For folks who haven't been keeping an eye on things, I was recently the Deal of The Day over on Drive Thru RPG. My supplement Beyond The Black: 100 Dread Scenarios On Stranded Starships was on-sale for 50% off for 24 hours or so, and I figured I would take a moment to delve into what happened, and to draw a couple of conclusions from the results.
Before we get started, though, if you grabbed a copy during the sale (or really at any time) please take a moment to leave a rating and review. And if you didn't get a copy... well, consider doing so today! The sale was enough to push it from Silver to Electrum, and I'd love to get it up to one of the even rarer metals if I can!
But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to
get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of
spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning,
consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
Let's Break Down The Numbers, Shall We?
So, let's break down exactly what all went down for this particular sale, because it was one of the best DoTD sales I've been part of so far!
- 240 sales (at roughly $0.38 per sale)
- Roughly $90 in sales for that singular supplement
- Around 11 additional sales for related sci-fi supplements
- Total cumulative royalties of $100 for all sales during this period
Now, that's just royalties during this period. However, I sold 261 total supplements during this time. And $100 for a single day? Well, that's pretty good money for someone in the small press, digital only side of things, right?
It sure as hell is! However, take a moment to consider that, on average, I sell somewhere between 3 and 15 supplements a day that I have royalties in. Some days are serious outliers, though, and I'll move 20 or even 30 supplements (usually because someone decides to buy an entire series, or a bundle deal gets popular). But consider that difference for a moment. 30 supplements, versus 261 supplements. This sale performed over 8 times my normal outliers. So, one of my really good days, times 8.
That sounds amazing, right? But let's extrapolate.
Let's take a moment and say that I somehow managed to perform at that level all the time. I've got something like 216 unique supplements out there with my name on them that I've written over the past decade and change, so it's not out of the question. Now, let's say I'm making $100 a day. $700 a week. $3,000 a month or so. $36,000 a year (or $36,500 if we want to take a full accounting of the days).
Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?
It's about to get a lot smaller...
Unfortunately, this doesn't take into account taxes. And if I somehow managed to make $36K a year in taxes, I'm probably going to have to write a check for around $6-8K or so, depending on exactly how many deductions I can claim. So we'll take the smaller number, and say I still clear $30K in a year in sales. That means I lose my health insurance, and as an independent creator I don't really have options to go get an affordable plan anywhere else. I also lose any eligibility for most government programs (utility assistance, SNAP, etc.), so all those doors are now shut in my face. And yeah, I might have some additional earnings from affiliate sales, royalties for my novels, and up-front costs from freelance RPG work, but that's pennies per word, and I cannot physically churn out that much stuff every year to make a meaningful dent.
And this is something I've been thinking about today. Because even if I somehow managed to multiply my best days 10-fold and to make that my new norm... I would still be financially screwed in this economy we're operating in.
You can't buy a house on $30K a year. Hell, you probably can't even rent a 1-bedroom apartment in any place worth living for that much, while also buying food. You can't get health insurance. You sure as hell can't afford luxuries like going to conventions, or buying a new car when your old one craps out.
So what sounds like an impossible fortune (which would honestly be several thousand more than I've ever earned at any job I've ever had in a year) is still just enough to fall short with.
This Is Why Creators Need Your Support
Buying merch from creators is just one form of support. And while buying books, funding us on Patreon, and giving us tips on Ko-Fi certainly help, there are also free things you can do to help us pay our bills, too. Because if you watch our videos on platforms like YouTube, and subscribe, then that means we earn ad revenue. When you read articles on places like Vocal.media, that earns us money. When you share videos, supplements, or just the posts we make on your social media, that gets us an organic reach that we cannot duplicate, and that will help draw other people to the stuff we're making.
If you want to help a particular creator (whether it's me, or someone else entirely) it costs you effort. But putting a playlist on in the background, hitting a few buttons to subscribe, and leaving a review of something you really liked so others will check it out all adds up at the end of the day.
Almost no one who writes RPGs "for a living" makes enough money doing it. So help folks where you can to ensure they can keep putting food on the table, and keeping the utility company happy.
