For me, the original Baldur's Gate releases brought back much of the same joys of playing the earlier Gold Box releases on my Commodore 64. The stories were great and they felt like the D&D ruleset they were built upon.
For the next couple of days, you can score the Baldur's Gate & Beyond Bundle for 12 bucks, which is beyond a bargain (see what I did there?). I have a few of these titles and I'm in for 12 bucks.
Lose yourself in some of the most immersive, beloved, legendary PC role-playing experiences of all time—and get Lose yourself in some of the most immersive, beloved, legendary PC role-playing experiences of all time! Rediscover a genre-defining saga in the Enhanced Editions of Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II from Beamdog. Embark on an epic journey in 2021’s acclaimed Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. Return to the Forgotten Realms in Neverwinter Nights: Complete Adventures and more, and help support Active Minds with your purchase!
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 enjoyed the original Traveller rules - the only rules I knew of at the time where your could die during character generation. I remember rolling Traveller characters during breaks between classes in High School.
Set out on a journey into the unknown in Traveller, the science fiction role-playing game of the far future! This starfarers’ bundle features over a dozen digital rulebooks, sourcebooks, and character & campaign resources for the latest edition of the iconic tabletop RPG. Plunder the galaxy in the Pirates of Drinax campaign and Drinaxian Companion, expanding the setting with new possibilities for adventure. Gear up with weapons and equipment using the Central Supply Catalogue and Field Catalogue. Get everything you need to craft and play your own sci-fi saga, and help support Cancer Research UK with your purchase!
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
Tables. Random Tables. It seems the more of an improv GM you are, the more you rely on random tables.
The DiceGeeks Eras Bundle is literally hundreds of tables for different eras (nothing directly related to fantasy (but that really isn't an era) for 7.95.
Adventurer! This all-new dicegeeks Eras Bundle presents 11 .PDF ebooks of tables created by Matt Davids at dicegeeks that enhance tabletop roleplaying games set in many historical and future eras. If you run (for example) 1920s Call of Cthulhu investigations, modern-day superheroics, Shadowrun or Cyberpunk 2020 data heists, starfaring RPGs like Traveller, Weird West, steampunk, posts-apocalypse, and more, each of these 50-page assortments of d100 tables can help speed up your game prep and add authentic detail to enhance your gaming sessions.
For just US$7.95 you get all eleven gatherings of random tables in our Eras Collection (retail value $33) as DRM-free ebooks, including Ancient World, Steampunk, Wild West, 1920s-30s, 1960s-70s, Modern, Cyberpunk 1, Cyberpunk 2, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction 1, & Science Fiction 2.
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
Life as a self-publisher is often hand to mouth, with usually little if any sort of "emergency funds". Rick Hershey is the main man at Fat Goblin Games and is quite talented as an artist. He did the logo for my Torchlight Zine, and I often snag pieces of his stock art when I can.
Fat Goblin Games is offering stock art exclusively through a Paypal Donation that won't be available elsewhere.
I'm in for 100 myself. I love the samples we've been shown thus far, and my mind is already rolling with ideas :)
It's time we get a new vehicle, something more reliable and a bit newer. But generating those extra funds can be difficult when you are an artist and a small TTRPG publisher. So, I am running this fundraiser to help with that!
I've been working on a new style of watercolor and inks for my own projects, but also with the idea that I would like to produce art closer to the illustrators that inspired me as a kid. That said, I have mostly focused on fairly normal studies, and nothing I would say comes close to the "fantasy" of TTRPGs. To help reach our goal, this entire set of 25 Exclusive portraits is completed in this style.
When you donate $100 (or more) you will receive the 25 base portraits.
Each time we reach a $1000 milestone, I will add 10 more portraits to the set.
If we fully fund, I expect to have all completed and delivered before November. They will be sent via email (so please make sure you include your email when donating).
The portraits are EXCLUSIVE here and will not be sold as stock art elsewhere, they will also include our standard license.
