News - Lets Get Physical - Gen Con Plans Return to "Meat-Space" in 2021 / PAX East Likely Returns in 2021 Too (Covid Willing)

It appears that Gen Con and PAX are working on the assumption that the current "State of the Pandemic" will be under control by the summer of 2021. That being said, they are still hedging their bets and leaving the door open to closing their doors if Covid fails to cooperate with their hopeful plans. 

It takes a lot of time - and money - to put together a convention, and the larger the convention, the more lead time one needs, and these are huge conventions.

My fear is if certain conventions are cancelled two years in a row, there may be a lack of funds to bring them back later, although that may be more of an issue for the relatively smaller conventions.

From the Gen Con website:

Holiday 2020 Message and Looking Ahead to 2021

As we approach the winter holidays and the end of the (let’s say less-than-ideal) year, we’re looking ahead to the future and know you have some of the same questions that we do about our plans for 2021.

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is certain, and that our lives are even more interconnected than ever before. We don’t take for granted the magic of gathering en masse with all of you in Indianapolis each summer, and we can’t wait to do it again. Will that happen this August? In all honesty, we don’t know yet, but we really hope so.

Our goal for the new year is to hold Gen Con 2021 as planned, in person in Indianapolis from August 5-8. We’re working towards that objective with health and safety as our top priority. A variety of factors need to come together for a physical convention to be feasible, and we’re carefully monitoring local and national safety and travel guidelines, health data, resource availability, and the advice of our finest sages, scientists, and sorcerers.

Considering this uncertainty, we’re postponing badge registration and event submission until we have a better idea of what the year will hold. We’ll announce new dates as soon we can, and you should expect more updates from us in the next couple of months. To keep up on the latest news, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.

We appreciate your continued support, and we miss you, our Gen Con family all across the world. Please take care of each other and have a safe and happy holiday season!

Happy Holidays,

Your Friends at Gen Con

 And from the PAX East website:

DECEMBER 4TH, 2020

PAX 2021 Dates

Hello PAX Universe,

We’d like to take this opportunity to announce our prospective show dates for the 2021 calendar, and before we do, we want to be completely clear about why we’re announcing them now, and how the global COVID-19 situation impacts our plans in the coming year.

We’re announcing our dates now to help partners plan for the upcoming year on how they might attend as well as provide a chance to start conversations about how to bring attendees, panelists, exhibitors, and our broader community together with these events that are 7 months away. Safety is always our highest priority, and we want to put these shows on for you and in a way that still feels like a PAX, but these things require runway. Our rationale: with things being this complicated, why not tell everyone all at once?

Let’s just say the quiet part out loud: if COVID-19 remains a major barrier to safely gathering at one of our shows, we won’t do it or we will take it virtual. As much as we miss, even crave, the togetherness and magic of a PAX, we will not put attendees, exhibitors, or our guests at risk for the sake of an event if things aren’t on the up and up.

Now, on to the good news! If things progress positively then there’s a good chance that we would be able to put on live events in the summer and later half of the year.

In that optimistic scenario our new event calendar for 2021 will be:

PAX East will take place June 3 - 6, 2021

PAX West will take place September 3 - 6, 2021

PAX Aus will have more info coming soon

PAX Unplugged will take place December 10 - 12, 2021

Unfortunately, because of what would have been the prospective timeline in early next year we won’t be able to put together a PAX South in 2021, but we look forward to bringing it back for you in 2022. We are also working with our team in Australia and the Australian government and will have more updates on PAX Aus’s 2021 show date in the next few weeks.

Expect badges, panel announcements, exhibitor updates, and the like to arrive in the new year, generally closer to the respective shows - and you can always follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more regular updates.

Whatever form PAX East, West, and Unplugged take in 2021, please know that we are dedicated to bringing you all the community, content, and competition we’ve become known for, while continuing to create space for new, up-and-coming, and marginalized voices in gaming. “Welcome Home” isn’t just a slogan to us; we make our home every year in Boston, Seattle, Melbourne, San Antonio, and Philly - and it’s our job to make sure that we make that home safe.

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Deep D&D Discounts on Amazon - Art & Arcana for 23.37 (and more )

There are some deep discounts on Dungeons & Dragons related releases over at Amazon.

