Bloodlines & Black Magic - Going Beyond The World of Darkness

There is something about the yawning mouth of a dark alley, the furtive look of people briefly caught beneath arc sodium lamps, and in the whispers heard in smoky bars, and gathered round burn barrels late at night. There's a draw to dark worlds, and something in your soul that makes you feel like there's more going on than what your eyes can see. A feeling that old gods still lurk in hidden temples, and that demons wait behind toothy grins to shake hands, and bind the unsuspecting to bloody bargains. There is a knowing in your bones that magic and madness both dance in the gutters, and that once you hear the tune, you won't be able to resist joining them.

And if you want to dance with the devil in the pale moonlight, then you should take a moment to check out Bloodlines and Black Magic, from Storm Bunny Studios!

Seriously, I highly recommend checking this one out!

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

 

Dark Streets With A Different System

When most people think of a modern game of dark fantasy or horror with monsters hiding between the cracks and terrible truths lurking just out of sight, they picture a World or Chronicles of Darkness game. It has been one of the standby settings of the genre, after all, and is responsible for a lot of the accepted norms and tropes of this style of gameplay. However, there are some folks who feel too heavily bound by the lore of those games, or who want a different system to play that lets them capture the feeling of this genre in a wholly different way.

And that's where Bloodlines & Black Magic comes in!

 

The original version of the game used the Pathfinder classic system, using what was called an O7 game. Because while traditional Pathfinder games can go up to level 20, an O7 game only goes up to the first 7 levels of a campaign. While player characters might gain more knowledge, powerful equipment, etc., their level will never go above that rather low bar, which keeps things tense and dangerous. The updated version of the game, however, uses its own, unique system to explore the same world while giving players even more options to customize their characters.

Whichever you choose, there's a dark, damned world out there to explore.

The idea behind these games is that the characters are all tied to one of the bloodlines that run through the world. Magic is real, but it hides behind rain-slick windows, in the back rooms of hellfire clubs, and the upper echelons of power. The world is shaped by global elites who play games of shadows, and who are trying to control the narrative for their own reason. The real question is where will the player characters turn, and what factions will they seek shelter from, and lend their strength to?

 

Honestly, while I could provide details about the factions, the history, the world setup (I did contribute a bit to it a while back in Bloodlines & Black Magic, Whispers and Rumors Issue 4), this is a time that I recommend going in with knowledge of the vibe and little else so that you can absorb the game and its world as you read and play. However, for folks who want a bit of a glimpse behind the tapestry, there is a Bloodlines & Black Magic Quickstart Guide that I'd recommend downloading and giving a once over before you crack open your wallets.

 

Because whether you're not a fan of the Storyteller System, you want a world with a fresh cosmology underpinning its secret histories and occult truths, or you just like trying out RPGs that throw you into a game of shadows as colossal, unseen forces vie for position, this is a tabletop experience I would highly recommend checking out! And while things have been quiet over at Storm Bunny Studios for a bit, they're getting louder by the day, which means we should be seeing a lot of fresh updates and new material for this world.

 

So if you've slept on it, now is a good time to open your eyes!

As A Bonus For Those Stepping Into The Darkness...

If you're someone who enjoys secret world of magic and lost gods that lurk in plain sight, then I'd highly recommend checking out Suffer The Children, a tale of an Old Testament angel settling a grudge with a cult of Moloch in modern-day Los Angeles as he tries to rescue a child sacrifice. This story is the latest audio drama to land over on The A.L.I.C.E. Files. This is a YouTube channel I launched a little while back with Alice Liddell, and it caters to many of the same themes as Bloodlines & Black Magic, though from a more sci fi angle. Still, there are secrets lurking in plain sight, and even clues to deeper mysteries in some of the videos, so check out the channel, subscribe, and leave us some comments if you think you found an Easter egg, or you caught something that might be important later!

We need all the help we can get to keep this endeavor going, and it's free to all our viewers!

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 additional audio dramas over on The A.L.I.C.E. Files! 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 Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Hunter Motivations Run The Gamut in The Chronicles of Darkness

A long time ago I wrote a post titled Do Content, Happy People Hunt Dragons? (More on Character Backstories). The post was meant to address the idea that so-called adventurers all have tragic backstories, chips on their shoulders, or some burning need for vengeance, which is what drives them to do the things they do. After all, if you had a loving family, a good job, and a secure social position, why would you take up the sword to stand against the horrors of the world?

As I read through Hunter: The Vigil this question of motivation becomes even more important. Because while there are going to be hunters driven by a need for vengeance because they or someone they loved was hurt by the things that lurk in the shadows of the Chronicles of Darkness, there are so many other motivations that might lead one to take up a gun and walk directly into the lion's den.

Man's gotta have a hobby, am I right?

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!

