2024 has been nothing but struggles and setbacks, or so it feels like for a lot of us. The year started off pretty great for me, with the release of my RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic, and I felt like I was going to move forward on the right foot. After all, the game had exceeded the initial goal on Kickstarter (though we were just shy on some of the stretch goals), and it seemed like a lot of folks were interested in it. As such, I rolled up my sleeves and I did my best to make sure there was plenty of supplemental material available for the game once it came out.
However, with 2024 quickly drawing to a close, I'm still behind one on of my goals... namely, Army Men still hasn't hit Copper status! So whether you're looking for a last-minute gift, or you just want to give me a smile as I check one more item off my list, consider grabbing yourself a copy before the year is done.
But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
Calling The Banners For An End-Of-Year Charge!
A statistic that I've quoted repeatedly in this blog is that something like 80% of the RPG books, supplements, stories, art, etc., that wind up on Drive Thru RPG don't even sell 50 copies, which is what tips you over into Copper, the first metal category. And while most of my smaller supplements get at least that far (with a handful of them reaching, and surpassing, the Gold metal category), Army Men just isn't quite there yet...
But it's pretty damn close.
Just a handful of copies away...
When last I checked the numbers, we needed fewer than 10 more copies of the game sold to get us up to that Copper status. While there were a lot of folks who backed the Kickstarter who already got their books... perhaps you have a friend or a family member you'd like to play with? Someone that you think would really get a kick out of Army Men, and that you think would get that bug we all experience when a really good RPG sinks its teeth into us?
Or, if this is your first time hearing about the game, just pick it up for yourself! Digital or hard copy, you deserve a weird little treat, and Army Men is certainly that. Of course, if you're still on the fence about it, check out Tactical Plastic Report, the series of videos I've been doing on the Azukail Games YouTube channel about Army Men to give folks a bit of a taste of the world and the game play before opening up their wallets.
But What If You Already Have The Core Book?
If you're one of the folks out there who have the core book for the game, you have technically thrown your weight into the project already. However, consider leaving a review on DTRPG, subscribing to the Azukail Games channel so we can keep making videos and content about Army Men, and lastly, consider grabbing some of the supplements that have come out for it!
Because of course I spent a lot of the last year trying to expand the game, hoping to grow the audience just a bit.
- Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic: The base book for the game, this is technically the only book you need to play this game... but it never hurts to get some of the others as well!
- Army Men: Threat Assessments: The first collection released after the original game dropped, this supplement is full of new creatures for your squad to have to deal with when out in the field.
- Army Men: Medals of Honor: This supplement introduced the Medals System, allowing players to earn medals for their troopers, gaining unique bonuses and abilities usable for the rest of the campaign.
- Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps: Giant bugs and enemy combatants aren't the only threats you'll have to deal with in the field. Booby traps are a serious concern among troopers looking to leave their service with as many limbs as they started.
- Army Men Missions: A Night At Breckon's Beacon: When a squad goes missing while they're on patrol, it's your squad's mission to find them, and bring them home... or to avenge them, if that can't be done.
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
Whether we're playing a high-level character who comes on the scene with a huge list of deeds, or you and the rest of the table are rucking up at 1st level, chances are your characters have some kind of reputation. Even if it's just a local one known throughout the county, folks are going to know about them. They might be a leg breaker with a long rap sheet, a sorcerer whose temper tends to result in things (and people) bursting into flames, or a paladin who might be thought of as good-hearted but a little mad, everyone's story is a little different.
I talked about this generally back in The Small Legend: Character Reputation in RPGs. However, this week I'd also like to talk about a method I've used in the past. It's something you may even have done yourself... it's Three Truths And A Lie.
Most importantly... don't tell people which is which.
As always, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
Where Is The Truth, And Where Is The Lie?
Reputations are words in the wind, and different people will hear different things when that wind goes past their ears. Because of this, it makes us ask not just what our characters have actually done in the past, but what people have heard about them doing. The last time I did this little experiment was for my Pugmire character Brother Bernard. A cleric of the Church of Man, and an adopted son of a minor noble family who made their name as defenders of the city, the towering holy man was rather shy, but he was a stalwart friend.
But what did the people of Pugmire know about him? Or what did they think they know?
- Bernard has been regularly seen in the low-end dives and brothels of the city. He seems to be well-known by those who make their coin in those places.
- During the daily walk, Bernard always takes the same route which goes past the Doberman estate. Folks are beginning to wonder if this is connected to his duties as a clergyman.
- Bernard is adopted (an obvious statement, as his parents are corgis), but most thought he was a nobleborn bastard. Others, though, have suggested he's of common stock, raised through the generosity of his family.
- Bernard is not leaving the city to "adventure," but because his family is running out of money. Only through getting his hands on some sacks of plastic will he be able to keep them in the lifestyle they're accustomed to.
Which do you think is true?
There's nothing particularly outstanding or bizarre about any of these rumors, but what other players could gather from them was that Bernard was an adopted son of a noble family who entered the clergy, who seemed civic-minded, who might have some personal vices, and whose family might be struggling. Which rumors were true, which were false, and which required more context to fully understand, no one could be sure when the game began... but they had a starting impression of the character all the same.
This gives you an interesting situation, because everyone knows of everyone else, but they might not know them for sure. Is that sorcerer really a loose cannon, or did their powers get away from them once when they were still learning to control them? Did that rogue really kill all those people the sheriff seemed sure she did (and for no reason)? And is your party's cleric really spending all his free time getting drunk and sporting down at brothels, or is he going there because that's where the people most in need of help, guidance, and spiritual counseling happen to gather?
