Bundle of Holding - Gamelords Traveller

Gamelords is a company I knew about in the 80's era of my gaming, but not one that I had purchased content from. My Traveller purchases were all from GDW. God, but I was focused on purchasing supplements from the actual game publisher only in those days ;)

You can snag the Gamelords Traveller Collection for as little as 12.95. Damn, it is tempting.

Traveller! This Gamelords Traveller Bundle presents .PDF ebooks of 1980s Classic Traveller tabletop roleplaying supplements from two of Traveller's earliest third-party publishers: Gamelords Ltd and Marischal Adventures. These primordial indies published many sourcebooks and scenarios by two of Traveller's most prolific designers: J. Andrew Keith and William H. Keith. Though later known for Traveller landmarks like Murder on Arcturus Station, Nomads of the World Ocean, the Alien Modules, and much more, the prolific Keith brothers started by self-publishing their own short "Folio" mini-scenarios (1981-82), followed by ten impressive booklets through Gamelords (1982-84).These titles date from the time publishers printed their books on dot-matrix printers, yet this timeless material can still freshen any space-opera roleplaying campaign.

For just US$12.95 you get all ten ebooks in our Gamelords Collection (retail value $60) as DRM-free ebooks, including A Pilot's Guide to the Drexilthar Subsector; The Desert, Mountain, and Undersea Environments survival guides; three adventures keyed to the Environments terrains Ascent to Anekthor, The Drenslaar Quest, and Duneraiders); and three anthologies of short scenarios (Lee's Guide to Interstellar Adventure, Startown Liberty, and Wanted: Adventurers).

Traveller scenario Trading Team from Marischal AdventuresAnd if you pay more than the threshold price of $24.10, you'll level up and also get our entire Lost Supplements Collection with seventeen more titles, including eight of the Keiths' early Marischal Folio mini-scenarios and nine titles that lay neglected until 2000, when Traveller fan Paul Sanders founded a company called Cargonauts specifically to publish them. The "Lost Supplements" sold out their 500-copy run almost immediately -- but now you can get them in .PDF for a bargain price.

 

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Terry H Pavlet, Well Respected Fantasy Artist, Has Passed at Age 65

It is with great sadness that I must report that Terry Pavlet, artist extraordinaire, passed on June 12th, 2022. I remember a number of special conversations with Terry at conventions over the years and regret not having had the opportunity to visit with him since 2019. 

Rest well, Terry.

Obituary

Terry H. Pavlet, age 65, passed away at his home in Dousman, Wisconsin on Sunday, June 12, 2022. He was born on August 24, 1956 to Howard and Ruth (Meier) and grew up in Muskego.

Terry attended MIAD (Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design) and went on to be a freelance illustrator. He was known in the Milwaukee market for his rock band posters back in the 80’s but mostly worked in the RPG gaming and comic book industries, which he loved. He produced two graphic novels, Dakota and Strange Detective Mysteries, and contributed to many other publications and projects. He regularly showcased his work at Gary Con, Gamehole Con, as well as many other conventions. He felt privileged and grateful for the support of his many friends and colleagues, and always enjoyed connecting with his strong supportive fan base.

Terry is survived by his wife, Kathryn; his daughters, Maya and Lauren Pavlet; his father, Howard Pavlet; his sister, Sue (Bob) Fink; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Frederick and Mary Ellen Schnell; his brothers-in-law, Fred (Jan) Schnell and Jay (Ann) Schnell; and his nieces and nephews, Jacob (Shelly) Fink, Jared (Abbey) Fink, Anna (Andrew) Hill, Jocelynn (Ryan) Stewart, Erich (Shelby) Schnell, Karlee Schnell, Conrad Schnell; his great-nephews and niece, Jayson Apple, Axis Stewart, and Effie Fink; and many other family and friends. He was preceded in death by his mother, Ruth Pavlet.

A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 25, 2022 at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 800 Lake Drive in Oconomowoc, with a visitation an hour prior to the service.

GoFundMe

Terry Pavlet passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, June 12th. His family needs financial assistance to cover his funeral and final expenses.

