Tenkar's Tavern: 2023-07-16

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Kickstarter - Drinking Quest: Belch of the Wild

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.

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Friday, July 21, 2023

Kickstarter - MACE Volume #002 (Zine and Stock Art by James Shields)

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 :)

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Kickstarter - Six Hack (an OSR-ish homage)

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.

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Bundle of Holding - Hydra Cooperative

The Hydra Cooperative Bundle is 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!

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Deal of the Day - Xeno Dead Zone (ICRPG turns Aliens)

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?

Monday, July 17, 2023

Deal of the Day - BEOWULF: Age of Heroes (5e Reimagined)

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.

Normally 19.99 in PDF, BEOWULF: Age of Heroes is marked down to 10 bucks until tomorrow morning.

“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.

Sunday, July 16, 2023

MACE #2 Kickstarter is Worth Checking Out

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.

Monster and Character Encounters (MACE) Volume 2

Check out James Shields' MACE Volume 2 Kickstarter if you get the chance....

Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 52, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

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