Pulled It Off

Well now, that was a heck of a New Year's Eve.

Somehow managed to finish cleaning the house and getting nearly all the food cooked (and the kitchen straightened up) before the guests started showing up. The menu included English-style roast beef (a new recipe never before tried...got it from the Downton Abbey Christmas cookbook), my own butternut squash soup, oven-roasted Brussels sprouts, oven-roasted potato/sweet potato medley, oven-roasted vegetable medley (broc, cauliflower, and carrot), pasta carbonara (made by my son from scratch...yes, he makes his own pasta) and a pretty expansive charcuterie board put together by my wife after we found out (too late) that you needed a 48 hour notice to just order one. Everything got demolished despite one of the adults being a vegetarian, and two of them abstaining from dairy. I mean, that 5.5# roast? There's only a sliver of it left on the plate this morning...a sliver. And somehow we still have two six-packs of beer...oh, wait, because we killed four bottles of wine even before getting to the champaign.

Everyone managed to stay awake (even me...despite getting up at 7am and missing my afternoon nap), and the karaoke machine made an appearance circa 1am. Oh, boy. 

I slept till 11am.

My but the house is in need of some cleanup, today. Not much left for leftovers (except pasta...Diego went a bit overboard and we have a ton of extra drying on the counter). I'm not a big watcher of bowl games (especially now that they don't really mean anything to college football...or college football players/coaches), but I still think some relaxing on the couch is in order today (as he sips his freshly brewed pot of coffee at 12:04pm). Cleanup will happen...maybe even before I finish this post...but, yeah, I think I want to take it easy today. Maybe some Blood Bowl or a walk in the fresh air. After the rest of the family gets up, of course.

The last thing I'll mention about last night (before it slips my memory) is I once again had a chance to regale half-a-dozen adult humans with a 30-40 minute lecture on what Dungeons & Dragons is and the state of the hobby. Personal chef, physicist, patent attorney for Microsoft, Boeing engineer, contractors, political consultant...yeah, a bunch of successful professionals...all of them knew of the game, but none of them had ever played or had any experience with it, and they were just fascinated.  It's always odd to me how this thing I do can demand such positive attention...when, as a teen in the late 80s, early 90s the opposite was more often the case. Of course, I'm a lot more self-assured/confident these days (I made a roast beef for 14 people!), but I'm also more knowledgable. I know how to explain things in a way that is A) understandable, B) interesting/relatable, and C) inspiring (I think) to the listeners. When half the people say they want to give the game a try after I've delivered what amounts to a sermon on the history of the D&D hobby...well, I shake my head in amazement.

One of these days I'll get back to running for adults. It's nice that I can still draw. 

Okay, enough bragging; on to the New Year retrospective/resolution making!

Despite most of my local sports teams tanking their seasons...and a certain presidential election not going the way I would have hoped...2024 was damn sight better for me personally than 2023. I mean, no one close to me died, so that's a win, right? Some good coaching experiences (volleyball and soccer), won an adventure writing contest, penned an adventure for Cauldron 2024 (that got played by some 40-odd people), learned to cook a few new dishes (*ahem*), got to meet and share a beer with a couple of game blogging luminaries, travelled to both Europe and Mexico, reconnected with old friends, made some new friends, threw some parties, attended some parties, and got to run some high level D&D for my kids. Heck, I even got some blogging in...more than last year, anyway (though that was a pretty low bar...).

But I didn't write/publish any new books. Oh, I had some writing published IN a couple books, but they weren't my books...they were contributions to someone else's project. It's been a while since my last publication. Which is a bit of a bummer: I've had some time to write, I've had some ideas/things to write about...but I haven't put it all together. I've been undisciplined. And, jeez, you'd think at my age (51! I'm on the downward slope!), I'd be able to pull it together. Avoid the distractions from my purpose. 

Mm. Life is a challenge.

SO...looking back at my 2023 resolutions (the last time I posted such things...right before my life went off the rails a bit), I see that I hit on less than half the dozen or so I proposed. I think we'll try to keep this year's list a bit more modest:

Resolutions for 2025

• Sell my mother's house
• Write ONE book by the end of August
• Publish ONE book by the end of December
• Coach Sofia's soccer team to the playoffs (in October)
• Publish 100 blog posts (99 to go!)