Art & Arcana, the book of D&D history via the art of D&D, is reduced to a 23.37 after coupon for the hardcover. (list price 50 bucks).

Heroes' Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook, is reduced to 14.99 from 35 bucks. This is a new release from October 2020.

As of the time I am typing this, both books arrive before Christmas if you have Amazon Prime.

This is a special promotion, and both books are also linked to here: https://amzn.to/3amYyUg. You must go to the Art & Arcana page to get the coupon for the additional discount.

The following are free in Kindle format if you have Kindle unlimited.

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Project North Moor - An Attempt to Save the Home JRR Tolkien wrote The Hobbit on the LotR In

I still remember my first exposure to The Lord of the Rings. My friend Kenny, the same one that introduced me to AD&D, read The Fellowship of the Ring for school, and then afterwards lent me his copy.

I was hooked.

Project North Moor is an attempt to save, restore and preserve JRR Tolkien's home, his home during the years he wrote The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Watch the video. It is certainly worth your time.

https://www.projectnorthmoor.org/

Heck, The Tavern is in for $25. It's a bargain for the enjoyment Tolkien's work has given me over the years.

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OSR Christmas 2020 Kicks Off Tonight @ 8 PM Eastern on the Talking Crit Livestream w/ Bad Mike and Tenkar - Special Guest JoetheLawyer

Tonight at 8 PM Eastern we are kicking off OSR Christmas 2020 on the Talking Crit Livestream, with special guest JoetheLawyer.

-00YWe will be giving away 2 $100 DTRPG gift certificates randomly to two commenters on the YouTube Livestream. If we get to 200 subscribers to the channel before we go live tonight, I'll throw in an additional $50 DTRPG gift certificate on top of the 2 $100 gift certificates as a third gift. As I type this, we are at 191 subscribers.

Can't watch live? Don't fret! There will be many more opportunities to be gifted during the 12 Days of OSR Christmas here at the blog as well as for listeners of the podcast, and probably another night or two on the Livestream.

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Don't forget to subscribe to The Tavern's weekly Newsletter! We currently have 162 subscribers.               When we hit 200 subscribers, I'll award 2 random subscribers a $10 DTRPG Gift Certificate.   

D&D Movie News - Chris Pine (Capt Kirk in the new Star Trek Movies) Will Star

While I'm not a huge fan of the new Star Trek movies (they aren't horrible, they just aren't Star Trek), I thought that Pine was a decent pick for Kirk.

Choosing Chris Pine to star in the new D&D movie at least shows that the powers that believe in the project. It gives me hope.

You can read the full article here:

Is Chris Pine more of a lawful paladin or a neutral rogue? Deadline reports that the Wonder Woman and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement actor has closed a deal to star in the Dungeons & Dragons movie, which means we’ll finally have an answer to this very important question.

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Kickstarter - Knock! (OSR Zine)

 

I love me a good OSR zine. When the zine is the size of many zines in page count, I'm intrigued. Then I read the list of those involved and the I found myself backing before I had the chance to think otherwise. Such is Knock!

We made KNOCK! the messy, stuffed to the gills bric-à-brac we wanted. The book that earns its place on the easy-to-reach part of your gaming shelves. Now, we need you to make the inaugural, proof of concept issue of KNOCK! Magazine a thing that exists in the physical realm. You know, the world of air, earth, dice, and unhealthy snacks.

This first issue is 212 pages (A5 format, slightly bigger than digest size: 5.9’ x 8.25’) in beautiful full colour, printed on quality paper (coated 130 gr, with a cover on coated 300 gr). 

It has everything you’d want from an old school slash adventure gaming publication: articles about the history of Dungeons & Dragons, reflections about genre and gameplay, some clever rules, a bunch of maps, tons of random tables and lists, 7 new classes, 7 new monsters, and 3 complete adventures. If you’re reading this, some of the names below will ring a bell, or five: Emmy Allen, Benjamin Baugh, Joe Brogzin, Caleb Burks, Brooks Dailey, Nicolas Dessaux, Paolo Greco,  James Holloway, Anthony Huso, Arnold K, Ethan Lefevre, Gabor Lux, Bryce Lynch, Fiona Maeve Geist, Chris McDowall, Ben Milton, Gavin Norman, Patrick Ollson, Graphite Prime, Stuart Robertson, Jack Shear, Jason Sholtis, Skullfungus, Sean Stone, Chris Tamm, Daniel Sell, and Vagabundork.

