Mini Review - Verloren The Rufescent and the Atramentous (LL Mini Setting and Adventure Hooks)

Where to start. Verloren is a city ripped from it's place in time, moved forward or backwards no one is truly sure. It is, effectively, an urban sandbox of sorts.

The map of the city is unlabeled, and in truth, probably not needed. The city is in the midst of moral decay. The hooks, and there are many, don't coincide to places on the maps - they are linked to personalities and events.

See, this isn't an adventure and to come to it with that expectation would leave the prospective DM frustrated. It's a series of hooks and story elements that can come together as a bigger picture, but the DM and the players are going to be the ones to put that together. It's a toolkit of sorts. A very disturbing toolkit at points.

Unless the DM is comfortable running game sessions from the seat of his pants, Verloren is going to need significant prep work, not the least of which is how the players react to the shift from normal city to one quickly decaying.

The big plot hook behind this all? Pretty interesting, and I'm not going to ruin the surprise.

Negatives? I already mentioned the virtually useless city map. As there really isn't much need for it (the DM may be well advised to possibly map out a very localized block or two for some of the hooks) being useless isn't so much a problem, but it would have been nice to have some locations / hooks labeled.

You need to watch the video to find out it's for adventurers 5-13 as it isn't spelled out at the RPGNow site.

The blurb:

Verloren is a city hanging in the balance.  Either it will fall to an ancient evil or triumph based on your actions.  Enclosed are city details, maps, nine original monsters, and interesting non-player characters for encounters in and out of Verloren.  In this fantasy supplement, players will face powerful monsters and explore a decaying city to discover the secret of The Change and save the thousands of inhabitants.

    9 Original Monsters
    Over 20 Original Illustrations
    3 New Spells
    Lots of NPCs and Story Hooks
    2 Maps

A Kickstarter That Needs a Priest - ZEITGEIST AP hardcover compilation (Pathfinder & D&D 4E)

Well, I gotta give it to Morrus - he certainly knows how to grab attention ;)

In all seriousness, what little work I've seen from E.N. Publishing has been fairly good (admittedly that is from the 3e days), but as I play neither Pathfinder nor 4e, this is all wasted on me.

If I did play either, the $60 price point for the color HC edition and all of the stretch goals in PDF is probably the sweet point.

Just 118 more backers for the "Divine Intervention" ritual attempt :)

Of Blogger and G+ and the Piss Poor Mish-Mash of the Two

I'm an active blog poster. I probably post on average three to four times a day over here at The Tavern. Each of these posts also get shared on G+, and I guess I'm fairly active over there too. Heck, as of today over 4,000 fine folks have included me in their circles. I'm flattered.

My experiment of trying out the use of G+ for comments in Blogger lasted a few hours. It prevented those without G+ accounts from commenting, which I thought was pretty damn limiting as many of my blog readers and commenters aren't active on G+.

So, the communities overlap to a large extent, but the blog and G+ are also a bit separate.

Now, I posted a comment on a Blogger blog yesterday that had G+ integrated into the comments section, and it turned my comment into a publicly shared post by me on G+, which lost much of the context of the comment as the blog was linked to, but not quoted from by G+. I wasn't looking to fan any flames, but to get the original poster's thoughts on a specific question.

My comment basically started it's own thread, which was not my intention.

Looks like I'll be avoiding commenting on blogs that have G+ integrated in their comments section until Google figures this shit out.

What Are the Best OSR Gaming Supplements Out There?

Yes, I know it's a question that's very subjective. Still, it doesn't invalidate the question.

I have two favorites, for very different reasons.

The Teratic Tome, because it is amazing to behold (both in print and PDF). The unspoken setting behind many of the creatures presented must be brutally amazing. Did I mention the art is awesome and there are so many creatures I want to find ways to sneak in Rappan Athuk?

The second is the Tome of Adventure Design. I really should do a post a week, creating adventure locations and the like using the table in this book. The amount of inspiration in this book is beyond my ability to quantify - lots doesn't come close. Get it in dead tree format if you get the chance - there is nothing like flipping through this book to make you want to run a game session.

Now, despite my two picks above, I am sure there are numerous other choices that are just as worthy, if not more.

What are your picks?

Review - Monsters & Magic - Part 2 - Checks Please!

If you are still thinking "D20" with Monsters & Magic, please stop (although if the name automatically is translated as "Might & Magic" you probably played the same computer games I did). M&M doesn't use a D20, it uses "Checks" built with 3d6 plus modifiers for resolution.

Heck, sometimes you dont even need to roll, you just go with attribute score + trait bonus if you'd rather not leave it to chance. It's kinda like "taking 10" in 3e - not that I've played more than a single session of 3e, but I do own and have read the books back when they were new. No stress? Figure out your Static Check - as in "doesn't change".

Action Checks are probably the most common checks in the game. Want to attack, persuade, cast a spell, pick a pocket or any of potentially dozens of other actions? You need to make an Action Check.

Resistance Checks are used in traditional save situations and as a passive resistance. In most circumstances the rules suggest you would use the Static Check, but apparently you can choose to roll it as a sort of active defense, which could be higher or lower than the passive Static Check.

Then we have Ranked Checks, which is used for things like initiative, contests and competitions and the like.

If it seems a little confusing it very well might be, especially if you are coming at this from the OSR side of things and not one of them "new fangled" games like Fate or Dungeon World. Once you start adding trait bonuses, armor bonuses and damage dice to the checks I need to step back for a minute and grab a beer, as now things start getting a bit complicated.

This is where I'm no longer standing on solid ground, and for the purposes of this review I'm going to reproduce the Damage Dice & Armour Bonuses Table from page 37.

Are you following along at home? A "Golden Carriage" has a "Damage Die". "A Member of Nobility" gets an "Armour Bonus".

It took about half a beer to get past this and remind myself there are two types of damage in this game, two types of armor class.

If you are going to bring "social combat" (for lack of a better phrase coming from my fairly insular "Old School Gaming" background), this is probably the way you would have to introduce it to me. Don't bother thinking that I'm standing on steady ground at this point, but it makes more sense to my sensibilities than Fate does. Actually, it may go so far as to help me understand Fate. Or not, but there is hope.

Crap. Actions are next. Which are pretty much the types of things you can make a Check to attempt to do. This is really where you find out how the Effect Engine figures out your success or failure (and margin of such) and helps you interpret that based on the action you were attempting (as well as the applicable Resistance).