Terry was a devoted husband to Kathy, his wife of 34 years, and the proud, loving father of daughters Maya and Lauren. True artistic talent and a creative soul led to a career as a freelance illustrator working mostly in the RPG gaming and comic book industries. Showcasing his work at Gary Con, Gamehole Con, and many other conventions gave Terry great joy, but he was especially thrilled to meet the people who really connected with the characters he created. Please show your love and support to Terry’s family by donating today. Any and all gifts are greatly appreciated.

Note: The Tavern will match the first $250 donated by members of this community by the end of the day, June 20th, 2022. Just let me know via a comment below how much you donated so I can keep a tally. Or, if you would rather, email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing to keep it more private. I thank everyone in advance. Terry was a good man - Tenkar

In Response to a Request from "Erika Reich", Here is the Documentation Showing Justin Lanasa's $45k Judgement (not in his favor) For Failing to Collect Sales Tax

As Erika Reich/Justin LaNasa challenged my $43k figure for owed sales taxes, penalties, and interest owed by Justin Lanasa (on last night's livestream), I felt it was prudent to share the documentation I was referencing. Having done an accurate accounting of monies due, I stand corrected. It is not approximately $43k, instead, it is more accurately reflected as $45,128.38.

I appreciate being challenged for a figure that was inaccurate, and I'm happy to provide the accurate total and the accompanying documentation.

 

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Deal of the Day - Through Sunken Lands and Other Adventures (OSR)

In the common rooms of the great city’s countless inns, in the bathhouses of the merchant quarter, and before the altars of a thousand gods, brave and desperate adventurers meet and make plans. They leave every day and seek their fortunes in the Sunken Lands.

Not only do I own Through Sunken Lands and Other Adventures in print, but I also gave out 4 print copies to members of my old gaming group this May. It really is that good. If you enjoyed Beyond the Wall, you'll love Through Sunken Lands and Other Adventures.

Through Sunken Lands and Other Adventures is normally 8.49 in PDF, but until tomorrow morning you can snag a copy for a mere 3.40 in PDF, a discount of 60%.

Lots of times, we want to play a roleplaying game but just don’t have the time for all the prep work involved. No more. Through Sunken Lands is a kit to make a motley crew of ruthless sellswords, gifted sorceresses, and cunning thieves, and send them off in search of gold and glory. Now we have this simple swords and sorcery roleplaying game that gives a group all the tools they need to play an exciting adventure in a single evening, no homework, no fuss.

Anyone with a background in OSR games will already be comfortable with the core rules of Through Sunken Lands.

• Inspired by the works of Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, and Robert E. Howard.

• Character Playbooks and Scenario Packs for play in a single evening with no prep. 

• Player driven setting design for fleshing out the great city and the world beyond.

• A sample sword and sorcery setting: the impossible city of Jundarr and the Hundred Seas.

• Nine Character Playbooks, including the Spell Thief and the Eldritch Sorcerer King.

• Three Scenario Packs: the Mysterious Island, the Treasure Hunt, and the Wizard’s Tower.

 

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Kickstarter - Watchtower on the Hill

A revised re-release of this highly acclaimed original OSRIC/1e/2e compatible OSR fantasy role-playing game adventure.

I'm a sucker for old-school adventures, and I have a weakness for low-level adventures. They just fit perfectly with Swords & Wizardry Light.

The Kickstarter for Watchtower on the Hill is a reissue of an adventure initially published a decade ago to strong reviews. As its for levels 1-2, I'm happy to snag the new printing with the classic style removable cover ;)

Digital is 10 bucks, and Print is 15 plus shipping. I would have preferred to see a discount for a Print / PDF combo, but alas, it is not to be. 25 bucks for both formats, full boat. I'm in for a print copy :)

There are just over 2 weeks left in the funding campaign as I type this.

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Satine Phoenix throws her husband Jamison Stone under the Bus - A Lesson About Poorly Protecting Revenue Streams

I've covered this mostly on the YouTube Channel side of things, but the Jamison Stone / Satine Phoenix "bag of shit" has reached a new apex, with Satine firmly throwing her husband under the bus.

