The OSR Punches Above It's Weight in the Latest Ennie Nominations

Here's the full breakdown of the Ennie Nominated Products (list borrowed from ENWorld - if you want links to the products nominated, go to ENWorld) - I'll make comments here or there in my best Grumpy impression ;)

Best Adventure 
Achtung! Cthulhu - Three Kings (Chronicle City/Modiphius Entertainment) - this is the Nazis meet Cthulhu book if I'm not mistaken - I may need to check this out)
Deadlands Reloaded: The Last Sons (Pinnacle Entertainment)
Enemy Within (Fantasy Flight Games) - I'm assuming this is an update to the original WFRP adventure
Pathfinder: Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition (Paizo Publishing)
The Zalozhniy Quartet (Pelgrane Press)

Best Aid/Accessory 
All We Have Forgotten—Music for Ashen Stars (Pelgrane Press)
Night’s Watch (Green Ronin) - this sound like fantasy law enforcement - must research
The One Ring Loremaster’s Screen & Lake-town Sourcebook (Cubicle 7)
Protodimension Magazine Issue 13 (Kinstaff Media LLC) - urhh?
The Unspeakable Oath (Arc Dream Publishing) - always good and bizarre 

Best Art, Cover 
Champions Complete (Hero Games)
Iron Kingdoms (Privateer Press)
The Magnificent Joop van Ooms (Lamentations of the Flame Princess) - James always does awesome art with his projects 
NPC Codex (Paizo Publishing)
The Whole Hole Volume 01: Keister Island (Mutha Oith Creations)

Best Art, Interior 
Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms (Wizards of the Coast)
Night’s Black Agents (Pelgrane Press)
Night’s Watch (Green Ronin) - ah, Song of Fire and Ice
Shadows of Esteren Book 1 (Agate Editions) - I don't need to see any other product to declare this the winner ;)
The Whole Hole Volume 01: Keister Island (Mutha Oith Creations)

Best Blog 
Gnome Stew - the only one I know and a damn good one - but where are the ones I know besides Gnome Stew? +Martin Ralya 
The Illuminerdy
Nerd Trek
Triumph and Despair
The Rogue Warden

Best Cartography 
Ancient Temple Interior (DramaScape)
Deep Blues: Nautilus (0One Games)
Drake Starship Map (Blackwyrm Games)
The Lands of Ice and Fire (Random House)
Sprawl Sites: High Society and Low Life (Catalyst Game Labs)

Best Electronic Book 
Curse the Darkness (Growling Door Games, Inc.)
Deadlands Reloaded: The Last Sons (Pinnacle Entertainment)
The Deadly Seven (paNik productions)
Experimental Paradigm of Cinematic Horror (EPOCH) (Imaginary Empire)
Hobomancer (Hex Games)

Best Family Game 
Doctor Who: Adventures in Time & Space—11th Doctor Edition (Cubicle 7)
Hero Kids—Fantasy RPG (Hero Forge Games)
Mermaid Adventures (Third Eye Games)
Project Ninja Panda Taco (Jennisodes)
Wandering Monsters High School (Bold Pueblo Games)

Best Free Game 
Mazes and Perils RPG (WG Productions) - Vince get's us another OSR nomination - never heard of any of the others +Vincent Florio 
Phantasm (2010) (End Transmission Games LLC)
Nights of the Crusades (Aetheric Dreams)
Silent Memories (Morning Skye Studio)
Throwigames Simple Roleplaying System (Throwigames)

Best Free Product 
Battletech: A Time of War Quick-Start Rules/Shadowrun Quick-Start Rules (Catalyst Game Labs)
EPOCH: Road Trip (Imaginary Empire)
Fools Rush In (Privateer Press)
Night in the Seyvoth Manor (Darklight Interactive)
Wayfinder #8 (Paizo Fans United)

Best Game 
Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea (North Wind Adventures, LLC) - awesome pick - now it has to win :) +Jeff Talanian 
Broken Rooms (Greymalkin Designs, LLC)
Champions Complete (Hero Games)
Iron Kingdoms (Privateer Press)
Night’s Black Agents (Pelgrane Press)

(shit - this list is longer than the Oscars and the Academy Awards put together)

Best Miniature 
Dungeon Command: Blood of Gruumsh (Wizards of the Coast)
Freeblades: Black Rose Bandits (DGS Games)
Pathfinder Battles: Shattered Star Gargantuan Blue Dragon (WizKid Games/NECA)
Pathfinder Bestiary Box (Paizo Publishing)
Spot of Bother Set One: Royal Highland Guards (Okumart Games)

Best Monster/Adversary 
Champions Villains Vol. 3: Solo Villains (Hero Games)
DC Adventures Heroes & Villains Vol. 2 (Green Ronin)
Inner Sea Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)
Mutants and Masterminds Threat Report (Green Ronin)
NPC Codex (Paizo Publishing)

Best Podcast 
Atomic Array
Indie Talks
Haste: The Official Obsidian Portal Podcast
TableTop: Dragon Age (wait, wasn't this like a youtube one shot?)
Transmissions from the Ninth World

Best Production Values 
Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea (North Wind Adventures, LLC) (another chance for AS&SH to win)
Doctor Who: Adventures in Time & Space—11th Doctor Edition (Cubicle 7)
Iron Kingdoms (Privateer Press)
Rimward (Posthuman Studios)
Shadows of Esteren Book 1 (Agate Editions) - from what I've seen, this is a contender

Best RPG Related Product 
Edition Wars (Gamer Nations Studios)
Eighth Day Genesis: A Worldbuilding Codex for Writers and Creatives (Alliteration Ink)
The Express Diaries (Innsmouth House Press)
Kobold Guide to Wordbuilding (Kobold Press) only one i heard of
The Lands of Ice and Fire (Random House)

Best Rules heard of 3 out of 5
Champions Complete (Hero Games)
Dungeon World (Sage Kobold Productions)
Experimental Paradigm of Cinematic Horror (EPOCH) (Imaginary Empire)
Iron Kingdoms (Privateer Press)
Night’s Black Agents (Pelgrane Press)

Best Setting
Broken Rooms (Greymalkin Designs, LLC)
Magnimar: City of Monuments (Paizo Publishing)
Menzoberranzen: City of Intrigue (Wizards of the Coast)
Midgard Campaign Setting (Kobold Press)
Mythic Iceland (BRP/Chaosium)

Best Software 
The Crawler’s Companion (Purple Sorcerer Games) - congrats +Jon Marr 
Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia (E-book Edition) (Arc Dream Publishing)
Dice & Dragons - 3D Dice Roller (simpleFun)
PCGen (PCGen)
Roll20 (The Orr Group, LLC) - my VTT of choice these days

Best Supplement 
Dark Roads & Golden Hells (Kobold Press)
Doctor Who: The Time Traveler's Companion (Cubicle 7)
Night’s Watch (Green Ronin)
Menzoberranzen: City of Intrigue (Wizards of the Coast)
Shadowrun 2050 (Catalyst Game Labs)

Best Website 
Adventure-A-Week
The Escapist
Gnome Stew - wait, blog or website? can you be both? - hmm, every blog IS a website, but not every website is a blog...
Modus Operandi
See Page XX

Best Writing 
Doctor Who: The Time Traveler's Companion (Cubicle 7)
Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding (Kobold Press)
Never Unprepared: Guide to Session Prep (Engine Publishing) - more congrats to +Martin Ralya 
Night’s Black Agents (Pelgrane Press)
Wolsung Steam Pulp Fantasy (Kuźnia Gier/Studio 2 Publishing)

Product of the Year 
Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea (North Wind Adventures, LLC) - do eett!
Broken Rooms (Greymalkin Designs, LLC)
Champions Complete (Hero Games)
Doctor Who: The Time Traveler's Companion (Cubicle 7)
Experimental Paradigm of Cinematic Horror (EPOCH) (Imaginary Empire)
Iron Kingdoms (Privateer Press)
Menzoberranzen: City of Intrigue (Wizards of the Coast)
Night’s Black Agents (Pelgrane Press)
NPC Codex (Paizo Publishing)
Shadows of Esteren Book 1 (Agate Editions) - the whole line looks amazing

Judges' Spotlight Winners 
Hooper - Leviathans (Catalyst Game Labs)
Matthew Muth - School Daze (Sand & Steam Productions)
Jakud Nowosad - Deniable Asset (Random Encounters)
Megan Robertson - Killshot: Director’s Cut (Broken Ruler Games)
Kurt Wiegel - Eldritch Skies (Battlefield Press, Inc.)

