"Boots On The Ground" Is Out For Army Men (The Potential Start of a New Series)

It's been a few years since my RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic dropped after a successful Kickstarter, and some time on BackerKit. And since it's come out there have been supplements for additional enemies (Army Men: Threat Assessments), supplements for booby traps (Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps), the medals system to award players for their performance in the field (Army Men: Medals of Honor), and two additional mission modules (A Night At Breckon's Beacon and Assault on Outpost 13).

However, there has been a request for a particular kind of supplement I hadn't released for the game yet; collections of iconic characters. Because while folks playing the game at home with their friends usually wanted to make their own troopers and squads, there were some folks who wanted to run the game at conventions, or at their local gaming stores. And there were some GMs who thought having premade characters would help get their players into the spirit of the game to see if they wanted to go even deeper.

So I put together what I'm hoping will be the start of a series... Boots On The Ground: Baker Team!

And if you haven't grabbed a copy of it yet, do so today!

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!

A Starting Squad, and An Homage

The idea behind Boots On The Ground, as a series of supplements, is to provide players and Game Masters alike with complete squads of troopers, each of which has its own history and iconography, and where the troopers themselves have motivations, broad personalities, and a bit of history with one another. In short, the supplements are meant to give you everything you need to run a quick and dirty game without everyone needing to dig through the rulebook and spend hours on character creation if they just want to get stuck in and see how the game plays.

I even talked about this a bit in Tactical Plastic Report, Episode 10: Future Expansions For Army Men, over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel.

And because I'm a sucker for a good homage (Assault on Outpost 13 is an obvious callback to the film Assault on Precinct 13, after all), I decided to draw on one of the most famous action movies out there. For folks who can't pin down the tickle in the back of their minds, Baker Team was the elite unit that John Rambo fought with in Vietnam... and the Baker Team presented for Army Men has a similar vibe. They are the ace-in-the-hole team that's sent in to do the dirty jobs nobody else will, and even if they meet their end the brass will consider it a win if they sold their lives for significant enemy numbers.

Originally I was going to put together 5 entire squads in a single book, but the size of that project would have been prohibitive in terms of both time and sheer word count. So to test the waters, I released this first installment of Boots On The Ground to feel out audience response, and to see if more supplements in this line would be something folks would respond to.

So, if this is something you'd like to see more of, pick up a copy of Boots On The Ground: Baker Team today, and leave a rating and review on it once you've given it a read! Also, feel free to tell me which nation you'd like to see a squad from next either in your review, or in the comments below... especially if there's another homage you feel would be right at home in this game of tactical plastic!

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 dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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

A New Mission (In A New Genre) Drops For "Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic"!

We just passed the 1-year anniversary of my first RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic a little while ago, and while it hasn't blown up, the game is definitely making some gains! The core book, as well as the first supplement Army Men: Threat Assessments have hit Copper status, and are still moving copies. Not only that, but some of the other supplements are starting to get a bit of attention, which is exciting.

And now I've got a fresh mission available for folks to try! It's the first to take place in the Styric Republic, but it also shows there's more than one kind of mission that troopers can be sent on.

And you should definitely grab a copy if you haven't yet!

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!

Mystery, Betrayal, And Gangland Shootouts!

Folks who have gotten a copy of Army Men (or who have simply watched a few episodes of Tactical Plastic Report over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel), often have the impression that this is a very streamlined game with a single way to play. After all, you're a squad of army men, so you're obviously out in the trenches, stalking through the woods, or raiding nests of the colossal insectoid creatures called vespoids that are the game's main antagonists, right?

And while you can make an entire campaign out of that, as I mentioned in The Threats You Face in Army Men, there are so many more problems that your squad might be dispatched to deal with.

The new mission, Assault on Outpost 13, is me giving an example of some of the other kinds of enemies you might need to fight, and missions you'll need to accomplish.

In this mission, players take on the role of troopers in the Styric Republic, called in to provide assistance to a fellow military member who needs backup. She's captured a high-value criminal target, and needs to hold onto him until he can be transferred to her commander. The Rostok crime syndicate isn't going to take the loss of one of the family's favorite sons lying down, though, and troopers are going to have a fight on their hands.

