Horror Sale - Vaesen - Nordic Horror Roleplaying

I own Vaesen, and I'm impressed with it. However, it may never be used, as it doesn't fit my current group all that well. It uses the Year Zero Engine, which may or may not be a selling point for you.

Usually 24.99 in PDF, for the rest of the month, Vaesen is on sale for 14.99.

For our Halloween sale, this title has been marked down by up to 40% for a limited time!

Click here for more spooky savings

Welcome to the Mythic North – northern Europe of the nineteenth century, but not as we know it today. A land where the myths are real. A cold reach covered by vast forests, its few cities lonely beacons of industry and enlightenment – a new civilization dawning. But in the countryside, the old ways still hold sway. There, people know what lurks in the dark. They know to fear it.

Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying is written by Nils Hintze and based on the work of Swedish illustrator and author Johan Egerkrans. Vaesen presents a dark Gothic setting steeped in Nordic folklore and the old myths of Scandinavia. The game mechanics utilize an adapted version of the awardwinning Year Zero Engine.

Key features:

· Ten ready to use archetypes let you create a character in minutes – or use the included life path tables and let the dice decide.

· Quick and flavorful rules for combat, investigations and horror.

· Rules for developing the player characters’ headquarters during campaign play.

· A detailed gazetteer of the Mythic North setting and the town of Upsala.

· A score of bloodcurdling vaesen to encounter, all beautifully illustrated by Johan Egerkrans.

· An introductory Mystery called The Dance of Dreams.

 

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 Rumble or YouTube - Tenkar

Halloween Sale - Horror on the Orient Express (CoC)

A Halloween Sale is going on at DTRPG. One of my favorite picks is the Horror on the Orient Express for Call of Cthulhu. I own this in print, as I backed the Kickstarter, and Oh My God, I want to run this as a GM! Sadly, I don't have a gaming group that would do an extended Call of Cthulhu campaign, let alone a single session or two. Horror on the Orient Express is literally "that good."

Horror on the Orient Express is normally 39.99 in PDF (already a bargain), but for the rest of October, Horrow on the Orient Express is on sale for 23.99 - 40% off!

A puzzling headline begins a front-page article found in the Times of London. Three men, all identical in identification, were found dead in the same room of the Chelsea Arms Hotel. All were dispatched in a similar manner stabbed through the heart.

Then the home of a valued friend burns to the ground, severely injuring him in the process. An odd summons, a surreptitious meeting, and a thousand-mile journey begins on the legendary rail service carrying the investigators to Constantinople, the Gateway of the Orient.

HORROR ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS contains a massive and legendary campaign, of up to nineteen adventures and more than 1100 pages, for the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. Beginning in 1920s London, the investigators journey to Paris and thence to the ancient city of Constantinople. With luck, they also return home.

Optional episodes are set in ancient times or special places (Roman-era, Dark Ages, Gaslight-era, the Dreamlands), so that the players can experience the founding, creation, and discovery of crucial elements of this campaign. Also included is a modern-day coda to the storyline, an alternate ending for those wishing a shorter campaign, and a built-in survival guide to aid beleaguered investigators.

There are seven books and more: the Campaign Book, Through the Alps, Italy & Beyond, Constantinople & Consequences, Strangers on the Train, and The Traveler's Companion. In addition, there is a book of handouts for the investigators, a European Route Map, three era-inspired luggage stickers, two era-inspired postcards, a matchbox, the Scroll of the Head, four U.S. passports, a bumper sticker, six pages of train plans that can be laid end-to-end, the Mims Sahis ceremonial knife, and fragments of the Sedefkar Simulacrum collected along the journey.

What the Critics Say

"Truly fantastic"—Diehard Gamefan

"The biggest and most grandiose campaign ever composed for any game… a must-own campaign. It is not just the grandeur, the scope, the high-quality writing or the fact that it epitomizes many of the values of Call of Cthulhu and the horror genre overall. It is the sheer immersion, the entertainment value it provides when played to the level it deserves…"—Antonios S. review, RPGNet.

"The most ambitious Call of Cthulhu adventure ever created… a high water mark for CoC."—Blackgate.

