How Does Death Affect Your Character?

Most RPG campaigns are soaked in oceans of blood, and even those where death is a rare thing still have the specter of it lurking in every dark shadow, or behind every creaking floorboard. Whether you're playing in a high fantasy setting, or you're skulking through dark mysteries with nothing more than a flashlight in search of eldritch secrets, it's important to take a moment to ask how your character is going to react to death when (not if) they stumble across it.

Because when we think of those corpses as just part of the set dressing that can allow us to ignore some of the effects on our characters' psyches, and what that says about their stories.

Also, before we go any further, consider grabbing a copy of Adrian Kennelly's 100 Corpses To Find In A Dungeon (which also has a Pathfinder-specific version, if you're running that game).

Death takes many forms in our games, after all...

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 Do You Feel, Coming Eye-To-Eye With Death?

People have a variety of reactions to death, and that reaction might change depending on the circumstances surrounding the death in question. For instance, someone who's been a prize fighter, a town guard, or even a solider might be familiar with danger, and even violence, but do they know anyone that's died? Have they seen someone die right in front of them? And, perhaps more importantly, have they ever killed anyone? And in all of these cases, what effect did that have on them? How did it change them? Did it harden them, growing callouses over the trauma so they didn't feel it? Did it make them sick? Or are there circumstances where they recognize the necessity for death, but they won't take relish in it?

Or, perhaps the most extreme version, did death light a fire in them? Does it make them feel more alive knowing that every breath, and every beat of their heart, might be their last?

Don't speak so lightly of death if you've never carried its weight.

As an example, take one of the most common archetypes we have of the farm boy adventurer. He wants to go out, see the world, find treasure, and maybe fight for a good cause along the way. But when the steel leaves the sheath, and battle becomes a necessity, what is their reaction? Does the farm kid panic, splashed in blood and surrounded by screaming, his fantasies of noble, heroic combat crashing all around him? Does the smell of blood and the sound of wailing remind him of when he had to slaughter the hogs every year, finding the pigs significantly more dangerous than the goblins or kobolds trying to kill him? Or is this violence and death only acceptable when they're struggling against things they consider monsters, and when death affects them, or their companions, it becomes real to them in a way it wasn't before?

Or take a more modern example. It's the 1940s after the second great war, and a guy has to earn a living one way or another. One character was part of the war effort, but he never saw combat. He might not have even seen the carnage. He was an intelligence officer, or a truck driver, or a radio operator. He comes back home, and gets a job as a private eye. He can follow cheating spouses and handle stakeouts just fine, but he doesn't do the rough stuff. Maybe he knows how to fight academically, but he hasn't really been in a serious scrape since basic training. The worst he's dealt with has probably been a drunken bar brawl or two where no one was seriously hurt. How does someone with that background react to discovering a murder victim during an investigation? If a cult gets involved, will the detective be able to pull the trigger? And if he does kill someone, how does that make him feel? Does it feel wrong? Does he feel justified in the moment? Or does he feel numb, pushing the trauma aside to deal with it at a later time? Does it haunt his dreams?

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions, but it's important to think about them all the same. Figuring out what your character's exposure to death has been, the circumstances surrounding it, and how it affected them, can reveal truly interesting depths that you hadn't thought about. Whether it was a character who saw a pestilence take their village, they grew up learning to hunt and field dress their kills, or perhaps they were part of a gang, or a child soldier... these things can truly change someone. Alternatively, they might have only seen death once it's been properly dressed at a funeral, or when it came naturally such as older members of their family dying in their sleep. Perhaps they've never actually seen someone die, or even seen a dead body. Whatever the case, though, it's important to ask what happens when they come upon death.

Does it tire them, adding yet another weight for them to carry? Do they grieve, seeing a loss of life that could have been avoided? Do they have revelations about themselves? Do they have a physical reaction to death, like throwing up, adrenaline shakes, or night terrors? Or, even worse, does the character discover a bloodlust they didn't know about before? Do they feel more alive when surrounded by death? Or do they find a kind of comfort in it, knowing they've survived every coin toss the reaper has flipped when the knives came out?

As for how death affects a character who meets their end, and comes back... that's also something worth thinking about if your game takes place in a world where death can be undone under the right circumstances. Also, for folks who haven't checked out I'm Back - 25 Reasons For A Villain's Survival, I'd highly recommend checking it out!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Fluff post. 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 the dark sci fi saga of The A.L.I.C.E. Files! 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 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!

