Silverarm RPG Newsletter #6:

Fresh Blog Post, New Website, Karth Soundtrack on Spotify, Mothership 1E is Out, Next Module Release Poll

Howdy,

Welcome back to Issue 6 of the Silverarm RPG Newsletter. With the summer ramping up I’m trying to get some interesting content out a bit more frequently. Also I like the sun. The sun is good. The sun demands tribute. I’ve got a fresh blog post, the Karth soundtrack on Spotify, some reviews, a poll for the next Silverarm module release, and a brief rant about why newsletters are good for RPG creators.

Fresh Blog: Fixing Moria: Metro System Megadungeon Design

The megadungeon has a creative call to it, this grand and imposing space mapped out for adventure, a beckoning otherworld to explore. People dig superlatives, the biggest, the tallest, the most dangerous, the most powerful, the deepest. But the challenge of making something epic in scope can swamp even the most dedicated GM.

The solution? It’s trains. I love trains (hate railroads).

New Website Oooh

Just got a new website up and running, it’s snazzier and significantly more functional for my needs. Will have a webstore incoming as well shortly! For the time being you can find Silverarm stuff on DriveThru and Itch but soon you can do that all in house. I also will have the webstore set up for purchasing through a new fulfillment partner

Desert Moon of Karth Soundtrack on Spotify

It’s nice having in the same place I listen to music at a quick search, throw it into your themed playlists too. We’ve still got the MP4 files available too.

Mothership 1E is Completely Out! Officially!

Not a drill, it’s available from Tuesday Knight Games or wherever you pick up RPG stuff.

Gabe Newell once paraphrased a famous game dev quote to say. “Late is just for a little while, suck is forever.’ Mothership 1E most assuredly does not suck and the attention to detail, GM advice, layout, ease of reference, and tension ratcheting gameplay is a real hoot- but you already probably knew most of that if you’ve run my stuff using the system. It’s just nice having dead tree physical versions of the updated ruleset to get my grubby hands on. The little space dude cardboard pawns are fun too.

Blogs I’m Reading Lately:

B/X Random Headgear Table - BX Blackrazor
A classic from 14 years ago I saw linked again. Why aren’t your player characters wearing sweet hats? Fix that, add this step to character creation.

A Person Shaped Hole - Mindstorm Press
A funeral is a great place to start a campaign. Your players have a shared connection and their relationships have just changed irrevocably. I often don’t encourage as much intra-party roleplay as I’d actually like and this is a great lightweight way of charging up character motivation.

Gonzo Sci Fantasy Village Generator - Idraluna Archives
Reading Jack Vance’s Dying Earth series is a great time and seeing the wacky isolated village his wanderers stumble into is a great part of the experience. This generator has some sweet results and gets some of that science fantasy into your game. The settlement generator in Vaults of Vaarn also has a similar vibe.

The Last True Mouthpiece: Ichabod Class- Spiceomancy
Weird world building about decapitated former sinners, risen once more possessed by the power of God. Fun worldbuilding and cool class for GLOG.

Science Fantasy Name and Epithet Generator- Foreign Planets

Some of my results using this:
Silbreeze who slew Larnsnore
Rilkpanda the Stork
Gruncmonk (Sweet)
Auzgleam of Many Teeth

Back on that Vancian baroque science fantasy vibe- these are so evocative and weird but familiar sounding enough. I’m thinking about mandating epithets or stealing the system from the Legacy of the Bieth campaign where when players get a few levels they’re given an epithet by their fellow party members (“The Worm”) and when they gain a few more they pick their own to add (“Nightstalker”). Gives a fun diegetic progression and if you run into a foe with 3 titles they’re probably a scary dude. (Torvalda the Hook, Eater of Eyes, Who Rends the Jackals).

Reviews of Silverarm Stuff

“Joel’s writing isn’t beautiful, but it’s serviceable in a way that feels workmanlike and elegant in a way that suits the setting. Regardless of whether or not it’s intentional, it works well.” - Bathtub Review: Desert Moon of Karth

Me talk pretty one day.

I kept thinking as I was reading this “Another triumph!” You’ve done it again Joel, you’ve managed to create interesting factions locations and NPC’s without creating a single narrative. It’s a living breathing world. ( . . . ) This thing is like a freaking Dune!
-Yochai Gal, Between Two Cairns

New Poll: What Module Do You Want to See First?

So I’m getting my RPG publishing schedule for this October figured out and have a couple pots on the stove with both my own writing projects and a few from other writers. I’m stoked to get all these out there, and there’s a significant amount of work done on each of these already and I’m committed to getting these all out there- but seeing what y’all are most excited about might help me prioritize for the next crowdfunding campaign.

Bonus Inside Baseball Thoughts: Newsletters

Some of you might be in the process of trying to get into RPG’s and make it something that pays rent (or at least game night beer money). Everyone’s situation is different but one piece of advice I can’t recommend more is to start an email newsletter made of emails you’ve collected of people who want to hear more about your stuff.

I’m super lucky that I’ve been able to work in RPG’s and my ability to keep doing so is a simple equation of having a certain number of people who dig Silverarm stuff who spend a certain amount over the course of a year that results in a number that is enough to pay the bills. Keeping a newsletter is a big thing that keeps that ball rolling.

Newsletters are sweet because they remind you I exist (hi again!) and go right into inboxes. People still read their inboxes! Most check every day! 40-50% of you read each newsletter I post on average. These open rates are sweet and I don’t think it’s because this newsletter is my favored child I lavished with deluxe content - this is definitely a mostly utilitarian format to inform you about neat stuff you’ll probably be into.

Social media is proprietary and fleeting and subject to the whims of distant overlords drooling and hypnotized by the specter of next quarter’s increased margins at any cost to their users. They hide your content in favor of ads, short form videos, and angry political misinformation that engages people people more, keeping their eyeballs on the screen longer and out of the sunlight.

An email list is as close to forever as you can get on the internet. What if Substack gets worse due to gradual company enshittification? (It will.) Take your emails and hit the road, their yours! That’s your blood list, your holy rolodex. Your email list is your fortress, a platform independent mobile asset you can pop into your bindle and hop from site to site with. Assume every platform company you’ve ever found useful will eventually betray you to cash in.

I would rather have the couple thousand of you here then I sound like a broken record but if you really don’t like social media and feel obligated to post regularly in the megacorp hellbox on it to promote your shit- don’t. Especially Twitter, nobody gets clicks/sales commensurate with the effort they spend on Twitter.

Basically, if you’re reading this I want to say thanks and that I appreciate you taking the time to check out my stuff and live in my holy rolodex.