2015 ENnie Awards - Best Adventure (Gold)

2015 ENnie Awards - Best Production Values (Silver)

1992 Origins Awards - Best Roleplaying Adventure (1st ed)

1992 Origins Awards - Best Graphic Presentation of an RPG (1st ed)

With this purchase you receive these downloads (in these formats):

• Campaign Book, 72 pages (pdf, epub, mobi, prc)
• Through the Alps, 264 pages (pdf, epub, mobi, prc)
• Italy & Beyond, 272 pages (pdf, epub, mobi, prc)
• Constantinople & Consequences, 192 pages (pdf, epub, mobi, prc)
• Strangers on the Train, 96 pages (pdf)
• The Traveler’s Companion, 48 pages (pdf)
• 1923 Calendar (pdf)
• Handouts for the Investigators, 192 pages (pdf)
• European Route Map, color (pdf)
• Air Routes in 1923, color map (pdf)
• Player Maps in color, 13 pages (pdf)
• Keeper Maps in color, 18 pages (pdf)
• Three era-inspired luggage stickers (pdf)
• Two era-inspired postcards (pdf)
• Matchbox (pdf)
• Scroll of the Head (pdf)
• U.S. passports (pdf)
• Bumper Sticker (pdf)
• Six pages of Train Plans (pdf)
• Mims Sahis ceremonial knife (pdf)
• Sedefkar Simulacrum (pdf)

 

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 Rumble or YouTube - Tenkar

Halloween Freebie - The Arkham Gazette #2

The Arkham Gazette #2 should be free until 11 AM Friday morning.

(other Halloween Freebies - check each day)

“Innsmouth? Well, it’s a queer kind of a town down at the mouth of the Manuxet. Used to be almost a city—quite a port before the War of 1812—but all gone to pieces in the last hundred years or so... And why is everybody so down on Innsmouth? Well, young fellow, you mustn’t take too much stock in what people around here say... Some of the stories would make you laugh—about old Captain Marsh driving bargains with the devil and bringing imps out of hell to live in Innsmouth..."

Welcome to Innsmouth!  Rumors have long swirled around the place, ever since a plague is said to have carried off so many of the town's residents in the 1840s.  Fallen into disrepair and decay, most locals shun the town and its unwholesome-looking inhabitant.  We've elected to brave Joe Sargents' bus and dive deep into the mysteries and dangerous secrets that, dare we say, cast a shadow over the place.

This issue includes the following eighteen articles:

• Shadows of Polynesia: Obed Marsh and his crew brought many things back from that island east of Tahiti...
• Locations in Greater Innsmouth: Three new locations for Innsmouth.
• The Wreck of the Elizabeth Wright: A new location outside of Innsmouth with connection to the town.
• Innsmouth’s Burying Grounds: A deep examination of the many cemeteries in and near Innsmouth.
• On the name “Dagon”: Where did this name come from?  Why did Obed Marsh use it?  What does that imply?
• “The marine abyss beyond Devil Reef”: Bathography versus Lovecraft!
• Edward Morse: A real-world scholar who might be of interest to your investigators.
• The Isle of Shoals and Other Innsmouth Inspiration: Real-world places that have some parallel to Innsmouth - the Isles of Shoals, Matinicus Island and the Malaga Island community.
• The Sacred Cod: Why is there a carved fish idol in the Massachusetts State House?
• The Hymnal of the Esoteric Order of Dagon: A new tome extoling the greatest of Innsmouth's new faith.
• The Ponape Scripture: An in-depth exporation of this tome of occult oceanic lore created by Lin Carter.
• The Feejee Mermaid: P.T. Barnum's dubious mummified "mermaid"; real-world history and occult (and Mythos) options.
• Innsmouth Curios: 8 Weird artifacts investigators can discover.
• Innsmouth Gold: All about Innsmouth's most notable export.
• Cancelled Innsmouth Books: A discussion of two cancelled books Chaosium was once planning related to Innsmouth - the Innsmouth Horror and Children of the Deep.
• A Guide to Newburyport: An extended description of the town that inspired Innsmouth and how you can use it in your Lovecraft Country games.
• “Drawn from the Water”: A Kingsport artist has gone missing and the investigators must follow his trail.  Dark secrets lurk in the waters just off shore...
• Annotated list of Innsmouth scenarios: Notes for the Keeper on all 14 of the Innsmouth-connected scenarios that we can locate in Lovecraft Country as well as a list of every Deep One scenario we can find.

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 cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar   

Halloween Sale and Freebies at DTRPG

Above are the current Halloween Freebies at DTRPG. They will change daily, so check back often.

Heck, even if you don't use a certain freebie directly, it may offer some inspiration you might otherwise not have encountered.

Did I mention there is ALSO a Halloween Sale at DTRPG until the end of the month, with discounts of up to 20%? Well, now you know ;)

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 cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar   

DriveThruRPG Has Some Halloween Freebies

In prior years, DriveThruRPG has done a Halloween Pumpkin Hunt of sorts, having shoppers scour the DTRPG pages for hidden pumpkins in search of freebies. This year, there are freebies neatly grouped together and an accompanying sale.

