Some Thoughts on the Common Tongue

Its occurred to me that the common tongue, as often used in fantasy RPGs, is one hell of an unrealistic crutch. Just look at Europe. How many languages are spoken there? Well, according to Wikipedia, the European Union has 24 languages designated as "official and working": Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish. Trust me, there are others that are spoken.

So, obviously "common" is used so player characters can travel the world without having language difficulties, but is it taken too far?

In my mind, "common" should be to a fantasy setting as English is to much of the real world - a language of international trade and business. Yes, many if not most of Europe  (if not the world) speaks English as a second language, but that's the catch - it is a second language. At home, on the streets, in personal interactions among locals, it is rarely used. Such communications use the native tongue, not the common tongue.

Now, for those that the so-called common tongue is their native tongue, they may not have even bothered to learn another language. Sound familiar to anyone? ;)

Anyhow, just something to chew on when I run my next Swords & Wizardry Campaign...

If you want, I have some further thoughts and observations on tonight's episode of The Tavern Chat Podcast.

https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E198---How-Common-is-the-Common-Tongue-e2lvhc

Tavern Chat Podcast Roundup for November, 2018

Yeah, I know there's still a day left in the month, but tomorrow is going to be busy as heck, so I figured I'd do the roundup post now. Well, not a complete roundup, but at least a highlight of the more popular episodes.

E170 - Episode #1 of the TavernSpike Podcast - Join "SpikePit" and Myself on a Podcast Crossover

Published on Nov 2, 2018

It has finally happened. There has been a melding of worlds. A mashing of podcasts. Yep, this is the first in a series of "podcast crossovers". Today, I hang with Colin "SpikePit" Green. We touch on many topics related to gaming, geekdom and beyond. Enjoy the podcast that spans both sides of the "pond" ;)

E173 - But we Decide which is Right and which is an Illusion - I talk briefly about Game Balance

Published on Nov 5, 2018

Love me some Moody Blues. I talk a bit about game balance and why I think the true balance belongs not in the rules but in the adventures.

E177 - GameHole Day Two with Bad Mike, Ben Barsh, Zach Glazer and Rach

Published on Nov 9, 2018

I hang out and discuss Gamehole and related stuff with Bad Mike, Ben Barsh, Zach Glazer and my wife Rach. Ambient noise supplied by Dwarven Forge ;)

E184 - Mundane Magic - Spells and Items - Why is This Overlooked in Most Fantasy RPGs?

Published on Nov 16, 2018

I got it into my head today to think about mundane magic. I understand why RPG rulebooks focus on the magic aimed for adventuring, but in societies where magic replaces technologoy, wouldnt there be more mundane uses?

E185 - Does the Graphic Define the OSR or Does the OSR Define the Graphic? Does the Graphic Matter?

Published on Nov 17, 2018

Voicemails on Mundane Magic kick us off. It really seems to have an audience. Then we address Stuart R's OSR Logo / Graphic and whether it was ever really needed. I think a TARGA follow up episode will be needed.

E186 - TARGA - Its History, Its Death and an Inside View - Are We Doomed to Repeat?

Published on Nov 18, 2018

I apologize in advance for the extra-long episode. As I was putting the pieces of the episode together, I discovered a post on our very own TenkarsTavern.com from 2014 that shed further light on the battle for the soul of TARGA, from the one that fought said battle. Additional material is at the end of the episode. It was too relevant to not include. I touch upon the current OSR logo drama too.

E192 - News - There is Now a Gygax Game site - But They Don't Mention FIG (Alex does have a sidegig)

Published on Nov 24, 2018

Voicemails and then a peek at the brand new Gygax Games website. What it doesn't say speaks volumes...

E196 - Do you Use Spells with No Save Against your Player Characters?

Published on Nov 28, 2018

JoeTheLawyer calls in with an interesting observation regarding spells with no saves (Cloudkill, Powerword Kill, Sleep, etc). I respond with thoughts of my own.

Tegel Manor Full-Size Prototype Map (Kickstarter)

Wow. Simply wow. Just thinking about the idea of running Tegel Manor using the final, full-size map at future conventions makes me smile :)

Zach tells it like it is:

Here's the link to the Tegel Manor Kickstarter for 5e and S&W.

I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Three Years Ago Today, The Tavern's Facebook Group was Formed

Three years ago today I created the Tenkar's Tavern Facebook Group. I had just started digging into the Gygax Memorial Fund and was getting heavy pushback from Gail Gygax because of such. I thought it might be nice to have a place to discuss blog posts (from all gaming sources) and events that related to tabletop gaming and geekdom that was directly tied to a blog post. I also wanted to give the community that had formed around the Tenkar's Tavern blog a place to hang out and communicate with others. 

