Get Some Chubby for Cheap - Chubby Funster POD Price Cuts! (ShadowDark)

 

Greg Christopher (AKA The Chubby Funster) is running a sale on his DTRPG Page.

All my POD ShadowDark content is on discount.

If you want Print-on-Demand from DriveThru RPG out for delivery by Christmas, the cut-offs are:

Order Hardcover by 11/22

Order Softcover by 12/6

I am cutting prices this week by around 20-25% for anyone looking to put a little Chubby in their stocking. 

Link to The Chubby Funster 

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Deal of the Day - ShadowRim - A ShadowDark Setting

I've known Greg Christopher, the author and publisher of ShadowRim, for well over a decade. He, indirectly, was the driving force that brought me to the OSR. He is also one of the more prolific and skilled creatives that I know.

ShadowRim is today's Deal of the Day. Until tomorrow morning ShadowRim is $6 in PDF, which is 50% off its regular. What is ShadowRim? Essentially the setting for Skyrim with the serial numbers scraped off ;)

Enter the frozen northern province of an Empire in turmoil, inspired by the greatest CRPG of all time.

• Create an enduring ShadowDark campaign as you traverse a massive map with over 200 keyed locations and 450 encounters.
• Play as Catfolk, Dark Elf, High Elf, Imperial, Lizardfolk, Nord, Orc, or Wood Elf.
• Choose one of the Nine Divine Signs to guide you; the Blade, Coin, Dragon, Eye, Falcon, Horn, Fist, Ring, or Skull.
• Build alchemical knowledge through play using ingredients with up to 4 different interacting effects that change every time you play.
• Enchant your own magic items using the captured souls of your enemies.
• Fight classic monsters that you know and love, such as Dwarven automatons, tyrannical High Elven Dominionists, Sabretooths, Spriggans, and more.
• Choose to support the Empire, one of two different rebel factions, or your own goals as the province slides towards Civil War.

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Deal of the Day - GM Companion for ShadowDark

Today's Deal of the Day is the GM Companion for ShadowDark from Chubby Funster Games. The Chubby Funster is Greg Christopher, whom I've known for well over a decade and consider a close friend.

The GM Companion for ShadowDark is on sale for $5 until tomorrow morning (usually 10 bucks in PDF). Note, it's a Platinum Best Seller on DTRPG.

Add a more expansive portfolio of options to ShadowDark Core. 

Upgrade your Overland Hex Crawl Experience:

• d20 Point of Interest table for all 9 terrain types.
• 2d6 intersecting Hazard tables for all 9 terrain types.
• New district types + all new Point of Interest options when creating settlements.
• d20 Shop generation lists featuring all new options for Poor, Standard, and Wealthy Shops.
• d20 tables with new Tavern names, new Menu items, and new Drink types. 
• A new dice game to gamble with in the tavern after an adventure.
• Acts of Devotion: a religious alternative to carousing where you can construct temples and attract adherents to support your deity.
• Combat Training: a warrior's alternative to carousing where you can hold tournaments and possibly gain a noble title.
• Magical Study: a wizard's alternative to carousing where they can study old tomes for magical insight and possibly found a university or library to house their books.

Upgrade your Dungeon Experience:

• Define the dungeon entrance and create multi-level dungeons using the dice-drop system developed in ShadowDark Core.
• d20 Room Type table + d10 tables for each Room Type, adding even more variety of dungeon design.
• 2d6 intersecting Hazard tables for all 4 dungeon types.
• d20 trap tables for Crushing / Gaseous / Sonic traps, Magical traps, and Wounding / Weapon-like traps. 
• Expanded NPC tables, including a new d20 Qualities table and a d20 Professions table.
• Expanded Rival Crawler tables, including a new d20 Party Name table, new d6 Signature Tactics table, and a new d12 Party Secret table. Rival Crawlers can now include monster types like Hobgoblins or Beastmen.
• 45 new monsters (including 6 new elemental types).
• Monster tables for levels 0-9 to randomly determine what monsters are in the dynamically built dungeon you are creating.

