Supplemental Merch For "Army Men" (What Should Make The Cut?)

As most regular readers on this blog know, my game Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic dropped earlier this year. While the base book gives you everything you need to play the game (including a sample mission for you and your fellow troopers), since then we've also released Army Men: Threat Assessments (for extra creatures and dangers), Army Men: Medals of Honor (which introduces the Medals system for rewarding player achievements in the field), and Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps (which is full of deadly traps to sprinkle across the battlefield).

While I've got at least one more supplement awaiting release (which will mark the first mission outside of the sample one in the base book), I've also been taking Army Men to various conventions since it came out. Though I intend to start running some game demo sessions in the future, I was thinking that I should have more than just the base book for sale at my booth. And since the supplements mentioned above are digital-only offerings, it's got me thinking... what other things would folks like to see?

I don't have the resources for making medals yet... but...

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

Some Ideas I'm Currently Kicking Around...

Now, I'm planning on doing more conventions (and more different conventions) starting in 2025. While there are a few smaller events left in 2024, I'm not going to scramble to try to get any merch ready for this year. And while I'm reaching out to manufacturers, trying to get quotes, and to see what's feasible, the feedback and interest from my audience is also extremely important to me. So if there is an idea you particularly like, make sure that you let me know in the comments below, along with why you like it, and what you would consider a fair price for the item in question (so I can see if it matches up with what it would cost to get it made).

Also, Army Men is getting it's own show over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel! So check out the first episode if you haven't, and leave your comments for what you'd like to see on it.

Now, the current ideas include...

#1: Faction Dice Sets (And Crate)

Standard-issue, of course.

Custom dice were, of course, one of the original items we were hoping to get with the Kickstarter stretch goals for Army Men, but we fell a little short of the numbers we needed to make that a reality. However, good ideas often take on a new life in a new form, which is why I had the thought of offering faction dice at my booth for those who want a little something extra for their next mission (or who just think it would be cool).

The modified version of this idea is faction dice. Each set will be a standard, solid-color set of d20 dice that is largely representative of a particular nation of the Plastos Federation, as well as a set for the Federation itself. The dice won't be custom, in that they won't have unique pips, inclusions, or anything like that. The idea is that these are the "standard-issue" weapons you're given before going out into the field. While custom dice could still be something done for a future Kickstarter, these are going to be a more humble, more reliable, offering.

What makes them special, then? Well, my hope is to find a unique case for them, such as a metal, slide-top tin that will have the Army Men logo either etched or printed onto the lid. While I would love to find a tiny ammo crate, I'm still trying to find an option that will be affordable for both myself, and for folks interested in this offering!

#2: Uniform Patches & Pins

Acrylican 301st: "No Horizon Unexplored"

I'm a sucker for patches, and I had a few made a year or so ago featuring my Literary Mercenary skull, and a motto that got me a lot of dirty looks from parents who didn't want their little ones reading a bad word. But given the military setup of Army Men as a game, I thought it might also be fun to have patches for the various nation's militaries, or even pins made to go on one's lapel, pocket, etc.

However, there are additional hurdles with this option.

First and foremost, I'd have to work things out with our book's artist if I want to use any of her assets on these patches or pins (such as the versions of the flags she made). Alternatively, if I wanted to use different assets, well, I'd have to either make them myself, or commission new ones from someone. Both are an expensive process. Then there's the extra up-front cost for patches getting printed, the question of whether we want iron-ons, sew-ons, or velcro patches, and whether they're rubberized or not... it's a long list of nonsense!

Doable nonsense, of course, but nonsense nevertheless!

Now, my original idea was to pair this kind of merch with something like Army Men: Regiments of Renown (as a sample title), where I would provide additional lore for the setting through creating various irregular units and special forces for the different nations' militaries, while providing players with additional subclasses, gear, etc., that they could bring into the field if they wanted to be part of these units (or, at least, have been part of them at one time). That way in addition to the standard military choices, players could get a little niche with their loyalties.

#3: Stickers

All right, this one MIGHT be a little obvious...

