"Sundara: Dawn of a New Age" Has Over 250,000 Words (And 22 Separate Supplements)!

So, about 4 and a half years ago now, I embarked on something of an ambitious project... I wanted to start building my own fantasy RPG setting! Sparked off by Cities of Sundara: Ironfire for Pathfinder's first edition, once the rock started rolling ideas just came pouring out of me. I covered other cities, other towns, guides for species and subspecies, cults, mercenary companies, guilds, gods, and most recently I finished up a 5-supplement series of Whispers & Rumors to go with each of the initial city releases. And in addition to all of that, I've made more than 50 videos talking about the setting, and narrating stories set within it.

And I started wondering the other day exactly how much work have I put into the setting. Well, there's 22 supplements out for it (without double-counting the ones that are just conversions to other systems), with a 23rd that I've turned in that's currently in layout. And given that each supplement is well over 10,000 words (with a few of them reaching as high as 15,000), it seems that this setting has over a quarter of a million words dedicated to it... and that's just when you consider the work that I've put in.

Other folks have been contributing too!

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!

Where Should We Go In This New Age?

When I started writing Sundara: Dawn of a New Age, the idea was to have a high fantasy setting that was full of monsters, magic, and mayhem, but which was (perhaps most importantly) weird. A world where several of the classic creatures got a bit of a twist on them, where science and alchemy combined with magic in unusual ways, and where things felt familiar, but players and Game Masters knew they couldn't just take tropes and fantasy conventions at face value. Most importantly, I wanted a setting that felt like it was going forward, and where problem solving was encouraged using whatever various means folks around the table could conceive of.

Not only that, but the parts and pieces of this setting are deliberately designed to be sort of like Lego. If you like a given city, or a town, or a guild, you can just pluck them up, and add them to your own homebrew setting... or even to an established game world! While there is an interconnected history one can trace through reading the various supplements, it's not set in stone, and it's meant to be flexible precisely to facilitate this kind of picking and choosing by GMs looking for additions to their worlds.

That's the broad strokes, though if you're curious I made an AMA about the setting forever and a day ago that explains a lot of what's come out, and how my process works.

In the past few blogs I've written about the setting, and in several of the more recent videos I made regarding Sundara, I've remarked that it's been sort of put on the back burner for me as a creator. Not because I lack ideas, or because I don't want to expand it, but because there just doesn't seem to be that much interest from the public... and the problem is that I can't tell what that reason is (especially since the setting started off pretty strong in terms of sales and interest).

For example, the general categories I can think of are:

- People Don't Know About It: With social media tamping down on signals, and algorithms silencing folks who don't pay them, it's entirely possible this is just a result of the word not getting out.

- It's The Wrong Game: Sundara is available for both Pathfinder's 1st Edition, and DND's 5th one, but so far we haven't translated it to other engines. There's been talk of a PF 2E update, a Savage Worlds expansion, and a few others, but there's never been a lot of enthusiasm for it from our audience.

- Folks Saw It, But Don't Like It: Whether it's that folks aren't interested in a modular setting, they don't really care for my brand of high fantasy, or they aren't interested in yet another setting, what I'm offering just isn't something they like.

The difficulty I'm running into is... I don't know which of these things is (or isn't) the issue! And given that I've put out the word count equivalent of probably 4 full novels (speaking of which, check out my books Old Soldiers for a dystopian sci fi thriller with space marines, or Marked Territory for gangland noir starring a Maine Coon alley cat), I've sunk quite a lot of time, energy, and thought into this setting.

So, to help me figure out where to go from here, what I need is input from you! If you've read this far, please leave comments down at the end of this article (or on the social media post where I'm guessing you came across this blog entry), and tell me why you are a fan of Sundara, or you aren't a fan of it... and in either case, tell me what you like, dislike, or what I could offer/change to get your interest!

