Guest Poster - Pete Spahn -Terminology Deathmatch: Adventure vs. Supplement

Way, way back in the long, long ago, TSR began releasing products to support the core Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks. These products were labeled "Adventure Modules" and they differed greatly in content, design, and reception. Some were cherished and adored. Others were hated and reviled. All were accepted as "adventures".  I have long believed that the varied response to these products was not only due to personal preference, but also due to the actual design elements of these "adventures", some of which were not really adventures at all.

If you break down the content of these "Adventure Modules" you will actually see they are two types of products---adventures and supplements. For purposes of this article, an adventure is a series of outlined events that happen without character intervention, and in fact the outcome of these events can only change through the actions of the player characters. A supplement on the other hand is a location, with plot hooks, encounters, and places to explore and perhaps even things implied to be going on in the background, none of which requires the PCs to do anything.

Adventures
Take a look at some of the classic adventures of the past: Night's Dark Terror, Curse of Xanathon, Assassin's Knot, Saltmarsh Series, Ravenloft, Red Arrow Black Shield.

Curse of Xanathon fits the criteria of an adventure. Badly. It's a horrible railroad that forces the PCs against a high priest who is unkillable the first time they encounter him. Only after they are forced to run from him (another railroad) do they learn how to kill him. Everything in it points to bad adventure design, and yet it is still classified as an adventure because the PCs are required to DO something to further the course of events.

A much better example of an adventure done right is Night's Dark Terror which has the PCs traipsing all over the Duchy of Karameikos trying to stop a magic-user who is uncovering the secrets of ancient magic. If the PCs do nothing, this mage and his organization of slavers could potentially become very powerful.

Ravenloft is another good example. The PCs are transported to the demiplane (which some might call a railroad) and must DO something in order to escape. Sure, they can bounce around in the village and forest, killing vampires and werewolves and such, but pretty soon Strahd is going to come looking for them which gives it a sense of urgency that is not present in a supplement.

Assassin's Knot and the Saltmarsh series involve investigative work, with consequences for inaction (or incompetence). In Saltmarsh, if the PCs do nothing, the coastal village will eventually be overrun by sahuagin.

Red Arrow, Black Shield involves the PCs traveling from country to country in an attempt to rally support for their army. Each country swayed commits troops to the final mass battle. Again, the PCs are required to DO something to complete the adventure.

Were these the greatest adventures ever written? Of course not. At the time, I don't think the folks at TSR really had a clear idea as to what made a good commercial adventure which is why you see dungeon crawls, investigations, wilderness treks, etc. all labeled as "adventure modules" and plot hook railroads accepted as standard fare. I think if they would have been classified better and a little more thought given to player motivations, some of them might have been better received.

Supplements
Now let's talk about a few supplements: Tomb of Horrors, Keep on the Borderlands, Isle of Dread, Temple of Elemental Evil, Castle Amber.

Tomb of Horrors not an adventure? Keep on the Borderlands not an adventure?  Isle of Dread not an adventure? Madness!!! We've all run those adventures countless times!

But hear me out. As I said above, an adventure is more than just a mapped location with some plot hooks and encounters. There needs to be some sense of urgency, some sense that the PCs affect a course of events through their action or inaction.

Take a good long and honest look at the Keep on the Borderlands. You get the keep, some encounters in the wilderness, and of course, the Caves of Chaos. These are places to adventure in. They are not adventures in and of themselves. There is no reason for the PCs to get involved in anything happening in the text or on the map and there are no consequences for action or inaction. The encounters are mostly static. The PCs can raid the Caves and return to the keep at will, then return to the Caves, and although there are some minor suggestions for what the monsters might logically do to adapt, there is no sense of urgency for the PCs to do anything.

Compare this to the Lankhmar: City of Adventure supplement (or my own Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay). Like the Keep on the Borderlands, each has mapped locations, plot hooks, and encounters that set the stage for memorable adventures. However, none of these products are adventures in and of themselves. The PCs are not required to DO anything. They can wander around, pick fights, explore locations, etc., however, if they decide to do nothing, there are no consequences for inaction.

Can you have adventures using the Keep on the Borderlands, Tomb of Horrors, etc.? Of course you can! In fact, they are designed that way. However, again, that does not make them adventures. Anything you say about adventuring in the Keep on the Borderlands you can just as easily say about Lankhmar or Dolmvay.

Tomb of Horrors is an extreme example of this. It's basically a high-powered dungeon without the surrounding maps and encounters to give it context (i.e. a Caves of Chaos with no Keep). If the PCs leave the Tomb, no big deal. Nothing happens. Isle of Dread is the same way. You have an excellent map with tons of interesting locations and encounters, but if the PCs decide to leave the island, well it'll still be there if they wish to return. Castle Amber is basically just a romp through a magical castle (and can be considered something of a railroad as well).

Temple of Elemental Evil is basically a crawl through a large dungeon although one could argue that the evil rising in the old temple gives it an implied sense of urgency that pushes the module towards the "adventure" category.

I'd like to point out my own Blood Moon Rising adventure for a clear example of what I classify as an adventure. It is set during a festival. There are a number of events that take place during the festival, some of which surround the opening of a demon gate. On the last night of the festival, a host of demons will be unleashed.

That is the outline of the events that occur if the PCs decide to stay in their rooms with the covers pulled over their heads. Now, the kicker is that the PCs can disrupt this whole chain of events by getting involved, locating the demon gate, and closing it which prevents the demons from being unleashed on that final night. If they act: they save the village. If they do nothing: demons.

Conclusion
So in closing, a series of events that only vary with PC intervention. That is a published adventure. A location with plot hooks and encounters. That is a supplement.

A New Look for Tenkar the Dwarf

+Craig Brasco , thank you for the latest portrait of Tenkar the Dwarf!

I really do want that beer stein - who needs a more traditional weapon when you can have this?

It must be magical...

Podcasts - Do You Listen to Them and Which Ones do You Listen to?

I find myself listening to gaming podcasts on my daily commute, to the point that I probably should just cancel my Sirius / XM as it is hardly ever used these days.

My plan (as suggested last night by +Joe D ), is to put a link of gaming podcasts on the right side of The Tavern's page, so the readers can sample what are some of the better podcast out there, in my humble opinion.

The thing is, I am sure I'm missing some of the better ones myself, so I need you, the patrons of this fine establishment, to point me in the right direction.

