Bigger Is Better
Thank you Rodney Sloan at Rising Phoenix Games for the following guest post!
I’ve fallen in love with big projects, and I think you should too. Bigger projects are very rewarding and much easier to achieve than you might think.
What do I mean by big projects? I mean a long RPG campaign, a huge terrain project, or an ambitious miniature build. I write RPG supplements for a living, so I’m including big honking table-breaking RPG tomes in this too.
“Big” is certainly synonymous with “ambitious”, so we could add learning a new, intimidating skill—like learning to fly a plane, scuba diving, or skateboarding—to the list. Why? Because everything and anything can inspire your RPG sessions. On my own blog I’ve been talking about learning to GM by looking at life and your experiences, so imagine if you spent time in the sky before starting your dragon rider campaign. You’d have amazing experiences to draw from!
Why Go Bigger? And When?
Once you’ve gained confidence in a new skill (or RPG system), and you’re enjoying it, then you’re ready to start thinking bigger.
Let’s get anecdotal because I have one huge project on the go. It follows the pattern I hinted at above. So we’re ready to catch it, the pattern looks like this: skill plus passion leads to growing ambitions.
By the Power of Grayskull
I’m a huge fan of the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Boardgames (Wrath of Ashardalon, Legend of Drizzt, and Castle Ravenloft). I’m also a huge He-Man fan. So what’s a guy going to do but make a MotU themed expansion for the game he loves! So far, I’m about a third of the way through designing a 60-card deck, have converted and painted Beast Man, and have Evil Lyn and Battle Cat ready to paint. Oh, and I’m building Castle Grayskull, because this expansion needs an awesome showpiece.
It’s amazing what a bit of conversion work can do. Everyone but “Prince Adam” (Felix from Warhammer) had some tweaking done. Battle Cat was the most fun, Evil Lyn the most troublesome, and Beast Man the most intuitive.
Eagle-eyed readers will note the bizarre proportions of the castle door. The whole terrain piece is stretched to make the castle look more intimidating. I’d never have gotten to try this out on a smaller project.
Clearly, I’m passionate about this, because I’d never have gotten this far without that kind of brain fuel.
Before jumping in I’d made a few custom cards for the games, thanks to its active modding community, had converted miniatures for my Ork army and had made plenty of tabletop terrain, a bunch of which I’ve shared on my Mini Monday hobby series. These experiences gave me the skills I needed to take on a bigger project like the MotU distraction.
Do you see the pattern?
Now Go
So challenge yourself. Make your next project more ambitious. Bigger. More challenging.
Do give yourself time and enjoy your accomplishments though. These bigger RPG projects should always be fun, so don’t take things too seriously.
What are you planning to do next? We’d love to hear what you’re busy with
Author:
Rodney Sloan is a professional RPG writer and editor who has done work for Paizo, d20pfsrd.com Publishing, and Fat Goblin Games. In 2020 he took gold in Roll for Combat’s RPG Superstar contest. He owns Rising Phoenix Games and plays Orks. Don’t ask him about gnomes!