And you’ll recognise some of the artists too: Ivan Caceres, Didier Guiserix, Matthew Houston, Christophe Johnston, Li-An, Dyson Logos, Evlyn M, Tim Molloy, Luka Rejec, Michael Sheppard, Jason Sholtis, Dan Spencer, and Niklas Wistedt. We’ve used their art as inspiration for some fancy, bold page design.

About $31 for print and PDF (plus shipping ). 19bucks for just the PDF.

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Gift-Giving Around the Gaming Table

 

Now that Chrismahanukwanzika is just a couple weeks away....and yes, I actually use this term, more ironically than anything (I like to offend everyone equally this time of year).....you might be wondering what to get for your gaming group this time of year.

I can try to make suggestions, but I don't know your group and your fellow players, so a) take these suggestions with a grain of salt and b) maybe take more go heart suggestions of not what to get.

1st off, the best thing I can recommend is something picked out special for your players. I know, this is a huge "Duh" things, but let me step it back a bit and specify that this special pick is NOT directly gaming related. This is an important distinction because grabbing some gaming gear can actually backfire a bit. If you've got a dice junkie in your group it makes sense to buy them some dice, right? Yeah....no. You buy some Chessex dice and then find out they prefer Gamescience dice. You get the Gamescience dice and no, they only want to use translucent purple ones. What about a cool mini of their PC? Yeah.....thanks, but no thanks...."that's not how I envision my PC" or "Great, another mini I need to paint." What I suggest as far as gaming-gear is more generic-type stuff. If you know they like to use a certain kind of pencil (I like to use .9mm metal engineer pencils, for example) or a certain type of notebook, that's the kind of thing that can make a good gift.

That's maybe a bit on the easy side. Stepping up your gift-giving a bit might be making or having made some custom gaming gear, like a dice-rolling-zone (DRZ) or a storage box. If you have access to quality leather/wood, and the appropriate tools/skills, go nuts. One year I was able to go to my local hobby store and purchase some inexpensive wooden boxes. Some sanding, staining, and sealing....then lining with stiff cut leather and I had some nice little storage boxes that could double as a DRZ. It wasn't a Christmas gift, but I was able to get a nice wooden storage box for a Scotch bottle (thanks to working in a Liquor Store) and make one of these for Mrs. Tenkar. I've seen great (and easy) dice bags made of leather and/or felt, custom coasters, and even some custom dice towers. Now if you don't have the resources, motivation, or inspiration to do this work yourself there is always the option of farming it out. Etsy is a good choice and I've seen one enterprising GM hire the services of a mini-painter to have PC minis (of the player's choice) painted up as a gift. If you want something customized though.....for the likes of Etsy it might be too late.

A 3rd idea, is one of those things I'm normally not a fan of giving in general: gift cards. Not just any gift cards, although if you've got a Starbucks snob in your group that could be an easy choice. No, I suggest you try to get a gift card/certificate to your Favorite Local Game Store (FLGS). This way you get to support a valuable resource for the gaming community and your recipient can get something they actually want/need....maybe a bit more on that later.

If, like me, you don't have a local group, but an online group.....getting a FLGS gift card/certificate might require some extra legwork, or you can get a virtual one from the likes of DriveThruRPG. You could also give a gift certificate to the likes of HeroForge (let them make their own mini).

In general, as I might have alluded to earlier, I would avoid gifts of special "stuff" that people tend to get picky/choosy about. The best I can do is suggest you think if you'd like a gift that was a little bit off from your preferred thing. I mentioned my specific pencil preference, but would I get worked up if I didn't get a 0.9 Pentel GraphicGear 500? No, but if I got a mini of my PC that I was expected to use at the table....probably. OK, I'm overblowing things by stating "worked up". This might be just me, but I'd avoid gifting food items/snacks as well, unless the recipient is known for liking something specific. If they're big Pocky fans and you can get some unusual flavors not normally available.....go for it. A generic plate of brownies like everyone else is getting....between holidays and COVID I don't need more food to shove in my face.

In the end though, this time of year is...or at least should be...more about the people in our lives and less about the stuff. A gift given is far less important than the shared experiences and time spent together at the table. People tend to undervalue what I truly think is the most valuable resource we have....the one thing we can never get back: the gift of time.

