[From the Mailbag] Post-Vacation Embarassment of Riches

Well, I went away for a week--far away from cell service, land line service, internet service. It was restful. Utterly restful. Gamed a bit with my family (game report in process). Read a bit. Slept a bit. All in all a very, very restful week.

It made coming back to the office dreadfully miserable.

But, oh! What was waiting for me when I got home. The neighbor collecting our mail commented on the number of packages and hand-addressed envelopes I received. I guess all they ever get is bills and shopping mailers.

Here's what made last weekend terrific. Sorry for the bad photo, but I wanted to get everything in one shot.

Going from left to right:

• A buddy of mine came across some duplicate 3.x titles from "his source" and passed along his extras to me: A Pathfinder module named Guardians of Dragonfall. Also a Pathfinder sourcebook entitled Tombs of Golarion--because one can never have too many tombs or ill-meaning NPCs. A CD, released with Dungeon #87 that includes the first issue of Dungeon as well as some bonus adventures and other stuff. Then there's a Paizo-produced map of the Sleeping Dragon Inn. You may recall I already have a copy of this, but it's gone missing, so I welcomed the new copy.
• Then there's the latest two creature postcards from +Jim Magnusson. As usual, these are gorgeous and creepy. If you aren't already a patron of his, you should be. Rectify that. Soon.
• Up top were some duplicate WotC miniatures, also from that great friend of mine. These are the Blackroot Treant from the Against the Giants set (my collection's first treant) and the Flesh Golem from the Night Below set.
• The July Mythoard arrived as well: no dice or miniature this time, but almost as good--some fire counters from Advanced Deployment and a stack of coaster-dungeonmorphs, and a d12 table of NPC names on a business card (thanks, +Jarrod Shaw, et al.). Also included is a copy of Ancient Odysseys: Treasure Awaits! (an introductory RPG), a copy of Issue #5 of the Undercroft 'zine (thanks +Daniel Sell), another binder-ready locale/NPC, a copy of The Red Mausoleum module from Expeditious Press, and a copy of a Judges Guild adventure, Rat on a Stick. 
• Next to the miniatures are the latest Patreon rewards from the great and incomparable +Tim Shorts. Again, he fails to disappoint. A medieval crypt and a futuristic sci-fi patrol scenario. Great maps, great substance, and laminated for dry-erase or Mountain Dew repellant qualities. If you have ever enjoyed an issue of The Manor 'zine and haven't yet signed up for his Patreon account, get over there and do it now.
• 
  And the gifts continued after the weekend. When Monday's mail arrived, I found another great postcard map from +Simon Forster. This time a two-room main floor building surrounded by idyllic trees. The basement of the building is filed with surprises, including an attached cavern room. I always love getting these postcards; they are, to be honest, the main inspiration behind my own mail-maps that I've been sending out to Stronghold 'zine customers. These are great little locales just crying out for some dungeon-stocking, awaiting a drop-in into your campaign as a side-quest or random encounter. If you haven't signed up on Patreon to support Simon, well...see the above-pro-Patreon-support exhortations and feel a bit guilty, OK? Then go to Patreon and start clicking to support these fine gentleman artists!

Speaking of mail-maps, I suppose I'm well overdue to pay a Joesky tax. So, I present to you the following mail-map that went out to +Jason Zavoda. As I imagined it, it's a shrine built into the side of a cliff. The shrine has an attached chapel area, with a passageway down to an altar/contemplation pool. Then a little trapped hallway (see the inset for the pit trap side-view) leading into the cult's treasure room. But use it how you will; it's free for your use. As always, if you use it, drop me a line to tell me where and how it went.

The Shrine of Adovaz!

[The Stronghold 'Zine] 'Zine Love from a Legend and Another Mail-Map!

Those of you who've read for a while know that +Christian Walker (of Loviatar fame) is not only a good friend, but the late (demise much lamented) Loviatar 'zine is an inspiration for The Stronghold, as it is for many recent 'zines.

Well, Christian's received copies of both Issues #1 and #2of the Stronghold...and then I heard from him last week: his son enjoyed Issue #1 so much that he stole absconded with claimed for his own borrowed Issue #1 and won't give it back to his dad! Christian ordered up another copy of #1...so I included a copy of #2 for the son, with a letter inside (explaining that "This is your copy. Not your dad's."). On the outside of the envelope, this happened:

Yep. Another Mail-Map!

In the short time I've been doing these, as with most of my maps, I typically start out with a general idea, then let the pen(s) go from there, until I realize just how much work the cross-hatching is going to be and then I look for a stopping point. For this one, I just wanted something quick and dirty, short and sweet. I'd actually intended it for a small shrine...one with a hidden danger of ghouls (or somesuch) who live in caverns behind/beneath the shrine and use the shrine for food, water, etc.

Well, Christian took this, and ran with it, making it his own. And I'm awed and honored to have had this map appear on his blog as "The Skin Lab": a secret workshop for a purveyor of flesh golems. Head on over to take a look...as I said, I'm touched and honored. (And remember, all my stuff is free for your use...just please let me know how you used it and how it was received.... I'm a proud papa that way; I love to hear how my kiddies are faring out in the big wide world.)

Oh, and from all reports, Christian's son loved the letter and having his own copy of Issue #2...so, double win!

Oh, and as always, you can pick up your own copies of Issues #1 and #2 here, at Blue Moon Ink Press.

[The Stronghold 'Zine] Map Mayhem!

So...this just happened.

I was in the midst of addressing an envelope containing The Stronghold 'Zine #2 for shipment over the Pond. Then I got inspired. Then I thought, "Hey, let's give this overseas friend of mine a little bonus something with that inspiration." And then the inspiration got out of hand. And then I just had to Dyson-ize it with some cross-hatching. And then the colored pencils came out for some minor touch-ups. The result?

 Yeah. That's the back of the envelope winging its way across the Pond. I +Simon Forster 'd it.... I'm sure I'll get a nasty letter about it from someone from the USPS or the Royal Mail. One would hope they simply enjoy it, get a chuckle at least, and then pass it on its way. [Aside: The eponymous blue moon there is the envelope seal I employ as an extra guard against bad glue. It was merely coincidence that it fits in with the map. End aside.] I plan on cleaning this up a bit and reposting it to the Blog; I just wanted to share it ASAP...'cause, I got a chuckle out of it. So did my family.

Of course, I thought about the potential problems AFTER I had sealed the envelope and put the postage on.

So, to the lucky individual about to receive this extra special envelope, thank you for your support with The Stronghold 'Zine. It's truly appreciated. (And if the pen should happen to have bled through the envelope onto the 'zine itself, let me know, would you? I'll make it right.)

To everyone else...YOU may be the lucky recipient of the next original spontaneous mail-map creation. But you have to order a copy of The Stronghold 'Zine to have that chance! Both Issue #2 and a limited number of Issue #1 are available at Blue Moon Ink Press.