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Saturday, May 9, 2020

Hospitalized - The Urination

So, I was hospitalized yesterday for water retention and an as yet to be determined heart issue. Before we can do the angioplasty I need to pee about 2 1/2 gallons. Not a bad job if you can snag it :)

So far, about a bit over 2 quarts thus far today. About 2 quarts made a mess of the ER yesterday. Oops ie

Friday, May 8, 2020

Thursday, May 7, 2020

New Release: Grimtooth's Tomb of the Warhammer T&T GM Adventure


Grimtooth's Tomb of the Warhammer T&T GM Adventure - 3.95
Can you go where no Trolls dare to tread? 
Long ago, the elves killed Grimtooth's father in a great battle, They hid the troll leader's body and his mystic warhammer somewhere in the vast plains beyond the Forest of Doom. After Years of searching, Grimtooth the Troll has finally located his Father's tomb, but the elves have magically rigged it so that no troll can enter. Now Grimtooth (ruler of his own kingdom Trapsylvania) is looking for a party of foolhardy adventurers to enter Grimfang's Tomb and return with the legendary warhammer. 
This adventure has been converted for use in Tunnels & Trolls and includes a copy of the T&T Mini-Rules, allowing Grimtooth fans learn T&T as well get this GM adventure. 
Originally written by Ken St Andre & Steve Crompton it was published by Goodman Games as a DCC rpg adventure. Goodman Games has graciously given Flying Buffalo permission to put this T&T converted version of Tomb of the Warhammer on Drive-thru. We've added some more art and more details on where in Trollworld this adventure takes place. (If you've played Vaults of K'Horror this adventure is nearby and makes for a worthy continuations of that campaign.) Note that this adventure is for higher level T&T characters of 9th level & up - so you have been warned! "Grimtooth is not for sissies bub!" (as the Troll himself might say)

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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Humble Bundle - WARHAMMER 40K RPG DEATHWATCH BY CUBICLE 7


I have the Warhammer 40k Deathwatch Core rulebook and it is a beast of a book. I'm already all in at 18 bucks ;)

Link to Warhammer 40k RPG Bundle here





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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Indiegogo - Grimmsgate



A low-level adventure for Swords & Wizardry, 5e D&D and Pathfinder 1e, written by Matt Finch.

Yes, I already have the original printing of Grimmsgate for Swords & Wizardry. Forgive me if I want the new, snazzy printing ;)

NOTE: Thank you to the many fans who requested a Swords & Wizardry option for this book. That option is now available as its own perk. To receive your copy of Grimmsgate in the Swords & Wizardry version, please select S&W PDF Only or S&W Softcover Book + PDF.  To make a change your existing order please contact pexx@froggodgames.com for assistance.

An Adventure for 5th Edition D&D and Pathfinder First Edition, for Characters Level 1-3

Deep in the wooded wilderness, the village of Grimmsgate is an outpost town on a seldom-traveled trail, right at the edge of nowhere. The village’s half-ruined temple of Law, dilapidated inn, drunken blacksmith, exiled trader and a few fur-trappers are enough to keep the bloody-minded denizens of the dark forest at bay, but nobody really expects the village to still be there in another ten years. The woods have become too dangerous for the trappers who once caught animals for fur, and merchants no longer travel the poorly-maintained road.

What great evil and what fabulous treasures are to be found in these lands? A brave band of adventurers might make their fortunes here. Or perhaps they might never return …

What's Inside?

A small village with map, key, and information for the characters to learn about the area
A wilderness map and key for outdoor adventures
A temple and underground complex with a dark mystery
A variety of new monsters

Monday, May 4, 2020

News - Kickstarter Prepares to Shed 'Up to 45-Percent' Of Staff -



I talked about this a bi6 on tonight's Tavern Chat podcast, but I thought it was important enough to touch on here.