There's more that I hope to accomplish this year: I am coaching Diego's last season of middle school volleyball this Spring, for example, and I'll be attending Cauldron 2025 in October and hope to make a good showing with my adventures-not-yet-penned. But these are the five things I really want to have done by December 31st; if I can look back to this post in one year and say I accomplished all of them? That will have been a spectacular triumph for Your Truly.

All right. That's enough for right now...time to get to that kitchen clean-up.

Best wishes to everyone...I hope nothing but the best for you and your loved ones this year; may you have health and happiness and may your sorrows be small and manageable. 

Imagining 2023

Happy New Year!

My first post of the 2023 and don't let the title of it give you any preconceived notions...just had to call the post something.  I am currently sitting in the lobby of my local VW dealership getting my 22 year old Jetta diagnosed as to why it won't start (battery seems fine). *sigh* First pain in the ass of the new year; I really don't want to buy a new car but I really want to have two vehicles that drive.

[while it may seem decadent for a pinko liberal like myself to even own two cars, it sure makes it a lot easier to coordinate being in multiple places simultaneously when you've got a family of four. Just saying...]

Anyhoo, it affords me a little time to write. Plus: free coffee.

Looking back over 2022, I see I got a couple of my half-dozen resolutions knocked out, which is...well...a pretty shitty track record. In addition, all the weight I had lost seems to have come back over the holiday season (since Thanksgiving...). Go figure, right? So, really it's more like one or one-and-a-half resolutions. I do still fit into my snow pants...

I suppose writing an adventure that made the cut for Prince of Nothing's most recent NoArtPunk contest counts as having an adventure "published and reviewed" (here's the review), but that's not quite what I meant when I wrote the resolution. Still, maybe another half point?

***LATER***

Car's fixed. Only cost more than I care to spend (about half what I made in book sales for last year). Lots has happened in the meantime (7:15pm as I sit down to write more); currently I'm having a beer while waiting for soccer practice to finish. Yes, turns out D's team is back on the field already (shocker).

Monday Night Football has been suspended. A player, a Bills safety named Damar Hamlin, was injured on the field, unable to breathe unassisted. I've seen a lot of NFL injuries over the years...never have I seen a game suspended like this for anything but extreme weather (lightning storms in Seattle once). That's rough. I wonder if Hamlin is related to ex-Seahawk safety Kenny Hamlin who was  beaten over the head with a sandwich board in Pioneer Square suffering brain trauma as a result and missing the 2005 Super Bowl. "The Hammer" Hamlin we used to call him. 

Sad. Rough. Still a lot of people dying in Ukraine, though.

[which is not to say I didn't send up a prayer that he'll be all right. Just as I send up prayers for the folks in Ukraine]

Perspective. 

Okay, the game's been postponed indefinitely. I appreciate that people are a bit more important than profits for the League.

I, of course, am not terribly worried about profits...I mean, other than the ones that pay my rent, fund my kids' soccer, and gets my car up and running. I'm little different from most people: self-absorbed. Well, at least I continue to notice it. ALSO: it's the New Year...let's hope (and work) to do better.

[truthfully, I am. But I won't go into those details as they're a little on the "personal" side]

I am sure there are folks who think it's all a joke: considering the New Year, making resolutions, blah-blah-blah. "You frigging hypocrite! You want to change, just change! Don't wait till some arbitrary calendar date like January first!" And, while there's truth in that, it's NICE that there's also a designated date and time that folks of my culture have set aside for personal reflection and consideration. A designated "life evaluation" point similar to the evaluations one might receive (annually) on-the-job or in school. A time to set expectations; a time to consider methods of growth.