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
Now, not everything I share is something that I PERSONALLY would enjoy. I quite like the AGE system and it looks like it would play out quick and fast and mostly fall quietly into the background. I do NOT enjoy "romantic fantasy" for my reading material, nor do I enjoy such in my RPGs. Others do, which is why this post exists ;)
Blue Rose is one of the current offers on Bundle of Holding and for 7.95, you get the Blue Rose RPG Rules, Shadowtide (novel) Pit of Vipers novelette) and Sovereigns of the Blue Rose (a 14-story anthology). As you can see, Blue Rose takes its "romantic fantasy" source material quite seriously :)
The threshold price for the Blue Rose Bonus Collection stands at approximately 20 bucks as I type this and includes setting material, an adventure, a GM kit, and yet more fiction.
Adventurer! We've resurrected our March 2020 Blue Rose Bundle featuring the 2017 Second Edition of Blue Rose, the tabletop roleplaying game of romantic fantasy from Green Ronin Publishing. Inspired by authors like Mercedes Lackey, Diane Duane, Tamora Pierce, and many more, Blue Rose makes you an envoy in service to the Sovereign of the peaceful and prosperous kingdom of Aldea. As much problem-solvers and diplomats as warriors, envoys uphold civilization's ideals and protect ordinary people from danger. Aided by the rhydan – your psychic animal allies – you and your companions guard your homeland from aggressive neighbors, ancient monsters and artifacts, and a resurgent Shadow.
The 2017 edition of Blue Rose uses Green Ronin's Adventure Game Engine (AGE), the popular rules that power the Fantasy AGE, Dragon Age, and The Expanse RPGs. This March 2020 offer once again brings you the core Blue Rose AGE rulebook and essential supplements. And after you get this revived offer, look for our all-new companion with recent campaigns and adventures, Blue Rose Aldean Adventures.
Six of Swords scenario collection for Blue RoseFor just US$7.95 you get all four titles in this revived offer's Starter Collection (retail value $38) as DRM-free ebooks, including the complete full-color, 384-page Blue Rose 2E rulebook for the AGE System; the novel Shadowtide by Joseph D. Carriker Jr. (plus its novella-length sequel Pit of Vipers and the free Shadowtide: Recipes from Aldea); and the 14-story anthology Sovereigns of the Blue Rose.
And if you pay more than the threshold price of $19.96, you'll level up and also get this revival's entire Bonus Collection with five more titles worth an additional $45, including the massive city sourcebook Aldis: City of the Blue Rose, the adventure collection Six of Swords, the Blue Rose Narrator's Kit, and two more short stories.
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
So, true story. Right before NTRPG Con, Microcenter had a sale of a 3d printer, a decent one, for 99 bucks. I snagged it with great plans, but have yet to set it up. Looks like I'm snagging Tom's latest to force me to set up my 3d printer ;)
Today'sDeal of the Day is DRAGONLOCK Lost Dungeons: Master Set from Fat Dragon Games. Normally 49.99, it is on sale until tomorrow morning for 9.99
DRAGONLOCK Lost Dungeons™ is an all-new 3D printable terrain series that is the culmination of our 18 years of design experience in tabletop gaming, and this master set is so complete we even include a dungeon toilet!
All models print supportless and are optimized for FDM 3D printers. This set features our innovative no-solder LED lighting designs that Dragonlock™ first introduced in 2019 (allowing anyone to make gorgeous LED illuminated terrain with no soldering or electronics experience necessary), our new easy-build hinge design for opening doors, 45˚ angle hallways, round rooms with centered doors, our incredibly popular Dragonbite™ link system, and much more! Lost Dungeons™ expansion sets will allow you to customize your dungeon layouts even further with the groundbreaking innovations you have come to expect from Fat Dragon Games.
