Tonight appears to be movie nite at the Tavern. Just watched GI Joe and now we are watching Legion.
I have high hopes for gaming relevance for Legion ;)
Saturday, March 5, 2011
1990: The Bronx Warriors - Make the Pain Stop!
Amazon Prime now offers thousands of free to stream movies and tv show episodes. While flipping thru last nite, I saw 1990: The Bronx Warriors. I never heard of it, but figured "It's the Bronx, its gotta be cool!"
Let's see... it's an Italian produced movie from 1983, filmed in NYC with Italian and American actors... so yes, there's lots of dubbing of voices. I can handle that. What I can't handle is the actual film locations.
You can't (well, couldn't) see the World Trade Center from the Bronx, but I guess they thought it would make for a good scene, so they filmed shots on the Queens and Brooklyn sides of the East River... you get to see the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge... you get the idea, no where near the Bronx.
But ya see, Da Bronx is No Man's Land.... it's just gangs (except for the scenes with kids playing basketball in a park, or traffic and truck deliveries in the background). Ah, but the gangs... we get a Biker gang with Glowing Skulls (one skull must have had problems - it wouldnt stay lit), a NYC Pimp gang, we get a Roller Hockey gang complete with hockey sticks and really bad uniforms, we have a Tap Dancing Gang with black canes and metallic makeup... we even have a Neanderthal gang (no idea how they survive).
I'd try to explain the plot, but why? I'd ruin the surprise for you. You need to see for yourself just how bad this movie is. My girl fell asleep 15 minutes into it... I needed to see how it wrapped up (it really didn't). Apparently it spawned a sequel... I may just have to search it out, just for shits and giggles ;)
You can't (well, couldn't) see the World Trade Center from the Bronx, but I guess they thought it would make for a good scene, so they filmed shots on the Queens and Brooklyn sides of the East River... you get to see the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge... you get the idea, no where near the Bronx.
But ya see, Da Bronx is No Man's Land.... it's just gangs (except for the scenes with kids playing basketball in a park, or traffic and truck deliveries in the background). Ah, but the gangs... we get a Biker gang with Glowing Skulls (one skull must have had problems - it wouldnt stay lit), a NYC Pimp gang, we get a Roller Hockey gang complete with hockey sticks and really bad uniforms, we have a Tap Dancing Gang with black canes and metallic makeup... we even have a Neanderthal gang (no idea how they survive).
I'd try to explain the plot, but why? I'd ruin the surprise for you. You need to see for yourself just how bad this movie is. My girl fell asleep 15 minutes into it... I needed to see how it wrapped up (it really didn't). Apparently it spawned a sequel... I may just have to search it out, just for shits and giggles ;)
Friday, March 4, 2011
Mini Review - Curse of the Khan (Castles & Crusades)
Castles & Crusades is the game that drew me back to RPGs, so I always look forward to each release (except Crusader - here's hoping the improves). Curse of the Khan is the latest adventure (in PDF) from the Troll Lords, and it's a whopper. It clocks in at around 70 pages. (If you bought a PDF copy of the CKG before the GM Week sale, you should have an email from the Trolls telling you how to get this adventure for free)
The adventure is more like 3 linked adventures, so expect to get at least 3 sessions of gaming out of it. It covers levels 6-11 (although you can scale it lower / higher slightly if need) and it assumes that each of the 4 core adventuring roles will be filled.
You'll have to set your backstory up, or rather flesh out the one that is given, to get the players where they need to be. Not a big deal, but I felt it should be noted.
In addition to the 3 fairly distinct adventures sections, we also get a new PC usable race, 8 new magic items and 15 new monsters. Oh, and maps. 13 levels of maps. Did I say it's pretty well loaded?
From the blurb:
In days long gone, the Crawling Queen, a creature of the abyss, lorded over the lands of man, elf and dwarf. Her reign was terrible and the lamentations of the suffering people carried into the heavens! In time a dwarven prophet, St. Canor, came to their aid and, leading a bold group of heroes, he overcame the Queen and bound her in a temple. He set the bodies of his fallen comrades to guard her and placed wards upon them to imprison her. Over their tombs and her cell, he built a great temple. And there she lay for many eons.
But time passes and all things decay. So it was with the temple. Falling into the ruins came a host of her minions, they threatened to break the wards and bring the Crawling Queen back to the world. Such a horror must be prevented.
