I love RPGs because they allow me to mix some of my biggest loves into a single thing.

I love hanging out with others who love gaming, and we can hang out and enjoy one another’s company.

• I love it because I can be creative.
• I love it because it lets me ham it up and act.
• I love it because I’m inspired to illustrate the actions and stories that occur at the table.
• I love it because it allows me to do a bit of creative writing.

My job affords me a lot of downtime lately. With this sudden excess of time, I’ve started doing many creative things I love.

Let me back up…

I never stopped doing all the creative things I love, but now I have enough time to do them fully. Now, I do not have to steal a few hours here or multitask while doing actual work; I can focus on my personal endeavors to a full, satisfying completion.

This has meant spending a lot more creative energy on role-playing games, illustration, painting, writing, and meditation.

On Sunday, during our weekly game, I usually doodle, sketch, or draw what’s going on in the game, but lately, I have more unfettered creativity to put into these drawings. I completed most of them to a level I’m satisfied with. I had an epiphany at the end of the game (after illustrating my wife’s character) that my creative output in the last few months equals all of the previous two years. This could be a manic creative episode (I have those all the time) where I act on a burst of intent and creative energy, do a lot of stuff, and then gas out and go into a creative torpor for several months. Lately, however, it has felt different; I feel charged with creative energy and have the verve to express it in a creative way.

Why am I writing this here? I love three things without consideration: music, comics, and the role-playing hobby. I chalk it up to less stress being converted into a more robust experience at the table.  The gaming is better, the art flows more easily, and the comics are easier to focus on and enjoy. We talk a lot about mechanics and theory but never about the self-care involved in the hobby.

Take care of yourself.

Gather, and Love the people around you.

Be a good human.

And most importantly, don’t let your corporate overlords grind the joy out of you.