Kickstarter - Elements of Inspiration - Bring Your World To Life! (Cards for Gaming Inspiration)

Let's see. I've known the principle behind Nord Games for a number of years and we've been known to talk at gaming conventions - when I was going to such. As for the Nord Games Community Manager, I've known Ben "The Best Hair in the OSR" for a number of years, when he could have rightfully been called a kid to now, all grown up, and I consider him a friend, even if he does critique my drinking red wine with ice. 

Nord Games has a history of putting out good and most importantly, useable products with their Kickstarters, and Elements of Inspiration appears to raise even that high bar.

As an improv style DM, resources like the decks in Elements of Inspiration are my bread and butter. I'm in for $50, for the print plus PDF.

As I type this, the Elements of Inspiration Kickstarter has funded and then some - over $84k from a $20k goal.

Set off for adventure with Elements Of Inspiration! The most expansive, detailed, and dynamic tool for fantasy roleplaying games and storytelling we've ever created. This 420-card box set contains 9 decks, each for a different environment. So no matter where the heroes go, there will be exciting events to experience.

Decks within the Elements Of Inspiration Box Set are based on common and exotic environments found in fantasy adventures including: Urban, Forest, Mountains, Underground, Waterways, Tundra, Deserts, Plains, and Swamps.

We've based our card types on the three pillars of gameplay emphasized in the world's greatest roleplaying game: Exploration, Roleplay, and Combat.

Each card has a cue word and explanatory paragraph to spark your imagination. There are also four options listed that pertain to the cue word for added variety and inspiration. Finally there are three icons at the bottom of each card that present additional intrigue such as moon phase, weather conditions, and supernatural signs. Each of these card elements can be used to form a more and more detailed picture of this particular aspect of the story.

 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. 

30% Off Frog God, Troll Lord, Kobold Press and More - For Just a Buck!

Earlier this evening, a friend reached out to me about how to get a Frog God Games title, in Print at a discount. Because as you all know, that is the kind of "influence" I have ;) Then it hit me, the current Humble RPG Book Bundle: 5TH Edition Beast of a Bundle includes just that - a 30% discount at Frog God Games AND Kobold Press, Troll Lord Games, Nord Games, Nerdarchy, Fail Squad Games and TPK Games for as little as a buck. Oh, and a bunch of cool PDFs too.

Just over 3 1/2 days left in this sale. Get your coupons before the clock runs out on this one! :)

And yes, that is an affiliate link above. A portion of the monies you spend via that link will go to support The Tavern. I thank you in advance.

Kickstarter - Ultimate Bestiary: The Dreaded Accursed for 5th Edition!

"Over 130 new horrific monsters to add to your 5th Edition game! More details, more options, more variations, more fun!"

I love me some monster books and undead monster books generally "take it to eleven" for me. (forgive the Spinal Tap reference)

Ultimate Bestiary: The Dreaded Accursed for 5th Edition! looks to be my cup of tea, even if it is for 5e ;) Seriously, great art and concept from a publisher that has delivered solid 5e releases in the past.

Ultimate Bestiary: The Dreaded Accursed is not another A-Z of monsters. Instead, following on from its predecessor Ultimate Bestiary: Revenge of the Horde, we have focused on some of the commonly encountered undead and accursed monsters like ghosts, ghouls, liches, lycanthropes, and vampires, detailing their origins, environments, and attitudes, as well as introducing a wide variety of stat blocks to suit a range of challenge levels, with a huge variety of unique artwork.

Then its little pieces like the following that truly stand out to me:

Please make sure tankards are washed PROMPTLY and THOROUGHLY. Arteus is clearly upset by mess and clutter and I don’t want to spend another day cleaning up the common-room and scrubbing blood out of the walls. YES, it is hypocritical that he wrecks the place when he’s upset. NO, there is no value in trying to point that out to him.  

-Note posted behind the bar in The Famous Spirit taproom

20 bucks for the PDF. 40 bucks for the hardcover. If I only ran 5e...  ;P

Kickstarter - Treacherous Traps for 5th Edition!