Original Gizmodo article
“While people are continuing to support live projects on Kickstarter as normal, the COVID crisis has led to a 35% drop in live projects from a year ago,” David Gallagher, Kickstarter’s senior communications officer, told Gizmodo in an email. (Less than a month ago, the company stated that “the number of live projects on Kickstarter is down about 25% from this time last year,” suggesting the financial situation is continuing to worsen.) “Fees on funded projects are our only source of income. Our margins were already thin before the crisis, and we don’t know when this situation will turn around,” Gallagher stated. 
The news of potential layoffs were reported last month, but the size of those reductions staff reductions was only made public last night by OPEIU, the union which Kickstarter employees successfully joined in February, becoming the first major tech company to organize. According to the union, members “voted tonight to ratify a lay-off agreement with the crowdfunding company after CEO Aziz Hasan announced sweeping layoffs of up to 45 percent of employees.”
257 employees. 117 on the chopping block.

Sunday, May 3, 2020

State of The Tavern Keeper - Breathing Easier but Moving Slower

I have a number of recent inquiries as to my current health. Although I give a more or less daily update on the podcast side over at Tavern Chat, it's about half a month since I touched upon it here. Recovery from pneumonia and sepsis is a long process marked with irregular improvements.

That being said I'm excited. My breathing (and associated exhaustion) are much improved this weekend. It may be linked in part to new allergy meds. Whatever the reason, I'll take it and pray it continues.

The water retention remains. Feet, legs (mostly thighs), and midsection. It literally slows me down and appears to be a fairly common after-effect of sepsis. We may change the current meds addressing that later this week after talking with my doc.

There you go. The current state of your Tavernkeeper. I'll keep you updated with any major changes. I thank you all for your kind words and inquiries.

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Free Castles & Crusades - Players Handbook 7th Printing and Monsters & Treasures 3rd Printing


From Troll Lord Games:
While the world is making progress on Covid-19, a lot of us are still sheltering in place and find more time on our hands than we know what to do with. You can only rearrange the furniture so many times... 
Why not do some gaming? We've been offering the two books below for free for over a month and continue to do so, but wouldn't you like some free monsters too? 
We have resurrected the 3rd printing of the Monsters & Treasure! We offer this digital copy for free. We hope this helps alleviate the tedious side of the Pandemic and Quarantine. Enjoy! Stay safe and keep those hands clean!
Here's your link to C&C goodness :)


Friday, May 1, 2020

Deal of th Day - Axes and Anvils: Under the Mountain


Longtime readers of The Tavern will remember the saga of Axes & Anvils and the Wandering Wizard. I won't recount the drama, but Andrew Shields came in as the savior and did a wonderful job giving the community a complete game. Axes and Anvils: Under the Mountain is that game. Normally 15 bucks in PDF, as the Deal of the Day it is on sale for 6 bucks.
The rulebook is the first half, including the same page numbers for easy coordination with the players. The second half is a collection tools and essays to expand your game. Involve player creativity and decisions to design settlements ruled by the clanhome, neighboring factions, the clan ruler, mountain roads, and more. Descriptions of traditional dwarven practices including naming conventions, sports, relationships, enchanted weapons (as well as more sets of runes). Base plots around character skills, use the mission generator, randomize ideas for what characters were up to while their players weren’t around, use loot generators (for cash, valuables, and magic), add rules for playing elves and humans, and more.
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Thursday, April 30, 2020

Deal of the Day - Black Pudding Heavy Helping Vol. One


Today's Deal of the Day is Black Pudding Heavy Helping Vol. One. Normally 6 bucks in PDF, it is on sale for a day for 2.40
It glorps! It shlorps! It absolutely bevoorps! It is the first official Black Pudding zine collection, available in glorious print! 
This collection features everything from the first four issues of Black Pudding, a zine of OSR RPG gaming goodies. Monsters, spells, character classes, character sheets, adventures, and more! 
The materials from each issue are presented here in categories. Flip to the classes section and roll up a Black Knight or a Summoner. Scoot over to the monsters and stock your dungeon with a horde horror or a gravity guard. Drop the Glittering Tome of the Silver Sage into your adventure and make the wizard drool with anticipation. Send the PCs to the Bleeding Ox to hire Jilliantha Stormshot or Father Mug to join them on the quest. 
You can use this tome to enhance your old school dice rolling adventure sessions but remember... do not EVER strike the tome! If you must kill the pudding, kill it with fire. 
Size: 8.5" x 11", 120 pgs.
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Wednesday, April 29, 2020

