Fiction · Playable Worlds · Dice Ranger

Worlds Where Power Has a Price

Arjade Productions is the handmade storyworld and publishing studio of Raymond J. Hicks.

Enter character-driven worlds built for readers, players and creative outsiders, where oaths carry weight, power leaves scars and every story opens the possibility of play.

Character-driven fiction and tabletop worlds by Raymond J. Hicks, for readers, players and creative outsiders.

Enter Mystic Times Browse Freebies

Read the world. Bring it to the table. See what changes.

How Will You Enter?

Arjade Productions brings fiction, tabletop play and creator-led worldbuilding together under one roof. Start with the part that interests you.

Painted portrait of Rhynessa, a Mystic Times character

Read the Stories

Outsiders, oath-keepers and reluctant heroes in worlds without clean choices.

Browse Stories Tabletop dungeon terrain with miniatures

Play the Worlds

Adventures, maps and one-shots built to be adapted and made your own.

Explore Playable Worlds Paint brushes and a paint-stained mug on the hobby desk

Follow the Work

Dice Ranger, the Chronicle and the work of turning old ideas into playable worlds.

Explore Dice Ranger
Two Mystic Times characters face each other with drawn swords in a sunlit forest

The Flagship World

Enter Mystic Times

Mystic Times is a dark-edged fantasy world of gods, monsters, broken power and outsiders trying to do the right thing inside systems that rarely deserve them.

Its stories begin with people under pressure:

  • An acolyte searching for a missing friend.
  • A paladin without the proper seal.
  • A ranger listening to warnings no one else can hear.
  • A god afraid of what he may become.

The world is large. The doorway is human.

Begin with Rites of Passage Play a free Mystic Times adventure

Three Places to Begin

Choose the path closest to the way you already enjoy stories.

Begin with a Story Cover of Mystic Times: Rites of Passage

Rites of Passage

A Mystic Times novella about friendship, magic and the moment everything begins to change.

For fantasy readers and Mystic Times newcomers Read Rites of Passage Begin at the Table Cover of Dice Ranger Magazine, issue 1

Dice Ranger

Part zine, part process diary: fiction, play reports and tabletop resources.

For readers, players, writers and worldbuilders Explore Dice Ranger Begin with an Adventure Cover of Extraordinary Expeditions

Extraordinary Expeditions

Story-rich fantasy adventures with flexible locations and memorable hooks.

For Game Masters and tabletop players Browse Adventures
Dice, cards and potion bottles laid out on a table Dice Ranger Magazine cover

Part Magazine · Part Process Diary · Part Invitation

Pull Up a Chair

Dice Ranger is the editorial, hobby and community imprint of Arjade Productions.

It gathers fiction, adventures, play reports, creator notes, maps and selected contributions from people who make interesting things.

The aim is not to create the loudest community in the hobby. It is to build a thoughtful creative table where readers, players, writers and makers can take part without the posturing, pile-ons or noise that too often follows online spaces.

Read quietly. Contribute something. Tell us what happened at your table. All three count.

Read Dice Ranger Explore the Community

From the Working Desk

Follow what Raymond is writing, rebuilding, mapping and testing now.

Watch the Workshop Video thumbnail: This Hobby Is Saving My Life, Vlog 001

The Hobby No One Talks About

The first Arjade's Rangers vlog, from the painting desk.

Watch the Workshop From the Archive Painting of Saraahd the White, a pale witch among dark trees

Saraahd's Secret Shrine

A free entry-level Mystic Times adventure: a shrine, a mystery and room to make it your own.

Download the adventure
Cover of Mystic Times: Rites of Passage

A Free Place to Begin

Start with Rites of Passage

A missing friend. A young acolyte. A power she does not fully understand.

Rites of Passage opens Mystic Times through friendship, danger and consequence, without requiring you to learn the entire world before the first page.

Enter your email and receive the novella free.

Browse the other freebies