Wow, March really didn’t waste any time. I thought February was fast, but here we are again at the end of a month and me scrambling to tidy up before it’s over.

Monsters, Chillin’

To my slight dismay, the pace of writing for Monstrous Descents has slowed. I am now at about a chapter a week. Granted, they’re like three times the length of the chapters I was cranking out in a day. Also, they’ve all been big topics, like ghosts. I’m currently hacking my way through “Zombies,” which of course is going to be a billion words, and that’s before taking into account that it really is the second part of “Ghouls.” “Vampires” is looming like a threat. I think once I get through the undead, though, the pace will pick up again. I’m genuinely looking forward to tackling all the creeps I’ve stuck under the “Wight” umbrella, which is also going to be a very long chapter. At least the undead body parts chapter ought to be brief?

Erehwesle

Have I ever mentioned Erehwesle in here? That’s the working name of the West Marches-ish hex crawl I’ve been writing and some Patrons have been playing for the last two years. Once the monster book is finished, we going to take a hiatus so I can A. finish writing the hex crawl (mostly) and B. so we can tidy up the play space and maybe do a Crisis on Infinite Earths-style continuity adjustment here and there. I can’t overstate how much material the player side of things has generated, both through adventure sessions as well as in their use of the downtime systems I wrote up. Clay and Justin, who are effectively Junior GMs at this point and who manage pretty much the entire player side of things, need a break. I think the players need a break too. It’ll be nice to let the world and its mysteries marinate for a little bit before they embark into the second half of the territory.

History!

I am trying to find a copy of a map of the Schuyler Copper Mine that my dad had at one point. It has some fanciful names on it, like a dungeon map, and I’d like it, or something like it, to accompany the introduction of Down, Down, Down, which mentions it. I tried both the Kearny and North Arlington Public Libraries, but neither have historical documents like that. This week, I dropped by the New Jersey Historical Society in Newark to riffle through their maps. Also a strike-out, but I got to go through a card catalog, looked through some old photos of Kearny and generally felt like a real researcher for an hour or so. My favorite part was when the director asked me if I was associated with an institution and I replied, “Nah, I’m just some guy.”

Podcasts and Writing for Others

I was delighted to appear on The Grognard Files recently. I think I’ve mentioned before how pleasing I find the tone of that show and it was very nice to be a part of it, even if I feel like I was maybe shouting the entire time. Loud American and all that. We talked primarily about MAHG, the trickiness of making broad statements about a medium that is constantly changing and about RPG magic. It was fun. I’d do it again in an instant.

I also recorded a show with Ben Riggs, but that’s not out yet. It was also fun. More on that when it’s live.

I can’t honestly recall if I mentioned that Wyrd Science offered me a column that will appear in the next issue, which should be out soonish. The first one is on Thieves’ Guild and it’s like the daily posts but more so. It also occurs to me that I’ve not heard anything about Leslie Scott’s Boundless Play, which I have a chapter in. I’ve just emailed and will report back next month with any news on that front. Meanwhile, Andrew Walter shared sketches for his illustrations for my essay on dungeons and darkness in Úna Hamilton Helle’s forthcoming Becoming the Forest V. I love this one, it gives me light Edward Gorey vibes, but it was one of the ones that wasn’t selected. No one will ever see it. Except you!

Toodles

That’s about it for this month. I have a big secret I am dying to tell youse, but it isn’t 100% in the bag yet, so, you know, loose ships sink lips and all that. April is another month.

OH! Speaking of, Geek Flea, April 26, be in Kearny hanging out, or remain hopelessly uncool. The choice is yours!