#021en - april 2023 TTRPG newsletter
the monthly newsletter from Xapur
And here we go for a second year of newsletter, I hope you will still be interested in its content!
Latest articles published on the blog
These posts are in french but a translation widget in the sidebar allows you to read them in your language.
The Dungeon23 challenge continues with an article about the 3rd level (the 4th one is coming in a few days). The whole thing is also to be found on my itch.io page, with a post that centralizes the project and its files, including the maps redone under Dungeondraft and also a version to play on an online VTTRPG platform.
I published a short article to talk about the little RPG campaign manager I developed with Notion, and made it available to those who might have use for it.
The eighth article about my Adventures in Middle-earth campaign, again inspired by The Lord of the Rings Online, focuses on exploring some ruins in the Trollshaws, named Thorenhad. These ruins inspired me to create the One Page Dungeon I'll talk about below!
Finally, I've continued to report on my D&D campaign, Adventures in Phandalin, with the Dwarven Excavation and Thundertree quests, but also the Dragon Barrrow. Until it’s time to meet a real, live one!
In May, I will continue some reviews and talk about The One Ring while detailing level 5 of the megadungeon.
What's new at my gaming table?
I finally managed to fit a game of Call of Cthulhu into my schedule, a game I hadn't mastered in a few months, with the Necropolis scenario from the short adventure collection Gateways to Terror. Regular players of my Discord server were the victims visitors of this Egyptian tomb, which is a nice change, if I may say so, from the usual New England.
We also got to play four sessions of my D&D campaign, Adventures in Phandalin. This time, cults other than Talos and Myrkul are planning to attack the Sword Coast, and the adventurers have been tasked by a potential adversary to investigate (well, mostly to bring back loot!). Giants, elementals, priests and surprises are on the agenda for the end of the campaign, in a few weeks, if the group survives...
Readings and inspirations
I've (finally!) almost finished the 6th volume of Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen, which is a bit complicated because it's a jerky read, which is not ideal for a 1000 pages volume full of parallel narrative lines. I'll wait for the summer vacations to read the rest of the series, and I'll soon read the next volumes of the Black Company and some superhero comics (by the way, I published my opinion on the disastrous Thor: Love and Thunder on my not very active blog).
As for TV shows, nothing to do with fantasy but I binge-watch the (fictionalized) courtroom series Suits.
I'm a bit behind on the issues of d12 Monthly, with issue #21: Hills & Mountains.
This issue focuses on mountain and hill adventures: travel difficulties, weather, flora, fauna, encounter tables, etc.
It also revisits the giants by giving them a more direct link with the terrain they are named after, and proposes some modifications to the dwarf race. There are also random tables to define the nature, the composition, the monsters, the dangers and the magic associated with a cave, which gives tracks of scenarios to which we can also add the new monsters invented for this magazine. At the end of the issue, a small dungeon is proposed, with the exploration of an old mine.
It's free and can be found here with some digital bonuses.
For the french speaking people, I'm finally looking at my stack of Casus Belli, with the latest issue 43 dated Spring 2023. I’ll not detail it in this letter as it is a french magazine, one of the oldest and most respected with a long and somewhat difficult story. But still alive and biting!
Patreon, tips, shop…
Publications of the month
My supporters on Ko-fi had the first look at the map of the small fantasy village they had chosen, it is now available for free on DriveThruRPG too. You’ll find there too the One Page Dungeon of the Corrupted Ruins inspired by the scenario I mentioned above.
Thanks to the sales of these last months, I was able to buy a pen for iPad and the Procreate software, in order to propose hand-drawn maps with this software in the near future. Thanks to all contributors, regulars or occasionals !
Current projects
In May, I hope to publish a complete adventure with the return of a certain necromancer, already met on my blog, in a free version and another premium version including maps and 3D screenshots. Then I'd like to publish a D&D supplement in the Phandalin area, and one or two battlemaps (a cave network and a guild headquarter). What do you think? Let me know!
Publications
My battlemaps and One Page Dungeons are on DrivethruRPG, and on my Ko-fi page which allows to follow my publications, with a occasionnal support, a store or a monthly subscription, as you wish. My supporters have also, regularly, surprise publications or bonuses.
Follow me on the web
I wanted to rename my Discord server and on a suggestion of Onos, it is now called "Donjons et Tentacules" (‘Dungeons & Tentacles’) ! Come and join RPG enthusiasts and map or scenario creators (including the talented Raznag!), with games played from time to time.
follow me on Twitter and/or Mastodon
Buy me a coffee, or a tea, or a beer! Explore my shop and subscribe!
my TTRPG blog (in french - with a translation widget), my english small website
Note that I'm writing this newsletter with the Substack site, which has released a feature called Notes, a sort of mini-social network to publish anything that doesn't require a newsletter. I don't use it too much, but if you have an interest in it, that could change. Tell me everything in comments or by replying to this email, I'll read and answer as soon as possible!
That’s it for this issue, see you soon!
And do not hesitate to leave a message or comment below or answer to the email to let me know what you think of this letter.