Highlights from today's Halloween Freebie Page include Fear Itself 2e (GUMSHOE) and some seasonally appropriate soundtracks. It appears there will be new offerings daily.

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

Bundle - OSE Spooktacular

To be honest, I only realize this bundle was up because Tim Shorts shared it on Facebook (Tim also has an adventure in the bundle). Tim is a friend of mine and we play together in JoetheLawyer's Bronze Age Fantasy Heartbreaker playtest group every Monday. 

I like the OSE Spooktacukar Bundle based on the listed titles, and I've always been fond of Halloween-themed adventures to be run around the holiday. It was a staple of my High School and College years. Good times :)

Individually the titles come to 43.77. The bundle price is 20.50.

Titles included with the OSE Spooktakular Bundle are:

DD-01 The Darkness Beneath Dalentown for 1st Edition and BX

        DD-02 The Darkness Beneath Brightwell Manor for 1st Edition and BX

        Fantasy Stock Art: Demons

Fantasy Stock Art: Undead

        Hex 18.24 -- The Deadwoods

  Octhorrorfest!

        PHM Hex 55.68 -- Entrance to the Valley of Kings (pt. 1)

        Solar Sanctuary of the Cannibal Corpse

        The Deadly Mine of Pantanga 

The Warlock

        Witch Character Sheet - Basic era

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  

DTRPG Halloween Sale - OSR Picks - Part the First

It's that time of the year again, where you dig through the bowels of DTRPG looking for jack-o-lanterns in the hopes of finding free shit. It's also the time of the annual DTRPG Halloween Sale, with 25% off a large selection of releases.  This post will be highlighting some of the OSR releases that are on sale right now and will be for the next 2 weeks. More posts will be forthcoming.

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea (Compleat Second Edition) -ASTONISHING SWORDSMEN & SORCERERS of HYPERBOREA™ is sword-and-sorcery role-playing at its pinnacle. Play an Amazon fighter, Atlantean magician, Esquimaux shaman, Hyperborean warlock, Ixian necromancer, Keltic barbarian, Kimmerian cataphract, Pictish thief, Viking berserker, or one of many other possibilities. Normally 19.00, on sale for 14.25

The Blackest Space - An Interstellar Sci-Fi Survival Roleplaying Game - There are 15 Classes represented:  Bounty Hunter, Captain. Communications Commander, Ebontear Endbringer, Ebontear Necrojudge, Emerald Champion, Medical Officer, Meta-Psych, Pilot, Pirate, Science Officer, Security Director, Shock Marine, Smuggler and Technician. 12 Playable Races: The Apparatus, Arpi, Asaluss, Cymyrs, Gnargfang, Gronslag, Harkfey, Humans, Lanerians. Mirewhips, Qu’fer and Zygaq. Normally 9.99, it's on sale for 7.49

Hubris: A World of Visceral Adventure - Hubris is a weird fantasy setting that uses the awesome Dungeon Crawl Classics rules!  In this book you will find 10 territories filled with tables and charts to generate interesting locations and encounters, new occupations, 4 new classes, 5 new playable races, 3 new spells, 4 new patrons, including 3 patrons spells for each, 11 new and terrible gods, 14 tables and charts for a GM to use to aid them in their game or create interesting/fun situations, two new adventures to kick off a campaign, and 51 new enemies. Normally 9.99, it's on sale for 7.49

Dark Streets & Darker Secrets - Dark Streets & Darker Secrets is a Street & Sorcery Rules Light Role-Playing Game with an Old School spirit, just like its predecessors: Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells and Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells. It’s a game about modern adventures in the world we live today, only with a layer of supernatural weirdness and horror. Characters are people who have found out about the mysteries and horrors that exist in the world and have decided to do something about it, be it battle it, join it, or simply explore its possibilities in any way they see fit. They will battle evil cultists, corrupted ghosts, bloodsucking vampires, and frenzied werewolves, or maybe they will be the horrors of others. This edition of the game assumes the reader knows the principles of what role-playing games are and how they are played. Normally 9.99, it's on sale for 7.49

Dark Fantasy Basic - Player's Guide - Dark Fantasy Basic is an old school roleplaying game (or adventure game) that pays homage to a beloved 80's game - which is stilll, for many fans, one of the most concise, clear and well-written RPGs ever published. This book uses the same system as the world’s most popular RPGs – six abilities, classes, levels, etc. – and it is meant to be compatible with games from that era. Or any OSR game, really. It also has some modern influences, including all of the OSR and the most recent version of this game. This is a complete game (from the player's side), with five classes (fighter, cleric, thief, magic-user and hopeless), skills, feats, weapons, etc. There are no races - all PCs are human or similar - but there are notes on how to create races for your games. There are 20 different spells but each one is flexible, meaning you can choose the spell level and some of the effects as you cast them. Normally 3.99, on sale for 2.99

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 the 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.

