Current projects & time passing:

In no particular order here are the RPG things I have on my plate right now.

• The  Article for Dyvers "Can't we all just get along" project:
• I have an idea what I want to write and a few notes now I need to write it. Then read it and write it again. I may be the only one doing game system type stuff for this project though I'm not sure of that, either way it has to be good, cause everyone else will be doing great stuff.
• Aleria The RPG: 
• I have not talked about this here yet, but for the record I am in the middle of building a system exclusively for my campaign. Based off My AAEE game only  taken a bit more seriously, I have quite a bit written, with  quite a bit more to go. I guess the reason I have not talked all that much about it here is because I don' think some of the ideas in the game are quite ready for prime time yet. To be honest this is and has been for a while my primary project.
• Nova 74:
• The game of 70's crime cinema is still thing, I need to keep play testing it. My goal is that it will show up here as a free pdf someday.
• Nice thing is the  play test group is about to get embroiled in a turf war involving drug dealers, the mob, bartenders, and a pimp with a heart of gold.
• AAEE:
• Is essentially done. I printed 5 copies off lulu gave them to the players, its a wrap. While It needs to be laid out, needs to be edited, and all that stuff that makes a product a real product, that's beyond the scope of what I wanted to do with AAEE. The  PDF you can download from here is as good as it will ever get.
• AAEE (the town): Is a second part of the game that allows players to build a town with the money they pull out of the  various dungeons they  die in. It is a fun Idea that I need to  work on more. Right now its only in it's infant stages.
• Aleria the campaign:
• I'm running my  AD&D 2nd ed campaign on Friday nights over roll 20. It will stay as a 2nd ed game until I can get my own game done.  I do prep on Thursday nights.. so it kind of works out for me.
• A Corpse Requires no Space in the Void:

•  I decided to stat working on a strange Sci-Fi game. This will be a side thing, I literally only have that title and this picture. I honestly don't know where this will go if anywhere. I do know I like the idea of creating a kind of smash-mouth, pulp adventures style sci-fi game, more "Thunder the Barbarian" than "2001." 
• I'm also thinking of "galactic hex crawl" ala star-trek style exploration. move into a new sector roll some stuff adventure...
• I'm playing in my friend Jay's 5th ed game.
• Orin is a level 15 fighter and is about to get killed at the gates to Phandalen which we have been running like bosses for the past couple months.
• I'm playing in my friend Otto's the 5th ed game.

• Teolis the bard is brand new and still finding his footing in the  party. I'm not sure how long he can last but he plays a fucking magic drum and  a flute. If that's not a bad ass I don't know what is. True story, he was making "death saves" in his first game. Also a true story the  5th ed bard is basically flimsy a wizard with a flute. 

Finally about time passing:
On the  21st  I turn 40. This was the month by which when I started this blog in April of 2013 I wanted to have a game book, written, edited, art purchased, laid out, and out there in the wild.
It was a lofty goal, I knew that at the time, the tight scheduled has never bothered me, I know how to work with  time.

My goal was never to make money, in fact I planned on loosing  money, I had that set aside. Nor was my goal to have a hit game out there, I simply wanted something with my name on it out in the community that I could say..look I did that!
No excuses. I took my eye of shards and focused on AAEE which is a very fun game but in my mind inferior, It was my decision to do so.

That was my goal 2 years to make, "Shards of Thimbral" happen. It did not happen. Which is to say I have failed to achieve my goal.
An actual published game by me is never going to happen, I'm simply not going to  pursue it anymore. I have a wife, family, friends, job, and a home that require that time and energy. I have personal reasons to believe the next 10 years are going to be the busiest of my life. Unfortunately there is going to be progressively less room or this kind of thing.

I have met and talked to a large number of interesting and smart people. Conversation I would not  trade back for anything. I have seen the past 2 years of community upheavals and controversies come and go. I have in fact learned a lot about the online RPG community I never knew, some of which is positive, a lot of which was not. I have written a bunch of stuff that had nothing to do with my original goal. I guess that's how it goes.

So where does that leave this blog?
I'm not sure.
I was prepared yesterday to close the doors here. Say thank you and move on.
Today I'm not. I have all that stuff listed above going on in my head I would like to share it, and share it I will.

I'm not going anywhere.

If you are a regular reader and I think there might be like three of you now, (I thank you.) I don't plan on closing this blog but I also don't plan on posting as much RPG design stuff moving forward.
Lets see what this becomes over the next few months then I will make a final decision on the Dust Pan.

I don't want to leave on a down note, because down notes suck fat donkey nuts.
This week I have off, I'm going to try (try) to get NOVA 74 cleaned up enough to offer a free play test PDF by the weekend for any one who wants to grab it.

-Thank you for reading:
Please leave any questions or comments in the basket of angry vipers below.
-Mark