Tuesday, November 19, 2019

The Housekeeping and Distraction Post

Astronomy Cast
My first experience with podcasts was way back in 2006, with the Astronomy Cast podcast. Hosted by Dr. Pamela Gay and Fraser Cain, it was and still is a fascinating journey into not only Astronomy but the power of the web.

With that first episode on Pluto, I was hooked on podcasts.

I skipped around here and there looking for new material and have been through dozens of podcasts.

Lately, I have picked up on the OSR type podcasts and feel that my handle on the hobby is much better for it. You can mouse over each picture for the podcast name (including Astronomy Cast above) and click it as a link to the associated blog for each Podcast. I'm not going in any order, except the last podcast.

Elthos RRP
The first 'cast is by Vb Wyrde and he talks about game systems and creation. It's kind of heady stuff as he really digs into the hows and whys of various system's mechanics. This is a companion piece to his websites.

Playing It Wrong PodcastNext up is the Playing Wrong Podcast, with the lovable wizard pig. I like to think of it as the Cow-Dog of the OSR. This week's entry is about social media vs. content, which is kind of a big deal these days. On a tangential but parallel line of though, Dyson Logos has been talking about his experience on Facebook, which is not the most optimal platform to work from. You can also check out the link above labeled "The Tek" to see all kinds of statics about my website and downloads. 

Red Dice Diaries PodcastThe Red Dice Diaries is an excellent podcast which should have decidedly British slant, but actually is rather cosmopolitan in nature. I love John's ideas and point of view, plus he brings in a collection of guests to talk about their experiences at the tabletop. The episodes I found most enlightening were ones on a game that I always wanted to pick up, called Burning Wheel.

Super Adventure Friends Co. PodcastA rather new podcast is SAFCOcast. It covers Gurps and Traveller and a whole lot more. I like this one as it is hosted by a group rather than an individual. I don't get a lot time to play and I find this podcast satisfies my Science Fiction itch. I just wish I had more time to play some of those other games.

Maybe, some day.

Thought Eater PodcastWho has the time to read every blog under the sun? Oddly, the Thought Eater does. Take a listen to Jeremy's weekly Wednesday round up of the blog-o-verse. Jeremy is comprehensive, you can have two weeks of content to read over from just one listen.

Also, on Friday's he a short, 5ish minute show where he lets fly with his latest thoughts on the OSR.

Do Jeremy, me, and you a favor. If you run a podcast or blog, put your name on it. Or at least a good handle. It helps us find you.

The last OSR Podcast has a special place in my heart. It's called Blogs on Tape. It is intended to as readings of the Best of Blogs.

Blogs on Tape

What I see is accessibility. I've toyed with the idea of a podcast myself, but what I really want is a presentation so that people with poor vision can access blogs in the easiest, most natural format, the human voice. No place does Blogs on Tape mention this as a priority, but it is what they are doing. I love it.

If you want some insight as to why I would want this for my site, take a look at this semi-autobiographical short story I wrote. Most of it is fiction, but much of it is true.

If you want your blog or podcast featured here, feel free to shoot me a note at phil(dot)viverito(@)gmail(period)com or add a comment below. I'd love to add your content. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the wonderful Old School RPG Planet which reblogs your content. It is an excellent idea.

I apologize for the mess in the right column, I'm trying to add a graphical podcast list over there and ran out of energy. There is only so much coffee I can drink, and I need to stop casting from hit points.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Cleaning up and decorating

I'm cleaning up after making a mess with styrofoam this morning and getting some artwork ready for my new game room. Little touches right now. 


This is a book by Nate Treme and you can get it from his website. I am not sure if there are any physical copies left, but you can print your own. It's great, check out my review, here.

Right now, I just caught a newsflash that The Midderlands Expansion by Monkey Blood is free today. I was going to take a pass on it, but the article mentions that it contains a new map. Ah... more artwork for my game room. Check it out, but hurry!

Getting to it

Recently, I posted images of my dad's work in the form of the Shell Keep and the Crusader Castle. I've seen this done dozens of times. I don't have these skills myself, because I don't practice these skills. Maybe it's time to change that.

I pulled together some scraps of stuff I had lying around and got started. I want a castle, but maybe I should start smaller with some houses.


The larger structure will be a keep. Perhaps in a motte and bailey design. Or maybe it will simply be free standing. Not sure where I'm going with this, but the effort is fun.


Saturday, November 16, 2019

Still Working...

I still have some minor problems to fix with my updated Character Sheets. I'm finding how they print as opposed to how they look in the Mac is a problem. I should have something worked out soon.


Anyway, once they are done, I will post them up to my product on DriveThruRPG. If all goes well, I might rename this to "Character Sheet Pack" as I would like to do a series. If you have already downloaded, thank you. You're going to get this one as an update to the one you already have.

If you have any suggestions, please put them in the comments below.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

A Little Something New For Throwback Thursday - pt. 1

For #TBT, I'd like to share the top 10 searches on my website since July when I started using Google Analytics.
  1. Pregenerated Characters - Love it. 
  2. GSIV - This is one of my favorite games, Gemstone IV. 
  3. Peninsula of Plenty - My campaign sessions. 
  4. Experimental - Not sure why. This is my experimental writing. I should probably rename it to be clearer.  
  5. The Tek - I share my stats so other bloggers have something, anything to themselves compare to. 
  6. Nace - A city in my campaign. 
  7. mostfavored - These are my favorite products, which I suggest with no compensation. 
  8. AD&D - 'nuf said. 
  9. Appendix N+ - Books that have a role in my worldbuilding and game play. 
  10. Zero to Hero - My first book. 

A Little Something New For Throwback Thursday - pt. 2

For #TBT, I like to share my top five posts since I switched to Google Analytics in July, 2019.

Never ever do I ever - Horses, Drownings, and First Aid
Miniature Treasures - The Moldy Unicorn
A walk down memory lane... thru a Motte and Bailey Castle
Practical Tactical - Which Edition of D&D is Best?
Macaulay - Great Books, Lousy Pictures

Now, what do I wish was on that list?

At five, I'd like to see the A walk down memory lane... thru a Motte and Bailey Castle. My dad has built many iterations of this castle and it is my favorite.
Number 4, Update for Zero to Hero: Uncommon Commoners! I have to plug my own stuff, right?
Number 3 is my review of Module Review - BSOLO Ghost of Lion Castle.
Number two is another review post called Book Review - A Brief Study of TSR Book Design. This is great, free book by Kevin Crawford. If you want to do retro-games that look like old TSR products, you need this book.
Unconventional, but I would put Miniature Treasures - The Moldy Unicorn at number one.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.