Like a weird government agency, I track my gaming progress from October of one year to September of the next. Don't ask why, it's just the way I've done things since I started. Too late to change now.
The Blog
Italy and Ukraine? Why do your bots love me so?
The Top Ten Blog Posts of the Last Twelve Months
#1 Wardlings, Toy Aliens, and Post-Gymnastics
#2 (Kickstarter) Shadowrun: Special Ops
#3 Fall-In! 2017 AAR
#4 Cold Wars 2018 AAR
#5 My Historicon 2018 Day-Trip
#6 (Gnome Wars) The Trojan Rabbit
#7 (Review) My Little Pony: Curse of the Statuettes
#8 Ballad of the Pigeon God #56 The Noose Tightens
#9 (Risus) Texas Roadhouse Massacre
#10 (Hackmaster) BT Redux #0.4 - Fonzie
This year was a bigger mess than usual with foreign bots producing page views. Normally they simply hit the home page, but this year one little bot in Italy loved the Shadowrun Kickstarter post, and another one in Ukraine hit my Wardlings post hard, hence their 1-2 rankings. Not that they weren't slightly popular posts to begin with, but they might have barely cracked the Top 25 posts before things went crazy. I've removed the Shadowrun Kickstarter post, and republished the Wardling one under a revised title.
We do get an submission of Gnome Wars with the Trojan Bunny, although it's more ancient and chocolatey than normal.
The Best Laid Plans that Didn't Pan Out:
Cold Wars 2018 - The Curse of what was supposed to be a "Guy's Weekend" seems to be forming a foundation. Read the the post above for details, but Mom is okay, and I did get some cool stuff.
Non-Con Ponies - Damn these sociable kids with all their activities.... and Dad's promotion. While the convention games after working great, sitting back and playing a few games at home would have been great.
Mousling Fantasy - Despite some initial positive reviews by the girls, interest has not been there. I might have to go through GwtG correspondent Mike Lung's list of anthropomorphic animal games for inspiration.
ViscountEric in Real Life - Online gaming has been successful, but it has enabled a lack of Face to Face gaming away from home.
Highlights of 2018:
The Pigeon God Concludes! - Holy crap, I'm amazed and exhausted by the completion of Ballad of the Pigeon God. A little revisionist history to clean up plot holes and general continuity. Of course, this may have inspired me for other project (more to come!)
5e and a little more - I did pick up a 5e PHB (Amazon prices were way too tempting not to). Thirty plus sessions of 5e and my dude is a few scant points from 4th level!
Fall-In! 2018 - Who knew this Father-Daughter con would be the last using the "old" Continental Inn? Gnomes, Lego Pirates, Ants, plus some progress on the Lancaster Hosts' renovation
The "My Little Pony" Eastern Pennsylvania Conventions: Converting my convention GMing to working the Kid's Game Track exclusively has been a double-boon. Lots of different players, the two-hour timeslot is concentrated fun, and every once in awhile, I'll get a no-show table and a short break.
Historicon: A day trip to the real-life Necormunda board known as the Lancaster Host was quite productive. Two games, a small score from the flea market/dealers hall, and Maja got her first Civil War book.
Kickstarters - I had a much larger list to complain about two months ago, but they all pulled through.
OGRE Miniatures - Set 1 - ARRIVED!
Prince Valiant - ARRIVED!
Talislanta: The Savage Land - ARRIVED!
Pizza Dice - ARRIVED!
OgreZine! - ARRIVED!
Macrocosm - Legion of Steel - ARRIVED!
Pulp Alley's Lost World of Lemuria - ARRIVED!
OGRE Miniatures - Set 2 - ARRIVED!
Scenic Grass Tufts - ARRIVED!
Hidden Halls of Hazakor - ARRIVED!
Pelegian Sapper - ARRIVED!
In the Dungeon of the Wizard Lord Keraptis - Pledge Manage submitted.Awaiting Printing.
Flying Circus - Oddly quiet.
Reaper Bones 4 - Pledge Manager wrapped up in early September. Nothing until March 2019 at the earliest. Only grabbing a few things, but I do have Wave 1 shipping.
