Quest Fest Winter 2019 - A Tribe

This past weekend marked the beginning of something, and I would be lying if I wasn't the best mix of terrified and exhilarated.
  I was invited/demanded/reserved-my-spot-immediately-following-the-last-one to attend a cool little shindig at Questers' Way called Quest Fest.  At the close of every official semester, we hold a weekend event on Saturday and Sunday where we invite local artists and small businesses to take up space in the center and sell their wares, along with big deals, free classes, and our fantastic D&D Dinner Theater for charity on Saturday night.  It's always a blast, but this time...something was different.  

For one, I wasn't working.  Well, I mean, not for the center.  I was one of those local artists.  And after having a YouTube channel (to middling success) for years now, becoming a professional dungeon master, and beginning to step into the very complicated and rewarding lens of painting miniatures just over the last year, it is a singular experience to be fully transitioning into legitimately selling my wares like some sort of underground fantasy resource.
  I don't really have a business, mind you.  I'm just a dude with a Patreon trying to make his way in the universe by providing good stuff for my fellow gamers that isn't going to break their wallet, and I'm happy to meet you where I can if it means you get more playing at your table.  And it was that level of wheeling and dealing (and being on my feet, actively engaging with nautical tons of kids and adults) that I wasn't expecting.  
  I.  CRAVED.  IT.  
It was beautiful.  I had parents bringing back memories of when THEY played, kids lighting up as they imagined unlimited worlds unfolding before them, held insightful discussions with old and new players alike, and sold out of dice almost immediately!  It was magical.  I love talking with peeps about games, podcasts, stories, and painting styles.  Got a lot of tips from some vets in the business, and got a few compliments too.
  And D&D Dinner Theater finally starting to hit its niche.  We've got a few more kinks to work out (don't worry, we've FINALLY got a sound guy secured for next time), maybe a little more plot to follow, but it's clear that its heart has settled into place.  The rest will be easy.  ;)

But the next day brought about a unique, surreal, and humbling observation.  
  My dice sold in under 90 minutes.  10 deals of miniature lots sold in the 30 minutes before D&D went live.  No one knew what minis they were getting, but they bought them anyway.  Barely anyone physically visited the shop on Sunday, yet I made back my investment through private messages and updates on available stock.  The response rendered me speechless for a time.
 
Our world is overrun by access.  Technology, internet, sharing, tweeting, instagram...  Sometimes we catch things, sometimes not.  But for those that subscribe value actively to something, they will commit it to their personal world.  They will share it to the stars and hope that another sees its rays and finds the same value in it that they did, and share it again.  This core of a perpetually rippling collective memory and experience is what drives a tribe nowadays.  A tribe; a group of people who have rallied behind an idea, a concept, a mission, a neighborhood, a person.  Something, or someone, they trust.  They'll give them the benefit of the doubt, back them when they need help, and shout their praise when their voice isn't loud enough.
  My success that weekend was in no small part because of the small tribe of people that frequent Game On, that like my Instagram, that listen to my podcast, that read this blog.  Your love, your joy, your stories, your value...it warms my soul.  And I hope I can do better for you, always.
Thank you for playing with me.  It is an honor, My Tribe.

See you at the table.
-Adamus