Reminder - Only a Few More Days Left to Get Your Entries in for the July DCC RPG Contest Here at the Tavern!

Don't make me go out there and physically twist your arm!

In all seriousness, we have a crapload of prizes and only 2 entries. Excellent entries, but we need more. I may extend the deadline if needed but I'd rather not. Play the odds, they are in your favor!

We have print copies of Appendix N Adventures, In the Prison of the Squid Sorcerer, Through the Cotillion of Hours and the latest Crawl! IN PRINT! There are also a bunch of PDF prizes including Purple Duck and Purple Sorcerer releases.

Take 10 minutes and enter. It will make this old bartender feel useful ;)

Mini Review - Transylvanian Adventures - The Winter Home (DCC Adventure)

Transylvanian Adventures - The Winter Home is a strange beast. It is written as a one-shot with pre-gens to serve as an introduction to the forthcoming Transylvanian Adventures sourcebook.

What is Transylvanian Adventures? It's "a supplement for Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics roleplaying game (DCC RPG). It is quasihistorical and heavily influenced by Gothic Horror and the Hammer Films of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The setting is a mythical version of Transylvania at the turn of the 19th century. There are no Elves, Dwarves or Halflings."

Yes, it's one hell of a divergent direction for the DCC RPG. If the full Transylvanian Adventures sourcebook / supplement for the DCC RPG is anywhere near as good and fun as Transylvanian Adventures - The Winter Home, we may just be seeing some alternative DCC RPG campaigns cropping up.

In The Winter Home itself, it refers to the rules included as Quickstart Rules, as The Winter Home plays with it's own variation off of the DCC Rules proper. We get Fear Saves, Dead and Mostly Dead (which replaces the current unconscious and dying rules), healing without a cleric, turning undead without a cleric and Killing Vampires. Yep, this is no longer the DCC RPG you know so well.

The divergence is why there are pre-gens included as well as rules to cover some of the changes in the default setting. They say you can use regular DCC RPG characters / classes, but you'd have to shoehorn the adventure a bit awkwardly into the default assumed setting for DCC (unless your party get's thrown into another dimension - now there's an idea)

For me, I'd rather appreciate this for what it is, an amazing introduction and hint of promises for the forthcoming Transylvanian Adventures setting book and save it for when that book is released. I'd rather use it as part of a campaign for the implied setting. Now, if I was running a one shot at a con or the like, this would be aces.

The atmosphere in this adventure is so thick you can cut it with a knife. This is a good thing. Because if he can pull that off with the full setting book, this is going to be one of the better horror releases for the OSR in general (and the only one for the DCC RPG that I can think of).

Now we just need someone to take the DCC RPG into space ;)

From the blurb:

Transylvanian Adventures is a supplement for Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics. It is heavily influenced by Gothic Horror and the Hammer Films of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

"The Winter Home" is an introductory adventure designed for the 5 pre-generated characters included in the back. The characters in The Winter Home include 5 of the 8 new classes from  Transylvanian Adventures: the Valiant, Exotic, Half-Breed, Hunter and Reaver.

The adventure is also suitable for a party of 3rd or 4th level Dungeon Crawl Classics characters.

The Magic of Freehand Mapping the Classic AD&D Module G1 With Roll20 (Complete With Pictures)

We were playing the classic G1 last night. The original map is in blue. The map as drawn is in grey.

Needless to say the map as drawn got some great comments from the players. The sad thing is, Joe probably still draws straighter lines than I do ;)

Next Saturday the DCC RPG Campaign Will Start - It's Funnel Time!

It looks like we'll be switching up between the classic Against the Giants AD&D series run by +Joe D and some DCC RPG adventure run by me. Should be fun. I've enjoyed my chance to play as a player and not the DM, but I also enjoy running games. This seems like a very good way to keep things balanced.

At the end of last night's session, I told everyone to go to the Purple Sorcerer site and roll 3 sheets of characters (using 3d6 in order) then pick the 3 characters they want to use in the funnel. One straight up stat swap per character. Sure, on average the characters are going to have slightly higher stats than just rolling 1 sheet and picking 3, but as I plan on running this as a campaign and not a series of one shots, the opportunity to have qualified funnel survivors works better for my group and I. Besides, no matter the stats, all funnel participants are just as squishy as the other - for the funnel I expect the usual lethality ;)

I'll be running with a version of my idea of the players having a "stable" of available characters. I'm thinking three, but we'll see what shakes out in the end. I'm also thinking of allowing the players to distribute a number equal to half the expo earned by their active character at the end of a session among their two inactive characters.

Toying with the idea of an "organic sandbox" of sorts - very localized initial setting, with rumors and treasure maps to lead the party astray ;)

Shadows of Esteren - Book 0 Prologue (Free Fantasy / Horror RPG Quickstart "Plus")

The Shadows of Esteren - Book 0 Prologue is more than a quickstart. It's more like a preview of the Shadows of Esteren RPG / Setting that is playable over multiple sessions. (There is currently a funded Kickstarter proceeding for Book 2 in the series)

Why over multiple sessions? This 80 page free prologue includes game system, setting and three adventures for the price of FREE. Hard to beat that. 

It's an excellent way to find out of the game meets your (and your gaming group's) needs and expectation with little investment other than the time to read it and perhaps play it. At first glance the system seems simple enough at it's core.

Production qualities are second to none. If you like high quality artwork in your RPG, you've found a winner here. If I use this for nothing else, I'll be screen capping much of the artwork for use in my Roll20 sessions. It's just too good not to find a use for.

From the blurb:

Shadows of Esteren is a medieval role-playing game with horrific and Gothic overtones. Drawing inspiration from Celtic myths, this universe has a discreetly fantastic side under a bleak, realistic surface. This world is populated by humans who have to cope with a harsh daily life and supernatural threats lurking in the dark. Focused on investigation and survival scenarios, Shadows of Esteren is a game in which the atmosphere and the interactions among the players are paramount.

Prologue will be your first journey into the universe of Shadows of Esteren’s role-playing game, and will prepare you for the first episode of the official campaign. 

You will find:

. An Introduction to the Universe. Familiarize yourself with the main concepts of the game, as well as with a general presentation of the universe.

. A Summary of the Game System. All the necessary elements to grasp Shadows of Esteren’s system and play your first scenarios.

. Six Template Characters. Illustrated and ready-to-play characters: Yldiane the Varigal, Arven the fighter, Ean the fugitive, Liam the scholar, Mòr the Ionnthén, and Urvan the Blade Knight.

. Three Scenarios. The triptych “Omens” offers three scenarios, which are very different, and yet linked by a single red thread. They are meant for players and leaders of all levels.

. Poison: An ideal scenario to discover Esteren and take your first steps in role-playing. The village of Melwan is threatened by a poisoning. Will you be able to discover its source and how to stop it?

. Loch Varn: Dive into the confines of nightmare in an elaborate scenario with original narrative concepts and discover the secrets of Loch Varn’s vale.

. Red Fall: A dead man and a missing woman. Lead an investigation in Dearg and experience an initial overview of the vale in which the first episode of the official campaign will be set.

Free Shadowrun 5th Edition Quickstart

Hey! Are they trying to make
QSR look like OSR?

As I post this, there is only one product that is selling better at RPGNow than Ambition & Avarice, and that's the full version of Shadowrun 5th Edition.

