Tag Archives: RPG

Writing

Suggestions To Artists Responding To Calls For Art

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I am not an artist, nor do I make a living from my hobby business —although that is the pipe dream.

As someone who recently put out a call for artists for my card game across my social media and has been inundated with responses, here are some suggestions that would make sorting through them all more helpful to me and more likely that I will pick you.

I replied to or edited my various social media posts to add some clarifications. For future calls for artists, I will definitely include that information up front as that will help artists determine if an inquiry is worth their time, etc.

NOTE: If any working artists have any additions or corrections to these suggestions, I will gladly amend this post.

1.) Have a portfolio page that showcases your art by categories.

If you are just getting started your portfolio will be small. But breaking it down by category lets those looking for an artist know what sort of art they can expect.

Breaking art down by categories makes it easier to see if you might be a good fit.

Some how have reached out only seem to have their art on Instagram, which is just a stream of images and it is hard to tell what categories you work in.

If you draw portraits, character portraits, landscapes, scenes, etc. give it some categories. Also, if you work in only certain media, make that clear.

Take a look at other artists portfolio sites and see what categories they use and if there is a category no one else has, then you may have a new niche you can become the go to artist.

For example, some artists have experience doing Twitch specific art. While that isn’t a card game, I’m renewing my efforts on Twitch, so I will be reaching out to them once I get the card game project into the final stages.

2.) Have a general price sheet.

List the types of things you’ve done and give a fair price for your time, etc.

Don’t let prospective clients lowball you. There should be fair payment for good work.

Explain what you do to get to a final result. For example, initial sketch of idea, final image with X changes, any differences for line art verses full color, etc. Do you require a specific amount up front?

3.) Indicate what methods of payment work for you.

For example, I only send money via PayPal and will not be adding a new method as that just makes things more complex for me. I will make that clear in future requests for art.

One artist that contacted me only accepted payment in some app I’d never heard of. If you only accept one form of payment, make that clear.

If you live in a different country than the person requesting the art, understand how that may affect payment and delivery of the art. Digital art probably won’t be an issue. However, I believe some countries may not allow PayPal.

4.) Ask clarifying questions to help us asking for art do a better job of explaining a project.

As mentioned, when a creator puts out a call for art, we should include enough information to let artists know if this is a job for them.

RPGs

New Project/Reviving Patreon

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I’ve been side tracked from gaming for too long. Work and other things have left me no energy and no enthusiasm for working on any of my various game related endeavors whether it’s my home campaign, this blog, YouTube, my podcast, or planning the next scenario to run at conventions.

I’m working on an idea that’s been rattling around my skull for a couple of years. I’ve had one initial start on it and did another brain dump about it trying to wrap my head around a nebulous idea for my next adventure for UCon in November.

I took a notebook out for a super late lunch as I finally had enough uninterrupted time to knock off a backlog of issues at work. I made notes about my idea and it is something that others may find useful and will help me with future planning.

What the Heck is This Idea? You buried the lede, again….

I have an idea for a campaign framework/builder that will both help me tie together the bulk of the fantasy scenarios I’ve run at cons and be a potential product to put up on DriveThruRPG.

The campaign world idea is for an ocean world with many archipelagos containing islands of all size. It would show some specifics of the general ideas in my World Building Cheat Sheet, with tables for generating various archipelagos and the islands they contain. The campaign world idea would be something to locate my adventures I run at cons and eventually put on DriveThruRPG. The generators would enable others to tweak the setting I create or make their own setting.

I could even expand the framework/builder to cover building any type of world, but that is beyond the original scope.

This idea will also contain a mini campaign I ran on Roll20 for about a dozen sessions and other ideas that don’t fit into my home campaign. I even have an idea for how to work in a West Marches campaign idea I want to run.

