I started my Traveller experience with the Traveller Starter Set. My God, it was an amazing experience and my only regret at the time was a lack of an experience point system (heh - I still harbour that regret)
The Traveller Explorer's Edition is a mere buck. I strongly suggest, that at that price, one can easily make a decision on whether to dive in further to what Mongoose Traveller has to offer, game on with what one has, or forgo any further.
Simply a bargain.
Traveller is the science fiction roleplaying game of the far future. The Traveller Explorers’ Edition is an introduction to the game for newcomers that provides all of the tools you need to create adventures or even an entire campaign. Create bold scouts and intrepid scientists who travel into the unknown aboard their trusty Type-S Scout/Courier, a rugged exploration ship perfect for the job.
Dock your ship at advanced starports, visit strange worlds, encounter alien beings and animals, and take on the challenges that the galaxy sets before you.
The Explorer’s Edition provides all core game rules for Traveller, plus a universe creation system that allows referees to create new star systems on the fly for their players to visit and explore…
The universe awaits. Welcome to Traveller!
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You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube,
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I've been attempting to make a special effort to reveal any connections I may have to the various products I highlight here at The Tavern. This post is no different.
I've known Joe Bloch for a number of years (and got to meet him face to face for the first time at the Gygax Magazine launch in Brooklyn back in January of 2013 - my God, 8 years ago!)
Joe's latest release is Red in Tooth and Claw, an adventure written for Adventures Dark & Deep but usable with an OSR ruleset. It's 2.95 in PDF and 5.95 in Print plus PDF.
The southern verge of the Sesve Forest is beset by evil. Woodsmen are slain, villagers’ flocks and herds are rended asunder, and no one seems able to stem the tide of evil. But this is no ordinary pack of wolves threatening the forest precincts; they strike with supernatural cunning, behave with human-like strategy, and show a pure evil unknown to nature.
You and your companions must explore the southern edge of the forest and root out this pack of evil beasts before they strike again, and bring peace once more to the region. This adventure is the second in a trilogy of adventure modules, but can easily be played as a stand-alone module.
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I've always enjoyed Dirk Stanley's work, and actually snagged some of his adventures for the Far Away Land RPG before I even bought the core rules. Quite simply, he does good work. Dirk, Vince Florio, and I even did a short-lived podcast for the Far Away Land RPG.
(edit: Doh! And yes, that is Dirk's artwork at the top of this page)
So yes, I know Dirk. Yes, I am likely biased. But that's okay because Mere Anarchy is priced at PWYW pricing for two pages (1-sheet) and your risk (and investment) is literally nil (unless you tip Dirk for his fine work.
I suspect Mere Anarchy would work best as a convention game. Simple to learn, everyone can be given their 1-sheet of the game AT the game, and all one needs are some d6's.
Mere Anarchy is an ultra-lite, 1-page (front and back) rpg that uses a simple 2d6 system. You can learn the game and make characters and get started playing in minutes.
The game features unique and simplified systems for many things like NPCs and monsters and generating treasure.
Overview of basic mechanics
Character creation (with optional rules)
PC Advancement
Combat
Magic (freeform system)
Gear
NPCs & Monsters
Treasure
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The Tavern.
You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube,
or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.
I've recently been bitten (again) by the RuneQuest Bug. I last ran a RuneQuest Campaign over 30 years ago, using the RuneQuest 2nd edition rules and the Pavis and Big Rubble box sets. It was an amazing summer of RuneQuest fun, and although we didn't call it a "sandbox" back then, it was certainly the first sandbox I ran.
I noticed last night that on the Chaosium website, they offer Glorantian Classics: Borderlands and Beyond for $18.99, in print plus free PDF - basically half off the regular price. Not owning a prior version of Borderlands (but remembering the rave reviews of it from years ago) I promptly ordered the hard copy and started perusing my newly acquired PDF.
I'm inspired to run a RuneQuest Campaign again, with Pavis & Big Rubble, as well as the Borderlands at my disposal. Apparently, I ordered a PDF copy of Pavis & Big Rubble from DTRPG in the past, and I'll be uploading that to my iPad, much like I've uploaded Borderlands. Edition changes don't phase me, as I've been running all editions of various D&D / OGL adventures for years using Swords & Wizardry rules. So long as the players don't know what the "true" stats should be, any stats you present as a GM are the "true" stats ;)
This is an updated and reformatted 300+ page reprint of ALL of the information from the original Chaosium Borderlands boxed set, Plunder, and Runemasters.
