2023 and Beyond, a.k.a. Sorry for being absent...
Joe here.
Okay, so we've been pretty absent for most of the last year+. However, we have good reasons.
In January 2022, I tore up my left knee and required surgery. We still made it to Gary Con XIV though, but between that and Hailey needing braces, 2022 and most of 2023 was going to be a wash. We did drop into MARCON 2022, only because that is here in Columbus less than a mile from home, and it was the first con to give us a vendor table. We heard it was the final one and had to go...then someone rescued it from the ashes and it will continue (go figure).
In October 2022, an employee at my day job quite literally tried to kill me. No, I am not exaggerating. The beating I took resulted in quite a few health issues that are still being resolved, so we cancelled any and all plans for 2023, including Gary Con XV sadly, as I can barely GM a session at home without having severe headaches an hour in, among other issues.
I tell you all this because I want to be honest here. The broken ribs were bad, but the PTSD, Post-concussion Syndrome, aggravated back fractures, and increase in epileptic activity is more concerning. It will be a bit before we are back on the road to promote anything, at the earliest 2024. Possibly Ice & Dice in Cincinnati, definitely Gary Con XVI and PhoenixCon.
In the meantime, I am trying to get back into the swing of designing by working on the #Dungeon23 project. For those not in the know, #Dungeon23 is a daily writing exercise, designing one dungeon room per day for the entire year of 2023, changing levels every week or month (I've seen both - I chose month). By the end of the year, you have a megadungeon of 365 rooms. It has helped with brain function, as I am writing here. We hope to make this a release at Gary Con XVI. Bonus: it is being designed with Dwarven Forge tiles in mind; while they are not needed to run it, they would enhance the dungeon experience. Every morning, I sit down with my tiles, make the next section, then draw it out and stock the room.
As far as other releases...there are three waiting in the wings. We just need to get the stock art from DriveThruRPG to fill them (Hailey is VERY busy with her freshman year of high school, and we're giving her a break after Sewers of Irvinia). If you want to help with this, our first published adventure, Lair of Elaacrimalicros, is on DMsGuild (link below); yes we get 50% royalties, but that was our first published adventure, which is pretty darn good, and is heavily based in the lore of Forgotten Realms from little tidbits scattered through many books over the years. All of our royalties from it go right back into art for our OSR products.
Speaking of our OSR products, we now have them available in pdf in our store, in case you wanted or prefer digital copies. At this time, Wix cannot provide us with a way to do a package deal of both, which is something we are trying to fix soon. If you have purchased a physical copy because you wanted it, but prefer digital, fire off a message to me and I will send you a single-use coupon for a discount towards the digital version if you so desire.
Other Updates:
Lethal Lexicon Redux: there are 300+ monsters about done, we just need to do the art for them. That is a tall order. It might be on hold for awhile.
World of Durmin Kickstarter Relaunch: Not until at least 2025. As much as we want to try again, we feel we need more of a presence to actually have it be successful.
Draffin Keep: The bane of my existence is fully playtested and I am happy with it. I would say it is 5th or 6th in line for adventures.
Alaethalsurr's Brood, Brumsal's Tower of Doom, & The Seventh Demon of Eli-Phogni: Yes, we announced these April 5, 2022. These are still the next 3 adventures. There is still art we need to pick up for them. The sooner we have the art, the sooner they come out. Otherwise, they are ready for typesetting. After those, there is The Gnomish Mastermind (which ties into The Missing Villagers AND the #Dungeon23 project), Temple of the Dogman (from Gary Con XIV), and then Draffin Keep (I hope...).
Okay, I do believe that is all from our end. We hope all of you are doing well. Here is the link to get the 5e adventure Lair of Elaacrimalicros from DMsGuild: dmsguild.com/product/209551/Lair-of-Elaacrimalicros
Happy Gaming, and may you always roll 20's and not fall victim to devious traps!