2023 TTRPG Goals

Dragged from the depths of the drafts folder...

Goal #1 - Stop Buying EVERYTHING

My shelves overflow with plenty, unread and unrun. The purchasing won’t stop, but my shelves and wallet groan when my eyes light up at the glimpse of the shiny and new.

Goal #2 - Branch Out

I hyperfocus on a hobby to the exclusion of other media and interests. This is kind of like begging for burnout. It also narrows your focus. If you are nose deep in RPG books day in and day out, you missing out on a wealth of inspiration. I’m already working on this, though I’m afraid it does little to appease my shelves or wallet.

Goal #3 - Put Myself Out There

I dipped my toes into online play this year and had a wonderful time. It allowed me to play games that I would have never experienced otherwise. I am looking forward to joining more games in the coming year and, hopefully, feeling comfortable enough to run some stuff. I should really reread my post about that and fire myself up again.

Goal #4 - Dungeon23… Or Rather, Horror23

I gave up being a creator a long time ago, but something about this appeals to me and I am going to give it a go. Megadungeons don’t do it for me though, so I am going to make mine a collection of haunted spaces. My artwork is atrocious, so I need to figure out if I want to proceed without any, do something weird, or get by as best I can.

Goal #5 - Create Other Stuff

Okay, the part about giving up being a creator may be a bit overblown. I designed a pamphlet adventure for Mausritter to use as a Christmas Episode for my group. Was it good? No. It was a fun new experience though and that counts for something. Going back a lot further, I started working on a Southern Gothic/Folk Horror campaign that meant to take advantage of the stacks of relevant zines and books cramming my shelves. It managed to fizzle despite my excitement. I am sure with a little prodding, that excitement can be rekindled.

Reading Goals

Some white whales have been sitting on my shelves for a while, unread or partially read, and it is past time I read them and get them a table.

• Delta Green - This game has occupied a good amount of my time and thoughts over the past year, but I stalled while reading the Handler’s Guide thanks to how depressing the timeline becomes as it marches steadily toward the present.

• Heart: The City Beneath - I have started and stopped reading this book so many times and I am baffled as to how a book that is so up my alley returns unfinished to my shelf again and again and again.

• Coyote & Crow - So interesting, but such a large book. As mentioned in a previous post, books of this size are off-putting to read. I will power through eventually.

• Forbidden Lands - Suffered a similar fate to Delta Green. I love what I read, but struggle with sustain my enthusiasm through multiple books.

• The Burning Wheel - So fucking dense. Something about the game really appeals to me and reading it still feels like getting nowhere fast. I can’t imagine not taking a shine to it and trying to get through it.

• Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall - There is something deeply appealing about a game where you run a restaurant by day and deal with vampires by night. I just need to make some time for it.

Gaming Goals

Like the above, but I read them already and need to either run or play them.

• Vaesen

• Trophy Gold

• Vaesen

• Frontier Scum

• Vaesen

• We Deal in Lead

• Vaesen

• Troika

• …Vaesen?

So I might be hung up on Vaesen a little. I need to get that out of my system.