Saturday, June 8, 2024
Friday, June 7, 2024
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Heading to NTRPG Con in the AM
Over the next few days, posts may become spotty as I enjoy everything that NTRPG Con has to offer.
I'll try and regal you with con photos and more :)
Monday, June 3, 2024
Humble Bundle - Delta Green RPG Collection
I remember Delta Green when it was a supplement for Call of Cthulhu. My, how times have changed. Now it's a full-blown RPG in its own right. The Delta Green Humble Bundle is 18 bucks for 20 PDFs
This is like nothing anyone has ever understood. This is the apocalypse.
Fan of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos? Delta Green is the premier modern day setting for cosmic horror roleplaying, casting players as operatives for a top secret government organization tasked with keeping the eldritch at bay. This bundle includes everything you need for endless adventure in this thrilling world! You’ll get the Agent’s Handbook and Handler’s Guide core rulebooks plus an entire library of sourcebooks, adventures, and game aids to keep your gaming group busy for as long as your sanity can handle!
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
Sunday, June 2, 2024
Final Sunday Before NTRPG
No...this year will be much more laid-back than my norm. Between a work trip kicking my ass (I brought home a summer cold that I'm just recovering from) and some unexpected home repairs having to take up my most valuable of resources....oh, and my workplace kind of sort of tried to tell me I couldn't go to the con this year. Yeah, that wasn't going to fly. I take one scheduled vacation a year (NTPRG) and they can have me do whatever for the other 360 days of the year. They've had this on the books for a year and if management cannot get the manpower figured out, that's not my burden to bear.
So yeah...I'm not going to take on undue stress so I can enjoy myself.
NTRPG is basically the beginning of the summer convention season, so if you have things you need to do before Origins, or maybe GenCon.....here's your sign to check in on your state of affairs now.
I'm happy with the games I've gotten into to play, but I don't have and guests coming in this year like I've had in the past. Just gaming...some drinking, and giving Bad Mike too much money.....
Hopefully I'll have a good end-of-con report.
Blogs of Inspiration & Erudition
-
October Horror Movie Challenge: Gill-man/Gill-woman Night - A classic and an unofficial sequel tonight. Been a bit since I have seen either, but longer for the first. [image: Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)]...28 minutes ago
-
Ezra Brady, the Ranger (because sometimes it's just fun to look at characters) - I would imagine that many of us love RPGs, at least in part, because of the strangely pleasing feeling of having a character summarized on a character shee...6 hours ago
-
Rules & Rulings from DF Session 199 - Here are some rules and rulings from last session. *"15: You strain your shoulder!"* Ah, the most hated of all critical miss results. My players comment? ...8 hours ago
-
30-mile hexes - I've considered several hex sizes before. Today I will think about 30-mile hexes. Look at this map (source): The hexes are about 31-miles each (31 miles ...14 hours ago
-
Welcome new Greyhawk Fans! - With the publication of the new Dungeon Master’s Guide, there are doubtless going to be a lot of new D&D players interested in my favorite setting, the Wor...14 hours ago
-
Pawns: The Opening Move (1992) - From the back cover: Even in divine games of chess, the action begins with a clash of pawns. In *Pawns: The Opening Move*, the first supporting product f...18 hours ago
-
A Mythic Calendar - I’ve ragged on games before for wasting my time with bespoke calendars. Traveller’s names for weekdays are running jokes in my group. It’s the height of ...19 hours ago
-
Chagrinspire Timequakes - So the adventurers are weirded out by bizarre clues of the ancients and working out what stuff is happening in the regi...19 hours ago
-
The Werewolf Rule - Ever since the nose-blind apes succeeded in driving them away, wolves have carried their hatred in their guts, like a cold embryo. Humans are slow, stu...22 hours ago
-
October Horror Challenge - Madman (1981) - Decided to check out an 80's slasher I hadn't scene for Day 21's "Summer Camp" prompt.PlotMax, a counselor for a camp of gifted counselors, recites a story...1 day ago
-
Companion Chronicles #2: The Adventure of the Loathsome Wyrm and the Machrel of the Sea - Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition and the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, The Compani...1 day ago
-
