How many 2009 resolutions did Johnn achieve?
This month’s RPG blog carnival hosted at The Bone Scroll asks us to revisit our 2009 goals and deliver a status report. Time to eat some humble pie.
Goal #1: DM my D&D campaign every other week
This was a resounding success. We missed only three or four sessions this year. This campaign now nears its conclusion, a milestone my current gaming group has not achieved before.
Over 20 sessions in 2009 the PCs gained seven levels and suffered three PC deaths.
Goal #2: Run a sci-fi game a few times
Fail. I picked my system and universe, GURPS Transhuman space, and got a few sci-fi novels read as well, but did not manage to go far enough in my learning of the rules and game planning to run a session.
Last week I ordered Traveller from Mongoose. My sci-fi interests have wandered into galactic proportions, and I feel a bit limited in my Sol-based Transhuman setting.
I also picked up the excellent 3:16 RPG: Carnage Amongst the Stars in September and pawed through the rules. It looks like a fun game!
Next year I must get my sci-fi fix in, whether it’s Transhuman, Traveller, Carnage, or option D.
Goal #3: Build a world
I started, paused and quit. In that order. Just too much going on. When I realized what I wanted to build and how I wanted to build it, I had to apply some Godin Dip thinking. In the end, I realized there is not enough hours in the day to tackle this project in 2009…or 2010.
Goal #4: Blog and E-zine
Success. Roleplaying Tips had 0 unscheduled missed weeks in 2009, which is awesome. That has not happened in a number of years. Thanks to Hannah Lipsky and Steven Bollenbough for helping me keep the trains running.
I did miss some weeks this year on Campaign Mastery that Mike had to cover. Thanks Mike! Next year I hope to have the same record for Roleplaying Tips and Campaign Mastery.
Overall though, goal achieved.
Goal #5: Have more fun
I had a ton of fun this year. Not only did we keep truckin with the regular game group, but we managed to get a marathon 30 hour D&D session played on an August weekend, plus several board game nights.
As for having more fun at each game, as I recently posted I need to focus on being more in the moment and less worried about what’s going to happen next. That is definitely a fun dampener.
Despite that trend, goal achieved.
Personal goals
For my personal goals, which I did not blog about in January, I did lose 10 pounds, I did eat better (with lots of exceptions), and I did launch Gamer-Lifestyle.com with Yax from DungeonMastering.com. I did not get an ebook self-published this year. I only managed to fly out to visit my parents once. I did get a financial consultant. Overall, I’m building momentum in the health and personal energy department, but there’s lots of room left for improvement. I am also not close to where I’m at with my home-based RPG business, but significant steps were made towards that goal in 2009.
Based on 4d6 and toss the lowest, I’d say I earned a B+ on making and keeping goals in 2009. In 2010, I need to be more specific so I can measure things more precisely. Stay tuned for a 2010 goals post in the next month or so.
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December 4th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Ever since I started actually keeping my New Year’s Resolutions, I’ve gotten a bit more choosy about which ones I make. Usually I only make one, if any.
Now I’m going to have to think about which ones I’m going to make this year.
December 4th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Good job, Johnn! Keep it up in 2010.
December 4th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
> Goal #2: Run a sci-fi game a few times
> … I feel a bit limited in my Sol-based Transhuman setting.
One of the nice things about Transhuman Space it that it provides a lot of gritty setting material that many broader scope SciFi (or is that now SyFy?) RPGs, such as Traveller, gloss over. So its a good resource for most RPG systems and campaign settings. Its Sol-based setting doesn’t really limit gaming options any more than any fantasy RPG settings unless traveling between star systems or extrasolar planets are integral to the desired campaign. Even then, as Frederick Pohl Pohl did in his Heechee series, an initially Sol-bound SciFi setting, can quickly and unexpectedly expand to the universe. (I’ve always really liked Gateway.) Just some options to throw into the mix for consideration.
December 5th, 2009 at 2:05 am
I guess I should do a similar post later in the month….
December 11th, 2009 at 10:13 am
B+! If I had a year like that I’d rate it A-triple-double-plus.
December 11th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
@Steve – those are great ideas. I just scooped Traveller. The couple of Transhuman books I have could be used as support material. Never thought of that!
@Noumenon – heh. There’s always room for improvement in whatever I do. Just ask my wife. :P