You can get a free copy of the Shadowrun 5th Edition Quick Start Rules from this link, that way you can save your cash and pick up Ambition & Avarice for about a 1/3 of the price of the full Shadowrun rules ;)

From the blurb:

Shadowrun, Fifth Edition is here and there's no better way to dive into the Sixth World than with these Shadowrun Quick-Start Rules. Take on the role of a Combat Adept, Decker, Street Shaman, or Street Samurai in a brawl against fast-food goodfellas using this set of streamlined rules perfect for both those new to Shadowrun or long-time players getting back into the game.

Some Thoughts on Using Ambition & Avarice With DCC and Other OSR Systems

I did some serious reading of the new Ambition & Avarice release last night, which is a much different experience than reading different sections as stand alone pieces while trying to proofread. It struck me that in addition to being an excellent OSR ruleset on it's own, it makes for an extremely useful DM's tool or supplement for other OSR rules.

Case in point. I'm looking to kick off a DCC RPG campaign this summer, with the plan to use both published adventures and my own scenarios mixed together. The PCs classes (and "savage" or humanoid) races would make for some excellent NPCs or adversaries for use in DCC.

I can just see using a goblin cultist and his minions in an adventure, using the A&A spells with minor alterations. No one says that NPCs and monsters have to be created using the same rules as the game you are running.

It's a great tool to keep your players on their toes and keep everything fresh.

Well, except for the fact that +Greg Christopher is one of the players in my gaming group, as is +Craig Brasco , the cover artist. Or the fact that our group playtested the rules. But that's okay, as they will get a chance to playtest the mish mash of rules I'm talking about above this summer ;)

Anyhow, here's a bit on the Cultist in A&A. I think it's a perfect fit as an adversary in DCC:

Cultists are able to perform sacrifices to capture the life force of their victims. The sacrifice must be a humanoid. The subject must be bound in a ritualistic manner on an altar or in an open area of at least 10 square feet. They must also be healthy (no toxins, no diseases, etc.) and possess over 50% of their maximum hit points. 

The sacrifice kills the subject and transfers their life energy into the escaping blood, which can be stored for future use. For every hit die possessed by the subject, a pint of infused blood (16 ounces) can be captured. Consuming a pint will recover 1d6 hit points or heal 1 points of attribute damage. It remains potent for up to a week.

Some Minor Observations and Thoughts on Wizard Spell Casting in the DCC RPG

I've been listening to podcasts on my drive to and from work for months now. Gaming podcasts up the wazoo. Woot! My most recent addition had been Spellburn, an excellent DCC RPG flavored podcast. The last episode focused on wizards and spell casting, so I thought I would take a look at it too - and raise some questions.

See, for me, spell casting in DCC was the hardest part for me to wrap my head around. It's similar enough to the source material to seem familiar, but different enough to confuse the shit outa me when I first encountered it.

The whole "can cast a spell until you fail to successfully cast it" was another head scratcher when I first came upon the DCC rules. I wanted to see my spells by level chart. I've gotten past that handicap now, thank you much ;)

Wizards start out with 4 1st level spells plus their Int modifier. The starting spells are chosen randomly, but if the assortment is lame, the Wizard can drop half of those and choose that half (page 124 - easy to overlook as it is not next to the class description).

Wizards also gain 1 spell per level gained after 1st level - which would mean that as written, the characters will gain on average 2 spells of each of the higher spell level.

Is it possible to forget a spell and replace the knowledge of that spell with a different spell of the same or higher spell level that the caster can cast? As PCs find new spells via adventuring, they may want to replace some of their more useless spells with new shinnies. (spells like Patron Bond are pretty much single use, and I suspect would be readily forgotten after use by most wizards for something more useful in a game session).

If not, I can see that x/day type magic items that replicate certain spells would be very useful to fill in these gaps for the casters.

Ambition & Avarice: 1st Edition Releases in PDF (OSR Ruleset)

I'm very excited to see the full version of Ambition & Avarice released into the wilds, not least because I game with the writer and one of the artists ;) I've been playtesting this, and it is good. It's takes some of the usual tropes and twists them a bit, but it is solidly OSR.

I'm working off a Chromebook, so grabbing a copy will have to wait until I get home.

I know what I'll be reading before tomorrow night's game session ;)

From the blurb:

Ambition and Avarice is an action-adventure roleplaying game. It provides a rich tapestry of choice for the player while remaining light and fun. The adventuring mechanics are OSR compatible and allow easy integration with a variety of old school campaign material. You can pick up this game, grab an old module, and get playing in a very short amount of time.

The characters are rough and dangerous adventurers. No more clerics wagging their moralistic fingers at thieves. You are all thieves in some sense of the word, having come to feed on the treasured corpse of the past. There are 10 races and 10 classes that each bring a unique flavor to the classic dungeon crawl. The five magic-using classes have a varied selection of new and exciting spells. The non-magical classes have their own rich choices and don't fade away in importance as the magical characters advance in level.

The entire package is designed to allow quick character generation and presented in a format that is clear and easy to read. It is an ideal choice to hand to a new player who is looking to get into the great game, but turned away by thick rulebooks with byzantine organization.

The Dragon Horde Zine Issue #1 - Pay What You Want (OSR Fanzine)

The Dragon Horde Zine Issue #1 is very Old School - not just in content, but in feel. To the point that some of the articles use a font that mimics a bad mimeograph copy. Alright, that part I didn't enjoy so much ;)

Still, it's 24 pages of Old School zine complete with a decent dungeon, new creatures and magic items and even some charts for detailing the tavern your party is currently imbibing in. Good stuff!

The suggested "donation" or price is 50 cents. If you pay 50 cents, OBS adds a 35 cent "surcharge" to your purchase for being under a buck. Either add something else to you cart if you want to kick the author back a few cents, or just pay a buck. It's well worth the price (and you can check it out for free and pay later if you would like).

From the blurb:

Inside this inaugural issue:

• The Monster Roster: the leech-man and the beguine, with Oe/BX/1e stats

• d30 feature: Where Does the Weapon Hit? 

• Familiars Found: Guidelines for Spellcaster Familiars
  in New Big Dragon's Universal RPG The System

• A Map of Yal Caramon and an overview of Lerdyn Chrisawn's Chronicle

• New NPC Class: Chroniclist

• The Undertemple of Arkon: An Adventure for Characters Levels 1-3 

• Seven New Magical Weapons 

• Who Speaks What: A Languages Spoken Crib Sheet

• Who's in the Tavern: Tables to Fill the Tables at the Local Tavern

An Amazing DCC RPG Adventure Path Put Together at the "Humanitarian Orc" Blog

You are writing something for the latest DCC RPG Contest, are you not? There's cool loot and shit!

Well, the Humanitarian Orc Blog just posted one hell of an adventure path. I like it!

Here's a snippet, then got to Humanitarian Orc to read the rest. Don't forget to enter the contest yourself - no DCC RPG rulebook necessary ;)

The Thanes of Hirot 

Since time immemorial, you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins.  Of mysterious origins and the source of many superstition, they have always been considered a secret best left unknown by the folk of your hamlet. 

But now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks.  Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villagers are snatched from their beds.  With no heroes to defend you, who will rise and stand against the encircling darkness?  The secrets of Chaos are yours to unearth, but at what cost to sanity or soul? 

A band of friends, family, and neighbors braved the Starless Sea.  While many were lost, by lot or by fate a few arose to become true heroes.  Tales of their deeds spread quickly and a plea from near Hirot is soon received. 

High above the windswept moors and darksome woods, the village of Hirot is under siege...

"Renegade" (OSR Clone Rules) Goes "Pay What You Want"

For some reason, this makes me think of Chivalry & Sorcery

Renegade is one of the more recent OSR clones to hit the playing field, and by more recent I mean in the last year or so. It didn't get much notice from what I saw, but that may have been due in part to the fact that most of the OSR rulesets have a free version for you to kick the wheels and try before investing in it.

