Category: Star Wars RPG

Old Man Casey’s Morning Routine and Computer Stress

I suspect he know I’m trying to leave when he suddenly does this instead of peeing in the morning. Oh no, Case, go ahead and take your time. Not like I have letters to sling or anything.

This is following the late-night stress that was my focused too intently on figuring out the calendar/scheduling problems that cropped up over the past day. I might be a millennial and have a basic understanding of technology, but when I say basic, I mean that wholeheartedly. The phrase “I don’t know what I’m doing” is reflexive once I have a computer in front of me.

But I eventually figured it out and sent word to my players about the upcoming events. I’ve debated linking that to the site so everyone could just come here to find out when a session will be available, but I couldn’t find a way to do that without my players’ identities being made public. That just isn’t something I’m willing to do without their permission.

At least today is one of the days this week where I don’t feel the need to skip lunch and be done early(ish). I packed the tablet with me and queued up my plots/chapters, so I’ll get some writing in during the day.

Back to slinging letters, readers. As a bonus, another majestic picture of Old Man Casey just living his best life.

He’s a good boy, and just as goofy as the rest of us.

Stay safe, readers!

-JB Swift

Early Morning Fog on an Unexpected Day Off

I’m betting it was the back-to-back 11.5 hour shifts. Maybe management is wanting me to take it easy and recover from the stresses of overwork. Or they had not gotten to my name on the “This Guy Don’t Need A Life” list before I had clocked out for the day.

Either way, I have a Day Off! It’ll be enforced by the Postal Tradition of “On my day off, I don’t have a phone and cannot be found”, while I wander around the house or to town to take care of chores and errands.

There will be a few writing sprints to attempt after the errands, but the next couple of days will also be used to refine the challenges for the Main Arc players. They’re in the Arc Finale Adventure, and while I don’t purposefully try to kill the characters, I want them to have an appropriate sense of difficulty.

The primary antagonist…oof. The players will have their work cut out for them.

While I’ve been considering the challenges of the day, be they physical or metaphorical, I was able to enjoy a few minutes of quiet on the front porch, while the woods around us was shrouded in the Louisiana fog.

Stay safe, readers!

-JB Swift

Monday Morning traffic, Han’s First Day, and Sporadic Writings

Welp, I had promised that I’d write an update in the last post, and I’m here to deliver on that promise!

Granted, I was intending to have this posted about 20 minutes after that post, but it seems my sleep schedule had put its foot down. Went through a Little Sleep, woke up at 2 and wrote for another 20 minutes, then to bed for the Big Sleep until the alarm went off (and it worked this time!) and we made ready for the day.

The weekend had enough chaos to make it difficult to reach my goal, so we’re resetting the due date for the chapter’s posting to this upcoming Saturday. It’s not ideal, but I’m managing the schedule as best as I’m able.

Turns out that the Main Arc session was almost completely RP (Role-Played for the non-gaming-nerds) as the party learned about their mission. I apparently front-loaded so much that I’m having to write it out for the players who couldn’t attend, though we know our players enough to know how they would’ve reacted. I’ll be saving that write-up for when I get to Arc 2.

As to the why that I couldn’t finish out my writing goals: birthday parties. We’ve basically formed a family unit between us and our friends with kids, so when there are nearby birthdays, we hold them in one event.

That was fun for the kids, and I have to admit I’m very proud that they managed their own chaos (over 10 kids no older than 6 makes for a lot of chaos) as well as they did. With that, Han and Ben were worn out by bedtime and I began my evening routine of attempting to write before I passed out.

And today begins Han’s experience with the first grade! Wish her luck, readers. The kid is too smart for her own good, sometimes. I’m hoping she’ll be challenged enough to stay engaged with the class.

And now, I’m going to sit here in the mail truck that had decided it needed a new battery all of a sudden. That, of course, means taking the opportunity to write while working.

Stay safe, readers!

-JB Swift

Saturday Shenanigans, Main Arc Night, and Future Posts

Life wouldn’t be interesting if it didn’t occasionally put a dash of irony into my awareness. After writing about how the day job was starting to throw off my perception of time and schedules, I went to bed last night after a Side-Arc session convinced that I would be rested and ready to sling letters at 7:30AM.

So of course, I was woken up this morning by my 6yr who kept saying “Dad, you’re going to be late for work!”

It was 7:10AM, and it’s a 22-minute drive to my office.

So…you know: panic.

I made it to work with 10 seconds left on the clock before I’d be considered ‘late’, so no discipline will be coming my way. I don’t want to think about how fast I had to drive to get to the office in that time, but I got there. I was lucky to have grabbed my satchel on my way out; I’ll be out here without supplies or tools. Didn’t even grab a hair tie.

