"Sundara: Dawn of a New Age" Is Finally Getting Some Adventure Modules!

It's been several years since my fantasy RPG setting Sundara: Dawn of a New Age debuted with the first supplement, Cities of Sundara: Ironfire for Pathfinder. Since then there's been dozens of supplements covering cities, species, gods, cults, mercenary companies, and more, and well over a quarter million words have gone into building up this world (and that's just my contributions). One of the things we haven't released, though, has been adventure modules.

Until today, that is! Which is why I wanted to write this little update to let folks know that Isaiah Burt's module The Invocation of Bael-Kharn is now live on Drive Thru RPG and ready for you to play!

So check it out, and give this setting a look for yourself!

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!

A Call To Adventure in The City of Steel!

To begin at the beginning, this module is for a party of characters ranging from level 6 to level 8, and it uses the Pathfinder Classic system. According to the preview, an elf who has been working for centuries to bring down the vaunted City of Steel may be moving closer to her goal. And while there are enough mercenaries and alchemists in Ironfire to win most wars, all the weapons in the world will do one no good if you can't see the threat coming, and you don't understand where to aim them.

I don't want to give more than that away, because I want as many folks as possible to discover the world of Sundara, and this adventure, as they explore what's been presented. However, with that said, I would recommend checking out some of Isaiah's other contributions to the setting that will be great supplements to have on-hand for this module (at least for the Game Master): Settlements of The Dragonsbreath Mountains, 100 Lizardfolk of Sundara, and his novella Legacy of Flames, all of which provide solid support right alongside the initial Cities of Sundara: Ironfire book, and the companion piece 100 Whispers & Rumors For Ironfire, The City of Steel.

And for folks who want a rapid rundown, I talked about the City of Steel a few years back when I was in exile at a hotel. So consider checking out the video to see if this is something that will perk your interest!

Why Did It Take So Long For Modules To Start Dropping?

Folks have been trying to get me to write modules for Sundara almost since it started releasing going on 3 years ago. So why is this adventure the first one that we're seeing? Well, there are a lot of reasons for that, and I wanted to explain them to folks here so you all know the score.

First and foremost, adventure modules are overall one of the worst-selling types of supplements on the market. There are modules that do well, and there are writers out there who move a lot of copies of them... but that's like saying that because there are a few bestselling novelists that everyone who wrote a book is paying their bills. A lot of GMs outright refuse to use modules, so a majority of them languish, unseen, and unplayed.

Secondly, modules are hard as hell to write. You're basically writing a short story, with math, and you have to try to provide a wide list of things that individual players may choose to do so the GM has alternate paths available to them.

Thirdly, modules require more supplemental material than other kinds of RPG products. There's the interior art, the maps, the covers... all of that adds up over time. And while most writers have the ability or resources to some of the things a module requires, most of us do not have the ability to do all of those things.

And when you spread minuscule profits across a team of people... well...

Now, I will be the first to tell you there is another adventure module for Sundara coming down the pipe from yours truly... however, it comes with a catch. Because the publisher doesn't want to take a loss on producing modules (again, I do not own Azukail Games, they just publish a lot of my work), I'm accepting a smaller, up-front fee to get this thing published. However, if you want to see more modules for Sundara (or just more modules in general from Isaiah and myself), then make sure the numbers are doing some serious talking! Because if these modules sell a hundred copies (or even a few hundred copies) that is saying a lot in the TTRPG world... and a product that has a proven audience is a lot more likely to get approved in the future.

Lastly, if you've already picked up Isaiah's adventure, consider checking out some of the following from myself:

DND 5E Adventures

 

- The Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh - A trudge through a swamp full of terrors to save a small town

- False Valor - A murder mystery where the party must solve a killing to prevent a war

- The Curse of Sapphire Lake - Beowulf meets Friday the 13th in a frontier settlement to the north

- The Price of Iron - A single night watching a warehouse turns deadly when dark fey arrive

Army Men Mission Modules

 

- A Night At Breckon's Beacon - The search for a missing squad gets deadly on a stormy night

- Assault On Outpost 13 - Can the squad keep hold of a prisoner when an entire gang wants him freed?

Victorian Gothic

- Dreadful Tales - A collection of 3 short adventures for this percentile-based system for Victorian horror

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!

"A Trail in The Margins," A Call of Cthulhu Audio Drama, Has Fresh Episodes Coming Up!

As folks around here know, I typically wait until the third installment of an audio drama series to write a blog about it for the Table Talk section of this blog... however, this is one that I want to touch on a bit early, because I really do need readers' feedback before I decide how much further I'm going to take it. There are a lot of irons in the fire right now, and I want to make sure I'm giving the most attention to the ones that people are actually interested in.

