Monthly Archives: October 2019

RPGs

In Appreciation of Dave Arneson

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October 1st, 2019 would be Dave Arneson’s 72nd birthday.

Too many D&D players and RPG enthusiasts don’t know the history of D&D.

Dave Arneson and his gaming group, through a well documented iteration of influences, developed their fantasy game that they called Blackmoor after the town and dungeon for Dave’s campaign.

Dave and friends drove from Minnesota to Wisconsin to show Gary Gygax the game. Gary, the co-author of Chainmail, with Jeff Perren, was a prolific player and creator of games. This game lit Gary’s imagination and Gary created his Greyhawk campaign.

Gary asked for rules, and Dave sent him several handwritten pages, as the rules were in his head. Gary typed up the rules and began making his own changes or filling in perceived gaps. Eventually, they formed a company TSR and Gary wrote the rules that would become the three little brown books. Gary made a list of words for possible names, and one of his daughters picked the combination Dungeons & Dragons.

Without Dave Arneson, Gary Gygax would not have had his imagination and life focus re-directed to create D&D, with full credit to Dave Arneson as co-creator. At some point, there was a parting of the ways. While we can speculate and debate and argue the whys, what matters is, they parted ways and did not reconcile until decades later.

The big reason Dave is forgotten is that his name is not prominent on the covers of AD&D, and he left TSR early on.

Just because one does not know the name of the person who invented the role playing game from the influence of many others, does not change the fact that it happened. We all owe Dave Arneson a debt of thanks and gratitude for starting the ball rolling on the concept that has captured our imaginations and continues to capture the imaginations of new players.

Arneson’s name is forgotten because he doesn’t have a convention to remember him. I think he should. I’ve heard rumblings that maybe the Minnesota gaming community might actually do something about that.

It should not lead to heated debate. Dave Arneson was first on the shoulders of giants. Like so many original creators and inventors, he is obscure because someone else did a better job of presenting it and making it happen.

Dave may have been a very creative and entertaining GM, he does not seem to have been able to commit his ideas to a coherent form on paper to get into the hands of others. Had he been so, we may never have heard of Gary Gygax. Gary is the one with the organization and persistence to get a manuscript and get it published. Even that took the help of others for the finances.

It’s hard to talk about D&D and Dave Arneson without mentioning Gary Gygax. They were a productive team who co-wrote other things together and did a lot of play by mail and other in person gaming together before the role playing game.

I just want to say, “Thanks, Dave!” Several others have documented various aspects of Dave’s rightful place in the history of Role Playing Games. I don’t need to regurgitate them here. Read about it. Watch the Blackmoor documentary when it is released. There is a lot of interesting information available.

RPGs

BUJO for Organizing Follow Me, And Die!

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My renewed efforts to use a Bullet Journal to organize all the things I do under Follow Me, And Die! Bullet Journal is commonly shortened to BUJO. [Companion Podcast here.]

Here’s a List of What I Do Here:

  • Blogging
    • Both here at Follow Me, And Die! and at Multiverse.world
  • Podcasting
  • Patreon
    • Monthly PDFs
    • All the other things I do
  • YouTube Videos
    • Goal is 2 per month
  • Card Game
    • My goal is to Kickstart in 2020 and deliver by November 1, 2020.
  • Other Game Ideas
    • I have several other game ideas for card games, board games, and RPGs.
  • Convention Scenarios
    • UCON November, 2019
    • Gary Con March, 2020
    • Marmalade Dog , 2020
    • etc.
  • Any other task or project I need to track.
    • Possible NaNoWriMo for maybe one of these:
      • Finishing Novel
      • Western Campaign Building Supplement
      • Campaign/Worldbuilding How To

Prior Experience with BUJOs:

In 2017 I started a Bullet Journal to organize work, home, and other tasks and projects, and just getting all the items in an organized format in one place made all the difference in the world. I was massively productive, until I got distracted by my busiest time of year at work, December and January.

That time is so chaotic as we deal with triple the normal volume of support calls. It is all hands on deck, no time off in January, etc. Clients tend to wait until the last minute to do things, and other things happen that constantly derail plans to ensure things go smoothly.