For some additional resources, consider checking out the following supplements:
That's all for this week's Fluff post. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
A while back I put together an article titled Consider Removing Doors From Your Dungeons, and it was popular enough that I thought I'd come back to the topic of dungeon design this week. And before I get into this next topic, I wanted to ask my readers out there... is this something you'd like to see me turn into an ongoing series? And if so, would you like to see it remain part of my Crunch updates, or would you like to see it become its very own section? And, for that matter, do you want it to remain hosted on this blog, or should I put it over in My Vocal Archive?
All input is welcome, as it's the voices of my audience I use to try to guide my decisions going forward. With that said, onto this week's topic!
After all, not all traps are this obvious!
As always, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
Combat And Traps: A Match Made In Hell
As I mentioned in the previous installment, a lot of us tend to think of our dungeons in segmented parts and pieces, which we don't allow to interact with one another. If there's a room with an encounter in it, then no matter how long or loud the combat gets, other denizens of the dungeon won't come to see what's happening, even though that's the logical thing to do... it's as if the doors are all soundproof, and none of the other monsters want to overstep the limits of the arena they're placed in. To help break us out of that mindset, my suggestion was to eliminate doors, or to at least leave them open so it's clear they aren't a barrier between what happens in this part of the map, and what happens further away.
However, just as we often section off our rooms and arenas, keeping them separate and apart from one another, we often refuse to let two other parts of our dinner touch; namely traps and combat encounters.
Guys, got a monster! Stop checking for traps and help me!
Consider this. A majority of the time we put traps in long hallways, cramped corridors, and otherwise empty rooms because (whether we're thinking about it or not) we consider the trap to be the encounter in that area. While some doors might have traps on them (thus allowing the trap to act as the opening salvo of an encounter), that is a one-two punch rather than a genuine combination of a trap and encounter. Like having a burger and fries in the same take out container, but they're still not touching each other.
No, this week's advice is to purposefully and deliberately combine traps with combat encounters as a way to create a more dynamic arena, and to increase the difficulty/challenge rating for your players.
There are a few different ways I would suggest thinking about this. Some of those methods, with examples, include:
- Added Threat: Consider a room with hidden crossbows or arrow traps, but which all fire at a height that will hit a Medium creature and not a Small one, and which go off when triggered by a higher weight than a Small creature possesses. This ensures the goblins in the room can run amok, goading the party to close the distance via certain routes, thus setting off additional, hidden attacks. Bonus points if the bolts/arrows are drugged or poisoned, thus creating an additional danger.
- Ticking Clock: We've all been in a room with a flooding trap before, putting a ticking clock on how long players have before they're drowned... but what if there are hungry crocodiles released into the rising waters? Or skeletal warriors who aren't bothered by things like a need to breathe? The water doesn't hurt the characters in and of itself, but it does add one hell of a challenge.
- Battlefield Control: The party steps into a room with a handful of orc archers firing their longbows. Clearly the solution is for the barbarian to charge them so they can no longer take pot shots at the party. But that's when the roaring brute finds, to their chagrin, that parts of the floor are loose, leading to drops into spiked pits. The enemy knows where the camouflaged pits are, and while the party now has to move carefully, the enemy can fire at will, or engage however they wish to.
These are just a few ways that traps can add additional threats to a situation, and create an additional threat for your party to deal with!
With that said, consider some of the following caveats...
Before going ham and adding traps to every encounter, take a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Because when choosing the proper traps to mix into your combat, it's important to consider the following questions:
- Is This An Equal Opportunity Trap? Most traps will likely be avoided by the monsters in the room, but there are some traps which will only be an issue for the party, even if they go off. A poison gas trap, for example, won't affect the zombies in a room, even if it creates a deadly poison cloud that can be a serious danger for the party.
- Is This A Crippling Trap? Most traps are dangerous in-the-moment, but if someone survives the trap, will it create a condition that character now has to deal with for the rest of the dungeon? Something that deals hit points, or which creates a short-term negative is very different than something that gives the victim a permanent negative, or which takes away one of their options to participate in the game going forward. Just like how a monster sundering a fighter's sword is a serious issue that shouldn't be considered lightly, so too is a trap that leaves an effect on a character after the room it's encountered in (other than hit point loss, as that's often reparable).
- Does This Trap Make Sense In This Location? If the party is invading the secret underground lair of a mad alchemist, then it makes total sense for rooms to be rigged with poison gas, explosive traps, and other challenges... but would those same devices be found in the lair of a dragon? Or a defunct crypt that no living person has entered in a century? Just because a trap might make good tactical sense, that doesn't mean it makes sense with the world's internal consistency.
- Is This Avoidable? There shouldn't be a guarantee that a trap goes off. There should be a chance that players avoid it, whether it's moving in a certain way to avoid triggering it, making a Perception check to notice the trap, or having some ability to negate or stop it from going off. Traps that you basically have to set off, or disable while you're under attack, can quickly suck the fun out of an encounter, and they're something you should avoid doing often (or at all, depending on the opinion of your table).
One last thing I would add as a piece of advice here is to choose your traps carefully. Just like how players will get tired of fighting the exact same monster over and over again, or how they'll come up with strategies to deal with specific tactics, a particular trap layout is only going to work so many times before it goes from a new and dangerous threat to an annoyance or frustration.
More importantly, though, is that the real advantage of traps is the uncertainty they create. For example, if your party snuck into a forbidden crypt, and they had to do battle with undead squires to enter the tomb proper, then the lack of a trap might make them confident. But then they have to cross a bridge that is trapped while undead archers fire arrows at them, that might leave their confidence shaken. When they enter the depths of the tomb, and find a skeletal champion and its retainers waiting for them, is the party going to assume this is another straight-up fight? Or will they be moving with caution, wondering where the booby traps are?
A trap only has to happen every now and again for the party to become wary of them. However, traps can grant a serious home field advantage, often allowing a small number of adversaries (or even just one) to take on an entire party of well-armed, well-prepared player characters!
Speaking of Traps...