I guess you could consider Renegade to now be the the "Try before you buy" category, as it has gone "pay what you want" at RPGNow.

Even if you aren't interested in another OSR clone, the adventure design tables and charts in the second half of the rules are worth the investment of bandwidth to download. It also includes random tables as a separate PDF as part of your purchase - encounters, events, foods, etc. If you like tables for inspiration, you have them here.

From the Blurb:

Renegade is ideal for anyone looking to start playing the world's most popular RPG with family and friends. This version of Gary Gygax and Dave Arnesons' rules translates instantly into other Old School RPGs and early versions of D&D.
The gameplay is fast and easy to learn, but Renegade is a complete system with all the spells, monsters and items needed to play for years. The game includes lots of support aimed at making life/ running games easier for new GMs.

The content is suitable for age 7+.

The following list outlines some of the options and content included in Renegade:

Lightweight rules that encourage improvisation and exploration
Classic and challenge-based experience (XP) options
A wide range of PC classes
Ascending and descending AC
Step-by-step support for rapid adventure and world building
A single-column layout suited to print or tablets
Optional skill challenges
Word/ OpenOffice class templates and quick start PC sheets included
Renegade has an expanded version called Renegade ~ Corruption with extra content.

A Kicking Ass Kickstarter - Maelorum: Reprint an Epic Gamebook!

Truth in advance - I'm not kicking into the Maelorum: Reprint an Epic Gamebook! , but that's because I grabbed two copies the first time around ;)

Yes, it stands up to the hype. This is one of those rare solo "Gamebooks" that works on both the gaming level and the story level. This sucker is in my bag every time I take a trip to the Poconos to get away from the city (I like to squeeze in a few moments of solo gaming in between all of the running around the family finds for me). Have I finished it? Nope. I'm enjoying it in snippets. Still, my signed 1st edition is taking a bit of a beating.

Will has softcovers and hardcovers this time around, and I must say I really like the new art for the hardcover. Hardcovers can stand up to the workout you will probably put this through.

Maelorum is like taking the Fabled Lands series and making it even better. Not that they are all that alike, but Fabled Lands set the old bar in my opinion, and Maelorum is setting the new bar.

I like the "Volume One" on the cover, as it means Will has more stories planned. I may need to corner him one day and find out just what those plans are :)

There's about a day and a half left in the latest Maelorum Kickstarter. It's blowing past stretch goals and has already surpassed 500% of it's goal.

I know it will ship, as Will did a great job with the first Maelorum Kickstarter. I know the product rocks, as I have it.

If you missed out on Maelorum the first time around, now's your chance to correct that.

Damn, it feels good to be talking about a Kickstarter and feeling all good and positive. I'm sure that will fade when I look at all the projects I supported that are overdue by months and years. I'm pretty confident that Maelorum: Reprint an Epic Gamebook! will hit it's mark.

A Closer Look at "In the Prison of the Squid Sorceror" (DCC RPG Adventure Anthology)

(Did I mention that In the Prison of the Squid Monster is one of many prizes in this month's DCC RPG Contest here at Tenkar's Tavern?)

I picked up In the Prison of the Squid Sorceror last week when Lulu was having it's 25% off sale. Actually, I grabbed a couple of things, but this is the shiny that I'm taking a look at (with the DCC RPG Campaign waiting to be sprung). Yes, I already have this in PDF and reviewed it prior, but print version is always nice to have and it allows a look with fresh eyes if you will.

There are 12 mini to short encounters / adventures in this book. I really think they should have gone with 13, as it would have fit the DCC universe a bit more closely, but I digress.

The first adventure (by Ken Jelinek), after which the book itself is named, is for 1st level characters. I'm already trying to think which adventures to "seed" rumors to the survivors of the funnel, and this would be perfect. This may just be long enough for players new to the DCC RPG and characters with actual levels (and class power / spells) to get their feet wet before moving up to larger / tougher adventures.

Mermaids From Yuggoth is a 3rd level adventure from +Daniel Bishop . The name of this short adventure conjures images of Cthulhu Mythos in my mind, and the adventure itself helps that along. It's more roleplay than combat and is meant to fill in some of the dead space between other adventures - you can actually start events in motion when the party is 2nd level. It's not something you see often, but does a fine job of adding a sense of continuity between other DCC adventure.

Skipping ahead a bit in the book, we come to The Long Sleep by Ken Jelinek. Potentially a funnel for a smallish party of of 0-levels, I think it will find more use as an adventure to pull out when the party has less than it's full allotment of players at 1st level. Yeah, I'm focusing more on the lower level stuff, as that will see more immediate use.

I'm thinking these short adventures (there are 9 more included - I'll get to looking at them closer as the week goes on) would work well if played 2 in a session (the Brave Halfling Appendix N adventures could be thrown into the hat too as they are short in length). It's kinda like a DCC RPG  Double Feature, with a built in intermission / bathroom break / walk the dog built into it.

What is Your Favorite Non-TSR Module / Adventure (any system)?

Many of us "Old School Gamers" look back fondly on the classic B2 for Basic D&D. Or G1-3. Maybe Tomb of Horrors.

Often out focus is on the TSR classics, but there are others out there (many from Judges Guild come to mind).

My favorite, possibly of all time - Death on the Reik for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition.

25 some odd years I can't say for sure if the adventure was uber-awesome, but my memories of it are. It was a blast to GM and my players had a blast with it. Too bad the campaign came to an end when the party's wizard blew himself and most of the party up with a misplaced fireball. It wasn't so much the fireball itself, but the dozen or so flasks of oil that he carried to enhance his pyromaniac tendencies. Ah well, he did learn a lesson.

So, what your favorite and why?

A Look at Admonition #4 in DCC RPG

What is "Admonition #4" in the DCC RPG? (page 314 in the PDF)

Fear no rule. I know you will homebrew this game: I trust it will remain recognizable but different from as I conceived it. Such is as it should be.

Just like OD&D and many of it's offspring, it is expected that the DCC RPG will be played in a manner that suits each individual group. Houseruling is to be expected.

I'm one mean houseruling mother f'er! I do it to every game I run. I can't help myself.

Last spring / summer's ACKS campaign? I houseruled the sucker. The ongoing AD&D / OSRIC game delving into Rappan Athuk? I houseruled the shit out of that.

I don't know how an experienced DM / Ref / Judge worth his salt doesn't tweak a given ruleset to suit his players. Mind you, houserules aren't there to make make the game easier for the players, they are there to make it a better play experience for all involved. Some may help them, some may hinder them but the play is the key.

I do, however, let my players know upfront the houserules that are in effect. No one likes the surprise houserule that screws over their plans. It's not fair to the players and itsnot fair to the campaign.

When you run a campaign, do you RAW (run as written) or do you houserule?

Received Two More Excellent Submissions for the "Unofficial OSR" Zine Today

I think I'll be printing out all of the current submissions this weekend just so I can physically hold them - and get an idea of how big the first issue of the Unofficial OSR zine is heading to be. We are getting submissions at a nice steady pace (two today) and they've all been "very good" or better. I'm humbled. I'll also be buying lots of beers it seems.

There is still nearly a month to submit (details on this post)- and we pay with "beer money" - no one is getting rich, but the least I can do is buy you a beer ;)

One thing the zine lacks is an actual header / title / whatever the f' you call the graphic that would be "Unofficial OSR". If you're good at that stuff, send your ideas to tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing. I'll pay more than a beer for the one we use. Heck, if we get a couple of decent submissions, I'll even put it up for a vote with prizes and shit.

In the meantime, a heartfelt thanks to all that have submitted or are thinking of doing so. It is your zine after all.

What is Your Favorite Non-D&D Old School RPG?

In my early days of roleplaying, I'd play just about anything. I did spend more time with two games than any other besides AD&D. Those games were MERP and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. So, if I were to ask the question based on what I played back in the day, those two would be my choices.