My personal "go to" list of podcast includes the following (in no particular order besides alphabetical):

Dead Games Society

Fear the Boot

Happy Jacks

RPG Circus

Roll for Initiative

Save or Die

Spellburn

THAC0's Hammer

What say you? What's missing from this list? What have I overlooked over the last 2 years? Tell me.

On the Eve of Easter - How Often do the Dead Come Back in Your Campaigns?

I'm sure I've asked this before, but with Easter nearly upon us, it seems like a question that fits the moment.

Raise Dead is a 5th level Cleric Spell and Resurrection is 7th (not going to touch upon the various incarnations of Reincarnate with this post).

Now, there are all sorts of ways to control abuses of the spells above, but played as written, a 7th level Cleric in S&W could raise the dead once per day. Think about it. A cleric of 7th level or higher could live like a king in a medium sized town.

Well, unless the cleric himself gets killed.

Raising the dead rarely comes up in campaigns I've played in or run, but by the book, death becomes fairly cheap to beat early on in "D&D-esque" RPGs.

How does it play out in your campaigns?

Mini Review - The Monastery of Inexorable Truth (S&W Adventure for Levels 3-4)

+Purple Duck Games has released it's first Swords & Wizardry compatible adventure - The Monastery of Inexorable Truth.

Now, i am most certainly biased in favor of this adventure as my group and I playtested it with the author, +David Przybyla (who is also a regular member of our group). We used PCs from my regular campaign along with me rolling up a 3rd level cleric. It was so brutal and yet so damn good.

I really thought we were going to be TPK'd more than once, but in the end everyone in the party survived. We certainly did better when we started thinking out of the box (my instinct was to go in head first, but then again, I rarely get to play and not DM- maybe that's a good thing ;)

Nice amount of action, enough going on to make you think - and think again - and a background story that makes sense - if the party figures it out. It took us three sessions to wrap this up, but I expect most groups would take two. We are slow starters :)

I can't recommend The Monastery of Inexorable Truth enough. (even includes a blank map for VTT use - well done +Mark Gedak )

From the blurb:

THE TRUTH CAN BE DEADLY

It is said that the truth will set you free... but is that, itself, the truth?  The monks of the Order of Veracity built an amazing monastery complex in the frozen mountains, using the heat of natural magma flows, in order to contemplate the truths of their stern god, Ket the Unbroken.  When they were given a wondrous tome, the Codex of Inexorable Truth, they thought that all of the truths in the world would be theirs to behold... and it would be a lie to say that their bones rest easily because of it.  But the truth can be a valuable thing, and your party of intrepid adventurers has been tasked with obtaining the truth borne in the pages of the Codex, and must journey to the dark halls of frost and fire- to learn the Truth.

The Monastery of Inexorable Truth is a Swords and Wizardry adventure for player characters of the 3rd and 4th level, including the map and key to the Monastery, five new monsters, and rules for administration of the Codex of Inexorable Truth, a powerful artifact held within the Monastery. Challenge your players to explore the domain of Ket the Unbroken, where to be tested is to find the truth of one's inner self- if you survive!  Get it now from the intrepid investigators at Purple Duck Games!

A Call to Arms! - OSWARP is Looking for DMs (East Coast OSR Con in July)

Man, it's almost surreal. My last gaming con was Gen Con 93 - over 20 years ago. Now, in 2014, I'm attending two Old School RPG Cons - North Texas RPG (NTRPG) Con in June and the Old School Wargaming and Role Playing(OSWARP) Con in July. Pretty exciting.

While NTRPG was it roots well set, OSWARP is the new kid on the block, and is technically a "Con within a Con", as it it happening in conjunction with DexCon in Morristown NJ, a fairly large east coast gaming con with a long history.

OSWARP is happening on July 4th and 5th -  a Friday and a Saturday.

I'm loving the idea of an east coast OSR centric con and it will be exciting to be there for the inaugural one. Not sure what I'll be running, but I doubt +Joseph Bloch will let me in the doors before committing to running something.

Currently they are looking for DMs (the following is from +Joseph Bloch 's Greyhawk Grognard blog:

We're looking for you to run a game! If you volunteer to run enough games (64 player-hours' worth if you're getting the special OSWARP membership), you get comped into the convention altogether. Types of games we're looking for: 

- Old-school RPGs (Basic, AD&D, White Box, BECMI, Metamorphosis Alpha, Boot Hill, T&T, Runequest, Traveller, C&S, FASA Star Trek, etc. etc. etc.) 

- OSR retro-clones and associated games (OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, S&W, C&C, DCC, Barbarians of Lemuria, etc. etc. etc.) 

- Wargames (hex and counter types and others, like Afrika Korps, Third Reich, War in Europe, Campaign for North Africa, Kingmaker, Starfleet Battles, other AH/SPI/Victory Games/etc. - doesn't have to be from the 80's) 

- Miniatures (historical miniatures from any era, Chainmail (with or without the fantasy supplement), Battlesystem, etc.) 

- Anything else you think would be appropriate for an "old school" convention

You'll find the game master submission form right there on the DexCon registration page. (DexCon is happening July 2-6, and a DexCon membership doubles as your OSWARP membership.)

Make sure you select OSWARP in the "type of game" section in the form when you fill it out. And when you do send in a game proposal, let me know (this means Joseph Bloch) either in the comments at the original post or by email, so I have some idea of what's coming. I'll be doing regular updates as games come in, so as to drum up interest, and have some ideas for stuff at the con that requires I know what's on the horizon.

And don't forget, when you pre-register for the convention, use the code OSRDX17PX30, and you'll get a $30 discount off a complete membership. To take advantage of this deal, you must sign up for 4 Oswarp-labeled events once the schedule is posted, or two OSWARP events and the OSR Team Dungeon Crawl. (Which, if you're reading this blog, you were probably going to be doing anyway, but just in case...)

That means you get into Dexcon, and can play as many RPGs, board games, video games, LARPs, miniatures games, and wargames as you can put into your schedule over 96 hours for just $40, including all the OSWARP games you can handle. That's pretty damn good. (If you're just planning on coming for the Friday/Saturday OSWARP programming, that's still the best option to choose, in terms of price.)

Kickstarter - METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA Deluxe Hardcover Collector's Edition (Goodman Games)

There are a few points in the very early history of the RPG hobby that stick out as events that have left an indelible mark. I like to add such treasures to my collection as best I can when I can find them.