I hope you get more opportunities to share the gift of time around the gaming table not just this season, but for all of next year. Hopefully 2021 will be a much better year for gaming.

Gamers, Avoid Being Fleeced for Your Health

As many of you know, Rach and I do installments of Gamer's Health on the Tavern Chat Podcast on Friday Nights. It's an honest view of the health challenges Rach and I face and how we are attempting to change our habits to improve our health - physical, mental, and emotional.

We make no bones about the fact that our experiences may not reflect yours, and hope to be as much an inspiration for positive change as we are examples of such change. Everyone's path to improved health is individual to that person,

You also probably know I'm fairly well known for exposing "Wayward Kickstarters" and fraudsters within our corner of the hobby.

I'm suspecting we are seeing an intersection of these two aspects of my passions.

How much is your health worth? When someone offers to help you with a program to a healthier life that's geared around your hobby, it probably seems too good to be true. Of course, it really isn't geared towards the RPG hobby, but the video gaming hobby, and there is much overlap between the two hobbies, and the health challenges experienced by a large segment of these communities are well known.

Remember when Kickstarters promised the world and often had nothing to show? Well, I've found that to be true in the gamers' health niche.

A program that promised amazing results (and I was likely targeted due to the weekly Gamer's Health Podcast episodes) was introduced to me by someone that friended me on Facebook. I have a fairly high profile in our corner of the hobby and accept most friend requests that aren't obviously porn spam. 

The sales pitch started as a soft pitch, and initially, I thought I was going to be given some generic advice. But once the "marketer" thought I was hooked, the presentation began and the script was obvious, and the "you can't put a price on improved health" told me that the price was likely high.

$3,200 bucks high. For a program that had very little to show for itself upfront, and was reluctant to actually link their website.

Key take away? You can use the Nintendo Switch to turn exercise into a game. So, for 300 bucks and the cost of a game or two, I can replicate much of the program for 10% of the cost.

Sure, you need to motivate yourself. My motivation would be saving 90% and improving my health. I don't need to pay others to motivate me.

As gamers, there is a segment of society at large that thinks we are easy marks with disposable income waiting to be fleeced. I prefer to save that money for gaming ;)

OSR Christmas is Right Around the Corner

'Tis the season for OSR Christmas. Seriously, it has been a shitty year, what with Covid shutting down the world and my own unrelated health issues. What better way to end such a year than with some OSR Christmas.

I'm still locking down some publishers/gifters (with some solid regulars already signed up), but I can tell you what I'm putting into the gift pool this year - at least $500 in DTRPG Gift Certificates, ranging from $25 to $100 each.

Now, not every day will be hosted here at TenkarsTavern.com. Some will be hosted on the podcast side of things, on the Tavern Chat Podcast. At least one will be hosted on the Talking Crit Livestream next Wednesday at 8 PM Eastern. That will kick things off, and yes, OSR Christmas will run from December 15th, 2020 thru Three Kings Day, January 6th, 2021. There will be 12 days of gift-giving in that time frame.

If you are a publisher or potential gift giver and you wish to participate in the good cheer of giveaways, email me at tenkarsDOTtavernAT that gmail thing with OSR Christmas in the subject.

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.

Don't forget to subscribe to The Tavern's weekly Newsletter! We currently have 160 subscribers. When we hit 200 subscribers, I'll award 2 random subscribers a $10 DTRPG Gift Certificate.  

A WTF Kickstarter - More Gaming! The 2020 Upside Sticker for Roleplaying Gamers (Yay COVID-19!)

I kid you the fuck not. The More Gaming! The 2020 Upside Sticker for Roleplaying Gamers Kickstarter is subtitled: A souvenir sticker to celebrate all the virtual RPG gaming that happened in 2020.

Tone deaf?

Clueless? 

A slimy attempt to cash in on the pandemic?

Simply pretty shit perhaps...

The fact that the sticker is ugly as sin doesn't earn it any points either.

94 bucks raised of a $500 goal with a week left. (only $50 is currently reflected in the pledges placed.)

Three 3"x3" stickers for 5 bucks. Wait, 7 bucks if you include shipping.

This won't fund, as well it shouldn't.

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.  

