Alert - Thief Steals Free Comics - Meanwhile, An "Alleged Thief" Takes Real Money - Ken Whitman appears at Games & Comics, London, KY

Now, I've heard of strange disconnects, but this one really strikes my fancy. I wonder why?

Now, isn't it interesting Marcus is willing to spend the time to take some random mope to Small Claims Court and prosecute him for taking a $3 comic and a stack of "free comics." Nor saying the man's actions were right, just trying something for perspective.

Then we have this post, an hour after the first one, where a real "Alleged Thief" shakes people down for money:

Gee, how many tens of thousands of dollars has Ken bilked folks out of? Yet a $3 thief needs an all points bulletin. Markus, I think your priorities are fucked up. Next time that $3 thief returns, give him the keys to your store. He still won't steal enough to reach the heights of Ken.

"Kids, let me tell you about the time I funded my acting career with money I misappropriated from Pencil Dice.
You won't believe how easy it is to get folks to give you money on a promise when you are a lovable lug like me!"

Old School Blues Podcast Episode 6 - Let's Play Supers

Woot! Another episode of the Old School Blues Podcast is up. Last night Vince, Colin and myself talked about superheroes, comic books and superhero movies and TV shows. It was a damn good time!

Join us and tell us what you think :)

Apes Victorious available in Print (OSR - "Planet of the Apes")

Apes Victorious is Goblinoid Games OSR ruleset of intelligent apes.

What? You heard it right. Here's the blurb:

Apes Victorious is a roleplaying game in which you take the role of an astronaut from the 1970’s who finds himself marooned on a future Earth ruled by intelligent apes. Players may also take the role of an ape, a degenerated human, or a psi-active underdweller. Fight to survive in this post-apocalyptic future ruled by four species of apes. Or play apes who hunt humans for sport. For a different kind of campaign, play highly intelligent but insane underdwellers who have advanced technology and powerful psi powers. 

This book contains:

-A complete game
-A post-nuclear apocalyptic setting in which apes have become the dominant species
-Seven player classes
-Animals and creatures of the post-nuclear future
-Campaign advice
-A complete introductory adventure
-Conversion notes for compatible games including: Labyrinth Lord, Mutant Future, Starships & Spacemen

And now it is available in print - $12.99 for SC, $18.99 for HC ($4.97 for PDF)

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's OBS affiliate links puts 5% of your purchase price into The Tavern's coffers. Don't leave that money on the table for the greedy corps! Tip your barman!  ;)

Extra Life Team Tadpole is Live - Here's Your Chance to Win some Frog God Games Goodness!

Extra Life Team Tadpole is on!!

5e Rappan Athuk Live Stream is up!

Starts at 6 PM Eastern on Friday Nov. 18.  (its live right now)

The Channel is twitch.tv/enn321. If you login and take a screenshot of the activity send a copy to zach@froggodgames.com and I will send a random winner one of our Mega sized PDFs with some extras next week. If the audience for the twitch channel gets a big enough audience you never know what kind of Frog Merchandise could get tossed around to the viewing audience.

If you haven't yet supported the Frog God Extra Team you can do so by clicking on the team page:

tinyurl.com/FrogGodEL


(tell them The Tavern sent you ;)

Pinch Those Pennies - It's 18 Bucks for a Signed Pic With Ken Whitman - Will Work (heh) for Food

I'm not sure what else I can say that isn't obvious from the screenshot above.

I mean, we all know Ken needs a cash infusion to ACTUALLY COMPLETE HIS FUCKING OBLIGATIONS. But no, that isnt what this is going to pay for.

Please, I beg someone to record this shit - audio only is fine - and we'll make Ken the Youtube star he deserves to be.

Yes, you too can be an extra on The Walking Dead. For just $499 Ken will tell you all of his secrets. Sure, I made that part up, but you know his advice will be short on advice and long on "pay me and I'll help you. I know a guy who knows a guy."

Of course it won't be the last time Ken finds a way to remove cash from the gaming public without giving value back in return.

Thanks to yet another Taverner for the info :)

A Moment of Silence for Gareth's One Month of Twitter Free Existence (Far West Kickstarter)

Yep, its been a month since Gareth Skarka, he of a multitude of missed release dates for a single project, announced he was maintaining radio silence on Twitter until the near completion of his Holy Fucking Shit This is Late Project.

So, a month later and Gareth hasn't returned to Twitter. Huzzah!

So, a month later and Gareth has given the backers nothing to show for it.

So, a month later and Gareth has yet to comment on the Far West Kickstarter. Wait, make that a month and a half.

Next month makes this project 5 years late. Yes. 5 years.

I will say one thing for Gareth. He is consistent with his failure to communicate with his backers. I'm sure it serves him well.

There's a New Boss in Town - RJ Thompson is the new owner of the Swords & Wizardry G+ Community - Huzzah!

Ownership of the Swords & Wizardry G+ Community has changed hands. The new head honcho is +R.J. Thompson . Yep, the same +R.J. Thompson that has been running the Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day these last few years.

