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Cards

Moving Forward With The Card Game

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I am ramping up to do the Kickstarter for my card game in May, 2021. The plan is for fulfillment by November, 2021. (I don’t want it interfering with my busy time of year at the day job.)

Plans were in place to do it in 2020, but 2020 threw the world a curveball, and then I had a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Cancer is an attention whore, so all my plans unraveled.

I had that sucker cut out, and so far the first blood test is clear, my next one is in a month, another in June, and the final in September. If they’re all clear, I’m done, no radiation or chemo needed.

My artist is working on the new art. The base deck will be the original public domain art that others have seen at the various conventions I’ve demoed and play tested it.

The rules are down to one US Letter size page.

I printed a test deck last spring, and had the icons way too small. So I’ll be correcting that.

My plan is to have a sample deck ready for those who indicated they’d plug the KS when the time comes. I want you to have time to play it before you plug it.

The public domain art version will be on DriveThruCards [Affiliate Link]. The commissioned art will be Kickstarter backers only – unless a stretch goal is met. (I reserve the right to use the art I purchased full rights to for other projects.)

If you want an email when the KS launches, join the KS announcement only mailing list here: https://followmeanddie.com/sign-up-for-kickstarter-updates/

Help

I put out a request on Twitter and other social media for information on Backerkit or similar service.

https://twitter.com/followmeanddie1/status/1361336404073213955
RPGs

Dragon Name Generator

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I just uploaded my twenty-first PDF to DriveThruRPG: Dragon Name Generator [Affiliate Link]. It has been almost exactly a year since I released my last new PDF.

This PDF is $1.00, but the first 100 customers with a prior purchase that allow DriverThruRPG to email them have a 50% discount coupon link.

I created a table that puts together an initial consonant, a middle syllable, and an ending syllable. A roll of d8, d10, and d20 can generate a name. This creates names that to me sounds like the name of a dragon.

In addition, I have links in the PDF to a Google Sheet that will do the random generation, and a link to a zip file for a Windows PowerShell script.

I have ideas of related things to expand this PDF, such as a table of “Why Is the Dragon Out & About?”

What other kinds of things do you want to know about a dragon? I won’t be duplicating treasure generation, since that is covered by most rulesets.

RPGs

Non-Combat Solutions

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I’ve grown tired of combat. I prepare scenarios and some of them beg for combat, such as a hungry animal or ravenous monster. However, others don’t necessarily require combat leading to the wounding or death of an opponent.

The XP for monsters is typically viewed as killing, but can include avoiding a fight, tricking, distraction, etc.

As a GM, I am always open to creative solutions from my players. Quite often, they come up with ideas that never occurred to me. Partly because I don’t memorize all their character’s abilities and especially don’t memorize what spells they have memorized. Players often miss what I think is a good solution, like those I think may be a possible obvious option. But then that is a trap for all GMs since we have all the information.

I let the players dictate what they think a solution is. The more complex their plan, and I don’t have to do anything to make it fail. Simple and straightforward plans may succeed automatically. Some may have a chance of failure, so I may have some sort of dice roll.

I can challenge my players in combat situations with large numbers, giving tough creatures maximum hit points, magic items, environmental settings, and the like. However, no matter how much I challenge players in combat, there has only been one combat that I was rolling high and they were rolling low. That was the closest I’ve come to a TPK in 40 years.

I don’t want to kill the characters, but I want my monsters to last longer and be more feared. But I also don’t want to continue having one or more combats every session. I can control part of that, so as GM I need to both lead by example and present other options to players.

There is a big push in RPGs to get away from race as a trope and some races being all bad or all good. I agree with that and prefer ancestry or kin vs. the term race since the word is loaded with so much historical misuse.

Related to that is combat and killing. I don’t see as big a deal made about combat & killing. There are complaints about trophy hunting in the real world, but many seem to have no issue with it in a game. I’m a long time gamer and don’t have problems knocking down plastic soldiers, defeating cardboard chits in a board game, or killing imaginary beings and creatures in an RPG. I’ve just grown tired of the sameness of it.

One option to dissuade the rush to combat is to make it much more lethal. More likely one shot or one hit death would make players think before risking their character. Removing a growing pool of hit points or re-thinking them is part of that. I shared a bit of how I envision that in this article and a follow up article.

The solution requires both the GM and the players.

I Need A Checklist

What I really want is a general list of ways that players can achieve a goal without ALWAYS fighting.