Human Motivations Are Complicated Things

When we think of the Chronicles of Darkness in general, and of Hunter in particular, we often think of the worst, most awful things. Someone who lost a child to a ghost, someone whose spouse was drained of blood by a vampire, or someone who barely survived an encounter with a supernatural threat themselves. These people often want payback, or they want to make sure this creature can't hurt anyone else the way they were hurt. And while those are absolutely legitimate motivations for a character, it's important to remember that's just one tiny sliver of the reasons why someone might take up the Vigil, and what their long-term goals might be.

A single light to reveal what lurks in the darkness.

Keeping with dark themes, there may be a hunter who has coped with violent impulses their entire life. Knowing there are things out there they can vent their fury upon with little-to-no consequences from the law and society (particularly if the hunter is part of a compact or conspiracy that will clean up their messes) may act as a perfect pressure valve for them. Another hunter might be fascinated by the supernatural, seeking to catalog and understand it like the Jane Goodall of monsters. Still another hunter might seek to pit themselves against the most dangerous creatures in the world, finding that big game no longer provides a challenge. And there may be hunters who envy the strength and power of the monsters of the world, hoping that by killing them they may be able to unlock a portion of that power for themselves.

These motivations map pretty well onto organizations in the game, such as Null Mysteriis who seeks scientific explanations for the supernatural, the Ashwood Abby (which was moved into Tending The Flame) which is a depraved hunting lodge seeking their own twisted version of "sport," or even the Cheiron Group which seeks to disassemble monsters for their parts and pieces while installing them into their field agents. However, this is just a bare handful of potential motivations hunters might have that go beyond revenge or loss. Some hunters might feel they have a duty to their community to keep it safe from the things that lurk in the darkness. Some might feel an existential need to do something to reaffirm their own power in the world. Some might feel a holy mission, and that they have been chosen by a higher power to fight against these creatures (and they might even be right).

The motivations range as far and wide as people themselves... because at the end of the day, that's what all hunters were before they took up the Vigil.

When The Vigil Is Their Secondary Concern

There is one other category of hunter that's worth mentioning here... those for whom the supernatural monsters are often a secondary concern to the real monsters they prey upon. For a comic book reference, this is what happens when the Punisher ends up burning down a vampire hive... Frank wasn't there to kill vampires, he was there to kill dangerous criminals. It just so happens that the vampires were part of this operation, and they got burned down along with everyone else.

Parasites are all the same.

The world is full of mundane evils and wickedness, and a lot of hunters are more focused on those then they are on werewolves, changelings, or the walking dead. Maybe your hunter tracks militant hate groups, sabotaging and countering their efforts. They might be interested in protecting sex workers, and other minority groups that end up as victims of social violence. Your hunter might even be focused on fascists, corrupt cops, or corporate attempts to engineer widespread misery in order to reap a few more dollars off the bent backs of the working class.

All of these things can, and do, intersect with the supernatural in the Chronicles of Darkness setting.

The reason I gave this type of motivation its own section is that it's important to talk with your Storyteller, and your fellow players, if you want to bring in this sort of motivation for your character. Because while there are organizations like the Loyalists of Thule or the Crimson Halo that fit the concept to a T, it's important that your character's pursuit of these other ends jives with the other hunters in your cell, as well as with the plot your Storyteller has planned.

Because if everyone at your table is down for taking on a neo-Nazi street gang that ends up being the servants of an upstart vampire turning them all into ghouls to act as muscle while he claims turf and territory, then everything is hunky dory. But if your character's main motivation is opposition to fascism wherever it rears its head, but your ST has a game that's more about your cell having to deal with a pack of werewolves causing problems in rural Appalachia, you might feel like you brought a crowbar to a chainsaw duel.

Lastly... Should I Do More Videos On Hunter?

I've been dropping occasional videos over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel about Hunter: The Vigil, and there were at least a few folks asking to see more. So if you've read this far, let me know in the comments what you'd like to see more of! Should I talk about more supplements, like my collection of corrupt equipment The Blade Itself? Should I talk more about other compacts and conspiracies? Would folks like a series about Slashers, as one of the only really iconic monsters for Hunter: The Vigil?

Let me know your thoughts, because I'd love to factor them in going forward!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Fluff post. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or the dark sci fi saga of The A.L.I.C.E. Files! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my 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 Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Willpower Is One Of The Most Important Resources in Hunter: The Vigil

The darkness encroaches on the edges of the world, but there are some who are willing to take up the sword and the flame to hold the line. People who will look the monsters of the world in the eye, and refuse to back down. Hunters of the Vigil have many resources to call on in this fight, but one of the most important things they need to hold the line is sheer Willpower... and it's a resource that both players and Storytellers occasionally overlook.

Also, if you want to add a double-edged sword or two into your game for Hunter, consider picking up a copy of The Blade Itself: Corrupt Equipment For Hunter: The Vigil.

No... you move.

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!

