Con Was A Bust, And Improved Initiative Could Use A Little Help!

Like a lot of authors and RPG makers out there, I try my best to make it out to conventions. Sometimes I'm a panelist, sometimes I'm doing readings of my work, sometimes I'm running sample games, and sometimes I'm holding down a table in the dealer's hall. It's been rough coming back to in-person events after the pandemic, and I've been trying to make my way out to a wider variety of events so that it's not just me in front of the same crowds at the same conventions with the same books time after time.

When you branch out to new cons, sometimes you find great crowds, a good reaction, and lots of sales. And other times... well, other times you find yourself at Raptor Con.

A penny for a tale would go quite a long way this month...

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!

How I Spent My Weekend...

For folks who noticed the hiccup in both my social media posting, as well as my missed updates on my blogs, I was at Raptor Con down in Evansville, Indiana this past weekend, holding down a table in the dealer's hall with Alice Liddell. And let me tell you, it was a trial. Preparations started Thursday afternoon, and I didn't stop sweating and straining until Friday night, which is how long it took to load up all our combined merch, drive 5.5 hours across Indiana, load that merch into the dealer's hall, and set it up so it looked nice and presentable.

And from the outside, this con looked like it had a lot going for it. The dealer's hall was quite large, the venue was located in a good spot, there were some fairly big names on the celebrity guest list, and there were even additional programming options attendees could participate in. Not only that, but our fellow dealers came in all shapes and sizes, selling everything from handmade plushies, to wooden dice towers, to laser-engraved and 3D printed everyday carry items and geek paraphanalia.

The numbers were looking good, is what I'm saying.

I can tell you quite honestly that the con did pull a lot of attendees. A few hundred people went past our booth in the two days we were there, and it very well might have been well over a thousand by the time all was said and done. The con also ran a live stream of the hall to get folks interested, and the event was covered by several local news stations. Despite all of that, though, I didn't sell a single thing. Most folks who showed up to the event barely scraped by with a few sales, and everyone I talked to during load out was grumbling about how they didn't make back anywhere near the cost of this event.

Now, I hadn't come to this event expecting to sell out of all my novels and RPG books... but of all the events I've gone to over the years, this is the first time I had a table, and I sold nothing. Hell, I can count the number of people who even picked up a book and looked at it on one hand, and that was also something I'd never seen happen before at all the shows I've been to.

Which is why I wanted to take a moment to ask folks reading this if they could help me out a little before this month is over.

What I Do (And Don't) Mean By "Help Me Out A Little"

Some folks who read those words are thinking that I'm just shaking my cup and asking for donations. That is not what I'm doing here, though if you did want to buy me a Ko-Fi or become a Patreon patron I certainly wouldn't say no to that.

However, I'm also aware that times are tough, and belts are being tightened all around. So rather than just asking for direct assistance, I wanted to instead ask my readers this week to please help support some of my ongoing projects. As always, if you have the spare dosh, consider buying some of the books and supplements I'm going to mention. If not, though, consider sharing a link to them, reading some of the articles I mention below, or watching some of the videos, because that also helps more than I can adequately explain.

Okay? Okay.

#1: Check Out "Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic"

We're so close to Copper sales status I can smell it!

Earlier this year I released my first RPG every, Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic where you and your follow players take on the roles of soldiers fighting for the Plastos Federation against the incursions of monstrous insectoid creatures called vespoids. Since the initial game dropped there have also bee 4 separate supplements released for it (listed below). The game uses a modifed version of the DND 5E rules set, but with a lot more tactical rules added back in so that players need strategy as much as they do the luck of the die to help them clinch victory in their missions!

This is a project I've been trying to build momentum on for a while, and it's been an uphill battle. So if you haven't checked it out yet, please give it (and the other supplements I've released so far) a look! And if you are one of the folks who bought a copy or backed the Kickstarter, then please leave me a review and a rating on Drive Thru RPG, as well as boosting the signal about it so others can find the game!

