Monthly Archives: December 2020

RPGs

2020 Year In Review

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I’ll just post the numbers of my various sites, and leave the rest of the year below if you want to read about 2020 from my perspective.

BLOG – 20,393 visitors in 2020. Best month April with 2,237 visitors. 126 different countries, the top five being: USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany.

My top five pages (none from 2020) :

1. Druids and Alignment – 2,716

2. Group Name Generator – 1,811

3. River and River Encounter Tables – 1,472

4. Quick Campaign Creation Checklist – 1,246

5. Ideas for Hidden Items/Secret Doors – 1,162

[NOTE: I added the above section on January 1, 2021 when I received a report about the blog.]

Twitter – Down 32 followers to 1,060 from 1,092.

Facebook – 17 new likes and 26 new follows. Now 168 likes and 180 followers.

YouTube – Started with 490 subscribers and have 969 as of this writing, which is 479 new subscribers in 2020! Nearly doubled. I hold slim hopes of hitting 1,000 this year. This is mostly due to the popularity of my series, “Roll20 For The Absolute Beginner.” I published 18 videos in 2020. 13 of those were related to my Roll20 series. My most watched video has 40,557 views.

Anchor – Almost 6,300 listens to my podcast, with 18,673 total life time listens across all 194 episodes. I thought I might hit 200 episodes in 2020, but have not been making regular episodes for a few weeks. Some episodes had ridiculous increases from all other episodes. Others using Anchor noticed the same. Now my episodes are back to the usual number of listens. So far, I’ve only had 24 episodes this year. Most have been about the antics of the party in the Sunday game I DM.

Instagram – I’ve added 31 followers and now have 164.

Cheatography – I created a Worldbuilding Cheatsheet on Cheatography that has been viewed 200 times. I didn’t realize people could see it until I got emails that it had been viewed 50 and then 100 times. I just got the email about 200 times as I was working on this blog post.

Patreon – I still have 2 patrons. I encouraged them to leave and support others, since I don’t need the money. Only 1 person took that advice. I supposed I’ll keep Patreon since there’s a chance I’ll attract more patrons when I finally publish my card game.

TeeSpring – I made a new shirt design – a red shirt that says, “Cancer is the New Red Shirt.” I also made a mask with the Follow Me, And Die! logo and phrase with cartoon viruses. I did manage a few sales there. I’ve actually had a few sales and made about $30.

Ko-Fi – I made $12.00 from one person. This is the first I’ve made there, since I created the account a couple years ago.

DriveThruRPG [Affiliate Link] – I’ve made $303.60 after fees to transfer earnings to PayPal. The gross was 487.43. 30% is a big chunk. I had 4,603 total sales which includes pay what you want titles going for $0. I had 411 paid sales, which is just over a dollar a sale. I decided to move all my PDFs to at least $1, but want to give them a strong edit and layout makeover first. So far, I’ve only done that with one title.

I finally crossed the threshold to have enough Publisher Promotion Points to do a Deal of the Day. That will be good when I ever get my card game finished.

I now have two Copper sellers and three Silver sellers. This is based on sales over a certain threshold. I would have electrum and gold sellers if I had paid sales on all the free Pay What You Want sales.

Barring any last minute boosts in the next few days, I’ve grossed just under $600 in 2020 as a tiny RPG publisher. My expenses will eat up enough of that that I am not making enough to pay taxes.

LOOKING TO 2021

I’m not making any big plans for 2021. I plan to keep playing and running RPGs. I still have ideas for new PDFs and videos for RPGs. My plan is to keep at doing RPG and gaming related things. If I ever do well enough to negate my expenses, or even make money, that’s icing on the cake. I have ideas, some people like my ideas, so I will keep at it.

(Stop reading here if you don’t want to be reminded about 2020.)

2020

This year has had an impact on everyone on the entire planet in ways probably everyone alive has no memory of the last global pandemic of 1918.

For most of us, like me, 2020 started off full of hope and lots of plans. I made plans to go to some event of various sorts nearly every weekend. I had just bought my first pickup truck and was planning weekend events to small events within a couple hours drive, the usual game conventions, and visiting family.

My busy time of year is December and January as I support payroll and accounting software and call volume triples. Just as we were winding down in February, the news began to mention COVID-19. It looked bad, but initial reports were it was like the flu.