If you were to ask me today, based on what I find myself wanting to play, it would be Tunnels & Trolls - a game I refused to play back in the day.

Go figure ;)

So, which game or games would make your list?

Prepping For DCC and Beyond

So, I find myself prepping (reading an rereading rules and adventures) for my group's upcoming DCC RPG campaign. It's going to be a hell of a switch from the current AD&D / OSRIC venture into Rappan Athuk (and the previous ACKS campaign that saved us from a painful DnD Next playtest campaign).

As I dig deeper into DCC, I'm reminded that it is not nearly as complex as it appears at first glance. Sure, the book is friggin' huge, but that more due to the fact that every spell has it's own chart.

Here's a thought for a Kickstarter - laminated DCC RPG spell cards - one spell per sheet - it would be the ultimate DCC player material. Well, except for the fact that it would only really be useful for casters and Judges. Eh, good idea, no idea how to do it in a cost effective manner. Not sure how to do it on POD either.

Anyhow, I plan to kick things of with Sailors on the Starless Sea and then see where it leads. We have a group of 6 plus the GM, and over the summer we can probably hit at least 4+ for each session. One of my players actually has a DCC RPG adventure that he wrote and was published, so I'll need to be very well prepped to keep my GM cred at it's current level. ;)

Then when I get my Hardcover copy of The Razor Coast for Swords & Wizardy, I'll probably be itching to start a S&W campaign. So much gaming to want, so little time.

Sidetracked there for a bit.

I plan on using some variation of my proposed character stable idea. It still needs tweaking, so I shall tweak away. The idea of having an in game mechanic to swap out characters depending on player wants / party needs / PC death appeals to me. Playtesting it will see how it works in play as opposed to theory.

One idea I'm toying with is to give the players multiple rumors in between adventures about possible legends / locations / further adventure - not all would be level appropriate. Semi sandboxie if you will, as there is no detailed world to adventure in at the moment. Or I'll use one of the suggested Adventure Paths from the contest. I'll get feedback from my players to see how they want to run it, but I believe I have every published DCC RPG adventure (in PDF at least) so I have lots of options to choose from.

I do need to work up some random encounters / tables to possibly hit the party with before / after adventures as they travel - got to keep it real ;)

Mini Review -DCC # 67 - Sailors on the Starless Sea (DCC RPG Adventure Funnel)

I find it hard to believe I never reviewed Sailors on the Starless Sea - as apparently I did in May of 2012 - oops! heh

That being said, in the time since I've actually run some DCC RPG funnels (and 1st level adventures), so I'm going to take another stab at this from the POV of having actually run this stuff:

Sailors on the Starless Sea is probably the perfect "0-level Funnel" if you are looking to set the tone of your DCC RPG campaign at the Goodman Games default. Each of the publishers of DCC RPG adventures have a certain tone to their products, which is to be expected. Slightly dark, sometimes apparently hopeless and the odds are never in your favor, that is the tone of the Goodman Games adventures. (actually, I should do a post on the tone of the different adventure lines and how to tweak them to work together).

With the mindset of  "You turn to your companions and ready your meager weapons. The time for retribution has come" you know your PCs are going to be in the thick of it. Not because they are heroes, but because it needs to be done.

The use of the Beastmen in Sailors on the Starless Sea is pure DCC RPG. Strange and unknown (and no two looking exactly alike) it keeps the party from falling into the old OSR / OGL / Pathfinder routine of "seen this, done it before" and gaming the encounter with metagame information that works across editions. "No, you haven't seen this before." Actually, you probably won't see it again, as each DCC adventure from all of the publishers pretty much have monsters / adversaries unique to each adventure.

It's also a fine example of making loot unique, whether magic or non-magical. Sure, the DCC rulebook discusses this, but this adventure shows it in action.

It's also fucking lethal, as all good funnels should be and also supplies PC replacement opportunities if needed (as all funnels should).

I'll make sure to let +Harley Stroh know how it goes when I do.

Yep, I'll be running this soon ;)

From the blurb:

Since time immemorial you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins. Of mysterious origins and the source of many a superstition, they have always been considered a secret best left unknown by the folk of your hamlet.

But now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks. Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villagers are snatched from their beds. With no heroes to defend you, who will rise to stand against the encircling darkness? The secrets of Chaos are yours to unearth, but at what cost to sanity or soul?

An introductory adventure for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, Sailors on the Starless Sea pits a mob of 0-level adventurers against the legacy of the Chaos Lords and their corrupted hordes. Delving beneath the crumbling ruins, the characters discover ancient crypts, a starless sea, and an ancient ziggurat, where death and treasure await in equal measure!

Tavern Activity - Zine, Reviews and Assorted Plans for the Summer of 2013

As the recent heat wave in the North East reminded me, we are knee deep in summer. One always needs to make some summer plans.

The aim is to get the first issue of the Unofficial OSR zine out the first week of September. We have some excellent submissions this far (including a scenario for the original Chainmail rules) but there is always room for more. Remember, we pay in "beer money" ;)

I'd like to average a review a day, but now that I'm back from my week of vacation, it will probably slow to 3 or 4 a week if I'm lucky. I think Sailors of the Starless Sea will get reviewed tonight.

What I'd also like to do is a "DCC RPG Content Post" a day for the month of August (much like I did with Swords & Wizardry back in May) but getting the zine together may preclude me from hitting it daily. Maybe I'll aim for every other day. Crap, maybe I need to start working on that stuff now ;)

Oh, and tentative plans for a Swords & Wizardry Online Con / Gaming Event towards the end of September.

God bless my wife for being a good egg :)

Got Twelve Rats With My Reaper Bones, Still Looking For the Pile of Coppers

I finally got around to unpacking my Reaper Bones tonight. There literally is a crap-ton of minis.

I still need to cut apart the ones that are still one their sprue - bought the hobby knife last week while on vacation along with some brushes. I also need to glue together the bigger pieces.

Overall, I'm very happy. There are, however, a significant number of minis that are bent to the point they can't stand up. I've heard rumors of a 1 sec boiling water dip, bend into place and than ice water to lock, but I think I'll wait for others to work the kinks out of the process ;)

Some Thoughts on Kicking off the DCC RPG Campaign

(don't forget to enter the Summer 2013 DCC RPG Contest - Put Together a "DCC RPG Adventure Path" From Existing Published Adventures and you may win some awesome prize)

So, my group seems interested in playing some DCC later on this summer. Damn exciting.

I'm figuring we are looking at 5-6 players, so 3 0-Level characters a piece. I'm currently rereading Sailors on the Starless Sea, as I expect this will be the funnel we will use.

I'm going to go with 4d6 in order, keep the three highest dice. One stat swap (any two stats) or reroll of occupation (including a racial specific reroll for those that have their heart set on playing one of the demi-human races. I don't see the point of limiting the players choice too much).

They'll roll 4 characters and head forth with 3 (the last will be a replacement if needed).

Edit: Alternatively, they could roll 12 sets of scores in order and choose the 3 sets they want to use in the funnel (I'll see which method the players prefer)

I'm interested to see the entries for the DCC Adventure Path contest and how they suggest what order to run the adventures - I may just follow one of the paths set out ;)

Announcing the Summer 2013 DCC RPG Contest - Put Together a "DCC RPG Adventure Path" From Existing Published Adventures

Here's July's DCC RPG Contest:

Put together an "Adventure Path" using currently released adventures from Goodman Games and 3rd party DCC RPG publishers.

No need to buy anything or even read the DCC RPG rules (but you can read the DCC RPG Beta for flavor if needed). Read the hooks / blurbs / summaries on RPGNow / Goodman Games of the adventures (links to the publishers products are at the bottom of this post) and string 4 or more together in a "metaplot". You can mix and match publishers if you like. Actually, mixing and matching should be fun. Make it fun. Try to make sense (which means you will need to explain how one connects to the next - yes, make shit up ;)

The contest will be open for entries for 10 days - sometime on the evening of July 17, I'll close the contest to new entries. I will pick a top 5 list on July 18th. You enter by posting your adventure path (or link to it if you post it on your blog or website).