November's Patreon Shout Out (And A Piece Of Soon-To-Be-Good News)

November is here, and there's no time for slowing down now! The year might be drawing to an end, but that just means we don't have time to waste as we draw that much closer to 2027. There's things to cross off the list, after all.

Before I get into that, though, I want to take a moment to give my usual shout out to the folks without whom I wouldn't be here, and couldn't keep doing what I'm doing:

- Chris Dundon (To Valhalla, my friend!)

- Brenton Ayres (You're doing more than your part to keep the wheels turning!)

- Tracy Bailey-Mathews (Hopefully some of what I write is helping with the campaign!)

- Joy Von Holle (One of my oldest and most appreciated supporters on this list!)

My patrons are what make these blogs possible... so if you want to make sure I keep putting out fresh posts, consider heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page, and consider making a pledge today. Or, if you don't want a subscription, consider tossing a tip into my jar on The Literary Mercenary's Ko-Fi page instead!

But now, onto my positive announcement!

Because couldn't we just use a bit of good news right about now?

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my 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!

It's Almost Payday For The A.L.I.C.E. Files! (Sort Of)

It's been about a year since I sat down and first started putting together episodes for the YouTube channel The A.L.I.C.E. Files, which I launched in partnership with Alice Liddell. For folks who haven't heard me talk about it before, it's an ongoing audio drama series where we dramatize a variety of fiction, while also following Alice at her new position at the mysterious Carroll Institute... so it's basically Alice in Wonderland pushed through the lens of The X-Files.

If that sounds like your thing, check out the trailer!

When Alice and I set out on this journey, our goal was to get this channel monetized. We love telling stories, making videos, seeing people comment, etc., but at the end of the day we have bills to pay, and there's only so many hours in the day. As such, if we want to focus on expanding a project, that project needs to at least cover the utility bills.

Now YouTube has two tiers of monetization for creators. I've talked about this before, but if you don't know, the first tier unlocks at 500 subscribers and 3,000 watch hours. At that level you can receive tips and subscriptions from your fans, you can create special badges for people to put on their profiles, and it generally gives you access to more tools. Then the second tier (the more important one, in my opinion) is the one that cuts you part of the ad revenue. That unlocks at 1,000 subscribers, and 4,000 watch hours.

And before you achieve those goals? Well, you're shit out of luck. Which means that Alice and I have been putting out a video a week for much of this year all because we're hoping to meet these goals... we haven't made a single red cent off this channel yet.

The good news is that, as of today, we're at 431 subscribers (meaning we only need 69 more, nice) and roughly 2,934 watch hours (meaning we only need 66 more) in order to unlock that first tier of monetization!

It wouldn't be much, but it would be an honest living...

The challenge we're dealing with (as I've mentioned in other places) is that YouTube is going to move the goal posts come 2027. Once the new year hits you'll still need 1,000 subscribers, but you'll need 8,000 watch hours before they agree to share ad revenue with you. That is, frankly, absurd. It would mean you've acquired 22 watch hours a day, every day, for an entire year... because your watch hours only count within the past 365 days. After that, your balance starts rapidly dropping unless you're getting more views now than you did before.

So, what I'm asking of folks this week is to please subscribe to The A.L.I.C.E. Files, and give the first season of stories a watch, if nothing else. You can even put on this playlist to get them in order, if you just want to take a listen! Lastly, I've been sneaking in subtle references (and not so subtle ones) that offer some clue as to what's coming up in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for unusual blips, strange fonts, and more if you enjoy a little mystery!

We would love to hit that first level of monetization by the end of 2027... but hey, why not shoot for the moon? I know it isn't likely that 569 people will even read this blog post, but if we got that many people to hit the subscribe button, and each of them watched just the first season, we'd have all the subscribers we need, and enough bonus watch hours that we'd be well on our way to our first payout!

So please, just hit that button, and see whether the show is something you'd like to help support? It costs you nothing, and it might be the difference between us being able to expand and tell more stories, and having to put this project on the back burner for a while. We really don't want to do that, but we need help if we're going to keep it going.

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 the ongoing audio drama channel The A.L.I.C.E. Files! 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 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!

The Sanctity of Merits (And The Flow Of Your Story) In The Chronicles of Darkness

In the Chronicles of Darkness, your merits are unique abilities and assets, and they are the things that can make a character unique in a lot of ways. However, on page 46 at the start of the Merits section of the book, the game talks about the Sanctity of Merits... namely that the experience points spent to acquire the merit do not disappear, even if the merit itself has been compromised or eliminated in some way. Players should, generally speaking, be allowed to reallocate those points somewhere else on their sheet at the end of any chapter they're currently in.