I was gratified to see "Taverners" embrace the new group as quickly as they did. I am floored to see how much it has grown over those three years. Over 2,200 members, with more joining every week.

Over the years, The Tavern has seen a strong, vibrant community grow around it. Our Facebook Group is a huge part of that.

Thank you.

Tenkar's Tavern - a Neutral Ground Closed group · 2,239 members Join Group A place for Old School Gamers to hang out and have a good time

Almost Complete List of OSR Christmas Gifts 2018

Holy shit! We have an amazing list of gift givers and gifts. The gifts list is literally going to need a day or more to fully put together, but here is a quick list as of this moment:

• Far Away Lands - PDF Bundles
• OSR Patches - Multiple sets - some shipping worldwide
• World War II: Operation WhiteBox adventure "The Argentine Connection" - PDF copies
• Castle of the Mad Archmage and all the expansions (Level 3 East, Musicland, and Bitterbark's Circus - in Print)
• Lord of Suttham Oldfeld bundle for The Midderlands shipped anywhere in the world
• Daily PDF giveaway of the Midderlands
• Print copy of For Coin & Blood, Eorathril, and Print copy of Fallen Justice anywhere in the world.
• ZWEIHÄNDER Complete Digital Bundle (all 13 digital products)
• 3 PDF’s of the Sunken City Omnibus (DCC RPG)
• ALL Frog God Games Swords & Wizardry releases in digital format (that they can account for) in a bundle for 1 person
• Some Frog God Games Print products signed by Bill Webb (shipped by me)
• Outdoor Encounter Cards and Dungeon Challenge Cards- in Print (from Phil Reed, shipped by me)
• 4 Class Compendium PDFs, 4 White Star Galaxy Edition PDFs, 4 The Hero's Journey PDFs
• Random Gaming Material from a Taverner's Gaming Collection
• Random Shit from the Tenkar Game Collection - at least three Priority Mail boxes of stuff
• 6 copies of Dragon Heresy in Print
• 2 copies Undying Orb in Print

Note - stuff I'm shipping MAY not ship until after Christmas. I've found a hidden and forgotten post office here in Queens, so I do hope to ship before Christmas, but it may get swamped. Time will tell.

I may have missed a gift package or two. Not everyone used email to notify me, so if you offered and weren't mentioned above, or if you want to gift, email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing with the subject OSR Christmas and the details of what you are gifting, and I'll put you on OSR Santa's Good List ;)

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight - 9 PM Eastern - Who Said "Tenkar is so Neutral its Almost Pathological?"

As November comes to a close and December steps up to the plate, the smell of OSR Christmas is in the air. That as well as the above quote, all things Gygax and whatever else lands on the radar will be up for discussion on tonight's Tavern Chat, the weekly voice chat of Tenkar's Tavern, held on our very own Discord Server.

We use the "Speakeasy" for the Voice Channel and "tavern-chat" for text and pics.

Here's the link:  https://discord.gg/rsN2K9

The Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server with over 1,200 members. A Neutral Ground.

See you, or is that "hear you", tonight :)

Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Orcus - Sung by James Spahn

Ah James, its like I hardly know ya :)

4 days to go - funded and then some!

How Orcus Stole Christmas! A Holiday RPG Adventure - A joy-filled holiday adventure for either Fifth Edition, Swords & Wizardry, or Pathfinder campaigns.

Kickstarter - More Sci-Fi content Add-Ons for MapForge map-making software

I love making maps for RPGs. I lack the artistic talent to draw decent looking maps by hand. Programs like Mapforge put virtual talent into the users' hands.

The More Sci-Fi content Add-Ons for MapForge map-making software Kickstarter is what it says on the tin - an attempt to fund sci-fi assets for the Mapforge software. It's also an opportunity for those that missed last year's MapForge Kickstarter to pick up the MapForge software and still help fund the sci-fi assets.

MapForge is a full-color battle map mapping program from BattleGrounds Games, publisher of one of the longest-running VTTs on the market.

State of The Tavern - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - OSR Christmas that Is!

Yep, its that time of year again. Along with seasonal depression for a large portion of the populace and Thanksgiving Hangover for even more of it, its the time where we start our holiday gift giving shopping (as shown with the Black Friday postings here at The Tavern). It also means its time to prepare for OSR Christmas.

God bless, I've already been contacted by a number of publishers to ensure they are on the gift-giving list. I guess OSR Christmas really has become a tradition.

If you are a publisher or even a generous member of the OSR and you would like to participate in the distribution of gifts for OSR Christmas, I need you to email me at: tenkarsDOTtavern at that Gmail thing. Please put "OSR Christmas" in the subject and let me know what you can add to Santa's gift collection.

