Chatty’s 800th: Missed Opportunities and Future Projects
Although this is my 800th post, I’m not going to focus on this.
(Well, okay, just a bit. Yay!)
Obligatory Background
As many of you know, late in 2008, I sent a query to Dungeon Magazine about making an adventure called “Where’s Francis” for preteen players. It was to feature a bunch of young adventurers trying to find the missing badger minion of the well-known gnome from the D&D 4e Web Spots. About 7-8 months later, I got a reply from our very own Chris Sims who expressed interest about the idea and asked me to provide an extended outline of the adventure.
A few weeks later, I sent an adventure plan such that all my friends reading it told me “I’d totally play that!”, a clear sign that I was onto something good. Long story short, Chris eventually lost his job and I never heard about the adventure again. D&D for kids was not going to be something I’d work on for Dungeon nor as a stand-alone adventure/product for Wizards of the Coast.
Wait! They What?
A few weeks ago, I repacked my proposal and sent it to Wizard’s Mirrorstone novel imprint, selling the idea as a picture-book-story-RPG with a primer for parents. It was turned down with a polite and firm “We do not accept unsolicited game proposals” response.
Ooookay . . . .
At the time my friend Math, who works in a patent office, told me that this was standard practice should Wizards come out with a D&D for kids project. Thus they’d avoid being sued by people like me. Dave also told me that stuff like kids RPGs were a common office subject in RPG companies, and Chris chimed in to calm me down too.
All right, all right, I did.
Of course, just a few days later, I stumbled upon a Twitter post by Forgotten Realms novel editor Susan Morris that announced Wizards was going to release a D&D adventure for kids she wrote, roughly 1 year after I was asked to provide an outline for my adventure proposal.
I was annoyed and hurt. However, I started asking around, letting my emotions settle down and trying to see more sides to the issue. I congratulated Susan. I try hard to be a good sport, and she might not have known about my initial proposal. Oh, and being whiny hardly ever achieves anything. In retrospect, I actually was happy that such a project had been greenlighted, regardless of who ended up doing it.
A Marketing Initiative?
Susan rapidly mentioned back to me that the adventure was a marketing initiative to garner interest in the latest Mirrorstone novel, Monster Slayers.
Wha? A marketing initiative for a novel? Seriously?
Yes, it is “a promo bit” she said.
Oh, god, no! That’s like taking an awesome idea such as near-frictionless bearings and using them as toilet seat hinges first.
That’s not what I wanted the first official D&D for kids product to be. That’s not what I seek as a parent-customer who wants to play D&D 4e with his kids. Nor is it what I want as a writer dying to write an awesome D&D adventure game that would make groups of preteens feel like they were playing in a movie like Labyrinth and The Goonies combined.
Still, I calmed down and stayed silent on the subject. I was way too busy to obsess about it anyway.
So when Heroes of Hesiod came out last week, I kept a low profile and focused on my seminars. When the buzz around it built up on the blog-sphere, I took a quick look at it, found the illustrations cute and the simplified PC mechanics nifty. I Twittered that it was a nice product.
Boot-to-the-Head Microreview
That’s what I thought until a good friend of mine more or less kicked my butt and said, “Dude, have you actually read the whole thing?”
So I set my seminar work aside and read the 14 pages PDF from start to finish.
Heroes of Hesiod is a microgame featuring highly simplified D&D combat mechanics reminiscent of Milton Bradley’s/Games Workshop Heroquest games from the late 80s. Mind you, I don’t have much to say against the mechanics. They are simplistically clever, and I like how they adapted 4e’s “special powers” to such an easy to grok level. Susan did a good job. The whole product is well written and has a certain whimsical potential that screams to be exploited.
Sadly, I strongly feel that this potential lies neglected. Although the game engine showed some promise (except the part of using 3d6 instead of a d20), I’m very disappointed with the adventure itself.
The story is about a group of kids living in the village of Hesiod, a hamlet constantly threatened by monsters. The adventure’s heroes, all young kids, are sent into a house to be trained to kill monsters, as all citizens must do on a yearly basis. That’s it. No more story, no roleplaying, no significant choices, no tapping of the sheer power of the child’s creative mind. Just chuck some dice and use your special powers.
