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The Rookery

The Rookery

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Homebrew Worldbuilding with Sage

Ca-caw! It's Andy Law here to introduce our guest for today, the absolutely brilliant Sage, a wonderful person who many of you may already know as a player from my LAWhammer streams. Sage is joining us today to discuss Homebrew Worldbuilding - why your personal worldbuilding matters.

Sage is the host of a charity stream called Why You...

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Chaos Rising

I'm off to see the Chaos Rising premiere today, all thanks to Loremaster of Sotek.

The event takes place in Duncarron Fort here in Scotland, and it's going to be awesome.

If Warhammer fan films sound fun to you and you'd like to help the creators, please take a look at their 2023-07-22 08:13:05 +0000 UTC View Post

Tomorrow on Inside the Rookery: Adrian Tchaikovsky!

Ca-caw!

Andy Leask here to introduce this week’s guest. This book nerd is feeling blessed, as we once again have a terrific writer of speculative fiction joining us Inside the Rookery to share some sneaky insights into their creative process. This week’s guest is an incredible, award-winning author of science fiction and fantasy: Adrian Tchaikovsky!

We were meant to catch up with Adrian at Cymera 2023, but real life (COVID) go...

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Inside the Rookery: The Art of Design

Hello, fellow Rooks! Andy Law here.

After almost two months of hospital visits, pain-killers, and body-related horror that could bring even the most die-hard Cthulhu fan to their knees, I'm back online and able to sit at my chair again (the reasons why I couldn't are best left unsaid).

So, I'm joining everyone else today. We figured we'd ask all of you for what topic we should discuss over on Discord View Post

The New Old-school with Kelsey Dionne

Ca-caw! You all know that us folks in the Rookery are oldskool by nature, so today's show certainly makes us happy! We're inviting Kelsey Dionne of The Arcane Library Inside the Rookery to discuss The New Old School, or how to build fresh and exciting RPGs using old-school themes.

Why?

Well, Bee runs So Below, a Pathfinder West Marches campaign, and are quite the ex...

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Marching Westwards with Bee Scerri

Ca-caw! It's going to be a good one today, fellow Rooks! We're inviting Bee Scerri back Inside the Rookery (our original intro to them is here, and our brilliant vid with them from season 1 is 2023-06-17 15:02:12 +0000 UTC View Post

Remembering Russ Nicholson VoD and Important Links

If you missed today's tribute to Russ Nicholson, catch it here:
Remembering Russ Nicholson with Ian Livingston, Marc Gascoigne, James Wallis & Dave Morris (ITR S5) - YouTube

Also, please check the following links for loads of great Russ goodies:

If you want to see more of Russ's art, check his blog here:
2023-06-15 22:45:58 +0000 UTC View Post

Remembering Russ Nicholson with Ian Livingstone, Marc Gascoigne, James Wallis, and Dave Morris

Do join us at 7pm UK today when we celebrate the work of the extraordinary artist Russ Nicholson.

https://www.twitch.tv/rookerypublications

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgukZ7OZ3...

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Ship of Fools: Developer's Diary 2

Hello, fellow Rooks!

Andy Law here to welcome you to the second of our Developer Diaries for Ship of Fools. The first can be found here. I'm writing this a little later than expected due to yet more health complications. #NotFun I'm now on antibiotics and receiving a lot of sympathy from my family, which is lovely. Even if they are la...

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Inside the Rookery Special: Remembering Russ Nicholson

Russ Nicholson, who died last month, was one of the great figures of British fantasy illustration in the 1980s and 1990s. His distinctive style is immediately recognisable in some of the cornerstones of the field: the Fighting Fantasy series including the Warlock of Firetop Mountain; the Fiend Folio, the only UK-originated book published for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons; the Fabled Lands series by ...

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Inside the Rookery: Crafting Epic Space Operas with Tom Toner

Ca-caw!

