Whew, been a while since I did one of these!
I know posts here are very irregular these days. To be candid, a career transition has meant the time I have available to work on content here has swung about wildly while I get solid, consistent work.
I’m also going to announce this here in case you don’t read this whole entry, I’ve launched a podcast! The link to listen to episode 1 is below, and I’ll explain more about it later in this post.
How Did We Get Here?
In 2022 I also wrote the most complicated and well-researched series of pieces I’ve ever done. First was a 3-part series on medieval currency and banking. The second was a 2-part series on medieval postal services, part 2 of which was posted in early 2023 and ended up being the only piece I published that year.
Now, the next piece I wrote hints at why this took place. In early 2024 I posted ‘When Campaigns Fail’. As it happens, 2023 was a year of burnout for me with my games.
I’ve since made changes to how I do things. I’m running less frequently (which as it happens has opened up lots of time for my other hobbies), I’ve stepped back from paid games, and I’ve stopped creating paid 3rd-party content for D&D 5e.
This also means I only post here when I feel I have something to say. Mind you, that’s always how I’ve handled creating content for here, but I’ve take a bit of pressure off on that front.
Speaking of which
Pressure Back On!
As you’ve seen above, I’ve launched a podcast! On the one hand this has been a long time coming, on the other hand this got put in place and established very quickly.
Introducing: The One-Shot Show
I’ve had the thought at times to create other TTRPG content (including establishing a failed YouTube channel). The issue is I hate and am generally bad at video editing. I also think there’s a glut of content. If I want to do something I need to find a niche.
I recently met a local radio personality who owns a podcast studio available for hire. You book it for an hour (or more if needed), they’ll live-switch for you, set up the space how you need, roll graphics or other content you may have, and at the end of it all will provide you a fully edited suite of video and audio files ready for posting.
Back in the day I used to listed to Writing Excuses a lot and always enjoyed the way that the short format allowed the hosts to hyper-focus on very granular topics while also forcing them to be concise with their points.
Suddenly it all came together. I consume very little TTRPG content because so much of it is 4 hour long Actual Play shows or 45+ minute podcast episodes that are just a bunch of dudes rambling. There’s a niche for short-form, focused content that can go in-depth on very granular topics.
In fact, it’s in many ways similar to what I do here already.
What Does This Mean For The Press?
Well, in practice it should mean very little. If anything I may have more to contribute here as I spend more time again discussing TTRPGs with a wide pool of people. I find that inspires me and gets my juices going in a big way. I’m also very settled in my current line of work in a way that doesn’t put obscene pressure on my free time, so I have quite a bit of time to spare.
We only record episodes for the podcast once a month so it won’t be competing much for attention here.
I may end up using this as a place to post the occasional companion piece to an episode if I think there’s a topic worth elaborating on.
I also have a bit of a backlog! I’m resurrecting the ‘Design Insights’ series and have a couple of them ready to go. I also have a few topics I’ve percolated on for long enough now that I think they’re ready to be put to paper and released here.
Oh and one more thing…
Patreon
If you’re currently supporting me on Patreon I’d really encourage you to switch to the new Patreon for The One-Shot Show. The main reason is the base tier of the new one is marginally cheaper, but on the whole the funding from there allows me to support both the show and this blog.
I’ll be keeping the Apothecary Press Patreon live for the time being but will shut it down as people start to switch over.
Your support through the years has been hugely appreciated, and I hope you’ll continue supporting me going forward!
Apothecary Press 