Looking For a Change of Pace? Grab a Copy of XCrawl!

We've all had those moments when our group has been on a little hiatus. Maybe it was end-of-campaign burnout and everyone needed a break, or life stuff happened and some members had to move, change jobs, or handle any of a dozen other things. But when you're looking to get the gang back together, you often want to do something a little different to bring some zest to your next game. Something a little off-the-wall. And if you've been looking for a spark to re-invigorate your group, then might I suggest trying out XCrawl if you haven't done so yet?

Seriously, this thing is a ball!

Before we get into it this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

What The Hell is XCrawl?

Some of you may have come across this game before, or seen me talk about it in older entries on this blog. However, if you're utterly unfamiliar with this game, the elevator pitch for XCrawl is that it's what happens when WWE has a baby with DND. In a modern fantasy version of our world, dungeon crawling has become a major, televised event with Dungeon Judges lording over their arenas, and "crawlers" becoming one part celebrities, one part athletes, and one part stage persona as they compete for the public's viewing pleasure.

And as they say in Gladiator, you aren't the best because you kill quickly... you're the best when you win the crowd! Which is why crawlers tend to have signature moves, grandstanding and mugging checks (for playing to the audience or the camera, depending on), ring personas they can build up like legends in the minds of the audience, and why it's just as important that you look good when you win as it is that you win in the first place!

And the crowd is hungry for entertainment!

That is a pitch that sticks in your head. Especially when you consider that XCrawl is set in its own version of the 1980s (ish) where you add in elements of The Running Man, the rise of corporate power, and all of the social pressures going on in the American Empire outside the arenas themselves. This can give it a feeling that's almost akin to Shadowrun, especially if you start getting into political corruption, the false face of sports empires, market backstabbings, and whether the games are being used for nefarious purposes. So while you can run a campaign that's just televised dungeon crawls, you've got options for things you can do beyond that as well!

Now, I found the XCrawl core rulebook sitting in my hobby store years ago, and it was for the 3.0/3.5 version of DND. However, Goodman Games has ported this setting to a variety of different systems, including one for Pathfinder Classic for folks who want all the conversions done for them. There's also add-ons that cover additional aspects of the game and the setting such as XCrawl: Sellout which has additional information on gear, agents, fame, and more for players, along with adventures like Dungeonbattle Brooklyn for GMs who just want to pick up and play.

A Few Episodes or a Season, It's Up To You!

I've run XCrawl on and off over the years, usually as a one-shot for a convention game because its premise is absolutely wacky enough to get folks to sit down and play, but it doesn't wear out its welcome by the time the final boss falls. It's also flexible enough that you can make up shows, such as the one-shot I ran that I titled Jersey Shore: Undead! as a way of making fun of both reality TV and the way The Walking Dead had utterly saturated pop culture with zombies.

However, the current idea came from a line in the core book that I'd seen before, but forgotten about. To paraphrase, it recommends starting characters off at level 3 if they're going to be a Division IV team (which is where the death games come in). While you could run a Division III game if you feel you could make it interesting and engaging, the stakes are much smaller in arenas that are geared to be less than lethal.

And since I was still rolling with ideas after my Let's Talk About Non-Lethal Damage in Pathfinder post, I figured I'd actually go against the rulebook's recommendation and start my team off at the beginning of their story in the games. A Division III event called the Mall Crawl!

And you thought YOUR Black Friday sucked...

Because while the world of XCrawl is absolutely bonkers, I wanted to bring a gaggle of new players in at the bottom rung. They're discovering who they are, forming their team (in order to gain access to the precious Mojo that lets you spend resources for bonuses during the game), looking for sponsorship, and getting their feet under them... sure, that hobgoblin might not kill them, and that booby trap they set off is likely to be a firehose instead of a spiked pit trap of death, but they're going to have all kinds of stuff to deal with... like the judgment of the crowd when a bunch of nobodies step into the ring!

Anyway, I wanted to talk about that this week because I'm digging through the rulebook for the first time in a while, and whatever your preferred edition of the game, I think this is a setting that more people should really check out for themselves!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

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

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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

"Sundara: Dawn of a New Age" is On Sale Through March 13!

Normally when I put out my first update of the week I like to muse about some aspect of RPGs, offer some insight to Game Masters out there, or give a deeper explanation on something I recently released. However, this week I have some exciting news to share!

Recently my splat Cities of Sundara: Ironfire was the deal of the day at Drive Thru RPG. It got enough attention that the publisher has decided to pass the savings along to all the curious folks out there who decided to grab a copy. As such, my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting is on sale until March 13! So if you've been holding off on picking up particular splats, they're currently part of the Drive Thru RPG GM's Day Sale. And if this is your first time hearing about Sundara, well, keep reading and I'll tell you a bit about what my goals are, what I've put out already, and what you're going to see from it going forward.

