Todd Lyons's Blog, page 3

Cover Reveal: Beneath The Silver Spire

Beneath The Silver Spire is my second book, slated to come into print late this year, While my first one was a compendium of characters, this one is an adventure module for the Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game (BFRPG). It's designed for  4 to 8 Player Characters, Levels 5 to 8, and is compatible with other Old-School Revival table-top RPGs.

The cover was created by S. Ender Thiel, who was kind enough to provide me with 7 concept sketches to choose from. This was a hybrid of two of them.

From the Introduction:

Silver Spire Mountain (“the Spire”) is a treacherously dangerous natural monument, feared and respected by the regional inhabitants. Clad in perilous ice and snow but seething with volcanic activity within, its sheer cliffs and lava pits deterred humanoid presence and activity even before it was rumoured to be inhabited by infernals and undead. But for one man, beckoned by the plume of smoke pouring from the mountain’s peak, its danger made it impossible to resist as a personal fortress.

In a past millennium, Lothain Ganthar used his divine might to explore the Spire’s labyrinth of caverns and tunnels. Knowing the paranoid intrusiveness of the residents of the nearby town of Mowbray, and seeking refuge from further interference by his former masters at the Temple of Daevas, Lothain eventually transported his library, laboratory, and loyal attendants to its fearsome depths, and never emerged.

Over the centuries, his name and deeds faded from living memory. Until recently, that is, when the name Lothain Ganthar once again began to be spoken in awe.

Four priceless artifacts have been stolen from their reclusive collectors: Crescent, a golden sickle; Bloodthistle, a crimson morningstar; Soulfang, a silver scimitar; and Tickler, an ebony scythe. The collectors have promised to reward courageous adventurers with anything they desire for their safe return, provided the wish is within their power to grant.

In response, guards and mercenaries were dispatched to overturn the region. Hovels and towers alike were torn apart in a fruitless search. Thieves were bribed to turn on each other. Innocents were blamed and executed, but not a hint of the location the stolen items was found… until the collectors each received a curious note stamped with the personal seal of Lothain Ganthar.

Alternate Cover - Chrysogon's Coterie

For those who appreciate the old crenellation design from Basic Fantasy RPG's first to third editions, Chrysogon's Coterie is now available with this second cover style that hearkens back to that era. It keeps the "castle motif " to one side, rather than the around-the-spine wrap of the new 4th Edition.

Amazon US  .:.  Amazon Canada  .:.  Amazon UK

Chrysogon's Coterie 30 Day Report

The first printing (r31) of Chrysogon's Coterie was released late afternoon March 20th. By the following morning it had debuted as the #1 new D&D Release on Amazon (US), where it remained for twelve days. 

Thereafter it wrestled for the top spot with a variety of titles, but it returned to #1 on April 3rd, 6th, 11-12th, and 13-15th: a total of 19 days at #1.

On its best day, April 14th (pictured), the hardcover version was also #3.

It's an unlikely success for a first-time author and I don't expect that it will be repeated for my follow-up book, Beneath The Silver Spire, but I want to express my gratitude to  Chris Gonnerman, The BFRPG Community, and the OSR Community for your support.

First Customer Review

Art by Gabe Fua

If Chrysogon's Coterie was a business, right now I'd be framing the first dollar bill spent by a customer. As it's an open source RPG resource I wrote for free and publish at-cost, the nearest equivalent is the first review submitted by a customer, to wit:

Brandon Adams5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have supplement for Basic Fantasy RPG or any other OSR RPG Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2024Verified Purchase  This is a very well-written, superbly illustrated supplement for the Basic Fantasy Role Playing Game (BFRPG). With little to no other tweaking it could be used for just about any other OSR style role playing game.

First - the price and the print quality. If you are familiar with BFRPG books, they are printed basically at cost. So for a few dollars, you get a good quality print on demand book (with years of experience buying POD books, the quality is usually lacking, but every BFRPG book is of such good quality print, they don't seem like print on demand. (you can get both softcover and hardcover BFRPG books, I've gotten both, but mostly the softcover.)

