Speaking of Sundara (My Latest Video Series With Azukail Games)

Regular readers know that for the past year and change now I've been releasing splat books for my own fantasy RPG setting titled Sundara: Dawn of a New Age. While I've talked about the setting on this blog in entries like What is "Sundara: Dawn of a New Age" All About? and "Gods of Sundara" Takes Aim at Monolithic Religions and Gods in Fantasy RPGs, I've started making videos about aspects of this setting that I think are interesting, or which I think my regular readers might get a kick out of. After all, it's one thing to read the creator's words, but it's another to see their face and hear their tone of voice while discussing their creation.

And some folks just like watching/listening to videos instead of reading blogs. Like when I first sat down and talked about why there are huge cities in Sundara, but there really aren't countries the way we think of them today (or how we see in most other RPGs).

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!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

What Would You Like To See Make it Into This Series?

My goal with this series of videos is just to provide some insight on what I'm trying to do as a creator, the things that I think make this setting interesting, and the little quirks that I feel really provide flexibility and idea fodder in a way that should allow players and Game Masters to pursue unique stories.

However, as with everything else in Sundara, part of my goal is also to take reader/viewer desires and interest into account. So if you have a question about the setting that hasn't been answered yet, or you're wondering why I chose to go in a certain direction with a particular location, species, etc. (like why humans are the only base creatures who don't have their own splat book yet), my hope is that I can give folks an insight into what I'm trying to do with this setting going forward.

Like how I talked about stripping alignment out of the setting in its entirety, and the changes and challenges that represented in both Pathfinder and the DND 5E rules systems for me as a designer.

Whether you leave comments here or on the videos themselves, I'm going to try to check back and see what the consensus is among folks who are interested. And even if your question is something along the lines of, "Why play in this setting rather than in X setting that's bigger and more popular?" I can try to provide answers, should said questions be asked in good faith.

It's my hope that, going forward, I'll be able to expand my videos to make a variety of projects, including things like Stories of Sundara, where I make audio dramas set in different parts of the world to sort of give listeners a brief taste of the sorts of things they'll find should they choose to come visit Sundara. Thus far The Duel is the only such tale, but there are others waiting in the wings if folks make it clear they'd like me to make more!

How Can You Support This Project?

If you're one of the folks out there who likes Sundara and wants to see me keep expanding it going forward (you know who you are, and I'm grateful for every one of you) there are a few things you can do to help me build momentum on this endeavor.

- First, watch the videos! None of them are all that long, and it's YouTube so they're free to you. It takes 4,000 hours of watch time to get monetized, and we are nowhere near that goal yet.

- Second, subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel. It also takes 1,000 subscribers to get monetized, and we've been fighting just to get a few hundred. At time of writing, channel is at 149.

- Third, like the videos and leave comments on them! The algorithm loves interaction, so if you give it a thumbs up, that signals that we're doing a good job. And if you leave comments then not only are you more likely to get your questions seen and addressed, but it helps us get more eyes on the videos going forward.

The purpose behind me making these videos is to try to get some additional eyes on my setting, and to reach out in a way I haven't done so before. While you can always help by purchasing any of the various Sundara splat books below, my hope is that providing free content like this gets more folks interested (and it might even lead to future sales and giveaways going forward, if the publisher decides that's a good idea).

So whether you're already a fan of Sundara, this is your first time hearing about it, or you've got questions, come check out the series for yourself! Especially the last video where I talk about the Prim, which is the source of all magic in the setting, along with the dwelling place of the gods.

Why Not Take a Look For Yourself?

I took a brief break on making new Sundara content at the start of the year, but I've already finished one new supplement, and I've started work on the second piece of 2022. Sellswords of Sundara is full of unique archetypes/subclasses for mercenary companies that come with their own themes, histories, NPCs, rumors, and more, and that should be coming out shortly. I'm also working on Towns of Sundara, so that folks have some smaller places to put between the cities that are just as interesting and unique in their own ways (and which acts as a good follow up to 10 Fantasy Villages, which kicked this whole project off in the first place).

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.

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 YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel 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!

Taking a Stab At Pathfinder Infinite (Would You Like to See More?)

As a lot of my regular readers know, the Pathfinder Infinite platform came online in late 2021. And at the time I said I had a couple of ideas I'd like to publish on it assuming progress was made regarding the ugliness that had come to light regarding Paizo's treatment of workers. And since Paizo's employees now have a union, and the company seemed to support rather than fight those efforts, I figured it was time for me to make good on that tease I'd put out.

And though 150 Sights To See (And Rumors To Hear) in Absalom dropped this past weekend, I wanted to pull back the curtain a bit to let folks know what's going on, and how they can help keep the wheels moving.