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!
Regular readers around these parts know that one of my more infamous series of supplements is the World's Oldest Profession books. I figured that since there's always been some variety of brothel in our games, why not rip the band aid off and stop playing coy about it? Well, the first book sold a lot better than I expected it to, and the ones that followed in its footsteps did pretty well, also. I don't want to chase that vein so deep that the joke gets old, though, so I try to space out those releases.
However, Adrian recently came to me with a fresh idea that plays on the same taboo nature, and gives Game Masters a little more to work with in terms of unique places for players to enjoy some "recreation" while also picking up rumors, meeting NPCs, and all the other activities. That idea? A Dekas of Drug Dens, since you ask!
However, should this be a one-off supplement? Or should it follow the same pattern as the previous series I mentioned... links below, for those who are curious!
But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to
get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of
spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning,
consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
An Alternative To The Run-Of-The-Mill Tavern?
The tavern is one of the major staples of most games, and they're often the centerpiece of any town. After all, it's why my supplement 100 Random Taverns is a gold bestseller on DTRPG. But sometimes you want to give your players somewhere different to go to... like a rotting hole full of psychadelic mushrooms overseen by a fungus-possessed troll, perhaps? Or maybe a former mine owned by a mad alchemist who is producing some kind of black crystals meant for smoking? A former holy site where people inhale hen bane vapors to commune with their ancestors, an underground club in a graveyard where people perform unspeakable acts, and more are all available in this supplement!
My question for you, the audience, is should we expand it, and go even further?
Temporary, or permanent, stat negatives may occur.
Whether it's to put together a list of NPCs one might find at these hives of ill repute, assembling a list of whispers and rumors to hear, or maybe even putting together a list of unique drugs for the GMs to use... though that one would likely have to be game-specific, since different games have different rules and stats for drug use, addiction, and what the short and long-term uses of the drugs are.
After all, I put together Silvertongue for Bastards of Golarion, so it's not like I'm exactly new to the idea of making in-game drugs!
But if this is something you'd like to see happen, there are a few ways you can raise your voice to be sure that both I, and my publisher, hear you.
- Buy a copy of A Dekas of Drug Dens, rate it, and in your review, tell us what sequels you'd like to see
- Leave a comment on this post, telling me what you want to see
- Make your opinion known on social media where you've seen posts about this article, or the supplement
These are in descending order of power. The publisher is always going to listen to the paying public first, but those who make a lot of noise on blogs, the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or on one of our social media pages, may end up getting their wish.
So please take the actions you feel you can if you want to see this supplement series expand!
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!
While a majority of the gaming supplements I've written over the years have been for general RPG genres, a not-inconsiderable amount of my work has gone into the Storyteller's Vault platform. The simple reason why is that I love the World & Chronicles of Darkness games, and I want to leave my own little mark on them. And while I had taken a break for financial reasons, I've been dipping a toe back into the platform to see how viable a return might be... and this time around I decided to write a companion piece to an older supplement of mine that was based on reader requests.
In case folks out there wondered, I do listen, and I do take feedback into account for my writing schedule.
But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
New Changeling (And Potential Future Additions)
For folks who missed the announcement, the supplement that dropped this past weekend was 100 Unusual Things To Find At A Goblin Market. This list includes bizarre items from Arcadia and the Hedge, unsettling things like a sealed jar of baby teeth, as well as physical embodiments of unusual emotions, or whimsical proverbs that have become actual merchandise (since any Changeling game is made better by the inclusion of a few puns). This was a topic that was oft-requested over on the Reddit forums, and it dovetails perfectly with one of my earlier supplements Buyer Beware: 10 Goblin Markets.
In addition to being my favorite game in the Chronicles of Darkness (though Hunter is earning a lot of points with me, which is why I recently put out The Blade Itself for the new Corrupt Equipment mechanic), Changeling also has the second-largest number of supplements I've written for a single game line coming in at 11. And while I do have a few more rounds in the magazine as far as my ideas go, neither the current supplement, nor the previous book Like A Good Neighbor - Portraying True Fae in Your Chronicle have been burning up the charts of-late. There's some sales here and there, don't get me wrong, but it's definitely more of a trickle than it is a flood.