I need another beer I think ;)

Some RPG Definitions I'll Be Using on This Blog

There is an on going debate as to what falls under the OSR and what doesn't. So, I'm setting some definitions for use here at The Tavern. It should make some things easier, at least from my perspective. I'm open to new definitions, but not the whole argument of what does or doesn't fall under the OSR.

So, what is the OSR or Old School Renaissance here at The Tavern? Any AD&D 2e or earlier game system, clone or derivative.  Pretty simple. If it can trace it's roots directly to early D&D or AD&D, it's OSR. (note - this is the definition i'm using HERE starting now. Use your own definition over THERE ;)

Next is OSG or Old School Games. Tunnels & Trolls, RuneQuest, Traveller, Rolemaster, GURPS, the old Pacesetter line and the like are Old School Games. The OSR is a subset of the OSG.

New Wave - Fate, Apocalypse World, Dungeon World and the like are new wave to my eyes. I don't seem to grok the new wave stuff so well but I try.

Indie - Savage Worlds, Umbiquity System and similar systems are under my general Indie Label.

The OSR and the OSG are where most of my interest lies, as long time readers of this blog should know.

Eh, I needed some accurate tags for all of these blogposts, and the above is a start. Feel free to add your suggestions below, such as "Shite" for the WoD line or Insane for the crunch laden Hero line (which is also OSG I guess ;)

The Winner of the: Tell Us About Your Favorite Monster and You May Win a PDF Copy of "Monsters & Magic" is...

Dave and his Gelatinous Cubes!

Congrats Dave, you are the random winner - I need you to send an email to tenkarsDOTtavernATgmailDOTcom so I can send you your code for your free PDF copy of Monsters & Magic. Thanks to Mindjammer Press for the PDF copy.

Hopefully back to reviewing M&M tomorrow - it was a busy Father's Day weekend ;)

An Interesting Old School Kickstarter - Whisper & Venom (Old School Styled Setting / Adventure / Minis in a Box)

I find Whisper & Venom to be a very tempting Kickstarter.

It's got all the things that tempt me - an old school setting, and old school adventure, mini and a box. There really is something to be said about boxed sets.

So yes, I'm very tempted even tho' I probably already have more minis then I'll ever attempt to paint in a lifetime (assuming my Reaper Minis ever arrive - sigh).

See, this is the quote that gets me really hopeful:

We wanted to make the single best fantasy role-playing game product possible. One that was designed with old-school role-playing games in mind but interesting and exciting for any fantasy role-playing system.

The problem is that $75 is the sweet point to get all of the stretch goal, many of which have been met.

At the current stretch goal, you get:

A Guide to Whisper Vale

The Whisper & Venom Adventure Sourcebook

an 11" x 17" two sided map

a set of dice

10 minis

oh, and a PDF copy of the adventure and setting.

Did I mention the Jeff Dee art?

It's not a bad price point but I have some much money tied up in Kickstarter RPG promises.

Eh, maybe I'll ask for it as a birthday present ;)

The OSR Made a Great Showing on Free RPG Day 2013

Let's look at the RPG products actually offered for Free RPG Day in Print - which means we cross off the retailer shirt, the dice tower and the Chessex and Q Workshop Dice. Which brings the 16 offerings down to 12.

The Cosmic Patrol Quickstart is a left over from last year and the Tuese'al Quickstart is only per box, so it's presence is negligible. If we remove them from the count, we really have 10 products being offered in print and new.

Of those 10, 4 are solidly OSR, and as I consider Tunnels & Trolls to be OSR, it's actually 5 out of 10.

"Hall of Bones" for Swords & Wizardry

"Better Than Any Man" for LotFP's Weird Fanyasy

The DCC / XCrawl Double Adventure from Goodman Games

"A Pot of Broken Bones and Halfling Broth": for Castles & Crusades

and lastly "Fire Dwarves of Zorr" for dT&T

not a bad showing at all.

Even RPGNow Recognizes the Death of Free RPG Day 2013 PDFs

How do I know they recognize it? They sent out an email titled "Hundreds of FREE RPG Quickstarts, Maps, Adventures & more!". Many of the items linked? You guessed it - they are from previous years' Free RPG Day promotions.

I'm not complaining about the links. Free is free. I'm just surprised how little attention was paid to the PDF side of Free RPG Day this year, especially for the gamers outside the states.

Some of the grouped links sent by RPGNow:

Quickstarts

Adventures

Maps

The above links are free all of the time, not just for Free RPG Day.

Where Are the "Free RPG Day" PDFs?

This is the first year I haven't seen talk of Free RPG Day PDFs, but it's always possible I'm looking in the wrong places.

Some publishers don't do PDF versions, and some that wait a week or two to release them, but usually there's some info on them.

Ah well.

Missed out on the Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls adventure and the Goodman Games DCC / XCrawl combo at Noble Knight - guess I should have stayed up last night ;)

edit: +Erik Jensen is working on a list of Free RPG Day PDFs

Tell Us About Your Favorite Monster and You May Win a PDF Copy of "Monsters & Magic"

Thanks to the generosity of Mindjammer Press I have a PDF copy of Monsters & Magic to give away.

All you need to do it comment below about your favorite monster and why it rates that way. See, pretty simple.

For me, its the Flumpf, because it's the first thing I think of when I think of D&D monsters. The Fiend Folio was my first monster book, even before the Monster Manual, and the flumph sticks out as the most useless creature one could ever dream up. For some stupid reason, I still love it ;)

So, comment below before 10 PM NYC time on June 16, 2013 (that's this coming Sunday) for your chance to win a PDF copy of Monsters & Magic. One random commenter will get the loot.

Appendix N Adventure Toolkits Have Arrived! (DCC RPG Kickstarter Adventure Series)

Lo and behold! I have in my possession five (yes five) copies of The Ruins of Ramat and five (yes five) copies of The Vile Worm!

Brave Halfling is in the house and he's made an excellent showing.

Seriously, as much as i enjoyed reading the PDF copies of both of these, the dead tree versions are simply amazing. Professional covers, striking maps, player handouts, nice art. It's almost like Christmas in July - but it's still June ;)

Sure, they would have been nice at Christmas, but I'm happy to have them now.

So, why all of the copies of Appendix N? For the summer of DCC RPG Contests silly! I still have some dead tree copies of DCC Adventures donated by Thick Skull and Purple Duck - so yes, I will be frequenting the post office this summer.

What will be the contest themes? Damn to all heck if I know, but we'll figure that out in time :)

If There's One Thing I Can't Stand It's Blatant IP Theft...

There is an author blatantly ripping off the Mystara setting for her line of fiction. Amazingly enough, she has been getting away with it for years (oh, and stealing art and maps too while she's at it.

