It feels like the world is on fire, and everyone around you is crying out for help. With so many causes trying to get your attention, I wanted to take a moment to talk about some of the ones that have come across my feed recently. And if you're in the market for some solid bundles of TTRPG materials, then I'd highly recommend checking out the following bundles, and the causes they're going to support!
Lastly, if YOU know of a charity bundle that I didn't cover that goes to a good cause, please leave it in the comments down below so we can all see it!
We all need help sometimes...
But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
Folks in the RPG world likely know Owen K.C. Stephens, even if they don't recognize his name. A contributor to Pathfinder, the father of Starfinder, and someone who has been making RPGs since before I even started playing, he's had one hell of a rough go the past few years. He's beaten cancer, he's fighting off half a dozen other illnesses, and at time of writing is grappling with a loss in the family. Bill collectors are circling like sharks, so if you haven't grabbed the Summer of Survival bundle, get yourself a copy while it's still up, and help one of our own keep his head above water!
The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a tragedy, and one of the biggest struggles for the victims of this unnecessary aggression is just getting food. This Librarians and Leviathans bundle goes to support the Sameer Project, which is a charity providing food for the civilians in Gaza. It's got quite a number of products and projects in it, and the money is going to an objectively good cause.
Cancer is the worst, and fighting it isn't just physically hard for sufferers; it's financially ruinous (hence the first bundle in this week's post needing to exist). From Infinium Game Studios, this bundle is meant to help provide money to cancer charities. It's a little on the older side, having been up since 2021, and there isn't a specific charity listed as the beneficiary of the bundle. However, despite that, I'd still recommend giving the Fuck Cancer Charity Bundle a look for yourself!
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!
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!
As my regular readers know, I've been putting out content for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age fantasy TTRPG setting for just over 3 years now. I've covered many of the fantastical places in the setting, along with delving into the different species that players have access to in Sundara, and I've put out dozens of factions including mercenary companies, cults, guilds, and even merchant houses. And as if all of that wasn't enough, there's also half a dozen audio dramas on the Azukail Games YouTube channel set in this place to give listeners a little taste of the kinds of stories they're going to run into when they crack the covers on one of these splat books.
And if you've been looking to get into this setting, we have a DND 5E bundle for Sundara going on right now!
Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
What You'll Find in This Bundle!
I know this is Crunch week, but given that this is a 1-week bundle, I wanted to make sure that folks heard about it before it was gone. So, what is included in this package, and what does it do for you as a player, Game Master, or both? In a mechanical sense?
- All 5 Cities of Sundara Splats: These books come with maps, plot hooks, NPCs, location history, district-by-district breakdowns, and usually some extra mechanical pieces like write-ups for unique animals, new Backgrounds for players to use, air or spell-based firearms, etc.
- All 6 Species of Sundara Splats: These each offer 5 subraces for players and GMs alike to use, and it covers elves, dwarves, orcs, gnomes, halflings, and the Blooded (half-elves and half-orcs in one).
- Sellswords of Sundara: A book of mercenary companies, this one has subclasses for fighters, barbarians, monks, rangers, and more!
- Gods and Cults of Sundara: These 2 splats contain unique rules for followers of the gods, as well as magic items one will find in the hands of various cults throughout the setting.
- Guilds of Sundara: In addition to providing GMs with a collection of guilds that come with NPCs, rumors, plot hooks, history, etc., there are also a selection of fresh feats that can be used by players to tie them more closely to these organizations.
- A Dekas of Sundaran Alchemical Constructs: A handy guide full of weird equipment, this pairs particularly well with the aether weapons found in the Cities of Sundara book for Silkgift, where these air-powered guns first debuted!
So, all in all, that's 16 splat books for about $30 and change. And if you bought all of them separately, that would run you over $60... so you're currently looking at a lot of new toys to play with for 50% off this week!
And best of all, Sundara is designed to act as a kind of modular setting. So if you like the idea of these books, but you'd still rather run them in your own setting, they're kind of designed for exactly that kind of setup! So whether it's a city, a species, a guild, or a cult, you can take the parts you like and import them into your own game world with very little additional work on your part! I actually talked about it a while back, for those who are curious about this setting's modular design style.
If You Don't Play DND 5E, Stay Tuned!
Several folks have mentioned that they like the idea of Sundara, and they would get this bundle, but their table doesn't play DND 5E, so it wouldn't really be something they'd use. If that's the case, don't fret, there's more on the way!
Because while there have been talks to expand Sundara into a variety of other game systems, most of those haven't happened yet. However, it is available for Pathfinder classic, and that bundle is coming down the pipe! So if there's a particular supplement that catches your eye, or you just want to grab one to see what the fuss is about, I'd definitely urge you to do that. But if you're totally onboard, and you just want to get a version of the game you will actually use, then make sure you follow all my social media pages because when the next bundle drops I'm going to make sure everyone hears about it!
