e. in the paradigm of the game and its reality) it is clear that THEY buy it...and the gods who give them their holy powers do as well.  

[there are a LOT of things in the game that are "unreal:" goblins, dragons, magic spells. A universe that rewards the tomb robber is no more "unreal" than anything else in the game]

Adventurers can accomplish their objective (acquisition of treasure) through guile, diplomacy, or force of arms (including magic), but usually "force of arms" is going to be the default...which is why the game includes so many rules for the adjudication of combat encounters.

Assumption #5: the DM is IMPARTIAL to the results

For AD&D to function, the Dungeon Master cannot have attachments to expected outcomes...it is assumed that the DM gets their "jollies" from the process of creation. That is, the DM relishes their role of "playing God" (building a world, designing dungeons, imagining situations and scenarios) and is less concerned with whether or not their creations are demolished by the players or do the demolishing. The DM's job is not to make sure a game ends in "victory" or "defeat" but whether or not it continues...because continuing allows the DM to continue the play of creation. 

Each adventure, each "dungeon" built and/or run by the DM is thus a TEST, a means for the DM to evaluate their own creativity. Was this adventure too difficult? Was it too easy? Were the players engaged with the game at the table such that they enjoyed themselves and want to come back the next week?

THESE questions are the ones that matter. And for those questions to be answered truthfully and objectively, the DM needs to remove themselves from any expectation of what the results might be; the DM must be able to view the game being played objectively in order to improve their craft. Because it is only through a constant refinement and improvement that players can remain indefinitely engaged. And since JOY is found in making memories of good times with other people, the creation process is only ultimately satisfying when it can be shared. 

Thoughts of the day.

: )

No Compromise

AKA "Dear JB" Mailbag #50

Happy December! I am not quite waist-deep in the holiday season, but the water's certainly rising. With a trip to Los Angeles coming in the next couple weeks, followed immediately by a two week "jaunt" to Mexico, we'll see how the pressure ramps up. For today...I'm okay.

[and to be fair, other than the actual commute involved, Mexico should be fairly relaxing]

But I figured I might as well throw out a little something-something for the month of December...just on the off-chance this is my last opportunity to blog in 2025, a year that's been a bit of a banner year for my blogging (the most posts I've gotten up in ten years!). Not sure if they're any good, but at least I'm putting a little time and effort into the thing.

SO...yeah, the post. 

I was combing the Reddit "slush pile" this morning, and a common theme was popping up...people flummoxed or bitter or unhappy about being unable to work with (or continue to play with) players, despite attempts to communicate, negotiate, and compromise on various things, and asking how, HOW can they prevent their group from splintering, from completely demolishing the campaign into which they'd poured so much time and effort.

Typical DM problem, right? I'm sure you've heard it before...I'm sure some of you have experienced it before. You spend a few weeks or months or YEARS building a play group, learning to get on with everyone, dealing with people's flaws and foibles (everyone has them, and being able to remain friends AND accept each other for our flaws is not only a sign of maturity, but also a mark of real friendship), negotiating the group dynamic/chemistry, and then BAM...the "rift" occurs. Not because someone has to move away, or gets married, or has a kid, or changes jobs, but because the person WANTS DIFFERENT THINGS FROM THE GAME. Or, to put it another way, has DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS OF PLAY. 

And now it's threatening to derail everything.

How could this have happened in our carefully cultivated and curated play group? Well, IF the play group was "carefully cultivated" it usually only comes up because a new player enters the game (a good friend, or significant other of the DM or another player) and throws a wrench in the machine. However, in newer groups it could simply be that A) the group was formed with the assumption everyone was, more-or-less, on the same page ("we're all best friends, right? We can make it work!") and/or B) because one or more players were ALWAYS dissatisfied but was simply hiding their resentment but has now found the stones to assert themselves in a fashion that's counter to other players' wants/needs/expectations.

Sad when it happens. Usually not "tragic," but it's generally okay to shed a tear for the end of an era.

BUT...is this a preventable problem? Are there ways to "work this out" and "save the campaign?" 

The answers to those questions are "yes" and "maybe," respectively.  I say, maybe because it can be tough to shut Pandora's box once it's opened. Jim's girlfriend might be a pain in the neck, but kicking her out is probably going to cost you Jim, and might cost you Bill, too, if Bill only plays because he's Jim's best friend (see how that works?). But, sure, it's preventable from the get-go, in a fairly simple manner:

Never compromise.

If you want a campaign that's going to endure, you must be the rock against which the waves of whimsy break. You must be immune to the wheedling and cajoling of players who'd have you modify the game to their preferences. You must be steadfast against a "rule of cool" mindset, instead steeling yourself to be firm AND fair because, when it comes to being a referee, firmness is fairness. 

