Thanks. It's a sneaky bastard. From my experience, admitting it helps me to talk about it. I've been dealing with mental health professionals for 5 years dealing with other anxiety issues and one of my issues is the numerous barriers to actually getting help. But talking about it might actually inspire to get off of my butt.

In reply to Gildan Stalker (msg # 405):

I take Paxil and Latuda for depression, I also have Anxiety issues and Obsessive Compulsive issues.

The best thing you can do is talk about it. Getting help from someone who specializes in it would be a good idea as well. Don't bottle it up. It'll make it worse.

You took the first step...among a group of strangers...and spoke out! And look what you found > more than one of us has dealt or is dealing with the same type of issues. I work as a school counselor. Anxiety and depression among children has skyrocketed since the pandemic. Parents talk to me all the time about what to do, and my advice has become a broken record: 1/ Find a therapist that is right for your child, 2/ Unplug from social media, video games, and get your child busy doing something; limit screen time to 1-2 hours a day (which was very hard to do during the pandemic when most schools were virtual), and 3/ Get outside and soak up the sun! Play, ride bikes, join a sports team, hike, garden, etc. I'm fully convinced kids (and adults) do not spend enough time outdoors. There is so much to do and see > just gotta get out there.

So...find someone you can trust, man. Talk to them, maybe start a low dose of what Ulrich calls "happy pills" and to quote Morpheus > "Free your mind."
And I stand with Seer > reach out for anything if you need us!

In reply to Kullonar (msg # 408):

Excellent points!

take the time you need your health is important.

I'll wait for Myrrick and Gildan until this afternoon. Hopefully they can join us. Otherwise I will NPC them.

Lol, to bad Dugger can't tell someone to look in the chest, might be something useful inside.

Look... If ALL of the words in the OOC of my last IG post were read it ought to be clear that what I meant is that I was unsure where <u>within<u/> the room I was: at the chest or at the door? This is what I literally described in my note.

With this, I'm done here. I've been thinking about this since I read your post yesterday evening, Seer. I've appreciated the game and the generous friendliness you've shown me outside of it over the years, but I'm getting busier in RL and don't like the bad feelings I gotten from things here over the past several months. Play Bruno as you will.

In reply to Bruno Rhunthane (msg # 413):

:-( Oops.

So we have come to a crossroads. Bruno has decided to leave the game. Kullonar has expressed his reservations to me. We still have enough players to continue, but I find myself not able to get across the descriptions and instructions that you need to play this campaign.

Furthermore, I find myself pulled in multiple directions. With the approach of the release date of my next story, I find myself not having enough time to do any one thing the right way.

I'm not a quitter, but my priorities have shifted. I really want to get some traction with my writing. I believe I have a Wall Street Journal Best seller in me. But I cannot do that playing RPol. That doesn't mean I'll stop playing in other games that I'm in. It just means that the time allocated to this game is disproportionate to the other games I play. And to be honest, I'll be culling that herd as well. I have two games in which I am a player-character. I won't be adding anymore for the foreseeable future.

If I offended anyone, you have my apologies. I think we had a good run, but all good things must come to an end. I wish each of you all you could hope for. And I thank each of you from the bottom of my heart for being such good players & friends. My grumpiness aside, each of you brought a wealth of wisdom the to gaming table. That's more than I could have asked for.

PS: The third book is in preorder, the release date is August 1. The price is $3.99. The first two stories are .99 apiece - best if you read them in chronological order.

With all of that said, thank you again for playing. I'm sure sometime down the road we'll meet again on the banks of the RPol River...

Best Wishes,
Mike Eschbach

Mike, thanks for the game.

Thank you, Mike.
Later guys.
Good gaming to all.

In reply to Kullonar (msg # 417):

Uhhhh, okay, game over.

Thanks, Mike. Sorry if I wasn't the most active player. Hope the book turns out well.

You have nothing to be sorry for. You are good player and a lot of fun. Best wishes to you. Keep fighting.

I'm going to leave this game open for the foreseeable future so you guys can take any notes and what not that you might want to keep.

Thanks  Mike

Fyi: all three books are available on smashwords. If you haven't already visited, I suggest using the search engine and type my name in 'Mike Eschbach' and it will take you to where you need to go. The first two books are .99 apiece.

The third book is $3.99
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I'm sorry I didn't do a better job of finishing up this campaign. For the most part it was fun. And all of you were good or better players than I am. For what its worth.

In reply to The Seer (msg # 423):

Just sorry we didn't live up to your expectations. Our loss.

I still owe you that Mike,   On your third book,   nice.

https://www.smashwords.com/     right?

dugger you are spot on. Thanks for reading! If you haven't yet bought it, the current version is the most up to date one 9 August (today). there were some minor inconsistencies in previous versions. FYI. Those of you who earlier versions, let me know and will make amends.

Gang: I'll be keeping this game active thru the end september. make sure you get what you want from this game. Thanks to those of you who bought my story(s). If you have some time, give me a shout out of what you thought of the stories. You can also give me a review at Smashwords.

Cheers and huzzah!

OK, thanks for the notice.  will work on capturing what I need.

I am going to leave it open for awhile...