Greetings and Salutations Fellow Citizens of Gaea,
Welcome to the inaugural edition of our new monthly newsletter which we are calling the Gaean (pronounced gee-uhn) Gazette. Each month we will be bringing you a new edition filled with news about what is happening behind the scenes here at RPG Storytelling, updates on our flagship product Myths of Gaea, spotlights on our players (we call them Champions) and other Gaean Artisans, and any other news that we feel is important to share with you.
If you haven't done so already, I encourage you to subscribe to our website so that you will be among the first to learn about the world of RPG Storytelling and Myths of Gaea. You will also be the first to hear about new products and services, livestreaming schedule updates, new videos uploaded to our YouTube page, and more. You can find the Subscription link at the bottom of this and every page of the RPG Storytelling website.
What you'll find in this month's Gaean Gazette:
Quotable Quips (silly comments and conversations from our livestreams)
Website Re-Design:
Over the last month we have started the long process of completely re-designing the RPG Storytelling website. When we first created the site back in 2021, it was more of a hobby and blog website dedicated to the purpose of helping players of tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) to develop more comprehensive character backstories.
Since we made the decision back in April 2024 to incorporate as a full LLC, we thought it would be prudent for us to give our website a bit of an update.
We will still be writing articles (this article you are currently reading being one of them), but the primary focus of our newly redesigned website is for it to be used for business information and as a learning resource for all things Myths of Gaea.
On this website you will find information about RPG Storytelling LLC and who we are as a company. You will find information about the various services we offer such as livestream and video hosting and the development of our TTRPG publishing house which is being developed to help all creators and designers to be able to publish their creations on a much larger scale.
You will also find numerous resources to help you not only understand what Myths of Gaea is, but ways in which you will soon be able to run your own games within the Myths of Gaea universe. One thing we definitely wanted to include is the actual ancient Greek and Celtic myths that we are using to develop the world of Myths of Gaea. On the website you will find an entire section for the mythology and pantheons we are utilizing and when I say there is a lot, I mean a lot: A) over 200 entries for the Olympians (Greek pantheon), and B) between 200 to 300 entries for the Tuatha De Dannan (Celtic pantheons). We are still working on putting together the information for the Celtic pantheons, but thanks to the amazing website Theoi Project, we have been able to gather all of the Greek pantheon.
Myths of Gaea - Development Updates:
In case you haven't already heard, we are developing a brand new campaign world environment for the world renowned Dungeons & Dragons 5E game system. Myths of Gaea is being designed to be a complete gaming environment taking place on our very own Earth (Gaea or Gaia is the ancient Greek word for Earth) but is set 42,000 years into our past during a time when the Greek and Celtic deities who supposedly created our world were still living out their mythologies that we are familiar with today.
As we work to develop this world, we are also writing content and creating the various pieces that will be needed for the series of sourcebooks that we will be publishing. These sourcebooks will include the following:
Myth Keepers Guide. This book will mimic the overall structure of the most current 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide as produced by Wizards of the Coast. It will not replace the DM's Guide, but rather, it will be an extension of that book but specifically focused on helping Myth Keepers (Dungeon Master or Game Master) to run games within the world of Myths of Gaea. It will contain lore and history for the world of Gaea, optional and expanded rules, descriptions of factions and organizations, and descriptions and capabilities of the legendary and mythic monsters made famous by Greek and Celtic mythology. We will also be including a number of starter adventures to help Myth Keepers begin to tell collaborative stories in this world.
Champion's Handbook. This book will expand on the contents of the 2024 Player's Handbook (WotC), but will focus on the species, subclasses, background, feats, spells, and magic items that are specific to the world of Myths of Gaea.
Gods and Kingdoms. While our website will serve as a repository for all of the Greek and Celtic deities that may be included in any given campaign, this book will focus on a number of primary and secondary deities from each of the two pantheons. Since the planet of Gaea (Earth) is a very large place, we have decided to focus on only the continent of Haeslios (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) for this first campaign environment. As such, this book will explore each of the 22 kingdoms, dynasties, and empires of Haeslios, plus the mythical realms of Tir na nOg (Fae realm), the Underworld (Hades & Tartarus), and the legendary lost city of Atlantis. Future books will explore the regions, kingdoms, and pantheons of the numerous other continents of this big beautiful blueberry we call home.
In the future we are also looking into developing not only additional sourcebooks for the various continents and realms of Gaea, but also some full length Adventure sourcebooks that Myth Keepers and Champions can use to run long-term games and campaign.
Gaean Artisans:
As we work to create and explore the world of Myths of Gaea, it would be foolish of us to think that we could do it without the fantastic talents of the numerous Gaean Artisan that the blessed Muses (Greek: Mousai) have gifted us with. While we we will be dedicating an entire page on this website to our amazing Gaean Artisans, I wanted to take a moment to give thanks and credit where it is due.
