This is the time of year to be thankful. And I want to express my thanks to a beautiful wife who loves and cares for me. For my family and friends, for being there. Even for work, who has provided me income for the last thirteen years. I am thankful for my health, even though it isn’t always the best. And, of course, for living in the greatest country in the world!

Over the weekend I made the decision to release my greatest role-playing game I have ever designed. It is the quintessential game of high fantasy with more than fifty-five player races, thirty factions, two hundred skills, a magical spell system unmatched in any game ever published. It also comes with the world of Monokon: a rich and delicious world full of mystery, discovery, and unbounded adventure.

I am also very excited to have some top notch artwork finally gracing its pages. As I look at the project, I foresee five books each about 100 pages long. I will release them in various quality from the basic pdf (containing just the rules), a grand edition (containing rules, art and simply page flashings), to the premium pdf (all the pages in color).

Best of all, I have decided to release them series of books all free.

My plan is to release each book every couple of months, with the first one being ready in early June. If you wish to receive the game, simply drop me an email at: tchristensen616@gmail.com and mention Phantasm Adventures in the subject.

Troy

After years of being out of the business, I have decided to pull from the archives all of my old role-playing games, adventures, and accessories and print them via pdf and lulu (www.lulu.com). Although I consider myself adept at writing instruction manuals, I have one flaw that has kept me from becoming the next printing mogul: I am not an artist.

I am looking for all sorts of artists. I would like to add drawings, paintings, computer renderings, and maps to my games.

I cannot offer much in the way of payment, simple because it will cost more to make these rules than no doubt I will ever receive in compensation. I am doing it for the love my designs and the genre. But it is a good way to get your art into a professionally looking PDF and perhaps book (from lulu you can make physical copies of the manuals).

I would very much like to discuss this with anyone who would like to contribute. Please write me at: tchristensen616@gmail.com

I am truly excited about working on all my games again, and I hope to start sending out the word of their completion soon enough.

I am also looking into areas of web design to exemplify my games, designs, and worlds that I create and will give you more information when I know about it.

Troy

Often we forget about the most basic comforts in life. I was reminded of that yesterday, when I inadvertantly posted a few thoughtless comments about the only person in my life that truly matters. My best friend, my wife.

I am not a real gushy, smoochy person, but I do know when I have made a mistake and I want to proclaim to the whole internet and the world, and even to some extent, future society (hey this message may survive a thousand years in a vault somewhere) that if you can find one person in your life you can call your best friend, and then marry that person, you have done well.

As much as I love playing computer games, I enjoy being with my wife more. Long walks along the White Pine Trail is a much better treat, than lanquishing in front of the computer finding gold and thrashing dragons.

So take a moment to reflect on what really matters in life. And make sure you don’t lose grip on the important things.

This year I spent some time looking up old friends.  People that I have not said hello to in more than twenty years, and for the most part I have been so insanely successful I cannot believe it.  Its so good to talk to the people of your youth and to see how their lives played out.  Each one of us has had such an exciting life when you look back at all the triumphs, tribulations, and travels we have taken.

My first success came in the early spring when after twenty years I found my old room mate from ICU — the International Christian University, in Mitaka Japan.  In 1987 I moved to Japan for a year long study of their language and culture. Boy! I was so naive back then and fresh out of the pumpkin patch.   I moved in with this guy named Naoki and him and I hit it right off.  He was the complete opposite of me — world travelled, wild, crazy, had the girls all over him — in contrast to myself who never travelled and was about as wild as a wall flower, and only dreamed of girls. I found him on the internet again doing searches for names and places we both had in common. It was the song “Voices Carry” (Amy Mann was the singer) that finally clinched it for me.  It was great talking to him again — fantastic that he is married, with a new little boy, living in Los Angeles.

I also met up with a ton of old school mates from when I went to Comstock Park High School, in Comstock Park Michigan.  I have such fond memories of High School, but I would do so many different things if I could do it all over again.

One new, old friend was a guy named Chris.  I have to admit, that in high school I was a bit afraid of you.  I am not sure exactly why, but I always walked around you on eggshells.  I don’t ever once remember you being disrespectful or mean to me, so perhaps it was just that we never got to know each other so much.  I am glad that him and I are chatting back and forth.  It sounds like he has had a wild ride through live, serving his country in the Navy and travelling to such far flung locales.  He is now living in Hawaii — oh I dream of living there. Dude, you are living my dream!!

I also got in contact with a girl named Vicki from High School.  I admit that I was always so timid around her — perhaps smitten would be a better word.  I often remember trying so desperately to think of something to say to her and when the opportunity came up, I would just blather meaningless words from my mouth.  That was one thing I would change if I could go back 25 years in to the past — hindsight is 20/20 they say, but I would be so much more active and engaging.  I am happy to say that we are now chatting nicely and continue, almost on a daily basis, conversations through email and Facebook.  We can’t really change what has happened — a shame it isn’t like a computer game where you can just go back to an older save and try different things.