- Army Men: Threat Assessments (Extra Monsters and Threats)

- Army Men: Medal of Honor (Introduction of The Medals System For Rewarding Players)

- Army Men: Ungentlemanly Warfare (Booby Traps)

#2: "Windy City Shadows" and The Azukail Games YouTube Channel

I've been talking about this for a while on this blog, but the Azukail Games Youtube channel has been steadily getting closer and closer to reaching the goals for monetization. At the moment we have shows about my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age fantasy setting, Discussions of Darkness where I talk about the World and Chronicles of Darkness system, audio dramas taken from my various supplements, and Tabletop Mercenary where I talk about the business of TTRPGs behind the curtain.

However, we need about 200 or so more hours of watched content (that is, amount of time that the audience watches our videos) to get us over the hump to get us monetized... which would be a huge accomplishment under my belt, and it won't cose you all a dime (just a little bit of time and energy).

Additionally, once we cross that threshold, I am hoping to use that momentum to put together a Chronicles of Darkness audio drama podcast titled Windy City Shadows. I recently talked about this project on the channel, as well as on this blog, so if you'd like to listen to a show that can best be described as Dark Fae John Wick, take a moment of your time to check it out, subscribe to the channel, and help us reach our goals so I can push this up my priority list!

The initial elevator pitch can be found at "Windy City Shadows" A Chronicles of Darkness Podcast Proposal, and the recent Ask Me Anything I did about it is below!

#3: Check Out My "Sundara: Dawn of a New Age" Setting

I've been releasing splat books for my own fantasy RPG setting Sundara: Dawn of a New Age for several years now, and while something occasionally breaks the surface, it's been harder and harder to get any sort of eyeballs or interest regarding it. While I'm currently in the midst of doing another concerted push to build off of the already-released cities books (which are designed to be useful for any Game Master, whether they want to run my setting, or import the cities into their own setting), I really need any and all attention folks could give this project. Whether you watch the Speaking of Sundara playlist, where I talk about the various parts of the world and my process for making them, or you buy, review, or share the links to the supplements below, I would appreciate any signal boost you could offer!

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: Whether a small shop of highly specialized craftsmen, or an organization whose brand is recognized across the world, merchants can add a great deal of story to your setting. The most recent release at time of writing, check out Merchants of Sundara for yourself!

My Thanks In Advance!

Being a professional creator is a crap shoot, and you never know what is going to explode, and what's just going to be a dud. You have to keep rolling, though, because giving up isn't an option in this line of work. So if you're one of the folks who supports me, whatever form that takes, thank you. It means a lot to know that the things I manage to pry out of my mind and set down on the page are things that at least some folks out there really enjoy, and want to see more of!

Just like PBS, without viewers like you, none of what I do (or really what any professional creative does) would be possible.

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 Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, 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!

Owen K.C. Stephens Needs Our Help! (Cancer Funding For a Beloved TTRPG Creator)

Because it needs to be said, fuck cancer.

Those of you who've been regular readers for the past year or so know that I've been trying to big-up the signal for TTRPG designer Owen K.C. Stephens. He's had his hands in some of the biggest games to come out in decades, and all of us have probably played something that has his name in the credits, or his fingerprints on the design. And while designing TTRPGs is often as frustrating as it is satisfying, one unavoidable truth is that it is not the most lucrative career in the world... even for those of us who are legends in our own time.

Let's cut right to the chase, here; Owen's Go Fund Me for his cancer treatment is trying to raise $150,000. And I think we should do everything we can to get him there!

One of our own calls for aid... can we answer?

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!

Help If You Can, And Spread The Word!

There's no beating around the bush with this week's update. I'm not trying to sell you on a bundle, or boost the signal on somebody's YouTube channel... this is literal life and death. Unfortunately, America has decided to make how much money you can cough up the most important facet of whether or not you get to keep living, and the difficulty curve just goes up when you get really sick.

