OSR Christmas Will Return on February 14th - A Fitting Day to Wrap Up ;)

I'm punting the 12th Day of OSR Christmas to February 14th. Yes, its Valentines Day, so what better day to show love for the gaming community.

Aside from that, although I've caught up on emails, I still have packages to mail and an audit of sorts to conduct for unclaimed gifts. I really do want to be caught up and ahead of the curve, and the best way I can think of doing so is to pause things until I AM caught up and ahead of the curve with room to spare.

Besides, I have four interviews scheduled on the podcast side of things along with sundry other time sinks this coming week and I want to allow OSR Christmas to close out strong. I am thinking of hosting a single day OSR Christmas in July, which may be where some of the unclaimed gifts find themselves.

If you are due a gift and haven't heard from me via email, me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing. Don't use one of my other emails, or Discord, or Facebook or... simply use the indicated email above with "OSR Christmas" in the subject and we'll sort it out. I suspect a gift or two is unclaimed because someone used another method to contact me.

In the meantime, back to multiple blog posts a day it seems. See, I AM catching up ;)

Now Available in Print - Eilean Dubh: The Black Isle Gazetteer (At Cost Crowdsourced Setting)

I'm very excited to announce that Eilean Dubh: The Black Isle Gazetteer is now available in print at cost, which comes out to $25.66 for 442 pages of setting goodness. This crowdsourced setting was assembled by members of the Tenkar's Landing community on G plus. It is a work of love and generosity by all of those involved.

Seriously, it's damn good stuff.

You can grab the PDF of Eilean Dubh: The Black Isle Gazetteer for free. You'll also find a full-color setting map in the folder, which is shown below. Ay update to The Black Isle will be reflected in the folder, so bookmark it :)

tenkars-tavern.games/TheBlackIsle

Coupon Code LKAB317CD currently gets you 15% off at Lulu. Codes change all of the time. Always Google for a new code. Why pay full price?

Kickstarter - Delayed Blast Gamemaster #1 (Zine Quest)

For those that don't already know, Kickstarter has declared February to be Zine Quest month, with the hopes of seeing lots of RPG zines coming out. Expect me to cover a number of RPG zines offered on Kickstarter in the month of February.

Our first entry is from Steve Jackson Game's own Phil Reed:

If Kickstarter is going to launch a fun event like Zine Quest, then I'm gonna do all that I can to participate and create something that fits the feel of old-school RPG zines and gives me a chance to stretch my brain muscles. 

At project launch, Delayed Blast Gamemaster is a 24-page 36-page, saddle-stitched, 5.5-inch by 8.5-inch B&W printed zine. Inside this small booklet I've packed eight dungeon oddities, a dozen adventure hooks, and four different dungeon doors. And all of that content is completed and ready for print; in fact, I've already ordered (and received!) a test print and it looks great! 

Let's peek at the stretch goals:

4 pages of spellbooks - unlocked

4 pages of shields - unlocked

4 pages of potions - unlocked

4 pages of monsters - unlocks at $2,000 (currently at $1,857)

10 bucks get you the zine in print and PDF, shipping included. That's the level I'm backing at and I suggest you do too.

Delayed Blast Gamemaster - its what's for dinner ;)

I'm one of the Guests on the First Episode of RPGs Coast to Coast - February 1st 9PM Eastern - Live

Yep, I'm one of the guests on the first episode of RPG Coast to Coast which will premier tonight at 9pmEST / 8pmCST / 7pmMST / 6pmPST.

Who are the other guests? Glad you asked!

Douglas Cole (Gaming Ballistic)
Pexx (Tavern Custodian)
Badmike (Frog God Games / NTRPG Con)
Carl Heyl (Save or Die Podcast)

We'll be talking about all things related to RPGs, including blogs and podcasts.

Note: There is a different lineup of guests each week. Collect them all ;P

If you miss the live show on the Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server the weekly episodes will be compiled as a podcast for your convenience :)

How do I get to The Tenkar'sTavern Discord? Follow these Steps:

• Step 1.) Go here https://discordapp.com/download 
• Step 2.) Click which is best for you Windows, Mac, Android, IOS, or Linux and download it. 
• Step 3.) Once it has finished downloading click the + button surrounded by a dotted circle on the left-hand side 
• Step 4.) Click the "Join a Server" button and copy and paste this into it https://discord.gg/GaXW2TX 

Easy as pie if not as flavorful ;)

The Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server has a plethora of live events throughout the month. Feel free to join us when you can. 

Below is a screenshot of February's events (and its also visible at the bottom of this page)

State of The Tavern - Catchup is Almost Caught Up

I spent this morning catching up on emails from the month of January, It's literally mindboggling how a two-week loss of time can lead to a month or longer backlog, but there it is. Imagine if it was five weeks. Ouch!

Anyhow, if you were the recipient of an OSR Christmas gift I'm 95% sure your info was forwarded to the folks in charge of awarding your gift. I say 95% because sure as grass is green someone probably used one of my other emails (than the one designated) to respond and I haven't done that type of digging yet. Additionally, I suspect some just haven't checked to see if they were gifted. If you are owed a gift and didn't get an email from me today email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing with details of the gift in question and I'll look into it. Yes, I personally still have to do a post office trip. Catching up is certainly not complete, but we are closing in on it.

I expect that come February we'll be back to averaging two or more posts a day here on the blog side. Things slowed down in January. Is what it is but we should be back to more normal pacing going forward.

The Tavern Chat Podcast keeps getting stronger. More on that tomorrow when I have the full number for January. I really do appreciate the support.

