Looking Forward to 2025: FRPGs, Thirteen Parsecs, and Basic Bestiary

 We are nearing the end of 2024. I did not get as much done here as I wanted. That is sort of my theme for 2024, really. Since I had no specific plans for 2025, I will continue with some threads started here in 2024. But I am going to go into some newer areas too.

Fantasy RPGs

This upcoming year I want to focus more on other, non-D&D, Fantasy RPGs. I still love D&D, I am just tired of the conversations around D&D. I am still playing. I am still enjoying it; I am just going to play and enjoy other games as well. 

I *will* talk about how these games can provide a "D&D-like experience" because I am sure that a lot of my readers here are still reading for D&D-related content.

Forgotten Realms

I still want to work through all my Forgotten Realms material and talk about it in terms of my own history of the game. I enjoyed it too much to put aside.

The Enchanted World

I also want to keep working through all my Enchanted World books. I wanted to finish them all in 2024, but that didn't happen. 

Thirteen Parsecs and Wasted Lands

I plan on doing more with these games in 2025. Gotta support the home team.

Basic Bestiary

Ok, this is the big one. I wanted to get this done. I have the monsters written, edited, and ready to go. What I am lacking is art. Monster books need a lot of art, and art is expensive. I am not 100% convinced that a huge monster book would make enough to cover the costs of the art. 

So I am thinking of breaking it up into smaller chunks now, a little like my Myths & Monsters (for AD&D) and my ill-fated Monstrous Maleficarum (for 5e). The goal will be to put a few monsters in a volume with art I have now, and I hope to make enough to buy art for the next one. As business plans go, it is not a great one, but it will do. 

My brain automatically goes to themes. I hope I can do that here. So a collection of hags, then of demons, and more. I am not going to try to kill myself to get one done a week, but I do want to get a few out in 2025.

 

Well. Here's to a better 2025!

New Year's Day! What's New for the Other Side in 2020?

Happy 2020 everyone!  I expected to have more cybernetic implants by now, but hey at least we are not living in a futuristic dystopian hellscape right? Right?
Anyway.

I am now at a point where I can say I have been playing D&D for 40 years. 

2019 was my celebration of 1979, the year I first learned about D&D and started to play.  I thought that might be the end of my "Back to Basic" but I was wrong, I find I still have more to do and say.
If 2019 was my focus on Holmes Basic and the AD&D Monster Manual (my gateway drugs) then 2020 will be my focus on the Moldvay Basic Set and the games I was playing with that.

So here are some things I am looking forward to doing here at The Other Side in 2020:

Sci-Fi
This was a science-fiction Christmas break for me.  We watched The Mandalorian, season 2 of Lost in Space, we started The Expanse on TV.  We binged watched all of Star Trek Discovery and LOVED it.  Saw Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in the theatres (I loved it) and we will see Doctor Who later today and then again at the Fathom Events special in the theatres.  We really had a great sci-fi vacation.  It all has me pretty pumped for a good Sci-Fi game.

The Expanse and Lost in Space have a grit to it that I really like.  Both also have some elements of horror to them I also liked.  All the things I want to add to my BlackStar game*.
(*just a reminder, BlackStar is not a game I am looking to publish, just something to have some fun with.)

I already knew that I was going to add elements of ST:DISCO to my game too, I just didn't what yet.  With Picard coming up soon, season three of Disco after that AND the re-merger of Viacom and CBS it looks like a great time to be Star Trek fan.

Both Lost in Space and the Expanse (pre-warp Sci-fi) have also refueled my desire to finish "Space Truckers."  I'd love for it to capture that late 70s Trucker movies and early 80s campy sci-fi.

Back To Basics, Year 2
2019's Back to Basics was so much fun I want to keep going.  Last year was mostly dedicated to Holmes and my weird Holmes/AD&D hybrid.  In the OSR this was best represented by Blueholme and Labyrinth Lord.

This year is the 39th anniversary of the Moldvay Basic set.  Though the copyright date is 1980, it is good enough for me to call it 40.  My focus this year then will be Moldvay/Cook/Marsh B/X flavor basic.   This system is represented best by Old School Essentials (formerly B/X Essentials) and Pacesetter's BX RPG.

I do have at least four more witch books I want to get out.  The Pagan Witch and the Warlock for OSE.  For BX RPG I am wanting to do a Diabolic Witch book and one I am calling "The Secret Order, The High Witchcraft Tradition".

The nice thing about The High Witchcraft book is it will take me full circle back to my original notes and witch class.  After this, I want to focus on other things.  I love writing about witches but I have more I want to do as well.

 So here is to a new 2020!