Nowhere to Go But Down

As long-time followers of my blog know, I oddly track my gaming year from October to September. Come the end of the September, I recap the things I feel were important over the previous twelve months and try to establish goals for the upcoming year, both reasonable and pipedreams.

Not going to change that anytime soon, but after coming upon Steve Jackson Games' annual Report to the Stakeholders, sometimes you need to unleash a big "YEAH!" and then try to find motivations for future projects.

This past week has been a fun one for the blog, content-wise:

1. Episode One of the Actual Play write-up for my college 2nd Edition AD&D game, Ballad of the Pigeon God launched.  I've gotten 33 episodes transcribed from the journal to blog posts, most in need of some narrative editing and continuity checking.  The first five episodes are all finished and scheduled for Tuesday releases.
2. The family Easter game with Gnome Wars went off without a hitch and posted to the fanfare it usually deserves.  Whether it's fun or slightly historical, my gaming world needs more Gnome Wars.
3. With delay after delay finally behind me, I got a chance to crack open Lettow-Vorbeck 1914-18, play a solitaire game, and write a review of it.  The first mention of the game was in my Apathy column in December 2015, so I assume I picked up my copy at the FLGS by April. That's a year of the ziplock game sitting in my workbag, never even getting a second look.  I've lost the actual count of weeks I've pushed the placeholder draft for the review into the next week, lather, rinse repeat.  This monkey is finally off my back.
4. I've finished two of my big painting projects that have been on my planning list for awhile, and less than two months on the live painting queue.  The South Pacific minis from Pulp Figures will be the big bad guys on the back end of my Lost World Pulp campaign I'm running with the girls.  Outside of maybe doing a few more "blue monkeymen,"   I'm pretty much set for the rest of the storyline.  I daresay I need to start pondering my list for Season Three of the campaign. 

I might as well retire from gaming.  I can't imagine being that productive ever again.  There's nowhere to go but down...

Ever since I snagged up a gnome themed journal for my blogging projects, I've managed to get my pie-in-the-sky plans under control (and has survived receiving the gaming journal for the Pigeon God project).  Between this successful week and trying to plan for the family cruise during the first week in May, my short-time plans has dried up to some wrap-up painting projects and my second longest blogging bugbear, a review of De Horrore Cosmico.

Over the next two and a half weeks, I anticipate a little painting (I'll be downstairs cleaning up the aftermath of the second basement flood anyway), a LOT of time dedicated to the Pigeon God, and a lot of hemming and hawing over what I should be taking on the cruise .  We have a giant balcony this time and I anticipate spending a lot of time out there, relaxing.  

And by relaxing, I mean, working on gaming:

• Reading and reviewing Golden Goblin's Tales of the Caribbean.   
• Writing and Statting up a series of One Sheets for Savage Rifts. 
• Reviewing my source material for episode 2.6-2.12 of the pulp game.  
• Run some Village on the Hill with the girls.  Dice, tokens, paper, and crayons are all getting packed up.  
• Play a whole lotta Zombie Dice!!!

Fear not, dear reader, for I already have material posting during my week out of the country.  To be honest, episode four of the Pigeon God might be the only post of any great substance, but the first week of May is historically not substance filled.  You'll understand once the posts pop up.  

That gives me almost a full month to figure out exactly where things are going through the summer, and what projects, if any, I need to plan out for the Fall convention season.  I expect more Pulp, Gnomes, and Pigeons, with a chance of Mice and Ponies.  

Thus is the life of a gamer Dad.