Additionally, if you are someone who wants to see Sundara keep growing and expanding (especially if you want to see it put back on the front burner for myself and the other collaborators for the setting), then please consider the following actions:

- Buy copies of the setting supplements (links are below in the expanded list)

- Watch the playlist for Sundara's videos (you can find it here)

- Leave ratings and reviews on any of the supplements you DO have (so other users on DTRPG might be able to find them)

For the record, these actions will also work for other creators and their projects as well. Just in case you had other settings and projects you wanted to see more expansions for, but you weren't sure how to get the wheels turning in the direction you wanted.

Catch Up On "Sundara: Dawn of A New Age"

Cities of Sundara

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gods of Sundara

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

Species of Sundara

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Organizations of Sundara

Phase 3 has been going strong, but there's still a few titles left in it! So if you haven't seen them, consider checking out:

- Sellswords of Sundara: With power structures being smaller in scale in Sundara, standing armies aren't often maintained for long. As such, soldiers of fortune are quite common! This supplement contains 10 mercenary companies, their history, uniform, sample members, whispers and rumors, as well as either an archetype or subclass for playing these unique warriors. Grab your copy for Pathfinder of DND 5E.

- Cults of Sundara: Faith comes in many forms in Sundara, and there are as many gods in the Prim as there are dreams in the minds of people. This supplement contains write-ups for 10 cults, their histories, sample members, rumors about them, their beliefs and tenets, and a unique magic item for each. Get your copy for Pathfinder or DND 5E.

- Guilds of Sundara: While cities and villages may be relatively local, guilds are spread across the length and width of Sundara. From professional orders of skilled miners and dredgers, to monster slayers and bounty hunters, this supplement has 10 guilds with histories, sample members, rumors, as well as unique feats one can take to represent the skill and benefits of joining this order. Available for Pathfinder as well as DND 5E.

- Merchants of Sundara: While city states might be the largest form of government you find in the setting, merchants hold an outsized amount of power. From huge mercantile houses, to small brands infamous for their quality as much as for their price, there are a lot of options listed in this particular world building supplement.

Rumors of Sundara

The newest series of supplements in the setting, these are meant to add to the cities, and to give GMs ideas for plots, or just to provide a little extra grist for the mill in terms of what people are gossiping about!

- Whispers and Rumors For Ironfire, The City of Steel!

- Whispers and Rumors For Moüd, City of Bones!

- Whispers and Rumors For Silkgift, The City of Sails!

- Whispers and Rumors For Hoardreach, City of Wyrms!

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!

Using Jungian Archetypes As A Way To Build Your Character

The early contributors to the modern art of psychology were really more philosophers than they were doctors in many respects. Because of this, most of the things they laid out as explanations for human behavior seem wildly off-base at best, and outright harmful at worst, mostly because of how far we've come since these initial explanations that are nearly a century old in some cases. While not really useful for modern therapists, however, the models and ideas they proposed can often be extremely useful to storytellers and players alike who might be having trouble getting a strong grip on their characters, and what their story is.

And if you're looking for a fun place to start, I recommend the 12 Jungian Archetypes.

As we enter the dark contemplation of the soul...

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!

The 12 Archetypes (And Their Uses)

The idea behind the 12 Archetypes is that these are concepts that exist within the great collective unconscious of humanity. They are broad titles and ideas which, according to their inventor, provide insight into understanding the human psyche, and the challenges we face both inside and out. While this idea has long fallen by the wayside for medicinal purposes (right alongside cocaine being used to treat the ghosts in your blood), this idea can have several applications for your characters, and even your settings!

The 12 Archetypes of Jung are:

- The Innocent

- The Orphan

- The Hero

- The Caregiver

- The Explorer

- The Rebel

- The Lover

- The Creator

- The Jester

- The Sage

- The Magician

- The Ruler

This might put one in mind of ANOTHER tool that deals in archetypes and symbolism...