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Don't forget to subscribe to The Tavern's weekly Newsletter! We currently have 160 subscribers. When we hit 200 subscribers, I'll award 2 random subscribers a $10 DTRPG Gift Certificate.  

Humble RPG Book Bundle - Pathfinder Monster Lore by Paizo

Now I'm sure some of The Tavern's readers are going "why the F should I care about Pathfinder monster books?" Truth is, you shouldn't, except as a resource to tweak out your monster library for your OSR games. Converting from Pathfinder to the OSR is as simple as removing 90% of the crunch but keeping the flavor, and these books will ooze with flavor. 

They are a bargain for ANY DM of any OSR game. Less so for 5e DMs, but I'm sure there is inspiration to be found for all. Oh, ad if you DO play Pathfinder 1e, the Humble RPG Book Bundle - Pathfinder Monster Lore is a goldmine :)

29 books for 18 bucks - that a lot of inspiration!

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, 

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Don't forget to subscribe to The Tavern's weekly Newsletter! We currently have 160 subscribers. When we hit 200 subscribers, I'll award 2 random subscribers a $10 DTRPG Gift Certificate.  

Help Save Some Cats and Get Entered Into a DCC Raffle for Fat Lot! The Tavern Will Match Donations up to the First $500 Raised

Ashley

Every year David Baity runs a raffle to raise money for feral cats. Our current cat, Sadie, is a stray that literally walked in our back door the night after we lost our feline daughter Ashley to cancer. Ashley herself was a rescue.

Cats are a big part of my life and have been for as long as I can remember. The cause is a good one and David is awesome for doing this every year.

Without further distraction, here's David:

Hey Everyone! Long post! But please take a second to read this and share if you think you can boost the signal! 

Every year around this time I put on a charity raffle geared towards those who like to play games. 100% of all proceeds go to help a couple of local no-kill feline rescues (Feline Lifeline & Paved Paws Animal League of Greenville SC). If you know me, you know I love cats, so several years ago I decided to try and help some amazing people who work tirelessly feeding, trapping, and fixing feral cats. They also foster and adopt those that can be tamed, or that may have been abandoned. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what they do, so I figure it is only fair that I do this, in hopes of raising money to help provide donations to help them out. 

Throughout the year, I collect items to offer as prize support for the raffle, but I am also lucky to have amazing friends who care enough to donate prizes to help add considerable weight to what I am offering. This year has been no exception and I am so touched/grateful to those of you that have reached out with prizes!

The raffle works like this, one ticket is $1.00, and each ticket counts for 1 entry into the raffle. Throw in $5 and you have 5 chances to win. All winners will be announced on 12/24 at 11pm EST, with a celebrity author pulling several random winners to match the number of available prize packages (see below). Winners will be given a choice of prize packages in the order they are drawn.

So, if you have a spare dollar or two, please consider helping me provide for some of my local rescues! Even if you are not a gamer there might be someone you know who is! Hell, you could even throw them up on E-bay if you win, so please consider donating. 

The link to donate can be found here

https://paypal.me/mysticmousers?locale.x=en_US

(Add a note that The Tavern Sent You to your donation and The Tavern will match dollar for dollar all donations made by members of this community up to a total of $500. The match WILL NOT be entered into the raffle, just the original donations will be)

Edit: please also add a comment on this post so David and I can track :)

Prize packages with names of donors:

(Note, unless stated in the description all books are printed hardcover or softcover) 

Dungeon Crawl Classics Mega Bundle: DCC rulebook (San Julian cover), DCC Funny dice set (hellcat), DCC Adventure modules 70, 72, 73, 74, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 87, 89, 90, 91, 91.1, 91.2, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99. DCC horror adventures 2, 5, 6

DCC Prize pack A- DCC Rulebook (gold foil KS edition) signed by Michael Curtis and a set of DCC funny dice set (Ming’s Infernal Bones style) also donated by MC! 

DCC Prize pack B- DCC Rulebook (silver foil Seven-Pointed Star of Sezrekan) signed by Michael Curtis along with a set of DCC funny dice ( The Dice of Lost Lemuria style) also donated by MC! 

