Going Electrum on Storyteller's Vault... Can We Make Gold? (Breaking Down Trends)

In the past I have been a regular contributor to Storytellers Vault, and I've created supplements for a variety of games in both the World and Chronicles of Darkness. However, as I've talked about previously, one of the reasons I stepped back from doing as much with that platform as I had previously was that it just wasn't financially feasible for me. I take a 50% up-front pay cut whenever I write something for the platform (1 cent instead of 2 cents per word) and when you're writing tens of thousands of words, that adds up.

However, the other day I noticed something... several of my supplements have actually crossed the line into Electrum metal sellers (meaning they've moved at least 251 copies through the One Bookshelf websites). It was actually a surprising number of them. And since folks seemed to enjoy the break down I put out in An Autopsy On My Recent Deal Of The Day, I figured I'd take a moment to talk about what the numbers are telling me, and what this may mean for future supplements from me in the future.

And if you have opinions, there's going to be a way for you to contact me directly!

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!

What Do People Respond To?

This is the question that every creator asks when they put something together, and throw it out into the void to see if it can find an audience. More specific aspects of this for Storytellers Vault include:

- What game line gets the best response?

- What format do people respond to?

- Do people prefer mechanics over flavor, or the other way around?

- Is there a particular subject that seems to be more popular than others?

Well, let's see what the numbers say, shall we?

To begin at the beginning, Werewolf: The Apocalypse has the most Electrum sellers for me. Whether it's the 101 Savage Kinfolk collection I wrote for the Savage Age, or the more "normal" kinfolk supplements I wrote many years ago, it's one of my most popular games. However, interestingly, only the 100 Kinfolk supplements for Glasswalkers, Get of Fenris, Silver Fangs, Bone Gnawers, Shadow Lords, and of course the Black Spiral Dancers have made it over that Electrum line. And while I've written supplements for things other than NPCs, those seem to be the supplements that have moved the most copies for this game.

The second-largest number of Electrum sellers comes from Changeling: The Lost. And unlike Werewolf, the offerings here are a little more diverse. The high sellers include: 100 (Mostly) Harmless Goblin Fruits And Oddments To Find In The Hedge, Buyer Beware: 10 Goblin Markets, 100 Hobs To Meet In The Hedge, 100 Strange Sights To See In The Hedge, and 100 Frailties. While there's a mix of mechanics and flavor in there, what seems very clear to me is that (for Changeling, at least) my top sellers are for things that concern the Hedge. And after all, why wouldn't they? It's a huge, constantly-shifting realm that's full of possibility, and a lot of Storytellers need some kind of starting point to help the Hedge take a more concrete shape in their games. While I've put out far more supplements for Changeling than just these 6, the ones that focus more on mortal world NPCs, on whispers and rumors, or even on the True Fae themselves just don't seem to be as popular.

Lastly, while I've written supplements for several other splats, the only other one that's reached Electrum status is 100 Resources and Rumors To Find On SchreckNet for Vampire: The Masquerade. While I have a handful of other supplements for Vampire (mostly focused on ghouls, but with another providing a list of potential havens), this seems to be the only one that's remained popular. And while it seems to go against the grain of the previous two games, where the most popular supplements seemed to be widely applicable overall, this supplement seems to be doing well exactly because of how specific it is. Which, when one considers that Vampire is the largest game in terms of the sheer amount of supplements and overall content made for it, makes sense from a marketing perspective.

So What Does All Of This Mean?

Sadly, even going over the numbers and successes, there is no clear formula for writing a supplement that is guaranteed to do well. Everything is a roll of the dice, and nothing is certain when it comes to popularity or sales.

With that said, however, the trends that I've noticed are:

- Supplements that provide support for the vague other-worlds of games often do all right

- Supplements that are hyper-specific to a part of the lore can do well

- Supplements that have broad use for Storytellers and players alike often do well

- Supplements in a complete series/bundle tend to do well (once the series is complete, at least)

I'm hedging my language a bit (if you'll pardon the Changeling pun) because even following these simple findings don't guarantee good sales. After all, Dark Reflections: 50 Sights To See In The Penumbra for Werewolf never even broke Copper, even though it's functionally very similar to supplements I wrote for Changeling. Is it the format? The fact that more Werewolf games are focused on exploring the real world and its plots instead of diving deep into the Umbra? Is it there are more Umbra-based resources, whereas the Hedge was still big, vague, and largely undefined for so long? It could be any or all of those things... but there's just no telling what.