I probably sound harsh. It's not meant to be. Just assume I am giving you this practical advice in a soft, kindly voice...like a parent  putting their child down to sleep on a school night rather than allowing them to stay up till the wee hours eating ice cream and watching TV. You may think it's a delightful idea to give in to the player's whimsical request of the moment, but it's not. It's really not. 

Do not compromise. If you're running a game of AD&D and someone shows up asking you to adapt some 5E-ism to the game, you must say no. If someone asks you to make the game "less dangerous" or implies there's "too much combat" you have to say, sorry but we're playing D&D here. If you have a personal house rule that you don't allow evil characters or PvP at your table, you cannot make an exception for the player who "loves" Drow or who wants their thief to pick the pockets of fellow party members.

As the Dungeon Master it is your job...your responsibility...to set the ground rules and terms of play. If you want to go full-bore 2nd edition with only "rogue" types getting x.p. for treasure, that's FINE...that's your choice of how you want to run your game; don't let the players talk you out of it. If Sally doesn't like it, she can walk.

I understand that it sounds like I'm extolling the virtues of being a stubborn ass, but it is important to be unwavering in this regard...important for both YOU and your players. Players who know and understand the game that is being run have the freedom to work and grow within the system, playing the game...as opposed to having to learn how to play the DM. Which is what happens when the DM "loosens up" and starts acting in a fickle or whimsical manner. The dice are fickle enough. The game has plenty of whimsy. What is needed from the DM is not someone who's "adaptable," but someone who is dependable and trustworthy.  

You only get that reputation by refusing to compromise.

Does that mean your particular game "isn't for everyone?" Yes it does, and there may well be some players who you wish would stay who won't. But making accommodations for people is simply putting off the inevitable...it's attempting to mask a foundational flaw that will fester like an untreated wound. Do not bend: be up front with what your game is, and run your game. There is no D&D game without a Dungeon Master. And there are plenty of players or would-be players in the world. How many people are in your small town? 500? 1,000? And you can't find two or three who are interested in playing D&D the way you want to play D&D? Are you sure you've been turned down by ALL of them?

Well, there's always a few billion people on the internet to solicit.

I'm not going to bother transcribing any of the Reddit letters on this subject because it always boils down to the same thing: DM capitulation. Doesn't matter if they play 5E or "old school" D&D...once you start trying to please people because of the endorphins you get from a momentarily happy player, well, the jig is up. You have to stick to your guns from session 1 (I don't do "session zero") and accept that what you run or enjoy isn't the same for everyone else. And that's okay.  Variety is the spice of life...you can play games with one type of person and drink beer while watching hockey with another type of person and make love to a third type and argue politics with a fourth. 

Never give in. Never surrender. No compromise. Not for the DM. Other areas of life...sure, absolutely. For Dungeons & Dragons? No. Hard pass.

Stranger Things (Season 5)

A nice Thursday Thanksgiving filled with Turkey and the traditional fixings was followed by a binge-fest of the new Stranger Things season by my family...something my daughter had been eagerly anticipating since the last season of Wednesday wrapped up. We (the fam) stayed up till roughly 2am this morning watching the season in its entirety...although my wife begged out about 1ish. 

As usual it was pretty good.

I have only the following few things to say:

#1 The music contained no glaring anachronisms that I noticed. Tiffany's album did, indeed, come out in 1987 (I remember being in Mrs. Kearnan's class at the time and remember it was about this time I was completely done with pop music...I was heavily into Def Leppard's Hysteria at the time). So that goes in the "good" column.

#2 No glaring D&D mistakes until the last damn episode where they work an incredibly obnoxious 3rd edition reference into the conversation. Just so awful. And while most folks probably won't notice, for me it completely breaks my suspension of disbelief and makes me want to throw things at the screen...do your damn research, morons. However, I kept this to myself so as not to spoil the show for everyone, stewing in silence.

#3 Millie Bobby Brown is still great. 

#4 Actually everyone is pretty good; the cast is quite likable, the performances believable (mostly) and...I don't know..."heartfelt?" But the energy seems to be a tic down...I think the writing is starting to wear thin. It feels like everyone is ready to move on from this story...on to bigger and better things (film) or, at least, different things from Stranger Things. Maybe touring the comic con circuit is getting old? I don't know. Maybe it's just the writing.

