Over the summer I’ve been running an experiment that has turned into a full fledge side hobby. Publishing! More specifically, publishing material for Old School Revival (OSR) TTRPG games.
The rule systems for these games have their origins in the first versions of Dungeons & Dragons, so called 0e versions. My flavour of choice is the Moldvay Basic DnD which has more recently been repacked with a fantastic layout under Old School Essentials Fantasy.
The design choice to keep logical sections together on a single 2 page A5 spread has been wonderful, leading to easier to run games, streamlined rules, and, in my opinion, a much more transparent experience, where the rules take a step back from play – as they’re so simple they fit in working memory.
The OSR community really encourages content creation, and I joined a jam that focused on the Dying Earth. One thing led to another and now I have 2 adventure modules, one which is a more fleshed out area, while another is my version of a fantasy heist.
I have more planned in the works, and have been undertaking the Gygax 75 Challenge to help get the inspiration flowing. The problem I’m now facing is where to actually set the boundaries of the scope for the work! It’s called the Broken Circle and I’m posting semi regular updates about it on the publishing sister site.
So what makes this a publishing hobby rather than a writing hobby? On demand printing! Working with Lulu direct, it is possible to automate orders to actual physical book printing. Additionally, all the PDFs are available for download directly on Broken Arch Publishing or DriveThruRPG.
If you’re in to TTRPGs, and want to spend a coffee on some interesting reading, please have a look.
Discussion Points
- Have you ever had a side project get out of hand?
- Have you ever published anything?
- How many businesses that you interact with could be run by a single person with access to a lot of APIs?
Teaser