Some examples of avoiding a fight that are clearly baked into the rules from day one:

  • Reaction Checks
  • Charm Spells
  • Picking Locks & Picking Pockets
  • Evading Pursuit/Fleeing
  • Hiding
  • Sneaking
  • Dropping or Offering Food
  • Trade
  • Bribes/Protection Money
  • Traps
  • Tricks

Usually, a failure on one of these then leads to combat. Those things don’t bother me as much as assume combat.

I need to stop and remind myself to verify whether I am assuming combat and how much encounter distance influences whether there is a fight.

But What About Grappling?

Grappling is still combat.

Same with tranquilizer darts, and the like that require a “combat light” mode.

Other Means:

The prior list includes the below list. In the following, I am trying to distill it down to the major varieties of non-combat options. Specific options should be able to fit in one or more of them.

  • Lures, Diversions, & Tricks
    • This can include food, PCs or NPCs as bait/distraction, shiny baubles, fake larger force or fake bigger monster, etc.
  • Communication, Bargaining, Trade
    • There are many ways to influence a reaction roll, or do better on a second check.
  • Stealth
    • Can be either natural or magical. Be careful & be sneaky.
  • Information
    • Either by recon of the location to learn how to avoid a fight, or seeking a source of information whether a person or book.
  • Traps
    • Can be non-lethal to occupy or divert the monster or force guarding the item. Knock out gas is an option.
  • GMs can devise obstacles that are not NPCs or monsters.
  • What are other non-combat means of overcoming a challenge without combat?

What Is The Item of Value or Importance?

The item can be:

  • A person, such as a prisoner or someone who is lost or disappeared, or some mysterious NPC or group.
  • Information in a book, written on a wall, or in some other item whether magical or technological, clues to a mystery, or a secret.
  • Something valuable, whether gold & gems, or magic & technology, or anything relatively portable with value.
  • What other categories are there for “objects” adventurers might seek?

It’s Probably Been Done Before

I’m sure there are probably one or more RPGs that already have a long history of specific non-combat solutions. I am not aware of them.

I’m interested in the names of any such games and where to find them. If they are out of print and there is no affordable legal PDF available, a non-infringing summary of the mechanics or lists of options would be good. (One cannot copyright a game, but the expression of the rules can be copyrighted.)

I’m also interested in your experience with these rules and if there are mechanics how portable are they across various RPGs. Or are they just lists or tables with options for non-combat encounters and scenarios?

Have you crafted your own mechanics, lists, or tables to help with session prep and worldbuilding? I like to know about them.

RPGs

Magical Protections

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A few weeks ago in my AD&D campaign, an NPC used a scroll of Protection From Magic. This is a very powerful scroll and is easy to mis-adjudicate in play. This was the first time I had encountered this scroll in play either as a player or DM. As usual, one learns best by doing, and I did some follow up research after the session on similar spells and effects to better understand it.

A scroll of Protection From Magic negates all active spells, and has a 50% chance to remove the magic from permanent magic items. This even applies to magic the user of the scroll possesses, with a 5 foot radius.

Minor Globe of Invulnerability and Globe of Invulnerability are one way areas of magical protection. The caster can cast spells and spell effects out of these spheres of protection, but spells of the stated levels cannot affect the caster.

Anti-Magic Shell stops the function of all magic even that of the caster. Breath weapons, gaze and voice attacks, magic items, and spells. Magic weapons still fork as normal weapons within the shell. It is only the bonus to hit and damage and any other magic effect that is blocked. It blocks charmed, conjured, and summoned creatures from entering.

The DMG [Affiliate Link] has a note that creatures on their home plane would be considered normal creatures.

Dispel Magic would be useless against Anti-Magic Shell. Brute force or waiting for the minimum 2 hours for the spell to cease. A 6th level spell requires at least a 12th level magic-user, and this spell lasts 1 turn per level, a turn being 10 minutes.

I supposed the DM can allow Dispel Magic and other spells to counteract the Anti-Magic Shell. What happens when two casters, either friends or foes each have an active Anti-Magic Shell?

I see the options as being:

  • Nothing
  • Cancel each other out while their areas of effect overlap.
  • Double Effect? (Not sure how that’d work.)
  • Reduce effect? (Not sure how that’d work.)
  • Determine difference in caster level and adjudicate similar to Dispel Magic
  • Each caster has to roll a save vs. magic for their Anti-Magic Shell to survive interacting with another Anti-Magic Shell.
  • Something unexpected happens like a rift in space time and all within 30 feet have to make a save or get sucked in.
    • Many variations on the unexpected could require a table to roll on what happens.