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Crunch post. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
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!
Normally when I put out my first update of the week I like to muse about some aspect of RPGs, offer some insight to Game Masters out there, or give a deeper explanation on something I recently released. However, this week I have some exciting news to share!
Recently my splat Cities of Sundara: Ironfire was the deal of the day at Drive Thru RPG. It got enough attention that the publisher has decided to pass the savings along to all the curious folks out there who decided to grab a copy. As such, my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting is on sale until March 13! So if you've been holding off on picking up particular splats, they're currently part of the Drive Thru RPG GM's Day Sale. And if this is your first time hearing about Sundara, well, keep reading and I'll tell you a bit about what my goals are, what I've put out already, and what you're going to see from it going forward.
Seriously, come check it out!
Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!
Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!
What is Sundara?
The short version is that Sundara: Dawn of a New Age is a fantasy RPG setting that is going to be familiar enough to fans of the genre that they'll be able to pick it up quickly, but that there's still plenty of differences just beneath the surface to make it feel new and unique for those who aren't expecting said changes.
As a for-instance, this setting is available both for Pathfinder's first edition, and for Dungeons and Dragons' 5th Edition. It's full of magic and mystery, and there are all sorts of different species one could choose to play as, as well as hundreds of different monsters roaming the setting. At a glance, it seems like just another cover song of the same genre we've seen before.
But if you scratch the surface you'll notice there's a lot of things you don't expect. Things like:
- No Nations: Sundara's largest political entities are city states, regional confederacies, and guilds.
- No Monolithic Species: Every species in Sundara has a variety of ethnicities and cultures, as well as potential origin stories and creation myths that may or may not be true depending on whom you ask.
- No "Common" Tongue: Language, much like culture, is diverse in Sundara. While some languages are more popular than others, and there are a number of so-called trading tongues, you will not find "Common" on the sheet. Nor are there specific species languages; so no "elven," "dwarven," "orc," etc.
- No Alignment: One of the biggest reader requests was that there be no alignment in the setting going forward. So alignment was removed from classes, gods, faiths, and the world as a whole, which has a lot of far-reaching repercussions.
I even talked about some of this over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel (and if you haven't subscribed yet, you should, because I'm going into greater depth on some topics in the coming weeks).
More than these changes, though, Sundara is a setting that is fundamentally about forward progress. So many settings take their cue from Tolkien and focus on the mythic, lost past, trying to return to former glories. While Sundara has had empires rise and fall, it is fundamentally a setting about not looking back. Rather it is about finding fresh solutions to old problems, and about discovery of new and interesting ways of doing things. From creating mass-produced pattern-welded steel in volcanic furnaces, to building sky ships that take to the air on the cast-off scales of powerful wyrms, Sundara is about invention, curiosity, and finding unique solutions to problems.
Fun as a Whole, Or in Bite-Sized Pieces
For the Game Masters out there who might be reluctant to jump ship to a whole new setting, or who really want to keep using their own, homebrew worlds, I've designed Sundara in such a way that you can have your cake and eat it, too.
Because this is a one-man show, I've purposefully released the setting in small, bite-sized splats. In a way it's kind of like a serial RPG setting, and readers are exploring it along with me as we go along rather than just getting one thick tome of information that contains everything. However, because I chose this method of release, I've also designed each setting to be at least somewhat self-contained. So while there might be small nods and references to other parts of the setting, and callbacks to previous installments, everything is meant to function on its own, or to be folded into a different setting if that's what a Game Master wants to do with it.
Some parts of the setting are weirder than others, I'll admit.
While it's entirely possible to run a session in and around one of the cities I've created, and using the species guides that have been released, it's equally possible for Game Masters to just take elements or aspects that they like and fold them into their worlds. Perhaps they like the sky ships from Hoardreach, and they think the idea is neat. Maybe they enjoy the idea of a city powered by the undead, so they want to put Moüd in their game, but without any of the rest of Sundara. Perhaps they just like the idea of a Wyrm Mark, or the backgrounds I created for career mercenaries, so they make those available. Or they find the approach to gods and the divine a lot more flexible and fun in this setting, so they adopt that without anything else.
One of the goals for these books is to provide Game Masters with the tools that suit their needs. So whether they want all of Sundara, or just a part of it, the goal is to make it as plug-and-play with their particular games as possible. My hope is that the more players and GMs alike read of the setting, the more they're going to want, but I understand that sometimes folks just want one particular tool rather than the entire set, and I want to make something that appeals to them as well.
Why Not Take a Look For Yourself?