The book itself is filled with NPCs who have been given short but detailed backgrounds and they can be slotted in your campaign, adventure, or could be used to kickstart or be integral parts of your adventures. I've seen books with NPCs and Villains before, but none that combine this level of detail, background, and are sorted by levels. I've been gaming for 40 years, and this is one of the best supplements I've ever purchased. Not too much detail, not too little, just right.

If you play old school RPGs, BFRPG, or any retro clones, and especially if you are building a sandbox campaign, buy this book. It's full of rich characters, great adventure hooks, and time saving ideas. BUY IT!

I'm gratified. It really isn't like any other book I have either, which is why it was important for me to write it. It corrects a lot of things I disliked about previous NPC books, and adds a lot of things that were absent entirely. If you were pleased by offerings such as The Rogues Gallery or The Shady Dragon Inn, then perhaps this book is superfluous.

That said, it's about 5 bucks US and 6 dollars Canadian. It wouldn't hurt to have a look. You probably spend more on coffee in a day.

10 Days Later

10 Days since publishing, Chrysogon's Coterie still #1 on the Amazon (US) New D&D Releases. Twice it's been knocked down from the spot (by Artificers & Alchemy and Heroes' Feast: The Deck of Many Morsels, respectively) and twice it's returned to the top spot.

But the trippiest thing is seeing it out in the world: in peoples' hands and on their shelves and tables. I am so grateful that it is loved.

Amazon's #1 New Release in D&D

About 12 hours after release, Chrysogon's Coterie is the #1 New Release on Amazon in the Dungeons & Dragons category. It won't last, but I'm grateful it happened. Sorry not sorry for the huge picture.

Chrysogon's Coterie Now Available

(of course I bought a copy... or two... of each version)

The day began sadly, with a blown tire during the morning commute. Then, a trip to Costco where I learned that my mechanic had not aligned my car's front end, destroying the tires I installed only 8 months ago. 

But my book was finally published this afternoon, so it's not all bad.

It wasn't written for profit. It's for an open source RPG called Basic Fantasy, which is compatible with old-school TSR-era Basic & Expert Dungeons & Dragons, circa 1981.  That said, you could use these characters in any tabletop RPG right up to the current edition of D&D, with only minor modifications.

Perfectbound available now. Hardcover coming soon.

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYN1PZYC
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CYN1PZYC

Old-School RPG Channel on YouTube

Four weeks ago, as an outgrowth of practicing my presentation and production skills, I started releasing content on YouTube. It proved unexpectedly popular -- at least to my modest expectations -- and so I decided to try to continue to push out one long video and a few shorts per week.

Role-Playing Games were significant to my early development and I've always believed that play is a basic need that extends into adulthood. As such, I'm going to continue to publish content to this platform for my own satisfaction, to share these concepts with others, and to keep my facilitation skills current.  

I am not interested in monetizing my content and suggest that you install an ad-blocker if you are a YouTube user.  Ublock Origin is the plugin I recommend. It even works in the Firefox mobile browser if you hate ads and tracking on your phone (don't use the YouTube app, or any apps where a mobile browser can do the job).

See? I can't even talk about gaming without bringing privacy into the conversation. It's weaved into who I am and what I do, much in the way social work is:

https://www.youtube.com/@toddlyons

On Seven Grandfather Teachings, Performative Allyship, and Reconciliation

I often think Indigenous people are our own worst enemies. 

When we stand screaming at the settlers while the smartphones record our tirades, we do little else than confirm society's deepest-held stereotypes and dissuade those who were sympathetic and open minded to our plight. When we lash out at curious and well-meaning people who are aware of their ignorance but don't know how to ask questions, we shut down the dialogue that we claim to want. And when we squabble and undercut each other because we fear that there is not enough settlement to go around, the white man laughs.