Seriously, come check it out!

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

What is Sundara?

The short version is that Sundara: Dawn of a New Age is a fantasy RPG setting that is going to be familiar enough to fans of the genre that they'll be able to pick it up quickly, but that there's still plenty of differences just beneath the surface to make it feel new and unique for those who aren't expecting said changes.

As a for-instance, this setting is available both for Pathfinder's first edition, and for Dungeons and Dragons' 5th Edition. It's full of magic and mystery, and there are all sorts of different species one could choose to play as, as well as hundreds of different monsters roaming the setting. At a glance, it seems like just another cover song of the same genre we've seen before.

But if you scratch the surface you'll notice there's a lot of things you don't expect. Things like:

- No Nations: Sundara's largest political entities are city states, regional confederacies, and guilds.

- No Monolithic Species: Every species in Sundara has a variety of ethnicities and cultures, as well as potential origin stories and creation myths that may or may not be true depending on whom you ask.

- No "Common" Tongue: Language, much like culture, is diverse in Sundara. While some languages are more popular than others, and there are a number of so-called trading tongues, you will not find "Common" on the sheet. Nor are there specific species languages; so no "elven," "dwarven," "orc," etc.

- No Alignment: One of the biggest reader requests was that there be no alignment in the setting going forward. So alignment was removed from classes, gods, faiths, and the world as a whole, which has a lot of far-reaching repercussions.

I even talked about some of this over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel (and if you haven't subscribed yet, you should, because I'm going into greater depth on some topics in the coming weeks).

More than these changes, though, Sundara is a setting that is fundamentally about forward progress. So many settings take their cue from Tolkien and focus on the mythic, lost past, trying to return to former glories. While Sundara has had empires rise and fall, it is fundamentally a setting about not looking back. Rather it is about finding fresh solutions to old problems, and about discovery of new and interesting ways of doing things. From creating mass-produced pattern-welded steel in volcanic furnaces, to building sky ships that take to the air on the cast-off scales of powerful wyrms, Sundara is about invention, curiosity, and finding unique solutions to problems.

Fun as a Whole, Or in Bite-Sized Pieces

For the Game Masters out there who might be reluctant to jump ship to a whole new setting, or who really want to keep using their own, homebrew worlds, I've designed Sundara in such a way that you can have your cake and eat it, too.

Because this is a one-man show, I've purposefully released the setting in small, bite-sized splats. In a way it's kind of like a serial RPG setting, and readers are exploring it along with me as we go along rather than just getting one thick tome of information that contains everything. However, because I chose this method of release, I've also designed each setting to be at least somewhat self-contained. So while there might be small nods and references to other parts of the setting, and callbacks to previous installments, everything is meant to function on its own, or to be folded into a different setting if that's what a Game Master wants to do with it.

Some parts of the setting are weirder than others, I'll admit.

While it's entirely possible to run a session in and around one of the cities I've created, and using the species guides that have been released, it's equally possible for Game Masters to just take elements or aspects that they like and fold them into their worlds. Perhaps they like the sky ships from Hoardreach, and they think the idea is neat. Maybe they enjoy the idea of a city powered by the undead, so they want to put Moüd in their game, but without any of the rest of Sundara. Perhaps they just like the idea of a Wyrm Mark, or the backgrounds I created for career mercenaries, so they make those available. Or they find the approach to gods and the divine a lot more flexible and fun in this setting, so they adopt that without anything else.

One of the goals for these books is to provide Game Masters with the tools that suit their needs. So whether they want all of Sundara, or just a part of it, the goal is to make it as plug-and-play with their particular games as possible. My hope is that the more players and GMs alike read of the setting, the more they're going to want, but I understand that sometimes folks just want one particular tool rather than the entire set, and I want to make something that appeals to them as well.

Why Not Take a Look For Yourself?

I took a brief break on making new Sundara content at the start of the year, but I've already finished one new supplement, and I've started work on the second piece of 2022. Sellswords of Sundara is full of unique archetypes/subclasses for mercenary companies that come with their own themes, histories, NPCs, rumors, and more, and that should be coming out shortly. I'm also working on Towns of Sundara, so that folks have some smaller places to put between the cities that are just as interesting and unique in their own ways (and which acts as a good follow up to 10 Fantasy Villages, which kicked this whole project off in the first place).

Cities of Sundara

The setting first began with the Cities of Sundara splats. Self-contained guides to some of the larger and more powerful centers of trade, industry, arms, and magic, these unique locations provide plenty of fodder for character generation and plots. Not only that, but each one comes with unique, mechanical goodies for players and GMs alike to take out for a spin!

