The Critical Hits Trilogy From TPK Games is Finally Released!

Most folks who read my blog with any regularity know that in addition to writing books like my recent short story collection The Rejects and my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, running two blogs, and keeping up an archive of articles over on Vocal, that I also write RPG supplements. And while most of my supplements recently have tended to focus on the fill-in details that DMs need for their games, like pre-made NPCs, or mercenary companies, cults, etc. a lot of folks have been asking when I'm going to actually write some full-on modules.

Well, I have been. And though they've slipped under the radar for the most part, all three of them are finally out, so I thought I'd collect all of them in one place to let my readers know!

And for those who didn't see it last week, well, this is the most recent release!

Critical Hits: How They Came To Be

For those of you not in the know, I wrote three one-shot modules for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition several years back. While the first two, False Valor and The Curse of Sapphire Lake have been out for a little while now, Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh has finally dropped. So, now that they're all out I figured I'd take a moment to let folks know, and to give you a bit of background on how they came to be.

Every great game needs a little backstory, right?

Our tale begins several years ago. I was sifting through my email in between reviews and posts, when a unique project proposal came across my desk. The client was looking to make a website where dungeon masters could create slick, sleek-looking modules with relatively little effort, and almost no desktop publishing knowledge. However, to provide a kind of proof-of-concept he needed some writers to create modules using the site to show off what could be done with it.

He'd seen some of my other work, and decided to offer me a shot.

Now, writing modules wasn't really something I had a lot of experience with at the time, but if the site was as easy to use as the client claimed I figured it couldn't be too difficult. Especially since he didn't want anything huge; just a simple, one-shot module that could be used to fill an evening. Something he could use as an example, and to give away for free to prospective DMs who joined. With a competitive per-word rate, I told him sure, I'd be able to get something up in fairly short order.

The first module I wrote was actually Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh. A simple module where something dangerous is assaulting the one road into the town of Bracken, and the heroes need to fight off whatever it is, and track it back to its source in order to end the threat. Grim, dark, and dreary, it had a basic hook, a simple setup, and could be played through by experienced players and new ones alike. I was about 80 percent done with the module, and I'd just finished up the text for the adventure's Big Bad, when the client reached out and told me he was shutting down the site. He apologized profusely, gave me a generous kill fee for the project, and wished me luck.

Problem was that I now had a module that was most of the way done, with no one to publish it.

That was, of course, about to change.

I'd been in the game for a while, so I reached out to Total Party Kill Games (whom I'd created feats for in the past), and showed them the module I had. They liked it, but were a little unsure about its length. They really wanted something a bit meatier, which would justify a print run and putting the story out in multiple formats. Rather than re-work the module I had, I offered a counter-proposal; I could write several more modules just like this one, and they could be bundled together. Each one could offer different themes, different hooks, and different tones, the collection acting as a kind of gaming sample platter for DMs and players who might want to try a horror game, a murder mystery, etc., but who didn't want to commit to an entire campaign.

Said idea was approved, and that's how the Critical Hits series came to be!

Why Are There Only Three?

It's been several years since the project was first given the okay, and as sometimes happens in publishing there were snags. Existing projects had to be rearranged due to new editions coming out, creative teams got reshuffled, and so on, and so forth. As I said, despite Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh being the original module that kicked off the whole project, it was only just released at the tail end of this initial run.

And while I don't have anything in the pipe right now, that could all change depending on you my dear readers.

What can we do?

As I confided to my friends when I first started working on these (I finished all three modules over the course of the summer, by the by), I would be more than happy to keep creating modules as long as people were playing them. And generally speaking, publishers take notice if they put out a product that starts climbing up the medal scale over at Drive Thru RPG.

So if you've seen these before (or if you're just now finding out about the series, and would like to see it grow), here's what you can do to help. If you have a couple of bucks, by yourself a copy. If you already have a copy, leave a review since that helps more people find the modules. Share the link, and tell your friends about it. And it you've got a gaming podcast, a blog, or a YouTube channel, consider using that platform to help me boost the signal on these. Heck, if you want to do a play through or a review, just email me and I'll make sure you get yourself a reviewer copy of any or all of these!

And I'll do my part to share the signal boost back your way!

And if you're not sure which game would best suit your needs (or if you don't like to buy things blind), I'll do my part to try to guide your decisions.

False Valor: Written second, but released first, this module is a murder-mystery investigation. A girl was killed in a way that resembles the execution method used by war criminals generations ago, and it's got tensions running high. Are the elves starting hostilities again, or is something else happening? This module was meant to show players (particularly newer ones) that hacking and slashing won't solve all your problems, and that you need to find the true enemy before you can hope to fight them.

The Curse of Sapphire Lake: We're only halfway to Halloween, but this one was very specifically meant as a love letter to all my fellow slasher fans out there. An ancient campfire tale stalks the town of Kingsbridge, but is it just a monster from out of the mists, or is there something more going on beneath the surface? Piecing together what's happening now with the events that led the settlement's founder to be slain decades ago could be the key to unlocking what the masked figure stalking the town wants... and what will make it stop.

Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh: Meant to evoke the danger of the world beyond the safety of the walls, and the claustrophobic air of an unknown threat (something I daresay we're all much too familiar with these days), this module is meant to be tense, grim, and a little frightening. Everything is damp, dreary, and the horror of what's truly happening out in the wetlands beyond Bracken can leave players horrified. While it doesn't have mature content, it's the bleak way the module presents what it has that might make it something your group loves, or hates, depending on their tastes. If you're a fan of Dark Souls, Shadow of The Demon Lord, and other grim tales, this one should definitely be on your shelf.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday!

Again, 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!

The Best Zombie Game I Ever Played (Where Nothing Happened)

Thanks to the holiday happenings, my gaming schedule has been all up in the air recently. Because of that, one of the fellows at my table volunteered to run us through a kind of introductory one-shot for a game I've often admired, but never actually gotten to play... All Flesh Must Be Eaten!

Because zombies never really go away, do they?

The experience I had with this system was fast, fun, engaging, and in this case enough to make me plan to add more of it to my future gaming schedule. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Small Town Evacuation

The game opens in a lowercase "c" Midwestern city; the sort of place that's not quite big enough to be a suburb of a place like New York or Chicago, but which still has a sizable population. The zombies have been steadily growing, but worse than the walking dead are all the other accidents and breakdowns that have been straining the local government at the seams. Keeping people safe is important, but so is providing medical care, finding food, putting out fires, and evacuating the living so the military can come handle the undead infestation.

Which is, of course, when things go awry.

The protagonists seated round the table have become part of the local safe zone established by a task force of national guard, police, and relief workers. A former furniture outlet, the fencing keeps the undead at bay... or has for the past week or so. One of the residents, a Samoan dancer and occasional biker named Leilani has been trying to figure out her next move in this situation. A recent friend she's made is a huge man named Otis, who fixed cars before this all went down, but who is a little lost without his medications and his strict schedule. Lastly, Richard Freeman, an African American firefighter who's been pulling doubles ever since this mess started to prevent his city from burning down.

It's just as one of the engines are dropping off supplies when the unthinkable happens... the fences come down, and the living dead start shambling into the compound!

While the hoses get turned on the horde to slow them down, and small arms fire cuts into the walking corpses, everyone else gets pushed out the rear exit. The area behind the outlet is still clear, and people are scattering. Some of them just run, terrified now that their safety net is gone. Others are trying to figure out where to go, but seem too afraid to stop moving. These three find themselves clustered around a table with maps, and where a radio is broadcasting a public service message.

Residents must get out of the city in the next 24 hours. At that point the armed forces will arrive, and they will begin exterminating the threat. For their own safety, residents need to follow the approved routes to an extraction point. The three of them look at each other, look at the maps, and that's when Richard says, "All right... we'd better hoof our asses over to the hospital."

The Easy Way, or The Hard Way?

Looking at the maps, Otis frowns, nodding to himself as he traces a route with his finger. "This goes right by where I work," he said. "There might be a car there we could borrow?"

With the ruckus going on in the building getting louder, Richard nods, and Otis leads the way down a side street just as the pounding on the doors starts to reverberate. By the time the zombies make it out into the rear of the former warehouse, though, their quarry is several blocks away, out of sight, and hustling along as quietly as they can.

Those weren't there when I left...

They found the auto garage where Otis works (or worked, it's hard to tell) in fairly short order. Tucked off the main roads, the place only has two bays, and a small lot of cars that need to be repaired, as well as a few repo tows. The front door's glass has been smashed in, but Otis unlocked the door with his key, and they stepped inside.

The first thing they smelled was blood. Stepping carefully around the desk, they found the manager on the floor, a gun in his hand, and a hole in his head. Trying to shield Otis from the sight, Richard checked the pistol, then handed it to Leilani when she said she knew how to use it. Otis stepped into the back office, a little shaken, but looking for keys. Sadly, it looked like all the readily drivable cars were gone, and only a few of the ones who needed repairs were still there.

They could get them working, but it would take time.

With the daylight fading, and everyone trying to get to the extraction zones, it wasn't worth the time to wait. The hospital was only a few miles from where they were, and if they cut through the smaller living area of town they could save some time. Even if it meant jumping a few fences.

Stop For Supplies?

While the cadre ducked down side streets that didn't have a lot of traffic, keeping their eyes on windows, and making sure their profiles were small, they opted to duck through a small strip mall. There was a pawn shop and sporting goods store on one end, and a drugstore at the other. With the daylight fading, they had some choices to make.

Well, at least looters aren't gonna eat you.

The drug store was open, the power out. After a quick listen, and a fast check to be sure there weren't any trigger-happy shoppers or shambling horrors, Leilani and Richard split up and snatched the things they were likely going to need; medicine, batteries, bandages, some hand tools, some dense packs of protein bars, water, and a few hefty backpacks to carry them all in. Otis offered to help carry, but he grabbed a couple of comic books for when he got somewhere safe again.