DCC Lankhmar Prize pack- DCC Lankhmar Boxed set, DCC Lankhmar adventures, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 donated by Michael Curtis

MCC Prize pack- MCC core rulebook, MCC GM screen, MCC #1, MCC Mutant Mayhem (Glow-Dan, Harold, Mistur Tode) donated by Goodman games, MCC adventures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 donated by the Skach family, The Scientific Barbarian #1 donated by Aaron Talley, 10 MCC/ RAD Chips donated by Hector Cruz

D&D 5th edition Prize pack- Original Adventures Reincarnated-X2 Castle Amber, Fifth Edition Fantasy 4, 16 donated and signed by Michael Curtis

Umerica Prize package -The Umerican Survival Guide (choice of either cover), Twisted Menagerie Manual, The Umerican Road Atlas, Umerica Unnatural- all donated by Shield of Faith Studios

Psychoda Press Prize package-The Lesser key to the Celestial Legion, The Forgotten Rites of the Moldering Dead- all donated by Donn Stroud

Dark Trails RPG Standard edition hardback and PDF (Delivered upon release). One online gaming session run by author David Baity on Roll20 or Zoom and up to 6 friends (I will work with you to schedule the game after the raffle). 

The Cthulhu Alphabet Prize pack #1- Cerulean foil version- signed and donated by Michael Curtis

Bronx Beasts: Mutant Animal Roleplaying Vol 1- Several copies donated by Dan Steeby and Anna Horvath

Gong farmers Almanac 2015 and 2016 edition donated by Michael Curtis.

Bundle of Holding - Savage Rifts

I backed the Savage Rifts Kickstarter a few years back and was very happy with the result. Great setting with a usable system. Go figure ;)

Well, Savage Rifts is currently available on Bundle of Holding. It's 13 bucks for the Starter Collection and a hair over 20 bucks for the Bonus Collection.

This is updated to the latest Savage Worlds edition (the prior edition is also available currently on Bundle of Holding)

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.

Don't forget to subscribe to The Tavern's weekly Newsletter! We currently have 160 subscribers. When we hit 200 subscribers, I'll award 2 random subscribers a $10 DTRPG Gift Certificate.  

One Not-So-Quick Thought on Increasing the Value for a Convention-Working GM

 

I'm only a couple thousand miles away from home right now, pretty much stuck in my hotel room due to quarantine restrictions, but I did have a chance to get out and enjoy some outside time yesterday.....which I did a hard pass on. Some of that was because the high temperature was a negative something Fahrenheit, but also because if I wasn't careful I might miss out on my bi-weekly online OSR game.

Missing out on a chance to freeze my balls off to make sure I don't miss a game.....pretty much a no-brainer....but don't worry as I'll be venturing out into the cold today because I can.

I'm certain I've posted, either directly or indirectly, about how important a regular game is for me....and I bet for a lot of you too. My coworker/associate/brothers don't get the importance of the "gaming thing" initially, but when matched against hanging out drinking & playing cards on a TDY, or watching a football game together instead of by oneself.....I think they understand a bit more.

Having to explain things to my coworkers, some of whom probably think I'm just goofing off on the Xbox I definitely didn't bring with me, made me think about this whole fun vs. work dichotomy.....maybe not initially, but like everyone else my mind wanders in weird ways. I was thinking of my GM being stuck in his own version of quarantine and how his involvement in this social activity that is a Role Playing Game is by essentially having to work as the GM.

Now don't get me wrong.....being a GM is, or can be, a fun job, but in many ways it is a job....it is work. There is usually a decent amount of prep work outside of the group gaming table before/after/during gaming sessions. Trying to make the game interesting and an appropriate challenge can be taxing......and that's something a GM is probably doing for/with friends.

The hapless GM working at a Game Convention? That can really crank up the "work" factor and has the potential to exponentially increase the "suck" factor. Now odds are, any given game session will go well and everybody will have fun, but there is still the wild card factor....and I've been to a LOT of game conventions and have had more than my fair share of wild cards.....but those are a story for another day and not something on my current train of thought.