Hunters Are Creatures of Focus... Of Sheer Will

Your Willpower in the Chronicles of Darkness is the combination of your Resolve and Composure. This gives you a minimum of 2 dots of Willpower (for the exceptionally weak-willed) and a maximum of 10 Willpower (for the absolutely iron-willed). Hunters can spend a point of Willpower (usually as a Reflexive action) to do one of the following:

- Gain a 3-die bonus on a single roll

- Gain +2 to resistance against a single action

- Activate miscellaneous powers (Endowments, psychic/supernatural merits, etc.)

And hunters can typically regain Willpower by:

- Getting a full night's sleep (1 Willpower)

- Meaningfully act in accordance with their Virtue (twice per chapter for full Willpower recovery)

- Meaningfully act in accordance with their Vice (once per scene for 1 Willpower)

- Defending a relationship with one of their Touchstones (1 or full, depending on the gravity and risk)

- Risking Willpower (gain 1 point on success)

It's quite a game of math.

As a side note, Risking Willpower is something hunters have access to, and mortals don't. When a hunter is acting in pursuit of the Vigil (according to page 135 of Hunter: The Vigil), they can choose to risk a Willpower instead of just spending one. When they risk a Willpower it allows them to gain 2 benefits off the list on page 135, and if they succeed they keep the point of Willpower they risked, and they gain another point (up to their maximum).

Now, I front-loaded all of that information to explain how important Willpower is. It is a way for hunters to give themselves the necessary edge over the monsters of the world, and to activate the various powers from the different Conspiracies. It's also a necessity for activating many supernatural and psychic merits. Hence why it is important for a hunter to build up their Willpower as high as possible.

The key, if you are a player, is to juggle/cycle your Willpower use. Whether it's by regularly indulging in their vices, risking their Willpower in calculated ways to never use too much at once, or using merits like the Harvest Psyche ability in Psychokinetic Combat merit, players should be regularly spending/risking their Willpower in order to get the most bang for their buck.

From Behind The Storyteller's Screen

If you're a Storyteller, you've got a lot of things coming your way from a cell of hunters. Whether it's hellfire and castigations, psychic fury, or just a barrage of slings and arrows, it's a miracle any of your monsters make it out alive.

However, when it comes to Willpower, you need to think of it like bullets in a gun. This resource is potent, but it isn't bottomless. So make sure you're keeping track of it, and throwing a couple of spanners into the works so your players have to think about what they're blowing their chips on.

How are they going to spend these points?

Because on the one hand, hunters are using their Willpower to give themselves that necessary edge to resist dangerous powers, activate their own supernatural abilities, or just to give themselves a better shot at slaying the monster of the week. However, if your hunters are constantly topping themselves off on Willpower (especially if you've implemented the Beats as Bennies rule that was suggested in Deviant: The Renegades), then it might feel like they have a bottomless fuel tank.

Remember that anyone who receives a single point of lethal damage, or has all their Health boxes filled in with bashing damage, gains the Beaten Down tilt (which means they have to spend a point of Willpower every time they want to take a violent action in the current combat). Ask yourself if monsters whose Dread Powers siphon off Willpower are an appropriate threat. And, above all, remember that the number of enemies, and the number of encounters, can make a huge difference.

If a cell of hunters can just kick in the door and fight a single vampire, or a gigantic spider, or a werewolf, then they can probably go all-out and win. But if they first have to slog through layers of ghoul security, or a brood of lesser spiders, or they have to deal with the werewolf's mate and kin, then suddenly a battle that was quite winnable is looking like a dangerous, resource-intensive slog.

Hunters travel in packs... but keep in mind that monsters are rarely lone wolves.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Crunch post! To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or the dark sci fi channel I contribute stories to, The A.L.I.C.E. Files! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my 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 Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Another Dip Back Into Changeling: The Lost (Since Folks Asked For It)

While a majority of the gaming supplements I've written over the years have been for general RPG genres, a not-inconsiderable amount of my work has gone into the Storyteller's Vault platform. The simple reason why is that I love the World & Chronicles of Darkness games, and I want to leave my own little mark on them. And while I had taken a break for financial reasons, I've been dipping a toe back into the platform to see how viable a return might be... and this time around I decided to write a companion piece to an older supplement of mine that was based on reader requests.

In case folks out there wondered, I do listen, and I do take feedback into account for my writing schedule.

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

New Changeling (And Potential Future Additions)

For folks who missed the announcement, the supplement that dropped this past weekend was 100 Unusual Things To Find At A Goblin Market. This list includes bizarre items from Arcadia and the Hedge, unsettling things like a sealed jar of baby teeth, as well as physical embodiments of unusual emotions, or whimsical proverbs that have become actual merchandise (since any Changeling game is made better by the inclusion of a few puns). This was a topic that was oft-requested over on the Reddit forums, and it dovetails perfectly with one of my earlier supplements Buyer Beware: 10 Goblin Markets.

Seriously, go pick yours up today if you haven't yet!

