Character Tips, Writing Tips

How to Roleplay a Ranger

Rangers are versatile members of any party. They can lead a group through dangerous wilderness without getting lost, track a wild beast or missing person in diverse environments, and are capable of wielding a multitude of weapons. They’re hired by travelers as guides and make excellent bounty hunters and monster slayers when the time calls for it. They’re also quite passionate and considerate of nature and the flora and fauna that live among it.

If you’re playing or writing a ranger, we’ve got some tips on how to get in their head. Dorian has played a ranger for six years and understands them quite well. Having done so for such a long time, or course, not all rangers are the same. So, for those looking to play or create a ranger, here’s what you need to know.

Roleplaying a Ranger

Playing a ranger comes down to a few key factors. No matter if you’re using the most popular TTRPG in the world, Pathfinder, Forbidden Lands, or Lord of the Rings, rangers have several things in common. Focus on the following traits when you create a ranger to improve your roleplay and writing.

Ranger traits

  • Rangers are fierce protectors of nature. They work to safeguard all that is natural in the world.
  • Rangers know their plants. They can tell the party if a plant is deadly, poisonous, edible, or has healing properties. If they don’t know, they work to do so.
  • Rangers are kind to animals. As protectors of nature, they work to understand creatures of the world, even the dangerous ones. If it comes down to a fight with a beast, they may instead choose to scare away the creature instead of killing it. Rangers are also known to have animal companions.
  • Rangers always seek to understand. Rangers tend to stick to the wilds or live away from cities. This can make them curious about the world. Going to a large urban area can seem outlandish to them but with every place they visit, they seek knowledge first. Knowing more about a place, person, or creature is highly beneficial.
  • Rangers can be difficult at first. Like nature, rangers tend to be guarded and may appear off-putting at first. Once they get to know a person, they warm up easily to them and let their guards drop.
  • Rangers are masters of weapons. There is a reason rangers are known as masters of the hunt. Not for their hunting skills, but their ability to wield and master just about every weapon created.

Famous Rangers

As writers, we find inspiration in nearly everything we come across. So, we thought to help with your roleplay, we should introduce you to a few popular rangers from movies and video games.

  • Geralt of Rivia. Geralt is a Witcher, which is a fancy way of saying ranger. He hunts monsters, uses herbs to make potions and poisons, and is proficient in knowing creatures, tracking, and fighting. He’s gruff and blunt but has a kind heart and is always willing to help those in need.
  • Aragorn. Aragorn from Lord of the Rings is one of the best examples of a ranger we can think of. While known as a Ranger of the North, the title referred to a wandering people who protected the land but sought to remain a secret from others. This gave them a reputation for being distrustful, harsh, and dangerous. While Aragorn can appear quite harsh, he’s kind to everyone he meets once he learns more about them. He also has several animal companions during his journey. Brego is with him in The Two Towers and The Return of the King. While Bill the pony accompanies him in The Fellowship of the Ring.
  • Ruuda Drybarrel. Self-plug. Ruuda’s backstory in our fantasy book series Thread of Souls focuses on her interaction with a group or rangers. She was trained by Deep Stalker ranger Nier Shadowsnare but was not blessed to be a Deep Stalker herself. The Deep Staker rangers are protectors of the Deep Hollows and work to ensure safe passage for travelers on the roads, protect creatures, and are hired out when needed for specific jobs. Ruuda’s history with the rangers could play a larger part in her story, but you’ll have to read and find out.

Thread of Souls, World Building & Lore

Thread of Souls Lore Feature- Who is the Holy Dragon?

The Holy Dragon, also known as Halathras, is one of Thread of Souls‘ dragon gods. As one of the Protector Gods, they are worshipped by those who follow honor, loyalty, and truth. They are commonly depicted as a large gold or platinum dragon who resides within a section of the Celestial Plane called the The Platinum Halls.