Some quick reminders/rules:

• Unless the gift donor states otherwise, physical (snail mail) gifts are only being gifted within the US. Sucks, I know, but shipping can cost more than the gift itself otherwise.
• Most gifts will be sent by the gifter to the receiver. I am willing to be the middleman if necessary, but it saves time and postal expenses if we cut me out ;)
• Publishers big and small - PDF gifts are ALWAYS appreciated and they can be given worldwide.
• I'd like to kick this off December 1st if it all works out.
• I'll be putting two or three grab bags of RPG goodness into the pot. They should each fill a large Priority Mail box. Huzzah!
• Shipping of gifts from my end may be delayed until the 1st of the New Year if my post office is insane.
• Gift Posts will generally be up for 48 hrs (at least) - Comment on the posts that have gifts you might want. There is no limit to the number of gift posts one can comment on, nor is there a limit to the number of gifts one can receive. Some posts may have more than one gift in the mix and there may be multiple gift receivers per post
• Most of all, let's share the spirit of Christmas, with respect and love to our fellow men and women everywhere.

I expect I will be a bit distracted this week. My son drives to Salt Lake City Friday morning for a new position with Delta (he's been with them a few years). He's excited. I'm the nervous father. Heh. Anyone near Salt Lake City want to take responsibility for my 25-year-old son? Seriously, proud as all hell and just as nervous.

RPG Breakfast Club - Sunday, November 25th - 10 AM Eastern

Just a reminder for folks. Tomorrow is a Sunday and that means tomorrow morning at 10 Eastern The Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server will be hosting the weekly RPG Breakfast Club.

What we do is try to get some movers and shakers, or designers & makers, to come and chat via voice. Sometimes we lock the voice chat down for the first hour so they can cover their topics, sometimes we don't. It's up to the hosts and I expect I'll be as surprised as you are.

Here's tomorrow's lineup:

And here's a link to the Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/P9AV67

Announcement - New Moon Wizard OSR Patch is now available!

Have money left over from Black Friday? Thad has a new patch for you :)


The new “Moon Wizard” patch is available now! All OSR patches are high quality with 100% embroidery coverage, an iron-on backing, and a hot cut border. For your gaming backpack, messenger bag, dice bag, hat, polo shirt, battle vest/jacket, anything! Can be applied with fabric glue, stitching, self-adhesive Velcro. Cover with a cloth before ironing on.

To order ANY patch send $6 per patch to: paypal.me/thaddeusgmoore

Free Shipping worldwide from the USA is included in this price. Please make a note, specifying which designs you would like when you send payment. Ensure your shipping address is correct in your PayPal account info. Thanks to all of you in OSR community for your camaraderie and support.

For help contact:
THADDEUS dot G dot MOORE at GMAIL

The Midderlands logo by MonkeyBlood Design (Glynn Seal) is used with permission. http://monkeyblooddesign.co.uk/The-Midderlands

The OSR blue map logo by Stuart Robertson is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.

Gygax Games FINALLY has a Website - No Mention of FIG Deal

I thought it was strange when the deal with FIG (to help turn Gary's IP into video game properties) was announced, there was no website for Gygax Games.

Now, there is a website for Gygax Games and no mention of the FIG deal.

Wonder if a certain lawsuit has something to do with that omission...

http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2018/04/more-thoughts-on-gygax-games-fig.html

http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2018/05/a-month-later-still-no-gygax-games.html

http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2018/08/gail-gygax-says-desanto-suing-for-30m.html

https://player.fm/series/tavern-chat/episode-78-news-how-did-i-miss-gail-gygax-getting-sued

Indigogo - How Orcus Stole Christmas! A Holiday RPG Adventure (Frog God Games - S&W, 5e and PF)

When I heard that James Spahn was pitching a Christmas themed adventure featuring Orcus, I was all in. Seriously, no hesitation. James Spahn is an awesome writer of RPG material - rules, supplements, adventures and more. James is also a good friend of mine, and I've gotten a few "peeks behind the curtain" and I think How Orcus Stole Christmas! A Holiday RPG Adventure is going to be one of James' best releases - ever.

Frog God Games wants your support for our first holiday adventure in over a decade -"How Orcus Stole Christmas!". Designed for lower-level characters both joyful and triumphant it has a wickedly humorous take on  classic holiday tropes. Yet it is still a perilous adventure full of the unexpected. Beware festive monsters, find joyous and jolly magic items and face an iconic villain with a holiday twist. 

O, Come All Ye Faithful....to Newville! 

This low-level adventure introduces the players to a contained wilderness environment known as Newville. It is designed to fit into most traditional fantasy campaigns, The open nature and local environment can extend the adventure across multiple sessions. So beware the danger behind the joyful cruelty of the enemies and their pathetic holiday slaves! 