Not only that, but they might find that in addition to enemies without, there may be enemies within. A syndicate doesn't get to be that successful without at least a few state personnel on their payroll, after all...

While the previous module A Night At Breckon's Beacon pits troopers against a vespoid threat, this module asks them to do more than point and shoot. Troopers need to decide where they stand in regards to the standoff, they need to try to see behind the lying disguises of their enemies, and they need to uncover evidence and interrogate prisoners in order to get a grip on just what is happening, and what kind of hornet's nest they've put their feet into. Or perhaps they use the James West approach of shoot first, shoot later, shoot some more, and then when everyone is dead try to ask a question or two... a viable approach, but one that may make the module significantly harder for a squad of trigger-happy troopers.

And this mission gives us a couple of milestones for the game, as well! For example:

- It's the third total mission (including the mission in the base book), which means players can now have their first level-up without the GM doing any additional work!

- It's the first mission in the Styric Republic, which means we've (technically) received missions for 3 of the 4 nations that make up the Plastos Federation.

- It's the 5th supplement to be released for Army Men as a game so far, which feels pretty special to me as the creator.

So, while I'm putting in as much work as I can going forward, I wanted to ask folks out there... what sorts of things would you like to see more of for Army Men as a game? What would really get you invested? Leave your comments below, or on any of the videos for Tactical Plastic Report, because my publisher will see those and take note of them going forward!

All of Army Men's Releases So Far!

If you want to get in on this game and help me take the next hill so I can keep making cool stuff, then consider grabbing one (or all!) of the material for it linked below!

And if you do... don't forget to leave a review!

- Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic: The core rulebook, and technically the only book you need to play this game.

- Army Men: Threat Assessments: A book of extra enemies and threats for players to deal with, this expands your bestiary quite substantially!

- Army Men: Medals of Honor: This book introduces the Medals System, which allows you to reward your players from one mission to the next for their achievements.

- Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps: Traps are quite common on many battlefields, and if you're looking to increase the threat in your next mission this supplement has you covered!

- [Mission Module] A Night At Breckon's Beacon: Your squad is tasked with finding out what happened to a patrol that went missing in the rough country on the borders of United Polymeria.

- [Mission Module] Assault on Outpost 13: Your squad is tasked with helping protect a prisoner so he can be properly transferred. His syndicate isn't going to let him go without a fight, however.

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 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!

"Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic" Earns Its First Metals!

My first RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic dropped a little over a year ago, and I've been doing my best to get it into folks' hands, and to provide as much supplemental material for it as I'm able to. And while it can sometimes be discouraging to get lost under the constant crush of new posts and fresh games out there, I have made at least some progress on my goals.

Because so far both Army Men, as well as its first supplement Army Men: Threat Assessments, have both hit Copper metal status on Drive Thru RPG!

In case you needed even MORE of a target-rich environment.

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!

One Step Closer To Taking The Hill!

As most folks know, Army Men was a game that actually went to Kickstarter, and that's how it got made. So since a majority of the people who knew about it already had their books bought and paid for before it went up on Drive Thru RPG, it's been tough trying to keep getting it into fresh hands. It's been Deal of The Day, we had an Anniversary Bundle for it a little while ago, and I try to cover it on this blog as often as I can, along with putting together a show titled Tactical Plastic Report over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel to give viewers a run down on what's in the game to try to increase interest.

While it's definitely been an uphill battle, early this year I finally managed this little bit of progress! And even though Copper metal status is just the first tier you can hit (50+ sales), more than half of games and supplements that appear on DTRPG don't even hit that mark. And while I mentioned a while back that the core book had hit Copper, it wasn't until last month that Threat Assessments joined it!

However, if you're a fan of Army Men, why stop there? Consider grabbing yourself copies of some of the other releases that have come out so I can keep expanding the setting going forward!

- Army Men: Medals of Honor: A supplement that introduces the Medals System to help Game Masters reward players who have survived various missions, and conducted themselves in a way becoming of a trooper.

