What Future Mission Modules Would You Like To See For "Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic"?

It's been a little over half a year since my RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic hit the market. Since we had a pretty successful Kickstarter, I wanted to make sure that I kept expanding on the options players and Game Masters alike had available to them, and one thing I was concerned about was the missions squads would get sent on. Because while there is a mission in the base book to get players and Game Masters started, I wanted to make sure there was more than just that one module to kick things off.

As of this weekend, the first stand-alone mission A Night At Breckon's Beacon is officially out! And if a squad hunting down missing comrades-in-arms, and tracking them to an old, dilapidated castle on the Western border of United Polymeria sounds like a good way to spend your night, then I'd highly recommend you get yourself a copy! However, I don't want to rest on my laurels, and I did have a few questions for players (as well as potential players) regarding my plan for the rest of these initial mission releases.

Seriously, check it out if you haven't!

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!

A Sample Platter of The Plastos Federation

For folks who haven't picked up a copy of Army Men for themselves yet, the location we start off in is the Plastos Federation; a collection of the nations United Polymeria, the Styric Republic, Acrylica, and the Acetal Alliance. A Night at Breckon's Beacon takes place, as mentioned, in United Polymeria, and plays into some of the culture and history of that particular nation (U.P. is at least partially inspired by the U.K. and its history, so it has timelines going back for centuries to when the longbow and the claymore were actual weapons wielded on the battlefield, and castles were the norm for fortress construction).

My intention was to provide one mission for each of the other nations, as well as a Federation mission that would be specifically geared as a cooperative mission drawing on troopers from any nation players wanted to bring. However, since I'm looking at my workdesk and plotting which projects are going to go out next, I thought I'd share some of the ideas that I had, and ask my readers what mission description interests them most?

I've got quite a few ideas to choose from...

The current ideas include:

- (Acrylica) Experimental Duty: A squad of troopers is sent to reinforce security at a location that will be running a classified experiment. This module will likely involve several waves of enemies, a great deal of firepower, and a need to properly defend a static location.

- (Styric Republic) Precinct Assault: Organized crime and corruption is a serious problem in the Styric Republic. An infamous gangster is being held at a decommissioned precint, but his gang comes to try to break him out. The only thing standing between them and their goal, is your squad.

- (Acetal Alliance) Reclamation: The war between the Silicate Autocracy and Halogen left lasting scars, even though the two nations united in the face of the vespoid threat. Booby traps are commonplace, and before any abandoned town can be rebuilt it's necessary for squads to sweep them for dangers. A relatively routine mission turns deadly, and your squad has to find out if there are more than ghosts of a past war haunting an aging, abandoned town.

- (Plastos Federation) Bug Hunt: Vespoid incursions don't always require an all-out assault... sometimes what they need is a decapitating strike. Federation assault teams often take on these dangerous missions, and your squad has been tasked with joining. Commanders promise you'll all get a medal for this if you pull it off... of course, Federation medals are often given posthumously.

While I have a couple of other suggestions for missions (some of which are larger than the one-offs described above), these are the ones I plan to start with. My intention is to offer a different kind of goal and playstyle for each one, and to give players the ability/opportunity to get a little sample of each nation, and to get a little dash of history and personality from them in order to decide which they really like. These missions can be played with the same characters, or with different ones, allowing players to try a variety of castes and builds to see what really jives with them.

So, which of the above ideas appeals to you? What would you like to see? Or is there a style of play or a kind of mission I didn't include that you'd like to see made official with an Army Men mission all its own? Make sure you let me know in the comments down below!

Additionally, consider checking out the following supplements that have already been released for the game, along with the show Tactical Plastic Report, which is currently available on the Azukail Games YouTube channel!

- Army Men: Threat Assessments: The first collection released after the original game dropped, this supplement is full of new creatures for your squad to have to deal with when out in the field.

- Army Men: Medals of Honor: This supplement introduced the Medals System, allowing players to earn medals for their troopers, gaining unique bonuses and abilities usable for the rest of the campaign.

- Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps: Giant bugs and enemy combatants aren't the only threats you'll have to deal with in the field. Booby traps are a serious concern among troopers looking to leave their service with as many limbs as they started.

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 my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and 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!

Fresh NPC Lists Are Now Available! (Taking Requests For Future Releases)

If you're a fan of my TTRPG supplements, then you probably know that I'm rapidly approaching 200 splats at time of writing! While it's unlikely I'll cross the bicentennial by the end of the year, it probably won't be too long after 2025 gets here that I'll mark that particular occasion. However, with all of the different topics I've covered over the years, I wanted to draw some attention to two of my more recent releases, and to ask the readers out there if they'd like to see me put out more NPC-based supplements in the near future!

And if you haven't checked these out yet, please do!

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!

What Kind of NPCs Do You Need At Your Table?

For folks who aren't subscribed to my newsletter, or aren't keyed-in to my social media feed, my two most recent releases were 100 Helpful Hirelings (which is a list of NPC hirelings that have a variety of skill sets a party might want to put on the payroll), and 100 Town Guards (since most towns have some sort of guard or militia ready to protect them from threats).

While these might seem like the standard sort of release you'd put out for Game Masters, it's actually been quite some time since I've focused on NPC lists specifically. Most of what I've put out lately has been keyed to a specific game (like my recent release Army Men, or my fantasy RPG setting Sundara: Dawn of a New Age), or I've been focusing on organizations over individuals.

Why, you might ask? Well, at first it was because organizations overall seemed more popular than lists of individual NPCs (100 Monastic Orders seemed like a more enticing supplement than 100 Monks to Meet, so I wrote the former, but not the latter... yet, at least). After that, though, it was because I just needed some variety in my output, since if I write the same kind of content for too long I start going cross-eyed. But I figured that it was time to come back to something that honestly started off my career with Azukail Games, and which is currently one of my top types of sellers.

But I wanted to ask readers this week... what kinds of NPCs do you need most at your table? And before you scroll down to leave your request in the comments below, check the existing supplements I've listed to see whether the one you want/need is already out there, and waiting for you to pick it up!

Also, before you all get to scrolling, please take a moment to check out The Wind and The Demon, the introductory story from 100 Monastic Orders. If you like it, subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel, and share it around to help us get a little closer to the 200 hours we still need to get the channel monetized!

Current NPC Supplements

I'm not including the NPC lists I've written for the World/Chronicles of Darkness, or for Call of Cthulhu, as I feel those are a little bit too game-specific for this week's post. But in addition to the supplements for town guards and hirelings mentioned above, I've also put together:

- World's Oldest Profession: 100 Courtesans and Concubines: Brothels can be found all over our fantasy settings, and if you're looking to make sure there are plenty of memorable NPCs in yours, this list will definitely make that happen!

- 100 Nobles To Encounter: Whether you need antagonists, paymasters, or extended family members for some of your player characters, this collection of nobles has all kinds of aristocrats to choose from.

- 100 Random Bandits To Meet: From being waylaid on the roads, to meeting up with old friends on the wrong side of the law, this supplement has all sorts of highwaymen and brigands, including a few legendary bandit lords who may not be quite what they seem.

- 100 NPCs You Might Meet In The Tavern: My first (and thus far only) Platinum seller, this is the book that started me down the NPC-list path. Grab this one, even if you grab none of the others, because you're going to be getting together at the bar sooner or later.

- 100 Pirates To Encounter: The flip side of the bandit supplement, this one is for adventure on the high seas! From scallawags and blackguards to pirate lords, there's a bit of everything in here.

- 100 Prisoners For A Fantasy Jail: Whether your characters start off in one of these, or they get sent there in the course of their "adventures," it always helps to have a couple of fellows to fill the cells with.

- 100 Merchants To Encounter: A Gold seller that isn't far behind the NPCs to meet at the tavern, this one has merchants from small towns and bazaars, to big cities and high-end districts... wherever your party goes, and whatever they need to buy, there's someone in here for them.

