Free OSR - Megadungeon #3 (Hack & Slash)

At some point, Courtney priced Megadungeon #3 as PWYW. If you haven't sampled any of Hack & Slash's Megadungeons, you should, as the amount of immediately usable game material is ridiculously high.

You can pay what you want for Megadungeon #3—grab it for free or leave Courtney a tip; it's up to you. As a way to try before you buy other releases from Hack & Slash, it's another one of those no-brainers!

Dungeon adventures, NPC's, and resources suitable for any campaign! Dual-statted for Basic Dungeons & Dragons and 5e. Come explore the upper and lower crypts of Hierax. Visit the sadlark mine, get lost in non-euclidean space. Meet interesting people and kill them!

Articles on actual play in the gaming renaissance, as well as disscussing dungeon restocking, and the Cannitie faction in Numenhalla.

Heavily illustrated by the talented OSR artists, Todd McGowan, Kent Miller, Sean McCoy, Evlyn Monroe, with a cover by Luka Rejec!

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Kickstarter - Palace of the Golden Princess #1 (5e Adventure & Comic Book)

5e module and comic based on the first RPG adventure written by a woman.

In 1980, Jean Wells, the only woman in TSR's design department, was assigned to write an adventure for the "B" (Basic) series that would teach new players how to play D&D using rules for the D&D Basic Set. This module would be unique as it was the first TSR adventure authored by a female designer. Wikipedia - Palace of the Silver Princess

It's not often, if ever, that I start a blog post with a quote from Wikipedia, but I thought it was appropriate this time ;)

Now, on to the "connections". The project creator, author of the comic, and co-author of the adventure is Preston Poulter. Preston is a frequent participant in The Tavern's weekly hangouts on Thursday Nights on our Discord Server and loves creating comic books. Courtney Campbell is a prolific and highly skilled writer of RPG material. Courtney has a blog - Hack & Slash - and can often be found lurching in the Common Room of The Tavern's Discord Server. Heck, he was there earlier today.

So yes, I know the main folks behind the Palace of the Golden Princess #1 Kickstarter project. Quite simply, if Courtney is writing RPG material, I want it. If Preston is publishing a comic book, it will literally look amazing (parental supervision may be required on some comic book titles, as the artwork can be risque ;)

So, what can you get and for how much?

The comic book, the adventure, and character sheets in digital format will be 10 bucks. Print of the comic book adventure will be 20 bucks. Then it goes a bit crazy but in a good way. There's a Deck of Many Things, limited covers for the comics, resin minis, replica swords, wall tapestries, and more. Phew! Have at it. Damn, but the sword tempts me ;)

Subsequent to the success of the Palace comic, I sought to build a campaign to offer a module set in the world of Palace. Ultimately, I partnered with prolific module writer Courtney Campbell to bring you an adventure that, while published under the current 5e ruleset for the world's most popular roleplaying game, has been customized by Courtney and myself to embrace the play style of the 1980s. I invite you to download our introductory release, available on drivethrurpg as a "Pay what you want" PDF. 

Rejecting the modern notion of roleplaying which seems to have evolved into what can best be described as "fantasy superheroes," Courtney and I dispatch the modern notion of character "builds" straight away by declaring that character stats should be generated by rolling 3d6 for each stat in the order the appear on the sheet, just like you would have done back in 1981 to play Jean Wells original work.

Of course, you are free to ignore our rules recommendations, but we feel you will be cheating yourself and your group out of a different kind of roleplaying experience that delivers a lot more fun. 

The module offered with this campaign incorporates all the material of the introductory release, and expands upon it to offer a multi-session adventure designed for 4-8 characters of levels 1-3. 

 

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Kickstarter - Bestial Ecosystems Created by Monstrous Inhabitation (System Neutral)

A guide to dynamic monster ecologies for novel fantasy campaigns.

Courtney Campbell is one of the most skilled writers of DM resource material that I've encountered in my 40 odd years of gaming. Whether we are talking game prep or winging it when your party goes left and you had expected them to go right, Courtney has your back.

Bad Mike & I were lucky enough to have Courtney as a guest on our Talking Crit Livestream last night. It was an excellent conversation and a true insight into the mind of a creative like Courtney.

