March 2025 Roundup

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March has been a mixed bag of article topics. The first two weeks were a two-part article, useful for worldbuilding. Then I shared some more practical homebrew, a review for a solo game that I really enjoyed, and a hack for conveying information in your favorite RPG system.

The Imperial Life Cycle, Part 1

Many empires have followed a particular pattern. By taking this cycle for TTRPG worldbuilding, we we can quickly write a history for an empire.

Veritas TabletopLucas Asher

The Imperial Life Cycle, Part 2

Last week, I wrote about the life cycle of an empire as described by Robin Pierson of History of Byzantium and Patricia Crone. The fact that both the Islamic Caliphate and the Roman Empire went through very similar cycles is an interesting historical quirk of history. It is a quirk

Veritas TabletopLucas Asher

Talking About Talking: Languages in RPGs

Illiteracy should be a core feature of more historically-inspired fantasy. How can we bring this into our TTRPGs and handle language better?

Veritas TabletopLucas Asher

Review: Maple Island Massacre by Aaron Best

Maple Island Massacre by Aaron Best, available on DriveThruRPG, is more of a game than most solo RPGs.

Veritas TabletopLucas Asher

Mystery Design: Rumor Cards

How do you put mechanics to finding out plot hooks, rumors, or researching for key clues in a tabletop roleplaying game? My answer is rumor cards.

Veritas TabletopLucas Asher

No new products this month, but a sale on something old!

For April Fool's Day, I'm putting my "Fools of April" product from last year on sale. The product will go on 50% sale for the general public from today (April 1st) to the 15th, but all subscribers to the blog can pick it up for 75% off for the whole month! That's just 25 cents for a collection of six historically-inspired jester NPCs, with fantastic original art by Carissa Knickerbocker. You can access your special discount using this link. And you can read more about the historical inspiration for the product and about the history behind jesters in the article that I released last year.

I've been working my way through CLR James' Black Jacobins, the seminal work on the history of the Haitian Revolution. For a book published in the 1930s, it is amazingly easy to read and digest. It is still a dense history book, and some familiarity with the Haitian Revolution definitely helps to access all of the names, but the book is well-written and far less dry than I was expecting when I saw the original publication year. You can pick it up on bookshop.org using this link to help support independent bookstores and the blog! (Using my link means that I get a small cut of the purchase price).

You can also pick up the third book in my mom's regency romance series! Bookshop.org link here. I interviewed my mom when book one came out, which I'll link below. I'm normally not one for romance novels, but these books are exceptionally tightly paced and fun to read. You should start with the first one, if you haven't already!

Putting History in Historical Fiction with Carol Coventry

This week, I interviewed the author of Counting on Love, a new regency romance. We talked about how to use history in your fiction.

Veritas TabletopLucas Asher

For TTRPG recommendations specifically, Adam Hancock – a tremendous designer and a great font of advice online – is putting all of his products on sale. His partner was laid off due to all the USAID stuff going on, and until her salary is replaced, all of Adam's products are available in a bundle for about 75% off. Definitely check out the bundle here!

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