Significance in the world

The Holy Dragon, along with Iosis the Blight Dragon, created the first dragons in the world of Theretos. Through their creation, the dragons molded and shaped the land. During the Divine Wars, the time period where the gods fought one another on the Material Plane, the Holy Dragon battled the Blight Dragon on the Elemental Planes. Dragons took sides during the fight and in the end Halathras defeated Iosis.

After the Divine Wars came the construction of the Gate of the Gods. This barrier prevented gods from returning to the Material Plane, though they could still aid their followers through as needed. Halathras watches from their seat in The Platinum Halls, granting boons and powers to those who worship him.

Who follows the Holy Dragon?

The Holy Dragon is followed by valiant warriors, healers, paladins, and leaders. Those who worship the great platinum dragon agree to follow a creed to put all other before themselves. Paladins take up the following oath.

I devote my life to follow you, Holy Dragon.
In your example I will be honest, and keep my word in all
things.
I will protect others as though their life is greater than
mine.
I will show mercy to my foes, but punish those who do
evil.
I will obey those with just authority.
I will answer for my actions and ask forgiveness for any
wrong I have done.
And in all things I will be honorable.
May you guide my steps and my voice, so I may always
serve you justly.”

Thread of Souls Phantom Five

What is the Holy Dragon’s symbol?

The Holy Dragon’s symbol is a golden eye. Warriors and paladins carry a shield or armor depicting the eye while clerics and healers wear robes of white and gold.

Thread of Souls book depictions

Excerpts from Thread of Souls

Zok spun his hammer, taking out his shield that
was emblazoned with the golden eye of the Holy Dragon.
He readied his stance. “Round two.”’

Thread of Souls Phantom Five

He supposed he’d always been drawn to the things the Holy
Dragon valued. Kindness, honor, loyalty, honesty. Doing
good to others and helping out whenever one could. He
was in his early twenties when he swore his oath to the
Holy Dragon and became a paladin. And he felt his life
was fuller because of it.”

Thread of Souls Phantom Five

The Temple of the Holy Dragon was beautiful.
Settled on the coast, its gardens were immaculate and it
rose three stories tall, all white and gold. Stained glass
windows of blue reflected the sun.”

Thread of Souls Ash & Thunder

Uncategorized

Join our adventuring party on Twitch – Fantasy gaming, roleplay, behind the scenes chats, and creating as a couple

We are branching out in 2023. Along with playing our weekly TTRPG campaign, turning it into a fantasy book series, and building a community, we started a Twitch. As the head of video, Dorian has been wanting to stream for many years and with the cards of life falling as they did, he finally got to this year. Let’s talk about what you’ll find on our Twitch, why we started it, and how it stands out from other creators.

Why start streaming and why now?

We starting streaming this year after being laid off. The past few years we’ve never found the time to stream while having full time jobs and working on Thread of Souls. There’s the saying of “everyone has the same 24 hours in a day”. While true, not everyone has the same schedule or time within that frame to do what they want. Tis a silly saying and we’re not fans. Now, that we’re free of the corporate monster, we are working for ourselves and can devote as much time to projects as we desire. This led to the discussion of streaming.

We’ve both been gamers our entire lives. From the moment we could pick up a controller and play, we were playing video games. Dorian had a YouTube channel growing up but adult priorities got in the way. Now that we’re older and wiser, we are taking control of our lives and doing what we want. We aren’t passionate about streaming, we’re passionate about telling and playing stories with each other and the community.

What you’ll find on our Twitch

For those who catch our streams, you’ll be entertained by us; a creative couple looking to make it on our own. We stream a few times a week, mainly Tuesday nights, and will pop up randomly throughout the week as we please. You’ll find entertaining stories about our lives as authors, TTRPG creators, artists, and how we make our TTRPG campaign into a book series. Stick around for the following:

  • Cats – Plenty of them. We have two fur babies Gamora and Danaerys who will show up time and again to say meow. Especially Gamora.
  • Games – Elder Scrolls Online, Solasta: Crown of the Magister, tabletop gaming, any fantasy game you can play together
  • Behind the Scenes – How we turn our TTRPG into a book series. It’s unique and we’re one of very few who does it.
  • Creative Couple – We’re a hubby and wifey creative team. We stream and play games together. It is just us two bringing you entertaining stories, dynamic characters, comedy, and spreading happiness.
  • TTRPG Roleplay – When we play video games, we will sometimes roleplay as the character we’re playing as. We’ll speak, act, and behave like they do in the books and in our tabletop game.