Because I can't do this one alone.

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!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Do Readers Want Me To Add More To Golarion?

In case some readers are confused, I'll catch you all up to speed. Pathfinder Infinite is a community use platform that lets independent and 3rd-party creators make content set in the world of Golarion (the base setting for the Pathfinder RPG), and which uses Paizo's intellectual property (as long as the project obeys all the appropriate rules set forth by the company). So rather than just making generic content that could be used with the Golarion setting if one wanted to (like my supplement 100 Random Bandits to Meet), or creating content that uses the Pathfinder rules system but which is part of an independent setting (like Gods of Sundara for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting), I can just explore parts of Golarion that I enjoy, but which haven't gotten the attention that I feel they should have.

Like this one.

My supplement, 150 Sights to See (And Rumors To Hear) in Absalom is actually the second Pathfinder Infinite supplement that's been released by Azukail Games. The first was 100 Rumors and Hooks To Hear in (or About) Magnimar, and it came out a few weeks previous. However, the issue that we've run into is that neither of these two supplements has been a particularly noteworthy success. In fact with slow sales and the cost of splitting profits for the community-use platform, it seems like Pathfinder Infinite just isn't a great investment when taking these two products as examples of what one can expect.

However, I didn't want to just shrug my shoulders and walk away. As someone who contributed to Paizo products in the past, I felt this would be a solid opportunity to get some of my own ideas out for the setting that I'd never had a chance to before... but for that to happen, I need the folks out there playing these games to come along for the ride.

Because on the one hand, it's possible there just aren't a lot of people playing Pathfinder anymore. On the other hand, it might be that there are lots of players, but they don't use the Golarion setting for their games. It might be that the type of supplement just isn't what folks want, and they'd prefer something more mechanical like fresh archetypes and prestige classes, modules to play through, or lists of world-specific NPCs they might meet while traversing the setting. Or maybe there are a lot of GMs out there who want lists of weird sights and side-quest worthy rumors, but they'd prefer to find them in Varisia, or Ustalav, or one of the other nations or cities we didn't actually cover yet.

There's a lot of possibilities here, is what I'm saying.

So if you're reading this, and you would actually like to see me put out some stuff for use in Golarion proper, there are two things I'd like to ask you to do.

- Leave a comment (either here or on social media) with the kind of supplement you would be most interested in seeing in the future.

- Help boost the signal on 150 Sights to See (And Rumors to Hear) in Absalom and 100 Hooks and Rumors to Hear in (or About) Magnimar. Consider sharing them on social media, or getting copies for yourself and leaving reviews once you've read through them.

The reason I'm asking my readers to do this is, first of all, I want to make sure that folks get the content from me they want. All that talk about following your interests and drive as a creator makes for good sound bites, but at the end of the day I want to make sure there's actually a desire among my fellow players for the stuff I'm putting together. Secondly, the best way to get my publisher to agree to let me keep going down a particular vein of content is to prove there's a paying market for it. They want to sell copies, I want to sell copies, and if the stuff we produce for Pathfinder Infinite just stalls out and doesn't sell, then the company just won't sign off on further Pathfinder Infinite projects in the future.

Most products on Drive Thru RPG don't even sell the 50+ copies you need to hit Copper status, let alone the 100+ copies you need to hit Silver status, but I've had a really good track record with my Azukail Games releases. I feel confident in saying that if we can push one, or even both, of these supplements up into Copper territory, that would be enough of a sign of gamer interest to get approval for at least a couple more ideas.

So if you're not done playing in Golarion yet, and you want to see what dark corners of the world I'd like to explore, take a few moments and help me spread the word so we can build up some momentum!

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 YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel 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!

Do Not Hide Bad Behavior Behind The Game's Meta

In the event that you're living under a rock these days, you probably haven't heard all the discussions about the triumphant return of the kender and the gully dwarves. If you're even marginally plugged-in to the happenings in gaming circles, though, you have likely seen three hundred or more discussions of these, along with a lot of other aspects of the Dragonlance setting the World of Krynn, since it was announced it was going to get a re-release recently.

However, while this has sparked its share of flame wars, I wanted to focus on a specific aspect of the conversation going on right now. Because this is bringing to light how a lot of players will use the meta of a game or setting to cover up their own bad behavior... and that's something we all need to learn to recognize, and put a stop to before it ruins the game for everyone.

Because the problem isn't the kender... most of the time.

