Midweek Monster Mayhem - Giant Armored Slug (Swords & Wizardry Light / OSR)

Giant Armored Slugs are rarely found in the wild. Instead, they are often used as minions for powerful wizards and priests. Standing nearly 4' tall and possessing a minimum of reasoning ability, Giant Armored Slugs - often referred to as Sluggards - can understand the common tongue of man and are able to converse in three to four word sentences. Although they lack hands, their tentacled limbs allow them to wield weapons with some proficiency.Their skin forms a chitinous sort of armor but perhaps their best defense is their trail of slime, which radiates in a 5' circle around them and has been known to cause many an attacker grief.

Giant Armored Slug 
AC: 2[17]    HD: 4   Attacks: By Weapon or Bite (1d6+1) Move: 3
Special: Slime - Anyone standing within 5' of a Sluggard must make a save or be at -2 to attacks due to poor footing. Leaving the 5' radius ends the effect.

Art copyright James Shields

Midweek Monster Mayhem is brought to you by the generosity of The Tavern's Patreon Backers.

OGL

Update to State of The Tavern - Createspace Has ACCEPTED the Submitted Files for Swords & Wizardry Continual Light

Color me surprised. Createspace, like others, flat out said you needed embedded text in your submitted PDF and I had none. Woke up this morning to an email stating they had corrected any issues and I could order proofs!

Sweet. I've ordered five copies. It cost more to ship that to print the proofs. If the cost doesn't change when Swords & Wizardry Continual Light goes POD at Amazon I expect the retail price will be under 4 bucks, possibly $3.50.

Now just waiting on notification from OneBookShelf that the PDF of SWCL is live ;)

State of The Tavern - Let There Be LIGHT! Er, Right. Soon...

Wow. Its been a busy week here at The Tavern. After stepping away from InDesign and moving back to Lucid Press, I finally got Swords & Wizardry Continual Light laid out. Earlier this evening I submitted the PDF file to OneBookShelf. As a still wet behind the ears publisher I have to wait a few days for it to get approved. Just know it's in process and around the corner.

Bad news. I found out that Lucid Press does not imbed fonts to its PDFs which means none of the online POD storefronts will take the file. Boo! So, it looks like I will need to go back to InDesign for the print files. That's okay though, as the pressure is much less ;)

In the meantime, I may simply print out a few dozen copies in digest format. I just ordered a decent paper trimmer on Amazon.

Oh, and before I forget, there is a Slasher Hack for Swords & Wizardry Light that just released by Justin Isaac for the amazing price of FREE! I love finding SWL hacks in the wilderness. You can grab Slashers & Victims Light here.

Midweek Monster Mayhem will go up tomorrow. Yeah, I'm playing catch up...

Kickstarter - Aliens & Asteroids: Sci-fi Horror Roleplaying

Its so easy to do a Kickstarter "wrong". So, what are the signs of doing one right?

Art that captures your attention? Check!

Knowing your limitations? Check!

Defined stretch goals? Check!

Setting a funding level where there will be no further stretch goals? Checkity check check...

Failsafes in place in case one or more team members can't stay with the project to the end? Nice to see this :)

Pledge levels that don't need a spread sheet to keep track of? Oh my God, yes!

Aliens & Asteroids has done a great job with the above checklist AND looks pretty cool too. Who doesn't want to play Ripley and team against the facehuggers and the brood mother? ;)

10 bucks for the PDF and all stretch goals in digital. 25 bucks for softcover rulebook, PDF and digital stretch goals. Oh yeah, keeping stretch goals in digital keeps costs down. Need to add that to the checklist.

Yep, I'm in for the dead tree level. Don't tell Rach. It will be our little secret ;)

Kickstarter - Frank Mentzer's Worlds of Empyrea Fantasy Setting to Reboot on Monday, October 16th

Worlds of Empyrea had a fairly strong start to its funding, but compared to its lofty goal of $250k it was fairly apparent it was most likely to fall short. This, it was announced last night that the Kickstarter would be rebooting this coming Monday - 10/16/17. Strangely enough, the current Kickstarter is still open for new pledges.