The shopping trip done, they were passing the sporting goods store when they heard the siren's song of weapons. Baseball bats, helmets, reinforced gloves, rifles, handguns... all of it was right there. Provided they could get inside, of course. Richard was looking for the place to kick, when the light inside caught his eye; the emergency power was on. A backup generator meant that the alarm would go as soon as the door got smashed in, or any damage occurred to the wired windows. Leilani took a turn all the same, trying to persuade the locks to open. She had no dice, though, and when something around the corner bumped into a trash can, they didn't stick around to see what was sneaking up their back trail. They were only three quarters of a mile from the hospital, and if they got a move on they might be able to get out of town sooner rather than later.

It's Quiet... A Little TOO Quiet...

Guys... you think that sign's for us?

 As they approached the hospital, the sun was just dipping below the horizon. Up on the roof they could see a helicopter coming in for a landing, the blades just starting to slow. Down on the ground there were half a dozen squad cars with their bubble lights going... but no cops in sight. Not a one. Leaning into a car, Richard checked the radio. Nothing. No one answered signals, and nothing appeared to be going out. Popping the trunk, he found a riot vest, a shotgun, and a brace of shells. Taking a moment to slip into the kevlar, Leilani did a quick circle of the perimeter... all was quiet outside, and nothing was moving inside. As far as she could see, anyway.

Opting to go in through the side entrance for the ER, they found the doors juttering, and the floors covered in blood. Puddles of it were dark and stagnant in the waiting room, but sodden streaks went down the hallways. Quietly checking the directory map with a penlight, Richard traced the route they needed to take to get to the stairwell. It should go straight up to the roof, right to the whirlybird, which was where they needed to be.

So they ran.

They were about halfway down the hallway when the zombies who'd been just out of sight in the nurses' station heard them, and started to give chase. As their pounding footfalls rounded the corner, other heads began to lean into the corridor. EMTs and police officers, teenagers and soccer moms, all turned by the hungry dead came after them with the snuffling, shuffling, hungry snarls of monsters from a nightmare.

They made the stairwell half a hall ahead of the horde, and Richard paused just long enough to chock the door with an ax blade before they started up the stairs. The zombies managed to break through, but it bought the cadre enough time to get a few floors head start. While there were other snarls and grunts coming from the other hallways through the open emergency doors, they were far away, and not a problem at the moment. Panting, Otis hit the rooftop door hard, the three of them bounding out into the night. The chopper pilot, halfway through a smoke, jumped when he saw them.

"Get us in the air!" Richard bellowed at him. Before the door had time to close, Richard and Otis both grabbed a heavy equipment rack, straining with their backs and shoulders. It rocked, then toppled, hundreds of pounds ramming against the door. The zombies were pushing and scrabbling, but before they could get the door open more than an inch the three survivors were into the chopper, and heading out into the night sky.

Not A Single Combat Roll (Which Suited Us Fine)

While I've heard a lot of stories about All Flesh games that were high-octane runs through blasted cityscapes, or last stands against armies of enemies as parties of diehard survivors fight for their lives, this particular game did something very special for me as a player... it rewarded the smart choices of the group.

Ah ha... I see what you did there. Very well.

The fellow running this game went through all of our choices, and pulled back the curtain on what would have happened had we done things differently. Firstly, by sticking around the starting area to grab maps and listen to the broadcast, we figured out where we needed to go, and how we needed to get there. And we booked it fast enough to avoid a combat. Then, when we went to the garage, we didn't waste time going into the back lot, or digging around in the bays, where we might have run into additional dangers. When we hit the strip mall we kept things fast and quiet, and we didn't smash open any windows, or trigger any alarms that would have quickly summoned a few squads of curious zombies wondering what all the racket was. We chose not to go right into the main lobby of the hospital (more of a lucky choice than anything else), and instead of crawling through the bloody hallways we just went for the goal before the enemy could shake themselves up to react.

At first he was apologetic that he hadn't just forced encounters, but we'd made all the smart moves, and he didn't want to punish us for sidestepping the threats in what was supposed to be a survival game. However, as I said at the time, I felt far more accomplished for outsmarting the challenges and getting to the destination in one piece than I ever would have felt for just fighting my way through a huge pack of zombies just because.

I might be unique in that, but it's something I wish more DMs would keep in mind; if your party is making the smart moves, don't punish them for it... just keep things tense with skill checks and atmosphere, and let them see just how far they can push their luck!

Next Time on Table Talk!

This week we had a bit of a break, but next time we should be back to the Sandpoint Companions, and their adventures in the Runeforge! So, make sure you come back for the next installment of Table Talk!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archives, as well as the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio where I help out from time to time. Or, to check out books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, as well as on Pinterest where I'm building all sorts of boards dedicated to my books, RPG supplements, and greatest hits. Lastly, to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little donation can have a big impact.