A newsletter and podcast focused on Friday Strout's fiction and tabletop roleplaying games. Featuring top industry contributors from both the professional Game Master scene, game designers, writers, artists, and more!
I had the great privilege of GMing for 3 Black Halflings and I wanted to share some ways they made the process wonderful for me as a newcomer to their table.
I love performing. Going into a call with these highly professional folx caused my heart to swell 3x its normal size. I laughed for 3 hours. I felt so much joy just to be invited to the table, but then when I got there… it was amazing.
What Jeremy, Liv, and Jasper did to make me feel welcome:
The atmosphere in the call was really warm and open to my guidance.
Leading up to the game each of the players expressed their excitement and enthusiasm with the handouts I’d given them in the lead-up.
They each filled out a safety/consent checklist and explained to me what sort of story they were interested in telling.
Jeremy reassured me that I was a great GM and that I didn’t get to where I was by being mediocre. (He’d never played with me, he’d made the judgment call on my reputation, I believe.)
Reassurances for GMs or players who are self-conscious are sometimes really needed.
Liv & Jasper let me know during my break time check-ins that I was doing really well and then asked how I felt about the show thus far.
Opening themselves up to hearing me voice insecurities meant a lot to me in those moments.
Jeremy shot me a message post-game telling me that he thinks people are gonna really like the episode.
Sometimes I mention my imposter syndrome. I’d had an epiphany when I literally said to my therapist “I can’t have imposter syndrome, I haven’t done enough yet.”
What I’d done in 2022:
Worked as a content manager as a side gig
Founded my LLC and led my business to:
51k revenue in my first year
Projecting 90-110k for 2023
Ranked in the top 3 pro GMs on StartPlaying Games year-round
Yet still I have these brain goblins telling me that I haven’t done enough. Every day I finish work I look at my to-do list and guilt trip myself for not doing more. It’s wild!
So if I’m gonna give y’all any advice out there, it is: Be cool like 3 Black Halflings. Be kind. Make great entertainment.
I’ll be releasing the Dollars & Dragons interview with Jasper William Cartwright on the same day that our game of Thirsty Sword Lesbians premieres on 3BH. Stay tuned!
"An All White Cast – In This Economy?" | Ep 20 – VJ Harris #2 (they/he)
Dollars & Dragons Podcast
In this chat with VJ Harris we discuss casting, shows, tokenism, and other elements of production. We address some topics: What is building an inclusive production? What can you do as a white person to make your environment safe?
Resources for you to make a great thumbnail for low cost or free
Thanks to my Patrons who helped me formulate this resource. You all are an endless source of motivation for me to continue my work. If you are interested to join this group of 25 superstars and help us get to 50 patrons – then you’ll have my undying loyalty in the class war of 2040. Also I’ll release 6 Dollars & Dragons episodes a month once I get 50 patrons. Check it out here! (https://www.patreon.com/isfriday)
Images licensed by SPG are free for you to use and manipulate, so take advantage of that. Remember: the highest paid GM on the website used nothing but SPG licensed images for most of 2022.
I would be careful about looking over “stock art” as there is a smattering of AI art available on DriveThruRPG nowadays. I don’t know if DTRPG will be regulating that or not, so for the time being try to mitigate that by doing some basic research. Reach out to the artist if you are uncertain.
That’s it for today! I just wanted to get this out there because of all the discussion on AI art lately. Cheers, y’all.
You wanna work with someone? Here’s how to get your foot in the door.
I’m asked often how I built one of the biggest freelance teams in the tabletop industry for The Vineyard RPG. I’m as immensely proud of where we are today as I am bamboozled by that fact. I’ve poured over my pitch emails and messages to find the common themes to my successes in communication.
This advice is for anyone seeking to collaborate or work with anyone else, not just in the tabletop industry – it’s just where I happen to work.
The email:
Be kind
Value up front
Be interested in people
Be interested in their work
Give clear next steps
You want it to be readable on a phone so that a freelancer who gets your email can respond with a “yes, let’s talk!” and you are scheduling a meeting to discuss details from there. Don’t over complicate things – freelancers are busy enough.
"Race & Gender in D&D"
Ep 19 – Stefan Huddleston (he/him) | Dollars & Dragons Podcast
This ep is a chat with Stefan (he/him) who is a scholar for everything cultural within tabletop roleplaying games. We discuss fear of “the other”, the importance of teaching race, and black history.
"Local Journo Boy Cryptid tells tabletop to GET UNIONIZED!" | Bonus ep 1 – Linda Codega (they/them)
Hear all about it!
Linda Codega (they/them) is known as the Dragon Slayer in the tabletop community for their breaking story that put Wizards of the Coast’s feet to the fire about the Open Gaming License debacle. We talk about queerness, horror, Linda’s origin as a journalist, and professional advice for budding journalists.
Your first inside look at The Vineyard RPG before it launches on Kickstarter in April 2023. We talk mechanics, the 5e-adjacent system Project Black Flag (Kobold Press), narrative, NPCs, and what inspired The Vineyard! (February 10, 2023.)
Click here or our beautiful banner of Aisling to sign up for the latest on our BackerKit!
Beautiful artwork of both Aisling Rovehnna and The Confessor by Yorsy Hernandez.
The Vineyard RPG – A Project Black Flag game
Announcing our partnership with Kobold Press
Hey y’all! BIG NEWS: The Vineyard RPG will be made using Project Black Flag! This means a more robust 5e game from the mind of Celeste Conowitch at Kobold Press. We are maintaining core compatibility with 5e products while supporting a third party publisher. Today at 5pm PST we are holding an AMA for anyone who wants to listen live, chat, and hangout with our team on this Discord.
If you can’t make it for the live AMA, that’s fine! Just join the Discord and post your Q into the thread I made in #the-vineyard channel. The recording will be posted later this week in a podcast format.
We’re immensely excited to share with you all what we’ve been working on and we cannot wait to connect with our community. Our team:
"The Business of 3 Black Halflings" | Ep 18 – Jeremy Cobb (he/him) | Dollars & Dragons Podcast
We talk about a wide range of topics, starting out with Jeremy taking the host role and inquiring about the military! Jeremy talks about being an actor, drama school, being a theater actor, the craft, marketing, and 3 Black Halflings. Support them here through Patreon! Or check them out here on YouTube.