The whole adventure is just one combat with limited or no info to help parents deal with young gamers, such learning to say “Yes!” and roll with it. Believe me, it’s quite a challenge.
Here’s one quote that resumes the whole adventure (emphasis mine):
Before you can protest, Loomis pulls free a pin from the cage door. The reaction is immediate. The door flies open, slamming against the side of the cage with a loud clang, and the [monster name] rushes out.
Now, I have been a huge 4e advocate these last 2 years. I’ve been arguing that 4e was more than just fighting. Some of the published adventures seem to disprove my view. Still I prevail, arguing that those adventures target an audience that is more “into that” than I am. Yet, here is the very first D&D adventure targeted specifically at kids, and the only option is to fight.
I don’t want to use D&D to teach math to my kids. They do that all day long at school. An incentive for doing maths will come later when they expect more complexity from the game. I want to introduce them to an experience, beyond how to beat up a monster, in which they get true control of something (possibly for the first time in their lives) like the story or their character’s faith. Let’s have something that gives kids choices that drive the game session in directions that require parents to nurture improvisations skills.
What if the 6-year-old Sally, playing the wizard, wants to befriend the bulette? What if the Russ, the 10-year-old thief, wants to use a mirror to scare the beholder?
To address this, I would have added just one paragraph to the document:
If a player wants to try something unexpected that isn’t covered by these rules, listen attentively to what he or she wants to achieve and how he or she plans to do it. Then ask the player to roll a d20. If the idea is really cool, give the player a +2 bonus (or more) to the roll. The action is a success on a roll of 10 or more. Describe the action as colorfully as possible. If the roll fails, describe the failure as something funny and wacky that still makes the character look cool. Don’t be afraid to break the adventure’s mold and explore where the players ideas lead.
So that’s why I think that Heroes of Hesiod, while not a bad implementation of a simple D&D-themed game, is a missed opportunity. It fails to do something new and awesome while a market hungry for RPG material for children awaits. It wastes this first attempt by making it a mere tool for the promotion of a product line that’s only arguably related to the actual adventure. As far as I can tell, Monster Slayers is not a children’s book for those who might require the simple rules of Heroes of Hesiod. Lastly it feels more like a marketing ploy than an actual first step into an unknown and largely untapped new market.
Dear Wizards, I wanted you to share my vision of what I know many parents expect to see from the world’s leading roleplaying game publisher. The third generation of roleplayers is here, being reared by 80s RPG gamers. As geek parents, we want tools to teach it to our kids and enhance the experience we lived 25 years ago tenfold. Can you feel the wave passing by? Indie designers are already well ahead of you.
So, Whachu Gonna Do About It Phil?
When I’m bothered or unhappy about an issue, I prefer to act on it. Since I believe I can do better than Heroes of Hesiod, here’s me putting my money where my mouth is. I’m announcing, with this 800th post, that I shall go forward with my original RPG for kids proposal. I plan to write and self-publish a physical 4e-derived book that will contain:
- Rich and whimsical art, along with notes and sidebars for the kids
- A simplified character generation
- A game master’s primer
- Basic rules for skills and checks, as well as combat
- Emphasis on shared narrative control and making failure fun
- Options for playing with or without miniatures and battle maps
- A ready-to-play adventure, with notes on adventure creation
- A short, bestiary for making new adventures.
The adventure is based on my original Dungeon magazine pitch, tweaked to remove the use of Wizards’ IP:
Curse of the Ogre-King (Working title)
As the final test of their training, a group of teen adventurers must set out into the wilderness to seek out and challenge the ogre Grumbar the Chained. The teens track the ogre’s minions from the cursed village of Dusk, their home, through a dark forest. With exploration and teamwork, the young explorers overcome challenges and piece together the truth–Dusk’s fate is tied to Grumbar’s. When they finally reach Grumbar’s lair in Faerie, the young heroes have a chance not only to free Dusk but to also to redeem the ogre.
I plan to tap many of the contacts and friends I made in the last three years to help make this project a reality. Many questions remain unanswered, and all that I posted up there may be subject to change, but this is where I’m going for the next year. I hope you’ll follow along . I might also call on your help . . .
. . . but one thing at a time.
In the meantime, see you at 900! Thanks for being here!
So Long and Thanks for all the Fish!