- Ironfire: The City of Steel (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built around the Dragon Forge, Ironfire is where the secret to dragon steel was first cracked. The center of the mercenary trade in the region, as well as boasting some of the finest schools for teaching practical sciences, Ironfire is a place where discovery and danger walk hand in hand!

- Moüd: The City of Bones (Pathfinder and DND 5E): An ancient center of trade and magic, Moüd was lost to a cataclysm, and then buried in myth. Reclaimed by the necromantic arts of the Silver Wraiths guild, this city has once again become a place teeming with life. Despite the burgeoning population, though, it is the continued presence of the undead that helps keep the city running, ensuring that Moüd is not swallowed up once more.

- Silkgift: The City of Sails (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built on the cottage industry of Archer cloth (an extremely durable material used for sails, windmills, etc.), Silkgift is a place that prizes invention and discovery. From gravity batteries that store the potential of the wind, to unique irrigation systems, to aether weapons, the city positively churns out discoveries... and then there's the canal they cut through the mountains that makes them a major center of trade across the region.

- Hoardreach: The City of Wyrms (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A center of power across an entire region, Hoardreach is ruled over by a Cooperation of five different dragons. A place for refugees and outcasts of all sorts, Hoardreach boasts some of the most unusual citizens and creations from across Sundara. Infamous for their sky ships, which require the cast-off scales and unique arcane sciences of the Dragon Works to take to the air, one never knows just what they'll find in this city built atop a mountain.

- Archbliss: The City of The Sorcerers (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A floating city in the sky, Archbliss has been a refuge for sorcerers for thousands of years. It's only in relatively recent years that the city has allowed those from the ground below who lack the power of a bloodline to join them in the clouds. However, while there are certainly amazing wonders to behold, there is a darkness in Archbliss. Something rotting away at its heart that could, if not healed, bring the city crashing to the ground once more.

Gods of Sundara

- Gods of Sundara (available for Pathfinder and DND 5E): In a world with no alignment, and where the gods are often genuinely mysterious forces that are far too large for mortals to truly comprehend, the divine feels genuinely strange and unknown... something that really does have to be taken on faith. This supplement provides a sample pantheon for Sundara, but also provides instructions on how to easily make your own gods in a world where you can't cast a spell and tell whether someone is good or evil.

Species of Sundara

Sundara is filled with creatures that many of us recognize, but I wanted to give greater depth to their cultures, and a wider variety of options. After all, humans always get 15+ ethnicities, languages, and unique histories, while elves, dwarves, orcs, halflings, etc. are almost always left with footnotes, or maybe with a handful of offshoots. So, in short, I wanted to give all the fantastical creatures the treatment that humans usually get in our games.

And there is no human book yet. If readers demand to know more, then I may sit down to pen one... but I figured that humans didn't need to be front-and-center in this setting just yet.

- Elves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Elves are one of the most quintessential fantasy creatures... but if you want to see more than just high elves, wood elves, and elves of the sun and moon, then this supplement has you covered!

- Dwarves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): The children of the primordial giants who were meant to fill in the details of the world they'd made (or so the myths say) there are as many kinds of dwarves as their are kinds of giants... and possibly more, depending on who is keeping count.

- Orcs of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Supposedly a creation of the elves, none can say for certain exactly how or why orcs have been made. What most agree on is that these creatures are far more than most may think at first glance.

- Halflings of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Little cousins to the dwarves, halflings are tough, clever, and not to be underestimated. From living beneath the hills, to taking up residence in the deep forests, halflings in Sundara come in quite a variety!

- The Blooded (Half-Elves and Half-Orcs) [Pathfinder and DND 5E]: When orcs and elves mix their bloodlines with other creatures, the result is one of the Blooded. This inheritance takes many forms, and it can even wait generations before manifesting when the right combination of individuals come together to have a child.

- Gnomes of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Gnomes are strange creatures, found in places where the spirit of the land has coalesced and made children of its own. The sons and daughters of the ancient nymphs, they are the stewards of these places, and they change as often as the weather and the land.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

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

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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

The Cowboy Wizard

Atrius smiled, and twirled his fingers through the air, speaking the single whisper of power before slapping the steer on the side. When he took his hand away, his personal sigil was clearly marked on the animal's flank, though there was no wound, and no discomfort. The beast grunted, and Atrius snickered as he urged his horse forward. Within the next few hours, the herd was properly marked, all of them calm and grazing.