And while some of you probably knew that, there are going to be some players and STs for whom this is new information. However, I think we may be overlooking the story potential of what this could mean when merit points have to be reassigned, and it allows us to add new facets to the story we're telling!

That "New Identity" of yours isn't so secret anymore, friend.

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!

The More Things Change...

Merits are a fairly big part of a character sheet, but a lot of them are far more flexible in terms of what they represent. For example, a character who takes Iron Stamina is likely never going to lose that merit as long as the character is still alive. However, what if someone has a Retainer? Contacts? A Safe Place? Or something as simple as Resources? Well, those things might all get destroyed in the course of a chronicle. A character who has set themself up as a rich occultist with a loyal butler and a family manor might find a group of vampires targeted their wealth before coming to their doorstep, and in the ensuing fight their butler is slain, and their home burned down, though the monsters eventually met their end.

The question then becomes, well, what does the character do with all the XP that's just dropped into their lap? Because their loyal Retainer is dead, and that's not changing. The Safe House was destroyed. Maybe they got their Resources back, or maybe it was stolen and spirited into the ether... but the question you should be asking is, "How are they going to move forward from here?"

Because which way you go matters far more to the story.

As an example, does the character seek out a replacement for his Retainer, perhaps going to his butler's son who was once a member of an elite military unit, asking him to take over his father's duties and to avenge his death? Does he rebuild his family's manor, including additional safety procedures and secret rooms? Do they get into a new business to rebuild their Resources, perhaps dealing in drugs, or playing the stock market?

Alternatively, though, does the character go in a different direction as a result of the costs they had to pay? Do they believe it would be irresponsible to bring anyone else into such a dangerous situation, instead using the XP they got back from their Retainer to buy merits like Trained Observer and Danger Sense to represent new paranoia? Do they, instead of acquiring a new Safe Place, opt to take merits like Crack Driver and Quick Draw, representing their dedication to getting far more stuck-in and violent with their upcoming plans as a vagabond who simply hunts their enemies until they're all dead, John Wick style?

Whichever direction a player wants to go with their merit acquisition, it's important to ask yourself how it changes the story, and what developments it represents for them. Because whether it's following along the same general path as before (but the locations, allies, etc. are all different), or they're going in an entirely fresh direction, the important question is how these decisions affect the story, the character, and the unfolding narrative.

Because when characters or locations get written out of the chronicle, asking what replaces them is a far more interesting question!

And for those of you looking for some supplements that might fit well into this week's discussion, consider the following titles from yours truly:

- The Blade Itself - Corrupt Equipment For Hunter: The Vigil: While the Corrupt Equipment merit can be used for any game in the Chronicles of Darkness, it makes the most sense in Hunter. Still, it's an extra piece of danger that can give even smaller characters a deadly edge.

- 100 Havens: Vampires need safe places to call home, and this supplement helps get the juices flowing when it comes to where they might lay their heads when the sun comes up.

- 100 Mediums: Average mortals who can see and interact with the dead, mediums can be quite a boon in any game involving ghosts... and as such they can be quite useful to have around.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Crunch post! 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 the dark sci fi channel I contribute stories to, The A.L.I.C.E. Files! 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 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!

A Return To The Hedge With Kris Edinger's Debut Supplement For Changeling: The Lost!

Regular readers around these parts know that I'm a big fan of Changeling: The Lost. In fact, if you look at my archive, it's the game I've published the second most supplements for on Storytellers Vault, with titles like Like A Good Neighbor: Portraying True Fae in Your Chronicle, 100 Rumors To Hear At The Freehold, or even the popular 100 Frailties, for when your characters start getting powerful enough to warrant these fairy tale restrictions.

However, the most popular supplement I've written for Changeling has been 100 (Mostly) Harmless Goblin Fruits and Oddments To Find In The Hedge. Maybe it was because folks wanted more unique offerings to find in the world between, or maybe it was because it predated the official book released for the Hedge. Whatever the reason, it's been my top seller for the game, and for folks who wish there was more of it (or you just want a companion piece to go with it), you should pick up the debut release from Kris Edinger...

... it's fittingly titled 100 More (Mostly) Harmless Goblin Fruits and Oddments To Find In The Hedge!