CONVENTIONS CANCELLED

Then the unthinkable, just when I needed to get away and unwind with a weekend of fun, Gary Con cancelled the live show and did a pivot to a virtual convention. This would repeat for all conventions, not just game conventions. Thankfully for game conventions, Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, several other table top emulators, Discord, Zoom, Skype and the like were already in place. This allowed the pivot from live to virtual.

So while we could still see our friends on the screen, it wasn’t as good as being their live. Sadly, it nearly ended the website Tabletop Events many conventions used to coordinate ticket sales. Some game publishers did ad hoc conventions to help them out. Finally, new management stepped in with an acquisition to keep that service functioning.

COVID-19 is still not under control, and while there are finally vaccines, they are not available in enough quantity to change plans for conventions. So far, Gary Con is going virtual again in 2021. There was hope of a live con, but nothing can guarantee COVID-19 will be under control in time to have a COVID-19 free convention.

HOLD MY BEER

There were lots of memes in 2020 as COVID-19 hit hard, there seemed to be some new really bad thing each month. There were so many, it’s a blur that I struggle to recall.

It seemed as if 2020 was out to show that it was large and in charge.

Many started off calling 2020 the year of the double crit. It soon morphed into the year of the GM getting a double crit – on everybody. Or everyone rolled a double fumble, or “epic fail”.

Sadly, many small businesses, especially restaurants and their employees have been hit hard. Many businesses have and continued to fail as the economic aspects hit hard. Businesses that had to limit service or shut down, have had to lay off employees. The numbers of unemployed has skyrocketed. It has gotten a bit better for some. But it is not easy for those who have no income without unemployment.

Food banks have been hit hard.

Those who rely on the gig economy like musicians, lecturers, and other entertainers have had to improvise and find a way to earn a living online. There have been some bright spots with individuals, groups, or families finding fame online since entertainment consumption skyrocketed due to limited options with COVID-19 restrictions.

Movies and television shows shut down, and some shows found a way to go virtual.

“NORMAL” TRAGEDIES

The usual things that happen every year for some with a new found health problem, loss of a family member, car accidents, and the like seem to be greatly highlighted in a surreal way. They just hurt worse since you can’t mourn or deal with it in the usual ways due to restrictions.

On top of that are all those individuals and families affected by extended hospitalizations, or those who lose a loved one due to COVID-19.

On top of all the upset to “normal” COVID-19 has caused, it also is like pouring salt on a wound with all the other challenges many have had to face.

Social isolation, cabin fever, interpersonal conflict with the family or roommates one live with, and more seem to make it even more difficult to see the silver lining or light at the end of the tunnel.

OUR OWN THING

Each of us have had our own set of circumstances we’ve been dealt for 2020. Some had all the good cards and are exercising, losing weight, trying new things, learning new things. It is great to see so many doing well. Sadly, far too many have gotten a lot of bad cards, or maybe only bad cards. I shudder to think of those who chose to end their life amidst all this turmoil.

TECHNOLOGY

Thankfully, for those of us who can afford internet, there are lots of online tools to help us stay in touch with others. Table Top emulators existed before, but saw their use skyrocket, as people can game online.

For me, that was no real change, as my weekly game play is online and has been for years. I struggle to find or keep a local game group. The uptick in use has seen occasional lag for long time players we don’t normally see.

MY THING

As I mentioned above, I had plans and high hopes for 2020. I was aiming to finally launch a Kickstarter for my card game on May 1st. Those plans were dashed as many printers shut down around that time as there were shutdowns to try to contain the spread of COVID-19.

But the main reason I halted my plans is that I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April. That was the real screw you 2020 dealt me. I felt fine. That’s why they call it the silent killer. I lost motivation to work on the card game. Just before then I did a new test deck, and I made the graphics too small. It was something I couldn’t tell until I held the cards in my hands. I still haven’t fixed that.

I had thoughts of putting my card game out on DriveThruCards [Affiliate Link], as I try to be a forward thinking realist. I didn’t know how things would go for my cancer surgery. It was supposed to happen in June, but got pushed off to the end of August.

That long wait didn’t help my motivation. I had plans for more PDFs on DriveThruRPG [Affiliate Link] each month, but I only managed to maintain that for January and February. I did do a major editing pass and improve the layout for one PDF. I had planned to do others, but motivation is fleeting.

Honestly, I had existential dread of surgery. I had the fear of not waking up. However, my existential dread evaporated when I woke up. I didn’t have the amount of pain I expected and was only off work two weeks.