But you’ve said in the past that you have an idea and it never materializes

True, but it hit me how I can make this actually happen. If I make a commitment to an actual schedule, I can make it happen. For the Wednesday night Roll20 game I play in we are on the 3rd campaign since March, 2014. I was the only player to make every game of the first campaign. I had to drop out of the second campaign after about a dozen sessions for a family issue, but came back for the last dozen sessions. For the current campaign, I was on track to make every session, but about 6 weeks ago, work left me with a killer headache, so I missed one session.

I will commit to once a week, ever Friday night to stream on Twitch from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM Eastern to share my work as I transcribe scribbled notes, build tables, and develop ideas as I work my convention scenarios into this world. I will start tonight (Friday, August 8, 2025 as close to 8pm Eastern as possible.)

These scenarios already exist in a nebulous “convention world” in my mind. In my mind’s eye I can see how they can each fit into one or more of the archipelagos I envision for this more organized campaign world.

In addition to Twitch streaming, I will post updates and actual PDFs for Patrons on Patreon. I will also blog about progress and eventual PDFs on DriveThruRPG. This will also lead to something on YouTube and my podcast.

But what about the card game?

I know that the card game has been dragging on. I got a fantastic layout for the cards, but now it far exceeds the art I have. I don’t want to use AI as many I know would not buy it if I did, let alone I don’t support AI for what it has done to the artists it stole from. Unless there is an ethical AI trained on public domain art and public domain text, I will have no part in it.

So the search is on for an artist. Any artists who want to do art for my card game can hit me up. There are 40 unique card types, so I need 40 pieces of art.

I have funds set aside to pay, it just depends on how much it costs. This will control how quickly I can release the game. Ideally, I’d love to have it available at Gary Con in March, 2026. But anytime sooner is better.

There is a possibility of some form of crowdfunding, but details are forthcoming.

If I am active online in some game development capacity, I am more likely to get traction on locating an artist to do this art. It needs to be color art that matches the look and feel of the layout I have. It is powerful and really does something for the game. That is one skill I do not have.

If you are an artist or know an artist who might be interested, please contact me.

Why is it different this time?

My day job has used up too much of my time, creativity, and patience. I got a great raise and some new responsibilities this year. I am now the team lead, but my team, and me have been jerked around by the whims of the corporate life of a publicly traded company.

My desire it to retire at the end of 2026, but it depends on a few factors. I’ll be 62, the minimum age to draw Social Security. However, my house isn’t paid for and I have some other debt. If I can clear my other debt, I think I can still manage my house payment. Worse case scenario, I’d either have to sell my house – then try to figure out where the heck I’d live. Or I’d have to keep working another year or two.

I’m tired of using up all my mental and creative energy solving constant problems at work. It has been made clear to me that continuing to do so will not reward me with more time to game or express my creative ideas, so I am putting a stop to giving too much to the day job.

One thing I have considered it getting a second job to clear my debts, etc.

But then it hit me, I have an LLC I created for Follow Me, And Die! Entertainment, LLC. Why not see what I can do to both have more time with my hobby and make some money. At a minimum, I can actually do something about sharing the many ideas I have for the game. If I can make a little money, even better.

So What’s The Schedule for This?

I will commit to every Friday on Twitch from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM Eastern. I may to longer, or start sooner, or stream on additional days. I will announce if circumstances require me to miss a Friday.

This starts tonight for the first session. It will be disorganized for this first session, but I don’t want to lose momentum. I have less than an hour to post this, announce it across my socials, and locate my initial types notes to transcribe my notes I made at the restaurant.

So come join me! I welcome an opportunity to share ideas and answer questions.

RPGs

OGL Rollercoaster – End of the Ride?

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The end of 2022 was full of rumbles about the OGL, but WOTC said it would be OK.

January, 2023 soon revealed WOTC’s (Wizards of the Coast) claims that all was OK were soon proven to be a lie.

Third Party Publishers and fans of games unrelated to D&D that used the OGL 1.0a took a stand and prominent people on various social media took a stand. In my experience, Twitter and YouTube were the prominent sources of the latest information and links to articles, as well as discussions.