New to 3D printing? We've got you covered! Fat Dragon Games has a YouTube channel devoted to getting you started in this fantastic hobby, we walk you through everything you need to know to get your first printer, troubleshooting, tutorials, recommended settings, and much more. We also do the hard work for you and provide custom slicing profiles for Cura (a free slicing software) to take all of the guesswork out of the printing process. With full color instruction manuals, custom slicer profiles, video tutorials and build guides, and a Facebook support group with over 13,000 members, no other 3D model publisher provides you with as many support options as we do! A typical dungeon wall can be printed at home for only $0.40, and good starter 3D printers can be purchased for around $180. See our website for more info.
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
Kind of interesting Sunday post as I'm starting off celebrating the birth of one gamer while reviewing the life of another.
The Dreams in Gary's Basement (Kickstarter Link) documentary came out this weekend from the Dorks of Yore (Youtube Channel Link). I backed the Kickstarter for $100 which gets my "name" in the credits as well as a digital download (I haven't figured out how to download yet) and some goodies including an extra copy of the DVD/Blu-Ray which I have already promised to Erik a few years ago......so simultaneously an early and belated birthday gift(?). Probably beats the $5 I've been sending him to buy himself a beer.....
The film has been a long time coming, but the Dorks of Yore have been doing a good job communicating the status of the film for the last five years. The documentary is really more about the man and not the game, but the two are appropriately intertwined and I highly recommend seeing this if you appreciate the history of either. I have a few books on the subject and have a copy of Dave Arneson's documentary. I think The Dreams in Gary's Basement did a really good job. There were a few times graphics were repeated and pretty sure one bit of repeated video, but overall I think it was worth the wait.
Mail Call: Gary's Other Grandkids
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Maybe "stepchildren" might be a better moniker. We are coming up on the
first anniversary of WotC's attempt to murder the OGL 1.0. This sent many
publis...
Baking Soda Air-Dry Clay Recipe
-
For later reference:
Baking Soda Air-Drying Modeling Clay
1. Pour 2 cups Baking Soda and 1 cup of Cornstarch into a saucepan.
2. Add 1¼ cups co...
DL6: Dragons of Ice (1985)
-
From the back cover:
The refugees from Pax Tharkas are safe in the dwarven kingdom of
Thorbardin. You are in the ancient port of Tarsis searching for sh...
The Boys Season 4 Trailer
-
The season 4 trailer for The Boys dropped a few days ago.I think it looks
phenomenal. I think it also looks painfully relevant to the world today. At
leas...
My original fantasy sandbox: ICE’s Middle-earth
-
One reason why I have such affection for Iron Crown Enterprise’s line of
*Middle-earth* campaign and adventure modules, is that I learned how to run
gen...
When Orcus isn't enough, add friends?
-
This post over on Old School FRP Tumblr caught my eye:
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
They're actually the four horsemen of Orcus.
Just eyeballing th...
Syncretic D&D, Or, the Shoe That Does Not Drop
-
And compensation, a price in gold, was settled for the Geat Grendel had
cruelly killed earlier— as he would have killed more, had not mindful God
and one...
Miskatonic Monday #249: The Pirate and the Bride
-
Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of
books for *Call of Cthulhu* under the Miskatonic University Library
Associati...
Christmas cards this year
-
Just ordered these and I thought I would share, I am retired Army so I find
this hilarious, may not be to everyone's liking but oh well, it is my
card! Tha...
Cutting fireballs in half
-
A small addition to a recent post.
As people noticed in the comments, it is not such a huge deal. But a random
idea came to mind.
What if we just cut ever...
Musings on Dexterity-based Initiative
-
I’ve been running a Swords & Wizardry play-by-post game for the past year
or so and have been using dexterity …
Continue reading →
Woodland races playtest
-
https://basicfantasy.org/showcase.cgi
I created some playable races for bfrpg. You can check them out on the
showcase page.
These are all races like s...
The Isle of Wight: Planning the Sandbox
-
One of the defining aspects of this campaign is my choice to run this on
the *real*, *actual* Isle of Wight. I had thought about filing off the
serial nu...
[BEYONDE] Thief: The Black Parade [NOW AVAILABLE]
-
The Black Parade
*“In THE BLACK PARADE you play the character of Hume, a hardened*
*criminal who was sent into exile as a punishment for his crimes.*
...