But as a realist, I made plans for what to do if I didn’t wake up. I wrote my last blog article, recorded my last podcast, and my last YouTube video. I had them ready to publish and left instructions with family on how to do so. Those were some of the most difficult things I did, but I think it helped me deal with things.

I was off work for two weeks and only missed one week of running my Sunday game, and didn’t miss any of the Wednesday game I play in. I even started a blog Men’s Health In My Perspective and shared things about my prostate cancer journey. If you want the nitty gritty, that’s where you’ll find it.

I’ve healed up really well and still have a ways to go, but all signs so far are positive.

The hardest part on top of the cancer diagnosis and surgery is that following my busiest time of year and getting a major change of pace by going to Gary Con, is that I haven’t felt like I’ve had a break.

As I head into my busiest time of year, I know I won’t be getting away for a real break for a while longer. I imagine there will be a boom of travel as those who have the means will book flights, hotels, and other venues. I get that the whole world needs a break, but I’m responsible for me.

Like the rest of the world, I am tired. I’ve had enough. I’m thankful for gaming and how it got me through. My busy time of year has already been extra busy due to changes to forms, and adding forms we’ve never done before, all due to COVID-19.

I love my family, but do I ever need a break with some real me time away from home. I get that I could rent a hotel room somewhere, but I want to be able to go places and do things. I’m in the at risk category due to health issues. So I’m stuck until I get the vaccine. The funny thing is, I live about ten minutes away from the factory that makes the Pfizer vaccine. I can’t get it before anyone elsewhere in the country or world.

I know that 2020 will lap over into the first few months of 2021. But as the vaccine is distributed and administered, the pandemic will get under control, and we will soon be as close to the old “normal” as possible. 2021 should be a much brighter year. I plan to keep at my efforts with my tiny business. I don’t know what will come of my card game, but the odds are that I will be able to release something in 2021.

Don’t give up. Keep moving forward. Even if you have to take a few steps back, we will get to getter days.

RPGs

Spell Research

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I was asked to read someone’s write up about their rules for AD&D spell research.

Personally, I’ve never had this come up in my campaign. I’ve thought about doing it as a player, but there is always so much going on, there is no time to stop.

The character who does spell research takes themselves out of the XP pipeline, plus has to spend a lot of time and wealth to have a chance at figuring out a new spell.

The older I get the more simplicity I want in RPGs, both as a player and as a GM. Long, complex rules, with multiple variables to add or subtract to get a chance of success.

I think I’ve got a short and simple way to do this.

From page 10 of the AD&D Players Handbook

Bare Bones Version:

Use the percentage to know spell from Intelligence Table II for the target roll required. For clerics and druids, use Intelligence Table II, but use the Wisdom score to get the target number to roll.

Make the cost 1,000 gp per level of the spell per week.

Roll a d6 plus spell level for number of weeks of research required. This gives each level of spell a variable amount of time to crack the secrets of magic.

On success, maybe even on failure, I’d give them XP for the learning experience this was. It might not make up for the amount of treasure and XP they would have gotten on that adventure they missed, but they are not “frozen in time” for XP purposes.

“Complex” Version:

Similar to the above, but require a research library of 1,000 to 2,000 gp per spell level. If your players are rolling in wealth, make it 2,000 gp or more per spell level.

Modify the weekly cost. I’d have the weekly cost be 500 gp per spell level per week with the addition of a research library. Or if players rolling in wealth, make it 1,000 to 2,000 gp per week.

For really powerful spells, especially for combat or some sort of invulnerability, I’d make them have to quest for information that is rare, like only one known book in a lost library. Of course, it would have to fit the campaign and the interest of the players.

What’s The Goal?

My goal is rules simple enough to keep track in my head, plus simple enough to give the players an explanation so they know all they need to know without the GM doing side calculations on variables the player’s don’t know about.

It sucks enough to miss a roll to learn a spell. I really wouldn’t want to be a player sacrificing XP, treasure, and time only to fail. Thus I’d give XP for the coin spent on both success and failure. This might encourage the player to try again.

Of course, characters with higher ability scores, intelligence for magic-users and illusionists and wisdom for clerics and druids, will have a greater chance of success, just as with learning new spells.

If they succeed, they get to name the spell. Perhaps in a future campaign several decades or a few centuries from now, new PCs will come across a scroll or a spell book with some strange new spell. The Players will just eat that up.