Yes, you read right. Two hundred, since May 4, 2015. I hadn’t realized the first went live on May the Fourth Be With You, until I looked through the list of my articles that WordPress helpfully keeps. Appropriate for a woman whose involvement with online RPG communities started with D20 Star Wars. So indulge me on a look back.
Like one or two others here, I started out writing for the long-lost (to a server crisis) Gamer Security Agency Blog, also under the auspices of D20 Radio. Most or all of those pieces were SWSE stats. When this new blog was started, I eagerly signed up–and volunteered to handle the proofreading/copy editing. Somebody needs to do it, I figured, and it might as well be someone who enjoys it and knows how. I was surprised when, about a year later, the current arrangement of having Staff Writers each with their own Feature was put into place–and Astral Projections was born.
I still do a lot of PC and NPC stats, but now they’re not just for SWRPG. As I got more familiar with systems I discovered, I started writing stats for those systems, beginning with Mutants & Masterminds 3e, then progressing to D&D5e, Castles & Crusades, and now Genesys. And systems weren’t the only things I branched out into. I found my own little niches, like “Try Before You Buy,” my reviews of free, inexpensive, and demo games and accessories and “Etiquette & Protocol,” just what it sounds like. (What can I say? I adore etiquette columnist Miss Manners.)
Favorite type of articles to write? Stats, especially critter stats! My very first venture into writing about game mechanics was a how-to on using the Star Wars Saga Edition Beast Creation rules, shared on the D20 Radio forums. I liberally use bits and pieces from my Zoology degree, and other sciences, for the “fluff.” (That background also comes in handy for the “2-1B Is In” series on Star Wars Medicine and Healing.) I think I might be onto something with this Xenobiologist schtick. My Tardigrade stats (Genesys/FFGSW, Mutants & Masterminds 3e) got a lot of attention, judging by the number of comments–and I even got a request to do Tardigrade stats for D&D 5e! Reading that request on Facebook really made my day. Someone wanted to see more of my work! (And yes, I do read all the comments.)
But enough about the past. Since it’s early in the New Year, I suppose (I hope!) you all are wondering what kind of things I’ve resolved to write about in 2019. My first resolution is to “Stay Chaotic Good”–continue to write about a variety of things in the gaming realm, including more Xenobiology. I am also going to do more of what I call “Crowdsourcing Articles,” where I ask the D20 Radio Facebook Friends for tips and ideas on a topic, to add to my own. I experimented with the format last year, with Etiquette & Protocol: Con Gaming and Crowdsourced: Space Combat for Everyone Else. Later this month I debut “Force Wizard,” my take on the FFSW Force powers, which should keep me busy for quite a while.
Finally, some big Thank You’s. First to GMs Chris, Dave & Wayne, for giving me a chance to do something for this community–first as a forum Mod and then as a Staff Writer. And thanks to the D20 Radio community–my people/ I am still getting a kick out of this gig, and I don’t intend to go away any time soon. Peace, Love & Good Gaming, as GM Chris says. (And if you have any requests for what you’d like to see in 2019, tell me here or on the Facebook page.)
Linda Whitson
Latest posts by Linda Whitson (see all)
- Astral Projections – The Ripperdoc Is In - May 8, 2023
