Some Background

Okay, let's talk about why I have started a Patreon, and why now.

I've been running RPGs since Christmas day 1979, starting with Holmes Blue Box. There have been fallow periods, but I've been sitting in the GM's chair pretty steadily for over 40 years. Right from the start, I was writing my own material, but also right from the start I delighted in running things others have written. Just as our world does not have a single architect designing its buildings, or a single voice for the people therein, using materials created by others allows for variation and, through that variation, greater verisimilitude. The fantasy world seems more real.

I had published fiction, non-fiction, and poetry previously, but my first published RPG work was in the 3.x era of the World's Most Popular RPG through Dragon Roots Magazine. Since then, I have done some work for Old School games, including artwork and a couple of magic items in Petty Gods. I have over 90 credits to my name in the Dungeon Crawl Classics system - for adventure writing, conversions, additional writing, articles, and advice.

Before the pandemic, I was working a fulltime job, participating in the "DM & Dine" program at Storm Crow Manor in Toronto (essentially, being paid to run games), running regular and Con games, and writing. But the pandemic shifted things for all of us, some of us more than others. For one thing, the "DM & Dine" program closed by necessity, cutting off one income stream.  The slow emergence from the pandemic had other effects, making me far more aware that my employer's changes in management could well threaten my primary income. 

Then during the pandemic symptoms progressed that I was no longer able to ignore, and I was diagnosed with spinal-cerebral ataxia, a progressive disease that will eventually take away both mobility and speech. While I certainly hope that is a long way in the future, I am more than a little aware of a sense of time running out. 

So, yes, this is obviously an attempt to build a new income stream against the worst that might happen. But it is also an attempt to make a real contribution, on my own terms, to the hobby and the game that we all love while I still can. Again, that may be decades - and I hope that it is! - but I no longer have the luxury of assuming time is on my side.

For those of you who have joined me on the journey, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

And, yes, I know that a lot of us are feeling the squeeze these days. Don't feel bad if you cannot, or even simply don't want to, join my Patreon. The main blog and the DCC Trove of Treasures are still going to exist, as long as I am able to maintain them!