It’s up to a small band of brave heroes to save Christmas this year, and without their unwavering Christmas spirit and willingness to face the cruelties of both winter and a twisted aspect of the great Demon Prince, they’ll never discover How Orcus Stole Christmas... 

Can the player characters discover why Orcus Claws is waylaying the town of Newville?  Will they survive the climb up cruel Mount Strumpet with its cannibal reindeer and treacherous avalanches? And for the love of Christmas, why are all these damn News singing all the time?! 

Inside the finished release you will find the following-

• An adventure which can be integrated into an existing campaign as a brief (yet twisted) celebration of the season.
• New and festive creatures which have a tendency to kill and/or feast on itinerant characters that are not prepared for danger amidst all the dark humor. 
• Joyful magic items with heartwarming powers.
• An description of the village of Newville, the demeanor of the News, plus exciting rumors about the surrounding valley. The valley is thought to be full of adventure.
• The author's manuscript was  bursting with bloody sarcasm and holiday humor.
• A visitor who arrives in the night upon a magical sleigh.

Kickstarter - Tegel Manor Returns! (by Frog God Games - S&W and 5e)

The first rumors I heard about a possible Tegel Manor Returns! Kickstarter was at North Texas RPG Con 2017. Just early rumblings. Possibilities. Potential. Later, I learned it was going to be a definite "thing". I'm very excited to say that "thing" has launched today and its damn near explosive!

As I type this, Tegel Manor Returns! launched a mere 2 1/2 hours ago. I was notified when it launched, peek from my phone and saw zero backers and zero dollars pledged. If I had been home, I could have been backer #1. Right now, it has 139 backers and over $17k raised (of a $15k goal). To say this is a huge deal is an understatement - this is going to hit numerous stretch goals :)

I'm in at $50 - Swords & Wizardry version - Print plus PDF with the six-panel poster map.

Here's some info from the Kickstarter page:

First published in 1977, Tegel Manor is the oldest of “Haunted House” adventures in fantasy roleplaying, and probably the very first megadungeon ever published. The Manor is a sprawling edifice of 250+ rooms filled with tricks, traps, puzzles, monsters, and situations both humorous and horrific. The huge manor house has been the curse of its owners, the Rump family, for generations – no matter how many times they have tried to get rid of it, the ownership manages to come back to them. 

If you’ve already seen the 1977 version of the Manor, there’s a lot more for you to learn in this updated and expanded 5E (and S&W) version of the classic. This printing contains expanded descriptions of the rooms, new areas, new monsters, new magic items, and much more, all with spectacular color illustrations. 

At the start of the Kickstarter, the book will be a perfect bound softcover, but if we get 250 backers purchasing an edition of the book, it will be upgraded to hardcover, free of charge! 

In addition to the Manor itself, this book contains: 

• A 4-level dungeon under the Manor, fully detailed.
• The Temple of the Frog and the Monastery of Garm, as well as a full length new adventure-The Sanctum of Madness!
• A detailed handling of Tegel Village, the wilderness area, the black dragon lair and even the pirate lair and tower along the seacoast.
• All 100 members of the Rump Family are described and detailed, and many even have portraits done!
• Over a 15 new monsters and dozens of never before seen magic items!
• and one more thing...

The Map of Tegel Manor 

The map was revolutionary to gaming when it was introduced.  Our cartographer is the famous Alyssa Faden — we’ve gone all-out on quality for this project.

Alyssa Faden, map goddess and Frog God favorite, has been working on making the Sine Qua Non of Fantasy Gaming Maps. Using details from both the original and the newly written material each room now reflects the chaotic, creepy and often violent nature of the Manor. This is done at an incredibly high resolution which will keep the minute details she captures visibly pleasing when zoomed beyond what is normal in online games or projection based set-ups. 

Note. I swim in the Frog Pond these days. I also pledged $50 of my own hard earned cash to back this project. THAT is how excited I am :)

OSR Black Friday Sales - Part The Third - Trolls and Hacks and More

Its ACTUALLY Black Friday now. Let's see what sales have been added to the mix. Prior posts are here and here.

KenzerCo

Kenzerco's 2018 Hack Friday [CyB3rMonday] Sale

Thanks for checking out our annual mega-sale. There's values across the board with a majority of products 50% off for the shopping holiday weekend (Friday through Monday).

All orders of $50 (in merchandise) will receive a free copy of a Bundle of Trouble. $100 orders will get two. (The specific volume is determined by stock on hand.)