+Timothy Brannan has the details here and here at the Other Side Blog and more at the Mystara Facebook Page.

I'm surprised Wizards dropped the ball on this one for as long as they have.

Just adding my voice to increase the volume...

A Kickstarter Whose Call I Need to Resist - Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition

Call of Cthulhu is one of those great games that I never play and pretty much know I never will. I have an earlier boxed set and the 6th edition softcover (and the D20 C0C book and campaign book).

I love to read the associated adventures and even kicked in for the Horror on the Orient Express for $70.

Do I really need yet another edition of the rules that I'll probably never get to play?

Maybe, but I am sure as hell trying to resist the luring call of the CoC 7th Edition Kickstarter. The sweet point on this one is 100 bucks, and I've got enough already tied up in not yet due / due / overdue / way fucking over due Kickstarters that my wife could probably use it in divorce proceedings if she ever found out ;)

15 days left in this one.

So far I'm doing okay.

Just broke out the 6th edition rules to feed my fix ;)

Review - Monsters & Magic - Part 1 - Familiar Yet Strange (OSR "New Wave" Ruleset)

Alright, I know there really isn't any OSR "New Wave" category or label. Maybe I should have used "OSR / Fate hybrid". Monsters & Magic feels very familiar to the OSR that I know until it doesn't. Maybe I need to explain that a bit.

The intent of the author when writing M&M was to combine the classic feel, gameplay and most importantly (at least from my POV) compatibility to the OSR / Classic / pre 3e adventures and sourcebooks while also including more modern gaming concepts from the "narrative" side of the gaming fence.

I guess Dungeon World does this to some sense, but it really isn't "plug and play" with OSR and classic D&D adventures.

Anyway, back to M&M. It's built on the same classic ability score you know and love. You can even roll 3d6 in order if that's the way you make your players roll.  Score range from 3-18.

M&M includes all of the classic AD&D classes (including all of the usual sub-classes), the usual races (even Gnomes and Half-orcs) and the races have the abilities you expect, even if they are redefined as traits. Heck, it even includes racial restrictions to classes (although if every other race can have clerics, I dont see why halflings can't)

Weapon damage pretty much uses the dice you'd expect. It all feels very familiar, until you realize the system has done away with the d20.

I'll let that sink in for a few seconds, as it's near sacrilege amongst much of the old school.

Monsters & Magic does not use a d20.

Instead, M&M uses 3d6 with modifiers added to the total for task resolution / checks / combat / etc. Which actually makes prefect sense, as the bell curve makes a really high roll (or low one) less likely and makes modifiers more important. Look at that. I'm okay with losing the d20 ;)

Did I mention you have two types of hit points, physical and mental? You even get different sized hit dice to roll.

Interestingly enough, most monsters from classic sources are easy enough to convert to M&M. The more comfortable you are with the idea that "close enough" is good enough, the easier the conversion process. That goes with converting characters and NPCs over too. The play is different but the "data" need to run things is pretty much the same, its just the interpretation that differs.

Time to break for the moment. In part II I'll start by talking about "Advancements", which are sorta like powers, feats, skills - and then some. They are integral in personalizing your PC. Oh, and I'll "scales of play", which includes domain level play and more. And of course the more "narrative" aspects of play such as effect points.

Monsters & Magic is a very similar and very different take on the D&D I know.

(Hey, I have a free PDF copy of Monsters & Magic to give away! - expect a post later tonight on the give-away)

When Did You Play Your First RPG Session?

I remember my first RPG session very clearly. It was a one on one session with my friend Kenny as the DM and me with my fighter Cyrus. AD&D DMG, dice and graph paper. Not even a Player's Handbook.

I THINK is was during the 7th grade, after school one winter day, but I'm not 100% sure it was the 7th grade. There is a small chance it could have been 8th grade. Still, most likely my first RPG session was in early 1980.

I would have been 12.

Over 33 years ago.

I did have a huge gap from March of 1997 to late 2007 where I didn't game. I bought, I collected and I read, but I didn't game. I had no group until I took the plunge into Fantasy Grounds 2.

Hmm, so about 23 years of gaming in that stretch. About half a lifetime, as I turn 46 this summer.

I guess I need to make up for that 10 year gap ;)

So, what year did the world of RPGs open up for you?

Mini Review: d20pfsrd.com Presents Open Gaming Monthly #3 (OGL Magazine)

Let me preface this with the following observation: I did not expect this Pathfinder centric magazine to fit my gaming needs and for the most part it met those exceptions.

Moving on to the review:

d20pfsrd.com presents Open Gaming Monthly #3 is an OGL magazine, but the truth is it's pretty much Pathfinder (there is an M&M article). It's well put together, attractive to look at and the articles that are generic / statblock-less are pretty. It's a nautical / pirate themed issue, so it has a lot that would fit into a Razor Coast / Pathfinder game (Swords & Wizardry GMs have their work cut out for them converting).

My highlight was Port Parley, a shared world article. I'd need to go back and grab issues 1 and 2 to see if it's a regular feature, but I assume it is. I like world building. I like new worlds. This was cool.

I'd guess most of this issue would be awesome for Pathfinder players, but in truth, all OGM #3 did for me is remind me why I don't play Pathfinder - a creature's stat block can take up an entire page, endless feats, magic items that can use their own chapter (alright, I'm exaggerating, but not by much).

Actually, before I got back into actually gaming, 3.5 and Pathfinder seemed like cool systems. Once I returned to the fold, I found the complications to be an albatross around my ability to actual play the game.

Yeah, I know, old age and all that shit.

If you are skilled at Pathfinder, this actually looks like an awesome magazine for you. If you don't mind converting Pathfinder to a more OSR suitable format, this isn't a bad investment. For folks like me, there's too much work needed to put this in a format that fits my needs.

My "Free RPG Day" Targeted Acquisition List ;)

Free RPG Day is this Saturday. I really can't think of a better day then the day right before Father's Day.

This year I have the following items on my list of targets:

Hall of Bones from Frog God Games

Better Than Any Man from LotFP

The DCC RPG / XCrawl combo from Goodman Games

Fire Dwarves of Zorr” for dT&T from Flying Buffalo

and maybe Shadows of the Black Sun from FFG

Of course, the family responsibilities will have me at my in-laws in Connecticut for most of the day, so I expect I'll be hitting Noble Knight Games' online store as I did the last two years.

With Noble Knight, you can pick one free item for every $15 (if i recall correctly - I could be wrong) in purchases you make.

So, I have two questions to throw out there to y'all:

1 - What are you looking to pick up on Free RPG Day?

