I'm guessing we'll be seeing much more Drizzt in the near future. Having Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange) do the voiceover is many levels of awesome. I'm psyched for more and I thought I was over and done with Drizzt and the Forgotten Realms fiction a quarter of a century ago.
Possibly the best 4 minutes you'll spend on Youtube.
If this is the quality we can expect from the forthcoming D&D movie or streaming series I'm all in.
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar
Joseph Bloch has a solid library of OSR releases in his catalogue, but probably the most universally useful release of Joe's is the Random Terrain and Encounter Generator.
Although the Random Terrain and Encounter Generator is written for Joe's What If2e Ruleset, Adventures Dark & Deep, it is not only compatible with any OSR ruleset but should work equally as well with Pathfinder or D&D 5e.
A comprehensive system for creating and stocking wilderness and dungeon environments.
Within these pages you’ll find rules for randomly generating terrain in wilderness, including settlements and ruins, as well as random encounter tables you can either use as-is or use as inspiration for your own encounter tables.
Encounter tables are provided for every combination of eight different terrain types, three different climates, and two options for civilization or wilderness are given, as well as tables for prehistoric and water-born encounters. All in all, that's 83 encounter tables for wilderness, dungeon, and the Ethereal and Astral planes. All use the monsters described in the ADVENTURES DARK AND DEEP™ Bestiary, but are quite suitable for any old-school RPG.
In addition, a complete system for generating a random dungeon is presented, as well as ten comprehensive encounter tables for encounters from kobolds to demon princes. Three new monsters are also included to round out both dragon and human encounters.
Plus you will also find a complete system for creating a random urban landscape, with 24 different city district types, special features, and random encounters designed for districts in both day and night.
All are suitable for the game master who wants to run a game using random rules or to use the tables for quick inspiration, or can also be used for solo play without the need for a game master at all.
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar
Pathfinder 2e released in August of 2019. In July of 2020, Paizo had their first Pathfinder 2e Humble Bundle. Now, In May of 2021, they have their second Humble Bundle for Pathfinder 2e less than 2 years after launching the ruleset. It's Crazy Eddie level of insane ;)
One hell of a way to kill off your sale of Pathfinder 2e PDFs, when your customers know new PDFs will be available dirt cheap in a year or so.
The current Pathfinder 2e Humble Bundle adds in a Print copy of the Pathfinder 2e Bestiary for 35 bucks, and that includes ALL of the PDFs that will be shown above and below. Currently, a print copy of the 2e Bestiary is 49.99 at the Paizo store and 37.49 for a "non-mint" copy.
The PDFs of the Six-Part Extinction Curse Adventure Path are 17.99 apiece at the Paizo store.
I am sorely tempted to grab the Pathfinder Second Edition Bestiary Humble Bundle at 25 bucks, not for the rules, but the OGL Bestiary that I can crib from, the adventure path, the map packs, and more.
Somehow it seems like a desperate cash grab by a failing company, but who am I to turn down the wish of a failing company? I'm sure my 25 bucks will return my investment many times over.
About the only thing Paizo hasn't done to raise cash is to release its ample library of Adventure Paths for 5th Edition D&D. One can only hope, as that would make for easy conversion of such to OSR use ;)
A huge tip of the hat to The Taverner that gave me the heads up on this Humble Bundle. :)
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar
I'm pleased to announce that joining myself and Bad Mike on the Taking CritLivestream tonight will be none other than Alex Kammer. Most of us know Alex as the main man behind the "runs like clockwork" GameHole Convention held every November (pandemic willing), but he also own a gaming themed pub, writes D&D adventures, is an avid collector of gaming releases and so much more.
Join us tonight at 8 PM Eastern as Mike & I sit down with Alex on Talking Crit.
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar
Zucati Dice & Crayons / Holmage Dice Boxed Set is a release that hadn't come up on my radar, and if it wasn't for a long time Taverner PMing me the link, I'd still be clueless. That being said, I'm not 100% sure of what exactly it is I'm seeing.
Note, the set clocks in at 45 bucks plus shipping.
The cover is a spot-on homage to the original Holmes Basic Set without being a copy:
I can find nothing on this "Dice & Crayons" release aside from the Etsy page. (edit - it's also available on the publisher's website at:
Note, this is not a stand-alone ruleset, but an adventure generator to use the set of Zucati dice with.
Each limited edition boxed set is serialized and is 1/1000.
