What Is Your Character's Vice?

Palavor arrived at the inn with leaves in his hair, and dark circles under his eyes. His robes were in disarray, and his boots had picked up new stains. He swayed where he stood, and he absently scratched the inside of his left wrist. Vitrin was the first to see him, and she sighed as she set her teacup down.

"Palavor," she said, her voice carefully neutral. He winced, ceasing his scratching and putting a hand to his head.

"Not so loud..." he moaned, dropping into a chair. Vitrin poured him a cup of tea, and set a bowl of porridge in front of him.

"You did it again, didn't you?" Vitrin asked. Palavor lowered his head, shame in his eyes. He started eating carefully, his hand trembling on occasion as he brought the gruel to his lips. Vitrin shook her head. "You have to stop this."

"I will," Palavor said around the tea as he poured it down his throat.

"I mean it," she said.

"So do I," Palavor gasped, reaching for the kettle.

"You always do on the morning after," Vitrin said. She pushed herself up from the table. "We depart in half an hour. We aren't waiting for you."

"I'll be there," Palavor said, wincing. "And I'll... try to clean up between now and then."

It's the only thing that lets me feel free from this prison of flesh...

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

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

What Vices Does Your Character Have?

We are all just collections of experiences, memories, learned responses, and habits... and some of those habits are bad ones. Those are usually the ones we think of when it comes to vices. Whether it's the habit itself that's bad (they tend to indulge in random acts of violence against folks who don't deserve it) or merely the length to which someone takes it (they can never have just one drink, or one hit, but will go on a full weekend bender if no one stops them), vices often define characters just as much as their virtues.

So take a moment to ask yourself what your character's vices are, but in addition to that, where did they pick them up? How much of a problem are they in their day-to-day life? And are they trying to leave those bad habits behind, find some healthy outlet for them, or are they simply giving into their worst impulses with gusto?

What day is it? Huh... I seem to have lost a whole week. What MONTH is it?

As an example, does your sorcerer find their day-to-day life difficult to live because of the power burning inside of them? Do they seek out drink or drugs to dull the edge of living in a body that can only handle so much magic at a time? And is their vice the substances they abuse, or is it the magic itself, which they can only dip into so often before they burn out or burn up, feeling empty all the way to their bones?

Does the fighter have a need they don't like to talk about? A part of them that feels excited when they draw blood, or crush bones? Do they crave the sensation of watching the light bleed out of someone's eyes? Did they take up the life of a soldier, or a bodyguard, hoping they'd be able to shed blood with impunity? Does the cleric have a weakness for the pleasures of the flesh? Do they fight against it, or do they find themselves giving in when their will is weak? Or has it created problems with them being tricked by fey, or falling victim to devils in disguise?

Even if a character's vice doesn't put them or their companions in mortal danger, or risk losing their class features for violating their tenets, they can cause other sorts of problems. For example, if the bard has light fingers and a compulsion to steal things, that can put a bounty on their (and their companions') heads. Greed could lead to someone taking terrible risks in the pursuit of treasure, and those who have a need to gamble (with either their money or their lives) might end up taking foolish risks, or biting off far more than they can chew when it comes to their adventures.

Finding Balance For Your Vice(s)

All of us have vices. Some of them are small, and are really more of an indulgence, like smoking a pipe of an evening, or having a second cup of strong brew with breakfast to start the day. Sometimes they don't really rise beyond this "personal quirk" level. Sometimes they do, and they can become small (or even large) problems for a character and their companions.

However, and this cannot be overstated, make sure that your character's vices don't become an undue burden on the rest of the table.

We are not breaking you out again. Not after what you did.

On the one hand, there's the mechanical issues that can come with certain vices. Characters with addictions who can't get their fix often operate under serious negatives. Characters who have psychological compulsions might have to spend resources to resist giving into said compulsions, and so on and so forth. And this is something you need to consider as a player, because it might mean that under a lot of circumstances your character might end up becoming a burden on their companions. No one wants to deal with someone going through withdrawal while they're about to raid a dragon's lair, after all.

On the other hand, it's important to ask about the larger implications of your character's vices. Does giving into their vices create a pattern of arrests, angered NPCs, or tortured prisoners that actively creates problems for everyone else? And are these problems serious enough that the character's companions might decide it's better to part ways with them?

There is no right answer to this question; it's a matter of the sort of game you're involved in. One game might be focused on evil characters where someone flaying prisoners might be seen as little more than a hobby that others will just put up with if it keeps them on-task. However, if there's a game where everyone is trying to play a noble hero, that might not be a game that will appreciate a fighter with an old war injury, a taste for blood, and a monkey on his back thanks to the alchemical treatments he's taking to manage his pain.

Talk to your Game Master, and your fellow players, and find the answer that works for all of you!

