Welcome 2013

Posted by on Jan 5, 2013 in DCCRPG, Inside the Thick Skull | 0 comments

Hello there,

So, I wanted to give you guys an update as to where things were in the world of Thick Skull Adventures.

2012 was a good year in terms of gaming in that we were able to release Attack of the Frawgs and it has sold better than I’d ever expected. As of this writing (Jan 1, 2013) It has reached “Copper” status on both RPGNow.com and DriveThruRPG.com. As I know both of these sites track their sales independently I’ve been extremely pleased with their popularity. Similarly, the print copy of Frawgs has also sold very well (when compared to it’s older brother the 4E version of Larvik) so that has been nice. I was also able to attend PacificCon this year and do some gaming with Joseph Goodman himself which was a very special treat.

But I have to be honest, readers, 2012 was a crappy year for me personally. Without getting into too many specifics, I will say this: in early 2012 my wife asked me for a divorce, after attempts at reconciliation and counseling it was evident divorce was unavoidable. I moved out in July and my divorce was final in Nov 2012. To say that 2012 was the worst year of my life at a personal level would be an understatement in the extreme. Going through the divore, moving out of my house, splitting the time with my daughters and all the other horrors that come with it were very troubling. Luckily Frawgs was “in the can” and awaiting the public release of DCCRPG, but my contribution to the followup modules I’d intended to publish in 2012–the DCCRPG remaster of Haunting of Larvik Island and the brand new “Larvik 2”–were greatly affected.

But I’m here to tell you, dear readers, my emotional and mental health are on the mend. I’m now settled in my new place, my daughters seem to be doing well all things considered, and my personal life is starting to feel normal again. In fact, I’m even enjoying some of my solo time now 🙂

This progress has already had a clear impact on my productivity. I have started working on the Larvik 1 re-master in earnest. I’ve spent the last couple of weekends making good progress on the re-master. And I must say, that the process of a story/adventure going from AD&D to D&D 4E and finally to DCCRPG will be a blog post in and of itself!

I’ve decided to focus on finishing this project first for a couple of reasons:

  • In theory, it should be quicker to get this to market which I’m very keen to do. I think the fans have been patient and I owe it to them to do so. Although, I’m also trying very hard to make this a “remaster” and not a “conversion”; I finished doing the monster conversions months ago. I want this to feel like a DCCRPG module and closer to it’s original OSR roots! That requires a lot more work than just ripping out the stat blocks.
  • My brother and co-author on “Larvik 2”, Mr. James Daniel Newton, continues to plod away on some of the story elements within that adventure, so it’s not like we’re losing ground.

At this pace, I’m hoping that the DCC RPG version of Larvik goes to playtesting in late Feb or early March for an April or May publication.

Thanks everyone for being so patient!

-Stephen-