In addition to being my favorite game in the Chronicles of Darkness (though Hunter is earning a lot of points with me, which is why I recently put out The Blade Itself for the new Corrupt Equipment mechanic), Changeling also has the second-largest number of supplements I've written for a single game line coming in at 11. And while I do have a few more rounds in the magazine as far as my ideas go, neither the current supplement, nor the previous book Like A Good Neighbor - Portraying True Fae in Your Chronicle have been burning up the charts of-late. There's some sales here and there, don't get me wrong, but it's definitely more of a trickle than it is a flood.

And while I've explained this in earlier posts, as well as in the video linked above, I'll restate it for folks who don't know. When I write Storyteller's Vault supplements I take a 50% reduction in up-front payment from my publisher. Given the word count for some of these, that's not a small sacrifice. To make up some of that amount in sales, I'd need to move at least 100 copies every time something new drops... and most of my supplements have struggled to even cross the 50 sale line to make it to Copper metal status of-late.

So, if you are someone who enjoys my Storyteller's Vault supplements in general, and my Changeling: The Lost work in particular, please take a moment to consider supporting me by doing the following:

- Buy any supplements that appeal to you.

- Leave reviews on the supplements you have (even just 5 stars and a "Good Job!" goes a long way).

- Leave comments on the video I linked telling me what Changeling supplements you'd like to see in the future.

As always, if buying new stuff isn't in your budget, I completely understand. But watching through the Discussions of Darkness series I have over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel is also a handy way to show your support, and to make sure that both my publisher and myself are hearing what you want!

Requests For A Changeling Story (And The A.L.I.C.E. Files)

On a final note for this week's update, I've recently launched a new audio drama channel on YouTube in partnership with Alice Liddell, and it's called The A.L.I.C.E. Files. I talked about the show more in-depth in the recent post The A.L.I.C.E. Files Is Here (And Will Soon Be Featuring Various Audio Dramas), but the short version is that the channel has an overarching story about the mysterious Carroll Institute, but a bunch of mini-stories about the different dimensions its agents have visited. A lot of those mini stories will be set in worlds that are inspired by (or come directly from) various tabletop RPGs.

I bring this up because one of the channel's big supporters, Sam Furlano, has specifically requested a Changeling story to be found in the files. Given that this falls under the Dark Pack agreement, this is absolutely something I could do... the question I have is whether it's something my readers/listeners out there want me to do?

So, if you'd like to have one (or maybe several) stories from the Chronicles of Darkness turn up in The A.L.I.C.E. files, here's how you can make your voices heard:

- Subscribe to The A.L.I.C.E. Files on YouTube.

- In the comments section for the Trailer, tell us which Chronicles of Darkness setting you'd like to see stories from (preferably with 7 words or more, just to kick the algorithm into gear).

- Watch the rest of the videos, and upvote the ones you like!

It's still a new channel, so if there's any spike in activity we are going to notice it. And if there's enough folks to get us up to the 3,000 watch hours and 500 subscribers we need to hit our next goal? Well... then whatever it is you all ask for, I can promise you we're going to try to deliver on it!

(Lastly, if you've been waiting for updates on Windy City Shadows, I assure you have neither forgotten about it, nor abandoned the project. But there are only so many hours in a day, and I'm trying to free up as much time and energy as I can to complete as many projects as possible. Stay tuned for updates on that podcast as they develop!)

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 additional audio dramas over on The A.L.I.C.E. Files! 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 Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

"The Blade Itself," Is My First (But Hopefully Not My Last) Venture Into Hunter: The Vigil

Monsters lurk in the dark places of the world. Vampires. Werewolves. Changelings. Mages. These are merely a handful of the inexplicable, supernatural creatures who prowl the shadows preying on humanity. Even in a world with cameras in every pocket, and the miracles of technology growing more fantastical every day, these things manage to slip into blind spots, unseen by most of the population.

Some people do see them, though. They become aware of the monstrous and the terrifying, and rather than closing their eyes they light a candle against the darkness, and take up the fight. Hunters come in many shapes and sizes, and they use a variety of tools to hold the line, and to defend humanity... but my recent supplement The Blade Itself: Corrupt Equipment For Hunter The Vigil gives players and Storytellers alike a whole new resource to draw on.

And if you haven't grabbed a copy for yourself yet, you should check it out!

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

The Corruption System (And What It Does)

Hunters, generally speaking, stand with their grit and determination against the monsters of the Chronicles of Darkness. While certain hunter factions provide unique equipment or unusual powers, those who don't ally themselves with these compacts and conspiracies find themselves shit out of luck when danger comes calling.

However, this supplement provides an extra option... though it is a double-edged one.

This gun's got stains on it... what's a few more?

Corruption, capital-C, is a force that hunters typically try to avoid. Associated with Tainted Places and Slashers alike, Corruption is the darkness that lurks beneath the world, bubbling up in physical places, as well as in the souls of human monsters... but it can also mark items that are associated with particularly potent legends. Corruption imbues these items (usually, but not always, weapons) and bestows on them unique properties... but every corrupt piece of equipment comes with a price. For items that are barely corrupt it might be urges the wielder has to spend Willpower to control, or nights of bad dreams that come after wielding it. For more potent items it can be loss of Integrity, debilitating Conditions, or even a loss of self to the legend of items that want to write a new legacy in the hunter's blood.