Some things that need to be addressed in the reboot IMHO:

• More details of the actual project - looking at the preview page, this has been done.
• Actual updates - first update was the only one in a week and a half and that was last night announcing the reboot.
• Generate excitement ON the Kickstarter page itself. Social media and interviews are fine, but a lively Kickstarter page draws in backers. This means frequent updates with meat on the bone and lively and timely responses to backers on the comments page.
• The list of Legendary Guest Artists is impressive and extensive. What we need is some sample art from those listed.

I'm far from a Kickstarter expert. I've never run one. I do, however, follow them closely.

We'll follow up on Monday with the Reboot Announcement.

Coming Soon - Swords & Wizardry Continual Light - PDF and POD

I'm hoping to upload the files for Swords & Wizardry Continual Light to RPGNow and CreateSpace sometime tomorrow. If all goes well, it should be ready for download this weekend.

Pricing will be PWYW at RPGNow, both for the PDF and for the Print copy once it goes live (POD will have to wait on proof approval, so it may take a few weeks before its available). There will be a color cover version and a greyscale cover version to accommodate those that wish to print at come. Createspace will be POD and probably priced at a buck above cost.

Swords & Wizardry Continual Light is 17 pages of rules covering the four core races, four core classes (and eight optional classes), seven levels of play (with optional rules for 7+), magic items, monsters and all the goodness that you need to play - except for a handful of six-sided dice and a twenty-sided die.

Swords & Wizardry Light is 4 pages, four core races, four core classes and three levels. Join the Swords & Wizardry Legion Facebook Group and ask for a Legion folder - they will actually snail mail you a folder, SWL rules, graph paper and more for free. You know you want it :)

Humble Bundle - Paizo / Pathfinder plus Dynamite Comics

I am not a Pathfinder fan. No secret there. I do, however, think that the Pathfinder Beginner Box is one of the best RPG releases of this decade. Shame Paizo didn't know what to do with it.

Anyhow, you can get the Pathfinder Beginner Box, the Pathfinder Core rules, some PF adventures, maps, a bunch of comics and more in PDF for one lousy buck on Humble Bundle. Seriously.

The more you pay, the more you get, but the one buck level is hard to pass up.

Of course, if you go in for $45 they'll mail some minis to your house ;)

Kickstarter - D20 / D30 RPG & DCC Dice Chain Sets -New D17, D19, D26 & D28

I'm a sucker for dice. I think most gamers are. Each one is like a gem and we like to hoard them or at least I know I do ;)

I've backed Kickstarters from Impact! Miniatures before and I've been very happy with the results. Heres my bag of glow in the dark and teal DCC RPG Dice from a previous KS:

Damn good stuff :)

In any case, the latest KS from Impact Miniatures - D20 / D30 RPG & DCC Dice Chain Sets -New D17, D19, D26 & D28 - just launched yesterday and it has funded AND already hit its second stretch goal.

Impact Miniatures Kickstarters are all about customizing the dice you get - seriously, go to the page linked above and look at your options. I'm sure you'll find the right one for you.

Now, which set should I get this time....

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight - 9PM

Do I think Swords & Wizardry Continual Light is going to come up in tonight's Tavern Chat? You tell me ;)

When? Tonight - 9PM Eastern

Where? The Tavern's Discord Server. We mostly use voice these days. Some just hand out to listen. Over 20 logged into the voice chat is not unheard of. Text Chat is fairly lively too.

Invite to the Discord Chat: https://discord.gg/6Wse5J

Voice chat is held in the Open Bar Channel. Text chat for tonight will be held in tavern-chat-wed-9pm-eastern.

See y'all in just over an hour.