And while I've explained this in earlier posts, as well as in the video linked above, I'll restate it for folks who don't know. When I write Storyteller's Vault supplements I take a 50% reduction in up-front payment from my publisher. Given the word count for some of these, that's not a small sacrifice. To make up some of that amount in sales, I'd need to move at least 100 copies every time something new drops... and most of my supplements have struggled to even cross the 50 sale line to make it to Copper metal status of-late.
So, if you are someone who enjoys my Storyteller's Vault supplements in general, and my Changeling: The Lost work in particular, please take a moment to consider supporting me by doing the following:
- Buy any supplements that appeal to you.
- Leave reviews on the supplements you have (even just 5 stars and a "Good Job!" goes a long way).
- Leave comments on the video I linked telling me what Changeling supplements you'd like to see in the future.
As always, if buying new stuff isn't in your budget, I completely understand. But watching through the Discussions of Darkness series I have over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel is also a handy way to show your support, and to make sure that both my publisher and myself are hearing what you want!
Requests For A Changeling Story (And The A.L.I.C.E. Files)
On a final note for this week's update, I've recently launched a new audio drama channel on YouTube in partnership with Alice Liddell, and it's called The A.L.I.C.E. Files. I talked about the show more in-depth in the recent post The A.L.I.C.E. Files Is Here (And Will Soon Be Featuring Various Audio Dramas), but the short version is that the channel has an overarching story about the mysterious Carroll Institute, but a bunch of mini-stories about the different dimensions its agents have visited. A lot of those mini stories will be set in worlds that are inspired by (or come directly from) various tabletop RPGs.
I bring this up because one of the channel's big supporters, Sam Furlano, has specifically requested a Changeling story to be found in the files. Given that this falls under the Dark Pack agreement, this is absolutely something I could do... the question I have is whether it's something my readers/listeners out there want me to do?
So, if you'd like to have one (or maybe several) stories from the Chronicles of Darkness turn up in The A.L.I.C.E. files, here's how you can make your voices heard:
- In the comments section for the Trailer, tell us which Chronicles of Darkness setting you'd like to see stories from (preferably with 7 words or more, just to kick the algorithm into gear).
- Watch the rest of the videos, and upvote the ones you like!
It's still a new channel, so if there's any spike in activity we are going to notice it. And if there's enough folks to get us up to the 3,000 watch hours and 500 subscribers we need to hit our next goal? Well... then whatever it is you all ask for, I can promise you we're going to try to deliver on it!
(Lastly, if you've been waiting for updates on Windy City Shadows, I assure you have neither forgotten about it, nor abandoned the project. But there are only so many hours in a day, and I'm trying to free up as much time and energy as I can to complete as many projects as possible. Stay tuned for updates on that podcast as they develop!)
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!
While most of the supplements I've written over the years have focused on Game Master tools like extra NPCs, plot hooks, businesses, rumors, and places, this past weekend was the release of something a little bit different... the first supplement I've written that is genuinely meant for GMs looking for a little guidance on worldbuilding.
And 100 Worldbuilding Questions To Ask For A Fantasy City has gotten a better response than anything else I've dropped in 2026 so far. As such I wanted to take a moment to ask my regular readers... do you think I should expand this into a supplement series?
But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
Starting Small And Spiraling Outward
For folks who've been following my releases over the past few years, I've done a lot of work on fantasy cities. Whether it's Ironfire, the City of Steel, or a place like Archbliss, The Floating City of The Sorcerers (both found in my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting for Pathfinder and DND 5E), I've thought through a lot of the necessary building blocks for a fantastical city to feel organic, which helps it feel lived-in and authentic. And while I'm gearing up for adding more cities to my Sundara setting this year, I figured I'd pen this supplement as a little warm up, and offer fellow Game Masters some of the questions I ask myself when going through the process.
It takes practice, not going to lie.
