I Guess Some Things Never Change...

Back in September, my old buddy Mike (who I gamed with through much of high school and college and who I've bad-mouthed at least once-or-twice on the blog regarding his penchant for "ranger-ish" characters) sent me a link to a New Yorker article via Facebook, with the message:

this article reminds me of you

Being me, I didn't read it till tonight (because I am terrible about checking Facebook and I'm not a huge fan of emailed links in general) while trying to find something to do while I wait for Mediafire to answer my damn technical help request. Anyhoo, the story (which you can read here), is one man's tale of childhood role-playing fun/misery at the hands of a sadistic, mentally unbalanced individual.

Now, I haven't actually seen or talked to Mike in more than a year or two. As far as I know, he knows nothing about my book, my blog, or my recent gaming escapades down at the Baranof. In other words, he tells me this story of maniacal Dungeon Mastering reminds him of me from our past gaming history...which ended 'round about 1997!

What's more, I can't remember ever playing a single game of D&D with him when I was acting as Dungeon Master. What the hell gives? I decided to ask him, and wrote a simple message:

Um...that's depressing. Was I that much of a maniac in our games?

To which Mike replies:

Not quite. But very close: there were definitely many timeswhere you went out of your way to maim & kill our characters and you relished in our destruction. At times, interpretations of the rules were thin and and against the concensus of the rest of the group. You are enjoyed being in the power position. But the whole while you were very entertaining. If nothing else, it made for memorable experiences. Do you remember the Elfquest module we played at your house?

I have omitted the (multiple) smiley faces from his text.

Now in all truth, I really don't remember what the hell he's talking about. I mean, ElfQuest module? I remember maiming my little brother and his buddies in a troll fight or two...but I can't recall running EQ for my peers.

"...you relished in our destruction..."

Maybe I AM some kind of power-tripping sadist. That's sad...that's just really sad.

My poor, poor players. I was just considering the last two-three days how I could be nicer to them. Not because they're complaining (well, Randy complains...but he sure does die a lot), but because I WANT them to live long enough and advance in level...I'm tired of this cruddy "goblin warren" adventure. And I daresay they are, too.

What?! I can hear my players say (especially Randy)...you want us to actually go up in level, JB? Hells, yeah. We've had a few sunny days here of late, and sunshine in Seattle always puts me in a summertime mood...even in April and May. And High Summer was always the time for high level play back when I was a kid.

It's weird, but I associate the dark of winter with new games, new campaigns, and newbie players...and warm weather with much more potent game play. Looking back, I can see that I was running mid-level pre-gens (7th level or so) last summer, and this has been a trend with me for some time.

Well, that and (apparently) being a brutal, murderous (if entertaining) game master.

Huh. Stuff to think about. Especially since the damn Mediafire is still down.

More Praise For the B/X Companion

This was a nice little email I received today:

Hey JB,
I just wanted to tell you that your B/X Companion *rocks*. It’s my favorite Old School Renaissance product yet. I can’t tell you enough how impressed I was with the overall writing, design, art, and “feel” of the product. I hope that you’ll be producing more product in the future.
Best regards,
Alexander Macris
Publisher, The Escapist

[the emphasis was added by Mr. Macris, not myself]

You know, when I read things like this, it just makes me want to churn out more stuff. I mean, as long as people like what I'm pushing, I'll keep doing it.

However, I can't emphasize express enough gratitude and appreciation for the positive reinforcement. I know there are some folks who will buy Old School product just out of curiosity, or to "support the cause," or to "stick it to the man" (the latter is why I keep buying copies of Labyrinth Lord and giving it away...after all, I still use my actual B/X books at the game table!). And, of course, my mom bought a copy of my book 'cause, well...'cause she's my mom.

But when people actually LIKE what you've written...well, that's pretty cool.

Maybe I will take my laptop to Spain...22 hours is a lot of quality time to work on the writing projects.
; )

Comments on the Book

My internet was down most of today (until after 9:30pm, actually)...but little packages are starting to arrive at their destinations (at least in the U.S.) and some feedback is starting to trickle in.

I don't want to spend too much time tooting my own horn (I don't think that's why folks tune into the blog...well, who knows why folks tune into the blog!) but I will post a couple links and emails:

Mr. Gorman provides his initial impressions here.

BlUskrEEm can't figure out how to delete his blog, so he posted about the book. He thinks I hate halflings. On the other hand, he thinks my mass combat system might be good enough for at least one of the people that's been blogging about M.C. lately.

Steve sent me an email saying he really digs the book and plans to fit it into his B/X modified campaign, including my alternate combat system.

Steven (different guy) emailed me to see if I'd gotten his money yet and whether or not I had a book to send him(!). I told him I had already mailed it (I really did, I promise!).

Timeshadows thought her copy "looked lovely" but is still too busy with her move to read it. But she lives in Florida! I'm sure the Canadians should be getting their copies soon.

Okay...you can see I'm not really that good at the shameless self-promotion thing. I mean, other than blogging the hell out of the bloggity-blog-blog...but that's just running my mouth with my fingers. Maybe it's just been all the late nights stuffing envelopes has fatigued my brain a bit?

(*yawn!*)

I'm going to bed now...hopefully I'll have something more interesting to write about in the morning. G'night.

zzzzz...

Feedback on the Book

Copies of the B/X Companion should start reaching even Canadians in Manitoba in the next day or two (the European folks may take a little bit longer). If any of you blogger-type folks make note of your thoughts and impressions on the book, I sure would appreciate it if you'd drop me a quick email or comment about it. I'm not asking folks to do reviews, but if you DO say something...well, I want your feedback, possibly for future endeavors, and I'm afraid I don't read EVERY blog as regularly as I would like.

And please, feel free to be honest. As I said, I fully plan on keeping up this publishing thing (blog or commercial) as long as I've got stuff to write about. While I'm afraid I'll never be able to please all the people all the time (and, frankly, wouldn't want to), I sure wouldn't mind criticism...hell, it doesn't even have to be constructive! Lord knows I've treated certain game systems like the proverbial red-headed step child. Feel free to let me have it! I did train to be an actor after all...building up a thick skin was part of the deal.

; )

Prost, folks. Hopefully you won't have to wait much longer for your copies!

First Feedback on the B/X Companion

Just received this email:

I'm way too sleepy to figure out how to post a comment on the blog. But I saw your post and wanted to let you know I picked up your book yesterday at Gary's, and I am enjoying it. I haven't had a whole lot of time to read through it yet, but nice job. I hope I never run into a bane lord. Running one on the other hand...

Eric

Welp, there it is folks. The first customer to get his hands on my book says he is enjoying it. Really, that's all I could have hoped for. Thanks, Eric. I appreciate you letting me know!

By the way: glad you liked the bane lord...one of my personal favorites.

: )