Tuesday, July 29, 2008

And so it begins...

Ah, the first post. A fresh slate. A new blog. Mmm... don't you love that new blog smell? I've played the blog game before. I, along with every other warm-blooded suburbanite, got hooked on Livejournal in middle-school. I graduated to Easyjournal during my early college years, trying to "express myself" but... in the end... I failed. I lost the blog game. You can only write so much about your daily activities before you realize wow... no one probably wants to read this. And so, I left those blogs by the wayside.

A few weeks ago, I had an epifany. I needed to blog. Why? Why was the blogosphere calling me? Well for a few reasons. First and foremost, I love writing. I like to think of it as one of my hobbies, if writing can really be a hobby... which it can. Quiet you! Secondarily (is that a word?) I wanted to become a better writer. And how do you become a better writer? By writing of course! Thirdly, I spend way too much time on the interwebs. SO - logical solution? Write more. Online. So... blog. I needed to blog. But what about?

Well, when we get right down to it, my previous blogs failed because I wrote about things that I felt like I was supposed to write about in a blog. Bzzz. Wrong. I realize now that I should write about things I enjoy writing about. I know... a novel concept. And so, here we begin it. My very own, sparkly and new, fancy-schmancy RPG blog. *Fanfare* In preparation for the grand unveiling of beneath the screen, I've already generated quite a few ideas for things to write about. So, here's a little preview of what's to come...

- Adventure Recaps: I'm always running at least one tabletop game. These days, they've been from the lovely Pathfinder adventure paths, and almost always 3.5 Dungeons and Dragons. I'll offer recaps of the adventures as they go, my personal reviews on any published modules I use, and so on. This will also double as a resource for my players.

- Homebrew Stuff:
I enjoy incorporating various house rules into my game, along with anything and everything homebrew. When I'm using pre-published adventurers, I can't help but add in unique encounters, detailed NPCs, new spells and feats, and even the occasional homebrewed monster or prestige class.

- Reviews:
I am always looking to try newer, geekier things. I'll take the leap so some of you might not have to. I'll toss reviews up here for not only tabletop games, but the occasional movie or videogame that fits in with the whole fantasy genre as well. Along with tabletop games, I also play live action rpgs (LARPs) which I'll toss up the occasional review for or recap of as well.

- Getting Published:
And here we come to my quest. Turning my hobby into a job. It's a pipe dream, but it's my pipe dream. I have an idea in my head for a game setting, and have come close to magazine submissions a few times. Sadly, I've never had the wherewithal to follow through. My hope though is that this blog will gather some sort of following off of which I can bounce ideas, and receive suggestions. So, here I will be documenting my eternal quest to get paid. Maybe if I'm successful, my trials and tribulations in the rpg market will be able to provide others with some tips of what to do, or what not to do, in order to get published. Should be an adventure.

- And Everything Else:
Tips for DMing, thoughts on the philosophy of roleplaying, and other senseless ramblings. It'll be fun.

So there we go. I've got the blog, and I've got plenty to write about. I'm going to enjoy seeing how this plays out! Before we begin though, I must give credit where credit is due. I need to tip my hat to Chatty DM for his recent posts about the whos, whats, hows, and whys of rpg blogging. His thoughts and suggestions on starting an rpg blog were really the stepping stones for me starting this up. He gave me the jumpstart I needed, so if anyone else out there is interested in starting something up like this, I strongly suggest you check out his tips. You can just go ahead and check out his entire blog too.

Next time, we'll get off to a running start. See you then!

7 comments:

ChattyDM said...

Welcome to the RPG blogshere.

I hope you enjoy yourself and end up satiating your thirst for writing!

I see that I've got a few years on you since the internet did not actually exist out of military bases and a few University campuses when I was a Middle-Schooler.

Regardless, I firmly believe there are readers for more RPG blogs... I'm not worried I'll be dethroned...

And if I am, I want to work for that guy...

As fort making a living, here's my personal hints:

Write for about a year, in spite of low readerships and writer's blocs. Try to post at least once a week about a specific topic (Excuses post don't count)

If you manage this, Start pitching for gaming magazines like Dragon or the equivalent in other games.

Focus on freelance to build a name.

Maybe, you'll get an invite to join the industry. I hope you do.

(That means, focus on the day job first...)

Good luck!

If you make it through

Storyteller said...

Hey, thanks for the welcome and for the tips. Obviously, the idea of getting paid for what I love is a long way off and there's a lot of work between now and then, if there ever is a then. I'll work hard at it though. You can expect to hear a lot from me!

Geek's Dream Girl said...

Welcome to the blogosphere, little one :)

Unknown said...

Hello there, Mr. Storyteller (is that how we should address you?)

It's good to see some more rpg blogs popping up. I wonder what you will have in store for us! :)

I'm definitely interested in your Pathfinder reviews, as I'm a Pathfinder subscriber myself. So keep 'em coming, please!

Storyteller said...

Geek's Dream Girl: Thanks for the welcome!

Sektor: I suppose I've taken on Storyteller as my blogger handle. My realworld handle is Stephen. So any variation of Storyteller, Stephen, Steve - all of that's fine.

I love Pathfinder, so no worries. I will definately be continuing the recaps as the fall semester rolls around, since I'll be running both Rise of the Runelords and Curse of the Crimson Throne, for two separate groups.

pragmystic said...

Good luck with the blog. It's groovy to see a newcomer like myself. Although admittedly your content is a little more accessible than mine.

Keep at it!

Storyteller said...

Suudo: Thanks for the well wishes and best of luck to you too! We young bloggers must stick together!