And if you're a New World or Chronicles of Darkness player, you're going to want this one!

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my 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!

A Solid Supplement (That I Have A Vested Interest In)

For those of you wondering what the story behind this supplement is, Kris Edinger is a friend of mine, and someone that I've been getting into Changeling for a while now. Their first character was a Fall Court Hedge witch, who used a number of the creations I made for 100 (Mostly) Harmless Goblin Fruits and Oddments to Find in The Hedge, because since I was running the chronicle I felt I should allow my own creations to be used if players wanted them. However, as expansive as the list was, they kept coming up with new ideas of their own... and I eventually convinced them to do something with that list of additional ideas!

It took nearly a year of work (a lot has been going on), and a good amount of encouragement from several of their fellow players and writers, but Kris eventually finished their sequel to my supplement. And since this is their debut piece, I wanted to encourage as many folks as possible to grab their copies of 100 More (Mostly) Harmless Goblin Fruits and Oddments To Find In The Hedge.

I also wanted to give my readers a bit of a sneak peek as to where Kris's head is as a designer, and what we might see from them next!

Because there have been quite a few ideas kicked out!

In no particular order, ideas include:

- A Hedge-based cookbook, featuring Moss (who was also part of the introductory story in Kris's first release)

- 100 Animals To Find In Creation (an expansion meant for Exalted)

- 100 Gods To Find In Creation (a second idea for this game and setting)

While there are others (a few more for Changeling, and maybe 1 or 2 for Hunter: The Vigil), these are the most likely supplements. So, if you enjoy my work on Changeling, consider grabbing this piece from Kris to expand your Hedge-based offerings that much wider, and to encourage them to get to work on the next supplement ASAP!

And if you've already got both supplements for goblin fruits and oddments, consider grabbing some of the following pieces from yours truly to help flesh out your Hedge a little more:

- Buyer Beware: 10 Goblin Markets

- 10 Gateways Into (And Out Of) The Hedge

- 100 Hobs To Meet In The Hedge

- 100 Strange Sights To See In The Hedge

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 the ongoing audio drama channel The A.L.I.C.E. Files! 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 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!

DINA Offers Educational Videos On The Carroll Institute (An Upcoming Project)

The A.L.I.C.E. Files is a project over on YouTube that I co-created with Alice Liddell, and which features several other voice talents, has been going for a year or so (if we include all the behind-the-scenes work before the channel went live). And in that time we've finished the whole first season, as well as narrating the entirety of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland! While we've got plans for Season 2's storyline and episodes, we do have something else I've been thinking about adding into the mix...

Namely some lore drops from DINA, Alice's Digital Interactive Networking Assistant!

After all, I'd say we've earned a few sneak peeks!

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!

Inner Workings: A Carroll Institute Explainer

All throughout Season 1, Alice has been trying to figure out how the Carroll Institute actually works. There's all sorts of rules and procedures that she doesn't quite understand, and power structures that loom in the darkness of her ignorance. However, in the season finale Alice is taken off of her probationary status and made a full member of the Carroll Institute... which means that she can now learn about how the organization actually works, and what its history is.

 

Something she was denied back in Episode 10, which was all about [REDACTED].

And while there's still plenty of intrigue going on in the Carroll Institute itself (as we saw in the recent short Secret Messages), and Alice is going to be pursuing the mystery left at her feet by the mysterious man known only as Cheshire, I thought it might be interesting to introduce an occasional feature into the channel going forward... something I'm tentatively titling Explainer Episodes.

The purpose of these little shorts is to give our viewers a couple of bread crumbs regarding the Carroll Institute, how it functions, and to show them the same kinds of videos that Alice is seeing so that she can get a better grasp on her job. They are, in a way, meant to be Top Secret training videos for employees who have reached a certain level, and now need to know particular information to navigate their roles. So they'll be a kind of meta video, allowing the audience to put themselves into the shoes of a Witness Cataloger who is having things explained to them regarding the organization they now work for.

My question for folks here this week is... would you like to see that?

Because at time of writing, I have general ideas for the founding of the Carroll Institute itself, The Carroll Equation that is the central mechanism that makes the Rabbit Hole work the way it does, and even some thoughts on their early contact with the Suited Thrones that led to a great deal of the power structure of the Institute itself. But as with everything else, making all of that will take time, energy, and most importantly, support from you as a member of the audience!