I took a brief break on making new Sundara content at the start of the year, but I've already finished one new supplement, and I've started work on the second piece of 2022. Sellswords of Sundara is full of unique archetypes/subclasses for mercenary companies that come with their own themes, histories, NPCs, rumors, and more, and that should be coming out shortly. I'm also working on Towns of Sundara, so that folks have some smaller places to put between the cities that are just as interesting and unique in their own ways (and which acts as a good follow up to 10 Fantasy Villages, which kicked this whole project off in the first place).
Cities of Sundara
The setting first began with the Cities of Sundara splats. Self-contained guides to some of the larger and more powerful centers of trade, industry, arms, and magic, these unique locations provide plenty of fodder for character generation and plots. Not only that, but each one comes with unique, mechanical goodies for players and GMs alike to take out for a spin!
- Ironfire: The City of Steel (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built around the Dragon Forge, Ironfire is where the secret to dragon steel was first cracked. The center of the mercenary trade in the region, as well as boasting some of the finest schools for teaching practical sciences, Ironfire is a place where discovery and danger walk hand in hand!
- Moüd: The City of Bones (Pathfinder and DND 5E): An ancient center of trade and magic, Moüd was lost to a cataclysm, and then buried in myth. Reclaimed by the necromantic arts of the Silver Wraiths guild, this city has once again become a place teeming with life. Despite the burgeoning population, though, it is the continued presence of the undead that helps keep the city running, ensuring that Moüd is not swallowed up once more.
- Silkgift: The City of Sails (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built on the cottage industry of Archer cloth (an extremely durable material used for sails, windmills, etc.), Silkgift is a place that prizes invention and discovery. From gravity batteries that store the potential of the wind, to unique irrigation systems, to aether weapons, the city positively churns out discoveries... and then there's the canal they cut through the mountains that makes them a major center of trade across the region.
- Hoardreach: The City of Wyrms (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A center of power across an entire region, Hoardreach is ruled over by a Cooperation of five different dragons. A place for refugees and outcasts of all sorts, Hoardreach boasts some of the most unusual citizens and creations from across Sundara. Infamous for their sky ships, which require the cast-off scales and unique arcane sciences of the Dragon Works to take to the air, one never knows just what they'll find in this city built atop a mountain.
- Archbliss: The City of The Sorcerers (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A floating city in the sky, Archbliss has been a refuge for sorcerers for thousands of years. It's only in relatively recent years that the city has allowed those from the ground below who lack the power of a bloodline to join them in the clouds. However, while there are certainly amazing wonders to behold, there is a darkness in Archbliss. Something rotting away at its heart that could, if not healed, bring the city crashing to the ground once more.
Gods of Sundara
- Gods of Sundara (available for Pathfinder and DND 5E): In a world with no alignment, and where the gods are often genuinely mysterious forces that are far too large for mortals to truly comprehend, the divine feels genuinely strange and unknown... something that really does have to be taken on faith. This supplement provides a sample pantheon for Sundara, but also provides instructions on how to easily make your own gods in a world where you can't cast a spell and tell whether someone is good or evil.
Species of Sundara
Sundara is filled with creatures that many of us recognize, but I wanted to give greater depth to their cultures, and a wider variety of options. After all, humans always get 15+ ethnicities, languages, and unique histories, while elves, dwarves, orcs, halflings, etc. are almost always left with footnotes, or maybe with a handful of offshoots. So, in short, I wanted to give all the fantastical creatures the treatment that humans usually get in our games.
And there is no human book yet. If readers demand to know more, then I may sit down to pen one... but I figured that humans didn't need to be front-and-center in this setting just yet.
- Elves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Elves are one of the most quintessential fantasy creatures... but if you want to see more than just high elves, wood elves, and elves of the sun and moon, then this supplement has you covered!
- Dwarves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): The children of the primordial giants who were meant to fill in the details of the world they'd made (or so the myths say) there are as many kinds of dwarves as their are kinds of giants... and possibly more, depending on who is keeping count.
- Orcs of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Supposedly a creation of the elves, none can say for certain exactly how or why orcs have been made. What most agree on is that these creatures are far more than most may think at first glance.
- Halflings of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Little cousins to the dwarves, halflings are tough, clever, and not to be underestimated. From living beneath the hills, to taking up residence in the deep forests, halflings in Sundara come in quite a variety!
- The Blooded (Half-Elves and Half-Orcs) [Pathfinder and DND 5E]: When orcs and elves mix their bloodlines with other creatures, the result is one of the Blooded. This inheritance takes many forms, and it can even wait generations before manifesting when the right combination of individuals come together to have a child.
- Gnomes of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Gnomes are strange creatures, found in places where the spirit of the land has coalesced and made children of its own. The sons and daughters of the ancient nymphs, they are the stewards of these places, and they change as often as the weather and the land.
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!
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!