What I'm trying to determine at this point is whether this kind of supplement is something that folks out there are going to vibe with, and if I should do more like this? Much like how the success of 100 Tips and Tricks For Being A Better Game Master led to me writing a bunch of follow-ups like 100 Dark Secrets or 100 Questions To Ask About Your Characters, this could lead to additional lists of worldbuilding questions to help Game Masters (and even authors) iron out all the wrinkles in their settings to ensure everything is solid before the story gets started.
The real question, of course, is what are some things you all would like to see as readers? Because some of the ideas off the top of my head include:
- 100 Worldbuilding Questions For Fantasy Faiths (zeroing in on the divine)
- 100 Worldbuilding Questions For Sci Fi Stations (going into space where things are isolated)
- 100 Worldbuilding Questions For Fantasy Realms (discussing macro worldbuilding)
These are just skimming some of the creamier concepts off the top of my cheese barrel, but I wanted to ask my readers out there this week if this is something they'd be interested in? If so, would you like to see one of these topics, or something I didn't mention? Another genre, perhaps?
Whatever your thoughts, please take a moment to leave a comment on this article, or to punch your thoughts into the comment section on social media that led you to this page! I've got several other supplements on my work desk as we speak, but I could circle back to this one by the time spring is well and truly here, and if it's something readers want to see I'm only too happy to give you what you want!
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!
Monsters lurk in the dark places of the world. Vampires. Werewolves. Changelings. Mages. These are merely a handful of the inexplicable, supernatural creatures who prowl the shadows preying on humanity. Even in a world with cameras in every pocket, and the miracles of technology growing more fantastical every day, these things manage to slip into blind spots, unseen by most of the population.
Some people do see them, though. They become aware of the monstrous and the terrifying, and rather than closing their eyes they light a candle against the darkness, and take up the fight. Hunters come in many shapes and sizes, and they use a variety of tools to hold the line, and to defend humanity... but my recent supplement The Blade Itself: Corrupt Equipment For Hunter The Vigil gives players and Storytellers alike a whole new resource to draw on.
But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
The Corruption System (And What It Does)
Hunters, generally speaking, stand with their grit and determination against the monsters of the Chronicles of Darkness. While certain hunter factions provide unique equipment or unusual powers, those who don't ally themselves with these compacts and conspiracies find themselves shit out of luck when danger comes calling.
However, this supplement provides an extra option... though it is a double-edged one.
This gun's got stains on it... what's a few more?
Corruption, capital-C, is a force that hunters typically try to avoid. Associated with Tainted Places and Slashers alike, Corruption is the darkness that lurks beneath the world, bubbling up in physical places, as well as in the souls of human monsters... but it can also mark items that are associated with particularly potent legends. Corruption imbues these items (usually, but not always, weapons) and bestows on them unique properties... but every corrupt piece of equipment comes with a price. For items that are barely corrupt it might be urges the wielder has to spend Willpower to control, or nights of bad dreams that come after wielding it. For more potent items it can be loss of Integrity, debilitating Conditions, or even a loss of self to the legend of items that want to write a new legacy in the hunter's blood.
The supplement provides a simple description for this 1-5 dot merit, with the general level of a legend surrounding a piece of equipment (with the 4 and 5 dot items typically connected to Rippers and Scourges), as well as 5 examples of each level (for a total of 25 pieces of equipment). However, Storytellers and players are encouraged to create their own examples, and to forge their own legends using these items as templates.
The purpose of the Corruption system is to give hunters access to unique gear without the prerequisite of belonging to a particular faction, and given access to their unique powers and armories. Of course, corrupt items are usable by any hunter, so whether you're utilizing none of the compacts and conspiracies, a mixed bag of them, or all your players are part of the same organization, these legendary items can still come into their possession. They might be part of an ongoing plot, or merely a temptation to see whether they can maintain their integrity while dipping their toes into the darkness all while telling themselves it's for a good cause, however one chooses to use them.
Would You Like To See More Hunter Content Going Forward?
Hunter is one of those splats that all of us know, but it seems relatively few of us actually play. After all, hunters are the bogeymen in most Chronicles of Darkness splats because the monsters need to keep themselves to the shadows in order to avoid drawing unwanted attention from dangerous mortals of all sorts. The deeper I've dug into it, though, the more interesting I've found the game to be overall.