But the dangers are far greater than the Temple, for in her tomb beneath the ruins lies horrors unimagined and dangers to pry the skin from mortal men's flesh; and, deeper still, lie the dungeons where the darkness is complete and the horror long buried is come to life.
All this and much more await those willing to accept the challenges offered in The Curse of the Khan. The Curse of the Khan combines fast paced action with challenging role play and mind boggling puzzles at every turn. Including four brand new monsters and a plethora of new magical items, The Curse of the Khan is designed to keep your players on their toes, providing hours of dungeon crawling mind mangling fun!
The adventure is more like 3 linked adventures, so expect to get at least 3 sessions of gaming out of it. It covers levels 6-11 (although you can scale it lower / higher slightly if need) and it assumes that each of the 4 core adventuring roles will be filled.
You'll have to set your backstory up, or rather flesh out the one that is given, to get the players where they need to be. Not a big deal, but I felt it should be noted.
In addition to the 3 fairly distinct adventures sections, we also get a new PC usable race, 8 new magic items and 15 new monsters. Oh, and maps. 13 levels of maps. Did I say it's pretty well loaded?
From the blurb:
In days long gone, the Crawling Queen, a creature of the abyss, lorded over the lands of man, elf and dwarf. Her reign was terrible and the lamentations of the suffering people carried into the heavens! In time a dwarven prophet, St. Canor, came to their aid and, leading a bold group of heroes, he overcame the Queen and bound her in a temple. He set the bodies of his fallen comrades to guard her and placed wards upon them to imprison her. Over their tombs and her cell, he built a great temple. And there she lay for many eons.
But time passes and all things decay. So it was with the temple. Falling into the ruins came a host of her minions, they threatened to break the wards and bring the Crawling Queen back to the world. Such a horror must be prevented.
But the dangers are far greater than the Temple, for in her tomb beneath the ruins lies horrors unimagined and dangers to pry the skin from mortal men's flesh; and, deeper still, lie the dungeons where the darkness is complete and the horror long buried is come to life.
All this and much more await those willing to accept the challenges offered in The Curse of the Khan. The Curse of the Khan combines fast paced action with challenging role play and mind boggling puzzles at every turn. Including four brand new monsters and a plethora of new magical items, The Curse of the Khan is designed to keep your players on their toes, providing hours of dungeon crawling mind mangling fun!
Sale At Lulu - 20% Off
Enter coupon code GIANT305 at checkout and receive 20% off your book order. The code is good thru 3/7/11.
Its kinda like they knew it was GM Week ;)
Its kinda like they knew it was GM Week ;)
When the Game Ends...
Fourteen years ago, I graduated from the Police Academy. It was a great moment, as it marked the true beginning of a great career, but it also marked the end of an era - the end of my gaming group, at least as far as gaming went.
For the first time, I was not going to be off on Sundays (our normal gaming day). Heck, I wasn't going to be off on Saturdays - my new weekend was Wednesday / Thursday. Working steady evenings, there was no way I could game. As my house was the weekly gaming location, a group that had been gaming regularly since high school, over 12 years... ended. I'm not sure we realized it at the time tho'. The campaign was never wrapped up properly.
Thankfully, the group has still remained close friends, even if we don't roll the dice anymore. MMORPGs with voice chat allow us to continue some of the social aspects of our old game sessions, but I do miss my time behind the DM screen. Oh, and filling Ring Dings with canned cheese... those reactions were priceless ;)
For the first time, I was not going to be off on Sundays (our normal gaming day). Heck, I wasn't going to be off on Saturdays - my new weekend was Wednesday / Thursday. Working steady evenings, there was no way I could game. As my house was the weekly gaming location, a group that had been gaming regularly since high school, over 12 years... ended. I'm not sure we realized it at the time tho'. The campaign was never wrapped up properly.
Thankfully, the group has still remained close friends, even if we don't roll the dice anymore. MMORPGs with voice chat allow us to continue some of the social aspects of our old game sessions, but I do miss my time behind the DM screen. Oh, and filling Ring Dings with canned cheese... those reactions were priceless ;)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Mini Review - Knockspell #5 (Swords & Wizardry)
It's aways nice to have another issue of Knockspell to read. Issue # 5 is no exception.
Nicely filled with an assortment of gaming goodness, it hits a sweet spot between adventures and articles.
Actually, the article on how to create adventures using Scrabble tiles as aids still has me scratching my head - the concept works, I just don't understand how anyone thought up the concept... heh
There's a lot of stuff to read in this issue, to be used in S&W, LL or your clone of choice.
