What’s Happening with Taletell
Y'all, we have been booked and busy as we prep for 2025. One of the biggest changes is that our team has started streaming once a week over on Twitch! We’ve also been starting to get more into editing clips from our shows to post on YouTube shorts. So the next time you watch one of our APs or one shots, you can help us out by making clips of your favorite moments! You might see them show up as you’re scrolling through your YouTube feed.
You can join us on Wednesdays at 7:30pm EST for co-working streams - where we’ll provide the good tunes, cozy (and sometimes chaotic) vibes, and pomodoro timers - or streaming TTRPGs or roleplay related games. Most recently Calamity finished up the first campaign in Wildermyth (shoutout to the survival of Leeroy Jenkins) and Emilee has been cultivating a farm in Stardew Valley. We’re also planning on having panels, interviews, and guest streams, so we'd love to see you over there!
Don’t forget that you can catch up on previous shows and events by checking out our YouTube channel! If you've got a cozy afternoon, we have an entire playlist full of BIPOC joy from our Star Wars Weekend event last year. Whether you’re looking for something uplifting, hilarious, or emotionally impactful, you can head to YouTube to listen to the beautiful stories that these tables have created together!
Upcoming Events
Star Wars 2025
We’re coming back with another Star Wars weekend in 2025! More information on how to join us for this year's event will be shared soon. Keep an eye out on our socials - we'll be sharing shorts from some of the games from 2024!
Camp Taletell
Sneak preview for newsletter readers. Camp Taletell is coming. Keep an eye on this space and on our socials for more information on what to expect. It’s going to be a ten day “goodbye summer, hello Halloween” themed charity event later this year. Stay tuned!
As always, we want to highlight a project for you to check out and support. This month, we’re taking a look at the Griot Anthology hosted by ThoughtCrimes Games. Below is their description of the project:
“The stories we share and the platforms we provide others for telling stories are more important than ever.
Thoughtcrime Games believes that Imagination is For Everyone, and in keeping with that spirit, we are releasing the first Griot Anthology, a zine celebrating the brilliant work of black TTRPG game designers. Utilizing the powerful medium of roleplay, this anthology holds space for intersectional blackness in the past, present and future, giving us the opportunities to tell our own unique stories and share our unique perspectives.”
The anthology is up for preorder right now and contains works from:
- Basil Wright
- BrieAnna Allen
- Bluu Smith
- Laura Simpson
- Navaar Jackson
- Quinn Murphy
- Shan Wolf
- Tyrone Webster Reid
The anthology is edited by Misha Bushyager and Quinn Murphy.
There’s a whole range of vibes and games in the anthology from solo to group games with a wide variety of topics covered. We’d highly recommend supporting the project and checking out the first Griot Anthology from ThoughtCrime Games!
Choose Your Character!
When making NPCs, one common mistake is fully fleshing out a character your players end up disliking or even ignoring. Instead, keep them simple at first. Give any NPC 1 to 3 traits and trust in the power of improv to give them life! For example, I have an NPC who is a human man who believes he’s a bird. He has no name and, so long as the players don’t hurt his bird friends, we’re good! Now, bird man is likely not your quest giver, but he does have a collection of things in his nest. Maybe one of those things is a lost artifact or a mysterious tome. Keep in mind, you may have to invent on the fly! So make a list of important items and information for your story and, if it seems fit for a character your players love to have it, then give it to them! While you can’t control who your players ultimately love or hate, you can control where information and items appear.
That’s it for this month! Make sure that you check out our Patreon or follow us all over to stay up to date on what Taletell Hearts is up to!
As always, thank you for reading. Take care of yourselves. Tell brilliant, brave stories. We’ll see you around the Library.
