Tag: Fantasy

Bardic Inspiration

Bardic Inspiration: Sounds of a Druid

Thread of Souls

Druid inspired songs for your creation needs!

It’s been a while since we’ve done a bardic inspiration post, and this one is all about druids! As someone who has been role-playing a druid in our TTRPG for 8 years, and has been writing Jade in our books since 2019, I know the music that gets me in the druidic vibe.

Celtic – Nathalie Manser

This is one of the first druid-inspired songs I ever saved. This was in my early days of getting into instrumentals, as well! The melody is so moving and so beautiful.

Spirit of Freedom – Peter Crowley

I love songs that feel like they take you on a journey. This one starts out humble, and then ends in this fantastic burst of druidic adventure and fun. I’d actually had this one saved for a while before listening to it fully, and then I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t experienced it all the way through yet!

Dance of the Druids – Outlander

I’ve never seen the show, but I do love this track. I guess it’s not technically an instrumental since there is singing in another language in it. But it is subtle enough that’s it’s something I listen to while I write (I usually can’t write at the same time I hear lyrics).

Jade’s Theme – Sean Gartner

The track specifically composed for our character Jade obviously holds a special place in our hearts. I love the subtle melodies and sounds in it; it makes me think of wandering a forest and all the life there.

Reviews

Baldur’s Gate III – Act II Thoughts

Thread of Souls

We recently completed Act II of Baldur’s Gate 3, the immersive game based around Dungeons & Dragons. Following up on our thoughts for Act I, here is a spoiler-free overview of Act II.

The Story

The second act of Baldur’s Gate 3 is heavily story-based. From early on you begin to pick up on lore about the largest enemy (or ally, depending on if you are playing a good or evil game), Ketheric Thorm. Through exploring, talking to NPC’s, talking to your own party, and reading documents around the map, you begin to piece together the story of what took place in this shadow-ravaged area.

The storyline is compelling, with complicated characters and fully realized histories. Each step you take leads you to another, and everything logically falls into place. The only thing that stood apart was what felt like a sidequest in the Gauntlet of Shar, but actually was part of the main questline.

The stories you discover here can be depressing. This act is centered on death and destruction on a large scale, with innocent lives caught in the middle. But if you choose a heroic game, it does feel nice to restore goodness to the area once again.

The Gameplay

The fights are a lot of fun, and there are truly some spectacular dungeons. Grymforge was one of our favorites to go through. Aside from one small puzzle in the Gauntlet of Shar, every challenge felt logical, every puzzle made sense, and you were never left wondering what you to do next.

There is a good balance here between peaceful interactions and violence. That is to say, there are areas where you can explore and socialize without fear, and other areas where dangers and horrors are aplenty. The Last Light Inn was a standout location, offering more and more areas of intrigue the further we delved.

The Locations

Beautifully realized locations are across the map with this act in Baldur’s Gate 3. From the soaring peaks of the monastery, to the dark and dangerous shadow lands, the environments invited more and more exploration.

That being said, there were a few areas we chose not to fully explore because they were too disturbing and too gory. Balthazar’s experiments and Reithwin were our top two that we sped through, only hitting the highlights, because of the body horror and grotesque elements. So fair content warning for those curious about the second act.

Overview

All in all, the second act of Baldur’s Gate 3 is deep, story-driven, and offers some truly spectacular locations and dungeons to explore. It’s good fun all around.

Pros: Well-written, fun dungeons, detailed locations, good characters

Cons: Depressing, too gory

TTRPGs

How to Roleplay a Ranger

Thread of Souls

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

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

Thread of Souls

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
TTRPGs

Subversion – A New TTRPG is Coming to Kickstarter

Thread of Souls

A new TTRPG that calls itself “Subversion” is coming to Kickstarter next month. And in this age of OGL fiasco’s and the tabletop community opening up to new systems and indie creators, its launch is very timely. Subversion is built off a custom d6 system, and promises a fantasy-sci-fi-grungy adventure that takes place in Neo Babylon. Players can fight against an oppressive systems run by faceless corporations and greedy authorities while balancing their core values that are at the heart of the game.

You are an envoy, using technology, magic, and direct action to serve and save your community in the cyberpunk fantasy world of Neo Babylon.

Subversion will allow players to choose from multiple lineages such as elf, dwarf, goblin, human, or yettin. In character creation, they will also get to choose from a variety of cultures, skills, values, and goals. Subversion uses a creative d6-based dice pool system. The better a player is at a skill, the more dice they get to role, but they only keep the highest three.

Players will be engaged by the Grit system, in which each character has a special reserve resource which they can muster to stand and fight when all looks grim. Alternatively, they can use their limited grit resource to perform amazing abilities or enhance their normal ones. Grit is gained and lost based on how characters interact with their values and impulses.

If you are the type of player who enjoys helping NPC’s and making a difference within the world you play in, Subversion promises themes of relationships, holding to ideals, community, direct action, and hope for the future.

