Tenkar's Tavern

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Humble Bundle - Warhammer 40k Roleplay - Rogue Trader

My return to active roleplaying was Warhammer 40k - Dark Heresy. That was probably 2007 or so, using Fantasy Grounds. I'd been away from active RPG playing for about 10 years at the time, and Warhammer 40k and the Fantasy Grounds VTT were my first steps back. I have very fond memories of the time.

As for Warhammer 40k - Rogue Trader, I always felt of the various flavors of the 40k mythos to roleplay in, it would have the most flexibility.

Looks like I'm picking up another Humble Bundle RPG bundle ;)

Here are your options with the Warhammer 40k Roleplay - Rogue Trader Humble Bundle:

There is an affiliate link above. Affiliate links keep the taps flowing and the lights on at The Tavern. Thank you in advance :)

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Kickstarter - City of Jordoba: 3D Printable Terrain by Otus and Lovecraft (and Matt Finch)

I think I've gotten to the point where I need a 3d printer because of Kickstarters like this. Yes, Fat Dragon has had some amazing 3d printable terrain Kickstarters, but the City of Jordoba: 3D Printable Terrain Kickstarter is pushing me over the edge. Damn you Matt Finch and Company. Damn You!

This is not your ordinary "fantasy city" -- it's built on sword & sorcery fiction, not on "high fantasy." Sword & sorcery fiction - the heart of D&D - isn't really set in the worlds of Tudor and Gothic architecture. For example, Conan strides through realms that are mostly akin to the Fertile Crescent and Africa -- nothing like Merry Olde England. Fafyrd and the Grey Mouser swagger around in cities based on Alexandria, Tyre, and Seville. This is the realm of the Black Company, not the the Fellowship. Not only is sword & sorcery fiction "based" outside of Western Europe, it takes imaginary versions of these places and adds the strange, the weird, and the alien.

Who better to portray the strange, the weird, and the alien than famed D&D artist Erol Otus? For our fantasy city we've teamed up Erol Otus as a concept artist, Iain Lovecraft as the sculptor and designer, and Matt Finch as concept artist and designer. Our objective -- to offer a swords & sorcery city that's different from anything else out there.

Cult following? Yeah, pretty close. Erol's work on early D&D art includes the cover of the Basic Set and the famous Cthulhu Mythos section of Deities and Demigods that TSR removed from the book in later printings. He has, let's say, a reputation for weird, phantasmagorical imagery, which made him perfect for what we wanted to do with this Kickstarter. We got Erol to do a lot of the concept art upon which this Kickstarter is based, with contributions from Matt Finch. Iain Lovecraft's well-known work as a 3D sculptor/designer is, of course, present throughout.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Amazing and FREE One-Page Dungeon Generator

There is an amazing One-Page random dungeon generator at: https://watabou.itch.io/one-page-dungeon. Even more amazing, I saw it shared on Twitter ;)

Seriously, pictures speak louder (and better) than any words I may put to this page. Just remember to screenshot any maps you like before refreshing the page.

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 (thank you Kickstarter) (edit) BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and will soon have some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep ~~shipping shortly~~ in my grubby hands awaiting a review..

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls (and still waiting on dT&T to ship).

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 48, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

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