Lulu.com has a 30% off coupon through Cyber Monday. When you go to the Lulu website, the coupon code is at the top of the page.
If somehow you mise the code, it is: SAVE30
Now, I could list and link to a bunch of OSR related releases, but it's been done already by many others, so I'm going to send you to OTHER sites that have done the work and deserve the traffic.
Enjoy your holiday weekend and God Bless you 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
It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of audiobooks, but damn, they are usually cost-prohibitive. So when audiobooks pop up on Humble Bundle, I'm all over it. Currently, Black Library has a Voices of Heresy Bundle - you can get four titles for as low as a buck, or 23 titles for 18 bucks. Being that a single title can often cost 18 bucks, this is a bargain and a half.
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
It's Thanksgiving here in the United States, and there is much that I am thankful for.
Let me get this out of the way, right out of the box - I am happy for my health. After the trifecta of hospitalizations in 2020, I have taken steps to turn my poor health-related habits into better ones. I've lowered my A1C by three points, my weight by about 50 pounds, and have changed my diet to a much healthier one. All it took was pneumonia, sepsis, and congestive heart failure (followed by four stents). Take my advice, correct your course earlier than I did :)
I am thankful for knowing the friends that I have lost, and those I will likely lose in the coming weeks and months. As painful as the losses are, there would be an emptiness in my soul were I to have never known them.
This is especially true for Doug Rhea, who touched more lives than anyone I know. I have cemented more friendships because of Doug and the convention he founded, NTRPG Con, than can be counted on my fingers and toes. Rest well Doug, you more than earned it.
I am thankful for the opportunity to give back to my community, not just where I live physically, but where my heart is, the gaming community. In a few days we'll be kicking off another OSR Christmas celebration, and it wouldn't be happening without all of you.
Most of all, I am thankful that you, my readers, my viewers, and my listeners, allow me into your lives for a few minutes each day. There can be nothing more gratifying, nor more humbling, than that simple amount of trust in me that you have shown over the past decade and more.
I thank you all :)
Tenkar
May your Thanksgiving be blessed with the comfort of family and friends, near and far.
Sometimes it's the little things that please us most. Other times, it's the large things that make us smile. Today, I'm happy and smiling because of the amazing selection of RPG titles in the Black Friday RPG Bonanza Humble Book Bundle (say THAT five times fast ;)
In the Black Friday RPG Bonanza Bundle, we have releases from Troll Lord Games (C&C Core rules and more, as well as 5e World of Airde adventures), Frog God Games (Bunnies & Burrow Core book and more, as well as 5e), Goodman Games (DCC RPG Core Rules and adventures), and Kobold Press (5e and System Neutral).
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
It was about a week and a half ago that I was bitten by the Arduin bug. Sure, I'd owned the initial trilogy of three little books for a number of years, an eBay acquisition that I briefly leafed through and promptly put away. Who actually reads everything in their gaming collection? ;)
The print in the originals was too small for my older eyes. But when Emperors Choice announced they were rising like a phoenix and Arduin was going to be distributed again, I brought those books out of their place of hiding.
And quickly remembered I couldn't read the small typeface with anything coming close to comfort.
I found I did possess a copy of the Arduin Trilogy in PDF, likely acquired via the generosity of my readers and their use of The Tavern's affiliate links (see how useful they are?). I started reading that easy to read, thank the gods for a font size my old eyes can enjoy, PDF, and I was hooked. Line and sinker.
George DeRosa of Emperors Choice reached out to me to discuss Arduin, as I had mentioned Arduin on the YouTube side of The Tavern. He told me what I had barely scratched the surface, and if I wanted, he could send me a small package of Aruin goodness, as they were processing a large number of orders, and adding one more to the process wouldn't be an issue. I excitedly said yes, expecting a book or two from the "odds and ends" pile.
Instead, what arrived is pictured above.
I have enough to occupy my Aruin fever for months, likely years even.
As it currently stands, I intend to have some articles covering the crunch - classes, monsters, magic, and more, here on the blogside, and discuss Dave's various essays within the pages of Arduin on the YouTube/Anchor side of things.
If you have topics you want to be covered, here or on the Cast, let me know in the comments below.
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
Following the amazing success of the Maps Extravaganza Humble Bundle, we present the Maps Bonanza, featuring Fractal Terrains 3+, a powerful world-generator and editor. Whether it's starships and solar systems, entire worlds, historical maps or fantasy floorplans, this treasure trove of assets and apps has what you need for your cartography. Plus, your purchase will support Carbonfund and Oceana!
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
Well I had plans for this weekend, plans for my time and my money.......but, well you know...shit happens.
Usually it's the bad kind of stuff that gets in your way and ruins your weekend, but every once in a while it's an actual fricken opportunity. Saturday was one such opportunity and I just had to go for it.
I like to think I have a couple cool collectibles, but some of my crap....er stuff, I mean collectibles are kind of hidden away and if you can't see something & enjoy it, does it really exist?
One of these tucked away items is an old HackMaster promotional poster that was never really for sale, but sent out to game stores to push the upcoming (2001) Player's Handbook. I've seen them for sale for around $30 every once in a while (Noble Knight, eBay, etc). Thing is outside of one on display at the KenzerCo office, I've never seen one that hasn't bee folded up for shipping to a game store.
That made my rolled poster, that had been sitting in a tube for a decade or two, a bit on the rarer side......is it valuable? Meh, but to me it is.
