Labor Day Weekend Sale at Frog God Games - Up to 66% of Select Print Releases

Frog God Games is running a sale on multiple releases for Swords & Wizardry, Pathfinder and some 5e. I may pick up the Cyclopean Deeps Vol I & II myself. Damn it.

Multiple codes can be used on the same order, just enter them one at a time.

Disclaimer. I am working on Swords & Wizardry Light for Frog God Games. I'm volunteering my time as are others. It will be released for free, in print (and PDF), by FGG. I make no referral or affiliate monies if you buy from the link above using the codes below. Apparently I'm doing something wrong ;)

Gamehole Registration Opened Today - Con is November 4th Through 6th, 2016

I spoke with Alex earlier today. About a thousand badges already sold. 1150 games. Hotels in the area are filling up fast (if they haven't already.) Everyone I've spoken to that has gone to a previous Gamehole tells me that Alex runs and amazing con. That includes similar kind words from Bad Mike of NTRPG Con fame.

Sadly, I won't be making it this year. Between transitioning to a pension (and the associated budget adjustments) and Rach just last week being permanently designated director of her treatment program (she has ben doing the job as a temporary designation since early March) this Fall is shot for me. That being said, I do expect con reports from any and all Taverners that manage to attend - we'll post them here.

There may be something special in the Gamehole swag bags. Or not. Too early to say anything. Did I say something? I know nuthink!

Light Adventures in the Borderland Poconos

I brought some light reading with me to the Poconos for the holiday weekend - Adventures in the Borderland Provinces. Well, it's also work related reading. I'm going through the adventure On a Lonely Road to find any issues that might crop up in running it with Swords & Wizardry Light.

I'm also trying to get an estimate of how long it would take to run the adventure. S&W Light currently does not use Experience Points. Instead, characters level based upon "hours played". We're still tweaking the formula for that. Cuts down on record keeping for the new GM.

If S&W Light is to be successful, it will need free online support for the players and GMs. I've been making a list of the resources they will need with the plan to have most, if not all of it ready when the S&W Light rules are released. When will that be? Too soon to say. Soonish.

Alright, back to watching the dog open her gate up between the kitchen and living room multiple times. She is fairly skilled in thiefly abilities. I've now wedged one side of the gate and tied down the other. A battle of wits and wills ;)

For Those That Have Asked, Paypal Subscriptions to Support The Tavern are Now Available

When I revealed The Tavern's financials 2 weeks ago, I had a number of inquiries as to accepting Paypal donations. Some didn't like the idea of signing up for Patreon. Others preferred dealing with Paypal directly. Some didn't like the idea of reoccurring payments.

Well, I've covered the first two issues with the current Paypal subscription options available in the upper right hand corner of this page. The advantage with going directly with Paypal is Patreon fees aren't deducted, so your donation goes further.

As for one time donations, which I have accepted in the past and will gladly accept now and in the future, you can send your donation to PayPal.Me/TenkarsTavern

Any amount goes far in supporting The Tavern.

I've been told that the only place one can find "investigative journalism" in the RPG Community is here, at The Tavern. That isn't so. There are others but they do tend to focus on singular events. The Tavern has "multiple investigative threads" ;)

The Tavern does not accept commercial advertising. It's support is solely from the RPG Community.

Alright, I'll try to hold off on stirring any more shit for a few days :)

Ken Whitman - You Liked the End Credits? I'll Add YOU for $10 More! (Spinward Traveller)

I went with a screenshot so you can see the spelling and grammatical mistakes made by Ken's own hand. Two mistakes in the first paragraph alone.

So, folks have been clamoring to have their names added to the credits of this non-release? Sure they are Kenny. But since Kickstarter won't let you create any more projects, you need to try a new angle to separate suckers from their money.

You can get "backer credit" for a mere $10, a savings of $30 off the Kickstarter. Sure, you don't get a DVD or BluRay, but neither will anyone else!

Oh, and I love how the money will go towards "editing" as it's obvious Ken doesn't even proofread his emails.