In fairness, this is probably the most obvious bit of extra merch, and one of the most affordable. Whether you're using it to label your folders, everything from the logo to the flags (again, post-negotiation) could be on this list if that's something players are interested in. But I've found, overall, that stickers are a very hit-or-miss thing. On the one hand, they're very low investment for the dealer, and they can have a very low price point. On the other hand, there seems to be either a lot of interest in them, or absolutely none.

So what about you? Would you be interested in stickers? And if so, what kind would you like to see?

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!

I'm A Little Behind (Here's What's Going On)

I wanted to take a moment this week to apologize to my readers out there. The wheels haven't come off of the struggle bus, but there have been a lot of doings on my end of the screen of late. Because of this, I've missed a couple of updates, but I wanted to take this Monday's post to catch you all up on what's been going down, and to say sorry for the missed steps, and for getting some projects out a little more slowly than I'd like to.

Sadly, there just aren't enough hours in the day or gas in the tank to do absolutely everything I want to. Or even need to!

It's been... a lot of a lot.

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 Have I Missed (And What Am I Doing)?

Though it might not seem obvious to everyone, I've missed a couple of updates recently on both my gaming blog, as well as over on my writing blog. I also missed my newsletter this past Sunday... but I have a good explanation for both of these things!

The short version is, I've been busy. The longer version is detailed below!

All gas, no brake.

Well, first things first, I've been trying to keep the plates spinning on all of my major TTRPG projects. For folks who didn't see it, my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age supplements were all on sale for DND 5E earlier this month in an attempt to stir up some more attention for them. Not only that, but my TTRPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic was deal of the day on DTRPG earlier this month. I spent a lot of time running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to make sure those sales got all the eyes I could reach, because my hope is that I'll be able to keep expanding both of those games and settings for at least a few years to come.

In addition to those things, which ate up a great deal of my time, I'm currently working on 2 new TTRPG supplements, and I'm trying to make sure we keep getting new videos for the Azukail Games YouTube channel since we're still in need of about 1,000 hours of watched content from our viewers to get monetized. I've even got our first short up, taken from the Geist: The Sin Eaters audio drama Russian Roulette, and you should consider checking out both if you haven't yet!

As if all of that weren't enough (and it definitely was), I was also at the Chicago Steampunk Expo this past weekend. It was my first time at that particular event, and it was a lot of work. And while I sold a handful of books, it was hardly enough that I can kick up my feet and take a breather. And if you missed out on getting copies of my Hardboiled Cat novels Marked Territory and Painted Cats, I'd highly recommend stopping in to grab some copies soon. Also, if you missed out on the hardback copies of Snowhaven, I'd recommend giving this snowpunk TTRPG setting a look, since it was the second most popular thing I brought to the show (which is damning it with pretty fine praise).

There's also a thing I can't talk about right now that I'm working on, but if it goes the way I'm hoping it will (fingers crossed on that) then it should open up several new projects in the future. But while I'm focusing on Project X, I won't have as much time and energy to keep up with all of the balls I've already got in the air!

How You Can Help

Again, regular readers, your patience and interest is greatly appreciated. If you want to help keep me going so I can keep making all this lovely content for you to enjoy, then please consider leaving me a tip on my Ko-Fi, or becoming a full-on patron on my Patreon page. If you're a reader or a gamer, please grab a copy of some of my books, or just take a spin through my Vocal archive to boost my numbers. And if you're someone who prefers video content, head over to the Azukail Games YouTube channel and check out some of the stuff I make there.

I'm doing my best to catch my breath, and to get back on top of the to-do list. But I could definitely use a little extra support, if you have the power to give it right now.

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!

Ever Hear of "Weird Detective Mystery Adventures"? Well, Neither Had I!

One of the fun things about going to conventions is that it allows you to discover unique things you would never come across in your day-to-day experience. Even though I spend most of any given day up to my elbows in RPG content, I never would have come across Weird Detective Mystery Adventures, and I feel confident in saying the same for all my readers out there.

So if you've been looking for a game with gangsters, gun mals, masked vigilantes, super heroes, mad scientists, and more, this is a game you could use to scratch that itch.

An offer that might be tough to refuse.

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!

Let's Start With The Good

The best part of any proposal.