(No I’m not retiring from RPG blogging, no worries)
As I stand here by the seaside of Florida, I reflect on the upcoming blog merge with Critical Hits, planned to happen sometime during Sunday Jan 24th. Not so much because I’m having second thoughts about merging with Critical Hits and play the role of Prima Donna (It was my idea after all), it’s just that in a few days, we’re going to close something I built with my friend Graham (well he did the building, I furnished it and brought guests). Something that I’ve been doing mostly solo, and proudly so, since August 2007.
(A HUGE thank you to my many guest bloggers by the way, many of which were nominated in the Open Game Table anthologies 2009 and 2010)
I’m excited about the merge, make no mistake. If things go as planned, minimal changes will be inflicted on readers (our top priority). The original URL and RSS feed will autodirect to the new digs and my blog will start existing in its own corner of the Critical Hits super site. I’ll be like the grumpy old bachelor with his own separate entrance to the big family house (with full access to the kitchen, of course).
Still, I want to give this old place one last tribute.
Thank you dear website, you taught me so, so much.
I now leave you with enough knowledge of WordPress to know what I want to do and leave the rest in the capable hands of friends I trust.
I know more about my strengths and limitations than I did 2 years ago when I moved there. I love to write, I’ve got great crazy cool ideas but I so need an editor.
You helped me prove to myself that I had the skills and the charisma to capture the interest of more than one thousand readers and create a community that cares about what we build and share together.
You allowed me to meet many of my gaming heroes, most of which made me feel like I was just like them, a geek with a passion for RPGs. (Others I scared away… but at least I know why.)
I started and finished some great series over here, chief among those my Robin Laws revisited (thankfully with his blessings), my Dungeon Reality Show series, and my RPG Blog primer series. My campaign sessions remain my longest standing feature and will remain. My Friday Chat feature will also remain as it has been very popular.
So thanks little WordPress install. I’ll miss you, make no mistake. This is a breakup of the brain, not of the heart.
And thanks to Graham. I may never be able to afford all those Xboxes I owe you, but I appreciate your help beyond belief. I hope I helped you get your current job in some small way.
Now about the merger. Not everything will be quite ‘prefect’ for the first few days. I have a new banner in the works that won’t show up for some time. My old one will remain for the time being but will likely clash with Critical Hits’ new color scheme. Also, sometime during Sunday, comments will be closed while my site is integrated to the Critical Hits database. So there’s a slight chance that Sunday comments get eaten up during the move, please be comprehensive.
I plan to offer the same sidebars I had before the merge, i.e. archives, best of, blogroll and such. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to run my own “recent comments’ sub-routine (hey! another prima donna demand) but I’ll try to have a chattydm specific comment RSS feed.
As for what I’ll write once I join them… Well pretty much the same thing. I plan to do what I’ve always done, just in a different venue. Dave and I spoke of making theme weeks where multiple writers of the site tackle the same subject in their own ways and I’m all for that. We could also riff off each other’s campaigns and build posts on them.
Also, I have new ideas. By moving in a wider geek website, I plan to start writing for a wider audience, including the DMs who haven’t been doing this for 10+ years like I have. Chief among my ideas for new features is a “Pimp the Dungeon” feature where I’ll tackle a well known 4e published adventure and show how to hack it to your preferences.
All right, enough sentimentality and promises. This is it, my last few lines as a solo blogger. Thank you all for following me so far. I don’t know how most of you learned about me (but I’m curious) or what exactly made you want to stick around, but know that I value your attention and comments very highly.
I hope I’ll see you all on the flipside.
Talk to you on Monday morning from my new digs.
Peace out!
Blog Merge: Gut Reaction and Expectations
(Boy am I glad not to post this on April 1st)
During my scientific training I was thought never to keep a punch till the end if I wasn’t writing a story. So here it is, I’m seriously considering merging Musings of the Chatty DM into the structure of my friend Dave’s Critical Hits* while keeping a clear, recognizable spot on their website. I’ll go into details below, but at least the cat is out of the bag.
Like many nerd projects, one often feels the need to move on once things have been mastered. And while I LOVE writing Musings of the Chatty DM, I’ve grown weary of managing its infrastructure. That’s why I haven’t changed themes in 2 years, that I don’t try to fix my Feedburner issue, that I hardly ever think of changing the speech in the bubble up there.