Halloween Freebies at DriveThruRPG and Related Storefronts

I've copied the below from The Gaming Gang, which appears to be the most complete list of this year's Halloween Freebies at DriveThruRPG that I can find. Use the links from their page if you wish to put coin in their coffers - assuming you are making purchases along with your free loot ;)

Without further ado, the free loot (links below are affiliate links for The Tavern)

Note: There are RPG freebies hidden in the darnedest places...

DriveThruRPG

Frontpage -> Witch’s Hat – Castles & Crusades: Night of the Sprits

The Halloween Sale page -> Jack -o-Lantern – 5E Halloween Mini-Dungeon: The Horror of Ochre Grove

My Library -> Jack-o-Lantern – Seers & Roebuck: Dust Buster of Holding

Genre: Horror -> Jack-o-Lantern – The Measure of a Man (Master)

Account -> Change My Address -> Jack-o-Lantern – (5E) BASIC02: A Frightful Time

Account -> Change Newsletter Settings -> Witch’s Hat – Deep Magic: Chaos Magic for 5th Edition

About Us -> Jack-O-Lantern – Doomtown Reloaded: Print & Play Demo

Account -> Select how I wish to be contacted by publishers. ->Witch’s Hat – ETU: Brewhaha

Product Reviews (in the footer under Information) -> Pumpkin – Mothership: Player’s Survival Guide

DriveThruComics

Frontpage -> Witch’s Hat – Kids on Bikes – House on Poplar Court (RPG adventure)

Halloween sale page -> Ghost – Unstoppable Origins #1

Horror Genre Search -> Jack-o-Lantern – Charismagic: The Death Princess Volume 1 (Collected Edition)

My Library -> Jack-o-Lantern – God the Dyslexic Dog Volume 1

About Us -> Candy – Death Vigil #1

Account -> Change My Address-> Jack-o-Lantern – Tales from the Evil Inc Archive: Halloween (Oct. 2013)

Account -> Change Newsletter Settings -> Witch’s Hat – Cradlegrave

DriveThruFiction

Frontpage -> Witch’s Hat – The Weird Fiction Megapack: 25 Stories from Weird Tales

Halloween sale page -> Jack-o-Lantern – Outbreak: Undead 2nd Ed – Intro Manual (RPG Quickstart)

Horror Genre Search -> Jack-o-Lantern – Royden Poole’s Field Guide to the 25th Hour

My Library -> Jack-o-Lantern – Cabaret of the Grotesque

About Us -> Ghost – The Book of Apex: Volume 1 of Apex Magazine

Account-> Change My address -> Jack-o-Lantern – Star Trek Adventures: Remnants (RPG adventure)

Account-> Change Newsletter-> Candy – Monster Academy: I Will Not Eat People

Dungeon Masters Guild

Front Page-> Edition-> Basic/Expert-> Bat – Blood In The Woods: A Beginner Adventure

Halloween Sale Page -> Ghost – Songs of Aedragard

Theme-> Horror-> Jack-o-Lantern – The Little Astralnaut

My Library -> Jack-o-Lantern – Curse of the Gumdrop Ooze Revised & Expanded

Account-> My Wishlist -> Jack-o-Lantern – The Awakened One: An Otherworldly Patron for D&D 5th Edition

Account-> Products Awaiting Review -> Ghost – The Tuskcracker Threat: An Orc Wereboard Cult

Account-> Change My Address -> Jack-o-Lantern – Spooky, Scary Skeletons

Account-> Change Newsletter -> Witch’s Hat – College of Silence

About Us -> Ghost – Circle of the Feydark 5e

Our Latest Newsletter (in footer under "Information") -> Pumpkin – Dread Domain: A Cleric Archetype

Account -> Select "How I wish to be contacted by publishers" ->Witch’s Hat – Nightfall

Product Reviews (in footer under Information) -> Ghost – Secrets of the Blind Palace

Storytellers Vault

Werewolf The Forsaken Line -> Bat – When Will You Rage

Account-> My Wishlist -> Jack-o-Lantern – Hearts on Trial: Changeling the Lost Second Edition Jumpstart

Account-> Products Awaiting Review -> Ghost – Reap the Whirlwind Revised (VtR 2e)

About Us -> Ghost – Bygone Bestiary

Account -> Library Client and App Information -> Ghost – Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Player’s Guide

Account -> (show all orders) -> Bat – A Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition Jumpstart

Dark Eras Line -> Ghost – Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein

Halloween Sale at DriveThruRPG

Yep, there's a Halloween Sale over at DriveThruRPG with a large number of titles at 25% off. If you want to go to a specifically OSR listing of for-sale products, you can go to this link: OSR Halloween.

