Happy Hour #11 - $40,000 (Patreon)

It was a quiet two weeks at Glass Cannon Studios and, thinking about it now, it was really you guys that did all the heavy lifting! We finally got ahead on recordings in time for Troy to take a short vacation to Banff, and for me to take my wife and kids to visit my in-laws in Tulsa. We got a nice one-week break from the office, a nearly two-week break from recording (which is unheard of these days), and really got away. So it was a quiet week here, and will be a quiet and, I'm sorry to say, not very meaty Happy Hour post.

As I just said, it was you guys that did the heavy lifting this week in bringing us up above the $40,000 mark on Patreon! It's a fantastic milestone that even Matthew finds significant. I'm joking, of course. Matthew sees no significance in the number whatsoever. For me, personally, though, I see something more significant than the goal as written. 

I think I mentioned during a Glass Cannon Podcast intro a while back that to me the $40k goal meant getting something back that I have sorely missed since adding a second and third actual-play podcast to the network: the direct connection with the listening audience. I thrive on that connection, and it's one of the many reasons that I count down the days to the live shows and feel sick to my stomach when I think of how much I miss doing the Fod. This week was a perfect example of that interaction as a handful of Glass Cannon Nation members came out to hang with me at Shuffles in Tulsa. Byron, Liz, Chad, Brian, Toby, and Irene all made me, my wife, and my father-in-law Monty feel so welcome in their hometown as we just ordered a few pops, busted out some games, and kept it going until they closed the place down. Easily the highlight of my week and just another reminder why the $40k goal is something I've been chomping at the bit to hit over the last two months.

Being able to retroactively analyze our content in more detail, talk about what works and what doesn't, and share that with you guys are just some of the coolest things that will come out of these upcoming Twitch streams. Also, taking more time to show our personalities outside of the RPG table is something that I think helps us to connect to the community in a deeper way. We aren't JUST roleplaying geeks. That's just one facet of a wide range of things we like to waste our time doing! Back in the day, we used to have more time to do that stuff, and to share the love of that stuff with the community. From the moment we hit $10k on Patreon, that had to change. The time that we had between work and family was poured into what we were best known for: tabletop RPG actual play. And it's been fantastic, don't get me wrong. Having the opportunity to play Starfinder with such an incredible group, and to then start this awesome Raiders of the Lost Continent game?! I'm a very lucky guy. But somewhere in there, Cannon Fodder got tabled (so to speak), and my ability to just chat with Troy and you guys about these games was cut off. Now we're bringing it back.

So with the week coming to a close, I'm giddy with excitement as Troy and I prepare to outline our one-night-only Cannon Fodder special. My head is swimming with ideas as I literally sit here right now looking at the stage lights and badass camera that are already set up next to the PS4, pointed at the couch. And behind and weaving through all of those thoughts and that excitement, is my ultimate focus: "The Emerald Spire". While many of you are completely in the dark, you won't be forever. Many NDAs have been signed and many people, even some of YOU (you know who you are), know that there is exciting work happening behind the curtain. The details will come in due time, and I thank you for your patience as I put together this project along with my best buddies. 

Please let me thank each of you one more time for doing your part to get us to $40,000. The goal is beyond exciting for me, but now I'm looking to $50k and thinking, how did we get here? When we hit $10k we joked about hitting $20k. When we hit $20k the joke became $50k. It seemed impossible, but now it's just a stone's throw away, and I can assure you, we'll be working our asses off until we hit it.

Have a great weekend everyone and I'll see you on CANNON FODDER!

Woooooooooooooooooo!

Joe