Ask Me Anything About "Sundara: Dawn of a New Age" (Seriously, Please Do!)

As regular readers know, I've been putting out splat books for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age fantasy RPG setting for more than a year now. Compatible with both Pathfinder Classic and Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, the idea was to make a fantasy setting that gets back to basics, but then goes off in unexpected directions, while also standing certain givens of fantasy RPGs on their head. From eliminating alignment, to making gods multi-faceted and beyond the true understanding of mortals, to making a setting that foregoes nations as we know them in favor of towns, villages, and city states, Sundara feels familiar while still being an utterly new and unique place to play.

The setting is still fresh and growing, though, which is why I figured it was a good time to open the doors, and to start taking questions from the readers out there so I could get an idea of which areas folks wanted to see fleshed out more in-depth going forward!

Seriously, come take a look around!

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Got Curiosities? Well, Ask Away!

As I mentioned in my most recent Speaking of Sundara video over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel (which you should totally go subscribe to so I can try to make bigger, longer, and more involved videos going forward), I recently hit a kind of end of Phase 1 release for Sundara. From the initial Cities of Sundara books, into Gods of Sundara, and then through Species of Sundara, I laid the ground work for locations, magic and the divine, and talked about how a lot of the available fantastical creatures work. And that all came full circle with Towns of Sundara, which provided a sampling of 10 towns complete with maps, histories, notable locations, named NPCs, and potential plot hooks for Game Masters to use as seeds for side quests.

As I mentioned in the video at the time, I've got some plans for what I want to do with Sundara going forward. I want to focus more on organizations, like I did with Sellswords of Sundara (for both Pathfinder and DND 5E) where I put together 10 different mercenary companies in the setting and used them to build stories and lore while also giving players and GMs some mechanical toys to play with. I'm thinking about cults, merchants, and guilds, just to start off with.

However, I also want to take a moment to bend an ear to those who are actually checking out the setting. That is where you all come in!

For an upcoming Speaking of Sundara video I want to address any questions, curiosities, or suggestions people in my audience have. Whether you're wondering about what kinds of governments exist across the setting, what weird kinds of technology are going to be added in the future, the plans I have for any of the existing cities that have come out, or a question you've been wondering about for a while now, I want you to ask it!

Where? Well, to ensure that I see it try to direct your questions to these spaces:

- In the comment section of this blog post

- In the comment section of Speaking of Sundara: How It All Got Started

- Sent directly to me via the contact widget on this blog

- Left in the comment section on social media where I share this blog post

My hope is that over the next week or so I can collect enough genuine inquiries from folks that I can put together a decent video to address your questions, and perhaps to get some idea of what players and Game Masters alike want to see from Sundara as it develops.

So don't be shy! If you've got a question, fire away.

Why Not Take a Closer Look For Yourself?

If this is the first time you've come across my Sundara setting, and you're not sure what it's all about, consider checking out the supplements below! Also, don't forget to stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel where I've talked about the setting at length, in addition to presenting some short audio dramas (like the one below) set in the world of Sundara!

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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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!

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