Creatures

Beholder’s Central Eye – This creature’s large, central eye has an Anti-Magic Ray. In the first edition Monster Manual [Affiliate Link], it does not specify how this works. In practice, I think all assume it removes the magic from any item in the path of this ray. This is why beholders are so feared.

Beholders first appeared in the OD&D Greyhawk Supplement with the same simple description of what the large, central eye does, but no explanation to help a DM adjudicate it.

The effects logically would be like the spell of the same name, but the duration or a ray is instantaneous. So permanent magic items would be nerfed for the round they were in the ray, is how I would interpret it.

Other Types Of Protection From Magic

My past article, Magical Protections in AD&D, was the third part in a series relating to undead in AD&D, and thus was focused on protections from Undead that included summoned creatures.

RPGs

Helping Others During Isolation & Quarantine

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Last night (March 18, 2020), I mentioned to my patrons on Patreon, that I am not dependent upon their backing. I suggested that they consider backing the Patreons of creatives who rely on their Patreons to pay their bills. I then shared that across my social media.

I also mentioned that I had gotten too wrapped up in trying to keep up with what is going on with COVID-19. It was a huge, distracting time sink. It also fouled my mood. I need to step away from that.

[My prostate cancer diagnosis derailed my focus and I never published this way back in the early weeks of the pandemic. Since the pandemic isn’t over, it isn’t too late to share these thoughts. I’m not sure I’ll do anything with my list unless a lot of people indicate an interest in a certain topic.]

What Can I Do?

As I thought more about it, ideas of what else I can do to help more broadly than boosting my patronage of a few Patreons. I thought of all the things I know how to do that can add some variety to what I can share. As I thought, one other thing that occured to me was that I should challenge others to make their own lists of things they can share.

This is not limited to parlor games, board games, and Table Top RPGs. I’ve seen my YouTube channel have a huge increase in people suddenly searching for help getting started with Roll20 so their in person group can still play. I’ve had people seek assistance getting started so they can prep for their Virtual Gary Con games.

I will still talk about games on the blog, podcast, YouTube & Twitch channels. But I want to do more. So I am sharing my list of things I’ll list to talk about, and will share if there is interest.

There won’t be soup lines in this one, so those who have will need to share.

I encourage all tiny Patreons to encourage their followers to go support the Patreons of creators who rely on their Patreon to pay the bills.

My List

I know how to do a lot of different things and have some skills that some may want to know about.

  • The obvious RPG & Gaming stuff.
  • Sharing how to use Roll20 & other VTTs and resources to game online.
  • Opening up a new online game for new players. By that, I mean new players looking to learn how to play RPGs.
  • I’m leaning towards releasing the card game to both DriveThruCards [Affiliate Link] and GameCrafter with the free art to get it out. I don’t have the mental and emotional bandwidth to run a Kickstarter during a pandemic. I can do a Kickstarter later with the new art. This will give my artist more time to produce it.
  • Suggest little things we can do to assist and encourage one another.
  • Share my knowledge & experience with a world ill prepared for everyone staying home.
    • How to cook. I’ve got a back burner project that was a joke in college, but with serious practicality, The Bachelor’s Guide To Home Cooking. My parents taught me how to cook. I may have some tips others will find helpful.
    • How to clean. It’s amazing how many don’t seem to know how to do this.
    • How to do laundry. Maybe not, but some adults don’t know how to do this.
    • I was a volunteer firefighter/EMT way back when. All my licenses and certifications are long expired. I don’t have many good stories.
    • Life hacks. I don’t have many, but some may find them helpful.
  • Be a listening ear on a live stream. It’s amazing how many need someone to listen. Now more than ever as we are isolated, or confined with family or roommates, we need a variety of others.
  • I have a BA in History. I focused on the ancient near east, the Greco Roman period, middle ages, and Europe up to WWII. I’ve also studied colonial North America, the American Revolution, Civil War, and westward expansion.
  • Genealogy. I find it fascinating to identify when and where my ancestors were in a given time frame and relate that to historic events. I started a genealogy blog several years ago, and did the A to Z blogging challenge on that blog and this blog simultaneously.
  • I have had many comments on the sound of my voice. Many find it soothing. I have ideas to go along with that.
    • Reading a public domain short story or poetry. Maybe even something I’ve written.
    • Hypnosis or a Calming Voice. (No, I’m not starting an ASMR channel.)

What Can All Of Us Do?

-OR-

What can I do to help others in an isolation or quarantine scenario?

