What’s Happening with Old Skull Publishing?

Short answers: A lot and not so much. But let’s dig into this and be more clear. My life has been pretty hectic lately. I suffer from anxiety/depression, and even though I am much better at dealing with this than I was a couple of years ago, things can get complicated from time to time, especially when “real life” gets messy as well. In short, I am OK. I am super tired. I wish I was creating more. But for now I am prioritizing my health (physical, mental and emotional), my family, my kid, and unfortunately the job that keeps a roof over our head and food on our plate. But I am working on getting back on the RPG horse. I miss it too much.

Much longer answer: Old Skull Publishing is basically a fantasy name for a company composed of myself, Diogo Nogueira. It’s almost like a mask I put on to pretend to be something else and have the strength and courage to create, produce, and share this creation with others (and even charge for it). And I LOVE doing that. Creating something, sharing with others, and creating connections through this is one of the things that help give meaning to my life. I am incredibly happy and grateful for all the stuff I’ve created so far, for the connections I’ve made (making me feel welcomed and part of a community), and for the many dear and true friend I’ve met, even if we are thousands of kilometers away from each other. I want more of this. But for now, I can’t dedicate myself to this as much as I did before.

In fact, a few years ago this might have been an obsession of mine and many other areas of my life were neglected and suffered because of this. My relationships suffered, I wasn’t being the parent I could be, I wasn’t being the partner I could be, and I wasn’t well. It all culminated in some stress episodes in 2021 that made me start rethinking what I should do, what I should concentrate on, and what I should do to be better.

So now I have other priorities besides RPGs. I want to be well, so I take care of my health. I want to have a great relationship with my partner, so I dedicate time to it. I want to be the best parent I can be. So I work on this. And yes, I want to create, to share, to connect. I have so many ideas I want to see brought to light. But I can’t do it all. And sometimes I have to take a break, or I can lose everything.

From mid 2022 to today, I am having a really hard time creating and completing projects. A lot has changed in my life. We discovered things about our family, ourselves. My day job is going through some changes that are requiring more time from me than it used to require. We had to deal with health issues within our family, with our relatives, and with close friends. All that left us feeling lost in many moments. Combining it with many difficulties I’ve been having with the latest projects (some collaborators didn’t deliver their part of project, problems with printer, money, text rejected) kinda made me unmotivated. I know I shouldn’t be, but sometimes we can’t help but feel powerless. Anyway… I won’t get into details of how “miserable” my life has been because it has not. It has just been difficult, busy, tiresome, as I am sure it is for everyone. I am just having a hard time dealing with everything, even though I am okay. I am sorta happy. I am just unable to keep working the way I was working a few years ago.

But all is not lost. Things are moving along. Although slowly, from time to time, I manage to get something written. Something fixed. I talk to other collaborators to try to finish what is unfinished. I answer some emails about problems someone is having. I try to take a few steps to try to create momentum and get back on the RPG horse, but it’s not easy.

I know I probably let some people down (I actually know for sure, and I am sorry). I didn’t answer emails in time, I didn’t deliver something in time, etc. I feel terrible. I am truly sorry. I hope they can understand it was never personal. And that I wish I could do better by them. All I can do now is strive to do better in the future.

For now, I am avoiding taking any commissions or collaborating with anyone on anything. I have a couple of projects I am working on finishing that involve others that I NEED to finish, and afterwards I will concentrate on my own personal projects for a while. That way if something happens, I won’t let others down. And I do think I recharge my batteries working on projects that are really personal to me, so that’s what I will do as soon as I can.

But what’s actually in the works here? Well, kind of a lot, which leaves me kinda paralyzed sometimes when I need to decide what to work on next or what to finish and whatnot. Let me try to explain it all by going through each project individually, and what’s holding me back exactly with it.

Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells – 2nd Edition

The second edition of my first RPG. A sword and sorcery game inspired by pulp literature, with a simple d20/d6 system, lots of tools, and lots of guidance for Old-School Play, Sword & Sorcery and much more. It’s all written, contains 2 adventures, and an extensive toolkit (much more than what SS&SS 1e had). But it’s big. It’s like Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells size. That means it needs some very good editing. And that costs quite some money (which I don’t have lying around). It needs art too, as I want to give it a nice treatment. It’s a very good game that I am proud of. So that needs more money. So that’s it. I need to save some money to get something started, pay editors and have some art so I can, maybe, do a crowdfunding to produce the whole game (I am thinking of a slipcase with 2 books and some stuff). However, the economy took a turn for the worst around here. A few years ago, the money I made with RPGs was “extra money” (which I basically spent on making and buying RPGs and eventually going to cons). Now things are a bit different here. I earn less and work more. Things cost more due inflation. So the “RPG Money” now helps pay bills too. So I don’t have a lot of “discretionary” money to invest. But I am studying options. While I work on that, I might work on publishing a compiled version o SS&SS 1e with and adventure and call it Classic Edition. I am talking to a friendly publisher about this.

The Blood Axe of X’Zara

This is a pulp fantasy RPG that is inspired by classic British RPGs, with the modern influences you know I put in my games. So imagened a corrupted Advanced Fighting Fantasy with contemporary narrative additions, sword and sorcery feel, and lots of tools too. This one has a setting, and adventures included. I am quite proud of the system that seems familiar and different at the same time, providing lots of options, and freedom at the same time. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on where you are in the world, I wrote this game in Portuguese. I haven’t done that in years, but at the beginning of the pandemic I was working with a publisher here in Brazil that promised to publish it. Guess what? They did not publish it. Sooo… I plan on translating this one to english. It’s written, it’s being edited by Brazilian editors I trust, and has a lot of art already. It will need to be translated, proofread and etc in English. Will this be done before or after SS&SS 2e? I don’t know. It’s a fresher game, shorter. It might come out first, especially since it’s being edited, it has cover art, and a LOT of interior art as well.

