Tabletop Commons - Erie

Tabletop Commons Presents: Durrick Valorase (No. 006)

"Hear me now—me don’t build gear to go conquerin' de world. Me just build it so you don't go dyin' in it."

Role: Human Artificer
Vibe: Easygoing, soft-spoken, methodical, supportive.
At the Table: Playing Durrick means being the ultimate team player and problem solver. He approaches the battlefield like a workspace, focusing less on personal glory and more on ensuring his allies are fully equipped for survival. At the table, this translates to a tactical utility style—using his infusions to buff his frontline's armor, dropping tools right when the rogue needs them, and using his structural knowledge to manipulate the environment. He handles high-stress standoffs with a calm, reassuring presence that keeps the entire crew grounded.

This character began as a hand-drawn line art sketch on physical paper, scanned and digitally colored. See comments to see the original ink!

🦾It’s official: Board games are a major workout for your social health.

Research from the University of Plymouth and data highlighted by The Conversation prove that modern tabletop games inherently foster deep human connection, lower stress, and build inclusive community spaces. (links in comments)

Welcome to the intro of my new series! Over the next few months, I’ll be using my academic research background to dive into the data, mechanics, and cognitive science behind why gaming is so good for us.

Look out for a series of events coming from us VERY soon to help you get those social muscles strengthened in real life. You won't want to miss them! 🦾

Tabletop Commons Presents: Rowen Drake (No. 005)

"Mind de’ cape, mate! Mind de’ cape! That be me lucky piece, that one. Look at me—do I look dead to you? Not once while wearin' this, I tell ye"

Role: Human Swashbuckler Rogue
Vibe: Sharp, quick-witted and quick reflexes, a bit silly and immature with a hidden depth.
At the Table: Playing Rowen means acting before thinking - both with words and with guns. Rowen has a high-risk, high-reward style where positioning is everything—using panache to taunt targets and exploits to disarm them before they can even chamber a round. As the fastest draw in the Mistvale, his speed and silliness belies a deeper wisdom he tries hard to hide.

This character began as a hand-drawn line art sketch on physical paper, scanned and digitally colored. Original line art in comments!

Something is brewing at Tabletop Commons! 🎲 We're busy working from scaling our custom wood-cut minis to prepping brand-new RPG one-shots, the preparations are in full swing. We’re building the world so you can play in it soon. Like, follow, and Stay tuned—the adventure starts shortly! ⚔️📜

Something is brewing at Tabletop Commons! 🎲 We're busy working from scaling our custom wood-cut minis to prepping brand-new RPG one-shots, the preparations are in full swing. We’re building the world so you can play in it soon.

Like, follow, and Stay tuned—the adventure starts shortly! ⚔️📜

Tabletop Commons Presents: Serene Moongale, Deck Druid (No. 0004)

Role: Deck "Wizard" for the Pirate Hunter Crew of "The Relentless" (Actually a wood elf Storm Druid)

"You called the tea 'stormin' hot.' I have been watching the cup for three minutes. There is no precipitation, nor is there a localized pressure drop. It is merely... at a high temperature. Why must we involve the weather in our descriptions of items in which we are annoyed?""

Vibe: Curious, thoughtful, contemplative, quiet

At the Table: Serene takes what others say literally, and they question everything. They are curious and care deeply about their crewmates, but such emotion and empathy are easily missed by those who don’t know them. Serene prefers to fight in wildshape, saving their magic for last when things become most desperate.

This character began as a hand-drawn line art sketch on physical paper, scanned and digitally colored. Being one of my first drawings, I experimented with colored pencils on the physical paper and drew a shot of Serene in action. Swipe to see the original ink and colored pencil versions!

Tabletop Commons Presents: Captain
Kael Ryvann (No. 003)

Role: Half-Elf Ranger, Captain of the Pirate Hunter
Crew of "The Relentless"

Quote: "My dear fellow, it causes me a great deal of
spiritual distress to hear my crew labeled as common
privateers. We are contract lawmen, and it would be a
tragedy if, during a heavy Mistvale fog, my lookouts
were to stormin' miss your distress flares because they
were still so distracted by your insults. It would be a
cold, dark night to find yourself a keel-scraping
bottom-feeder with no one to hear your screams."

Vibe: Focused, Stern, Matter-of-fact, paradoxically
sophisticated

At the Table: Kael is used to giving commands & having
them followed with exactness - when on deck. In
meetings with his officers, he listens first, speaks last.
And when his crew is in danger, he shoots first, asks
second.

This character began as a hand-drawn line art sketch
on physical paper, scanned and digitally colored.

🚨🚨Update 🚨🚨

First off, a huge thank you for all the love and support. We feel encouraged by your response. Thank you also for your patience.

A few things to know about us-
1- We are risk aversive. We've considered a business like this off and on for over a decade. We have finally decided to go for it and every day we are learning more and more. But we will not take on more than we are able before it makes sense to do so. And right now a leased space doesn't make sense.

2- We've been consulting with a lot of business mentors locally. At their universal recommendations, we are starting with an incubator phase- that's hosting pop-ups and events in others' spaces. We have some great things planned for summer and hope you'll come out and see what we are all about.

3- This incubator phase will make or break the concept. If you want to see a space like this in the community, we need your support. Support can be sharing events, engaging with posts like this, or coming out to activities, and lots of other things. and to be totally transparent- the bigger and stronger the response, the sooner we can have a dedicated space.

4-It'll still be a few weeks still before we announce where you can find us this summer. We need to finalize insurance, contracts, and bookings and we are doing this as fast as we can.

5- We are committed to serving our Erie community and can't wait to slay dragons with you, party it up with fun games, and maybe create a little competition between friends.

Thanks again for your patience. If it feels a little whiplashy, I assure you we feel that too and are frustrated by it. But we are willing to pivot as needed to bring this concept to fruition.