While a deeper description of the archetypes is listed in the link at the beginning of this post, the best way to think of them is kind of like a zodiac sign for a character. They represent a generalization, along with conflicts and struggles someone who fits this kind of concept might deal with, and the strengths and drives they might have. What can be even more fun, though, is that because there's 12 of them, you can roll 1d12 as a way to randomize part of what you want to do with your character's story, as well as their personality!

If you want to play a fighter, but you end up with the Creator, do they struggle with their skill in conflict? Do they hope to lay aside their sword one day, and to take up a life of carpentry, or another craft? Do they instead attempt to treat their weapon as an artist would a brush, developing a unique martial art, or perhaps weaving their own legend? Or do they seek mastery of strategy, creating entirely new ways of thinking about warfare? Does a wizard who winds up as the Ruler seek to solidify their grasp on power and authority through the arcane arts? Do they struggle with trust, or delegation to others, growing paranoid as they come ever closer to a seat of command? Or does the rule over mortals pale when compared to a rule over gods? Does the noble with a cold fortune and elite training fulfill the role of the Orphan, seeking to find (or perhaps to be) the family that was denied to them? Or do the challenges they face leave them as an outsider, despite their best attempts?

And if you're a Game Master who happens to be in the process of creating your world, consider using these 12 Archetypes as the basis for your cosmic pantheon. They make for great gods, and they can really get your brain churning regarding the types of divinities your players might serve... or even oppose! Making these Archetypes the names of constellations and actually turning them into the zodiac signs of your world is also a fun idea (especially if you're keeping a 12-month calendar), and this goes double if being born under certain signs does actually come with particular powers and blessings, as well as drawbacks.

Lastly, though, I have one for my World of Darkness players...

You summoned us?

If you're having trouble with a character's Nature and Demeanor, roll 2d12. The Archetypes work a treat for that system, and they're a great way to really stretch your creativity by seeing how these two randomly-selected broad generalizations come together, and coalesce into a single person. Especially when they seem contradictory, but truly aren't when you dig just a little bit beneath the skin.

Some More Recommended Reading Before You Go...

If this article caught your attention, I wanted to recommend a few supplements I've put out over the past few years that also might be of use to you! So if you've made it this far, consider picking up"

- 100 Questions To Ask About Your Characters

- 100 Character Goals and Motivations

- 100 Tips and Tricks For Being A Better Game Master

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Fluff 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 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!

I've Got Over 200 TTRPG Credits Now! (Technically 201)

Well, I knew this day was coming sometime in 2025, but with all the things going on it seems that I overshot this celebration just a bit. In my defense, though, there was a bit of a glitch in Drive Thru RPG last time I tried to look, so this little occasion slipped past me.

However, it seems that I've finally crossed the finish line I set for myself, and I've now got over 200 TTRPG titles with my name in them! And, because I missed the deadline by a week or so, it turns out I actually have 201 titles! So, bonus celebration, I suppose!

If you could, please give me a single "Huzzah!" under your breath. Thank you.

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

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

One Goal Scratched! (But I've Got 2 More Left To Go)

For folks who were watching the Azukail Games YouTube channel, then you may have come across the video I made earlier this year where I set some of my goals. And while I wanted to try to get my RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic to at least Silver metal status in terms of sales for Drive Thru RPG, and I wanted to try to release 5 starting missions for the game to give players and Game Masters plenty of options, the third goal was the one I was certain I was going to clinch.

I wanted to have my name in the credits of at least 200 TTRPG titles by the end of 2025... and huzzah, I did it!

So, what was I working on that finally got me over the hump? I'm glad you asked!

In case you didn't see it, #200 for my titles was my Storyteller's Vault supplement Like A Good Neighbor: Portraying The True Fae in Your Chronicle for Changeling: The Lost. As the title suggests, this supplement is all about adding a little depth and flavor to the most powerful entities in the game, but it was also the first time I tried a long-form supplement that talked about Storyteller advice instead of delving into a list of items, NPCs, and so on for the Storyteller to make use of.

