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Thursday, February 26, 2026

As Requested, a Retraction




On January 16th, 2026, Chris Stodgill posted a post regarding Ken Whitman.

Ken has objected to the post in question on the grounds that, and I will quote:

The article contains statements that falsely assert or imply that I have engaged in fraudulent or criminal conduct, including but not limited to referring to me as a “KickScammer” and stating that I may “scam people again.” In context, these statements convey to a reasonable reader that I have engaged in criminal fraud.

I have never been charged with, indicted for, or convicted of any crime in any state or federal court.

Statements that characterize an individual as having committed scams or engaged in fraudulent activity, when false, constitute defamation per se under Kentucky law.

You are hereby placed on notice that these statements are disputed as false and defamatory.

Ken is correct. He has no criminal record that I can find. 

As the owner of Tenkar's Tavern and not the author of said article, I am not now, nor have I ever, referred to Ken Whitman as a "Kickscammer." Again, as far as I can ascertain, Ken has never been charged criminally, let alone for criminal fraud.

The post in question has been removed from The Tavern.

For those unaware, Ken Whitman is currently suing me in the Kentucky Civil Court. That is public record. 

Stay tuned for updates on the civil action.

Sunday, February 15, 2026

B/X - Carousing For Your Campaign












The B/X Carousing Procedure


FRONT (3x5) — B/X CAROUSING (HOUSE PROCEDURE)


1) SPEND (gold is gone):

   Light:    50 gp × level

   Standard: 100 gp × level

   Hard:     200 gp × level


2) INTENT (matters on high rolls):

   Rumors / Contacts / Heat Dump / Blow Off Steam


3) ROLL:

   2d6 + CHA


4) BAND:

   2–5  TROUBLE

   6–8  MIXED

   9–11 GOOD

   12+  GREAT


5) BASE RUMORS (always, by spend):

   Light 1 / Standard 2 / Hard 3


TROUBLE (2–5): +Roll 1 Trouble

   Heat Dump: reroll Trouble once (must take new)

   Steam: roll 2 Troubles, take worse


MIXED (6–8): choose 1

   Complication OR Owed Favor OR Contact-with-a-Want


GOOD (9–11): add by Intent

   Rumors: +1 rumor OR upgrade 1 to STRONG

   Contacts: +1 Contact

   Heat Dump: reduce Heat 1 step

   Steam: small boon


GREAT (12+): add by Intent

   Rumors: +2 rumors OR (1 STRONG +1)

   Contacts: Strong Contact + boon

   Heat Dump: reduce Heat 1 step + safe contact

   Steam: bigger boon


OPTIONAL XP:

   XP = 10% of gold spent (cap 200 × level)

BACK (3x5) — QUICK TABLES


RUMORS (d12)

1 Odd coins buyer       2 Paying for fresh graves       3 Missing guide/map

4 Watch attention        5 Noble servant hiring           6 Shrine lit at night

7 Rival crew hurt         8 Healer wiped out                 9 Road “curse”

10 Locked cellar         11 Torchlight in tower            12 Bounty on the impossible


TROUBLE (d12)

1 Brawl enemy                                               2 Pickpocket (lose +10% spend)

3 Public scene (-1 reactions 1 week)            4 Owed favor (fixer)

5 Property damage (+50 gp×lvl or feud)     6 Bad bet promise

7 Offended faction                                         8 Watch questions

9 Duel challenge                                            10 Hangover day (lose morning)

11 Tagalong NPC                                          12 Marked by rivals


Saturday, February 14, 2026

Factions in the OSR - Dungeons/Urban/Wilderness 


Original Video: https://youtu.be/npZHmv9OeNU


THE THREE QUESTIONS THAT BUILD A FACTION FAST

Whenever you make a faction—dungeon or wilderness or city—ask three questions:

What do they want?

Not “what do they believe.” Not “their backstory.”

What do they want this week?

What do they have?

Soldiers, gold, information, magic, a monster, a legal charter, the only clean well in town—something real.

What are they afraid of?

Because fear creates urgency. Urgency creates action. Action creates play.

Write those three answers on an index card and you are 80% done.

Now you add the one thing.

Who do they hate… and who do they need?


Faction Card Template (steal this):

Name (short, usable at the table)

Want (one sentence)

Have (one sentence)                                                                  

Fear (one sentence)

Tell (how the players recognize them fast)

Then add:

One ally

One enemy

One job they’d pay for

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