Original Dungeons & Dragons (I own the OCE)

Empire of the Petal Throne (I own a copy of the boxed set - still in it's wrap when I got it - opened now)

Tunnels & Trolls (I own Ken's personal copy of the 2nd edition of the rules)

Metamorphosis Alpha - never owned and damn near impossible to find on the secondary market

Not so surprisingly, all of the above games have gone thru a number of revisions over the last 40 years. Even if they weren't, do old RPGs ever die? Or do they just fade away? But I digress.

Goodman Games, they of the amazing DCC RPG and the more amazing adventures that are written for said system are running a Kickstarter to print a reprint of the 1st edition of the Metamorphosis Alpha rules in hard cover. With an honest to God book jacket. The last RPG that I bought with a book jacket that wasn't from LotFP was Runequest 2 back in the day.

Yes, this is the original Metamorphosis Alpha written by James Ward of TSR fame. While I may not have much to say about James' run on the Castles & Crusades line, his classic work is just that - classic. James' first work that I ever encountered was the Gamma World "grey box" - my first non D&D purchase and simply an amazing take on a post-apoc world, especially in the early 80's when I found it. Metamorphosis Alpha was some unattainable fairly tale game to me, heard about in articles in Dragon Magazine and little else.

So yeah, I'm excited to get a chance to read the original predecessor to Gamma World. I'm also excited about the new content being added by some of the excellent writers over at Goodman Games. Michael Curtis and Jobe Bittman are writing adventures for the Kickstarter, as is James Ward himself. Actually, James is adding a decent sized chunk of new material to the game, and it should be interesting to see James return to one of (if not actually) his first gaming projects.

My only wish is to see a Harley Stroh adventure added to the mix of stretch goals. One can only hope :)

The project has hit 5 stretch goals already and has 8 days of funding to go.

$80 bucks for the hard cover isn't cheap (nor is adding the 3 adventure subscription for $30 bucks), but I've yet to see Goodman Games fall short on quality. I fully expect to get my money's worth.

Damn you Kickstarter! Damn you Goodman Games and Damn you James Ward! I'm going to need to work some overtime next week to pay for this, but it will be worth it...

Has Anyone Stated Out Humanoids as PC Races for Swords & Wizardry?

Inquiring minds want to know: has anyone stated out humanoids as PC races for Swords & Wizardry?

Pulling out some of my 2e Complete Handbooks last night got me thinking about the humanoid races. There are a handful that I think could work really well in S&W - or at least how I run it.

If no one has done such, I may just do my own and post them up here at the Tavern...

Should Dungeons go "Wide" or "Deep"?

Dungeons, especially the large ones, seem to be built in one of two manners:

wide - spreading out to the edges of a sheet of graph paper or

deep - smaller levels with stairs and chutes to lower levels

Back in the day, I was very much a "wide" style dungeon mapper. I was easier (and cheaper) to build a large singular level for a dungeon than to spread multiple levels onto multiple sheets.

These days, I find I prefer smaller levels with vertical progression - mostly having the PCs delve ever deeper into the dark depths, but occasionally climbing to higher levels of the "dungeon" environment.

Of course, mid-sized dungeon levels with a handful of levels works fine too.

So, "wide" or "deep" or somewhere in between? What say you?

Racial Prejudice - Do You Have a Favorite PC Race (or race / class combo)?

I know I'm guilty of it. Given the choice, I'll play a dwarf every time, hands down. If the rules allow multiclassing, he'll be a fighter / cleric or fighter / thief. That's how I roll these days, even tho back in my early days of gaming, just about every PC I had was a human. Racial restrictions were tough to stomach when campaigns often hit their higher teens in level.

I'm not hugely keen on elves. No idea why. Maybe it's the bad taste Bladesingers left in my mouth as a 2e DM.

I have players that will always play an elf (magic user or m-u / something) or some other favorite. Others seem to have no such racial (or class) predispositions.

Do you find yourself predisposed (or prejudiced against) certain races or race / class combos when creating your PCs?

My Wife Wants Me to Bring Feltothraxis Out of Retirement for NTRPG Con - Who Shall the Dragon Interview?

Hard to believe it is over two years since I did a Feltothraxis video. Ain't he a cute little bugger?

I do believe +Zach Glazar has agreed to be interviewed by Feltothraxis at NTRPG Con. I guess if I am to do this right, I will need to line up some others.

+Vincent Florio you up to some silliness? ;)

Bueller?

"The Perilous Forge of the Ghoul Farm" - The Seeds of Inspiration are Sprouting!

I've broken out the D30 Sandbox Companion and The Tome of Adventure Design and I'm using them in tandem for inspiration for the S&W Adventure I want to run as a pick up game at NTRPG Con.

I'm really enjoying the results thus far:

The party will receive a message from one of their patrons, requesting that they stop a villain amassing power (D30 SB AG1, AG2). To do so, they'll need to stop a ritual (D30 SB AG3). The patron is a sinful Priest (ToAD 1-8), which will certainly add some... complications.

To do that, they will need to brave The Perilous Forge of the Ghoul Farm (ToAD 1-1B Columns 1, 2 and 1-2 Columns 1, 2).

Amazingly enough, thanks to +Jim Magnusson , I already know what the villain and the forge look like.

I do love it when a plan starts to come together. :)

Found - My Original Gaming Dice!

Yep, these are the original dice my parents bought for me to go along with my Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide. The d4 was missing for years before mysteriously reappearing. There was no d10 for any of the young ones asking - the d20 was numbered from 0-9 twice. One side is orange numbers (kinda) the other was usually green. Guess I went with white in my later years ;)

These dice were first used in the summer of 1980. These were followed a year or two later by a set of un-inked gem dice.

Thanks to +parrish warren for giving me the push to find them :)

Brainstorming a S&W "Pick-Up" Adventure for North Texas RPG Con

There's been interest in me running a pick up session of Swords & Wizardry while I attend North Texas RPG Con in June with my lovely wife.

So, what do I pull out for inspiration? The Tome of Adventure Design, the D30 Sandbox Companion and the D30 DM Companion. Color me inspired :)

I just need to get back to playing with mapping again - haven't had the time nor the right mental state to map, but I feel the urge returning.

Figure the adventure should be able to be run in about three hours and I'm thinking low to low-mid level (3-5 seems to be a sweet spot).

Of course, this would be my first face to face session as a DM since '97 (though I've done dozens via G+ Hangouts).

Damn, long ass time.