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!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Thieving, Practical Jokes, and Responsibility

For those who aren't familiar with Dragonlance, this setting goes all the way back to the first edition of Dungeons and Dragons. Last I saw any content for it was in the 3.5 edition, and it seems to have skipped over the 4th edition entirely. But now it's coming out for 5th edition, and a whole new crop of gamers who've never heard of it are dealing with a lot of old gripes and even older horror stories from the so-called old guard.

Sitting at the top of that list is the kender.

If you have not encountered a kender before, picture a halfling. Now add an unquenchable wanderlust, an utter lack of understanding of the concept of personal property, a cultural emphasis on cutting insults as a form of entertainment, and curiosity that borders on a death wish. For the book series, where a single author was in charge of how scenes went and how characters acted, kender were amusing creatures that we often found entertaining or endearing. However, if you handed that to the wrong player (and most people who ask to have it will reveal if they were the wrong player soon enough) that is a recipe for frustration, irritation, and a lot of player-v-player combat.

Do not anger the barbarian. They don't take jokes well.

A lot of folks will say the problem is the kender for the way they're written. Or the gulley dwarves, which are, at best, a silly take on gnomes attempting to be dwarves in the most absurd way possible (and at worst they're a way to punch down at people who live with mental disorders). Or how many settings describe gnomes specifically as, "playing practical jokes on people," as part of their write up. The list goes on.

Honestly, at the end of the day, this is just another version of someone saying, "But it's what my character would do!" as a way to duck responsibility for stirring the pot, and being a pain in the rest of the table's collective backside.

You Can Play Any of These (Without Irritating Everyone Else)

All of the characters mentioned above are completely playable concepts. Just like how you can play an evil character in a non-evil party (as I mentioned in Making The Lone Evil Character in a Good Party Work), if you really want to. The key to it is to look at the character you're playing, at the table you're playing with, and to ask yourself, "How do I have fun with this concept in a way that won't piss everyone else off?"

Some concepts are, admittedly, tougher than others.

I covered this in Make Sure Your Character is as Much Fun To Play With as They Are To Play, and all those lessons stand. Everyone else at the table is spending hours of their time in-game with this character; at least do them the courtesy of making the experience as positive as you can.

That doesn't mean you need to utterly ignore the meta, either... you simply need to adjust the dial to fit the table you're at.

For example, if you're playing a kender, you may still randomly pocket stuff on your day-to-day... but make sure you aren't pocketing the rest of the party's stuff. Hell, you can't carry the fighter's great sword, and the barbarian's shield is bigger than you are, so what would even be the point? Instead, swipe some apples from a cart as you walk by, and toss one to the sorcerer because they didn't have an apple and they looked hungry. Take the jailer's keys when they walk past, and then just hand them over to the rogue who is now in on the joke with you. And if you really want to go whole hog with it, walk away from any kind of treasure that's heavy or pointless, because if you don't acknowledge personal ownership chances are good economics is far beyond you, and someone else in the party tracks your share and covers your bills.

That kind of stuff might be amusing, and while it could generate some negative situations between you and NPCs, it isn't putting you directly at-odds with the rest of the party. And as long as you're contributing to the group's efforts you're more likely to be seen as a scamp or a minor troublemaker than a nuisance that has to be dealt with.

Long story short, don't be a jerk. Have fun with your character, and mold them to fit in with everyone else. This is a team sport, and everyone needs to be having fun if you expect the group to get back together next week.

Also, even though I couldn't find a convenient place to fit it in here, don't forget to check out my 5 Tips For Playing Better Evil Characters along with 5 Tips For Playing Better Noble Characters. They tend to generate a lot of friction as well, so I wanted to toss them here at the end.

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 YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel 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!

For The Love of God, Play a Different RPG

I've been playing RPGs for almost half my life now. That's longer than some, and nowhere near as long as others. However, there is a very curious trend I've noticed among a lot of tabletop RPG players, and it's something that never ceases to confuse and fascinate me in equal measure.

Namely that they'll find a game they like, and then just stop. They don't want to hear about other editions, they don't want to try out other systems, they have this one thing, and they will not be moved from this hill. And this often leads to people turning themselves (and their games) inside out instead of just making their lives easier by playing a game that already does what they want (but which their current/favorite game doesn't do).

Please... on behalf of all designers out there... play something else.

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!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

The Right Tool For The Right Job

If you were going to enter a drag race, you'd probably want to bring a muscle car to that event, right? Something that's got a lot of pick-up and go, that hits its speed fast, and that will send you rocketing over the finish line inches ahead of the other guy. Now, maybe you're not used to handling that kind of machine. However, bringing the dusty old VW bus you're used to driving to this kind of event basically guarantees you're not going to make it over the finish line at all. No matter how much you chop down, re-rig, or alter this machine, it's never going to perform as well at this task as a vehicle purpose-made for it. It's even possible that you could cut it down too much, and end up with the whole thing just dying right under you.

