As a total geek about Earth's historical Bronze Age, when I heard about Mythic Babylon's launch back in 2021 I knew I'd want to pick it up. The book's languished on my kink shelf, but it finally reached the top of my reading stack. Published by Design Mechanism for their D100 system Mythras, Mythic Babylon … Continue reading REVIEW: Mythic Babylon
Author: Austin Conrad
Self-styled scholar and author. I read a lot and write occasionally.
Behind the Scenes #6
As usual, this week's article is a peek behind the scenes into my process and workflow. Over on Patreon! Monthly updates into the process are a big part of how I try to say thanks to those lovely persons who go above & beyond to help support the reviews, articles, and so on which go … Continue reading Behind the Scenes #6
In Development: Eden Fallen
Independent publisher Akhelas has a new roleplaying game in development using Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying: Universal Game Engine under the Open Roleplaying Creative (ORC) License. Eden Fallen is a science fiction roleplaying game set on a generation ship launched from Earth to begin colonization of planets outside the solar system. Centuries later the vessel—built around and … Continue reading In Development: Eden Fallen
Exploring Solo TTRPGs
By trying to transition this year into a full-time career as a writer, my "for fun" hobbies transformed into work. Now, I enjoy that work, but I've discovered that does mean it's hard to treat "for fun" hobbies as… for fun. So I've been playing a lot of games instead! One type of game I've … Continue reading Exploring Solo TTRPGs
The Golden Bough & Glorantha
When I first began to write, my reading habits shifted. It was slow, at first, and I did not notice it. Over time I came to read dominantly nonfiction—especially about the ancient world. Although this had long been of interest to me, I discovered that the more I studied, the more detailed my creative work … Continue reading The Golden Bough & Glorantha
REVIEW: The Voralans
What is life like as a mushroom? That's the basic question posed by Brian Duguid's most recent Jonstown Compendium release, The Voralans. Considering how much I loved his previous release—Children of Hykim—naturally I was much anticipating this new work. And, I'm delighted to say that I loved it. What's Inside? The ground covered is similar … Continue reading REVIEW: The Voralans
The Kink Shelf
If you're a roleplaying game enthusiast and even a little like me, you've probably got a kink shelf. This is the phrase I use in my own head to describe the shelf of RPGs I'll probably never play. Shelves plural, at this point. And you know, I'm okay with that. Would I like to play … Continue reading The Kink Shelf
Behind the Scenes #5
This week was the end of the month, which means it's time for another behind-the-scenes post! Over on my Patreon page! Sorry, everyone. Wanna read what I've been up to, and what I'm scheming for the future? You should check me out over there. It's super helpful for me keeping the lights on, cat fed, … Continue reading Behind the Scenes #5
REVIEW: Tress of the Emerald Sea
This review is spoiler-free. Last year, fantasy monolith Brandon Sanderson revealed that he'd been cheating on fans of his in-progress series by writing even more books. This culminated in a record-breaking Kickstarter which raised millions of dollars to fund four new novels in high quality premium editions. As a complete and total Sanderson fanboy, obviously … Continue reading REVIEW: Tress of the Emerald Sea
The Astrologer
The candle's little amber flame at last melted its wax just enough to let the bronze nail's heaviness pull itself free, to fall upon the copper candle-stand. The circular disc—bent upward along the rim, like a cymbal—chimed twice, as the nail bounced on the thin-beaten copper. As the stand trembled, the first clear sound fuzzed … Continue reading The Astrologer
Akhelas 