Bestial Ecosystems Created by Monstrous Inhabitation is Courtney's latest Kickstarter. When he informed us that the title was chosen to be abbreviated as BECMI, I was floored. Apparently, he's done the same with his previous releases in the series: Artifices, Deceptions, & Dilemmas (AD&D) and On Downtime and Demesnes (OD&D). Interesting little Easter Egg.

What if monsters were unique and exciting? What if monsters no longer existed in solitary, but part of individual, specialized, ecosystems? What if you had the tools to make these ecosystems quickly and easily, over and over again?

What's in it?

Thousands of unique monster ideas and origins

Tools to integrate these into biomes and exploratory play

Dozens of ideas to make monsters mechanically unique

No longer will monsters feel like bags of hit points to you or your players.  Bestial Ecosystems Created by Monstrous Inhabitation includes clear guidelines for how players can come across these monsters and learn about them in a system-neutral way. This book has no statistic blocks, no repeating anything in the possibly dozens of monster books you already own. This gives every monster dozens and dozens of ideas to make it special, along with the tools and guidelines to use them in play.

I'm in for 28 bucks, print plus PDF. You can back for as little as a buck to get a peek at the PDF as a work in progress. Courtney writes some seriously useful reference books that should be in every GM's toolkit. 

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.

Kickstarter - Bestial Ecosystems Created by Monstrous Inhabitation

I feel like all I'm posting about is Kickstarter, but so many awesome ones have released in the last few days that I find myself highlighting another one. I apologize for the impact I'm having on everyone's wallets ;)

Hack & Slash, AKA Courtney, just went live with the Bestial Ecosystems Created by Monstrous Inhabitation Kickstarter. This is a "must back" Kickstarter for me, and I suspect it will be so for others.

What if monsters were unique and exciting? What if monsters no longer existed in solitary, but part of individual, specialized, ecosystems? What if you had the tools to make these ecosystems quickly and easily, over and over again?

What's in it?

Thousands of unique monster ideas and origins

Tools to integrate these into biomes and exploratory play

Dozens of ideas to make monsters mechanically unique

No longer will monsters feel like bags of hit points to you or your players.  Bestial Ecosystems Created by Monstrous Inhabitation includes clear guidelines for how players can come across these monsters and learn about them in a system-neutral way. This book has no statistic blocks, no repeating anything in the possibly dozens of monster books you already own. This gives every monster dozens and dozens of ideas to make it special, along with the tools and guidelines to use them in play.

What's it for?

This allows referees of fantasy tabletop games to enjoyably generate monster history, traits, and ideas. Referees can then take those monsters and integrate them into dynamic fantasy biomes, along with the tools to allow players to explore those biomes. This allows the players the opportunity to learn about these biomes and monster interactions through play!

Creating a new campaign is like raising a house frame all by yourself. This is a tool that makes something often overlooked (fantasy ecosystems) into an exciting and quick process. 

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.

Kickstarter -Artifices, Deceptions & Dilemmas (Courtney)

Sometimes, while at a convention (currently Total Con), I find it difficult to stay current with outside events. I'm happy to say I'm pretty much on time with my coverage of Courtney's second Kickstarter - Artifices, Deceptions & Dilemmas. If you don't know Courtney, he is a skilled and prolific creator of RPG content. While solidly rooted in old school gaming, his works are generally system agnostic and suitable right through to Pathfinder and 5e, if one were to go such a route.

So, what is Artifices, Deceptions & Dilemmas?

What's the difference between a room and a chamber? What's the difference between a mausoleum, a sepulcher, and a crypt? Would disarming traps be more exciting if you understood how those releases, springs, and snares worked?  

Do you think it would be exciting if a classic group of fantasy artists got together and drew pictures of all these artifices, deceptions, and dilemmas for you to use as a reference at your table with your group?

I did. - Courtney

1 buck for access to a digital draft copy of the book. Final digital and draft copy is 10 bucks. 20 bucks adds an at-cost softcover book to the mix.

Simply put, Courtney does good shit. You won't regret backing Artifices, Deceptions & Dilemmas.