That time of year just saps all of my mental and physical energy. The worst part is my creative energy is just gone.

Goals:

Since I know my prior experience with BUJOs and how much I need to get done between now and mid-December for work and how much I want to get done for Follow Me, And Die! something has to change. I’ve done better about making notes and keeping them organized on my computer, but there is something to be said for having it in your hands. Writing notes by hand tend to stick in one’s mind better according to studies.

I’m trying to organize my thoughts and ideas to maximize follow through. My health will also be improved with greater mental clarity/decluttering and organization overall will help me maintain a better sleep schedule, diet, and exercise routine. Building better habits is a challenge. We are hard wired to not make something a habit until we get rewards (addiction is the worst case extreme) or repetition until we essentially develop muscle memory for the task. It took years to get there, but I have brushed my teeth at least twice a day for 35+ years. The benefit is amazing my dentist with how old some of my fillings are. The current and prior dentist comment on it every visit.

With any type of creative endeavor, especially in the modern internet centric world, regular posting of content leads to growth. It is a combination of playing the algorithm game with various social media, getting the word out about your efforts, and achieving some level of recognition or financial success. I have no illusions of getting rich. I have that dream, but more realistically, I want to be able to negate my expenses on conventions, Kickstarters, and other game related things I buy.

Other Type Of BUJOs:

There are other types of BUJOs that one can use related to RPGs, namely the GM BUJO and the Player BUJO.

GMs can make a BUJO to record all their ideas. It doesn’t need to have the same format as a work, hobby, or personal BUJO. The key to a BUJO is the index so one knows where to find the information one has entered. GMs can have a single BUJO they fill with all their ideas across all game systems and genres, or they can make one for each game system, genre, or individual campaign or world. I have mentioned in the past that I have an article and plan a video on how I approach a GM BUJO, but it has yet to take form. Part of this new effort is to bring such ideas to reality so I can finally share them with others.

Players can make a BUJO for all their characters in all game systems they play, or they can have a BUJO for each campaign they play in. If you have the fortune to play with GMs that have long lasting campaigns, it may be realistic to have a BUJO for each campaign. But for many, one BUJO may last a long time.

Differences:

A standard BUJO is recommended to cover a single calendar year, and that one start a new one at the beginning of the year. However, a GM or Player BUJO can last for years, if one starts with a notebook with enough pages, or uses each page to its fullest.

Some creative people that do YouTube and other things, have one BUJO for YouTube and another for all other things they do.

Some people can get by with one BUJO for work and all other activities. I find for me, it is better to keep work and personal separate. Any crossover for me is noting game days in the work BUJO and days off or work travel in the personal BUJO. I only cross post when something for one impacts the other. The main thing to keep in mind with Bullet Journalling is to use what works for YOU. If it doesn’t work, don’t force it. Find the system that fits you best. If you don’t use it, it’s worthless.

The best part is you don’t have to use an expensive notebook. You can use any notebook that works for you. I find it best to start simple with a smaller notebook and figure out your system. Once you have a general idea of what works for you, plan your next BUJO when it’s time to start a new one. Don’t carry over the things that didn’t work. Use any hacks you come up with or stumble upon online.

Some people spend more time decorating their BUJO or other journalling method than they do entering and processing the tasks and projects they have. For some having the decoration or making the decoration is part of their process. It helps them focus. Having something that is pleasing to view encourages them to use it. Others, like me, just want something functional that will help us get to the next goal. I’d love to decorate my BUJOs with flowery lettering and intricate designs, but I’d spend so much time decorating I’d never get anything done. Find the balance that works for you.

Conclusion:

Bullet Journals are one form of tracking one’s tasks, events, projects, goals, and anything else one wants or needs to track. They can be used for work, personal projects, hobbies, and side gigs. You can make a BUJO as simple or complex as you need it. The level of complexity involves the precise coding you use in tracking items, to the level of detail in your data, and the level of decoration implemented. The key to its success is finding what works to help you move towards achieving the desired end results. If it works for you, hone and master the parts that work for you. If it doesn’t work for you, take anything of value that you find helpful, from the system to “only” learning what doesn’t work for you.