The supplement provides a simple description for this 1-5 dot merit, with the general level of a legend surrounding a piece of equipment (with the 4 and 5 dot items typically connected to Rippers and Scourges), as well as 5 examples of each level (for a total of 25 pieces of equipment). However, Storytellers and players are encouraged to create their own examples, and to forge their own legends using these items as templates.

The purpose of the Corruption system is to give hunters access to unique gear without the prerequisite of belonging to a particular faction, and given access to their unique powers and armories. Of course, corrupt items are usable by any hunter, so whether you're utilizing none of the compacts and conspiracies, a mixed bag of them, or all your players are part of the same organization, these legendary items can still come into their possession. They might be part of an ongoing plot, or merely a temptation to see whether they can maintain their integrity while dipping their toes into the darkness all while telling themselves it's for a good cause, however one chooses to use them.

Would You Like To See More Hunter Content Going Forward?

Hunter is one of those splats that all of us know, but it seems relatively few of us actually play. After all, hunters are the bogeymen in most Chronicles of Darkness splats because the monsters need to keep themselves to the shadows in order to avoid drawing unwanted attention from dangerous mortals of all sorts. The deeper I've dug into it, though, the more interesting I've found the game to be overall.

I even made a video a while back over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel about how it's actually one of the ideal entry points into the Chronicles of Darkness for folks who know little to nothing about the setting.

However, while I love this setting, I actually had to take a break from anything for Storyteller's Vault for a while. I didn't write anything for it in 2024, and in 2025 I only put out three supplements: Dark Reflections: 50 Sights To See in The Penumbra for Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Night Horrors: Primordial Peerage for Beast: The Primordial (though I was just a single contributor), and Like A Good Neighbor: Portraying True Fae in Your Chronicle for Changeling: The Lost.

I'd like to drop at least a handful of Storyteller's Vault supplements per year, and I have a lot of ideas for Hunter in particular. Some of these include:

- New compacts and conspiracies

- "Unredacted" histories for Task Force Valkyrie, discussing the conspiracy's potential deeds

- Collections of Slashers (both Rippers and Scourges)

- A supplement for play as Slashers, for player groups who want to take on these monstrous mantles

- A collection of additional combat style merits (some of which fill in gaps left by Hurt Locker)

These are just a sample of the things I'd like to spend some time on, but for folks who don't know, Storyteller's Vault content is a risk for me as a creator because I take a 50% pay cut up-front to make it. So unless I sell a lot of copies (at least 50, though preferably breaking the 100 copies barrier) it can be tricky to keep my bills paid while working on these titles.

So if you want to see me work on more Chronicles of Darkness stuff in general, and Hunter in particular, please grab a copy of The Blade Itself: Corrupt Equipment For Hunter The Vigil, and leave a review of it on Drive Thru RPG. Additionally, let me know down in the comments which of the ideas I mentioned sound interesting to you, or if you'd prefer to see me work on something else in 2026!

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 additional audio dramas over on The A.L.I.C.E. Files! 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 Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Dark Social Maneuvering in The Chronicles of Darkness (Forcing Confessions and Cooperation)

When last we met to discuss rules, I was talking about Social Maneuvering in The Chronicles of Darkness (A Simple, Elegant System). This rules system is meant for those social checks that are more than a simple yes/no, pass/fail, and they give you a varied, useful mechanic for actually winning hearts and minds (or wearing down resistance) over time.

However, sometimes you don't have weeks of time to spend on flattery, false friendship, and persuasion. Sometimes you need an NPC to give you what you want right fucking now. And when you find yourself in those high-stress, high-risk scenarios, you end up using the second half of the social maneuvering rules... or, as the game calls it, forcing doors.

For more of my articles on interesting rule systems in the Chronicles of Darkness, check out:

- Vehicular Combat is Always an Option

- "Down and Dirty" Combat Doesn't Get Enough Love in The Chronicles of Darkness

As always, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

Dark Social Maneuvering

To recap for folks who didn't go back to review the last post, when you want to socially maneuver a target to get what you want, this creates a number of Doors that you have to go through that are based on that NPC's resistance, using the lower of their Resolve of Composure. More Doors are added based on whether the thing you want the character to do goes against deeply held principles, if it would put them in danger, etc.

Now normally when you use the social maneuvering rolls you're trying to persuade someone, or to get on their good side so they want to help you. You might even be bribing them. However, there may be times where those kinds of actions would simply take too long, or you simply don't have the social skills it would take to go that route. If that's the case you have the option to force doors open... but while this might get you what you want, there will likely be repercussions.

It's just you and me here... sooner you talk, the sooner I can get you out of this chair.