No, what I'm thinking about, and hoping to plant the seed for, is an idea to make make the "work" for a convention GM a little more worthwhile, but let me bury the lead a bit further. Right now I'd say the average GM pays to attend a gaming convention and runs a session or three because they want to. Some conventions, especially the larger ones like Origins or GenCon, have the resources to "pay" GMs to run games, usually through a free badge or maybe part of a hotel room. As the organized play manager for a game company I've seen these "benefit packages" and while not insignificant, a GM usually has to run at least a game session (four hours) a day to get part of a room. Part of a room and a free badge, you're probably the con's bitch. If you don't have players show up to one of your games you could be screwed. Some GMs might be sponsored by a game company. For a few years I got a free badge from Kenzer & Company. At least once I was listed as one of the D-Team's kids, but whatever. At the end of the day, pretty much no matter how you figure it out, it ends up the GM is working/paying to attend the game convention and getting to play is difficult.

The idea I have here is far from an original one.....thanks to Kenzer & Company for the exposure: game companies, in conjunction with the game convention should organize a GM only game at the convention. I'll go so far as to filter the original idea a bit more and say that the GM has to be running at least a game session (maybe more) at the convention to qualify. Give a bit of fun reward to the GMs for paying to go work for part of a convention. Now I'd suggest that the game companies provide material support and maybe even the GMs, but also go ahead and let some of these gaming guys sit in and play as well. I will say that as a GM getting to run for, play under, or sit beside some of these game designers.....really just names on gaming products before, quickly became a highlight of the convention for me. 

My experience doing this with KenzerCo at Origins was a bit broader in that you pretty much just had to have GM credentials to qualify and it was just for the HackMaster GMs, but it got big enough I think we had six or seven tables easy at the one GM Game I wrote for. Yep, that was another year of writing, running at a con that cost me a couple grand....literally paying to work at a convention FT, but even then....that GM game was a ton of fun for me and made that con a much more positive experience, probably more so than any other thing. I didn't realize I had written in a joking insult to the all the assembled GMs that got huge laughs.......the on-going theme of this annual GM game was that it had to be a joke/parody/non-serious session....my game had a Saturday Morning Cartoon theme.

Anyway.....that was fun and I think all the GMs enjoyed it, but that is more an aside and just anecdotal to what I think could be a good addition to any gaming convention. There....I consider the bug in our collective ear planted. If you happen to be connected to a game convention (Bad Mike.....) or know of anyone who is (Erik.....) please mention this. Anything we do to make it a better value proposition for the average convention GM should, theoretically, "raise the tide" for all boats (players).  

Kickstarter - Folio #26 The Virgin Mine Gaming Adventure! (1e & 5e)

Oh my! I think I'm in simply for the cover. I probably should read further to see what lies behind the cover ;)

Even better. "The Rat Dungeon". Low-level adventure. It's ticking off more boxes and I've barely started reading the description...

Folio #26 The Virgin Mine is 10 bucks in PDF, 25 bucks (plus shipping) for the print plus PDF

Join the adventure as Art of the Genre creates its first new mega-dungeon in over three years!  This first part of a six-phase mega-campaign is based around 1st level characters in a completely revolutionary setting.  I've specially designed the dungeon to breathe life into those adventuring levels while allowing the DM the ability to create incredible story arcs with old favorite monsters like goblins, rats, and even early fantasy RPG video game monsters like creeping coins and bushwhackers!

The Virgin Mine setting revolves around an adventuring company moving into the ruins of the wild jungle around the Imperial Capital city of Nextyaria. Here, they will match wits against other treasure-seeking adventuring companies as well as the intelligent dungeon that hosts relic treasures with nearly unlimited power.

Folio #26 will introduce characters to the setting, the mysterious and ancient The Rat Dungeon, as well as the other companies who seek their fortunes in the jungle.  New rules for character play complicate the dungeon crawl, and threats of marauding bandits and other companies looking for a quick profit by ambush also threaten the party.  Unlike normal dungeons, this one carries various mysteries, and strategy will need to be employed as the party learns the ropes within the first level of the Virgin Mine.  Dungeon details include 2D standard hex maps as well as fully 3D renderings of The Rat Dungeon section of The Virgin Mine.  A gazetteer section will give background on the new rules and the exterior camps and companies.  Several new monsters lurk within as well as new magical treasure.  It also features a fully removable stand-alone cover in perfect OSR tradition!

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.

Don't forget to subscribe to The Tavern's weekly Newsletter! We currently have 160 subscribers. When we hit 200 subscribers, I'll award 2 random subscribers a $10 DTRPG Gift Certificate.  

The Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server and YouTube Channel - Two Great Ways to Experience a Great Community (amongst other fine ways)

The Tenkar's Tavern Community has been a Godsend this year. Between my personal health challenges, health challenges for other members of our community, and the general shittiness of The Year of Covid, the saving grace has been this community. I truly feel blessed.

The Tenkar's Tavern Facebook Community has been around for years, and I give full credit to Frank Mentzer for the idea of making it, and by extension, all of The Tavern's various incarnations, a Neutral Ground. Peace-knot your political views and real-world issues when passing through these doors. We make no promises you won't be offended, but if you are, it should be related to differing opinions on that which we hold dear - games and other geek-like hobbies. Over 2,600 members, of which over 1k are active. Damns!

The Tavern also has a presence on MeWe. Although the community is nowhere near as large as the one on Facebook, it is growing and vibrant. Besides, everyone needs a refuge that isn't Facebook ;)

Probably the fastest growing and most active of The Tavern's platforms is on Discord. The Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server. With over 2,200 members, an active chat channel 24 hours a day, and a weekly bullshit session on Thursday Nights in the Speakeasy (I do apologize for missing Thanksgiving evening) The Tenkar's Tavern Discord is where you can call out to the darkness and you'll generally get a response within minutes.

YouTube is becoming another fast-growing aspect of The Tavern. Every Wednesday Night at 8 PM Eastern Bad Mike (NTRPG Con and Frog God Games) and yours truly host the Talking Crit Livestream. We catch up on the last week of news in our hobby and respond to comments from our live viewers. Starting Friday, December 11th, and every second and fourth Friday Evening of the Month, JoetheLawyer and myself will be hosting an Iron Rations Livestream, with general OSR gaming talk and thoughts. We currently have 184 subscribers to theYouTube.com/ErikTenkar channel. Hint: we can always use more subscribers ;)

Last is our weekly Tenkar's Tavern Community Newsletter. With 160 subscribed readers, it helps keep you up to date on the new releases, projects, and others going on in the OSR. You can subscribe by using the link at the top of this page.

If you had asked me over a decade ago when I started the Tenkar's Tavern Blog, if I thought it would spur a community as vibrant as the one it has, I would have thought you to be daft Apparently, I was the daft one on :)

Humble Bundle RPG Book Bundle: Warhammer 40K: Black Crusade & Only War by Cubicle 7

I love me some Warhammer 40k. Warhammer 40k Dark Heresy marked my return to RPGs over a dozen years ago and the setting holds a special place in my gaming heart. The current Humble Bundle RPG Book Bundle: Warhammer 40K: Black Crusade & Only War by Cubicle 7 is the latest Humble Bundle related to Warhammer or Warhammer 40k material. Simply, it's more Warhammer for my virtual gaming material connection. I get good use out of my table these days ;)

This is one of the rare times that grabbing for a buck gives you all you need to play an RPG, in this case, W40k Black Crusade. Only War kicks in at 15 bucks.

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.

Don't forget to subscribe to The Tavern's weekly Newsletter! We currently have 160 subscribers. When we hit 200 subscribers, I'll award 2 random subscribers a $10 DTRPG Gift Certificate.  

Kickstarter - A Packet of Particular Peaks (System-Neutral Campaign Material)

I need to give a huge shout out to all of The Taverners that have been kind enough to give me links to projects and new releases that may have escaped my attention otherwise. We all owe you a beer :)

Today we have A Packet of Particular Peaks, a system-neutral Kickstarter offering mountain setting campaign material for the harried GM.

As a side note, I generally prefer system-neutral releases over those for multiple systems, but I do enjoy winging things and running sessions with lots of improv.

This is a go-to reference for a system-neutral, old school inspired fantasy setting that aims to provide a “drop-in-and-drop-out” experience. You can run a small side quest within the peaks, provide a parallel campaign to your normal adventures, or simply pull from this packet for game-able material in your role-playing game sessions.

Contained in this packet you’ll find three particular peaks featuring dream-like locations, strange inhabitants, unique overland features, an extensive bestiary, and much more.

8 bucks for the PDF, 20 bucks for the print plus PDF. 

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.

Don't forget to subscribe to The Tavern's weekly Newsletter! We currently have 160 subscribers. When we hit 200 subscribers, I'll award 2 random subscribers a $10 DTRPG Gift Certificate.