For those who aren't sure what this metaphor is talking about, keep reading. You're the ones who most need to hear this.

Because sometimes you just cannot make an X into a Y.

What I'm getting at is that RPGs are built and designed for a purpose. Even games that claim to be broad-reaching and genre-neutral still have limitations regarding what you can and cannot do with them, or alterations you can make to them.

But there are a lot of players (and a lot of GMs) out there, who want to take their game of choice, and twist it in an attempt to make it do something it was never designed or intended to do in the first place.

A perfect example is something I saw the other day. I love Pathfinder, as my regular readers know. I have an entire Character Conversion master list that covers concepts from the Death Korps of Krieg from Warhammer 40,000, to The Incredible Hulk from Marvel, to Sandor "The Hound" Clegane from Game of Thrones, because there's a lot you can do with this game. Something you really can't do with it, though? Run a modern fantasy game where the players are all vampires in a secret world, and who are differentiated into a bunch of different clans each with their own unique power sets and heritages.

Why would someone attempt to run Vampire: The Masquerade using Pathfinder rules? I don't know, but there was someone on a forum who seemed bound and determined to make it happen!

I hope they eventually stopped.

This is the clearest example of this kind of thinking. For one thing, Vampire is a classless system with no levels, and Pathfinder has classes AND levels. Beyond that basic issue, though, vampires are an extremely potent threat in Pathfinder, far beyond something that PCs are supposed to have access to. Not only that, the magic systems are completely different, with Pathfinder using Vancian magic and Vampire using trees of unique powers that cost blood to activate.

It may be the most extreme version of this, but it's certainly not the only one that just wasn't going to work. From trying to remove magic without a replacement from Dungeons and Dragons to make a gritty, "realistic" game (forgetting that high magic as a resource is a major pillar of the game's mechanics), to trying to twist a game as simple as FATE to run a full Werewolf: The Apocalypse campaign, you're just going to be better off choosing the right tool for the right job.

Mechanics Cause Ripples. Flavor Usually Doesn't

As someone who hasn't had the disposable income to purchase a new RPG of my own in most of a decade, I know the struggle when it comes to keeping things fresh around the table. Sometimes you really want to do something different, but you have to work with what you've got. And sometimes you want to change things up, but your group is really loyal to a particular system, and don't want to play anything different, even as a sampler. As someone who's sort of made converting content from one game into content for another my personal niche, let me offer a piece of advice that will save the GMs out there a lot of time, energy, and sweat.

Changing mechanics causes more issues that changing flavor. However, when mechanics and flavor are closely linked, you end up needing to change both of them.

Sand in the gears, and the whole thing falls apart.

Let's say, for example, you wanted to run a DND 5th Edition sci-fi game, but you didn't want to use the rules created by products like Ultramodern Redux. A simple change would be to re-write the classic fantasy species as genetically-engineered creatures, and aliens. Turning orcs into a gene-spliced species of super-soldiers, or making elves into highly-advanced aliens, would change none of the mechanics, but give you all of the flavor shift you want. Changing the species name would likely help, too.

Then there's simply shifting high magic to high tech. Now instead of wizards you have something like Ingeneurs, who use their unique tools and foci to create changes to the world around them. Each school becomes a unique discipline of the sciences, and their "spells" are now cast via implanted neuro devices, handheld computers, and even their familiars might be little more than intelligent, hard light projections. Sorcerers become psionic anomalies altered by a variety of cosmic events, gene-tampering, or alien influences, armor is given a clean up and a name change while the stats remain the same, and so on, and so forth.

That would be a lot of work, but it would be a functional change because the underlying mechanics of the game haven't really been touched.

Could you strip out all magic entirely? Sure, you could. Could you then replace it with a completely different system of high technology? Yep. But at that point, you'd basically be writing your own game, and having to re-balance some really big issues, and to make sure the rules and content you created kept things fair and balanced. And that is a lot harder, while also presenting the real potential for the whole thing to come apart at the seams in the way that flavor changes wouldn't.

So, if you feel you have to alter a system you have in order to run a game it wasn't meant for, keep this in mind. It's going to save you a lot of time, energy, and effort going forward.

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 YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel 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!

"Sundara: Dawn of a New Age" is On Sale Through March 13!

Normally when I put out my first update of the week I like to muse about some aspect of RPGs, offer some insight to Game Masters out there, or give a deeper explanation on something I recently released. However, this week I have some exciting news to share!

