And I tell you all of that to sort of set the scene for this week's discussion. Because I've been putting a lot of sweat into two of my ongoing projects, my PF and DND setting Sundara: Dawn of a New Age, as well as my first full RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic. However, there's only so much I can do on my own, and I'm hoping that giving you all a look behind the curtain might help rally a few folks to my banner before I lose my grip on it!
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Building A Base, Or Wasting Time?
There's a story that was floating around Facebook a while ago, and it's transcribed from the oral history of the publishing industry. The way it goes is there's a guy from accounting at a major publisher, and he's talking to one of the editors. He's been going over the numbers, and he's just flabbergasted that a majority of the publisher's earnings come from a handful of superstar authors, while the rest of the titles they publish barely move any copies at all. The editor, unsurprised by this news, agrees that the accountant's read of the situation is correct. The accountant, frustrated by this, demands to know why the publisher wastes their time with all of these other books. Why aren't they just publishing the ones that sell?
The editor gives the accountant the thousand-yard-stare, sighs, and tells him that's what they're trying to do. No one ever approves a book for publication if they don't think it has potential. But there's no such thing as a guarantee, and every, single book that goes out is a roll of the die.
I'm recounting this story because, regarding these two projects of mine, it feels like this is extremely true. When I first started working on Sundara, I reached out to groups dedicated to those who played Pathfinder and DND 5E, and I asked them what would appeal to them as part of a new setting. I incorporated a lot of the answers I got, and for a time folks seemed interested. The very concept of Army Men, where you play living plastic people fighting tactical skirmishes against alien, insectile foes, got a lot of players excited when the idea was going around, and it was good enough to fund the Kickstarter to get the game released.
However, I have no way of knowing if the next supplement, or series of supplements, I write for these games and settings that are going to light a fire under the player base, or if I'm just shoveling a few thousand more words into the abyss when no matter what I do all I'm going to get are echoes of my own voice.
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| So... do I roll the dice? |
The Plan
Let's back up a second, and I'll do my best to make some sense of what my approach has been, and where I'm currently at.
I started releasing supplements for Sundara: Dawn of a New Age a few years ago. The idea was that it would be a modular fantasy TTRPG setting where Game Masters could either play in the world as it existed, or they could take the parts of it they liked and add it to their own settings and games with relatively little hassle. Some supplements, like Merchants of Sundara, are explicitly written to be system-neutral additions, while others like the Cities of Sundara: Ironfire supplement come in a version for Pathfinder and a version for DND 5E.
Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic went a more traditional route. We Kickstarted the base book, and after it came out I got to work on writing supplemental materials for it. This includes extra monsters and challenges in Army Men: Threat Assessments, the Medals System for rewarding player achievements in-game in Army Men: Medals of Honor, and the most recent update Army Men: Ungentlemanly Warfare, which was full of all sorts of horrible booby traps to spread over your maps.
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| Seriously, grab a copy if you haven't yet. |
The basic idea was pretty striaghtforward; keep making interesting, unique supplements for these two products, and to grow the player base by giving people more cool stuff. After all, the more material a game/setting has available for it, the better the chance there is that players will check it out. And if new releases are constantly coming out, it lets players know there's support for the game, and they aren't going to be playing something that has already hit the wall, and been abandoned.
Of course, that wasn't the ONLY thing I did. I've covered both of these projects repeatedly right here on Improved Initiaitve, I've talked about them on various podcasts and YT channels (such as my recent interview over on Third Floor Wars for Episode 244), and I have entire video series for each of them on the Azukail Games YouTube channel, which you should definitely check out.
The idea was that if I just kept writing supplements for these game, if I kept talking about them, and kept giving players new and interesting paths to pursue, then eventually they'd start getting traction. However, it is really tough to keep putting out my best work when it feels like no one out there is really enjoying it, or like the only person I'm making these for is me.
The reason I say that, and the reason I took you through all of that lead up, dear readers, is because I need your help.
I've said this time and time again, but it is impossible for an author to make themselves successful in publishing (ditto for a YouTuber or a podcaster to make themselves successful). We can put out all the projects we want, and we can log all the hours and words we can think of... but if no one reads, listens, or buys copies, we're just shouting into a hurricane. At the end of the day, it's like we didn't do anything at all.
So if you're someone who has gotten copies of Army Men, or any of my Sundara books, please go to Drive Thru RPG, rate them, and review them. Additionally, consider boosting the signal for them on your social media pages, whether you're on Twitter, FB, Reddit, or anywhere else, so that I can reach some fresh eyes (and because admins are less uptight about fans sharing links to things than they are about creators trying to do self-promotion). If you haven't gotten copies for yourself yet, then consider picking them up, and then leaving the aforementioned reviews and signal boosts.
It seems basic, but at the end of the day, numbers are what keep projects going. Authors don't want to keep writing supplements no one seems interested in, and even if they do, eventually publishers are going to stop greenlighting projects if they don't lead to increased sales.
Without support, we have to move on to something else. So if you want to see Sundara or Army Men continue on, please take a moment to make your voice heard!
To Catch Up On Sundara: Dawn of a New Age
The links to all of my current Army Men books are listed above in this entry. However, Sundara is a little larger, and so I've listed out all the supplements here for folks to follow up on. Start wherever you want, there is no wrong door. And, of course, you can check out the full Speaking of Sundara playlist, in addition to the following supplements!
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!
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