Blog readers will then vote on their favorite "DCC Adventure Path" (one random vote will get a $10 RPGNow GC from Tenkar's Tavern). Voting will close on the evening of July 25th, 2013. Votes will be cast as comments in the Voting Post.

Prizes:

The Top Pick gets print copies of In the Prison of the Squid Sorcerer (Mythic Bull Games), AL3 Through the Cotillion of Hours (Purple Duck Games), AN1 The Ruins of Ramat (Brave Halfling) and AN2 The Vile Worm (Brave Halfling)

The Runner Up gets print copies of AL3 Through the Cotillion of Hours (Purple Duck Games), AN1 The Ruins of Ramat (Brave Halfling) and AN2 The Vile Worm (Brave Halfling)

The Second Runner Up gets a PDF copy of In the Prison of the Squid Sorcerer (Mythic Bull Games)

There will be additional PDF prizes supplied by Purple Sorcerer (Lair of the Mist Men, Perils of the Sunken City, The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk and A Gathering of the Marked) and Purple Duck Games (The Falcate Idol and The Black Goat) to random participants.

Links to the publishers:

Goodman Games - Print / PDF

Purple Duck Games

Purple Sorcerer Games

Mythic Bull Games

Dragon Hoard's Publishing

Thick Skull Adventures

Brave Halfling 

Crawl!

(Prizes generously supplied by Purple Duck, Purple Sorcerer, Mythic Bull and myself)

Mini Review - Critters, Creatures & Denizens (DCC RPG "Monster Manual")

Somehow Critters, Creatures & Denizens slipped by my notice when it released back in March. I usually get a notice from RPGNow for new DCC RPG releases, but not this one.

Now, the DCC RPG is much like LotFP' Weird Fantasy, in that the assumption is that the big scary guys are unique, either by location (Flying Buggywuggies are only found in the Swamp of Armpit Pustules) or by solitary habits (The Ogre ate my momma! Which ogre? The Ogre silly!).

The approach taken by CC&D is twofold. New (or new twists on old) monsters for you to use as inspiration when designing you own adventures (including the odd patron) or for use when you need to drop something on the PCs unexpectedly.

The other thing CC&D gives you is a tool to make your own monsters. I will admit, this shit gets chart heavy and loses me with tables like the one below. The mutations table in the beginning is aces though.

KISS is usually my method. Still, there is more than enough inspiration from the stated out creatures to keep a DCC Judge in monsters for months. Just handwave most of the charts if you are like me. Unless of course, you are a chart monkey, in which case, you'll be in heaven ;)

Did I mention the boatload of +Scott Ackerman art? Holy shit, nearly worth the price of admission on it's own.

From the blurb:

A new book of monstrous surprises and new ideas for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roll Play Game. In its pages are:

-More than 120 Pre-generated DCC RPG compatible creature entries from the banal to the horrific with more than 400 variations for size and other subtypes.
-More than 7 templates that transform the stock creatures into zombies, skeletons, lycanthropes, and more…
-The guidelines and definitions needed to create your own creatures that will scale appropriately with the DCC RPG environment.
-Two tables with more than 30 mutations so you can create so many variations that your grand children will still be using this manual to create original combinations!

Optional rules for:

-Familiars, critters with class levels, and more…
-Overland and table top movement for those who love a safari…
-New sources for magic items…

Things you will not find in this work:

-Treasure tables. Most creatures don’t bother, and the ones who do are likely to be using what ever it is against the players. Besides, every Judge and Storyteller has their own ideas on appropriate treasure so why bother to codify things with tables?
-Threat ratings and encounter balancing architecture, because only you can know what your players can and cannot handle. Besides, the creatures of the wild don’t look for targets of equivalent strength. They hunt the weak, the sick, and the lame… aka: adventurers…

Mini Review - Beneath the Dome Part 1, Tombs of Green (C&C Serial Adventure)

Whenever I think of "serial publications" I remember TSR's horrible attempt to turn a single novel into multiple "novelettes". When I look at Beneath the Dome Part 1, Tombs of Green, I see another poor execution of the concept.

Why do I consider it a poor execution? I doubt there is enough in this first part to fill an evening of gaming or even most of an evening. There are 8 pages of "meat" in this offering - 6 for the adventure (8 rooms / encounter locations) 1 for the new creatures and 1 for new spells / map.

It feels incomplete, which is to be expected, as it is serialized. I'd expect the GM would run this when he has more of the product in hand, not just this small piece. Which is why the following piece of advice really struck me:

So, they should suddenly find them later on? I really hate when something is in an adventure but NOT in an adventure. Does this advice change with the release of the 2nd part of the series?

It's not a bad part of a dungeon, but it's expensive for the piece you get. $2.99 if you buy each part separately, or 10 bucks if your subscribe to all 4 parts at once.

From the blurb (the typos below belong to the Troll Lords):

Join James M. Ward in his latest foray into adventure gaming. Beneath the Dome is a serieal adventure. The first four episodes are laid out and being prepped for release.

The subsription includes four dungeon crawling adventures. They can be played separately or linked together for hours of game play.

Don't miss a book: SUBSCRIBE HERE (and save!)

“There is danger here. You should go back to your homes and guard your loved ones. I will try to keep death from your doors.”

Part 1: Tombs of Green launches the characters into the mountain deeps. Here they find the fallen have come back from the dead and seek companions on the lonley journey. Its a hard hitting, blood bathed, old school adventure, where luck and skill play equal parts.

Two new monsters, the andromodons and four new spells add to the night's fun as players push the envelope of adventure.

Thoughts on a "Character Stable or Tree" For the DCC RPG

So, we just finished the 2nd session of G1 run by +Joe D and it was a fucking blast. As we wrapped up for the night, we got to talking about the DCC RPG and the idea of playing a few sessions after we finish up with the current series.

Which got me brainstorming out loud with the group.

My previous thoughts on a higher level character funnel were addressing character replacement from a needlessly complicated direction.

Dark Sun, as originally presented in AD&D 2e, gave each player a "stable" of characters or a "character tree". When the active character leveled, the player could level another character in his stable and swap out characters between adventures. No inactive character could be raised in level higher than the active character. No trading between characters. Each player has four characters total at any one time - one activer and three in their "stable".

Doing a variation of this for the DCC RPG is pretty easy, especially as many groups default to some level or episodic play in their DCC campaigns. It allows replacement if the player's active character dies / goes missing for a year and a day / etc with a character the player has some investment in.

I would probably allow a player to form his character stable upon reaching 2nd level. Generate 3 sets of 4 0-level characters and choose one from each set to survive to level 1. The player will now have 1 2nd level and 3 1st level PCs.

Depending on the type of campaign, a player may choose to level two PCs in tandem and forget the other two for now, or the Judge may throw in some lower level adventure more appropriate to lower level characters in the stable as a change of pace and to allow the players to experiment with other classes.

I need to tweak this a bit, but I think it could fit in very well with the DCC RPG's theme and flavor.

Always open to ideas and thoughts on the matter...

Some Thoughts on The Tavern's Next DCC RPG Contest

I planned on announcing the next DCC RPG Contest / Giveaway tomorrow, but I need to see what I have to give away in print (from both the generosity of 3rd party publishers and some extra copies of Barve Halfling's Appendix N adventures I got during the Kickstarter) and see if I can get  some PDF copies to go along with the above. I was otherwise occupied on my vacation and failed  to do necessary "reaching out" ;)

Now, here's the theme of the contest I'm thinking off. I'm going to ask participants to put together their own "Adventure Path" using currently released adventures from Goodman Games and 3rd party publishers.