SO...here, without further ado, are my resolutions for the New Year:

1. Write at least ONE PAGE (let's say 1,000+ words) every day, rain or shine. At this point, it doesn't much matter to me what I'm writing, just that I'm writing. I want to create a habit of work, even when I don't "feel like it."
2. Write at least two blog posts per week.
3. Cut back on my alcohol intake substantially. No stocking beer in the fridge (that actually helps) and limiting myself to one beer when I'm out. A little wine when cooking or at festive events.
4. Cut back on the caffeine and be back to decaf only by the end of February (I was on decaf before my in-laws came to town, but I've only got one coffee maker and they like their joe).
5. Cut the the sweets out entirely...once we've finished the holiday goodies that are left over (I don't like to waste food).
6. Get an hour of decent exercise in every day. 
7. Be more attentive to my wife. 
8. Publish an adventure on DriveThruRPG.
9. Make time to play D&D once per week.
10. Consolidate and organize my campaign notes for my world rather than having them scattered over dozens of random documents.
11. Cook one new dish every month (and learn to cook at least one Mexican dish). 
12. Run at least one game for adult players, either in person or on-line.
13. Find a way to one gaming convention this year.

Okay, that's enough. Let's see how many I can get through THIS year.

; )

[posting this Tuesday, January 3rd]

A New Year Dawns

Happy 2022 to everyone! Yes, this is not technically my first post of the New Year, but it's the first one I'm doing in the light of day, so maybe that counts for something. 

[ugh...once again I am late in getting this up on the blog, as Saturday's events stole me away from the ol' laptop. Ah, well...pressing on]

As I was starting to write in yesterday's [note: Friday's] reflection post, 2021 wasn't a bad one for Yours Truly. I published a book. I wrote three adventures (nearly finished re-writing a couple more). Participated in a couple of challenge/contests. Ran my own challenge/contest (which should be leading to a new charity book, hopefully soon). Played quite a bit of AD&D. Found time to blog. Kept the family alive and COVID-free and went on a couple nice, long road trips.

I did lose one dog, but the other seems to be holding it together okay.

Last years resolutions were numbered at three: get healthier by losing some weight, publish a book, play more AD&D. Well, I got two of those things done (*sigh*) which is still a LOT better than my accomplishments in 2020 when I went 0-for-14. Such "success" undoubtably calls for celebration and even more ambitious goals for the new year. So, off the top of my head:

• Publish Year of the Rat (in PDF if not print)
• Publish Cry Dark Future (any way possible)
• Publish ONE adventure (and have it reviewed)
• Complete the draft of a NEW book
• Run a live AD&D game for folks outside the fam (COVID permitting)
• Get down to a weight that doesn't necessitate me buying new snow pants

That's, what, six? Surely I can accomplish six things over 12 months (one every other month), while still maintaining the "usual life" stuff (including blogging...I want to blog at least a couple-three times per week).

Looking over the archives, last year's blogging was pretty good. I had an especially good (I think) series going last September discussing my views on "fundamental D&D." Note, that's not fundamentalist D&D, but rather the foundational thoughts on what I consider to be essential truths about the Great Game. For those who missed them (or forgot about them), I provide a couple links for perusal:

Dispel Myths

Seven Elements

Although, I think there's a lot of juice in most of those September posts. Oh, and here are a couple-three more on specific topics that help explain my stance on specific topics:

Why Treasure

"F" Is For "Fudging"

Constraint

[that last one is a bit all over the place, but the second half is solid enough]

I put up these links because there's been a bit of stir recently over POV conflicts within the "OSR community" (I cringe a bit at that term). I have to say these dust-ups over different approaches to design stir me but little at this point. That being said, it feels to me like things are settling down just a bit...and that I see as very positive. We have tools for building and it's (generally) better to build our own villages and towns - places welcoming of visiting strangers (if a little peculiar/different) - than fortifications and entrenchments for waging war against each other.

[sorry for the weird analogy...we are entering our third day of A&A play and I have military operations on the mind]

My own "village on a hill" is one that I look forward to cultivating in 2022.

Mmm. I appear to have burned the coffee I was reheating on the stove...perils of a microwave being on the fritz. I'm going to leave off now and go make some fresh (though, knowing me, I'll certainly drink the burnt stuff, too), and leave folks to their own, hopefully enjoyable, days. 