Lets see, here's the table of contents for this issue:
Nicely filled with an assortment of gaming goodness, it hits a sweet spot between adventures and articles.
Actually, the article on how to create adventures using Scrabble tiles as aids still has me scratching my head - the concept works, I just don't understand how anyone thought up the concept... heh
There's a lot of stuff to read in this issue, to be used in S&W, LL or your clone of choice.
Lets see, here's the table of contents for this issue:
2 Editor’s Note, Matt Finch
2 Adventuring at Conventions, Tim Kask
3 Teach Your Children, Bill Webb
6 Out of the Bag: Generating Encounters with Scrabble Tiles, Jim Pacek
9 Dark Gods, Al Krombach
12 WhiteBox Weaponry, Richard Lionheart
18 Where Dwells the Mountain God, Bill Silvey
28 Operation Unfathomable, Jason Sholtis
49 Weird Watery Magic of Vats and Pools, Richard Hart
53 Five Portable Rooms, Andrew Trent
56 Magic Items of the High Seas, James E. Bobb and Kim Nicholson
57 ‘Don’t Touch Anything ’: Traps in Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox Edition, Scott A. Murray
59 Sorcerous Servitors, Jason Sholtis
61 NPCs of Note, Rob Hewlett
62 The Bestiary, Matt Finch
62 Legal
63 Forthcoming Publications
You might recognize some of these names from other OSR type blogs.
Good stuff.
Only $4.95.
see? OSR goes to the top of the review pile ;)
Are Your PCs Rock Stars?
Charlie Sheen is a bit over the top lately, especially with his own self-importance (understatement), but how far is he from long term PCs in some campaigns?
Yes, I know the difference between reality and gaming, but think about it. When your PCs hit name level in AD&D, they are living on the edge. They could retire and live off their found treasures for a lifetime, but instead they continue to adventure, face danger, gain even more fame - they must have tiger blood or something ;)
Of course, you can't "win" in AD&D (another recent Sheenism).
Yeah, I'm rambling, but not as bad as Charlie. I'm watching the train wreck, and it seems to be in slow motion... it really is occupying too much of my brain these days ;)
Yes, I know the difference between reality and gaming, but think about it. When your PCs hit name level in AD&D, they are living on the edge. They could retire and live off their found treasures for a lifetime, but instead they continue to adventure, face danger, gain even more fame - they must have tiger blood or something ;)
Of course, you can't "win" in AD&D (another recent Sheenism).
Yeah, I'm rambling, but not as bad as Charlie. I'm watching the train wreck, and it seems to be in slow motion... it really is occupying too much of my brain these days ;)
Looking For GM Week Purchase Suggestions
As I mentioned earlier this week, there is a crap load of stuff on sale during GM Week over at RPGNow. What I'm looking for is suggestions for purchases - I get access to a decent amount of comps, but there is still great stuff that I don't catch right away (I don't get notified of all new products to hit RPGNow).
The next few days is my chance to fill in some holes in my OSR collection. Give me some ideas of what I may be missing (if I didn't review it, and its OSR, I probably don't have it).
Thanks in advance.
The next few days is my chance to fill in some holes in my OSR collection. Give me some ideas of what I may be missing (if I didn't review it, and its OSR, I probably don't have it).
Thanks in advance.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
I Have Soul(s)
As I mentioned before, I've been playing the latest MMORPG - Rift. Don't ask me if it's a WoW killer, I have no idea. I do like it tho. I has the usual 4 man class branches - warrior, cleric, rogue and mage, but strangely enough, the sub classes (referred to in game as "souls") don't necessarily mean that your warrior is a tank, or that your mage can't be a healer. As each character can have 3 souls active from its main class (and swap out others at later levels), you can truly customize your character.
When it comes to Tabletop RPGs, much of that customization comes from the actual roleplaying, which is generally not at the forefront of a MMORPG, even on servers that are Role Play tagged.
Even if every Fighting Man in 0e is pretty damn close on paper, they play different due to player interactions. It is the very nature of the game. 3e gave us feats and skills, and allowed us to further customize our PCs, but it is still the role-play that defines the memories and highlights.
All that being said, I am enjoying Rift. I've found 2 character combinations that work well both solo and in group, so I should be able to keep on around my son's level (and that of my gaming group).
