Tag: tarot of the trunk

June Update: The Ragged Ringmaster and Gone Solo: Troika Finale!

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Tarot of the Trunk

The GameCrafter divination sale for Tarot of the Trunk has come and gone. I sold a good number of decks and expansions, and I’m pleased! My total profit is miniscule in comparison to the amount of time I’ve spent on this project, but I’m glad that decks and cards are going out to people. This was also the first time I tried advertising, on both Facebook and Reddit. There is a lot to learn on that front, but I was glad to get my feet wet and get an idea of how that process goes.

The Ragged Ringmaster

I also did my first live readings at a local market last weekend! It was circus themed, so I came up with a ringmaster character. The plan was to do one card readings from my patchwork deck to engage with people and talk about Tarot of the Trunk, and also to sell full readings, Multiverse of Magic cards, and loose tarot and oracle cards from my patchwork collection. While I didn’t make enough to cover what I spent on my table fee, I did sell a couple readings, and I got to talk to a lot of people about Tarot of the Trunk. I also sold quite a few Multiverse of Magic cards, and it was fun to see people responding to the card even if they weren’t particularly interested in patchwork tarot.

I’m not sure what the way forward is on this, for both Tarot of the Trunk and for reading tarot for others. While I did enjoy doing readings for people, the weekend was very draining overall. For now, I’m going to redirect energy away from tarot-related projects for a while and focus more on Science Fantasy Awesome (see below). Then when I’m feeling fresher I’ll decide where I want to go next.

Science Fantasy Awesome

My unbroken streak of weekly solo RPG videos continues! This last Wednesday, I released the final episode for Gone Solo: Troika! which wraps up that series for now. I’ll talk about what’s coming next for the channel in next week’s video, and I don’t want to spoil it here, but rest assured that weekly videos will continue!

I also recently had a request to share the tables I used for solo play for Troika so I made a blog post here.

I’ve also had a request for a video for general tips for solo play, but I’m still gathering my thoughts about that topic.

I’m really please with how the Troika campaign turned out and I’m really excited about what’s coming next!

BIG Tarot of the Trunk announcements! (Number 5 is REALLY exciting)

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There are a whole bunch of exciting announcements for Tarot of the Trunk, so I thought I’d share a big post with all of them.

1) New Guidebook

The Guide to the Trunk is complete, and I’m so pleased with out it turned out. It’s available as a free download on the Tarot of the Trunk page, both a digital version and a printable version to make a little booklet. I also made both versions as downloadable files on all The Game Crafter pages, including the expansions. And speaking of expansions:

2) New Expansion: The Hidden Pocket

As I was putting the guidebook together, I realized there were some gaps in the “Suit of Odd” that needed filling, so: new cards! Plus, making cards is just so much fun. The Hidden Pocket is the third and final (maybe?) expansion for Tarot of the Trunk, and adds ten new cards to the collection.

3) New Products: No Box version and Random Trunk Pull

I realize the idea of the Trunk is the thing that ties the whole project together, and is a really cool and fun concept, but for print-on-demand it adds a big expense that raises the cost of the final product. Plus, most magpie tarot enthusiasts probably already have storage solutions they like. So, I decided I wanted to make a no box, cards only version of the main deck at a lower price point to see if people would be interested.

Order the No Box version here!

Also, The Game Crafter has a really cool random booster pack feature that I’ve been wanting to try out, so I made another new product called Random Trunk Pull. This draws ten random cards (a mix of Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, and Strange) from across the main deck and all the expansions. It’s for people who just want a small sample of the deck or like mystery packs.

Order Random Trunk Pull here!

4) The Game Crafter Tarot and Divination Sale

Tarot of the Trunk, the No Box Version, and Random Trunk Pull will all be a part of The Game Crafter’s site-wide Tarot and Divination sale May 23-29, 2023. Here are the sale prices:

This will be a great chance to pick up some cards if the Trunk has been on your list!

5) The Four of Cloaks will be in the Alleyway Tarot!