Which is why I wanted to talk about A Trail in The Margins, which appears on the Azukail Games YouTube channel, and where this dark little noir drama set in Lovecraft's back yard is going.

After all... some cases do remain permanently unsolved.

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!

A Private Eye, A Forged Tome, and A Deadly Cult

Our tale begins with A Trail in The Margins, which is the introduction story in the supplement 100 Books To Find in The Miskatonic Library (That Aren't in The Restricted Section), which was the first supplement for a Lovecraftian game I'd written in some time. In this story we meet Archie, a researcher and academic who works for Miskatonic University, and his friend Jonathan "Jack" Walker, a gumshoe who works out of an office on Arkham's north side. The two have had dealings before, and Archie has need of his friend's help when he discovers that one of the books in the university's collection is in all likelihood a forgery.

Following up from this tale, we find Jack back at his office in The Men Behind The Curtain, the opening story in 100 Whispers and Rumors to Hear in and Around Arkham. An unexpected visitor comes on behalf of a family well known for being on the wrong side of the law, telling Jack that his and Archie's mission is of great importance to these movers and shakers in the underworld. Jack doesn't take this news well, but he made a promise to his friend... it just seems like now Archie might actually need somebody with Jack's skill set to watch his back.

The third tale is coming out this month in a new Lovecraft-inspired supplement that covers informants, academics, and adventurers, and while I fully intend on adding that audio drama to the ongoing project, I wanted to ask my audience this week if this story is one they're really interested in? And, by association, do you feel I should add a few more Lovecraft-related supplements onto my to-do list for this year, or would you rather I spend my time working on something else?

Please leave your answers in the comments for the two videos above. This ensures that my publisher sees them, that I can see and respond to them, and that we can get an accurate count regarding audience enthusiasm. And if you want more people to see this story, make sure your comments are at least 7 words long, because that will make the videos rank higher in YouTube's algorithm!

Lastly, if you do enjoy these, and you'd like to see even more of my Lovecraft-adjacent work, please consider checking out the following:

- 50 Two-Sentence Horror Stories, Cthulhu Mythos Edition: A short collection of spine-tingling tales, these can be used to set a tone, or to inspire a game of your own!

- 100 Businesses To Find in Arkham: A supplement to fill out the town of Arkham itself while also providing plot hooks, this was my first contribution to Call of Cthulhu... but certainly not my last.

- 100 Gangsters, Gun Molls, and Goons: A collection of dangerous NPCs for Arkham's underworld, these characters can add that extra edge that an investigation sometimes needs.

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!

3 Tips For Writing Adventure Modules

Adventure modules are the quintessential tabletop RPG supplement. While there are world guides, NPC lists, villain stat blocks, factions, and a thousand other things, the most common item folks often add to the base game book is an adventure to run with their shiny new roleplaying game.

However, while more of us can create adventure modules than ever before thanks to the nature of modern day publishing and programs like DMs Guild and Storyteller's Vault, there are still a lot of hurdles to overcome. So if you're considering writing an adventure and putting it on the market, consider this week's tips from someone who had his share of rodeos under his belt at this point.

It's not as easy as it looks, I can tell you that...

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!

Tip #1: Get The Art First

Like this one, if you haven't checked it out yet...

I talked about this a little while back in the interview I did with Isaiah Burt, but it really bears repeating; before you put a single word down on the page, make sure you have ALL your art assets in place and ready to go.

Art is the most expensive part of most RPG products, and modules require cover art, interior art, and maps to make sure that you have all the resources possible to run your players through this adventure. And since getting custom art is expensive, it's important to make sure you have all the art assets ready to roll before you come up with the story you intend to write... assuming you want to stay under budget, that is.

The Price of Iron, pictured above, was the first time I did this, and it made everything go a lot more smoothly than previous adventures I'd written. Additionally, if you are working with the art assets you have access to, it can often make you more creative as a writer. For example, when I sat down to gather assets for the Army Men mission module Assault on Outpost 13 I was looking everywhere I could for a map of a modern (or at least semi-modern) jail. I couldn't find one, though... all I could find was a bank. Which gave me the idea to canonically write the jail the PCs have to enter in order to protect a valuable prisoner an old bank that was converted to a jail during the revolution that led to the Styric Republic, thus allowing the map to make sense, while still being an asset that didn't cost me (or my publisher) any extra money to use.

Tip #2: Don't Hide Necessary Advancement Behind Checks

So, I don't know... I guess just keep rolling till one of you manages?