Sadly, people like this are firmly entrenched in the larger gaming conventions in the gaming industry. It's something that needs to change. Special Guests should be at conventions because of their accomplishments in the gaming industry, not because of the number of social media followers.

I have some ideas kicking around as to how to accomplish this. I need to think further about it.

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Dealing with Post-Con Let-Down

So last weekend was North Texas RPG Con and this weekend was Origins. GenCon is still a couple months away, but odds are unless you are in the industry you attend maybe one of these cons. If you're lucky (which I was for a few years) maybe you get to go to two. My experience is even those that attend a lot of cons, often only go to one "big" con......and to those, if they have to travel far any con is a "big" con!

Regardless of how many cons you are lucky enough to attend, a common after-affect of the con is...well often some Con-Crud (for NTRPG 2022 it seems like it's Covid), but that's not my point today. Instead, what I'm talking about is post-con letdown. For many it's the simple result of days of fun with friends slinging dice, having fun, and generally being "on" possibly for days at a time.

I'm sure there are distinct differences based on how introverted or extroverted a gamer is, but every year I hear about, and personally experience post-con letdown.

What can you/we do about this?

The best thing I've figured out, at least for me, is a three-fold approach:

1. I do a quick AAR (After-Action Review....I am a vet, so this is a learned thing)
2. I figure out what I want to do at next year's con
3. I start making my plans for next year (start implementing crap from #2)

The biggest thing for me is that AAR. I do a rather quick assessment of the con. Taking inventory of the new crap, er "collectibles" I picked up comes first. Then I look at everything I actually brought to the con, including my packing list, and evaluate what I could do without the next year. I'm kind of bad about over-packing, so any good chance to see what I can pare-down really should be taken. I also like to go over the games I played or ran, and make notes about what I could've changed or done better. For example I should've brought my external battery and a different notepad. Also, more disposable shot glasses.

Looking ahead to next year's con is pretty easy, and I'll admit that I come up with too many ideas/plans for the next con. This is not necessarily a bad thing, because I come up with many things and not everything is feasible. Honestly, I'm still trying to do shit I thought up years ago.

Lastly I start making the appropriate plans for next year, and by plans I mean I actually start doing stuff. I put in my vacation request for next year as soon as I can. If needed I figure up what my budget is going to be and the saving plan needed to get the $$$ for the next con. If you are thinking of running an event the next year, are there any embellishments you'd like to use. Might sound dumb, but if you want to use some cool minis in your game (for example) do you already have the minis you need....are they even painted? What about terrain?

Post-con letdown is a thing and it doesn't have to last for long. This approach has helped me and maybe it can work for you as well......

Now Shipping - Midnight: Legacy of Darkness (5e)

I know I don't normally cover, or care about 5e releases, but Midnight: Legacy of Darkness is a release I've been waiting for since it was announced. I sincerely loved the 3e version of the Midnight setting (even though I never played a session of 3x or 4e, let alone 5e).

I figure I can likely convert the material to the OSR system of my choice on the fly, or simply use the current Midnight setting for inspiration and gaming reading material.

The suggested retail is 54.99, but you can snag a copy for 43.99 (plus shipping) at Atomic Empire. I didn't see it at Amazon, but a tip of the hat to ENWorld for finding a website/brick-and-mortar that has Midnight: Legacy of Darkness in stock and at a discounted price.

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Jamison Stone has Resigned as CEO of Apotheosis Studios - Are There More Chips to Fall?

The bag o' shit that landed in the laps of Satine Phoenix and her husband Jamison Stone on Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 has just gotten stomped on. Jamison Stone has resigned as CEO of Apotheosis Studios. I believe this move is an attempt to save the company from fallout, but the ball is gathering speed and I doubt this is the last chip to fall.