Recently my splat Cities of Sundara: Ironfire was the deal of the day at Drive Thru RPG. It got enough attention that the publisher has decided to pass the savings along to all the curious folks out there who decided to grab a copy. As such, my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting is on sale until March 13! So if you've been holding off on picking up particular splats, they're currently part of the Drive Thru RPG GM's Day Sale. And if this is your first time hearing about Sundara, well, keep reading and I'll tell you a bit about what my goals are, what I've put out already, and what you're going to see from it going forward.

Seriously, come check it out!

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What is Sundara?

The short version is that Sundara: Dawn of a New Age is a fantasy RPG setting that is going to be familiar enough to fans of the genre that they'll be able to pick it up quickly, but that there's still plenty of differences just beneath the surface to make it feel new and unique for those who aren't expecting said changes.

As a for-instance, this setting is available both for Pathfinder's first edition, and for Dungeons and Dragons' 5th Edition. It's full of magic and mystery, and there are all sorts of different species one could choose to play as, as well as hundreds of different monsters roaming the setting. At a glance, it seems like just another cover song of the same genre we've seen before.

But if you scratch the surface you'll notice there's a lot of things you don't expect. Things like:

- No Nations: Sundara's largest political entities are city states, regional confederacies, and guilds.

- No Monolithic Species: Every species in Sundara has a variety of ethnicities and cultures, as well as potential origin stories and creation myths that may or may not be true depending on whom you ask.

- No "Common" Tongue: Language, much like culture, is diverse in Sundara. While some languages are more popular than others, and there are a number of so-called trading tongues, you will not find "Common" on the sheet. Nor are there specific species languages; so no "elven," "dwarven," "orc," etc.

- No Alignment: One of the biggest reader requests was that there be no alignment in the setting going forward. So alignment was removed from classes, gods, faiths, and the world as a whole, which has a lot of far-reaching repercussions.

I even talked about some of this over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel (and if you haven't subscribed yet, you should, because I'm going into greater depth on some topics in the coming weeks).

More than these changes, though, Sundara is a setting that is fundamentally about forward progress. So many settings take their cue from Tolkien and focus on the mythic, lost past, trying to return to former glories. While Sundara has had empires rise and fall, it is fundamentally a setting about not looking back. Rather it is about finding fresh solutions to old problems, and about discovery of new and interesting ways of doing things. From creating mass-produced pattern-welded steel in volcanic furnaces, to building sky ships that take to the air on the cast-off scales of powerful wyrms, Sundara is about invention, curiosity, and finding unique solutions to problems.

Fun as a Whole, Or in Bite-Sized Pieces

For the Game Masters out there who might be reluctant to jump ship to a whole new setting, or who really want to keep using their own, homebrew worlds, I've designed Sundara in such a way that you can have your cake and eat it, too.

Because this is a one-man show, I've purposefully released the setting in small, bite-sized splats. In a way it's kind of like a serial RPG setting, and readers are exploring it along with me as we go along rather than just getting one thick tome of information that contains everything. However, because I chose this method of release, I've also designed each setting to be at least somewhat self-contained. So while there might be small nods and references to other parts of the setting, and callbacks to previous installments, everything is meant to function on its own, or to be folded into a different setting if that's what a Game Master wants to do with it.

Some parts of the setting are weirder than others, I'll admit.

While it's entirely possible to run a session in and around one of the cities I've created, and using the species guides that have been released, it's equally possible for Game Masters to just take elements or aspects that they like and fold them into their worlds. Perhaps they like the sky ships from Hoardreach, and they think the idea is neat. Maybe they enjoy the idea of a city powered by the undead, so they want to put Moüd in their game, but without any of the rest of Sundara. Perhaps they just like the idea of a Wyrm Mark, or the backgrounds I created for career mercenaries, so they make those available. Or they find the approach to gods and the divine a lot more flexible and fun in this setting, so they adopt that without anything else.

One of the goals for these books is to provide Game Masters with the tools that suit their needs. So whether they want all of Sundara, or just a part of it, the goal is to make it as plug-and-play with their particular games as possible. My hope is that the more players and GMs alike read of the setting, the more they're going to want, but I understand that sometimes folks just want one particular tool rather than the entire set, and I want to make something that appeals to them as well.

Why Not Take a Look For Yourself?

I took a brief break on making new Sundara content at the start of the year, but I've already finished one new supplement, and I've started work on the second piece of 2022. Sellswords of Sundara is full of unique archetypes/subclasses for mercenary companies that come with their own themes, histories, NPCs, rumors, and more, and that should be coming out shortly. I'm also working on Towns of Sundara, so that folks have some smaller places to put between the cities that are just as interesting and unique in their own ways (and which acts as a good follow up to 10 Fantasy Villages, which kicked this whole project off in the first place).

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.

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