Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Save vs. G+, Blogging, Killing Lolth, the Greyhawk Campaign and Other Projects

With the announcement of the impending death of G+, the online OSR & DIY gaming community seems to have quickly and largely settled on MeWe as its tentative new hub of activity. While there have been some concerns raised about the alt-right presence on the site, I don't see an issue as you don't have to friend or see anyone you don't want to and the goddamn alt-right is going to have a presence anywhere. You can friend me on MeWe at: mewe.com/i/james.smith227

There's been a lot of talk about revitalizing the blogosphere. Also, some people are certainly choosing other venues than MeWe, or none at all. With an OSR diaspora on our hands, my former OSR News post series might be of use again. I'm considering revising it.

The links to my gaming stuff should all be valid again. Somewhere over there, on the left.

I'm also currently looking into starting a YouTube channel, as there isn't enough OSR content available over there, yet. My son and I have been talking about starting a Podcast, which might be an interesting venture. He's been DMing for some of his friends, as well as for me on occasion and I think his fresh perspective combined with my own middle aged one might make for a good show.

I'm also currently working on a module. No expected arrival date. Maybe next month. Maybe next year.

On the gaming front, my son's MU, Merlin killed Lolth last week, with help from those shady
dwarves from the Kron hills, he hangs with. On the way back to the Prime Material, they accidentally got side tracked in Arcadia for a few minutes and one of the dwarves, Theron, saw Mount Clangeddin and is now convinced he has to atone for his many and varied sins. After days of soul searching, he was reminded of the dwarven bastion he saw when on Lolth's plane and has decided Clangeddin wants him to go to their aid. He demanded that Merlin aid him in this endeavor, in return for the many times he has fought at the MU's side. So, we'll see how that turns out.

Running a Greyhawk campaign has been a lot of fun. I've picked up so many bits and pieces of the lore over the past 35 years, but this is the first time I've actually ran a game in the setting. All of that material got reshuffled and properly organized in a rather enjoyable process. Most of the campaign has taken place in the area in and around the Kron hills. Merlin has convinced the Chief of the Dwarven stronghold of Balak-Tor to allow him to build a Tower in the mountains near their demesne, so once his latest adventure is over he gets to plan out his tower and pay through the nose for dwarven architects and builders. So, my son will get a proper introduction to the AD&D endgame and we'll start moving towards retiring the campaign. He wants to make it to 18th level before ending it, of course, so things aren't going to wind up too soon. He's 13th level now, so I can see the current campaign running for another year, or close to it.