But there's no point in hemming and hawing over how things should be. We can worry about those things after Owen wins this battle, and more importantly, can afford to keep living his life once he's defeated the enemy within.

When it comes to situations like this, numbers are what matter!

So please, if you can help donate to Owen's Go Fund Me! Even just a small payment can make a big difference if enough of us do it.

And if you want to do more than just a one-time tip to help with this process, consider sharing the link to the fundraiser, or even to this blog to help boost awareness, and overcome the algorithm! Also, consider doing the following:

- Becoming one of Owen's Patreon patrons.

- Bookmark and follow his blog.

- Follow Owen on Twitter (yeah, it's falling apart, but a replacement has yet to take its place)

While it might not seem as important as providing direct assistance, remember, social media boosts our signals as creators based on our audience share. So making sure you plug-in to Owen's channels still helps his messages reach a wider audience. Still, give if you can, and boost the signal regardless of the state of your wallet. All it takes is a few minutes of your time!

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 Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, 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!

Another Shout Out For Owen K.C. Stephens (And Some Supplements Designers Should Grab)

There are several, unfortunate truths that we are all dealing with these days. First and foremost, the American healthcare system is absolutely terrible. Secondly, creative professionals as a whole don't get paid well, and TTRPG designers are a tiny subset of the publishing world that get paid especially poorly. Third, cancer sucks, and the very concept of it can die in a fire.

Folks who read my post Help Owen K.C. Stephens Roll His Save Against Cancer (And The Healthcare System) last April know that one of our own has been stuck at the intersection of all three of these unfortunate circles in this Venn Diagram of Suck, and he's doing his best to stay one step ahead of the bills as they pile up. While he's got a lot of stuff out on the market at present, and there's been quite a few charity bundles for folks who have been looking to buy some TTRPG supplements to help him keep fighting, there are two in particular that I wanted to shine a light on this week. Mostly because there's a lot of content out there for players and Game Masters, but not as much for designers.

And if there's one thing Owen knows a lot about, it's designing games as a professional.

Even if they were both the face of the initial two charity bundles.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, 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!

Seriously, If You're Getting Into The Trenches, Get These

The two supplements in question are Essays on Freelance Tabletop Writing and Publishing (which at time of writing has hit Platinum status), and Essays on Surviving an Independent Tabletop RPG Career (currently at Gold status).

If these two supplements look familiar, it's because they were each the cover of Owen's initial charity bundles on Drive Thru RPG back in April. And while lots of folks have focused on many of Owen's other projects such as Like a Boss: The Book of Boss Encounters, or The Genius Guide To Loot 4 Less: Things That Make You Go Boom, those essay collections are something that I think more folks really need to check out.

Because there are a lot of folks out there who know how to create game mechanics. They know how to tell good stories, build atmosphere, and their tables really enjoy the games they run. But while those are all good skills to have, and make a solid foundation to build on, those aren't going to be nearly enough for you to be successful if you want to be a professional game designer.

A lot of folks can handle the "game" part of the job. But the business side... well, it can sneak up and slap you right upside the head if you don't know what to expect. So it's best to go into things with your eyes open, because forewarned really is forearmed in this case.

Because it's a lot more complicated than a lot of folks think.

Lastly, I wanted to remind folks that every little bit helps. So if you've already grabbed what you can of Owen's work, but you still want to pitch in to help in this uphill battle, then I wanted to remind you to do the following things, as well:

- Becoming one of Owen's Patreon patrons.

- Bookmark and follow his blog.

- Follow Owen on Twitter (yeah, it's falling apart, but a replacement has yet to take its place)

It might not seem like much, but as someone who's been in this profession a few years myself, it does make a difference. Even if you can only afford to give a little tip every now and again on Patreon, or you just act as a regular participant and commenter on social media, if a lot of people all do that, it really does add up when all is said and 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!

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!

Neal Litherland (And Improved Initiative) Need Your Help!