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight - 9 PM Eastern - Be There or Be...

Today is Wednesday and that means tonight is our weekly Tavern Chat on the Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server.

It's like being at a convention and shooting the shit with fellow gamers but you do it with headphones instead. It's always a blast and I look forward to it every week.

Of course, the conversation on The Tavern's Discord Server is 24/7 with text. Just saying. 1,487 members can't be wrong. We, a few could be, but not all ;)

Here's the link for tonight's voice chat:

https://discord.gg/fReGmuD

OSR Christmas - Awarding the Gifts for Day 11

Here we go with awarding the gifts for Day Eleven of OSR Christmas. Let's see who gets what today :)

1) 1 Print Copy of Dragon Heresy (Gaming Ballistic) (US Only) - dogrodeo

2) 1 PDF Copy of The Midderlands from MonkeyBlood -  Nathan Christenson

3) 1 PDF Copy of The White Star Galaxy Edition (James Spahn / Barrel Rider Games) -  Steven Wells

4) 1 PDF Copy of Heart of Darkness (White Star Adventure/ Middle Kingdoms Adventure & Trading Co.) - GoblinTown

5) Undying Orb in Print from Silver Bullett (US Only) - Denis McCarthy

If your name is above, email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing. Put "OSR Christmas Gift" in the subject.  If you are receiving a physical gift I'll need a physical shipping address I can forward on (or use myself). If the gift is digital, I will need the email you use with DriveThruRPG. Day Twelve of OSR Christmas should go up tomorrow.

(All comments at The Tavern have to be moderated - approved by an admin - meaning me. The Tavern has become the target of spambots and others and this is the best, if most tedious, way to handle such. I approve comments as fast as I can. I appreciate your patience - Erik)

edit - still playing catch up. I'll spare y'all the latest drama :)

Guest Review - Role Gate (Play by Chat Platform)

I've failed as a player in Play by Post in the past. There just never seemed to be a platform that was a good fit and I think you need a strong GM to make it work well. I want to thank Valdus for directing me (and The Tavern's readers) to Role Gate. While it still has a few kinks to work out, I think the potential is damn near limitless.

Now, onward to our guest review - Tenkar

Here in New Orleans, I am a lonely gamer, living in a place where people live out their fantasies not on the tabletop but in the streets. In my 20+ years of searching for a satisfying online gaming environment, I came across a lot of hacks and snake oil merchants. Platforms like Fantasy Grounds sell you a product then string you along with an endless parade of modules and rules. I even went so far as starting my own play by post site which was quickly run completely amok.

Recent online resources have come into the picture. But both Roll20 and Discord, while great for most, tend to demand either a learning curve or sitting in a chatroom waiting for people to play what you want to play, let alone a willing game master.

But RoleGate looks different.

RoleGate.com is an RPG in-browser platform that offers a suite of rpg chat elements. Far more user-friendly than Discord or Roll20, RoleGate comes ready-made for some serious gaming. Running and syncing instantly from any platform (PC, phone or Pad) that has a browser, RoleGate allows players and GM's to chat, threading a dialogue with tabs for characters, game settings, and an index where the GM can divide their game into chapters, acts and scenes.

Yeah but let's face it, all online RPG aids, no matter play-by-post or virtual tabletop, come down to the dice roller right? RoleGate has a wealth of dice combination and options for easy macro codes to roll stats with a simple cut and paste. And more customizable dice are on the way.

So why not just log onto Discord? I did both. On Discord I set up my own room, invited a bunch a people and tried to set up bots for dice rollers, and quite frankly had trouble with the flow of dice macros and making a private room in the channel wasn't the easiest thing in the world. Go ahead call me an OSRIC-Idiot.

RoleGate had everything ready-made, it's all there without any restrictions even on my Basic account- which I upgraded to copper. RoleGate's fantasy economy works on tips given when someone writes or plays well, in the form of coins, the metal (from copper to platinum- sound familiar) corresponds with the tiers of subscription. These tiers correspond to a library of icons for use in chat. 

Schooled in 1980's loose-leaf character sheets or later on, the easy user interface of the classic Neverwinter Nights, I'm not big on the learning curve. RoleGate is an online RPG version of "plug in and play." The community is strong on Reddit and Discord, and if you're willing to GM you can run a game on just about anything. I am running a World of Dungeons campaign.

RoleGate.com is a great playing platform, a great base with many features coming in the future (members can use their coin to vote for suggested features). Whether you are a free basic member, copper or platinum, the platform offers the same gaming features. Think of these coins as just membership 'bling' and does not affect the gaming experience.

So for this lonely gamer, RoleGate.com may be my go-to virtual tabletop, when I'm not slaying paper-mache dragons in the streets of New Orleans.  - Valdus

The Tavern is always looking for reviews and guest posters from the community. 

Best Laid Plans F@ckig Gone Astray

We've heard some gurgling from the sewer line trap the past few days. We tried root killer and the gurgling went away. Then this morning there were a number of water bugs around the trap. Moved stuff and opened the trap door.

There was no gurgling anymore because the water level was an inch from the top, submerging the pipe that drains into the trap. Obviously, the pipe that drains the trap was blocked. (old house, old sewer line - roots get into the pipe like clockwork). The plumber was called, and he needed the trap drained to the level that the pipe emptying the drain was revealed. Bucket-line in effect.

The plumber is here now.

Its a shitty day.

Catch-up may be delayed.

All hail the god of feces.

Sigh.