- 100 Unusual Aasimar: One face of the coin I wrote along with the following supplement, this was originally going to be the start of a series where I covered most basic player species. I could still get back to that, if there was a demand for it!

- 100 Tieflings To Meet In Your Travels: As mentioned above, tieflings and aasimar were meant to be two halves of a whole for GMs who wanted to sprinkle them throughout their game setting. Sadly, neither has crawled out of Silver metal status, so I never went back to species-specific supplements like these.

- 100 Characters You Might Meet In A Star Port: Thus far my only NPC-specific sci-fi supplement, I might have a few more of these up my sleeve in the near future, if that's something folks would like to see more of! Just like this one, the initial release will likely be geared toward the aliens found in Starfinder.

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 my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and 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!

The Cold War of The Gods (A Fantasy RPG Setup)

If you've been playing TTRPGs for long enough, there is a question you've no doubt come across several times in your career; why us? Whether it's a group of no-account drunks and thugs being asked to save a kingdom from the depradations of a lich lord, or some relative nobodies being given the task to close a hell rift, it can often feel disporportionate. After all, there are real heroes in the setting who have powers and abilities far beyond our simple level 3 party... why aren't you asking them to do it?

Or, the one that gets a lot of us in trouble, why aren't the gods handling these problems? Whether it's demons leaking through a breach in the abyss, or malignant forces belched forth from the darkness between the stars, where are the gods in this whole setup? Why do mortals have to fight these battles?

And that is where the idea of the Cold War of The Gods comes in. I found this on TikTok from Nobody Important, link to the original video is here.

Take this, and do what needs to be done.

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!

Proxy Wars in Your Setting

For those whose history books didn't cover the topic, I'm going to lay out a few generalities of the Cold War.

So, during the heights of the twin superpowers of the USSR and the USA, tensions were running very high. These two nations both had massive nuclear arsenals, huge armies, and they weren't shy about using them... however, both sides understood that open war with everything they had was a losing proposal. This would lead to Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD for short. And what was the point of fighting a war that would literally destroy everything and everyone?

Not much, since you ask.

The result of this was that both nations (and to some extent their allies) entered into proxy wars. They would offer arms, training, funding, and backing to a force they didn't directly control, and which was going to take actions they approved of. One of the most famous, of course, was the U.S. training the mujahideen fighters who would act as guerrilla forces against Soviet-held targets and interests. This would, of course, bite the U.S. when the very forces they trained turned on them because their interests no longer aligned (this will become important later). However, the point was that while both sides of the Cold War were engaged in spycraft, building up proxies and influence, etc., they could not take direct, overt action against one another without setting off the powder keg.

You can take this same setup, and apply it to the worldbuilding for your game.

Perhaps, in the long ago, the gods warred on the world. This incident may have been an apocalyptic event, nearly destroying everything. This would, naturally, have led to the sides who wanted to rule (not just destroy) the world to withdrawing, each menacing the other to keep them off the material plane as much as possible. They would build influence through religions, through selecting personal agents in the form of clerics, paladins, oracles, witches, and warlocks. They may even influence others, sending their lesser servants to act as guides and backers, ensuring that those who may not really be invested in one side or the other can still act in service to one of the great powers who is jockeying for position on the board.

How You Can Use This Setup

If you choose to put this setup in place, it provides you a great deal of interesting leeway when it comes to your plot, and the position of your party in the Great Game. If you need a convenient way to give out loot, divine intervention could literally lead your party to find items that are far greater than they should normally have (as in the TikTok example above with the holy avenger), which might lead to them asking what they need such items to do? It might lead your party, no matter how small they are in level, being used to fight in a series of proxy actions that seem unconnected, but when viewed from a divine perspective are all parts of a great whole. You could even use this setup to create antagonists, such as proxies who once fought for a given divine power, but who have now turned their backs to fight against that same divine power, once their initial enemies were overcome (told you to remember the mujahideen).