Upgrade your Treasure Game:

• d100 Dungeon Dressing
• d100 Treasure 0-3
• d100 Treasure 4-6
• d100 Treasure 7-9
• d100 Treasure 10+
• Boons - d20 Oaths, d20 Secrets, d20 Blessings
• Potions - d20 Features, d20 Benefits, d20 Curses
• Magic Armor - d20 Features, d20 Benefits, d20 Curses
• Magic Weapon - d20 Features, d20 Benefits, d20 Curses
• Magic Utility Item - d100 types, d20 Features, d20 Benefits, d20 Curses
• 86 Known Magic Items (non-random)

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New Release - ShadowRim (ShadowDark Setting)

 

ShadowRim is a new release from Chubby Funster Games for ShadowDark. Already Copper at DTRPG 10 days after release, ShadowRim is currently on sale for 9 bucks in PDF.

Enter the frozen northern province of an Empire in turmoil, inspired by the greatest CRPG of all time.

• Create an enduring ShadowDark campaign as you traverse a massive map with over 200 keyed locations and 450 encounters.
• Play as Catfolk, Dark Elf, High Elf, Imperial, Lizardfolk, Nord, Orc, or Wood Elf.
• Choose one of the Nine Divine Signs to guide you; the Blade, Coin, Dragon, Eye, Falcon, Horn, Fist, Ring, or Skull.
• Build alchemical knowledge through play using ingredients with up to 4 different interacting effects that change every time you play.
• Enchant your own magic items using the captured souls of your enemies.
• Fight classic monsters that you know and love, such as Dwarven automatons, tyrannical High Elven Dominionists, Sabretooths, Spriggans, and more.
• Choose to support the Empire, one of two different rebel factions, or your own goals as the province slides towards Civil War.

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

OSR Sale - Shadowsun (ShadowDark RPG)

First things first. I've been a friend of, as well as a fan of, Greg Christopher for well over a decade. Greg ran the D&D Next (5e Beta) playtest for me and others. He writes some of the best gaming material for OSR gaming that one can find on the market IMHO.

ShadowSun is Greg's homage to Dark Sun, using the rules of ShadowDark. I have had an earlier PDF version of ShadowSun that Greg had shared with me earlier, but while looking at the current sale, I noticed that the Print plus PDF is only 14.95 for a hardcover version, and that is dirt cheap for my gaming collection - so I ordered it :)

ShadowSun is marked down to 4 bucks in PDF (from 8) for a 216-page setting book. Quite simply, a bargain.

ShadowSun is a dark, apocalyptic, desert setting designed for use with ShadowDark. It presents a bleak world scorched by an angry sun and defiled by powerful Mage-Kings. A land where metal, food, and water are scarce resources. Player ancestries are Elves, Dwarves, Hawkfolk, Humans, Lizardfolk, and Mantisfolk. Class choices are Explorers, Mentalists (psionics), Shamans, Sorcerers, and Warriors. Extensive equipment choices and spell/power options. Also contains 124 ShadowDark monsters and extensive internal hyperlinks.

 

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    

New Release - Ambition & Avarice 2nd Edition (OSR Ruleset)

I will freely admit I am biased in favor of Ambition & Avarice, as I was involved in playtesting both the 1st edition and the 2nd edition versions of the ruleset. What can I say? I am blessed to be part of this amazing community of creative gamers. I also consider Greg Christopher to be a good friend.

That being said, Ambition & Avarice IS a very well thought out OSR ruleset. It feels very familiar, yet at the same time presents options that you don't normally get in an OSR ruleset.

Ambition & Avarice 2e is $15 in PDF and in $30.76 in Hardcover.

How best to comment on A&A? How about I paste the elevator pitch from the DTRPG write up, and comment as we go along?

Ambition and Avarice is an action-adventure roleplaying game with an easy-to-understand OSR chassis. The 2nd edition maintains focus on character classes and races that walk the line of respectability. (like I said above, it feels comforatable and familiar, and then its new and excitingly different)

2nd Edition at a Glance:

- Simple OSR-style resolution mechanics (check!)

