Tenkar's Tavern

Thursday, August 5, 2021

Press Release - Webbed Sphere, Inc. Acquires Long Time Game Publisher Flying Buffalo, Inc.

https://flyingbuffalo.com/pages/the-flying-buffalo-press-release

Corbin, Kentucky (August 4, 2021) - Webbed Sphere Inc. announced today that it finalized acquisition of pioneering, award-winning game publisher Flying Buffalo, Inc., best known for the Tunnels and Trolls role playing game and bestselling Nuclear War card game series.
The deal was finalized July 31 with the estate of Flying Buffalo founder Richard Loomis. Loomis created the play-by-mail game Nuclear Destruction in 1970, and founded Flying Buffalo with Steve MacGregor in 1972. The company initially focused on running play-by-mail games, and later became well known for publishing the second-ever role playing game Tunnels and Trolls, originally designed by Ken St. Andre, starting in 1975. The Scottsdale, Arizona company is currently the oldest active publisher of pen-and-paper role playing games in existence.
“Flying Buffalo and Rick Loomis hold an esteemed position in the history of gaming, and we are proud to now be a part of that legacy,” said John Ward, CE
legacy,” said John Ward, CEO of Webbed Sphere. “Flying Buffalo has thrilled generations of gamers over the past 50 years, and it will make a great compliment to our Toy Vault and Mchezo brand lines. I am excited about what the future holds.”
Since its founding, Flying Buffalo published many popular board games and roleplaying game titles including: Tunnels and Trolls, Nuclear War, Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes; Death Dice, Ace of Aces, Lost Worlds, Monsters! Monsters!, Imperialism, Origin’s award winning Citybooks and a series of role playing supplements that included the famous Grimtooth’s Traps. The company was also groundbreaking in its release of the first solo role playing game modules using it’s Tunnels and Trolls system, starting with “Buffalo Castle,” written by Rick Loomis and published in 1976.
“It's always hard when your child finally grows up and leaves home, but I'm looking forward to a bigger, brighter future for Tunnels & Trolls under the organization of Webbed Sphere,” said Ken St. Andre, creator of Tunnels and Trolls. “May T&T spread even further to the greater world than it already has, and may Webbed Sphere make all their saving throws going forward!”
Douglas Malewicki, the inventor of the Nuclear War™ card game in 1965, said he’s excited about the opportunities the purchase of Flying Buffalo represents.
“I’m excited and really look forward to working with the new Flying Buffalo team,” Malewicki said. “I definitely want to help ensure that Nuclear War continues to improve, evolve and thrill new generations of gamers. The fun begins!”
Specific announcements about Flying Buffalo properties will be forthcoming in the near future. The company plans to work diligently with retailers and distributors to make sure products are in stock and available to the public.
Flying Buffalo also plans to be an exhibitor at Gen Con, to be held in Indianapolis Sept. 16-19, and will release more exciting news as the show approaches.
About Webbed Sphere
Webbed Sphere Inc. is a management and holding company for numerous ventures including online retailer Troll and Toad, home decor brands Darware, Decorae and AuldHome; game and toy publisher Toy Vault, and jigsaw puzzle manufacturer Mchezo. Its array of companies also specialize in property acquisition and development, business and consumer fulfillment services, liquidation outlets, and hobbyist gardening supplies.
About Flying Buffalo, Inc.
Flying Buffalo, Inc. is a publishing company best known for the second ever role playing game distributed to the mass market - Tunnels and Trolls. It was founded in 1972 by Rick Loomis and Steve MacGregor as a play-by-mail game company, but also published numerous popular role playing games, card games, and gaming supplements. It is located in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Kickstarter - FloofQuest - Hassle in the Quagmire - 5e, Swords & Wizardry

Hassle in the Quagmire: An introductory Swords & Wizardry and 5e adventure of wizard Floofy Familiars Trying to save their swamp!

Bad Mike and I just wrapped up tonight's Talking Crit LiveStream with Lloyd Metcalf as our special guest. Lloyd sprung a surprise on us when he told us he was going to go live with the FloofQuest: Hassle in the Quagmire Kickstarter during our LiveStream! He did and he funded at his base $500 goal in about 30 minutes.

