One Hundred Posts!

So I am very excited and pleased to share with you that this is my one hundredth post. I started on the fourth of July, but this moment feels like a bigger bang to me somehow.

Thank you for supporting my blog with your attendance and enthusiasm!

That is all. You are free to move on. The rest of this is a wall of text.

I have changed the look of the site a bit, mainly because I didn’t want to correct people who do me the service of referring to my blog. Confusion was certainly understandable. I named the blog “Between Are the Doors” in boring text at the top, and not “Old School Hack” which was, of course, proudly displayed on my banner. (And I go by “fictivite” or “fictivefantasies” to compound the confusion.) Now, the banner should be less misleading, and I got rid of the boring text altogether.

This is a good moment for a bit of introspection. I initially got into blogging because I was (and am) grateful for people in the Old School Renaissance/Revolution/Rules/Rocks/Retro/(and so on) that talk about a kind of gaming, and concepts in it, that spark creativity for me in my other endeavors. I wanted to give back, with some maps, some mini-rules, and that kind of thing.

I had some ideas for B/X D&D. After six weeks of sharing what I thought was within the parameters with what people who do that kind of game are looking for, I was apparently not offering anything useful.  (For people who are looking for necrodwarves, undead-hunting dwarves, a taunting reaction system, radiation, or magic items for B/X, I collected references to it here.)

I switched over to talking about Old School Hack, Matt Jackson mentioned me on his blog, and I had a modest and lovely audience.

Something that those who follow this blog have probably already realized is that I tend to latch onto a project and pursue it with a certain manic force. This project is not the first. There was a fan fiction project that sprawled to over a million words. (The last surviving online presence is here.) Another that spanned only two books but had a 5,000 word chapter posted every two weeks for a couple years; it survives here. Several deeply developed role playing games and massive houseruling on other role playing games. A dozen different campaign worlds. And so on.

Maybe by the end of this year I will have lost the drive on my Old School Hack related projects. Maybe not. Maybe there will be something else. In any case, thank you for following my efforts and clicking on my blog to see what I’m up to. I really appreciate other people looking at what I’m doing. Otherwise, it’s a lot of effort for something that ends up pleasing only me. I guess what I’m trying to say is, thanks for making me look a little less insane.

Let’s survey my current projects!

• “Fictive’s Talents and Templates.“ Done. And updated.
• 30 new templates, some modified equipment at generation guidelines, adventuring motives for all classes, new schools of magic and god-specific clerics, occupational talents, extended advancement, more.
• Scenarios! Yes, I know, Old School Hack is supposed to be a “pick it up and play it” game. But not every DM is that cool. Even cool DMs sometimes want to have enough structure in place that they can focus on the improv and not note-taking or remembering what they said 2 minutes or 3 weeks ago for continuity. Here they are…
• “Road to Baffram.” The first OSH scenario! An escort mission.
• “The Tireless Archer.“ A site based adventure.
• “Lopelia Alchemal Fortress.” A geomorph stocking dungeon crawl.
• “Maptacular Monday.” Maps for my mega-dungeon in process, also bite-sized little adventure settings.
• “Fictive’s Book of Power.” Work in Progress.
• A book for DMs with suggestions for rulings, house rules, a massive geomorph stocker with treasure and a huge bestiary, and more.
• Draft Bestiary is actually the single most-downloaded thing on my site. People love monsters! Even this draft scratches an itch. (Just over 50 views.)
• Magic stuff! Cool. You can even randomize what it is with a couple 1d6 rolls.
• “Fictive’s Open Seas.” Planned.
• Sailing ships, ports, islands, setting information, ocean monsters, salty encounters, default arenas on ships, etc.
• “People vs. Creatures Player’s Handbook.” Drafted.
• Modern or science fiction survival horror is possible on an Old School Hack chassis! Give your players this handbook. Then attack their characters with monsters.
• Like zombies.
• “Death Shines on the Fornia Moon.” Work in Progress.
• A science fiction setting designed to accommodate a wide range of monster attacks and creepy stories, with a bestiary, sci fi history, plot and threat generator, and a lot more.
• “Tentacular Hack.” Work in Progress.
• Cthulu mythos on a toned-down Old School Hack chassis! Compatible with “People vs. Creatures” but of more limited scope and flavor.  Only 5 templates, but 10 talents each, and a deep pool of occupational and open talents. Plus the first draft of a kickin’ Azathothian Mythos magic system! Insanity in OSH! Great stuff.
• Reports! Ongoing adventure and ruling reports.
• I put these up on my various Obsidian Portal sites to save you all the text wall; this post is something of an indulgence for me on that front.
• Reviews! I’ve done a few, and look forward to doing more. I have even had requests for reviews, which is flattering.

Not bad, since I started on Old School Hack commentary and house ruling on August 16, ten weeks ago.

Thank you for being part of what I’m doing here. Thank you for linking to my blog, for commenting, for responding to comments I leave on your blog, and for connecting me to the wider world through this grand project. I appreciate it. I appreciate you–the free adventures, the rumination on role playing, the maps, and the joy of it. Believe me: sharing an infusion of joy with your favorite creators makes a difference.

Thank you. Let’s continue through the doors together.