Fall - The Sacrificed Sister of Dawn - (You could see this post as a riddle, the answer to which is a single word.) (Eos, Aurora or Dawn, one of the oldest Proto-Indo-European Gods) Cousin to F...1 day ago
-
Rappan: Trappers, Keepers! - Session 263 was played on 9/1/24 Nick, Fighter 7 (Me) Borumar, ½ Orc Thief (Josh) Blotto, Goblin Fighter (Lanse) Morgana, wizard (Rob) Koltic, Cleric 7 (N...1 day ago
-
Death Walks the Hills - By Hex GirlMelusine PressOSRLevels 1-3 A sleepy village in the Kingdom of Metz has been beset with strange happenings and nightmarish disappearances. Child...1 day ago
-
Warsmith's Words: Traitor Guard - Welcome back to the Vault! I've had a miserable snotty cold over the last few days so I've hunkered down in the Vault and finished off a couple of proje...1 day ago
-
OSR Commentary - Gunslinger Roleplaying Game by Thomas Denmark - One of the hearts & souls of the Gunslinger Roleplaying Game by Thomas Denmark is the fact that the Engineer class is a full on beast. As long as they hav...2 days ago
-
Hârn Orcs are Wee Rascals - So I've been revisiting N. Robin Crossby's *Hârn* setting, a cool sorta low-magic medieval world that been around since the 80's. Hârn has its own system, ...3 days ago
-
[ShadowDark Solo] Rufus & Silas, session 08 - Corven might be my favorite NPC I have created during all my soloing, I mean look at that dude! Classic, scruffy old war veteran with some PTSD issues he ...5 days ago
-
Basing With Washers - I like to base my 15mm infantry on 12.5mm (½ inch) steel washers so that I can store and transport them safely on magnetic sheet. However, I don't lik...1 week ago
-
The Tome of Worldbuilding from Mythmere Games - I thought I’d mention that Mythmere Games is running another kickstarter. This one is for a volume entitled *The Tome of Worldbuilding*. The title pretty...1 week ago
-
[BLOG] Year Eight: New Foundations - The Hall of Mirrors stretches beyond the Two Infinities...This blog started on 5 August 2016, making this part of the year a good time to take stock and...2 weeks ago
-
Psychotronic Gaming: The Basics - Not too long ago I celebrated the 45th anniversary of me starting an AD&D 1e campaign. I started the campaign before I was a teenager and it is still ...2 weeks ago
-
Old School Enabled (While Disabled)... - Yours truly is disabled. Not by birth, but by war. I had to rebuild my self image from the ground up after decades of able-bodied existence, which wasn't...3 weeks ago
-
Knave Jammin’ - Ben Milton, Mr. Questing Beast, is holding an adventure jam for the release of the much-celebrated second edition of his game, Knave. Short form, October...3 weeks ago
-
Guest Post by Battlefield Press! Gaslight Victorian Fantasy - This isn’t Victorious, but it’s Victorian Weirdness™ so it’s close enough. Besides, we small publisher game designers need to stick together! If you help t...3 weeks ago
-
Lancer: 1:35 Swallowtail Scratchbuild - Back in the day, I suggested that the best mech system is a mechanics-heavy RPG system, but scaled up.* D&D 4E *seemed like a good candidate. Mech system...3 weeks ago
-
They're Eating the Apostrophes - Patrick Stuart has a new Kickstarter in the offing - and he has managed to reveal himself as having the testicular fortitude of a leviathan in the proces...4 weeks ago
-
D&D Player’s Handbook 2024 - Being an incomplete, visual review of the 2024 Player’s Handbook. I got a copy of this almost entirely on the strength of the new cover art: (This is the “...1 month ago
-
-
Concerning the Future of Traveller - I have been a fan of Traveller for a long time and have bought various books over the years from just about every Traveller licensee, as well as from Ma...1 month ago
-
The Mystery of the First Blackmoor Map - In this POST from a few years ago, I was concerned with the issue of scale and distance in Blackmoor in the course of which I attempted to determine the...1 month ago
-
Got my Summer Art Acquisitions Framed - [image: Got my Summer Art Acquisitions Framed] This weekend was a bit of a catch-up/housekeeping period as I have gotten around to purchasing more frame p...2 months ago
-
Far Away Land 2nd Edition Kickstarter is Amazing - Fay Away Land RPG Ed. 2 is now Kickstarting! It funded quick and has 22 days remaining as of this post. It is a unique setting and RPG that reeks of fun....2 months ago
-
New Planar Magic Items - Hellsguard, Mephrytis, Ring of Planar Vision, and Four New Potions - I've been busily working away on various projects since the end of April, including attending the North Texas RPG Con in Dallas from 5-10 June 2024 (and ...3 months ago
-
A Bargain at Any Price: Unfathomable Bundle in Progress - This impecunious Underworld Otter knows a good deal when he smells it. If you crave* deep*, almost ridiculous discounts for your RPG materials, look no fu...4 months ago