Whisper & Venom goes Hardcore, er... Hardcover

+Zach Glazar , he of Lesser Gnome, sent me the hardcover Whisper & Venom Compendium. It's the boxed set in a convenient book size.

The paper is high quality and the product itself is excellent (I am also a proud owner of the boxed set). If you want an affordable version of the boxed set without the bells and whistles (dice, minis, monster cards, map booklet. amazing regional poster map), this is the way to go - 30 bucks compared to 60 for the boxed set.

Whisper & Venom is written for Labyrinth Lord but converts to the old school rules of your choice without issue (OSR for the win). There is also a Pathfinder version in the works, which I am sure will increase the page count (just an observation - not a criticism - kinda.)

If I can get my wife properly acclimated to RPGs and the OSR in general via Scarlet Heroes, I suspect this would make a nice one on one campaign, as there is a richness in roleplay opportunities (and a crapload of swords swinging, dice rolling opportunities too.) Then the wife and I get to play in +Zach Glazar 's game at NTRPG Con in June ;)

Digging Out My First Two Gaming Books - 1e PH & DMG

Sure, they're beat to all hell, but that's because they were read or used every day for 6 or 7 years (before foolishly moving on to 2e, but that's a whole 'nother story).

Now I just need to find my original set of dice. I put them somewhere safe years ago and no longer know where they are...

My North Texas RPG Con Schedule is in the Bag

My #ntrpgcon schedule -

Thursday Evening - Timemaster - +Tim Snider 

Friday Evening - LL - +Zach Glazar

Sat Morning - S&W - +Matt Finch

Sat Evening - Shiverwhen - +Michael Curtis

Sun Morning - S&W again with +Matt Finch

looks like I have room to run a pick up game in the morning or afternoon of thursday or friday.

Waiting for NTRPG Con Game Registration to Open in Just Over an Hour...

Two browsers open - one for me, one for my wife.

Even took off the the 15th to stay up without issues ;)

After I see what and when I am playing, then I'll figure out what and when I'll run in open gaming...

Of course, what I run will be S&W powered :)

Problems Can Always be Bigger (Pewter Diarama)

The problem you THINK you have

The problem waiting for you after the problem you think you had

Found this pewter piece searching through a drawer of assorted "stuff" last night. Dind't find what I was looking for, but found this. Actually had forgotten about it.

I wish it were to scale with my miniatures and Dwarven Forge stuff, but alas, it's not. Way smaller.

Still, what a fun encounter to run with a group :)

Should a "Good Adventure" Tell a Story or Enable One?

Alright, so my assumption that the next great D&D release is going to be a railroad got lots of
"hurrumphs!" about railroads and sandboxes and my general predisposition D&D Next.

Now, I'm not going to be making ANY assumptions about the Tyranny of dragons in this post, except that it has something to do with a "tyranny" and perhaps "dragons" are involved. Might even involve Tiamat, who is certainly an underused property by the fine folks over at WotC. But I digress.

No, I'm thinking about adventures that were written to tell a story. We don't have to look in the recent past - we have it in the glory days of gaming. I'm not even going to focus on Dragonlance, the "Big Daddy" of telling a story at the expense of player empowerment.

I'm thinking of the horrid 'Time of Troubles" storyline that brought the Forgotten Realms from AD&D 1e to 2e in the most heavy handed manner possible.

No more "assassins" in 2e? Let's do away with those pesky assassin cults. Change the bards while you are at it too.

Throw in wild magic, spell plague, gods walking the realms, replace certain gods with characters from the books that are telling the same story as the series of adventures - oh, and don't allow the player characters within those adventures to have any real effect on the progress of the story...

I could write more, but someone else has already done a better job than i ever could. I'll wait.

You read it, right? Shit is spot on.

Yes, Shadowdale could very well be the worst adventure ever, at least as far as TSR put out. The fiction trilogy wasn't much better, either.

So, "tell a story" or "enable a story"? Rails and sand are inconsequential in the larger scope of things.

Dungeons & Dragons is a Tool of the Devil - circa 1983

Huge thanks to +David Przybyla for supplying me with a copy of this gem - let alone holding on to it since 1983.

I think the above piece speaks for itself...

A Sneak Peek at Some Inspirational Art for a Future Tavern Competition

+Jim Magnusson does some truly inspirational art. The Tavern will find a way to use this in a forthcoming contest.

My players will be seeing this fine young lad pop up
in an adventure, sooner or later.

Tonight is the cut off for those that made the 1st round cut of the of the OSR Superstar Competition to get their monster entries in. Do it!

Tyranny of Dragons - The (More or Less) Self Contained D&D Next Storyline

Forbes (of all places) just had an article on the upcoming Tyranny of Dragons "Event" from WotC based upon a preview Chris Perkins shared at PAX East.

An interesting tidbit in the above linked article:

• The ToD adventures will be separate from the core system rules coming out this summer, but will be closely tied into those rules, and the first major adventures.

So, it looks like Tyranny of Dragons will be self contained and NOT require the core D&D Next books to play. Which is kinda good for the discerning gamer, as you can get a peek at the rules and the "breakout" adventure in one shot and decide if this train trip through the Realms is right for you and your group. It also means you get to pay for the rules an extra time - or at least, non identical twins of said rules if you want the "full monty".

But, it's not like they expect players in traditional home groups to cross over with organized play groups...

  • ”We’re thinking of Dungeons & Dragons as an entertainment experience across multiple platforms” that will move from story to story fluidly… so a plotline might start in the organized play games and finish in a published module. 

Never mind.

There is certainly an effort to maximize the earnings potential from the upcoming releases. I wonder how much they will charge for B/X and 1e PDF conversions of the upcoming railroads (as well as 3.5 and 4e I am sure)?

OSR Superstar Competition - Round 2 Entries Close at 1159 PM Sunday

We're still waiting on about a dozen of the 1st round winners to get their monster entries in.

1st Round prizes are still going out and will hopefully complete tomorrow (but I'm off thru Tuesday, so yes, they will be done soon).

List of 1st round winners are here and here.

How Often Do You Kill - PCs?

There are Killer DMs, Carebear DMs and then most of the rest taking up somewhere in the middle.

Me? I don't particularly enjoy killing PCs. I, however, have no problem when their own actions lead to their demise. Most of the time I find it amusing. It removes that little bit of guilt from my DM's soul ;)

I am certainly a "let the dice fall as they may" type of DM, which can obviously lead to PC death, but I'm not so fond of "save or die" situations. Yep, not so simple to peg.