Mutant Animals Against Evil

This is another game inspired by my childhood passions. This one is particularly inspired by those Saturday morning shows about mutant animals that fight evil forces. You know, like those tortoises with ninja training and teenage problems. The concept is similar to KOSMOSAURS, but it’s a little more detailed, has more examples, more tools, and an adventure. I hope to work on it with the same crew we worked on Kosmosaurs. That means Lukasz on the magnificent art and Gontijo on layout. It’s written, but it needs editing, art, layout, etc. When will it get made? IDK. Trying to decide. I want to finish those 2 projects I owe to other first, and maybe revise this one before sending to to an editor while I work on Primal Quest stuff. We will see.

The Descendants

This is another short quick zine like RPG. It’s inspired by Percy Jackson and mythology from around the world. The idea is that players can create heirs to gods and other supernatural being inspired by the mythology they choose. It brings some information related to Latin American myths, African myths, and other non-traditional cosmologies, as well as ideas for how to use them in a campaign, and how to do that respectfully. This one is written, but still needs some revision, editing and all that. This isn’t currently a priority for me. But I want to make it happen someday.

The Hunted

A cyberpunk micro-RPG of rebela being hunted by AI police. It’s a tight, tactical and very focused game. It can be a fun thing to try and was originally a commission that didn’t went through (not because of me), so I got the rights to it back and will hopefully release it in a cool way if I can partner with a cool graphic designer as I have some ideas. Game is written and tested. But it’s not a priority, needs editing, art and layout. Just something I need to knock out when I can.

Car[D] Battles

This was born out of a Business Card Game Jam idea, and is now growing to become a card game designed with my friend Wayne Robert. I always loved car combat games, and having one you can take it anywhere, it’s easy to use and teach, and is accessible is my dream. So I am gonna try to make one. I don’t know when, but me and Wayne are gonna work on it this year (hopefully after I finish the adventure I owe him – sorry my friend). This is kinda of a priority for me because it’s something new I’ve never done. A card game that is also kind of a miniature game.

Primal Quest

This is a big deal for me. It’s my current passion and obsession. The thing I want o make my priority (even though I get distracted with new exciting ideas from time to time). I think this game is my truest expression of myself in the form of an adventure RPG I’ve ever created, so I want to make my vision of it real. I have many notes, a solo supplement, zine articles, and a bunch of other stuff for it but I can’t figure out how to move forward. Well, the solo/GMLess supplement is coming out. It’s perfectly useful for group play too as it can help Referees run the game and spark ideas. The initial plan was to then publish a series of zines expanding the game and setting until I compile stuff into a bigger book. However, there were so many difficulties in putting this first issue out that I may try it the old way, and just make the big book now. Which I kinda started planning. I have some ideas I want to develop for the game and it’s the thing I want to work on the most (after I finish my obligations/or while I finish then). I will post about specifics when I can.

AdventureVerse Podcast

A new podcast I started with Ahimsa (well he started, he is the mastermind behind it all). It’s not directly related to Old Skull Publishing, but you know… It’s me, I am there. You got the drill. The idea is that this podcast is kinda a review/actual play podcast. You won’t hear the entire thing there, just some highlights and we chat about the game, the adventure, our impressions and inspirations derived from it. We have a couple of episodes out (my schedule and luck hasn’t been great – sorry Ahimsa), but we are working on more.

Weird Games & Weirder People

I don’t know if this is gonna happen for real. But as I started AdventureVerse with Ahimsa, I suddenly wanted to make another podcast inspired by what fascinates me in the hobby. The weird ideas and people behind these wonderful games we play. I love comedy, and I love listening to Pete Holmes’ You Made it Weird podcast, and I kinda wanted to try something like this but focused on RPGs and the people behind them. So I may try doing that. Short interviews with creators from the Indie RPG sphere about games, about their games, about themselves, the weird stuff

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There are still other projects, half written things, and two games I have notes and even paid someone to make art for: Petty Gods & Playthings & In Search of Happiness. Both I think will explore different aspects of RPGs and myself I am so excited to explore, but with so much to finish, I don’t know when I will be able to get to them.

So it’s basically this is it. I am busy, tired, dealing with my own BS, and trying to do better. I hope you can bear to wait a little longer. I promise I am trying my best.

My current plan is to finish two commissions I have, and work on Primal Quest stuff on the side to keep me motivated. Once that is finished I will work on Primal Quest, trying to find a way to work on the bug book in a way I can share with you all in small bits you can already use. And, if I can (I can dream), I will work with others on finishing these other projects on the side. Will this work? I have no idea, but I will try anyway. One step at a time.

Wish me luck. I will need it. Or not. I will try my best either way.

And BTW, even writing this post is something that flares my anxiety. Why am I writing this long post? I should be writing games, or working on them, or doing something “productive”. Yeah. Probably. But I think communication, honesty, and connection are important too. So I am here. Trying that.

P.S.: There are some links in the titles to the Draft text of some of the games. If you are interested, feel free to check them out. None of them are final though. It’s all WIP, just like me. 🙂