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Saturday, November 10, 2018

Discord - RPG Breakfast Club - 10 AM ti; Noon - Sunday, November 11th



Its time for another RPG Breakfast Club! We have a great line up tomorrow, with Smunchy, Mottokrosh, The Referee, Laramie and Melkor.

Invite to The Tavern's Discord Server:
https://discord.gg/fReGmuD

I'll still be at GameHole Con, so I probably won't have a chance to drop in, but I'll be there in spirit :)


Friday, November 9, 2018

GameHole - Day One Wrap Up - Day Two Preview

For the first day of a convention, yesterday was busy. Sales of Swords & Wizardry was surprisingly strong, which makes me feel really warm inside. Even better, I got to shake hands with a number of Taverners. Nothing quite compares to putting a face to someone you've known via comments or voice chats. Cons are great for such. Huzzah!

Industry-wise, I got to meet Steve Winter, chat some with Phil Reed and got to shake the hand of Steve Jackson himself. It was like the teen me finally got to meet the man that brought hundreds of hours of gaming fun to my group and me via OGRE, GEV and Car Wars in the 80s. Need to mark that on my bucket list.

Today its back to slaving for the man... I'll be working at the Frog God Games table from 10 am to 6 pm. Tomorrow from 9 till 1 pm I'll be running Rappan Athuk with the Swords & Wizardry Light rules, then back to the table. If you are at the con I'd love to meet you. Heck, we have copies of the new printing of Swords & Wizardry Light to hand out. If you are not at the con and you'd like a copy mailed to you, email mikeATfroggodgames.com and the Frogs will send you some goodies for free.

As for industry news...

Thursday, November 8, 2018

GameHole - Day One Less Two Hours

I'm about to go downstairs for a quick breakfast before heading over to the vendors' room. I need to finish setting up the Frog God Table before doors open at 10 AM.

Expect to find Bad Mike, Zach Glazar and myself manning the booth most times, with other assorted Frogs around at random points. Bill Webb, Matt Finch, Jim Wampler, and others. You want Frogs? We got your Frogs.

Oh, and I have a preview of the upcoming Swords & Wizardry Continual Light/Far Away Lands Hack on my iPad. Dirk Stanley is doing an amazing job. Ask and I'll give you a peek ;)

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Live - At GameHole - Pathfinder at 5 Bucks a Pound!

We have arrived!

The Frog God Booth will have its usual assortment of 5e and Swords & Wizardry, but we will also have Pathfinder at 5 Bucks a Pound.

Sure, it only took us two terminals and four gates to get out of New York, but Rach and I are here in Madison :)


Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Kickstarter - Falls Keep - 5E & S&W Adventure (PDF Only - 3 Measly Bucks)


I really like the ideas behind the Falls Keep Kickstarter. A short, one week long funding period. An inexpensive buy in at 3 bucks for the PDF. No print version. Swords & Wizardry as well as 5e.

KISS (keep it simple, stupid) for the win ;)
Falls Keep is a fun adventure, with some unique monsters ready to roll when your campaign is in one direction, but the players go in the other direction.  
It is intended for 4-5 adventurers at level 3. 
Rumors flow through town and along the road of Lord Venwexal and his descent into madness. No one knows what really happened when the locals gathered a revolt and hunted him down. All that remains is a mysterious pair of towers at the head of a waterfall. 
Perhaps a visit to Wheatwey Farm will provide some answers, and a hot meal on the road.... good luck with that. 
Risks and challenges 
The risks are EXTREMELY minimal on this Kickstarter. We are not printing or shipping, only delivering digital PDFs. 
The writing is complete, illustration nearly complete, layout already underway and conversions in process (All before we launch).  
We only need funds to clear and a few layout details to arrange.

Monday, November 5, 2018

Distracted Today By Seven Years of Wedded Bliss - The Tavern Wouldn't Be Here Without Rach :)


Seven years ago today, I became the luckiest man alive when Rach gave me her hand in blissful wedding matrimony. In truth, she had stolen my hear over two years prior and does so again every day.