TSR in Print - Swords & Spells (Supplement V) - OD&D

The latest of the TSR Era Print on Demand releases is Swords & Spells for White Box Dungeons & Dragons. Bringing miniatures warfare back to D&D ;)

Sure, maybe it doesn't say Supplement V on the cover, but we've all referred to it as that.

$4.99 in PDF, $9.99 on POD and $11.99 for PDF + POD.

Swords & Wizardry Continual Light "Pre-Release" has 140 Downloads in 11 Hours - Thank You!

To say I'm excited is an understatement. 140 downloads in 11 hours of the Swords & Wizardry Continual Light "Pre-Release" rules is simply awesome!

Its a pre-release because I've asked the community to give it a read through and let me know of any corrections needed or omissions there may be. I'm hoping to have a "final" copy ready to be uploaded to OBS this weekend. POD is planned. Pricing will be PWYW in either case.

http://bit.ly/SWCLprerelease

Original post with "Change Log"

I've included the following in the current working document for those (like me) that wish to use Swords & Wizardry Complete resources with Swords & Wizardry Continual Light:

CONVERTING SWORDS & WIZARDRY COMPLETE RESOURCES TO SWORDS & WIZARDRY CONTINUAL LIGHT 

There is a large amount of resources for Swords & Wizardry, the bulk of which is written for Swords & Wizardry Complete (SWC). The good news is, converting from SWC to SWCL is a snap if you follow these basic guidelines. 

Remember that SWCL defaults to a d6 for HD and basic weapon damage whereas SWC defaults to a d8. Therefore, do the following: 

Hit Dice / Hit Points - Decrease HP of SWC monsters by 1 HP per HD in published adventures. 

Damage Rolls / Dice Conversion - Use the following Chart: 

SWC Dice   SWCL Dice

1d12          1d6+2
1d10         1d6+1
1d8           1d6
1d6           1d6-1
1d4           1d3
1d3           1d2

Armor Class (AC) - remains unchanged.

Swords & Wizardry Continual Light "Pre-Release" Available for Download

I've put aside InDesign for now and returned to Lucid Press. Lo and behold, we have a usable "pre-release" version of Swords & Wizardry Continual Light available for your perusal (that's a DropBox link)

The rules are complete but not all of the art has been added. I am only human, and there may be typos and editing mistakes - if there are, they are my mistakes alone. Help a brother out. If you find any mistakes, let me know with a comment on this post. I already know the character sheet looks like shit. Consider that a "work in progress" ;)

What is Swords & Wizardry Continual Light? Its 7 levels of old school gaming wrapped up in 18 pages of rules. With these rules, a d6 and a d20 and a little imagination, you can run a whole campaign.

Come to think of it, I should add some notes on converting Swords & Wizardry Complete adventures to Swords & Wizardry Continual Light...

Change Log: 

10/11/17
Added Cleric's starting gear
Fixed saves wording
Small tweaks
Intro fixed
Shadow updated
Perks explained better

           

Kickstarter - Fantasy Stock Art & RPG Minis (JE Shields)

I'm just going to come out and say it - 50+ pieces of stock art for 50 bucks from an artist of the caliber of +James Shields is beyond ridiculous in pricing.

As a small (if not minuscule) self publisher, quality stock art at an affordable price is a necessity. James Shields has you covered.

I'm in for $50. Seriously, if you you publish your own work, James Shield's Fantasy Stock Art & RPG Minis needs to be on your list of resources.

Kickstarter - Burial Plots (CryptWorld Adventures)

The thing I really liked about the original (Pacesetter) version of Chill was that is was, in a way, Call of Cthulhu with hope and some camp. Strict horror can be depressing to play longterm, but Chill did longterm campaigns well.

CryptWorld is the old Pacesetter game engine with a horror theme much like the original Chill. Think of it as a Chill retroclone.

Burial Plots, written by +Tim Snider , is a book of five adventures for CryptWorld. The adventures are written. The Kickstarter is to pay for the interior art. It has reached its funding goal AND an early, art free PDF is available to backers right now.