It's been one hell of a year on my end of the screen, folks. And while I've (so far) managed to weather the worst of it, I wanted to take this Monday's post to send out an S.O.S. I'm currently dealing with a rather unfortunate situation, and I could use a hand up before the root I'm holding onto gives way, and I go tumbling off of this cliff I'm currently dangling over.

Details are below, and there's a lot of a lot going on here.

Things are... sort of dire at the moment.

Before I get into the details, though, 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! To be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Also, since it keeps getting lost in the shuffle, check out my Vocal archive for more articles about RPGs, character conversions, character concepts, weird history, nerdy topics, and more!

So... What All is Happening?

All right, this is going to be a string of depressing events that I've been dealing with the past year. Apologies in advance, but I feel it's important to explain the timeline to put things into perspective.

It's a lot.

Let's start with this time last year. My apartment building was under construction for the majority of 2022, which was frustrating in and of itself, but last summer I had to pull stakes and leave my apartment to stay in a hotel. What was supposed to be a week-long stay ballooned out into over a month where I was doing guerilla blogging and video recording, trying to keep up with deadlines while not actually being home. I didn't have to pay for the hotel itself, but the sheer stress levels of working under those conditions (along with all the other expenses you accrue while in that kind of situation) took a toll on me, and on my work.

Around that time Eric Flint died, as did his company Ring of Fire. This meant that not only did I not get a royalty check for any book sales I'd made from December to June in 2022, but it also meant 3 of my novels were now off the market. I had to scramble to try to find them new homes, while also dealing with not receiving a check that should have (based on the numbers I was seeing) paid for several fees I had to dig into my savings to cover.

I was back in my apartment by September. Just as I started getting back into the groove, my cat started showing a lot of distressing symptoms I couldn't explain. I took him to the vet in November, and paid several hundred dollars for a battery of tests. I then had to pay several hundred more dollars to have him put down, because his heart was just giving out after 16 years of being my companion. That was a huge blow to me both emotionally and financially, but I figured that if I could get on the other side of it that I could start rebuilding and moving forward.

At the beginning of 2023 we had all the fuckery (and no, I will not use a more family-friendly term for it) from Hasbro and Wizards of The Coast. This disrupted a majority of my income, forced last-minute readjustment, and caused a lot of issues with my Kickstarter for Army Men, which was first delayed, and then had to contend with the wave of people who'd sworn off of anything even tangentially connected to DND 5th Edition (which, when the game was first created, had been the dominant system in the RPG sphere for years).

I finally managed to get all of that mess straightened out, and the flow of my projects coming out again, when the electronic fuel injector gave out in my car. This basically meant that my car couldn't accelerate, leaving me going at an idle speed whenever I took my foot off the brake no matter how far down I pushed the gas. That was not a good situation, but I managed to get it into a local shop, and they made the necessary repairs. While I had some help at the time, this still set me back several hundred more dollars, on top of all the previous things I still hadn't recovered from.

Wait for it, friends, because this is where things get even worse.

Then there's the crescendo... because, you see, that fuel injector has been nothing but trouble since it gave out the first time. A few weeks back I was driving to my weekly game at a friend's house (it's about an hour or so from my apartment to their house, and a lot of it is interstate driving). I was on the interstate when all of a sudden that warning light came on, and I started losing speed. I managed to pull off without getting creamed by a semi (it was a bit of a near thing), and then I had to arrange for a tow truck to come get my car, and for a friend to pick up myself, and my two roommates to drive us back home. The shop covered all of the expenses, diagnosed the problem, and I was back on the road seemingly no worse for wear.

Then there was last Friday. I'd had no problems for a few weeks, and I was just starting to relax. I figured if I kept my head down and my nose to the grindstone that I would be able to come out on the other side of things, and start backfilling the holes that had been sinking my ship. I was on my way to my Friday game, and the only worry I had was getting the rest of my bills covered... then my injector went out again. This time it left me stranded in Gary, on the IUN campus where I graduated college. It was also around 5 o'clock, which is when all the auto shops close, and no one can do anything for you. It was a repeat of the whole previous kerfuffle, with a tow truck bringing my car back into town, friends coming to pick me up, etc.