I've often compared writing RPG supplements to gazing into a crystal ball. I can see some vague shapes and patterns, but there is no clear reception. So at the end of the day, I try to follow what trends I can, and to incorporate past successes... but there's often no way to know for certain which things are flukes, and which things are actual trends. And worse, there's no knowing how long a trend will hold true before what was once a solid investment of time and energy simply stops being popular with players.

How To Make Your Voice Heard

I've often said that to make up for the loss in initial income for a Storytellers Vault supplement, every, single one I release would need to hit Gold status (501 supplements). Not a single one of the things I've written out of the 40-something supplements has done that well... yet, anyway. As such, I am taking an initial loss on writing these... I repeat this to drive home to folks how much I love these games, and how refreshing it can be to dip back into them from time to time.

But it is a lot easier to work on more of these if I actually have a definitive idea what it is folks out there want to see more of.

 

Now, if you're someone who has a strong opinion of what you'd like to see me (or Adrian) release for future Storytellers Vault supplements, here's what you need to do. Go to the video I linked above. Leave a comment telling me what you want as specifically as you can (because saying, "I want more stuff for Mage," is less helpful than something like, "I would like a supplement for running the awakening scenes for new mages in Mage: The Awakening."). Once you've left your comment, toss the video a like, subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel if you haven't, and share the video around so we can get more people's opinions.

These actions accomplish several things. First and foremost, the publisher gets pings when new comments are left, so this means you're going to get a direct line to us. It lets us see at a glance what people want us to work on. Also, the more views, comments, etc. a video gets, the more likely it is that the algorithm boosts our signal, and the more people will find out about who we are, and what we do.

Because Storytellers Vault might be a relatively small pool, but I'd wager a majority of folks who play these games have no clue who I am, who Adrian is, and that Azukail Games even exists. So helping shine a spotlight on us, while also sending us clear messages about the kinds of games we should be working on, will help a lot!

Lastly, I do still have a pair of supplements that haven't even hit Copper status yet. So if you have a moment, consider helping these two get their feet under them:

- Dark Reflections: 50 Sights To See In The Penumbra (Werewolf: The Apocalypse)

- Agents and Assets: 100 Personnel and Contacts For Task Force VALKYRIE (Hunter: The Vigil)

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

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

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or the ongoing audio drama channel The A.L.I.C.E. Files! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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

Should I Add Another "Werewolf: The Apocalypse" Story To The Channel?

If you're one of the readers who also checks out my contributions on the Azukail Games YouTube channel, then chances are good you are one of the folks who saw the latest audio drama Screams in The Shadow. This short little audio drama follows a strike team of garou who delve into the Umbra in order to purify a corrupted place... a place whose constant spewing of vile hatred has led to a spiritual cancer in the hearts and minds of those who listen to it for too long.

This little story was the introductory fiction from my supplement Dark Reflections: 50 Sights To See In The Penumbra, which is for Werewolf: The Apocalypse. And if you haven't grabbed a copy, consider doing so... I'm still trying to get the supplement up over Copper status. However, putting that audio drama together got me thinking... would my regular readers/listeners be interested in more Werewolf content?

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!

Breathing Life Into Tales From The Moot

Most folks who are familiar with my World of Darkness supplements know me for my 100 Kinfolk supplements (which are still in the 100 Kinfolk Bundle, which has something approaching 1,500 NPCs in it). However, in addition to those supplements I also put together Evil Inc.: 10 Pentex Subsidiaries, and I was invited to be part of the Savage Age project, penning 101 Savage Kinfolk. However, what a lot of readers might not know is that a few years ago I managed to get a project going where I gathered several of my fellow authors and Werewolf enthusiasts, and we put together Tales From The Moot; a short story anthology filled with the kinds of stories the garou tend to tell around the fire to their fellows. Some are filled with action and savagery, others sorrow and heartbreak. Some seem to underline the pointlessness of this long war. But this collection has, largely, been overlooked by readers out there.

Which is why if you haven't checked it out, you definitely should!

I'll be honest, I've been wracking my brain for some way to get more eyes on this collection. I've written about it on this blog several times, it's gotten shout-outs on several WoD podcasts in the past, I've shouted it from the hilltops of social media, and my fellow creators did their best to spread the word so other folks could find out about it... but we could just never seem to really reach the folks who would be interested in tie-in fiction.

Which made me wonder... would you all be interested in hearing a few stories in the collection get the audio drama treatment the way some of my other vignettes have?

