A WTF Kickstarter - wasteland tabletop game (Think of it as tabletop version of D&D meets fallout meets Warhammer)

As is often the case, a tip of the hat to the fine folks in the Kicksnarker Community on G+. My God, what a gem.

So, what sets this "wasteland tabletop game" apart from other games?

Let me show you in pictures:

BTW, that is the ONLY reward level.

So, it's a joke, right?

Watch the video, because it is truly incisive. As an aside, do not post video selfies to Kickstarter, as the motion you bring to the table makes me want to rip your beard off.

But hey, he's got the right motivation:

He's the guy on the left. The other two would probably prefer not to be recognized or identified.

Real glad Kickstarter has such a strong vetting process...

Shit, almost forgot his OTHER project, running at the same time - One Piece RPG

TableTopLibrary.com Goes Live - PDF and Print - Competition is Good!

I first heard about TableTopLibrary last month but had to keep my yap shut. I'm happy that OBS will finally have some competition and as publishers will retain 75% of the sale price of their PDF goods at TTL (at OBS, it's 65% or 70%), it will hopefully spur more quality self publishing - Your Humble Barkeep

PRESS RELEASE

Kobold Press, Frog God Games, Troll Lord Games, Green Ronin, Rite Publishing, Super Genius Games, Expeditious Retreat Games, Hero Games, Rogue Comet, Metallic Dice Games, Pacesetter Games and Simulations, Eldritch Enterprises, Far Future Enterprises and TableTopLibrary.com

March 10, 2016

Kobold Press, Frog God Games, Troll Lord Games, Green Ronin, Hero Games, Rogue Comet, Pacesetter Games and Simulations, Eldritch Enterprises, Far Future Enterprises and TableTopLibrary.com are jointly announcing that, effective immediately, our companies will all be offering our Fifth Edition, Pathfinder, Traveller, OSR, Hero System, Fate, and other products through a new RPG download store called TableTopLibrary, as a one-stop shop for OGL Fifth Edition products. TableTopLibrary, website https://tabletoplibrary.com/ is a newly-formed online store for RPG books and pdfs designed to offer both electronic versions and hard copy versions of books produced by your favorite publishers. TabletopLibrary will also offer a full slate of products and resources for other role-playing games, including Pathfinder and OSR-games. All of us will continue our own websites and stores, but TableTopLibrary offers a place to draw all these products together in one place for convenience.

At this time, by coming together as a consortium, we can offer the high-quality products we pride ourselves on; provide a one-stop shopping spot with outstanding customer service; and allow  a better experience for publishers, and more importantly, for customers . Centralized electronic book fulfillment, kickstarter fulfillment, and single-location warehousing will improve our delivery speed, accuracy, and customer service in the RPG download market.

Our reasons for setting up a consortium at this time include (1) each partner retains ownership and editorial control over the individual campaign worlds and other “intellectual property” that our fans have known and loved for years; (2) our desire to offer physically higher-quality printing, paper quality, and binding than print on demand outlets offer; and (3) the desire to continue drawing upon and increasing the vast resources of Open Game Content as opposed to other alternatives.

TableTopLibrary is committed to offering a deep and broad-based marketplace of Fifth Edition products, superior to any other online store, as well as many other game system products. We are joined in a partnership of many large publishers in this project, and expect many more to join us as time goes on. TableTopLibrary will be issuing its own press release soon, describing the advantages and the procedures involved in joining.

You can continue buying products directly from each of us, as always. But if you want to browse the whole library of Fifth Edition and other products produced under the Open Game License over the years, we’re letting you know that there’s a new online game store in town.

Check out TableTopLibrary at TableTopLibrary.com - The Leading Source for RPGs and watch us grow! We think you’ll be impressed.

Tavern Chat Tonight - 9 PM Eastern - Lets See Where the Tavern Goes "Post Retirement" :)

Today is Thursday.

Tonight. 9PM Eastern. Tavern Chat.

In a week, we will be in the "post retirement" stage for The Tavern.

Tonight is the night to make suggestions for any themes or post for future Tavern fodder ;)

Quick Tavern Update and Small Contest

So, earlier today I got an appointment for my "Administrative Day". That's the day where I turn in my Department property, finalize stuff with the pension section, turn in my shield and ID and get my retired ID - all that good stuff. It will be in early May. Very bitter sweet. Next Wednesday is my last working day before running accumulated time. I'll be on the books until mid July.

What does that mean for those that frequent The Tavern? My job starting March 17th - well, that's St. Patrick's Day, so maybe starting the following day - my job, starting March 18th will be "the Blogs" and writing gaming material. It's as simple as that. Oh, and podcasting.

The aim is to get posting at The Tavern back to two posts a day minimum, posts at Tenkar's Taproom (the beer blog on hiatus singe last September) back at a rate of 2 to 3 posts per week starting the week after next and Saturday Knight Special (stories mostly of my rookie years as a cop) back at a rate of 2 to 4 posts a month starting early April (I've identified stories that can be written and posted before the summer months)

The Path of Legends Podcast records every other Sunday. There are one or two other podcasts that may or may not come to fruition. Only time will tell and thankfully time will soon be on my side.

