I am starting a regular Twitch stream on how to do things in Roll20. I will be making things that I can later add to my Roll20 Series, Roll20 for the Absolute Beginner. The first session will be tonight, Friday, April 3, 2020 at 7:00 PM EDT (-4 UTC). So come watch and learn and ask questions. I will make a note of any questions I don’t get to for future episodes. If there is no interaction, I will work on recording information for the next few episodes of my series. Here is the companion podcast episode. [EDIT: 5 April, 2020 – New YouTube video announcing Friday night Twitch stream How to Roll20.]

I plan to do other things close to the topic of RPGs but not directly RPG related on Twitch. I encourage you to follow me on Twitch and interact.

I had wanted to start a new campaign, but I’m still not in the right head space to run a new campaign. I am geared to help others, and while running a game for others will help, I need something that is more flexible and open to doing as I have the desire. Hopefully, it helps me as much as it helps others.

Prior Efforts.

A couple of weeks ago I attempted to write a post of what I could do for this time of isolation. It was long and involved and just too much.

I enjoyed Virtual Gary Con where I played in one game, ran two games, enjoyed some seminars, and helped a few people get their games going in Roll20.

I then went into a funk that did no one any good. I have worked from home for 4 or 5 years and just finished the busy time of year at the day job. I was so looking forward to going to Gary Con and a change of environment. Not getting that much needed break didn’t help my outlook. I had to do something different.

Part of what I did was stream on Twitch the reading of Frozen Hell, a short story by John W. Campbel, Jr. It is the short story that inspired the novella Who Goes There? Filmed as The Thing From Another World in 1951 & 1982s The Thing by John Carpenter.

I read it over 3 different sessions. Sadly, the last session, for some reason, I put on my work headset, so there is no sound. I will have to re-do the last two chapters.

I also got into Minecraft. The mindless simplicity of playing in creative mode where I can make what I want when I want and not have to avoid monsters is what I needed. My initial project was making a dwarven fortress. It is far from complete. I had intended to make locations from my various RPGs and finally did that the other night. I shared pictures of the mountaintop temple location of my original map and what I made in Minecraft.

What can you do?

In my prior post that died in draft, I encouraged others to make a list of what they can do to help others. I encourage all of you to do the same.

Try to change focus from the difficulties of your particular situation to how you can help others.

If your situation is such that you can’t do much to help others, then focus on things that lift you up. Movies and shows, books & comics, art, etc. Whatever it is you do for fun and entertainment.

If you need time to immerse yourself in something to distract from your own thoughts, take it, but don’t get lost.

For me, the sun finally coming out yesterday was a major boost. So much rain and clouds felt oppressive. I hope you all get the sunshine you need.

Conclusion

I hope you are safe, sheltered, fed, and your time occupied. If you need a positive activity, come check out my Twitch streams. I’ll be glad for positive interaction with others.