While the OGL 1.0a was useful for those wanting to use D&D idea and even for those making totally unrelated games, I don’t use the OGL. I did put it on 3 products that didn’t need it, since my stuff was all my own creation, so I removed the OGL 1.0a from those products as it was a wasted page.

Things took a sudden turn the other day and after relaying that I explore a bit of encouragement to try other RPGs that aren’t D&D or its clones.

Surprise!

Now WOTC has apparently waived the white flag of unconditional surrender. [Internet Archive Link so it doesn’t vanish.] They said that they will not attempt to de-authorize OGL 1.0a AND they released the D&D 5e SRD 5.1 under a Creative Commons license.

Having the SRD 5.1 under an irrevocable CC license that also allows anyone to use it, change it, sell it, etc. as long as they give proper attribution means that a LOT of content is now free and available forever.

The one caveat is one must avoid Trademark infringement. If you use the SRD 5.1 you can’t say it is compatible with D&D or Dungeons & Dragons like you can do if you don’t use SRD 5.1. You can say it is compatible with 5e.

The biggest thing it opens up is the use of 5e style stat blocks and monster stat blocks and descriptions. While it does include the names of some previously taboo monsters and proper names, the state blocks and art of those are not included. Some of them are supposed to be trademarked. So while you can use the name, you must provide your own unique explanation of what they are if you want to make “safe” presentations of them in somethin you publish.

There is NO EFFECT on your home games, or even your streamed games.

Moving Forward

Many efforts such as the ORC License and Kobold Press’s Project Black Flag, and many others are still moving forward. WOTC has burnt the bridge of goodwill and realized it is too late for their biggest fans and supporters to join them. While some have decided this move by WOTC is enough for them and they will continue or return to D&D, so many see WOTC as an unreliable corporate entity.

The ORC License and Project Black Flag and others are continuing the course they feel WOTC forced them to take.

The biggest beneficiaries of the whole mess have been the third party publishers, like Paizo, Kobold Press, Goodman Games, Troll Lord Games, and many smaller shops and individuals. Paizo is said to have sold 6 months of product in two weeks and are out of stock of their Pathfinder 2e books. Paizo was poised to regain the ground it lost to D&D 5e. Back when D&D 4e came out, many flocked to Paizo. Now history repeats itself.

I’ve never played Pathfinder, and sadly, poor experience from players in organized Pathfinder Play at conventions have turned me off to it. I don’t care for organized play anyway. Plus I already have a large number of RPGs I received through Kickstarter Projects that I have yet to play.

Play Other RPGs

Many have pointed out that Pathfinder’s evolution from D&D 3e makes it “just a clone” of D&D and that there are other games besides D&D and its clones.

For RPG players that have only ever played D&D 5th Edition they are unaware of other RPGs and may have reservations about trying something different.

I want to join in those encouraging people to play games other than D&D and their clones. I still run and play other old TSR RPGs, plus newer RPGs. As I mentioned above, I have several RPGs from Kickstarters I’ve backed, but have never played them. I hope to rectify that. I have stopped backing Kickstarters for new RPGs, so at least I have a smaller target of games to squeeze in.

I began playing RPGs back in 1977 when the Holmes Blue Box Basic came out. We played many other TSR RPGs that existed & new ones as they came out. My peer group of players in high school formed the Science Fiction Book Club to get around the Satanic Panic nuts and mostly played new RPGs or rotated GMs in the library after school. The librarian was our sponsor. We also dabbled at least once in several other non-TSR RPGs either at each other’s homes or the school library.

The one thing that turned me off to some new games was the person running them loved them but didn’t yet have the skills to convey them and in those cases didn’t play the game again.

I’ve played even more since 2014 when I attended cons regularly.
Since D&D was my first RPG, it sort of defined what an RPG was and hit harder than all the others. I was more of a science fiction fan back then, but still played more AD&D than any other RPG.

I still run and play older versions of D&D. However, I will run more non-WOTC games in the future.