And while we are not currently accepting money via crowdfunding (and we cannot accept anything through YouTube as a platform yet), there are things you can do to help us expand this show and the stories we're trying to tell. So if you'd like to make sure we keep making fresh episodes of this show, please make sure you've done the following:

- Subscribe To The A.L.I.C.E. Files (we need 1,000 subscribers to actually get paid)

- Watch Our Episodes (We need 4,000 total watched hours by the end of the year)

- Share The Show On Your Social Media

- Hit The Bell So We Keep Showing Up On Your Recommendations

The A.L.I.C.E. Files is free for everyone right now, and Alice and I have put in an entire year of work on it without seeing a single cent. At time of writing we still need something like 581 subscribers and about 1,500 watched hours to hit our goals... and YouTube is going to be moving the goal posts next year. So please, subscribe if you haven't, and give the Season 1 Playlist a watch if you haven't yet... or even if you have! We've got all sorts of buried details and little clues as to what's going on with the mystery, and we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments as to what's actually going on!

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!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my more involved audio drama channel The A.L.I.C.E. Files! 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 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!

Prepare For A Long Winter, Quarantine, Or Another Disaster (By Grabbing Some Modules Now!)

2026 has not been a great year, as far as years go. We've had worse ones, like in the middle of the plague (Covid or Bubonic, take your pick), or maybe whatever year the Battle of Somme took place, but when you've got to compare it to some of those truly dark times things aren't looking good. Forecasts are saying the economy is going to get worse before it gets better, we're likely to have shortages of fuel, and businesses might have everyone go back to working remotely again just out of practicality. Even if we manage to avoid those horrors, and dodge the next half dozen food recalls, we're supposed to have a particularly nasty winter on the horizon.

And while I'll be the first to tell folks to make sure you've got a deep freezer full of essentials, backup batteries, and kitchen staples, don't forget how necessary entertainment was the last time you were trapped at home. So if you haven't picked up some of my modules to run for your regular group (or just for your roommates or family if you get snowed in or your Internet goes down), I'd definitely recommend grabbing them now rather than later!

If nothing else, a lot of them fit the spooky season theme, too!

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my 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!

Here's What I've Got On Offer (In Case You Missed It)

While my opening sales pitch was a bit facetious, it is a good idea to keep a slew of modules on-hand to make sure you've got some stuff to play when the weather is bad, or when you want to do something with your friends when you can't afford to go out, but you can all get together in the living room (or online) for an evening of rolling dice and fighting monsters.

And I had the unique experience of running The Curse of Sapphire Lake by candlelight during a power outage, so I can definitely say that adventure holds up under the emergency test!

But before I get too far off-track, let me break it down by system, and give you a brief sales pitch of all my available modules.

Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition

The system that has been most in-demand over the years, it's also the one I've written the most modules for. Chances are good you have at least the base book laying around your house, and if you don't, the basic rules are available for free online. So consider snatching the following adventures from yours truly!

- Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh: The first adventure module I ever published, this is a brutal slog through the dark, dank marshes surrounding an isolated town. The true villain of this piece is a horrifying monster, and it sets a grim tone early on... especially because your players' actions can have serious consequences on how hard this adventure is to complete.

- False Valor: When a young woman is murdered in a way that seems consistent with a war that's been over for nearly a century, hostilities begin to flare up once again. If the populace gets angry enough, though, will the truth of who is responsible even matter? A murder mystery with an edge of danger, this one is relatively simple to run.

- The Curse of Sapphire Lake: The hate-child of Friday the 13th and Beowulf, this module takes place in an abandoned town that new settlers are trying to reclaim. A terror in a white mask is causing havoc, though, and people will abandon this town all over again if the menace isn't stopped. A dark little drama that's perfect for Halloween, for folks still looking for a module to play on spooky night.

- The Price of Iron: A simple warehouse guarding job turns into something far deadlier. Dark fey creatures begin crossing the boundary, and only the courage of those holding the gate can push them back. A module with several twists and turns, this one is ideal for those who like a couple of surprises by the time the dice stop rolling.

Pathfinder Classic

My main system when I want a fantasy RPG, it's taken a long time for me to finally get a module out for Pathfinder. This module is technically for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting, but it can be played without any of the other supplements for Sundara, if you just want a fun little mystery to solve of an evening.

- A Night At The Slaughterhouse Inn: When a handful of travelers are caught by a storm, they all find themselves taking shelter under the roof of the Slaughterhouse Inn. A simple roadside inn, secrets lurk within this place... and at least some of those secrets will prove deadly if guests don't discover them in time!