Rick also included additional Plunder items, expanded Runemasters character histories, and loads of background info from Nomad Gods and Wyrms Footnotes magazine. The interior is lavishly illustrated with dozens of new pictures from Simon Bray, Dario Corallo, plus loads of oldies but goodies from Lisa Free, Luise Perrinne, Gene Day and Rick Becker.
Note, this is the last of the Glorantian Classics line Chaosium has in print.
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The Tavern.
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or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.
Looking at one of the latest Bundles of Holding, I am quite impressed by the quality works included at these price points. Truth be told, I believe I already own everything, if not in print than in PDF. That says a lot IMHO.
With the Goodman Gems bundle, you get The Adventurer's Almanac, the DM Campaign Tracker, PC Pearls, and GM Gems for 9.99. If you increase your buy-in to about 26 bucks, you also get The Dungeon Alphabet, The Monster Alphabet, The Cthulhu Alphabet, 50 Fantastic Functions for the D50, and How to Write Adventure Modules that Don't Suck.
It's a pretty damn strong collection overall.
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 the 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.
To be honest, I did not purchase Giantlands with high hopes. At $130 plus shipping my expectations were severely muted. That being said, I can honestly say, the editing is, by far, better than any of the peeks we've had of various TSR3 products that have not been released yet. Surely, not a high bar to meet, but one that has been met and exceeded.
Now, on to the cover of Volume 1 of Three Booklets, Spirits Guide. Yes, I know that looks awkward, but there it is.
Giantlands: Science Fantasy Roleplaying Game Playable with Pen, Paper, Dice & Masks
Maybe it's just me, but we never played with masks back in the day OR today (but occasionally we did play with hand puppets, like the Rocky & Bullwinkle Game from TSR). This makes it seem like masks are expected to be used as part of gameplay. It should be noted that masks are NOT included in the box, but pencils are, as well as dice and some tokens.
At first glance, the art looks above average to pretty damn good. Jeff Dee did some interior art, and the other artists did fine jobs overall.
We start with the description of the 5th Age. If you've played an RPG with a default setting before, you probably already know much of the script.
This is followed by the section The Fun of Roleplaying. If this is your first RPG, do read it. Also, my sympathies, as this should likely not be your first RPG. That applies to MOST RPGs. It's not a knock on Giantlands specifically, just a general note.
Definition of Terms comes next. At four pages, it does a decent job of defining terms used in RPGs in general and Giantlands in particular.
Core Guidelines is the next page and really feels like it could have been included with The Fun of Roleplaying Section. Again, as a gamer, this section can likely be ignored by most.
The What Do You Need Section ("the following is a list of what is needed for a game of Giantlands") is where I find myself blinking and shaking my head. Spirits (players), Spirit Keeper (GM), Dice, Sigil Coins (tokens of a sort. Four are included in the box, but you could substitute coins), Pencil (the cover says "pen", but that's nitpicking), Paper, Imagination, Lusory Attitude (basically the ability to immerse yourself in the game - yeah, Gygaxian word) and lastly Masks and Costumes.
Now, let's pull that last piece out on its own.
Masks and Costumes
Masks are a way to help us stay safe while stepping even more out of our everyday selves and into other roles. Decorate your mask with Sigils, human or animal features, or anything else that makes you feel more like your character. Costumes of any kind also help us and others to imagine more deeply and suspend disbelief in the fantasy
Does the above paragraph make anyone else cringe? It certainly makes me cringe. Needless to say, no masks or costumes are included with Giantlands but they are included in the What Do You Need Section of the rulebook.
Now, I'm not saying that an RPG with masks and costumes can't work, but marketing such to old-school gamers is likely the wrong market to aim for.
But wait! There's more on Costumes and Masks a few pages later.
Costume and mask creation is an important part of playing Giantlands.
We strongly and sincerely suggest you craft your own.
Playing dress-up is great fun, but it comes with game benefits too. The costume rules state that if you wear a mask, you may add +5 to each of your Ability scores. If you wear a full-body costume, you can add +10 to each Ability score.
I'm an adult. I don't play dress-up.
But it seems as though Costumes and Masks are NOT required to play Giantlands, just highly beneficial with in-game bonuses that literally make no sense.
"Hey, bring blue dice to my game table and I'll make sure you get +1 hit for the rest of the session" is not the way to design a game.
