SIX OF THE BEST: JB Publishing

Josh Beckelhimer's JB Publishing first came to my attention through a recommendation from +Justin Isaac for his impressive range of One-Page Adventures, so I was delighted when Josh volunteered to take part in Six Of The Best. Although his blog is comparatively young, his enthusiasm and creativity makes JB Publishing such an inspirational read.

(1) How long have been blogging, and how’d you get into it in the first place?

I started blogging in April 2017 with my first post being for Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day.

I got into OSR back in 2015 because I wanted to play D&D with my daughter but at the time I felt that Pathfinder/3.5 was just too complex for not only her but also me.

I didn’t want to go back to gaming 3.5 because I just needed a game that was light on the rules and free to make it your own game with ease. I was also worried that 5e would fall in the same boat as 3.5.

So after searching through the internet looking for a “rules lite RPG” I found this term, OSR, being used. Then I discovered Swords & Wizardry Complete. And I fell in love with the system and was instantly playing S&W with my daughter because there were hardly any rules for her to know.

Then after playing S&W for about two years I joined Facebook groups and G+ groups dedicated to S&W and other OSR products.

And through those groups is how I discovered that there was a Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day. I wanted to contribute to this amazing system and I thought I would start by making my custom classes public and I did that with my first blog post.

(2) What do you blog about, and how frequently do you post?

My main focus for my blog are my One-Page Adventures. They are mainly designed for Swords & Wizardry powered games (Complete, Light, Continual Light, White Star, etc.) but recently I have been converting them over to Tunnels & Trolls (a new love of mine).

I produce, well, try to produce one One-Page Adventure a month. I also have other posts that are reviews of products or creator spotlights. So there are months where I will have six posts and other months where it is just two posts.

(3) How does your blog stand out from all the rest?

It is the one place where you can always find my One-Page Adventures. I don’t publish all of them on OneBookShelf and also it’s the ONLY place to find any of my Tunnels & Trolls One-Page Adventures.

Josh likes to highlight the work of others - such as cartographer and illustrator Deven Rue

(4) What’s the best (and worst) thing about blogging?

The best thing is seeing how many people actually view my posts. Which means I can also see what brings in the readers and what doesn’t. And the fact that, “I did it,” I wrote a new One-Page Adventure and there it is for everyone to see and use. I accomplished something.

The worst thing is seeing all of those numbers of views and getting no comments. Even a, “BOO! You suck!” comment would be better than not having one at all.

I do receive feedback on social media sites where I share my posts. But also, I can’t complain too much. I do the same thing where I read a blog, click the back button or open the original tab and post my comment on the social media site instead of the blog site.

(5) Do you have any self-imposed rules (or guidelines) for your blog?

My main rule is to at least make one post a month. Even if it is a, “sorry there won’t be a One-Page Adventure this month.” The reason for this is I have grown a bit of a fanbase and I feel that it is important to keep posts going for the sake of the dedicated readers.

(6) Name one blog everyone should be reading (other than your own).

I love Michael Shorten’s blog, Chicagowiz’s Games. He has a series on there called Three Hexes. His Three Hexes are starter campaigns that consists of a homebase Hex and three other hexes with adventure hooks and information for GMs and players to explore and grow. He also recently started a podcast which I’m a huge fan of.

Michael Shorten's Dungeon Master's Handbook podcast