2013 Totals

2013 is now a cold corpse, receding in the distance as we journey onward on horseback. I was doing some book-keeping/house-cleaning in the Stronghold and noticed that my "2013 Totals" table (on the sidebar) had not been updated since mid-June 2013. I also noticed that my "Year-To-Date Acquisitions" page had suffered in limbo since July 18, 2013.

So...I have no idea how my totals compared to 2012. But, I think I can be excused, seeing as how I purchased a law firm and became a self-employed small-business owner around the time that I stopped keeping track of my gaming milestones.

I'm going to try and do better this year. I make no promises; of course, I have no idea if any of you care about my self-congratulatory totals and inventories. If you do, then accept my promise in good faith. If not, continue to ignore my tallies.

One thing I think I will have to do is refrain from including links to products on my "Acquisitions" page. That alone was sufficiently time-consuming (between link-searching and coding) that it made updating the page a chore. Shopping sprees of free items on DriveThru RPG and similar sites also made upkeep generally confusing and frustrating, especially when you add in the afore-mentioned link-searching and coding.

As far as the biggies--Miniatures and Dice--I have found a rough estimate, made as of about mid-November: 125 miniatures and 33 dice. There were probably a few more before the end of the year, but that looks pretty good. I also hereby declare 2014 to be the year of the dice, apparently, as I've already doubled my total dice purchases for last year...I'm at 70 right now, after a mail delivery today.

I know I said this last year, but I'm going to shoot for some increased blogging. 2013 was a year of stress and frustration, both on a personal and professional level, even more so than 2012. I've already endured health issues, family issues, and financial issues and it shows no signs of slowing down. As always, though, the hobby and the friendships made through the hobby helped make it survivable.

Everyone join me in a toast: raise your dice cups high and keep them d20s dry. Here's to 2014!

2012 Totals

2012 is now in the rear-view mirror, and just barely beyond the first hill. It's time to tabulate the year-long game-related accomplishments.

Adventures written: 2
Creatures created: 15
Dice obtained: 26
Games played: 10
Game sessions DM'd: 16
Items created: 9
Maps drawn: 45
Miniatures painted: 2
Miniatures purchased: 121 (+4 metal received as gifts)
NPCs created: 19
Spells scribed: 13
Feats Learned 1
Tables drafted: 1
Terrain constructed: 0

So...how does this compare to 2011? Well:

• I drafted only 6.5% of the adventures this year; I chalk that up to the loss of the Short Adventure September.
• Nearly four times the number of critters was born.
• There was "only" almost 25% of the number of dice obtained. This was either self-control or lack of effort.
• I played in double the amount of games this year, almost one per month. This is, for our group, pretty good. 2011 was a bad year because of some DM issues.
• I managed almost 1.5 times the number of DM sessions, due mainly to the continuation of an PBEM campaign.
• While I managed only two more items created this year, I scribbled out almost four times the number of maps. I'm kinda proud of that number there.
• I doubled my "painted lead" output this past year; I hope to blow that total out of the water this year.
• I increased that miniature horde this year, and barely eked out a total barely over last years total. However, I'm amused by my prediction from one year ago: I was not overly impressed by the Pathfinder miniatures and didn't expect to have a high miniature total in 2012. Hah! Pathfinder managed to increase the quality of the sculpts and paint jobs, as well as issuing some unique and interesting sculpts.
• Again because of that pesky Short Adventure September, only 50% of the NPCs were born.
• My spellbook grew in size with 6.5 times the number of spells scribed versus 2011.
• Only 33% of the number of tables was drafted. (That sounds better than saying "only one.")
• For the second straight year, no terrain was constructed. Sigh. 

I'm going to shoot for some increased blogging; January hasn't been too productive, but I've still got time. 2012 was a year of stress and frustration, both on a personal and professional level. Health issues, family issues, and financial issues all came to bear on me, but again: the hobby and the friends made through the hobby helped make it survivable.

Everyone join me in a toast: raise your dice cups high and keep them d20s dry. Here's to 2013!

2011 Totals

The end of 2011 is well-past, and it's also well-past time to tabulate the numbers for my year-long gaming addiction.

Adventures written: 31
Creatures created: 4
Dice obtained: 105
Game sessions DM'd: 11
Games played: 5
Items created: 7
Maps drawn: 12
Miniatures painted: 1
Miniatures purchased: 120 (5 metal)
NPCs created: 38
Spells scribed: 2
Tables drafted: 3
Terrain constructed: 0

Some of those numbers are quite similar to 2010; some show a stronger addiction dedication to the habit hobby. With the ending of WotC's miniature line, I suppose my miniature numbers will not be as high this year. (I've already purchased some of the Pathfinder minis, and am not overly impressed with many of them--blog entry coming soon on that topic.)

I've done a much better job of keeping the blog current, but not as good as I would like. I'm aiming for at least an entry a week, if not two. As the workload at the firm looks right now, that may be a lofty goal.

Like the year prior, it was a year of considerable stress and family sorrow--even more so than 2010. The game certainly helped, but so did the kind words of my friends out there in the blogosphere.

Keep your dice dry....and here's to another year.

[Blog maintenance] Inventory Tracking

I've decided to keep an even more detailed inventory of my gaming acquisitions and purchases for 2012. I've placed them (for the present) on the right-hand side of the blog, underneath the "generic" 2012 Totals accounting. I'm guessing it won't stay there very long; for length reasons it may need to move, perhaps to the very bottom of the front page of the blog. Any advice you all may want to give as to placement, etc. will be welcomed.

This probably won't be of interest to anyone but myself...and probably my loving, long-suffering wife. But there it is.

2010 Totals

Here it is the end of 2010 and time to tabulate the final numbers for my game madness this year.

Adventures written: 1
Creatures created: 5
Dice obtained: 4
Game sessions DM'd: 7
Games played: 9
Items created: 2
Maps drawn: 9
Miniatures painted: 0
Miniatures purchased: 100
NPCs created: 25
Terrain constructed: 0

Some of those numbers are admittedly not very good and I hope to do better next year. I also hope to do a better job of keeping up on my blog entries. It was a year of considerable stress and family sorrow; the game certainly helped to take my mind off my troubles. At the same time, I realize that it's a game--a darn fun one, but only a game.

2011 -- BRING IT ON!