A method I've developed over the adventures I've written is to use "trap mentality" when it comes to designing the mechanical challenges in an adventure module. We all know how traps work, of course. A character looks for the trap, and if they meet the Perception DC they spot it before it goes off. This gives them the ability to try to avoid the trap, to disable the trap, or to knowingly set it off in some way. However, if they don't see the trap, then it goes off in their face and they have to try to save against it, or hope their armor and speed protects them.

The same logic should be applied to everything from gathering information, to Survival checks, to Stealth rolls, in that failing doesn't stop the players' progress going forward... it just means that progress is going to happen to them, instead of the other way around.

Put another way, provide ways for players to fail forward, or ensure that success gives them a boon, but isn't required for progressing.

For example, there's a section in my murder mystery module False Valor where players get to ask around at the bar to gather information. A local girl was murdered, and the circumstantial evidence says it may have been done by factions of an elven nation in a nearby forest who once fought a war across this region. While everyone who asks around gets a base bit of information, for every additional success on a Persuasion check, the players get another tidbit of information. Those who succeed really well find out that the leader of a local gang who seems to be champing at the bit to avenge the death on the elves has a lot of ideas in his head about what the war was like... mostly because his grandfather told him a lot of lies about the glory and honor of the fighting.

Now, players don't need that information to find the answer to the mystery. If they don't hear that piece of gossip, they can still go investigate the murder scene, and even talk to the girl's family to try to gather information about the events leading up to her murder. And even if they don't do that, the perpetrators are going to end up ambushing them to try to make the party look like more casualties in an escalation of hostilities.

The only difference is the more information the party successfully gathers, the faster they can put the pieces together about what happened, and the less taken off-guard they're going to be when the confrontation occurs.

Tip #3: Multiple Paths, and Multiple Ends

This was one of the first times I experimented with this...

Let's get the obvious out of the way first... you cannot cover every, possible action the players might take. It isn't going to happen. The best you can do is set up the steps of the adventure, and how things are playing out for the Game Master, and then provide some suggestions for the most likely player actions.

What you can do, though, is create funnels to drive the players to certain events, and to provide a handful of descriptions based on these outcomes. A funnel is different from a rail. Rails are where players have to follow a specific course of events from A to B. A funnel is more like a particular event you need to get them to, one way or another, but which is more flexible with the journey overall.

For example, in The Curse of Sapphire Lake, the town is being terrorized by a massive figure in a bone white mask. Players will have a run-in with him, and whether it goes well or poorly, he retreats to his underwater lair. This funnels players to him, because waiting him out won't work; they have to go in after him. When they do they find a tragic situation at the end, and they're faced with a choice. Do they slay this figure, cutting him down? Do they allow him to live? And in either case, do they attempt to go back and tell the town chieftain what happened? Because depending on their actions there are at least 3 different ways the story could end... of course, GMs are free to add their own ending text, if the included ones don't cover enough options.

This can take some trial and error, and if you have the time (along with a dedicated playtesting group) consider incorporating some of these changes into the final product before you're ready to put it out to market!

Additional Modules

A last piece of advice I'll give is that if you want to write adventure modules you should study what other folks have done. Not just in terms of story and plot, but in terms of layout, how stats are presented, and even how maps are marked for certain incidents. Seeing what works, and what doesn't, is solid research for how to write your own modules.

And in addition to the ones I've mentioned above, I'd also recommend checking out:

- A Night At Breckon's Beacon (Army Men): Your squad is tasked with finding soldiers who went missing on patrol. Near the ruins of an old border fort, you find evidence they were here... but what happened to them?

- Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh (DND 5E): The town of Bracken is beset by something terrible. There's a bounty for those who save them from this lurking threat... but will you survive to claim the reward, or merely vanish beneath the waters of the Sorrow Marsh?

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!

The Ironfire Compact: A Series of Stories in Sundara (That Could Turn Into More)

As folks who've been following me for a while know, I tend to put out a lot of fiction in addition to just writing gaming content. While I have written several novels over the years ranging from my sword and sorcery tale Crier's Knife, to the dystopian sci fi thriller Old Soldiers (perfect for any fans of my Warhammer 40K stories), to the gritty mystery novels about an alley cat in New York city Marked Territory and Painted Cats, I also put out a lot of significantly shorter stories these days. And while most of those short fiction pieces wind up hosted on Vocal.media, a lot of them also get turned into audio dramas over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel.

Today I wanted to talk about one of these upcoming collections of shorts that could, if you all are interested, turn into something more!

Let's get into it, shall we?

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!

The Ironfire Compact

I made a video about this a little while ago, but unfortunately not as many folks watch the video updates on the Azukail Games channel as read my blog (though I highly recommend folks do watch this video, and leave their thoughts on this topic to be sure my publisher sees them).

