Tenkar's Tavern Mid-Week Roundup for Thursday, May 12, 2016

What is the mid-week roundup?

It is events and interesting posts from our corner of the OSR. Could be links to previous posts here at The Tavern or from other blogs in my "I read their blogs" circle or other stuff that strikes my fancy. Just call me "Mr. Fancypants"

Probably the largest discussion taking place in gaming this week was in answer to +Christopher Helton 's article on ENWord. I had my own words to say on the topic, which can be read here. It's all about what games are worth. In does fall into living wage discussions over in the ENWorld thread, but there is some good discussion to be found if you look hard enough. Just avoid the whole "living wage" trap and you'll do okay ;)

+Timothy Brannan addresses an RPGnet thread, about of all things, the "Much Maligned" 5th edition of D&D over at The Other Side Blog. If we were talking about early versions of the D&D Next Playtest, yeah, it was a mess at points. While the final version of 5e isn't everything I might have wanted it to be, neither is Swords & Wizardry, my usual go to game. Oh, as a bonus, The Pundit chimes in.

+matt jackson has released his Cartological Review, series 2015, volume 1 as a free download from his blog. Grab it, print it out and run with it. Without scissors please...

Earlier this week I received my monthly micro adventures offering from +Tim Shorts of Gothridge Manor fame. Want to see what you're missing? Go to the link.

+Rob Conley has an interesting breakdown on what the Traveller's Aid Society offers to small publishers (and what it doesn't). I missed this earlier (it's from May 2) but it's well worth the read.

Tenkar's Tavern Mid-Week Roundup for Thursday, April 28, 2016

What is the mid-week roundup?

It is events and interesting posts from our corner of the OSR. Could be links to previous posts here at The Tavern or from other blogs in my "I read their blogs" circle or other stuff that strikes my fancy. Just call me "Mr. Fancypants"

Probably the biggest news and biggest scare around the OSR this past week was Chuck Wright's hospitalization and amputation of his lower leg. You can read more about it on this Tavern post, as well as where to make a donation and the gift pool that has been donated to reward donors to the cause. If can give, please do.

Matt Jackson

Of course, we can't forget the Savage Worlds: Rifts Kickstarter (where I leave off the "®" because I can, for shit's and giggles). Less than 48 hours into funding and it's sitting at $176,501 in pledges. The Most Unread Blog on the Internet has a peek at the Savage Worlds: Rifts Player's Guide. First impressions look pretty good. Of course, I'm already in for the core books in print. What can I say, I'm a Rifts player from the early 90s. Never did run a session - had too much fun running suicidal Crazies to get distracted by GMing or some such nonsense ;)

I love the subtle use of colors on +matt jackson 's maps, and this week's pick is no exception. So, who has the app or program that turns the unskilled into master mappers? Seriously, Matt and Dyson are mappers to watch, and I do.

Dyson Logos

Speaking of Dyson, +Dyson Logos ' map of the week, Behomoth Lookout, is a stunner. Somehow it makes me think of Game of Thrones, but that's probably because the latest season kicked of this past Sunday and it's fresh on my mind. I just love the way this castle is set up and the moat is perfect. Yeah, I can see this castle getting use in one of my sessions.

+Tim Shorts over at the Gothridge Manor has an interesting article on Developing a Plan on the Go. Even more interesting to me as I see some of the thinking that went on when Tim and the rest of the "B Team" playtested some StarSlinger for me. It's a "thinking" article, which doesn't seem to apply so much to the "A Team". Their motto seems to be "consequences, schmonsequences - as long as I'm rich" ;)

That's all for this week. Well, all for this week's roundup. More posts to come later today...

Tenkar's Tavern Mid-Week Roundup for Thursday, April 21, 2016

By Tenkar using OWM

What is the mid-week roundup?

It is events and interesting posts from our corner of the OSR. Could be links to previous posts here at The Tavern or from other blogs in my "I read their blogs" circle or other stuff that strikes my fancy. Just call me "Mr. Fancypants"




Mini Review - Other World Mapper (So Easy Even Tenkar Can Figure it Out) - Yep, my mini-review of the Other World Mapper program. Sure, it's 60 bucks to buy int the beta, but if 60 bucks can get me a mapping program that someone like me can get decent results from AND it's only going to get better, you've got something awesome. (results not guaranteed. typical results may exceed those shown. Tenkar is currently considering treatment for his OWM addiction)

By Dyson using Pen & Paper

Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day - Yep, last Sunday was the annual Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day. Lots of goodness to share. +R.J. Thompson of the Gamers & Grognards blog hosted it this year and you can visit for the links to S&W festivities.