The Kid's Painting! .
Between the kid's activities, my work hours, and the basement proclivity for water, it's more a case of the kid's stealing my paint for their own nefarious arts and crafts projects. While I have a dozen shades of pink for that very reason, they recently blew through my zap-a-gap, gorilla glue, and even wood gap filler in some plan for artistic world domination. Dad was not please, but I was officially pushed over the edge when one of them decided to use a 20+ year old bottle of Citadel copper on a random plastic egg. Nothing comes close to copper perfection on my minis and it is the oldest bottle of paint that's still good (a bottle of Ral-Partha Aged Metal probably comes close).
My Own Painting
I didn't break a hundred like most other years, but I put up a wild variety of stuff, starting with an immediate distraction into 6mm Sci-Fi (I said this would happen in last year's review. Between "The Box" and the plastic OGRE minis, I would tinker around with the stuff. The biggest project I got finished was the German Schutztruppe, followed by Middle Eastern Civilians, and a full ensemble for Lt Colonel Ovaltine's Rough 'n Ready Riders.
Games:
This was one of the most prolific gaming years since college. Thanks to small games with the girls, an active convention schedule, and regular Monday night games online, I've had a diverse and immersive gaming life. Not only have I played eight new games, but I've continued the streak of running/playing Call of Cthulhu and Gnome Wars each year since 2009.
5th Edition D&D - My gaming world revolves around my Monday online game. Thirty one of my Mondays was dedicated to Falgor the barbarian and his odd companions. At worst, it's an excuse to work on my blog if the plot line strays away from my character (often). At best, it's a combat simulator (it's what my character does best for now). In between I do get to experiment with some of my own stuff, so it's been a great experience. No reason to buy any other 5e products just yet, though.
Pulp - Season three of the Savage Worlds Pulp Game hasn't had the same excitement in the house. Basement issues threatening the terrain, the kid's activities, Dad's exhaustion, or the odd "villains" theme could all play into it. We will complete 12 "episodes" and figure out where we go with the game, if anywhere.
My Little Ponies - Still awestruck with the Pony-mania, although I am behind on getting some of the books. The 2-hour MLP convention slots were brilliant for creating characters and running a quick session for young and old alike
Call of Cthulhu - Medicine Hat College - With a few of the cancellations of my 5e online game, and people NOT in the mood for IOU (I know, the horrors), I shifted some gears and set up a Call of Cthulhu game with two requests for theme (1) Gilligan's Island and (2) one player wanted to play "a native." With no other guidance I made the characters 90's college students in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. The one player with the "native" request? He played the Professor, if he was a member of the First Nations. We've knocked out two sessions of this game, one death, a little madness, and a lot of laughs about outdated technology. Write-ups are forthcoming.
Adventures in Gulluvia - One of the other filler game, BECMI D&D in Gulluvia is now up to 10 write-ups in the distant future... and perhaps someone will finally freakin' level! For a SWAT-style game with little referenced background, I'm quite pleased with the actual role-playing taking place.
Risus - IOU - The original "filler" game, we got "The Culligan" and "The Culligan 2" done with great success
Conventions
Five shows is enough for me!
Fall-In! 2017
Mepacon Fall 2017
Cold Wars
Mepacon Spring 2018
Historicon!!!!!!!!!
2018 Gaming with the Gnomies Awards!
Best Kickstarter: Hidden Halls of Hazakor had great communication throughout, a steady supply of new artwork to whet our appetite, and it arrived from Canada two or three days late from the Scheduled Date at the start of the campaign. One top of all that, it's a mighty meaty book, full of material, and a dungeon larger than some other 5e options.
Worst Kickstarter: Since I'm a reasonable dude who doesn't order the gangbuster pledge levels and almost anticipate minor delays layered onto practical release schedules, everything's been acceptable in my mellow disposition. I did realize that I'm should be getting Golden Goblin Press' Guide to the Carribean in PDF from the Tales of the Caribbean Kickstarter. We are nearing two and half years for this item to be released. I think it's completely free, and I was so satisfied with Tales of the Caribbean that I forgot this even was supposed to be produced. Now it's not Horrors of War or the Invincible Overlord debacles, but I only pledged $1 to get a front row seat to those circuses
Best Game: Texas Roadhouse Massacre using Risus. I believe this was the first introduction for my 5e group into Risus or Illuminati University. They performed admirably.