The difference was that this time I'm the one who got stuck with the tow truck cost. Which was another $200 I hadn't planned on spending.

As of time of writing, I don't know if I'm going to end up paying a few hundred dollars more to get additional repairs done on my current vehicle, or if I'm going to need a few thousand in order to get a replacement car that will actually be safe for me to drive (something I sort of need to have if I'm going to go to cons and similar events to sell books, network, etc.).

And that is why I'm asking for your help today.

How You Can Help!

Because I could really use a hand up.

As most of my regular readers know, being a professional creative doesn't pay all that well outside of a handful of rockstars in any particular part of the industry. I'm not one of those folks, and according to my own tax documents I didn't even break $13K last year... and that's been my average for half a decade or more. Keep in mind that's before taxes... I have to pay all of those at the end of the year.

I wanted to front load that so readers know where I'm at, what I'm working with, and why I'm putting out an S.O.S. to help me deal with this unfolding situation.

#1: Direct Support (Donations and Patronage)

Direct support is always the most efficient.

The best way for folks who want to help me dig my way out of this hole (or at least throw me a line so I can start climbing) is direct support. If you want to throw me a quick one-time donation, go to The Literary Mercenary's Ko-Fi page. Alternatively, if you want to provide me some long-term support so that I can keep taking steps forward while paying my new bills, consider becoming a Patreon patron. This helps keep my two blogs going, and I try to give my patrons as much free stuff and extra content as I can.

I know times are tough all around, but I'm front-loading this option because it provides the best, most immediate support not just for me, but for any creator you want to help out.

#2: Buy An RPG Supplement

Like a copy of Sellswords of Sundara, for example...

As I pointed out in a recent article, I've got over 160 TTRPG supplements to my name right now, and a lot of them pay me royalties for every sale. So just click through that link, or take a look at my Pinterest board for my TTRPG supplement master list, and select something that catches your eye!

If that's too many options for you (decision paralysis is a real thing, after all) and you're looking for good value to you as well as to me, I'd recommend checking out the following bundles:

- Inn & Tavern Bundle: A great one for all fantasy games, this has some of my most popular splats in it!

- Sci-Fi Bar Bundle: Same as above, but for sci-fi games.

- 100 Kinfolk Bundle: This was my extra large Werewolf: The Apocalypse project. There's 15 supplements in here, and that's a total of 1,600 kinfolk NPCs for your Werewolf chronicle!

In the interest of transparency, this is my second option because it takes a lot of sales to add up to a meaningful number, and they take a little while to clear. Sales of a supplement like 100 Body Mods and Augmentations For a Sci Fi Game pays me about 30 cents or so, while a supplement like 10 Fantasy Villages pays me about 60 cents per copy sold. In either case it can take a month or two before DTRPG releases the funds, and I can cash them out. So if this is an option you want to take, please consider also leaving a rating and a review on any supplements you get, and sharing the links to them on your social media, discord server, etc., so I can reach a bigger audience, and put a few more coins in the jar.

#3: Buy A Book

I'm still so ridiculously pleased with this cover...

I mentioned that my old publisher shuttered its doors, but my books are starting to make their way back onto the market. My dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Solders presents my own take on the space marines in the form of the myrmidon, and Pollux has to outwit a conspiracy tracking him (and possibly the former members of his squad), with the intent of eliminating them... or is it all in his head, a product of intense paranoia left behind as a relic of his time in the Hyperion Conflict?

If that doesn't quite sound like your cup of tea, though, there's also my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, about a young man sent to go retrieve his missing cousin, and to bring him back to their home on the mountain... or, if his cousin is dead, to make sure he's got plenty of company on the reaper's cart. And if you're one of those rare folks who enjoys short fiction, my collection The Rejects is also on Amazon, and you can check out audio dramatizations of at least one short story, Suffer The Children, on my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary.