The big problem, until Saturday, is that it's a huge poster... a hair over 35" x 24". This makes it kind of a pain in the ass to frame up nicely. I was planning on purchasing some frame chops and getting some glass cut, but if I wanted any kind of matting that was going to be... problematic., and really expensive. Unless I go to a custom glass shop, I can't do glass and plexi is going to cost $90-110. The frame will run $55 before shipping, which will be high since it's considered "oversize". With matting I'm probably looking at $200 for this poster, and that's for plexi, not glass like I'd prefer.
Fortunately for me, somebody had some custom frames made at Hobby Lobby (actually multiple somebodies) and then didn't pick them up. A trio of HUGE wooden/glass frames were marked down from $240 to $67.
Hell yes!
I didn't plan on buying some frames and matt boards, digging out my matt cutter and framing supplies, and nervously do the math and cut out some HUGE matts....but I did and now I have to find a place to display one of my favorite RPG collectables.
Story Gaming the Old School?
-
Tabletop roleplaying's traditional form involves a sharp division of labor.
Conan, for all his might, had little control over the enemies he fought,
only...
Informal Survey Results
-
Last week I posted an informal survey across my social media, “What is the
one thing you wish your DM did?” The question came up after I had watched a
vide...
OSR: Class: Cheese Wizard
-
One of my players misread "Curse-Eater Wizard" as "Cheese-Eater Wizard" and
was disappointed at the lack of cheese. Here's a GLOG class.
Cheese Mites, 19...
Complete Arcane
-
From the back cover:
Master Eldritch Secrets
And Formidable Power
Myth and mystery surround those who wield the awe-inspiring might of arcane
magic. Wh...
It's July!
-
I can't believe it is July already. I don't have an overall theme for this
month except to get to some games I have wanted to try out. Not sure if
thos...
Esekar Sector Map
-
Blue – Trade Ports Yellow – Mining Planets Green – Colony Worlds Red – Fuel
Stations While it is still somewhat of a tossup between Scum and Villainy
and S...
PRIMEVAL BASTIONLAND PLAYTEST
-
*A land born of myth. The past that never was now is. *
*Petty domains in wildland. Horrors from story and song.*
*But in our dreams, the shining city. A...
June '22 in Review
-
Poison Ivy Sucks! This has unfortunately been the main theme of the second
half of the month, and it’s been a busy month too. One of the joys of
having a...
Free GM Resource: The Mines of Khunmar
-
[image: Free GM Resource: The Mines of Khunmar]
I've had this saved for a hot minute and just this morning managed to
actually download and give a quick s...
Miskatonic Monday #123: Cat’s Cradle
-
Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of
books for *Call of Cthulhu* under the Miskatonic University Library
Associati...
The Athabasca Fold Network
-
*Memorize this, but for god's sake don't act like you know it. Play dumb
and ask for directions like everyone else or you'll get flagged and dumped
out a...
Fogheart – The Torso of the Giant King
-
By Lucian Correa Antigona404 OSE Levels 1-3 Once upon a time, long before
the heyday of the plains folk and the inevitable fall of their empire, deep
withi...
Music Monday - New America
-
It's Independence Day here in the states and given recent judicial rulings,
violence against LGBT+ groups, and calls for censorship (some of which I've
bee...
Felltower & the (in)ability to study
-
Thinking about the experience system in Traveller, and Felltower, it occurs
to me that they're two completely different ways to go about it.
In Traveller, ...
Pestilential Painting: Chaos Spawn completed
-
Welcome back to the Vectorium! The summer of Chaos is truly upon us; the
Chaos Space Marine Codex is *finally* here, and I've been poring over the
book....
Gamelog: Finished tombs and against the snake folk
-
Our Heroes:
7th Lv Fighter - Barbarian Archer Lord seeking glory and battle, talks to
birds
-Personal Priestess
-Mastif war dog abhumanoid (Mostly guards...
Update and Thoughts on Blogging
-
Just a quick update, and an apology for those of you who had a flurry of
blog update notifications today …
Continue reading →
[ZINE] Echoes From Fomalhaut #10 (NOW AVAILABLE!)
-
Guests of the Beggar KingI am pleased to announce the publication of the
tenth issue of my fanzine, *Echoes From Fomalhaut*. This is a 52-page zine
dedic...
So You Want to be a Pirate: Spec For
-
I got into the how and why of piracy. Let me talk about about space future
pirates!
You are not merely a *pirate*. You are a pirate in space *AND *in th...
Why D&D?
-
Very often - Monday's post is an obvious example - I will post an idea on
the blog for a campaign I'd like to run or a book I'd like to write, and
people...
I Played King of Dragon Pass
-
(in response to the comments in this post) and I was not that good at it,
and then did ok. But then got bored. But I learned a lot and now have much
more s...
Finding spells is better than choosing them
-
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 ...
Reflection and Formation
-
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 ...
Why Dragons Should Never Lose
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
*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
-
*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
-
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...
Education, Fleshing out a System
-
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
-
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...
On Ecology Completed
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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,...
Vox Machina: Good for a Few Laughs
-
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)
-
[image: Julius Moessel - Symphony in Hell, No. 2, 1940's]Symphony in Hell,
No. 2, 1940's
[image: Julius Moessel - Symphony in Hell (No.3)]Symphony in He...
Growling Mage Tavern
-
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
-
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
-
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...
What's wrong with megadungeons?
-
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!
-
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
-
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
-
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...
A Campaign Begins for Newbies
-
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
-
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...
Strange, Dangerous, and Inhuman: The Fey and Fairie
-
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
-
*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
doin...
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...
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
-
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...