In truth, The Tavern would not be here today if Rach hadn't been with me all these years. She encouraged me to blog, supported me emotionally early on when I just wanted to throw it all away, has been my sounding board and honest critic when needed, and most importantly, has allowed me to spend as much time as I need on all things Tavern.

She is my partner, my best friend, and literally the best part of me.

The first anniversary we barely saw each other, as I was working long hours with the aftereffects of Hurricane Sandy. I got home after 10 PM, shared a hug and a kiss and was promptly told "You need to get your post up for today! Get to it!"

I am truly blessed. And just think, Alex was nice enough to schedule GameHole Con right around our anniversary. You might almost think he planned it that way ;)


Sunday, November 4, 2018

State of The Tavern - Con Prep and Clean Up


Rach and I leave for Gamehole in three days. God, its come up quickly. Of course, that means last minute con prep. I'm really good at "last minute" prep. Procrastination for the win ;)

I'll be running the 3d Rappan Athuk table using the Swords & Wizardry Light rules Friday and Saturday mornings at 9 AM. The new shipment of rules arrived at The Frogs so copies will be available for free. I'm fairly sure the slots are sold out, but I can run with up to a dozen if needed and I really hate to turn folks away.

I'm bringing cardboard minis from the Pathfinder Beginner Box. Lighter than metal minis and takes up less space in my luggage. I actually had to pop them out of their sheets. Shame really, it's a great product. Almost like an OSR friendly version of Pathfinder.

This morning was the second weekly RPG Breakfast Club on The Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server and it looks like we have a hit on our hands. Sunday mornings at 10 AM, every week. The hosts/guests change almost every week, and it's never the same experience.

The next week may be a bit light on the posts. Expect your daily post, but multiple post days may be rare. Or not. Gamehole may require multiple updates each day ;)

The Tavern Chat Podcast has certainly hit its stride. I had a blast recording the Tavern Spike episode with Colin Green. Expect guests/crossover episode later this month. I'll try and put together some special episodes while at Gamehole.

As a side note, I've hooked my Xbox One up again. Timesink trap! Be very careful. Heh heh. Pinky loves the racing games.




David Baity has a Raffle with Major Goodies - Benefits Feral Cat Rescue


Every fall for the past few years, David Baity has run a fundraiser / raffle for local feral cat rescues. This is actually an issue close to my heart, as a feral cat had kittens in my yard back in May. I came damn close to snagging one of the kittens before their mom moved them in in early July. Next spring Rach and I plan to get certified by NYC to participate in the catch and release program to spay and neuter feral cats. So yes, David, I have your back.

Here's the posting from David's G+ Posting (note - entries can be purchased through November 11th)

For a look at the prized go to David's G+ Thread linked below

(link - https://plus.google.com/+DavidBaity/posts/iRAZQijvLq4?fbclid=IwAR1DojmZnosH7pMwXs2LW56nD0zIZfwo0-gwI5A5LgvhLTWeP-Q6W5-Etvo )

The 2018 Charity Raffle starts today. Please share and donate to
paypal.me/mysticmousers

I’m running late with getting this going, so today is the day! Those of you who know me may be aware of a charity raffle I do every year to help support feline rescue. I always feel bad asking for money, so the idea is to build a treasure vault of goodies people might like through the year and give them away in a random raffle at the end of 30 days.

The community helped me raise just over 3k dollars last year and I hope to make it more this year. Unfortunately, this year the lovely June Hancock of KitsNKats rescue decided to push away from the everyday stress of rescuing, fostering and seeing to the medical needs of felines after several years of helping countless felines. This left me with a dilemma on who should benefit from this year’s raffle.

After doing some nosing around and meeting with some local rescues I’ve decided that Feline Lifeline (you can find them on Facebook and the internet at https://www.felinelifelinesc.org/) is a solid recipient for the money raised from this event. Ralph Carbone is a wonderful man with the heart of a lion, who leads a team of folks that do so much for the felines in the area. They feed feral colonies in addition to catching and having them neutered/spayed, which helps control the population.