What kind of DM are you when it comes to PC mortality?

Kickstarter - Lusus Naturae: A Gruesome Old-School Bestiary - Funded, Full Color OSR Bestiary - 2 Hours Left

There's about two hours left in the funding of Lusus Naturae: A Gruesome Old-School Bestiary written by +Rafael Chandler .

You are already supporting this - right?

This is what old school gaming dreams and nightmares are made of ;)

Saga of the Splintered Realm Kickstarter - Less Than 12 Hours to Go (Funded)

Yep, the Splintered Realm Kickstarter is the one I'm writing up a mini-level (or three) for.

Yes, the man who harps on late Kickstarters is actually going to participate in one.

There really is no potential "upside" for me - but think of all the potential drama! ;)

Tavern 4k - Looking Back at the Underdark Gazette

(this is the second in a series of posts taking a look at the blogs and personalities that have had an influence on me and this blog as we approach 4,000 posts. If you have suggestions of your own, feel free to add them to the comments)

When I think of "must read" blogs of the OSR that are no longer with us, the Underdark Gazette is at the very top of that list. This WAS the go to news site of the OSR.

New releases, new blogs, interesting threads and general awesomeness, if something had happened, was happening or soon would be happening in the OSR, this was the site to find it on.

I learned about much of the OSR from the links that were found at the Underdark Gazette, and it was never afraid of showing some link love to new projects and worthy blogposts from elsewhere.

Regretfully, my attempt to use the Wayback Machine to link to some of the old goodness failed, so you'll have to take my word (or if you were reading it back in the day, your own memory) that this was a must read OSR resource. Heck, i couldnt even find a pic of the old banner to use for this post.

I've never attempted to recreate the news resource that the Underdark Gazette was (as much as I miss it), as it would be an exercise in futility. It was unique in it depth and usefulness as the visible "pulse" of the OSR.

+James Smith , the man behind the Underdark Gazette, now brings us Dreams of Mythic Fantasy, a fine blog in it's own right but different than it's older and now deceased sibling.

The First Rule of the OSR - One Does Not Define the OSR

This actually came up in last night's RPG BS Session hosted by +Tim Shorts - the whole nebulous definition of what constitutes the OSR.

What I took from that part of the discussion is that the definition of the OSR is a personal matter that is colored and defined by one's gaming background and expectations - I've yet to find two folks actively involved in the OSR give the same definition of what it encompasses.

This in and of itself makes it a wondrous thing and for me it would lose much if it's magic if it could be pinned down to a definition accepted by all, or even most.

The OSR is very much in the eye of the beholder...

The Tavern is Officially on the ENnies List for Voting - And It Has Good Company

Yep, it is official.

Good competition too - at least the ones I know of ;)

Tavern 4k - Looking Back at Grognardia

(this is the first in a series of posts taking a look at the blogs and personalities that have had an influence on me and this blog as we approach 4,000 posts.)

Even now, well over a year after Grognardia went silent, it still resonates on the RPG blogosphere. It's still there to be read and referenced. In a way, it is much like a dead planet in some sci-fi or post apocalypse story - it still has tales to tell, it's not quite gone and won't be forgotten for a long time.

I remember my reaction when I first found Grognardia - "Who the fuck can write this many blog posts, consistently and on a daily basis and still be employed?". I look back years later, and I find that the answer to that question, at least in part, is me.

The amazing thing of those early days of Grognardia, or at least my early days of reading it, wasn't just the sheer amount of posting, but the connectivity it gave to the budding OSR community. Conversations there were deep and broad, and it was rare for the comment section of a particularly thought provoking post of James's to not drive dozens of comments. Before the advent of G+, the place to be part of the OSR was for many people, myself included, Grognardia.

Grognadia was also a bit of a crossover, as it brought in readers that wren't just "old school gamers" but those that were curious about the topic. It's reach was deep, and at it's best it was the standard bearer of the OSR, whether that was the intention or now.

There will never be another Grognardia. There is no need for another. It's still there. A snapshot of earlier times and well worth your reading if you haven't frequented it before (although I would advise you skip the gaming magazine "play by plays"and dig into the true gaming articles and early Dwimmermount sightings)

Thoughts on the Upcoming 4,000th Post

We are just over 50 posts away from 4,000 posts here at The Tavern.

Let me type that again:

4,000 posts...

Probably by the end of April

Holy shit...

I want to do something special for "Tavern 4K" but I'm at a loss - besides, OSR Superstar will probably still be going on ;)

Maybe a series of posts highlighting all of the awesome gaming blogs that I read on a daily basis and have an influence on The Tavern, even if they don't even realize it.

This post is #3948...

Locked & Loaded - The Tavern Has Been Entered for the 2014 ENnies

Yep, I done did the deal. I entered The Tavern under "The Blog" category at the ENnies sign up page. I expect it will take a few days to register on the site.

I'm happily surprised to see blogs I know and follow have entered as it's nice to have good company.

Now favorite is HelpMyRPG - which apparently has an expired domain- DOH!

So, what does that mean for The Tavern? Not much. I'm sure I'll put out a "call to arms" when the voting starts if nothing else.

Being that there are at least three blogs on the current list it would be an honor to lose to if needed, I'm just happy if it brings some more attention to all the blogs involved.

Gamer's Man Cave - Finished - for Now

I had to finish this tonight in preparation for participating in +Tim Shorts RPG Bull Shit session on G+ Hangouts tomorrow evening - my only disappointment is that I haven't found Feltothraxis yet - he's still packed away somewhere because of the renovations...

Ashley was insistent that she get in a picture too - the cat is a damn ham!

CHILDHOOD MONSTERS - Guest Post by Rafael Chandler

For me, it started in the mid-eighties.

My friend Brian had something he called "the red box." It was a new game, something we'd heard about -- Dungeons & Dragons.

We agreed not to tell our parents. They wouldn't get it. Brian's dad wouldn't let him listen to Megadeth because they were a self-described speed metal, and obviously "speed" was a drug reference. "You kids think I fell off the turnip truck yesterday," he said. We had no idea what the fuck he was talking about, so we didn't listen to Megadeth or play Dungeons & Dragons when Brian's dad was home.