Now I am left wondering if anyone ever tried to convert a MMORPG class pet using class like Necromancer to Tunnels & Trolls, or some other RPG. Damn, I may need to dig out the Everquest RPG (that was OGL based if I recall) and borrow some ideas from there. If only I knew where I stored it.
When it comes to Tabletop RPGs, much of that customization comes from the actual roleplaying, which is generally not at the forefront of a MMORPG, even on servers that are Role Play tagged.
Even if every Fighting Man in 0e is pretty damn close on paper, they play different due to player interactions. It is the very nature of the game. 3e gave us feats and skills, and allowed us to further customize our PCs, but it is still the role-play that defines the memories and highlights.
All that being said, I am enjoying Rift. I've found 2 character combinations that work well both solo and in group, so I should be able to keep on around my son's level (and that of my gaming group).
Now I am left wondering if anyone ever tried to convert a MMORPG class pet using class like Necromancer to Tunnels & Trolls, or some other RPG. Damn, I may need to dig out the Everquest RPG (that was OGL based if I recall) and borrow some ideas from there. If only I knew where I stored it.
Looking For an Old Advenure
With all the stuff going on in great state of Wisconsin, my memory has been partially prodded. I seem to recall an adventure in the pre-3e days, where the theme was the unionization of a bunch of overworked workers. I doubt it was in a stand alone adventure, so it was probably in Dungeon Magazine.
Anyone else have a better recollection? Or is my middle aged addled mind doing things to me again?
Crap, it could have been a Paranoia mission...
Anyone else have a better recollection? Or is my middle aged addled mind doing things to me again?
Crap, it could have been a Paranoia mission...
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
RPGNow GM Sale is Live Thru March 7th
RPGNow and a host of publishers are running a GM Sale from now thru March 7th (next Monday). There's a boatload of stuff marked down 25%, and a good portion is from some the great OSR publishers. In no particular order of preference:
Brave Halfling Publishing - Castles & Crusades modules, Labyrinth Lord supplements and more
Goblinoid Games - Labyrinth Lord and a whole lot more
Fiery Dragon - Get your Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e rules at a reduced price
GM Games - Knowledge Illuminates on sale
NBOS Software - Great mapping programs, amongst other goodies
Troll Lord Games - Finally, the Castle Keeper's Guide at a more reasonable price
White Haired Man - If you run games via Fantasy Grounds, this is a no brainer
Necromancer - Swords & Wizardry Complete and on sale. Need I say more?
Goodman Games - The Grandaddy of Old School
Brave Halfling Publishing - Castles & Crusades modules, Labyrinth Lord supplements and more
Goblinoid Games - Labyrinth Lord and a whole lot more
Fiery Dragon - Get your Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e rules at a reduced price
GM Games - Knowledge Illuminates on sale
NBOS Software - Great mapping programs, amongst other goodies
Troll Lord Games - Finally, the Castle Keeper's Guide at a more reasonable price
White Haired Man - If you run games via Fantasy Grounds, this is a no brainer
Necromancer - Swords & Wizardry Complete and on sale. Need I say more?
Goodman Games - The Grandaddy of Old School
Looking for Thoughts on RPG Campaign Wiki Website... Thingies
I know of two Campaign Wiki Websites: Obsidian Portal and Epic Worlds.
Do any of you use these for your RPG campaigns? Do you use the free versions or the upgraded versions?
Are there other Campaign Wiki Website thingamawops out there besides these two?
inquiring minds want to know ;)
Do any of you use these for your RPG campaigns? Do you use the free versions or the upgraded versions?
Are there other Campaign Wiki Website thingamawops out there besides these two?
inquiring minds want to know ;)
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Trollish Taproom - The British Invasion
Over the weekend I received my first copy of the Tunnels & Trolls 1st UK Edition. This took forever to ship from across the pond, but as it came with Buffalo Castle and Uncle Ugly's Underground, in beautiful condition, and from the same run as the T&T UK edition, so it makes a really nice set and was worth the wait.
Today I received my 2nd copy of the T&T 1st UK Edition rules - I was bidding on it as the price was right, and this made it to me in a week. Woot!
Of course, this means my reprint copy of the T&T 1st UK Edition is now a bit obsolete. I may have to run a contest to give it away. I'm open to suggestions ;)
Today I received my 2nd copy of the T&T 1st UK Edition rules - I was bidding on it as the price was right, and this made it to me in a week. Woot!