All serial numbers will be distributed randomly with no choice for number selection.
Boxed set pictured is #1 of 1000.
Your box will be a different number.
The Holmage dice
These iconic dice pay homage to the most beloved set of dice ever created. The original “Holmes” dice were included in a boxed set of gaming materials made in 1977 – 1980.
These polyhedral dice are perfectly proportioned and updated with easy to read numbers, sharp edges, and modern durable materials.
This new set features the original 5 dice in the same colors, but not the same numbering, updated to modern numbering and also includes the D10 and D% as included dice in other colors. \
All primary colors, all raw.
In modern 100% injection molded acrylic.
Same quality and standards as our first run V1 Perfect Plastic Dice.
Includes original box art, original character sheets and an original map set with adventure generator table.
Named "Holmage" set in honor of the original Holmes dice.
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar
Gabor Lux is one of those names that's floated around the OSR since the early days, and he had articles in Fight On! and Knockspell zines. He always had great stuff to share, and Castle Xyntillan is no exception.
Castle Xyntiillan is Gabor's take on a funhouse megadungeon. While certainly not for everyone and every group, I've enjoyed Joe Bloch's Castle of the Mad Archmage as well as Frog God Game's take on Tegal Manor.
A 136-page adventure module for 1st to 6th level characters, Castle Xyntillan is a a funhouse megadungeon for the Swords&Wizardry game (and broadly compatible with other old-school systems). The module describes the three massive levels of the eponymous haunted castle inhabited by the remnants of a reclusive and eccentric family, from the soaring tower of the Donjon to the inky depths of the Oubliette (and beyond). Hidden rooms, secret passageways and long-forgotten sub-sections complete a collection of the dangerous and macabre from the gothic imagination – providing ample opportunities for exploration, confrontation, and subterfuge.
Castle Xyntillan has been designed to be versatile, open-ended, complex, and accessible. It is above all, a fantastic place – built on surrealism and dream logic, yet a place which makes a certain amount of sense if you look at it sideways. It should be entertaining, fascinating, and always a bit mysterious. Whether you would like a dungeon for one-off expeditions and convention play, or repeated forays and full campaigns, Castle Xyntillan should suit the demands and particulars of your campaign!
This electronic edition includes the following:
The PDF version of the module, with cartography by Rob Conley, and illustrations by Peter Mullen, Denis McCarthy, and Stefan Poag.
GM and player maps of the module, as well as a set of virtual tabletop maps, with helpful setup instructions by cartographer Rob Conley for Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds.
A GM’s Worksheet, used to track time and characters as the company explores the depths of Xyntillan. Adapted from Dungeons and Companies, a Hungarian retro-clone, and designed by Istvan Boldog-Bernad and Andras Szabo, this is a highly useful play aid for dungeon scenarios.
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar
North Texas RPG Con is just a couple weeks away and since Erik is attending, and likes to do the video/podcast thing with Bad Mike, you might have reached your fill about the event already.
Maybe not.
Don't worry, this isn't a post so much about the convention so my 12 13 readers can read on if not interested in this convention, but I will add my 2cp and simply say that if you are in a position to attend this convention and you aren't....your loss. Small con, big guests....I bet that NTRPG is like what the first handful of GenCons were like....well as close at it could be in this day and age.
Anyway, my point that I'm laboring to get to, evidently, is that I know I'm going to a convention in a couple of weeks, as a player, and I still have a lot of prep to do. Realistically I know all I need to do is pack my tablet, computer, RPG HDD, and my dice box and I'll be good to go.....10' packing tops. Maybe toss in some game books if I'm feeling froggy........even though I have PDFs of everything I need, I keep buying or printing out rulebooks 'because evidently I prefer the physicality of them at the table. Maybe I just like having multiple books "open" and that's harder to do on a tablet?
No, my big prep for the convention is trying to figure out, and then make, some GM "Thank You" gifts. Most of my convention experience is still as a GM and tournament organizer, not as a player. I can most definitely tell you that being a GM at a convention is largely a thankless task. Sure most players will express a simple "thanks" at the table, and a couple might shake your hand.
Now, there is nothing wrong with this, BUT.....there is a lot more to GMing that simply leading a table game for three or four hours. The average GM, well the average GM that cares about having a good game, easily puts in at least three or four hours for every hour at the table, even if they are running a pre-printed adventure. Conventions and game companies are quite a bit hit or miss in showing GMs any love as well.