Damn, where was I?
Oh yes, the Play of the Game Section. This is another section that makes me scratch my head, specifically Step Three. Actually, everything from Step Three on. Fuckit, there's too much to type. Here's the page for review purposes only:
There is no sample adventure in the box (and I just confirmed that Volume 2, the Keepers Guide, lacks such). It appears that the assumption is that the Spirit Keeper will know how to design an adventure for Giantlands, but the rules thus far seem to be directed at players new to RPGs in general.
How do you NOT include a sample adventure for a totally new game system? Even a free one on the website would suffice. From what I can tell, the only download on the WFD website is for a Giantlands character sheet. At 2 bucks, BTW.
K, I'm burned out.
Tomorrow Night on the Talking Crit LiveStream, we'll do a Giantlands Session Zero - Character Generation. At first glance, it doesn't seem all that balanced, but maybe that's where the "old school" aspect comes into the ruleset.
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You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube,
or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.
I've always enjoyed the various worlds and settings of Warhammer and immersing myself in fiction is a fun pastime. These days, I prefer audiobooks, but with my Kindle app, even my tired old eyes can read the selections available in the Stories From the Worlds of Warhammer 2022 Humble Bundle by Black Library.
For as little as a buck, you can snag six bucks in Kindle and epub formats. $18 dollars gets you 25 books. If you are into fantasy and/or fantasy/sci-fi fiction, this is a hard-to-beat deal.
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You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube,
or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.
Yeah, so if you think I almost forgot about today's post........you'd be right. This last week I managed to sign on a new home and then my car up and crapped out on me. Not really a good time to be needing to purchase a new vehicle, but you gotta do what you gotta do (Futurama anyone?).
So basically I'm leveling up and am able to "create" a Stronghold. I mean it's not my 1st house, but it's "my first" house....as in all me and just me. So the first thing I have to do, after "evicting" the previous tenets (i.e. bought the house) was to secure the premises.....in this case change all my locks.
Now I'm at the cleanup and slowly moving in phase.
Anyway, clearly that's my real life at the moment, but I've yet to be able to do this in-game. I did get close once. My DS Invoker got a high enough level and saved up more than enough coin. The tipping point was my PC getting a Pseudo Dragon familiar, so then he was all set to "retire", build a library, and begin his practice (he was working on being a Doctor of sorts)*.
I've never GM'd a player building a bonafide Stronghold either.
In-game I like the idea of a Stronghold/Library/Whatever, but it seems to me to be more of a goal....a journey, not really a destination, something to work towards, but probably a campaign-wrecker if it ever came to fruition. While I can certainly come up with ideas for adventures emanating from the Stronghold, or during it's creation, they just seem way too different from the types of adventures during the normal murder-hoboing.....
So basically I see the creation of a Stronghold as more of an end-game thing. Retire the PC and maybe bring them back out here & there for one-offs. I often have some sort of end-game idea in mind for my PCs. My current OSR Magic User doesn't have one....yet, but my last HackMaster PC was expected to return to the homeland and probably die leading a rebellion to free his enslaved brethren. I was hoping that'd be an epic campaign, but alas the gaming group broke up and I haven't touched that PC since.
Usually I like to pose a question to the 12 13 readers I have here at the Tavern and the obvious one would be if anyone has built a Stronghold before, but what I'd rather read about is if/how many of us envision an end-game for their PCs. Not just what, but when (level?), and what is involved in that thought process?
Random Thoughts & Links for 4/26/2024
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A few links for a Friday.
- A look at Kara-Tur. I agree it feels a little uneven. But the maps are
gorgeous and looking at them makes me really want to pla...
Kickstart Your Weekend: Horror and Sci-Fi!
-
A nice mix today. Let's get to it.
*Frightshow Classics*
[image: Frightshow Classics]
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/frightshowclassics/frightshow...
Friday Fantasy: Asterion
-
It is difficult to describe what *Asterion* is without being as direct as
its author is. So not to beat about the bush, *Asterion* is a sex dungeon.
*Ast...
QuarHammer
-
I stumbled, addled, into my local semi-rural game store in search of
off-brand Contrast paint to finish up Ionus Cryptborn, and while wandering
around, I ...
More (Mostly Pointless) Messing About
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I thought I would try an experiment: I re-scaled one of Bergman's 1:100
Char B-I (bis) models to 1:200 and printed it on my Mars Pro. It's the
yellow ...