Forcing Doors happens when you take actions to terrify or obligate someone into doing what you want, and it's an all-or-nothing situation. When forcing Doors open you make a single roll, but the number of unopened Doors acts as a penalty to your roll. So, say you wanted to threaten someone into giving up blackmail material they've been hiding, or to hand over the name of a contact. The player character might leverage their force of personality with a Presence + Intimidation roll, using their specialty in Explicit Threats. However, the person they're threatening has 3 Doors that need to come down, giving the PC a -3 penalty on the roll.

Now, if a player really wants to swing for the fences, they can also include Hard Leverage. This is basically the dark version of a bribe, in that it's physical violence, kidnapping, blackmail, or something else that will add weight to their side of things, and make forcing those Doors open that much easier. And if that Hard Leverage would cause the player character to suffer a breaking point, then it can remove Doors entirely, making the penalty that much smaller. If the action is egregious enough to give the player character a -2 on their breaking point roll, it removes 1 door. If it's -3 or higher, that removes 2 Doors.

So what does all of this look like?

Dane needs the name of a criminal contact. He knows a street pusher who could give it to him, and he doesn't have time to mess around. So he kicks in the pusher's door, pulls a gun, and cocks back the hammer. Dane might be a crook, but he's not generally a violent guy. Perhaps he and Slick are actually friends, in a way, and this is really breaking Dane's idea of who he is, and what he's capable of. That threat with a deadly weapon would likely be enough to automatically remove 1 Door. And if he went further? If he put a bullet in Slick's leg, or pistol-whipped him to make it clear he was serious? That level of line-crossing might be enough to remove 2 Doors.

Given that average Resolve and Composure are 2 dots, it's entirely possible that by not leaving this up to chance and going full-tilt, Dane could force Slick to comply and give him the information with ease. However, while he'll get what he came for, there are costs to this approach. There's the breaking point roll, which might end up costing Dane some Integrity. There's also the matter of burning the bridge he had with Slick (assuming Dane doesn't disguise himself in some way), as well as painting a target on his back if Slick chooses to send violent reprisals his way in the future.

Like it says on the tin; high risk, high reward.

With that said, though, the fact that the social maneuvering rules are robust and flexible enough to account for various different approaches, molding them to the intention of the players, makes this one of the greatest advantages for the Chronicles of Darkness... and this is especially true for adding tension and challenge to the influence game which is so often part of any chronicle!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Crunch post! To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or the dark sci fi channel I contribute stories to, The A.L.I.C.E. Files! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my 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 Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Improved Initiative's Patreon Is Now Monthly (And I Could Use Your Help!)

It was last summer when I first announced that the Literary Mercenary's Patreon page, which is where folks support both Improved Initiative as well as my writing blog The Literary Mercenary, was going to transition from a per-item rate to a per-month rate for membership. Well, between then and now there were several delays and miscommunications, but the change finally went through.

Which is why, this month, I wanted to ask for help from all my regular readers and old patrons alike. Because there's already growing pains, and I'm hoping to get past them.

Seriously, folks... if you've been thinking about pledging, now is the time!

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, 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 Led To This Change

I've been on Patreon for over 15 years now, and there are some folks who've been supporting me on there for the entire time my account has been active. And when I first signed up I chose the per-item payment option because that way I felt that my readers would get what they were paying for. If I didn't write a blog that month, well, they wouldn't have to pay for it. Not only that, but my Monday posts on this blog were always free-of-charge, because I wanted to make sure I didn't overcharge folks.

And, generally speaking, I was pretty happy with this setup. However, in the summer of 2025 there was some chicanery that rocked the boat.

We have altered the bargain. Pray it is not altered further.

As I understand it, Apple's payment platform was threatening to no longer support the per-item rates on Patreon. I don't know the full story behind that, but Patreon issued an announcement that as of Fall 2025 those who were using that payment structure would no longer be able to grow their audience. I thought it over for a week or so, and decided that I should make the change. So I sent an email, and asked to start migrating my account from a per-item payment structure to a monthly membership structure.

There was some miscommunication, though, and Patreon didn't actually put through my request at the time. Then the site went back on the warning, stating that per-item accounts were going to be allowed to go forward, and no changes would be made. The problem was that I'd already made my decision, and put some things in-place to try to make the jump. So during the Fall of 2025, once I noticed the transition hadn't taken place, I reached back out to Patreon support. This time a date was set for January 5th for the transition to go through.

So, new year, new account style, but the same old content on the same schedule everyone has come to expect!

Here's Where The Problem Comes In...

Ideally, this would have been a simple sidestep... but there's a bit of an issue with the migration. It's one I knew about, and tried to prepare for, but I can only do so much.

To really smooth out this rough road, I need the help of all the folks reading this. Because, in short, Patreon basically put everyone down in the $1 a month pledge and expects you all to up yourself to a new tier if that's what you intend to do.

Seriously, every pledge, post, and tip helps.

In terms of hard numbers, what this means is that I go from making between $180 - $220 a month (since some months had more paid blog installments than others) to making about $45 a month or so. That is a massive change in my personal finances, and it's not a hit I can just tank. That's "pay my utilities" money, and more than once it's been "cover the rent" money. I cannot overstate how important my Patreon patrons are to me, and to my ability to keep doing what I do.