Oh and don’t ask me about hacking attempts!
As The Plan unfolds (i.e. my 2009-2010 career reorientation), I realize that I want to write, not learn css or how to secure SQL databases. While I’m surrounded by people who have done it for me for free, I’d rather work with someone who’s more into it than I am. As a writer and a teacher, 30 months of blogging taught me that writing and answering comment is what I want to do most.
The idea to merge with Critical Hits came to me while I was answering one of Dave’s recent emails. He was observing that CH’s original crew (a group of pre-college friends) was re-focusing on real-life issues and that keeping the original schedule was going to be harder. He was asking us for ideas on addressing this.
I then proposed the merge as a huge ‘what if’. I no longer post 5 days a week and neither could Dave. I was weary of managing the behind the scene stuff of a WordPress blog while Dave wasn’t. What if we merged? A Win/Win seemed possible.
Of course, when we started talking about it more seriously, I shared my main expectations on this.
- The chattydm.net/com domains would need to be maintained and link to a specific area of Critical Hits where my stuff could be found and well laid out.
- A chattydm-specific RSS feed so readers could keep following my stuff.
- I get to keep full editorial control of my posts, Dave offered some proof-reading and grammar-checking (yeah, I would need that).
- A dedicated space on the site’s front page where readers can find my stuff like it was a feature on those ‘Magazine’ WordPress themes. (i.e. the site would be redesigned)
- Give readers who would prefer the ’ChattyDM’ experience to come in directly, read/comment and leave (actually that one is from Dave, how’s that for service?)
- I keep full publication rights to my posts for possible future blog anthology books.
- The old ChattyDM blog would be closed (there are security reasons behind this)
- A written agreement would be put in place.
None of these seem to be a deal breaker so Dave and I will explore this further. In essence, I would become part of the Critical Hits team, while at the same time having my own ‘section’ of the website doing my Chatty DM stuff.
Heck, I could write about Video Games and movies more often! 
But before we do this, I want to ask you what you think!
Given that I will likely go forward with this (barring no technical or contractual obstacles), I’d like to know what your gut reactions tosuch a move would be? As Chatty DM readers (and potential CH readers too), I would also like to know what your expectations would be to keep you as contented readers during and after the move?
While I’ve always said I write for myself first and foremost but now that we’re about 2000 here, you also get to say your piece. We’ll pay attention I promise.
So fire away!
*Critical Hits is an Ennies-nominated blog that talks about RPGs, Boardgame, game designs, gaming news, movies and all things geek. It’s the first geek blog I started reading 3 years ago before I launched Chatty DM.
Chatty's Goals for 2010
Happy new year people! New year, new ‘decade’ (hush, pedants) and possibly new pants!
As is becoming a tradition on Musings, this is when I look over last year’s goals and set new ones. I say goals and not resolutions because resolutions are all about ‘have to, and should, and ought to” and I have zero tolerance for that passive aggressive guilt-ridden crap. 
Objectives are things you strive for, resolutions are things you hope to achieve, like maybe, if I feel like it.
So onwards to the objectives.
RPG Writing and Online Presence
Looking over the 2009 list and given the state I was in when I wrote it, I’m impressed to see just how much was achieved. Without rehashing yesterday’s post, I was able to recapture the fun of blogging and put Musings back on track.
It’s not as meaty as it used to be, I post less often but it sits exactly where I want it to be. It remains my little corner of this digital gamestore where I talk about my campaign, debate ideas, flirt with Indie games and describe my quest to become a better GM.
In 2009, I targeted a few up and coming writers and tried to give them a nudge here and there to get them to consider taking it to the next level (Submitting ideas for publication). It might be weird for a guy who hasn’t actually published anything in 2009 to do that, but you have to understand I’m as much a teacher as a writer.
More specifically, my talent-senses have zeroed in on the guys who hide behind the aliases of Wyatt Salazar, Gamefiend and NewbieDM. These guys ooze potential, quite possibly more than I do. I like to think that I helped them a bit over the last year and will continue doing so over the next one. Be on the lookout for them.
I also did go to Gen Con but I never got around to publishing an e-book. Missing just one Online objective isn’t bad.