2 - Any suggestions for RPGs I should be looking to buy to qualify for the free rpgs? I know the Warhammer 40k stuff is fun to read, even if I'll never get a chance to run it ;)

"Monsters By Email" Coming to an End? (Stock Art)

Nicholas Cloister does some amazing artwork. Recently, he experimented with the idea of a subscription for fantasy stock art. The art is amazing. Regretfully, the experiment is not as successful as Nicholas had hoped.

As it looks right now, Monsters By Email hangs by a thread. Before I actually started the subscription, I was able to gather enough interest every day, to make it look very hopeful, but since I started the actual work on the product, that has not been the case. It seems I need to promote MonstersByEmail full time to attract enough attention, but when I do, there is no time to create the content.  : )

The funds will last me two more months, but a subscription period is four months, so I’m very uncertain at this point, whether or not I should initiate another round, or go back to full-time freelancing, keeping MonstersByEmail in hibernation. The number of subscribers is about 1/4 of what it needs to be, and 1/8 of what I prefer it to be.

I love the art, but the restrictions on use are severe:

A subscription to 'Monsters by eMail' includes non-exclusive rights to 50% of the creatures received. Creature number 1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15... and so on (every odd number) - yes, you can only use half of the art you receive

You cannot publish the creatures visibly on the Internet, without my permission (just write and ask). This restriction includes displaying previews of printed t-shirts, book-covers, and other printed products online. Can't use the art on blogs or to advertise without asking for permission

You must wait at least one month from the point when you receive the creatures before you publish any of them. why does one need to wait to use it?

There are other restrictions, but these are the most onerous.

Great art, good idea but a failure to execute is due to the restrictions place on the use of the art, not the art itself.

Is There a Current List of all the OSR Zines?

I ask, because I'd like to list them and their associated websites when I get Unofficial OSR out at the end of the summer.

Our corner of the hobby is small but tight, and additional exposure does the OSR as a whole a good thing.

I may also include a listing of all of the OSR games, but I think I'm more likely to finish that list on my own than the zine list. Zines are more like to fall through the cracks and can be harder to track down.

Print, PDF or both. I know of a bunch that are defunct these days, but I'd like to support the ones I haven't found yet ;)

More "Pay What You Want" Products, Now From UnderCity Games - Lairs and Nightmares

Nope, never heard of them before, but they do seem to have two products that appear to be potentially useful in the OSR-verse.

The first is Nightmare of Tarring Hollow, a low level OSR adventure. It's short at about a dozen pages.

The second is Classic Lairs, which is an assortment of small dungeons and lairs.

Do i think either one is worth the suggested $9.99 price?

Lets see, I could get Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea for just a penny more.

I put these two in the "try before you buy category", although Classic Lairs certainly has more potential for use.

"Unofficial OSR" Envelopes the "Copper Droppings" Zine

Here's today's second announcement:

I'm going with the title "Unofficial OSR" for the fanzine under The Grumpy Dwarf as the publisher, as feedback that I've gotten indicates that many folks would prefer a zine that covers the whole of the OSR.

So, with a spread starting with ACKS and Ambition & Avarice and running through Raggi's Weird Fantasy and everything in between, there is a lot of ground to cover.

That doesn't mean the end of Copper Droppings before it even starts. Copper Droppings will be it's own section, edited by +Michael Garcia and will be exclusively Swords & Wizardry - so yes, a zine within a zine. Think of the old Dragon issues with the Ares section.

I'll be aiming for Sept 1, 2013 for release - if we can hit earlier, great, but this timeline gives me 2 weeks of vacation a and 2 1/2 months to get things up and running.

Same payment plan for submissions - beer money and you keep the rights to your work ;)

submissions for Unofficial OSR should be sent to tenkarsDOTtavernATgmailDOTcom

submissions for Copper Droppings should be sent to socialATdeadratpublishingDOTcom

Cut off for Issue 1 submissions is August 3, 2013

(if time and ability permits, there may be a "Zero Issue" release -

"The Grumpy Dwarf" Tries His Hand at Publishing

Yep, I'll be putting some gaming stuff out under my own "label" if you will. I'm still involved with Dead Rat Publishing, but certain projects work better under different set ups. The Grump Dwarf will allow for those projects.

Huge thanks to +Greg Christopher who put the above together without being asked. It is inspirational :)

I'll have another announcement later today with a bit more substance ;)

Not so "Grim" Reaper - Shipping to Start... Soon?

From today's Reaper Bones Kickstarter Update:

First, a quick note about Origins. We had been looking forward to seeing you there, but unfortunately we won't be there this year in a booth. Our brother Tim Peaslee will be running demos, so be sure to say hi to him when you're there. We can't do a proper booth this time around because we simply can't spare the labor right now. 

Why can't we spare the labor? 

Friday, June 7th, we received two 40ft containers full of Bones! For those of you keeping track at home, those containers were filled with over 470,000 models. We're still looking for the last container to be delivered next week, but we have enough to start shipping now. 

What's next? 

We've unloaded the containers (we have the bruises to prove it). We're getting those models organized into our system and firing up our fulfillment line this week.
We know we're behind our estimated ship date of March, so we've added a second shift for fulfillment so we can process the packages very nearly 'round the clock. We're doing everything we can to blast through these pledges so you can receive your Bones as quickly as we can manage it.

Dare I hope for delivery before the first week of july?

What's on Your Desktop?

No, not your computer desktop. I'm talking your desk's desktop.

Heck, I'm not even talking about the computer that is most probably on your desktop - instead I'm talking about gaming books and the like. Or in my case, a cat and a food dish ;)

Gaming-wise it's Rappan Athuk for S&W, Monstrosities (again S&W), Swords & Wizardry Complete, Crypts & Things, LL and the LL AEC, Tunnels & Trolls 5.5, Evolved Grottoes & Griffins, S&W Core and Maelorum (a solo game book)

So, what's on your desktop?

Pick a Die, Any Sized Die!

With the DCC RPG release last year, the number of weird sided dice has exploded (exploding dice is a sort of game pun, son). It got me thinking about my favorite sided die and the one I like the least.

This is pure random thought processing, either at it's worst or it's best. Time itself will tell, but dice are by their very nature random generators, so at least there is some kind of link ;)

Favorite die? The d8. I suspect you expected I would say a d20, but the d8 holds a special place for me. It's the damage a longsword does against small and medium creatures. I also came in some board game (I no longer remember which) back in the mid 80's, and the extra dice were raided for inclusion in my then small RPG dice collection.