Buy now! Supplies are limited. Free Pencil Dice with every order, just pay separate shipping and handling charges (this is in no way a valid offer. Just send money. All of it. Kids, don't ask your parents. Just put the cash in the mail)

Down the Rabbit Hole - ENWorld's Sean Fannon Thinks "it's a fine, fuzzy line between news, promotion, and outright advertising" (Rant)

Digger deeper into Sean Fannon's recent postings on ENWorld we get the above lapse in ethical judgement. Apparently Sean hasn't bothered to read the FTC's guidelines on online advertising, but the line isn't fuzzy - it's downright distinct. If you are getting paid by another company to say nice things about their products, you must disclose it. Not doing so puts not only ENWorld in violation but also the company who paid for the nice words.

But the legal stuff isn't even what pisses me off, it's the idea that, as a consumer and reader of ENWorld, you apparently don't care about the difference between news and "outright advertising." Just so long as you are shown all of the new releases and dutifully spend your money on them, everything is awesome.

What a dismissive attitude to have towards your own community.

So, what about the linked article for the Hunters Mark KS for 5E?

Shadows of the Colossus. Dark Souls. Monster Hunter. These games - and the desire to create a specific kind of customized campaign experience for D&D 5E players - lie at the heart of Hunters Mark: Long Live the Hunt. It's a pretty spiffy merger of full roleplay tabletop gaming with the more compelling elements of action computer games. This is a magical, monster-hunting thing that Game Natural has wrought.

HUNTERS MARK is an adventure/sourcebook for D&D 5E. It contains new monsters, crafting, gear, and rules for running a party of hunters! 

The Hunter’s Mark story is an adventure for level one through ten plus characters, serving as a guidebook for players and their characters while also a powerful resource for game masters to develop their craft. In addition to thirty bounties with full-color artwork, the book includes three main features: rules for bounties, crafting, and guild pets. The Hunter’s Mark provides gaming groups with an immersive, customizable experience where gamers can turn any bestiary into a monster hunting campaign.

There are any number of ways to approach a fantasy RPG, but let's face it - there's just something really cool about gathering a bunch of hardcore specialists together, each customized to their own specialties (and, hey, maybe their own special pet!), and going out into the big, dangerous world to hunt down the monsters that threaten the decent, peaceful folk.  

Thrilling heroics! Fun and profit! Who's in!?!

I see this one being a serious stand-out in the crowd of 5E-oriented products, folks, and I look forward to hearing how your campaigns with this go.  

Now where's my repeating crossbow?

I removed some of product description from the quote above. Interesting sounding release. Sean sure sounds psyched!  Does he mention anywhere in the piece that he's a paid shill for this "high level sponsor"? Of course not. Why would he? It would ruin the illusion.

There you have it folks. ENWorld, the RPG "News and Reviews" site. Where paid advertising masks as news and promotion. Sadly, there is no viable alternative for those that are looking one stop shopping for 5e and Pathfinder "news".

As I said before, there are reasons I don't accept paid sponsorships or direct advertising at The Tavern. I avoid becoming the ethical swampland that others have slipped into.

Does ENWorld Publish ANY Sean Fannon "News Articles" That AREN'T Stroke Jobs? (Follow Up Post - Rant)

This article is published under the ENWorld Network News section

(This post is a follow up post to this post)

Really, its a valid question. Does ENWorld publish "News Articles" by Sean Fannon that AREN'T Stroke Jobs? Because when it comes to Sean Fannon, every thing is awesome!

I had hoped to find some critical thinking at the RPG New & Reviews website, but no. Instead, we get Sean telling us how "Gareth Michael Skarka is an icon in the game hobby and industry that is hard to ignore."

Sure he's Iconic in the game hobby and industry - as someone who, 5 years later, still hasn't released his promised work - Far West. Someone who has outright lied about dozens of completion dates. Someone who managed to screw up a deal to save his ass with Cubicle 7. Who finds time to tweet throughout the day but goes silent on his Kickstarter page for days or weeks at a time.

