Tenkar's Tavern: 2024-05-19

Saturday, May 25, 2024

Deal of the Day - Fantasy City Sites and Scenes III

Phil Reed does some amazing work in the RPG industry, and he always gives value for the dollars spent.

Fantasy City Sites and Scenes III from Phill Reed Games is today's Deal of the Day. Normally 9.95 in PDF, until tomorrow morning Fantasy City Sites and Scenes III is on sale for 4.98.

This companion to Fantasy City Sites and Scenes and Fantasy City Sites and Scenes II presents new city locations and encounters that can be dropped into almost any fantasy campaign.
City sites. Each of the sixteen locations detailed in the book is presented on a two-page spread (for a total of 32 pages worth of locations) and includes a few assorted details the gamemaster can use to add flavor to the site, as well as assorted other bits of info that vary from location to location to give the site a little personality. Hooks that may lead to adventure are sprinkled throughout this section of the book.
City scenes. In addition to the city sites, the book also includes twelve pages of encounter ideas and two pages of random rumors.

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Friday, May 24, 2024

Humble Bundle - Talisman: The Complete Collection Returns

I remember playing TONS of Talisman back in the day. For a board game to even come close to replicating the feel of dungeon delving is a rare feat, and Talisman did so quite well.

Well, Talisman is currently up on Humble Bundle for Windows and OSX. For 10 bucks, you can snag Talisman: The Complete Collection Returns. I see some wasted hours in my near future ;)

Thursday, May 23, 2024

Humble Bundle - Dynamite 20th Anniversary 20,000 Page Mega Bundle

Holy crap! 20 bucks for 20,000 pages of Red Sonya, Project Superpowers, Army of Darkness, Vampirella, Tarzan, John Carter, Green Hornet, and much more.

Dynamite 20th Anniversary 20,000 Page Mega Bundle is a mere 20 bucks.

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Kickstarter - Nuclear Destruction - a Nuclear War Card Game

Sadly, my Nuclear War and Nuclear Escalation game boxes have long since disintegrated, and what's left is incomplete. That being said, these games WERE the go-to games (along with Chaos Marauders from Games Workshop) when we were looking to drink and chat instead of delving into a deep RPG session. Beer & Pretzels? Nuclear War is the game for you.

All of which is why I'm excited to see Nuclear Destruction being Kickstarted, as the game's lineage is impeccable. MMMMmmmm! Beer & Pretzels are back on the menu! A bargain for 39 bucks, although I got the bundle that included Nuclear War's 50th Anniversary Edition for 69.

Nuclear Destruction is the 4th release of the Ameritrash Classic Nuclear War.
Building on the foundation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, we've introduced a host of exciting enhancements to improve your gaming experience. Enjoy an array of new cards, expanded player mats, a new propaganda system, and the ability to play with up to six players, ensuring every game is packed with maximum fun. Its full-color cards are compatible with EVERY version of Nuclear War. It is designed as a stand-alone installment or to be combined with the 50th Anniversary edition for even more fun!
Invented in 1965 by Doug Malewicki, Nuclear War has seen many editions and expansions over the years. The folks at Mr. B. Games have acquired the rights and are here on Kickstarter to try to revive this classic and bring it back to print - with your help!

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Bundle of Holding - Rifts

From the Summer of '94 until the Winter of '97, my gaming group played a shit ton of Rifts (when I wasn't running AD&D 2e). Sure, the system needed to be balanced, if not totally rewritten, but the setting lore was second to none. It simply oozed flavor and adventure hooks.

Currently, Bundle of Holding has two Bundles with Rifts material - one is the Rifts Core Megabundlecore:

Adventurer! This revived December 2022 Rifts® Core Megabundle once again gives you a gigantic array of .PDF rulebooks, supplements, and sourcebooks for Kevin Siembieda's Rifts tabletop roleplaying game from Palladium Books. You have a new chance to get everything you need to run a complete campaign of mind-blowing adventure across a future Earth shattered by countless otherworldly invasions.
For just US$19.95 you get all seven titles in this revived December 2022 offer's Corebook Collection (retail value $71) as DRM-free ebooks, including the complete Rifts Ultimate Edition core rulebook (plus the Rifts Primer); the Adventure Guide, Game Master Guide, and Game Master Kit; and Index and Adventures V1 and V2.
And if you pay more than this revival's threshold price of $40.60, you'll level up and also get this revived offer's entire Sourcebook Collection with eleven more titles worth an additional $129, including Sourcebook One, Book of Magic, the Bestiary, Black Market, the Bionics Sourcebook, all three Conversion books (Book One, Two: Pantheons of the Megaverse, Three: Dark Conversions), and three more sourcebooks: Vampires, The Mechanoids, and Mindwerks.