Lastly, consider grabbing some of the following supplements to help flesh out your characters in the future:

- 100 Questions To Ask About Your Characters

- 100 Dark Secrets

- 100 Character Goals and Motivations

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!

Who Is Your Clan (And What Does That Mean)?

Every character has a family. Even if they're dead, estranged, or just far away from where your current adventure is taking place, someone raised them, and helped them acquire the skills they currently possess. However, there is something that is bigger than just your family, in the sense of those you share a close blood tie with. This is something that can set the culture a character was raised with, covering everything from what they value, to how they dress, to what morals they have.

This concept is your clan, and it can be a useful thing to consider when you're trying to build your character's backstory!

I pledge my sword to the House of The Sun, and the Seat and Seal of Clan Blackwind.

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

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

What Is Your Clan (And What Does It Mean To You)?

We often think of a clan as a particularly big family, so I want to take a moment to break down what I mean in this context. Because a clan is not just a family, but it is (typically, at least) a rather large group of interconnected/interrelated families. So a character will have their immediate family (parents, siblings, children), their extended family (grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins), and then beyond that immediate family, you have your clan.

But what goes into a clan?

For Hawkwind! For Clan Darkhelme!

A clan is many things. At its most basic, it's a social support structure that acts in a way similar to a family, in that its members can rely on one another. So whether there's a disaster where one part of the clan has lost homes or crops, or the new generation needs to learn skills from more established professionals, the families of the clan can rely on one another to provide. This can even go so far as adopting members who have lost parents, or whose parents are unable (or unfit) to care for them. The clan takes care of its own.

Beyond that support structure, though, a clan also has obligations required from members. As an example, some clans might require that all members learn how to fight, and that tours of service be completed. There might be a kind of clan tax levied in order for the clan to support itself, with resources being distributed as needed. If one wants to stay in good standing with the clan, they need to fulfill their obligations, or suffer the consequences for ignoring them (such as becoming an outcast for refusing a major obligation they owe).

Lastly, a clan has its own culture. This can vary from clan colors and battle cries, to social norms regarding courtship and marriage, to what is considered a duel-worthy offense. Clans have their own internal politics, their own mores and norms, and they also have their own relationships with outsiders (which members may have to deal with when they travel, even if they are no longer an active part of their clan). They may even have their own clan law, which can come into conflict with the law of the land depending on where they happen to be.

All of these things can have an affect on your character. For a few examples, consider:

- Did your character's family have high standing in the clan? Low standing? Has their standing changed since your character's birth, and is that connected to their current adventure at all?

- Did your character defy any of the clan norms or laws? If so, have they escaped punishment for it, or is it still a secret?

- What is your character's clan heraldry, and is it different from their family heraldry? Does your character wear their colors and sigils openly and with pride? Or do they forego them unless required?

- Is your character proud of their clan affiliation, or ashamed of it? Are they willing to stand up for their clan, even if they consider them problematic or wrong in some way?

- Is there something about your character that people can immediately tell what their clan is? Whether it's something as obvious as a tattoo or a brand, or something more subtle like a particular weapon of choice, fighting style, or even an accent or turn of phrase?

All of these, and many more, can be unique ways to think about where your character came from, and what effect the clan had on them as they grew, and became who they are today.

Additional Resources

If you haven't grabbed your copy yet, get it today!

If you're looking for some additional things to help build your character's backstory, and to expand on the idea of a clan, the following resources might be of help!

- A Dekas of Dwarven Clans: From the grim-faced Ironhelms, to the indefatigable Craggs, this supplement contains 10 clans complete with history, heraldry, example NPCs, and rumors about each clan.

- 100 Fantasy Battle Cries (And Their Histories): If you're looking for a cry that can define your clan, consider some of the options in here, along with how they came to be!

- A Baker's Dozen of Noble Families: Similar to clans, these overarching noble families share a lot of similarities, and can be used as a basis for creating clans.

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!

Does Your Character Have A Cause?

Motivation is one of the most important factors when it comes to figuring out your character. In fact, it's so important that a while back I wrote an entire supplement titled 100 Character Goals and Motivations just to drive it home. However, in addition to their personal goals and motivations characters may have causes they champion, or which they strongly believe in. And while they aren't a necessity of your character (after all, how many people do you know in your day-to-day life who strongly support a cause?), they can add a lot of depth and dimensions to your character all the same.

And much like how religion isn't just for divine casters, causes are something anyone can support, and be part of. Though it does help if the cause you pick is actually part of the campaign you're playing.

After all, conflict only matters when we see it!

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!