The way this project would work is that I would begin with the introductory story (which is a van of three kinfolk on their way to the moot), and I would make it as a kind of lead-in/commercial for the anthology as it stands. And if folks enjoyed and supported that part of the project, I'd look into dramatizing my contribution to the collection, Late Bloomer, which is a story about a Silver Fang who had his first change while he was on deployment in Afghanistan. And if folks wanted to see more of the stories then I would reach out to Josh Heath and the folks over at High Level Games, as well as contacting the authors of some of the other pieces, to see whether this is something they'd be interested in.

And if you're one of the folks who would like to see this project go forward, then leave your thoughts in the comments below, and make sure you respond on social media! In addition to your thoughts, consider grabbing a copy of Tales From The Moot for yourself, and leaving a review where you tell us which story you'd most like to hear get the audio drama treatment!

Because, as I repeat so often on this channel, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If this book suddenly gets a lot of fresh interest, sales, etc., it's very likely that future anthologies could finally go into production... but at that point we'd be asking you, our audience, what you'd like to see from us going forward!

Lastly, if you're looking for something else to get excited about, I'm still scripting season 1 of Windy City Shadows, which is a Chronicles of Darkness podcast project. And if you haven't heard about that yet, then check out the AMA I did for it a little while ago.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

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

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my 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!

Looks Like Paradox Did It Again (The Fallout Over "Werewolf: The Apocalypse" 5th Edition)

Over the past several years I've put together quite a number of supplements for the World of Darkness setting, and of the pieces I've written a majority of them have been for Werewolf: The Apocalypse. From my 1,600 NPCs in The 100 Kinfolk Project, to a list of potential antagonists in Evil Incorporated: 10 Pentex Subsidiaries, and I even helped push through an anthology of short fiction titled Tales From The Moot, where I wrote both the introductory framing short, as well as the Silver Fang tale Late Bloomer. I say this to establish that I've played my share of Werewolf as a game, that I am quite well aware of the issues it had with racism and representation, and that I tried to do what little I could to mitigate that with my additions to the world.

I had not been keeping up on the changes made to the setting as it was updated to the 5th Edition... but seeing the behind-the-scenes from J.F. Sambrano left my jaw on the floor with how badly the ball was fumbled in trying to "improve" this game's less-than-stellar record.

Younger Brother cannot believe this shit.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! 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!

So What The Hell is Going On?

For those who haven't seen it yet, check out Sambrano's detailed post about what went on. And, if you can afford to, I'd recommend becoming his patron to help him out as a creator. But for those who just want the short version, I'll do my best to sum it up.

All right, deep breath...

In its original incarnation, Werewolf: The Apocalypse was a game that drew on a lot of Native American ideas of spirituality and legend, but it did so in the most crass, poorly-understood way you could. The short version is that while it was really unique having native representation at all in a major property in the 90s, a lot of it can be summed up with a sigh, and then following it up with, "Well... you did your best, I suppose."

This didn't stop the game from being successful, of course. Far from it, Werewolf is probably one of the best well-known parts of the World of Darkness, just behind the flagship game Vampire: The Masquerade. So when the 5th Edition came along and it was time to update the game and setting to bring it more in-line with modern sensibilities, and to make it a more inclusive product, designers like Sambrano were brought on board...

Only, it seems, to be promptly ignored.

Those are all great ideas... we're not using any of them.

From what was shared in the above post (which has already made the rounds), it seems like the design team made two, major errors. The first is that they kept too many of the problematic relics of the past (even when a lot of the designers they explicitly hired to help them fix these problems told them to chuck said relics), and the second is that they seem focused on including as little complexity and gray area as possible... which has led to them, once again, have problems with white supremacists, eugenicists, and Nazis.

Now, just for clarity, Nazis make great bad guys. If the goal had been merely to add white supremacists, nationalist terrorists, and other groups to the game as servants of the Wyrm in much the same way the original game did with capitalism in the form of Pentex, that would have actually been a smart move. Especially since the 5th edition release of Vampire: The Masquerade was plagued with problems regarding the inclusion of racism and white supremacy as story and game design in certain books (largely due, if memory serves, to a designer who was part of those communities). The wrong way to do this was what they chose, which was turning the Get of Fenris (arguably one of the most popular tribes among the player base) into a Nazi-majority tribe. Because, as Sambrano points out, this is inevitably going to lead to players trying to figure out how to keep the characters they had and liked to play, while attempting to include this new story element, rather than all players just letting the Get of Fenris go as a player option and relegating them entirely to villains.

Honestly, it just feels like bad design choices were made all around, and I'm glad I chose not to step into any of the 5th Edition releases for the World of Darkness as a whole.

While We're On The Subject...