15 bucks gets you the PDF and an at cost Print version.

30 bucks gets you the PDF and an at cost Print version AND the PDF and at cost Print version of one of the Pacesetter rulebooks, including CryptWorld if you need it. Now THAT is a deal.

Kickstarter - Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport (Alpha Blue / OSR SciFi)

Say what you want about Venger Santanis (and some will ;) - his Kickstarters ALWAYS have amazing (if provocative) art, they are always on time and are a good value for their money.

While I may not have much personal use for Alpha Blue, a starport / mutant wasteland that can be easily ported into White Star IS something I have use for.

That's what Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport is - starport, mutant wasteland and I expect a whole lotta future inspiration for my White Star gaming. Maybe even port it to Mutant Crawl Classics or Mutant Future.

Basic buy in is 5 bucks for the PDF.

I haven't explored the post-apocalypse genre that often, so this is a big deal to me.  I want to get deep in there and do it right, coming up with weird, outlandish things in a world devastated by cataclysmic forces. PCs will be eating crock-rat and scorpion-skunk roadkill, drinking their own piss, giving hand jobs for precious gasoline, and pretending to worship the glowing faces of a malevolent and insane god that floats somewhere in the yellow smog of the forbidden zone. Not everyone will survive.  In fact, some won't even want to.  That's just the way things are now.   

There are already a lot of cool post-apocalyptic RPGs out there.  Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport will focus on making your after-the-bomb gaming experience more awesome.  I strive to hit that sweet spot between rules-light and rules-non-existent, where flavor, story, ideas, artwork, scenario seeds, and random tables dominate.  Indeed, this book will have utility far beyond the scenario presented.  You'll want to give this to your grand-kids when they go off adventuring in post-apocalyptic lands. 

I provide you with the finest tools so that YOU can create your own irradiated landscape full of mutated skeezoid scum dogs (tentacled, of course).  But this won't be a lame outline that you have to flesh out.  No, you're in good hands - Venger's warlock hands! 

If you want a lot of crunchy, bloated, system nonsense that has no business being in a toolbox like this, then move along.  Nothing to see here...

Yep, there are affiliate links above. Using The Tavern's affiliate links helps to support The Tavern. Huzzah!

Doraleous & Associates Returns with Episode 50 - The Wonder Bridge

Actually, Doraleous & Associates returned in July, but I missed it. Episode 50 is the first episode in 3 years.

My God, I really missed this. It could be ANY of the gaming groups I've been a part of.

If you are a fan, enjoy episode 50. If you've never heard of them prior, you now have 50 episodes to catch up on ;)

Weekend Wonders - The Goblin Axe of Araz (Swords & Wizardry Light / OSR)

The Goblin Axe of Araz is a weapon created by the most devious mind of goblin-kind, Araz of the Firenose goblin tribe.

Araz wanted to supply his tribe with a weapon that would instill fear in their Dwarven enemies. As such, he designed a most fearsome axe, its head bolted with seemingly random hooks and barbs. In truth, this is where the danger lies.

While the goblin axe is unbalanced (resulting in a -1 adjustment to all to-hit rolls) its barbs inflict an additional point of damage per hit. Even more dangerous, if the attacker rolls a natural 20 on his / her to hit roll, an additional 1d6 of damage is done due to the hooks and barbs rending flesh.

Any dwarf that views a Goblin Axe of Araz in the hands of an adversary is most likely to choose the wielder as a target, as all dwarves know the intent of a Goblin Axe of Araz.



Art copyright Rick Hershey, Fat Goblin Games. Used with permission.


Thanks to The Tavern's supporters at both The Tavern's Patreon and directly through Paypal, we have a monthly backing of over $150. This means 4 to 5 monsters for Swords & Wizardry Light / OSR per month, 4 to 5 Swords & Wizardry Light / OSR magic / wondrous items per month AND backers at $1.50 a month or higher via Patreon will get a collected PDF of the prior month's releases emailed to them. Paypal backers will need to email me in the middle of October to receive theirs. This is the second release for the month of October.

