Welcome to Donne Caestrum
Join the Story and Explore our Games
Hey everyone!
I am Liam, an aspiring British game designer, writer, history enthusiast, worldbuilder, storyteller, illustrator and content creator. If you’ve found your way here, you’re probably someone who loves exploring new ideas, uncovering fascinating bits of history, and connecting with the deeper story in the world around them. If you want meaningful designs, unending creativity, and the chance to rekindle a sense of wonder, then this is the place for you.
This Substack is a space where I will share my thoughts, discoveries and developments on my many projects. Whether it’s a behind-the-scenes look at my latest table-top game designs, musings on some obscure part of history, or reflections on the joys and challenges of creative work, my goal is to bring you right into the heart of the process.
In this post you will find :
What you can expect from this Substack - the kind of content I want to post, and how often I plan to.
An introduction to Donne Caestrum - who I am and what my business is about.
The Games and projects I am working on, and my hopes for development.
How you can support me and stay up-to-date.
Expectations
I’ll try to stick to the following routine with this Substack, but be aware, things can and probably will change as I become familiar with the platform and my workflow. I am relatively new to creating content on the internet… there’s a lot I have left to learn!
1. The Big Press
My current plan is to release fortnightly in-depths, probably on every other Sunday. These will be longer explorations into my passions and creative process, where we will discuss the chore and beauty of game design, some long lost stories and wild theories from history and legend, and just about everything in between.
2. Weekly Snippets
In between the bigger posts, I plan to write a few short and conversational posts, designed to be quick reads. I’ll aim for about one a week, probably every Thursday to give some time between posts. I’ll discuss whatever challenges crop up from time to time, give some small insights into my projects and how the work is going, and share some interesting discoveries. Hopefully, you are not only able to stay up-to-date, but can be inspired as well.
3. Other Features
Obviously, as a game design business, I want to provide more than just a good read from time to time. I want to use Substack as a hub for a new audience to find my projects, and offer essential access to my work and creative process.
- Project Showcases :
Want to see the plans for my projects, check out the latest release or development showcase, or find out where we are on the development roadmap? There will be detailed breakdowns of every game and project I am creating, in the form of Project Showcases, so you can quickly learn about my work.
- Welcome Concepts :
Not sure what I mean by TTRPG? Unfamiliar with the process of designing a Game? Never heard of the Dark Ages? Not sure who the Romans were? I’ll be including a small roster of educational posts on the site, to explain the ideas and inspirations behind my work and lower the barriers for the uninitiated and eager to learn.
- Old Blog Content :
When I originally launched Donne Caestrum, I thought I could use blog posts and huge essays to generate some kind of interest in my work. But it turned out that spending all my time writing and no time designing games, only to put all of that content behind a paywall, was perhaps a bad idea. As I develop this Substack, I will be bringing over some of those old blog posts and sprucing them up. There are some genuinely good thoughts, explanations and theories in them, and a lot of insight into my process and design philosophy. But have no fear: game development is still my number one focus.
A Little Introduction
So what exactly is Donne Caestrum then?
I have been designing games since I was a young boy - shockingly, I started twenty years ago! For decades, my projects have been my deepest passion, but without the right goals, targeted work, discipline, or even courage, I was never able to turn my designs into something people might buy.
I could have - and probably should have - given up a long time ago. Every time I tried to make something that could take off, I had to sell it’s wings and step away out of necessity. Those projects were always left to rust, abandoned but never forgotten. I don’t want that to happen any more. It’s time to revive that passion and make up for lost time.
Donne Caestrum is me. It is an attempt to make something historic and that is deeply important; to remind people of what truly matters. I hope to build a beloved and recognised brand around the games I make and the stories I tell. I want my creations to finally thrive.
The Projects
Currently, Donne Caestrum has three key projects in the pipeline. My goal is to get all three projects finished by the end of the year, and I have new project ideas lined up to continue into next year, if I succeed.
Caesariensis TTRPG Campaign Guides
Campaign 1 : “Death of Constans”
Caesariensis is a Tabletop RPG set in the later stages of the Roman Empire, c. the 350s AD. Campaign 1 - Death of Constans - follows the story of an assassination force sent by Magnentius the Usurper to kill Emperor Constans. This guide gives you the chance to be part of those deadly plans, either hunting down the Emperor in the south of Gaul, or aiding his escape.
This project has turned into a real bounty of historical knowledge and worldbuilding ideas. If you’re wanting to get into Tabletop RPG’s, or searching for your next great campaign setting, Caesariensis is perfect for you. I think you would genuinely struggle to find a TTRPG setting with as much depth of history or as passionately written, researched and crafted.
Caesariensis comes with it’s own reasonably light ruleset, but it is entirely optional, as the game can be easily adapted to any system or played through very simple storytelling and dice rolling. The Campaign guides provide not just structure for your game sessions, and a walkthrough of a gripping plot, but are replete with information on characters, locations, a sensationally detailed world, Roman history, and potential sidequests you could include for longer multi-session campaigns.
My hope for this project is actually fairly optimistic - I aim to have development in the final stages by July, but I also have quite a lot of pre-release content in the works to encourage interest beforehand.
Realms Reckoning Board Game
Back in 2018, I designed a historic strategy Board Game, set in the tumultuous age of 600 AD, as kingdoms rose among the ashes of invasion and war. Realms Reckoning invited players to take control of one of the many realms of Dark Ages Britain, and try to conquer the lands of your opponents.
Realms Reckoning was very nearly finished and produced all those years ago, but I was forced to retire the project for a while, and realised it needed some serious redesigns. I have now revived the project for Donne Caestrum, and have made massive strides in the redesign process, but we still have much to do. My (hopeful) goal is to have a prototype and make it to the final stages of development by October.
Realms Warriors Trading Card Game
Originally a feature I was trialling to put into Realms Reckoning, the Realms Warriors Cards fit far better as their own individual project. In mid-December 2024, I spent two weeks turning a handful of ideas for military units into a full roster of 118 Units Cards, with stats, abilities, and even a resource system.
Since then, I’ve put a lot of work into turning these into a proper prototype, and have been designing Card Art. 118 pieces of Card Art is a lot of work, and as the extent of my artistic capabilities is in illustration and sketch work, my limits are very much on show. Still, the sketches are all finished, but now comes the long and difficult process of turning them into art. That means actually learning how to use my graphics tablet, and refining my technique and style. I hope this game could be in the final stages of development by June, but we’ll have to see.
The Journey Ahead
I started this Substack to connect with people who share my passions. I’ve always been fascinated by the interplay between history and creativity. My work is all about bringing these elements to life in unique and engaging ways. I want to document my journey, share my thoughts and ideas, and give you an insight into the process.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing detailed overviews and roadmaps for my current projects, and some Welcome Concept posts to help newcomers find their feet.
I’m looking forward to getting this Substack started and introducing Donne Caestrum to more and more people.
- Subscribe :
You can subscribe to this Substack! It’s free to join, and you’ll get all my posts delivered straight into your inbox.
- Explore :
I want the page to be easy to navigate so you can always find what you’re looking for. To find more information about my projects and posts, please browse the Substack page.
- Engage :
I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and feedback. Please leave me a comment or send me a message.