Least favorite die? The d7. Holy shit but this is one ugly fucker. Really, I can't think of an uglier die - size, shape, available colors - all scream "I am an awkwardly ugly piece of shit".

I'd like to know your favorite sized die, but even more importantly, the die you like the least ;)

If You Were to Run an "Epic Level" One Shot, What System and / or Adventure Would You Use?

One of the things that came up during Saturday's "Gathering of Fools" was the idea of an "Epic Level" One-Shot to be run this summer for my old gaming group. Face to face, six hours or so.

When I asked what levels were considered "Epic" (as the group stopped playing during the 2e age, ignore the 3e and later labels) I was told "a high enough level where the Paladin has a +5 Holy Avenger and others have some sort of minor artifacts".

So I'm guessing a swath from 13-16 or so, depending on class. It was suggested I create pre-gens, which I will, but I expect to base them off of the last characters the group members played.

I also pointed out to them that the AD&D we played was no where near "by the book", and the rules we used were pretty much pared down on an unspoken group consensus. What we played comes very close to Swords & Wizardry Complete, although I'd have to tweak the classes a bit to make them closer to their AD&D counterparts. (as an aside, I may just work that into a post at some point - bridging the gap between S&W Complete and AD&D 1e).

So, I'm leaning towards using S&W Complete for the session - no idea what to run. Anything in the S series is probably ok, as it will only be a 4 member party and they tended to run without a cleric back in the days ;)

Any other suggestions for system or adventure or both?

Where o' Where is My Reaper Bones Kickstarter? Did an Ogre Get in it's Way?

Where o' where can it be?

When it comes to tracking my Kickstarters, I pretty much focus on the RPGs, so I really haven't touched on two of the other long overdue Kickstarters that I supported. I'm in a pissed off mood for other reasons today, so I figured this would be a good outlet ;)

Reaper Bones Kickstarter
Goal: $30,000     Total: $3,429,235     Funded: August 25, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: March, 2013     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped / Shipped / Go Figure

If all you asked for was the basic "Vampire" level, you probably already have your stuff. If you did any sort of add-ons, the "slow boat from China" literally left 2 weeks ago, 3 more weeks before it arrives, and then thousands and thousands of orders to sort and ship. I guess shipping will resume sometime in July. At this rate, I suspect both of my scheduled vacations will have passed before I see my order.

There have also been complaints on the retail level that the Kickstarter tied up production and shipping of other minis from Reaper. I'm not sure if this will be a be a boon or a hinderance for Reaper in the long run and frankly I just don't care - I want my shit!

Ogre Designer's Edition
Goal: $20,000     Total: $923,680     Funded: May 11, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: November 2012     Actual Ship Date: Aiming for October 2013

Apparently box design could be it's own college major, as the box and box tays seem to have been  the biggest delay in the oversized and delayed project.

Sure, Steve Jackson Games has kept us updated with photos and photos of all of the shit they are cramming into the already oversized Ogre box, so none of this is a huge surprise, but the nearly 5 months from last update (June 3) to projected shipping (October 21) is more than a minoir annoyance.

I need to dig out my Pocket Ogre and GEV games and relive old times. Just need to keep away from any breezes and fans and not bump the table, as the original game was easy to upset.

I will not be supporting the upcoming Car Wars Kickstarter - I'll buy that when it hits retail.

Wow, much less obnoxious then I expected when starting this post. I must be calming down or something ;)

Results of the Online Swords & Wizardry Convention Poll

I'd say there is enough interest in this to start thinking about how to make this work. I think the most important thing is To Keep it Simple. At it's root it should be no more complicated than arranging some game and interviews via Google Hangouts. No virtual publisher tables, no virtual retailer booths, no bullshit.

Now, maybe if you show up for a game the GM might have a discount link to share with you for some S&W products - that would be cool and a nice reward for playing (as online "pick up" games can get a little flakey). I'm not saying this would be the set up - I'm just throwing thoughts out there that I think are cool.

Anyway, looking at a weekend after Labor Day here in the states. Which gives me three months to screw this up ;)

The Old Gaming Group May Have Been Tempted Back Into the Fold...

This year's host for the Gathering of Fools was Tony, and he nearly floored me when he showed me that he had printed out two of my PDFs for Swords & Wizardry: Demi-Options: The Halfling and Minor Majiks & Miscellaneous Arcana Vol 1 as well as KnockSpell #6. We haven't had a session of tabletop roleplaying as a group since March of '97 yet the desire is still there.

We did come close today, as we ran the first two quests from Drinking Quest 1. Regretfully, we saved DQ to the end of the gathering, where we had all (except our designated driver Bri) had too much to drink. It was soda and water for everyone but the one player who NEVER lost an encounter (Dave). Actually, there was some cask strength scotch making the rounds, but only two dared to drink it - Dave and John. I wisely stuck to beer ;) Still, we got to use the results of the DQ session to decide the order of picking the RPG items I was giving out.

There is talk of getting together once a month via G+ Hangouts / Roll20, which would be a crap load of fun. Additionally, there is talk of me running a one-shot epic level session with pregens for a six or seven hour sitting. That should be interesting.

Did I mention I'm exhausted? heh

Time to Tempt the Old Group... With Games!

As my old group gets together to tell the stories of old times and old games, I'll be running some Drinking Quest, with a prize pool consisting of my gaming duplicates and such. I always bring stuff for the group to remind them of the old times and show them what is going on during the current times.

Biggest prize is probably a copy of Stars Without Numbers - somehow I wound up with two copies. Mongoose Traveller Pocket Edition (as the print is too damn small for my eyes), a copy of Gygax Issue #1, an orange cover UK edition of Tunnels & Trolls 5e (wound up with 3 copies thanks to Ebay) and some other random goodies to round out the pot. Others bring food, beer or chips - I bring the gaming ;)

Knowledge Illuminates Goes "Pay What You Want" (Swords & Wizardry Campaign Starter)

Add another OSR classic to the growing list of "Pay What You Want" product pricing. If you haven't checked out Tim's zine, The Manor, you can get a peek at some of his other work with Knowledge Illuminates at a price you decide.

It's worth your time to read as well as a few silvers on the plate.

From the blurb:

Grab your dice and hire some henchmen, you're going to need them.  Knowledge Illuminates is a campaign starter adventure full of possibilities.  Explore a dark fantasy world in search of an unending treasure.  But within this adventure lurks a horror that will haunt the players for years.  So buckle up that helmet, sharpen that sword, and bring an extra pair of iron spikes, this adventure is for the big boys.