That’s survivable, but also very annoying. At least my water jug was in the satchel, but I did have to give an explanation as to why I also had the training device for the whip-chain Kung Fu forms. (Note: it is highly illegal to have a weapon on your person in a Federal building unless you’re authorized, even if it’s an esoteric melee weapon)

I won the argument by saying it was just a training tool, not designed to cause harm, and really, it looks silly if you don’t know what it’s for, so I was forgiven for my weirdness. So now, I’m out here, taking parcels and letters out to the community. It’s a pretty day for it, at least.

Tonight will be the session for Arc 2, Adventure 4! The finale of the Arc, and I’m predicting it’ll take at least a month to finish, given our scheduling and the amount of detail I’ve put into the challenges for the players. After that, I’m expecting everyone will want some downtime to explore their characters’ Side-Arcs and have some development, while I whittle away at the story-writing and page-posting. That “taking time off to write” idea is looking very tempting now.

There might be a new section on the front menu fairly soon, as well. I keep going back and forth on the “Postal Living” idea, but now that it’s been requested, I’m duty-bound to give it some attention. We’ll see where that goes.

Happy Saturday, readers. Stay safe out there.

-JB Swift

Early Morning Fog and Late Night Dogs

Technically, I suppose, it’s not all that early when I step outside at dawn for my coffee and pipe (tobacco, folks, don’t forget I’m a Fed and can’t do that), when I consider that my kids are already up. They were playing games in the living room, waiting for me to toddle down the hallway, struggling with the buttons on my shirt, before asking for breakfast.

They fight bedtime so much but they sleep like logs for several hours. If they only knew how much they’ll want that sleep when they’re my age.

So, the kids are munching on breakfast and I’m out here, ingesting the coffee and waiting for the stimulant to hit my system when I snapped this moment in the morning fog.

Living out in the woods makes for a crappy internet connection, but damn if it isn’t pretty.

Yesterday’s day off had some payoff! Tried the writing sprint for 30 minutes and walked away with over 800 words in Adventure Two! I’m aiming to hit my personal goal of getting that chapter posted by this Saturday. Normally I struggle through the evening and get maybe half that much before I konk out at my desk, but I was rested and able.

Plus, the evenings all week have been filled with Side-Arc sessions! Players have been wanting to pursue their character development stories and see what else I’ve had in store for them! So, it’s been panicked plotting and rushed voice-acting practice every day before I start the video call.

Hello, my name is Jacob and I’m addicted to RPG running.

I have Side-Arc sessions for the next two days before the Main Arc session on Saturday, and I’m coordinating with the players’ decisions and mapping out where their stories will be going down the timeline. I’ll be making the attempt today and tomorrow to get that chapter finished, but I have to remember that the further I write, the bigger those chapters are going to be.

(This is reminding myself to also get those character pages finished for the party, so they’re not confused)

Just as I finished the session and started heading for bed, I found these two old men on the rug behind me. They don’t seem impressed with my plot-writing, but they’re good company.

It’s time to sling letters and walk my 12 miles. Stay safe, readers.

-JB Swift

Updating Pages and More Writing!

Now that I’ve finished another day at the day job and walked my 12 miles, I’m able to dedicate some attention to this site and put more work into the campaign and its story. While this post won’t be going up until the morning, it’s best that it’s written out while I’m still awake and capable of writing.

There were two major updates added to the GM Notes page: “Rules of Play” and “Character Creation”. As much as I like to believe that I will always explain these two things to my players, experience has taught me otherwise in some slightly embarrassing ways. So, I’ve taken to putting them up on the website via the GM Notes page, and I’ll link them here for those wanting to read them over. As I’ve explained to my players (and repeat to them constantly), if there are questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Write a comment to this post with your question, and I’ll do my best to answer you.

Rules of Play

Characters Creation

Story-wise, the first part of Arc 1, Adventure 2 is nearly finished and will be posted (hopefully) by this upcoming Saturday. If I’m lucky and can stay awake long enough after work, I’ll also have the first chapter of the novella written and sent to my editor (who is gracious with her patience and can’t hit me with her shoe, being hundreds of miles away) to check it over.

This week is looking to be a busy one, campaign-wise. Multiple Solo- and Short-Arc sessions before the Main Arc session this Saturday. I’m enjoying the challenge.

-JB Swift

Saturday Morning Posts and Updates!

Well, there was an hour of quiet in the house while I made ready to head to town and sling letters all day. I had hoped to get up early enough to get another page written down, but that was just wishful thinking.

But there’s progress! I’ve added 500 words to both the Sidewinder Story adventure and the novella project, so it’s growing, it slowly. I’ve been tempted to put in a time-off request to make a sort of writer’s retreat, but I know what first instincts would be. If I’m off from my day-job, I’m wanting to get a house project done, or whittle away at the ever-present chore list.

I’ll be adding a new page on the GM Notes section concerning character creation, as well. I’ve had players asking questions about my home-rules on the creation process, and if I get any more new players (another 2 have expressed interest!) I’d want them to be comfortable coming here for references.