The drive wasn't as bad as it might otherwise be. From atop his saddle, he could easily direct the herd where he wanted them to go with no more than a few flicks of his wrist, and an occasional eldritch incantation. He kept them calm and moving forward, resisting the temptation to ever enchant them to cut the drive time. He'd seen where that could go, if a man wasn't careful.

Snow Tips watched during the night, the gray barn owl keeping a sharper eye out than he ever could. Still, Atrius kept his wands close, and his field grimoire well-thumbed. There were worse dangers than the threat of a stampede out in the wild lands, and if he wanted his herd to make it to Tracker's Ford in one piece he'd have to keep himself ready for any sort of trouble.

He still had student loans to pay, and univeralist wizards weren't in-demand.

The Cattle Rancher Wizard

When most of us look at a wizard's spell list, we think of the application in terms of dungeon crawls, combats, and adventures. However, there are a lot of spells that could really make the grueling work of a cattle drive so much easier on someone. Whether it's casting a spell on your horse to enhance its speed and endurance, using arcane mark so you can always find your cows, or just turning your lasso into a rope trick so you can camp comfortably in the most inhospitable conditions, a little bit of magic goes a long way when it comes to completing tasks that would otherwise take an entire team of workers.

This concept isn't just about being a cowboy who happens to be a wizard, though.

The idea is, more broadly, to stop thinking of a wizard as a profession instead of a skill set. Rather, this character uses their knowledge of magic to accomplish some other task. Why not a transmuter who's a farmer, turning arid soil into potable land that grows amazing crops? Or a diviner who acts as a bounty hunter, always one step ahead of whoever is trying to get away from her? An abjurer who works as a bodyguard, perhaps? An enchanter who's a diplomat? An illusionist who works for the circus, who operates as a spy, or perhaps both? An evoker who works as a forest ranger, using their spells to conduct controlled burns, stop forest fires, and occasionally to deal with bandits?

The idea here is to take a profession that is typically mundane in some way, shape, or form, and to ask yourself how a wizard would use their skills and powers to do the job. From traveling merchants, to sewer cleaners, to medical examiners, to archaeologists, there's a plethora of possibilities out there... and if all else fails, you can always fall back on roping steers and driving cows!

For more thought-provoking ideas on this class, check out my 5 Tips For Playing Better Wizards, which is part of my ongoing 5 Tips series!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned For More!

That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a dungeon master.

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my most recent collection of short stories 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!

It Only Has To Happen Once (Weird PCs, and The "Special Snowflake" Argument)

There is an argument that happens a lot at gaming tables, and it's one that's confused me the older I've gotten. It is, in general, the idea that wanting a player character to be unique or special in some way is inherently bad, and that it somehow represents poor storytelling on the part of the player proposing the idea (or on the part of dungeon masters who allow such characters).

Sometimes it's a player who wants to bring in a race that isn't typically seen in a certain environment. Other times it's a desire to play a certain class that's deemed unusual, or even mastering a strange method of magic, or esoteric fighting style. But any time someone asks to bring in a character that has something weird, wild, or unusual, there's all too often a push back against it purely because it's something out of the norm.

This is a bad habit, and it's one that I think we should all step back to examine.

Seriously, guys, calm down.

PCs Are SUPPOSED To Be Special

If you are playing a long-term campaign where the party is supposed to achieve a goal and maintain its cohesion all the way to the end, then the PCs should stand out, or be special in some way. It isn't required, but it is certainly well within the genre if you look at most of the classic examples from modern fiction and well-known myths.

Drizzt Do'urden is probably our go-to example as a drow who finds his views apart from his people, and who adventures away from the Underdark, but he's far from the only example. Logen Ninefingers (and his anime counterpart Guts) are both sensitive to the world of spirits, and achieve feats of violence and bloodshed that leave others in awe. Hercules is the son of a god, and has a strength so prodigious that in one play he literally puts death itself in a headlock until it returns a friend's wife. Oedipus is the secret son of a king, and a child of prophecy (tragic prophecy, but prophecy nonetheless). The crew list for the Argo was a who's who of heroes and champions, all on a quest for the golden fleece. The dangerous ranger who goes toe-to-toe with half a dozen undead kings is actually an 80 year-old prince in love with the daughter of an elf lord who by rights should be wielding a mystic sword spoken of only in legend.

Then there's this white-haired, golden eyed, regenerating ladies' man.

The point I'm getting at is that PCs are not supposed to be randomly-selected extras who've just been promoted to starring roles. They are the ones with the skills, the drive, and often the unusual abilities to step up and do what other people can't... because if someone else was already handling the problem, then we would be telling stories about their exploits instead.

So if a thing exists in the game world, and it is available to players, there's no reason to blanket-deny it to someone who asked for it.

