Why I Will Have Fewer Community Created TTRPG Products Coming Out

Readers who've been following my release schedule have likely noticed a pattern for the past few years. I usually come out with two releases in any given month, and the first will either be a system or genre-generic supplement (like my recent 100 Body Mods and Augments For Your Sci Fi Game), and the second release will be something for an existing TTRPG setting made using a community content platform (like this week's recent release 100 Mediums, for use in the Chronicles of Darkness setting).

Seriously, check it out if you haven't yet!

Generally speaking, I've been doing things this way for years now as a way to stop my brain from getting too stuck in any particular rut. Some changes have been going on behind the scenes at Azukail Games, though, and I wanted to take a moment to make folks aware of them.

Before I get into the details, though, 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! To be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Also, since it keeps getting lost in the shuffle, check out my Vocal archive for more articles about RPGs, character conversions, character concepts, weird history, nerdy topics, and more!

Costs and Earnings

No one makes a good living writing for TTRPGs; if you are part of this niche publishing community, at least 60% of the reason is because you love RPGs. To put that into a numbers perspective, a general, professional rate of pay for a writer is usually considered between 4 and 6 cents per word, though some have said that should be up to 8 cents per word due to inflation. There are few RPG companies who can afford to pay that rate, and I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times I've earned that much (Paizo and Storm Bunny Studios top the list, for those who are curious). Often times RPG writers will be offered 1 cent per word, half a cent per word, or in a lot of cases no up-front pay at all, and just a portion of the sales of the product.

And though I've quoted this number before, roughly 80% of products that go up on Drive Thru RPG don't even move 50 copies. So it's very possible that you could spend weeks to months jamming out word count on something, only to receive $5 and a hearty handshake for all your work.

I've been there more than once.

To re-iterate something that a lot of my readers miss, I do not own or run Azukail Games; I am merely a contributor there. I receive a percentage of sales on my supplements as a royalty, and I receive an up-front fee as well. Up until recently this was 1 cent per word... but recently this increased to 2 cents per word for all supplements that aren't part of a community creation platform.

This leaves me with a choice as a creator, but it's one I want my audience to understand, and to be aware of.

Because I've put out a lot of community content over the past several years. From World/Chronicles of Darkness supplements, to Pathfinder Infinite pieces, to a few Call of Cthulhu splats (like my recent 100 Gangsters, Gun Molls, and Goons NPC list for games set in Arkham during Prohibition), it's at least 25% of my total archive of gaming products. And I'm not saying that I won't ever pen another supplement for these platforms... but given how expensive everything around us is getting, it is asking a lot for a creator to take a 50% pay cut to work on that kind of content.

Unless, that is, the creator is making up the costs on the back end.

This is where that royalty payment comes in...

Numbers talk in the publishing world, and when things get noticed it's more likely that those product lines are going to get expansions and extensions. So whether you want to see more of my WoD/CoD supplements, more Pathfinder Infinite products, or even more Call of Cthulhu stuff, the best way for you to help make that happen is to get a copy of them for yourself (they're only a couple of bucks, after all). And if you've already bought a copy, leave a review on DTRPG, Storyteller's Vault, or Pathfinder Infinite, and share the link on your socials so that other people can see the supplements you like. I'm doing everything I can to move copies as a creator, but user reviews are far more effective than even my best sales pitch out in the wilds of social media.

And, of course, the more sales something has, the more metal badges it earns, which ranks it higher and higher in the site's algorithm, which means more people are likely to see it going forward. So if you are one of those folks who wants to help make it tenable for me to keep making supplements on these platforms, consider checking out what I have already:

- Storyteller's Vault Products (38 supplements)

- Call of Cthulhu (2 supplements)

- Pathfinder Infinite (2 supplements & 1 short story)

Those are, of course, just a sample of the 161 total products I have on DTRPG (as of time of writing, at least). And though I've said this before, I feel it's important to repeat this for anyone who hasn't heard it yet... my publisher pays attention to our numbers. When supplements get a lot of interaction, a lot of sales, notable positive reviews, etc., it becomes much easier to get more supplements like those approved. So if you see something you like, and you want to send me a message to make more of it, please do your part to help me reach fresh eyes, and new plateaus... because that is how decisions get made in publishing.

Also, Speaking of New Games...

While we're on the subject of games, audience reaction, and sending a message about what you want to see more of, my first full TTRPG "Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic" is available for pre-order on BackerKit! It made the funding goal on Kickstarter, but we didn't smash it hard enough to guarantee expansions, future supplements, and so on. If you want to help make sure that happens, though, consider pre-ordering your copy today, and telling your friends about this game.

And if you missed it when I was talking non-stop about Army Men, check out some of my earlier posts about it below!

- Under The Hood With "Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic": A 5E Game With a Lot of Tactical Add-Ons

- What's Next For "Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic" After The Kickstarter?