And if you haven't grabbed it yet, I highly recommend it!

The other title, which dropped this past weekend, is the first sci fi horror piece that I've put out in a while. I'm back to the list format with this one, but it's 100 different scenarios that a crew might run into on a stranded starship. From deadly aliens, to insane robotic staff, to quantum time loops, there are so many things that your players might have to deal with... so check out Beyond The Black: 100 Dread Scenarios on Stranded Starships!

And if you don't have this one yet, you know what to do!

So, I wanted to take a moment this Monday to celebrate making this goal. However, if you really want to make my day, consider picking up copies of these two titles, or any of my others from Drive Thru RPG! Pushing these two up into Silver metal status, or beyond, would be a great way to start regaining my momentum so I can push forward and get a few more titles cranked out by the end of the year!

And, of course, I've already got some ideas for where I want to go from here... because there ain't no rest for the wicked, and I can't afford to sit on my laurels for long.

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!

Dungeon Design Tips: Find A Reason For PCs To Survive (And Try Again)

In the early days of RPGs, death walked with every character as a constant companion. All it took was a single bad tumble of the dice, or the wrong word spoken to the wrong NPC, and it was time to roll up a new character. As games have grown and changed, though, a lot of us have gravitated toward the party-as-main-characters model, where the party are the cast of the novel that is your campaign.

However, while it's a lot harder to kill PCs in most modern games (as long as you aren't playing an OSR game, or something deliberately lethal), it can still happen. Which is why it's a good idea to make sure you have something in your back pocket in case the dice roll hard against your players, but you don't want their stories to be cut short just yet.

You're in a dungeon, after all.

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!

To The Dungeons With Them!

Consider, just for a moment, some of the standard low-level adventures that you often go on. We've all likely been through:

- Bandit hunting

- The goblin cave

- Orc raids

- An evil cult

There are dozens of other options out there, but these will work to illustrate what I'm talking about. So, your players have gone off on one of these missions, and they either bit off more than they could chew, or the dice really went against them, but they find themselves on the wrong end of the stick. If that's the case, ask what happens to prevent this from being the end of their stories.

- The bandits gather the party's gear, and haul in their unconscious bodies. They can always kill them later, but anyone with the skill and bravery they showed might be worth a ransom... the boss is the one who gets to decide that. So they get their wounds treated, and might have to escape from a stockade in order to get their gear back, and take the fight to the bandits.

- The goblins felled the ones who thought they could stop them. They could just kill them, but they want to play with them. Dragging the party to the shaman so they can be healed, the party is now forced to participate in gladiatorial combat for the goblins' amusement, or they get shoved into a cage with wargs, or something else deeply dangerous. An opportunity to escape and retake the advantage is what they need... but will they get the chance?

- The orcs managed to smash the party. Do they awaken hours later, their gear taken, but each of them left with a weapon as a sign of respect? Or do the orcs take the party, healing their captives whom they intend to make into slaves, as is their right as the victors in combat?

- The cult realizes the party is going to be a serious problem... but it's also what they represent. They need to interrogate them to find out who else knows about the cult, and who will be expecting the party to surface again. They may need to torture them, and as we saw in The Princess Bride, they need to be healthy before the torture starts. And when the cult has all the information they need, the party will make for potent sacrifices... they just need to escape before that happens.

Let's see... what other plot twists can we create?

Of course, low levels aren't the only times characters can meet unfortunate or unexpected ends. Especially since high-level encounters can feel like a game of rocket tag where one bad save can lead to your character being down for the count.

And while death may not be the end in a lot of RPGs, there are things you can do to make their escape from the jaws of defeat more dramatic than just forking over some diamond dust and having a cleric cast a spell... especially if you wind up with a TPK. So consider the types of creatures your party is fighting, the current plot they're part of, or even the location they happen to be in.

As an example, if your characters are involved in conflict with fey, is there some obscure rule of hospitality that means they cannot be slain outright? Must this matter be escalated to one of the high nobles, and a ruling established? Perhaps requiring a trial by combat, allowing the party to take their best shot in a different arena?