- 10 Races: Dark Elf, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Hobgoblin, Human, Lizardfolk, and Orc. (non standard humanoid races for the win)

- 12 Classes: Brigand, Conjurer, Cultist, Elementalist, Enchanter, Knave, Ranger, Savage, Shaman, Witch, Veteran, and Zealot. (I love the take on classes - I need to play a spell caster next time around)

- More powerful low-level magic users + more powerful high-level mundane characters. (its a fine art to balance,and Greg gets it right)

- Pre-built backpacks to grab off the shelf for quick character creation. (I did this to a lesser extend with SWL - its simply a no-brainer these days)

- The most comprehensive medieval fantasy equipment chapter in the RPG industry (I checked). (woot! and you can steal use it for other OSR games too :)

- Monster trophies to take after the battle and use as magic items; Cyclops eyes, Giant frog tongue, Nymph hair, and more. (another thing one could easily steal for a different system of choice. It is very well done here)

- Catalysts: A spell component system that is actually fun to use. (didn't play a caster in playtests - can't say one way or the other)

- Clear and useful rules for hex crawling, managing retainers, and building your own barony. (solid stuff and a must read for all OSR gamers, regardless of ruleset)

- A complete customizable cosmology system with major/minor gods and demigods of your own creation. (more depth than I usually use, but good to have for the players tha "want to know")

- 596 spells: a mix of old favorites and reimagined wonders divided across six traditions: conjuration, elementalism, enchantment, primeval, salvation, and vexation. (I REALLY need to play a caster)

- NPC design system mixing reaction rolls and attitude to determine exactly how far each NPC will go to help or harm you. (built for improv stylr DMs like me)

- A dungeon familiarity mechanic to allow the players to gather information BEFORE going down the steps into darkness. (an interesting twist)

- Full Bestiary of 182 monsters with a simplified combat stat block system for easy management. (check)

- Monster entries include formulae for creating your own twisted undead.... if you don't mind dabbling in necromancy. (need I repeat mysef? I TRULY REALLY need to play a caster)

- Treasure chapter with rules on magic item creation and numerous treasure tables to stock your dungeons. (fun and inspiring as a DM)

Each class features;

- Expertise in a class-specific task; like the Conjuror's binding circle ability or a Cultist's ability to sacrifice humanoids to curry favor with their god. (this does a great job in defining the various classes and differentiatimg them from each other)

- Identification of something in the world; like the Witch's ability to identify sickness/disease or the Savage's ability to recognize familiar scents and follow them. (fun stuff)

- Recruit followers to serve as henchmen; like the Knave's ability to recruit spies or the Conjurer's ability to create imps to serve them. (this is awesome and again, highly yokeable)

Six flexible magic-using classes have a varied selection of new and exciting spells. There are easy methods to create your own enchantments, raise unique undead to serve you, or craft cursed items to give to your enemies. The non-magical classes have their own rich choices and don't fade away in importance as the magical characters advance in level. (check!)

These classes can then be combined with 10 classic fantasy races; from elves and dwarves to orcs and lizardfolk. You can combine them however you wish, creating everything from goblin rangers to dwarven brigands. Your race is no longer central to your destiny, playing a marginal role in restricting your actions in the game world. (I do love this aspect)

The entire package is designed to allow quick character generation and presented in a format that is clear and easy to read. The text is packed with expanations of not just the rules, but the reasons behind the rules. It is an ideal choice to hand to a new player who is looking to get into the great game, but turned away by dense technical rulebooks with byzantine organization. The adventuring mechanics are also OSR compatible and allow easy integration with a variety of old school campaign material. You can pick up this game, grab an old module, and get playing in a very short amount of time. (this is literally true. while not as quick as generating a SWL character, it is quicker than every other OSR game I've played or run)

All in all, and excellent ruleset AND resource for other OSR rulesets. Did I mention A&A has a hyperlinked Table of Contents?  

 The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Mini Review - The Last Candle (OSR Adventure / Micro-Setting for levels 1-3)

I've been falling behind on my reviews, so I'm starting the "catch up" phase with The Last Candle by +Greg Christopher of Chubby Funster Games. You know Greg - he wrote the recent OSR release Ambition & Avarice (recently went POD too).

So, what makes The Last Candle special? Quite simply, it is written to give you and your players many game nights of play.

First, its a micro-setting of sorts. It includes a map and descriptions of the Satrebonne River Vally (immediate setting).

Secondly, it includes a base of operation for the players - The Priory of Chaurillon (alright, it's really spelled the French way, but I don't grok French) It is detailed with locations of importance and NPCS. So now we have both general setting and urban location for the group.

Last we have the Eagle's Eyrie, which is an excellent dungeon. You really do get a complete campaign starter with this.