Yeah, he's an icon alright. He sits right up there with serial Kickstarter abuser Ken Whitman. Sean, when can we expect Kenny's stroke job?

Even with this warning, the comments call Gareth on his shit, which Sean is not willing to do 

Even Sean's Picks aren't based upon perceived quality - it's Sean's work, his friends' work, nepotism through and through. Sean does it for the affiliate sales, but why does ENWorld tolerate it?

I'm guessing it's for the advertising. When folks put up ads and pay you money, they don't want critical thinking. They don't want negativity about anyone's products. They want a Happy Happy Joy Joy website, where everyone strokes each other's ego and few, if any, bother to think.

Whenever I think of opening The Tavern's doors to sponsorship, I look at ENWorld and realize it would never work. The Tavern would be neutered and soulless.

Everything is Awesome!

Adamant Entertainment 2.0 - Someone Does Not Know the Definition of Stalwart

and with that I threw up a little in my mouth

ENWorld has this sweet little article about how Gareth is resurrecting Adamant Entertainment. They call the article Adamant Entertainment 2.0 - Rebirth of a Brand, Return of a Stalwart and it's a blatant Sean Patrick Fannon fluff piece.

Holy shit, talk about nepotism in the gaming industry.

Is there controversy* associated with Adamant? Certainly. Gareth is the first to admit it, but he's also had a very difficult road along the way, and many in his position would have thrown in the towel, dumped the whole mess, and moved on to another path.

Does Gareth admit it with his small quote later in the article? Fuck no. Hell, Far West isn't even mentioned until you follow the "asterisk" and get this gem from Sean:

(*) - I know as I type this that the Comment section will contain some vitriol, as there are those who have very strong opinions about how Far West has gone so far. I will not engage, so don't expect me to, and I really would prefer if folks could keep their tone civil, please. You are welcome to your opinions, and reasonable discourse is encouraged... but cruelty and angry, accusatory rhetoric is not helpful. This effort by Gareth to come back from adversity and get things on track is the way to successfully executing all that has been promised, in this columnist's humble opinion.

What exactly is "accusatory rhetoric?" Mentioning a KS over 4 1/2 years late? Broken promises? Outright lies? How about Buckaroo Bonzai?

What a fucking load of bullshit.

My opinion of Mr Fannon has ebbed and flowed since he became a columnist for ENWorld, but this poor excuse of an article isn't news, it's propaganda to white wash his friend's failures and lies. "Stalwart" my ass! Try "unreliable" and you'd be closer to the truth.

Con Crud lingers years later.

Right, why engage those that actually call you on your bullshit...

Kickstarter - Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game, Powered by GURPS

I played a significant amount of GURPS in my early college years. I owned Man to Man and Orc, which highlighted the combat system that was to become GURPS. First edition boxed set. Most of the 1st and 2nd edition supplements. Conan solo adventures. Lots of GURPS. The problem as we saw it wasn't that GURPS wasn't a good and balanced system. It wasn't the lack of sourcebooks. It was the lack of adventures and, from the viewpoint of D&D players, the lack of dungeon crawling.

Dungeon Fantasy corrects that omission.

$50 for a self contained boxed set?

I'm in :)

This standalone boxed set contains everything you need to play: cardboard figures, combat maps, dice, and five full-color rulebooks that feature original art.

Adventurers (128 pages). GURPS is famous for letting you play any character you can imagine. Dungeon Fantasy keeps this flexibility while trimming away unnecessary details, concentrating on just what matters to monster-slaying, treasure-hunting action: Pick from 11 classic professions and nine playable races, customize your alter-ego using quick-start templates and a powerful point-build system, and gear up with an equipment list that offers dozens of weapons and lets you assemble exactly the suit of armor that fits your image. 