Andy Leask here with a little post to introduce this week’s guest: Sci-fi author Tom Toner!

Tom’s a lover of far-future space opera, and a fellow lover of Iain Banks' Culture series. As I’ve mentioned at length - most recently when chatting to Gareth L Powell (About Writing with Gareth L Powell (ITR S5:E4) - YouTube) - I’m a huge fan of Banks’ post-scarcity utopia and so it’s bo...

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Inside the Rookery: Worlds Within Worlds with Anna James

Ca-caw, my feathered friends!

Today going to be a good one! We're joined by author and journalist Anna James to discuss Worlds Within Worlds, using other IPs in your original creations.

As always, if you have any questions you'd like to ask, either post them live during the show and Lindsay will bring them up for discussion, or dive into the Rookery View Post

Introducing Anna James.

Ca-caw!

Andy of the Leask variety here to introduce this week’s guest, the most excellent Anna James!

Anna is, amongst many other things, a terrific author, best known for her Pages & Co series. Though suitable for (and aimed at) younger readers, they’re beloved by bookworms of all ages. Their central conceit is bookwandering, by which means characters can enter into the worlds of books, or br...

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Inside the Rookery: Wargaming Characters with Chris Handley

Ca-caw!

Andy Leask here to introduce this week’s guest, though really, he needs no introduction! Chris Handley is a long-time friend of Inside The Rookery, having joined us in the past to talk about various things, including the increasingly topical topic of AI.

Chris is a writer and podcaster, and has written for an array of different tabletop RPG settings, including Vampire: the Masquerade and Changeling: the Lost View Post

Inside the Rookery: About Writing with Gareth L Powell

Ca-caw, my feathered friends!

We're really looking forward to today's Inside the Rookery as best-selling, award-winning Gareth L Powell is just brilliant, brimful of sage advice for aspiring writers.

As always, if you have any questions you'd like to ask, either post them live during the show and Lindsay will bring them up for discussion, or dive into the Rookery 2023-05-13 14:42:35 +0000 UTC View Post

INTRODUCING GARETH L POWELL

Ca-caw!

Andy Leask here, with an exciting intro to this week’s Inside the Rookery guest: the great Gareth L Powell! Gareth is a bestselling writer and an active, positive presence on social media. An award-winning author, he has written 17 published books, and has become one of the most-shortlisted authors in the 50-year history of the British Science Ficti...

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Streaming About Games with the Loremaster of Sotek

Andy Law here to introduce our brilliant guest this week: the Loremaster of Sotek. I recently appeared on his Lorebeards podcast and had an absolute ball. His joyful enthusiasm for the Warhammer world and everything it offered was infectious, and soo...

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Ship of Fools Developer Diary 1

Hello, fellow Rooks!

Andy Law here to welcome you to the first of our Developer Diaries for Ship of Fools. As many of you know, we here at Rookery Publications are working on finalising our first full adventure, Ship of Fools, and are also working on a complete RPG campaign to follow it, The Coiled Crown.

In preparation for the release of Ship of Fools, ...

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Actual Play Starter Set with Markeia McCarty

Andy Law here to introduce our guest today, and I'm beyond excited for this one. For those of you who caught Andy, Lindsay, and me streaming part 1 of the Enemy Within past night, you'll soon understand why. Our guest, Markeia McCarty (she/they), has a lot of experience in this area.

Markeia is the Community Director for 2023-04-29 14:48:41 +0000 UTC View Post

Season 5 begins with 'Being Gareth Hanrahan!'

Ca-caw, my feathered friends!

Let's start season 5 with a bang! And what better way to do that than by inviting the wonderful Gareth Hanrahan inside the Rookery to talk about the nigh-on uncountable number of TTRPG books he's written, his novels, and the links between them both!

As always, if you have any questions you'd like to ask Gareth, either post them live during the show and Lindsay will bring them up for discussion, or dive into the Rookery 2023-04-22 16:04:00 +0000 UTC View Post

INTRODUCING GARATH HANRAHAN

Welcome to Season 5 of Inside the Rookery! James here to introduce you to our first guest: Gareth Hanrahan.