OSR: Rereading OD&D: Back to the Start
-
Time to revisit the primordial ooze of the Old-School Renaissance, the
original D&D booklets.
While my usual long-term OSR campaigns use the GLOG, for p...
Sparking Conflict
-
*Mythic Bastionland *is approaching its final week of funding!
Go and check it out.
Now onto the actual post.
So you've built a nice *Mythic Bastionlan...
Bonus session (#7.5)
-
Although the players from the main group were all busy with Thanksgiving
festivities, I had visitors from out of town who wanted to play, so we had
a gam...
One day left on the TMNT RPG kickstarter...!
-
It seems clear that the campaign isn't in need of a signal boost from a
tiny corner of the internet like mine...but it's still probably worth
pointing ou...
The Wives of Barago
-
Another post about Lon Barago, but also a continuation of Forms of
Government.
History
King Barago was the first king of Lon Barago. After his death, hi...
MOON MOON MOON
-
GACKLING MOON is live!
Go here if you want to learn more;
(On the one hand I am the least successful of the OSR diaspora, on the
other I am not doing t...
X-Cards
-
The *X-Card* emerged from the indie/storygamer side of the hobby maybe ten
or so years ago. Originally taking the form of an index card with a simply
X dr...
Blackmarsh in print again.
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The print version of Blackmarsh is now available again both in softcover
and hardcover feature cover art by Richard Luschek. Many of you will know
him fr...
The Ruin in the Savage Wastes
-
By Connor McCloskey Black Gamberson OSE Level 1 10 years ago, a
catastrophic earthquake struck a stoic keep on the borderlands of human
civilization. Three...
Go back my first Kickstarter!
-
Sanctimonious Slimes Versus Expired Epicures is the first adventure module
written for Errant. It will also be my first properly printed book. The
kind wit...
AD&D's Front-Loaded Dilemma...
-
AD&D has some front-loaded demihumans. From dwarven saving throws to elven
attack bonuses (and infravision, among other useful abilities), non-human
char...
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 ...
Clerics of the Flanaess, Part 1
-
It’s been a while since we’ve had one of these articles, but the pages of
Dragonne Magazine have once more released their secrets from that alternate
unive...
Golden Gaming: Adeptus Custodian Guard
-
Welcome back to the Vault! It's been some time since I've posted, but fear
not, I have been both painting and gaming! It turns out that 10th edition
40K...
-
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 ...
Into the Megadungeon
-
Just a quickie to let you know that if you're not following Ben Laurence's
new podcast Into the Megadungeon, you are doing yourself a serious
disservice....
Proxy? You Misspelled Patsy! Part 1
-
Mechane, Atomo and Spatia had a delightful little trade union going.
Things improved with time. Spatia's ships improved their drives and began
reaching ...
Arnecon
-
I've got a busy gaming schedule coming up. I'm playing in Virtual Greyhawk
con and running 2 games (Lakofka's Devils Dung and Lost Dungeons of
Tonisborg...
Change is in the air! I'm moving to Substack!
-
TLDR; Moving here: https://chgowiz.substack.com
I've been using Blogger, formerly Blogspot, since 2008, when I was at my
old blog http://oldguyrpg.blogs...
The Dreams In Gary’s Basement Update
-
Pat Kilbane’s documentary of Gary Gygax and Dungeons and Dragons, The
Dreams In Gary’s Basement, was released online to Kickstarter backers
today. This mul...
On the OSR Christmas in July
-
Isn't it disappointing that only digital files are on sale at DTRPG?
So I've dropped the prices of print copies of my books!
Bestial Encounters Caused By...
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...
Random Encounters: Love Them!
-
Picture swiped for my own purposes from Random Encounter. I want this
sticker!
It's been a while since my last entry. More health issues. More computer...
Magical Magic That Feels Magical
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*14. Heart Of The Beast: Cast this spell on a slain monster’s heart (or
reasonably equivalent organ or portion), then consume it. At any time, you
may ...
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...