About me? I'm a bit weird, shy, an Aries, a gamer, a father, a husband, and the unholy ghost.
Hey y'all, my name is Frank! Welcome to my headspace. Well, a space where I can get things out of my head and not all over the wall. Yeah, told you I was weird.
I've gone by Grotesque Zombie on a lot of gaming platforms. I don't really play many video games these days, as family became a priority. But I shortened it and made a small presence on YouTube playing RPGs under Grotesque Games. Where I played a couple of RPGs on Foundry VTT.
I am a dude originally from Southern California. I now hail from Central Kentucky and have spent more than half of my life here.
Interesting Facts About Me: • I have a wife, two kiddos, two cats, and a dog. • I have watched all of Forensic Files at least three times over; over 400+ episodes. I tried to pursue a career in forensics, but it turns out... math is fucking hard.😵 • Oh yea... I curse worse than a sailor. Yup, fuck you! • I love small dogs; I have a huge soft spot for chihuahuas. • I've spent way more than I should have on RPGs, TTRPGS, and miniatures; I suffer from mania and have a problem. • I am afraid of being forgotten and being alone.
When I set out to create my YouTube channel, I thought I could possibly be something. But since adding another little one to the family, of course, family became the priority. I went from a full office to a corner desk and closet space in, now the kids' playroom. I bought gear, supplies, and miniatures. Besides, managing a channel takes too much time, setup, editing, and effort. Plus, they just keep raising the bar on monetization so... (╬▔皿▔)╯
But I have acquired too many games than I could have possibly handled in the past few years. In all honesty, this is due to the state of my mental health. I was evaluated some time ago, before marriage and kids, and was diagnosed with a few things. (ADHD, Depression, Bipolar 2, Mania, etc.) Of course, some of those went untreated. Mainly mania...
As life just kicks you in the butt, the mind bounces to find some enjoyment. Since joining Kickstarter in 2019, I have backed 236 projects to date. Only getting screwed by one. Oh, there is more. Let's not forget Backerkit, Gamefound, and other online retailers. This state of mind was triggered by depression and progressed rapidly after being abandoned by my friend group, and it's all my fault.
At the time, my old friend group was starting to play RPGs again (Lancer, Wrath & Glory, etc.) and I took them up on their offer. I enjoyed it some of the time, as I felt that no one was on the same page, party leading characters not showing up, hard metagaming, and, for me, too many people playing. Each turn became a slog. Waiting for V to act so W, X, and Y could take their turn while Z, me, already lost interest and had no idea what the fuck to do. This turned into me making excuses for not showing up or just wanting to spend time with the family, knowing how much of a bother I would be.
Then, finally, something snapped within the group. I noticed that I was removed from group chats and our friend group Discord. Mind you, I have been friends with this group since high school. Survived Ventrilo drama, managed to keep up with the group through different forms of chatting...
I remember not saying much, reacting, or really reaching out. I knew... I knew I had caused all of this. The excuses for not wanting to play or letting the group down when it came to my turn. I wanted to be around and participate, but I never knew it would take that hard of a turn.
You could say I did some soul-searching, but I was really already reaching for the next thing to hold my interest. I scoured sites like Itch.io, DriveThruRPG, and NobleKnight.com looking for something that would catch my attention. I had a list. It was quite the list...
One day Ker Nethalas piqued my interest pretty hard and may have been the thing I was looking for. I had my eye on that for some time before I finally pulled the trigger, purchasing the PDF/Hardcover via DtRPG.
Boy, was I blown away... Here I am, having no clue that solo RPGs were a thing. I grabbed some dice, bought a grid notebook, and started chugging through my first domain. Taking up the kitchen table space with papers spread all over the place. It's a niche that has filled a hole in me that I never knew was a thing.
On a whim, I joined Alex T's Patreon, Order of the Black Oath. The community there has been fucking amazing, helpful, and very welcoming. I've been a member of the community for a couple of years now, and I really don't see myself going anywhere. It feels like home. Alex has been a great person to get to know, and I nested myself by making some solo flowcharts for a few of Alex's games.
Since I had Foundry VTT, I searched for ways to utilize what I already had. Let's be honest... $50 is a lot, but luckily it's only a one time purchase. I scored locating KerNethalasCSB. A module for Custom System Builder, an agnostic game system. It allows you to make profile templates to play basically any game. Just by looking at a character sheet, you'll get the gist of where things should be. But that stuff takes too much time away from playing the game. I just want to roll and write any results.
I managed to make a couple of modules based on KerNethalasCSB and even got permission to include the original template code in my module, The Vaelorian Archive.
I had ideas and plans for content. Things are now shifting to this format/platform. I am excited to set out on this blogging journey. There is a lot I could possibly say. But let's see where it takes me.
Stay Good, GG