I even made a video a while back over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel about how it's actually one of the ideal entry points into the Chronicles of Darkness for folks who know little to nothing about the setting.
I'd like to drop at least a handful of Storyteller's Vault supplements per year, and I have a lot of ideas for Hunter in particular. Some of these include:
- New compacts and conspiracies
- "Unredacted" histories for Task Force Valkyrie, discussing the conspiracy's potential deeds
- Collections of Slashers (both Rippers and Scourges)
- A supplement for play as Slashers, for player groups who want to take on these monstrous mantles
- A collection of additional combat style merits (some of which fill in gaps left by Hurt Locker)
These are just a sample of the things I'd like to spend some time on, but for folks who don't know, Storyteller's Vault content is a risk for me as a creator because I take a 50% pay cut up-front to make it. So unless I sell a lot of copies (at least 50, though preferably breaking the 100 copies barrier) it can be tricky to keep my bills paid while working on these titles.
So if you want to see me work on more Chronicles of Darkness stuff in general, and Hunter in particular, please grab a copy of The Blade Itself: Corrupt Equipment For Hunter The Vigil, and leave a review of it on Drive Thru RPG. Additionally, let me know down in the comments which of the ideas I mentioned sound interesting to you, or if you'd prefer to see me work on something else in 2026!
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!
The question I have for everyone out there, though, is very simple. Should I continue with more mythos-inspired supplements? And if so, what would you like to see more of?
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!
What Parts of Miskatonic Country Would You Like To See?
The reason I keep getting drawn back into the terrible world of the Cthulhu Mythos is that it's a breath of black, cosmic wind when other supplements start feeling too samey, and I need to get a bit of variety into my day. That, and I'm a lifelong fan of cosmic horror, and Lovecraft's work was one of the early introductions for me into the genre.
And those mystery-style games are hard as hell to run... so I figure Game Masters who take up the challenge are going to need all the help they can get.
Madness and cosmic terror are hard as hell to run. Just saying.
And while I've only got five supplements for Miskatonic Country, I'd be more than happy to increase that number, as long as folks out there would find it useful. So, if you enjoy these supplements, and you'd like to see me write some more, which of the following would appeal to you most?
#1. Time Period?
My supplements have, thus far, been geared for the classic Prohibition-era where a lot of Call of Cthulhu and Lovecraft-adjacent games take place. However, would shifting that time period be of-interest to you as a reader? Supplements set during the second World War (or even the first) might work for games where mankind is trying to utilize the mythos as a weapon. Supplements for the 1950s might play into Red Scare paranoia, and supplements during the 1960s could capture the hippie movement. The hedonism of the 1980s, or even something like Modern Miskatonic might all offer their own, unique twists as well!
#2. Mortal or Mythos?
Most of the supplements I've written focus on the mortal side of things. They're full of books one might find, characters one might come across, places to visit, rumors to hear, and so on. While there are mythos implications of many parts of these supplements, they tend to focus on the more grounded side of an investigation... should I stick with that strategy? Or would aspects of the various things that dwell in the darkness be more useful? Whether it's cultists to encounter, visions to see while in the Dreamlands, or even more unusual things, should I get weird with future installments?
#3. Persons, Places, or Things?
I like to joke that my supplements tend to be nouns, as they're full of NPCs, locations, and items to encounter during an investigation. However, what are some of the things you would find most useful? Do you find yourself more in need of NPCs to build interactions around? Rumors for players to hear, and to use as a basis for plot arcs and investigations? Or items to locate while searching private libraries, or going through a missing person's apartment? Even visions to see, monsters to encounter, or cults that aren't detailed in Lovecraft's work or in the stories written by other contributors to the setting?
Make Your Voice Heard!
Since my crystal ball has been on the fritz for the past several years, I'm depending on my readers to tell me what they want to see. As such, please leave a comment below, or hit me up on social media, to detail the sorts of supplements that you would like to see me pen for the mythos going forward! The more folks who raise their voices, the more likely it is that you're going to get precisely what you want to see sometime in the next couple of months.