News - Amargosa Press Acquires Dark Conspiracy License



Tip of the hat to Paul
RGhttps://www.facebook.com/106764544062823/photos/a.250896519649624/250896262982983/?type=3&theater&ifg=1

Amargosa Press Acquires Dark Conspiracy License

Amargosa Press has signed a multiyear licensing deal with GDW to create, support and publish a new edition of the Dark Conspiracy Tabletop Role-Playing Game.

Dark Conspiracy is a near future horror role-playing that was originally published by Games Design Workshop (GDW) in 1991, followed by a second edition in 1997 and a third in 2012. Most recently a new fourth edition was being developed by Clockwork Publishing before the company went into administration last year.

“It was important for us to make sure that the backers, artists and writers that had invested time and/or money in the Clockwork Publishing campaign were not left out of pocket. With this in mind we’re reviewing the work done to date under Clockwork Publishing and will be using as much as possible in the new Amargosa Press edition, making sure that the artists and authors are fully paid. All backers of Uhrwerks Game On Tabletop crowdfunding campaign will also receive copies of the new edition, and appropriate supplements, so they are not out of pocket. Amargosa Press has not, and will not, be receiving any money from the Game On Tabletop campaign but will be looking at supporting those backers, many of whom have been core supporters of Dark Conspiracy for ears, and will hopefully continue to be for years to come.”

“We have not put any provisional dates on the completion of the new rulebook, and supplements as yet, as we evaluate the existing manuscripts, art, and the plans that Clockwork Publishing had in place for the game. Obviously no work has taken place since Clockwork Publishing went into administration in June 2019, but we hope to move quickly now that the license has been agreed and assets have been transferred. Amargosa Press now also has access to the Game On Tabletop crowdfunding campaign platform so can keep backers updated directly going forward and build up engagement with the community and fanbase.”

ABOUT DARK CONSPIRACY
In the all-too-near future, the world slides into the Greater Depression, the United States affected most dramatically. Nationalism surges, and the social safety net is in tatters. Corporations control governments openly, corruption is commonplace, and the citizenry is starkly divided between those who have and those who go without. Urban sprawl runs amok, and great metroplexes connect the great cities into teeming, soulless metropolises, their lights shining across the countryside.

The heartland of America is largely abandoned, the bread basket now empty. Law enforcement and the government have given up on these regions, and utilities are scarce and unreliable. Few can survive within these outlaw areas. Few humans, that is.

For in these forgotten and empty places in the rust belt, the tissue of reality tears wide, and energy from nightmare dimensions and planes of utter terror seep into this world. These places, called demongrounds, grow more substantial, expanding each day, and creatures from these hell-places walk freely there, and from the demongrounds they infiltrate the metroplexes to feed their inhuman hungers and bring ruin to all.

Some of these strange and terrible creatures are remembered through folklore and legend — monsters such as vampires, demons, ghouls, and their like — while others are utterly fantastic, extradimensional and alien beings from beyond time and space. Together, these minions of darkness are opposed to all life, and they struggle to extinguish the last lights of human civilization.

Some few stand against them, humans banded together and armed against these dreadful forces of darkness. These minion hunters stalk them in the cities and even in the demongrounds, but the greatest challenge they face is the realization that these monsters do not work alone: they are aided by humans who have made terrible pacts with the forces of darkness, selling out their own kind for power and survival.

This is the world of DARK CONSPIRACY.

ABOUT AMARGOSA PRESS
Amargosa Press are a British based design studio headed by Angus Abranson (co-founder of Cubicle 7) which has provided design work, and consultation, for a number of tabletop RPP publishers. Dark Conspiracy is the first game to be announced that will be published by the company.