Don't forget to click on all the Jack-o-lanterns, as they lead to free stuff. There is one on the main sale page.

Time to make a few Tavern Picks :)

The Stygian Library - The Stygian Library is a creepily genteel dungeon set in an infinite extradimensional library. Each expodition generates its route as it explores, resulting in new locations being iscovered with every visit. Included within: Systems for generating locations within the library, including Entrance Foyers, Map Galleries, Tea Rooms,  Planetariums, Calculation Engines, Phantom Databanks, Paper Beehives, Phantom Pumps, Jarred Brains and the Sheol Computer. 40 monsters tailored to the Library, including Lantern Bearers, Skeleton Crew, Origami Golems, Guardian Shades, Lost Souls, Ink Elementals, Animate Spells, Archivist-Liches, Infernal Merchants, Escaped Fictions, Educated Rodents, Conceptual Wells and the orders of Librarians themselves. A system for searching for specific knowledge within the library's depths, as well as 30 unusual books and the secret knowledge they contain.Tables for generating treasure, dreams, rumors, and various other useful details. A unique class of Mummified Sages, post-human academics who've dwelled in the Library for decades or more. It's a big spooky library full of dangerous knowledge, spiritual automata, and ghost-fueled computers.  5.00  3.75

Eldritch Tales: Lovecraftian White Box Role-Playing - Aeons before man arose from the primordial mire, ancient creatures descended from the stars or stepped through dimensional passages to inhabit the Earth. Whilst many of these Old Ones have since passed into inactivity, the secrets they carried with them have been shared with man and now terrible cults haunt the fringes of modern society. These ancient terrors thus still menace mankind and, if the prophecies are to be believed, the Old Ones shall return to reign again over the Earth! Eldritch Tales: Lovecraftian White Box Role-Playing in an OSR rule set with its roots in the Original version of the world's favorite RPG, but instead of exploring musty dungeons, characters in Eldritch Tales investigate Mythos horrors in the 1920s! The setting and background are based on the cosmic horror tales of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and other members of his writing circle. Within the pages of Eldritch Tales you will find four character classes representing many classic pulp archetypes, occupations, rules for insanity, spells, monsters, esoteric tomes, artifacts, a starting scenario, and setting material, as well as advice on using Eldritch Tales with other White Box games. This game is compatible with Swords & Wizardry White Box and other OSR games. To accommodate all devices, the PDF purchase includes versions in both high resolution and low resolution. PDF has a bookmarked Table of Contents, as well as linked terms throughout the book.  6.99  5.24

DARK PLACES & DEMOGORGONS - Survive This!! - Core Rule Book - Following in the tradition of SURVIVE THIS!! Zombies! comes SURVIVE THIS!! Dark Places & Demogorgons, a tabletop roleplaying game that uses the Original 1970s Fantasy Roleplaying game rules but mutates it into this retro nightmare. It’s sleek, slender and creepy as Hell. In Dark Places & Demogorgons, you play as high school students during the early 1980s. The town you live in has had a rash of disappearances and strange happenings. The adults seem lost as what to do, the police are as clueless as ever and aren’t helping and Reverend Phillips is on another witch-hunt. It’s up to you and your friends to figure out what’s going on and stop it from happening again!  4.99  3.74