Part of the reason I was thinking on this topic was that I've been re-reading my recent supplement Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps that I put out a little while back for my RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic. I'm slowly gearing up to write a few more missions set in this world to follow up the first release A Night At Breckon's Beacon, and at least one of these missions is going to have a lot of traps as part of the challenge a squad is going to have to face.
If you're looking for a game that definitely encourages the use of traps as part of the challenge (for both allies and enemies), then grab yourself a copy of Army Men for the holidays! And if you just want some improvised mayhem in your game, well, Army Men is based off of a 5E engine, so if your game also runs on something 5th Edition, or a 5th Edition port, these booby traps should be equally useful for you as well! And while some are meant for dealing with infantry, there are several that are meant for taking out vehicles, as well as their entire crew... so tread carefully!
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Crunch post! To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
It's that time of year again. The decorations are going up, Mariah Carey has been defrosted, and everyone is looking for the best possible deals on what to get their loved ones before the upcoming holiday, and the end of 2024. And because I know that money is tight for everyone, I try to provide as much free content as I possibly can, both here on Improved Initiative, but also on our sister blog The Literary Mercenary for the writers out there, and in my Vocal archive, which has over 300 free articles (most of which are about gaming).
However, 2024 has been rough as hell with Drive Thru RPG basically slashing my earnings in half. Adding in the projections for 2025 that are all doom and gloom, I would like to take this week to ask for a favor from my audience... because I could definitely use a bit of that holiday spirit to help carry me through.
Every little bit helps...
But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
I Could Really Use A Hand Up This Holiday
Things have been rough all over for creatives the past few years, and the seas are looking pretty stormy right now. To make things worse, this is typically the time of year when folks decide to cancel Patreon patronage, stop tipping creators they follow, and so on because of all the other holiday costs they're amassing; gifts, travel, time off work, and so on, and so forth.
So, before I get into all the other stuff, if you want to help keep this blog going please consider becoming a Patreon patron, or buying me a Ko-Fi as a tip. That's the best bang for your buck, honestly, and that goes for basically any other artist out there you want to support this year, too.
That's not the ONLY option I'm asking folks to consider, though...
I know that's not for everyone. However, I wanted to lead with that one because it's the easiest way to ensure that I keep the lights on, and have a minimum of hardship as I pay all of my big bills in the coming year (taxes, renew car insurance, things like that). If you do want to help me keep the wheels turning, but you'd like other options, consider the following categories...
Free Stuff That Helps
Like I said, I know that everyone is having a tough time right now, and not all of us have cash to spare. So I wanted to list a bunch of stuff you can do for free right now that will help boost me up as a creator, and which will put money in my hand, and help me do more, without costing you a dime.
Watch My Azukail Games Videos
I have been making videos for the Azukail Games YouTube channel for going on 3 years now, and in all that time I've made a pretty wide variety of content. From audio dramas and channel updates, to talking about my settings Sundara: Dawn of a New Age and my RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic, to industry talk in Tabletop Mercenary, and shows like Discussions of Darkness where I talk about the World and Chronicles of Darkness settings.
As of time of writing, we only need about 100 hours and change of watched content... meaning we need our audience to clock in a little over 100 hours more so that we can get monetized. Because for all the episodes I've put up (and all the work Adrian has done on his crafting videos), and all the signal boosting you see here and on social media, we haven't seen a single, red cent from YouTube because we haven't met the creator minimum yet on the amount of traffic we've generated. Hell, if everyone who subscribes to me @LiteraryMercenary on Blue Sky (far and away my smallest social media following) watched 1 video a day for the month of December, we'd clinch that number, and start the new year off right.
This is such a big deal to me because, though it isn't my channel, if it is earning revenue for my publisher, that's money that can be reinvested to make bigger, more engaging videos, TTRPG supplements, and a variety of other projects as well! So if you want to help me avoid stagnation, subscribe to the channel, watch some videos, leave comments on them at least 7 words long (that's the magic number on the algorithm), and share the ones you like on your social media pages. It makes a much bigger difference than you know!
Read My Vocal Articles
I have SO many of them...
Vocal.media is a website where authors are able to write whatever they want, and we get paid based on how popular our articles are. So if you wanted to read my classic top story It's Okay To Admit There Are Problems In Your Hobby (which always seems to light flame wars when I share it), you can do that for free, and I'll get paid for it. If you're a Warhammer 40K fan, my Leagues of Votann story Pyramid Scheme is on there as well, or if you're looking for a new character concept for your next Pathfinder game, consider my article The Beer Brewing Witch.
The issue is, of course, numbers. Because I make $6 for every 1,000 articles that get read on Vocal. Not clicked, mind you, but read. The pages have crawlers and bots on them that track who's reading, and their pace, ensuring that only read, organic reads go through.
Still, there's 321 stories on My Vocal Archive at time of writing, and I add at least 1 per month. So if 1,000 people all decided to just read 1 of them per day, I'd make about $6 a day for most of the next year. That doesn't sound like much, but I can confirm right now that an extra $180 or so a month would, in fact, be life-changing for me as a creator. So if you enjoy my gaming content on this blog, bookmark my Vocal author page, and make it part of your daily routine to dig through and see what's in there! I've got character conversions, character concepts, horror articles, short stories, instructionals, and a slew of other nonsense that's just waiting for you!
Follow My Social Media (And Interact With Me)
Social media is the backbone of modern creatives. We don't have money to buy ad banners on websites, and getting organic word-of-mouth about us and what we do is amazingly helpful. However, every platform out there has been choking our signals, and making it impossible for us to reach anyone with the stuff we make. A post we make today will get maybe 10% of what we would have gotten a few years ago, if we're lucky... and unless you can count your followers in the tens of thousands, the algorithm is going to put its boot firmly on your windpipe.
So help me overcome this by following my socials (listed below), and interacting when you see me post stuff! Hearts and shares are good, but so are 7+ word comments, because those get the algorithm to notice you... a good tip for any other creators you follow, too!