Leadventures in Miniature - one of the things I told myself I'd get back into when I actually retired is painting miniatures. I was never all that good at it, but it was fun to do in the spare time of my college days and I do have way too many Reaper Bones. I'll be digging deeper into LiM for painting
inspiration.

By Matt Jackson using Colors

Monkey House Games (Jeff Dee and Jack Herman) Reaches Settlement to Publish Villains & Vigilantes - simply good news for Jeff and Jack AND for the hobby in general. Now the lads can get back to what they do best - making games.

The Fevered Caves - obligatory +Dyson Logos entry of the week. Yeah, simply oodles of gaming inspiration in this one map. Yes, oodles is a word - my spell check says so.

The Implicarius of Archdeacon San Denaramis - more mapping goodness by +matt jackson . Yeah, I'll never come close to the masters. Hell, I never hit "pro-am". But I';; always have something to strive for ;)

Tenkar's Tavern Mid-Week Roundup for Thursday, April 14, 2016

What is the mid-week roundup?

It is events and interesting posts from our corner of the OSR. Could be links to previous posts here at The Tavern or from other blogs in my "I read their blogs" circle or other stuff that strikes my fancy. Just call me "Mr. Fancypants"

The Six Unholy Pillars of the Vinagroon by +matt jackson is another example of awesome mapping. Matt has an excellent intuition for the use of color. Can you tell I love maps? Can you tell I'm piss poor at making my own? Matt does many of these maps with the support of his patrons over on Patreon.

Free GM Resource: Prism Dice over at The Frugal GM. The shame is it's a Windows based dice app and I'm a Mac user these days. Still, for those of you using Windows (even as far back as Win95) you should be able to get some use out of this. Not so sure why it's called Prism Dice, but hey, it's free.

Crypts and Sewers is the latest map posted by +Dyson Logos . I've got an idea for this map that I may run past Dyson himself. As many of his maps are, this map is made available to  a free license for personal or commercial use thanks to the supporters of Dyson's Patreon Campaign. Yes, I'm a bit of a map fiend. Seems like maps are constantly making this weekly roundup.


As if there wasn't enough drama in the old school gaming arena already, here's your links to more. Do you want to read about Fake-Activist Swine Totalitarians in our hobby trying to use claims of harassment to take over tabletop gaming. How about White Male Terrorism... and what you can do about it! Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. Shock jockery and old school gaming. But hey, at least now you know what folks are talking about in social media.


Need to clean your palate after clicking on the above links? Need to be reminded about the true depth and generosity of the old school gaming movement? Want a chance to win something cool? Win a Far Away Land Quick Start Rulebook! I really enjoy the FAL system and brought some PAH (printed at home) copies of the FAL Quickstart to last years NTRPG Con. This is an honest to god, color cover, professionally printed FAL Quickstart. Time to enter runs out at midnight, Friday April 15th, 2016.

Tenkar's Tavern Mid-Week Roundup for Thursday, April 7, 2016

Mid-week roundup is something I'm going to experiment with. I'm guessing it will move to Wednesday's in the future but who knows. Still trying to adjust to "free time" and the day of the week doesn't have as much importance as it used to ;)

What is the mid-week roundup?

It is events and interesting posts from our corner of the OSR. Could be links to previous posts here at The Tavern or from other blogs in my "I read their blogs" circle or other stuff that strikes my fancy. Just call me "Mr. Fancypants"

There's Charcoal in Them Thar Hills - +Tim Shorts gives us The Charcoaler's Ransom: A Mix of History and Gaming. I love Tim's color maps and they are even nicer when printed and laminated. Follow the link to Tim's Patreon to download the adventure for free and consider supporting his Patreon.

Martial Elf Ranger of the 1st Forest - +Fabio Milito Pagliara , of the Castelli & Chimere - Castles & Chimeras blog gives us an ACKS write up of an AD&D 1e type ranger. Nice and solid, it should fit in fairly well with an OSR game with little tweaking needed.

If its Free, its For Me! - the Frugal GM, aka +Christopher Stogdill has a smorgasbord of free goodies linked on his site. It easier just to go there and grab some free shit than it is for me to tell you about the free shit ;)

One Page, Many Dead Adventurers - One Page Dungeon 2016 is taking entries. You have until May 1st, 2016 to get your entry in. If you aren't looking to enter, enjoy the labors of others from previous years.

The Moon Spire - +matt jackson gives us the Moon Spire over at his msjx blog. Matt is a skilled and prolific mapper and has a Patreon to support his ongoing work.

Alright, that's it for this week's Mid-Week Roundup. Check out more old school blogs at The Tavern's Patreon Backers Blogroll on the right side of this page and at The Common Room's Blog Forum.