Exploits (112 pages). Learn how the heroes actually use their abilities and gear. That means combat, of course – and dozens of other activities, whether your thing is sneaking around, swinging from the scenery, exorcizing evil, or getting rich through cunning deals in town. This book also describes countless bad things that can befall adventurers (poison, traps, dismemberment, lava pits . . .), as well as good things, namely loot. And it’s full of practical advice to the Game Master who leads this three-ring circus: challenging the players, keeping the action moving, settling arguments, and much more. 

Spells (80 pages). What would fantasy be without magic? Adventurers features four spellcasting professions (bard, cleric, druid, and wizard), and this volume describes over 400 spells to help you customize them. It also includes complete rules for how spells work – whether their power comes from the gods, Nature, or creepy tomes of forbidden wizardly knowledge. 

Monsters (64 pages). Once the adventurers are ready, and armed with weapons and magic, it’s time to test their mettle! This catalog starts you out with more than 80 things that want to bite, claw, grab, sting, and curse the heroes – not just the predictable orcs and zombies, but also several Dungeon Fantasy originals. Each offers notes on tactics and variants, and the whole collection comes with advice and rules for adventurers dealing with monsters . . . and monsters dealing with adventurers. 

Dungeon (24 pages). I Smell a Rat is a simple (but not simplistic!) quest designed to show new gamers the ropes. Like any classic hack ‘n’ slash adventure, it starts at the inn. From there, the heroes will find themselves facing traps, enemies, and unexpected twists – and finding treasure, although not necessarily gold and silver. Advice and “adventure hooks” let the Game Master challenge advanced players or spin the tale into a series of adventures.

Kickstarter - Spinward Traveller (TV Pilot - Ken Whitman) - Now We Know how it Ends

You weren't expecting to actually see the end of the TV Pilot, were you? No, silly! This is about the End Credits for Spinward Traveller. You know, the part when you are at the movies you walk out on in the rush to get to the bathroom before the line forms.

Yep, that's our Kenny. Always rushing to get things finished, even when they aren't hardly even started.

Oh, you so silly Kenny! Next you'll be showing the opening credits. Then, maybe the sound clip of a blaster rifle cribbed from some 15 year old sci-fi show. Are you sharing notes with Gareth? He was going to go all "transmedia." Maybe you could do the closing credits for Far West. Sure it's a game book, but with all of your experience making pencil dice (or rather, making money from selling nonexistent pencil dice) you two are a natural fit.

Hat tip to my one of the Taverners. Nothing gets by them :)

Preorder - Adventures in Middle-Earth Player's Guide (PDF / RPGNow / 5e)

Just a quick heads up. The Adventures in Middle-Earth Player's Guide for D&D 5e is taking preorders at RPGNow.

The PDF is $20 It is LotR after all. Heck, I already preordered the physical books...

Tavern Chat - 9 PM Eastern - Tastes Great, Less Filling

I expect tonight's Tavern Chat will have questions about Swords & Wizardry: Light, the S&W "Sage" Program and lots of other ongoing events in gaming. If you want answers, even evasive ones, you'll need to log into Tavern Chat tonight at 9 PM Eastern.

Remember, you can log into Tavern Chat using just about any social media or major email server on the planet.

9 PM to 11 PM.

Be there or not...

Deal of the Day - White Star Companion - (Swords & Wizardry SciFi)

We've had some strong OSR Deals of the Day the past few days and today is no different. The White Star Companion adds new classes, new weapons, new star ships - heck, it simply adds a whole lot to your White Star campaign. For the next 24 hours it's 40% off in PDF and on sale for $4.19.

+James Spahn did an excellent job with White Star and the White Star Companion notches that up to 11.

Daring Men of Tomorrow and intrepid Deep Space Explorers face off against a horde of savage White Simians in the floating jungle of a lost world. Plucky Sidekicks escape relentless Bounty Hunters aboard their modified skyboards. Somewhere on the edge of the galaxy, an Orbital Battle Station is about to obliterate an entire planet with the push of a button. 