- LinkTree (I promise I'm trying to update this more)
Also, as a bonus, subscribe to my newsletter to make sure you get all my content sent to your email every two weeks so you don't miss anything!
Things You Can Buy (Which Also Helps)
If you're looking for the ideal gift for a friend or family member, I've got a lot of stuff that's out there for-sale! And, as a bonus, the more numbers these things do, the more likely I am to put out additional stuff for these games, novel series, and so on!
And, as a bonus, all of these links (as I mention in my fine print on this site) are affiliate links... so even if you just click through to check something out, that still helps!
My Novels/Short Story Collections
I've had a lot of fiction come out over the years, and it's been a time and a half trying to get any of it into people's hands. So if you or someone you know is a reader, check out some of the following stories (and listen to the audio drama above linked from my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary).
- Old Soldiers (A dystopian sci fi novel about a defunct super soldier solving a mystery)
- Crier's Knife (A witchborn mountain boy goes to bring home his wayward cousin by any means)
- The Rejects (A collection of short stories that never quite made the cut in other anthologies)
The Hardboiled Cat
My noir series about Leo, a hardnosed Maine Coon from the Bronx, deals with the problems going on among the street beasts throughout the city. So if you want to make sure Leo gets a few more stories under his bottlebrush tail, grab the three books he's been featured in so far!
- From A Cat's View (The debut short story for Leo can be found in this anthology)
- Marked Territory (Leo ends up doing a favor for the raccoon mob, and stumbling on a conspiracy)
- Painted Cats (Leo ends up looking for a missing stray, and take care of her abandoned kitten)
Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic
A game where you take on the roles of troopers fighting for their homelands in the Plastos Federation against the insectoid monsters of the vespoids!
- Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic: The base book for the game, this is technically the only book you need to play this game... but it never hurts to get some of the others as well!
- Army Men: Threat Assessments: The first collection released after the original game dropped, this supplement is full of new creatures for your squad to have to deal with when out in the field.
- Army Men: Medals of Honor: This supplement introduced the Medals System, allowing players to earn medals for their troopers, gaining unique bonuses and abilities usable for the rest of the campaign.
- Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps: Giant bugs and enemy combatants aren't the only threats you'll have to deal with in the field. Booby traps are a serious concern among troopers looking to leave their service with as many limbs as they started.
- Army Men Missions: A Night At Breckon's Beacon: When a squad goes missing while they're on patrol, it's your squad's mission to find them, and bring them home... or to avenge them, if that can't be done.
Sundara: Dawn of A New Age
This is a setting I've been gradually expanding for several years now, and there's a new series of supplements coming out for it in the near future! Sundara can be played on its own, or it can be added piecemeal to your own settings to fill in gaps and blanks so that you don't have to do as much heavy lifting the next time you get folks around your table!
Cities of Sundara
The setting first began with the Cities of Sundara splats. Self-contained guides to some of the larger and more powerful centers of trade, industry, arms, and magic, these unique locations provide plenty of fodder for character generation and plots. Not only that, but each one comes with unique, mechanical goodies for players and GMs alike to take out for a spin!
- Ironfire: The City of Steel (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built around the Dragon Forge, Ironfire is where the secret to dragon steel was first cracked. The center of the mercenary trade in the region, as well as boasting some of the finest schools for teaching practical sciences, Ironfire is a place where discovery and danger walk hand in hand!
- Moüd: The City of Bones (Pathfinder and DND 5E): An ancient center of trade and magic, Moüd was lost to a cataclysm, and then buried in myth. Reclaimed by the necromantic arts of the Silver Wraiths guild, this city has once again become a place teeming with life. Despite the burgeoning population, though, it is the continued presence of the undead that helps keep the city running, ensuring that Moüd is not swallowed up once more.
- Silkgift: The City of Sails (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built on the cottage industry of Archer cloth (an extremely durable material used for sails, windmills, etc.), Silkgift is a place that prizes invention and discovery. From gravity batteries that store the potential of the wind, to unique irrigation systems, to aether weapons, the city positively churns out discoveries... and then there's the canal they cut through the mountains that makes them a major center of trade across the region.
- Hoardreach: The City of Wyrms (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A center of power across an entire region, Hoardreach is ruled over by a Cooperation of five different dragons. A place for refugees and outcasts of all sorts, Hoardreach boasts some of the most unusual citizens and creations from across Sundara. Infamous for their sky ships, which require the cast-off scales and unique arcane sciences of the Dragon Works to take to the air, one never knows just what they'll find in this city built atop a mountain.
- Archbliss: The City of The Sorcerers (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A floating city in the sky, Archbliss has been a refuge for sorcerers for thousands of years. It's only in relatively recent years that the city has allowed those from the ground below who lack the power of a bloodline to join them in the clouds. However, while there are certainly amazing wonders to behold, there is a darkness in Archbliss. Something rotting away at its heart that could, if not healed, bring the city crashing to the ground once more.
Gods of Sundara
- Gods of Sundara (available for Pathfinder and DND 5E): In a world with no alignment, and where the gods are often genuinely mysterious forces that are far too large for mortals to truly comprehend, the divine feels genuinely strange and unknown... something that really does have to be taken on faith. This supplement provides a sample pantheon for Sundara, but also provides instructions on how to easily make your own gods in a world where you can't cast a spell and tell whether someone is good or evil.
Species of Sundara
Sundara is filled with creatures that many of us recognize, but I wanted to give greater depth to their cultures, and a wider variety of options. After all, humans always get 15+ ethnicities, languages, and unique histories, while elves, dwarves, orcs, halflings, etc. are almost always left with footnotes, or maybe with a handful of offshoots. So, in short, I wanted to give all the fantastical creatures the treatment that humans usually get in our games.