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!
February has been a busy month so far, and unfortunately it doesn't look like that's going to change any time soon. I was at Capricon this past weekend (my first time there since 2020, now that they're in a more accessible location), and now that I'm back I've got dozens of projects to pick back up.
However, it's also the first time I've posted in a new month since my Patreon page shifted to a monthly tier system, instead of a per-post system. And since I promised to give a shout out to my supporters who have moved to at least the $10 a month level, I wanted to take a moment to do that.
To Phillip Litherland and Tracy Bailey-Matthews, my thanks for putting yourselves on this level!
Seriously, thank you!
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!
All Support Is Welcome (And Very Much Needed At This Point)
For folks who don't get all of my updates on their For You Page, at the start of the year I officially transitioned my Patreon from a per-item account (where followers were charged for every blog I wrote) to a monthly account (where it's a flat fee every month). I have the full details in my recent post Improved Initiative's Patreon is Now Monthly (And I Could Really Use Your Help), but the short and sweet of it is that I made this transition because there had been rumblings that soon there would be limitations placed on the per-item account option and I wanted to get ahead of that as a creator.
The issue I've run into is that Patreon just left everyone at whatever their previous amount was... the issue for me is that instead of someone paying $1 per blog I put up (so $10 to $12 a month), it's now $1 a month. So my Patreon has gone from earning between $180 to $200 a month (which was my grocery and utility money) to about $65 a month.
So in addition to shouting out the folks who have stepped up to help in this time of transition, I wanted to take a moment to ask others out there to help me get back on my feet. Whether you're already a paid patron who hasn't upgraded their tier yet, or you're someone who wants to toss your coin in the cup, I definitely need all the help I can get right about now.
Any and all help is appreciated!
While this is a new step on a new path, it's also proving to be a treacherous one full of spikes! Which is why I wanted to ask those reading this a couple of questions:
- Do you find any of the current tiers on my Patreon appealing?
- Is there something else I could offer as a creator that would get your interest?
- What is stopping you from supporting me as a patron?
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So, about 4 and a half years ago now, I embarked on something of an ambitious project... I wanted to start building my own fantasy RPG setting! Sparked off by Cities of Sundara: Ironfire for Pathfinder's first edition, once the rock started rolling ideas just came pouring out of me. I covered other cities, other towns, guides for species and subspecies, cults, mercenary companies, guilds, gods, and most recently I finished up a 5-supplement series of Whispers & Rumors to go with each of the initial city releases. And in addition to all of that, I've made more than 50 videos talking about the setting, and narrating stories set within it.
And I started wondering the other day exactly how much work have I put into the setting. Well, there's 22 supplements out for it (without double-counting the ones that are just conversions to other systems), with a 23rd that I've turned in that's currently in layout. And given that each supplement is well over 10,000 words (with a few of them reaching as high as 15,000), it seems that this setting has over a quarter of a million words dedicated to it... and that's just when you consider the work that I've put in.
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.
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Where Should We Go In This New Age?
When I started writing Sundara: Dawn of a New Age, the idea was to have a high fantasy setting that was full of monsters, magic, and mayhem, but which was (perhaps most importantly) weird. A world where several of the classic creatures got a bit of a twist on them, where science and alchemy combined with magic in unusual ways, and where things felt familiar, but players and Game Masters knew they couldn't just take tropes and fantasy conventions at face value. Most importantly, I wanted a setting that felt like it was going forward, and where problem solving was encouraged using whatever various means folks around the table could conceive of.
Not only that, but the parts and pieces of this setting are deliberately designed to be sort of like Lego. If you like a given city, or a town, or a guild, you can just pluck them up, and add them to your own homebrew setting... or even to an established game world! While there is an interconnected history one can trace through reading the various supplements, it's not set in stone, and it's meant to be flexible precisely to facilitate this kind of picking and choosing by GMs looking for additions to their worlds.
That's the broad strokes, though if you're curious I made an AMA about the setting forever and a day ago that explains a lot of what's come out, and how my process works.