To give you the short version, though, when I started writing TTRPG supplements for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting, I included little pieces of flash fiction in them to set the scene and give readers something to sink their teeth into. The first book was about Ironfire: The City of Steel, and it told the tale of a mysterious outlander fighting a duel in the city square. And to help promote the supplement, I turned this piece of flash fiction into an audio drama (it's rough, but I stand by it!)

For years that story was just a fun little stand-alone... but when I penned Merchants of Sundara, I decided it might be fun to have a little call back to our mysterious outlander, and why he was in Ironfire in the first place. This led to a follow-up story, Swords and Sand, where we learn that he has ties to this city, and that he's been away on some kind of adventure... and he came back to Ironfire to do more than just visit his uncle at the House of Black Banners.

And since this story was fresh in my mind when I started working on the Phase 4 releases (collections of Whispers and Rumors for each of the major cities released so far), I decided that I was going to expand on the tale of our outlander. As such, the introductory fiction for the Whispers and Rumors releases involves him traveling to each of the major cities, and recruiting someone for his next endeavor. In Ironfire he needed a thief. In Moüd City of Bones he found a necromancer who'd given up his guild status to play guitar in a bar. In Silkgift City of Sails he finds an alchemist struggling with a crippling condition that may just make him an invaluable asset. And in Hoardreach City of Wyrms he mades a deal with a frost giant to help him and his companions find room on her skyship for her next trek, which will take them to Archbliss the Floating City of The Sorcerers.

What is in Archbliss that they need? Well, stay tuned, and you'll find out!

My Question Is... Should I Expand On This?

I started making audio drama versions of the introductory fiction pieces in my supplements as a way to give my publisher some extra content to fill out their YouTube channel, and as a way to put something more interesting as a preview on the DTRPG pages for my supplements. However, there have been some listeners who have spoken up and told me they really love the stories I tell, and the work I put into making these shorts... they just wish I could expand them, and make more out of them.

So, as I asked in the recent Speaking of Sundara update... is this something you'd like to see? Or, well, hear?

If I expand on the Ironfire Compact, would you like to see me write it as a novella, akin to the stories Legacy of Flames and Blightbane's Gambit that Isaiah Burt wrote for Sundara? Would you prefer a much longer audio drama on the Azukail Games YouTube channel, either a bigger, singular episode or something that might be told in multiple episodes? Or would you just like to see references to adventures like this buried inside of future releases for those who want to read between the lines and piece together the stories?

There are a lot of options, here...

If this is a project you'd like to see put on my work desk, then I'd urge you to do the following:

- Pick up copies of the Whispers and Rumors supplements (linked below) along with any other Sundara supplements that catch your eye.

- Watch the audio dramas on the channel, leave comments, and share them around. Also, subscribe if you haven't yet! When numbers go up, the publisher notices.

- Leave comments here, but also on the video I made about the Ironfire Compact, because then I will see them and my publisher will see them, which will let us know people are paying attention.

Again, thanks for stopping in this week, and reading this far. This might be the last time I talk about Sundara for a little while (I have a lot of work to get done on other projects for the near future), but rest assured, I have not forgotten the setting!

Catch Up On "Sundara: Dawn of A New Age"

Cities of Sundara

The setting first began with the Cities of Sundara splats. Self-contained guides to some of the larger and more powerful centers of trade, industry, arms, and magic, these unique locations provide plenty of fodder for character generation and plots. Not only that, but each one comes with unique, mechanical goodies for players and GMs alike to take out for a spin!

- Ironfire: The City of Steel (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built around the Dragon Forge, Ironfire is where the secret to dragon steel was first cracked. The center of the mercenary trade in the region, as well as boasting some of the finest schools for teaching practical sciences, Ironfire is a place where discovery and danger walk hand in hand!

- Moüd: The City of Bones (Pathfinder and DND 5E): An ancient center of trade and magic, Moüd was lost to a cataclysm, and then buried in myth. Reclaimed by the necromantic arts of the Silver Wraiths guild, this city has once again become a place teeming with life. Despite the burgeoning population, though, it is the continued presence of the undead that helps keep the city running, ensuring that Moüd is not swallowed up once more.

- Silkgift: The City of Sails (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built on the cottage industry of Archer cloth (an extremely durable material used for sails, windmills, etc.), Silkgift is a place that prizes invention and discovery. From gravity batteries that store the potential of the wind, to unique irrigation systems, to aether weapons, the city positively churns out discoveries... and then there's the canal they cut through the mountains that makes them a major center of trade across the region.