Top left to bottom right: Jump in the Fire by Metallica, Dungeon Master's Guide, Calibos from Clash of the Titans, The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, Mephisto, Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden, Mon*Star from SilverHawks, Show No Mercy by Slayer, Freddy Krueger.

That first summer, Brian hit level 20 or 30. He conquered an entire kingdom, cleared out all 7 layers of Hell, and killed Satan with a sword made out of an ancient red dragon's skull.

I considered myself an excellent DM. I was eleven.

The tales we studied in school mirrored D&D and its otherworldly entities: Theseus decapitating the Minotaur, Beowulf wrenching off Grendel's arm, Sigurd cutting down the dragon Fafnir. I devoured every tale of myth and legend I could find, eager for additional material.

My appreciation for the game was magnified on the day that I first held the Monster Manual. Sure, I'd already figured out that D&D was a horror game -- after all, the adventures had titles like Tomb of Horrors and The Temple of Elemental Evil -- but when I opened the Monster Manual, I found confirmation: demons, devils, ghouls, zombies, vampires, and hell hounds. The stuff of horror novels and movies.

For the next ten years, I ran blood-drenched games full of scenes lifted from Stephen King and Clive Barker novels, or whatever slasher movies I watched on HBO at a friend's house. In my D&D games, an NPC had the lifespan of a mayfly, and usually wound up getting torn to pieces by displacer beasts or trolls. Every dungeon wall dripped with blood. If you swung and you hit, then limbs went flying and guts splattered all over the treasure chest full of gold. Obviously.

At some point, I decided to write my own monster manual. It only took me the better part of three decades.

Teratic Tome was released in 2013, and people said nice things about it. A gentleman named Shane wrote, "I can only presume that Chandler dreamed up these monsters while smoking weed mixed with the ashes of Ed Gein." That was damned kind of him.

Now, a year later, I'm looking to create a new kind of evil. But unlike last year's tribute to the orange-spined books of my youth, this new tome features none of the traditional monsters -- you'll find no dragons, orcs, or demons in the pages of this compendium.

Lusus Naturae includes 100 new creatures, each more nightmarish than the last. Most are from my own warped imagination, but I've also included a few monsters inspired by mythology. The legends in question are all from Inca and Mochica tales, because as I approach 40, I've become quite curious about my Peruvian ancestors.

This enchiridion of entities, Lusus Naturae, is currently Kickstarting. The project is funded, and we're pretty close to the stretch goal of full-color illustrations throughout.

Do you love monsters the way I do? Does your dungeon crawl (or city adventure, or random hexcrawl encounter) sometimes resemble a horror movie?

Do you ever read monster manuals just for fun?

Do you like it grimdark and twisted?

If so, then this might interest you.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rafaelchandler/lusus-naturae-a-gruesome-old-school-bestiary

Stay brutal.

\m/

-- Rafael Chandler

I've Decided to Submit The Tavern to the ENnies - Help Me Pick a Defining 2013 Post

After a long (and sobering) night's sleep, I've decided to submit Tenkar's Tavern to the ENnies awards under the "blog" category.

Really, what could go wrong? An influx of Pathfinder players asking about articles on "feats" perhaps? ;)

Anyhow, I need a post or two from 2013 that highlight's "what The Tavern IS", and the Lord himself knows that I can't answer that question... heh.

So, let me know what you think was the best or defining post from this blog in 2013. One random commenter either here on the blog or G+ will get a $10 RPGNow gift cert sent to them. I'll be open to your thoughts for the next 48 hours or so.

Oh, and the musical selection should The Tavern place:

So, What Value is an "Ennie" to the OSR?

I had the page open on the ENnies website - I was about to enter Tenkar's Tavern as a blog entry to the ENnies, and then I thought - why? Actually, i thought "who cares what music gets played when one's entry places in the top three", and then I asked "why?"

Does it really make a difference in our corner of the universe?

Heck, do main stream RPG Blog readers even read this blog?

Beyond the Three Castles Award, is there an OSR award floating around that I don't know about?

Should there be?

Does it matter?

Should your bartender be partaking of the The Tavern's stock (Allagash Tripel Reserver, 25.4 oz, 9% alcohol) - is the fine Belgian Style Ale clouding my thoughts? - damn good brew thought)

Bundle of Delta Green is Here to Haunt You

Yep, i have the Delta Green book. Probably the best book for CoC or most any RPG.

The current Bundle of Holding got me to dig my copy out, and then put money down for the PDFs.

Just doing my small part to fuck up the OBS servers ;)

(sent the first 7 prizes out via RPGNow to the top 7 first round winners. Will hopefully start with the rest of the first round winners tomorrow - Wednesday the latest)

Gamer's Man Cave in the Works - With Props to My Wife

In the midst of everything else going on, we've been having renovations at the Tenkar Abode for a few weeks now. The final part of the major projects (at least for now) was the closet being build behind my back - literally. It's behind me when I'm sitting at my computer desk.

Now, the closet literally holds a crap ton of clothes - we have a high clothing bar and a low clothing bar inside. We have cubbies on the left side and two large cubbies above. I asked what we were doing with the two large cubbies and I was told "use it to display your boxed games - so when you are online gaming or interviewing you can look the part".

And yes, 90% of the plush is mine... heh

I'm only partway done with filling in the cubbies, but what a joy it is :)

OSR Superstar Round Two Reminder - We Need Your Monsters by Friday, April 11th at the Stroke of Midnight

Last day for the first round winners to get their monsters in for the second round of the OSR Superstar Competition is Friday, April 11th. edit:  moving it to Sunday, 1159 pm eastern time - the beauty of a 4 day weekend ;)

Swords & Wizardry is the default ruleset.

The email address to submit to is the same as before.

First round prizes will got out as soon as OBS's site stabilizes. I'd hate for the credit (and the Crypts & Things Bundle) to get buggered.

Top 7 Round One placers

The 34 others that made the cut

email for the above to enter is at osrDOTsuperstar at that gmail thing

edit - this round is only 1 entry per qualifier - so we should see 41 entries if I recall correctly ;)

Are There Any OSR Settings / Systems that use the "Plot Point" Format?

I was looking at the Savage Worlds site, and it seems to me that I really haven't seen the "Plot Point" format used elsewhere - or maybe I'm spending too much time reading the format and not the results.

From the PEG / Savage Worlds site:

Format 

In general, Plot Point books follow a certain format: 

1) Introduction: Geared for both players and GMs. This section tells you what the world is all about, what the big backstory is, and who the adventurers typically are. Maybe a quick overview of the world goes here as well. 

