Dice Song

Games Old, New, Borrowed and Blue

Duncan -

I'm not a bride (for several reasons), but I liked it as something to reflect changes in work/gaming life.

Gaming Upheavals and Challenges

My hobby of tabletop roleplaying games (rpgs) is also my work, as I write a blog and publish e-books for these games.

Which is great and sometimes a problem.

In January of this year (2023), Wizards of the Coasts decided to upend the rpg world by trying to change a license that was over 20 years old. As they are the publishers of Dungeons and Dragons, and many other rpgs  were based on this license, it was a big deal.

In the end they backed down, lost all of the goodwill of the rpg games community, generated lots of interest in non-D&D games and started a chain of events involving new licenses and games that is still continuing strong eight months later.

But how does this affect me?

I decided to stop D&D being my focus, publishing less pdfs for it and finding other games to be my focus. I even announced a switch to system neutral fantasy on my gaming blog, Rand Roll.

Part of this year has unknowingly been searching for new niches and focuses.

Games Old, New, Borrowed and Blue

It turns out that system neutral fantasy is a huge arena, and also so generic it's more challenging to find focus and sell!

So here are my recent revelations on my focuses

  • Something Old - Fighting Fantasy: These solo adventure gamebooks were my first experience of gaming when I was 11, with Caverns of the Snow Witch. So rediscovering them and collecting them recently connects to Solo RPGs and British Gaming, which are my two new main niches. I'll be using them for ideas and playthroughs, and even some Portuguese.
  • Something New - Solo Roleplaying Games: The new thing is starting to publish articles and supplements for solo rpgs, where you play these games as both player and gamesmaster. I discovered them during covid lockdown, and it's a perfect fit for me to try new games and random tables.
  • Something Borrowed - Podcast Ideas: As ever my main input stream is podcasts (and audiobooks), and borrowing ideas from the solo rpg podcasts I listen to. Ideas on new rpgs to try, settings to consider, ways to play and rules to adapt.
  • Something Blue - Doctor Who:  There's nothing more iconic in British sci-fi than the time-travelling alien in a blue police box. And I have an RPG I intend to play solo, thus combining a niche with something that's both old and modern, quirky and British.

Finishing Up

So what are your Old, New, Borrowed and Blue?