I'm a huge fan of the Drinking Quest series of releases. I have a complete collection of the prior releases, and even if they don't get as much use as they should, I always bring a box to every convention, "just in case" ;)
I find it impossible to have enough Drinking Quest. You can snag the newest release in the series, Drinking Quest: Belch of the Wild, for about 25 bucks USC - this includes a physical copy of the new game AND print and play PDFs of the new game and the six prior releases. Heck, you can snag all 7 games in print for about 75 bucks.
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.
DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar
For those that don't know, James Shields did the cover for Swords & Wizardry Continual Light, and James did the cover for the (as of now) unreleased revision, titled Continual Light. I own a number of originals of James' original work, and I love his stock art. When I can focus on my small hobby publishing again, James' art will have a prominent place.
Needless to say, I backed the MACE Volume #002 Kickstarter at the ALL THE STOCK ART level, not just to support a creator and artist whose work I truly enjoy and who I personally respect, but because I know it will be top-notch.
You can back MACE Volume #002 for just the zine for as little as 10 bucks, but 75 gives you 45 pieces of stock art and the zine in print plus PDF. I know what I did :)
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.
DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar
A dead simple, OSR homage to The World's First Fantasy Roleplaying Game.
Not every Kickstarter I highlight is one I think will fit my style of gaming, let alone fit the style of my gaming group. Six Hack is just such a game - interesting enough that it deserves an audience, but that audience likely isn't me or my group.
You can back the Six Hack Kickstarter for as little as 2 bucks for the draft of the rules, or for 10 bucks you get the draft, and later, upon completion, the professionally laid out final copy, complete with mini-setting and adventure for 10 bucks.
Six-Hack is a simple set of guidelines for roleplaying in the spirit of The Original Fantasy Roleplaying Game (1974). It pays homage to that classic game, but introduces some modern sensibilities, as well. For example, it includes a unified action resolution system, an Action Point economy, templates for creating mutable monsters, and an abstract commerce system. It further includes some tried and true advice for Referees (referred to as "Game Masters" in many systems). Finally, it also kills some so-called "sacred cows" - for example, there are no longer any ability scores (or ability score modifiers), alignments have been replaced with player-defined moral codes, and Experience Points have been replaced with an encounter economy.
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.
DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar
The Hydra Cooperative Bundleis one of the few bundles where I own nearly a complete collection and still plan on snagging the collection. 9 titles for 14.95 can't be beaten. Some of the best OSR releases one can find in a single bundle.
Adventurer! This Hydra Cooperative Quick Deal gathers tabletop roleplaying supplements and modules designed by the talented creators in the Hydra Cooperative publishing alliance. Drawn from five early Bundle of Holding offers (2015-2020), these inventive and strikingly packaged titles show graphic inspirations ranging from art nouveau to pulp magazines to Atari game cartridges to Gold Key comics. And the modules themselves are just as flavorful: Face a Zombastodon during the Yambor soldier-bear pilgrimage across the Slumbering Ursine Dunes. Dodge mile-long grubs and Bonegrinders outside the bio-transmogrification Vat Complex of the Eld. Visit the Prismatic Peak of Mount Geegaw in seearch of the Whim-Wham Stone. Run scams and con games with Frantisek the Checkered Mage or Jarek the Nagsman at Marlinko's Ebon Horse Fair. Save the Village of the Gleaming Fins people from Skelephants or the immense pale crocodile called the Bachelor. What Ho, Frog Demons!
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.
DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar
Index Card RPG (ICRPG)is currently sitting on my physical pile of "shit to read", but I think after reading the description of today's Deal of the Day, I'll be reading it when I return from the Poconos ;)
Xeno Dead Zone(both a stand-alone game AND an ICRPG supplement) is today's Deal of the Day. Normally 4.50 in PDF, but until tomorrow morning it is on sale for 1.80.
XENO DEAD ZONE is a one-stop solution to scratch your itch for a night of great gaming in the world of deadly space predators and the badasses who fight them.
This package is power packed with rules and resources for ICRPG players and GM's.
