It's been several years since my fantasy RPG setting Sundara: Dawn of a New Age debuted with the first supplement, Cities of Sundara: Ironfire for Pathfinder. Since then there's been dozens of supplements covering cities, species, gods, cults, mercenary companies, and more, and well over a quarter million words have gone into building up this world (and that's just my contributions). One of the things we haven't released, though, has been adventure modules.
Until today, that is! Which is why I wanted to write this little update to let folks know that Isaiah Burt's module The Invocation of Bael-Kharn is now live on Drive Thru RPG and ready for you to play!
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| So check it out, and give this setting a look for yourself! |
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A Call To Adventure in The City of Steel!
To begin at the beginning, this module is for a party of characters ranging from level 6 to level 8, and it uses the Pathfinder Classic system. According to the preview, an elf who has been working for centuries to bring down the vaunted City of Steel may be moving closer to her goal. And while there are enough mercenaries and alchemists in Ironfire to win most wars, all the weapons in the world will do one no good if you can't see the threat coming, and you don't understand where to aim them.
I don't want to give more than that away, because I want as many folks as possible to discover the world of Sundara, and this adventure, as they explore what's been presented. However, with that said, I would recommend checking out some of Isaiah's other contributions to the setting that will be great supplements to have on-hand for this module (at least for the Game Master): Settlements of The Dragonsbreath Mountains, 100 Lizardfolk of Sundara, and his novella Legacy of Flames, all of which provide solid support right alongside the initial Cities of Sundara: Ironfire book.
And for folks who want a rapid rundown, I talked about the City of Steel a few years back when I was in exile at a hotel. So consider checking out the video to see if this is something that will perk your interest!
Why Did It Take So Long For Modules To Start Dropping?
Folks have been trying to get me to write modules for Sundara almost since it started releasing going on 3 years ago. So why is this adventure the first one that we're seeing? Well, there are a lot of reasons for that, and I wanted to explain them to folks here so you all know the score.
First and foremost, adventure modules are overall one of the worst-selling types of supplements on the market. There are modules that do well, and there are writers out there who move a lot of copies of them... but that's like saying that because there are a few bestselling novelists that everyone who wrote a book is paying their bills. A lot of GMs outright refuse to use modules, so a majority of them languish, unseen, and unplayed.
Secondly, modules are hard as hell to write. You're basically writing a short story, with math, and you have to try to provide a wide list of things that individual players may choose to do so the GM has alternate paths available to them.
Thirdly, modules require more supplemental material than other kinds of RPG products. There's the interior art, the maps, the covers... all of that adds up over time. And while most writers have the ability or resources to some of the things a module requires, most of us do not have the ability to do all of those things.
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| And when you spread minuscule profits across a team of people... well... |
Now, I will be the first to tell you there is another adventure module for Sundara coming down the pipe from yours truly... however, it comes with a catch. Because the publisher doesn't want to take a loss on producing modules (again, I do not own Azukail Games, they just publish a lot of my work), I'm accepting a smaller, up-front fee to get this thing published. However, if you want to see more modules for Sundara (or just more modules in general from Isaiah and myself), then make sure the numbers are doing some serious talking! Because if these modules sell a hundred copies (or even a few hundred copies) that is saying a lot in the TTRPG world... and a product that has a proven audience is a lot more likely to get approved in the future.
Lastly, if you've already picked up Isaiah's adventure, consider checking out some of the following from myself:
DND 5E Adventures
- The Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh - A trudge through a swamp full of terrors to save a small town
- False Valor - A murder mystery where the party must solve a killing to prevent a war
- The Curse of Sapphire Lake - Beowulf meets Friday the 13th in a frontier settlement to the north
- The Price of Iron - A single night watching a warehouse turns deadly when dark fey arrive
Army Men Mission Modules
- A Night At Breckon's Beacon - The search for a missing squad gets deadly on a stormy night
- Assault On Outpost 13 - Can the squad keep hold of a prisoner when an entire gang wants him freed?
Victorian Gothic
- Dreadful Tales - A collection of 3 short adventures for this percentile-based system for Victorian horror
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