Raphael Chandler's StaughterGrid Goes "Pay What You Want"

+Rafael Chandler just recently released SlaughterGrid on his unsuspecting public a few weeks ago - I know, I helped ru the contest.

It is now priced at "Pay What You Want".

The man is a legend. Grab a copy. Throw him a few shekels. You won't be sorry.

(Raphael has also put ViewScream price at PWYW)

Which Side of the "Pay What You Want" Fence Do You Stand On?

OneBookShelf / RPGNow recently added a "Pay What You Want" option for the pricing of PDFs at their store.

Basically, the buyer can pay nothing or something for the product. He may pay nothing initially and come back and pay more if he likes, or not.

The secret to the success of PWYW from the seller's point of view is "volume sales". If you sell 10x more PDFs than you were moving prior to PWYP and folks are on average paying 25% of your regular price, you've still increased your sales dollars by 150%.

It isn't a physical product, so volume CAN make up for the lower average selling price.

I can see how this pricing would not work for many publishers or even most products, but as a way to sample a publisher's wares (perhaps on an older product) I can see the usefulness of the pricing scheme.

I know there are some fairly large opinions on both sides of the fence (Tim over at Gothridge Manor has a similar post up) but I'd like to see some other well thought out opinions of the perceived "pros" and cons". I'm always up for a good rant and I suspect I'll be reading a few before the night is out, but hopefully there are some decent opinion pieces too ;)

For the "Long Term Players" Out There: Do You Still Get Together With Your First Gaming Group?

Tomorrow will mark the mostly annual Gathering of Fools. The core members of my earliest gaming group from my High School and College years and beyond (1982-97) will be gaming, eating, drinking, watching bad movies and generally doing stupid stuff.

Although we stopped gaming weekly back in March of 1997, we keep in contact daily through emails and get together every June starting in 2002, as we lost one of our members on 9-11. Paul's birthday was in the middle of June, so we gather in his memory. We used to get together once or twice a year before we lost Paul, but June became the time to mark the memory.

Which of you still game with your original gaming group all of these years later? Still keep in contact with them? Gather up the lads and lasses once or twice a year?

Minor Magiks & Miscellaneous Arcana Volume I is Now "Pay What You Want"

Yep, what the hell, might as well give it a try myself.

We're putting Minor Magiks & Miscellaneous Arcana Volume I at "Pay What You Want" pricing. If nothing else, you'll get some decent art and some ideas for use in your game. Even if you are just checking it out for free, it's more exciting than not getting it out there, at least for me ;)

The OSR List of "Pay What You Want" PDFs

I plan to keep this post updated with new items as they become "Pay What You Want". I'm fairly sure I'll be missing stuff if I rely on my lonesome. Feel free to email me updates at tenkarsDOTtavernATgmailDOTcom.

Now for the list:

Brave the Labyrinth Issue #1 - LL 'zine

Knowledge Illuminates - a S&W Campaign Starter

Teratic Tome - and amazing monster book for the OSR

SlaughterGrid - the latest from +Rafael Chandler

The Grinding Gear - a barely survivable Tomb of Horrors

Death Frost Doom - Raggi likes three word titles, don't he? ;)

People of Pembrooktonshire - three words again...

No Dignity in Death: The Three Brides - well, there is a "three" in the
title ;)

Minor Magiks & Miscellaneous Arcana Volume I - hey, is that my name in the credits? ;)

Dungeon Crawl #2 an old school fanzine

Chronicles of Mhoriedh Map 00 Olden Lands Continent - maps for James Mishler's campaign world

AL1: Bone Hoard of the Dancing Horror - an excellent DCC RPG adventure by +Daniel Bishop

Dyson's Dodecahedron -  series of 6 issues of a very useful OSR zine by the master mapper himself.

Fate Core and Accelerated Go "Pay What You Want" at RPGNow. Will Others Follow?

Fate Core and the Fate Accelerated Edition have gone "Pay What You Want" on RPGNow. You can grab them for free or pay what you think they are worth.

Theoretically, you could probably grab them for free, read them, then decide to pay what you think they are worth.

So, is this the start of a new trend for RPG PDF pricing?

It's a good idea for products that have been historically free, as you can now "tip the creator".

I personally don't see a downside to it. Any other thoughts on it?

13th Age - I'm Trying to Remember Why / When I Preordered It...

Apparently 13th Age is off to the printers and set for a (maybe) Gen Con release. I preordered this, but I don't recall when or even why. I do remember placing the preorder, so I haven't totally lost my mind.

I seem to recall it was something along the lines of:

"Something old, something new,
Something borrowed and something blue"

Or is that for weddings?

Hopefully there will be something salvageable for me in the rules for use in the OSR but I doubt it.

Lookie! I just searched for my order. It was last August. I think that was around the time I ordered RQ6. I really should unload that book - there is nothing there that Mongoose Legend doesn't do without the complications, page bloat and excessive cost.

In any case, if 13th Age was a Kickstarter, the cost for a printed copy and PDF wouldn't have been excessive at all. I guess that is a saving grace of sorts.

Do You Remember Your First Player Character?

Remember that first RPG session? The magic, the confusion, that first player character?

Mine was Cyrus. This was back in 1980 or so. I hope he wan't named after Cyrus Vance, the VP, but I really don't know at this point.

Cyrus was a 1st level fighter that killed some skeletons and other beasties in a solo adventure in which my DM and best friend Kenny only owned the DMG. We had to call one of his school mates to see if I hit second level.

I don't remember Cyrus's initial stats, as he fell victim to the "stat inflation" that was common during my early teen years, but I'm sure they were nothing special ;)

The Tenkar's Tavern Overdue Kickstarter List - The Worst of the Worst

My love affair with Kickstarter is coming to an end. There seems to be a lot more screwing and a lot less satisfaction than I expected.

Lets look at the projects that had such promise and left me hanging...

Myth & Magic Player's Guide

Goal: $5,000     Total: $24,076     Funded: May 7, 2012

Estimated Ship Date: August 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped

What can I say that hasn't already been said? Last backers only update on April 17 was brutally honest. At this point, I expect no product. Here's a snippet:

Well, and here comes some brutal truth: The cost of the Player's Handbook Kickstarter was astronomical. Every decision that I made that I thought was a minor decision (like glossy paper in the PG) turned out to be an awfully expensive one. My inexperience and excitement over the success of the campaign collided to turn me into a donkey business man. So, we have officially approached the point where I'm either dipping into GMG funds or self-funding the shipping, printing of the Starter Guides, etc. It's not your problem, and I don't want to make it your problem, but it's the harsh reality of where we are and why things will take so long. 

