It was a year.

Every year I reflect back on what I achieved and what could have gone better. I always intend to game more, write more, and create more prosperity for myself in general. I do much the same on my birthday and it gives me a baseline to grow from. 2024 was pretty hit and miss on a lot of things.

Disclaimer: This is my blog. This is how I see things and how I feel. There is little factual information being presented. If you have issue with anything being presented, please contact me privately on X (Twitter,) Instagram, BlueSky, or by email. Otherwise, there are lots of platforms out there for you to vent your feelings and opinions, too.

The Good: I kept my streak alive here on the blog. I started YouTube and stuck with it. (Shout out to the British Male voice on CapCut.) I discovered Dragonbane RPG, which is the most exciting game I have gotten into in many, many years. It’s like being a kid and discovering that red Dungeons & Dragons Basic set all over again. I haven’t made this many characters in years. I made a new friend, which if you know me is almost unheard of.
 
Silliest achievement of 2024: I hit level 1100 on Heroes of the Storm. I’m an Azmodan main. Don’t judge.

Best blog moment: Boel Berman, then PR Arcanist at Free League Publishing, very generously sent me the bulk of the PDF core and starter sets for their TTRPG product lines. Dragonbane, of course, is by far my favorite, but there are many more to try and review. I doubt she’ll see this, but I just want to say Tack så mycket! (Thank you so much!) You rock. I wish you all the best!

I’m also picking up bits and pieces of Swedish as I go thanks to Dragonbane. I’m serious when I say I’d love to visit that country someday. Their culture seems so much more polite and mature than here in the USA. Maybe the grass is greener, but I’d love to find out.

It’s actually been a very educational year for me. I’ve learned a bit about how DriveThruRPG works. I’ve learned a whole bunch about how YouTube works and is constantly evolving. There’s also been a ton of online marketing lessons getting ingested into my brain.

Finally, a shout out to my friend Michael, otherwise known as The OG GM Adventures on YouTube and soon Twitch. He was instrumental in helping me get my YouTube channel going. I try to help him out where I can. I think he’s a great guy even if he doesn’t. (Nervous LOL.) In all seriousness, I like his channel and I hope I can do some similar things when I hit 1,000 subscribers and 3,000 watch hours.

The Not-So-Good Stuff: It was an election year in the USA. We’re going to experience some pretty dire consequences for the way people chose to vote in that election during 2025. If nothing else because the true idiots of this country have been emboldened by their recent victory. Needless to say, not how I voted. I sincerely pray we get to have a 2028 election at the rate things are going.

Politics aside, it was a mopey year for me in terms of wealth, abundance, prosperity, and projects completed. I’m a bit disappointed in myself to be honest. The year started off with the Deck of Many Portals for Shadowdark nearly completed. I set it aside when the Basic RolePlaying: Universal Game Engine Design Contest came about. That contest resulted in a flop.

I spiraled a bit after the BRP Design Contest. I discovered Dragonbane shortly before the contest ended and completely fell in love. I had this set of beautiful Four Panel GM Screen Inserts ready to rock when I discovered the Dragonbane OGL doesn’t permit us to reprint the rules. Smart business on their part, sad for the guy who carefully crafted a screen for now personal use. (I don’t find the Free League Dragonbane GM Screen totally useful, which is why I haven’t reviewed it and created my own screen.)

That reminds me I’m still woefully behind on product reviews. If you’ve sent me stuff, I’m going to get to it eventually. I’m digesting information in huge quantities, and I want to do the reviews justice. I’m getting older and fickler in my TTRPG preferences. At the same time I’m trying to be super nice in my criticisms because I don’t want to offend anyone.

The company that does get my harsh criticism hurled at them via siege weapons is Wizards of the Coast, specifically their bloody Dungeons & Dragons “teams.” It’s been another year of stupid shenanigans and PR stunts gone horribly wrong. The 50th Year Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons was an utter shame. They only managed to cough up two of the three 2024 Core Rulebooks. Not to mention Hasbro/Wizards seems to be ending the year amid financial problems and lawsuits. It makes me feel sad for them.

I’ve spent a lot of time this past year defending, “You know, old white dudes in a basement.” I actually consider this a Not-So-Good thing because if we were setting a positive example as a part of the common culture in the TTRPG hobby, I wouldn’t have to. I get there’s an overall trend in the US to exclude guys like me, and yet somehow the voters elected one. I mean, it’s kinda hard to start a “white guys” fan club because of the last couple hundred years of bad examples. There’s not much I’m going to do there.

The dumb question I’m going to be asking again in 2025 is, “Since when does ‘inclusion’ mean everyone is invited except old white guys in the gaming space?” We’ve seen people who write for D&D at Wizards of the Coast badmouthing Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson for being white guys from the Midwest. One of the loudest haters seems to be Jason Tondro, an old white guy himself. How’s that union at Paizo working out for you these days, Tondro? He’s got his money, screw the rest of us, I guess.

I’ve also had my issues with a handful of YouTubers, one of whom passed away in September. Obvious mental health problems with a couple of other individuals also make all of us “white guys” look terrible. Bigotry and outright ignorance on the part of some other individuals don’t help, either. Us “Old Grognards” (meaning anyone with more than ten years of gaming experience, apparently) can’t seem to catch a break on social media or YouTube.

Unfortunately I spend a lot of time on social media and YouTube because I’m home most days. Still dealing with my own screwball mental health and lots of chronic pain. Lost my therapist to retirement this year. That could be going better. Plus chasing a very active nine year old around keeps me worn out the rest of the time. Another shout out to the British gent who reads my YouTube scripts otherwise I’d never get a video out.

Is 2025 a year to look forward to?

I’ll detail my New Year’s intentions in another article. GMuary is high on my list. Hex-A-Day 2025 is up there. Making some DriveThruRPG money on Dragonbane is in the top tier projects. Lots of other things have made the list so far. Plus I always have my eye open for new contests, projects, giveaways, etc.

YouTube will not take priority over this blog unless I become monetized. If the money is good the two might switch priorities in terms of my time and effort. I want to devote more time to content creation in 2025. That means cutting back on late night horror movies and video games. Hopefully less fatigue and depression, too.

The main goal is always more positivity, creativity , joy, prosperity and good times gaming. The more positivity and joy we spread, the better we’ll all be for doing so. We all still slip into that negative space from time to time, but the main thing is not to live there.

Thank you for being here with me today. I appreciate you. Keep it real, but please strive for positivity, too. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy in your life.