Deal of the Day - The Sword of Cepheus 2nd Edition

Do you like swords & sorcery, but are not sure if a D20-based system is the right fit? You may enjoy the classic Traveler 2d6 system, but want to try it in a manner that isn't tied to sci-fi. Oh, and maybe you want the system to be open, under the Open Game License (OGL).

Well, The Sword of Cepheus 2nd Edition may be what you want, and The Sword of Cepheus 2nd Edition is on sale for only $8 until tomorrow morning as DTRPG's Deal of the Day (usually $20 in PDF)

A sorcerer blasting his enemies with the power of his mind. A muscled barbarian wielding a flaming sword against the local tyrant’s thugs. A gladiator who freed himself from slavery wanders the land, righting wrongs and smashing villains. Big muscles, big swords, eldritch sorcery, powers of the mind, terrible beasts. From Burroughs to Howard to Moorcock to Italian Peplum films to those dreaming of outlandish post-apocalyptic worlds, heroes raise swords against corrupt nobles, inscrutable sorcerers, and alien monstrosities.

The Sword of Cepheus is a role-playing game in the triple “Sword” genres: Sword and Sorcery, Sword and Planet, and Sword and Sandal. In Sword and Sorcery, often amoral protagonists face vile sorcery and horrid beasts as they complete awesome adventures for gold and glory. In Sword and Planet, humans finding themselves on barbaric or decadent alien planets use their superior brawn and valiant hearts to win fame, fortune, and the heart of an alien princeling. In Sword and Sandal, often set in a quasi-Biblical or faux-Roman world, men and women with sharp wits and strong sword arms fight mythological creatures and overthrow tyrants. The common threads of all three genres are the blade-wielding protagonists who use their brawn, as well as brains, to fight foes both supernatural and mundane and undertake hair-raising, violent adventures.

The Sword of Cepheus rules include everything you need to play thrilling sword & sorcery adventures:

• Streamlined skill-based 2d6 task resolution!
• Customizable character generation with 12 archetypal careers for your character to undergo!
• 12 non-human species with their own careers!
• 40 unique character Traits to further personalize your character!
• A wide selection of adventuring equipment and weaponry!
• Simple yet intriguing rules for adventuring and exploring exciting worlds!
• Fast-paced, action-packed combat - whether on foot, from horseback, or on the high seas!
• A skill-based, perilous sorcery system, with 28 powerful Arcane spells and 18 reality-shattering Eldritch spells!
• Risk disastrous magical mishaps and mutate as vast eldritch power flows through your sorcerous body!
• 95 terrible monsters for daring heroes to face!
• A selection of treasures, including a selection of powerful magical artifacts!
• Detailed Encounter Rules to keep adventuring exciting and fresh, for both players and Referees!

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Kickstarter - Fantasy RPG Zine Double Feature - Delver 18 and Runes 7

Here I am at NTRPG Con, when I should be shopping the vendor tables, and instead I'm searching Kickstarter for OSR releases. Have no fear - I'll be shopping the vendor hall tomorrow. Today, I am looking at an OSR zine Kickstarter - Fantasy RPG Zine Double Feature - Delver 18 and Runes 7.

Now, I am familiar with Delver Zine, having snagged an issue (or three) in the past, and I was pleased with what I had. I've yet to catch a copy of Runes (it's for ShadowDark, so I should snag it), but I expect it will be of the same high quality.

Print plus PDF is 13 bucks (the pair is 24). I expect I'll be backing this Kickstarter when I'm home from NTRPG Con...

The Fantasy RPG Zine Double Feature will offer up two zines for GMs and players, every other month, for a total of 12 issues per year. 

Delver magazine (zine-format, 5.5 " wide x 8.5" tall) is for GMs and Players of OSR fantasy RPGs such as Old-School Essentials, Swords & Sorcery, and Basic Fantasy RPG. Runes is an identical zine-format that focuses on the Shadowdark RPG.

Both issues provide OSR content for GMs and players looking for a return to the style and feel of classic dungeon crawling; each zine provides a mix of random tables, new magic items, new spells and much more. Further, each issue provides an article of interest and an adventure complete with room descriptions, maps, NPCs and new creatures and notes for the GM on running the adventure.

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Bundle of Holding - OSE Treasures 2

I missed yesterday's blog post, what with traveling to Dallas for NTRPG Con and the fiasco that was last night's livestream. Ah well. I'll see if I can keep current going forward.

Today, we are highlighting OSE Treasures 2 at Bundle of Holding. This bundle includes the recently Kickstarted dark fantasy setting The Shrike (currently $29 on DTRPG). Hey! Buy The Shrike at a discount and get more stuff included in the $84 valued bundle :)

A huge modular sandbox adventure setting in an abandoned fragment of Hell- a colossal blade dedicated to punishing a nameless God. The Shrike, is a heaven-harrowing thorn, a black iron mountain with serrated spires of rock and rust, that pierces the heart of the God, causing divine blood to flow and nourish life within the corroded iron and stone megastructure. The Shrike is written by Leo Hunt (the author of Vaults of Vaarn and mounds of excellent gaming material) for Old School Essentials RPG but works well for your other d20 based fantasy systems of choice.