- A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps: A collection of nasty surprises for Game Masters to deploy in the event you plan to conduct some guerrilla warfare in your games.

- A Night At Brekon's Beacon: An Army Men Mission Module: A stand-alone mission for Army Men, this brings your squad to an abandoned ruin far off the beaten track... will you avoid the fate that befell the squad that came before you?

In addition to all of these supplements, at time of writing I also have a second mission module that's currently in layout... so stay tuned for a mission that takes place in the Styric Republic (the northern faction inspired by the Soviets)!

What Would You Like To See Next?

Army Men, as a game and a setting, is still very young. Additionally, we were only able to fit so much into the core rulebook, so there's all kinds of room for further expansion in gear, enemies, missions, and more!

The question is... what do you all want to see? And to help folks avoid getting decision paralysis, I'll make a few suggestions:

- Mission Modules: The Army Men equivalent of adventure modules, these one-shot supplements do all the heavy lifting for the Game Master.

- Additional Equipment: From weapons and armor, to tool kits, vehicles, and more, Army Men's challenge is largely decided by what kinds of gear your troopers bring to the fight.

- Bigger Books: In the past I've had such suggestions as Motor Pool for vehicle rules, Soldier of Fortune for a mercenary-style secondary way to play that's geared more toward media like the A-Team, and a few others. These would take significantly more work, and would likely need to be Kickstarted.

- Fiction: Whether in text form or as an audio drama/podcast, Army Men has the potential for some really fun fiction, if that's something folks would like to see more of (consider the sample below if this interests you!)

However, as all the war bond posters said, we can't make any of this happen without your help!

If you're someone who wants to see Army Men expand as a game, and as a setting, then you need to help me make sure the signal grows, and that we find a group of folks who want to play it, and see more stuff come out for it! As such, please do as many of the following things as you can:

- Buy Copies: The more sales a game and its supplements get, the easiser it is to get more projects green lit, and the more the algorithm pays attention. So the best thing you can do is help our numbers go up!

- Leave Reviews: If you already bought your copy of the book and supplements, leave a rating and a review on them! You don't have to get in-depth, just tell people you liked it, and maybe mention something that sticks in your mind about it. Reviews are also key to getting the algorithm to take notice.

- Subscribe to The Azukail Games YouTube Channel: Maybe you've already done the first two, or you simply can't afford new game stuff right now. Either way, subscribing to the Azukail Games YouTube channel is free, as is watching episodes of Tactical Plastic Report, and all the other Army Men-related content on the channel. Again, upvote videos you like, leave comments, and so on, because that helps us get paid, and sends a message that at least some of our audience wants MORE Army Men stuff!

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 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!

Reaching Fresh Milestones (Some Good News Among All The Fire and Brimstone)

Right now the world is on fire. If you're on social media, or you're watching the news, it feels like we're living through a prequel of some of the worst post-apocalypse movies of the 1980s. However, as a lot of folks are reminding us, it's important to take the victories where you can find them, and to acknowledge your successes where they exist.

So even though it can sometimes feel tough to keep working, and to keep making art in all its forms, I've recently had a couple of good things happen that I want to talk about. And if you're one of those folks who is looking for ways to pitch in on good causes, don't you worry, I've got a section for that below!

You take your wins where you can get them...

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!

Carving A Few New Notches

I wanted to start out of the gate with some stuff that I'm pretty pleased by, and that I could not have done without all of you!

First and foremost, when I wasn't looking, Improved Initiative crossed the 1,000 post line! I've been running this blog for over 10 years now, and it's got over a thousand unique posts and articles on it (and that's not including any of the posts I've written for my Vocal.media archive, which is another 300 and change). It's a really big number, but while I'm patting myself on the back for it, I wanted to remind folks that this blog doesn't actually make me any money, and it's basically underwritten by all my affiliate links for my TTRPG supplements, as well as my Patreon page. So if you want to make sure I can keep this blog going, consider becoming a Patreon patron today!

It's going to be an uphill journey!