As the Game Master, you can choose to make this the blatant setup of your campaign, with the PCs playing a role in the ongoing divine power struggle for dominance and influence. Or you can choose to leave that running in the background, only occasionally cropping up to intersect with the adventures your PCs are currently on. Which one you choose is up to you!

However, if you're looking for some extra inspiration, consider checking out some of the following:

- Keeping Gods Mysterious Maintains Their Mystique In Your Game: A simple collection of advice for making sure the divine stay beyond the common experience of mortals.

- Gods of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): The unique setup for gods in my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting may be of interest for folks who are looking for a Cold War style setup.

- 100 Random Oracular Pronouncements: The gods often speak through oracles, but if you need unique pronouncements to drive the PCs in a particular direction, this may be of some assistance.

Also, if you need a little advice for keeping the cloak and dagger in the divine, check out the video I made about this very topic below!

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 my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and 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!

What Mechanics-Based Supplements Would You Like To See For "Army Men"?

As regular readers know, my first RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic was released earlier this year after a successful Kickstarter campaign. In this game players take on the role of a squad of soldiers fighting for one of the nations of the Plastos Federation as they attempt to defend their home from the incursions of the vespoids; gigantic, insectile creatures that have placed all the resinous persons under serious threat. In addition to that very hot war there are also Cold War tensions between many of the nations, there are terrorist organizations and criminal syndicates to deal with, as well as pieces of strange, alien technology that may be more than they seem at first glance, as well as plastic dinosaurs roaming the wilderness beyond the Federation's borders.

What I'd like to ask folks this week, since we're in our Crunch update, is what sort of mechanical supplements you'd like to see for this game in the coming months?

What do you need for resupply?

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!

Exploits, Gear, And Creatures To Fear

Since Army Men initially dropped, three separate supplements have been released. The first, Army Men: Threat Assessments, is a collection of extra threats, creatures, and things that your troopers are going to have to deal with in the field. The second, Army Men: Medals of Honor, introduced the medals system as a way for you to recognize your troopers' accomplishments while on campaign, and to give your players things to strive for. And the most recent supplement, Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps, is full of deadly traps for Game Masters to put into the field for their troopers (or their enemies) to deal with. And if you keep your eyes peeled, the first of the Army Men missions should be coming out soon, with a short adventure set in United Polymeria!

However, because I wanted to focus this game on strategy, equipment, and abilities, I wanted to take a moment to ask folks in the audience... what would you actually like to see more of?

There's several options on the board!

So, I've had a lot of ideas for some things I'd like to expand for the mechanical side of Army Men for folks who want to see even more resources for the game. At the moment, though, the things I'm currently looking at are:

- Additional Missions: Though A Night At Breckon's Beacon isn't out at time of writing, my plan was to get at least 4 more mission guides written and going through editorial in the near future. However, if there's more demand for missions than there is for other options, they're going to get bumped to the top of the list!

- Army Men: Weapons Locker: While not a finalized title, the basic idea behind this series would be, as the title suggests, to be to put more weapons, armor, and general equipment into the hands of your troopers. There might even be some items with the Experimental tag attached to them, in the event folks want a little more of the sci-fi nonsense I've hinted at with this game.

- Army Men: Enhanced Exploits: The exploits system is the main way players pick up and add abilities to their troopers. While there's a variety of them in the base book, this supplement would give you new trees to draw from, and provide additional paths you could use to develop your character in your coming campaign.

- Army Men: Soldiers of Fortune: While originally the title I was going to use for a larger softcover release (which this might still be, if there's enough enthusiasm), the idea behind this supplement was to add something of an A-Team vibe to the game by including the option to play as mercenaries. This would provide players with new classes to choose from, new exploits, fresh backgrounds, as well as a slew of additional items, and likely a Reputation system for acquiring new gear in the field, or before a mission (since mercenaries may not have access to the armories of a nation's standing army).