Of course, this means my reprint copy of the T&T 1st UK Edition is now a bit obsolete. I may have to run a contest to give it away. I'm open to suggestions ;)
Back to the Grindstone
Today was "Back to Work Day" after my nice Staycation. It's also the first day of the work week, the last day of the month, and the day before a new month - so paperwork galore was awaiting my return. I really appreciated every single moment I could steal to read the latest posts on the gaming blogs I follow.
I also was hit with the realization that I still have a crap load of stuff I want to review, or at least pick over, as I didn't dig thru the pending review pile nearly as much as I would have like. Then again, OSR stuff goes right to the top of the pile when I get them, and it was a good week for OSR releases.
I'm also enjoying a MMORPG for the first time in 2 years or so... time to see if Rift has staying power. It is, most certainly, stealing time from me that would otherwise be spent reading blogs and forums ;)
I also was hit with the realization that I still have a crap load of stuff I want to review, or at least pick over, as I didn't dig thru the pending review pile nearly as much as I would have like. Then again, OSR stuff goes right to the top of the pile when I get them, and it was a good week for OSR releases.
I'm also enjoying a MMORPG for the first time in 2 years or so... time to see if Rift has staying power. It is, most certainly, stealing time from me that would otherwise be spent reading blogs and forums ;)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
What the Heck is "Old School Hack"?
I stumbled across this when I read my latest email from the fine folks at Kobold Quarterly just a few minutes ago... what exactly is the Old School Hack RPG?
I downloaded it, skimmed thru it, and can't figure out if it's an RPG, a quasi-board game... I'm kinda confused as you can tell. You seem to roll characters, but no more then one player per class - which is heavy handed in an rpg, but fine in a board game.
You can check it out here for free. I need to look at this more. Presentation is nice, just not 100% sure what is being presented ;)
I downloaded it, skimmed thru it, and can't figure out if it's an RPG, a quasi-board game... I'm kinda confused as you can tell. You seem to roll characters, but no more then one player per class - which is heavy handed in an rpg, but fine in a board game.
You can check it out here for free. I need to look at this more. Presentation is nice, just not 100% sure what is being presented ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Tenkar's Tavern is supported by various affiliate programs, including Amazon, RPGNow,
and Humble Bundle as well as Patreon. Your patronage is appreciated and helps keep the
lights on and the taps flowing. Your Humble Bartender, Tenkar

Blogs of Inspiration & Erudition
-
-
'Playing Out In The Rocks' Cepheus Engine Rpg DM Workshop & Session Report Three - This session report picks right up where last session left off. Some healing was done via Aesculaptor Mark III unit ( medical/cyber unit via classic Trav...3 hours ago
-
Clock Strike Zero, D&D adventure review - By Bill Petrosky, Matt Sisk, JP Fridy Minor Realm Games OSRIC/5e Levels 2-4 Join a cast of ambitious, fledgling adventurers as they stop if in the bucolic ...5 hours ago
-
-
How to be a Bad Player - Combat Edition - I've written a bit of advice about being a good player, mostly for GURPS. Trying to be a good player is hard. So let's be bad players! It's way easier. Or ...7 hours ago
-
Variant Class: The ______ Fighter + Billy Butcher for LightBox - While posting Yoshimi, Robot Fighter (of *Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots* fame) on Musical Monday, I was struck by how simple and flavorful a "Robot Fi...12 hours ago
-
Witcher Crone Comparison - The coloured version of this Witcher Crone is one that I printed some time ago on my Ender 3 in PLA at 0.08mm. The monochrome one I printed today on th...13 hours ago
-
Non-Combat Solutions - I’ve grown tired of combat. I prepare scenarios and some of them beg for combat, such as a hungry animal or ravenous monster. However, others don’t neces...15 hours ago
-
Character Creation Challenge: C. J. Carella's WitchCraft RPG - [image: C.J. Carella's WitchCraft RPG] We are in the last week of this Character Creation Challenge. I wanted to spend this last week on modern games. Th...23 hours ago
-
[Yoon Suin 2nd Edition] Aphid Man - The 2nd edition of Yoon-Suin will soon be upon us. Flee in terror before its 12 adventure sites, many extra appendices, plethora of random encounter tabl...23 hours ago
-