Something Bigger Than Yourself

The difference bwetween a goal and a cause, in this case, is the scale of the thing, and who it benefits. Goals might benefit other people, but someone does them primarily for themselves. Also, goals are often small, and personal things such as finding a lost relative, paying off a debt, or getting revenge. However, a cause is something that, while it might benefit the character, is bigger than them. When one supports a cause, they do it because that cause is more important than their personal reward or benefit, even if they do have some skin in the game.

For example, a prince fighting to depose his ururping uncle to take back his rightful throne is a goal. But ending the practice of slavery (whether in the kingdom, or throughout the world) is a cause. It is something that is bigger than one man's ambitions, and it affects so many more people. Now, a prince who was fighting for the cause of freedom could facilitate that cause by retaking his throne, and all the power associated with it, but even then the cause affects so many more people, and so many interests beyond purely his own.

One step for a man... one leap for mankind.

The other difference between goals and causes is that goals tend to be achievable. Goals have definite parameters, and even if they're difficult you can still (usually) manage to achieve them. Causes, though, tend to be more ephemeral. For example, you might have the goal of eliminating the bandits currently plaguing the North Ridge Pass. That is something that can be done. However, a cause might be to protect travelers along that highway from dangers. That is significantly harder to do, and likely requires the formation of regular patrols, a network of watch towers and shelters, and taking measures to ensure that as many dangers as possible are negated before they become an issue.

Because causes tend to be things that are either very large in scale and scope, or they might not have an actual end point. And even if they do have an end point, it isn't likely to happen within the lifespan of the person who took up the cause... even if that person is an elf.

So ask yourself what kind of causes your character believes in, which ones they're willing to fight for, and which ones they want to see come to fruition. Some of those might be:

- Freedom from slavery

- Cures for known diseases (and the means to give them to the masses)

- Preservation of knowledge, history, and literature

- Protection of children

- Punishment of the guilty

The list goes on and on, but you get the idea. A cause is more than just an ideal where a character happens to think this or that is a good or noble endeavor; it should be something they are (at least in part) dedicated to. The reasons they are dedicated to it might be lofty, or they might be deeply personal, but all that matters is they can be moved based on their belief in a cause.

For example, your rogue might be a hard bastard who does nothing for free... but he believes children must be kept safe. In small ways, this could motivate him to help rescue young kidnap victims who are being held for ransom. In a bigger way, though, it might lead him to oppose entire faiths, or societal systems that rely on child soldiers, exploitative labor practices of the young, ritual sacrifice, etc. Do they do this because they have very few moral lines in the sand, but this is one of them? Is it because they were abused by a system of child labor, or because they were a "big brother" in a gang of street youths? Did they lose their own children to circumstances beyond their control, and they aren't willing to stand aside and let it happen to others?

There are all kinds of causes that can motivate people. Most people may only help in small ways, like donating money or supplies, allowing use of their home or property, or casting a vote... others, though, are willing to lay down their lives for what they believe in if that's what it comes down to. So take a moment and ask what cause your character believes in, and what lengths they would go to if it meant they were able to further that cause?

And if you're looking for some handy supplements to help fill in your backgrounds, I would strongly recommend picking up copies of 100 Questions To Ask About Your Characters, as well as 100 Dark Secrets!

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!

Always Fill In Background Details To Make Your Character MORE Involved Rather Than LESS

In a lot of games that use a Vancian magic system (the one most common to Dungeons and Dragons, and similar systems) there is often an interesting trick that allows prepared spellcasters (such as clerics who pray for specific spells, wizards who go through the rituals out of their spellbooks, etc.) can use to maintain their flexibility. What they do is allow you to essentially reserve a spell slot (or several of them, if you so choose), leaving it purposefully empty so that it can be filled with a spell at a later time. So if the party is traveling along, and they find an inhospitable environment, a poisonous fog, or some other condition that knowing just the right spell could fix, the caster can take a few minutes to memorize the appropriate spell, and then deploy it using that empty slot.

Now, there are discussions about just how effective this can be as a strategy in a mechanical sense. However, this logic of leaving wiggle room so that you can adapt to unforeseen circumstances is something I'd recommend more of us actually do with our characters when it comes to the details of their stories. Because even those of us who write several pages of background often leave plenty of white space that we can fill up at appropriate story moments to help keep things moving forward.

Let me explain...

Even with all these notes, there's a LOT you didn't cover.

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!

If There's Nothing There, You Can Fill It In!

To illustrate what I'm talking about, let's take a very low-stakes example. Say that your party is all meeting at the local tavern, and you ask your Game Master what the current specials on the menu are. And because your GM recently picked up a copy of my 100 Fantasy Foods, they tell you that salamander steaks are currently on offer. A unique meal due to the salamander's resilience to heat and fire, they tend to be raw and bloody, scorched with acid and flavored with citrus. That sounds interesting, so you decide that your dwarven wizard is going to order that.

