JP on Gaming: 2026

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

[Kinda Book Report] Elminster in Myth Drannor by Ed Greenwood

Ed Greenwood is a giant in the world of D&D. as the creator of the massively-successful Forgotten Realms. His slate of adventures for TSR are a mixed bag, but most are good enough. I had never been exposed to his fiction before (I am not a big fan of D&D litterature).

This book did not endear me to either.

Things happen randomly and the plot armor reaches deific level. Litterally. Most of the book is complete, boring filler as he goes around from one random event to another, meeting random NPCs. And their events are best described as "the GM rolls random shit and you see it."

- The names.... the long, unpronounceable name
- The many, many, many characters whose importance is dubious
- Exactly what happens in parts is difficult
- Elminster changes sex (and back) for no reason
- NPCs get major introduction then get kill off then come back to life only to die(?) again.
- The Epilogue is where the important and interesting event happens, even if what is happening is not fully clear.
- But then we are introduced to NPCs we never heard from before (or after).

Now... I would have dropped this book one third of the way in. BUT it did something that I found I could apply to my own current novel, the sequel to One Hundred Daughters. The characters introduced to be disposed of later. In my own book, I use this to expand and present elements the main characters would not know, yet provide the reader with the information to better understand the situation.

The funniest part of this was that my wife kept telling me to "Stop reading it if you don't like it" every night when I picked it up to read a few pages.

Monday, January 12, 2026

[Xmas Gifts] Jojo's Stitch

For Xmas, I printed and painted a Stitch for my daughter. I had fun with it.

Sunday, January 11, 2026

[Xmas Village] His Angels

After my wife completed her Xmas village this year, I took the liberty to add some of His angels to her colorful display.

BLOOD ANGELS THAT IS!!!

Then every couple of days, I would add one of two more until she discovered them.

She only found the terminators, and forced me to remove them. The rest snuck through the Holidays. The Emperor Protects! Not pictured, but I even have an old dreadnaught, yes, the metal ones that weigh about 15 pounds...

As I write this, they are still protecting the good villagers from the eight-pointed star...

Saturday, January 10, 2026

[Xmas Gifts] Pumpkin Monster Redux 2010

In this post dating back to Halloweend 2010, my daughter found herself a model that I painted for her. This model survived no less than 15 years, four and a half moves. By then, it was pretty chipped and worn.

She asked me for a refresher job on it, which I was quite pleased to do. The new paint job is darker and more atmospheric. I also added much more depth to it.

BTW, Shout-out to the Gang from Gamers' Haven in CO. I haven't forgotten about you guys.

Thursday, January 8, 2026

[Crown Of Tears] Chaos in Tarsyn

The heroes had many things to do that took them to the city itself. There, they conducted several short tasks: bought some magic items, met with a mentor, and, best of all, discover information about the Hidden Foundry, said to be somewhere deep below the city.

The session ended as the heroes went to look for a lead about the location of the foundry when they encountered a group of Knights of the Whip involved with a citizen accused of draft evasion. Terrificus plunged the area in darkness and the knights immediately took action, killing the poor man and looking for the culprit. A potential culprit showed herself: Brindle. She was promptly arrested and when offered a mark to be set free, she refused and was promptly taken to jail...

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

[Crown Of Tears] The Badlands

Our heroes traveled to the Badlands to the northeast of the Tower. As they travel, they came upon a bandit camp and charged in.

Another fight that came really close and challenged our heroes. This time, they put the mage to flight despite almost losing one of their own. They managed to find some information about happenings in the Badlands.

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

[Crown Of Tears] Death in the Juniper Woods

Our heroes traveled to the Juniper Woods northwest of the Tower of St Edras where they encountered a band of gnolls and a mage.

A brutal fight led to the death of Star Chaser and the flight of the mage.

Friday, January 2, 2026

[Yearly Retrospective] Looking Back on 2025

Another year has ended and we are now in 2026. This one is late but better late than never!

Personal and Family Life

- I am still working with the immigration service to become a permanent resident of the US. 6 years and on-going. Yes, I have harsh positions about illegal immigration.

- Kitty graduated high school. I'm so proud of her.

- I am now the father of two college girls! Proud of both of them.

- ActionMan was part of a Blackman High School that did took part in its first 12-win season!

World Events

- The Continuation of the Russia-Ukraine War. Although the peace between the two sides I wanted did not come true, I keep hoping that the suffering comes to an end and that peace returns.

- The Peace around the world. I will give kudos to President Trump for his efforts to bring peace across the world. Whether this is a lasting peace, remains to be seen. I admire the willingness to talk to disparate parties. A desire the previous administration did not have.

- The "Tariff" War. I don't care about most countries, my main interest lies with Canada, and the Canada-USA relations. I am an avowed Quebec Separatist, dating back to the failure of the Lake Meech Accord in 1990. That proved to me that the country cannot be reformed or changed without something major. I proudly voted OUI in '95, and would do so again. Now Canada talks a big game (and in all fairness, one it SHOULD talk). However, that's all it is: talk. The country cannot get out of its own way to accomplish its goals. It has the resources it needs to thrive and see its economy EXPLODE and diversify by providing what the world needs. Becoming the powerhouse it thinks itself to be. But red tape and bureaucracy will ensure its own destruction. Canada was created on the basis of an economic accord: Charlottetown in 1864 and Quebec in 1865 before the BNAA on July 1st 1867 (the first Canada Day). So economic consideration will lead to its ultimate demise. Separation sentiment is on the rise again, in Quebec and in the West (Though I give the latter a better chance to succeed).

Trips

2025 was a pretty tame year when it came to traveling. We spent most of our year at home.

- My wife, Jojo, and I traveled to Ottawa, Canada for a quick visa-renewing trip in March. It was great drinking some hot Tim Hortons coffee with a donut. And a smoke meat sandwich with yellow mustard. Ah... the simple pleasures of life. I also got to spend time with my parents, my sister, and my in-laws. Not everyone I wanted to see, but on a short stay, it was a blast of awesome. That was SO good.

Fiction

This year, I released not one but TWO novels! My first two major pieces of fiction

To help me complete this work, I continued my association with the Reading Nook Discord (hi gang!) and the Murfreesboro Writer Group that meet Wednesdays at the Linebaugh Library here in Murfreesboro TN. From these two groups, I got involved with very different story styles than I would normally. This includes romance in particular, something I really do not like. However, by trading critiques, I learned a little insight into female psyche and provided insight into male psyche. Yes ladies, we ARE that simple.

The Bloody Notebook Book 1 of the Olympia Chronicles

One Hundred Daughters Book 2 of the Olympia Chronicles

RPGing/ GMing

- The Online Ozaka Campaign in French ended after two years, leaving good memories behind.

- The maritime Olympia campaign ended and I wrote a full timeline of the campaign in this post.

- With school starting, we changed to a new campaign set in Tarsyn. I keep track of the campaign in this post series.

- I am no longer involved in the Adult D&D group mostly out of a desire to avoid conflicts as they are playing a hybrid form of 5e/5.5e. They don't need me to run anyway, so all good!

- I joined a campaign for 2nd Edition in this post series.