These aren't the only ideas I've had for supplements to expand the game world, but at time of writing these are the four directions I've narrowed likely expansion to. So if you're a fan of Army Men, then make sure you make your voice heard so I know what sort of content you'd like to see from me going forward!

And if you'd like to know more about the game and setting, make sure to check out the new series Tactical Plastic Report over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel. I just got it off the ground, so now is the perfect time to make your voice heard on what subjects you'd like to see covered!

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 my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and 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!

Owen K.C. Stephens Has Won His Cancer Battle, But The War Goes On!

For the past year and a half or so, one of our own has been engaged in a struggle with the Hateful Flesh. Though it tried its best to drag him down, as of the last news I received, Owen K.C. Stephens is currently cancer free!

This is, indeed, a moment to celebrate. However, as they often say, even when the battle is won the war is ongoing. And though Owen's recovering physically, he still has another foe to fight... the American healthcare system. Because beating cancer is a bastard and a half, but even more importantly, it's not cheap. Which is why he's still trying to make sure all the bills get paid so that he can go back to doing what he does best.

And that's why I wanted to let folks know about the new bundle going around to help the cause, along with other ways you can assist.

Will you answer?

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!

A New Bundle, Solid Supplements, And Other Funding Options!

The newest funding option that's been given for folks looking to help Owen pay his bills is The Beacons Are Lit! bundle. This bundle, which is jammed with supplements for Pathfinder, DND 5E, Icons, and a bunch of other systems, gives you a ton of fresh stuff to use at your tables. It's only been up for a little while, but this deal isn't going to last forever, so I'd recommend getting yourself a copy before it's gone!

It's not the only one, of course.

In addition to The Beacons Are Lit!, I'd recommend folks also check out Like A Boss, which has a slew of boss battles and creatures for both editions of Pathfinder, along with a lot of other systems they've been converted to. And for those who are looking to get some direct thoughts from a veteran of the craft, I'd highly recommend grabbing copies of Essays on Freelance Tabletop RPG Writing and Publishing, as well as its sister piece Essays On Surviving An Indpendent Tabletop RPG Career. While these have been up for a while, they're important for anyone out there who intends to make a living in this profession.

If you find yourself looking for career advice, though, I'd also recommend checking out my series Tabletop Mercenary (which is free on the Azukail Games YouTube channel).

If you're not in the market for new TTRPG supplements (which is a heresy we'll let slide, as that's not the focus for the day), there are other things you can do to help Owen come out on top in this second fight! So take a moment to:

- Go to Owen's Go Fund Me

- Becoming one of Owen's Patreon patrons.

- Bookmark and follow his blog.

- Follow Owen on Twitter (yeah, it's falling apart, but a replacement has yet to take its place)

We've had a victory in this fight, but we haven't claimed the hill yet! So if you can help, please do. And spread the word even if you've just got a couple of dimes in your own account, and you can't afford to pitch them in right now. Every little bit helps, whatever form it takes!

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 my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and 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!

Additional Audio Dramas (And An Update On Azukail Games' Goals)

As regular readers know, I make a lot of videos over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel. While I have shows like Speaking of Sundara (where I talk about my fantasy setting Sundara: Dawn of a New Age), Discussions of Darkness (where I discuss the World and Chronicles of Darkness setting), and Tabletop Mercenary (which covers the ins and outs of the job of creating tabletop RPGs), I also have a lot of audio dramas on the channel.

These are, honestly, some of my favorite projects to work on. It's hard to get ears on them, though, so I wanted to take this week to talk about some of my recent pieces, and what I'm hoping to do in the near future regarding this art form.

I've got plans... come along on this journey with me?

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!

Dark Dramas, Noir Mysteries, and One Comedic Sequel

For folks who aren't familiar with my audio drama projects on the channel, each of these little vignettes is a dramatized version of the introductory stories from my TTRPG supplements. So while they tend to jump around between genre and setting, they're meant to give folks a glimpse into the kind of game these splat books are here to help you run.

