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).
October Horror Challenge - Creepshow 2 (1987)
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Day 6's prompt was "Anthology," I didn't watch the latest VHS because I
don't currently have Shudder. I decided to go with Creepshow 2 because I've
only se...
Digging through splatbooks 85-92 skills and kits
-
Rewriting my home brew
also check out this collage architecture
https://socks-studio.com/2012/10/07/atemporality-at-work/
I'm making lots of first-level...
[ShadowDark Solo] Rufus & Silas, session 06
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Session six left me a little worried my pair may not survive, and what lies
ahead worries me quite a bit! I feel like I have gotten into a groove with
this...
Review: House of Strahd
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[image: RM4 House of Strahd]
How many times will the makers of D&D re-do I6 Ravenloft? Well, they show
no signs of stopping. *House of Strahd* brings Rav...
FOR1: Draconomicon (1990)
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Sorry for the shitty picture :(
From the back cover:
The creatures of lore and legend - of myth and mystery - only the dragons
know the answers to the s...
Sale on issues 1-14 of Fight On!
-
As recently announced here, the Old School Renaissance fanzine *Fight On!*
has returned to publication after a long sabbatical.
If you are missing PDF v...
Scares Under Scotland
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Achtung! Cthulhu is the roleplaying game of fast-paced pulp action and
Mythos magic published by Modiphius Entertainment. It is pitches the Allied
Agents...
Schupo Sonderwagen 1921
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I have finally managed to finish my 15mm (1:100) Weimar Republic Schupo
Sonderwagen of 1921. At least one of these armoured cars was still
trundling a...
Killing Grounds
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By Eduardo Raffo CarozziBreeding CalamitiesGeneric/Universal Year after
year, the monks meditate and pray with the desire to get closer to
enlightenment. T...
Martian Community Hexcrawl
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As you might know, I've been a bit obsessed with Barsoom lately.
While I haven't managed to write my own version of the setting so far, I've
been invited ...
[BLOG] Year Eight: New Foundations
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The Hall of Mirrors stretches beyond the Two Infinities...This blog started
on 5 August 2016, making this part of the year a good time to take stock
and...
Psychotronic Gaming: The Basics
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Not too long ago I celebrated the 45th anniversary of me starting an AD&D
1e campaign. I started the campaign before I was a teenager and it is still
...
Landmarks in the Artwork
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Part of the reason I put so much artwork into *Electric *and *Mythic
Bastionland* is to act as a repository of ideas when you just need a quick
detail.
La...
Old School Enabled (While Disabled)...
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Yours truly is disabled. Not by birth, but by war. I had to rebuild my self
image from the ground up after decades of able-bodied existence, which
wasn't...
Knave Jammin’
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Ben Milton, Mr. Questing Beast, is holding an adventure jam for the release
of the much-celebrated second edition of his game, Knave. Short form,
October...
Lancer: 1:35 Swallowtail Scratchbuild
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Back in the day, I suggested that the best mech system is a mechanics-heavy
RPG system, but scaled up.* D&D 4E *seemed like a good candidate. Mech
system...
They're Eating the Apostrophes
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Patrick Stuart has a new Kickstarter in the offing - and he has managed to
reveal himself as having the testicular fortitude of a leviathan in the
proces...
Warsmith's Words: Iron Warriors Predator
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Welcome back to the Vault! It's been a long time since I last posted; I
have to confess I've lost the passion for blogging, but I can't quite bring
myse...
Lessons from Elden Ring, Part II
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This is a continuation from this post.
Anyway, here are some more things you can do to make your tabletop game
more like Elden Ring.
DO Give Players The ...
D&D Player’s Handbook 2024
-
Being an incomplete, visual review of the 2024 Player’s Handbook. I got a
copy of this almost entirely on the strength of the new cover art: (This is
the “...
My complete map of Oerik
-
So many people have asked me for this over the years, I figured it was time
to acquiesce, because my redone maps are taking much longer than I had
hoped. I...
Concerning the Future of Traveller
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I have been a fan of Traveller for a long time and have bought various
books over the years from just about every Traveller licensee, as well as
from Ma...
The Mystery of the First Blackmoor Map
-
In this POST from a few years ago, I was concerned with the issue of scale
and distance in Blackmoor in the course of which I attempted to determine
the...
Got my Summer Art Acquisitions Framed
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[image: Got my Summer Art Acquisitions Framed]
This weekend was a bit of a catch-up/housekeeping period as I have gotten
around to purchasing more frame p...
Far Away Land 2nd Edition Kickstarter is Amazing
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Fay Away Land RPG Ed. 2 is now Kickstarting! It funded quick and has 22
days remaining as of this post. It is a unique setting and RPG that reeks
of fun....
Grimdark vs. Eucatastrophe
-
Noisms has some interesting ideas in this post about his desire for some
depth to his grimdark, and turns to Gene Wolfe and Tolkien for relief.
Now, it ...
Musings on Sleep in OD&D – Is it Over-Powered?
-
Link to discussion
Let’s look at the sleep spell in Men & Magic:
>Sleep: A Sleep spell affects from 2–16 1st-level types (hit dice of up to
1 + 1), from...
It's been a bit
-
Hey everyone, I hope you are doing well! I've had a lot going on and
haven't had much time to blog lately. Heres a recap of gaming events and
other st...
Session #12 & Adventure Sites Compilation
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Firstly, I wanted to let everybody know that Adventure Sites I by Coldlight
Press is now available as a free download on DriveThruRPG. It includes my
own...
Improvised Awful Lights Missions
-
Asking about The Awful Lights, a commenter asks:
*I'd love to hear about how this is run - with the Handler determining
mission location and objectives ...
Jim Ward's Adventure in Gygax's Wonderland
-
Last weekend at GaryCon, many of us raised a glass to the memory of Jim
Ward, who passed away just days before the convention. Ward was very
helpful to m...
The Economy Engine, v0.2
-
I made a thing. For D&D 3rd edition, so it might not be that interesting to
a lot of people. But I made it and I think it’s cool. The 3rd edition
Dungeon M...
*'s in SpaaaaaAaaaace
-
A lot of SF (including a certain 2D6 RPG grandaddy) deal with ancient
aliens taking humans from Earth and dropping them, fleas and all, on one or
more w...
Last move - to self-hosting!
-
As my vote regarding Substack in the “marketplace of ideas”, I’m moving to
self-hosting.
I’m now at (and hopefully staying for a long time at)
Blog: ht...
Time Rolls On
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Today is December 31, 2023, in the mid-afternoon. In less than ten hours it
will be 2024. 2023 2023 was a good year. But all years are good years. Both
goo...
-
Heya folks, the 21st Salt Mine book, Import Export, has hit the digital
shelves! In the 21st book we follow Aaron Haddock-codename Stigma-as he
tries to ...
Moving On...
-
So, my D&D 5e experiment has blown up the lab in a puff of green smoke
leaving my face blackened like Wile E. Coyote after a failed roadrunner
Acme trap...
How to Keep Megadungeons Fresh
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People often consider megadungeons boring. Not because the play style is
boring, but because they are in the same locale for a majority of the
campaign. If...
This is an Important Game Mechanic
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*"That's the GM's Regional Map from my AOWG. And it's a damned good
regional map. It's not a good map for a Simple Homebrew Campaign. It does
some s$&...
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 ...
My RPG Zine Trilogy is on Kickstarter!
-
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
-
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...
WB:FMAG Total Print Sales
-
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
-
*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...
Dungeons & Dragonmead Fall Schedule
-
*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
-
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
-
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!
-
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
-
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
-
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
doi...
New website!
-
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!
-
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...
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
-
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
-
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
-
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...