What makes us unique?

Streaming is something millions of people do. We’re just two fish in a massive ocean of creators. We aren’t setting out to be the next best thing, we’re here to make you laugh, tell moving stories, and build a community of those who love fantasy, gaming, roleplaying games, and TTRPGs. We do more than just play video games and tabletop games. You’ll get a look into our lives, meet out cats, see our creativity come alive as we draw, roleplay, write, and create Thread of Souls.

Join our Adventuring Party

We invite you to join our adventuring party! Not just on Twitch but everything we create for Thread of Souls. Subscribe to our website, follow us on Twitch and YouTube, as well as our socials. You can even join us on DeviantArt and have us draw art you suggest.

D&D / TTRPGs

How to build maps for your tabletop roleplaying games

Maps are useful tools in tabletop roleplaying games. Whether drawn with pen and pencil, colored marker, or created online, they transport you and your players anywhere and everywhere for the story. You don’t have to be an expert to make a map either. From online tools to Lego pieces, we’ve done it all and no matter what our players have loved it. Here’s how to build a map for your next session.

Hand drawn

Keeping it classic is a simple way to make a map for your games. Just grab a piece of paper and a writing utensil and start drawing. It doesn’t need to be fancy or colored. Giving players a visual cue helps them understand where enemies, NPCs, and objects are. You can even add in art on the fly. If a player asks if there is a tree to hide behind, you can just add one in. Having everyone work together makes map building more engaging.

Craft store terrain

When we first started playing at the table, we didn’t have a digital or VTTs. We barely had minis let alone terrain to build maps with. Occasionally we drew a map but mostly we visited our local craft store to make our own. They are great for building 3D maps with varying levels of terrain. Grabbing a set of trees, rocks, and a patch of grass can bring a whole new dimension to your tabletop game.

One of the best ways to build is by using plant foam. It’s moldable and can be shaped or cut into nearly any object.

Made with Inkarnate.com

Licensed maps and terrain sets

You could of course use maps made by third parties. We’ve had a handful over the years. They fit together like puzzle pieces and can be arranged in numerous ways to bring your map to life. What makes them great is you can build so many different maps with just one set or combine them together to construct a large one. Paizo has plenty and as players who’ve used them before, they are fantastic.

Terrain sets are larger more robust sets that bring 3D elements to the table. You can find a handful on Etsy or use Dwarven Forge.

Digital toolsets

Going digital, completely digital is where we ended up after years of playing. Our go to toolset is Inkarnate. It offers several unique tools you can use to build maps. You can make practically anything you can think of. Once you lay the groundwork — grass, water, snow, etc. — you can add in finer details like buildings, trees, creatures, people, and more. It’s a versatile way to build maps that can be as dynamic as you see fit.

roleplaying
News

Let’s talk about the OGL and how it impacts ToS

It’s been a week in the tabletop community and we’re exhausted. This impromptu Spool of Souls update is meant to clear the air on what’s going on in the world of tabletop. As our book series is based on a TTRPG, we wanted to talk about the news from WOTC, Dungeons und Dragons, and what it means for Thread of Souls and us as indie developers.

Starting off. We here at Thread of Souls and Tal & Ru Travels LLC are against everything Wizards is doing with the OGL 1.1. We fully support indie developers and love seeing everything created in the third-party space. TTRPGs are about creating stories, worlds, and characters that you love and hold dear.

The leak of the OGL 1.1 update shows it is the complete opposite of the original OGL written in 2000. That allowed anyone the right to use mechanics, monsters, and items produced by WOTC in their own games. Thus, Pathfinder was created. However, the update is worded in a way that could allow WOTC full control of fan creations for their own use. This all without paying the original creator. On top of that would, owners may be required to pay a portion of all earned revenue to Wizards of the Coast after the first $750,000. And they could changed that at any moment on a whim and leave creators 30 days to comply. An article by journalist Linda Codega broke the news. We highly recommend giving it and their other articles a read.

