The Tavern Chat Podcast has Over 20k Downloads! Thank You!

Three months ago, when I saw what Jason, Tim, Matt, and others were doing with the Anchor Podcast format, I figured I'd give it a shot myself. I didn't have plans to make it a daily thing. I had high hopes that within six months, assuming I'd last that long, I'd be averaging at least 100 downloads a day. 

Three months and 20,000 downloads later The Tavern Chat Podcast is averaging over 210 downloads per day.

I'm as stunned as anyone :)

As The Tavern Chat Podcast has grown, so has the number of The Tavern's Patreon Backers. We've picked up eight in the last month, coinciding with the growth of the podcast. I can't thank the backers enough. They help keep me motivated.

Gaming news, rants, Kickstarters, OSR system reviews, freebie overviews, fundraisers and more, all on a daily basis. 95 episodes of your OSR Bartender.

Tomorrow night I'm trying something different. I'll be interviewing a Kickstarter Creator live on the Tavern's Discord Server. You'll be able to listen to the interview as it happens and ask questions via chat at 830 PM Eastern Tomorrow - I'll put I'm a reminder post in the afternoon.

Thank you :)

PS - Josh is still in need of assistance, and The Tavern, as well as Skeeter Green Publishing, are backing the first $250 raised by The Tavern's Community:

http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2018/08/taverner-in-need-tavern-chat-podcast.html

Kickstarter - Dungeon Challenge Cards - For use with many tabletop RPGs

I'm kicking myself for not posting about this sooner. Phil Reed has some damn good ideas with this simple- and inexpensive - project and it slipped off my radar. I really do need to keep a list of potential blog posts instead of relying on my piss poor memory.

So, what ARE Dungeon Challenge Cards?

Dungeon Challenge cards are 3.25-inch x 3.75-inch hex-shaped cards (this project is for a deck of 24) that a GM may use when seeking inspiration for a dungeon encounter or adventure. The cards are generic in nature and not designed for any one game system. Experienced GMs will have no problems at all incorporating the challenges into the game of their choice.

These cards may be either used randomly -- ask the players to draw a card when the party reaches the entrance to the dungeon -- or, instead, the GM may select a card when looking to run a quick dungeon adventure. Each card includes three phases as well as instructions on how to advance to each phase. You will need to supply a token of some sort -- a coin, single die, or other small item -- to track progress.

Dungeon Challenge cards are not intended for novice gamemasters. The encounters described on these cards do not include monster or character statistics, game mechanics, or detailed instructions for using each card. Dungeon Challenge cards are, in a sense, adventure seeds with a slight twist. These cards are only useful once you've applied some effort to the suggested encounters. 

4 bucks to buy in for the PDF, 15 bucks for the physical reward. Seriously, its a no-brainer to back IMHO. So do so! Let's get this funded. Five days to go and halfway there.

The Tavern Chat Podcast - Episode 95 - Some Creative Thoughts on Offering Content

There was a discussion in The Tavern's Discord Community about what The Tavern does well and where it could do better. Lack of gaming content came up (and I explained why that was) and a suggestion was made to have The Tavern's Community crowdsource the material. And thus, an idea was born ;)

Sometimes you need to think out of the box. A suggestion at The Tavern's Discord server led to some ideas of how to crowdsource monsters and magic items via The Tavern in its many forms, but especially the blogside. 

Link to Episode 95 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/Episode-95---Some-Creative-Thoughts-on-Offering-Content-e22389

tenkars-tavern.games/JBfund

tenkars-tavern.games/Discord

tenkars-tavern.games/patreon

Wayward Kickstarter - Far West - Missing Drop Dead Deadlines Since 2011

Gareth missing a deadline might as well be a drinking game. Potential problem? Alcohol poisoning.

Here's the challenge - stop with the fucking Twittering and actually write something longer than 240 characters at a time (or whatever Twitters current limit is).

I gave Gareth some slack when he said he was going to the Open d6 system, hoping the change would spark something within his creativity, but I can see I was wrong.

What's the excuse this time Gareth? Dog eat your laptop? Another pet die? Power outage for the last 3 weeks? Twitter get your tongue? Or are you too busy writing for the Star Trek RPG to fulfill obligations that are over six years old?

But hey, at least you do make some Far West related tweets (if you cut back on the political tweets and drama you would have completed this years ago):

Not that you do any Far West related WRITING...

Taverner in Need - The Tavern Chat Podcast Episode 94 - Josh Beckelhimer

One of the things I am most proud of when it comes to The Tavern and its community is that the community certainly takes care of its own in times of need. Today, the one in need is Josh Beckelhimer and his family.

