The Resolutions of 2025
Wow, I can't believe I was actually able to pull that off. Anyway, time to reflect on 2024 and also glaze up some other writers!!!
Reflection
2023 was a big year in a lot of ways, but 2024 might be my absolute favorite so far by far. It really had it all. Even outside of writing and arting my mental health in general just skyrocketed, I've never felt so good doing what I love and I have everyone both here and in my personal life to thank for that! I bet it's reflected in my work too, some of the best stuff I've made yet and it only gets better, everything just feels REALLY good I'm ngl.
It's also wild that the follower count for Oniran has pretty much doubled since last year, and every day it seems more and more people in this community know who I am and LOVE what I create. Lemme tell ya, you have absolutely no idea how happy it makes me, it's genuinely unreal. This really do be a fantastic community fr fr.
WorldEmber
I'm gonna be completely honest, this year my WorldEmber was kinda underwhelming compared to the last. But I guess it was gonna feel like no matter what, right? Definitely didn't make it easier on myself I'll tell ya that much, did that shit on ultra nightmare mode. The first half of December was legit just me day in and day out working non-stop to finish the Zine while still buying myself enough time afterward to attempt WorldEmber. And friends who checked in on me and asked what I was up to were met with "Locked in. I'm over here doing crunch time like the healthiest modern triple A game dev."
But I did it. Just like I said I would. And it is by far one of the greatest things I've ever made so far (Personally my favorite section is the "Skill Issue" article, which I will totally be referencing in all the TTRPG content from now on lol). And after that I published what are now 2 of my all time favorite articles by far. Lichdom specifically I had been waiting to write ever since first making this world since I love Liches so much. The Lord of Lightning Adventure Module on the other hand came out so well, especially compared to my first, that I've definitely been motivated to make more; maybe even clean up The Hunt of Honeymeadow while we're at it.
Resolutions of the Past
With that being said, did I actually succeed in the goals I set in my last Resolutions Article? Let's go down the list, shall we?
Cooking
This one is an obvious yes. It may not have been as broad of an expansion as I was probably hoping for, but the overall quality and consistency has improved IMMENSELY. And in terms of experimenting with different mediums? Oh brother you better BELIEVE I accomplished that.
Pretty Pictures
Hell yeah I did, in both quantity and quality I absolutely popped off this year in the art department. Though the fact that I never actually finished that Elf Splash Art is REALLY funny. It's still in the thumbnailing phase to this very day.
Community
On paper as written? No absolutely not. I failed this one hard. Not a single message or appearance in the WA Server for the entire year except for that one time I was pinged after the Zine dropped, but that doesn't count since I was literally pinged.
But in spirit? Yes absolutely, and I have The Story-Teller's Circle's invitation to thank for a lot of the positive stuff I mentioned earlier. I could NOT have done all of this without them!
Quests
From the Main Quests all I did was the Homepage Update and for the Active Quests I played a LOT of Monster Hunter. For the Side Quests, uh, I DID write Slice of Life and improve the CSS. But it's also just really funny that one of the quests is a completely different, unrelated Dungeonomicon; meaning I technically did it but also absolutely not vhbdfkvfds.
As for stolen ideas, well, that's just my default creative process like my brother in christ if you read Lichdom you'd know it's just "Slay the Princess" fanfic and also my personal essay for why "Sonic and the Black Knight" is so important to me. It ain't subtle.
Resolutions of the Future
First off, I'm absolutely not doing another one of those year-long projects again good LORD. I need a break after the past few months. This year's WorldEmber will be for WorldEmber alone, I'll tell ya that much. This time around I'll keep the resolutions broad and categorical since it's better for my ADHD. The only exception being that I gotta finish up and finally post The Knight of Cups.
MMO Expansions
Speaking of WorldEmber, I recently had an idea for how to always have a plan for it. I'm just gonna save all my big important updates for then. What do I mean by that? I mean I'm doing updates like Minecraft so I can give them cool names. What I'm thinking this year is the big civilization update: Yasurun, Wulfhelm, and Stonewood. The three big important places (In other words, the Elf place, the Valkyr place, and the Knight place). I'll just spend the year building up ideas and lore and artwork and then once WorldEmber hits I compile everything and write their articles, gotta keep up that tradition of 30+ minute long reads, y'know how it is. Who knows if I'll actually fully commit to this plan, but it does seem fun and sustainable.
Adventure & Region Modules
I'm sure it's very clear by now how much I like writing Adventure Modules and how much I love Cloudburst Coastside, and I'm sure it's no surprise I'd like to write more of them. Let's hope I do!
The Dragons
This goal is cursed I will literally never get around to it.
Housekeeping & Cleanup
Currently I think I have a very defined formatting style that a LOT of articles need to be updated on. On top of this, now that I'm more comfortable writing straight up PF2e content I should definitely go into the articles with game mechanics and inject actual content in there.