Nick the Pike, a reintroduction - Who doesn't love a "let me tell you about my character" blog post? ------------------------------ After a disastrous battle, Niccolo found himself unempl...1 day ago
-
D100 Random Apoc Baggage (Fixed repost) - Was accidentally posted unfinished so fixed now Sorry or Invasion day in Australia today Hanging with magpies in underpants Warm & humid but not uncomfo...1 day ago
-
Passion, Pursuit & Evolution - Mpff. Heh, heh. My particular flavour of insanity, as OrwellianHaggis said a couple days ago. Following two different conversations going on this mont...1 day ago
-
Free GM Resource: Smithsonian Open Access - [image: Free GM Resource: Smithsonian Open Access] This week's Free GM Resource is another one of those "*as valuable as you want to make it*" kind of thi...1 day ago
-
Sky-Child and Monster Count - Ok the previous post got us close to fifty non (or less) vilent monster ideas for Goose-Gold & Goblins. I told myself that when I got to fifty I could sto...1 day ago
-
Kickstarter Updates and Fullfilment - *Fulfillment Process* Fulfillment didn't go quite as smoothly I thought it would. The main issue is that I mistakenly thought I could handle this with up...1 day ago
-
Ask the Stars - The Right Questions - As the name might suggest, Ask the Stars relies heavily on questions. While the Signs and Positions give you the answers, they're not much use unless you...2 days ago
-
Miskatonic Monday #59: The Posse - Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for *Call of Cthulhu* under the Miskatonic University Library Associat...2 days ago
-
Weapons distinctions - brief D&D history - If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might know my favorite editions of D&D are B/X and probably 5e, but I like to take ideas from all edition...2 days ago
-
Pestilential Painting: Plague Burst Crawler Part Two - Welcome back to the Vectorium, and the blog's 250th post! This week's hobby time has been spent with Papa Nurgle's servants once more. I've laid down mo...2 days ago
-
Deck of Many Things with a Bonus! - One of my favorite magic items of all time, The Deck of Many Things. I was cruising on Amazon checking out some random gaming trinkets and this one popul...2 days ago
-
Return to the Known Lands Session #7 – Return to the Vile Worm - Date: 10/11/20 PCs: Omes (Half FM 1) Dorful (Elf FM/MU 1/1) Gato (Half FM 1) Hirelings: Arvay (torch bearer) Norm … Continue reading →3 days ago
-
Fifteen Years of Monster Brains! - [image: MONSTER BRAINS LOGO - AERON ALFREY ESIGN] I created Monster Brains fifteen years ago today, January 23 2006. I started the site by sharing the art ...3 days ago
-
A History of Hero Points: Fame, Fortune and Fate - "Hero Points" was the name given by *James Bond 007 *(1983) to a quantified resource players could expend to alter the results of a particular system res...3 days ago
-
3 bold adventurers, 3 dead adventurers - I was feeling some anxiety this morning (the plague being in the land gets to me sometimes) so I decided to distract myself with a couple old Tunnels & T...4 days ago
-
More Fantasy TV: Westeros and Middle-earth - It looks like there will be no shortage of fantasy television shows in the near future. In addition to the potential *Dungeons and Dragons* series that I...4 days ago
-
A review of "A Fool's Errand" - The prince was kind enough to take a look at my latest adventure "A Fool's Errand" You can read the review here: https://princeofnothingblogs.wordpre...6 days ago
-
The Only DM Advice in Brechewold, I Swear - A subject fraught with peril, to be sure, but I gotta admit I'm feeling good about this lil nug I wrote as part of the Brechewold intro: This book does not...1 week ago
-
On Abstraction and Saving Throws - Modern systems seem to assume a baseline representation - i.e. I rolled twice, so each roll represents a swing of my sword or I can possibly move up to 10'...1 week ago
-
The weird Demographics of Vampire populations - One thing that has always been left very unclear about Vampire: The Masquerade (maybe in part deliberately) is the question of the scale at which the vampi...1 week ago
-
New Video: Dragonne Magazine - A few people have expressed confusion as to what exactly my “Dragonne Magazine” is. I endeavor to clarify the origin, and intent, and hopefully have a bit ...1 week ago
-
Obscure Mythical Monsters - I don't often indulge in creating new monsters, but over the years I've put together a few here and there. Some of these I briefly published elsewhere, bu...1 week ago
-
New Cover for The Salt Mine - Heya folks, got a new cover in for Dark Matter (The Salt Mine 15) and thought I should share.1 week ago