I also officially started writing for RPG publishers, with one 4e adventure and 2 gaming magazine articles written, I overshoot last year’s objective. Yay! The adventure and one article will see publication for sure. Let’s hope the other one does too.
For 2010 things are going to be the logical progression of what was started in 2009.
- Maintain the blog , tackle and complete cool series like the ongoing one on creativity.
- Go to PAX east and Gen Con with the primary mission of playing and having fun (less working and schmoozing. Well… Some schmoozing)
- Build myself a name in the RPG industry outside of the online community (more gaming articles and pitches for magazines like Kobold Quarterly, Level Up and Dungeon).
- Make a pitch for one major D&D 4e product (like a 32+ page adventure or a guide)
- Publish at least 2 e-books of material based on my Blog.
Other Objectives
I’ve discussed my personal life too much in 2009 so I’ll spare you the review. Suffice it to say that re-achieving balance and serenity was only the first part.
I’m also building myself a teaching, translating and non-RPG writing business. I seriously doubt that it is viable to make a living as a freelance RPG writer and I want to expand my writing horizon further out. I will remain a Hobby-lancer because RPGs are one of my passions. Just don’t be surprised when you see my name pop in other types of blog.
(If you write such a blog, I’d love a guest post invite).
And who knows, maybe I’ll find a way to support my family without needing the ‘day job’ anymore?
So there you have it. 2010 will be about building a name outside of the Blog/online arena and implementing the changes that started in 2009.
What about your goals? Any armchair designers getting ready to swim with the sharks yet?
Chatty's Year 2009 and the Importance of the Tribe
Yes, Yet another Year End Post. I’m sure the RPGbloggers network‘s first page must crumble under that Echo Chamber effect.
But I don’t quite care about that.
The Year in Review
Oh man what a year. Last year you could taste the the first signs of the rapid unraveling of my mind in my Dec 31st post. To say that the first half of 2009 was anything less than hard and painful would be a lie. Not that my life or job were bad. My family was spared from all the unpleasantness of the financial crisis. As I’ve discussed before, like many creative minds out there, I found myself touched with Bipolar Disorder as I went through my 2nd severe depression in 6 years.
Instead of bearing this moniker as a mark of shame, I decided to openly profess what I suffered from and fully accept that I would likely take medication to treat this for the rest of my life (baring a scientific/spiritual breakthrough to explain it). Had I been a more famous person, I’d likely have written a book about it.
Maybe I will someday.
Fortunately, the medications not only left my creative mind intact (it’s not always the case), it has helped me lower the volume of noise in my overactive mind and helped me focus my ideas more. So much so that during the first half of 2009, while feeling miserable for myself and overly anxious all the time, I was able to actually start and complete multiple projects:
- I wrote a short D&D 4e adventure for Goodman Games entitled ‘When Madness Seeps through…‘ (yeah, how ’bout that, eh?) to appear in the From Here to There anthology to be published in February 2009.
- I met the inimitable Chgowiz, we ran the The One Page Dungeon contest and published the One Page Dungeon Codex
- I tackled an unfinished project and wrote a Primer for the Dungeon Reality Show.
- Following a positive response by Wizards of the Coast for a D&D for Kids adventure proposal made in late 2008, I wrote an extensive outline for a Feywild-based Goonies-like adventure. I’m still waiting for their official feedback (but it got me to learn how to write an official submission)
- I wrote a gaming article for a well-known gaming magazine. To be published in early 2010.
- I started creating my own D&D 4e adventures for our campaigns with the highly successful Primal/Within arc.
I went back to work in June of 2009 with The Plan (Get better, Get projects, Go part time, Freelancer) the hell out of it) and everything went up from there. Incredibly so!
At Gen Con, surrounded by friends I trusted, my impression that I could be a successful RPG writer was confirmed. Slapping hands and giving bro hugs to guys whose adventures/book I had purchased the year before (or whose websites were so much bigger than mine) gave me back the confidence that had eroded while my mind rotted in the grips of depression.
Getting invited by Chris Sims to have a few beers with him, a few other WotC freelancers (Hi Miranda!) and some WotC designers and mad geniuses was one of the high non-gaming points of the con.