While most of the following audio dramas are unconnected from the existing series on the channel, consider giving them a watch. And, if you enjoy them, like the video and subscribe over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel.

#1: Dark Destinies of a Dying Day

The introductory short story for my first Mork Borg supplement 100 Prophecies and Proverbs of The Black Basilisk, this tale deals with a hermit trying to live out the rest of his days in a world on the verge of death. When a slayer with venomous eyes invades his sanctum in search of a dark prophecy, cold sweat runs down the hermit's spine... can this man prevent the end of the world? Or will he merely drive his blade into its heart that much sooner?

#2: Drinks With The Devils

The second half of a story I began a while back, this story starts off World's Oldest Profession: 100 Courtesans and Concubines. This tale picks up with our party cleric down in the infernal-themed brothel known as The Pit, when the rest of his companions kick down the door. And now he has to defuse the situation before they start lashing out, thinking this is a dark and corrupt cult, rather than a mere house of pleasure.

#3: Cloak and Dagger

The first tale set in the world of Army Men, this story kicked off Army Men: Medals of Honor. Set in the alleys of one of the biggest cities in United Polymeria, the section chief of naval intelligence goes to meet with a contact. Of course, as with any intelligence operation, there's a chance something goes wrong when you stick your hand into the shadows.

#4: Secrets of The Shadowed Heart

A grim tale taken from the supplement 100 Dark Secrets, this tale takes us inside the mind of a man who used to be a monster. A brutal enforcer for a regime of blood and terror, he has tried to leave that life behind him... but he cannot hide from his deeds in his dreams. A place where a mirror is held up to his memories, and he is forced to see them again, and again, and again.

#5: Born in The Boneyard

The story taken from 100 Effects of a Primquake, takes place in my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age fantasy setting. It deals with an expectant mother willing to do anything she can to ensure her son makes it into the world... but she hasn't asked what the consequences might be of the decision she's about to make.

How Your Views Will Help The Channel (And Me)

For folks who aren't in the know, I've been trying to get the Azukail Games YouTube channel monetized for several years now. And while we have the 500 subscribers that the platform requires, we've been roughly 200 hours short of the 3,000 hours of watched content we need for the platform to start sharing ad revenue with us. And, because you have to get those 3,000 hours of watched videos within the past 365 days, we've been struggling to make up for the views dropping off our record, while still trying to get enough fresh views to get us over that finish line.

That's where you all come in!

My audio dramas tend to run between 8 and 10 minutes long, meaning that if someone watches all 5 of the videos I shared above, that's less than 1 hour of content added to the channel's running total. However, every view, every comment, every like, share, and subscriptions adds up over time. So please, check out the channel, and if you enjoy my audio drams, check out the full Audio Drama Playlist which currently has 49 videos on it!

Now, if you're a fan of audio dramas, but you want to see me do something bigger and more involved than these short pieces, you're in luck! Once we get the channel monetized, my plan is to start work on a long-running audio drama podcast for the Chronicles of Darkness titled Windy City Shadows. Every episode should be between 30 and 45 minutes, taking listeners deep into the shadows as we begin exploring the dark side of this strange and horrifying version of Chicago.

If you're curious about this project, please check out my original pitch "Windy City Shadows," A Chronicles of Darkness Podcast Proposal, as well as the Ask Me Anything video I did on the Azukail Games channel a little while back:

My hope is that we can reach our goal in the near future, and then I can really get cranking on the scripts and recordings. I've also got some previews and trailers ready to record as a juicy little reward for folks who help us get to that 3,000 hour mark. So please, if you want to help push us over the line, consider checking out the channel, and sharing around your favorite audio dramas on your own social media pages so that other folks can give them a listen as well!

What's Next on Table Talk?

That's it for this installment of Table Talk! What would you like to see next? I'm listening for your comments and votes!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archives, as well as the YouTube channel for Azukail Games. Or, to check out books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, my hard-boiled noir series featuring the street beasts of NYC in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, or my recent short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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