It Seems "Sundara: Dawn of a New Age" Is Now On TV Tropes!

As my regular readers know, I've been releasing supplements for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age fantasy TTRPG setting for a couple of years now. While interest has gone up and down over that time, and it certainly has a small number of dedicated fans, it's sometimes hard to keep revealing new parts of the map when only a trickle of players and Game Masters seem interested in these new developments.

So it was quite a shock to me when I found out that Sundara now has its own page on TV Tropes!

Which is pretty exciting, honestly.

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A Nice Little Pick Me Up (Even If It's Incomplete)

While the page for Sundara on TV Tropes definitely hits some of the high notes I've had for the setting as far as tropes I've included and avoided (such as mentioning the purpose was to avoid the trope Here There Were Dragons, while including things like Floating City, along with Weird World, Weird Food), I will be the first to say that it's definitely a little sparse so far. While there's elements of Archbliss and Ironfire on this list, there is so, so much more that I've already included in the setting, and quite a number of things that I plan on putting into it going forward, as well.

Which is why I wanted to take a moment to ask a favor of all the gamers out there who have gotten at least some copies of Sundara's supplements so far. Would you please take a moment to go to the Sundara page, and do your part to expand it?

Because there's been a lot of stuff released over the past couple of years.

From my latest release 100 Effects of a Primquake, all the way back to the Pathfinder and DND 5E versions of Ironfire, there's a lot of material to cover in this setting, and I'm hard at work on even more stuff right now. Though I'm not averse to going back through the lists of inspirations I've taken for shaping this setting, I know that I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of all the tropes one might find, and I don't want to miss something players might find interesting or important... so if you have the time, just go through, and add one of your own to the list.

I'd love to see this page grow!

Need To Catch Up On Sundara?

Whether this is the first you're hearing about Sundara, or you're one of the folks who picked up the Deal of The Day and are curious about what else you can find in this setting, the older supplements are all listed below! Additionally, I've been putting together episodes of Speaking of Sundara on the Azukail Games YouTube channel (which you should definitely subscribe to) talking about some of the design strategies I've used, breaking down what's in particular supplements, and explaining some of the changes I've made to what folks might expect from a traditional fantasy RPG setting, from how I chopped out alignment, to the uncertain nature of gods, to how technology and magic both lead to unique inventions among the people of Sundara!

Check out the full 26-video 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.

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!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Daily Motion channel!. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on 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!

The Five-Man Band and Your Party (Something to Think About)

Most of us know that the general purpose of an adventuring party is to make sure that everyone contributes a different strength to the group. The idea is that if one member can't handle a task (interpreting an ancient text, sneaking past the guards, smashing in the ogre champion's skull), then another member can step up and take point on it. This makes everyone a main character, and equally responsible for moving the story as it unfolds around them.

However, examining the literary trope behind this setup can be quite useful. If you've never come across it before, it's called the Five-Man Band.

The short version is that a balanced party, using this blueprint, consists of the following members according to TV Tropes.

- The Leader (Lead Singer): If the party had a protagonist, it would be this character. Whether it's the charismatic paladin who draws their friends into their adventures or the mastermind who runs the team for the heist, the leader is the one the others tend to defer to when it comes time to speak for the group.

- The Lancer (Lead Guitar): The Lancer is the balance to the Leader. They are, in many ways, the opposite side of the same coin, providing the elements the Leader lacks. If the Leader is clean-cut and noble, the Lancer may be grizzled and pessimistic. If the Leader is an opportunist who's more than a little amoral, the Lancer often acts as their conscience, etc.

- The Smart Guy (Keyboardist): This character is immediately recognizable across genres. The wizard, the hacker, the antiquarian... the Smart Guy is the one who knows things. Often physically weak, they tend to be good friends with the Big Guy... the Loki to their Thor, if you will.

- The Big Guy (Drummer): The bulk of the band, this guy is the tank. Sometimes the Big Guy is reluctant to really bring their strength out, like we see with Colossus in the X-Men, and sometimes they revel in it, like whenever the Hulk is let off the chain. Sometimes the Big Guy is slow on the uptake, sometimes they're mute, but they're the only ones who can literally carry the party.

- The Heart (Vocals): Typically referred to as The Chick in the classic Five-Man Band setup, the Heart is more often than not the only female character in the group (though this is changing as time goes on). The Heart is the one who brings everybody together, and who helps maintain balance while keeping a happy medium. It's argued that if the Heart is male that it's not a Five-Man Band, but for anyone who saw the episode of Captain Planet when Mati wasn't included (and the Captain was a merciless, uncaring force of pure destruction let loose on the world to scour it clean), we can all agree that a Heart is a necessity.

Incidentally, for anyone who wants to make a party that is also an actual band, you might want to take a moment to check out 100 Fantasy Bands for a little inspiration.

Ask Yourself What Your Job in The Band Is

Something I have come across a lot, both as a player and as a dungeon master, are folks who design their PCs in a vacuum. They know, academically, they're going to be part of a group, but they haven't really thought about how that's going to work.

This is why understanding the Five-Man Band, and seeing it in action in fiction, can be quite useful.

Avengers fans are already ahead of the curve on this one.

Even if you know your character's role mechanically (meat shield, fire support, buffer, healer, debuffer, terrain control, the list goes on), it's worth thinking about where they're going to fall into a group in general, and the group you're planning on joining in particular.

It's also worth considering that different characters can sometimes take up different roles when they're placed on different teams. Captain America is basically the Leader no matter what squad he joins up with, but Thor is more often the Big Guy when he's with other Avengers, while he can become the Leader when he's paired with other Asgardians. That makeup of the rest of the team matters, and even if you saw your character in one role, they might fall into another when paired with a different party.

Just as with mechanical roles in the party, it's important to ask if the story role you need has already been filled. Because you may have a similar skill set to another character, but a wildly different story position.

For example, your party's Big Guy might be Helgar Hopswithe, the Silent Knight. A towering figure in black armor, his lance is almost as deadly as his sword, and he stands as the party's muscle. Crayton Bloodacre, the Rager of Render's Deep, might seem to be a very similar character at first glance, because he fills a similar role mechanically. But while the barbarian and the fighter may have similar styles and purposes once initiative is rolled, Crayton is instead the Lancer to Amelie Steadfast, the dwarven cleric who heads up the party. Amelie is noble and determined, and Crayton is the brutish opportunist who tries to get her to be reasonable... even if reasonable for him is amoral to anyone else.

While there's nothing that says a party can't have more than one of these roles (two Big Guys, for example, or two Smart Guys), you can end up stepping on each other's story beats the same way you could get crowded if two of you are basically using the exact same character build.

It's a Template, Not an Absolute

There is nothing saying your party needs to ascribe to this setup. If you want to completely ignore it and do your own thing, or double up on roles, you're free to do that if it makes for a better story that you and your table enjoy.


However, with that said, it's still important to think about story in the meta-context. And for those not used to analyzing a game, this trope is often a very useful place to get started.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. Hopefully you found this suggestions useful!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on 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!