Check this link for my “Game Stack” of RPGs I have played and which I have one shots ready.

NOTE: I am not able to run them at present, but will let people know. I may do a monthly or weekly rotation to go through past one-shots I’ve run at conventions.

My Experience Trying New To Me RPGs

These are things game designers, character sheet designers, and GMs need to keep in mind.

My biggest issue with picking up RPGs that are new to me is the rules. This is true due to my aging brain not making sense of some rules as I could in my teens and 20s. If I can’t figure out how to generate and fill out a character sheet in short order, it turns me off. If a character sheet has information that is needed during combat (or the equivalent bulk of play in an RPG) but it is on the BACK of the character sheet, I won’t have an enjoyable session as I am fighting against the character sheet.

Both of the above examples are from my experience with D&D 5e. I tried generating a character and filling out the official character sheet and I had to jump from section to section and one piece of information (passive perception as I recall) I struggled to find in the Player’s Handbook, but found it in the Starter Set. Character generation should be a two page spread and should walk through filling out the official character sheet. Jumping around is unhelpful.

The character sheet issue was one where level abilities were on the back of the character sheet. In my first convention game playing 5e I didn’t figure out until the last round of combat that my character had advantage on initiative. That is something that should be on the front of the sheet. It wasn’t an official WOTC D&D 5e sheet as I recall, but then maybe it was. It’s been a while.

The other issue with picking up a D&D 5e character that has lots of level based abilities and maybe a level of another class makes them have so many options that I don’t see how to play them effectively if you didn’t rise up through each level and played a few sessions with that character to figure out all the things. Every high level character I ever had I played them as they improved and gained spells, spell levels, items, etc. so I knew how to play them and do all that they could do in a given situation.

Things like this have encouraged me to gravitate to simpler systems. Slot based or usage die based encumbrance is one. As a player of older RPGs my character sheet doesn’t inform what I can do. I am used to being able to attempt anything. Success is not necessarily guaranteed. Having a rule for everything is impossible. I want to play, not spend time fussing with trying to do everything “by the book.”

I hate it when GMs say, “Your character can’t do X because….” or they don’t even give a reason. Anyone should be able to wear armor, swing a sword, try to pick a lock, climb a wall, etc. Just because your character never studied to specialize doesn’t mean they can’t even try.

Because of this, I much prefer the Yes/And, No/But, and Maybe approach. If there isn’t an official rule to allow something, I’m OK with a mutually agreed method of adjudication. Perhaps if RPGs suggested how a GM and Players can have a mutual way to do this it would satisfy those who need a rule for everything.

The point is don’t be afraid to try new things. Some RPGs you won’t like. Try them under different GMs to ensure it wasn’t the GM presenting it poorly. One should try to play with different GMs and players anyway. It is easiest to do this at your local game store and at conventions. I always learn something from playing with different GMs and seeing the way they run their games. Similarly with different players I see how they approach different situations.

As a GM running the same one shot at one or more conventions with different groups of players at each one, it is amazing how the same scenario ends up being totally different when a different mix of players, characters, and their choices make the game. Players ALWAYS see solutions I would never think of, so I present problems for them to solve and reasonable solutions will work. Some may not be assured of success, but I give them a roll when there is a chance of failure.

Just remember, games are supposed to be fun. More fun is had when we respect each other and use our manners. Safety tools is party of that. If you can’t be kind to others at the table, then get some help to figure out why you can’t be kind. Being a jerk to a fellow human being is not fun. If you act like a jerk and use the excuse, “But that’s what my character would do.” you are NOT welcome at my table. If I’m a player, I’ll call it out and if there is no change, I will walk. If I’m the GM, I’ll call it out and if there is no change, you will walk. Enough of us humans are jerks to ourselves, we don’t need your help. Either be kind to others or go learn some solo RPGs where you can be a jerk to others in you own limited creativity.

RPGs

Helping Others Game Online

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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.