Tenkar's Tavern Mid-Week Roundup for Thursday, March 31, 2016

Mid-week roundup is something I'm going to experiment with. I'm guessing it will move to Wednesday's in the future but who knows. Still trying to adjust to "free time" and the day of the week doesn't have as much importance as it used to ;)

What is the mid-week roundup?

Events and interesting posts from our corner of the OSR. Could be links to previous posts here at The Tavern or from other blogs in my "I read their blogs" circle or other stuff that strikes my fancy. Just call me "Mr. Fancypants"

Releasing the Kraken!

+Dyson Logos of Dyson's Dodecahedron just went to eleven. His Patreon has hit the support level need that he is now going back to some of his previous work and releasing it under a free commercial use license. First one up? Just look to the right...



They're Coming Over the Wall!

+James Spahn , he of White Star, The Hero's Journey and many other best selling releases on RPGNow, gives a highly rated review on his Halfling's Luck blog to none other than Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures. To be honest, it's a game that ever really hit my radar, but after reading James' review I know I need to grab a copy. It seems like the system is perfect for creating a cohesive adventuring party right out of the box.


It's a Hero's Journey

Olde House Rules over at the Pits Perilous blog reviews The Hero's Journey by +James Spahn . Hero's Journey is a product I've been following since fairly early in it's development and I'm suspecting a mashup of Beyond the Wall and Hero's Journey could come close to matching my love for all things Swords & Wizardry.

Good Rules for Selling Goodies

+Tim Shorts of the Gothridge Manor blog has a series of posts dealing with Selling Your Loot. It's two posts into the series with more to come. There's some good GMing advice thus far, but that's nothing new for Tim.

What a Witch

+Timothy Brannan of The Other Side blog has written up Koliada, The Winter Witch for both BECMI and D&D 5e. She is a bad ass in both rule sets... heh. If you didn't already know, Tim really digs witches and has even released a Witch Sourcebook for OSR / Classic D&D games.

K, that's it for this week. Unless it isn't...

It isn't!

Heh

Last weekend Tenkar's Tavern opened up a new forum called The Common Room. The idea is to have a place where old school publishers, bloggers, conventions, podcasts, artists, writers and the rest of the OSR can find each other. Check it out. Sign in (using the social media app of your choice) and sign up. It's your community. It's your Common Room.

BTW, The Common Room needs more reviews linked. I'm sure many of you have already posted reviews on your own blogs, so why night make sure they get more eyes on them?

Tenkar's Tavern Mid-Week Roundup for Thursday, March 24, 2016

Mid-week roundup is something I'm going to experiment with. I'm guessing it will move to Wednesday's in the future but who knows. Still trying to adjust to "free time" and the day of the week doesn't have as much importance as it used to ;)

What is the mid-week roundup?

Events and interesting posts from our corner of the OSR. Could be links to previous posts here at The Tavern or from other blogs in my "I read their blogs" circle or other stuff that strikes my fancy. Just call me "Mr. Fancypants"

Maps from a Master Mapper

Temple of The Four Gods - +Dyson Logos - Dyson's Dodecahedron Blog - multiple levels, multiple goodness. What you see here is just a small peek. Bookmark the page before you forget ;)

White Box - Cyberpunk

Save Vs. Poison Blog - looking to add some cyberpunk to your White Box / White Star game? Look no further. DungeonMastahWieg has you covered. Multiple posts, so read and read deep.

Tavern Patrons, Not The Tavern

+Tim Shorts of the Gothridge Manor blog put together a random table of 6 Tavern Patrons. Being a lover of all things Tavern, I had to share this :)

Kickstarter Drama

Want to read some of the recent Kickstarter related drama for projects long overdue with creators that lie - misspeak without even moving their lips? The Tavern's got you covered. Ken or Tom, the choice is yours.

Bundles of Gaming Joy

OpenQuest 2 and the original WEG Paranoia are being featured on Bundle of Holding. Get OpenQuest 2 to play it and get Paranoia to read it. You wont be sorry in either case.

Hot and Free? It's for me!

The Hero's Journey Fantasy Roleplaying by +James Spahn has been in the #1 best seller spot on RPGNow pretty steadily for the past week and a half. Actually, it only released on March 14th, so it's held on to that spot for it's entire run. Pretty impressive for a Pay What You Want release, as it's my understanding that only copies folks actually pay for are counted towards those sales figures. Grab a copy, see if you like it and if you do, go back and put some coins in the tip jar for James. If you don't like it - well, you risked nothing but your time.

K, that's it for this week's Mid-Week Roundup.