And as the guy who wrote both 100 Unusual Aasimar and 100 Tieflings To Meet in Your Travels, trust me, I'm no stranger to slotting in weird, wild, and bizarre character concepts.

The Drizzt Problem

I can hear a lot of DMs out there clearing their throats, and preparing comments that they've seen far too many players who want to just make versions of some of the characters I mentioned with the serial numbers filed off. They're not putting in their own creativity, or trying to make the character their own in any way, they just want to change the name and be Drizzt, or Strider, or Guts.

To that I ask you this one, very important question: Why does that matter?

Seriously... because I know we've all done our own version of this. Heck, I wrote the conversion!

If the race, class, and abilities your player wants are clearly influenced by a particular archetype of character, and they're willing to make that character work in your game, who cares if it's their own take on a popular archetype? Because Batman is just Zorro without the horse, Zorro is just the Scarlet Pimpernel with a different accent, and so on, and so forth.

Your primary concern as a DM should be that your players are having fun, and playing characters they enjoy, which add to the game. If everyone around the table enjoys their take on something, then it will make the game better. Also, if you let a player get that experience under their belt, next time around they're more likely to do something different, and to stretch their legs a bit. Whereas if you tell them no, they're just going to want to do it more because they didn't get a chance to try it out. I speak from personal experience here both as a player, and as a DM.

Rarity is Not an Excuse, Either

 The other major argument that I'm sure someone was getting ready to make is that rarity should exclude players from having certain character types. The more uncommon a race, class, etc. is, the more reason you have to say no to it.

I'd actually take the opposite view of this. If something exists in the setting, and it is available for PCs to have, then there should be even less reason to say no to it because by its very nature it's going to fit into the mold of someone (or something) bound to have adventures worth following.

A tiefling warlock who uses the powers of hell to battle fiends? Baller, let's roll!

The rarity argument makes no sense, because we are not choosing the PCs we play by looking at world demographics and picking what makes the most sense based on that spread. Otherwise 99 percent of all games would just be human peasants being slaughtered by wave after wave of goblins. You pick a PC for their ability to actually solve the threats the party is facing, and because their unique flavor appeals to your palate.

And if something "doesn't fit" in a particular location, then it's your job to sit down with the player and figure out why this character ambled into town.

Heard you had a monster problem. Might be able to help with that.

I talked about this in The Non-Problem of Making Monks Fit Your Setting, as well as in DMs, Please Stop Arbitrarily Limiting Race Choice in Your Games, but it still bears repeating. The world is a big, wide-open pile of nonsense, and getting a character from one end of it to the other is often way easier than we seem to think it is.

For example, say a player wants to play a character who's been schooled in the art of the Broken Fist. It's a powerful fighting style that has a particular tie to a nation half a world away from where your game takes place. So, how did the PC get there?

- They Walked: Caravans and ships are canonically everywhere in most settings, and there's nothing to say that a student of this bone-breaking martial art didn't simply walk until they found a place where their skills were needed.

- They're Already Local: If someone was a local who was schooled by a retired master of the art, then they're in the area you need them to be, and for bonus points they're someone known to the neighborhood/town. You could even throw in some tension with their master over how this art should be used, with the student electing to do the right thing despite their teacher, or their teacher sending the student to help as a test of their skills.

- They're With Someone Else: The barbarian puts their sword into the fight, but the initiate of the Broken Fist has been traveling with them, and can't let their friend go it alone. How did Han and Chewie get to the middle of nowhere when the plot needed them? Who cares, they're here now, and that's what matters.

Whether the PC is a demon-blooded sorcerer who really just wants to help, or one of the last of a clutch of lizardfolk looking for revenge, as long as the player has an explanation for why they are here, that's all that matters.

Because even if only a small percentage of the game world qualifies for a certain class, or is born as a certain race, what's the point of that argument? 1 percent of billions of creatures is still millions of potential candidates! Having an entire party of "rare" creatures and specialties is not all that unusual, and is something you can explain pretty easily between mercenary companies who specialize in outcasts (like The Devil's Own in 100 Random Mercenary Companies), traveling circuses, fleeing refugees, and the bloodlines of previous generations of adventurers who stopped in every tavern and brothel they could find to spend their loot. So if your urge as a DM is to say no, and fold your arms until everyone goes back to dwarven fighters and elven rangers, ask why you feel that way. What are you gaining from denying your players the options they want to utilize which exist in the setting you're running?

Your players might make do with a secondary PC idea they've had laying around. But if you give them that weird, wild thing they asked for? They will typically fight tooth and nail to make the most of it. Just something to think about.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Fluff post! If you've used this in your games, share a story down in the comments!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my recent 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!

