2022 RPG Resolutions

Reynard · Jan 1, 2022

What are your RPG gaming Resolutions f[r 2022?

First, I am making this The Year of Savage Worlds for myself. I have run SW off and on for years and even done a bunch of freelance writing for SW material, but it has always kind of played second fiddle to D&D for me. This year I am going to push it to the front, starting with a Savage Pathfinder game this very evening!

Relatedly, I am going to bring gaming back into my life. Last year I went back to school (to get a third bachelor's degree at 46 years old!) and stopped doing everything "frivolous" to concentrate on school. I don't think it was healthy. The 3 or 4 hours a week i "saved" not gaming didn't offset the stress i felt not having an outlet, so I am going to ease back in.

You?

pogre · Jan 1, 2022

My main gaming resolution is to buy a little less and to craft a little more. It is easy to buy a ton of stuff, but I enjoy gaming most when I run mostly homebrewed adventures using terrain I crafted and miniatures I painted (or in some cases even sculpted).

I got a bunch of tools and crafting supplies for Christmas ad I am looking forward to using them.

Doc_Klueless · Jan 1, 2022

Reynard said:
What are your RPG gaming Resolutions for 2022?

A couple, so not much, to keep it reasonable:

1) No more physical product. Thinks like books, dice, accessories. Reason: everything physical I buy just tends to sit on my shelves as, whenever I do game now and for the last few years, it's all on line. It just adds cost that isn't giving me a return on that investment. Plus I tend to read just about everything on my Kindle Fire 10 when I have time here and there. Like when I'm taking a breath after hiking for a few miles or pulled to shore when kayaking.

b) Keep my purchases focused on systems that I actually do play. That would be Savage Worlds and it's many flavors for the most part. Followed by Year Zero Engine stuff like Alien and, hopefully, Bladerunner when it comes out. Reason: I literally have not touched anything else in a few months except for things I purchased sorta read/glanced through and then dropped on a shelf to gather dust. In addition, my tastes have been slowly turning from Fantasy to more Sci-Fi, Weird Wars, including the shows I watch and the books I read..

I'm actually thiiiiiis close to not playing RPGs anymore as other hobbies (hiking, kayaking, travelling, photography) are starting to suck up more and more of my time. Which is sad, I suppose, but life goals change. As I get older, the more I think I need to keep active and not sit around so much.

innerdude · Jan 1, 2022

Stop spending money on systems I'm never going to play.

I'm realizing more and more that I derive no value from stuff that's never going to hit the table. In the past I've bought stuff thinking, "Oh it'll be nice to have that as a reference for some other thing I'm doing." Or thinking that I'll just read it for pleasure.

But it's a self-delusion. It never happens.

The effort to adapt material across systems is just too great. I barely have time to prep for my Star Wars EotE game, let alone muck around with anything else.

As well, I find more and more that when I commit to system, it's with the intent of playing at least 15 sessions (6 months or more). It's just too much work to learn a new system if there's not a real commitment to use it.

So what ends up happening is I get tightly focused on the same system, buying deep into the product line, because I want to maximize what I get out of it long term.

The only exception to this rule is One Ring 2E, because my love of Tolkien knoweth no bounds. It's unlikely to hit the table for 3+ years with everything the group has lined up, but I simply couldn't live with myself if I didn't get one of the TOR 2E collector's edition rule sets. So I happily backed it last year.

But even stuff I otherwise think is cool---Aliens, Sword of the Serpentine, Dune, Savage Pathfinder, Tales of Xadia---is just going to have to lie fallow, unpurchased.

innerdude · Jan 1, 2022

Reynard said:
Relatedly, I am going to bring gaming back into my life. Last year I went back to school (to get a third bachelor's degree at 46 years old!) and stopped doing everything "frivolous" to concentrate on school. I don't think it was healthy. The 3 or 4 hours a week i "saved" not gaming didn't offset the stress i felt not having an outlet, so I am going to ease back in.

Definitely agree with this. My stress levels are higher and overall life enjoyment noticeably lower when I go without my RPG group for more than a month (we typically play every two weeks).

guachi · Jan 1, 2022

Run an in-person game.

That didn't happen in 2021.

I purchased some fun-looking settings in 2021 and maybe I'll get a chance to use them. Ptolus (from Monte Cook Games), Harn (from Columbia Games), and Southlands (part of Midgard from Kobold Press) all look really fun and interesting.

Highly recommend all of them.

MGibster · Jan 1, 2022

Reynard said:
Relatedly, I am going to bring gaming back into my life. Last year I went back to school (to get a third bachelor's degree at 46 years old!) and stopped doing everything "frivolous" to concentrate on school. I don't think it was healthy. The 3 or 4 hours a week i "saved" not gaming didn't offset the stress i felt not having an outlet, so I am going to ease back in.

My resolution for 2020 was to get out there and get some more gaming done but the pandemic laughed at those plans. There wasn't a big improvement in 2021 but I did start playing some table top miniatures war games so that was nice. I'm not sure how well 2022 will go but I am hopeful.

innerdude said:
I'm realizing more and more that I derive no value from stuff that's never going to hit the table. In the past I've bought stuff thinking, "Oh it'll be nice to have that as a reference for some other thing I'm doing." Or thinking that I'll just read it for pleasure.

I arrived at the same place a few years back but mainly to avoid cluttering up my house. Though starting in 2020, I really amped up my miniature painting to previously unheard of levels. I had to buy a new display case just to help keep everything organized. I have gotten to use a lot of the new miniatures for gaming purposes and I look forward to using those Imperial Knights in 2022. Cthulhu has remained alone and unloved sadly enough with very little prospect of use in the future.

Ath-kethin · Jan 1, 2022

I decided I'm going to run games at a con, and use that as a marketing tool. So far I've put in to run two DCC sessions at Gen Con, playtestng a new module we are working on, and my business partner/old friend is planning to run a 5e version of the same module.

I COULD resolve to actually finish/publish the dozen or so half-done products and half-baked ideas sitting in my hard drive, but let's not get crazy here.