In addition to the growing archive of this blog, another accomplishment for the year is that the Azukail Games YouTube channel got itself monetized right at the start of January, which was a goal I'd been hammering away at for 3 years or so. While I'm currently working on a video detailing the process, and how we went from where we were to where we are, trust me when I say it was... an endeavor. Not only that, but as of yesterday we hit 1,500 subscribers, which is tiny in terms of what YouTube thinks is big, but given that we had barely 300 people when I started contributing I'd say we've come a damn long way!

But I don't want to sit on my laurels with this one, so if you've been holding off on subscribing, I'm hoping to keep the channel growing. First to 3,000 subs if we can, and then to 5,000 if we can manage that! More is always better, but I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself on this one.

Lastly, I wanted to talk about a goal I mentioned in the above video, because we are (technically) about halfway there at time of writing. I mention my RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic, and how a lot of folks have wanted to see me put together an actual play of this game in action. That's a lot of time, energy, effort, and editing work, and it's unlikely to result in any real interest or sales of the game... however, I have pledged that if the game hits Silver metal status by the end of 2025, then I will put together such an episode, and upload it to the Azukail Games YouTube channel for everyone to see.

And as of time of writing, the base book just hit Copper metal status!

For those who aren't familiar with Drive Thru RPG and what the metal levels mean, Copper means at least 50 copies of the book have been sold, while Silver means it's crossed the 100 level mark. So if you're one of those folks who want to see me get a squad together to tackle one of the missions that's come out by then, get yourself a copy of Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic to get us closer to this goal!

And Now, Some Other Causes You Should Help Out!

Like I said, the world is on fire (both literally and metaphorically), but there were two particular causes I wanted to draw folks' attention to before I call this Monday's update done.

First, we're dealing with the California fires.

For most of us, the massive California wildfire is still fresh in our memories. A huge amount of homes were destroyed, people lost their livelihoods, and communities have been left smoldering. The California Wildfire Relief Bundle from Fainting Goat Games is trying to help those suffering from these events by donating a portion of proceeds to the American Red Cross... an agency that is definitely going to need all the help it can get! So whether you want a slew of fresh gaming products for your table, you want to help those in need, or both, consider grabbing a copy!

Secondly, I want to get some help for one of our own.

Most of us out there know that Owen K.C. Stephens recently beat cancer... but he hasn't yet defeated the U.S. healthcare system. So if you want to help him keep the wheels turning, and give him the resources he needs, head over to his Go Fund Me to add your strength to the cause!

If you do want to grab some of his work rather than just giving him money (or you want to do both!), I'd personally recommend getting Essays on Freelance Tabletop RPG Writing and Publishing, as well as the companion piece Essays on Surviving an Independent Tabletop RPG Career. And if you're the sort of person who wants something more mechanically useful for your table, you simply can't go wrong with Like A Boss- A Book of Boss Encounters which covers a variety of TTRPG systems!

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 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!

A Call To Arms For "Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic"!

2024 has been nothing but struggles and setbacks, or so it feels like for a lot of us. The year started off pretty great for me, with the release of my RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic, and I felt like I was going to move forward on the right foot. After all, the game had exceeded the initial goal on Kickstarter (though we were just shy on some of the stretch goals), and it seemed like a lot of folks were interested in it. As such, I rolled up my sleeves and I did my best to make sure there was plenty of supplemental material available for the game once it came out.

However, with 2024 quickly drawing to a close, I'm still behind one on of my goals... namely, Army Men still hasn't hit Copper status! So whether you're looking for a last-minute gift, or you just want to give me a smile as I check one more item off my list, consider grabbing yourself a copy before the year is done.

Seriously... go check it out for yourself!

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!

Calling The Banners For An End-Of-Year Charge!

A statistic that I've quoted repeatedly in this blog is that something like 80% of the RPG books, supplements, stories, art, etc., that wind up on Drive Thru RPG don't even sell 50 copies, which is what tips you over into Copper, the first metal category. And while most of my smaller supplements get at least that far (with a handful of them reaching, and surpassing, the Gold metal category), Army Men just isn't quite there yet...

But it's pretty damn close.

Just a handful of copies away...