And there is no human book yet. If readers demand to know more, then I may sit down to pen one... but I figured that humans didn't need to be front-and-center in this setting just yet.
- Elves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Elves are one of the most quintessential fantasy creatures... but if you want to see more than just high elves, wood elves, and elves of the sun and moon, then this supplement has you covered!
- Dwarves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): The children of the primordial giants who were meant to fill in the details of the world they'd made (or so the myths say) there are as many kinds of dwarves as their are kinds of giants... and possibly more, depending on who is keeping count.
- Orcs of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Supposedly a creation of the elves, none can say for certain exactly how or why orcs have been made. What most agree on is that these creatures are far more than most may think at first glance.
- Halflings of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Little cousins to the dwarves, halflings are tough, clever, and not to be underestimated. From living beneath the hills, to taking up residence in the deep forests, halflings in Sundara come in quite a variety!
- The Blooded (Half-Elves and Half-Orcs) [Pathfinder and DND 5E]: When orcs and elves mix their bloodlines with other creatures, the result is one of the Blooded. This inheritance takes many forms, and it can even wait generations before manifesting when the right combination of individuals come together to have a child.
- Gnomes of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Gnomes are strange creatures, found in places where the spirit of the land has coalesced and made children of its own. The sons and daughters of the ancient nymphs, they are the stewards of these places, and they change as often as the weather and the land.
Organizations of Sundara
Phase 3 has been going strong, but there's still a few titles left in it! So if you haven't seen them, consider checking out:
- Sellswords of Sundara: With power structures being smaller in scale in Sundara, standing armies aren't often maintained for long. As such, soldiers of fortune are quite common! This supplement contains 10 mercenary companies, their history, uniform, sample members, whispers and rumors, as well as either an archetype or subclass for playing these unique warriors. Grab your copy for Pathfinder of DND 5E.
- Cults of Sundara: Faith comes in many forms in Sundara, and there are as many gods in the Prim as there are dreams in the minds of people. This supplement contains write-ups for 10 cults, their histories, sample members, rumors about them, their beliefs and tenets, and a unique magic item for each. Get your copy for Pathfinder or DND 5E.
- Guilds of Sundara: While cities and villages may be relatively local, guilds are spread across the length and width of Sundara. From professional orders of skilled miners and dredgers, to monster slayers and bounty hunters, this supplement has 10 guilds with histories, sample members, rumors, as well as unique feats one can take to represent the skill and benefits of joining this order. Available for Pathfinder as well as DND 5E.
- Merchants of Sundara: While city states might be the largest form of government you find in the setting, merchants hold an outsized amount of power. From huge mercantile houses, to small brands infamous for their quality as much as for their price, there are a lot of options listed in this particular world building supplement.
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
It's time for another Table Talk update! And while I've got a lot of things going on behind the scenes, this week I wanted to draw folks' attention to a very specific plate that I'm spinning. Because I mentioned this a while back in Gathering The Grimdark (Tying My Warhammer 40K Shorts Together), but I wanted to give my regular readers an update on progress!
And if you haven't read any of my tales of the grim darkness of the far future, the full list can be found at the end of this article.
I've been waiting to start on these for a while, now...
Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
Expanding My Current Series Offerings (Ogryns and Renegades)
First things first, while I love the grim darkness of the far future (and adding my own little touches to it), one reason these stories come so slowly from me is that these aren't an independent endeavor. When I write one of these stories, it's because I'm working with someone else (usually, though not exclusively, the YouTube channel A Vox In The Void, whom you should follow if you haven't), so I have to take their workload and schedule into account. As a result, folks tend to only get these stories from me a few times a year.
But after some talks, I have the next two installments figured out, and I'm currently working on the first of them!
This tale is something that I'm sure regular readers will be excited for... a new Gav and Bob story! As we draw closer and closer to our own Winter holiday, we're also approaching Sanguinala. And since it's become something of a tradition now, both Paul and myself thought it would only be appropriate for Gav to have a new adventure during one of the holiest days of the Imperium's calendar.
And while I don't want to say too much about our boy Gav's latest adventure (though it is a Warhammer Christmas story, so be prepared for elves to be involved somehow!), I also got the greenlight for yet another tale which will mark the triumphant return of the Old War Hound himself, Crixus!
The third tale in what I guess I'm now calling the Waking Dogs series (the first two are below), this tale will feature Crixus in a fight for his life aboard a World Eater vessel. Turned loose in the gladiator pits, he will face trial by combat... but will he be fighting alone? And what horror awaits in the bowels of the ship that his erstwhile brothers will loose on him after all the death and destruction he has sown among their ranks? Stay tuned and find out in Waking Dogs: War Hounds!
And isn't THAT just a pair of tales?
While I still have quite a lot of other projects that I'm working on, these are the current pieces of fiction I'm planning on finishing up while I try to push the Azukail Games YouTube channel over the finish line to get it monetized. Once that happens it will be time for me to break ground on the audio drama series Windy City Shadows, which will take place in the world of the Chronicles of Darkness! If you haven't heard about it, I did an AMA for it a while back, and I could use all the help folks can give me to help make it into a reality!
My Grimdark Tales (Many of Which Have Audio Drama Versions)
- Waking Dogs- A World Eaters Tale: When Crixus awakens from the haze of the Butcher's Nails, he decides he has had enough of being a dog for one warband after another. The old Warhound is awake, and he means to put down the rest of the World Eaters like the rabid dogs they are.
- Broken Chains- A World Eaters Tale: Crixus settles a grudge with his former brother sergeant... and a part of him that he'd long forgotten is rekindled in the soul of this vengeful renegade.
- Blackest Knights: The debut tale of Kill Team Errant, this squad of Blackshields assists a captured inquisitor, only to find this situation is larger, and more dire, than they'd anticipated.
- The Final Lamentation: When the Black Legion takes a Lamenter prisoner, they quickly realize that the cursed luck of his legion is also their problem when he's present on their ship.