My regular readers know how huge a fan of Swords & Wizardry I am. I can think of no one better qualified to help the Swords & Wizardry G+ Community thrive than R.J. This is seriously awesome news.

Below is a snippet of the announcement:

You can read the rest in the Swords & Wizardry G+ Community.

Tenkar's Tavern - A designated Neutral Ground

You know I don't discuss politics at The Tavern nor allow it at The Tavern's Facebook Community as my attitude is no good can come of it.

Others have no such qualms and even went as far as to circulate a letter in the days before the election, signed by hundreds in the industry - not just encouraging one to vote but telling one how to vote. Sadly, the divide and conquer effort continues.

Gaming is supposed to be above such concerns. Much like real life religion, politics is emotional and those with strong feelings are often unwilling or unable to accept differing views of others. It separates folks and and by its very nature encourages people take sides. Just like PC vs. PC infighting can lead to the end of a campaign if not the gaming group itself, excessive politicking and shaming (bullying if you will) has the potential of harming the gaming hobby. A hobby that by its very nature is inclusive, not exclusive.

Better minds than myself got together to start #GamersForGamers. +Frank Mentzer , +Benoist Poiré , +Alex Karaczun and others are the driving force behind Gamers For Gamers. An effort to bring the gaming hobby together, not leave it divided and fractured. An effort spearheaded from all sides of the political spectrum.

I support this effort.

As such, Tenkar's Tavern (the blog) and Tenkar's Tavern (the FaceBook Group) are hereby designated Neutral Ground. Everyone is welcome, so long as you leave your biases outside. Think of it as Common Ground, if you will, where we embrace that which brings us together instead of that which divides us.

I don't know about you, but gaming is my escape from real world worries. No judgement. Just gaming and gaming discussions and gaming pics and all of that sweet stuff. Its what we have in common.

I mean, where else can I talk about my 6th Level Dwarven Cleric nearly single handedly took down the level 15 DM PC and didnt even get any fat loot. Damn it!

Humble Bundle of Frog God / Kobold Press and Green Ronin Pathfinder Releases (OSR Value here too)

So, Pathfinder is the current Humble Bundle. Pretty impressive. "But its Pathfinder!", you say. It is, but it isn't all such.

What do I mean? Bill Webb's Book of Dirty Tricks is really an OSR release. Bill "thinks" and "schemes" OSR. If nothing else, grab for a buck and you are already ahead.

Zobeck Gazetteer and Cults of the Sundered Kingdoms are setting books. Easy enough to ignore any Pathfinderness. And yes, you are still at a buck.

Rappan Athuk is worth the 8 bucks and then some. Again, just ignore the Pathfinderness, as it was originally written for old School Gaming.

At 15 bucks, the big adds are The Mother of All Treasure Tables (pretty much systemless) and Freeport. Easter egg, I was a backer of Halls of the Mountain King.

Needless to say, I dropped 15 bucks on this ;)

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight - 9PM Eastern - What Will a Livestream Video Tavern Chat mean?

Yes, today is Wednesday. This week has been hell week (had the water line to the house replaced today) but Tavern Chat carries on!

Topics for tonight will include (but are not limited to):

- What is expected from a Livestream Video Tavern Chat? Yes, it's a distinct possibility - we have 2 weeks to add 39 members to The Tavern's Facebook Community to achieve that goal.

- #GamersForGamers - what does it mean and what the fuck is "Orange Listing?"

- What does WotC bringing PoD to TSR Era releases mean to the hobby?

- Usual random diversions...

PSA - Ken Whitman is Making a Public Appearance in London, KY on November 19th

Now I know, many of you are huge Ken Whitman / Whit Whitman / Ken Whitless fans. I know this because I've been told so. Why else would folks be asking for his latest location constantly if not to meet and great the lovable lug.

It is my understanding some folks may be looking to give ken some papers - reading material if you will. Others may wish to encourage Ken to continue to strive for the successful completion of his various Kickstarters. Well, now you can in person (as Ken pretty much ignores emails from what I gather)

Notice Ken can't say shit about season 7 of The Walking Dead? That's because he was a zombie edit - goon in season 6 - he can't say shit because he doesn't know shit. Wait, did I just blow that up on Ken? Sorry dude.

Anyhow, Ken wants to meet you so you really should make the effort to meet Ken. All he wants to be is liked. All he wants to do is make money movies. Well, makes movies with equipment paid for with your money, but really, who's paying that close attention?

Now, who wants to place a bet that Ken is charging for those autographs and photos...

Holy Sh!t!!! WotC Brings Back TSR Era Modules as Print on Demand!

Huge thanks to Jeff C for bringing this to my attention this morning.

This is amazing news.

WotC is bringing back TSR Era Modules as Print on Demand. I holy fuck kid you not!

edit - direct link to the list of TSR POD

I'm stunned. I'm ecstatic. The aftermarket on the originals is going to tank but that's okay. I collect for collecting sake.