The Sauce Awards
This is the third time I've ever done something like this so I might as well copy and paste the intro from the first one again since it was for WorldEmber come out swinging without so much as a drop of subtlety or decorum. I'm about to glaze up 10 articles from creators who absolutely COOKED this WorldEmber. The articles linked here are absolute bangers, peak fiction if you will, the shit that made me go "DAMN, this right here is The Sauce."
Mochi
You better believe we're starting off strong here with an article on DRAGON ECOLOGY. You love to see it. Mochi's species articles are always a reminder to me that I can always go WAY harder on the ecology lore, and I'm sure it's no secret that I've been doing just that. An absolute inspiration this one is!
Demongrey
I absolutely LOVE when a well known story is treated as more of an idea that can and does change every time it's told, which I'm sure is clear based on some of my own stuff, and I must say that reading this has inspired me to write some of my own. As in the stories themselves and not just an article saying they exist. The vibes here are immaculate and I would highly recommend!
Catoblepon
ACTUAL PEAK CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE CONTENT RIGHT HERE!
I've been inspired in this department yet again, only this time with absolutely FANTASTIC ideas for interactivity that I never even considered before! (also thank you for the shout out vshjfdkbvj)
Rumengol
The vibes here are perfectly executed, I love me a good ol' fashioned post-apocalypse caused by supernatural creatures that's 99% unwinnable except for a VERY specific aspect/loophole that might turn it in our favor. But that's just my own personal interpretation of the world. In terms of this article specifically I really just love the simplicity, and it inspires me to make class/profession articles of my own. Excellent work!
The Big G
Here we have a nice and cozy collection of New Year's traditions, and lemme tell ya there's some variety with these (My personal favorite is Mraydor's festival). Just like with food, there's something about worldbuilding holidays that just makes things feel ALIVE, and it's definitely time I start brainstorming for some holidays of my own!
Make Lore,
Not War
Okay at this point the Fates themselves are screaming at me to make more interactive content, it's like I'm being presented over and over with some of the coolest executions and ideas I've seen in a MINUTE and I really gotta take a crack at it this year 100%. This article is FANTASTIC and I absolutely recommend you read it and share your perspective in the comments over there!
Strixxline
Articles like this are why I absolutely ADORE Ayun Sovos. The coziness and silliness are simply unmatched, but that doesn't mean I can't try and attempt it >:) If I'm gonna sit here and claim that I can write anything in this world then I gotta cook something that elicits the same response as reading Sunny-Day Sleepies on god fr fr.
Moonlight Bard
Never underestimate the power of a good ol' Harvest Festival, can't beat it, you can always do SO much with the idea and this article does just that. Autumn is just SUCH a good season for worldbuilding I love it so much man you have no idea. I'm sure it's a surprise to no one but this absolutely inspires me to start developing not only the Festival of Affinity but festivals as a whole!
Endrise
Lemme tell ya, once again Endrise is speaking my language and cooking up some absolute PEAK. I LOVE when extremely significant lore is directly related to the very concept of fire, and the application here, as well as the church surrounding it, is super clever I must say. I definitely need to start planning out the big important stuff of my world but it's like all dragon related so it might take some divine intervention.
Dimitris
I love when writers go all out when writing about topics that are otherwise pretty simple on their own. This article goes in depth in the best possible way, and I absolutely LOVE the atmosphere it creates in the process. It makes me wanna write more landmarks like this, with characters and families to call them home, and, if it's a winery, to make a list of wines of my own. Seriously, the alcohol lore here goes CRAZY.
Honorable Shoutouts
Top 10 Best Works of 2024
1) Dungeonomicon
2) Lichdom
3) The Lord of Lightning
4) Broth by the Bonfire
5) Beast Type Care
6) Cloudburst Coastside
7) The Knight of Cups
8) The Hunt of Honeymeadow
9) The College of Wizardry
10) Vakumyr
2) Lichdom
3) The Lord of Lightning
4) Broth by the Bonfire
5) Beast Type Care
6) Cloudburst Coastside
7) The Knight of Cups
8) The Hunt of Honeymeadow
9) The College of Wizardry
10) Vakumyr
The Archive
Here's everything I wrote
this year!
this year!
Resolutions
Cabinet of Curiosities
WAWA 2024
Adventure April
I just felt like it
Summer Camp 2024
Copper
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Institutions of Learning
WorldEmber 2024
The Knight of Cups
Dungeonomicon
All the art is made by me unless labled otherwise!
Congratulations for the zine and WE! :) You did great this (last??) year! Good luck for 2025, looking forward to reading more of your stuff.
Explore Etrea | March of 31 Tales
Thanks so much!!!
While I would love to go on an adventure, writing them is enough for me.