No need to buy anything or even read the DCC RPG rules (but you can read the DCC RPG Beta for flavor if needed). Read the hooks / blurbs / summaries on RPGNow of the adventures (I'll supply links to all that I know of) and string 4 or more together in a "metaplot". You can mix and match publishers if you like. Make it fun.

I'll pick 2 or 3 entrants to get print copies and I'll hopefully have some PDFs to go out to some random entrants.

This is NOT the contest announcement - that may take a few days yet. Consider this a head start to brainstorm for those that like such ;)

Reaper Bones in Hand - Holy Shit!

No pics yet, as I just came back from a few days in the Poconos and found my huge Reaper box when I returned this evening.

I was ready to bitch and complain that they left out the paints I ordered, but the 4 plain brown boxes held my 24 paints - sweet!

If I find the time I'll unpack everything and take some pics tomorrow. First step is to find some superglue so I can put together the gigantic minis that came with this. My wife already declared that I have enough minis to paint to last me for years and years, if not a lifetime. She is so right ;)

In the meantime - I have my 32 oz beer mug filled with Sam Adams Summer Ale - it's damn hot here in NYC!

Thoughts on a "Non-Zero Level Funnel" in DCC (and other Fantasy RPGs too)

One of the great things about the Zero Level Funnel adventures in the DCC RPG is that the act of winnowing down a players prospective PCs seems to invest the player in the survivors. It's something that at first glance I outright said I'd never run and in the end I think it is pure genius.

Last summer I ran Sailors on the Starless Sea as an ACKS adventure to weed out the losers of what were prospective PC henchmen. It worked exceedingly well.

In a game like DCC, with it's potentially high body count in each adventure, it got me thinking that a well written funnel for higher level PCs could be just as useful. Sure, it would play differently as the players would already have class abilities, but I think the idea is still valid.

Any thoughts on how one could make this work? ;)

Mini Review - A Gathering of the Marked (DCC RPG Adventure Funnel)

A Gathering of the Marked is Purple Sorcerer's latest release in it's line of DCC RPG adventures. If you aren't familiar with Purple Sorcerer's stuff, it's always high end with great production values and a little bit of whimsy to juxtapose the usual DCC RPG darkness.

This time around, +Jon Marr gives us a DCC 0 level funnel with ALL the trappings. I do mean ALL of the trappings. Paper minis (pages and pages), pregen characters, player visuals (perfect for use in Roll20 and other online VTTs) - lots of value for your gaming dollar.

What about the adventure itself? Like most of the Purple Sorcerer stuff, you're looking at at least 2 sessions of gameplay if not 3. My favorite scene is near the beginning - ask my players if I can spend a good part of the session talking like a pirate - then ask them if I even should ;)

As I said above, there is a share of dark and brooding, but the whimsical balances it out so well, it makes for a unique feel amongst the various DCC release lines.

There are some very unique magic items available for the players to discover. They are not overly powerful on the whole and add some excitement for the players when acquired.

How lethal is it? You can expect the party to get whittled down constantly, perhaps to the point they won't even realize their total loses. There are opportunities to replace lost party members and keep the funnel moving, but it is lethal.. It looks to be a lot of fun to run - or play in. Well done!

From the blurb:

Rich and poor, bond and free: every few months an unsuspecting few awake to find a ragged circle of midnight black scrawled on their foreheads; a dark summoning whispering on the edge of their consciousness. All who live in the shadow of the Great City know to ignore the call of the mark is to invite madness and a lingering and horrific death, so each will find his way to the sending stones, and the unspeakable peril that waits beyond.

Designed for 0-level adventurers, A Gathering of the Marked challenges a band of strangers to endure the mad games of a power who's motivations are as mysterious as its identity. Can the summoned survive to wrest control of their lives once more? Will they turn on those they struggle with, or band together to defeat a common enemy? Will they finally come face to face with the twisted power that has called them, and uncover its dark secrets? All will be revealed in A Gathering of the Marked!

Features of A Gathering of the Mark

-Horrifying fun compatible with the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG from Goodman Games (easily convertible to your favorite 'old school' system... and by easy, we mean easy easy!)
-Explore the cursed village of Haven's Fall, battling shambling horrors, freakishly nimble puppets, cow-devouring tentacles and more!
-Uncover the secrets of the Cult of Athax: foul minions of a Shadow Wizard with dark designs on not only the world, but you in particular!
-Packed with adventuring possibilities: twice the length of Perils of the Sunken City, with full color artwork throughout all 24 adventure pages + 24 additional appendix pages.
-Nearly 100 paper miniatures included for those who want to see the action unfold. (13 Free battlemaps available on the Purple Sorcerer Games website.)
-Virtually every image is included in easily printable format in the appendix making creating handouts a breeze!
-New: Comes with two streamlined tablet versions for both large and small tablets and mobile devices.

Mini Review - The Treacherous Cobtraps (DCC Adventure)

The Treacherous Cobtraps is a level 2 Appendix N Series DCC RPG adventure. The PDF version comes with both a DCC RPG stated adventure and a systemeless adventure for easy plugging into any other fantasy RPG.

So, what do you get for your $2.95?

A short adventure with nice atmosphere, but unless your party is a small one,  numbers alone will easily win the day. This is something you pull out when half the group can't make the session, because it will probably play out way too quickly and with little actual danger to the party with a full group.

It introduces two new magic items, one of which has further adventure potential.

The map is gorgeous. If there is one thing Brave Halfling is making a name for itself with is the maps accompanying the Appendix N series - they rival Goodman Games offerings at times, and that is a high target to match.

From the blurb:

The folk of the borderland shun the great strands of tamarack trees that lie at the southern edge of the stagnant marsh. Some tell of scuttling sounds and far-off cries that suddenly go silent. Others speak of ghostly-green, shifitng lights that bob and weave amongst the choked, tangled evergreens. Two nights ago in the halfling thorp of Brandy Hollow, a young shepherd boy and several sheep went missing. Leaders from Brandy Hollow approach the characters in desperation and offer them 100 gold coins each in exchange for cleasing the Taramack Weald of whatever evil must dwell therein.

Looking at the DCC RPG Review List - What's Been Covered, What Needs to Get Posted (with links even)

Lets see, what have we reviewed thus far during DCC RPG Week at The Tavern?

DCC # 69 - The Emerald Enchanter

DCC # 73 - Emirikol Was Framed!  - done!

DCC # 75 - The Sea Queen Escapes

DCC Free RPG Day 2012

A Gathering of the Marked (Purple Sorcerer) - done!

Tomb of Curses (Dragon Hoard) - done!

The Witch of Wydfield (Brave Halfling) - done!

The Treacherous Cobtraps (Brave Halfling) done!

and added these:

DCC # 76 - Colossus, Arise! - done!

The Falcate Idol - done!

The Black Goat - done!

Pulp Weird Encounters Issue #1 - Tomb of The Squonk & The Silent Army - done!

At least 5 reviews left with 2 1/2 days left of vacation. It might not be doable, but we'll come close to closing out this list ;)

Mini Review - Colossus, Arise! (DCC RPG Adventure)

Colossus, Arise! is an 8th level adventure for the DCC RPG. Let that sink in for a bit. 8th level. That's the approximate equivalent of 16th level in other OSR / OGL RPGs. And yes, it can easily bring your campaign to a crashing end, but at this point your campaign is at it's natural end or close to it - and oh my what an end it would be.

How dangerous is Colossus, Arise!? Here's how +Harley Stroh puts it:

I hope all of the PCs have henchmen, because the body count will be exceptionally high.

Actually, in the likely event that Colossus, Arise! causes the timely death of the PCs in your campaign, you probably ended things on such an epic level your players will be eager for next week's funnel. If you're going to kill the party, do it on a level where their failure destroys the world with them. In the unlikely even your players succeed, their triumph will be that much greater.

Who doesn't want to come face to face with a 300' undead titan? Alright, pretty much everybody - but if you can defeat it and save the world? Woot!

