Hi {name}!

This weekend wasn't the best. Illness is working through our house, and my Reddit post promoting Inclusive Artwork got massive downvotes and harsh comments on two different subs, so I spent Saturday morning trying to respond reasonably to those posting hostile comments before I finally just deleted the posts.

When that happens, especially when the hostility isn't just blatantly ableist trolls (which was about half of the attacks), it weighs heavily on me. Since we're dedicated to helping you make lives better through TTRPGs, when something seems to make someone's life worse, even due to a misunderstanding or failure to communicate, it can feel like I just rolled a 1 in life.

Maybe you've felt like that, like you're trying to make the world or an individual's life better, and it blows up in your face?

And then Sunday night, I stumbled across this quote:

You have enemies? Why, it is the story of every man who has done a great deed or created a new idea. It is the cloud which thunders around everything which shines.

— Victor Hugo

I thought about times in recent years when I made enemies. They were upset that my efforts for more inclusivity would take away their privileges. Or they didn't believe my outside-the-box strategies would work. I guess I need to save against thunder damage.

I also realized that challenging the status quo will always upset a lot of people, including those who benefit from the current system, those afraid that the challenge or the change will make things worse, and those used to the current state and don't want to adapt to change. 

Whether you're trying to change the world or just change Tuesday, whether your plans succeed, or you successfully rule out a strategy that didn't work, here's something to help you:

(On a side note, a variation of the above quote is better known and was first published in a D&D book!)

And just added to the campaign, check out this dragonborn barbarian!

This Kickstarter campaign from our friends at Crit Academy just launched: (CW: Ableism)

Hello! My name is Aelx, misspelled of course, and I am a 28-year-old with the reading skills of an 8th grader and the spelling skills of a 4th grader. Why might this be? In 2nd grade it was found out I had been lying to my teachers about being able to read, I was entirely illiterate at age 7.

Come to find out I have the highest grade of dyslexia you can have and thus years of special education, tutoring, teachers aids, and relentless bullying from both students and teachers began. There is a special pain in being forced to do something over and over you know you will fail at.

The ironic part was, all I wanted to do was tell stories and be an author. When the teacher would go around the room and ask the kids what they want to be, they would tell others to shoot for the stars, they would tell me to be reasonable.

I wrote my first book in the 8th grade, and my dream died when the people I showed it to literally tossed it in the trash.

That dream stayed dead until Justin, who you all know and love, came into my life. He allowed me to start writing for the Crit Academy Patreon and kept telling me I needed to write. The little flame inside me heard him and heard that yall enjoyed my lairs and bounty boards. Then, I posted a TikTok at 2am that felt like a little girl asking for permission to dream again. I will never forget that moment and everything that has led up to now.

Aelx’s Bombastic Oddities really is my dream, a dream that was shattered by people who should have nurtured it. But lucky for me, Justin did. This book is a collection of my best ideas and concepts that I feel any GM could find value in. My hope is that the things in this book serve as anchor points that propel your mind into the sea of life abundant and allow the spark of inspiration to burst into a cataclysm that can only be tamed by furious writing of your newfound ideas.

Thank you to everyone for reading this, thank you to the people who enjoy my writing for the Patreon, and thank you to everyone who participates in the Kickstarter. I never thought this dream would see the light of day, and yet here we are.

Aelx Bomb is a queer, disabled (Schizoaffective Bipolar) woman who also has ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Dysgraphia.

This book has been written and produced with accessibility AND inclusion woven into every seam and every word. This includes but is not limited to changes from the industry norm like including a pronunciation appendix that uses like sounds, not syntax, font choices, sizing choices, etc. ABO has been proofread by other dyslexics, color blind folks, people who struggle with migraines, visually impaired folks, and people for whom English is their second language to give the most inclusive and painless experience while reading Aelx’s Bombastic Oddities.

There's some very cool stuff here. I encourage you to check it out.

Thanks for your support!

Dale