Where Have I Been?

Avoiding Internet Society

I abandoned my Twitter account shortly after Christmas last year as a gift to both my wife, and myself. I think it’s apparent the struggle I’ve had with social media over the years. Lately, keeping my head down is all that I can do to stay sane. The world is on fire and it’s hard for me to not feel overwhelmed with existential dread, and guilt for having brought children into the world. The discourse of our time is so binary and always juxtaposed in such a way that any given debate is portrayed as only being able to have 2 possible solutions or outcomes and I refuse to be part of it anymore. The witch hunts, virtue signaling, and pointless debates with people deeply rooted in the tribalism and mouth-open-ears-shut mentality of Twitter’s environment decrease my will to live on a regular basis, especially from the DG account. There is a stigma attached to it and I’m not sure if it’s possible to wash off at this point.

All that said, the account isn’t truly gone, but its buried under several layers of obscurity so that if i wanted to get back into it, I’d have one hell of a time doing so. I do miss some of my friends there and exchanging funny DMs and at times, keeping up with the RPG-verse in the very in-depth, granular method I was used to, but at this point my psyche still can’t take it.

Stygian Illumination

Of course I’m not completely removed from social media either. I’m just choosing to use it like a business tool for Black Candle Games and for occasionally sharing cool things I find elsewhere online. Of course piloting the ship over at Black Candle and trying to make it worthwhile for our few Patrons that support us has been no small task. I’ve been sourcing art and revising play test documents for the past month and a half in preparation of Winter Fantasy and demo’ing the game I’ve been working on for the past year.

We also have several other projects in the works and we’re hoping that 2020 will be our year to really flicker to life. It’s an interesting and intimidating time, but I’m convinced to focus on creative endeavors more than ever this year. The focus will remain on Shadow of the Demon Lord content, but we’ll also be creating some OSR / System Neutral material as well. We’ve been exploring more indie games as well and are have several games on deck we are playing right now that fall right in line with our aesthetic, including Mork Borg, Mothership, the Fallout 2d0 beta, and Symbaroum (which is free today, go get it!).

It’s Okay Though, I Still Love D&D

My relationship with the game that started all of this has grown, evolved, withered, and outright changed over the past near 10 years since this blog began. It weighs on my heart that the current state of official D&D products and staff aren’t ones that I can really get behind, but there are plenty of folks out there still making fantastic content for the game.

I’m still playing and creating / publishing material for D&D 5e in the form of an upcoming adventure for Kobold Press, yet to be announced. I’m also still blogging semi-regularly but that’s also for Kobold Press. Part 3 of my series on the 4th pillar of RPGs is actually fresh off the presses today where I’m discussing game balance, or the lack thereof. The article series is titled “The 4th Pillar” because, Spoiler alert, the 4th pillar is just fun. I feel like those of us in this hobby sometimes forget that the basis for it all is escapism and fun. There’s a lot of hangups on simulation, balance, rules-depth, and now how stream-worthy things are now. Which is unfortunate, but it is what it is.

Reality Injection

Instead of looking outward to what was, or what could have been, or may be, I’m simply focused on creating the content that I would enjoy and writing for people who might also follow the same beat as I do.

I can’t promise to make blogging here a regular thing again, as I have in the past and always said I was going to be more regular about it. I’m at a point in my life and career now that there are just too many other things going on to regularly write here. The difference between now and a few years ago is, I’ve stopped lying to myself about it. So, if you stick around I’ll always be here in some capacity with an occassional blog post here or there about what’s been on my mind, or a new game to review or issue to address. You can reach me on the Black Candle Twitter account, on discord, via email, and tons of other ways.

Until next time though, I wish you all only the best, and in the words of an old friend who I still think about every time I make a blog post – may you all game excellently with one another.

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