Alternatively, if you're running a more traditional, Chosen One sort of game that expects these specific characters to press forward and save the world, do they have the ability to try to escape from the Underworld? While this might become a secondary dungeon crawl, or a combat against one of the psychopomps that try to usher souls to the other side, it can give your players a sense of purpose and power over their own deaths by having to fight their way back to their bodies... literally as well as metaphorically. And if this is a plot you intend to run, I'd recommend checking out The Black Ballad by Storyteller's Forge, as it's a great resource for this sort of thing. There's also a Pathfinder Conversion Pack, which can be useful.

Lastly, consider the place the party meets their ends. If they're in a place that's rife with undeath, does dying in this location curse someone, giving them a kind of dark resurrection? Perhaps adding one of the half-dead racial templates found in my supplement Moüd, City of Bones (available for Pathfinder and DND 5E)? If they're on holy ground, are they offered a bargain by the god, goddess, devil, or demon this place is dedicated to (or was dedicated to, if it's been forgotten)?

It All Depends On You And Your Game

Some groups like it when death has teeth, and the end is final unless someone survives and manages to resurrect or reincarnate the dead or defeated party members. However, it's often a good idea to have some dynamic plans so that defeat and death don't just feel like an arbitrary roll of the die... especially if that puts major kinks into the story you're all trying to tell!

But as with all things, make sure you talk this over with your group to be sure you're all on the same page before it's time to start rolling dice.

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 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!

Do We, As Players, Own The World/Chronicles of Darkness Now?

Folks who keep up with me as a creator are aware that I've put a lot of supplements out for the World and Chronicles of Darkness over the years. Last time I ran the numbers, it made up roughly 25% of my total title count. However, I had to step away for a year and a half or so because Storyteller's Vault was just too big of a hurdle for me to overcome, financially.

But 2025 has seen my name returning to these dark and dreary streets. First I released Dark Reflections: 50 Sights To See in The Penumbra for Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and then Night Horrors: Primordial Peerage dropped for Beast: The Primordial (I was a small part of this project, but it was enjoyable to work on). And then this past weekend my latest piece for Changeling: The Lost dropped... Like A Good Neighbor: Portraying The True Fae in Your Chronicle!

I noticed an unusual refrain as I was going around and trying to do my part to promote these titles, though... players, reviewers, and commenters keep saying that "we" own the World and Chronicles of Darkness now. And while this is absolutely NOT a statement on the legal rights and intellectual property of the setting, it does seem to be true in the sense of the new releases we're getting... or, more accurately, not getting.

Hand over the monsters. Slowly.

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!

Who Is Still Lurking in The Shadows?

Back in the 1990s, the World of Darkness was once called the DND Killer. Vampire, Werewolf, and the other bruisers were everywhere, and sucking up the oxygen in the room. Players were wearing their sunglasses inside, dressing in black leather, playing club music, and doing their best rendition of a modern day (and edgier) Dark Shadows. It held steady, and even into the 2000s it was doing strong numbers. It eventually started flagging, which led to the re-invention into the New World of Darkness, which eventually became the second edition known as the Chronicles of Darkness.

And even though the setting is a shadow of its former self, there is still a dark power to it. There is something about it that captures the imagination, and leads one down a dark alley to show them the broken glass of shattered dreams, and to whisper to them that monsters are real.

However, Onyx Path Publishing seems to be focusing on the other games it's publishing these days. Curseborne is (or at least was) the new hotness for a while, but there's focus on the Trinity Continuum, as well as on up-and-coming projects like Monster Kingdoms, and a slew of other games and settings that already exist.

But the World of Darkness, and the Chronicles of Darkness, seem to be largely abandoned by the company and their official releases. It seems like nothing really new has come out for even the most popular spheres of the game, and there isn't any buzz about up-and-coming projects players should look forward to. Now, there's still a huge amount of stuff already out there... but new supplements and books don't seem to be coming through official channels...