The Shrike is a world of decay - rusted iron, crumbling stone, saltwater, blood, and fog - surrounded by a roiling ocean, a lifeless archipelago, pewter-hued clouds, seabirds, and pitiless stars. In this infernal Galapagos, players will encounter masked Devils, blood which gives life to things which should not have it, stones which give life to people who do not want it, terrible and stranded monsters, perilous locations, and wonderous treasures from across the planes.

What's Inside?

• 46 unique pointcrawl locations across the Shores of the Shrike, its fiery Guts, jagged snow capped Exterior, and procedurally generated depth-crawl in the surreal shifting interior of the it's heaven-harrowing Barb. 
• 3 detailed and keyed dungeons including the waterlogged Cove of Iron Coffins, the derelict Gamigin's Starforge, and an endless masquerade ball in The Palace of the Heart, ranging from low to high level.
• 5 scheming factions of the diabolic Courts and mountains of detailed NPC's
• 3 new classes. From the shapeshifting Imp, to the Forged and Rampant Partials; made from the God's blood animating detritus and abandoned objects- molded into demon designed bodies or left to grow wild and feral.
• 40+ new monsters from the eyegouger finch to the auric homunculus.
• 37 brand new peculiar magic items 
• 1 Nameless God impaled upon the Shrike's heaven-harrowing thorn, writhing and seeking escape.

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Deal of the Day - Monte Cook's World of Darkness (D20)

Wow! I have a print copy of this, and I so wanted to run it. Sadly, I didn't have a game group at the time.

Monte Cook's World of Darkness, from a time when Monte created games, not publishing houses ;)

If you're interested in The World of Darkness but prefer a D20 or 3.x game system, this is a good fit for you. 

Typically, 13.99 in PDF, until tomorrow morning, Monte Cook's World of Darkness is on sale for $5.60

One year ago, eldritch horrors of cosmic malevolence called the Iconnu attempted to destroy our reality.

They failed, but the attempt left the world in rapidly darkening shadow. Dead souls returned to claim living bodies, creating blood-drinking undead fiends: vampires. Bestial spirits came as well, to create werewolves, and demons formed bodies from worldly matter. Magic crashed back into the world, and mages wield its power for whatever purpose suits them. Humans called the Awakened unknowingly keep the darkness at bay.

These supernatural creatures struggle against each other and clash in the shadows, most attempting to destroy the world, but a few fighting to preserve it. And over it all, the Iconnu still lurk, squeezing the world like an eggshell.

This book includes a complete setting: a new vision of the World of Darkness.

Characters play as vampires, mages, werewolves, demons or Awakened and wield frightening supernatural powers against their own kind.

The world is the one we know, but now much darker: destruction in the central United States, nightmares coming to life and beasts roaming shattered cityscapes.

This game uses a variation of the most popular roleplaying game system in the world.

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New Release - The No-Prep Gamemaster: Train Your Brain to Run Tabletop Roleplaying Games - Second Edition

A little background. I own the first edition of The No-Prep Gamemaster, and I like it. I found that I was already employing many of the techniques described, but it did a good job of helping me identify my strengths and weaknesses as an "improv-style" DM, as I often refer to myself. Was the author's voice a little off-putting? At times, but nothing a few years of honing one's writing skills couldn't fix ;)

Thus, I found myself looking at the preview file of the Second Edition of The No-Prep Gamemaster: Train Your Brain to Run Tabletop Roleplaying Games. Sure, its a damn long litle, so I'll shorten it going forward to The No-Prep Gamemaster 2e. Much better.

From what I saw in the preview, it's worth the current price of 2.99. So, I grabbed a copy of The No-Prep Gamemaster 2e and will put it at the top of my review pile for after the June Convention Season (I have NTRPG Con later this week and Central NY Con the following weekend.) I'm excited to delve into The No-Prep Gamemaster 2e and give you my full thoughts on it, but at 2.99, it qualifies as an impulse buy for any prospective (or seasoned) GM.

Are you a game master who’s short on time, overwhelmed by prep, or tired of burnout? The No-Prep Gamemaster is your solution.

This updated and expanded second edition of Matt Davids’ well-known guide offers a practical, inspiring approach to running unforgettable tabletop RPG sessions, with little to no prep beforehand.

Inside, you’ll discover:

• A mindset shift that takes the pressure off GMing
• How to improvise encounters and adventures on the fly
• Tips for training your brain to generate ideas naturally
• The power of random tables and how to use them
• Ways to engage players without hours of planning
• Practical reflections to help you improve with every session

Whether you’re a brand-new GM or a veteran looking to rekindle your love of the game, this book is packed with tools, insights, and encouragement to help you prep less and play more.

Let go of the guilt. Embrace the chaos. Run better games.

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Humble Bundle - RPG GameMaster Book Series

I did a quick check of the titles in this RPG GameMaster Book Series Bundle, and the prices range from $9.99 to $16.99 in PDF format over at DTRPG. One title in the bundle is a preview, and one is a map pack.

For a single buck, you can grab Villains, Minions, and Their Tactics as well as a preview of an upcoming release. $15 gets you the complete RPG GameMaster Book Series Bundle. I'm in for the whole collection myself.

Using the links above helps to support The Tavern.

What makes a great Game Master? Experience, knowledge, resources, and excitement! Become a legendary GM with our all-new RPG Game Master Book Bundle. Elevate your skillset with endless insights from robust ebooks like The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters, The Game Master's Book of Traps, Puzzles and Dungeons, and The Game Master's Book of Astonishing Random Tables. Pay what you want and help support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation with your purchase!

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