In addition, they foster kittens and cats and tend to their various medical needs. After attending a Feline Lifeline meeting I learned that most of the money for food, litter and vet bills come from their own pockets. I’d like to help their cause as much as possible, which leads me to the 3rd “save the kitties” charity raffle. In short, these folks have a huge heart! They give so much of themselves and I’d like to help them with some funds.

Below you’ll see pictures of items I have been buying and begging for over the last year. I tried to cover several avenues of gaming so that there would be something for everyone in the loot pile. Entering is simple! All you have to do is donate $1.00 to the cause. This gets you on the list of potential winners. You are entered once for each dollar you donate, so throw in $10.00 and you have ten entries!

Every penny donated goes towards the charity! At the end of the 30 days, I’ll have someone take the list of names and randomly draw three winners for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. From there, each will have a pick (in order from 1st to 3rd) to build their own prize pack! As you’ll see, several items have been grouped together (as shown) to make the process run smoothly.
So, this is where I beg, plead, ask you to throw a little money towards this effort. Just donating a dollar is huge folks! If you can’t contribute PUH-LEEZE share this post anywhere you think it might get some support! I may add some additional items as we go, but there are already a ton of cool prizes, including board games, miniatures, and RPGs.

Let’s not forget original art from Erol Otus, who took the time to donate an original freaky cat sketch! Throw in art by +Doug Kovacs and +Stefan Poag and you have some unique  prizes!

For folks out of the country. I’ll help as best I can with shipping but considering the weight of these items it might not be feasible to ship. Apologies

Update 10/22: I wanted to take a second and thank everyone for the donations that have been made so far! We're sitting right at 1,700 and I'm hoping we'll get to what I raised last year (3k) by 11/11! Last year I added items to help sweeten the pot and get more folks interested, so this year is going to be no different! I'm adding a brand new board game called "Blood Rage" which is a blast to play (it's in my personal collection). I'm also going to add some D&D 5e products! I'm throwing in a copy of the Players Handbook, The Dungeon Masters Guide and Xanathar's Guide to Everything. And what would this offering be without a set of new dice!?? Again, all it takes is a buck to enter the raffle and have a chance at winning, so throw your name in the hat and spread the word!

Update 10/30: as the end draws near for the 2018 charity raffle I'm adding some fun items in the theme of our favorite tentacled friend! This week's sees the addition of three smaller games perfect for times when some of your group can't show, or for times when you just want something fun and quick! These items will be packaged together asone of the many prize options. Cthulhu Gloom is a fun card game based off the popular Gloom game. Next we have Twilight Creations " Hastur La Vista Baby" which is a fun game based off of their Zombies game. I'm also throwing in a copy of Lost in R'lyeh Card Game by Deluxe Games and Puzzles. These three addition s will be topped off by an adorable 12"plush great for getting those babies into the cult scene before they're cutting teeth! Remember guys, 11/11 is the deadline! All it takes is a dollar to enter to win a metric butt-ton of prizes! Share if you care!


Update 11/03: We're getting close to the end of the raffle and I thought it was time to sweeten the pot! I'm throwing in anotger prize pack for the winners to choose and its Cthulhu themed and brimming with tentacled evil! First, we have a game by Twilight Creations called "Cthulhu Hastur La Vista Baby". Next up is the Cthulhu version of Gloom which is a great card game! Not enough? How about the Lost in R'lyeh card game?? And to get those kiddies into the cult early I'm also throwing in a 12" tentacled cuddle-buddy. Please share and donate if you can! Oops! Almost forgot, Bob Brinkman and the wonderful Sanctum Secorum crew are throwing in a print version of their latest Halloween spectacular! Thanks guys!


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and Humble Bundle as well as Patreon. Your patronage is appreciated and helps keep the
lights on and the taps flowing. Your Humble Bartender, Tenkar

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