However, I just want all my readers to know that I am sending up a fervent prayer that ALL of you are staying healthy, happy, and safe at the moment. That you have people in your lives that love you, and that you find some time for joy and laughter amid all the pain, stress, and uncertainty we deal with every day of our lives on this planet. And even more, I pray that we (me, included) can find ways to share our love, laughter, and creativity with others in a fashion that uplifts us all.

Best wishes to you and yours in this New Year.

: )

Spoiling the Keep (p. 3)

Another year gone and, boy O boy, I was terrible at keeping any of my prior year resolutions. Which is why I try to stay the heck away from resolutions, generally: less chance to be disappointed in myself. This year, my ONLY resolutions are to get healthier (i.e. lose some weight), play more AD&D (however that happens), and get at least one book out the door. There are a lot of other things I'd like to accomplish, but I'll judge the year a success if I can get just those three done.

Playing more Dungeons & Dragons seems by far the easiest...so long as I have children who continuously clamor to play. Finding time to prep the game is tough...but the kids will be back in school come Monday and so long as I can manage my time, that should make things a bit smoother.

[Obligatory Note: I began writing this on January 3rd; MUCH has happened since then]

For now, I still have The Keep on the Borderlands, an adventure I could (nearly) run blindfolded.

In my last post, I examined the "why" of the Keep's existence, but this time I want to examine the "why" of the module's main adventure site: the so-called Caves of Chaos. A largish box canyon riddled with nearly a dozen caves, opening (mostly) onto carefully worked subterranean complexes, the Caves have often been derided as the stereotypical "monster apartment building," featuring multiple humanoid "tribes," a temple of (chaotic) religious fanatics, plus the odd owl bear and minotaur, all living together in close proximity...if not exactly peace and harmony. Hundreds of "evil monsters" just waiting for some intrepid band of adventurers to sweep through with swords, sleep spells, and flasks of flaming oil before collecting the coins and treasures these poor bastards have hoarded.

Cardboard enemies to score points against, in other words. 

Which is why the inclusion of so many non-combatants is crazy. Unless, Gygax was some sort of weird sadist (a possibility, I suppose), why populate the place with women and children "who will not fight" ...and yet still have hit points to deplete? 

Today, I am mainly going to be talking about the humanoid "tribes" found in the Caves: the orcs, goblins, kobolds, hobgoblins, bugbears, and gnolls. The hapless "forces of Chaos" that populate the warrens of the area. These provide the vast bulk of potential opponents (i.e. monsters) that adventurers will discover in the complex. Minding their own business, living their lives.

That's the thing that's so striking...these are families living together. Leaving out the lizard folk of the fens (who could easily be included in the same category) you have close to 380 individuals in the Caves, of which more than 200 (about 53%) are lesser or non-combatants: women, children, perhaps elderly or decrepit members of the tribe. They have food stores consisting of "normal provisions" including cloth, grain, food (much of it salted/preserved), and drink. Some of this is tabbed as stolen or "spoils," but not all...not even most. These are communities residing together, with furniture and fire pits. Despite the presence of guardsmen (who are no different from the other male combatants found in the "common" tribal areas) there is nothing here to indicate they are not simply peaceful nonhuman species living in relative harmony...little different to certain medieval cities of the Iberian peninsula (looking at you, Toledo) where member of multiple disparate cultures (Christian, Jew, and Muslim) lived and worked and thrived together.

And they seem to have been there for a while: long enough to have furnishings, alliances, stairways, stockpiles. These are not newly arrived refugees driven from their homes (one possible explanation for so many different species residing together in such close proximity). There are rivalries, but no open warfare...in fact it is clear from the textual notes that IN MOST CASES humanoids pressed by invaders (i.e. PC adventurers) will put aside their differences and work together. The oft-floated idea of "faction manipulation," playing off tribes against each other, appears to be a Big Fat Myth.

These are not "creatures of Chaos;" hell, they're not even all that murderous, given that they will capture and ransom intruders for small sums (10-100 gold coins a pop). They are as civilized and savvy as any member of the Keep military installation, the fact of their living in caves being mainly a sign of their nocturnal/subterranean physiology. 