- Hoardreach: The City of Wyrms (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A center of power across an entire region, Hoardreach is ruled over by a Cooperation of five different dragons. A place for refugees and outcasts of all sorts, Hoardreach boasts some of the most unusual citizens and creations from across Sundara. Infamous for their sky ships, which require the cast-off scales and unique arcane sciences of the Dragon Works to take to the air, one never knows just what they'll find in this city built atop a mountain.

- Archbliss: The City of The Sorcerers (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A floating city in the sky, Archbliss has been a refuge for sorcerers for thousands of years. It's only in relatively recent years that the city has allowed those from the ground below who lack the power of a bloodline to join them in the clouds. However, while there are certainly amazing wonders to behold, there is a darkness in Archbliss. Something rotting away at its heart that could, if not healed, bring the city crashing to the ground once more.

Gods of Sundara

- Gods of Sundara (available for Pathfinder and DND 5E): In a world with no alignment, and where the gods are often genuinely mysterious forces that are far too large for mortals to truly comprehend, the divine feels genuinely strange and unknown... something that really does have to be taken on faith. This supplement provides a sample pantheon for Sundara, but also provides instructions on how to easily make your own gods in a world where you can't cast a spell and tell whether someone is good or evil.

Species of Sundara

Sundara is filled with creatures that many of us recognize, but I wanted to give greater depth to their cultures, and a wider variety of options. After all, humans always get 15+ ethnicities, languages, and unique histories, while elves, dwarves, orcs, halflings, etc. are almost always left with footnotes, or maybe with a handful of offshoots. So, in short, I wanted to give all the fantastical creatures the treatment that humans usually get in our games.

And there is no human book yet. If readers demand to know more, then I may sit down to pen one... but I figured that humans didn't need to be front-and-center in this setting just yet.

- Elves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Elves are one of the most quintessential fantasy creatures... but if you want to see more than just high elves, wood elves, and elves of the sun and moon, then this supplement has you covered!

- Dwarves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): The children of the primordial giants who were meant to fill in the details of the world they'd made (or so the myths say) there are as many kinds of dwarves as their are kinds of giants... and possibly more, depending on who is keeping count.

- Orcs of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Supposedly a creation of the elves, none can say for certain exactly how or why orcs have been made. What most agree on is that these creatures are far more than most may think at first glance.

- Halflings of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Little cousins to the dwarves, halflings are tough, clever, and not to be underestimated. From living beneath the hills, to taking up residence in the deep forests, halflings in Sundara come in quite a variety!

- The Blooded (Half-Elves and Half-Orcs) [Pathfinder and DND 5E]: When orcs and elves mix their bloodlines with other creatures, the result is one of the Blooded. This inheritance takes many forms, and it can even wait generations before manifesting when the right combination of individuals come together to have a child.

- Gnomes of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Gnomes are strange creatures, found in places where the spirit of the land has coalesced and made children of its own. The sons and daughters of the ancient nymphs, they are the stewards of these places, and they change as often as the weather and the land.

Organizations of Sundara

Phase 3 has been going strong, but there's still a few titles left in it! So if you haven't seen them, consider checking out:

- Sellswords of Sundara: With power structures being smaller in scale in Sundara, standing armies aren't often maintained for long. As such, soldiers of fortune are quite common! This supplement contains 10 mercenary companies, their history, uniform, sample members, whispers and rumors, as well as either an archetype or subclass for playing these unique warriors. Grab your copy for Pathfinder of DND 5E.

- Cults of Sundara: Faith comes in many forms in Sundara, and there are as many gods in the Prim as there are dreams in the minds of people. This supplement contains write-ups for 10 cults, their histories, sample members, rumors about them, their beliefs and tenets, and a unique magic item for each. Get your copy for Pathfinder or DND 5E.

- Guilds of Sundara: While cities and villages may be relatively local, guilds are spread across the length and width of Sundara. From professional orders of skilled miners and dredgers, to monster slayers and bounty hunters, this supplement has 10 guilds with histories, sample members, rumors, as well as unique feats one can take to represent the skill and benefits of joining this order. Available for Pathfinder as well as DND 5E.

- Merchants of Sundara: While city states might be the largest form of government you find in the setting, merchants hold an outsized amount of power. From huge mercantile houses, to small brands infamous for their quality as much as for their price, there are a lot of options listed in this particular world building supplement.

Rumors of Sundara

The newest series of supplements in the setting, these are meant to add to the cities, and to give GMs ideas for plots, or just to provide a little extra grist for the mill in terms of what people are gossiping about!

- Whispers and Rumors For Ironfire, The City of Steel!

- Whispers and Rumors For Moüd, City of Bones!