That's why I wanted to ask all my current patrons to please check out my new Patreon, have a look at the tiers, and consider choosing something above the $1 a month level if you're able to. And if you're someone who isn't currently one of my patrons (or is a free patron) I'd appreciate any help you can give while I get my feet back under me after this change! And if you're someone who wants to help, but doesn't know if you can commit to the full Patreon sign up, feel free to leave me a tip by buying me a Ko-Fi... those little gifts go a long way, as well, I can tell you that as a fact.

However, if you don't have the spare dosh lying around, but you still want to help, then please consider doing the following (all of which cost you no money):

- Read Articles in my Vocal Archive (I earn 1 cent per every 3 articles read)

- Follow My Facebook

- Follow My Blue Sky

- Follow My LinkTree

- Sign Up For My Weekly Newsletter

- Subscribe to The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

All of these things help, and honestly the more people that subscribe, read, watch, etc., the more likely it is I'll be able to beat the algorithm, and actually make some progress. Give how restrictive the algorithm as been of-late, though, it's been tough to even reach my actual subscribers... so if anyone reading this likes my work, and wants to see my blogs keep going forward, I'd appreciate any help you could give!

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 Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

What Made Your Changeling What They Are? (Changeling: The Lost)

"You ever wonder about us?" Killian asked. The hulking wolf's nose leather twitched as he sniffed, and he idly drummed his claws on the bench's metal supports.

"No," David grunted, pushing the bar up inch after trembling inch. The ogre sucked a breath over his jutting lower jaw, and lowered the weight one more time.

"Seriously, though," Killian asked, his golden eyes falling to David's elbows as he placed his own furry hands just below the bar. "We were taken on the same day, kept by the same Keeper, treated almost the same... why are we so different?"

David snarled, shoving the weight up, and slamming it into the rack hard enough to make the plates bounce. He sat up, snatched his towel, and wiped at his face. He stood, blotting out most of the light on that side of the room as he did so.

"Almost ain't the same," David said, pointing at the bench. "Your turn. Twelve reps."

We are what we are made to be.

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!

Nature Versus Nurture

While I took a bit of a break from the Chronicles of Darkness, I did have a Changeling: The Lost release a little while back with Like A Good Neighbor - Portraying True Fae in Your Chronicle. However, that dip back into the waters got the gears in my head turning, and it made me ruminate on something that I feel a lot of players overlook when it comes to their character's Seeming in these games.

Because yes, mechanically, you choose a Seeming that gives you access to the powers and abilities you most want for your character. However, what turns a human into a particular kind of changeling isn't just about who they are as a person, and what is revealed about them by fae magic and the Wyrd; it's also (at least in part) dependent on their treatment at the hands of their Keepers.

You merely carve away everything that isn't the statue inside the marble.

For example, say a Gentry has two people who are very alike before them; socially adept humans who are good at making friends, each of which has a force of personality all their own. One of them, as expected, ends up as a Fairest... but the other doesn't. The other finds themselves becoming a beautiful Beast. While it might be due to an inherent difference in the two people (the former attempted to be an equal participant in conversations and riddle games, while the latter merely fawned over the Keeper to try to keep themselves safe), it could also be the way the Gentry treated the two of them. The former's behavior meant the True Fae was intrigued and engaged, verbally sparring with the mortal, the conversations rubbing off on them. The latter, though, was merely giving passive attention, and treated more like a yapping dog than they were someone deserving of the Gentry's attention and respect, minor though it is.

Say the Gentry punished two of its kept humans. They were very similar, but one was punished for actions they actually committed, making it clear they were being trained for a purpose. That leads them to become a hound; strong and fierce, but reacting without thought to commands that have been drilled into them. The second person, though, is punished cruelly, or even unnecessarily, twisting the knife in their wound. That hatred, that malignance, leads them to become an ogre, instead.

And even if a True Fae is purposefully reducing different people into the same kind of changeling, who is to say the methods and treatment don't produce different results? Like how you might take two ingots of the same raw material, but turn them into radically different alloys? Even a pair of twins, put into different scenarios and situations, would end up with utterly unique fates. For example, the True Fae might take one brother, and keep him on a mountaintop where the wind eventually blows him away one layer at a time, until wind is all he is, turning him into a gusting gale. The other brother, just as stubborn and just as willful, might be buried deep beneath the earth. And the longer he pits his will against the rock and mud, the more he becomes a part of the earth, until his skin becomes craggy, and his blood slows to thick, pumping clay.

Thematic Interactions Are What Make Changelings Unique

While it's perfectly within the bounds of the game to have a character who just doesn't remember how they became what they are, or to have someone who was simply cursed or changed by a True Fae into the form they have now, digging a little deeper into why and how your character became what they are can add extra elements to their story. Did the Gentry merely reveal their true nature, imbuing it with magic, making this form an even truer version of who the changeling was in their soul? Were they twisted out of true as the Gentry attempted to force them into a shape and being that didn't fit them? Or did they, through their own actions and behaviors, end up sealing their fate?