Note that this page has special product listings we prepared especially for you (below) that exceed even these savings! Other highlights follow:

• We've added discounted media mail shipping options for hardcover books
• "Classic" print editions of KoDT are 80% off
• Previous edition Aces & Eights products are 80% off
• All Casualty Counters are 75% off. These very kewl fallen battle figures make a great stocking stuffer for the gamer in your life.
• HackMaster bundle/shipping specials are an awesome value if you want to pick up multiple core books

Troll Lord Games

Stacking "percent off" doesn't usually add up as well as you think it might but by my math, $20 to $50 becomes 46% off and over $50 becomes 52% off. Still HUGE discounts at The Trolls.

Jeff Talanian

Time for some Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerors of Hyperborea fun :)

Pacesetter Games & Simulations

OSR adventures and minis are the Pacesetter specialty.

35% off sitewide with coupon code: Black18

OSR Black Friday Sales - Part the Second

Yep, part two of the OSR Black Friday Sales listing is here. Where shall we start?

Fantasy Grounds

Fantasy Grounds licenses are 25% off (if you opt for a monthly subscription, there is no discount)
Fantasy Grounds is one of the premiere and longest running Virtual Table Tops around.

Kraken Dice

We all like dice - its one of the reasons we are gamers. Kraken Dice is offering discounts up to 50% on some sets. Note, some sets may be out of stock.

R. Talsorian Games

Damn, but The Witcher looks damn tempting...

Alright, there's some more going live tomorrow...

OSR Black Friday Sales - Part the First

Black Fridays Sales are live. Here are some highlights for OSR gamers (more to come as they are announced):

Goodman Games

PRINT - Save 40% on almost everything – and 20% on the rest! Read on for details!
Today is that infamous dark day when all consumers go insane! Black Friday! (Yeah, we know it’s Tuesday…what’s your point?) 

Nonetheless, it’s our biggest sale of the year! Well, it’s really our only sale of the year, but who’s counting? 

The sale is 40% off all Goodman Games books currently in stock, except leather bound items. That means you save 40% on DCC modules, all the variant covers, all our Fifth Edition Fantasy products, Into the Borderlands, Mutant Crawl Classics, Judges Guild, Metamorphosis Alpha, Xcrawl, and Age of Cthulhu. Plus the PDF editions of all those. Plus all the other book titles we forgot to mention! 

And then everything else in our online store is 20% off. The “everything else” includes leather bound books, third-party DCC publications, specialty dice, appendix N reprints, and all the other accessories. 

When you check out, just use one or ALL of these coupon codes (multiple codes are accepted): 

• Code GGblackfriday2018 to save 40% on most Goodman Games items in our online store! 

• Code 3PPblackfriday2018 to save 20% on most other product in our online store!  

• Code LEblackfriday2018 to save 20% on Limited Edition Goodman Games items in our online store!

PDF - From now through Cyber Monday, Goodman Games is offering 40% off every PDF we sell on DriveThruRPG. 

It's that simple. So once you're done with that turkey and sitting back to relax - or fighting off sleep, as the case may be - swing by our product page and check out the deals!  

The 40% sale applies to every PDF we publish: DCC RPG adventure modules. All of our Dungeon Crawl Classics from other rules sets, like 3E adventures, 4E, or even 1E. Mutant Crawl Classics. Fifth Edition Fantasy. Tales From The Magician's Skull. Age of Cthulhu. Xcrawl. Our huge line of 3E products - or even our line of 4E products. Our licensed lines like Metamorphosis Alpha and older lines like DragonMech. And many of our systems-neutral, stand-alone favorites like The Dungeon Alphabet, How to Write Adventure Modules That Don't Suck, and others.

Palladium

Palladium has 3 BIG Sales going on this weekend 

1. Palladium’s Black Friday Sale is NOW thru Tuesday – Our Black Friday and Cyber-Monday sales start right now. Almost ALL Rifts® books and metal miniatures are on sale starting NOW through Tuesday, November 27, 2018. 

2. Palladium PDF Sale NOW till Tuesday morning on DriveThruRPG.com – Most Palladium PDFs are available at a 33% discount for awesome savings – offer ends Tuesday morning, November 27, 2018. 

3. Christmas Surprise Packages have been delighting gamers for 20 years. Each book is signed by me and available staff and freelancers if you want autographs. I do not believe I have sent out a Surprise Package with less than $95 worth of product – most have been closer to $100 or more! Our holiday season gift to you. And if you are lucky, you may be able to turn items from ONE Surprise Package into gifts for 2-3 gamers in your life. With only four weeks till Christmas, time is starting to run out, so please tell everyone you know! Offer ends December 24, 2018. 