SURVIVE THIS!! Zombies! 2nd Edition - Core Rule Book -STZ-2E is an OSR RPG with modern sensibilities, utilizing the time tested rules of the old-school and fusing them seamlessly with modern mechanics and game design principals to give you a fast, fun and dangerous, thrill ride-like gaming experience. “They’re coming to get you Barbara . . .”That’s the line that started it all. Sure, there were other zombies in movies and literature prior to the delivery of that iconic quote but George A. Romero’s Night of The Living Dead kicked off the modern zombie craze. From Day of the Dead to Return of the Living Dead to Dawn of the Dead to Shaun of the Dead to The Walking Dead, people can’t get enough of The Dead! Zombies can be found in abundance in film, TV, comic books, literature, video games, board games, card games, dice games and yes, of course, roleplaying games. That is where we come in. SURVIVE THIS!! – Zombies! was the first in the line of SURVIVE THIS!! Roleplaying Games to be released by indy publisher, Bloat Games. Dark Places & Demogorgons, the second game released under the SURVIVE THIS!! banner, brought about several updates and additions to the game rules and mechanics, which brings us now to the reason for the 2nd Edition of SURVIVE THIS!! Zombies!  We wanted to not only bring STZ up to date with the changes found in Dark Places & Demogorgons but also saw an opportunity to include the additions of Backgrounds, Skills, 6 New Classes, updated Savings Throws, Out of Action Table, Usage Die, Random Encounter Table, Adventure Hooks table as well as all the additional Zombies and Classes from the PDF only Supplement: SURVIVE THIS!! Zombies! Welcome to Zombie Land.  4.99  3.74

Dungeon Crawl Classics Horror #5: Creep, Skrag, Creep! - A level 0 funnel adventure for DCC RPG – specially themed for horror! The ship is adrift and a crew is dead. When the passengers of the Star of Nostro awaken, drugged and bound, and discover the crew is missing, a desperate race for survival begins. The vessel was meant to transport your group of humble villagers to a brighter future. It is now a coffin ship filled with mysterious deaths, dark plots, and a stalking horror that will not stop until it has feasted on every last soul.  Will your characters’ ingenuity be quick enough to find a means to survive, or will you too fall victim to what creeps in the shadows?  6.99  5.24


There are affiliate links above. Affiliate links keep the beer cold and the taps flowing at The Tavern. Thank you :)

Do You Run "Horror Themed Adventures" around Halloween?

I was thinking about this last night. I haven't run a "themed adventure" it at least 25 years. There was a stretch where I ran a Call of Chtuhlu session the weekend before or after Halloween. One year I ran The Created, a puppet-themed low-level Ravenloft Adventure for AD&D 2e.

I had fun doing so. Kinda wish I had set something similar up for this year.

Do you run special adventures for the Halloween season? If so, which ones?

RPGNow Halloween Sale - OSR Picks - The Astonishingly Complete Silent Visceral Shadow Under The Forbidden Caverns

Yeah, normally I make these picks earlier in the sale, but October has been a fairly busy month. Still, we do have some picks for your OSR bookshelf. Prices are good through the 31st of the month.

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea (Second Edition) - I have the first edition and it is awesome - ASTONISHING SWORDSMEN & SORCERERS of HYPERBOREA™ is sword-and-sorcery role-playing at its pinnacle. Play an Amazon fighter, Atlantean magician, Esquimaux shaman, Hyperborean warlock, Ixian necromancer, Keltic barbarian, Kimmerian cataphract, Pictish thief, Viking berserker, or one of many other possibilities. The heroes of a HYPERBOREA campaign delve the mazes and labyrinths of vast dungeons filled with horrifying monsters, lethal traps, and bewildering puzzles. They explore savage frontiers, breach hostile borderlands, probe ancient ruins, and investigate cursed tombs. They plunder for treasure and magic in a decaying world inhabited by bloodthirsty beasts and weird, otherworldly beings. Now in its second edition, AS&SH™ has been expanded to include new classes, new spells, new monsters, new magic items, and more! It also includes a new, full colour map, an introductory town and adventure, as well as hundreds of new illustrations! This new edition is backwards-compatible with the original edition of the game. Explore endless challenges and infinite realms of imagination with this complete sword-and-sorcery role-playing game!  19.00  13.11

Barrowmaze Complete - there's a whole lotta adventure for your buck in here. you may even find a Tavern related Easter Egg ;)- Barrowmaze Complete (BMC) is a classic old school megadungeon for use with Labyrinth LordTM and other fantasy role-playing games. BMC includes everything in Barrowmaze I and II in the same book in addition to new material, art, layout, and cover art by Ex-TSR artist Erol Otus. Barrowmaze Complete will keep your players on their toes and your campaign going strong. BMC is brought to you by the Old School Renaissance (so don’t forget your 10’ pole). This edition includes art by the aforementioned TSR artists Erol Otus, as well as Tim Truman, Jim Holloway. New old-school artists include Peter Pagano, Cory Hamel, Stefan Poag, Zhu Bajie, Stephan Thompson, and others. 35.00  24.15