However, you choose to take things a little further. Because you know that Hervarth was raised in a forge mountain, skilled at enchanting magic weapons and armor as part of his learning in the ways of spellcraft, you decide to add into his backstory that salamander meat was something he fell in love with during his study as an apprentice because it was always available around the mountain (since the beasts were drawn to the fiery hearts of the forge). Perhaps this is a sign that this particular tavern is relatively close to the mountain he trained at, or it's surprising for him that this meal is available so far afield, but either way it sets up a little detail, and gives your character something to be excited about, while paying off a minor detail the GM slipped into the session.

The power of imagination!

This is the sort of thing I mean about filling in the blank parts of your character's canvas. If there's a detail about their past that hasn't been established as canon yet (like their favorite food), then when an opportunity arises you can capitalize on that detail to fill in a previously unexplored part of their character, revealing it to the rest of the table in a way that adds to the scene.

However, you can do this for big details, as well as small ones.

For example, say you're playing a hard-as-nails rogue. You've been a bandit and a highwaymen, you were a gang enforcer, and there is no dirty job you won't do... but when a bunch of kids start eyeing the party, he pulls a small, bean-stuffed leather ball out of nowhere, and teaches them a game they can play with it. Soon they're laughing, kicking it back and forth in a little circle, using their elbows, feet, knees, and heads to keep it in the air as long as they can.

Why does the scarred, cold-hearted bruiser have a soft spot for kids? Maybe he had some of his own that he hasn't seen since their mother left. Or since they died; collateral for the life he led. Maybe he was an elder sibling, and he got into the life he's in now to get the money to take care of his baby brother and sister, so he knows how to entertain and bond with younglings. And if a quest hook comes up where the children are in danger, a quest hook with little to no monetary reward, that little background detail might be enough to drag the money-up-front mercenary into a fight for a good cause.

These background details you add to your character on the fly could be as a simple result of a roleplay opportunity, as mentioned above. They might be a result of an absurdly good skill check (perhaps the dark-eyed ranger knows so much about religion because their mother is a priestess, and the two of them haven't spoken since she rejected the cloth and the oath of her order). But the idea behind filling in your backstory is that it should always be done with the express purpose of adding to a scene, rather than taking your character out of it.

For example, if you hear that a monastery was attacked, you could add in that your brother was inducted into that order, and you have to find out if he's all right. You shouldn't decide that your character has a negative history with that monastic order, using this grudge as a reason not to get involved. If you hear there are bandits terrorizing a town, you should feel free to add in that you have history with one or more of the bandits in that gang, and you're going to at least stop them, and possibly settle a grudge or two along the way. You should not decide you have a heretofore-unmentioned bounty on your head in that region, so you can't go there and risk being recognized and arrested.

And so on, and so forth.

The goal should always be to keep the momentum of a scene going, not to put the brakes on. If the addition you're going to make is going to stop your character from getting involved, or give you an excuse not to go down a story path, or to remove you from a scene, that's not a good addition. Much like improv, you want to be able to say, "Yes, and," when you add something from your character to the scene.

For additional, related examples and advice, consider checking out Find A Reason For Your Character To Get Involved. And if you're a Game Master who wants to build off of the supplement I plugged earlier, then I'd recommend grabbing your very own copy of the Inn & Tavern Bundle to get a slew of useful resources that just might end up adding to your characters' backstories, as well as fleshing out your setting!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

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

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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

All The Little Details (Supplements For Filling In Your Character's Backstory)

Making organic, well-rounded characters is no easy task. Even if you have your mechanical progression completely sorted out, you still have all of the ins and outs of their history, family connections, love life (or lack thereof), titles, alliances, dark secrets, and more to figure out. And for folks who didn't see the news, a brand new supplement of mine just dropped on this subject (100 Questions To Ask About Your Characters, in case you want to pick it up).

However, I wanted to take this week's Fluff installment, and gather a bunch of my supplements and resources in one place for folks who are still figuring out their characters, and trying to make sure they feel as real as possible!

Because it's not as easy as we sometimes make it appear.

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!

Filling In Your Background Details

I've been writing TTRPG supplements for quite a few years now, and a lot of the ones folks most readily think of are what I call my blue book supplements (as they were, by and large, assigned the same general blue cover image by my publisher). While a lot of these are meant for Game Masters to fill out the world, a lot of them are also useful for players who are looking to fill in parts of their characters' backstories.

For example, you might have come across:

- 100 Monastic Orders

- A Baker's Dozen of Noble Families

- 100 Knightly Orders

- 100 Secret Societies

- 100 Fantasy Guilds

And the honorary inclusions which aren't blue books, but still useful, 100 Random Mercenary Companies and 100 Fantasy Tattoos (And Their Meanings).

Seriously, go grab a copy if you haven't gotten it yet!