Lloyd and his Kickstarters are consistently well done and one time. He really sets the bar that other Kickstarter creators should be striving to hit. I backed for 5 copies of FloofQuest, as I plan on hooking my niece Shannon up as well as some of her friends :)

FloofQuest: Hassle in the Quagmire is 5 bucks in PDF, 11 bucks (plus shipping) for the Print plus PDF.

Hassle in the Quagmire, an adventure in your own froggy floof home! FloofQuest is a simplified one-shot adventure for young or new players to RPGs. In FloofQuest you play one of many, and many-to-come, Floofy Familiars. A Floofy Familiar is an alternate critter summoned forth by the well-known spell, Find Familiar. These adventures are based in the froggy realm where these critters are summoned.
Just hop on in with pregenerated froggy characters. Everything you need to play is right in the short, easy to follow, introductory module. All the rules are based on simplified, basic 5E concepts or Swords & Wizardry Light (You choose in the survey).
A FloofQuest is a short, one-shot adventure that is played in a two-to-four-hour session with minimal rules and maximum storytelling fun. We wanted to create a fun, new way to play our favorite RPG with minimal preparation that maximizes imagination. These cute froggy floofs need your help to save their home in the Floof Swamp!

You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Deal of the Day - Over the Edge Third Edition

In the mid-90s I came across RPGs that allowed me to see RPGs differently. They touched on settings or situations that I had never encountered prior. There was one, Lost Souls, that showcased the recently deceased.

Then there was Over the Edge, which seemed a bit like a standard RPG meeting the X-Files while taking LSD. As you can rightly guess I never convinced my group to play it and for that, I am truly sorry.

Normally 19.99 in PDF, until tomorrow morning Over the Edge Third Edition is on sale for 9.99.

Over the Edge at a Glance
A fantastic cornucopia of fringe science, conspiracy, and hyper-reality. The island of Al Amarja is a rich sandbox to be filled with your craziest and most entertaining ideas.
Everything old is new again: New narrative rules improve storytelling. New character traits propel drama. Every conspiracy, character, and location is given a fresh twist.
Designed by Jonathan Tweet, lead designer of Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, Ars Magica, Everway, and 13th Age.
Welcome to the Ultimate Democratic Republic of Al Amarja
During your stay with us, please remember that Liberty is Job One, Disarmament Means Peace, It's Polite to Speak English, and, of course, Paranormal Activity is perfectly legal.
Thank you for your consent.
The Edge is the weirdest city in the world. Get into trouble. Question your place in the crazed multiverse. Transcend mortal limits. Join a cult. Fight a baboon. Along the way, you might find out who really controls humanity. Unless, of course, you've been working for Them all along.
Over the Edge is the classic RPG of counter-culture conspiracy, weird science, and urban danger. For its third edition, the game comes roaring back in a completely reimagined relaunch by its original creator. Everything old gets a new take. Nothing is a retread. Every conspiracy, every neighborhood, every major gamemaster-character is portrayed with a new spin. It's not “25 years later.” Everything on the Island is reborn to surprise new and existing players alike.
At the heart of Over the Edge third edition are the nine districts of the Edge, each with a unique flavor, colorful characters, memorable locales, and a mélange of bizarrity ruled over by a patchwork of cabals openly tolerated or empowered by the all-powerful anarchic State. Behind this public face of the city, however, there is a secret world of conspiratorial factions, strange fringe abilities, cutting-edge technology, and cross-reality incursions.
The result is a crazed sandbox setting which is infinitely receptive to whatever offbeat and outlandish ideas the players and gamemaster choose to pour into it. Over the Edge adds a final dash of madness with the “GM's Secret Bag of Tricks,” a dozen fringe concepts and a gaggle of colorful characters, each of which can completely transform your version of the Edge or serve as the nucleus around which your entire campaign will form.
Take the Leap: Gameplay Basics
Fast, dramatic character creation that's laser-focused on creating dynamic, active characters. Player-defined traits quickly establish what characters can do, and each PC's Trouble & Question force characters into personal crucibles that drive story.
A simple 2d6 resolution mechanic uses a lightning-fast comparison of level and difficulty to generate rerolls instead of managing modifiers through addition and subtraction.
Inject shocking, unexpected outcomes into the narrative through good twists, bad twists, and “twist ties.”
Three strikes and you're dead. But unless you're in danger of your third strike, you can safely take big risks, electrifying gameplay with dramatic, exciting moments.

You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 52, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

Swords & Wizardry Light - Forum