We need all the support we can get!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

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

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary!. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, my dystopian sci fi thriller Old Soldiers, or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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

Pathfinder Infinite (And Other News Involving Paizo)

For those folks who unplugged themselves recently, there's been a lot of big news going on. The one that a lot of people are focusing on is the announcement of Pathfinder Infinite (and Starfinder Infinite as well, if that's your thing). In short, after years and years of steadfastly going things on their own, Paizo seems to have finally decided to get on the community creation bandwagon along with Onyx Path, Wizards of The Coast, and a lot of other developers out there.

So what does this mean, exactly?

Before we get into the nitty gritty details of how this is going to affect not just me, but other creators out there, take a moment to sign up for my weekly newsletter if you haven't already. And since my blogs basically run on the contributions of readers like you, consider becoming a Patreon patron if you haven't already!

How Does Community Content Work? What About The OGL?

For folks who aren't sure what's going on, I'll begin at the beginning. A community content platform is when a gaming company allows creators to use their intellectual property under the rules they set forth, typically with a royalty/profit split between the creator and the company. So if you wanted to put together an adventure set in, say, Ravenloft or the Forgotten Realms you could publish it through DMs Guild which is the platform for Dungeons and Dragons. Alternatively, if you wanted to put together a book expanding on the Hedge in Changeling: The Lost (such as my recent releases 100 Strange Sights to See in The Hedge as well as 100 (Mostly) Harmless Goblin Fruits and Oddments to Find in The Hedge) then you could publish that piece through Storyteller's Vault.

And once this project is up and running you'll be able to publish similar content using Golarion and its surrounding solar system with both Pathfinder and Starfinder content.

Yes, yes, the Open Game License, that's next.

For those of you not familiar with it, Pathfinder as well as Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition (and 3.5 and 4th Editions as well, to the best of my knowledge) are written under an Open Gaming License. This means that the mechanics, the systems of the games are open to anyone who wants to use them for their own worlds, settings, RPGs, etc. It's why I can put out something like my recent Species of Sundara: Dwarves book for both Pathfinder Classic and DND 5th Edition without even once worrying about getting sued over them, or having to share my profits with anyone. Because nothing in those books uses the intellectual property of either Paizo or Wizards of the Coast, even though they use the mechanics of both Pathfinder and DND 5E respectively. Because those things were basically open for anyone to use already.

So if you can use the mechanics freely, then why would anyone sign up for the platform where you have to split your earnings with the company who holds the intellectual property, and follow all the rules they set out for what you can and can't do with it?

The short answer is money. The longer answer is because it's a lot easier to get people interested in a new contribution to a property they already know and like than it is to get them completely invested in a new property they've never seen or played around in before. So while you might get some people to check out your completely unique fantasy setting where you get to keep all the profits of those sales, you're likely to make far more sales using a setting they already know, love, and probably have campaigns and characters active in. And so those increases in number of sales more than makes up for splitting your royalties with the company who holds the intellectual property you're being allowed to use.

But What About That "Other" News?

Again, for those who haven't been paying attention recently, you may not have heard about the other news story involving Paizo of late. In short, Jessica Price dropped a lot of accusations about scandalous behavior that other creators and freelancers have stepped forward to confirm (at least in part) in the week or so since it's come out.

I'd advise folks to read the thread in its entirety, but a lot of it is going to feel very familiar if you've been following revelations like this from big companies in general, and gaming companies in particular. We've got the classics like bullying female employers, management entrenching itself against progressive ideas and stifling voices from POC creators, not paying people who actually created the product enough to live on while hoarding profits for the higher-ups... but there are some I didn't expect. Not cleaning the office to the point that it was a health hazard for employees wasn't on my bingo card, nor was the weird obsession with Victorian occultism that led to... problematic discussions, to say the least.

Huh... didn't expect that one.

This puts a lot of us in a bind, creatively and professionally. Because on the one hand it's an opportunity to make the content we never had the chance to before (I would very much like to write sequels to The Irregulars, for example, since I was only ever allowed to write a single tale for the squad, and I had more adventures planned for them), and it would allow creators whose voices may not have been heard before to step up. This could allow a lot of us to make the setting genuinely more diverse, without meddling from management and higher-ups who (according to accusations, at least) often tried to rein those efforts in. On the other hand, that profit split means that everything sold through the platform puts money right back into Paizo's pockets as a company.

I can't speak for any other creators, as I haven't had any in-depth conversations with anyone on this subject yet. However, as folks have pointed out, a lot of the individuals accused of bad behavior at Paizo no longer work for the company. However, that doesn't let them off the hook for the accusations that prove true. Generally speaking I want to see things change (both at Paizo, and at companies in general) and for problems like these to be fixed so that I am not supporting bad faith and negative behavior. I'd like to be a part of making a gaming company whose products I like better and more profitable, but only if that company is going to treat its creators well, and not try to drag itself backward into all the -isms we've worked so hard to undo, shrug off, and cut away over the years.

So, while I'm still tentatively excited about the potential opportunity Pathfinder Infinite presents, I'm not going to sweep aside my other projects to jump right on it any time soon. The dice are still rolling, and I hope they come up good... but we'll just have to see how that turns out before I put my nose on this particular grindstone.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

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

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