I playtested the Eagle's Eyrie and ran it for my weekly group. It proved to be a suitable challenge with some fun role playing opportunities within. No PCs died during the playtest, but that was due to some very smart playing on the part of my players ;)

Really, for 4 bucks it's hard to go wrong.

Here's a bit of advice from the adventure:

...it must be noted that you have enormous freedom to customize the challenges in this module. There is plenty of extra space on the campaign map for you to add your own content, content from other modules, or just random wilderness encounters. You are encouraged to give the NPCs their own agendas and have them work independently toward those agendas while the players are busy with other tasks. For example, the players might return to the Prieuré after exploring the Eagle’s Eyrie to find that xxxx xxxxx has been lynched for practicing foul magics. This occurred because the players told xxxx xxxx how they saw xxx healing an injured man. Actions should have consequences and every NPC has their own agenda. 

You are also encouraged to give the players significant freedom as they investigate the region and the dungeon at their own pace. This is intended to be a mini-sandbox where the players can explore in the manner they desire.

From the blurb:

The Prieuré de Chaurillon lies isolated in the upper valley of the Satrebonne river. The empire that once protected it has fallen. Barbarian hordes now roam the land. Once tamed borderlands have become infested with monsters and foul beasts. The monks of the Prieuré are all that remain of their ancient order. They stand alone against the darkness of the age; The Last Candle of their faith.

This module provides the Dungeon Master with everything they need to build an entire campaign in the Satrebonne valley; a full-color campaign map of the entire region, wilderness encounters, struggling towns that could benefit from player protection, locations of interest to explore, a fully-detailed priory compound protected by a palisade, descriptions of prominent NPCs, plot hooks to draw the players into the world, unique items to add to your game, a complete dungeon complex to explore, and guidance on how to weave it all together.

Mini Review - Fantasy Island Map by Chubby Funster

Currently Chubby Funster's Fantasy Island Map is listed on the sidebar of this blog as the 4th Hottest Item on RPGNow.  It may or may not be in that position when you read this blog post, but whatever.  It's there now, and for good reason.

CF's Fantasy Island Map is nearly a 100 MB zipped download.  Why, you may ask?  Because in addition to the main map, there are 9 maps that break that full map into 9 sectors.  He also includes icons for labeling purposes.  Oh, and each map is in JPG and PNG format.  So yeah, there's a lot in the download.

Included in the nominal price is a license to use these maps in the commercial works of your choice.  How sweet is that for a mere 5 bucks?  I feel like I'm coin an "As Seen On TV" commercial.  "But wait, there's more!"  heh

It's professionally quality maps priced extremely well for the use in a home campaign or in a commercial product.  At the very least, take a peek at the preview to see if it works for you.  It is that good.

From the blurb:

This is a poster size map file of a large island and a smaller island separated by a strait, along with a multitude of tiny islands off the coast. The map is set at a resolution of 3825x4950 placed onto a 25.5x33 inch canvas at 150 DPI (or nine 8.5x11 pages in a grid). In addition to this master file, several smaller files of each of the nine pages are included.

Some basic icon files in white are also provided for you to use when labelling the map as you wish for use in your publishing projects or at your roleplaying game table.

The zip file contains:
- The master map file (included in both JPEG and PNG format)
- The nine grid pages files for easy use and printing (also in JPEG and PNG)
- A set of 11 white icons for use in labeling


 This entire package is royalty-free and non-exclusive, allowing you to use all the components however you wish even for commercial projects. If used in a publication, please include the following citation: "Some artwork copyright Greg Christopher (c) 2011, used with permission"). The only limit is that you cannot directly redistribute or offer these images for resale on their own.

On the 13th Day of Free Holiday Swag, My Bartender Gave to Meeeeee: Novarium (RPG)

Leave it to Greg (aka Chubby Funster) to gift us with another free RPG.  This time he gives us Novarium.    It has it roots as a re-imaginating of sorts of Ars Magica, but with the Chubby Funster twist.

Players have their primary PC, and a secondary PC to use when their main is otherwise occupied off stage.  This allows for the world to grow and time to progress.  The last game I played that had multiple characters for the PCs stable was Dark Sun in it's first incarnation.  I feel old now ;)

Production quality is, once again, what every professional should hope to release upon the public.  It's made for ease of reading on computer screen or tablet.  Fully bookmarked.  Amazing art.  Very well done.