Right off the bat, what is Weird Detective Mystery Adventures? Well, it's an RPG that uses 2d6 and a lot of charts to help you tell stories that are just what it says on the tin. If a story can be found in the canon of weird or pulp fiction, then you could emulate it with this RPG. Whether you want to do gritty private eyes digging into gangland deals, masked vigilantes stopping bank robbers, or superheroes fighting supernatural cultists and their dark gods, all of that is possible within this system.

Aside from power scaling, which is quite important for any game, the rule book is pretty thorough when it comes to all your options. Everything from contacts you can call on, to a superhuman accuracy with firearms, to mastery of disguises, to being filthy rich, or being bulletproof and able to fly is covered in here. And while there are sequels and extra content planned for future installments, the core book is all you need to play the game.

As to the system itself, it has a decidedly old-school feel to it. A single chart is used to determine success or failure for a majority of actions, ranging from stunts and tricks with metahuman abilities, to standard punch-ups with goons in a bar. The base stats all have their own unique names one needs to get used to, but once you get in the groove figuring out success, failure, and your odds of either, the game becomes pretty easy to manage.

Now Onto The Bad

You didn't see nuthin', got it smart guy?

Nothing is perfect, and I wouldn't want anyone tracking this game down without making them aware of the flaws it has, as well as its benefits.

First and foremost, if you came into gaming via d20 games, this is going to be like learning a whole new language for you. While I've seen games with similar systems before, if you're more used to various editions of DND, or even the World of Darkness, this will be something of a rough start for you. Additionally, this book is thick... we're talking old-fashioned Yellow Pages thick. While you may not need to read all of it depending on the game you want to play, there's a lot of material in there, which will not be to a lot of players' tastes. Particularly in this age of short rulebooks and minimal mechanics gaming. Lastly, for all of the material the book does give you, this game isn't meant to take place in a particular setting or world; details like that are left largely up to the storyteller to figure out for themselves. So while you have a big skeleton with a lot of moving parts, everything from the era, to the lore, to the world is on you to figure out.

Lastly, and this is the one that struck me strange, this book is damn near impossible to come across. To get yourself a copy you must go to the Weird Detective Mystery Adventures website and buy one, or come across the game's booth at a convention. You can't find copies of it on DTRPG, nor can you locate it on Amazon. Even stranger, there is no PDF version of the game available at time of writing, and the physical copy is rather large at just under $50 for a paperback version. For someone who hasn't played the game themselves and is only curious to check it out, that is a rather large risk to take.

The Ugly

You knew this was coming.

I want to start this section by making one thing clear; I didn't dislike my read-through of this game system. While it's certainly a heavy game in terms of options, it has a certain nostalgic quality that will draw you in a bit, and it presents a lot of interesting ideas that would be fun to play with.

However, this game is definitely not going to be for everyone. Worse, though, it feels like this game is attempting to re-invent the wheel in a lot of ways.

As a for instance, everything I mentioned about different game styles, scaling power, power sets and abilities, etc., could also be said of Mutants & Masterminds. Also, while not a simple game, M&M was far easier for me to grasp when I was presented with it, and it has a great deal of supporting material one can choose to use if they want, like the Player's Guide To Emerald City, Hero High, or the Supernatural Handbook, depending on the needs of your game. And if one wanted a simpler game with easier-to-digest mechanics, but which still boasted all of those positive aspects already mentioned, then Savage Worlds Adventurer Edition would work just as well. Especially since one could add in all the other material they want for their game piecemeal, such as hunting monsters with the Rippers Resurrected player guide, Weird War I player's guide, Arcana and Mysticism, or any of a dozen other books and supplements that are available to customize one's playing experience.

Both of these other options are available as digital copies, they're easier to learn, and they're easier on your wallet if you're looking for a game of pulpy adventure that's all over the board in terms of what you can bring to the table.

Again, WDMA isn't a bad game. But if you're interested in giving it a closer look, I would definitely recommend looking through the homepage to make sure it's going to appeal to you and your play style. Because as of this moment there isn't a free sample or a starter's guide to let you try before you buy, and it's got a pretty hefty price tag attached to it.

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 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!