Best RPG Purchase: History may mark this as the first time I've purchased an in-print D&D Player's Handbook since 1999, but the My Little Pony: Curse of the Statuettes Boxed Set wins.
Best Minis: The "Box o' Minis" I grabbed from the flea market at Fall-In! I've only painted up seven vehicles from the mecha-laden box, but it's a long-term project. Plus, the file container is now used to house my My Little Pony Convention stuff!
Best "Other" Purchase: Maja's Civil War book for a dollar at Historicon.
The Blog
Italy and Ukraine? Why do your bots love me so?
The Top Ten Blog Posts of the Last Twelve Months
#1 Wardlings, Toy Aliens, and Post-Gymnastics
#2 (Kickstarter) Shadowrun: Special Ops
#3 Fall-In! 2017 AAR
#4 Cold Wars 2018 AAR
#5 My Historicon 2018 Day-Trip
#6 (Gnome Wars) The Trojan Rabbit
#7 (Review) My Little Pony: Curse of the Statuettes
#8 Ballad of the Pigeon God #56 The Noose Tightens
#9 (Risus) Texas Roadhouse Massacre
#10 (Hackmaster) BT Redux #0.4 - Fonzie
We do get an submission of Gnome Wars with the Trojan Bunny, although it's more ancient and chocolatey than normal.
The Best Laid Plans that Didn't Pan Out:
Cold Wars 2018 - The Curse of what was supposed to be a "Guy's Weekend" seems to be forming a foundation. Read the the post above for details, but Mom is okay, and I did get some cool stuff.
Non-Con Ponies - Damn these sociable kids with all their activities.... and Dad's promotion. While the convention games after working great, sitting back and playing a few games at home would have been great.
Mousling Fantasy - Despite some initial positive reviews by the girls, interest has not been there. I might have to go through GwtG correspondent Mike Lung's list of anthropomorphic animal games for inspiration.
ViscountEric in Real Life - Online gaming has been successful, but it has enabled a lack of Face to Face gaming away from home.
Highlights of 2018:
The Pigeon God Concludes! - Holy crap, I'm amazed and exhausted by the completion of Ballad of the Pigeon God. A little revisionist history to clean up plot holes and general continuity. Of course, this may have inspired me for other project (more to come!)
5e and a little more - I did pick up a 5e PHB (Amazon prices were way too tempting not to). Thirty plus sessions of 5e and my dude is a few scant points from 4th level!
Fall-In! 2018 - Who knew this Father-Daughter con would be the last using the "old" Continental Inn? Gnomes, Lego Pirates, Ants, plus some progress on the Lancaster Hosts' renovation
The "My Little Pony" Eastern Pennsylvania Conventions: Converting my convention GMing to working the Kid's Game Track exclusively has been a double-boon. Lots of different players, the two-hour timeslot is concentrated fun, and every once in awhile, I'll get a no-show table and a short break.
Historicon: A day trip to the real-life Necormunda board known as the Lancaster Host was quite productive. Two games, a small score from the flea market/dealers hall, and Maja got her first Civil War book.
Kickstarters - I had a much larger list to complain about two months ago, but they all pulled through.
OGRE Miniatures - Set 1 - ARRIVED!
Prince Valiant - ARRIVED!
Talislanta: The Savage Land - ARRIVED!
Pizza Dice - ARRIVED!
OgreZine! - ARRIVED!
Macrocosm - Legion of Steel - ARRIVED!
Pulp Alley's Lost World of Lemuria - ARRIVED!
OGRE Miniatures - Set 2 - ARRIVED!
Scenic Grass Tufts - ARRIVED!
Hidden Halls of Hazakor - ARRIVED!
Pelegian Sapper - ARRIVED!