The Mutant Sorcerer

Before we get started with this week's Unusual Character Concepts post, I wanted to take a moment to draw your attention over to the right side of your screen. You should see an ad for my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife.

If you're interested in seeing more of my fiction, keep an eye on that spot. Whenever I come out with a new book, that's where I'm going to put the cover and link. Since I've got something in the works right now, and I just finished my latest giveaway for Crier's Knife, I figured I'd give folks who hadn't read it yet a chance to grab a copy before the new release hits.

Anyway, on with this week's post...

No there's nothing weird in my family... nothing!

 

The boys had left with their heads held high, spears in hand, each bragging they were going to find the greater glory on the field. Only half of those who left returned, and none of them came back the same. Some were missing arms, hands, legs, or eyes... others had changed in ways that couldn't be seen from the outside. Until something happened.

Chase sat at the corner of the bar, hunched over a cup of spiced tea. He had his hat pulled low, and he kept his eyes down when people came in. Some nodded, or offered a hello, but no one came close. Until the outsiders arrived. Loud and crude, with the air of soldiers of fortune, they spent gold on anything they saw. Drink, food, and they even attempted to spend it on the girl waiting their table. She laughed as if it were a joke, but the strangers didn't care for that. They pulled her close, refusing to let her up. While they laughed and jibed, the air in the tavern grew thicker... like the closeness before a storm.

"Let loose," Chase said to the men. He hadn't gotten up from his seat, or turned to face them, but there was no one else he could have been talking to.

"Or what?" the captain of the little mob asked, rocking to his feet. He stormed across the boards, and grabbed Chase by his collar. "What are you going to do about it?"

There was a flash, and a boom as the air was split asunder. The captain stumbled back, clutching at his hand. He screamed like a gelded horse, the flesh of his sword hand charred black, smoke rising from the bones poking from the wound. Chase stood, turning to face them. The air was growing thick again, and sharp sparks split the air with the sound of cracking pebbles.

"That is what I'll do," he said, staring at the men with eyes that had seen the elemental wizards of Bardan-Brashen, and which carried the marks of the storm lords power in the old scars he'd brought home from that battle.

The Mutant Sorcerer

Sorcerers are generally thought of as the progeny of powerful bloodlines, whose magics manifest as the sorcerer grows and matures. Those whose ancestors once lay with dragons or djinni, or who have inherited the raw power of the elements, or the wild potential of unbound magic. There are some sorcerers, though, who have no such ancestors. Instead, they survived strange, uncanny events, walking away from them changed in ways that are hard to explain, and even harder to control.

They came out of the experience... mutated.

She could hear the voice of the stars... practically reach out and touch it.

 

Mutant sorcerers can be caused by any kind of exposure to powerful essences, whether that exposure was accidental or purposeful. Whether the character was a caravan guard accidentally exposed to a potent magical blast when her cargo was commandeered, a warrior who managed to withstand the spells of an archmage, a baby in the womb when their mother was swathed in the fell energies of a necromantic ritual, or someone who was the subject of unusual alchemical tests and trials, there are a hundred different ways a sorcerer may have acquired their mutation.

Just look into a comic book, and you'll find all sorts of inspiration.

The degree of mutation can be subtle, or it can be crazy, whatever makes you happy as a player. Someone with ice running through their veins might feel chill to the touch, their once black hair now shot through with blue-white streaks. Someone who died, went to hell, and was resurrected may have brought a little hellfire back with them, turning one of their eyes black and leaving a slow crust of red scales crawling up one arm. An apprentice who was caught in a blast when their master's tower exploded might find themselves filled with the raw potential of wild magic, but lacking the knowledge (or guidance) to actually control it. This might cause their hair, skin color, eye color, or a slew of other features to shift and change the more they dip into their weird admixture that now lives inside them.

Who Takes A Mutant In?

Mutant sorcerers may be even more unusual than traditional ones, lacking a pedigree to establish who you are or where your powers came from. You might find yourself shunned and feared, especially if your mutation gives you a strange or unsightly appearance in addition to powers others don't understand.

So another question you should ask is where do you go if your old life can no longer support you after your change? Do you withdraw into a monastery, attempting to find guidance and routine to help you control the power burning within you? Do you seek out an arcane school, risking a fate as a laboratory subject if it means they can help you... or cure you, if your mutation is something that has made it impossible to return to the life you had? Do you try to find others like you, who've survived terrible ordeals and found themselves changed by them?

Alternatively, do you turn to the renegades, rebels, and rogues of the world, hoping your powers may garner you a place among their ranks? Groups you might find in:

- 100 Mercenary Companies: Whether you can call down lightning, or breathe acid like a dragon, there are few free companies that would pass up the raw power of a sorcerer, any sorcerer, in their ranks.