When last I checked the numbers, we needed fewer than 10 more copies of the game sold to get us up to that Copper status. While there were a lot of folks who backed the Kickstarter who already got their books... perhaps you have a friend or a family member you'd like to play with? Someone that you think would really get a kick out of Army Men, and that you think would get that bug we all experience when a really good RPG sinks its teeth into us?

Or, if this is your first time hearing about the game, just pick it up for yourself! Digital or hard copy, you deserve a weird little treat, and Army Men is certainly that. Of course, if you're still on the fence about it, check out Tactical Plastic Report, the series of videos I've been doing on the Azukail Games YouTube channel about Army Men to give folks a bit of a taste of the world and the game play before opening up their wallets.

But What If You Already Have The Core Book?

If you're one of the folks out there who have the core book for the game, you have technically thrown your weight into the project already. However, consider leaving a review on DTRPG, subscribing to the Azukail Games channel so we can keep making videos and content about Army Men, and lastly, consider grabbing some of the supplements that have come out for it!

Because of course I spent a lot of the last year trying to expand the game, hoping to grow the audience just a bit.

- Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic: The base book for the game, this is technically the only book you need to play this game... but it never hurts to get some of the others as well!

- Army Men: Threat Assessments: The first collection released after the original game dropped, this supplement is full of new creatures for your squad to have to deal with when out in the field.

- Army Men: Medals of Honor: This supplement introduced the Medals System, allowing players to earn medals for their troopers, gaining unique bonuses and abilities usable for the rest of the campaign.

- Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps: Giant bugs and enemy combatants aren't the only threats you'll have to deal with in the field. Booby traps are a serious concern among troopers looking to leave their service with as many limbs as they started.

- Army Men Missions: A Night At Breckon's Beacon: When a squad goes missing while they're on patrol, it's your squad's mission to find them, and bring them home... or to avenge them, if that can't be done.

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 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!

What Future Mission Modules Would You Like To See For "Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic"?

It's been a little over half a year since my RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic hit the market. Since we had a pretty successful Kickstarter, I wanted to make sure that I kept expanding on the options players and Game Masters alike had available to them, and one thing I was concerned about was the missions squads would get sent on. Because while there is a mission in the base book to get players and Game Masters started, I wanted to make sure there was more than just that one module to kick things off.

As of this weekend, the first stand-alone mission A Night At Breckon's Beacon is officially out! And if a squad hunting down missing comrades-in-arms, and tracking them to an old, dilapidated castle on the Western border of United Polymeria sounds like a good way to spend your night, then I'd highly recommend you get yourself a copy! However, I don't want to rest on my laurels, and I did have a few questions for players (as well as potential players) regarding my plan for the rest of these initial mission releases.

Seriously, check it out if you haven't!

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!

A Sample Platter of The Plastos Federation

For folks who haven't picked up a copy of Army Men for themselves yet, the location we start off in is the Plastos Federation; a collection of the nations United Polymeria, the Styric Republic, Acrylica, and the Acetal Alliance. A Night at Breckon's Beacon takes place, as mentioned, in United Polymeria, and plays into some of the culture and history of that particular nation (U.P. is at least partially inspired by the U.K. and its history, so it has timelines going back for centuries to when the longbow and the claymore were actual weapons wielded on the battlefield, and castles were the norm for fortress construction).

My intention was to provide one mission for each of the other nations, as well as a Federation mission that would be specifically geared as a cooperative mission drawing on troopers from any nation players wanted to bring. However, since I'm looking at my workdesk and plotting which projects are going to go out next, I thought I'd share some of the ideas that I had, and ask my readers what mission description interests them most?

I've got quite a few ideas to choose from...

The current ideas include:

- (Acrylica) Experimental Duty: A squad of troopers is sent to reinforce security at a location that will be running a classified experiment. This module will likely involve several waves of enemies, a great deal of firepower, and a need to properly defend a static location.

- (Styric Republic) Precinct Assault: Organized crime and corruption is a serious problem in the Styric Republic. An infamous gangster is being held at a decommissioned precint, but his gang comes to try to break him out. The only thing standing between them and their goal, is your squad.