The prices are reasonable too. Dragonlance Adventures for 18 bucks. Hollow World Campaign Setting for 20. Wow.

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's OBS affiliate links puts 5% of your purchase price into The Tavern's coffers. Don't leave that money on the table for the greedy corps! Tip your barman!  ;)

Edit - If you were a member of The Tavern's Facebook Community, you would have seen the following comment from OneBookShelf:

What do the Numbers 825 and 910 have in Significance?

Lets see. What do the numbers 825 and 910 have in significance?

Well, we currently have over 825 downloads of Swords & Wizardry Light. That is with a non-optimized PDF and before we get the Word file ready for prime time. Add in 250 copies distributed in print over the last 2 weekends at GameHole Con and U-Con and we are nearing 1,100 copies. Hot damn.

910 is the current number of members of the Tenkar's Tavern Facebook Community. I was hoping to have 900 before the end of November, and here we are with over 2 weeks left and we are 90 members away from 1k.

Someone suggested I get a Tenkar's Tavern tattoo if we get to 1k members before the month is out. +James Spahn had a less painful idea. A one day Swords & Wizardry Online Gaming Convention if The Tavern's Facebook Community hits 1k members before the end of November. I'm more forgiving. If we hit 1k members before the end of the year, we'll do a 1 day Online S&W Gaming Con. If we hit it before the end of November, it will be 2 days and I'll run a session of S&W Light on both days (and I'll see what other folks from the OSR I can round up to run other sessions)

Let's see where we can get this. Ballpark for the Online S&W Con os March / April.

Kickstarter - Ogre Miniatures Set 1

Plastic Ogre Miniatures.

So damn sweet.

Yep, Ogre Miniatures Set 1 is minis for use with the Ogre Sixth Edition and Ogre Designer's Edition games.

I played the old pocket editions of Ogre and GEV back in my early days of gaming. Hell, we loved all of those mini games, as the value of play for your dollar was unmatched.

Fast forward to the Ogre Kickstarter from a few years ago. Big box. Huge box. Large, cardboard chits / counters and cardboard Ogres to put together. Now Steve Jackson Games is kickstarting minis for use with the Ogre boxed set.

30 bucks for the set of minis which is now, thanks to stretch goals, is a $40 value.

Yeah, this cutting back on backing kickstarters just isn't happening, is it?

New Release - The Witch for Swords & Wizardry Light - PWYW

Yep. +Timothy Brannan has added the first 3rd party player character class to the Swords & Wizardry Light system. Woot!

The Witch is a spellcaster that blends both divine and arcane practices. Whether she is the helpful local healing woman or the evil wicked hag of legends is up to the player.

Note. Tim has written advancement for The Witch class through 5th level, because plans are to have such rules available from SWL before the end of the year.

The Witch is a PWYW release.

There are other releases that I'll be highlighting this week.

Over 1,000 downloads of the Swords & Wizardry Light PDF and approximately 250 Print copies distributed for free between Gamehole Con and U-Con.

Lulu Stackable Coupons - 35% Off and Free Shipping!

Thanks to one of The Taverners over at the Facebook side of the community (you HAVE joined The Tavern's Facebook Community, right?) it appears Lulu has some stackable coupons. Its the first time I've heard of this happening:

Lulu coupon codes NIGEL35 for 35% off and 15MAILNOV for free shipping stack.

So, have at it. Feel free to post suggestions for your fellow gamers...

The Tavern's Facebook Community has hit 888 Members in Less than a Year

Last November it occurred to me that there wasn't any Facebook Community for The Tavern. With the encouragement of +Zach Glazar , I rectified that. That was on November 29th, 2015. I was in the middle of the initial Gygax Memorial Fund drama. Fun times ;)

Here we are, approximately 2 1/2 weeks short of a year from that date and we have 888 members. We should easily surpass 900 before the end of November and there is an outside chance, however small, we may hit 1,000 before the end of the year.

Simply amazing.

It truly is a community, with discussions and shares by various members throughout the day. All of The Tavern's posts get shared via The Tavern's Facebook Community, so if you don't want to miss any (as well as posts from others) its a great place to be a part of.

I'm trying to think of a way to celebrate when we hit 1,000 members. No worries. I'm sure something will occur to me :)

Ken Whitman Moves Back to Kentucky (and a whole lot more)

It's been fairly quiet on the Ken Whitman / Whit Whitman / Ken Whitless front lately. I'm guessing he's been attempting to keep a low profile, what with lawsuits and other charges hovering like drones over his head. Ken is kinda like Whack-a-Mole - you never know where he is going to pop up next.

Well, now you do know:

So, Corbin Kentucky, eh?

I've been told Ken has some... revealing pics at the site this screenshot game from. I'm glad my source didn't pass that on.

(edited to conform to my own social mores and not my intense dislike for all things Ken Whitman)

Then there is this:

Corbin is 22 minutes away by car. Looks like Kenny will be making an appearance. Ask him about being a zombie . I mean, he did play one of the Walking Dead, right? A zombie, that is.