Awful Note: Things have clearly deteriorated. Myth & Magic is likely doomed now because of my mismanagement of the campaigns and the fact that with my new job, I lost a significant amount of time that I used to happily spend on the game. Goodwill may or may not be salvageable. 

What can I do? I'm not sure. I plan, regardless of public hate, to finish the Kickstarter campaigns and deliver the product. Hopefully, somewhere along the line, things will go from negative to neutral. They may never be positive, but heck, I'll take neutral.

Quantum Roleplaying Game

Goal: $13,000     Total: $47,747     Funded: December 30, 2011

Estimated Ship Date: April, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped

14 months late and still no closer to shipping . As per the May 27th update, this is how things stand. Snazzy but depressing.

Far West

Goal: $5,000     Total: $49,324     Funded: August 25, 2011

Estimated Ship Date: December, 2011     Actual Ship Date: Not Shipped (and has missed interim ship dates)

Cubicle 7 is now taking over distribution. Which means it will probably release, but I can't get angry at C7 for being late as usual as Gareth hasn't completed the project to turn it over to them. 18 months late and going strong. Huzzah!

Nystul's Infinite Dungeon

Goal: $2,000     Total: $16,017     Funded: June 3, 2012

Estimated Ship Date: September 2012      ?

Read here for the horror story

Axes & Anvils

Goal: $1,000     Total: $35,000     Funded: August 11, 2012

Estimated Release Date: November, 2012     ? 

Read here for the horror story

Long story short - I am NEVER going to spend my money on ANYTHING associated with Mike Nystul EVER again. Holy shit. The spell Nystul's Magic Aura is aptly named, as all it does it give the impression of magical value to utter shit. Mike did pull off some magic this time around, and these projects MAY actually release at some time, but that is no thanks to him. Money for the projects was spent on a Con failure and building a non existant business. What did he do when he ran out of money? Another crowdfunding attempt. He's like the pyramid scheme of Kickstarter.

Appendix N

Goal: $1,000     Total: $18,893     Funded: July2, 2012

Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped (New Estimate Late September November December ? 2012  March April Pick a card, any card...)

I hate putting Brave Halfling on the list, as I know it's been a shit year for him on a personal level and he and his family are in my prayers, but this was beyond late even before all that. Next month will mark a year late for any shipped products. Not so sure if I expect them at this point and I'm strangely okay with that.

I Have Not Updated My Overdue Kickstarter List Since March 26th? WTF!

Yeah, apparently I'm slacking.

The good news / bad news is that the projects that were slacking over two months ago are still slacking.

I'll be working on updating the list tonight

Dyson's Delves (Hand Drawn Maps) Now Available in PDF!

I have the softcover version of Dyson's Delves and it rocks hard. There is so much I want to do with the included maps, but I can't bring myself to write in the book. Additionally, I want to use the maps in Roll20, and scanning them just isn'r feasible for me.

These problems are now in the past, as Dyson's Delves in now available in PDF.

I can't print out the maps I want to use, write all over them and then upload the original maps to Roll20.

Yep, I'm happy as a pig in shit :)

What Kind of GM Are You? A Planner or an Improvisor?

As I read through Odyssey (The Complete GM's Guide to Campaign Management) I'm being reminded that there are two basic types of GMs:

Those that "plan and prepare" are on one side of the graph.

Those that "improvise and pray" are on the other side of the graph.

Me, I'm pretty well situated on the "improvise and pray" end of the spectrum. It's not that I don't prepare, but my plans towards preparing greatly outweigh any actual preparation that gets done. With my group, that is probably a good thing, as they couldn't follow a straight line or a plot path without some major whacking with a 10' pole.

Odyssey covers both extremes of GMing style (I named the styles here, not the book, but I feel they are accurate depictions, at least in my eyes). Even the "improvise and pray" side of the spectrum does require some prep, but it's generally much looser in nature.

So, while I'm enjoying the sections that are aimed at the "plan and prepare" type of GM, I also know that despite my best intentions, I'll carry over very little from these sections. It's just my nature. As for the "improvise and pray style" - there's some gold within. Thankfully both types of sections are readily identifiable.

Where do you stand on the GM graph? "Plan and Prepare"? "Improvise and Pray"? In the middle? "P&P with some Improvisational Tendencies"?

Modern Adventures (Beta) - I Want This JUST For the Cover!

I simply love this cover! It's an awesome homage to B/X D&D, even if the insides are for the Pathfinder game.

Heck, for 99 cents I may get Modern Adventures just for the cover ;)

From the Blurb:


Modern Adventures is an supplement to the Pathfinder Roleplaying game published by Paizo, designed to expand Pathfinder for modern settings. Not just a rehash of d20 Modern,* Modern Adventures is a new take on fantasy gaming in a 21st century setting. Inside, you'll find:

Updates to the existing Pathfinder core and NPC classes, bringing them into the 21st century.
6 brand new classes with 20 new archetypes.

Charmer

Masters of the social arts, charmers are masters of flattery and persuasion, using their innate appeal to deceive, manipulate, and bend others to their will.

Archetypes: Animal Whisperer, Gambler, Romancer, Undercover Spy

Entertainer

Consummate performers, entertainers are happiest in front of an audience. They create and control the raw emotions of everyone around them. As they advance in levels they also gain status and influince.

Archetypes: Stand-up Comic, Pro Athlete, Stuntman


Gadgeteer

Techies. Gearheads. Geeks. Rocket Scientists. Whatever you call them, gadgeteers are technological virtuosos, able to create short-lived gizmos - technology so advanced it makes "cutting-edge" look like a blunt rock.

Archetypes: Hacker, Racer, Saboteur

Investigator

Investigators are tireless seekers of truth and insatiable puzzle-solvers, never content unless they're working a case. Using flashes of intuition as well as the scientific re-creation of crime scenes, no clue is beyond their reach.

Archetypes: Bounty Hunters, Gentleman Detective, Muckraker, Superfan

Scholar

Part bookworm, part mad scientist, the scholar's primary advantage is their raw intellect which they can shape into various talents and tricks. They can also create concoctions that can have either beneficial or detrimental effects.

Archetypes: Engineer, Psychologist


Stranger

Every culture produces individuals who ultimately live apart from it, strangers within their own lands. Whether driven away from society or choosing to live apart from their fellow man, strangers face scorn and derision wherever they go. Still, living outside the system lets them accomplish things that most 9-5ers can only dream about.