- (Acetal Alliance) Reclamation: The war between the Silicate Autocracy and Halogen left lasting scars, even though the two nations united in the face of the vespoid threat. Booby traps are commonplace, and before any abandoned town can be rebuilt it's necessary for squads to sweep them for dangers. A relatively routine mission turns deadly, and your squad has to find out if there are more than ghosts of a past war haunting an aging, abandoned town.

- (Plastos Federation) Bug Hunt: Vespoid incursions don't always require an all-out assault... sometimes what they need is a decapitating strike. Federation assault teams often take on these dangerous missions, and your squad has been tasked with joining. Commanders promise you'll all get a medal for this if you pull it off... of course, Federation medals are often given posthumously.

While I have a couple of other suggestions for missions (some of which are larger than the one-offs described above), these are the ones I plan to start with. My intention is to offer a different kind of goal and playstyle for each one, and to give players the ability/opportunity to get a little sample of each nation, and to get a little dash of history and personality from them in order to decide which they really like. These missions can be played with the same characters, or with different ones, allowing players to try a variety of castes and builds to see what really jives with them.

So, which of the above ideas appeals to you? What would you like to see? Or is there a style of play or a kind of mission I didn't include that you'd like to see made official with an Army Men mission all its own? Make sure you let me know in the comments down below!

Additionally, consider checking out the following supplements that have already been released for the game, along with the show Tactical Plastic Report, which is currently available on the Azukail Games YouTube channel!

- Army Men: Threat Assessments: The first collection released after the original game dropped, this supplement is full of new creatures for your squad to have to deal with when out in the field.

- Army Men: Medals of Honor: This supplement introduced the Medals System, allowing players to earn medals for their troopers, gaining unique bonuses and abilities usable for the rest of the campaign.

- Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps: Giant bugs and enemy combatants aren't the only threats you'll have to deal with in the field. Booby traps are a serious concern among troopers looking to leave their service with as many limbs as they started.

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!

What Mechanics-Based Supplements Would You Like To See For "Army Men"?

As regular readers know, my first RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic was released earlier this year after a successful Kickstarter campaign. In this game players take on the role of a squad of soldiers fighting for one of the nations of the Plastos Federation as they attempt to defend their home from the incursions of the vespoids; gigantic, insectile creatures that have placed all the resinous persons under serious threat. In addition to that very hot war there are also Cold War tensions between many of the nations, there are terrorist organizations and criminal syndicates to deal with, as well as pieces of strange, alien technology that may be more than they seem at first glance, as well as plastic dinosaurs roaming the wilderness beyond the Federation's borders.

What I'd like to ask folks this week, since we're in our Crunch update, is what sort of mechanical supplements you'd like to see for this game in the coming months?

What do you need for resupply?

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!

Exploits, Gear, And Creatures To Fear

Since Army Men initially dropped, three separate supplements have been released. The first, Army Men: Threat Assessments, is a collection of extra threats, creatures, and things that your troopers are going to have to deal with in the field. The second, Army Men: Medals of Honor, introduced the medals system as a way for you to recognize your troopers' accomplishments while on campaign, and to give your players things to strive for. And the most recent supplement, Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps, is full of deadly traps for Game Masters to put into the field for their troopers (or their enemies) to deal with. And if you keep your eyes peeled, the first of the Army Men missions should be coming out soon, with a short adventure set in United Polymeria!

However, because I wanted to focus this game on strategy, equipment, and abilities, I wanted to take a moment to ask folks in the audience... what would you actually like to see more of?

There's several options on the board!

So, I've had a lot of ideas for some things I'd like to expand for the mechanical side of Army Men for folks who want to see even more resources for the game. At the moment, though, the things I'm currently looking at are:

- Additional Missions: Though A Night At Breckon's Beacon isn't out at time of writing, my plan was to get at least 4 more mission guides written and going through editorial in the near future. However, if there's more demand for missions than there is for other options, they're going to get bumped to the top of the list!

- Army Men: Weapons Locker: While not a finalized title, the basic idea behind this series would be, as the title suggests, to be to put more weapons, armor, and general equipment into the hands of your troopers. There might even be some items with the Experimental tag attached to them, in the event folks want a little more of the sci-fi nonsense I've hinted at with this game.