Now, here's where you, my kind readers come in. I'd like to start a series of posts here at The Tavern or more than one series of posts), something that would be weekly, but damned if I know what. Drop your ideas into the comments of this post and maybe you can spark some ideas. I'll choose 2 random commenters sometime after 3 pm eastern this Saturday afternoon (March 12th) to each receive $10 RPGNow Gift Certificates, perfect to use with RPGNow's current GM's Day Sale.

What Makes a Blogger / Blog Trusted?

What makes a blog / blogger trusted? It's an interesting question and one that was brought to my attention earlier today.

Is it social media views? Does 2 million views on G+ make you trusted as a blogger? Damned if I know, and I'm at over 20 million.

Does 2m views make "Somebody One Of The Most Trusted RPG Bloggers on Social Media"? That would make me infallible in comparison.

Views on G+ and likes on Facebook mean nothing.

Build a community. Allow yourself to be challenged by that community. Be as honest and true true to yourself as you can be. Earn respect and trust should follow.

Hell, 20 million views on G+ is nothing in the larger scheme of things, and I can easily count off multiple members of my Saturday Night gaming group that have more that 2.5 million views on G+ that also blog and I don't trust them ;)

Well, I trust them depending on the circumstances :)

edit: (the tag line I mention above is actually on a RPG blog - I just find the assumption of what views on G+ coverts to to be - inaccurate at best)

It's Official - The Path of Legends Podcast is Live! (Cue "Evil Laugh")

The announcement can now be officially made. The Path of Legends Podcast, a member of the TSR Podcast Network, is now available to download on iTunes or you favorite podcast catcher.

So, what is the Path of Legends Podcast? It's three old school gamers talking about Dungeons & Dragons 5e from the old school perspective. We discuss ways to make 5e play out more like 1e, and even how to bring some 5e elements into your OSR gaming.

Who are the three old dudes? +Vincent Florio , +Sal Valente and myself. If the names look familiar, we were co-hosts on The Brainstorm podcast. Vince and Sal are also co-hosts on Roll For Initiative (where even I have made a guest appearance recently)

We're so legit, you can even leave us your feedback via voicemail ;)   702-744-PATH (7284)

Or email at PathOfLegendsPodcast@gmail.com

Give it a listen as we can only succeed with your feedback.

GM's Day Sale OSR Picks at RPGNow - 30% Off PDF Titles - Part 4

Yep, the GM's Day Sale keeps rolling along. Time for Post # 4 in the series of OSR Picks. You can catch the earlier GM's Day Sale posts here.

In no particular order:

Strange Stars by +trey causey "is a setting for any game where modern transhuman science fiction meets classic 70s space opera." Might be a good fit for your next White Star or Stars Without Number campaign.

The Dungeon Alphabet by +Michael Curtis (and art by Erol Otus). Random tables, amazing art, you really can't got wrong.

Of course, you can't have just one alphabet. The Monster Alphabet by +Jobe Bittman is also on sale (with a huge assortment of artists). More
tables, more better.

Starter Adventures by +Tim Shorts . An excellent way to introduce new players to old school gaming. Don't forget to pick up some copies of the Manor zine.

Did I mention that Purple Duck Games appears to have put it's entire catalogue of over 1,100 releases on sale. Find adventures for Labyrinth Lord, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Pathfinder, Stock Art and more on sale.

And Thus it Was - A New Podcast Was Recorded, and it Was Good

Earlier today, Vince, Sal and myself recorded the first episode of a new podcast. Its OSR without being OSR. New and Old. Yeah, we got it like that.

I can't say anything official until the first episode is published, so consider this a teaser.

Yes, occasionally I am a fucking ass.

Soon I should be following this with an "official" announcement, with links and all that jazzy shit.

Hopefully another podcast announcement or two are coming up. Time will soon be on my side...

Kickstarter - Judges Guild Deluxe Collector's Edition

At this rate I may have to postpone my retirement to pay for all of this "Kickstarter Goodness" ;) Seriously, there have been some amazingly cool gaming Kickstarters in the past week and the Judges Guild Deluxe Collector's Edition is certainly one of them.

I have a soft spot for Judges Guild. While the production value may have been on the lower end, the imagination and usefulness of their releases are second to none for the time they were initially released.

Goodman Games is producing this series of reprints (and they did an amazing job with the Metamorphosis Alpha reprint (that oversized book certainly stands out))

Here's the details of the Judges Guild reprints:

Quick Summary of the Kickstarter 

This Kickstarter funds the scanning, digital restoration, and print publication of classic Judges Guild RPG supplements. 

Our goal is to create two products. The first is the oversized 13"x18" hardcover Judges Guild Deluxe Collector's Edition. This huge compilation contains Tegel Manor, Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor, Citadel of Fire, five issues of the Judges Guild Journal, and additional articles and new game material. 

The second product is a series of four 8.5"x11" reprints of classic JG modules. We are calling these the tabletop editions. There is a tabletop edition reprinting each of these products: Tegel Manor, Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor, Citadel of Fire, and Dark Tower. 

The project is about 90% complete as of now. All scanning, art, and editing is complete, and a rough layout is complete.

I think I'm in for the Deluxe Collector's Edition...