-
Grimdark vs. Eucatastrophe - Noisms has some interesting ideas in this post about his desire for some depth to his grimdark, and turns to Gene Wolfe and Tolkien for relief. Now, it ...4 months ago
-
Musings on Sleep in OD&D – Is it Over-Powered? - Link to discussion Let’s look at the sleep spell in Men & Magic: >Sleep: A Sleep spell affects from 2–16 1st-level types (hit dice of up to 1 + 1), from...4 months ago
-
It's been a bit - Hey everyone, I hope you are doing well! I've had a lot going on and haven't had much time to blog lately. Heres a recap of gaming events and other st...5 months ago
-
Living Rooms, Beyond the Living Room, and The Open Form Broadside - Living rooms set to liven up your RPG adventures, and a broadside journal set to stimulate those little grey cells... Rob Kuntz's latest releases! *Livin...6 months ago
-
Session #12 & Adventure Sites Compilation - 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...6 months ago
-
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 ...6 months ago
-
Jim Ward's Adventure in Gygax's Wonderland - 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...6 months ago
-
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...8 months ago
-
*'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...8 months ago
-
Housekeeping 2024 - Coactus Illustration © Heather Gwinn. A gift she gave me in 2013 for an edition of Miscreated Creatures which I hope exists someday. Coloring by me. I am a...9 months ago
-
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...9 months ago
-
Sex-Crazed Falling Stars, Free Weather Magic, and Adventures: News of the Hill Cantons - *Grandma Gaya, the Rav-Witch of High Kezmarok*, seeks the stout of limb and humble of mind in the *obtaining of fallen stars* from an upcoming prophesied ...9 months ago
-
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...9 months ago
-
-
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...1 year ago
-
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...1 year ago
-
Master Treasure Seeker: A Dungeon23 MegaDungeon - Introduction - Sean McCoy, author of Mothership, posted an article on his substack titled Dungeon23 and it's taken the indie RPG scene by storm. So, I'm throwing my hat...1 year ago
-
Osamu Tezuka (1928 - 1989) - [image: Osamu Tezuka - Shonen Magazine Cover, 1970]Shonen Magazine Cover, 1970 [image: Osamu Tezuka - Shonen Magazine Cover Illustration 1970]Shonen Maga...2 years ago
-
Helvéczia: Journal de Campagne, 3 - We resumed play this past week, joining the company still within the farmstead where those that remain of the seven knaves are restrained or incapacitate...2 years ago
-
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$&...2 years ago
-
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 ...2 years ago
-
-
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...3 years ago
-
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...3 years ago
-
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...4 years ago
-
The Hero’s Journey 2nd Edition, Campbellian roleplaying at its best! - (this review done using the reviewers own purchased copy) I have been a James Michael Spahn fan since he wrote his Swords & Wizardry Companion. His writing...4 years ago
-
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...4 years ago
-
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...4 years ago
-
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...4 years ago
-
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...4 years ago
-
The Withered Crag custom print version for sale again - Just re-enabled the direct sales button for the custom print (classic style detached cover) version of F4 The Withered Crag, and also for F3 Many Gates of...5 years ago
-
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...5 years ago
-
-
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...5 years ago
-
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...5 years ago
-
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...5 years ago
-
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...5 years ago
-
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.5 years ago
-
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...5 years ago
-
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...5 years ago
-
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...5 years ago
-
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 ...6 years ago
-
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....6 years ago
-
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...6 years ago
-
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...7 years ago