Having teased a splatbook to help you set your fantasy RPG campaign in a world at war in my last post, I’m going to come out and say that it will not be Ramen Sandwich Press’ next project. I still want to write it, and it’s on my long list of projects to finish before the lights go out. But the feedback that I’ve been getting from buyers lately leads me in a slightly different direction. Instead, look for something that is similar in substance, but different in form.
Much to my surprise, sales of both Places by the Way and Found by the Way have been picking up lately. I would write it off as a statistical blip, but it has been going on since the beginning of the year, and across various venues: not just at Orccon and WonderCon, but also on DriveThru RPG, Amazon and even eBay (where our sales have been moribund until recently). Finally, after six years, our location modules are starting get something resembling the across-all-platforms sales that they deserve. Overall sales volume still leaves much to be desired, but the trend line is rising, if by fits and starts.
The idea came to me a few years ago, when I was working on The Book of Chance Meetings. Realizing how the 5E Monster Manual casts hobgoblins firmly in a military mold — and I mean that in a way that is not disreputable, since they are lawful and lawfulness is congruent with a belief in military discipline — I began to wonder how a hobgoblin commander would handle the burden of command. Not so much as an army commander, but as, let us say, a condottiere leading a small unit of goblinoid mercenaries. How to balance serving your paymaster as a legit professional soldier while keeping under control a rank-and-file full of goblins, bugbears and who knows what other motley evil humanoids? I could imagine a hobgoblin equivalent of Dick Winters in “Band of Brothers” with his hands full of trouble on a constant basis.
So your party comes upon them while traversing a war zone on their way to somewhere else. Let’s say the mercenaries are assigned to rear area security, far from opportunities for action and plunder. And they’re not even in a settlement, it’s more like a blockhouse guarding an important supply line. It’s boring — in such conditions, even Caesar’s legendary Legio X mutinied. The hobgoblin captain isn’t happy about it, but his orders are his orders, straight from his employer.
If they wish, your party can just hack and slash their way through it Goblin Slayer-style. There won’t be much treasure because they haven’t been paid, but there will be XP. But if they want to play it more subtly, sure enough, the opportunity for some intrigue comes up. Yes, some chaotically-minded malcontents want to mutiny and go off in search of fighting and booty. How does your party react when they find out? That’s about as far as I’ve gotten, but I’m sure plenty of good stuff will come to mind as I flesh it out. That’s how it always works. I’ll try to work in some enemy spies who are trying to incite the mercenaries to desert… but maybe they’re targeting the wrong soldiers. Maybe they mistake your party for mercenaries. Plus, there will be a worg pen. The officers have worgs, the rank-and-file have to march. Perhaps that is yet another source of their dissatisfaction.
So that’s what I plan to write next. Thoughts? Reactions? Nobody commented on my ‘splatbook of war’ idea, but if this one presses any buttons for you, let me know. Since people seem interested in our modules again, I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and tucking in. When I return to Kickstarter with it, I think I will go back to my original crowdfunding plan, in which I pre-sold the Places by the Way and Found by the Way versions in the same campaign, allowing backers to pick D&D or Pathfinder through the backer survey. Historically, our Pathfinder-compatible sales have run so far behind our D&D-compatible sales that I had all but given up on Pathfinder. But our Pathfinder-compatible sales have picked up considerably since the top of the New Year, and I am more than happy to jump on the trend line and ride it for all it’s worth.
Wish me luck, and you can always keep up with Ramen Sandwich Press by subscribing to this blog. Even after the paywall goes up, actual product news and even just thinking aloud about my writing will remain free and available to everyone.
It does sound like a good seed for an adventure.