Then there's this book, too...

Lastly, for folks who didn't get in on the Kickstarter for it, Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic is currently on pre-order through Backerkit! We're currently handling layout, editing, art, etc., but this book is definitely going to happen, and throwing your support behind the project by pre-ordering your copy would definitely help ensure that it's profitable enough to both pay the folks involved, and maybe to underwrite sequels and supplements in the future!

This option is third on the list for two reasons. First, it takes time for sales of books to clear, and to come to me. A few months for my novels, and probably half a year or more for Army Men to really finish up, and for the profits to be divided among all the contributors. But if you want to help out by buying a product that isn't a TTRPG supplement (especially if you're one of the folks out there who enjoy my fiction, but might not be a gamer) these are good options to pursue.

#4: Engage With All of My Free Content!

Seriously... I have so MUCH of it!

I don't want to dislocate my shoulder patting myself on the back, here, but I make a lot of content, and I do what I can to make sure that a lot of it is free so that people who don't have a big budget for extra stuff can still enjoy what I make, and have fun with some of my ideas.

If you're one of the folks out there who doesn't have any spare dosh lying around (or maybe you've pursued one of the above options and want to do a little more to help as a cherry on top), then please consider doing any or all of the following!

- Check Out My Vocal Archive: I have 283 articles on Vocal at present, and these cover my RPG character conversions, weird history, a decent amount of free fiction (including stories for both Pathfinder and Warhammer 40K), and more! Vocal pays me roughly $6 for every 1,000 reads my articles get, so I encourage folks to bookmark my author page, read an article or three a day, and please share the ones you like on social media to help boost their numbers!

- Subscribe to (and Watch) Videos on The Azukail Games YouTube Channel: I do a lot of work for Azukail Games, and I try to put one video onto the company's YouTube channel every week. At time of writing we have well over the 500 subscribers we need to get it monetized, but we only have about 1,000 of the 3,000 hours of watched content we need before YouTube shares any earnings with us. While this won't help me directly (it's not my channel, I just contribute), if it starts pulling in money, then it's likely I'll be able to do bigger, more involved projects, and to get an increase in my pay for making those videos in the first place. Again, interacting with those videos, and sharing the ones you like so more people can see them, would be a big help.

It would also let me justify my Windy City Shadows project, which I talked about recently in Discussions of Darkness Episode 11, for folks who missed it.

- Check Out My Rumble Channel: I've said it before, but I legally cannot be paid by YouTube, because Google AdSense banned me from their platform. I've been looking for some kind of alternative for a long time, and the closest functional thing I've found is Rumble. My archive there is small, and I'm adding to it as I can, but like everything else in the free section it takes a colossal amount of activity to make even a few nickels fall out of it. I'd probably need hundreds of thousands of watches on those videos before a C-note made its way into my hands, but I won't say no to views, shares, and folks who want to help me grow my audience this way, either.

This option is last on the list because it's the hardest to affect immediate change with. If I could get 1,000 people to all watch the full playlist for my Discussions of Darkness show in order to monetize the Azukail Games channel overnight, that would be awesome! If I could somehow get an article like Partners and Polycules: Polyamorous Designations Based Off Dungeons and Dragons Dice to go viral and get 1 million reads (which would be about $6,000 for me... which seems like a lot of work for not a lot of pay) that would solve a lot of my current problems.

For this one to work, a lot of people need to work in conjunction to overcome the algorithm, and to generate the huge numbers it takes to make free content actually pay me as the creator. The upside, though, is that this one is open to everyone! So if you have a few spare minutes to read and share an article, or you just want to put on a playlist in the background while you do chores or plan your campaign, it would be very much appreciated!

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 Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary!. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, my dystopian sci fi thriller Old Soldiers, 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!