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Free RPG - John Carter of Mars


Details below:

Greetings!

I wanted to send you all an update on Modiphius during the lockdown and have something special for our community to say thanks for all your support. I've long been passionate about John Carter of Mars since I was a kid so if you head over to our webstore and use the code BARSOOM at checkout you can score yourself a free copy of the John Carter of Mars RPG core book in PDF before the end of April. It's a really streamlined version of our 2d20 system so if you like what you see the code VIRGINIA will get you 20% off anything in the John Carter RPG & miniatures collection.

Best wishes,
Chris & Rita, Modiphius Entertainment




Monday, April 27, 2020

News - Marmoreal Tomb Beta Release in Digital to Kickstarter Backers


The rumors of its death were greatly exaggerated ;) - Tenkar

Greetings from the Dens,

Today we release the DIGITAL version of the main adventure The Marmoreal Tomb. We have it laid out and it looks really good. It has all the handouts in it BUT it still needs some fine-tuning and it still needs the appendices added. We are unleashing this DIGITAL version so you can dive in and see the mountains of progress made.

PLEASE READ: This BETA version does NOT include the Maps nor the Appendices. The Appendices are largely done (there are 5 of them) but need some cleaning up and fine-tuning. The maps are done; they will be released very soon.

NOTE: I think I told Peter the wrong or incomplete title. I did not want him to go back in and fix it as he is wrapping up Codex Eygptium today and I don't want to interrupt that. But rest assured we will get all this fixed.

Look for the coupon code to download your copy, coming your way via messages in Kickstarter!

Enjoy!!

Steve & The Troll Lords

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Humble Bundle Book Bundle: Warhammer 40,000 Series Starters by Black Library


I don't read much fiction these days. Prior to chemo, I would read a book a week. These days, its a book a year more or less. That being said, the fiction I do read is usually either Warhammer or Warhammer 40k. For me, the Warhammer 40,000 Series Starters is an awesome value.




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Saturday, April 25, 2020

HUMBLE BOOK BUNDLE: DUNGEONS & DRAGONS - READ THE REALMS BY WIZARDS OF THE COAST


I must confess, I haven't read Forgotten Realms fiction in close to 25 years. I may just need to give the Humble Book Bundle: Dungeons & Dragons - Read The Realms By Wizards Of The Coast a chance and do some catching up.



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Friday, April 24, 2020

Deal of the Day - Tiny Dungeon: Second Edition


Given the choice between simplicity and complexity in the RPGs I play, I'll always err on the side of simplicity. After all, I did put together Swords & Wizardry Light. Tiny Dungeon is the ruleset I would go with if I were not running Swords & Wizardry. Normally 18 bucks for the PDF, you can currently grab it for 5.40
Tiny Dungeon: Second Edition is the newest iteration of the minimalist fantasy roleplaying game!  
Powered by the TinyD6 engine, with streamlined mechanics that utilize only one to three single six-sided dice on every action, characters that can be written on a 3x5 notecard, and easy to understand and teach rules, Tiny Dungeon 2e is great for all groups, ages, and experience levels! 
Included are over a dozen lightly detailed settings, written by some of the best authors out there. These “micro-settings” are light-weight, open-ended and designed to be inspirational for your games and provide a fast, easy jumping point for your campaign! Covering a wide selection of fantasy genres and ideas, there's something for everyone in Tiny Dungeon 2e! 
With micro-settings by: Tobie Abad, Marie Brennan, Shawn Carmen, Elizabeth Chaipraditkul, Steve Diamond, Miguel Espinoza, Dianna Gunn, John Kennedy, Melanie Meadors, Mari Murdock, Darren Pearce, jim pinto, Steve Radabaugh, Wendelyn Reischel, Ryan Schoon, Howard Tayler, Randy Tayler, Sandra Tayler, and Ben Woerner 
So grab some dice, some pencils, some friends, and get ready for some minimalist, straight-forward, fantasy roleplaying!
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Thursday, April 23, 2020