... they're coming from the community.

The call... it's inside the house.

With releases like Book of Lineages for Promethean: The Created, Book of Courts for Changeling: The Lost, or something like Dark Eras: A New Origin, there's clearly a lot of interest still going on in these settings... it's just that the designers aren't currently part of the Onyx Path/Paradox/etc. stable (anymore, at least, as I've heard there are several former designers who are trying to shoot adrenaline into the setting by lending their talents to community releases). So, that puts us all in something of a unique position.

On the one hand, Storyteller's Vault lays out clear rules and requirements we have to follow to make products for these settings... but on the other hand, if the company isn't planning to keep the games we love going, then why shouldn't we, as a community, pour that love into them (along with some other dark, alchemical fluids)? For all the flaws, missteps, and problems in the games we love, why shouldn't we keep doing our best to refine them, to offer fresh perspectives and ideas, and build them that much bigger, better, and darker?

I say this as someone who has designed my fair share of WoD/CoD supplements, and who still has a slew of projects I'd like to put up... if you want to see these games keep going, then make sure you're supporting the community creators as best you can. Check out new releases, leave ratings and reviews, and help us spread the word so that we can defray our costs, and pay our bills, while putting out fresh stuff for everyone out there who isn't ready to leave the shadows behind just yet.

Also, if you're someone who enjoys the World and Chronicles of Darkness, but you haven't yet checked out Discussions of Darkness, consider giving the series a look over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel!

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!

"Showdown in Sector 33" Presents A New Story Format... Should I Stick With It?

Roughly 5 months or so ago, I came out with 100 Station Security Officers, which was my first Starfinder supplement that I'd worked on in years. And with how busy things were, I didn't get around to putting together a little audio drama for the intro fiction until fairly recently. Thanks to the algorithm being such an issue, though, I wanted to take a brief post to talk about what I was trying to do, and to ask all the readers and listeners out there to give me your thoughts on the matter!

Real talk, your opinions could very much shift how I make my content going forward, so please weigh in on this one.

Seriously, give this one a look if you haven't yet!

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my bi-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!

Taking Inspiration From A Warhammer 40K Creator

Showdown in Sector 33 was something of a challenge for me as a creator, and I tried to put everything I've learned over the past few years into effect so I could differentiate the characters as much as possible! A nasty, brutal little story about station security standing off with a collection of gangers, I'd like to ask everyone to give it a listen, and to subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel if you haven't yet!

However, in addition to trying to go all-out on the SFX and voice effects, I wanted to try a new format for the video itself. Because up until now I've mostly used either still images, or switched between different full-screen images when making my dramatizations. However, for this story I tried to do something to make the flow of conversation and story look more like a throwback to a classic video game RPG. I'm thinking about trying to refine this for future videos, and perhaps adding in some text blocks for the dialogue being spoken by characters in order to really lean into that classic RPG feel... but this is not an idea that came to me out of nowhere.

And this is where I recommend everyone reading this check out the channel Warrior Tier... and specifically his ongoing series regarding the Horus Heresy for Warhammer 40K!

He's currently 3 videos in on this series, with Horus Rising Part One: The Path of The Luna Wolves, followed by Act II: The Emperor's Children, and then with Part III, The Sons of Horus. It's beautiful, has a talented cast, and from what I know about making audio dramas like this, there is a lot of work put into this series! So if you're a fan of grimdark sci fi in general, and Warhammer 40K in particular, please go and check that series out. It deserves all the love, and it's an absolute joy to behold!

I probably won't end up going quite that far with my own productions... but if I could get a couple thousand people to raise their voices and demand I make something that big for Starfinder, I suppose I could expand on what I've made so far! So if you've got thoughts on Showdown in Sector 33, please leave them in the comments below, but even more importantly, in the comment section of the video over on YouTube! Stuff that shows up over there will be seen by my publisher, but it will also help tell the algorithm to boost the video, and show it to more people.