- 100 Bandits: Whether you ride with the Darkskull, or count yourself among the Tin Men's ranks, might makes right in the world of highwaymen and robbers. A show of arcane force is often enough to stop resistance before it starts, making you a valuable member of any gang.

- 100 Pirates: Buccaneers and river ruffians need all the muscle they can muster, and a sorcerer (even a mutant with a disfiguring scar from the ordeal that empowered them) can be a potent weapon on the seas. Not only that, but a pirate's life might be the cause of your mutation, bringing you to cursed islands, ancient treasure hoards, or forcing you to fight denizens of the deep.

There are all kinds of twists and turns you can take with this particular concept. Just remember that you are limited only by the stats you roll up, and your imagination when it comes to who your sorcerer is, and what led them down this particular path.

 

Lastly, don't forget to check out my 5 Tips For Playing Better Sorcerers for additional inspiration!

Closing Links and Other Places You Can Find My Work

That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a dungeon master.

For more of my work, check out my Vocal and Gamers archives, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, 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!

Keep An Eye Out For The "Soldiers and Serpents" RPG

One of the great things about conventions is that I run into people I would never meet anywhere else. Sometimes I'm on a panel with them, sometimes we meet at signing tables, and a lot of the time I just stop by their booth in the dealer's hall and ask them to tell me about themselves, and what they're making. Which is how I met David Taylor II, and how I heard about his game Soldiers and Serpents.

Based on this seriously metal book series, which you should check out!

The short version, for folks who haven't read the book series, is that you're in one of the most epic events in the history of creation. The Thronist angels are throwing down with Lucifer and his rebels, and there is betrayal and bloodshed on every side! The war for creation, for the very Realm, has begun. The question is what will your part be in this great war? And what will your actions mean for the Realm?

Why Should I Check This Out?

If you're like most gamers, chances are you already have a layout of games that you know you like. With so many other options out there, why should you try this one?

Well, first off, it has a rich mythology to draw on. If you've ever played Scion or Exalted, then you're probably familiar with the kind of tone that will be going on. However, this game is more card-based than it is die-based (though there are still dice, so don't put the bags away yet). In the open beta, every player chooses one of the four characters, which each come with a power set, light sides, and dark sides. You also have a consequence deck. When the DM presents you with a scenario, every player can pick an appropriate power, and roll a die to see if it works. If you roll high enough (d8 for light powers, d12 for dark ones), you succeed. If you don't, though, you can draw from the consequence deck to add to your pool. This may grant you success, but at a cost. The consequences you pulled are added into your narration, this giving every player the ability to contribute to the story in a meaningful way. Especially since some actions come with corruption, and that can alter the course of where a character might otherwise be going.

And it doesn't cost you anything to check out, which is another bonus.

Seriously, it's worth a gander.

Of course, given that this game was designed by such a talented author, in partnership with an experienced game designer (Eric Simon, who was behind the Steamscapes setting for Savage Worlds, Rockalypse for Fate, as well as being an accomplished author himself), the result is a unique, interesting product that is not your average RPG. So if you've been looking for something different, I highly recommend you give the open beta a look.

For more on David Taylor II, check out his Amazon author page! You should also take a gander at Four-in-Hand Games on Facebook, as well as on Drive Thru RPG.

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday update! I do my best to share up-and-coming stuff folks will enjoy, so if anyone tries out this beta and loves it (or hates it, I suppose) leave your story in the comments. For more by yours truly, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio where I help out from time to time. If you want to stay on top of all my releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you want to help support me while I keep bringing news and content straight to you, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or tossing some change into The Literary Mercenary's Patreon. Either way, sweet swag and my eternal gratitude are yours!

Odam's "Of Dreams And Magic" Review (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly)

As anyone who regularly reads my blog knows, I tend to mainline Pathfinder. In fact, I even went so far as to write a post titled Why Pathfinder is My Game of Choice to clarify my feelings and opinions. However, while I doubt I'll ever get tired of Golarion, I do play other games. Sometimes it's because I want to do something new, and sometimes it's because a new game plops in my lap and I decide to give it a read.

And that's kind of how I ended up reading "Of Dreams and Magic".

If you're not familiar with Odam Press's game "Of Dreams and Magic", it came out around 2015 after a successful Kickstarter campaign. In this game, the world is controlled by a force called the Doubt, which has convinced humanity that magic isn't real. Of course some people awaken to this lie, and embrace the truth of magic. These dreamers, known as Anima, can channel the power of their dream self into the real world, taking on extraordinary powers. They can also walk in the worlds of dream, fighting great battles in realms their fellow sleepers would never even guess exist. This has angered the Doubt, though, and it sends its agents to undo these Anima at every turn, spawning nightmares and reavers to crush their spirits, and force them back to sleep.

