Happy Birthday, sort of...

February the 29th marks the one year anniversary of Sham's Grog 'n Blog. I'm selecting February the 28th to observe this fact. I didn't realize until now that I started this blog on Leap Day 2008.

Most of the time I love this place. Other times I feel almost guilty when the posts are scarce. I experienced a particularly long hiatus for a stretch last Autumn, and my return to more active blogging wasn't an easy transition for me. I had managed to miss a lot of the blog-o-sphere activity during that time.

Ye Auld Grog & Blog started on a whim, really. It helped me fill in the emptiness of having no actual D&D games running at the time. It began with me explaining my pursuit of OD&D, and continued for a time with random musings and soapbox rants about old school gaming style.

Basically I was writing to myself for months. Slowly I began to receive comments. Mostly good comments, as well! Somewhere along the way, during last Summer, my ideals for this personal writing space evolved. I vowed to put away my soapbox and focus on the items which I feel had been best received during the formative months, homebrew stuff.

Every once in a while I squeak out a decent idea, so my efforts have not been fruitless. I'm enjoying immensely the undertaking of the Cover to Cover series, even though the initial fervor of re-reading the white box has lost some steam along the way. It's a project that will not only see completion soon, but will open up other efforts along the lines of an OD&D companion book...or something.

I enjoy sharing bits on The Dim Expanse, but The Dismal Depths has been my current very involved undertaking. The One-Page Dungeon template is simply perfect for sharing with other D&D players, while The Dim Expanse is somewhat clunky when I try to put it into a usable format for other referees. In that way it's almost Castle Greyhawk-esque. Far too much of the information and ideas for that megadungeon are in my head, and not actually on paper.

The change I've noticed here in my own sometimes awkward ramblings has been one of content. I'm not really one to review publications, nor comment on the state of role-playing in the modern age. Every once in a while I might spout off some ridiculous observations, normally related to music, but for the most part this blog is about sharing my ideas and enthusiasm for D&D.

I'm thrilled to see the way my one-page idea and subsequent "how-to" guides have been embraced by fellow gamers Chgowiz and Amityville Mike. This alone makes me a happy blogger.

If I've offended anyone in the past year, I'd assume that I will again at some point in Year Two. It is not my intent, but clearly some of my preferences rub folks the wrong way. So be it.

If I've convinced anyone to give OD&D a go in the past year, I hope you have embraced it as I have.

If my musings have inspired any gaming ideas in the past year, then it has all been worthwhile.

If you've actually read all of my posts, I'm not responsible for the meds you're taking now.

If I've made anyone laugh in the past year, then I'm glad I'm not the only lunatic gamer out here on the net.

All in all it's been a good but not great run. I hope to increase the reader value of this blog over the next 12 months with more ideas, examples and enthusiasm.

You have been warned!

~Sham, Quixotic Referee