2) Characters: Any special rules for making characters, gear, or new Edges and Hindrances. 

3) Setting Rules: Any new rules the particular setting needs, like rules for Superheroes in Necessary Evil, or ship-to-ship combat in 50 Fathoms. GM’s Section – The rest of the book is purely for the Game Master. 

4) Gazetteer: A list of locations the group will travel to and the things they’ll see there. Locations should be keyed to Savage Tales to help the GM run adventures on the fly. 

5) Savage Tales: Dozens of adventures ranging form fully-fleshed out tales to short encounters. The first few Savage Tales should be your “Plot Point” adventures. These occur intermittently through the campaign as the timeline advances and the backstory progresses. It should be very clear to the GM when these are to be run, such as “When the first hero in the group reaches Heroic Rank.” 

6) Bestiary: A complete list of all the creatures and common NPCs (such as guards or bandits) the players will encounter.

It's kinda like a sandbox with set pieces.

I'm not a Savage Worlds player, so maybe I'm seeing these from a totally wrong perspective... heh

Ant thoughts?

Moving on to the Next Phase - Surviving Renovations and then Some

It's been a long six months. Between multiple deaths in the family, the passing of one of my detectives, the "re-engineering" of my bureau at work and nearly a month's worth of renovations at the house (the last week of the renovations curtailed much of my computer use, as it was happening in the room with my computer in it and my contractor works late - until 1045 or so last night - yes, a Saturday night) I find myself finally breathing a sigh of relief. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Stuff should wrap up at the house tomorrow or Tuesday.

I'm looking forward to NTRPGCon in June and DexCon (for the 2 OSR Days)  in July - my first cons in 20 years. Hopefully between the two cons I'll get to meet some my fellow bloggers and readers of this blog. It's one thing to interact via posts, comments, emails and G+ and a whole 'nother level when you get to shake hands and share some beers (beers are optional, but won't be turned down ;)

I'm going to try and send out the prizes from round 1 of the OSR Superstar Competition today. Would have done it yesterday, but my contractor was here for 13 hrs. Still, I can't complaint much with the results (all custom work, just the doors were prefab - this 110 year old house threw him curve balls and knucklers ;)

The new backdrop when I'm online :)

You've Got Your Fiction in My Gaming (Some Thoughts on RPG Related Fiction)

The way I see it, there are two types (more or less) of RPG related fiction. The first type is tied to the
setting - such as Dragonlance (which game first, the gaming or the fiction) and the Forgotten Realms. I'm not all that keen on this type, as there is little of the feel of an actual "RPG" within the story. Still, you don't need to understand or even know there are underlining gaming mechanics behind the story

The other type draws upon the RPG experience as part of the story. Spells match up, more or less, to the RPG used as it's source. Magic items can often be referenced in a rule book. Races have abilities and features right out of a monster manual. In same ways, the rules ARE the setting. This type of fiction is much less popular, but that's not a surprise. It's aiming at a niche within a niche.

I'm not sure how much of a market there is for the second type of gaming related fiction, but I know there are self published authors out there (I've been contacted by more than one after my review of Swords of the Damned)

I will say that despite it's flaws, Swords of the Damned is the first novel I've read straight through in over a year, and probably the only non Pratchett or Gaiman novel in more than a half dozen years (there's a whole post about chemo and the rewiring of my brain, but that's a whole series of post I suspect).

So, where does that put us? I'm going to aim to review gaming related fiction about once a month, although it could be more depending on the amount of bathroom reading I get in ;)

One Night in Slateholm (which I bought prior to realizing it was part of my Amazon Prime membership - as was Swords of the Damned)is the current book on the bathroom reading device (AKA my Galaxy Note 3)

No Plans Survive Encountering Your Contractor

Much like the last adventure I ran for our group, one night became two - in this case, one week became two, and the last day is going to hit 13 hrs easy. Yep, still going strong.

It's a good thing we cancelled tonight's game, as he's still working on the room my computer is in.

Well, at least I get to try out the Blogger App on my phone.

The Lost City of Barakus Kickstarter Just Ran Out of Stretch Goals ;)

The Lost City of Barakus Kickstarter just surpassed it final posted stretch goal at 30K.

So far, between the "hit 15k in 24 hrs goal" which was hit and all of the stretch goals, the following have been added:

- player maps

- player guide (free in PDF)

- bonus dungeon level 4B

- 4 new wilderness encounters of 2k-4k words each

not too shabby - +Bill Webb needs to add some more ;)

What Role Should a DM Fill at the Table?

What role should a DM fill at the gaming table?

Sure, he is sometimes referred to as a Referee, but that rarely defines the role in total.

Facilitator, director, storyteller - they are all aspects of the persona of most DMs.

If you were to read and attempt to run many of the recent LotFP releases, especially James's, you would suspect the role to be played is that of adversary - or even destroyer of parties (Monolith From Before Time and Space comes to mind).

I think, above all, the DM is there to ensure that the group has an enjoyable time, and the role adjusts to the party's needs.

How do you see the DM's role?

Solomon Kane for $4.99 - This International TableTop Thing Rocks!

Solomon Kane for $4.99?

I already own the HC and now I'm grabbing the PDF. It's Savage Worlds with all the rules included and the awesome Solomon Kane world setting.

I'd learn the Savage Worlds rules to play in this setting.

Don't forget the FREE TableTop Day Bundle and the DCC RPG also for $4.99 (and 13th Age for $9.99 and Numenera for $9.99)

International TableTop Day Bundle - Free!

International TableTop Day. Sure, it's a made up hobby, but the sale sales and freebies attached to it are real.

The Free International TableTop Bundle is chock full of quickstarts for various games as well as some premium items, such as:

Dragons of Faerun - just think, the same day I trash The Forgotten Realms, WotC tosses us a free PDF ;)

Firefly Echoes of War: Wedding Planners Cortex Plus - it's Firefly and it's free - do you need more of a reason?

Progenitor - massive Wild Talents setting sourcebook - includes the Wild Talents Essentials rulebook - I've heard enough about Wild Talents on the Happy Jacks podcast to make me interested, and at the high cost of "free", I may as well check it out...

World of Darkness - teen vampire angst - or is that another genre?

Scarred Lands - Termana - a setting book - is less still more?

Plus a shit load of quickstarts.

Don't forget the DCC RPG Rulebook is $4.99 in PDF for a limited time. Click now! Computers are standing by!