#5 I'd really like to see a film of Elric of Melnibone with Finn Wolfhard in the titular role. He needs a couple more years under his belt, but he has the "wolfish" look I've always associated with the character...spent a little time messing around with AI modifying photos of the kid and I am more convinced than ever that he's perfect for the show. Of course, I hadn't realized till just now that someone had already acquired the rights to the literature with an idea to turning it into a television series. Of course, considering this was "news" six year ago, one can only speculate what's happened....

#6 The AI in episode #1 isn't great. But this is the way things are going to be.

All right, that's it. Later.

Talking Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all. Hope you're all having a good one...I sure am!

ALSO:  this is fascinating. Odd that I've had fewer links in 2025 than the prior two years, despite doubling my 2024 output and tripling my 2023 output. Guess it hasn't really been "linkable" material...something to work on in 2026.

; )

[credit to Grognardia for hipping me to this]

All right, that's all for today. I've got to go chop some veggies.

Tis The Holiday Season

Just pumping out a post 'cause I'm not sure how much time I'm going to have to blog this week. Sofia's out of school, so while he's sleeping in (at the moment), I'm going to be hanging with her in my "free" time. Parent-teacher conferences at the middle school today...it will be interesting to hear what they have to say about my 6th grade daughter. I'm genuinely curious.

I don't talk as much about my daughter as I do my son. I don't know why other than I'm constantly amazed by his accomplishments. Sofia's amazing, too, but her "magic" is so much less demonstrative. I have a feeling that she will probably have the "bigger impact" on the world when all is said and done: she'll either end up some scientist that invents something brilliant or else she's going to wind up being some sort of famous film or music-related celebrity. But none of that is anything happening right now (other than she can astound people when she sits down at a piano in a hotel lobby)...right now she is this incredibly sweet, funny, friendly kid who just likes to smile and snicker and play. Since we brought my mom's piano home, not a day goes by without the sounds of music filling the house at some point. Right now it's a big Christmas piece she's working on. Delightful.

Yes, you heard me...delightful. I'm one of those curmudgeonly types that gets annoyed with people who start their Christmas-ing before Thanksgiving. Usually. This year has been...different. The "yacht rock" radio station that has long been on our satellite car radio...since at least 2019 as it helped soothe our nerves through the entire pandemic...disappeared a couple weeks ago to be replaced by the "Hallmark" channel which plays nothing but holiday music. And Sofia, of course, LOVES holiday music and so we've been listening to it, whenever we're out driving to one of her various things: school, church, soccer, basketball, piano, guitar. Whatever. And darned if I haven't gotten in to it, too. Like the yacht rock, it's soothing on the nerves.

Well, most of it (I'm not really into the "hip hop Christmas" stuff...give me Andy Williams or Nat King Cole any day of the week).

So, yeah. I've started the holidays early. I think we got our first thing of eggnog the week after Halloween? That went fast, and I haven't replaced it yet. Still have our "Autumnal" wreath on the door, but evergreen one is coming. We've got tickets to Mexico for Christmas...took us a while because they're so damn expensive (you can fly to Japan for half the price!). Not sure if that's just because the current administration is only interested in people taking one-way trips south of the border or what (*sigh*), but since they've made damn sure that's my in-laws can't renew their visas till 2027 (*sigh*) we must purchase four tix if we want to see our family, rather than just flying mis suegros up here. Too bad for the local economy, of course, as we'll be doing all our shopping down there...but then Trump has been nothing if not hard on the local economy. 

But enough of that...I've been in the holiday spirit, as I said, and I've been focusing on other things. My son, who I gush about far too much, has his first national volleyball tournament for his club in Los Angeles in a couple weeks, and he and I will be flying down there with the team. The last couple days we were at a local "exhibition" tournament...it was pretty wild. He's a U15, but his team was playing in the U16 division...four matches in the group stage on Saturday with two matches on Sunday in the playoff bracket; when not playing or warming up he and his teammates acted as line judges and scorekeepers for the various games going on non-stop on four courts in an airplane hangar-like gymnasium (they were running U14, U16, and U18 divisions...all men's volleyball). Holy smoke...what an event! And the L.A. one is supposed to be a LOT bigger...I can hardly imagine.

Anyway, their team is great and pretty talented. They ended up winning their division, winning in straight sets for both of their playoff games. They were rotating liberos between Diego and another, more experienced kid (except for D and Jesus, all the other kids have been together for two or three seasons), but by Sunday's championship game it was just Diego, clearly in command, exhibiting presence and leadership on the court, making spectacular saves, picking up his teammates...all the usual "Diego" stuff. When they were down 18-9 in th second set of their first playoff match, Diego came in as a DS to serve 15 straight points and put them up 24-18...he didn't come out after that. Just great stuff from the kid. We had been contemplating trying to get to his soccer game Sunday afternoon and said we'd think about it after we saw how the morning match went...he came of the court and just said "I'm staying for the volleyball." 