The White Star Companion brings nearly one hundred pages of new options to your White Star: White Box Science Fiction Roleplaying experience. New classes, new aliens, new creatures, new weapons, and new starships are all revealed. Complete rules for planetary vehicle combat are provided along with ways to generate complete star systems simply by rolling a few dice. The brand new skill and Serial systems can instantly flesh out a character's history and talents.

With the White Star Companion, you'll expand your game to the edge of the galaxy and beyond! White Star: White Box Science Fiction Roleplaying is completely compatible with Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox and many other old-school roleplaying products.

GameHole Con Registration opens Saturday, September 3rd

If you plan to attend Gamehole Con in November, registration time is soon approaching.

I can't fit Gamehole into the budget this year, but next year looks promising (all the stories I've heard about Gamehole tell me it's a Con NOT to be missed). If you attend this year, roll some dice for me :)

The Old School Blues Podcast has it Banner!

Awesome job by +Denis McCarthy !

Have you listened to episode Zero of the Old School Blues podcast yet?

Why the fuck not? Go, listen, enjoy...

If you like Denis' work, I'll be tapping him for a banner here at The Tavern this fall. Yep, that's where your support of The Tavern comes into play :)

(Psssst! If you use iTunes, leave us a review :)

Deal of the Day - Grit & Vigor (OSR Pulp)

This almost escaped my eagle eyes ;)

+John Stater is a machine when it comes to taking OSR styled rulesets in to different genres and Grit & Vigor is no different. Or rather, it IS different.

Your pulse pounds 

Beads of sweat run down your brow 

You grip your pistol tighter 

It can all be yours 

It just takes GRIT & VIGOR 

GRIT & VIGOR is the game of bold ventures for rugged fellows. Roll up a character, buy some gear, and get down to business. G&V is rules lite and options heavy. In its 200 pages, you'll find everything from monsters to machine guns, with advice on running all sorts of modern campaigns, from gentlemanly mysteries to espionage to explorations into the unknown. It also includes a timeline of adventure, covering the years 1880 to 1939, with important events of those years as well a selection of the firearms, cars, planes and military vehicles of those years. Future supplements will expand that coverage back to the Golden Age of Piracy and forward into the far future. 

GRIT & VIGOR is compatible with most old school games, including BLOOD & TREASURE.

Grit & Vigor is on sale for $6.59 until tomorrow morning.

Do You Use Religious Rituals in Your Campaigns?

This past Sunday, Rach and I went to Jamaica Bay to see the sunrise. The last thing I expected to stumble into was a Hindu religious ceremony as the sun came up.

It was foreign to me, almost mystical. I was in awe. I didn't want to intrude but I couldn't look away.

Afterwards, I started thinking about how something like this, not this ritual, but something else, another ritual, could set a scene in a fantasy campaign. Religion in fantasy RPGs is often hand waved, judged by how it benefits the characters. A cleric is often just an armored spell caster without flavor and any two clerics of any two random religions are pretty much the same.

Could a peek behind the curtain, a small snapshot of the rituals that differentiate such religions add depth? Would it make the cleric more than just a sum of the spells he can cast and the undead he can turn?

Perhaps.

I guess I'll find out with my next campaign, as this certainly has me thinking...

State of The Tavern - Long Nights and a Full Plate

I've been burning the midnight oil the past few weeks, between projects in the hopper and the fact that my body seems to respond better to afternoon naps then normal nightly sleepy-time. Yep, those 6 months of working midnights seems to have screwed up my sleep cycle.

I learned some useful things this weekend, such as the importance of using various header settings in Word to facilitate your layout person's actually "layout." Now I want to play with InDesign.

For those waiting on your Tavern Cards, which is the vast majority of you that requested them, current projects have pushed their way to the forefront. Second draft of Swords & Wizardry: Light was forwarded to Zach last night. We also discussed some ideas for layout and art. Being up late at night helps when you are on the east coast and your partner in crime is in Arizona ;)

The next few weeks will be busy as we try and hit completion before a certain date as we aim to get things released in time for a certain event. I'm also trying to work on the first "official" adventure in the line, which will include advice for the "lapsed GM" or transitioning gamemaster.