With that, break time is about over and the mail is waiting. The morning is promising rain, which for a walking route is a mixed blessing when you deliver in Louisiana.

Sporadic Postings and Site Maintenance

I haven’t been giving my blog site the attention it deserves. For everyone that keeps visiting the place, I apologize for not making my daily postings like I’ve wanted and promised.

I have to admit that I’ve been exhausted lately. My day job has me outdoors for 10-12 hours a day, sometimes 6 days a week, walking multiple miles. While that shouldn’t keep me from at least writing something during my breaks, I’ve been forgetting to write up a post with updated content.

(This post was started around 9PM when I fell asleep at my desk and woke up at 12:30AM, in continuation of my sleep pattern. I’ve worried that it was unhealthy to sleep the way I do, but I’ve also used it as a primary writing time. Apparently, it’s way more common than I thought, though it’s called ‘interrupted sleep’. I prefer my titles of ‘Big Sleep, Little Sleep’ or ‘Dammit Sleep’.)

But I have finally managed to get the layout I’ve been wanting for my posts set up. Or at least, I’ve started setting it up for that goal. Hopefully, it’ll be easier to navigate than what I’ve had in the past, so readers and players won’t get confused when they need to look something up.

With that, it’s time I got away from this desk and to the bed. Dawn will be here soon, and I’ll be slinging letters shortly after. Goodnight, readers.

-JB Swift

Tired postman is tired, but still making an effort!

It looks like my age is starting to catch up with me. 10 years ago, I bid on a walking route the day I became a career postman. I won the bid, so it’s been my route ever since.

This is a 12-mile walking route with heavy parcels. It’s also one of the nicest walking routes in my little town, with large shade trees and reasonable residents. But it’s still pretty heavy, and those 12 miles will wear you down. Naturally, no one challenged my bid.

After 10 years, I’m looking for a driving route so I can stay acquainted with my natural knees. Until a route comes up, I’ll be walking. Unfortunately, that means by the time I’m home and can write, I have a small window of consciousness before the exhaustion bonks me on the head.

But we’re making progress! Arc 1-Adventure 2, “Pickup Consequences” (gonna workshop that one) is nearly ready for writing out fully. It’s a debate with myself over if I focus on hammering that out or getting the novella written, since it’s outline is finished. The novella might win out, as I’ve promised a reviewer I’d get it to her soon (and that was 3 weeks ago; I’m disappointed in myself), so we’ll see on the story-writing.

We also have 2 new players coming in! They have some great ideas for their characters, so I’ll be looking forward to making their stories. This does remind me that I should clean up the RPG pages. I’ve made the attempt, but I also like to sleep occasionally.

Outside of writing and letter-slinging, it’s about as chaotic as being the parent of two kids under the age of 10 as you’d expect. It bothers me that I’m away from my family for most of the day; sometimes, the only time I get to spend with my children is when I walk into the house and check on them while they’re asleep. But when I do get home before bedtime, I try to spend as much as the remaining time I have with them.

I’ve told my wife before: if she ends up making more money than me, and we could still afford it, I’d be a house-spouse in a heartbeat. Cleaning the home and actually being there for my family? Absolutely.

(I mean, I’d also get to write more, true, but it’s the family aspect I’d enjoy most.)

With those notes, break time is over and I’m off on my daily 12 miles. Hopefully, I’ll be awake enough this evening to plunk away at the keyboard. Stay safe, readers.

-JB Swift

Debating Site Clean-Up, Outlining Plots, and Returning to Day-Job

Well, it had been an interesting and personally exciting past couple days. I’m not one for the holidays, as they always end up more stressful than bringing the sentiment that they were made for, but I’ve finally gotten through a 4th of July with minimal stress.

This is to say: I got through this year without a firework mishap, such as a mortar round going off on the ground nearby, being shot at by a multi-launch mini-rocket, or lit on fire by a nearby drunk. These things have happened with a consistency that has made me paranoid about the holiday. It’s a wonder that I’m still alive.

Instead of dodging poorly-made incendiary devices, I had spent the majority of the weekend writing. It was with exhausted good cheer that I wrote my “Pages Updated” post, though I should mention that not every page is written out. I had a list of some 6 or 7 I wanted finished over the weekend. Over time, those pages will have more written out for them, and the never-ending cycle of story-updating will continue.

With that, I’ve been giving some thought to cleaning/organizing the RPG section a bit. I’ve noticed that it’s getting a little hectic for my players to find what they need, and I’m sure y’all readers are getting confused. I’ll look into how I can better streamline that section.

I also have plots to write! There are two sessions this week, and while I know what they’re going to go through, I need to fine-tune their challenges and choices/consequences.

Before that, however, I need to get my mail out of the satchel and into the awaiting mailboxes. Break time is over, so back into the Federal life for me.

Happy reading, folks! Stay safe out there.

-JB Swift