- Whisper and Rumors For Silkgift, The City of Sails!

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!

Furyborn... An Overlooked Pathfinder Enchantment

Magic weapons are one of those things characters tend to acquire as they advance in level in Pathfinder classic. However, it's particularly easy to get caught up in all the choices for weapon enchantments as we try to figure out which options are going to be most effective against the particular enemies we're fighting, which ones work best with our character's class features, and which ones provide the most bang for our buck.

There is an enchantment that often falls through the cracks, though, and it's easy to overlook it if you aren't the sort of player who goes through rulebooks from cover to cover. And if you didn't dig into Ultimate Equipment (which I would recommend getting a copy of if you haven't), you may have missed the Furyborn enchantment.

Do not test me, for my fury has no limits.

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 Deadly Enchantment For All Occasions

The Furyborn enchantment is born of the frustration from a warrior whose enemy refuses to lay down and die. It is a +2 enchantment that can be placed on any melee weapon, and every time the weapon hits a single target, the enhancement bonus increases by +1 to a total of +5. So even if you have your weapon as a +1 furyborn weapon, a single hit raises it to +2, a second raises it to +3, and so on, and so forth, until you have a +5 furyborn weapon.

The bonus resets if you attack a different target than the original, the original target dies, or 1 hour passes.

Just die... it's the only way to end this!

Now, on the one hand, that likely sounds pretty good. After all, if you have a character with a full base attack bonus who can take iterative attacks, every hit you land makes you more likely to hit again, and adds a little bit of bonus damage. Because a +5 enhacement to hit (and the +5 enhancement to damage that comes with it), ain't nothing to sneeze at.

But there's another benefit that comes with a weapon's enhancement bonus that a lot of us simply don't think about. If you look in the back of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook on page 562, it lists the kinds of damage reduction that's overcome when a weapon has a high enough enhancement bonus. If a creature has DR that's overcome by silver or cold iron, then a weapon with an enhancement bonus of +3 ignores that ability. DR that normally requires an adamantine weapon to bypass can be ignored by a weapon that has an enhancement bonus of +4. And if a creature has alignment-based DR, that can be overcome by a weapon with an enhancement bonus of +5.

So if you're fighting a werewolf with your furyborn weapon, the first two hits will apply its DR, but after that your furry friend will take the full brunt of your blows. If it's later in the game and you're opposing devils, demons, or even angels (it's hard to say where your campaign will go), connecting with 4 hits means that your weapon is now going to pierce their protections and cut into them... and if you're a full-BAB martial character, that can mean you're only sacrificing a round or two to overcome your enemy's biggest defense.

And, of course, an extra handful of damage can really make a difference in conjunction with your general combat strategy... especially if you're confirming critical hits and multiplying that damage by 2, 3, or more!

So, if you're not sure what kind of weapon enchantment will work for your next game, consider grabbing this one for your melee weapon. Especially if you are the sort of player who likes to focus on a single enemy until they are down for the count, and out of the fight.

Further Reading Recommendations

If you enjoyed this week's advice, consider checking out the following Pathfinder RPG supplements as well!

- Sellswords of Sundara: A collection of 10 mercenary companies, each one comes with its own, unique class archetype!

- Feats of Legend: 20 Story Feats: One of the capstone pieces from the Feats of Legend series, this one covers one of the most under-utilized feat choices that can be extremely rewarding in a Pathfinder campaign.

- Pathfinder Player Companion: Bastards of Golarion: My first official contribution to the Golarion setting, this one covers a variety of tricks that can be a serious boon to adventurers who want to come out ahead.

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 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!

Steps of The Dark Tower: A Stephen King Campaign

Every person that has gotten bit by the GMing bug has had at least one idea for a campaign that feels like a white whale. Either it's too big for them to realistically make it happen, they can't find players enthusiastic enough to see it through to the end, or it's just so bizarre that it would take a huge amount of brain juice and willpower to convert all the ideas and options into math and stats so the game could actually be played.

For me, this campaign is something I'm calling Steps of The Dark Tower: Chasing The Black Rainbow, and I thought that since this is Monday I'd share some of my thoughts, and see if this is something someone out there would like to try if they're a madder lad or lass than I am.

Did someone call for a ka-tet?

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!

All Things Serve The Beam...

The basic idea behind this campaign is that the PCs are among the hundreds (if not thousands) of small events taking place in the background of the central quest of Stephen King's Dark Tower universe. Roland and his ka-tet seek the room at the top of the tower, and they are being opposed by the Crimson King and his servants. They walk through realities the way you or I might step through puddles, and there are a thousand times a thousand reverberations that fill the worlds. Ancient wizards and corrupt technologies seek to stop them, as do common thugs, vampires, orders of mystic bugs, rad mutants, invisible men, shapeshifting monsters, and so, so much more!