I really need to thank everyone for your words of encouragement. Your support is the most valuable currency there is and it makes everything worth the investment of time and effort. I'm also extremely appreciative of the financial support that's been given to The Tavern as well as to your humble bartender. Something as simple as viewing the occasional ad goes much further than you might think.

Alright, nose to the grindstone. Well, after a breakfast of Bacon Jerky. Holy Shit! This is what rations in S&W should be...

The Tavern has Served Over 5,000 Copies of Swords & Wizardry Complete

On November 5th, 2013 Frog God Games released the Swords & Wizardry Complete rules for free in PDF to the gaming world and told us all to share it, which I did.

It was my 2nd wedding anniversary and one hell of a present, and I told +Matt Finch  so at the time.

Well, here we are, August 29th, 2016, less than 3 years later and The Tavern has distributed over 5,000 copies of the Swords & Wizardry Complete rules. It's one hell of a milestone.

I raise my mug, to Matt, the Frogs, to the Swords & Wizardry Gaming Community - well done! Let's get to 10k even quicker ;)

There is always a link to the S&W Complete Rules here at The Tavern, but if you are looking for it, here it is - http://bit.ly/SWComplete

What Did You Do in the Last 5 Years? Because Completing Far West was NOT an Accomplishment for Gareth

Five years is a hell of a long time. My 5th wedding anniversary sneaks up on November 5th. I went from 5 years away from retirement TO retirement. I missed 1 day of posting here at The Tavern in those 5 years.

Far West funded 5 years and 4 days ago. We still don't have it.

Strangely, Gareth seem to not get notifications from Kickstarter when he gets messages, so requests for refunds get ignored:

So, not years more. A year? Possibly. Months? That's a given.

Far West. A study in how NOT to successfully complete a funded Kickstarter and keeping idiots in suspense for 5 years. Yes, I'm one of those idiots...

At least Mike Nystul stopped the illusion that he was working on anything.

Announcing the Swords & Wizardry "Sage" - Official Answers for Your Swords & Wizardry Rules Questions

It's time to announce the Swords & Wizardry "Sage", it's my new hat. Yep, I'm the one that gets to answer your questions regarding the Swords & Wizardry Complete rules (and S&W: Light rules when they release). Now, we all know that Swords & Wizardry is more about rulings than rules and that is pretty much what we'll be doing - making rulings. They aren't going to be binding rulings, as it is your game and your table after all, but we hope that by offering to answer questions we'll make for a smoother gaming experience for all.

Notice I said "we". My plan is to find answers with precedent when possible in earlier editions of "the game. When that isn't possible, and the answer is elusive, +Matt Finch has agreed to be our sounding board and final arbitrator when needed.

Now, "Sage" is just the working title. Just as we are finalizing the details of where I'll be hanging my hat (probably multiple locations - here at The Tavern, over at the Frog God Games website, Facebook, more locations coming to a city near you) we need a proper title FOR such hat.

So, instead of "Sage", what shall be call the position? Comment away and we'll pick the one that strikes our fancy the most. The chosen one will get a marvelous No-Prize and a signed copy of Swords & Wizardry: Light sent anywhere in the world. You know, once it's done, edited, laid out, printed and I get my copies. Patience ;)

See, lots of Swords & Wizardry announcements in the past few days. It's a good time to be an Old School Gamer :)

RPGNow Deal of the Day - The S'rulyan Vault (OSR Dungeon)

Like him or hate him, +Venger Satanis does has released some extremely competent OSR releases. The S'rulyan Vault is definitely on the top of the Venger release list.

Until 11 AM Eastern, tomorrow August 29th, 2016 The S'rulyan Vault is discounted 40% in PDF, from $7 to $4.2o.

From the blurb:

This product is both a PDF and very large, high resolution map files. 

The PDF contains a short history of the region and dungeon, original artwork by Bojan Sucevic, and several random tables for making this dungeoncrawl easier to run and more interesting.  For instance, there's a d100 table describing things found when searching a room.  There's also a multi-table system for generating fortunes.   