Kickstarter - Heart of Varrul (Sourcebook / Setting / Adventure for White Star)

I love me some White Star. You can play it as space opera, hard scifi, mash it up with fantasy - it all works. What it lacks is setting. Sure, there are some settings for White Star, but +Pete Spahn knows sandboxes, settings and adventures.

Heart of Varrul is a setting sourcebook and a series of adventures for the White Star RPG (follow the link and it will take you to the PWYW version of the White Star rules) Its probably something you didn't even know you needed until you knew it existed ;)

Heart of Varrul is a White Star: Science Fiction Roleplaying™ campaign setting book that details the aliens, factions, and conflicts of the Rul System, Tathkee Station, and the Planet Varrul. The Rul System is on the brink of an interstellar gold rush and the PCs are poised to get involved on the ground floor. How they get involved is up to them!  

Written by Peter C. Spahn and James M. Spahn, Heart of Varrul expands on the foundation laid by the critically acclaimed White Star: Science Fiction Roleplaying™. With illustrations by longtime White Star™ artist James Shields and maps by Just Insert Imagination's Morne Schaap, Heart of Varrul is specifically designed to give Referees a readymade location to run hours of adventures.

Pete is an experienced KS project creator and he has always released strong finished projects.

15 bucks gets you the Heart of Varrul and some prior Small Niche Games White Star releases in PDF.  25 bucks gets you the same in PDF plus an at cost coupon for the print version of Heart of Varrul.

Note: Pete Spahn and +James Spahn are NOT related ;)

Open Letter from "Poo Poo Face" to #ConManKen

This is an open letter to #ConManKen. 

Kenny,

No, I'm not going to talk with you on Facebook Messenger.

Why is that? Let's see, you've threatened me with lawsuits, federal and local criminal charges, having the FBI pick me up at home... really, you've run the gauntlet. It was all bullshit and empty threats. I know, you are used to bullying people when you can't charm them. Neither works on me.

What you haven't done is:

Complete even ONE of your outstanding Kickstarter obligations.

What you have done is:

Now you are making some vague sort of threat?

Kenny, please understand. So long as you keep attempting to separate honest folks from their cash, I will be watching your every move and reporting what is relevant to the gaming community. We'll, I'm not exactly watching your every move. But folks you have fucked over in the past are. Friends. Coworkers. Maybe even the guy fixing your toilet. They all feed me info on your latest money making scams.

Then there is Not Another Dime, probably one of the best investigative websites on the net these days, and its devoted solely to you.

Do yourself a favor, your backers a favor, everyone a favor - complete your obligations. Really, is it so hard? I mean, from what I can gather from Not Another Dime you probably made 50k under the table recently. For that you could at least get some Pencil Dice completed.

Oh, and stop trying shortcuts. They never work.

Yours in medias res,

Poo Poo Face

Midweek Monster Mayhem - Razor Rat (Swords & Wizardry Light / OSR)

Razor Rats appear to be part rat, part dog and part lizard. Standing one foot high at the shoulder and about two feet from snout to end of tail, Razor Rats and pack hunters. They hunt in packs of 2 to 12 and will generally choose just one or two targets in a party in an attempt to drag them to the ground. If a target is attacked by 3 or more Razor Rats, all attacks will be + 1 to hit due to the swarming effect.

Razor Rats will flee if confronted by fire or if they suffer casualties of half the pack or more.

Razor Rat
AC: 7[12]    HD: 1+1 Attacks: Swarm / Bite 1d6-1 Move: 15
Special: Swarm - if 3 or more Razor Rats are attacking a single target, attacks are at + 1

Art copyright James Shields

Midweek Monster Mayhem is brought to you by the generosity of The Tavern's Patreon Backers.

OGL