The Outer Dark: Year One Retrospective

As I stated in my last post, Swords Against the Outer Dark just celebrated it's first aniversary! I feel it has been an interesting and fruitful year as I look back on some of my previous posts there are a few that stand out to me. Here are some of those and a few thoughts:

• The Dark Corners of High Adventure series I feel is a collection of the strongest materials I have presented here on the Outer Dark. This series was a chance for me to further exemplify my Sword & Sanity concept, as well as present my own brand of Yog-Sothothery to the world. This series is a culmination of some of my favorite subjects: the Viking Age, Scotland and the Cthulhu Mythos.
• Designing an entry for this Year's One Page Dungeon Contest, and actually having it selected as the "Best Cthulhu" winner, was another big achievement for me. "Raid on Black Goat Wood" was another way for me to show how Lovecraftian gaming could be achieved using an old-school fantasy approach. I got a lot of great feedback from this, and I am extremely proud of the results. (As a teaser for things to come, I have already begun expanding upon this adventure to become a full blown Labyrinth Lord module, and I believe I am going to submit it to Dan Proctor over at Goblinoid Games for publication. Wish me luck on that one...)
• A question that has come up repeatedly over this past year is, how I would suggest handling sanity and horror in my game? The post I always refer folks to is "Spelling out Horror and Sanity In Fantasy Roleplaying", which sums up my feeling on the subject. I do not use a sanity point mechanic or any additional rules for monitoring the mental health of characters. Read this post to understand my thinking on why.
• Another question I get a lot is, why I do not support or play Call of Cthulhu? I do not think I have written a post exclusively on this subject (maybe I should), but I know I have spoken to this on several occasions. The short answer is that I love fantasy roleplaying games. And in loving these games I have offered quite a bit of supporting and supplementary materials for Castles & Crusades as well as Labyrinth Lord. I feel I have posted some pretty strong material for these games here on the Outer Dark, and I intend to keep doing so. Next up, an Advanced Labyrinth Lord Screen for use with customizable game master screens (like this one).
• Having Dave Carson supply artwork for me to use here on the Outer Dark!
• I was also proud to have been able to interview legendary game designer Jim Ward.

I am sure I have forgotten something, but if what I mentioned above is all that I have accomplished this past year then I am proud of my efforts. I have ambitious plans for the coming year, and if I can find a way to make some of those plans come to fruition it will put my previous efforts to shame. I hope this blog has been helpful and entertaining to those who stop by to read my ramblings. I look forward to offering you much more in the years to come!