After Gen Con, the focus was on stabilizing my full time job while I explored other possibilities. My anxieties slowly abated as did my depressive moods. I sent out resumes to colleges and universities (for continuing education job and training seminars).
I also sent a pitch for a Kobold Quarterly article that was accepted. In fact, I just finished writing it yesterday.
Then, by a near-freakish series of coincidences, I scored a dream part-time (about 12-20 days a year) training seminar gig that pay near 4 figures per day. I just happened to contact the center’s director the week before he completed his winter course catalog. I sent him pitches for 3 courses and he really wanted to add them to his list! Then, he lost a teacher one week before a course and I accepted to take over it and the students loved it, scoring me another new course in the aftermath.
At the same time, at the behest of Chris at WotC, I launched myself into a 6 week project of brainstorming for crazy cool adventure ideas for inclusion in Dungeon magazine. It culminated in what I hope are killer pitches sent in early December. Whatever comes out of this, I’ll have learned to write enticing RPG pitches this year. If it does works, it will be part of my 2010 portfolio of projects.
Right after that, I asked my day job if they’d consider dropping me to 3 days a week… and they said yes, with no conditions! Letting me understand they’d rather keep me part time than lose me outright.
Wha? Okay!
So starting next week, I’ll be working 3 days a week as a Quality Assurance Project Manager in my Pharmacogenomics Center and spend 2 working on my courses, blog and writing projects. This is so cool. And that’s not all, a local vocational college called me to schedule an interview in January to teach pharmaceutical manufacturing classes.
Wow! On January 1st of 2009, I would never have believed how my life would turn for the better in such a short time.
The dream is back and I have an ongoing plan for 2010!
The Tribe
Throughout this year, one element ties my recovery to the way things have been turning up lately. My Tribe.
I define the Tribe as the post-modern family. It combines the elements of those in your family you hold dear, your close friends and all those you’ve let into your circle of trust. In my case, that includes my wife and kids, my mother, my gaming group, some online friends, etc. People, I’d drop everything to help and those who have done the same for me this year.
People I care for and trust have told me to drop everything and write, others have helped me build The Plan, others did simple things like kicking me into gear and getting me to register for Gen Con when I was convinced I didn’t deserve it! The Tribe supported me in my doubts and nudged me to get better. People from my Tribe have called contacts to give me leads for teaching gigs.
But best of all, most of my Tribe has been repeating this near-Mantra to me on a nearly weekly basis
“Are you still taking your meds?”
They all know that my biggest threat now is myself. I’m better now, better than I have been in years! In such cases, people with my condition often stop taking medication, thinking they no longer are ‘in danger”. Few people understand that Mood Stabilizers act to prevent manic phases (the ‘fun’ part of bipolar disorder) and that depression are, in part, triggered by the biochemical ‘cost’ of such manic phases.
So yes Tribe, thank you for asking, I’m still taking them. I’ll take them as long as a better treatment isn’t discovered.
More specifically, I want to thank the following members of the Tribe for this year.
My wife Alex: She was under no obligation to stick around through a second depression, heaven knows she didn’t deserve this. Still she did and I am eternally grateful.
My children Nico and Rory: They are the light of my days. I spent hours with them during my at-home recovery and we forged strong bonds that I hope will long remain.
My mother: She believes in me and doesn’t care about money and status. She’d rather see me starved and happy than rich and miserable. She planted the seed of The Plan in my mind.
Mathieu: Long time friend, playing RPGs with me since we’ve been 13. He’s my reality check guy. Helped me write The Plan and checks on my mental health periodically. Thanks bro.
Dave the Game: Nudged me when I faltered and strong believer in my talents. Collaborator and partner in many of my upcoming projects. I think we teach each other stuff about being writers by working together. Expect to see both our names to appear near each other in coming months.
PM: Always ready to provide an oasis of Geek when things became too dark to face, PM has stoked the fires of my creativity and is everything an overlord would expect of a potentially backstabbing loyal lieutenant.
To those and many others, I thank you.
And to you dear readers. You stuck around when things were gloomier. Yet I see your numbers grow daily (near 2000 now) and am amazed that so many drop by to have a quick read or a quick chat. Stick around, the fun is only starting.
Tomorrow: Chatty’s RPG goals for 2010!
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