-
New Release: Miscreated Creatures - Miscreated Creatures in Hardback (Lulu) Miscreated Creatures in PDF (DriveThruRPG) If we lived in a world without adventure games, I think I’d still have w...1 week ago
-
Necrotic Gnome Website - It's been a long time since I last posted on this blog... and the reason for that is that I'm now posting news and updates at necroticgnome.com directly....2 weeks ago
-
Why I Don't Mind Aerith and Bob - Although I have gone into details on names in my campaigns before let's talk about it again. Why? Because it is on my mind, no more than that. In the B...2 weeks ago
-
-
Pits and Progress, Perils of Product... - Okay, sad news. Life happens, and real life takes priority over our imaginary ones, even the semi-real companies that publish the games we play. Recent...3 weeks ago
-
[BEYONDE] Nox Archaist, the Hottest Apple ][ Game of 2020/2021 - Nox ArchaistA little known but useful Internet fact: Ultima fans and their money are quickly separated. Yes, Gentle Reader, *YOU too* can make good money...3 weeks ago
-
10 Stupid yet Robust Games for Video Calls - 2020 is a weird year. A lot of people are relying on video calls for holiday gatherings. This is fine, but it does limit the type of holiday games that c...4 weeks ago
-
Muster - Eero Tuovinen is crowd-funding a discussion about old school play: Muster: A Friendly Primer to Challengeful Dungeoneering. Why, you might ask, is another ...5 weeks ago
-
That information is not available… - One of the more…interesting?…Yeah, let’s go with ‘interesting>’! One of the more interesting parts of being a Genteel Magistrate is to keep a group of hero...5 weeks ago
-
AD&D Poison Notes - In *Dragon* magazine #81 (January 1984) the article "Taking the Sting Out of Poison" by author Chris Landsea offered truly exhaustive coverage of the top...1 month ago
-
My RPG Zine Trilogy is on Kickstarter! - I can't believe I didn't post about it here! The Dead are Coming, Screams Amongst the Stars and Running Out of Time are on *Kickstarter right now!* Thes...2 months ago
-
The Inn Between - This all basically grew from the idea of What If Spirited Away, But D&D? First of all, wiser souls have spoken of this before. The ruleset would be GLO...2 months ago
-
Prospects and Retrospects - 101 posts From Kuroth's Quill - Due to the vagaries of real-life timing winning out over planning, my 100th post in *From Kuroth's Quill* arrived uncelebrated as my compiled (and still ...2 months ago
-
Quantum D&D - A funny thing happened to D&D in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s: it got popular. It went from a game everyone learned from someone whose knowledge of the...2 months ago
-
Dolls and Devils - French Resistance sent a bizarre tale to Allied Intelligence. A French doctor, a Vichy traitor, was collaborating with the Third Reich. Doctor Le F. had...2 months ago
-
Maximum HP 004, one week to go - Just one week to go for Maximum HP issue #004, the undead. We are pushing through stretch goals and wracking up contributions for the best issue yet. We...3 months ago
-
The Bombing of the Quick Stop Gas Station Bench - *One of the ingredients that's coalescing for Bunkers & Billionaires is a completely surreal mission landscape. Rogue intelligence agents and terrorist c...3 months ago
-
Steve Jackson Interview - James Maliszewski recently did an interview with Steve Jackson over on his Grognardia blog. Steve chats about the beginnings of The Fantasy Trip and upcomi...4 months ago
-
The Hero’s Journey 2nd Edition, Campbellian roleplaying at its best! - (this review done using the reviewers own purchased copy) I have been a James Michael Spahn fan since he wrote his Swords & Wizardry Companion. His writing...4 months ago
-
Undermountain Map Origins - As documented on the Ruins of Undermountain sales page, "TSR didn't actually use Ed Greenwood's original maps," at least not in their entirety. This post d...6 months ago
-
Sometimes, the best move is not to play... - I had to do something really hard this weekend, I had to cancel my monthly tabletop Zoom AD&D game, as well as my bi-weekly online AD&D game. I'm taking a...7 months ago
-
A to Z of Megadungeons - I've seen a couple of A to Z's lately and decided we needed one for megadungeons. So here, we go. A is for Architect Someone needs to build the megadungeon...7 months ago
-
A Campaign Begins for Newbies - Like many of you, the affects of the Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted how hundreds of millions of us fellow mutants interact and function in our jobs, co...8 months ago
-