- Field Test: An inquisitor claims to have a secret weapon that can wipe out an entire ork waaaaugh... but no weapon seems to be in evidence. Just her retinue; a Catachan, a tech priest, and a hollw-eyed young man who may be far more than he seems.
- Broken Heroes: A scouting party is trying to recover an experimental piece of ammunition... but they find something far more dangerous when they're surrounded by a swarm of enemies, and they stumble upon an ancient bunker where a terrible weapon has waited to finish what it started.
- Gav And Bob, Part IV: The Emperor's Hand: An adventure of the Imperium's Bravest Ogryn, Gav Smythe finds himself on a world in the midst of a war. When he crosses paths with a strange, black sword, he hears the voice of the Emperor, and knows what he has to do.
- Gav And Bob Part V: Faith And Martyrs: Gav is brought to a shrine world where he speaks with a Canoness Confessor of the Sisters of Battle. She will be the one who weighs his sanity, and his soul.
- Pyramid Scheme- A Leagues of Votann Story (Part One and Part Two): When the Ironbeards hear of great wealth on a jungle moon in an uncharted corner of the sector, they rush in to try to earn a big payday... the danger that awakens, though, might mean they never survive to spend it!
- 50 Two-Sentence Horror Stories, Warhammer 40K Edition: The second installment of my 50 two-sentence horror stories project, this one was quite popular before the algorithm started excluding Vocal links from being shared. Still, check it out if you're looking for some short, snacky scares!
What's Next on Table Talk?
That's it for this installment of Table Talk! What would you like to see next? I'm listening for your comments and votes!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Bue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, as well as on Pinterest where I'm building all sorts of boards dedicated to my books, RPG supplements, and greatest hits. Lastly, to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little donation can have a big impact.
As regular readers of this blog know, it's been about a year and a half since I put out any RPG supplements that used a community creation platform. I talked about this back in Why I Will Have Fewer Community Created TTRPG Products Coming Out back in July of 2023, but for those who don't want to read the older entry, it boiled down to money. At the time I'd been given a raise by Azukail Games for my up-front payment as an author to 2 cents per word for content that wasn't made using a community creation platform like Storyteller's Vault, Pathfinder Infinite, and so on. While I was still completely allowed to write supplements for those platforms, I'd only receive 1 cent per word as an up-front payment... and given that my word count tends to rest between 11,000 and 15,000 words on one of these supplements, that's not a small difference.
In fact, to make up the difference in earnings, one of these supplements would have to sell between 183 and 366 copies (depending on the sale price), just for me to break even with the royalties on the back-end. Given that only about 20% of the supplements sold on DTRPG even break 50 copies sold, and that I can count on one hand the number of projects of mine that eventually broke the 350 mark after years of being on the market, this is a pretty dismal prospect.
So why am I going to voluntarily work on some of these in the coming year?
There is method to my madness...
The short version is that variety is the spice of life, and I can only work on the same genre, style of product, etc., for so long before I need to shift gears and give my brain something else to work on. Not only that, but I had a bunch of supplement ideas that I hadn't gotten to yet, and frankly leaving them dangling is starting to really bother me. I need a change of pace, and I need to work a different set of mental muscles... and I need it badly enough I'm willing to leave money on the table, despite all the storm clouds on the horizon, and the fact that I haven't managed to claw my way up out of the hole I got kicked into over a decade ago at this point.
But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
Which Platform/Game/Setting Do You Most Want To See?
As hinted at above, I don't honestly believe that anything I write for a community creation platform is going to do the kind of numbers I need in order for it not to be a loss over a different project... but that doesn't mean I'm just going to throw caution to the winds! I've narrowed my current projects down to a relatively short list, and this week I wanted to ask my readers to please cast their votes for what they'd like to see! The options are listed below, but in addition to which platform/game you want to see me make more supplements for, please take a moment to suggest the format you'd like to see (adventure module, 100 list, Baker's Dozen list, list of 10, etc.), as well as any specific suggestions you might have.
And if you made it this far in this week's post, but you're not sure what a community creation platform is yet, I made a video about them a while back on Tabletop Mercenary. So check it out, and if you enjoy it, consider subscribing to the Azukail Games YouTube channel and checking out some of the other stuff there as well!
Option #1: Werewolf The Apocalypse
A lot of folks who know my work at all know me because they found my World of Darkness supplements, and specifically my Werewolf: The Apocalypse supplements. From my 100 Kinfolk Collections (100 per tribe, with something like 1,500 characters or more last I looked), to my supplement Evil Incorporated: 10 Pentex Subsidiaries, I've spent a goodly amount of time in the world of Werewolf.
While I've considered expanding the NPC roster with ideas like A Baker's Dozen of Elders To Encounter (for those who need powerful NPC werewolves), or A Baker's Dozen of Tales to Tell at a Moot (for spicing up these fireside meetings), something that I figured more players and Storytellers would get use out of would be a series of supplements for fleshing out the Umbra in a way similar to what I did for the Hedge in Changeling: The Lost. So supplements like 100 Sights To See in The Umbra, 100 Spirits To Meet in The Umbra, and so on, and so forth would be what I'd work on for this game. At first, at least.
I know Werewolf has had its ups and downs, but folks still grab copies of the supplements I've already written for it, so I figured there's still an audience. And if you're in that audience, and you'd like to see me add to what I've already made for it, make sure you cast your vote below!
Option #2: Exalted
Exalted is a game that I went elbow-deep into a while back, trying to make sure I had all the ins and outs for my character ready to go. While the campaign is currently on-pause, I spun up quite a lot of nonsense while putting together Barabbas the Butcher, and I figured that putting some of it out there for folks to use in their games might be of-use/interest!