In the past few blogs I've written about the setting, and in several of the more recent videos I made regarding Sundara, I've remarked that it's been sort of put on the back burner for me as a creator. Not because I lack ideas, or because I don't want to expand it, but because there just doesn't seem to be that much interest from the public... and the problem is that I can't tell what that reason is (especially since the setting started off pretty strong in terms of sales and interest).
For example, the general categories I can think of are:
- People Don't Know About It: With social media tamping down on signals, and algorithms silencing folks who don't pay them, it's entirely possible this is just a result of the word not getting out.
- It's The Wrong Game: Sundara is available for both Pathfinder's 1st Edition, and DND's 5th one, but so far we haven't translated it to other engines. There's been talk of a PF 2E update, a Savage Worlds expansion, and a few others, but there's never been a lot of enthusiasm for it from our audience.
- Folks Saw It, But Don't Like It: Whether it's that folks aren't interested in a modular setting, they don't really care for my brand of high fantasy, or they aren't interested in yet another setting, what I'm offering just isn't something they like.
The difficulty I'm running into is... I don't know which of these things is (or isn't) the issue! And given that I've put out the word count equivalent of probably 4 full novels (speaking of which, check out my books Old Soldiers for a dystopian sci fi thriller with space marines, or Marked Territoryfor gangland noir starring a Maine Coon alley cat), I've sunk quite a lot of time, energy, and thought into this setting.
So, to help me figure out where to go from here, what I need is input from you! If you've read this far, please leave comments down at the end of this article (or on the social media post where I'm guessing you came across this blog entry), and tell me why you are a fan of Sundara, or you aren't a fan of it... and in either case, tell me what you like, dislike, or what I could offer/change to get your interest!
Additionally, if you are someone who wants to see Sundara keep growing and expanding (especially if you want to see it put back on the front burner for myself and the other collaborators for the setting), then please consider the following actions:
- Buy copies of the setting supplements (links are below in the expanded list)
- Leave ratings and reviews on any of the supplements you DO have (so other users on DTRPG might be able to find them)
For the record, these actions will also work for other creators and their projects as well. Just in case you had other settings and projects you wanted to see more expansions for, but you weren't sure how to get the wheels turning in the direction you wanted.
Catch Up On "Sundara: Dawn of A New Age"
Cities of Sundara
The setting first began with the Cities of Sundara splats. Self-contained guides to some of the larger and more powerful centers of trade, industry, arms, and magic, these unique locations provide plenty of fodder for character generation and plots. Not only that, but each one comes with unique, mechanical goodies for players and GMs alike to take out for a spin!
- Ironfire: The City of Steel (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built around the Dragon Forge, Ironfire is where the secret to dragon steel was first cracked. The center of the mercenary trade in the region, as well as boasting some of the finest schools for teaching practical sciences, Ironfire is a place where discovery and danger walk hand in hand!
- Moüd: The City of Bones (Pathfinder and DND 5E): An ancient center of trade and magic, Moüd was lost to a cataclysm, and then buried in myth. Reclaimed by the necromantic arts of the Silver Wraiths guild, this city has once again become a place teeming with life. Despite the burgeoning population, though, it is the continued presence of the undead that helps keep the city running, ensuring that Moüd is not swallowed up once more.
- Silkgift: The City of Sails (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built on the cottage industry of Archer cloth (an extremely durable material used for sails, windmills, etc.), Silkgift is a place that prizes invention and discovery. From gravity batteries that store the potential of the wind, to unique irrigation systems, to aether weapons, the city positively churns out discoveries... and then there's the canal they cut through the mountains that makes them a major center of trade across the region.
- Hoardreach: The City of Wyrms (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A center of power across an entire region, Hoardreach is ruled over by a Cooperation of five different dragons. A place for refugees and outcasts of all sorts, Hoardreach boasts some of the most unusual citizens and creations from across Sundara. Infamous for their sky ships, which require the cast-off scales and unique arcane sciences of the Dragon Works to take to the air, one never knows just what they'll find in this city built atop a mountain.