I've been talking a lot about World and Chronicles of Darkness projects of late, and I wanted to take a moment to clarify something that got some folks asking questions. As I said recently in Why I Will Have Fewer Community Created TTRPG Products Coming Out, I'm going to be taking a small break from working on platforms like Pathfinder Infinite, Storyteller's Vault, and even on Call of Cthulhu titles, simply because of the increased rate-of-pay my publisher agreed to for my work on other, non-CCP products.

However, I also posted recently about "Windy City Shadows" A Chronicles of Darkness Podcast Proposal, talking about putting together a long-form audio drama podcast set in the world of the Chronicles of Darkness. For clarification, the podcast is a separate endeavor from my supplements set in the World/Chronicles of Darkness, and even if I'm writing fewer supplements (which people have to buy in order for me to get paid as the creator), I would still like to put together the podcast (which will be free to anyone who wants to listen to it).

So if it's something you'd interested in, check out the article above, and the video below, for how you can help make it happen!

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 sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, my dystopian sci fi thriller Old Soldiers, 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!

"Book of The Wyrm Companion" Is Gross, Horrific, and Awful... Go Get It Now!

Of all the corners of the World of Darkness, the one inhabited by the Wyrm and its servants is certainly one of the darkest. Corruption, mutation, depravity, and awful, cosmic horrors lie at the bubbling, blistered heart of the Wyrm, and it warps everything that looks upon it. A tide of protoplasmic, inhuman, alien awfulness that stains the soul, and taints your very being just by knowing it's out there, it is a horror the likes of which mortals can scarcely contemplate.

It takes an enemy that inhumane, which is anathema to anything good or relatable, to make the garou seem like heroes, after all.

Bringing that kind of enemy across to your players, however, can be difficult. Not only that, but it's very easy to fall into the cracks and either become too unrelatable, too grim, or too uncomfortable for those around the table who came here to have fun. Which is why I would recommend that anyone who wanted to strike a better balance should immediately get themselves a copy of Book of The Wyrm Companion for their shelf.

Seriously... go check it out!

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

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

What Is This Book All About?

As the introduction section says, this book is a collection of things that could have been their own, separate splats, but which the creators chose to put into a single volume. There's additional, specific fomori that are inhuman, advice for creating First Response teams from Pentex, an entire section about running PCs as fomori (described as a kind of dark X-Men game, which definitely caught my interest), and a lot of other stuff that walks a fine line between gross and satirical.

I am what they made me.

The book it put me most in mind of (and which I picked up a copy of from my Friends of The Library resale room a few years back) is Freak Legion. However, while there's still a lot of content in there that I think people who want that kind of body horror/cosmic horror in their games would find useful, Book of The Wyrm Companion just slathers on extra stuff. There's a dozen different flavors of horrific in this thing, and there's a double scoop of terrible in store for anyone who grabs it.

Now, with all of that explanation and praise out of the way, I would point out that this is also a book with a BIG content warning right up front. While the creators attempted to give it a darkly humorous polish in some places, and to make it feel more like satire in others, there's no mistaking this for anything other than what it is. This is a grimoire of the inhuman, the monstrous, and the disturbing. For folks like me, who want WoD games to feel like horror games, that's going to be exactly what you want in your tool box. For those who may want games with cleaner morality and less disturbing content, though, this may be a bridge too far.

Let the buyer beware, this is one of those WoD tomes that comes with a warning label. The creators put it on there, and I'm reminding folks that they know their business.

Consider Some Supplemental Stuff To Go With It

This volume has a lot of contributors who all put their sweat and effort into different parts of the project, but Clinton Boomer and Josh Heath are both on the list. Talented folks who work extraordinarily hard, I have worked with both of them on previous WoD projects. And since we're talking about the Wyrm and all the awful, nasty things it makes, I figured I'd mention some of them here.

Where my Glass Walkers at?

Company Picnic is a tale Clinton penned a while ago, and it came out as part of all the efforts in and around the Tales From The Moot collection. I know that he and I enjoy writing fiction set in the World of Darkness, and if we can boost the numbers on these tales we'd be happy to lay down some fresh text... perhaps even touching on other spheres of the setting while we're at it!

Another project Clinton and I shared was the 200 Black Spiral Dancer Kinfolk list. This supplement was the capstone to the 100 kinfolk project, which is currently available as a bundle if you like a good deal!

Lastly, if you need extra bad guys to go along with this book, consider grabbing a copy of Evil Inc.: 10 Pentex Subsidiaries. There's all kinds of corporate wickedness in there, and it pairs beautifully with the more obviously corrupt aspects of the Wyrm! There's even a sample audio drama from it below, if you want to take a moment to listen...

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

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

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my 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!