Reports began January fifth and haven’t really stopped since. After eight days of waiting (January 13) Wizards finally issued a statement through DND Beyond, not even through their official site. The statement was general PR response and further leaks note it was written by “executives and legal”. The official statement reads, “we wanted to ensure that the OGL is for the content creator, the homebrewer, the aspiring designer, our players, and the community—not major corporations to use for their own commercial and promotional purpose.” Which is exactly the opposite of what was stated in the leak. It goes on to mention removing the royalty structure and getting rid of the part where it was suggested the company could take anyone’s work.

All of this talk impacts everyone who uses Dungeons and Dragons. It is incredible damaging to indie developers and if pushed through prevents them from using an IP they have spent hours, months, and years learning to create content. Content that pays their bills, provides for families, and earns them a living. Indie devs create because they love doing so. Their passion has led to the release of more incredible books, creations, and systems than put out by the people who own it all.

It was reported that WOTC is looking at DND Beyond subscriptions to gage success. This has led to people cancelling their subscription to show they are against what is happening. It was only after the mass cancelations began that the official statement was posted.

The Thread of Souls book series is based on our own TTRPG system. We’ve ensured it used only our creations and content made by us. We are stopping all DMs Guild creations and have removed our previously released content.

Tal & Ru Travels LLC and Thread of Souls was created to provide entertainment, laughter, joy, dynamic characters storylines, and fun. Third-party indie devs are the backbone of the TTRPG community and make some truly fantastic stories.

Uncategorized

Thread of Souls – Adventure Awaits for January 2023

Happy 2023 everyone! It’s the start of the new year and we here at Thread of Souls are thrilled to take you on new and exciting ventures. Talia and I have been discussing our expectations and goals for the year ahead and there is so much we’re working to bring you. Zip up your explorer’s pack, grab your adventure food, and let’s hit the open road together! Here’s what’s happening in January and how you can join our adventuring party.

Twitch

Our largest expedition is taking us on a journey into unknown territories. We started live streaming on Twitch! You’ll find us playing video games related to Thread of Souls in one form or another. Here’s what we are playing and why you should join along!

  • Elder Scrolls Online and Elden Ring for epic adventure and storytelling.
  • WWE sees our book characters come to life in the squared circle. Also excellent storytelling.
  • The Witcher is an open world full of dynamic characters, strange and horrific creatures, and grand tales.
  • Solasta: Crown of the Magister and Pillars of Eternity II for fully customized TTRPG party play.
An adventure to catch a cat

Patreon

We started a Patreon! It is just the two of us doing all of this. Your support means so much to us as indie creators. We create all the videos, art, books, blogs, merch, stories, and so much more for Thread of Souls. Supporting us through either Patreon or donations allows us to continue to create moving characters, dynamic stories, and entertaining content.

You should join our adventuring party, for many thrilling quests and travel await!

Dany-14-1

Donate to Support Two Indie Authors

It is just the two of us working hard to bring you fun, laughter, and moving stories! We appreciate your donation in support of independent creators! Danaerys says “Meow, thank you!”

$2.00

Merch

You can get your hands on some new merch later this month. We are creating a Thread of Souls Corventos map blanket! Snuggle up with this blanket and a copy of Thread of Souls.

Made with Inkarnate.com

Soundtrack

Thread of Souls is getting an official soundtrack! The first compilation includes 14 tracks made by composer Sean Gartner. You will find the soundtrack most anywhere you can listen to music online. For those who want to hear tracks ahead of its release, join us and adventure on Twitch!


D&D / TTRPGs, Fantasy Topics, News, Opinion

Let’s Talk about the Dungeons & Dragons movie Prequel Books

We still haven’t watched the Dungeons & Dragons movie trailer, but are curious about it. What has us even more interested is the announcement of two prequel books ahead of the movie: The Druid’s Call and The Road to Neverwinter. Let’s talk about what we know and what we’d like to see from them.