Victorian Gothic

 

This game is actually something I designed for by pure chance. Victorian Gothic is something I'd describe as classic gothic horror but using a Call of Cthulhu-esque system. I'd never heard of it before I saw they were looking for a freelancer... and though it's been several years, I'm still quite proud of my contribution to this game.

- Dreadful Tales: A collection of 3 short modules, each of these dark little dramas sucks one in deeper to the world of Victorian Gothic. My own tale, The Broken Man, combines inspiration from the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Louis Stevenson... but that's the only clue you'll get regarding the solution to my mystery!

Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic

For folks who are new around these parts, Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic was my first full RPG, so of course I've written several missions for it! While the base game comes with an adventure to run for your table, I've also put together 2 additional missions for your troopers to be sent out on... which, according to the rules of the game, would make everyone rank 2 by the time you need to send them on a fresh outing of your own creation!

- A Night At Breckon's Beacon: When several troopers disappear during a routine patrol, a fresh squad is sent to track them down. However, while the squad picks up their trail, there's no guarantee they won't fall victim to the same lurking threat in the ruins of Breckon's Beacon.

- Assault On Outpost 13: The hinterlands of the Styric Republic are a place ruled by graft and grift. When a raid takes the prominent son of a crime syndicate prisoner, though, it becomes a race against time to hold him. The squad is sent as reinforcements, but things may not be what they seem at Outpost 13.

Grab Your Modules Today!

As the saying goes, it's better to have and not need, than to need and not have! And whether you want a few modules for the spooky season, or just to keep on your shelf for a rainy (or snowy) day, I'd highly recommend grabbing some of the ones on offer today!

Lastly, if you want more information on Army Men or Sundara, make sure you subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel, because I've got two separate shows dedicated to both of them over there. So stop in, and let me give you all a walking tour of these settings!

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 the ongoing audio drama channel The A.L.I.C.E. Files! 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 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!

My Newest Supplement "Finishing Touches - 100 Character Quirks" Hit The Bestseller List On DTRPG!

I've been writing gaming supplements for something like 10 years now, and in that time I've wound up on the front page of Drive Thru RPG on more than one occasion. However, since the "updates" and the deluge of AI slop swept the Internet, it's been hard as hell to get noticed over there. This past week, though, some higher power decided I'd been working hard and deserved a treat.

Which is my way of saying that my newest release, Finishing Touches - 100 Quirks For Your Characters, made it to the #3 slot on the Most Popular Under $5 tab!

Seriously, grab yourself a copy if you haven't yet!

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my 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!

A Solid Comeback For My Broken Ice Books

 

It's a bit of a weird name, but I refer to this particular series of TTRPG supplements as my broken ice books, largely due to the cover design. And while it started off with the twin supplements 100 Tips And Tricks For Being A Better Game Master (largely collecting the best advice on this very blog) and 100 Tips And Tricks For Being A Better RPG Player, I eventually stretched out to giving players (and GMs to a lesser extent) advice on filling in the blank parts of their characters. This included supplements like 100 Dark Secrets, 100 Fantasy Professions (That Aren't "Adventurer"), and 100 Character Goals and Motivations, all of which are meant to help players dig into the corners of character building that often get overlooked.

People are complicated, and it takes work to figure them out.

There are two things I'd like to request for readers who've made it this far, though. First and foremost, go pick up your copy of Finishing Touches today! The Internet black out really broke my flow, and I could use all the help I can get to push it up to Silver status. Secondly, though, if you'd like to see more supplements released for this series, consider some of the following titles:

- 100 Hooks For Your Characters (which would allow players to hand their GM options for story hooks)

- 100 Family Members (for players who need some help fleshing out their family tree)

- 100 Mentors (for players who want someone important, but not a family member, to fill that role)

These are just a few of the potential titles I've come up with, but I figured I'd open the floor to readers who'd like to see others join the list. So tell me, what would you like to see from me in the future? Because this list has had a couple of popular titles so far, and I'd like to keep it going if I could.

If one of these catches your attention, let me know down in the comments below! Or if you have a different topic you'd like to see me cover, mention that instead. My ears are open, and I'll keep listening as long as folks want to see new titles come out for this series... or really any series I've been working on. But I would prefer to get it straight from the horse's mouth.

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 the ongoing audio drama channel The A.L.I.C.E. Files! 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 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!