- Army Men: Enhanced Exploits: The exploits system is the main way players pick up and add abilities to their troopers. While there's a variety of them in the base book, this supplement would give you new trees to draw from, and provide additional paths you could use to develop your character in your coming campaign.

- Army Men: Soldiers of Fortune: While originally the title I was going to use for a larger softcover release (which this might still be, if there's enough enthusiasm), the idea behind this supplement was to add something of an A-Team vibe to the game by including the option to play as mercenaries. This would provide players with new classes to choose from, new exploits, fresh backgrounds, as well as a slew of additional items, and likely a Reputation system for acquiring new gear in the field, or before a mission (since mercenaries may not have access to the armories of a nation's standing army).

These aren't the only ideas I've had for supplements to expand the game world, but at time of writing these are the four directions I've narrowed likely expansion to. So if you're a fan of Army Men, then make sure you make your voice heard so I know what sort of content you'd like to see from me going forward!

And if you'd like to know more about the game and setting, make sure to check out the new series Tactical Plastic Report over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel. I just got it off the ground, so now is the perfect time to make your voice heard on what subjects you'd like to see covered!

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!

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!

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...

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!

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!

Should I Make Videos For "Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic"?

As most folks know, I've been contributing videos to the Azukail Games YouTube channel for a while now (and you should check them out and subscribe if you haven't yet). While I originally talked about my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age fantasy RPG setting for Pathfinder and DND 5E, I started making audio dramas for the vignettes found in my supplements soon after. That eventually grew into Discussions of Darkness where I talk about the World and Chronicles of Darkness, and Tabletop Mercenary, where I talk about the business side of publishing in general, and RPGs in particular.

However, I was wondering if folks would like to see me talk more about my first full RPG, Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic on the channel?

... what do you think?

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!

Fighting The War On All Fronts

There are some people who prefer to read articles because they consume text more easily. There are some people who prefer to see the face of the people who make the products they use, and to hear the thought process of the designer in an interview-style format. For the former there's plenty of blog entries right here on Improved Initiative about this game, why I designed it the way I did, and the potential it has going forward... but I figured that it might be worth expanding that a little bit.

And not just because the unboxing video for my copies of the game books was one of the higher-watched videos the channel has put out in a while.

While it's been on the market since this Spring, Army Men has already had 2 supplements drop for it (Threat Assessments, which has more monsters and enemies for troopers to deal with, and Medals of Honor, which includes a Medal System for giving permanent bonuses and rewards to troopers who accomplish particular feats in the field), and there are 2 more in the queu to be released by Azukail Games in the future.

Since I'm still fighting to get the game seen and played (we're only 7 sales away from hitting Copper status last I checked the figure sheets), I figured that this is one area I haven't expanded into yet, and I wanted to see what you thought of it as members of the potential audience? Would you be interested in watching me talk about Army Men, giving break downs of the game, the world, the ideas behind it, and the supplements I've both made for it, and would like to make for it?

Some topics that are currently under consideration include:

- Reviews/rundowns of the current supplements

- Discussions of future supplements/soliciting audience opinions on what should come next

- Breakdown of the lore/setting/timeline of the resinous peoples

- Advice for how to run missions with this game

If there's something you'd like to see that isn't on the list, please feel free to include it in the comments below, with one exception. While it's been mentioned a time or two that I should do a recorded play of the game with a group and put that up for folks to see how it plays in real time, that is something currently outside the scope of my space, my equipment, and my skills. If I were to put something like that together it would take a lot of scheduling, resources, and editing to make it look good, sound good, and play smoothly... and that just isn't something I'm capable of making at the moment.

So it's not out of the question, but it isn't something I'd be able to make happen this year, barring something going extremely well for the game, and a massive audience showing up out of nowhere to raise their voices for it.

With that said, though, as long as I'm putting together additional supplements, my hope is to (at the very least) continue giving my listeners glimpses into the world, and into what Army Men can be as a game, and all of the different genres it can cover, and the stories it can tell. Such as this piece, taken from Medals of Honor, which has a definite James Bond flair 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 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!