In the Dungeon of the Wizard Lord Keraptis - Pledge Manage submitted.Awaiting Printing.
Flying Circus - Oddly quiet.
Reaper Bones 4 - Pledge Manager wrapped up in early September. Nothing until March 2019 at the earliest. Only grabbing a few things, but I do have Wave 1 shipping.
The Kid's Painting! .
Between the kid's activities, my work hours, and the basement proclivity for water, it's more a case of the kid's stealing my paint for their own nefarious arts and crafts projects. While I have a dozen shades of pink for that very reason, they recently blew through my zap-a-gap, gorilla glue, and even wood gap filler in some plan for artistic world domination. Dad was not please, but I was officially pushed over the edge when one of them decided to use a 20+ year old bottle of Citadel copper on a random plastic egg. Nothing comes close to copper perfection on my minis and it is the oldest bottle of paint that's still good (a bottle of Ral-Partha Aged Metal probably comes close).
My Own Painting
I didn't break a hundred like most other years, but I put up a wild variety of stuff, starting with an immediate distraction into 6mm Sci-Fi (I said this would happen in last year's review. Between "The Box" and the plastic OGRE minis, I would tinker around with the stuff. The biggest project I got finished was the German Schutztruppe, followed by Middle Eastern Civilians, and a full ensemble for Lt Colonel Ovaltine's Rough 'n Ready Riders.
Games:
This was one of the most prolific gaming years since college. Thanks to small games with the girls, an active convention schedule, and regular Monday night games online, I've had a diverse and immersive gaming life. Not only have I played eight new games, but I've continued the streak of running/playing Call of Cthulhu and Gnome Wars each year since 2009.
5th Edition D&D - My gaming world revolves around my Monday online game. Thirty one of my Mondays was dedicated to Falgor the barbarian and his odd companions. At worst, it's an excuse to work on my blog if the plot line strays away from my character (often). At best, it's a combat simulator (it's what my character does best for now). In between I do get to experiment with some of my own stuff, so it's been a great experience. No reason to buy any other 5e products just yet, though.
Pulp - Season three of the Savage Worlds Pulp Game hasn't had the same excitement in the house. Basement issues threatening the terrain, the kid's activities, Dad's exhaustion, or the odd "villains" theme could all play into it. We will complete 12 "episodes" and figure out where we go with the game, if anywhere.
My Little Ponies - Still awestruck with the Pony-mania, although I am behind on getting some of the books. The 2-hour MLP convention slots were brilliant for creating characters and running a quick session for young and old alike
 |
| When college dudes play My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria, everybody wins... |
Adventures in Gulluvia - One of the other filler game, BECMI D&D in Gulluvia is now up to 10 write-ups in the distant future... and perhaps someone will finally freakin' level! For a SWAT-style game with little referenced background, I'm quite pleased with the actual role-playing taking place.
Risus - IOU - The original "filler" game, we got "The Culligan" and "The Culligan 2" done with great success
Conventions
Five shows is enough for me!
Fall-In! 2017
Mepacon Fall 2017
Cold Wars
Mepacon Spring 2018
Historicon!!!!!!!!!
2018 Gaming with the Gnomies Awards!
Best Kickstarter: Hidden Halls of Hazakor had great communication throughout, a steady supply of new artwork to whet our appetite, and it arrived from Canada two or three days late from the Scheduled Date at the start of the campaign. One top of all that, it's a mighty meaty book, full of material, and a dungeon larger than some other 5e options.
Worst Kickstarter:
Best Game: Texas Roadhouse Massacre using Risus. I believe this was the first introduction for my 5e group into Risus or Illuminati University. They performed admirably.
Best RPG Purchase: History may mark this as the first time I've purchased an in-print D&D Player's Handbook since 1999, but the My Little Pony: Curse of the Statuettes Boxed Set wins.
Best Minis: The "Box o' Minis" I grabbed from the flea market at Fall-In! I've only painted up seven vehicles from the mecha-laden box, but it's a long-term project. Plus, the file container is now used to house my My Little Pony Convention stuff!
Best "Other" Purchase: Maja's Civil War book for a dollar at Historicon.
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