Muttering Myths, Scribbling Symbols
Your RPG Heretic Returns
There I was. Standing at the edge of burning out… again.
The 5th time? The 7th?
For what?
“Writing about imaginary dungeons and dragons worlds on the internet”?
I could feel my brain smoldering like a furious, powerless candle.
And I sputtered for a brief moment, out of control again.
That was, somehow, about a week ago. It feels like ages have passed since then.
I’m in a much better place now, but I’m dedicating myself to production practices & health habits that take the pressure off.
I’ve been thinking about Rick Rubin’s statement about divorcing art from fiscal outcomes, and I do think it helps keep the art pure.
I’ve been thinking a lot about throwing all this away and starting creating in other mediums that are seemingly more forgiving…
But I’ve since realized: I’m doomed.
Immersive roleplay IS the most dynamic medium of storytelling, and I can’t conceive of any other “vessel” by which these new mythologies I want to share with the world that can be better held within.
I’m addicted to both, and will just keep going and see what happens.
Yes, I’ve always planned on writing mythic literature, but I have too much respect for it to just scribble the epics off-the-cuff. There’s still so much I’m learning about the mechanics of mythology, and I don’t want to just take a dump on the Canon of Human History and call it “well done”.
Scribbled Symbols
My 2024 thus far has been a cyclone of this cycle, but luckily for all of us, I haven’t just been sitting on my hands thru this pseudo-existential crisis!
We’re still gearing up towards the full public release of The Epic of Dreams: Basilisk Edition.
For the past few months, I’ve been working as hard as I can on making a 40-page or less Freebie Zine version of The Epic of Dreams, including all ten of the games’ Icons, as well as Circle Invocations.
We’re affectionately calling it the “Keys to the Kingdom”, as we’ll be spilling all of our arcane RPG heresies into this volume, and releasing it to the world.
We’re at the tail end of the first draft of all the text, and we’re planning on making this a full-color free mythic experience.
It will contain 6-7 (ish) of these Circle Invocations, stylized d20 generators that utilize our “Muse Invocation” oracle mechanics.
I’ve been really astounded by how much content these tables consolidate, and I’ve had a LOT of fun making them!
Muttered Myths
When I think about the setting supplements I want to produce, I’ve always thought in units of mythic analog, where each setting is a sort of mirror of a specific age in human history.
I really like the idea of having a catalogue of settings that recant a timeline of mythic consciousness through the ages, without any “gaps”.
I’ve been working on a prehistoric antediluvian kaiju hunting world, and was thinking about releasing this before our other supplements, but something felt “missing”.
I didn’t want that to be our “first release”, feeling that something else was supposed to take that slot. I had no idea of what this could be, but then…
And with this, I realized that the best unadulterated option for our first release would be nothing less than a creation myth campaign setting, wherein the players take the role of young gods of chaos and order, wrestling against each other as they try to mold the universe into their own image.
The 49th Dusk is the Saga of Seven Weeks of Creation, featuring 3 ontologically distinct lineages of gods, who each have their own familial objectives and feuds.
On the surface, it’s a narrative campaign setting where you get to “play God”.
However, I’m secretly developing it to be a cosmic “4X” game a la Sid Meier’s Civilization, where the mechanics of the game IS mythic drama.
At the end of a 49th Dusk campaign, you and your gaming group will have an entire saga world, filled to the brim with bespoke character options, unique cultures, magics, and history - AS WELL AS an epic poem recanting each of the 49 days, hour to hour.
We have the alpha playtest document waiting for you in our discord server.
We’re also playing this campaign in said discord server, every Tuesday 4-8pm ET! You’re invited!
The Basilisk’s Hiss
You may be wondering; “Drew, when’s the book out?”
We’re going to be releasing everything very soon, both PDF and physical releases across several platforms.
Right now I’m trying to get the freebie version produced and finalized, but that may not come out until later this summer.
However, we do have the PDF available for sale currently on our itch!
I’ve had to travel a lot for work, being away from my home for weeks at a time. My mother is still dealing with cancer, and coordinating between her trips to the hospital and all of these things has really served to muddy logistics for me.
I’m planning on mailing out a bunch of reviewer copies of the book, but it’s just taken me a lot longer than I had hoped it would.
If you’re a reviewer of RPG products, please send me an email, I’d love to send you a copy of our game!
I’ve also been working on some merch designs - we got some sexy logos, and I mean to make ‘em BIG. We had this drawstring bag design made, wherein I realized that I have to actually put the name of the game onto the product… SMH.
However, our Shopify store does have T shirts and Basilisk logo Circle Bandanas available now!
I gotta go walk some dogs, hit me up if you want to DREAM.
Your RPG Heretic & Worst Servant
Drew Cochran