DCC RPG in PDF for Only $4.99!

Thanks to +Roger Burgess for the heads up.

The DCC RPG in PDF for only $4.99!

No idea how long the price is good for, but damn that is value for your gaming dollar...

edit - don't forget to use the DCC RPG on the Cheap link to add even more value for free...

My Wife's Dice Arrived Yesterday - Hopefully We'll Run Some Scarlet Heroes This Weekend

My wife's polyhedral dice set was waiting when I got home from work yesterday (I figured if she was going to be a good sport and try out RPGs, the least I could do is buy her some dice). I went with the larger sized set, as the numbers are easier to read and the different number of sides should be easier to recognize.

Also waiting for me as I got home was my 3 year old niece, who threw herself and me and then was thoroughly distracted by the tube holding "Auntie's Dice". She wouldn't put it down for two hours, then charged my wife and she arrived home with calls of "Aunti! Dice!" I swear the young lady will be playing RPGs before she is 5. I may have to buy her her own set of dice (she already has a set of the spongy dice) as the large polies look to be large enough to avoid being choking hazards.

If all goes well, I'll have my wife rolling dice this weekend. If all goes even better, hopefully the closet being build on the wall behind my desk will be complete by the weekend. My contractor works late, and hitting the computer at 9pm when he is done doesn't leave much time before bed. Besides, the completed closet will make my wife happy, which can only lead to my own happiness ;)

Why Greyhawk is "Better" than the Forgotten Realms

Why is Greyhawk is "Better" than the Forgotten Realms?

Simple - less canon.

The more canon one has built into a setting, the more restricted the paths of the players and the greater the chance they will be overshadowed by the setting's named NPCs.

Also, the more canon there is built into a setting, the greater the chance the players will know more than the DM about the setting, and that can never lead to a good ending. Going off the "canon tracks" can lead to push back.

Still, it does make the Forgotten Realms more ripe as a shared fiction world than Greyhawk, because there is enough canon to keep various writers on the same page.

Stupid shit that seeps into one's mind while trying to sleep at night...

Mini Review - Swords of the Damned (Adventures Dark & Deep Licensed Fiction)

The Swords of the Damned by Richard Tongue is a licensed fantasy fiction book published under the Adventures Dark & Deep banner. I have the Kindle version, and 90% of my reading of the novel happened in one bathroom or another. What can I say, it made for decent bathroom reading.

The Good - it mostly keeps to the usual "D&D" tropes, including vancian style magic. As for the story itself, the pacing is decent, the plot was good, most of the main characters are likable and it's better fantasy fiction than most of the crap put out by TSR when it treated fiction like shovelware. Yes, it was an enjoyable read and probably the first novel I've read straight through in over a year. If you have Amazon Prime, you can read it for free with your Kindle or Kindle app - wish I had realized that prior ;)

The Bad - I am not the grammar police, but there were more than a few instances where the writing was just plain awkward, and the use of pronouns got me confused with more than one "he" or"she" being referred to in the same part of narrative.

The Plain Old Ugly - if I make a spelling mistake on this here blog, it's no big deal - you aren't paying for my shit ;)  Not that I like the mistakes, but sometimes the built in spell checker doesn't catch it all, or it changes words and the like. If that happens in a novel I'm reading every minute or two, it fucking sucks. I understand that this book is basically self published, but use more than a built in spell checker to fix your spelling and typos. Use your mother, your sibling, your girlfriend. Pay someone 20 bucks. Little sucks more then getting into a story and seeing "stares" for "stairs" and "threw" for "through" and "sand" for "said" and a crapload more where they came from.

Overall, decent read, needs a shit ton of editing. If you have Amazon Prime, nothing lost by checking it out.

How Do You Handle a Thief's Backstab Ability in Combat?

I've had trouble with the thief's backstab ability (in combat) in the past, especially when playing without tokens or facing on the map. It has the potential to be either overused or underused, depending on the interpretation of the DM.

What I've been using recently, and it has never been written down prior, as DM fiat required me to figure out a solution on the spot, is as follows:

- if the target is engaged in combat with another

and

- the PC attempting the backstab has not engaged the target prior

the PC may spend one round getting into position. on the next round, the PC rolls a Hide in Shadows attempt, and if successful, he gets the bonus of a backstab. If he fails, he gets a +2 bonus to hit, but no backstab.

It works thus far, and may come up once per session (if that), usually against a BBEG.

How do you handle backstabs? Do you even allow an attempt in melee?

The Lost City of Barakus Returns as a Frog God Kickstarter and Hits $15k Goal in Less Than 25? 13? Urh? Hours!

A great deal gets even better. $40 gets you the Lost City of Barakus in hard cover and PDF in your choice of flavors (S&W or Pathfinder) - and now includes Player Maps!

If we fund by 9am, April 2nd, we will provide Player's Maps for Barakus! For Free, no foolin' around.

Also, if we fund in that time period, Bill will write another wilderness encounter!

Done with 11 hrs to spare ;)

Now for some stretch goals!

Forgive Us in Hand (LotFP Indiegogo)

Yeah, this was one of the few adventures that funding during the James Raggi Summer of 2012 "Crowdfunding Insanity".

Nope, haven't read it yet, but as it's written by Kelvin Green and not James, I suspect I'll find use for it. Damn shame that James produces high quality stuff that are just party screws lately, so I have hope for Forgive Us (the adventure formerly known as Horror Among Thieves).

The included town map mini poster is pretty cool too,

The Lost City of Barakus Returns as a Frog God Kickstarter (no joke)

I have the original from 2004(?) somewhere. Even if it was for 3e, it read of awesome.

Now Frog God is bringing The Lost City of Barakus back, set in their Lost Lands setting.

$40 for the hardcover and PDF, in either S&W or Pathfinder flavors. Wait, it's Frog God, that price can't be right, can it?

For all you Lost Lands fans out there, this one is canon — it interfaces with Stoneheart Valley, Rappan Athuk, and Sword of Air, and represents the next of many ongoing chronicles of the Frog God Games/Necromancer Games home world. A MUST HAVE book for any fan of our material. 

Our base level of funding is small — we wanted to keep the price point down on this. We listened to your feedback from our last few Kickstarters — and we are adding more new material based on stretch goals as detailed below. 

Shit, it's legit ;)

I may need to turn some of the new closet space into game storage. Won't my wife be happy - heh!