As always, any and all help is appreciated! So if you enjoy these stories, make sure you share them around and let folks know about them!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Table Talk. 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!

How To Avoid Decision Paralysis Among Your Players (The 3 Choices Method)

Generally speaking, as a Game Master, you want your players to have a good experience playing with you. And it's not really controversial to say that most players want to feel like they have input in how a game is run, and that the decisions their characters make really matter. However, it's one thing to say that you want freedom, and to do whatever you want in a game... but it's another matter entirely to actually exercise that freedom in a way that helps build a story.

And while you don't want to impose your will on the table as a Game Master, sometimes you have to facilitate swifter decision making, and you have to support your players. Which is why I'd suggest taking the following tips to heart!

All right, so, let's work on a combined vision, shall we?

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!

The 3 Choices Method

Too often we end up with either a completely scripted plot that the Game Master wants the players to follow, or the Game Master spreads the world out at the players' feet and waits for them to choose the direction they want to head off in. This puts the onus entirely on the Game Master, or on the players, when the game should be a collaboration between both sides of the screen.

Which is why I recommend what I call the 3 Choices Method.

This inspiration partially came from my 3 Solutions Strategy which I recommend for the World and Chronicles of Darkness. That strategy, for those who didn't watch the video, boils down to making sure there's a Physical, Social, and Mental way to solve most situations that players are faced with. The idea is that everyone at the table should have something they can do to help advance the plot with the options in front of them.

The 3 Choices Method is meant to provide enough options that players feel like they have real choices, but to stop them from overanalyzing and second guessing themselves as they're overwhelmed by being able to choose anything.

For example, you know what game system you want to run, and the table is all in agreement. You know what world you want to run your campaign in. But where in the setting should you explore? While you could leave this decision up to the players to figure out, it's often faster to provide 3 choices for the players to pick from. Those choices should be different enough that the distinction feels meaningful, but they should all be options that you are willing to follow through with as the Game Master. The same is true when it comes to the genre of plot you offer your players (say a Dungeon Crawl, Political Intrigue, or Kingdom Building plot); they should be distinct enough to be different, but you need to be willing to follow through on whatever the table picks.

This isn't just for the foundational stages of making your new campaign, either; it can be used for major decisions throughout the game as well. For example, if there are large organizations or patrons vying for the characters' services, it's a good idea to give your players 3 viable options to choose from. This makes it feel like they have more than just a binary choice, but it stops them from being paralyzed by too many paths to pick from. If they finish one arc of a campaign, and they're deciding where to go next, providing 3 choices can cut down on deliberation so that decisions can be made relatively quickly. Even if you're snatching rumors and plot hooks out of a supplement like 100 Ads and Announcements To Find on a Village Noticeboard, giving 3 to follow up on gives your players choices, without giving them room to spiral.

Now, the key here is to think of this method in terms of a road trip. There are several different routes that will get your party to their destination... but you're letting them choose the forks in the road. They choose where they're going, who's going to sit where, and who's going to be in charge of what responsibilities, but after that they can only exercise their choices when there's a turn to be made. If you got on the freeway, you need to see that choice through until to find a turnoff to a different path if you want to change. If you opted for the back roads, you've got to keep following them until you intersect with a highway, and you can make a choice to take an alternate route. And so on, and so forth.

There are many roads in your campaign, and your players should have a lot of say in which route they take to get where they're going, and how they deal with the hazards or threats in their way. This takes a little more prep on your part as a Storyteller, but it can be really worth it in the end!

Lastly, don't forget to check out some of my other advice in my Electrum bestseller 100 Tips And Tricks For Being a Better Game Master, as well as the Silver-selling sequel 100 Tips And Tricks For Being a Better RPG Player... both of them are jammed full of all kinds of things that will make your games go more smoothly from both ends of the screen!

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!