The Books

The Road to Neverwinter is written by Jaleigh Johnson. Little is known about it but we can deduce it will take place in the city of Neverwinter, the Jewel of the North. As huge fans of the Neverwinter MMO, we’ve spent, I was going to say countless hours exploring the city, but it’s 361.5 hours, according to Steam. That’s more than 15 days.

Needless to say, we are looking forward to The Road to Neverwinter.

The Druid’s Call, from E.K. Johnston, also has a special place in our hearts for one important reason. Talia’s first tabletop character was the Jade, a main character in our fantasy octology Thread of Souls.

Tabletop Experience

The two books are exciting and they got us thinking. We’re sure they’re written like a typical story — choose a premise, characters, outline it, and write it — but we believe it be great if they were based on their own tabletop experience. Imagine if the characters in both books were played by actual people around a table like a ttrpg game.

The players all choose a character in the story and roleplay them and tell the story together. With A Druid’s Call following the main protagonist Doric, the actions and decisions her player makes shape the world and therefore the overall book.

The same be The Road to Neverwinter. While it’s unclear what the story is, the book must involve some of the characters from Honor Among Thieves. Our thoughts are on rogue Forge Fitzwilliam, as he is tied to the city.

However the books and movie are written, they’re sure to be thrilling. But as authors who turned our ongoing ttrpg campaign into fantasy books, it is definitely a fun way to write a series after playing it around a table with friends.

Character Tips, Storytelling Tips, Writing Tips

Why addressing how your characters are dressed matters

Clothing is an important factor in a story. You may not consciously think about the characters’ outfits while reading or watching, but they tell the story just the same. Shows and movies are easy-to-track outfits, while books or actual plays are more challenging. Keeping track of your character’s clothing is fun and should be part of the tale itself.

Clothing isn’t Optional

Talking about character outfits is just as important as talking about them. You don’t have to describe much or go into much detail. Something as simple as stating the character wears dark leather armor and carries a belt with multiple daggers on it, gets several points — pun intended — across.

This character relies on stealth and strikes quickly. This brings to mind they may be some sort of rogue. The dark armor suggests they prefer to stick to the shadows or be out at night.

You can use clothing to quickly describe a character without outright saying what their specialty is. Mages wear flowing robes, rangers wear leather or fur armor dyed the color of nature, and clerics or healers wear colored robes depicting their deity.

Plot, plot, plot. Location, location, location

Keep in mind the environments your characters visit. Once again, clothing description isn’t meant to take up a lot of words. You’re not in school anymore, you don’t need to hit a word count. What you need to worry about is the type of clothing. If your story takes place in a cold and snowy biome, make sure the characters wear thick outfits to keep them warm.

Vice versa, if they are at the beach for a relaxing day. Put them in clothing that says beach attire. Also, don’t forget about their weapons.

For the love of all things holy. Nothing drives us madder than when characters have their weapons with them all the time! Take them away from time to time. Give them moments to use random objects to fight with. A frying pan hits just as hard as a hammer. Another thing. Please, if they get locked in prison, have the guards take their armor and weapons. Throw in the trope of having a stealthy or rogue character thoroughly searched if you have to. It’s funny.

Major plot points require outfit changes, too. These can be anything from going from one environment to another and character growth. If a character is just starting out on their quest, their outfit should be tailored to their lifestyle. Perhaps they are a professor and only wear professional-looking attire. Then, once they get thrown into the fire as it were, they come out changed. No longer are they that clean professional instructor, but an adventurer who has seen some shit. Their new clothes should reflect this. Now, they wear business attire but it’s ripped or bedazzled with color.


Keep clothing in mind when you write. Outfits make great characters and really help describe your characters even more.

Video Games, Writing Tips

Best Video Games to Build Your Characters (Part 2)

Video games are as great an escape as reading a book. They let you become another character and play out an adventure. Games allow you to discover new lands, save the world, or go on a side quest. Very much like a fantasy book, you join along in the adventure to see what happens in the end.