Some articles in regards:

Apotheosis Studios: The Culmination of Unprofessionalism

Accusations Of Bullying And Blacklisting Surround Dungeons & Dragons Creator Couple

Rick Heinz Twitter Thread (from Apotheosis Studios)

Robert G. Reeve (compiling various twitter comments in regards)

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Indiegogo - Dwarven Fiasco: An Adventure for 5e and OSR

A dwarven lich has taken over the Temple of the Mountain. What the heck is a dwarven lich?!

I've known Edwin Nagy's work since he helped write Whisper & Venom with Zach Glazer nearly 10 years ago. Since then, I've gotten to meet Edwin at various conventions. Just don't call him Ed or Eddie ;)

So, what is Dwarven Fiasco?

A location-based adventure for a party of Tier 2 5e characters or 4–6th level OSR characters. 

High in their cliff face temples, the dwarven sages watched the plague roll in from the west. They pooled their resources to defend the dwarven lands. Just as their great ritual was coming to an end, stray light from a distant star streamed in through the mighty pillars and pierced their magic circle.

Dwarven Fiasco is 12 bucks in PDF and 25 in Print plus PDF (international orders are POD).

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Humble Bundle - the Star Trek Library

For those Trekkies out there, and/or those looking for some deeper lore for their Star Trek RPG Campaigns, Humble Bundle is offering The Star Trek Library.

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Kickstarter - A Growing Menace - a Mork Borg Adventure in Hardcover

Evocative custom artwork accompanies a challenging adventure for daring characters. Art by Waclaw Traier, maps by Monkey Blood Design.

Alright, here's the part you all are waiting for, where I detail my connections to the project creator. I've known Thom Wilson for a number of years. I've been invited as a special guest to his Shire Con every year he's had it. Thom donates his time to NTRPG projects every year. He's simply a great guy.

This time around, Thom has a Kickstarter for the Mork Borg RPG - A Growing Menace. Judging from the work Thom has produced in the past, this is a simple no-brainer for me to back. The question becomes PDF at 3 bucks, or print plus PDF at 8 bucks plus POD costs plus shipping. Being that it's from Thom, I'm in for print plus PDF.

Project Goal: A 24-page, 6x9 hardcover in full color. Delivered by DriveThruRPG via print-on-demand. All content for the book is ready for layout and should be print-tested in June. Print-on-demand copies should be ready in July.

Did I mention Glynn Seal did the maps?

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Psst! I Hear You Want a Free Game Meter! Don't Worry, it's Free for Now, You Just Pay LATER!

"Hey kid! Do you wanna put someone else's rating system on your product? What? of course you do! What's that? A bait and switch? Lock you in at free and then charge you a kidney? Do I look like some swindler? Don't answer that! Just sign your "X" below. Don't worry about the details. Would this face fuck you over? Of course, it's "Open Source". I'm open about it that I'm the source of the meter. Hey kid! Where are you going?" - JL

Before I show you the contract, let me show you the meter:

Look at that! You get to give nuTSR free advertising on every product you sell. What a deal!

Now, here's the contract:

See, it just costs one kidney. At least you started with two...

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A Quick Down & Dirty NTRPG Report from Not Erik!

Unless you only come to the Tavern to read my posts (sorry for completely dropping the ball last week. I thought Memorial Day was actually Sunday. Not the holiday, but when I woke up on Monday and went out for breakfast I was thinking about what I was going to post, not realizing it was Monday. D'oh!) you have to know that North Texas RPG Con is going on.

Pretty much it's the one time I get to sit and visit with Rachel, er Erik...yeah it's Erik I want to see......

For the most part NTRPG is my "one con" of the year. There are others that I may be lucky enough to attend, but it is NTRPG that I schedule away from work a year in advance as my only "for sure" vacation. Don't even joke about me having to work 'cause it's just not going to happen. This is the one time of year I've promised myself I'm going to play games, bullshit with friends, and hopefully make some new friends. Lately my battery's been rather low and it's these opportunities to recharge that I hold extremely precious.

