Brian Schaab

story. Then seeing Claver finally brought to justice feels a bit off, because he's so much weaker now.

The trial at the end is a bit preachy, and again an area where I felt a bit let down.

All in all, a good series with lots of potential that never fully realized it.

#fantasy #booksky

4/4

chunk of this book takes place in a section of the world that is not on the map.

The final moment with Helena severing Claver's ties to Ramayah didn't really seem to land for me. I think this is because it's a very indirect action to the villain that has been haunting the heroes the whole

3/4

a bit let down by how everything resolved.

*** Spoilers ***
It is nice to see Helena, the MC, actually start to take a more active role in things, but even then Vonvalt still feels like the real MC.

I don't normally care too much about maps in fantasy books, but it felt very odd that a good

2/4

The cover for The Trials of Empire. It features a person wearing elaborate red robes and holding a staff with a large, round ruby at the end. Behind them, is a statue of a humanoid figure with two snakes heads and a long curling snake body.

Book 8 of 2026: The Trials of Empire by Richard Swan.

The 3rd book in the Empire of the Wolf series.

7.5/10. I kept waiting for this book to take the next step into being amazing, but instead it just continued to hover around good. There's so much setup leading into this last book, and I felt

1/4

Thinking about it more, I think I should've just kept them from starting it until they had more info. Some leading questions to get them thinking about what info they should be trying to gather. I think that would've made it better

Two of the players had done a negotiation before in a different group. So they definitely knew. The other two hadn't. Yeah I probably should've been dropping hints. But also I feel like that's a bit of a given in the situation.

Could've done to make it more concrete without just like info dumping all about this npc and orc tribe. What have other people done in these kinds of situations?

#drawsteel #ttrpg

Had our first negotiation with this group of players last night. It went fine, but definitely could've been better. The players didn't really take their opportunities beforehand to learn much about what the orc chieftain wanted. So it made the negotiation a bit too ambiguous. I'm not sure what I

Hey, we've launched a giveaway for our Vampire Class for Draw Steel! (as it is VERY close to being fully released!) For a chance to get the PDF of the product, head to our Discord server (discord.gg/tV6QSrU3n5), to the "giveaways" channel in the community section. Good luck! 🧛 #DrawSteel #RPG #TTRPG

Really? I find some of those cantrips and flair spells add a ton to my TTRPG characters. But it feels bad to only have options for spellcasters.

What are your favorite out of combat TTRPG abilities? Particularly, things for martials. I'm struggling coming up with good options for them.

#drawsteel #ttrpg

Now that the 2nd Jam of the Timescape is over. I'm back to working on what I'm calling "Class Perks" for Draw Steel. Class Perks are fun, out of combat flair-like abilities to help give Draw Steel heroes more unique options out of combat. These are like your Druidcraft, Prestidigitation, and others.

I find that my players who are "most bought in" like to play the more complicated systems, and the players who are there to hang out want to play the least complicated. Which makes sense. It's just hard to find a group where everyone is on the same level.

pick something where they can easily "do their thing" each turn and move on.

I liken it to other board games. They want something they can pick up, read for the first time that night, and play the game. Again, that's fine. But I think that kind of player will struggle with Draw Steel.

While cynical, I kind of agree. I don't think I'd say "most", but there are definitely a certain set of players who are that way.

And TBH, that's fine. Ultimately, you're playing a game with friends and hanging out. If someone just wants to be part of that hangout, that's fine. They just need to

That's rough. Only so much you can do as the Director and at some point you need player buy-in.

Are you doing the delian tomb? Did you restrict what abilities they have? But yeah, it's hard when you have players that don't know what they have. I'd just tell them to do their signature ability when in doubt

great books. It will be a little bittersweet to see this story come to an end. I just hope Hobb is able to give it the amazing ending such a great story deserves.

#fantasy #booksky

4/4

generic summary of the song. If we got the whole song written out, I almost certainly would've been crying while riding the bike at the gym.

I am sad that this means I am onto my last Elderling book. When I first started the Farseer Trilogy, I had no idea I would get sucked into all of these

3/4

him.

*** Spoilers ***
I love to see Fitz finally recognized for all his achievements and get welcomed as a true Farseer Prince. I rarely care about songs in books, but I really wish we were able to get the actual words to Starling's song about Fitz. I already was tearing up just reading the

2/4

Cover for Fool's Quest. It features an illuminated Q. Inside the Q, is a potion containing red dragon's blood, laced with the Silver. The background is blue, and the potion rests on a red wood table. On the right hand side, is a black crow with white pinions in its feathers. The crow carries a golden thread in its beak.

Book 7 of 2026: Fool's Quest by Robin Hobb.

The 2nd book in the Fitz and the Fool Trilogy.

9/10. I really liked this book. So much of it feels like a culmination of all the previous Elderling books. This one also is a return to Fitz at his best and is why people end up caring so much about

1/4

Feel better!

Hit 80k words in the 3rd draft of my current WIP. Pretty close to getting done. Should definitely finish by my 2/28 deadline.

#writing #writingcommunity

Thanks, I'll check them out. Never heard of them!

He's a main, important character throughout the story, and I just didn't really feel sorrow for his death. Something seemed missing. It seems like there's a ton that has to be resolved in this last book, so we'll see how it goes.

#fantasy #booksky

3/3

story.

*** Spoilers ***
The story really heats up in the last 1/3 with the battle, Helena's infiltration of Keraq, the demons, and then the final saving of Vonvalt. Then there's the reveal of Roza's treachery and the truth to the Kamil kidnapping.

I felt like Bressinger's death didn't land.

2/3

The cover to The Tyranny of Faith. It features a woman clad in heavy armor, holding a longsword point down in front of her. Behind her, is an angelic-like figure with the dead of a stag and wings reminiscent of a bat.

Book 6 of 2026: The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan.

Book 2 in the Empire of the Wolf series.

7.5/10. I like that Helena finally starts to take a more active role in things going on in the story. The cast of Bressinger, Vonvalt, Sir Radomir, and Heinrich works pretty well throughout the

1/3

Give me any and all fantasy series recommendations! Preferably completed series published in the last 5 years, but I'll take any. #fantasy #booksky

And.... never mind. Last minute cancellation. Been happening a lot lately. 🤬

Draw Steel session tonight! Depending on what the players do, we might have our first Negotiation and first Montage Test for this group. Interested to see where it will go.

#drawsteel