Yes, many conventions do give free badges to GMs, but they usually make you work for it. That $50 badge, well maybe $85 or so now (depending on the convention) usually want a good 12-16 hours of GMing to qualify. Sixteen hours of table-time for an $50 badge, or twelve hours for an $85 badge makes that work worth $3.12 to $7.08 an hour, $0.78 to $2.36 an hour if you factor in non-table time.
78¢ and hour and a couple handshakes, sign my ass up! Seriously though it isn't about money, but really the resources of time and energy. Twelve to Sixteen hours of time at a convention is a HUGE resource suck.
Don't even get me started about volunteering at a higher level than just a table GM as that involved me paying for the privilege of working.....again not to mention the time and energy suck.
No, in my experience (and I'm not just talking about my personal experience) GMs don't get enough love period. I really doubt that anything I can post will change that, but I will add a tiny bit of self-promotion in that I did make a couple of free "Thank You" cards that are available on DriveThuRPG.
What I can do, have done (although I totally dropped the ball last year), and will do, is make some small GM thank you gifts, along with the thank you card. A couple years ago I did some small boxes (that could double as a dice tray) and some coasters. Both were just purchased from the hobby store and tweaked. I like the idea of something small and useful.
This year I'm thinking of some handmade wooden/leather dice trays and/or die rolling tower. Now I'm not much of a wood worker, but I'm learning, so the die rolling tower will probably be a bit much for me to pull off. Actually I could easily make some dice towers, but I mean dice towers in the style I want to make them, not what I can manage.
I've got a couple of weeks to get these GM Thank You's squared away, but I'll have to get started this week for certain, unless someone here at the Tavern has a better idea....and no, drinks at/after the game don't count because I'm already down for that (I tend to bring drinks to the game already).
The Power of Positivity/The Half Year Review
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Welcome back to the Vault! Today's post is a made of two halves, but bear
with me. By pure chance I met an author this weekend; a lovely chap called
Mar...
GR3 - Treasure Maps
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From the back cover:
"Hunt for lost gold, powerful magic items, and even greater treasure!
*Treasure Maps* contains 16 separate adventures that will tak...
Miskatonic Monday #122: Pickman’s Action Figure
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Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of
books for *Call of Cthulhu* under the Miskatonic University Library
Associati...
Felltower & Modified Evade Rules in Actual Play
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*How has my Evade House Rule worked in actual play?*
Short answer? Well.
Long answer?
It essentially boils down to paying 1 extra movement point and makin...
Black Ship of the Sunless
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By AAA Video Game Designer and Author T. ELLIOT CANNON Selddog Games OSRIC
Levels 8-10 As a larger body of work, Black Ship of the Sunless has a
central th...
Finding spells is better than choosing them
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D&D is probably my favorite RPG nowadays - mostly in the OSR versions, but
even 5e sometimes. But one of the things I dislike the most about it is
picking ...
Skylla: Pathfinder 2nd Edition
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I thought it might be nice to break up the reviews here and see if I can
build one of my favorite characters for Pathfinder Second Edition. And
that mea...
The Believability of remote Colony Worlds
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As someone who knows a bit about the demographic shift and how population
sizes change both during and after industrialization, the idea of galactic
empire...
Reflection and Formation
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There are many broad functions that rules can have. Here is one:
representing the details of a broader fictional world. The fictional world
might not work ...
So You Want to be a Pirate: Methods
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You got your backstory. You got your ship, bristling with weapons. You got
your loyal (?) crew. You got your informants, relaying news of fat traders
plo...
We need to be churning more oceans!
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We need to be churning more oceans! We need to be fisting more demons! We
need to be killing more sons! We need to be hurling more weapons!
Part three ...
Soulless
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This week is the tipping point where I really do feel like AI is going to
steal work from human creators. Of course this has been obvious for a
while, bu...
Loving the Dungeon Bummers...
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Something I love about old-school gaming is how character centric
everything is. Dungeons exist because the players need someplace cool to
explore; and m...
Celts in Greyhawk
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The other day, someone asked where I thought the 2nd edition Celts Campaign
Sourcebook might best fit in to a Greyhawk campaign. The introduction to
the bo...
OSR: Flying Machines, Traffic, and Rollercoasters
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This post is a medley of ideas that didn't make it into full post
development, but which still deserve consideration. It's a scrapbook.
Part 1: Flight
Ac...