This is a bit of a thinking player's type of adventure, because when you think about it, the usual method of sword and spell is probably not the most effective manner to take down a 300' tall undead titan. I like  adventures that make you think. No worries, still plenty of other stuff to kill or be killed by.

Lots of handouts included in this one. Make copies and hand them out as souvenirs to the players that lose their PCs ;)

So, how long would it take to get the average group to level 8 playing DCC RPG once a month?

From the blurb:

Giants stalk the shifting sands as the lost city of Stylos awakens from its deathless slumber. The Fourth Age of Man is at hand! All that stands between the gigantic hordes of Stylos and their conquest of the world is your band of adventurers. Sinister traps, implacable foes, and the crushing tread of the dread Colossus all lurk within these pages, eager to test the courage and cunning of even the most accomplished adventurers.

LotFP's Better Than Any Man (Free RPG Day 2013) Available in PDF for PWYW

LotFP's amazing release for Free RPG Day 2013 Better Than Any Man is now available on RPGNow for the price of "Pay What You Want."

If you didn't get a copy of the print version last month, you owe it to yourself to get the PDF.

From the Blurb:

Better Than Any Man was LotFP's Free RPG Day 2013 release, and is presented here as a Pay What You Want item. If you want to pay $0.00 for it, no problem.

However, the layout for this PDF edition has been redone from scratch (the print version was 96 pages + cover) to take advantage of the electronic format. If you think this adds value (or if you think the adventure is just that cool to begin with), please do consider coming back and purchasing this PDF for as many dollars as you think it's worth.

Half of all income from PDF sales here go straight to the graphic designer who did all this work. The other half goes to the publisher/adventure author to invest in future releases.

A strong financial showing from this PDF will send the message that PDFs of this nature make a difference to you.

War is Hell

The Swedes are invading!
Sorcerers have taken Karlstadt with the aid of unearthly creatures!
In Würzburg, the Prince-Bishop schemes to retain control of his domain.

… and yet darker forces gather…

Thousands - perhaps tens of thousands - will die before the week is out. Can a group of luckless adventurers change the course of the events? Profit along the way? But what can they possibly do against those who consider themselves Better Than Any Man?

Better Than Any Man is a deluxe LotFP: Weird Fantasy Role-Playing adventure for character levels 1–4. Dungeoneering, wilderness adventuring, investigation, politics and negotiation, many new spells, magic items, and monsters—this one has it all!

LotFP Weird Fantasy Role-Playing is the traditional horrific adventure RPG out of Finland that holds nothing back. It is part of the Old School Renaissance family of games, which makes this adventure broadly compatible with dozens of other old school systems.

If you can endure Better Than Any Man, look for other LotFP adventures and supplements right here on DriveThruRPG and RPGNow!

What is Considered "Successful" as a 3rd Party / Indie Publisher in the RPG Industry?

Is it "lucrative side income"? How much do you need to earn for the amount to be considered "lucrative"? Does it move you from the "beer money" category to "wine"?

If you AREN'T in for the money and just want to get you product "out there" the process is simple enough. RPGNow is like a low cost alternative to a "vanity press".

If you are in it for the money, no matter how small, it's lots of work over lots of time with lots of unexpected hurdles.

There is one piece of invaluable advice that I can't dispute that Johnn Four (who I quote above) mentions in his advertisement:

- Write 20 minutes each day.

If you want to be a writer of any sort, you need to actually write, even when you don't feel motivated. You need a routine. And you need to follow it for weeks, months, years.

I'd consider this blog successful, but that's taken place over 4 years. It wasn't very good at first. Hell, it was probably pretty shitty. Now, it's much less shitty I hope ;)

Success writing / publishing RPGs is probably not going to happen overnight.

Anyhow, I'm rambling.

As a consumer, which 3rd party / indie publishers do you consider the most successful? As a 3rd party / indie publishers, what are your goal posts for success? How long did it take you to go from "start" to what you consider to be "successful"?

Mini Review - The Falcate Idol (DCC RPG "Campaign Element")

The Falcate Idol, otherwise known as CE-1, was released a few hours after CE-2. So, its the first by number but second by actual release in the series.

In the case of The Falcate Idol, it is more of a short adventure than a simple location. It has built in tweakness for the ref, and is suitable for 2-8 2nd level characters or even 1-2 3rd level characters. It just depends on the time of the month the party finds the temple in question. Well, and which parts of the party you want to screw with ;)

It can almost be placed anywhere, so flexibility is awesome both for location and type of party (numbers and levels) it's aplicable for. This in of of itself adds nice value to the piece, and Daniel sets it all up well. The extra leads at the end can keep parts of the "campaign element" in play for a long time.

Actually, there is an element to this adventure that may literally dog the characters for months to come, which can be a nice way to set some continuity between sessions.

What I'd like to know is when +Daniel Bishop is going to reveal the world all of his adventures and other setting pieces are inspired from. I'll even accept some hints and teases on the blogside Daniel ;)

From the blurb:

The Cult of the Harrower is ancient, and each of the eight eyes of its spider-idol is rumored to be a moonstone gem the size of a pigeon's egg.  Moreover, somewhere within the cult's sanctuary, a pool flows from the Egg of Creation.  Will your Thief seek to make a legendary score?  Will your Wizard pursue the shards of the Egg?  Will your Cleric join the cult?  Or will your Warrior fight his way through the web-covered passages to rescue them if they fail?  Any or all of these scenarios are possible!

Oh My F'n God - They Are Now Offering a BS Course on Getting Published in the RPG Hobby - Limited Time Sale!

Don't you hate those sites that offer super secret info on weight loss, body building, conquering women through with your mind alone, etc?

Limited time deal! Must act now! Price will be increasing to your first born child in 13 minutes! If you miss out on this your testicles will shrivel up and fall off your body!

Well, we now have such an offering to get us published in the RPG hobby. As one of the hints is to set up your own RPGNow publisher account, I dont see why you even need to purchase the course.

Below are some screenshots for the website in question:

Wait? 500 fucking bucks is the regular price? Can one of the smaller 3rd party publishers pipe in with the average length of time before a start up RPG publisher makes that back in profit?

$147 is the reboot price as of July 8 - Hell, even $77 is too much for this.

Here's the link if you want to read it in total.

I'm sorry, but I have way better ways to spend my $77, and your should too...

Mini Review - The Black Goat (DCC RPG "Campaign Element")

DCC RPG Week continues here at The Tavern. The latest release for the DCC RPG game is The Black Goat. It bills itself as a "campaign element" for the DCC RPG and it took me a little bit to wrap my head around the concept, but when I did, it's pretty damn good.

The Black Goat is not an adventure itself, it more of a location and an encounter that has the potential to seed other adventures. This and releases like it help turn episodic play towards the sandbox. (I say "releases like it", as this is the second in the series but the first to release on RPGNow). There is more game play potential in The Black Goat them most of the shorter DCC RPG adventures and it requires more roleplay than brawn to be successful, which is a nice twist.

New patrol, new patron spell, decent map of the location and lots of further gaming potential. If a player gets bedded by The Black Goat, more power to them. ;)

There is no level range indicated and I don't think one is needed. The Black Goat is there to set up further adventuring for the PCs, and that's easy enough for the ref to tweak to his party's needs.

Well done +Daniel Bishop

From the blurb:

Not all mountain passes are lonely.

Come meet the Mahmat Troth and the One they adore.  Only in the high pass will you discover what the Black Goat truly is.

The Campaign Elements series is designed to help judges create persistent campaign worlds, as well as deal with patron quests, divine requests, and the sudden need to “Quest For It”.  Whether it is because you are short on players one evening, or the wizard needs to locate a new spell, the Campaign Elements series has you covered.

Each of these areas is short enough to be played through by most groups in only a single session.  That doesn't mean that the value of the area is limited to a single session – each adventure includes notes on “squeezing it dry”…effectively getting the maximum re-use from your investment.