For example, something like Whispers From The Void: 100 Messages From The Neverborn might be useful for all the Abyssal players, and the Storytellers trying to help give them a memorable experience. 100 Demons To Find in The Brass City could be helpful for those venturing to hell, or even 100 Gods To Encounter for Storytellers who are looking to fill the corners of the setting with gods big and small to really bring home the strangeness of this setting.
While I know there's a lot of Exalted lovers out there, and everyone has their preferred edition, my hope is to try to make my first steps actually fit a pretty universal mold... and then if folks really want more of this, I'll do my best to branch out into a wider array of options.
Option #3: Call of Cthulhu
While I've worked on my share of Cthulhu Mythos stuff (up to and including my 50 Two-Sentence Horror Stories, Cthulhu Mythos Edition, which has an audio drama version linked in the list), a lot of it honestly seems to have died before it was released. However, two supplements that did make it through editorial and which are available today include 100 Shops, Stores, and Businesses to Find in Arkham as well as a follow-up/supplementary piece 100 Gangsters, Gun Molls, and Goons, which was meant to flesh out the criminal underbelly in Arkham during Prohibition.
I'll be straight with folks, this setting already has something in the works simply because of the ease of putting it together. However, I could expand my scope beyond Arkham, and the Prohibition period, if that's something folks would want to see? Whether it would be something like 100 Rumors To Hear in Lovecraft Country, 100 Dreams To Have In The Witch House, or even something like 100 Cultists To Encounter, allowing Game Masters to flesh out the ranks of their conspiracies and plots.
If you do vote for this option, make sure you make clear which era of the game you're most interested in as well! Also, as a note, this game doesn't have a community creation platform, but Azukail Games does have the ability and willingness to pay the licensing fee for these supplements, so that's why it's on the list.
Option #4: Pathfinder/Golarion
Pathfinder is the game I've played the most, and Golarion is one of the settings I deeply enjoy because I love kitchen sink nonsense in fantasy games. I've only dipped my toe into Pathfinder Infinite twice, though, penning the very popular 150 Sights To See in Absalom (which has gone Electrum due to a popular bundle it was included in), as well as the less-popular but well-loved 100 Books To Find Across The Inner Sea (which includes the story narrated above).
There was a rather drastic difference in the two supplements I put out, and after all the hullabaloo with Paizo changing things around and shifting priorities, I didn't want to be in the midst of working on anything while major changes were happening. But it seems to have mostly calmed/quieted, and if folks wanted me to, I could put out some of the ideas I had to help expand Golarion that much more. While some of the ideas were flavorful, like 100 Rumors To Hear in Sandpoint (because the best adventures always seem to start there) or A Baker's Dozen of Tortures To Endure in Nidal, I also had some more mechanical ideas, such as expanding the Divine Fighting Technique feat to include minor gods, or putting together a fresh hellknight order, complete with their own mythos, legends, and prestige class options should you wish to play one.
If you want to see me return to Golarion, make sure you tell me what kind of thing you'd like to see, and what part of the world you want to see it in. After all, there's so much of Golarion to explore, and I'd like to know which corner you think needs some love.
Option #5: Pugmire
If you haven't played it, you are missing out, not gonna lie!
Pugmire is a game I have a lot of affection for, and it inspired a lot of the direction I went with my own RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic. In short, it's a game set in the far, FAR future where humans are gone, dogs, cats, and other creatures have evolved into a medieval-esque society, and they have all kinds of bizarre adventures in the deeply changed world. It's a load of fun, and while Azukail Games has released supplements for it like 100 Birds For Pirates of Pugmire or 100 Cats To Meet in The Monarchy of Mau I haven't actually turned my hand to this game just yet.
Would folks like to see me expand the NPCs one can find in the city of Pugmire? Would you like rumors, books, letters, or even organizations that could play into your campaign? Because I've had ideas for a while now, but just haven't taken them out of the box to turn them into finished products yet.
How You Can Make Your Voice Heard!
If any of these ideas are something you would like to see, then here's what you need to do:
- Comment down below what you want to see, and be as specific as possible.
- Comment on social media, if you saw this post there. 7 words or more really helps drive engagement!
- Share this post around so that other folks can see it, and weigh in on what they'd like to see!
And once you've done all that, conider buying available supplements from a given setting, platform, world, etc. that I've already put out, and linked in the appropriate sections. While votes are certainly a good way to cast your ballot, supplements that do numbers make it much easier to get projects greenlit by the publisher.
And, like I said, over 130 sales minimum just to break even. It's definitely not easy making a living on this grind.
Also, Don't Forget To Check Out My Own Settings and Games!
If none of the above really caught your interest, I'd like to remind folks I have my own settings and games that I've been hard at work on expanding for the past year and change! So if you'd like to see more of Army Men, or of my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting for Pathfinder Classic or DND 5E, then leave a comment requesting more of that! And if you haven't checked out any of the supplements for these games yet, the lists are below!
Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic
A game where you take on the roles of troopers fighting for their homelands in the Plastos Federation against the insectoid monsters of the vespoids!
- Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic: The base book for the game, this is technically the only book you need to play this game... but it never hurts to get some of the others as well!
- Army Men: Threat Assessments: The first collection released after the original game dropped, this supplement is full of new creatures for your squad to have to deal with when out in the field.
- Army Men: Medals of Honor: This supplement introduced the Medals System, allowing players to earn medals for their troopers, gaining unique bonuses and abilities usable for the rest of the campaign.
- Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps: Giant bugs and enemy combatants aren't the only threats you'll have to deal with in the field. Booby traps are a serious concern among troopers looking to leave their service with as many limbs as they started.
- Army Men Missions: A Night At Breckon's Beacon: When a squad goes missing while they're on patrol, it's your squad's mission to find them, and bring them home... or to avenge them, if that can't be done.