Why Dragons Should Never Lose
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Back in the 'aughts, WotC had a forum set up for folks to discuss D&D. I
yoinked this little tidbit from one of the user profiles on that old (and
eithe...
The NTRPG Con 2022 Victorious game: Part 1
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At the beginning of the session we passed out envelopes to each of the
seven players. They were told to open them and look at the 2 playing cards
within. I...
Desert War in 1:150 Scale
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For no particular reason, except my customary inability to stick to a
project, I thought I'd try printing some desert stuff in 1:150 scale (10mm)
just...
Missing google drive files & reorganization
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Hey everyone, recently google drive changed the way permissions are done.
Because of this I am continually getting requests for previous files from
post...
Orcs and Beastmen, Part 1
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*Note: Oddly enough, Bar Chakka was part of my very first draft of
Centerra, back in 2010. Centerra has changed a lot in the last 12 years,
but two mos...
Mega-Dungeon Map Design Sprints with Henry
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*Update - 13 June 2022 at 7:18pm*: Well, just like my lost big posts
during Kellri's Module Challenge, blogger crapped out and I lost this huge
post de...
Text Folding Tool for Referee Notes
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Organizing campaign notes is frustrating. My preference would be to keep
all my hobby material in an analog format, but it’s not practical. A
campaign is a...
[BEYONDE] Expedition to the Dungeons of Torda
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*Play report from the Dungeons of Torda, one of the more famous delves of
Transylvania. Three levels, high verticality, questionable “non liner”
elements...
Education, Fleshing out a System
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A little over I year ago I posted on the value of an education system in
your old school game. What follows is some further exploration of the idea
and...
Wyrdwood Adventures, ep12
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The following is a solo adventure I am running using White Box FMAG, the
Perilous Wilds, Freebooters on the Frontier and Into the Wyrd and Wild. I
use my o...
Freebie HackMaster/OSR Mini Adventure
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[image: Freebie HackMaster/OSR Mini Adventure]
When I get an opportunity to share some gaming goodness from friends of
mine, or former acquaintances....he...
On Ecology Completed
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So that happened.
Bestial Ecosystems created by Monster Inhabitation is out.
I'm getting better at it. There was something off about the softcovers, so...
Plugging Away
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As of a month ago I'm now working again on a part-time basis (three days a
week). In January I walked away from a position I'd held for over 20 years
bec...
Back in the Day: Playing The Never Used Rules
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As most everyone who finds this obscure blog knows I started playing
OD&D in 1977 and switched to AD&D 1e in 1979 and have been playing 1e ever
since....
E'a, Chronicles of a Dying World
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David M. Fitzgerald's *E'a: Chronicles of a Dying World *is one of the more
obscure digest-sized unofficial supplements to early D&D, little known even...
Random Research
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This post was prompted by two players having questions that required NPCs
to do research. One PC is a cleric, the other a paladin. They worship
different...
Ivan Reitman, 1946-2022
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I didn't want too much more time to pass before posting something here in
tribute to filmmaker Ivan Reitman, who the world lost unexpectedly on
Saturday,...
Saving Throw for Evey Lockhart
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Fans of Trilemma Adventures: one of our own needs our help. Evey Lockhart
is the writer and designer of weird, sad, queer old-school stuff that
you’re pr...
Vox Machina: Good for a Few Laughs
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TL;DR: it’s ok.
How’s that for brief?
Ok, seriously, it’s got some fun moments, but isn’t nearly as clever as it
thinks it is. Better?
Dig...
Julius Moessel (1871 - 1957)
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[image: Julius Moessel - Symphony in Hell, No. 2, 1940's]Symphony in Hell,
No. 2, 1940's
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Growling Mage Tavern
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The other day I used Frog God Games *Journey Generator*. There was a set of
tables to create an inn or tavern. So I rolled up one because you can never
...
Clean Your Room
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Looking back at my little blog here. That last post… wow, I was having fun
playing WOW Classic! That was August of 1999 and I was having a blast… it
was ...
People of the World, Spice up Your Life
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I have seen the *Dune*. It’s good, but, like all “content” now, too long.
The forms of many designs are quite nice (love the costumes of the imperial
de...
This Blog has Moved!
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I’ve moved this blog to a self-hosted one, on the same server running my
old-school gaming forum, this blog will …
Continue reading →
What's wrong with megadungeons?
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I ran across a megadungeon article from last July. I know, I am a little
behind, as I was dealing with my cancer when it came out.
In the blog, DM David ...
My RPG Zine Trilogy is on Kickstarter!