Its just amazing how powerful the internet is in making contact with people.  I am still searching the world for people that I have not found yet, hoping they are still out there with family and friends having a good time.  I hope one day to track down Dilak Scott, David Marra, Jeff Dee, Robert Knapp, and a slew of new old friends!

Troy

Ya know its not that far off and soon we’ll be scratching off 2008 on our checks and shaking our heads as we scribble 2009.  Just the other day I wrote 2005 on a check, then stopped and looked at it funny and thought to myself, ‘is it 2005?’

Doh!

Since we are nearing the end of 2008, I reflect back on all that I have done.  It started out as a shakey year with many troubles: including a bad bout with pneumonia and moving to a new job.  I really thought that 2008 was not going to be very good.

Towards the end, however, I now look back and beam a fond smile at the cool things that I did.

One event that was really cool was hanging out with Brent and the guys from Virginworld at the San Francisco Game Developers Conference back in February. God! That was so much fun, and I really learned so much about gaming. I also got to see San Fransico — what a nice place.

I also look back on all the tribulations of my new job, but in the end I am really beginning to enjoy IT and find it so refreshing.  I am not out of the woods yet.  This next year I have to learn a program called Vantage from Epicor systems and that is going to be tough.

I also finally finished my novel.  It was a new story, not one of the pile of bits and pieces that have layed on my desk for the last twenty years.  A brand new story called “Amish Johnson and the Pegasus Chamber”. Its a science fiction tale of a young boy growing up and discovering who he is.  I am now looking for a publisher or agent.

I also finished three short stories and have been working on finding a place to publish them.  In the end, if I cannot find a home for my spooky tales I will offer them to my cohort of friends, family, and surfers who come to my humble little writing nook, the Emerald Tablet.

We also had the Summer Olympics, although I didn’t do anything with it. I still enjoyed watching the games.

I had a great time with friends playing games this year. My cousin and I spend each monday night playing Diablo, Civilization IV, or other similar multiplayer game.  I also have good friends online and have spend many nights in far flung worlds of Hyboria, Norrath, and other such places.

This year I also did allot of podcasting, though I sadly drifted off in the last six months.  I hope to remedy that in 2009.

I hope everyone else had a good year.  I would love to hear your stories of struggle and success with comments.

Thanks,

Troy

Gah!  I have been dragged back down into the infernal cesspool of MMO gaming — OK, it’s not that bad, but there for three months I had a life — I could read books — I could write stories — I knew what the sky looked liked and actually saw the stars, moon, and sun again.

To no avail, however, I started up one box — and bought the worthless expansion — and then started my second box going again.

If I don’t weary on the game, I will proudly return with a Travels with Troy and a EQual Perspectives, no doubt soon.

As for what I did in the last three months?  I finished a young adult science fiction novel called Amish Johnson and the Pegasus Chamber. . . It is about a young boy going to school in the twenty-second century and finding a key to a machine called the Pegasus Chamber.  On a lark, he and his friends walk into it and find they have been whisked away, virtually, to a pristine beach.  They learn however that not all is well when the program fails to end, and they are left with a daunting quest to find the Unity Controls and escape the virtual world.  Along the way they encounter mysteries and surprises — a young woman who Aaron (thats Amish) falls in love with, carnivorous predators that the kids must combat, and an ancient ruin filled with headhunters. All very exciting.

Troy Christensen

November 25th, 2008

First published in 1985 under my own publication house, later in 1987 and 1988 it was picked up by a Japanese publication company specializing in models, dioramas, and gaming.  The union of myself and the company last ten years with dozens of books and articles published on Phantasm Adventures, Multiverse, and other related subjects.

Phantasm Adventures: Guide to Monokan

In this huge companion book to Phantasm Adventures and Advanced Phantasm Adventures, we discover the lost world of Monokan. Detailed through the book is the major continent from which adventures untold, begin. More than ten thousand years of history are detailed, as well as the Almanac like descriptions of the varied empires of the land. Follow through the book and read details about the Throom Dynasty, the Maldake Combine, the mysterious Wild Lands, the rambling Kingdom of Jeg.

Read about the infamous Mog Apes, the Spires of Norrandar, the legendary wizard Azaroon and Thobar. Experience so much that mere words cannot describe all the mystery and wonder.

Phantasm Adventures: Lets roll back time to a more simple period where all role-playing games were played amongst friends and used paper, dice, and grid paper. The year was 1985, during the era of Reagan and “We Are The World“. It was a time when I could spend 12 hours a day, sitting in front of my host of friends in my bedroom talking about dragons, elves, and glorious high adventure.

Phantasm Adventures was my first fantasy Role-playing game. I used my Commodore 64 to typeset the game, and rubber cement to attach the picutres. I photocopied probably 30 of these books, which some are still floating around out there. Here is the one I kept. Last I knew there several of my old friends, gone off where ever friends from the past go, and have been told they still use it from time to time. Here is to my friends of the past!!