4. Plus a sale at Kevin’s Ebay store – http://stores.ebay.com/kevinstoys-artandcollectibles – though technically not a “Palladium sale,” you can find original art by Charles Walton II, Kevin Long, and other artists, as well as Palladium collectibles from my (Kevin Siembieda’s) personal archives, signed books, one-of-a-kind book negatives, action figures and toys, all on sale now through Tuesday. 

DriveThruRPG / RPGNow

You can save 33% on over 47K PDF titles at DriveThruRPG / RPGNow, including our very own Swords & Wizardry Continual Light. I'll try to get some Tavern Picks posted tomorrow (Friday)

There are some affiliate links above. Keep The Tavern in fresh beer by using our affiliate links.

Reminder - Tavern Chat - Tonight - 9PM Eastern - Gobble Gobble!

Tonight is a Wednesday Night, and that means its time for our weekly Tavern Chat. If you've been following events in gaming for the past week or so, you can be assured there will be no lack of topics to talk about.

Oh, and Black Friday sales have started. Maybe we'll even have some geek picks :)

Tavern Chat is held every Wednesday Night on the Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server from 9PM Eastern until... While mostly a voice chat, there is an associated text channel and participation in the chat is certainly optional - many just listen and offer feedback via text.

See Y'all tonight:  https://discord.gg/uUggWP

News - RPGNow merging fully into DriveThruRPG

I found this waiting in my email this morning.

Dear publisher,

Starting in February 2019, all elements of the RPGNow tool pages and storefront will redirect to similar pages on DriveThruRPG.

You most likely know this, but since RPGNow and DriveThruRPG first merged as businesses back in 2006, they have shared all the same tools and digital inventory. On the front end, they looked and behaved like two separate sites, but essentially they have just been two faces of the same site for many years. The only real differences were the color schemes and logos.

You might have some questions about the coming change, so we’ve done our best to anticipate and answer them below.

How will this affect me?

In most ways, you’ll be unaffected. Your entire catalog of titles from RPGNow is already listed on DriveThruRPG (as it always has been), and you can log in to DriveThruRPG using the same account(s) you’ve always used on RPGNow, just as you could before.

Even your old bookmarks to pages on RPGNow.com will still work: They’ll automatically be redirected to the same page on DriveThruRPG.

What about sales reporting? Will my past sales be combined?

Yes, as far as sales records and your titles’ metal rankings, we will be merging those together.

Starting in February, your sales records will show combined sales of each title across both the deprecated RPGNow site and DriveThruRPG, together. The number of unit sales will also be combined, so if you had metal rankings for titles on one or both sites, there’s a good chance you’ll find that your rankings on some titles will have increased on DriveThruRPG.

What about my Publisher Promotion Points and marketing impressions?

No worries. Your Publisher Promotion Points (PPP) are already shared across sister sites. They are compiled by publisher, not by site.

If you have used your PPP to purchase site impressions for banners or featured product messages on RPGNow, you will also be reimbursed, commensurately, for those expenditures on DriveThruRPG.

Why is this happening?

Here’s the big picture: In the 12 years since RPGNow and DriveThruRPG merged, the growth of RPGNow has tapered off constantly, while DriveThruRPG has continued to grow strongly, year over year, since it launched in 2004. We’ve reached the point where RPGNow rarely draws new customers or publishers and sells less than one-tenth the volume of titles purchased on DriveThruRPG.

To be honest, we have known this moment would come for years now. We’ve just finally decided it’s time to put the RPGNow brand out to pasture.

If you look at the two storefronts, RPGNow has always had a stronger OSR and smaller publisher presence. This does not bode well...

The Tavern's Book of Mundane Majiks - Page 1

Remember how I was musing about mundane spells last week? Well, I've been putting some together. This is the first installment. If you want to add your own, add them to the comments below and I'll share them on a later post. Note, your comment must include the following statement if you want it to be shared "I agree that the attached text may be released under the OGL" followed by the name you want credit under. If we get enough entries I'll have them put together as a PWYW release on RPGNow.

Consider the following to be written with the template you should use if you choose to share.

Venerated Wine
Spell Level: Cleric, 1st Level
Range: N/A
Duration: 24 hours or until consumed

This spell will fill a wine flask, decanter, jug or other vessel with up to a quart of weak, watered down wine. Usually used in religious services, some clerics keep this spell memorized out of personal necessity.

Magic Wisk
Spell Level: Magic User, 1st Level
Range: 10’
Duration: 20 minutes per caster level

This spell summons a wisk that is used to whip eggs, milk, cream and other dairy products. It will follow the caster’s directions until given newer ones.

Mullon’s Restorative 
Spell Level: Magic User, 1st Level
Range: Self
Duration: Special

This spell will remove the symptoms of a hangover (but not any lingering intoxication). It also provides a +1saving throw vs poison for 4 hours after casting. The reverse of this spell imbues the recipient with the effects of a proper hangover (-1 to all rolls for 4 hours). A successful save will negate.

