I'm bumming. There's no other way to say it. I'm just bumming tonight. I haven't been able to keep up with reading all the great RPG blogs I like to follow. I can't write on my own blog like I want to these days (I never was very prolific here, but I was intending on changing that). It seems like I can't find the time to read novels, or plan for running my campaign as much as I'd like, or keep my campaign's Obsidian Portal page up to date.
I know, "you just started a new job," you say. "You're doing a lot of freelance now too. Take it easy on yourself," you say. Then there's the wife and kids to attend to, not to mention the joys of home ownership and all the attending crap that goes into maintaining the crumbling castle. I know all that, but still...
What's really pushed me over the edge though is how it seems like my players for my still-young campaign are not very available for game sessions these days. Now granted, I had to postpone things from my end when I was laid off, but changes in schedules are making it seem like we're going to have increasing problems with getting together. Just when things were starting to look up. Especially now that it seems like another of the old guys was coming back to the table...I might be jumping the gun a bit here, but...I don't know.
I'm usually a very positive person. But even I have my down moments. This might be just one of them.
Speaking of not being able to keep up with blog reading, I just read this post on Grognardia. It's from February, and it deals with the slow down of a long-running campaign.
I think what might be a possible cure for some of my issues is finally getting a laptop. I know, I'm a bit behind the times, eh? I just have a desktop and an iPhone these days. A laptop will allow me to be more flexible with when and where I do my blogging, writing, etc. So, I'm working on that particular purchase.
Sigh. Sorry for the pity party. I need to go to sleep.
Sometimes we all need to vent a little. Hope you're feeling better. Have you considered gaming on Skype instead of in person? Tim and his buddies live far from each other, so they game Monday nights online and have a good time of it. Doesn't beat table top, but at least they get to have a bit of fun.
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping to better days ahead :-)
PS: Also, I don't think blogging should be work, it should be fun. You already have jobs and commitments. But blogging ... I dunno ... that should be a fun thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking Whisk, and for the pep talk. I've thought about Skype but I really prefer the table-top these days. I'm adamant about doing it the old fashioned way. I did PBEM for a couple years but found it too slow.
ReplyDeleteThe Skype thing, well, I'm a bit low-tech in that area, but I guess if I put my mind to it I could figure it out. But if I did Skype, I would definitely not be gaming with my old friends, as none of them would be set up to do that. Again, I'm really pushing for table-top.
I keep toying with gaming more with new people. I've been a player in some games recently with people I just met, and that was ok. But I've never been gamemaster with new people, and I'm still a bit nervous about that prospect. I'm more comfortable as a gamemaster when RPGing. I feel like with new people, you really have to be on the ball with your rules knowledge and ability to think on the fly, whereas your old buddies will give you some leeway. But I could be wrong.
I guess it comes down to me thinking more again about what I want out of my current attempt to return to gaming. Do I really just want it to be about me and my friends like in the old days? Or do I want to branch out and take my gaming into new directions, with new people? Am I really just in it for nostalgia in the bad sense of the word? I'd like to think not. I want to believe that I'm in it for the love of the game, the creative outlet it gives me, the fun of interacting and shared storytelling.
And yes, I agree, a blog should be fun. Heck, the whole RPG hobby should be fun! I believe that too, wholeheartedly! I am wary of it becoming something other than fun, trust me...
As an aside, I had a strange yearning last night for something that I haven't considered in a while: computer RPGs. I have a couple sitting on my shelf that I haven't played in a long time (since before I had kids and a mortgage). The depressed me was thinking last night about how doing a solo computer RPG thing would solve all my problems! Heh, I was pretty low, and at those times I tend to get all "I need a simple solution for my problem" to deal with things.
ReplyDeleteBut computer RPGs would take up more time than prepping for a table-top game, no? I definitely don't want to be drawn into a time-eating hole like back in my heavy computer gaming days.
Sheesh, maybe I just need a break to think about what I want! I may be getting a bit burnt lately with all the action in my life as of late, gaming and otherwise.
Figure out which of all the things you're not doing brings you the most joy and focus on that.
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