And that's just a sample of some of the nonsense that exists!

When I originally conceived this idea, it was inspired by some of the plot of the novel Black House, where our protagonists' actions set the scene for the gunslinger and his companions to complete their own quest. In Chasing The Black Rainbow, our protagonists are drawn to the last remnants of Gilead. Consumed by civil war and death, the place is a smoldering ruin, much of which has been destroyed or abandoned. There are things left there, however, to test the mettle of those who have the spirit, if not the blood, of the Eld. Once our protagonists fight past the shades of the old order, besting the undead remains of Cort, they find themselves before the shattered throne. The last vestiges of the old king sits there, refusing to move on, using the last of its strength to assign a quest to those worthy. The remnants of Maerlyn's Rainbow have been scattered across the various levels and worlds of the tower, and for reasons beyond his understanding, the party are the ones who have been selected by ka to track it down.

The characters could be drawn from any world attached to King's Dark Tower series, with the exception of 2. Characters could not be from Keystone Earth, where Sai King writes all these books, and they could not be from Roland's world. Any other world, no matter how mundane or how absolutely terrifying, was fair game as long as there was a definite connection to the Dark Tower from that story and world.

And depending on which stories and worlds the players picked for their characters, the Game Master should distribute the remaining spheres of Maerlyn's Rainbow so that at least a few of them were found back in the PCs' home worlds.

For example, if a PC wanted to be from the world of Salem's Lot, then they might find the Crimson orb in possession of a vampire like Barlow. Alternatively, they might have to hunt through the wreckage of the world of The Stand in search of the Pink ball, as that was where Randall Flagg had it last. Is the Yellow ball in possession of the strange government entities that may be coralling psychics in Hearts in Atlantis (separate from the Low Men and the Beam Breakers, as Ted revealed himself to the U.S. government before his mysterious disappearance)? Is the Green ball lurking in the burnt out ruins of the world of Cell, and the players have to find it while avoiding the bizarre zombies and irrational humans who still wander that world? Is the Pearl Gray ball somehow connected to the bizarre gunk in the story Gray Matter found in Night Shift?

All of these are options, and that doesn't even touch things like time travel, killer clowns, evil hotels, aliens putting domes over towns, and all the other bizarre stuff that takes place in King's sprawling Dark Tower setting! The key is to decide which balls are still around, with a low number of 6, and a high number of all 13. And since so many of the balls' powers are left undefined and vague, the Game Master could use each of them to give the party some kind of boon, and to point the way to the next piece of the quest.

No matter which version of the quest one does, however, the end goal is always Black 13, and it's always located in the same place... the hellish darkness of the world we see in The Mist. Maybe it was messing with the ball that split the barriers between worlds, letting in the monstrous things from the outside to run rampant over earth. Maybe the event was manipulated by servants of the Crimson King. However, whatever the case is, the PCs need to get to that last ball before the Crimson King uses it for his own ends.

Now, we all know that Sai King receives a lot of crap for his terrible endings. So the thought I had for the end of the campaign (though I don't actually recommend anyone do this as it is deliberately anticlimactic) is the following.

As you all close the bowling bag over the shimmering, malignant surface of Black 13, you breathe a sign of relief. You have it, now. Your quest is done, but for the epilogue. Five shots ring out, a deadly salute that sprays blood, bone, and brain matter everywhere. Bad luck manifests as a single set of footsteps approaches the circle of corpses. As he lifts the bag in the hand not holding a smoking gun, the Man in Black smiles, and speaks a phrase as simple as it is nonsensical.

"Bool, the end," he says.

My Recommendation For Running This

Now, if this absolute madness is the sort of thing that fires your imagination, and gets you interested in giving it a whirl, far be it from me to stop you. However, I've had a lot of thoughts about this game over the years, and there's a recommendation I'd make for turning this thing into a reality.

Namely that you should really consider using the Savage Worlds system for it.

Versatile, powerful, and user-friendly.

I don't make this recommendation lightly, either. Because while it's true that this RPG system is flexible enough that you could make all of the things the universe of the Dark Tower might boast, there's also enough existing content that you can fold into the game with a few little changes here and there that you don't have to do all of the work yourself.

As an example, if you have someone who wants to bring a character from the world of The Eyes of The Dragon, you have the Savage Worlds Fantasy Companion to help you. If you need to drag in threats from stories like The Little Sisters of Eluria or The Wind Through The Keyhole, then you have Deadlands you can pull creatures, magic, and even fear level rules from. There's even stuff you can grab out of the Savage Worlds RIFTS game, or even the basic Savage Worlds Horror Companion.