Kelvan’s Comfortable Repose
Spell Level: Magic User, 1st Level
Range: 5’
Duration: 8 Hours

This spell summons a water-resistant sleeping bag. If used outdoors in temperatures between 45 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit, with light rain or less, the user will receive the benefits as if he or she had slept in a bed in town.

The above is released under the OGL

"This work features art by Daniel F. Walthall, found at: drivethrurpg.com/product/181517, available under a CC BY 4.0 license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"

New Release - FP1: Arrival at Fort Perilous (Labyrinth Lord Levels 1 to 3)

I was contacted by the author (and artist) of FP1: Arrival at Fort Perilous and asked if I would take a look at it. I have and although it has some minor flaws (some inconsistencies in the layout - and I should know, as I am piss poor at doing layout) it looks to be well worth the asking price of 2.20

Here's the elevator pitch:

This is an old-school sandbox adventure for the basic version of the world's most popular fantasy RPG. Explore the wilderness and the three detailed dungeons around the human outpost of Fort Perilous. 

On the border between wilderness and civilization, Fort Perilous stands, keeping watch and holding the forces of Chaos at bay. Your heroes find themselves in the fort, drawn into the battles between civilization and monsters, between Law and Chaos.

This module is primarily a sandbox setting – that is players and GMs are not required to stick to any particular storyline. It is loosely along the same lines as the classic B2: The Keep on the Borderlands where there is a base where adventurers can rest, heal and sell loot. 

Beyond the fort there is an area of borderlands that contains a number of locations of interest to adventurers (see chapter 2). Four of these are detailed in subsequent chapters though others are only briefly mentioned and can be fleshed out by GMs if they so wish.  

So, what do you get for the price of a slice of pizza?  Sandbox, a couple of dungeons, a safe (relatively) starting location for the PCs and some new cleric spells.

Do you have the quality of a Frog God module? No, but you don't have that price tag either. If you simply want bang for your adventuring buck, I don't think you can do much better than Arrival at Fort Perilous at $2.20 in PDF.

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The Ugly - Johan Sprecht, Minion of Chaos

Art by www.critical-hit.biz

Johan Sprecht, Minion of Chaos

Once upon a time, as stories often begin, Johan Sprecht was a pious cleric of law. His downfall was quick though because after finding his first sample of Vis, a magical substance that can be expended in place of a memorized spell, he felt the compulsion to find more and more. Johan could never find enough to satisfy his urge and found himself sacrificing other party members in his quest for Vis.

One night, as he thrashed around in restless sleep, a voice asked him "what would you give to be free of the curse of Vis?" He answered "Anything!" Thus it was that his soul was sold to a Lord of Chaos. He mutated quickly into the creature displayed above and is even more driven in his quest to find more Vis, as it is no longer a curse but a quest for his Lord.

Johan wanders the Blackmarsh in search of Viz. Sometimes he will pay to acquire more. Sometimes he will kill to acquire it. All that matters is that he finds it.

Johan Sprecht is a 5th level Cleric of Chaos. He is +1 hit and damage due to his high strength. In addition to a weapon attack, Johan can bite for 1d6 damage each round. His mutations allow him to regenerate 1 point of damage each round so long as his HP total is a positive number.

He has spells appropriate to that of a 5th level cleric. Armor Class is 2[17] and his Hit Points when fully healed are 29.

OGL

BlackMarsh

Announcing "The Ugly, the Bad & the Good" series of upcoming posts - Oh, and Rob Conley's Blackmarsh will be the default setting

I've been toying with the idea of a series of posts offering up NPCs and creatures ever since rewatching The Good, The Bad and The Ugly earlier last week. I enjoy writing such, and I really do need to use my large library of stock art ;)

The kick in the ass was Rob Conley updating the licensing of Blackmarsh earlier today (probably the best, streamlined OSR setting available, and Blackmarsh is free in PDF, 5 Bucks in Print). I've decided to set the series of The Bad, The Ugly & The Good posts in Blackmarsh, or at least, The Tavern's version of Blackmarsh.

I'll be using the Swords & Wizardry rules, but I may experiment with also using descriptors for those that want to use then with non-clone / classic D&D rulesets.

Alright, back to work. I've also been tasked with a write up of Tenkar's Tavern by the end of the year. I'm heavily leaning towards a transdimensional tavern.

Oh, there's an affiliate link above. If you buy Rob's work in print, I get a quarter. Hey, it adds up!