-Play in XDZ mode: a GM-less board game ruleset
-Play in classic ICRPG mode: 9 new classes, Xeno and vehicle stats
-Dynamic Mission Objectives and Ecalations in any mode
-A huge collection of print-and-cut standees
-Tokens for use in your favorite VTT
-32 map building cards and door standees to assemble your game map with flair
Expand your ICRPG multiverse to include the deadliest creatures in the spaceways!
What Happens When Your PCs Crash the Economy by Pumping Too Much Gold Into It?
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.
DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar
I'm not a huge 5e fan, but I've come across some hacks that made the unwieldy (in my opinion) system bearable. Mythgarther was the prior high watermark to my eyes. From what I've read of BEOWULF: Age of Heroes, we may have a new contender.
“BEOWULF: Age of Heroes is a vast treasure-hoard that shows how you can hone the rules for 5e to make them cut like the edge of a long-seax and sing like a Scop.” – Francesco Nepitello, designer of The One Ring Roleplaying Game
One of the oldest recorded stories in Western Europe, Beowulf is the ultimate tale of hero vs. monster – and now a dramatic, 5e setting.
Discover a fierce background of wild seas and savage monsters, of meadhalls and of heirloom swords that bear legendary names. Gain Followers, take Inspiration from unique Portents, and use our specially crafted tokens to guide your voyage along the Whale Road.
Play the ‘Hero’ class, and choose from six sub-classes based on your ability scores. You can be the mighty Bench-Breaker, the wily Riddle-Reaver, or the sturdy Ox-Blooded. And you can come from a range of setting-specific backgrounds: you might be the Chosen One, or Adrift and seeking answers. You may be an Avenger, or of Noble Blood.
Written and illustrated by a team of industry veterans, led by Jon Hodgson, (The One Ring, D&D, Warhammer Historical) BEOWULF: Age of Heroes features 272 pages of beautifully illustrated mythic setting, and evokes a legendary age of tales, poems and song.
Described by fans as the ‘best hack of 5e ever made’, and by games designer Will Hindmarch as something ‘really magical’, BEOWULF Age of Heroes is uniquely designed for duet play: one Hero and one GM (though it can still be played by a group). This means it’s very easy to get a game going and to keep it going, and it’s especially ideal for play over the internet.
With its feet firmly in the world’s favourite role-playing game, BEOWULF has been very carefully forged to follow the folklore, flow and feel of the original poem.
The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.
DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar
I try not to take too much advantage of my ability to post here, but......if you can't abuse your position slightly to help out your friends.....
...actually this is a bit of a win-win as the MACE Volume #2 Kickstarter is a cool Zine of monsters that James Shields is producing. I'm a big fan of his black & white style and have several pieces of his original art. $15 for a print and digital copy of the Zine is a fair price and it's some great art. Getting new monsters is almost always a good thing, for GMs at least.
I haven't received my physical copy of MACE #1, but it's probably in my stack of mail I have to go through. The digital copy though....I'm pretty impressed. The digital copy I got with my backing was actually three digital copies.....three! I know, I know, you're probably thinking "Duh, even I know how to make a copy of a digital file...."
MACE #1 came to me as three distinct digital copies: a Low Res version, a High Res version, and a printer-friendly High Res version. I really wish more....publishers (?) did this. I was going to try and show the differences here, but the subtleties would be completely lost on a web/screen viewing, which is a shame.
All too often these digital copies are not far removed from the PDF sent to the printers, maybe cut back to not show cut lines and bleeds, but otherwise the same. Having three different versions, all fully bookmarked by the way, shows that James expects people to....I don't know, actually use the product. Being able to easily go to and then print off a single monster is a nice nod to the end-user that is sorely lacking in the average gaming PDF.
Check out James Shields' MACE Volume 2 Kickstarter if you get the chance....
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!
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A nice mix today. Let's get to it.
*Frightshow Classics*
[image: Frightshow Classics]
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/frightshowclassics/frightshow...
Friday Fantasy: Asterion
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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
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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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?
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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
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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...
Play Report: Skull Mountain
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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...
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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...
The Blade Itself
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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
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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!
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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
-
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
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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...
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
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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
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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
-
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.
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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
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!
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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...
Mord Mar - Session 6
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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
-
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...