However, a while back, I started putting out supplements that were more geared toward players who were looking for ways to flesh out their characters, and to fill in all the details. These ice covers (the cover looks like cracking ice on a frozen river to me, so that's how I think of them) have been growing slowly but surely. And while these supplements are still useful for Game Masters (especially if they're looking to add some real depth to villains or important NPCs), they're written primarily with players in mind... particularly players who may not be authors or storytellers, and so they have a little trouble really sliding into a character's skin.

With the latest release included, the list currently consists of:

- 100 Questions To Ask About Your Characters

- 100 Dark Secrets

- 100 Fantasy Professions (That Aren't "Adventurer")

- 100 Character Goals and Motivations

And there are the two original supplements 100 Tips and Tricks For Being a Better Game Master and 100 Tips and Tricks For Being a Better Player, which are a little more meta than the others.

It's breezed past Copper, and is on its way to Silver... possibly even further!

Aside from just presenting this list of resources for folks this week (including the free article 10 Questions To Put On Your Character Creation Document, which you should also check out), I wanted to take a moment to ask folks what they'd like to see for future installments of either of these two series.

What blue book titles would you like to see added to the list? A baker's dozen of arcane colleges, perhaps? A sequel to any of the above books (or the half dozen I didn't mention, like 100 Cults to Encounter or 100 Fantasy Bands)? Or is there a list of character building questions or topics that you'd like to see added to the growing list of ice covers? Do you have any particular genres you'd like to see it focus on or expand into (such as books that cover sci fi topics, world building, or horror topics)?

Whatever you'd like to see in the future, leave it in the comments below, or reach out on social media to let myself and my publisher know! And if you get copies of any of these supplements (or you already picked some up when they first dropped) make sure you go back to Drive Thru RPG to leave a rating and a review to help us get found by other gamers looking for a little help with their heavy lifting.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

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

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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

Consider Using Unexpected Origins For Your Character's Skills

In the first World War, the design of grenades was altered to better fit the hand and skills of American troops. After all, they reasoned, what fit more naturally into the hand of an American than a grenade shaped like a baseball? It was the national pasttime, after all, so it would provide troops with something that felt familiar, and which they should already know how to throw with both speed and accuracy.

When designing your character, consider whether there have been instances like this in their life. Did they train for one skill or task, only to find that the muscle memory, power, etc., translated particularly well to a another skill set entirely?

After chopping trees, chopping men is easy.

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!

Sideways Training

It is often surprising how seemingly unrelated experiences, professions, and skills can synergize. For example, someone used to clearing trees with a woodcutting ax may find their skills and experience translates quite well to a battle ax; and because the woodsman's ax is heavier they can strike more quickly, and with greater force and accuracy. Someone who made their living hunting animals in the wild might find those same skills allow them to track the passage of men, making them an excellent bounty hunter, or even a detective with the city watch. Even someone who's primary training was as an actor or a performer might find that, while flashy, their skills definitely have a use in the field.

I'm just saying, I've ridden in over a hundred tourneys... facing orcs should be easy.

While there's nothing wrong with characters who are specifically trained for the roles they currently fill, whether it's career soldiers who have now become sellswords or wizards serving as ataches to their arcane institutions in the field, it can sometimes be interesting to see what other skill sets translate into useful skills and abilities that one could bring to the table.

Whether it's an illusionist who primarily used their magic to create immersive creatures and effects for stage plays before joining the Band of The Iron Hand, or a locksmith whose gone freelance to help the Green Vipers break into a secured vault, sometimes we pick up our skills unexpectedly, or even a circus knife thrower who puts their skills to deadly use against a goblin threat, these are the sorts of origin stories that can really grab people's attention around the table. So take a moment, and consider this option if you're looking for a unique twist on your next character.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

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

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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

"Opportunity Cost" Is a Useful Term For TTRPGs

Even though I've been playing RPGs for half my life, and designing content for them for going on 8 years now, I still make fun little discoveries that give me light bulb moments. This week I wanted to share one that I came across on Reddit a week or so ago that's just been sloshing around in my brain, picking up speed with every lap in the pool.

That term is Opportunity Cost, and for me it helps immensely when it comes to explaining choices and resource expenditure when it comes to TTRPGs.

Because you can't do all the things when it comes to your game.

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!

It All Comes Out of The Same Budget

There was an article I read forever and a day ago that talked about the choices we make in our lives. There are only 24 hours in the day, after all, and you have to choose what you're going to do with them. And if you want to make positive changes then you are probably going to have to sacrifice something along the way... which is one reason so many of us have such a hard time making the changes we want.