RPG Breakfast Club Lineups for Sunday, 11/18 and 11/25 Announced (10 AM Eastern)

I'll try to sneak some time in tomorrow and drop into the RPG Breakfast Club held on the Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server.. Always a good time. I'm beginning t think these she be recorded as a podcast or such for those that can't make it ;)

Here's the linky:  https://discord.gg/XfGUXC

See you all tomorrow morning :)

#ConManKen - Tell me a Story, Tell me Some Lies - Two Stores Now - One for Debt and One for Assets Perhaps?

We all knew Ken would make an appearance somewhere. It seems Ken is separating his business into two entities with a shared stock of comics and games.

I was then sent this:

Just for clarification, I Jess Hunter separated my brick and mortar store (211 Games & Comics, LLC) and my online store (little monsters entertainment, LLC) into two entities in case I ever decide to sale off one of my business. But let me reassure you we are doing well and that is just a growing issue, not a going out if business issue. 🙂
See you on line, or maybe at my new store!

Look at the typos - pure Kenny.

Pure genius - let one company take all the debt and give the other company all of the assets.

#ConManKen - always working the angles.

So, who trashed the prior location?

Some Thoughts on Mundane Magic

Yesterday's ridiculous "snow incident" in NYC, where six inches or less of snow brought the city to a standstill, got me thinking of "mundane magic." Follow my thinking for a moment.

Magic in most fantasy RPGs, certainly the OSR ones that draw their direct inspiration from old-school D&D, have magic spell lists that are geared toward adventuring - kills shit, defend against shit, find shit and the like. It makes sense, as there are the spells best suited to keeping adventurers alive.

But what of the mundane spells? The spells that no right-thinking adventurer would keep in his or her spellbook but make daily life easier for the masses. Because magic, if it did exist, would certainly replace bits of technology.

Secure communications? There's a spell for that. Cleaning a mansion? Yep, there's a spell. Butchering? I'm sure. A variation on the web spell for enhanced fishing? Why not? I'm sure there is a spell for quick and safe snow removal in someone's spellbook.

These don't even touch upon magic items that are less about adventuring but more about creature comforts. Magical hair brushes, razors, drinking fountains, lighting, warm baths, snow shovels and the like. Just because it doesn't come up in play doesn't mean it isn't there.

I'm just wondering if it should "be there" a bit more often I guess.

Ah well, back to writing. Yes, thoughts like this come up when I actually try to write. Go figures ;)

Extra Life - Friday, 6PM Eastern - 24 Hours of Live Twitch Gaming in Support of Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center

Its that time of year. It's time for the yearly Extra Life 24 hours of live feed, Twitch gaming in support of Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center.

Here's Edwin:

For the fourth year running, we will be playing 24 hours of table-top roleplaying games to raise money for our local children's hospitals.  This year, we'll be starting November 16th at 6 pm, and streaming the whole thing at https://www.twitch.tv/enn321.  Please join us--for a very small donation, you can mess with the game and have a chance to win fabulous prizes from our fabulous sponsors. 

This year, the players will be searching for the scattered parts of the statue of Alexandreovich MacGuffin during 18 hours of 5e D&D.  Your donations could help or hinder them.  We will also continue our tradition of a midnight game of Call of Cthulhu to let the horror really settle in! 

Your donation is tax-deductible and will make miracles happen for families who desperately need them. You can click the "Donate" button at the top of this page to make a safe and easy online donation. 

Direct donation link:

I've watched and contributed for the past few years. Its fun getting a chance to mess with the game and it is for a damn good cause. I don't watch for 24 hours straight through - but I do drop in and out ;)

Reminder - Tavern Chat - Tonight - 9PM Eastern - GameHole Con Recap and More

I wasn't able to make Tavern Chat last week, as I was settling in at GameHole Con. Tonight I will be present ;)

Expect some GameHole Con catchup, some possibilities regarding the future of The Tavern and more to be some of tonight's topics.

Where? The Tavern's Discord Server

Link to Chat: https://discord.gg/fReGmuD

When? 9PM Eastern

We'll be using the "Speakeasy"voice channel and the "tavern-chat" text channel (for text and images)

Nearly 1200 Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server members can't be wrong, can they? ;)

Humble Bundle - Warhammer / Warhammer 40k Audio Books and Talisman for your PC / Mac

I've long enjoyed Warhammer and Warhammer 40k fiction, but I lost my ability to concentrate for a long enough time to read most novels these days. Audio books though? They work well for me, but they are often expensive as all hell. The Black Library - Voices from the Worlds of Warhammer Humble Bundle has just bestowed up me a library of audiobooks and audio dramas for months of listening. Huzza!

Then we have the Warhammer Humble Games Bundle. I'm in for 7 bucks because I want Talisman and Bloodbowl II. I'm on a Mac, so the other games won't work for me. Ah well.

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