New Release - When The Fat Orc Sings: A Lumpers Adventure (Glen Hallstrom - Fiction)

I've known Glen for nearly 15 years. He's been a fellow podcaster, vidcast partner, and, more importantly, a good friend. Now, he's also an author.

Glen sent me a digital copy of When The Fat Orc Sings: A Lumpers Adventure, about a month ago. I sat in for about a week, not because I wasn't interested, but because I've been having trouble reading books these days. Chemo from 20 years ago rewired my brain - reading 2 books a week (on average) has become less than 2 books a year for me. Less ability to concentrate, traded for more creativity.

When I finally got around to reading that first page, I was surprised to find myself suddenly nearly ten pages into the book without even realizing it. Glen drags you into the story so painlessly that you feel you are part of it. Glen is truly a great storyteller (as those who have followed Glen on podcasts and YouTube over the years probably already know. 

It makes an excellent gift for the fantasy game during the holidays - hint, hint!

When The Fat Orc Sings: A Lumpers Adventure is $10.99. Ships free with Amazon Prime.

It was a grey day in Puddleton when she glided into the office. Seems her husband went out with a merchant caravan and

never returned. What unfolded was typical but dangerous. Dragons, gnolls, fat orcs and a nasty little transmuter gave the Lumpers quite a ride. In a story more Chandler than Tolkien, Lojak, Byron and Dinkus try to make sense of this case which involves dark magic and shady characters. A tale of pulpy goodness full of action, humor and the answer to the question: what's a Moobit? Just make sure your sword is sharp and you got paid upfront When the Fat Orc Sings.

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Humble Bundle - Glen Cook's Chronicles of the Black Company & More

Glen Cook's Black Company series is a classic series often discussed by RPG players. Well, it's now a bundle on Humble Bundle. Fill the holes in your connection.

Get 16 books from Glen Cook's Black Company series and more for $18 in ePub format.

From the Godfather of Grimdark, read the series that started it all!

Welcome the most legendary Book Bundle across the Sixteen Worlds—Glen Cook's bestselling Chronicles of The Black Company & More! The Black Company is Cook's acclaimed epic fantasy series following a group of hard-bitten mercenaries waging war on behalf of The Lady, who may be the very manifestation of evil itself.

"With the Black Company series Glen Cook single-handedly changed the face of fantasy."— Steven Erikson, New York Times bestselling author

Get Glen Cook's finest works, headlined by the complete Black Company collection—and gear up for the next installment arriving in late 2025! Pay what you want and help support the Call of Duty Endowment with your purchase!

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Humble Bundle - Terry Pratchett's Discworld (Fiction)

I've been a huge Terry Pratchett fan for 30 years or more. I could devour a Terry Pratchett novel in a single sitting over a weekend but would try to stretch it out for a few more days.

It's been years since I've read these, and I lost most of my paperbacks in a basement flood. I think I'm all in for a reading marathon of Terry's work on my iPad, or even convert to my Kindle. (exploring this website for conversion https://www.epubor.com/transfer-kobo-books-to-kindle.html)

You can get 38 books from Terry Pratchett's Discworld Series at Humble Bundle for 15 bucks. Jump all in. You won't regret it :)

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Humble Bundle - Star Wars - Legends, Myths, and the High Republic (Fiction)

My Star Wars fiction started with Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster. It's my understanding that Star Wars fiction from that era is no longer canon. I could be wrong. It's been decades since I've read any Star Wars fiction.

The current Star Wars Fiction Bundle, Legends, Myths, and the High Republic packages together a large digital collection of modern Star Wars fiction releases - 41 titles for 18 bucks. That's a lot of reading ;)

Discover tales of legendary Jedi heroes, Dark Side masters, and the galaxy’s most wretched hives of scum and villainy in this library of novels and fiction for Star Wars fans of all ages! Explore an era when the Jedi Order was at its prime in books from the best-selling High Republic series (Into the Dark). Read about the adventures of Padmé Amidala (Queen’s Peril), the rise and fall of Darth Vader, and the journeys of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

 

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Humble Bundle - Battletech Legends (Fiction Bundle)

I literally had no idea how much fiction had been written for the Battletech universe. For 18 bucks, you get 60 titles from the Battletech Legends series of books in epub and mobi format, so whether you use a Nook or Kindle or something in between (or an app that works with such) you're in good hands.

An arsenal of BattleTech fiction

Explore a science-fiction universe of Great Houses, mercenaries, and BattleMechs with this collection of BattleTech tales! This library of 60 Legends ebooks features The Warrior Trilogy, The Gray Death Legion Saga, and more. Immerse yourself in thrilling sci-fi stories from Catalyst Game Labs, and help support Global Foodbanking Network with your purchase!

