Holiday Hiatus

Yesterday was the last session of the Watchfires & Thrones campaign for 2010. It ended on a triumphant note, and although unplanned, was the perfect session to end the year with. According to my belief that most successful campaigns enjoy an 18-month lifespan before the itch to explore new genres/settings or referee burnout takes its toll, this month also marked the halfway point of that lifespan. Although I’m anticipating that Watchfires & Thrones will end when the first few characters reach name level and construct bastions of civilization in the Uncertain Lands, I don’t have anything in particular planned for the campaign’s end, so it may not terminate exactly at the 18th month point. Nevertheless, it’s nice to see that the PCs advancement is roughly on track to this end.

As might be imagined with reaching the middle of the campaign, I did suffer through a few weeks of scraping the bottom of the creative bucket and a little referee brain fry, but I’m on the rebound and feeling better. Rather than take chances though, I’m going be (mostly) stepping away from the world of roleplaying games for the holiday season to spend time with the family, relax, and recoup. I’ll be toying with the campaign world some, reading a few old books, and working on some projects and posts for 2011, but these are all secondary, even tertiary, concerns. I just want to enjoy a peaceful break and be thankful for what the past year has given me, miser that it’s been at times.

To that end, this will be the last post for 2010, barring any unforeseen emergency announcements. I’d like to thank all of you who’ve put up with these often mad rambling for the past two years and counting. Your continued patience and unflagging interest is greatly appreciated. I’d also like to thank everyone who has willingly parted with their own money in these tight economic times to procure the products of my fevered brow, be it The Dungeon Alphabet, Stonehell Dungeon, or the second Stonehell Supplement. Like for so many other people, money has been tight around these parts and your generosity is occasionally the only thing keeping Knuckles and Bruno from knocking on my door and breaking my kneecaps. I am both deeply grateful and humbled.

I’d also like to thank everyone who has taken the time to personally write me an email to say how much this blog or my books fire their imaginations and how they’ve incorporated my ideas into their own campaign worlds. Writing is a lonely business; writing for the Internet even more so and your letters remind me that I’m not howling into the void in despair.

I’d especially like to thank my regular players, both past and present, who’ve allowed me to turn the theoretical ramblings here into actual play, allowing me to see where I was on to something and when I was just full of shit. Your constant presence at the gaming table is the greatest reward any referee can ask for.

So to all of you, no matter what creed you ascribe to or celebration you enjoy, I wish a happy holiday season and a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2011. I’ll see you on the far side of tomorrow.

- Mike