And what does the future hold? We are generations removed from those who were more directly harmed by colonization and yet I see people much younger than I express vitriol that is disproportionate to their proximity to both harm and opportunity.

My family was torn apart by the sixties scoop. I was not able to hold them in my arms until I was fifty years of age. I could easily tote my bitterness for those stolen decades, dumping it at the feet of anyone I could plausibly hold culpable. But why?

There are role models for free expression in the face of institutional oppression, but sadly they are a dying breed. One of my favourite orators is Chief Dan George. On July 1, 1967, on Canada's 100th birthday, Chief Dan George delivered his “Lament for Confederation” in front of a crowd 32,000 people at Empire Stadium. I profiled him and his magnificent address in the opening segment of a podcast:

We are too often an embarrassment to his example and the hopes he had for us in an environment of opportunity he only dreamed of. We've embraced the current openness to discuss what reconciliation means by testing the tolerance of those listening ears by screaming at them, taunting them, embarrassing them, dismissing them, labelling them, and talking down to them. No better than the settler.

I attended a land event for  yesterday's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The event organizers welcomed a mix of Metis, First Nation, and Settler attendees and the session began with a teaching from an Elder. About two-thirds into the talk, a setter woman raised her hand and asked to learn more about the Seven Grandfather Teachings. This was a breach of protocol, but not an ill-intended one. One of the attendees snapped at the woman harshly, explaining that that would be an entirely different teaching itself, if not seven. The settler woman was clearly embarrassed and she and her family did not remain for the activity. Further, the attendee and a person they were sitting with spent considerable time whispering and pointing before and after the teaching ("Who is that?" "Who are they?")

It was an embarrassment for the settler, surely, but also for the organization that hosted it and for the Day itself which purported to be about reconciliation.

I thought I'd heard the worst of it until I saw a post on social media from one of the two attendees, criticizing the settler and most of the whites encountered that day for their "performative allyship". Does it exist? Certainly... and usually on social media much as this attendee's public display of performative protest.

If we want a dialogue with settlers, understand that part of that process is helping them to understand protocol. Learn to distinguish what performance really is. Someone touting their involvement with Indigenous justice is a performer, and they come in all colours. But a person asking a question out of turn needn't be humiliated. Another approach is to come over to them and whisper an offer to talk about it later. After the talk, explaining that the Teachings are Love, Respect, Bravery, Truth, Honesty, Humility, and Wisdom -- and that each is worthy of a talk themselves -- might be enough. Inviting that person and their family to join you for the land activity that followed might have been the beginning of meaningful relationship with new allies.

Instead, I am struck by how we fail to exercise Love, Respect, and Humility when confronted with the chance to put them into action.

My 3 Month Report Card, Round Two

Three months ago I started a weight loss program, much as I'd done over a decade earlier. Now in my 50s, I didn't know if I could expect to see the same results. In 2012, I lost 37 pounds in 3 months. What was possible in 2013?

Even better results. This time I didn't exercise nearly as much, focusing most of my attention to eating 1,500 calories per day -- enough to satisfy my basal metabolic rate (BMR). In doing so, my body didn't go into starvation mode. It pulled energy from stored fat, just as it should, resulting in a loss of 45 pounds.

As I observed back in 2012, exercising complicates your net calorie intake. It depletes some of those eaten calories, requiring you to eat more in order to ensure that your BMR is satisfied. But who knows exactly how much energy you are burning through exercise? Apps like Fitotrack or Runkeeper make a best guess. Wearing a heart rate monitor can also provide estimates.

It was a hassle, I decided. This time I chose to exercise less, and thus burn fewer excess calories. In turn, my body was never in a serious deficit and burned fat to make up for the calories I budgeted (1500/day).

Once I reach my weight goal, I intend to continue with the nearly-daily walks and add free weights back into the mix.  And I also have to continue logging and stay connected with a community. Visibility and accountability are necessary for me, or the weight will come back again a third time.