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Humble Bundle - Tales of the Space Marines Chapter 2022 by Black Library

I'm a huge fan of the Warhammer and Warhammer 40k fiction. There is just something about the default universe that I find exciting. The opportunity to pick up 24 Warhammer 40k Titles for 18 bucks in digital (Mobi/Kindle and ePub formats) makes this a deal I can't pass up. Besides, my old eyes no longer are treated well by most print products ;)

Tales of the Space Marines Chapter 2022 by Black Library gives you 24 books for $18. That's like 75 cents a book.

Discover the fearless exploits of the Adeptus Astartes—the elite Space Marines of the Warhammer 40,000 universe—in this collection of novels & fiction from Black Library! This galaxy-spanning bundle gathers war stories of Chapters and squads from across the Imperium, charged with defending humanity against the relentless forces of Chaos. Explore the grim darkness of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and support EveryLibrary with your purchase!

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Free OSR - Castles & Crusades Players Handbook & Fiction [BUNDLE]

My doorway back to old-school gaming was Castles & Crusades, and you were able to get the C&C Player's Handbook for less than 10 bucks a copy from Buy.com back in the day. That was back with the first printing of Castles &Crusades.

Today, you can get the 7th printing of the Castles & Crusades Players Handbook in a bundle, along with a short selection of C&C-themed fiction in PDF for the price of FREE. As in the price of air.

You could, alternatively, pay 20 bucks for the C&C Players Handbook PDF and forgo the fiction, but I think free is an even fairer price ;)

We’ve moved to the 7th printing of the Castles & Crusades Players Handbook. A pillar of the table top RPG industry, Castles & Crusades embodies the spirit of the old-school gamer with the easy to use modern mechanics. The Players Handbook has all you need to get started in a wild ride of adventure! It’s easy to learn attribute-based rules system allows players to choose among 13 archetypal character classes and 7 races to create their characters. Spells, equipment, fast-paced combat rules, and all essential information needed to play a game of Castles & Crusades is in this book. Dice and Monsters & Treasure sold separately.

A Houseless God and Other Tales   The landless knight, Eurich Gunshoff, had no master, but served those in need, sometimes for money, but mostly for the honor of it. He went hungry often, slept in the wilds, endured the rain and snow, the heat and wind. He fought creatures, great and small. It was a hard life. Or so he thought, until he passed beneath the eaves of the Darkenfold Forest. A collection of short stories woven together by one of the creators of Castles & Crusades, follow the adventures of Eurich Gunshoff, Count of Kleaves.

 

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Deal of the Day - RuneQuest Companion (Glorantian Fiction)

I'm really getting psyched about running a Glorantha Campaign in the next few months. Understanding the world and its lore is something I've been working on via the setting books. The opportunity to read some classic Glorantha fiction is exciting.

Until tomorrow at 11 am Eastern, the RuneQuest Companion is the DriveThruFiction Deal of the Day. Normally 10 bucks in PDF, it's on sale for        4 bucks.

THE COMPANION is a sourcebook of articles, stories, and pictures useful to or entertaining to RuneQuest referees and players alike; its wide variety of subjects and forms will stimulate new adventures in any campaign or fill up quiet evenings at home.

The Companion fills a void left by the demise of Wyrms Footnotes, a magazine dedicated at the last solely to RQ articles; it was then the best source for RQ rules variants and steadily published new Gloranthan arcana.

Frustratingly to many, the earliest issues of the Footnotes were never reprinted, so that only savvy collectors had access to important material for RuneQuest® and White Bear & Red Moon (since retitled Dragon Pass). The most RQ-pertinent of those essays and illustrations appear here.

But the majority of the Companion is new material* – a lot of research and writing has occurred since the first issues of WF in 1976!

Note: *This is a fully-remastered PDF true to the original printing (1983).

Humble Bundle - Stories From the Worlds of Warhammer 2022, by Black Library

I've always enjoyed the various worlds and settings of Warhammer and immersing myself in fiction is a fun pastime. These days, I prefer audiobooks, but with my Kindle app, even my tired old eyes can read the selections available in the Stories From the Worlds of Warhammer 2022 Humble Bundle by Black Library.

For as little as a buck, you can snag six bucks in Kindle and epub formats. $18 dollars gets you 25 books. If you are into fantasy and/or fantasy/sci-fi fiction, this is a hard-to-beat deal.

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The Tavern.  

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or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.

Humble Bundle - Voices of Warhammer 2020 by Black Library

My days of sitting down and reading novels are long past. My attention span just isn't what it was prior to chemo over a dozen years ago, and physically reading a book means I can't multitask. But audiobooks? That I can do. As for Warhammer audiobooks? They are like listening to audio plays. It brings an already amazing setting to life. I am listening to the first chapter of Trollslayer as I type this ;)

Humble Bundle is offering Voices of Warhammer 2020 by Black Library, a selection of Warhammer audiobook fiction for a little as a buck. I'm in for 18 bucks, less than a buck a book. Huzzah!