Sundara: Dawn of A New Age
This is a setting I've been gradually expanding for several years now, and there's a new series of supplements coming out for it in the near future! Sundara can be played on its own, or it can be added piecemeal to your own settings to fill in gaps and blanks so that you don't have to do as much heavy lifting the next time you get folks around your table!
Cities of Sundara
The setting first began with the Cities of Sundara splats. Self-contained guides to some of the larger and more powerful centers of trade, industry, arms, and magic, these unique locations provide plenty of fodder for character generation and plots. Not only that, but each one comes with unique, mechanical goodies for players and GMs alike to take out for a spin!
- Ironfire: The City of Steel (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built around the Dragon Forge, Ironfire is where the secret to dragon steel was first cracked. The center of the mercenary trade in the region, as well as boasting some of the finest schools for teaching practical sciences, Ironfire is a place where discovery and danger walk hand in hand!
- Moüd: The City of Bones (Pathfinder and DND 5E): An ancient center of trade and magic, Moüd was lost to a cataclysm, and then buried in myth. Reclaimed by the necromantic arts of the Silver Wraiths guild, this city has once again become a place teeming with life. Despite the burgeoning population, though, it is the continued presence of the undead that helps keep the city running, ensuring that Moüd is not swallowed up once more.
- Silkgift: The City of Sails (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built on the cottage industry of Archer cloth (an extremely durable material used for sails, windmills, etc.), Silkgift is a place that prizes invention and discovery. From gravity batteries that store the potential of the wind, to unique irrigation systems, to aether weapons, the city positively churns out discoveries... and then there's the canal they cut through the mountains that makes them a major center of trade across the region.
- Hoardreach: The City of Wyrms (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A center of power across an entire region, Hoardreach is ruled over by a Cooperation of five different dragons. A place for refugees and outcasts of all sorts, Hoardreach boasts some of the most unusual citizens and creations from across Sundara. Infamous for their sky ships, which require the cast-off scales and unique arcane sciences of the Dragon Works to take to the air, one never knows just what they'll find in this city built atop a mountain.
- Archbliss: The City of The Sorcerers (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A floating city in the sky, Archbliss has been a refuge for sorcerers for thousands of years. It's only in relatively recent years that the city has allowed those from the ground below who lack the power of a bloodline to join them in the clouds. However, while there are certainly amazing wonders to behold, there is a darkness in Archbliss. Something rotting away at its heart that could, if not healed, bring the city crashing to the ground once more.
Gods of Sundara
- Gods of Sundara (available for Pathfinder and DND 5E): In a world with no alignment, and where the gods are often genuinely mysterious forces that are far too large for mortals to truly comprehend, the divine feels genuinely strange and unknown... something that really does have to be taken on faith. This supplement provides a sample pantheon for Sundara, but also provides instructions on how to easily make your own gods in a world where you can't cast a spell and tell whether someone is good or evil.
Species of Sundara
Sundara is filled with creatures that many of us recognize, but I wanted to give greater depth to their cultures, and a wider variety of options. After all, humans always get 15+ ethnicities, languages, and unique histories, while elves, dwarves, orcs, halflings, etc. are almost always left with footnotes, or maybe with a handful of offshoots. So, in short, I wanted to give all the fantastical creatures the treatment that humans usually get in our games.
And there is no human book yet. If readers demand to know more, then I may sit down to pen one... but I figured that humans didn't need to be front-and-center in this setting just yet.
- Elves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Elves are one of the most quintessential fantasy creatures... but if you want to see more than just high elves, wood elves, and elves of the sun and moon, then this supplement has you covered!
- Dwarves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): The children of the primordial giants who were meant to fill in the details of the world they'd made (or so the myths say) there are as many kinds of dwarves as their are kinds of giants... and possibly more, depending on who is keeping count.
- Orcs of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Supposedly a creation of the elves, none can say for certain exactly how or why orcs have been made. What most agree on is that these creatures are far more than most may think at first glance.
- Halflings of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Little cousins to the dwarves, halflings are tough, clever, and not to be underestimated. From living beneath the hills, to taking up residence in the deep forests, halflings in Sundara come in quite a variety!
- The Blooded (Half-Elves and Half-Orcs) [Pathfinder and DND 5E]: When orcs and elves mix their bloodlines with other creatures, the result is one of the Blooded. This inheritance takes many forms, and it can even wait generations before manifesting when the right combination of individuals come together to have a child.
- Gnomes of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Gnomes are strange creatures, found in places where the spirit of the land has coalesced and made children of its own. The sons and daughters of the ancient nymphs, they are the stewards of these places, and they change as often as the weather and the land.
Organizations of Sundara
Phase 3 has been going strong, but there's still a few titles left in it! So if you haven't seen them, consider checking out:
- Sellswords of Sundara: With power structures being smaller in scale in Sundara, standing armies aren't often maintained for long. As such, soldiers of fortune are quite common! This supplement contains 10 mercenary companies, their history, uniform, sample members, whispers and rumors, as well as either an archetype or subclass for playing these unique warriors. Grab your copy for Pathfinder of DND 5E.
- Cults of Sundara: Faith comes in many forms in Sundara, and there are as many gods in the Prim as there are dreams in the minds of people. This supplement contains write-ups for 10 cults, their histories, sample members, rumors about them, their beliefs and tenets, and a unique magic item for each. Get your copy for Pathfinder or DND 5E.
- Guilds of Sundara: While cities and villages may be relatively local, guilds are spread across the length and width of Sundara. From professional orders of skilled miners and dredgers, to monster slayers and bounty hunters, this supplement has 10 guilds with histories, sample members, rumors, as well as unique feats one can take to represent the skill and benefits of joining this order. Available for Pathfinder as well as DND 5E.
- Merchants of Sundara: While city states might be the largest form of government you find in the setting, merchants hold an outsized amount of power. From huge mercantile houses, to small brands infamous for their quality as much as for their price, there are a lot of options listed in this particular world building supplement.
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