The other bundle is the Rifts Coalition Wars Bundle:

Look sharp, adventurer! This Rifts® Coalition Wars Bundle is the second of two offers in progress featuring .PDF ebooks for the Rifts tabletop roleplaying game from Palladium Books of a shattered Earth invaded by countless realities. If you're new to the game, start with our revived December 2022 Rifts Core Megabundle in progress. Then return here for this new companion bundle with sourcebooks and storylines that showcase one of the setting's dominant powers, the high-tech Coalition States.
For just US$17.95 you get all seven titles in our Coalition Collection (retail value $72) as DRM-free ebooks, including Coalition War Campaign, Coalition Navy, Secrets of the Coalition States, and four supplements about the soldiers-for-hire who fight this war: Mercenaries, MercOps, MercTown, and Mercenary Adventures.
And if you pay more than the threshold price of $38.53, you'll level up and also get our entire Tolkeen Collection with eight more titles worth an additional $97, including the most recent Rifts supplement, Coalition Manhunters, and the entire seven-part Siege on Tolkeen campaign: Coalition Wars, Coalition Overkill, Sorcerer's Revenge, Cyber-Knights, Shadows of Evil, Final Siege, and Aftermath.

Monday, May 20, 2024

Kickstarter - Adventures Dark and Deep Core Rules 2nd Printing (OSR)

I'm a huge fan of everything Joe Bloch / BRW Games publishes. Joe simply knows OSR gaming like a pro, and his Greyhawk knowledge is second to none. I can't wait to get my copies of Adventures Dark and Deep Core Rules 2nd Printing. If you still need to snag AD&D2P, you only have three days left to back the Kickstarter.

Consider this your official Last Call! ')

Adventures Dark and Deep™ is an expansion of the first Advanced version of the world's most popular roleplaying game. Originally designed to include all of the classes and other material that the original designer couldn't include in the 1980's, the game is even more expanded to include a skill system, more new classes, and much more.
Adventures Dark and Deep™ is a comprehensive rules system, designed to allow play in a variety of different styles; dungeon crawling, exploration, epic storytelling, and more.
Adventures Dark and Deep™ is my attempt to show what would AD&D would have looked like if Gary Gygax had stayed at TSR. It starts with the AD&D 1E rules, includes all the new character classes he mentioned in Dragon magazine in the 1980's (bards, jesters, mountebanks, etc.), plus other changes and additions he mentioned over the years in online fora.
In recent years, the game has grown beyond that basic concept to include more things, and also includes expansions on things Gygax had pioneered (like the skill system, which is based on the concept he had for a skill system for C&C). This new version brings everything together, reorganizes it, and re-edits everything to make it clearer.
This second printing incorporates numerous errata, expands the material with new classes like the blackguard and skald, and centaurs as a player race, and makes many other improvements to the original three books. In addition, the original three books have been consolidated into two; the Core Rulebook and the Core Bestiary. Everything is being comprehensively re-edited and re-organized to make it much easier to use.
The Core Rulebook has all the rules you need to play the game: ability scores, character races, character classes, secondary skills, creating characters, cost of equipment/services/etc., combat, magic, treasure, the game environment, creating the setting, and game master advice. See the FAQ for the complete table of contents (subject to change).
The Core Bestiary is a complete collection of monsters, including all of the classic monsters, plus many more, for a total of nearly 900 creatures both old and new. See the FAQ for the complete table of contents (subject to change).
The books are written, and are estimated to be over 500 pages each once editing and art is complete (all details are subject to change as the editing and layout process progresses). The money raised will be used to pay for new art and editing. The retail price for the books will be around $65 each.

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Lucky Opportunities to Spend My Money.....

Every once in a while I feel like I luck out, but I'm sure that's because I put myself in a position to be lucky.

This week I was on a business trip to Hawaii, where I got to stay in Waikiki. Believe me it sounds a helluva lot nicer than it really is. The weather is NOT cooperating and any free time I have is mostly occupied by heavy rains. The beach that is "right there" isn't much of an option and it's hard to enjoy sunsets when the sky is overcast.....

....and don't even get me started on the traffic. My work location is not far away (Oahu isn't that big), but it's at least an hour there and another back.

Meh....it's work and hey, I'm being paid to got to Hawaii, so if I get a nice hour here, I'm ahead of the game, right?

Yesterday I had the day off and despite the impending rain I managed a quick trip to the "local" Naval Exchange to look for souveniers. While I can get some cheap stuff at the local markets nearby, I wanted to favor Hawaiian-made stuff as much as possible. I had no intention to buy myself anything, but then I saw it: the Reyn Spooner (i.e. high-end) D&D 50th Anniversary Aloha/Hawaiian Shirt, and it was on sale for 20% off....and in the appropriate "Fat Guy" size (AKA Gamer Medium). While I didn't feel like a $100 shirt.....you know I NEEDED THIS.

Originally I expected to post today about some hole-in-the-wall Hawaiian FLGS. I did get to stop by one, but it wasn't the one I was hoping for....oh well. It was tiny and clearly a hangout for locals, but it was Warhammer heavy (not judging) and the board game selection was a bit "meh"......until I saw it. This store had a 2nd edition (2019 printing) of Steve Jackson's Illuminati. I've played like 2 or 3 games of Illuminati more than a decade ago and it was on my wish-list, but I've never seen one for sale before. I think it's a bit too obscure and the 1st edition was just too big of a box, which I assume didn't help secure shelf space. The 2nd Edition isn't much bigger (if at all) than a copy of Munchkin and while I'm already pushing the max for baggage......well I had to pick it up.

So buy keeping my eyes open in a new town I found a few trinkets that I'd probaby never see otherwise.......not sure if that's actual luck...but I'll take it!

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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