NTRPG is a great convention and this is the first year after the death of the founder, Doug Rhea, passed away. His successor, Gary Oliver, has done a damned fine job picking up this particular ball and running with it, although I'm sure he'd disagree and blame any success on his staff.

satan at work

Anyway, one of the things I just love about NTRPG is the camaraderie. This is only my 5th year attending and I can tell you that I definitely "feel the love". The last couple of years Doug graced me with some quality bullshitting around the table, and I even had him as a GM for a game. So many people here have really taken that quality of Doug's and shared of themselves, on several levels.

One great event that they only have here is the Midnight Auction, hosted by satan. I'm using the small "s" because it's just Bad Mike in a devil's hat and horns, but he plays it up. Before hand several people, myself included, were sharing some nice (mostly) Bourbons with each other and everyone is in a great mood, despite it being so late. The auction is a bit fast and loose and most of the items are kind of BS or tongue-in-cheek jokes, often at the expense of long-time convention attendees/industry "professionals" (this auction is far from professional!) The occasional serious-type item is available for bid as well, so it's not just fun & games, although if you are coming to the auction in an attempt to get something good for cheap, you're barking up the wrong tree.

Notice Mr. & Mrs. Tenkar in the front row!

I got my second-row seat and bid number for $10, a bargain if you ask me. I'm good with avoiding the 1st row, although there wasn't supposed to be any Gallagher-type situation, you never know......

I bid on a few items, but there was only one thing I had to have and then one thing I wanted to have. The first was a Tom Tullis/satan T-Shirt that I got for $50. This one was is Grey while the one I got last year was in black. I was planning on making some throw pillows out of them, which I may still do......

The second item I picked up was an older iron-on transfer for the very 1st NTRPG Con. I may frame it, but I think it'd be cool to just get a good-quality T-Shirt and actually use the thing! For $100 I figure I might as well enjoy it!

I didn't manage to get anything in the "serious" auction earlier in the day. One of the two things I really wanted went for $10 more than my maximum bid, but I had a max bid already in mind and who knows just how much that other bidder was willing to go. No worries, I was just able to spend that on a T-Shirt and an iron-on transfer!

The games were great and I got some awesome stuff at the dealer's room, but that's all secondary to having fun making new friends and spending time with old ones.

We Were Live at NTRPG Con - Full Table of Guests

Glen and I just wrapped up our Dungeons, Dragons & Discourse Livestream from the main room of the NTRPG Con. Our guests included Vince Florio, Ben Barsh, James Shields, Steve Marsh, Ty Beard, Bad Mike, and a few others.

I've been experimenting with using my iPad as a second camera, and it has worked extremely well.

Picture courtesy of Fugli.

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I Now Have the Original Art for the Continual Light Cover

I got a chance to meet with James Shields at NTRPG Con. James brought the original art for the Continual Light RPG cover. The black and white original may actually be more amazing than the colored version we'll be using this summer.

Now, time to prep for the Whiskey Tasting Livestream at 10 PM Central/ 11 PM Eastern ;)

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Last Night I Got a Sign at NTRPG Con that I Was on the Right Path

Fugli dropped off the above sign after watching Bad Mike and I do our Talking Crit Livestream (with an AMAZING number of special guests). It was awesome, despite the fact that it was later than usual as our plan to Dallas had to take a detour to Austin due to weather.

Afterward Rach and I settled in for some pub grub and beers. That's when I got yet ANOTHER TSR info dump.

The path is set.

nuTSR Info Dump Coming Later This Week (or Next)

I've been blessed with a small collection of agreements and NDAs from nuTSR. They landed anonymously in my email earlier tonight. I'll be heading to NTRPG Con in the AM, and will bring the documentation with me to be perused by the various attornies in attendance. The plan is to have some professional if anonymous feedback as a follow-up next week.

I have also shared the dump with a few others that have an interest in nuTSR. I'll make sure to mention via social media where to find releases of further info if others get to it before me.

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Bundle of Holding - Ptolus Cypher (and 5e)

I was, and still am, a fan of the 3x original edition of Ptolus. There are now versions of Ptolus for 5e and Monte Cook Games' Cypher Systems. Ptolus is quite simply one of the finest urban setting books ever. Ptolus is well worth the $17.95 price for the nearly 700 pages of content. 

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