Subversion is designed by Fragging Unicorns, known for Gangs of the Undercity and the Misspent Youth RPG. Subversion will launch on Kickstarter on February 21st.

roleplaying
TTRPGs

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

Thread of Souls

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.

Thread of Souls

Thread of Souls – Asunder Launch

Thread of Souls

Awwwww fantasy fans! Don’t you dare be sour! Clap for your five-star rated indie authors, and feeeeel… the powaaaaaah! It’s a great day, yes it is! Asunder is here! The fourth book in the Thread of Souls fantasy series is out for your reading enjoyment. We’ve put a lot of work into this entry and can’t wait to see what you all think of it.

You can purchase the book here. We really appreciate all your support. We are two married indie authors who have a passion for fantasy, tabletop roleplaying games, and writing. We hope our book series can inspire others to create as well.

We’ve spent the year writing and editing Asunder and are so thrilled it’s out in the world. From playing it at the table in 2019, we have been waiting to reveal what happened four years ago. There are some great memories in these pages and we love getting to bring them to life again in a new written format. Playing with friends and each other around a table is great, and seeing it all come together is an even greater feeling.

Asunder is packed full of lore, great moments, and emotion. It’s a book we fondly remember with moments we’ll never forget. We hope you enjoy Thread of Souls IV: Asunder and we can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.

The Spool of Souls: Updates & News, Thread of Souls

Thread of Souls – December 2022 News!

Thread of Souls

It’s certainly been a crazy December for us here at Thread of Souls. Among us being super ill over Thanksgiving, being laid off, and moving, we managed to get through a lot and we’re here to share it all!

Thread of Souls Book IV: Asunder

Asunder is here! The fourth book in the Thread of Souls series was a complete wonder to work on. We remember playing through it vividly in our home TTRPG game and loved bringing each and every seen to life on pages. A lot of memories were formed when playing it at the table and we can’t wait to share it with all of you!

Asunder Trailer

Dorian has been hard at work with the trailer for Asunder. Using Talia’s amazing art, the official trailer was launched on December 7. You can check it out below.

New Music

Our composer friend, Sean, continues to supply us with fantastical music for Thread of Souls. The latest tracks are titled Jade’s Theme, Into the Gloomdwell, and Fate. While we’re keeping two secret for now, Fate can be heard in the trailer. It’s simply amazing.

Thread of Souls Merchandise

You want a T-shirt or phone case? Perhaps a pillow or nifty hat? Well, we’ve got the merch for you! Check out our new line of merchandise on Redbubble.

merch
merch
merch
merch

Updated Logo

A small yet big update for us is our logo. Our logo is now black and white. For the first eight books, it will include The Spider Octology but that will change with future storylines.

Our book series based on our D&D campaign from DungeonsAndDragons

Taliesin
Uncategorized

Character Feature: Taliesin

Thread of Souls

Taliesin is this month’s character feature! A headstrong, passionate dark elf healer that cares deeply about others. His risk-taking and button-pushing approach to life creates plenty of conflict, but Taliesin never backs down in the face of injustice or threats.

Taliesin enjoys learning and reading. He is always up for a good time and a late night party. He hates the art of necromancy and has cultivated his skill in driving away undead and banishing ghosts. Religion surrounds his whole life and he wants to use it to guide and help others.

We first meet Taliesin in Phantom Five. His challenge of status in Berenzia has gotten him in trouble with the ruling priestesses. After recovering from eight months of punishment for his wild tongue, he has run away from home. He crosses paths with dark dwarf Ruuda, a fugitive in her own rights. Together, the two set out to explore a new land and find a new direction in both of their lives.

Taliesin

The Spool of Souls: Updates & News

Spool of Souls – TOS News for November 2022!

Thread of Souls

My word, it’s been a busy time here at Thread of Souls land. With injuries healing and colder weather upon us, we are here with our monthly update. It’s a doozy.

Book IV Asunder ARC Readers

The fourth book in our fantasy series, Asunder, is off to our ARC readers! It’s been a wonderful time editing the book and we are excited to get it into the hands of our adventuring party. While they are reading over Asunder, we are moving on to other matters such as marketing, trailers, and social media outreach.

Just because book IV Asunder is handed off to our ARC team doesn’t mean you can’t join! If you want to become a member of the Thread of Souls adventuring party (our ARC team and other fun collaborative projects) hit us up. Comment on this post or send us an email.

Made with Inkarnate.com

Check out that new updated map as well. Coming to an updated book in the not-too-distant future.

New Covers for Books I – III

We are in the process of updating the covers for Thread of Souls. We have seen the updated covers for books I and II, Phantom Five and Ash & Thunder. Holy smokes, our editor rolled a natural 20 for both of them. The cover for Path of the Spiders is coming along as well. We can’t wait to show you the finished covers for all four books.

Thread of Souls Music

We’ve mentioned before about working with a composer on music for TOS. So far we have heard 10 tracks for the first three books. Our composer sends them to us as soon as he’s finished and each one is a fantastic surprise. So, we are going to show off one of those for you.