And like a book series, games can have several in the series. That’s why we split our list of the best video games to design your character into two posts. Sequels are popular. Everyone wants more of what they enjoyed. It worked for Avengers, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and it’s how we’re building Thread of Souls.

If you missed part one of building a character in a video game, check it out here.


6. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire quickly became one of our favorite games. Inspired by Baldur’s Gate, you build a party of characters in an attempt to stop a god from wreaking on the world. You can make a party of five custom characters, each with their own voice and skill line. It’s another great example of a D&D party in video games. You can outfit characters with armor, weapons, and choose a color unique to them to make them stand out.

7. W2K22

WWE is a big part of our lives and W2K22 is one of the best games when it comes to designing a character. From their looks, clothing, and attitude, the game offer plenty of options when it comes to design. You can choose any skin color, select from hundreds of outfits or clothes, and give your character a specific fighting style. It’s one of the most fun games we’ve found when it comes to building a character. Characters are restricted to how tall they can be. So if you play a shorter or taller race, you are limited to height.

8. Neverwinter – Free

Neverwinter’s character creator is the best choice for free games to choose from. It pulls directly from the lore and official D&D books, so those familiar with the mechanics should find it simple to build a character. If you have a drow paladin at the table, you can build them in Neverwinter and get them pretty close to how you imagine them.

9. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is robust. There are 25 classes and 12 races to choose from when you build a character. Classes have their own unique look — rangers wear a hood, paladins wear heavy armor — but you can change certain elements by giving them armor during the journey.

10. Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age

Elves, humans, dwarves, and Qunari make up the characters you’ll be able to choose from in Dragon Age. While it isn’t a lot when compared to other games, it fits the lore of the world. One of our favorite things about the character customization options for Dragon Age is the clothing. There are so many outfits to find and equip in the game and you can customize the color and style of them as well. You can tailor outfits to fit the personality and skill of your specific character.


Seeing your character come to life in a video game can give them more life in your writing. Watching them move around the map or interact with objects and characters can give you new ideas in roleplaying them at the table. Give it a thought the next time you sit down to play.

What is your favorite video game?

Uncategorized

Self-Publish Fantasy Month

September is here and it’s a time to celebrate self-published fantasy books! The month is for authors who self-publish their own fantasy works. From tabletop creators, fantasy authors, and bloggers, if you write fantasy, let’s celebrate together!

We are the authors of the heroic fantasy series Thread of Souls. The story is based entirely on our homebrew tabletop campaign. We started playing together in 2015. No one knew a thing about ttrpgs but we all grew up on fantasy. We knew Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and Game of Thrones and all especially loved LotR.

After playing for a few years, Talia came up with the brilliant idea of turning our campaign into a fantasy book series. As an author her entire life, she grew up reading and penning fan fiction and creating comics of her and friends. Turning our storyline into a book was the next natural step.

We discovered self-published fantasy month last year and are excited for this year. Each day of September features a prompt or challenge. It includes prompts such as world-building, ecology, magic Mondays, scenic Saturdays, and self-promo Sundays.

The first exercise is thematic Thursday, tradition versus change. We thought of magic in Thread of Souls. Fantasy stories feature magic in some form or another and we wanted to keep to that tradition. One way we change magic is how it works. Magic was granted to mortals by the gods and works in numerous ways. Clerics and paladins rely on their devotion to their deity in order to cast divine magic. Whereas, wizards and mages learn by studying and use crystals to cast their spells.

Day two is a quote.

For you cannot find yourself, if you do not first lose your way.

Rob J. Hayes – Never Die

This reminds us of our characters from Thread of Souls. They each experience something that causes them to change who they are. For example, Taliesin was born into a cult and knows nothing outside of it. During his adventure, he learns more bout himself and the life he left behind, leading him to discover who he really is.


We would love to see your projects! Whether it’s a book, blog, or tabletop related, let us know what you’re working on in the comments!