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I can't believe I didn't post about it here!
The Dead are Coming, Screams Amongst the Stars and Running Out of Time are
on *Kickstarter right now!* Thes...
Maximum HP 004, one week to go
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Just one week to go for Maximum HP issue #004, the undead. We are pushing
through stretch goals and wracking up contributions for the best issue yet.
We...
Steve Jackson Interview
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James Maliszewski recently did an interview with Steve Jackson over on his
Grognardia blog. Steve chats about the beginnings of The Fantasy Trip and
upcomi...
Undermountain Map Origins
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As documented on the Ruins of Undermountain sales page, "TSR didn't
actually use Ed Greenwood's original maps," at least not in their entirety.
This post d...
A Campaign Begins for Newbies
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Like many of you, the affects of the Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted how
hundreds of millions of us fellow mutants interact and function in our
jobs, co...
WB:FMAG Total Print Sales
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Hello Folks,
The last time I did a quick sales report was in September 2018.
I pulled reports from Amazon, Lulu and DrivethruRPG from October to current
fo...
The Minotaur for Old-School Essentials
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*Minotaur*
*Requirements:* Minimum STR 9, Minimum CON 9
*Prime Requisite:* STR and CON
*Hit Dice:* 1d10
*Maximum Level:* 8
*Armor:* Leather, including shield...
WIZARDS OF POHJOLA
-
Init +0
Melee Atk
• sword or dagger +1 (1d5 or 1d3)
Ranged Atk
• hot iron sparks +3 (1d4+2 to two targets within 20' but not closer than
5')
AC 14
HD 12d...
Strange, Dangerous, and Inhuman: The Fey and Fairie
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When I was a boy I loved fairy tales. Jack and the Beanstalk, Puss in
Boots, Rumpelstiltskin - I devoured all of it. My fascination that there
was a strang...
Dungeons & Dragonmead Fall Schedule
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*As you know, I run public classic Dungeons & Dragons games at **The Loaded
Die**/Metro Detroit Game Night's Board Game Nigh at **Dragonmead**, in
Warren...
D&D Sling Damage vs. Large Targets
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In many early editions of D&D, weapons were assigned two damage values: one
for small/medium targets (i.e. man-sized) and one for large targets (giants
and...
James A. Smith, Jr. Memorial Video
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A beloved father, devoted friend, and D&D Dungeon Master extraordinaire. We
miss you! To view video, click here Memorial Video
Note - The original video...
Let's Talk About Pacing!
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The idea, I think, is that the RPG is ultimately about the long game. Even
rolling back to the early days of Basic & Expert, the goal of the player
was...
Profane and Profound Prep Part 2
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This is part 2 of my work to edit my magic items for a DMsGuild release,
along with adding cursed items along the way. Here is part 1. Bone of a
Saint 8000...
SHORT BREAK.
-
I'm going to take a break for a week or so and will start up again in the
New Year. Thanks for reading and we'll start with Level 6 when I get back.
Iain Lovecraft, 3D Sculptor
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Nope, it's got nothing to do with Cthulhu. I just did a video conversation
with Iain Lovecraft, who designs 3D miniatures and terrain. If you're not
doin...
New website!
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Slowly but surely, all the content here will make its way — in updated
form! — to my new website: timbannock.com. For fairly obvious reasons, that
site wil...
Please Update Your Link!
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If you're seeing this, it means your link to the Greyhawk Grognard blog is
out of date.
Please update your link to www.greyhawkgrognard.com (RSS feed is
h...
How can We Destroy this Campaign World?
-
d12
1. You must trick a bard into strumming the *Chords of Fate* on the *Lute
of Annihilation*
2. Legends tell of thermonuclear weapons beneath megadungeo...
Mord Mar - Session 6
-
We weren't able to play Mord Mar last week, due to a family funeral. This
week we played on Monday for the first time, due to kids returning to
school and ...
A Small, Quiet Plea
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There has been a great deal of discussing political agendas, social
grievances, and personal attacks within the little corner of gaming that is
my hobby....
Don’t Sleep It’s Broken
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Expanding/editing my comments from What Makes Something Broken G+ thread:
“Broken”, for me, is anything that makes normal character choices, tactics,
or ro...
Swords & Wizardry Light-Themed Birthday Party
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Last month, my wife and I helped our oldest to celebrate his birthday in
style. Ever since 2013, we have hosted a themed birthday party for our
now-15-ye...