Gareth is probably the most prolific games writer the UK has produced, with literally hundreds of titles for Mongoose Publishing, View Post

Instructions for today's Masterclass.

Ca-caw, fellow Rooks!

Here's how to join in with today's Critical Cartography Masterclass from Andy Law.

Andy will stream live presenting 7 different points to consider when creating labels for your map locations. He'll also be taking questions as he goes.

As with previous classes, we're using YouTube. You can view it at this link:
https://youtube.co...

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Critical Cartography 9: Locations!

It's Wednesday! For the last time before Season 5 of Inside the Rookery starts THIS SATURDAY, it's time for Andy to jump in with another mapping masterclass. Today at 7pm UK time, we're covering location markers and feature locations. How to mark them on your maps and how to keep them interesting.

After today's class, we'll also be uploading all the files to Brazen Rooks+ so you can play with them yours...

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Instructions for Today's Masterclass

Ca-caw, fellow Rooks!

It's that time again! Here's how to view today's Critical Cartography Masterclass from Andy Law.

Andy will stream live presenting 7 different ways to tackle your coastlines. He will also take questions as he goes if you have any.

As with previous classes, we're using YouTube. You can view it at this link:
https://youtube.com/liv...

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Critical Cartography 8: Coastlines!

As Wednesday rolls around again, it's time for Andy to jump in with another mapping masterclass, and this time he'll be coasting, as he's mapped enough of these to draw them in his sleep. Yes, today it's coastlines!

At 7pm our mapping maestro, Andy Law, goes live with another 7 different ways map, this time covering where land meets sea on your fantasy maps.

Our previous masterclasses have been a blast. For those of you who missed them, Andy explains the step-by-step process for s...

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Instructions for Today's Masterclass

Ca-caw, fellow Rooks!

Time to explain how to view today's Critical Cartography Masterclass from Andy Law.

Andy will stream live presenting 7 different ways to map forests. He will also take questions as he goes if you have any.

As with previous classes, we're using YouTube. You can view it at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQgDJczo...

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Critical Cartography 7: Forests!

It's Wednesday, so that means it's mapping masterclass time!

Today at 7pm our cartographical champion, Andy Law, goes live with another seven different ways map, this time covering forests on your fantasy maps.

Like last week's tutorial on mountains, this masterclass is aimed at beginners and old hands alike and is designed to be duplicatable by anyone, regardless of skill level. By the end of it, you will be single-handedly reversing climate change in your fantasy worlds as trees...

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Instructions For Today's Masterclass

Ca-caw, fellow Rooks!

Time to explain how to view today's Critical Cartography Masterclass from Andy Law.

Andy will stream live presenting 7 different ways to map mountains. He will also take questions as he goes if you have any. By the end of the stream, you should have everything you need to map your mountains.

As with previous classes, we're using YouTube. You can view it at this link:
2023-03-29 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post

Critical Cartography 6: Mountains!

It's map time!

Today at 7pm Andy Law goes live with seven (yes, SEVEN!) different ways to depict mountains on your fantasy maps.

Aimed at beginners and old hands, this masterclass will be duplicatable by anyone, regardless of skill level. By the end of it, you will be mountaineering through your maps like a champ!

The details for connecting to this masterclass go live on this blog at 6pm today. It's available to all Brazen Rooks+ patrons here on Insi...

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MAPPING MASTERCLASSES GALORE!

Are you ready to map?

Four weeks of Mapping Masterclasses are about to begin. Every Wednesday for the next month, mapping maestro Andy Law will guide you through all the core steps of building any fantasy map.

His first masterclass, happening on the 29th March, will guide you through seven different ways to depict mountains on your maps. He will be showing how he created the different styles he used for mapping settings for Games Workshop, View Post