With the bittersweet end of The Grim Tidings Podcast, an idea popped in my head. “Why not make a brand for all things dark that I love? Games, books, movies, TV, games again, podcasting, darkness, blood, battle axes, the occult, and all sorts of other happy shit?” Thus, I, Philip Overby, set out to create Negative HP, a location for the dark geeks and weirdos that lurk out there on the interwebs. The Dungeons and Dragons players who more often than not turn out to be murder hobos. The readers who love grit and blood and occasional pee and poo in their books. The gamers who plummet to their death in Dark Souls over and over again and remain gluttons for punishment just because they must kill something called a Gaping Dragon (yeah…) Negative HP is for you, the jacks-and-janes-of-all-geekdom who want darkness dumped on your heads every so often.

That said, I will give a NOAQ (No One Asked Questions) below to give you an idea of the goal of this new endeavor.

1. What is Negative HP?

It’s a bunch of shit. I sort of just described it up above, but it will be a website that will hopefully attract people who like the same junk I do: darkness, silliness, weirdness, grittiness, bloodiness. It will feature articles by yours truly (Philip Overby) and will most likely have guest features down the line. There will also be a podcast and Youtube channel for those of you into that sort of stuff. The podcast will carry on what I learned as a co-host of The Grim Tidings Podcast (with over 100 episodes), so I remotely know what I’m doing in that regard. This is a passion project, so there’s no major desire to make money or anything like that. However, we’ll see where the road takes me.

2. So the podcast…it’s basically The Grim Tidings Podcast but with less Rob?

Yes and no. While I do hope to carry on the grimdark flag of destiny onward to victory, I will also focus on topics that might not have been regularly featured on The Grim Tidings Podcast. In addition, the podcast will have a “game” format, meaning that while the guests will be interviewed, I’m hoping to make each episode like an RPG. Answering questions gets experience points, guests can choose which path they want to take, open treasure chests, fight monsters, level up and goofy shit like that.

3. That sounds dumb. Why not just do a regular podcast?

Because I don’t want to. My love of games makes me want to include some game element in almost everything I do. Seriously, it’s obnoxious. Of course I want to try this format and see how it goes. If it sucks, I’ll do more of a straight-forward podcast. Well, about as straight-forward as I can do.

4. OK, maybe this could be interesting. I’ll give it a try. 

Make up your mind, fickleberry.

5. I like most of the things you’ve mentioned. What if I don’t want to listen to a podcast?

That’s fine. I’ll be creating content in a Facebook Group (to be made a later date), posting pics on Instagram, sharing articles here, and if video is your thing, Youtube reviews, rants, and such.

6. Who are you anyway? What makes you different from any other schmuck with a website?

Philip Overby. Pay attention. Geez.

Maybe what makes me different is that I have a very light-hearted view of dark subject matter. Does that make sense? For example, I love Rick and Morty, Mortal Kombat, Deadpool, Dungeons and Dragons, Big Trouble in Little China and the like. However, I also enjoy movies such as The Thing, The VVitch, Audition, and Old Boy. I’m an eclectic fellow.

Probably the one aspect I want to highlight most are games. I have a huge collection of games that I’ve amassed in a relatively short period of time. This means PC games, board games, handheld games, tabletop games, etc. etc. I want to showcase some of the darker games in my collection. Games that are designed for mature audiences or at least feature darker subject matter. Some examples:

Video Games:

• Darkest Dungeon
• Mortal Kombat
• Dark Souls
• Bloodborne
• Elder Scrolls series
• This War of Mine
• Battle Brothers
• Fire Emblem

Board/Card Games:

• Gloomhaven
• Blood Rage
• Folklore: The Affliction
• Aeon’s End
• Pandemic Legacy
• Arkham Horror
• Sword & Sorcery
• Thunderstone Quest

Tabletop Games:

• Old school Dungeons and Dragons
• New school Dungeons and Dragons
• Pathfinder
• Numenera
• Fate Core
• Dungeon World

Not only do I want to talk about these games, but I want to hear from people about their gaming experiences. One thing I learned from doing The Grim Tidings Podcast is that a lot of authors like talking about their gaming experiences. I hope to carry that forward with Negative HP.

Well, I guess that’s it. Anything else you want to know? Share in the comments below (or on the post that this link was shared).

One last question for all of you reading: what dark/weird topic would you like to see covered on the website or podcast? Share anything that your dark heart desires!