Of course, they also appear to live in abject squalor. The square footage of "real estate" for these communities is absolutely abysmal. A few quick searches on Ye Old Inter-Webs shows most estimated requirements to be about 200-500 square feet of living space per individual...and that hasn't changed all that much since medieval times, either (medieval peasant homes to have somewhere in the range of 637-1500 square feet for an average of 3.5 to 6 peasant-to-hovel ratio). However, the "common living spaces" for the majority of tribe members is pretty bad, being about 75-133 square feet per individual in the hobgoblin common rooms, and only 40-46 square feet for the goblins (depending on how you measure the area of the oddly shaped chamber).

Now, one might say: they're goblins, they're small, and need less space. Okay, that makes some sense...but then wouldn't the LARGE humanoids, like gnolls and bugbears need more space? Instead, their common spaces get SMALLER, with bugbears having barely 46 square feet to the individual and the 7+' gnolls having less than 43' apiece! Factor in all those long bows, pole arms, and great axes they wield, and you're looking at a ridiculously cramped space for the proudest and strongest humanoids. 

Here's what I think: only some of these residents are permanent occupants. The kobolds, orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins have the best digs of the bunch. In size order, the amount of square footage for tribal common areas looks like:

Kobold: 40 square feet per individual

Goblin: 47 square feet per individual

Orc (smaller tribe): 77 square feet per individual

Orc (larger tribe): 97 square feet per individual

Hobgoblin: 106 square feet per individual

Those are definitely "cramped quarters" but assuming they are stealing or trading with outsiders for their arms and provisions (as opposed to needing areas for forging and manufacturing), I suppose one could squint at the numbers and (accounting for really squalid living conditions) give the set-up a pass.

But why are they all living together? Well, they're really not, are they? The orcs (who are friendly rivals...the chiefs meet with each other and regularly strategize) are on one-side of the canyon while the goblins and hobgoblins (clear symbiotic units) are on the other side. The presence of the mercenary ogre near the goblins has allowed them the extra muscle they need to remain independent from the hobgoblins, who would otherwise enslave them (given their penchant for bullying, militarism, and torture). The kobolds, hated and despised by all, have allied themselves with a giant rat colony in order to protect themselves...and even so, they are forced to dig pit traps to protect their territory, the smallest of the "permanent" tribal settlements.

Itty-bitty
living space...

So then, what of the gnolls and bugbears? These are recent arrivals but for different reasons. The gnolls are clearly mercenaries (explaining their "loose alliance" with the orcs) who have been bought to help against the goblin-hobgoblin-ogre faction. This explains the gnoll and orc prisoners taken by the parnoid hobgoblins (most likely spies being "questioned," given their location in the hobgoblin torture chamber). No open warfare yet exists, but it seem the orcs felt some balancing of power was necessary. The women and children that accompany the tribe are the equivalent of gnollish "camp followers" as their lair is clearly too small to support even the small number of their kind that appears in the adventure. 

The bugbears are the true outsiders here, and of all the groups appears the most likely to be refugees from their traditional arboreal territory. As only one force in the area (the Keep) is strong enough to compel servitude from their tribe, I think it's a fair assumption that they were previously enslaved mine workers who are holed up in the Caves as they plot their revenge. This explains many aspects of their tribe: why they have taken captives from ALL the tribes, why they have to send out "hunting parties" for food (they aren't yet settled), why their living conditions (square footage) is so terrible, and why they have a room for "spoils" rather than "supplies" or "stores." It is obvious they are living a bandit lifestyle. I find it highly likely that the area in which they resided originally belonged to a 3rd orc tribe they have since ousted (note how their cave entrance lies on the same level and same side of the canyon as the other two orc groups). It is far too small for their numbers, and it can only be a matter of time before they are forced to make some move...either out of the Caves (unlikely, given the continued threat of the Keep) or into an additional, larger cave complex. 