Lastly, there's a custom, old school fantasy character sheet created by James V West.
As for the maps, there's an old school blue and white layout of the dungeon... just like we remember from the modules in the late 70's and early 80's.  Alternatively, there's a parchment colored map.  Each one can be taken to a printer and blown up to 34" x 44".

There's a NEW Podcast in Town - Dead Games Society - Texas Chapter - Old School Blues Podcast - Episode "Zero" is LIVE!

Something "Old" - an Old School Gaming Podcast

Something "New" - it's a "new" podcast

Something "Borrowed" - thank you to the Dead Games Society podcast for letting us share their name - you folks rock!

Something "Blue" - It's the Old School Blues Podcast!

Join +Vincent Florio , +James Spahn and me as we talk about time travel in gaming and just about every tangent we can think of. Actually, grab a beer, snag some chips and sit down for some Old School goodness.

There's an Easter Egg in the podcast BTW. I announce something that hasn't been announced yet regarding Swords & Wizardry and yours truly.

So, what are you waiting for? Go listen!

In this episode you will meet the three hosts of this show as they chat back and forth about the topic of Time Traveling in your fantasy games. The purpose of our shows is to provide that relaxed “around the table” listening feel of a podcast. We want to focus on D&D from the ’80s and OSR related products, but that doesn’t mean from time to time we will not dip our toes into other games from the era of TSR D&D. 

So still back and listen to Vince, Erik and James as they bring you the “Old School Blues” Podcast!

The Swords & Wizardry: Lite "Thief" Class - Written Up

+Zach Glazar and I are going to go through the over 100 suggestions for alternate titles for the Swords & Wizardry: Light "Thief" class. We'll then pick out our 10 favorites, put up a poll and let the readers of The Tavern cast their votes. The top 3 vote getters will then go through a vetting process and one of those three are what we will go with. What's the vetting process? For me it will be "beer and burgers" and bouncing the finalists off my bartender who is a retired detective. I can't speak for Zach's vetting process. It probably involves virtual reality and a distant planet ;)

Now, for those that are wondering, here's the write up for the Swords & Wizardry: Light "Thief". Remember, Swords & Wizardry: Light only covers levels 1 through 3. After that it's expected you will want to move on to Swords & Wizardry: Complete. As such, there will be a full write up of the Light "Thief" for the Complete rules (and I am leaning towards optional rules for S&W: Light that would cover progression through level 7, but that is down the line and would probably not be "official")

The Thief is a figure in the shadows, an expert in stealth and delicate tasks.

Hit Dice: 1HD at 1^st Level, 2HD at 2^nd level and 2HD+1 at 3^rd level

Saving Throw: 15 at 1^st, 14 and 2^nd and 13 at 3^rd

Thieves may wear only Leather Armor. They may use any weapon.

-Thieves start with either Long Sword (1d6) and Dagger (1d6-1) or Club (1d6) and Short Sword (1d6-1) and a suit of Leather Armor AC 12 [7]

Thieves have class abilities as follows:

Backstab: When attacking with surprise and from behind the thief attacks at +4 hit and x2 damage

Hear Sounds: Thieves have a 3 in 6 to hear and identify noise through closed doors

Read Normal Languages: Thieves have a 4 in 6 chance to reads normal languages

Climb Walls: Thieves have a 5 in 6 chance to climb walls and cliffs

Thief Skills: Thieves have a 1 in 6 chance to succeed at Finding / Removing traps, Opening Locks, Picking Pockets, Hiding in Shadows and Moving Silently. Dwarves have a 2 in 6 change to Find / Remove traps, Elves have a 2 in 6 chance to Hide in Shadows / Move Silently and Halflings have a 2 in 6 Chance to Open Locks

*The next bump to the thiefly skills would take place at 4th level and every third level after that when presented for the S&W: Complete rules

** The above write up is subject to revision ;)