For instance, let's say you want to start a workout routine. That's at least an hour or so of your day that has to come from somewhere... so what's getting replaced? Are you going to play fewer video games? Cut down your TV watching? Sometimes it might be possible to modify your choices, such as convincing a friend to come workout with you so you still get to do an activity together, but generally speaking you're going to have to pay the cost in time and energy out of your finite supply in order to get the results you want.

Or, put another way, when you make one choice, you lose the ability to pursue other choices because you've already spent that allotted time, energy, etc.

And what does this have to do with gaming?

When it comes to TTRPGs, every player is faced with the same choices, and the same pool of resources. The decisions they make, and the abilities their characters acquire, come with an opportunity cost.

For example, say you want the spellcasting abilities of a wizard. Cool, you have chosen to play a wizard. But you now have wizard hit points, weapon proficiencies, skill points, etc. You might wish you had the fighter's proficiencies, or the cleric's spell list, or the rogue's skills, but you don't. You made your choice, and by making that choice you are locked in to what you picked. You may have more opportunities down the line, but right now you made your choice, and you are stuck with it until you get the chance to make another.

Every player should have the same opportunities and resources as every other. However, any time you find yourself feeling like someone else's character is more powerful, more effective, or is just overall doing better, it's important to ask what opportunity cost they paid... because they did pay one.

The barbarian is a beast in close combat, dealing out massive damage in melee. That's fair... but they can't cast spells. The fighter is able to stack their armor class so high they're practically untouchable... but do they have more than 1 or 2 skills? The sorcerer can cast spontaneously, but they have all the weaknesses of the wizard without access to a wider selection of spells. The bard can do a little bit of everything, but they're often not as effective as someone focused on a particular task.

And so on, and so forth.

It's All About Where You Spend Your Points

Different games have different structures. Some are level based, and some allow you to buy new abilities by spending XP as you go. Some are based more on your equipment, making what you're wielding even more important than who your character is underneath it all. But this concept translates to every game, regardless of its specifics.

You can choose between the sword that does more damage, or the sword that heals you, but you can't afford both. You have enough XP to increase your Strength or your Presence, but not both. You leveled up, but you may not be able to take levels of certain classes because of how you arranged your character's attributes, or because some classes are mutually exclusive.

No matter the situation, there is always an opportunity cost when it comes to what you choose to add to your character.

Everything has its cost.

This term is particularly important when it comes to asking how many resources it takes for your character to be able to accomplish the things you want out of them. Because all of you sitting at the table have the same choices... but once you've locked in those choices, you usually can't go back and change them. You chose to walk through door number three, and by doing so you now can't go back and open the first and second door, as well.

Recommended Reading

If you enjoyed this week's topic, and you'd like to check out some more articles by yours truly, consider checking out the following!

- Players, Don't Overcomplicate Solutions To In-Game Problems: All too often we end up creating huge Rube Goldberg devices for solving out problems in-game, sometimes it's important to step back and make sure we actually know what goal we're trying to reach, and that we're focusing on reaching it.

- The Power of Martial Characters: So often we focus on the raw power of magic users, stating that martial characters just fall by the wayside halfway through the game. But is that really true? Consider, instead, this perspective.

- An Exploration of "Reverse Stereotype" Characters in RPGs: So often we look at the stereotype of a given character archetype or class, and we immediately try to flip it to become a photo negative... but does this just create a new stereotype, rather than an interesting, unique character?

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!

"Well-Rounded" Rarely Works in Pathfinder

There is a desire among a lot of players (and particularly among newer players) to try to build a character that's "well-rounded" when they sit down at a Pathfinder table. They want to put a skill point into Handle Animal, for example, or they want to take 2-3 different classes just so they "have options" when it comes to what they can and can't do in game.

And I get that urge. I do. However, I would like to try to save my fellow players as much frustration as possible, since I had to learn this lesson the hard way over several campaigns between 3.5 and Pathfinder. That is, in short, that the game does not, generally speaking, reward spreading your resources wider and thinner. That's why you have a party.

No one is meant to be able to do everything on their own.

As always, if you want to help me keep the wheels turning then consider becoming a Patreon patron today! It makes a big difference, and ensures I have the bandwidth to keep the blogs going. And if you don't want to miss anything that I'm doing, sign up for my weekly newsletter as well!

Increased Challenge Requires Focus To Succeed

As anyone who has played Pathfinder can tell you, as the game proceeds, everything about it gets harder. The difficulty checks for skills get higher, the armor class for enemies goes up, enemy saving throws get better, and so on, and so forth. So while you can sometimes succeed at lower levels with nothing more than a good roll and a higher-than-average attribute, that isn't going to cut it past level 4-5. After that you need to start stacking bonuses from various sources if you expect to succeed.

I put one rank in Intimidate... I should still be able to do this, right?