Kickstarter - Tiny Taverns


Taverns. I like Taverns. Gallant Knight Games. I like Gallant Knight Games. Tiny Taverns by Gallant Knight Games? Simple perfection :)
The latest entry in the TinyD6 family of minimalist tabletop roleplaying games, Tiny Taverns is a roleplaying game about slice-of-life melodrama in a high fantasy tavern. Players create proprietors of a tavern (or hotel, or pub, or resort, or anything hospitality-related) which they invent together. Each game focuses on their daily lives, their evolving relationships, dealing with guests (some who may be adventurers), doing chores, defending the tavern from monsters and other threats, and trying to figure out if this really is all you want out of life.  
Using the rules in this book, you can tell new heartwarming stories with a revised iteration of the TinyD6 system, more akin to Fate or Powered by the Apocalypse, but still the same minimalist framework you love! With a focus on collaborative storytelling, adventure hooks seeded throughout, and an improvised setting that evolves as you play, Tiny Taverns provides hours of collaborative storytelling fun and a brand new way to play a TinyD6 game. 
 And continuing the tradition of TinyD6, the interior art is filled with gorgeous black and white art from the very talented Nicolás Giacondino, who also did the beautiful full-color cover! 

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Is Judges Guild F'ing CSIO Backers YET Again?



Ah, the fiasco best known as the CSIO Kickstarter by Judges Guild. Misspent monies, mismanagement, and other stupidity all were blamed on Bob III. Well, guess what? The current "fuck you" is from Bob II.

Only one map has been released to backers by Judges Guild - Map1. If you want maps II, XI or XII expect to pay Bob II for the privilege.

Bob II, go fuck yourself.


Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Deal of the Day - A Magical Society: Ecology and Culture


It is the rare gaming supplement that holds up to the ravages of time. A Magical Society: Ecology and Culture (with a Mithral sales ranking on DTRPG) is one of the few.
He killed the God of War. He ascended into his divinity. No one told him that was the easy part. Look into the inner workings of gods and how they build worlds. From a divine perch, map your world and experience tectonics, magical geography, predation, ecological conflict, and cultural development. Following in the foodsteps of A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe (Gen Con ENnies 2003 Best Setting Supplement), A Magical Society: Ecology and Culture provides real-world phenomena for a fantasy game. 
Build Your World. Better.
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Monday, April 20, 2020

Bundle of Holding - Star Trek Adventures


Interestingly enough, I actually ordered the new Star Trek Adventures rulebook on Amazon just the other week. Now I need to put some time aside to read it ;)

Link to the Star Trek Adventures Bundle of Holding
Star Trek Adventures is a faithful and fascinating tribute to all the TV shows from The Original Series through Voyager and Enterprise, as well as all the original and Next Generation films. In Star Trek Adventures the ability to solve problems, deal with moral dilemmas, unearth ancient mysteries, and conduct diplomacy is just as important as being able to command a ship in action or lead an Away Team under fire. 
This all-new offer lets you beam most of the STA line into your personal loading bay for an unbeatable bargain price. For just US$19.95 you get all seven titles in our Player Collection (retail value $80) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the complete 374-page Star Trek Adventures core rulebook, three Starfleet division books (Command Division, Operations Division, and Sciences Division), and three sets of ready-to-play characters drawn from the TV shows: The Original Series, The Next Generation, and Deep Space 9. 
And if you pay more than the threshold price of $40.58, you'll level up and also get our entire Gamemaster Collection with seven more supplements and missions worth an additional $75, including the Beta Quadrant Sourcebook, the mission collection These Are the Voyages Volume 1, the introductory campaign A Star Beyond the Stars, several shorter adventures, and the Gamemaster Screen & Player References.
Yep, that is an affiliate link above.
Tenkar's Tavern is supported by various affiliate programs, including Amazon, RPGNow,
and Humble Bundle as well as Patreon. Your patronage is appreciated and helps keep the
lights on and the taps flowing. Your Humble Bartender, Tenkar

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