Archetypes: Drunken Bum, Parolee, Street Preacher, Traditional Tribal Warrior

New Skills
New Feats
Modern weapons, equipment, and vehicles.
2 campaign universes and sample adventures:

Fifth Realm

The nine worlds of Norse mythology are real... and on a collision course with Midgard, the fifth realm. Participate in the return of magic to the modern world. Explore 8 new dimensional planes and, most importantly, defend earth from magically adept alien invaders.

Silicon Gothic

A hard sci-fi universe completely devoid of magic, the near-future world of Silicon Gothic follows the dystopian footsteps of Bladerunner, Brazil, Escape From New York, Max Headroom, Metropolis, and Robocop. Corrupt and greedy corporations oppress their workers and bully the powerless government. You must learn to work the system or be crushed by it.

* OK, a good deal of the equipment list is carried over from d20 Modern. You've got me. Did you really expect us to re-research everyday items that everybody already knows?

There Will Be Drinking Quest This Weekend!

The mostly annual Gathering of Fools will be taking place this Saturday afternoon. My old gaming group - we started in high school, moved on to college, reset to MMORPGs when work and family commitments prevented us from getting together in person regularly - will be getting together this weekend.

Grown 40+ year old men eating, drinking, watching bad movies and this time around - playing some Drinking Quest!

Hell, I'm not even the designated driver (I've been so on many of the previous gatherings) so I'll be able to chug with the best of them.

Now when does the Indiegogo of Drinking Quest 2 ship again?

A Kickstarter That's Gone to the Dogs - "Dogs Playing D&D"

You know the iconic paintings of dogs playing poker? The ones that you cringe when you see for the uhm-teenth time?

Would you feel differently if the dogs were playing D&D?

I don't, but if you do, you can get it in electronic or printed format, and for the stretch goals you can even vote on different editions of D&D besides the default 3e.

Hey, you knew it was going to happen at some point, right?

What Replaces "Magic" in SciFi Campaigns?

"Technology suitably advanced will effectively be magical" or some such. I'm paraphrasing somebody but damned if I know who.

In any, magic is a staple in fantasy RPG campaigns, whether we are talking spells or items.

Spells kinda match up to psionics or psi powers, but what matches up to the magic items?

Now, I'm not saying that D&D is simply killing things and taking their stuff - I'm mean, it is that but it's more too. The thing is that "stuff" is often magical in nature - potions, scrolls, rings, swords, etc etc... What is the parallel in SciFi?

Better loot... er, weapons?

I'm guessing alien artifacts.

Damn, I've really been away from SciFi RPGs for way too long ;)

"Odyssey - The Complete Game Master's Guide to Campaign Management" Opens for Preorders June 3

+Gnome Stew 's / Engine Publishing's campaign management book Odyssey opens for preorders tomorrow. I've been privileged to have an advanced reviewer's copy of the PDF in my hands for a short while. I'll be doing my proper review of this later on this week, but it's timing couldn't be better, as I'm getting ready to launch my new SciFi campaign shortly.

I'm a notorious minimal preparer / highly improvisational type of GM (probably comes from years of procrastination in High School and College and at nearly 46 I'm too damn old to change) and I was moderately surprised to see that much of Odyssey is aimed at GMs similar to me.

I'll get to see Odyssey in action over this summer's campaign, which means I'll probably need to follow up this week's forthcoming review with actual "Play Updates".

You can also grab a 19 page preview over at Gnome Stew.

What Meaning Does "Official" Have in the OSR?

Recently I participated in an "online discussion" with someone that was looking for more Swords & Wizardry material. He was looking for new classes and such. I pointed him to some of the material posted during April's Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day blogfest, figuring he's find something to use, whether new classes, monsters, adventures, settings, house rules - over 140 posts from various bloggers can generate lots of material.

It's not what he wanted. He wanted more "official" classes and such from Frog God Games. I mentioned that wasn't very likely and pretty much opposite of the whole OSR thing.

It's possible he was coming from the world of Pathfinder or 4e, where turning out new classes, spells, monsters, settings and the like from Paizo and WotC is part of the whole revenue stream.

The OSR doesn't really work in that manner. Third parties offer expansions to the rules as options. Heck, even when the rules publishers themselves go beyond the original core, it's all optional.

Nothing is official in the OSR, not even the core rules.

Everything is official in the OSR, at least potentially, after approval from the DM.

Therefore, official has no true value in the OSR.

What's you feelings on "Official" and the OSR?

Adding Some More Volume - "OSR Distribution CD-ROM" - Can It Be Done?

+Timothy Brannan has a really intriguing post up over on his blog The Other Side about using a CD-Rom to promote the OSR at Cons and game stores. Here's a snippet (hit his blog for the rest and running commentary):

What about a FREE OSR distribution CD-ROM?

We put on the most popular free products that we have the permission to use, build a front end (HTML) that has the links to the PDFs on the disk and then links to the various sites and links to whatever else.

Each game would need some promotional "Ad" copy written.

The idea then is we, you, me, whomever demos the game then gives out copies of this disk to the players.

Off the top of my head I think we should include: 

Basic Fantasy
OSRIC
Swords & Wizardry
Labyrinth Lord (Free versions)
Lamentations of the Flame Princess (the free versions that out there)
Spellcraft & Swordplay (Basic version)
Microlite74
Matt Finch's Quick Primer for Old School gaming 

There could be and should be more.  

Hell, I'd put together a S&W compatible PDF just for something like this. It's a great way to get more eyes on the OSR, and with the compatibility of the systems, a rising tide would literally life all.

What say you all?

A Look at the Poll Results Thus Far for a "Online Swords & Wizardry Gaming Convention"

Let's see. 139 total votes. 94% of those votes would be interested in gaming and / or "Hangouts" with some of the creative side of Swords & Wizardry. (I suspect few that aren't interested bothered to vote, so the percentages are surely skewed. Still a nice number of responses, even with some multiple votes)

I think there is enough interest here to start with the broad strokes on how to organize this. I think the key here is not trying to replicate a "real space con" with a "cyber space con". The last attempt at that was an abysmal failure and that is not something anyone has a desire to repeat.

The strength of an online gathering / convention is the ability to get people together for gaming purposes from across the world and still allow them to game from their own homes. An online gaming con is simply about gaming, not vendors and publishers and the like.

It's needs about gaming - playing games and talking about games. Anything that gets on the way of that needs to be left behind.

Earliest we would be looking at this is mid to late September, so lots of time for thoughts, ideas, brainstorms and brainfarts ;)

As always, for this to be successful, it needs to be for the community by the community. W do have a most awesome community in the corner Swords & Wizardry calls home.