The Good

First things first, let me say unequivocally that the concept behind "Of Dreams and Magic" is a knockout. The idea that regular people can embrace the pure magic of dreams, and use it cast off the chains of a nebulous, gray, uncaring enemy feels like a modern fantasy version of The Neverending Story. With laser rifles and fireballs. Or, for World of Darkness fans, it feels like what you'd get if Mage: The Awakening knocked up Changeling: The Lost. It's flowing, free-form, and it allows you to bring a huge variety of concepts to the table. It also means you might have a party made up of a caped superhero, a fire-breathing demon prince, a shape-shifting hunter, and a haunted detective with a possessed gun.

In addition to the game's flavor, "Of Dreams and Magic" uses fairly simple (and unique) mechanics. You roll two ten-sided dice, one that's positive, and one that's negative. You figure out the result of your roll, add it to your bonus, and that determines whether you succeed or fail. There is also a unique mechanic called CAP, which is used to allow players more narrative control over their character. If you exceed the difficulty of the check, then every point you exceed it by is a point of CAP. You can then spend that CAP to modify the results. This might make attacks hit harder, make spells go further, or even allow your hacker to penetrate a firewall in seconds rather than minutes. As a mechanic for rewarding player success, and letting the table pick up the narration baton, that's quite unique.

The Bad

With that said, everything is not all rainbows and gumdrops for this game. There is a lot of number tracking, including your conviction (the stuff you use for powering your magic and abilities), your CAP, your wound penalties, and dozens of other factors. It's fairly reminiscent of the World of Darkness in this regard, but rather than keeping track of half a dozen hit boxes, and between 1 and 10 points of magic, you've now got hundreds of points to keep an eye on and maintain. It's not a deal breaker, but it is an annoyance.

The game also uses roll-off combat, which is an adjustment for a lot of gamers. Simply put, if you want to roll to hit an enemy (or to take any kind of contested action), that enemy also rolls to dodge, duck, block, etc. your attack. If their parry/dodge/whatever beats your hit, then you miss. Additionally, for every additional action you take, you suffer a cumulative -5 penalty. So you might be unbeatable on your first attack, but if you get mobbed and have to roll several defensive blocks, then you're going to go down fairly quickly. Again, this is not a deal breaker, but it is important that DMs who are used to systems like DND or Pathfinder where you roll against a static defense number keep very careful track of who is doing what, and in what order. Otherwise it's extremely easy for one bad guy's defense to get mistaken as their turn, and screw up the initiative order entirely. If you've ever run a Pathfinder or 5e game where someone had the parry ability, you're pretty much running a game where everyone has that now. As a result, combat is going to involve at least twice as many rolls, and can easily turn into a slog.

The Ugly

There is no nice way to say this... the base book for "Of Dreams and Magic" is in desperate, dire need of an editor. While the game's mechanics are fairly straightforward, the actual text of the rulebook is confusing, poorly laid out, and tends to use game jargon and abbreviations that haven't been clearly explained instead of clear-cut examples and simple language. The glossary is a joke, and if you want to answer basic questions about things like magic items, dreamscapes, etc., you're going to have to look in five or six places before you find the answer you want.

If you're the kind of gamer who doesn't mind doing a few cover-to-cover reads, and who is okay asking the empty air, "what the hell does that even mean?" twelve or thirteen times while trying to find an answer to a question, this won't be a problem. But the book's dense, unintuitive layout is a serious hurdle players will have to get over before sitting down at the table.

In The End

"Of Dreams and Magic" is a game with a lot of potential, but it has some serious flaws in its presentation. If you can overlook the lack of polish, and occasional head-scratching denseness (since I'm sure it made perfect sense to the designers and play testers, but I had hour long discussions with the Dreamweaver over what certain rules actually meant, and how things work), then the sheer flavor, freedom, and gonzo concept makes the game worth trying out. But if you're used to more mainstream games like Pathfinder, Dungeons and Dragons, or even most World of Darkness games, there is going to be a fairly hefty adjustment period. Take a deep breath, and remember, you only have to learn a new system once. It's always easier after the first dive.

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday update. Figured I'd spread the word, and try to leave a complete, balanced review. If folks liked this, let me know, and I'll consider doing it for other games I come across. For more content from yours truly, check out my Vocal archive, or head over to the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio where I work with other gamers to bring the world of Evora to life. To stay up-to-date on all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you'd like to help me keep Improved Initiative going then head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to leave a little love in my cup. Even $1 a month goes a long way, and it will earn you some sweet swag as a thank you.