From the Beckelhimer Family Gofundme page:

The other day, when my husband was driving home from work, the check engine light came on in the car. The car suddenly seemed to have issues changing gears. We took it down to the shop to have it checked out, and the car needs a new transmission. They said that the car was clearly well taken care of and that it was nothing that we could have prevented. They said that unfortunately sometimes these things just happen.  

We have been going with one car for quite some time, which was challenging in itself, but now we have no car. I am on maternity leave, so money is tighter than it usually is, and now we have no way to get back and forth to work or to get our kids to their doctor appointments, etc. Asking for money is really hard for me, but our original quote was $5300. We got a second quote for lower, but it is still more money than we will have until the first of the year at the soonest. Any help we can get would be greatly appreciated.

They are looking to raise $3500. Here's the deal. The Tavern will match the first $250 donated by members of The Tavern's Community. Comment on this post with the amount donated, and when we hit $250 I'll match it. It's that simple.

Edit: Skeeter Green Publishing will ALSO match the first $250 raised by The Tavern's Community. God, I love you all.

Edit: Josh's blog with lots of free OSR content:  http://fantasticalbeckelhimer.blogspot.com/

We've done this before. This is one of the ways your monies, whether from supporting the Patreon or the podcast or shopping via the various Tavern affiliate links, get put to good use.

Somethings take precedence. Taking care of a member of The Tavern's Community in need is certainly a precedence. Josh is looking to get his car running and family to doc appointments and himself to work. The Tavern will match the first $250 raised by The Tavern's community.

Link to Episode 94 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/Episode-94---Taverner-in-Need---Josh-Beckelhimer-e21s4q

Link to the Beckelhimer Family Gofundme - tenkars-tavern.games/JBfund

Kickstarter - The Expanse Roleplaying Game (AGE Ruleset)

I haven't read the books but I've caught the first two seasons of The Expanse on demand and oh my God, what a great binge watching it was. To find out that the series of books the TV show is based on was in turn based on an RPG campaign? Awesome. And not at all surprising. I thought to myself "this would make a great RPG Campaign!"

Now we have The Expanse Roleplaying Game Kickstarter. Its come full circle.

The Expanse Roleplaying Game brings James S.A. Corey’s award-winning series of science fiction novels to the tabletop. Using the Adventure Game Engine (AGE) rules found in Fantasy AGE, Blue Rose, and Modern AGE, The Expanse takes players to a far-future solar system where humanity is divided: Martians, Belters, and the people of old Earth struggle for political power and resources, but even older, alien, forces are stirring in the universe, and human history is about to take an unexpected new turn. The Expanse applies the fast-playing and action-based AGE rules to spaceships, solar colonies, and adventure and intrigue in the far-future, where the actions of the characters may change the course of history! 

As long time fans know, The Expanse was a roleplaying game campaign long before it was a series of novels or a TV show. We are delighted to bring it full circle with this game! And here's the best thing about The Expanse RPG: we've been working on this for well over a year and rules are done! They've been through multiple iterations and playtesting, and we've worked closely with Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham (together, James S.A. Corey) throughout to ensure we are getting The Expanse right.

Best pledge point? 70 bucks IMHO. All you need in print and PDF. Did I mention the Kickstarter is funded at over $316K as I type this?

Even if I never run the rules as written, the source material is worth it for me.

Slightly Older News - Goodman Announces Classic Collectors Reprint / 5e Conversion of X1: The Isle of Dread

Goodman is just now emailing out their Gen Con announcements, so for those that hadn't yet heard about the X1 - Isle of Dread announcement:

The first big news is the announcement of the second volume in our Original Adventures Reincarnated line. The first volume, Into the Borderlands, was the biggest release in the history of Goodman Games. The reception to it continues to amaze us, and we are thrilled beyond belief. And we are very proud to announce that the second volume in the series is…drum roll please…X1: The Isle of Dread! OAR 2: The Isle of Dread will contain scans of the two original TSR publications of Isle of Dread (orange cover and blue cover editions), plus a 5E conversion, as well as interviews with original creators and other special features! We’ve also updated the mapping style of the 5E edition, so it will now feature illustrated hand-drawn maps that bring back memories of the original TSR style. Lead writer Chris Doyle and editor Tim Wadzinski return to the project after doing such a great job on OAR 1: Into the Borderlands. Into the Borderlands is back in print and available, by the way, so check your FLGS or our online store for your copy today! And Original Adventures Reincarnated 2: Isle of Dread is currently scheduled to release in November of this year! We’ll be sure to keep you updated with news about it as it gets closer.

Just some observations on my part:

The Bordlerlands reprint was less than I hoped for. The book was huge but the paper quality was fairly poor - probably an attempt to keep the price down.

November means Gamehole release.

Turn around means this deal was inked well before the Borderlands reprint hit the market.

Eh, I'll probably still pick it up...