Stonehell: Dipping their toes in the sewer
-
Session 227 was played on 9/24/23
Morgana, Magic User (Rob)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter (Lanse)
Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 5 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 5...
AD&D ability tests, streamlined
-
As I've mentioned in my Hyperborea review (check it pout!), I really liked
how the game tries to streamline AD&D ability checks:
This is a simpler versi...
On preparing adventures for the Ghostbusters RPG
-
With my mind on a lot of things lately related to West End Games' classic
RPG *Ghostbusters*, I was thinking of putting together a blog entry
offering so...
d100 Wasteland Weirdos
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Possibly some Charginspire leaked onto our new album.
Sampler short
https://youtube.com/shorts/Yj7jn40iomM?si=dflfJ10EdYYJqMYr
My Gunderholfen solo play...
Standoff at Sandfell Sea Fort
-
By MalrexThe Merciless MerchantsOSR/1e/2eLevels 4-7 Eerie lights? Strange
noises? Ships are sailing blind into the rough shores of the Bay of
Saurvorn. Why...
A World in a Magazine
-
Four years ago, I wrote about my history with miniature games and getting
back into them during the lockdown. Summer 1995 saw me seduced by the world
of ...
New Printable Scenery Campaign: Ramshackle & Ruin
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[image: New Printable Scenery Campaign: Ramshackle & Ruin]
I don't know how many of my peeps here are into 3d printing, but I'm always
collecting the STL ...
Play as Sculpture, Play as Prism
-
Watching my eldest child and friends engaging in imaginative play, I'm
often struck by the fact that what seems to excite them is deciding who
gets to be...
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...
Clerics of the Flanaess, Part 2
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Sorry it took so long to get to the next article in this series, but here
we are! This continues the details of specialty clerics for the World of
Greyhawk...
On the Sector Turn
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It's very simple.
There are many important things cybertechtronically enhanced secret agents
need to do: Buy illegal tanks with railguns. "Convince" the...
Arsenic & Old Lace (a Review)...
-
The free-kriegsspiel revolution (or FKR; sometimes free-kriegsspiel
roleplay) has been getting a lot of attention lately, which seems
inevitable given re...
The Light Dawns
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THIS!!! Yes, a thousand times, this!
Back in the day, I referred to this as “neo-classicalgaming,” which is to
say, the sorts of games that came ou...
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
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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...
It’s Tolkien Reading Day
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I recently started rereading *The Silmarillion*. I had last read it over
two decades ago. I liked it then but I’m really enjoying it this time!
Despite b...
Osr anchorites?
-
It's been a long time since I listened to any osr podcasts. Anchor was a
lot of fun. I'm not sure if the community is still going? I deleted the
app ...
Chaos War Dogs
-
Welcome back to the Vault! My gaming partner and I had a fun day at the
Meme Team doubles last weekend, placing mid-table results wise. My eye is
now lo...
ShadowDark Magic Items
-
The next campaign I run will use the ShadowDark RPG. I'm not sure when
that'll be (I'm hoping a little later this year), but ShadowDark is my
choice. I'v...
Xandering, Jaquaysing, or Arneson-ing the Dungeon?
-
Yet another gamer firestorm arose shortly after the passing of Janelle
Jaquays when it was noted that Justin Alexander had changed a rather well
known p...
GLOG Class: Bioweapon
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I got this idea from mad gods on bear blog.
Crab Evo from Kagaku Sentai Dynaman
A thousand soldiers were slain. Too many to be tragic--this is just a fact...
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...
What Else Have I Got in Me?
-
Brechewold's been done for a little while. Still incredibly pumped to have
this labor of love out in the company of LotFP's marvelously creative body
of ...
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
-
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...
Play Report: Skull Mountain
-
At the end of the last Skull Mountain session the PCs had retreated to
safety at Owen's redoubt, met with visiting elves, and recovered from
injuries ...
-
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
-
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...
The Blade Itself
-
I just finished listening to the audiobook of The Blade Itself, volume one
in Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law trilogy. This was my first exposure to
his wo...
Genteel Magistrate at FenCon XVIII
-
Victorious author Mike Stewart will be a guest at FenCon XVIII this weekend
at the Sheraton DFW Airport hotel, 4440 W. John Carpenter Freeway, Irving,
TX, ...
This is an Important Game Mechanic
-
*"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
-
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
-
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...
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...