[the signs near the entrance, by the way, were not written by the bugbears, but by members of the human mining guild set to entice and entrap humanoids. When the bugbears broke their chains and revolted, they took these (along with other souvenirs), leaving them at the mouth of their cave as a warning to stay the heck away or face their wrath]

Finally, please note that this reading also makes sense in light of what the Monster Manual says about the various humanoids ability to mine and tunnel. Goblins are noted as being "fair" miners, orcs are "accomplished," and hobgoblins considered "highly adept." These are the beings making these caves (note the rough, unworked caverns used by the minotaur and owl bear). The MM states specifically that gnolls are not good miners and that they generally "dislike work," giving additional credence to their temporary presence in the Caves. 

All right, that's enough for now (probably more than enough); next post I want to talk about religion, specifically its presence and role for the humanoid tribes. 

Trying for Positivity

Ugh. Positivity is tough.

I won't lie. I'm disappointed with myself. Not only did I NOT reach my goal of at least 121 posts for the year 2019 (which I really thought I could do!) looking back over the year I don't see a lot of personal accomplishment. And for the sake of my own mental well-being...damn. I really wanted to accomplish something.

Okay, upon closer review of last year's posts, I suppose I did accomplish something(s) more than nothing. I finished writing a book, even though I haven't published it yet (gosh darn need for illustrations). I managed to get to DragonFlight and played in a bunch of B/X games. I managed my family pretty well, though there's always room for improvement. Hell, I even turned in more blog posts than I have since 2015 (including a month of A-Z posts in April). And I cleaned out both sides of the garage (though the side we use for "storage" needs to be de-cluttered yet again). Heck, even got the gutters cleaned for the first time in YEARS, though I had to pay someone to do it (we have a very tall house).

Oh, yeah...and I got my Patreon up and running and made some headway on building the web site for Running Beagle Games.

All right, not terrible, not even bad. I just feel like I should be doing more, especially with regard to writing. I suppose...I suppose I get a little discouraged when I look around the internet and I see so many brilliant minds penning excellent material and I feel like I could or should be contributing this way myself. Of course (with certain exceptions) the truth is that most of these brilliant minds are only posting a couple dozen times a year. And most of them are staying in their own particular sphere of expertise, not scattering their brains all over hill and yon (as I tend to do).

With this in mind, I'll take a deep breath, pound another swallow of coffee, and give it a shot at being positive.

Perhaps it would be constructive to lay out a few resolutions for the New Year. I haven't done this in a while (at least, not on Ye Old Blog) and, yes, I am fully aware that such "resolutions" tend to last all of two to three weeks before fading, but perhaps having SOMETHING to shoot for (even for a couple weeks) is better than NOTHING. Screw "disappointment" anyway...I won't disappoint myself more for failing than I will for failing to try.

Thus, LET IT BE RESOLVED that IN THE YEAR 2020 I will attempt to kick of the New Decade by accomplishing the following TWELVE GOALS (let's see if I can get one knocked out every month); the order's not terribly important:

1. Bring in extra income of at least $2K per month.
2. Knock out 180 blog posts (average of 15 per month).
3. Publish (i.e. sell for money) the new Chaos book.
4. Publish Cry Dark Future in SOME form (revised or not; illustrated or not).
5. Build a useable campaign world, even if it's a crappy one (adjust from there).
6. Start running a weekly D&D campaign.
7, Finish reading a book (one that I haven't already read, that is).
8. Get to at least one gaming con and run (at least) one game.
9. Create at least 3 "mini-adventures" for Patreon followers.
10. Get the web site up and running.
11. Collaborate with someone on a gaming project.
12. Finish the first draft of a new book.
13. Clean my office.
14. Paint a new Blood Bowl team.

Yes, yes...that's more than twelve goals; figure I'd give myself some extras "just in case" (that is, in case I finish the first 12 or in case I need easier goals to accomplish). I would also like to cut back on the alcohol, exercise more, be a better husband to my wife and father to my children, deepen my faith, and participate more in my community. We'll see how that all shakes out.

Hmm...as I look over it, that's not a bad list. I think I'll print it up so I have a reminder of my intentions (plus it's easier to check off boxes, if and when things get accomplished). Soon. Right now, I've got to make a fresh pot of coffee for my (soon to be awakening) in-laws.

Later, folks. Happy New Year to all!