As an example, say you want your barbarian to be able to move around silently. They're a hunter, after all, so you put a skill rank into Stealth. That's not an inherently bad idea... however, a Stealth check is always going to be opposed by an enemy's Perception roll. And at lower levels that's often going to be a toss up as to whether they hear/see you or not. But if you just leave that one rank in Stealth? Or if you didn't make it a class skill by taking an appropriate background trait? And if there are no magic items, spells, etc. giving it a boost? Well, at level one having a +4 to Stealth means you've got a decent shot of not being seen or heard if you roll well. At level 8 or 10, that +4 to Stealth is nowhere near as good when your opponent has a +12 or more to their Perception score.

You can apply this to a lot of different aspects of the game. For example, identifying monsters and their abilities is a Knowledge roll, but that difficulty goes up with the monster's CR. Intimidating a creature gets harder the more hit dice they have. Traps get more difficult to bypass, spells become harder to resist, enemies get more difficult to hit, and they gain more and more hit points.

So if you want this thing you're putting resources into to be something your character is actually going to succeed at, you need to make the necessary investment to pull it off.

In short, Pathfinder is a game that rewards focused builds. You should be good at more than one thing, but generally speaking any given character is going to have a small handful of things they can be really, truly good at that they should expect to succeed at more often than not. And if you're good at a particular thing, there's a trade off for it elsewhere. It's why full casters don't get a full base attack bonus, it's why skill monkey builds tend to have lower hit points, and so on, and so forth.

End of The Day, You're All Part of a Team

The logic behind this structure is that a party is assembled with the intention that you're all filling necessary roles, and covering certain tasks. For example, the barbarian is here to tank damage, dish out the harshness, Intimidate the enemy (or those who annoy them in social situations), and perhaps one other sub-specialty depending on resources and expenditures. The paladin is here to fight evil foes, but they can also act as a diplomat during social situations due to their class skills and necessary attributes. The wizard is here to provide arcane insight, and to use their spells to provide solutions for their comrades. The rogue is the one capable of disabling magical traps, spotting ambushes, and doing Stealth reconnaissance.

Swap the roles around as your build sees fit.

Now, while the examples given are the stereotypical roles for these character classes, one of the great advantages of Pathfinder is that it gives you a lot of flexibility in which classes can be made to fit which roles. For example, you could make a long-ranged, Stealth-based paladin who can sneak around and provide fire support, while also smiting demons. You could make a rogue who favors a greatclub over daggers, and who runs in bellowing a battle cry when initiative is rolled, dealing out damage on par with many fighters. You can make a bard who's just as adept at dealing with dungeon crawls as a rogue, or a wizard who focuses their skill set on diplomacy and social skills.

However, even when you step outside of class stereotypes, you still have to deal with the fact that every character regardless of the class or classes they take levels in, has a set amount of resources. They only have so many skill points to distribute, so many feats to take, and so much gold to buy magic items with. And if you spread them around to a bunch of disparate, unconnected skills or abilities, then you're going to find that you aren't keeping pace with the challenges you're facing.

Everyone Gets a Turn

A common issue a lot of players run into is they want to be able to participate (if not to shine) in every, single situation. However, Pathfinder is a game where a lot of the time players need to work together to assist one another, handing off the spotlight as one character's skill set comes into focus. Those with Knowledge skills are the ones who discover lore and shout out a monster's weaknesses, those with melee skill engage the enemy to keep them back from their allies, spellcasters utilize their magic to end threats, etc.

While you can build a character to be effective at nearly any task you set, as a lot of people have pointed out, unless you want to keep investing in that ability as you level (increasing your skill ranks, increasing your caster level, increasing your combat prowess, etc.) you are going to fall behind until something you were reliably good at in the start of the game is something that will require a natural 20 to succeed by the time your level hits double digits.

In Other News...

For those who've been following my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age RPG setting, a completely new installment dropped today! This month we take a break from exploring the physical locations we saw in the Cities of Sundara series, with Gods of Sundara, a book that delves into the metaphysical workings of this setting, and what makes it different from more traditional DND and Pathfinder settings.

It only gets stranger from here on out.

For those who haven't been tuned-in, though, Sundara has done away with alignment completely and utterly. There is no divinely mandated good and evil... but this also means there are no angels, no demons, no devils, and so on, and so forth. There is also no huge nexus of the planes as we're used to seeing... there is only the physical, material world and the strange, impossible realm of the Prim beyond it. The place where all magic is drawn from, which is also the realm of the gods. And in Sundara there is not one pantheon, but many, with faiths and religions often unknowingly venerating different Masks of the same god.

So if you'd like to see a more organic take on the development of faiths and deities, or you'd just like to see what tieflings and aasimar were replaced with in this setting, pick up your copy of Gods of Sundara for Pathfinder, or Gods of Sundara for DND 5th Edition today!