Kickstarter - On Downtime and Demesnes (OSR & 5e)

Back this Kickstarter. Now. On Downtime & Demesnes. I'll wait. If you aren't sure, back for a buck and download the art-free pre-stretch-goals book. Read it. I'll still be waiting for you as you up your pledge.

Seriously, Hack & Slash may have outdone himself with Downtime & Demesnes. It is simply that good, and you rarely hear me say that.

Do you sometimes wish you didn't have to put in so much effort into engaging your players? Wouldn't it be nice if they couldn't wait to play around in your world? If they were pushing you to spend more time in the land you create? 

That's why I developed these downtime procedures over decades of play and now I can share it with you! 

What's in it?  

• Systems that motivate players
• Simple usable procedures that work
• Creativity and inspiration for adventure

No longer will your players wonder what their characters should do with all their gold. It includes clear, common-sense rules for everything from starting a cult, making sacrifices to gods, to hiring mercenaries and building vehicles and castles. 

Going to an arena fight? Take seconds to determine the purse, peruse mechanics to handle the arena crowd, pick some ideas for interesting arenas, and select an opponent like the Necrourge: a master of the dark arts of necrourgy, who raises the bodies of traitors or other criminals after they have been forced to fight in the arena and died.
I've got a vision of usable downtime procedures that motivate players and provide inspiration to Dungeon Masters collected in a published volume. I want one for my table. But I don't have the funds to hire a cover artist. So I'm Kickstarting this to pay Skullfungus ("I draw dungeons, their inhabitants and everything in between") to create a beautiful cover. The book is written, layout is effectively complete, and nearly all of the interior art is finished.  

What's it for? 

The downtime goals give agency to players, and let them build a dynasty. Imagine a group eager to explore your world because they have their own plans! These objective procedures give players tools that fire a desire to dive into your creative world, discover its detailed history, and make their mark on it. 

It gives your players the tools to make their wildest ideas come to life, without breaking your campaign or your suspension of disbelief, all the while driving them to adventure in your world. On Downtime and Demesnes is filled with tools that work. Build a flying ship, enchant it; or build a wizards tower and raise fortifications in the surrounding lands. All with simple, scalable, rules.  

This is a book used in every game you run. Your next campaign, the one after that, the one after that. . . Not one wasted word. Every page is crammed with content and creativity. No filler. Tools that let players build castles and control land, without disassociated mechanics. This is the stronghold book you've been looking for. 

15 bucks for the PDF, 20 bucks for the POD (plus cost and shipping) with PDF.

Back this. Back it now. Already funded and well beyond.

A Look at the Hack & Slash Patreon Project

In case you've missed the trend, Patreon is now the way to support the creators you know and like. It's really simple in concept - you pretty much set up an automatic tip amount based on criteria set by the project creator, and each time they "create" according to the criteria, your tip gets added to the pool.

+Dyson Logos was the first I saw using the Patreon system to support his mapping, and in the weeks that have passed, I've also seen +matt jackson (maps) and +Mark Gedak (PFRPG Monsters, but I'm sure I can convert to S&W without much effort). Well, not just have seen the above, I'm a supporter of all of the above, even if I have had to tweak tip amounts to cover the spread ;)

I've now added Hack & Slash as the 4th Patreon Project that I'm supporting.

+Courtney Campbell is a prolific blogger. Well, maybe not as prolific as I normally am, but his is pretty much all "game ready" content. Just like the folks above, he gives it away for free on his blog. The point of the Patreon funding is to work as a virtual tip jar. It rewards him for the work he does, and if the funding is highly successful he'll be able to devote even more time to it.

The same goes to all of the folks I've mentioned above. They provide their creations for free to all. It's the select few that tip them for their hard work that may get some additional perks, or just a feeling of goodwill for supporting some really cool people.

In Courtney's case, I'm in for 50 cents a post. He averages 15 posts of content a month. So, we are looking at about $7.50 a month and I capped my contribution at $10 a month. You can set the amount wherever you want, and even a nickel a post would add up with enough supporters.

Unlike Kickstarter, you can change or withdraw your support at any time, and you are only paying as content is created, not in advance.

I need to sit down and figure out a Patreon budget that I can comfortably use to support the creators that create content that I can use and whose work keeps me entertained.