Tarot of the Trunk is inspired by The Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund, the largest tarot Kickstarter of all time. Now Seven is back with a new mismatched tarot deck project called The Alleyway Oracles, and the Four of Cloaks from Tarot of the Trunk’s Suited Death expansion will be featured in the Alleyway Tarot deck, one of three new patchwork decks! The Kickstarter launches on May 16th, and you definitely don’t want to miss it!

I’m so excited to give back to this community that I love so much and to be a part of such a massive collaborative project. It’s like a dream come true.

Pwew! That’s all the Tarot of the Trunk news for now!

April 2023 Update: Fan Art, AlleyFOLK projects, #NeverHelpful

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Science Fantasy Awesome

My solo RPG actual play channel, Science Fantasy Awesome, continues to grow. As of the writing of this update, we are at 60 subscribers! It’s still a long way from where I want the channel to be and where I imagine it can go, but all the positive comments that keep coming in from across social media warm my heart and encourage me. I’m having so much fun exploring the story of the Troika campaign and the videos are a blast to make, so I’m glad that others are enjoying them as well.

Plus, we have our first fan art! Check it out!

On the left, we have Magnaza, the dancing wizard hunter by the very talented Chaocalypse. So thrilled that he took the time to make this beautiful image. Go check out his solo RPG and drawing stuff, it’s great.

On the right, we have the frostbug, drawn by my child, who was inspired after watching Episode 6: The Frostbug. Both of these images make me so, so excited.

Tarot of the Trunk guidebook

Progress continues on the guidebook for Tarot of the Trunk. Here’s a little preview snippet:

Am I having fun writing this? I might be having a little bit of fun. Working on the guidebook has inspired me to get back into swapping tarot cards for my patchwork deck. It’s always a blast to get tarot cards in the mail! Patchwork tarot is so much fun, which leads me to my next announcement…

AlleyFOLK Projects

I recently (yesterday, actually) reached out to Caleb, who had previously been organizing the AlleyFOLK projects but had stepped away several months ago, if I might take over and get the Alleyman’s Tarot fan-made booster projects up and running again. Things moved much quicker than I anticipated and I am now in charge and overseeing completion of several stalled projects. There’s a lot to get organized, but I’m taking it slow, prioritizing, and taking things one project at a time. I love the fan-created community content and I’m so glad to be a part of bringing it all back to life!

#NeverHelpful

And here’s a little clip from a commercial for Network Affiliates I got to be a part of!

March 2023 Update

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I’m reorganizing my internet presence to simplify things on my end, with the Ragamancers blog as the center of all my projects. This update is to let people know about what I’m currently working on, and potentially cross-pollinate and unify my separate audiences. 

Science Fantasy Awesome

My biggest new project is the YouTube channel Science Fantasy Awesome, where I am improvising serial science fantasy stories using role-playing games as inspiration. This has been a lot of fun for me because it brings together so many of my interests: acting, improvising, storytelling, game design, graphic design, editing. I’ve been learning a lot and adjusting my process as I go to keep improving video quality.

Tarot of the Trunk guidebook

When I released Tarot of the Trunk last summer, I decided to go ahead and publish the deck without a guidebook. I would still like there to be a guidebook, however, so I’ve been working on it slowly, but it’s too soon to say when that will be available. 

Updated Acting Reels

shot from the short film “Koselig”

It’s long overdue, but I finally updated my acting reels. I’ve worked on a lot of projects in the last few years (way more than I could show in such short videos) but I’m proud of how these turned out.

Short Play “Goblin Mode” for Curious New Voices

with some of the Curious New Voices playwrights. photo by Mario Gonzalez.

I got to write a new ten-minute play called “Goblin Mode” for This Time, a night celebrating the 20th anniversary of Curious New Voices back in January. CNV is a youth playwriting program that I participated in back when I was in high school. It was so special and very meaningful to circle back, reconnect with some of the playwrights, and see all of the amazing plays!

All the Links

Here’s a linktree with links to Ragamancers places all over the internet in case you’d like to follow along on your app of choice!