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Humble Book Bundle: Dungeons & Dragons: R.A. Salvatore Showcase

When I was younger, the Cleric Quintet was one of my favorite fantasy series. That led to more Drizzt and R.A. Salvatore's rising star. If you missed the releases or don't want to pay "dead tree" prices, the Humble Book Bundle: Dungeons & Dragons: R.A. Salvatore Showcase is a bargain and then some.

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HUMBLE BOOK BUNDLE: DUNGEONS & DRAGONS - READ THE REALMS BY WIZARDS OF THE COAST

I must confess, I haven't read Forgotten Realms fiction in close to 25 years. I may just need to give the Humble Book Bundle: Dungeons & Dragons - Read The Realms By Wizards Of The Coast a chance and do some catching up.

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Kindle Books -The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser: Swords and Deviltry, Swords Against Death, and Swords in the Mist - 3.99 for the Set

A tip of the hat to Joe K over at The Tavern's Facebook Community for bringing this to my attention.

The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser: Swords and Deviltry, Swords Against Death, and Swords in the Mist is $3.99 for the set.

I really hope Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser need no introduction, but if they do:

Many decades before George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, Grand Master Fritz Leiber ruled the sword-and-sorcery universe. These three short story collections chronicle the unconventional adventures of Leiber’s endearing antiheroes: barbarian Fafhrd and former wizard’s apprentice, the Gray Mouser.

Swords and Deviltry: Fafhrd, a handsome barbarian of the Steppes, is seduced by a beautiful prostitute and her equally intoxicating city, while the Gray Mouser, a slum rat wizard-in-training, is tempted by the dark arts. The two men meet on a night of multiple thieveries and an enduring partnership is born.

Swords Against Death: Rogue swordsmen and devoted companions Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser pursue ill-gotten fortunes within the confines of Lankhmar. They cross paths with two wizards, Sheelba of the Eyeless Face and Ningauble of the Seven Eyes, and a most violent clash ensues. Eventually, following further adventures, the two antiheroes end up as indentured swordsman servants to their former foes.

Swords in the Mist: A cloud of concentrated hatred and lean times in Lankhmar compels Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser to temporarily depart the most corrupt metropolis in all of Nehwon as they seek adventure in the realm of the Sea-King—and on a different world entirely.

This must-read collection of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser short stories features multiple Hugo and Nebula Award–nominated tales, and includes the acclaimed novella Ill Met in Lankhmar.

https://amzn.to/2D7rK2y

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Mini Review - Caverns and Creatures - Book 1 (RPG Fiction)

Caverns and Creatures: Volume I (Books 1 - 4) (This is a link to the book at Amazon - Print / Audible / Kindle format - the book and most of the series are free in Kindle format if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited)

Critical Failures (Caverns and Creatures Book 1) (Book 1 only - 99 cents in Kindle format)

See what it says on the faux cover of Caverns and Creatures Volume 1? Swords. Sorcery. Dick Jokes.

Well, it delivers on all three.

I'm trying to think of what series of books I could compare this to. I guess Joel Rosenberg's Guardians of the Flame, but without the harsh reality and with the harsh dick jokes.

I must admit, reading this in bed I woke Rach up a number of times with my chortling, snorting and outright giggling. I finished the first book and I'm about a third of the way through the second. I assume the jokes will go stale at some point but there are a ton of books in the series.

The writing is special, but the situations and the jokes are.

And the vast majority are free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

It's a fast, enjoyable read and it's pretty obvious the characters were playing D&D before it all goes south on them.

From the blurb:

Tim and his friends find out the hard way that you shouldn't question the game master, and you shouldn't make fun of his cape. 

One minute, they're drinking away the dreariness of their lives, escaping into a fantasy game and laughing their asses off. The next minute, they're in a horse-drawn cart surrounded by soldiers pointing crossbows at them.  

Tim now has the voice and physique of a prepubescent girl. Dave finds that while he lost a foot or two in height, he somehow acquired a suit of armor and a badass beard. Julian's ears have grown ridiculously long and pointy. And Cooper... well Cooper has gotten himself a set of tusks, a pair of clawed hands, and a bad case of the shits. He also finds that he's carrying a bag with a human head in it - a head that he had chopped off when they were still just playing a game. 

Shit just got real, and if they want to survive, these four friends are going to have to tap into some baser instincts they didn't even know existed in their fast-food and pizza delivery world. 

It's fight, flight, or try to convince the people who are trying to kill them that they don't really exist. 

Meanwhile, a sadistic game master sits back in the real world eating their fried chicken.

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