We're coming up on a year since I started putting together the trailer and first episode for The A.L.I.C.E. Files, the audio drama series I launched on YouTube in partnership with Alice Liddell which is best described as Alice in Wonderland pushed through the filter of The X-Files. It's been a year of learning a bunch of new audio and video editing tricks, writing scripts, plotting the overarching story, and trying to reach out to find an audience who is willing to dive into the world of these strange stories to see where it is we're going.
We recently finished Season 1, and we're digging into episodes for Season 2, I wanted to let folks know that we put together an Ask Me Anything to wrap up our initial collection of stories. I also wanted to take a moment to talk to folks who made it this far, because we really need your help in keeping this project going right now.
Don't worry, we aren't asking for money. We just need you to click a few buttons on our behalf... shouldn't take more than 30 seconds or so, and it would make a huge difference to us!
So come on in, and let's see if our tales can entice you!
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!
Answering Some Questions (And Making A Simple Request)
To begin at the beginning, after the Season 1 finale we first put out a video from Director Harrington, asking as many folks to give us their questions and curiosities as possible. And while we did have to prod a couple members of our audience, we did get quite a selection of queries when all was said and done!
And once we had all of those questions (and we collected a few others from social media posts and the comment sections of our other videos) Alice and I sat down in front of the camera and decided to give our viewers what they wanted... as best we could, at any rate!
While we're making good progress (in my opinion, at least), we've got a long way to go before YouTube actually starts sharing revenue with us... and that is where the favor I have to ask comes in.
For folks who don't know, when I proposed this YouTube collaboration between Alice and myself about a year ago, my hope was that we'd be able to get the YouTube channel monetized, and that we could turn it into a legitimate source of income. These things take time, but my hope was that after a season of stories we'd have built up some momentum, and we'd be close to hitting a couple of goals. If it took us a little longer, well, that was okay, because we had plenty of time and ideas to go through.
Well... it turns out that time is something that isn't actually on our side anymore.
First and foremost, to get a channel partially monetized (which gives you access to super fan tips, subscriptions, etc.), YouTube requires you to have 500 subscribers, and 3,000 watched hours in a single 365 day span. To get a channel fully monetized (which is all the previous stuff and you now get a cut of the ad revenue on your videos) YouTube requires you to have 1,000 subscribers, and 4,000 watched hours of content in a single 365 day span.
At time of writing we have 396 subscribers, and somewhere around 2,100 watched hours. So if we keep a steady pace, we should clear that first hurdle by the end of 2026... unfortunately, things are changing in January 2027.
And it is giving us a MASSIVE headache...
I wrote about this over on my sister blog The Literary Mercenary in the post Thanks To YouTube's Recent Announced Changes, The A.L.I.C.E. Files Needs Your Help!, but if you didn't see it, the short version is that YT is doubling the amount of watched hours it takes to get fully monetized. So instead of 4,000 hours (which already takes something going at least a little viral to actually clear), you'll now need 8,000 hours in a single 365 day span... or 22 hours a day, every day, without fail, for an entire goddamn year!
If that sounds like they're just trying to avoid ever paying smaller creators a part of the revenue the site rakes in from advertising... yeah, that's basically what's going on.
And while that is bad enough, there's even more difficulties on our horizon. Because the real Alice is being forced to relocate herself rather rapidly, and moving on practically no notice is expensive. I gave the details on how folks can help in Author and RPG Designer Alice Liddell Is Moving, And Really Needs Our Help To Make It Happen!,however, the short version is that she needs as many income streams as she can possibly get to try to land on her feet.
So if you want to make sure this project gets to at least finish the second season, and that we can keep the lights on and food in the cabinets, please go to The A.L.I.C.E. Files on YouTube, subscribe to the channel, and give Season 1 a watch! Because if we can get at least 104 more subscribers, and just under 1,000 more hours, we'll at least be able to eke out enough to keep telling more stories in the short-term.
Thank you in advance to everyone who can help. We're strained to our seams over here at the moment, but I'm hoping that if we call the banners we can get enough folks to rally behind us that we can storm YouTube's battlements, and actually make them share the bounty that we're earning!
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Table Talk. 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!