No matter which part of the Dark Tower your party ventures to, or what decisions they make, this is the game I'd say is flexible enough to provide you all the options you could want, while making sure the playing field is level enough that you won't have all your players choosing to be from the same part of the King-verse.

So go forth, and may ka be with you should you attempt to walk this path!

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!

How Does The Party Know Each Other? (5 Suggestions)

I've said it before on this blog, but TTRPGs are a team sport. With very few exceptions these games tend to be about the players working together toward shared goals, and attempting to reach the end of the narrative. Sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they fail, but the idea is that they should all be on the same bus, and at least heading in the same general direction.

Objective sighted!

However, one obstacle to cooperation at the table is creating characters in a vacuum. While experienced players may know how to form a party quickly when they first get together, sometimes it's easier if you start out as a team. But that isn't always one's first reaction, especially if they're used to, "A bunch of strangers meet at a tavern," kind of scenarios.

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!

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So, How Do You All Know Each Other?

If you want to begin the game as a cohesive unit (or at least a group of individuals that is on their way to becoming a cohesive unit), I'd suggest giving some of the following options a try! These are not your only choices, obviously, and choosing any of these options is going to require buy-in from fellow players at the table in order to make things work, but if you all decide to work within a given idea it can help simplify a lot going forward!

- Family That Slays Together, Stays Together: The members of the party are all related in some way. This might be a clan of farmers from the edge of a monster-infested wood where just growing crops basically makes you an adventurer, or a band of orcs who are out to fight for their tribe's gain. The party might all be descendants of a particular dragon (or a particular bard), or they might all have some elven blood in them, allowing for multiple generations to quest together. Found family fits into this one, as well, for those who have a more diverse family makeup!

- Take Your Show on The Road: For this particular instance, the party isn't made up of your typical "adventurers". Instead you are some kind of traveling show, performers, or competitors. For example, you might all be part of a circus, with the sorcerer as a stage magician, the barbarian performing acts of great strength, and the bard as your ringmaster. The party might, instead, travel to tournaments as a fighter (or fighters) and their entourage, putting on a display of skill and showmanship. The PCs might even be part of a band, with each member taking on a different role from lead singer, to drums, to pyrotechnics and special effects. Those looking for inspiration might want to take a look at 100 Fantasy Bands if the last option seems particularly appealing.

- Servants of The Same Master: Whether you're all part of a church, a free company of mercenaries, a military organization, or even a secret society that keeps its true intentions hidden away from the public, this is one of the more flexible options. Those who choose this path may not know one another personally, but they've probably heard of each other through the grapevine if they haven't served in the field together before, as I mentioned in Reputation in RPGs: The Small Legend. If you're in the market for potential organizations the PCs might all be working for (or even organizations they're opposing in your campaign) then you might want to check out: 100 Secret Societies, 100 Fantasy Guilds, 100 Knightly Orders, and 100 Random Mercenary Companies!

- Champions of The Same Cause: For those who've played the Curse of The Crimson Throne adventure path, this is the theme used by that campaign's character traits. Everyone in the party has suffered at the hands of a particular gang leader, and they have come together at least partially out of a need to provide Gaedran Lamm his comeuppance. While pettiness and vengeance are perfectly functional as causes, the PCs might desire to save their hometown, to oppose a particular force, or to find a given set of lost treasures. If the characters are regional champions they might even form a kind of fantasy Justice League, with their particular foes forming an Anti-Party as a Legion of Doom, which can be a useful tool for the GM.

- Close Comrades: Sometimes the simplest explanation is the easiest to choose; the party are already friends. Maybe they grew up in the same corner of the world, or they were thrown together in earlier adventures. Perhaps they met at university (or at least while some members of the party were at university), or their families all knew one another. While a casual background, this one can often make for a strong start as players work out how they met, what their friendships were like when they were younger, what parts of their lives the party members shared with one another, and what things are still hidden, waiting to be revealed as the story goes on.

These are just a handful of ideas to get your brains turning, and your ideas forming. And, of course, you can always make combinations to rope in different parts of the party. Perhaps the fighter and the barbarian met on campaign, and the fighter grew up in the same dale as the druid. So the fighter is now the connection between the forest hermit and his old war buddy, providing an easier connection between them. The elven ranger might be the druid's godmother, stepping in to help as needed when things go wrong in the region. And so on, and so forth.

As with everything else, however, this is just a suggestion. Your mileage may vary, but if you haven't tried this approach before, consider giving it a go!

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 Daily Motion channel!. 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!