Dungeon Crawl Classics 2017 Halloween Module: Shadow Under Devil's Reef - A level 1 adventure for DCC RPG – specially themed for Halloween horror! The perfect October release! A raging storm has made the waters around Devil’s Reef impossible to navigate safely. The noble galleon, The Royal Dawn, has run aground and Princess Kaeko from faraway Fu-Lamia is now missing! Untold riches and glory await those who successfully find the princess and safely deliver her to Black Sand Port. As the greedy and ambitious adventurers set out to find the princess, their thoughts linger on the few Royal Dawn survivors that washed up on the beach with bodies that were corrupted by strange frog-like mutations. What kind of evil awaits the adventurers on that forbidden island?
6.99  4.82

Hubris: A World of Visceral Adventure - 2017 Ennies Winner - Hubris is a weird fantasy setting that  uses the awesome Dungeon Crawl Classics rules!  In this book you will find 10 territories filled with tables and charts to generate interesting locations and encounters, new occupations, 4 new classes, 5 new playable races, 3 new spells, 4 new patrons, including 3 patrons spells for each, 11 new and terrible gods, 14 tables and charts for a GM to use to aid them in their game or create interesting/fun situations, two new adventures to kick off a campaign, and 51 new enemies (including enemies that are unique thanks to random generation).  Hubris is hackable!  Each territory can be used as the GM wills!  Need a desert, swamp, or frozen tundra for your game?  Use what's in Hubris!  14.99  10.34

Silent Legions - perfect for the season - Silent Legions is a game of modern-day Lovecraftian horror, one carefully designed to support sandbox adventures by hard-bitten investigators and fearless hunters of the dark. Its clean, lightweight old-school rules are compatible with the free Stars Without Number sci-fi game and give both GM and players a steady framework for plumbing the unspeakable secrets of the eldritch night. Now, after a successful Kickstarter with more than 1,100 backers, a Kickstarter completed a month early, this tome of dark secrets can be yours. Silent Legions isn't just about traditional Yog-Sothothery. Silent Legions is a creation kit, a toolbox in the Sine Nomine style for creating your own Mythos, with all-new deities, alien entities, foul magics, accursed artifacts, unaussprechlichen kulten, and diabolical dream-worlds to bedevil your players. These tools are system-neutral, so even fans of other Lovecraftian gaming systems can scoop them up to add a splash of fresh horror to their more familiar tentacular abominations. Not only that, but Silent Legions is built to help the GM create investigative adventures with minimal strain. Within these pages you'll find a modular set of templates and adventure guides that help you snap together an evening's intrepid investigation and fit it neatly into your campaign setting. Like the Mythos creation tools, these guides are system-neutral and can be exported for any occasion when you need something wicked to this way come. So seize now upon this opportunity! Plunder this vault of forgotten lore. Grasp these dark tools of creation and wield their power to fashion your own nightmarish reality. Perhaps none dare name the things that await your animating will, but soon enough the world will know them well…  19.99  13.79

The following technically NOT part of the Halloween Sale but IS on sale for the weekend:

The Forbidden Caverns of Archaia - Current #1 Seller at RPGNow -A new megadungeon from Barrowmaze author Dr. Greg Gillespie! The lost city of Archaia - an ancient ruin sunken into the earth - lies deep in the badlands. In recent years, caravans from Eastdale have come under attack from orcs, goblins, and worse. Some say these blood-thirsty warbands have made lairs in the deep caves and ruins. Sill others say the ancient halls are filled with magnificent treasures left by the Archaians. Are you brave (or foolish) enough to delve The Forbidden Caverns of Archaia? The Forbidden Caverns of Archaia (FCoA) is a 296-page classic old school megadungeon for use with Labyrinth LordTM and other fantasy role-playing games. The pages of Forbidden Caverns are crammed full with new material, maps, amazing art (including special surprizes by former TSR artists), as well as an amazing colour cover art by Ex-TSR artist Erol Otus that matches Barrowmaze Complete as a sister-book. The Forbidden Caverns of Archaia will keep your players on their toes and your campaign going strong for years. FCoA is brought to you by the Old School Renaissance (so don’t forget your 10’ pole).  35.00  29.00

Yep, those are affiliate links above. Using The Tavern's affiliate links keeps the Tavern funded. We thank you in advance.