As folks who've been following me for a while know, I tend to put out a lot of fiction in addition to just writing gaming content. While I have written several novels over the years ranging from my sword and sorcery tale Crier's Knife, to the dystopian sci fi thriller Old Soldiers (perfect for any fans of my Warhammer 40K stories), to the gritty mystery novels about an alley cat in New York city Marked Territory and Painted Cats, I also put out a lot of significantly shorter stories these days. And while most of those short fiction pieces wind up hosted on Vocal.media, a lot of them also get turned into audio dramas over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel.
Today I wanted to talk about one of these upcoming collections of shorts that could, if you all are interested, turn into something more!
Let's get into it, shall we?
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!
The Ironfire Compact
I made a video about this a little while ago, but unfortunately not as many folks watch the video updates on the Azukail Games channel as read my blog (though I highly recommend folks do watch this video, and leave their thoughts on this topic to be sure my publisher sees them).
To give you the short version, though, when I started writing TTRPG supplements for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting, I included little pieces of flash fiction in them to set the scene and give readers something to sink their teeth into. The first book was about Ironfire: The City of Steel, and it told the tale of a mysterious outlander fighting a duel in the city square. And to help promote the supplement, I turned this piece of flash fiction into an audio drama (it's rough, but I stand by it!)
For years that story was just a fun little stand-alone... but when I penned Merchants of Sundara, I decided it might be fun to have a little call back to our mysterious outlander, and why he was in Ironfire in the first place. This led to a follow-up story, Swords and Sand, where we learn that he has ties to this city, and that he's been away on some kind of adventure... and he came back to Ironfire to do more than just visit his uncle at the House of Black Banners.
And since this story was fresh in my mind when I started working on the Phase 4 releases (collections of Whispers and Rumors for each of the major cities released so far), I decided that I was going to expand on the tale of our outlander. As such, the introductory fiction for the Whispers and Rumors releases involves him traveling to each of the major cities, and recruiting someone for his next endeavor. In Ironfire he needed a thief. In Moüd City of Bones he found a necromancer who'd given up his guild status to play guitar in a bar. In Silkgift City of Sails he finds an alchemist struggling with a crippling condition that may just make him an invaluable asset. And in Hoardreach City of Wyrms he mades a deal with a frost giant to help him and his companions find room on her skyship for her next trek, which will take them to Archbliss the Floating City of The Sorcerers.
What is in Archbliss that they need? Well, stay tuned, and you'll find out!
My Question Is... Should I Expand On This?
I started making audio drama versions of the introductory fiction pieces in my supplements as a way to give my publisher some extra content to fill out their YouTube channel, and as a way to put something more interesting as a preview on the DTRPG pages for my supplements. However, there have been some listeners who have spoken up and told me they really love the stories I tell, and the work I put into making these shorts... they just wish I could expand them, and make more out of them.
So, as I asked in the recent Speaking of Sundara update... is this something you'd like to see? Or, well, hear?
If I expand on the Ironfire Compact, would you like to see me write it as a novella, akin to the stories Legacy of Flames and Blightbane's Gambitthat Isaiah Burt wrote for Sundara? Would you prefer a much longer audio drama on the Azukail Games YouTube channel, either a bigger, singular episode or something that might be told in multiple episodes? Or would you just like to see references to adventures like this buried inside of future releases for those who want to read between the lines and piece together the stories?
There are a lot of options, here...
If this is a project you'd like to see put on my work desk, then I'd urge you to do the following:
- Pick up copies of the Whispers and Rumors supplements (linked below) along with any other Sundara supplements that catch your eye.
- Watch the audio dramas on the channel, leave comments, and share them around. Also, subscribe if you haven't yet! When numbers go up, the publisher notices.
- Leave comments here, but also on the video I made about the Ironfire Compact, because then I will see them and my publisher will see them, which will let us know people are paying attention.
Again, thanks for stopping in this week, and reading this far. This might be the last time I talk about Sundara for a little while (I have a lot of work to get done on other projects for the near future), but rest assured, I have not forgotten the setting!
Catch Up On "Sundara: Dawn of A New Age"
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.
Rumors of Sundara
The newest series of supplements in the setting, these are meant to add to the cities, and to give GMs ideas for plots, or just to provide a little extra grist for the mill in terms of what people are gossiping about!
That's all for this week's Table Talk. 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!
