
Now I know what you are all going to say. It has been a WHILE since I have last written an article, this last few months has been such a whirlwind of other projects for me! But I've been hoping to settle down and start finding time to write more content for this blog. I've truly missed it. And what better way to start up again than to do my favourite thing - spotlight an amazing upcoming project!
I was absolutely stoked when Eren approached me to talk about Eren's Arcane Compendium Of Characters because I've been an avid Patreon subscriber (check out the ArtVenturing Guild here), fan, and follower of this project for quite some time! For those that don't know - Eren Angiolini (They/Them) is an exceptionally talented, professional TTRPG illustrator and comic colourist. You may have seen their work for Critical Role, Justice League and/or Doctor Who embedded within the nerd-space! And they've been developing this amazing project for a couple of years now, so let's have a look at it!

This Crowdfunding project will feature:
- 135 Character Cards, each with their own backstories, personality, flaws, goals, secrets, and extra fun facts!
- Two expansion packs up for grabs as add-ons - 'Magical Companions', and 'Spooky & Haunted' that will each contain 15 more cards. - As a bonus, 'Magical Companions' will be available at no extra charge for the first 48 Hours to those who back a Physical reward!
- A gorgeous luxury edition that is designed to look like an Ancient Tome with a magnetic box lid!
- A commission tier that will allow you or your pet to be immortalised and included as part of the deck! - Plenty of stretch goals - including extra expansions, character cards, and VTT implementation!

The campaign is due to go live tomorrow 11th July 2023 (TOMORROW!) and will run until August 11th. I highly recommend signing up beforehand because doing so will grant access to 4 free character portraits as digital downloads!
There are a huge number of reasons why this project appeals to me personally, and why I wanted to highlight it. The most obvious one of all is that this is an exceptionally helpful tool for GMs that are, like me, constantly required to pull NPCs from thin air. When I run a game, I like the world to feel rich and varied. I like giving my players the feeling that I have accounted for and imagined the existence of every place, object, and NPC they encounter (I am a self-titled Lore Mistress after all, I like to live up to my name). The reality is however, that players will stumble across many a town guard, shopkeep, ruffian, and random adventurer and will suddenly want to know everything about them. And this is where being able to pull a card from a deck that has all of these answers pre-written for them AND you becomes very useful in being able to provide some context for the character, and thinking up plot hooks. Players can use them too in order to provide inspiration for their own character, or NPCs found within their back stories, which makes them incredibly versatile!


I really love the fact that these cards are written to be system agnostic. This means that they can be drawn for any game that has a fantasy setting! I've always been fond of D&D 5e, but there are such a variety of games and systems that have roots in the fantastical, and I'd absolutely love to see these used in many of them! The focus lies on the character's role-playability, and they are purposefully both classless and customisable to whichever game or system they are being implemented within! The different categories and expansions will also mean you'll be able to find an NPC for almost any need and setting, be it an existing one or a homebrew creation!

I have to say, the thing that particularly drew me to this project was the huge range of diversity found within the characters themselves. Many fantastical settings and NPCs fall prey to having an abundance of stereotypes within them, and so I absolutely love the amount of effort that Eren has put in to make the characters so different from each other. They have also hired a professional Cultural Consultant to ensure that the deck remains respectful and appropriate, and the design of the cards is being created while consulting with dyslexic and neurodivergent folks in order to remain accessible.
All in all, I'm thoroughly impressed and absolutely itching to back this project! Make sure to sign up before the campaign launches, and back early, so that you don't miss out on those amazing offers! And check out Eren Angiolini's Twitter or subscribe to their Patreon in order to find out more information!
Happy to read your blog, Kat!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts of this project! The characters portraits are more than beautiful. I will keep an eye on this awesome project.
Take care, Kat!