Nord Games does some solid RPG Kickstarters. Even though they are generally for 5th edition, the cover concepts that convert easily to OSR rulesets or even - dare I say it - Pathfinder.

The Treacherous Traps for 5th Edition! Kickstarter looks to be a good fit for OSR gamers DESPITE having 5th Edition in its title  ;)

Treacherous Traps is an incredible resource for game masters who are looking to get more out of their dungeon design. The book contains two hundred and fifty pre-built traps ranging in level and severity so that you can always find the perfect trap for your party. 

There is also a chapter containing a random trap generator written, in part, by the legendary Steve Winter. This chapter contains fifty trap triggers, and fifty trap effects that, when combined, create up to twenty-five hundred different combinations.  

Although the content in this book and collection of card decks is written for 5th Edition D&D, the trap concepts and mechanics can be easily adapted for use with other editions of D&D as well as other fantasy themed tabletop RPGs. (emphasis mine)

There are lots of options for backing. Single deck for 12 bucks (50 traps), 16 bucks for a 100 card random trap generator deck (very tempting), 20 for the book in PDF, 40 for the book in hardcover - and levels for multiple decks and such. I'm thinking the random trap generator deck for me.

Humble RPG Book Bundle: 5th Edition Fantasy – Dragons, Dungeons, Maps & More

The Frogs and their friends are at it again, this time with a 5e bundle (which can easily be converted on the fly to the OSR system of your choice)

Presenting the Humble RPG Book Bundle: 5th Edition Fantasy – Dragons, Dungeons, Maps & More

Let's see what we have, shall we?

One buck gets you the following:

If you spend 8 bucks or more, you get the 1 buck level AND the following:

I think 15 bucks is the sweet spot. Heck, the Rappan Athuk digital maps is literally a new release and is 25 bucks on the Frog God webstore.

All sales of the Humble RPG Book Bundle: 5TH Edition Fantasy – Dragons, Dungeons, Maps & More via The Tavern's affiliate links put a portion of the proceeds into The Tavern's coffers as well as Hospice of the Northwest.

Kickstarter - Artifices of Quartztoil Tower - a 5E Adventure

I've been pleased with Nord Games previous releases. Heck, the dungeon tiles were raided by Pinkie so she could build her dungeons "Anywhere Uncle! I can even take it to school!" I'm expect that inevitable phone call from my sister of "Do you know what you God-daughter did in school today?"

Anyhow, the latest Nord Games Kickstarter is Artifices of Quartztoil Tower. It a 5th Edition adventure scaling for variable levels. Yep, it tweak between low, medium and high. I'm interested in seeing how well that works. Oh, and yes its for 5e, but since I've converted PF and DCC to S&W on the fly, 5e should be an even smoother fit.

5 bucks for PDF, 10 bucks for print and 13 bucks for print plus PDF. Thats for 50 t0 60 full color pages and 3 to 5 sessions of gameplay. The value offered is sizable.

In the Next Tenkar's Tavern Crate - There will be Castles & Crusades

When I returned to gaming after about 10 years away, the first thing I stumbled across was Castles & Crusades. Back then, it was the first print of the C&C Player's Handbook. Monsters & Treasure wasn't even on the radar - if you wanted monsters, you broke out your AD&D Monster Manual and your DMG for magical treasures.

Well, guess what? The next Tenkar's Tavern Crate will have the latest printing of the Castles & Crusades Player's Handbook. If that isn't a sweet prize, I'm not sure what is.

But wait! You might need some treasures to go along with that book.

Nord Games is supplying it's 5e Treasure Deck for levels 5 to 8. Yeah, I know it says 5e, but I have these cards and they work just as well for the OSR system of your choice, like, say C&C or S&W ;)

There might be dice from a Gen Con back in the last century and I heard there might be something from Dyson. Rumors, perhaps, but strong ones. Oh, and other loot, but sometimes surprises are nice.

Sign up is on the right side of this page. Every subscription helps to support The Tavern doing what it does best. What's that, you ask? A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a whole bunch of OSR.

Hmmm, maybe for December we'll need to do a White Box Christmas...