Our beautiful official character artwork was lovingly crafted by the talented hands of Dustin Baker (a.k.a. Dusty Grafix). If you would like to commission artwork from Dusty, you can find him at https://www.tiktok.com/dusty_grafix.
The very first piece of artwork that we had commissioned for Myths of Gaea, was the extremely gorgeous and detailed faerie goddess, Danu. This artwork was created by the very talented Argentinian artist Constanza Velasquez who can be found at https://www.artstation.com/coco_dew.
Our signature red dragon artwork (the origin of our tagline "I am the Legend Beyond the Dragon's Tale!") was the work of the talented Indonesian artist "Artmazigh" on the Fiverr website who can be found at https://www.fiverr.com/artmazigh.
And finally, our fabulous company logo was designed by the amazing artist from Bangladesh, Mst. Sahana, who can be found on the Fiverr website at https://www.fiverr.com/sahanabg
Gaean Community:
In the beginning, there was an idea. With a little daylight, careful feedings, and a lot of love, that idea has grown from being merely a thought, to a full-fledged company and product in development. But like with our Gaean Artisans, we couldn't do any of this alone.
You, our dear readers, friends, family, consumers, business contacts, and fans are the reason why all of this has grown past being just an idea. You are the reason why we here at RPG Storytelling LLC have chosen to create Myths of Gaea and to help you tell your own TTRPG stories. We love you all!!!
I would like to start the rest of this section by thanking a few incredible people without whom none of this would even be possible:
Amy Flowers (Saoirse Deepwoods): my incredible wife, confidant, and business partner.
Christi Meinke (Gray): a fellow Game Master, and a great source for generating game ideas.
Katie Wahler (Freya Valisson): our resident knight in shining armor and a beautiful reminder that our mental health must always come first.
Casey Santana (Arius): a friend and source of so much D&D lore, idea generating, and quotable quips.
Cassie Skerlak (Greer Graybane): the best reason for us being an international (Canada) phenomenon.
Kate Uebner (Ari Pickett): our source of eternally fun chaos and a fabulous resource for incorporating educational elements into our products.
Recently, I have had the wonderful opportunity to begin developing some business contacts to help expand on the awareness of the educational and mental health benefits of tabletop roleplaying games such as Myths of Gaea and Dungeons & Dragons. I would like to introduce you to two of these contacts and invite you to explore the opportunities that they offer as well.
Tabletop EDU (https://www.tabletopedu.org/)
Tabletop EDU Nonprofit, a 501(c)(3) organization, empowers learners and educators through innovative, educational tabletop gaming experiences. Our educational modules are designed to develop academic skills, socioemotional competencies, and foster critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork.
We believe that tabletop gaming offers unique and transformational learning opportunities, and our goal is to make these experiences accessible and effective for all.
Through the creation of resources, training, and a supportive community, we strive to create a positive impact on learners' lives, helping them develop the skills they need to succeed now and in the future.
The Quest: Virtual TTRPG Therapy (https://www.thequesttherapy.com/)
With a TTRPG skills group, you can step into a world where you can learn vital mental health maintenance skills, develop life-changing confidence, and confront dragon-sized problems in a world of adventure, then take it all back to the real world for a better you!
Our virtual groups typically start with 4 group members, or PLAYERS, and are led by one or more GAME MASTERS (GMs). Your Game Master is ready and eager to make your experience an amazing one! Each group meets weekly to play in a 5e D&D campaign where virtual tabletop roleplaying meets narrative & play therapy as well as skills-building groups.
Twitch & YouTube:
As with all new groups, our viewership is starting a little slowly, but the more we stream, the more you get to know us and the more we grow. Below I am including our current streaming schedule and a link to our Twitch channel so that you can come watch our adventures and occasional silliness.
Sometimes we are a little slow to get our Myths of Gaea and Trapped in the Mists recordings processed and uploaded, but you can find the past recordings of each of these livestreams over on our YouTube channel. You will also find music playlists for each of our Myths of Gaea characters and, in time, we will also be including interviews with our Champions, specialists in mythology and lore, and other TTRPG creators, groups, and businesses.
You can find the RPG Storytelling LLC YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@RPGStorytellingLLC. And make sure to like and subscribe so that you can be among the first to know when we upload new content to the channel.
Quotable Quips:
Myth Keeper: "As you begin a scissoring movement with your shortswords . . . "
Saoirse: [player begins giggling] "The Myth Keeper just started talking about scissoring!"
All Champions & Myth Keeper: [giggling and laughter grows to epic proportions because we all know what "scissoring" refers to.]
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