Again, these aren't necessary parts of a character... but they can act as seeds that will grow throughout a chronicle, giving you deeper interactions, and more impactful story!

And, lastly, I'd recommend picking up your own copy of Like A Good Neighbor, as well as one of my older supplements 100 Frailties to help you build these necessary weaknesses into your player characters and antagonists alike!

I would also recommend checking out the following free articles about this game:

- The Chessboard Motley

- A Little Taste of Glamour

- 5 Tips For Running a Changeling: The Lost Chronicle

- 5 Questions Every Changeling: The Lost Player Should Ask (About Their Characters)

- 5 Films You Should Watch To "Get" Changeling: The Lost

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 Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Game Masters Aren't Gods... They're Genies

The common refrain we've seen about Game Masters is that they are the god of the game. This is both in the sense that they are the arbiters of the rules, but they are also the force that animates the game world the players are having their adventure in. However, there are a lot of us who allow this turn of phrase to go to our heads, and it often makes our games worse. Which is why this week I wanted to suggest a pivot, and an alternative way of thinking about things.

Because we aren't gods... we are genies. And at the end of the day, the players are the ones we're here to serve.

Phenomenal cosmic power... itty bitty gaming space...

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, 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!

Our Purpose Is To Facilitate

Another phrase that's come into circulation over the past several years is, "The Game Master is a player at the table, too." And I agree with this. However, we have a very different role when it comes to our purpose in the game and story. Our job is to create challenges, and to facilitate our players doing cool things. This doesn't mean that we handle them with kid gloves, or that we refuse to let consequences happen in the game. At the same time, we shouldn't be trying to "win" the game by making sure the players fail in their goals.

In short, we need to be genies.

Because it's true that the Game Master has a great deal of power at the table. They aren't bound to the rules of character generation; they have access to armies. They are the ones who decide what treasure the players find, what allies they make, and what their enemies are doing. They are the ones who puppet the gods, and who set the gears in motion... but a Game Master should do all these things in service to the players.

Entire worlds move at their behest... worlds for the players to explore.

Consider for a moment what happens if the enemy wins. The player characters are dead, and the villains continue on with their villainy... what now? Because unless you're using a supplement like The Black Ballad that gives players a way to side-quest their way out of the underworld, then that's typically where things end. All those notes you took for the story going forward, all the encounters you had prepared, and all the monologues from the villains... all of those things fall into darkness.

That shouldn't be your goal. Because even if you find a way to bring the player characters back, or you convince your players to bring in their back-up characters, losing on that scale tends to be a serious blow to morale, and it can leave the game feeling fragile even if it doesn't break completely.

Instead, your goal should be to endeavor on behalf of your players... not their characters, but your players. You want them to have fun, to explore the world, tell their stories, and to want to come back. Like a favored book they want to consume just another chapter of, you are the one making their enjoyment possible in the first place. And that requires taking your ego out of things as a Game Master. To be able to listen to what your players want, to talk things out with them, and to understand their wants and expectations... and then to deliver on them.

Put another way, imagine you were being served by a world-class chef. But when you ordered what you wanted he just snorted, shook his head, and brought you a completely different dish. Perhaps it's something you don't actually like, or worse, something that you have allergies to. All the skill and experience in the world does you no good if you aren't bending it to the goal of giving your players what they're actually asking you for... because if you deliver what's asked for with skill and style, then you are going to wind up with an extremely loyal table who will talk about your games for years.

Also, for more useful tips on being a Game Master, make sure you grab a copy of my supplement 100 Tips And Tricks For Being A Better Game Master, which has some of the best strategies I've shared on this very blog. Additionally, consider picking up the sequel 100 Tips And Tricks For Being A Better RPG Player as well!

A Note On Tricksy Genies

Because I'm sure some folks thought of this as soon as they saw the title, I want to address the idea of the "tricksy" genie. You know the ones I mean. The genies who pervert the intention of someone's wish, or who play word games with the meaning. Like if someone said they wanted a lifetime supply of raspberry crowns, which is a well-known dessert, but it also happens to be a slang term for a particularly deadly hornet, so the genie has them attacked by swarms of dangerous insects instead of granting them a sweet treat.

Don't be that kind of genie. I touched on this in Nobody Likes A "Gotcha" Game Master a while ago, but it's worth reiterating. Because if you are constantly trying to toe the line, act against the spirit of what your players have expressed while sticking to the letter of an agreement, all it's going to do is undermine trust, and make people less likely to want to play with you.

Again, for clarity. NPCs like fey lords, devils, and even genies and djinn, can (and in some cases should) act in just this way... but you as the Game Master should be open, up-front, and honest with your players when you are trying to run a game for them. You may not want them to trust the characters they meet in the game, but they should always be able to trust you. Because if they can't, then the ship is sinking... it's just a matter of when.

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 Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!