  • I suggest we all make a list of what we can do.
  • Order something for your elderly, disabled, or poor neighbors from an online retailer or restaurant, since you can’t go there in person.
  • Leave a note of gratitude for the mail carriers and delivery people.
  • Cheer on the healthcare, janitorial, and sanitation workers you know. Not just the ones among your family and friends.
  • Be kind to those who work in retail. Especially those at grocery stores.
  • Keep your house clean and organized to maximize the living space and minimize the things you have to worry about.
  • The sudden inability to do things is a lesson that we should always do things at the time they are needed. Don’t put off the laundry, if you use a laundry mat. Don’t put off grocery shopping because you hate it. Don’t put off visiting your aging relatives as you never know when you’ll see them again.
  • Take this time to figure out what is truly important to you.
  • If you are out of work and money is tight or non-existent, don’t be too proud to share your need. I’m sure food banks, houses of worship, and other non-profits will soon be out of resources until the supply chain catches up.
  • If you are blessed with a surplus of cash or other resources, share as you are able.
  • If you’re worried about the long-term food situation, now is the perfect time to be planning a garden. You can lay out cardboard in your yard to kill off the grass to make it easier to work it. Research methods that take little water. There’s a lot of good stuff on YouTube.

RPGs

Hopefully Not My Penultimate Post

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This is hilarious. I went to all the trouble to write this post and I managed to not post it before I went in for surgery back in August, 2020. I intended to record a companion podcast episode, but didn’t manage that either. I’m still doing great and slowly improving. I decided to publish this now as these sentiments still hold true. The following is as I should have published it.

Tomorrow I go in for surgery for prostate cancer. My personal plan and desire it to wake up after 4 hours of surgery in discomfort from multiple incisions from laparoscopic robotic surgery. I then plan to take a couple weeks off work and other activities to rest and heal up so I can keep running, playing, and making RPG stuff.

I’m a planner, so I have drafted “My Last Post.” I hope it’s something that will gather dust in my long list of unpublished blog posts and won’t be needed for many years, hopefully decades from now.

I just want you all to know that I have enjoyed the discussions, meeting at conventions, and of course, all the games.

I like being alive and experiencing life, so I will be very disappointed if my run ends so soon. I really want to see how this whole pandemic thing plays out. I also want to get my card game out. I flubbed on the test decks I made. I could have my son make those live, and just live with the results. I failed to overcome the existential and emotional inertia the lock down and news of having cancer hit me with. That’s really my one regret.

I appreciate all of you.

Be nice, love and respect one another, even if you’re different. How boring would RPGs be if there were only one choice for PCs, only one die to roll, only one type of player, and only one RPG.

May the gatekeepers slam their dicks in their gate and lose the key. Remember, their sad rickety gate is easy to just walk around. They are so focused on making you acknowledge their power over this sad gate, that they forget you can just walk around and avoid their nonsense.

Don’t give up the fight for all to have their rights respected and be treated equally. May all those who love to spew hate, choke on it instead and thus fall silent.

I’ll share on social media as soon as I’m able. Until then, no news is good news. Game on!

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.

RPGs

Why Follow ME, And Die!

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For those new to my blog, podcast, and YouTube channel, I wanted to explain where Follow Me, And Die! comes from.

Origins

Back in the mid 80’s my brother, Robert, started up a new campaign while I was off at my freshman year of college. Over Thanksgiving break, I rolled up a character, Griswald, a half-elf Cleric/Fighter/Magic-User. We went through four years of game time in four days.

Over the next few years, until after grad school, we played a lot. Griswald was always going off to fight and monsters and other enemies. He would hire all the mercenaries he cold find. From the first fight he did this and for many after, he would be the last one standing, or only have a couple of mercenaries left.

One day, I said in frustration to my brother, Robert, the DM, that it wasn’t fair he couldn’t find mercenaries.

Robert quickly replied, “Well it’s like this, word has gotten out and it’s like ‘Follow Me, And Die!'” That was both true and funny.

The first time most of my mercenaries lived to see victory, it was a shock to us all. That success has repeated ever since. Not always a sure thing, but Griswald has managed to hold his own.

Choosing A Name

In 2009 when I decided to start a blog, I needed a name and “Follow Me, And Die!” was the perfect name. It expressed a truth about my favorite D&D character’s experience, and meshed perfectly with my sense of humor. What better name for a social media brand than “Follow Me, And Die!”

You can here the companion podcast here, or watch the companion YouTube video here.

Here are two older articles talking about Follow Me, And Die!

Why “Follow Me And Die!”?

The Story Behind “Follow Me, And Die!”