WB:FMAG Total Print Sales - Hello Folks, The last time I did a quick sales report was in September 2018. I pulled reports from Amazon, Lulu and DrivethruRPG from October to current fo...9 months ago
-
The Minotaur for Old-School Essentials - *Minotaur* *Requirements:* Minimum STR 9, Minimum CON 9 *Prime Requisite:* STR and CON *Hit Dice:* 1d10 *Maximum Level:* 8 *Armor:* Leather, including shield...10 months ago
-
The Mauve Plague, Gravy Urns, and Batlace Frills: News from the Hill Cantons - And now the News... In a statement beamed from the Oracular Society today *Morafans the Rickmaster*, the Psychosocial Health Minister of the Overking, ha...10 months ago
-
WIZARDS OF POHJOLA - Init +0 Melee Atk • sword or dagger +1 (1d5 or 1d3) Ranged Atk • hot iron sparks +3 (1d4+2 to two targets within 20' but not closer than 5') AC 14 HD 12d...11 months ago
-
Strange, Dangerous, and Inhuman: The Fey and Fairie - When I was a boy I loved fairy tales. Jack and the Beanstalk, Puss in Boots, Rumpelstiltskin - I devoured all of it. My fascination that there was a strang...1 year ago
-
Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, TSR's Co-Founder Now Available - LINK to Description and Ordering: https://www.tlbgames.com/collections/the-red-book-line/products/merlynd-the-magician1 year ago
-
New AD&D Greyhawk Campaign Notes - I recently launched a new AD&D campaign on Fantasy Grounds. Although we're using the 2e ruleset FG released earlier this year, my only books for reference...1 year ago
-
The Withered Crag custom print version for sale again - Just re-enabled the direct sales button for the custom print (classic style detached cover) version of F4 The Withered Crag, and also for F3 Many Gates of...1 year ago
-
Dungeons & Dragonmead Fall Schedule - *As you know, I run public classic Dungeons & Dragons games at **The Loaded Die**/Metro Detroit Game Night's Board Game Nigh at **Dragonmead**, in Warren...1 year ago
-
Home Sweet Home Azeroth - A very simple mash up of the World of Warcraft Cinematic Trailer and Classic Announcement set to Mötley Crüe “Home Sweet Home” from the Theatre of Pain a...1 year ago
-
-
D&D Sling Damage vs. Large Targets - In many early editions of D&D, weapons were assigned two damage values: one for small/medium targets (i.e. man-sized) and one for large targets (giants and...1 year ago
-
James A. Smith, Jr. Memorial Video - A beloved father, devoted friend, and D&D Dungeon Master extraordinaire. We miss you! To view video, click here Memorial Video Note - The original video...1 year ago
-
Let's Talk About Pacing! - The idea, I think, is that the RPG is ultimately about the long game. Even rolling back to the early days of Basic & Expert, the goal of the player was...1 year ago
-
Profane and Profound Prep Part 2 - This is part 2 of my work to edit my magic items for a DMsGuild release, along with adding cursed items along the way. Here is part 1. Bone of a Saint 8000...1 year ago
-
SHORT BREAK. - I'm going to take a break for a week or so and will start up again in the New Year. Thanks for reading and we'll start with Level 6 when I get back.2 years ago
-
Iain Lovecraft, 3D Sculptor - Nope, it's got nothing to do with Cthulhu. I just did a video conversation with Iain Lovecraft, who designs 3D miniatures and terrain. If you're not doin...2 years ago
-
New website! - Slowly but surely, all the content here will make its way — in updated form! — to my new website: timbannock.com. For fairly obvious reasons, that site wil...2 years ago
-
Please Update Your Link! - If you're seeing this, it means your link to the Greyhawk Grognard blog is out of date. Please update your link to www.greyhawkgrognard.com (RSS feed is h...2 years ago
-
How can We Destroy this Campaign World? - d12 1. You must trick a bard into strumming the *Chords of Fate* on the *Lute of Annihilation* 2. Legends tell of thermonuclear weapons beneath megadungeo...2 years ago
-
Mord Mar - Session 6 - We weren't able to play Mord Mar last week, due to a family funeral. This week we played on Monday for the first time, due to kids returning to school and ...2 years ago
-
A Small, Quiet Plea - There has been a great deal of discussing political agendas, social grievances, and personal attacks within the little corner of gaming that is my hobby....2 years ago
-
Don’t Sleep It’s Broken - Expanding/editing my comments from What Makes Something Broken G+ thread: “Broken”, for me, is anything that makes normal character choices, tactics, or ro...2 years ago
-
Swords & Wizardry Light-Themed Birthday Party - Last month, my wife and I helped our oldest to celebrate his birthday in style. Ever since 2013, we have hosted a themed birthday party for our now-15-ye...3 years ago
