A Heartfelt Hello
Dear Friends and Fellow Adventurers,
Welcome to our blog, The Heart Monitor at openheartgames.com!
Thank you for taking the time to check out what we are all about! The Heart Monitor will be a weekly blog chronicling one storyteller’s journey. I am excited to share so many things I have learned along the way. Topics will include things like: GM best practices, storytelling theory, world building, tips on how to improve your game, and personal anecdotes. We will also dip into reviews on gaming systems and board games, and share our thoughts on various pop culture phenomenon. Along with our blog, we have a lot of exciting things planned for our business. Along with our two main attractions (RPG campaigns through Roll20.net and working with the Extra Life charity), we hope to produce a quarterly GM Roundtable where we will join other GMs in an open forum where we will talk trade and answer questions from fellow gamers like you! We have a lot of surprises up our sleeve behind our screen and we can’t wait to share them with you!
Open Heart Games will be launching its first RPG campaign in mid-January. Check out our Events Page for more details! I will be running the newest Dungeons & Dragons module: Rime of the Frostmaiden through the Roll20 platform. Prices are 25.00 for each session or 100.00 for five sessions. Don’t forget that a percentage of each month’s sales will go directly to Extra Life. Those of you who have liked our Facebook page will get top priority when it comes to joining a game or campaign but never fear, there will be a waitlist and we hope to run more tables in the future as we grow our company!
As you have probably read by now, charity is at the heart of our business. I have worked with Extra Life in my previous work and am excited to be working with them again. Their cause is very noble and one that is very near and dear to my heart. As a child I was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and it is due to the efforts of children’s hospitals that I am alive today. Thus, we will be supporting our local children’s hospital, Carillion Children’s, through the Extra Life charity. Open Heart Games is my way of giving back in so many ways. To the children’s hospitals that saved my life, to the many communities of gamers who have embraced me, and to the next generation of game masters who need the same encouragement I have been lucky enough to have received throughout the years.
In every state that I have lived in, I have had the pleasure of being a part of a community of gamers. From Illinois to Ohio to Virginia, shortly after moving to each state, I found my people and was embraced with open arms and open hearts. Open Heart Games is a way for me to reconnect with all of those communities of gamers and, in a way, it is my letter of appreciation to not only the charitable efforts that I have supported across the years but to all of the friends that I have met and who have shared a seat at my table. I look forward to sharing more stories and building a community of gamers that can come together and game, despite the distance.
Before I sign off, I would like to express my gratitude for my group of test subjects who have patiently suffered through test after test as I mastered Roll20. Thank you for your constant feedback and for the enjoyable journey. I would also like to thank my friend Taylor for the incredible photos which populate our site. He truly does amazing work. And a thousand thank yous to my friend Jessica who designed our logo and our beautiful website. Thank you for answering every question and for all of the guidance! I would also be remis if I didn’t mention my wonderful wife Abigail who has supported me throughout this entire venture. Starting your own business from scratch is not an easy task. And she has been there every step of the way. I could not have survived this adventure alone. Thank you.
Where this journey takes us, I cannot say, but I am excited by all of the possibilities and all of the stories that we will share together!
Thank you all for everything.
Take Heart!
Karington Hess
Game Master and Founder of Open Heart Games
