Tales From the Tavern Interview with Riches and Liches - Shadomain

NOTE: the opinions expressed in interviews are those of the guests, not necessarily those of shadomain.com

Today we have an interview with Riches and Liches, a TTRPG YouTube Lore Channel This channel is relatively new but has gained a large following in a short amount of time. Let’s hear what they have to say!

How did you get started in TTRPGs?

I started “playing” Dungeons and Dragons in my childhood at around the age of ten. And by playing, I really mean that I used every dollar of my allowance and a lot of begging my parents to acquire the books and modules that had “cool cover art”. I would then spend hours reading these tomes of fascinating lore cover to cover.

Looking back, it clearly set the stage for what I enjoy most to this day, creating lore videos and I still own most of those formative books and the memories they generated today.

What is your favorite TTRPG? Which one would you suggest for a new player?

I am almost exclusively a dungeons and dragons player. Having started in the AD&D THACO days and progressing through the various versions, it is and always has been my “to go” system.

It is not that I do not find the other systems compelling; Pathfinder really tugs at my 3.5 edition love and some of the other systems such as Shadow of the Demon Lord and 13^th age seem very promising.

However my history and knowledge over the decades with D&D make it hard to really consider a switch.

For any new player considering a TTRPG, I have to admit that fifth edition is a good starting place. While I have my own issues with 5e, they are easily addressed with homebrew and the core fifth edition rules make it easy to learn and acclimate new players to a genre that can be daunting.

My only advice would be to branch out once you have the core rules mastered and see what the other versions or even systems have to offer.

What Game System have you not played that you really want to try?

What a great time to be a TTRPG player, there are so many alternatives and options to fit most play styles. As mentioned, Pathfinder is always in the back of my mind and is easily the most advanced and current system for anyone that loved D&D 3.5e as I did.

However, as a player/DM who values lore above all else, the Warhammer Fantasy RPG really grabs my attention. If ever there are more hours in my day that will likely be where I start my journey of new discovery!

Do you prefer playing TTRPGs online or in person, and why?

I am a big fan of in person!

That is not to say that online does not have its place, especially for those that do not have local friends or family to play with. And as a “tech guy” in my day job I appreciate both the technology and convenience of online play.

But I have a large dedicated “dungeon” and really love the atmosphere and camaraderie that is generated when you share a room with new or old friends… plus snacks!

Do you prefer homebrewing campaigns or pre-written adventures? What advice do you have for homebrewing settings or stories?

OK confession time!

I have not run a pre-written module “by the book” in almost a decade and even the last time I did (Ravenloft) I customized it pretty heavily.

So obviously that makes me a strong homebrew advocate and I have two different worlds that I have been building on since the launch of fifth edition.

The best advice I can give a new, aspiring or even veteran world builder is actually twofold:

· First – Your world building should be flexible and fluid! Players always surprise and spending weeks on an encounter that is immovable or inflexible will end up either frustrating the content creator or forcing a railroad, both of which are unwanted.

· Second – Balance – Any homebrew effort should be double checked for balance. A good DM is the party’s biggest fan and so making sure the content you homebrew creates a fun and memorable encounter as opposed to frustration should be tantamount to your world building goals.

What got you interested in creating a YouTube channel? What preparation did you do before launching your channel?

Like many TTRPG fans I listened to a lot of content providers in the past and am so thankful there is such a thriving community. However I felt like I could add something new and different to the space by fusing the elements I enjoyed most, the history/lore, art, storytelling and writing.

While I definitely did try to prepare in advance, I quickly learned that there were many things that I did not know and likely would not know until I jumped in and learned through trial and error. The biggest eye opener for me is the actual time commitment to produce, edit and deliver a single video, it’s a staggering amount of time that I was not “prepared” for… lucky for me I really enjoy the effort!

For those who haven’t seen your YouTube channel, could you describe the content and any plans for future content?

Riches and Liches is dedicated to producing definitive Dungeons and Dragons lore with both a storytelling and artistic spin. Most of our videos have in excess of 200 custom images to enhance the story and information.

Our current project, The Iconic Lore Series aims to provide double digit videos and many hours each on specific high profile Places, People, Events and Evils.

For example our current series focuses on The Nine Hells and will end up with something approaching 20 hours of lore information and we plan to do a series like this across every plane and historic lore topic available.

Your YouTube channel is pretty new, but you have over 2000 subscribers. In a fairly crowded space, how did you build an audience?

My hope is that I produce good content and just found my place among many great content providers. I built the channel to be community driven so I really try to focus on being as interactive as possible with my audience and it has been a very rewarding experience thus far.

Do you have any advice for TTRPGers about succeeding in YouTube?

Yes!

Do what you love and do it because you love it first and foremost. YouTube content creation is the textbook definition of a “labor of love” and if you do not have a passion for it, you will burn out pretty quickly.

If you concentrate on just putting out quality content, everything else will eventually fall into place. At least, that has been my experience, but I make no claim of subject matter expertise here… I am still learning daily!

Do you have plans for Riches and Liches outside of YouTube? Live Streaming? TikTok, etc?

Live Streaming is on the radar… somewhere.

I will share a quick, funny story about my “over preparation”. I actually built a full studio for live streaming / talking head videos before ever creating a single piece of content that has – to date – never been used!

So if we do live stream in the future, we have the space and setup.

Do you have any TTRPG projects in the works aside from videos?

Not at the moment, not enough hours in the day as it is. I know a lot of content providers like to create source books, so perhaps down the line (way down the line) but right now I just want to produce compelling lore content on the greatest game ever made. J

Where can people find you?

Riches and Liches YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@RichesandLiches

Email – richesandliches@gmail.com

Twitter – https://twitter.com/richesandliches

What else would you like people to know that we haven’t asked?

I think we covered the gambit; I really appreciate the opportunity to share my love of Dungeons and Dragons lore and contribute in some small way to one of the best hobby communities in existence.

Thanks so much to Riches and Liches!