- Archbliss: The City of The Sorcerers (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A floating city in the sky, Archbliss has been a refuge for sorcerers for thousands of years. It's only in relatively recent years that the city has allowed those from the ground below who lack the power of a bloodline to join them in the clouds. However, while there are certainly amazing wonders to behold, there is a darkness in Archbliss. Something rotting away at its heart that could, if not healed, bring the city crashing to the ground once more.
Gods of Sundara
- Gods of Sundara (available for Pathfinder and DND 5E): In a world with no alignment, and where the gods are often genuinely mysterious forces that are far too large for mortals to truly comprehend, the divine feels genuinely strange and unknown... something that really does have to be taken on faith. This supplement provides a sample pantheon for Sundara, but also provides instructions on how to easily make your own gods in a world where you can't cast a spell and tell whether someone is good or evil.
Species of Sundara
Sundara is filled with creatures that many of us recognize, but I wanted to give greater depth to their cultures, and a wider variety of options. After all, humans always get 15+ ethnicities, languages, and unique histories, while elves, dwarves, orcs, halflings, etc. are almost always left with footnotes, or maybe with a handful of offshoots. So, in short, I wanted to give all the fantastical creatures the treatment that humans usually get in our games.
And there is no human book yet. If readers demand to know more, then I may sit down to pen one... but I figured that humans didn't need to be front-and-center in this setting just yet.
- Elves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Elves are one of the most quintessential fantasy creatures... but if you want to see more than just high elves, wood elves, and elves of the sun and moon, then this supplement has you covered!
- Dwarves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): The children of the primordial giants who were meant to fill in the details of the world they'd made (or so the myths say) there are as many kinds of dwarves as their are kinds of giants... and possibly more, depending on who is keeping count.
- Orcs of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Supposedly a creation of the elves, none can say for certain exactly how or why orcs have been made. What most agree on is that these creatures are far more than most may think at first glance.
- Halflings of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Little cousins to the dwarves, halflings are tough, clever, and not to be underestimated. From living beneath the hills, to taking up residence in the deep forests, halflings in Sundara come in quite a variety!
- The Blooded (Half-Elves and Half-Orcs) [Pathfinder and DND 5E]: When orcs and elves mix their bloodlines with other creatures, the result is one of the Blooded. This inheritance takes many forms, and it can even wait generations before manifesting when the right combination of individuals come together to have a child.
- Gnomes of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Gnomes are strange creatures, found in places where the spirit of the land has coalesced and made children of its own. The sons and daughters of the ancient nymphs, they are the stewards of these places, and they change as often as the weather and the land.
Organizations of Sundara
Phase 3 has been going strong, but there's still a few titles left in it! So if you haven't seen them, consider checking out:
- Sellswords of Sundara: With power structures being smaller in scale in Sundara, standing armies aren't often maintained for long. As such, soldiers of fortune are quite common! This supplement contains 10 mercenary companies, their history, uniform, sample members, whispers and rumors, as well as either an archetype or subclass for playing these unique warriors. Grab your copy for Pathfinder of DND 5E.
- Cults of Sundara: Faith comes in many forms in Sundara, and there are as many gods in the Prim as there are dreams in the minds of people. This supplement contains write-ups for 10 cults, their histories, sample members, rumors about them, their beliefs and tenets, and a unique magic item for each. Get your copy for Pathfinder or DND 5E.
- Guilds of Sundara: While cities and villages may be relatively local, guilds are spread across the length and width of Sundara. From professional orders of skilled miners and dredgers, to monster slayers and bounty hunters, this supplement has 10 guilds with histories, sample members, rumors, as well as unique feats one can take to represent the skill and benefits of joining this order. Available for Pathfinder as well as DND 5E.
- Merchants of Sundara: While city states might be the largest form of government you find in the setting, merchants hold an outsized amount of power. From huge mercantile houses, to small brands infamous for their quality as much as for their price, there are a lot of options listed in this particular world building supplement.
Rumors of Sundara
The newest series of supplements in the setting, these are meant to add to the cities, and to give GMs ideas for plots, or just to provide a little extra grist for the mill in terms of what people are gossiping about!
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!