Like, Share, and Follow For More!

That's all for this week's Crunch topic! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio! Or if you'd like to read some of my books, like my alley cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well! And if you'd like to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little bit of help can go a long way, trust me on that one.

What Body Modifications Does Your Character Have?

"Did I hear you say something, stranger?" Barak growled. He was a big man, full of whiskey, and spoiling for a fight.

The stranger set his glass down, and looked at Barak. He was a long shank of a man, whipcord, and hard. He didn't seem worried, or even impressed. He let the moment swell, unbuttoning his right sleeve and rolling it back. A black serpent tattoo circled his wrist, fangs sunk into its own tail. Above that, a black heart with a dagger through it on his forearm. And in the crook of his elbow, a laughing demon.

"I said a man your size should be able to hold his liquor better," the stranger repeated.

"You're quite right, Sir," Dolomon said, snatching Barak by the arm. Though his words were jovial, Dolomon's knuckles were white. "I'll just get him sobered up someplace."

"You do that," the stranger said, returning to his drink.

Dolomon held his breath until they were outside, letting it out in a long gust. Barak was complaining, making excuses about how he could have taken the mouthy drunk. Barak had never served in the king's navy, though, and he didn't know what Dolomon knew. The black serpent was worn by Calabra Privateers, and the killer's heart only by those who'd spilled blood for their captain. The laughing devil marked the ship's Questioner... and Dolomon had heard enough rumors about what they did to know that they wanted no part of that man's ire.

Gold makes monsters of the best men... and it makes the worst of them into devils.

Tattoos and Scars

It's the small details that often makes our characters really stand out, and body modifications are one of those things a lot of us turn to for adding a touch of unique flair. Even in instances where there's no mechanical bonus (such as you get from magical tattoos, from enchanted earrings, or class features where your heavy scarring actually grants you natural armor, or adds to Intimidate checks), these features still make our characters truly stand out.

Not only that, but what these things say about our character and their histories can also tell us a lot about who they are, and where they've been.

It is rare to see one who survived the training of a Kiloshan Warlock.

Sometimes these markings might be a cultural thing, as I mention in several entries in 100 Superstitions For a Fantasy Setting. Perhaps it's the belief that an earring will prevent seasickness, and so it's common for sailors and fishermen in certain areas to have their ears pierced in particular ways. Alternatively ritual scarification might be how individuals are marked as adults in certain cultures, with the pattern saying something about their history and deeds. Or, as is mentioned in 100 Fantasy Tattoos (And The Meaning Behind Them), tattoos might mark how many children one has, what rank they hold socially, or it might even be used as a marking to prove that a particular noble is who they say they are.

However, even if your tattoos, scars, or piercings don't "mean something," they still mean something.

What does that mean? Well, even if your character got a tattoo for no reason other than they thought it looked cool, or their scarification was something they got done with a friend on their travels, or they got drunk and pierced on a lark after going through a dungeon, the fact that the marks don't have personal, religious, or cultural significance to the individual don't render them useless.

Generally speaking, certain traditions of body modification aren't going to be universally available, practiced, or even allowed across the entirety of a fantasy setting. So for a character to boast tattoos of a particular style, to wear a nose piercing with a chain hooked to an ear ring, or to bear a pauldron-flower scarification pattern means they likely traveled to a region where such an art form is practiced. And if they didn't, then they somehow crossed paths with a craftsman who was able to create the art they now bear.

In some cases the body modification might even have been as a reward for deeds done, or to signify membership in a tribe, a gang, a brotherhood, or a knightly order. From soldiers being inducted into service, to a champion who stood against a greater force on behalf of an outnumbered tribe, to someone who married into a particular culture where these markings were part of the ceremony, there's always some kind of significance to them with regards to a character's story.

So ask yourself what sort of body mods your character has. And once you know what they have, ask what personal significance they have, where they got them, how they got them, and what those markings might tell other people who see them. Because they might just be really into tattoos and piercings... or those marks might tell those with the right knowledge that this is a magus of a prestigious magical lineage, a vicious outlaw, or someone who was (at least at one time) a member of a holy order.

Additional Reading and Inspiration

For those who'd like additional reading over and above the supplements listed above, check out the following:

- Character Reputation in RPGs: The Small Legend: Reputation in an RPG setting is an important thing to consider, and for those who are known by certain body mods those decorations are going to make them identifiable at a glance.

- Did Your Character Have a Former Life?: Tattoos often hearken back to someone a character used to be, which makes this a useful question to consider.

- 100 Gangs For Your Urban Campaigns: Tattoos are often a kind of street heraldry for gang members, and this supplement has a dozen different inspirations for those looking for characters who have something of a checkered past.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Fluff post!

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 alley cat thriller Marked Territory, it's sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my recent 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!