[fortunately the club was playing the no-win bottom of their division and got a 4-2 result even without their captain]

But it was an exhausting weekend. Diego had a hard time getting up this morning (he still has a couple days of school before break)...though he's excited because "cousin Spencer" is picking him up from school today! Yes, my 27-year old "nephew" is back in town...all 6'1", 205# of baby-faced kid. He just finished up a year long stint of chefing at some fancy restaurant across the street from the Opera House, and now he's back in the PNW before doing another jaunt, this time in Japan (his dad's originally from Canada so he has joint citizenship and can do a work exchange on the maple leaf passport). Anyway, hanging with us all weekend at the volleyball stuff, he's taking Diego rock-climbing this afternoon (just what my kid needs...to be introduced to another recreational hobby...). Fingers-crossed that Diego doesn't fall asleep in class or on the boulder....

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to run some D&D for Spence while he's in town...I know he digs that. He's heading out to Spokane on Wednesday (Thanksgiving with his mom's mom), so our window is tight, especially with the kids' soccer practice on Tuesday. Wait, wait...just checking and it looks like they might have the night off!. All right, maybe Tuesday evening then. If we DO get our game on, I've already decided I'll be breaking out C1: The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan...a perfect little scenario for Diego, Sofia, and Spencer.

Mmm...looking through Ye Old Blog archives, I don't see I've ever written much of anything abou Tamoachan. It's a decent enough tournament adventure...probably my favorite of all the old TSR tournament modules (looking at both the A- and C- series). I've run it at least two or three times in the past, usually with the three pre-gens designed for the scenario. It's pretty tight, design-wise, and even though it's a fairly linear gauntlet (much like the tournament portion of S1) it has a ton of flavor and a lot of interesting bits and bobs. Though, man...I don't think I've run it since the early 90s (maybe the early 2000s...?). I should probably give it a quick re-read. I have no idea how the thing holds up in my current "paradigm" of game play, but Philippe ran it at Cauldron for some folks who had a good time...it should still work for a one-off.

Other than that....

I'm working on the book. It's slow going. I started writing the section on running combat...turns out this could probably be a whole book, in and of itself. Which is not really what I want, so I probably need to rethink the section. 

It's tough. I'm trying to condense and consolidate decades of knowledge and essays into a practical guidebook that IDEALLY would have a smaller page count than any of the existing (AD&D) rulebooks. It's a rather daunting prospect. This is far less about writing "AD&D for Dummies" and more like a Strunk & White's Elements of Style. Lord, how I wish I'd studied technical writing in college. Maybe I should go back and re-read my Strunk & White...it's still on the book shelf somewhere. 

Yeah. Probably going to end up bigger than S&W.

But I am writing.  A little bit óvery day. Except when I'm at all day volleyball tournaments. But OTHERwise...one brick at a time. Just laying one brick at a time. 

*sigh*

I should be publishing a couple adventures soon, too, depending on my illustrator's time schedule. Hopefully I'll have a couple PDFs out by year's end. We'll see. December tends to fly by when you're in the midst of holiday cheer with friends and family. And  now that my brother's hash is finally settled (he was evicted on the 12th...a day before my birthday)...I need to put the sale of my mother's house into overdrive. Sofia and I might be working on that a bit the next couple days, depending on when I can borrow my buddy's junk hauler. A lot to do but it is finally getting done. Finally.

Mm.

My apologies...did not mean for this post to slide into a downer note. It's the gosh darn holiday season! And I'm excited about all the stuff I've got on my plate right now. Yes, the busy-ness is off the charts. Yes, finding time to take a breath is a challenge. BUT:

- volleyball tournaments

- guitar recitals

- holiday feasts and get-togethers

- trips to see family and friends in Mexico

- school Christmas concerts

- running D&D

- publishing adventures

- writing books

- closing my deceased mom's estate

And just listening to cheerful music as I drive around town on my various errands...man, that is all GOOD STUFF. I am enjoying myself. I am really, thoroughly enjoying myself.

And I'll admit, part of it is that I'm home in Seattle for Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday of the year) and that I get to eat some God-honest turkey for a change. I seem to be the only person in my family that craves a drumstick and a pile of apple-sausage stuffing drenched in gravy. My goodness! I am SO looking forward to Thursday!

Hope ALL of you have a happy one...I pray that all of you find some joy in season, and find a way to share that joy with others. Even a smile goes a long way this time of year.

Cheers.

: )