Hello October

Hello October!

As we head into my favorite month I find myself thinking about all of the fun I had recently and well… the future too.

...What’s ahead of me.

You see, this October is different.

This October I turn 40.

A sketch I did in a communal drawing prompt book that my friend Karin brought to the cabin.

I don’t feel upset or bad about that. It’s just like; “woah, I guess we are hear now.” I can’t help but do a little bit of reflecting on things. A big thing for me over the last year is that I have been doing a lot of work on my mental health.

I am entering my 40’s on a more stable footing than in my 30’s and especially compared to my 20’s. My Existence has gotten so much better since I made that choice to seek help and prioritize my own mental health. I feel like I am actually present in my friendships, relationships and in my everyday life.

I want this coming decade to be one of really enjoying my life, living it on my own terms as much as ethically possible and when it comes to art I want to work on all those projects that have come to mind over they years that I said I was “too busy” for.

Explore mediums I’ve always wanted to try and allow my whims to help shape what I make. No more confinements of how I “should” be making art or avoiding doing something because it won’t be perfect.

My permission slip to fumble and fail is in my hand. And I intend to use it.

That’s where Lorewind (game design), pen & ink drawing, writing this blog, lino block carving, printing my own t-shirts and making more artwork based around my own campaign settings comes into play. There is a long, long, long list of creative projects that I’ve been wanting to make but I have put off until “later”. You know, whenever that is?

I don’t have to be good at it.

I am just gonna do it and have fun with it.

“Well, I don’t know how many more years on this Earth I have left. I’m gonna get real weird with it” -Frank Reynolds

So, what have I been up to?

A sacks of sacks. This makes more sense if you are in the campaign.

I’ve been doing a few more paintings for my secret project. I am about halfway done with the artwork for that. SO, about 15 more paintings left for that project. Ooof, that’s a lot still. The project is feeling pretty good though. It is currently playing the roll of 2nd project to Lorewind and that is actually ok. I seem to work well when I have one primary project and one or two other projects to bounce to when I need a shift in my creative workflow.

This last month I was able to take some time to carve a new printing block. I am very excited for this one. Hopefully I’ll be able to put this rat on some shirts in the near future. I’d like to have another design ready before we doing a printing day just because it’s such a fucking mess to prep and clean up. So, we’ll see what happens.

Process images of me carving the print block.

Well, the other thing I have been working on has been Lorewind. I’ve finally got the booklet sorted for this version of the game. It’s loaded with spelling errors and typographical problems BUT it EXISTS. It is legible enough to be used by players and myself. Wanna know how I know that? I ran it last week using this version of the booklet and it went well!

Assembling Lorewind booklets.

SO, about last week.

I was in North Carolina along with my partners and 21 other cool nerds in a cabin (giant rental house) for a week. This is a yearly event among this friend group but this was only my second time being able to attend. The week there was filled with all manner of table top games, video games, trivia, great friends and tasty food.

During a few of the many incredible conversations I had with the folks there the topic of what we were each working on came up. I nervously shared what I was doing with Lorewind and they shared what they were working on too. Two of the people there were making entire video games (Check out Immortal Coil on steam) and another was working on alternate sub-classes for D&D 5.5e.

We all tested out our creations at this event with people eager to see what we’d been up to. The kind and encouraging feedback was lovely to both see given to others and to receive. Andy (who is making a party game similar to a Jack box game with a collaborative story telling focus) made a comment about how the cabin feels a bit like a creative commune and that it was energizing to be about so many other people working on their projects. I would have to fully agree on that.

Before heading to the cabin I had been putting together booklets with the intent to possibly run Lorewind there.

I printed off character sheets, trim them to size and assemble five booklets. They have now proper cover art and new interior illustrations to accompany this version of the rules (.42). I took a movement to think to myself that I am inching closer to what I had envisioned for this game. I loaded them into a green (my favorite color) folder and packed them into my backpack next to my growing collection of d6s that I have been referring to as my “Lorewind dice”.

Setting up for the game.

After our flights and 1hr-ish drive to the cabin one of the first things I saw the activity board where everyone was writing down their scheduled games. I was nervous to commit to running Lorewind here. The people at the cabin are all experienced gamers who play way more tabletop games than I do and some of have designed several ttrpgs.

What if they hate it? Or they think it’s garbage?

Well, turns out, when I finally let myself show people the booklet they were encouraging and one person was so excited by the idea of it he made a character for it right then and there. Thank you Andy.

Before long, Lorewind was on the board and I have five players signed up to play it. Two were my partners, who had played the game before, but not this version of it and the three others playing for the first time.

It was a little bit of a shaky start, mostly due to my nerves but I quickly found myself in my groove. Running the game felt smooth and at times as fluid as a reflex. Not bad for something I have only ever run 4 times.

The players all seemed to really enjoy the system, the setting and complemented my GMing style. (thanks guys!)

Me running Lorewind at the Cabin.

The game was full of amazing moments that would not have been possible in my typical Noth (modded Pathfinder) game. One of which was when a Tegari player character fatally bit the head of a Xol-ti enemy, then used necromancy to animate its skeleton and with his teeth ripped out the Xol-ti’s now animated skeleton.

This session also allowed me to see different game mechanics play out for the first time, such as the Rattoa’s communal effort ability. This allows a Rattoa to spend their luck on an ally within line of sight. One player, Joe, used this to help keep his party members alive and succeed in rolls they would have otherwise failed. My other test runs of the system have been on the shorter side, this one was a full 6 1/2 hour session, I run’em long. You’re welcome and I’m sorry.

The character sheets from the game.

During this run I tried out exploding d6’s. That was a suggestion from my metamour, Una. Holy shit, exploding d6’s were a great addition to the game. It can be very “swingy” but I think it is worth it. This gives characters with a low stat/skill in something a chance to still succeed and it gives the thrill of a “critical” that was lacking in the game before. So, exploding d6’s are sticking around.

A couple of other things for the future versions of the game.

Joe suggested a rad mechanic around reserving spirit within an object to craft a temporary magical item. That was rad as hell during the game but I will have to figure out how exactly that works on paper.

I will also need to address ranged weapons. As it currently stands there isn’t much reason to use the weaker versions of crossbows and bows. I have some ideas for that, but I won’t be messing with those until the next version of the game.

Currently, I am excited for the future of my game. I am keen to keep working on it and continue refining it over time. I’ve slowly started building out a “creature codex” and have started thinking about providing guidance for other GMs on how to run it.

Speaking of other people running it.

My wonderful partner Elise has offered to run Lorewind for my birthday for me and my friends. I am looking forward to stepping into the roll of player in my own system. Also, hey, I love it when she runs a game for me :D

Outside of Lorewind stuff. A few years back I did a painting for someone who regularly attends the cabin named Mike. This year he brought that painting as a puzzle for everyone to enjoy. It was so cool to see my work as an actual puzzle!

My artwork as a puzzle.

I could go on, but I am currently recovering from a nasty illness and this is already way too long. So, I am going to wrap this up.

If you made it this far YOU ROCK!

Thank you for reading and have a lovely October.

~Alec (Onyx Rat)

So happy to be back home with these good boys.