Free RPG - vs. Stranger Stuff (80's inspired horror / etc)

Halloween is 6 weeks away. It might be time for some Halloween game prep and at what better price than free ;) If it can be used to reimagine Stranger Things, it might be even better...

vs. Stranger Stuff is a mini-rpg of 80’s inspired adventure/horror/ sci-fi, typically involving children and teens. Of course we were in influenced by the recent hit Netflix series Stranger Things, but also those great films that inspired that series. What does this mean? It means that a game of vs. Stranger Stuff will involve you playing an adolescent during the 1980’s going against strange and unusual adversaries (often supernatural) with the aid of your loyal group of childhood friends.  

vs. Stranger Stuff is a complete roleplaying game using the VsM Engine in a slimmed down and quick to use format. Experienced gamers will have no problem creating interesting characters, learning the rules, and starting a game. All you need is paper, pencils, and a deck of playing cards.

Halloween Sales at RPGNow - Spooky! ;)

RPGNow is running a 31% off sale for Halloween. Lets find some treats and avoid the tricks...

Current bestseller (and that changed as I typed this) on the RPGNow Halloween Sales list is The Cthulhu Hack at $2.06. Hacks of the Black Hack are "the thing" these days but this might be a nice, simple alternative to CoC. Unformed Realms for the Cthulhu Hack will set you back $1.69

Not sure how Fat Goblin Games The Master Player's Adventurers Journal made the sale list as there is nothing spooky about it, but their Journal series of releases have been pretty god so far. $2.04 

Delta Green: Agent's Handbook - Delta Green is the shit. Seriously. If you want to shoot up Lovecraftian evil as you go insane (instead of just going insane) this is how to do it. $13.79

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea - This is the first edition. The 2nd edition is currently Kickstarting. The is an excellent option for OSR Swords & Sorcery. $6.90. All the AS&SH Adventures are on sale too. They are an excellent assortment of adventures no matter the OSR system of your choice.

vs. Ghosts is Ghostbusters with the serial numbers scratched off. It comes in at $6.87

Achtung! Cthulhu: Keeper's Guide and the rest of the line is part of the sale. WWII Mythos for the win $15.86


Cryptworld is also on sale. Its a fun time to play the horror genre. It's the Chill system you knew when you were younger. $5.49

I'm sure there are more, but there are over 4k titles in the mix. I may dig deeper later.

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's OBS affiliate links puts 5% of your purchase price into The Tavern's coffers. Don't leave that money on the table for the greedy corps! Tip your barman!  ;)

What's Your Horror? Games to Run on Halloween

Back in my High School and College days, I made a point of running a proper (more or less) horror session for my players on the weekend closest to Halloween.

Call of Cthulhu, Chill (old Pacesetter boxed set) and even a Ravenloft setting one-shot where the PCs get dragged temporarily into the mists of Ravenloft - the one that was a Pinocchio rip was probably the most disturbing for my players.

I don't do it these days, though I should. Good, or bad horror roleplaying is just perfect for the Halloween season.

So, do you run horror for the Horror-days? What's your go to system, setting, adventure?

Free Sh!t at DriveThruRPG For Halloween - IF You Can Find It...

Through November 3rd, OBS / DriveThruRPG is running a "find the pumpkins and you get free swag" promo for the Halloween season.

I've found Savage Worlds Horror Companion thus far (follow the link and click on the pumpkin for the free loot).

If you find the other freebies (there's a total of 7), post the links in the comments so the rest can share :)

I'll update this post with the links as they are found...

edit - thanks to James Smith for the heads up:

Bottom of login page, there is a pumpkin for Guide to Transylvania (AD&D 2e) (same link of the Free Stuff Page)

Click "About Us" to find the pumpkin that leads to Streets of Bedlam: A Savage World of Crime + Corruption

DriveThruCards has 5 - the first is Building an Elder God

DriveThruComics has 7 - the first is Impaler Volume 1 Trade

DriveThruFiction has 7 - the first is The Book of Apex: Volume 1 of Apex Magazine

WarGameVault has 5 - first is Red Ops 5

Free Stuff For Halloween @ OneBookShelf

Time for some scary treats!  Click the banner above to go to DriveThruRPG and hunt around for the Jack-0-Lanterns.  Click on the Jack-0-Lanterns for some free swag.

To get you started, I'll point you to two:

Kobold Quarterly Issue #15 - Go to the "FAQ PAGE" and click the Jack-0-Lantern.  It will appear in your cart for $0

All Flesh Must Be Eaten - Revised - Click the Jack-0-Lantern at the bottom of the "HOME PAGE".  Enjoy ;)

There are thirteen freebies in total.  I know I haven't found them all.  Feel free to post the others you find in the comments below, and I'll add more as I find 'em.

(don't switch between the various OBS sites without checking out with your free purchase, or else the free purchase may end up in the second cart at regular price)