Far West Fiasco - Infinity Squared - Preorder the PDF for $24.95

Holy Fucking Fucktards Batman!

Far West has proceeded to jump the Sharka.

Yes, you can preprder the PDF of Far West, the Kickstarted RPG that will only be 3 years late in December of 2014. I feel a need to mention a year, because the page for the PDF mentions a December release but no year. That's probably wise, as it's missed three Decembers already. 2015 anyone?

The preorder is $24.95 for the PDF. Just think, if you had backed the Kickstarter three years ago, it would have only cost you $10 to hold the same nothing in your hand.

Now, why anyone would preorder a PDF is beyond me. Why anyone would preorder a PDF of a Kickstarter 3 years late requires a whole new level of consciousness that escapes me. Add a 25 dollar price tag and lead balloons have a better chance of floating to the moon than this preorder has of raising cash.

Did I mention that this overdue Kickstarter and some other overdue RPG Kickstarter are exchanging free PDFs with their backers. I hope you like vaping, because you've now doubled your vaporware.

Before anyone accuses me of being too negative, the cover looks awesome. Shame the same can't be said for the bulk of the backer portraits, but this is the type of art I was backing for. This is what brought me into the Kickstarter. Shame it's turned into a nightmare for the backers and Sharka.

Black Friday OSR Sales Update #6 - Troll Lords and Goodman Games

Troll Lords Games - Castles & Crusades

Black Friday brings you 40-70% OFF All Titles! 

Winter has crowned the northern hemisphere like a frost giant's rage! The snow is falling thick and fast and the wind blowing cold. Time to light a fire, hunker down and plunge into the worm hole with Castles & Crusades with these Black Friday sales! 

To help you do it, we're kicking the doors to the Troll Dens wide open. From now until the 5th of December all DIGITAL titles are marked down from 40-70%! 

RPGNow! Drivethru RPG! Deep Discounts to help you through the winter! Black Friday brings you 40-70% OFF All Titles!

Goodman Games Holiday Sale!

Greetings, minions. 

Now that you have glutted yourselves on the dead flesh of meleagris gallopavo, and gorged your entrails with winter squash confections, it is time to get back to work. 

Tomorrow is the day upon which my most iniquitous magics must be fueled: BLACK FRIDAY. 

Your life energy shall not be drained without reward! Peruse this incorporeal tome of wondrous items at marvelous prices and choose your guerdon based upon the amount of elan vital you send. 

Love,
The Dark Master

In other words, it's time for the 2014 Goodman Games Holiday Sale! This year's goodies include: 

Dungeon Crawl Classics: Trials of the Toy Makers, the 2014 holiday module by Steve Bean. 

50% savings on special foil-cover editions of DCC #78: Fate's Fell Hand, DCC #71: The 13th Skull, and The Dungeon Alphabet. 

Limited edition digest-sized stocking-stuffer versions of other adventures! Including:
The digest-sized second printing of DCC #67: Sailors on the Starless Sea, featuring a 4-page expansion of Area H: the Summoning Pits. 

The digest-sized second printing of DCC #79: Frozen in Time, featuring a mini-campaign setting for The Frozen North 

And the digest-sized reprint of DCC #35A: Halls of the Minotaur, Harley Stroh's first 0-level adventure for the 3.5 rules set, originally published as part of the Aereth campaign setting and never before available separately! 

VERY LIMITED scratch-and-dent supplies of DCC #35: Gazetteer of the Known Realms and DCC #51: Castle Whiterock. 

Up to 70% off PDF versions of modules. 

DCC RPG gift wrap! (holy shit!)

And more!

Early Black Friday OSR Sales Update #5 - Purple Duck Goes 40% Off in PDF (DCC RPG)

Yep, Purple Duck has put it's DCC RPG releases (and Pathfinder if you are of that mind) releases on sale at 40% off in PDF.

The DCC RPG releases are damn good.

I'd recommend AL 1-5 - The Stars are Falling (5 low level DCC Adventures) for a mere $7.79 as a good place to start.

Bundle of Holding - Indie +2 - Lords of Gossamer and Shadow, Rocket Age and Uresia

I do like some of the "indie" games out there and the current Bundle of Holding has some good picks.

I was a backer of the Lords of Gossamer and Shadow Kickstarter and I'm very happy how it turned out. It is in many ways the spiritual successor of Amber Diceless (an amazing game that requires a strong GM). I'm looking forward to playing some LoG&S in the future.

Rocket Age intrigues me. I've got the last couple of Quick Starts from the Free RPG Days and I can see myself playing this in some short story arcs.

Uresia I know little about. It''s a systemless setting of apparent strangness.

As for the "beat the average" extras, Torchbearer is another Kickstarter I backer. Beautiful book, no idea if I'll ever play it. Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine and Nobilis 3E: The Essentials I know no more about than what's stated on the Bundle of Holding page.

I think I'm in for the basic 9.95 this time around. Worth it for Rocket Age alone for me and Lords of Gossamer & Shadow for the rest of you ;)

Early Black Friday OSR Sales Update #4 - ProFantasy Software, Fantasy Grounds VTT and Precis Intermedia

A few more publishers are in the mix:

ProFantasy Software

Offer 1: Not all maps need a PC! Meet The Noteboard, an ingenious foldable whiteboard and a great dry-erase battlemat for gamers. Until next Monday you can get 17% off two or more Noteboards from thenoteboard.com or amazon.com. That's 2 for $20. Use this voucher code at payment: ACR7CVRC 

Offer 2: 17% off at ProFantasy. In an unprecedented offer you can get 17% off all purchases through our store until 2nd December. Buy from profantasy.com and use this voucher code: DEC2@17%

Fantasy Grounds VTT

Check out the 180+ sale items available for Fantasy Grounds. Most items are now 10-25% off through December 2nd on the Fantasy Grounds Store and on Steam. Check out all the maps, adventures, token packs or core licenses on sale now. 

Rolemaster Classic is 30% off 

All Triple Ace Games products for Savage Worlds are 25% off 

Many Savage Worlds products from Pinnacle Entertainment Group are 10% and 25% off. 

Adventures for Pathfinder and D&D 3.5 from AAW Games, Expeditious Retreat Press, Total Party Kill Games and Rite Publishing are 25% off 

Map and Token Packs are also on sale for 25% off from Fiery Dragon Productions and Devin Night Productions 

Green Ronin's Mutants & Masterminds is 25% off 

Precis Intermedia 

Get 25% OFF Now at the Precis Intermedia Store! 

Use coupon code QM8GQG7V5Z at checkout to receive a 25% discount on orders of $10 or more (excludes third-party items). Hurry - coupon good until Cyber Monday (Dec 1). (Treasure Awaits would be my pick ;)

Early Black Friday OSR Sales Update #3 - Small Niche Games

BLACK FRIDAY UNDER $10 SALE: For Thursday and Friday only, all Small Niche Games print products are priced to move. All SNG printed adventures are priced at $4.95. This is a great chance to pick up critically acclaimed modules such as Blood Moon Rising, the Inn of Lost Heroes, and the Shrine of St. Aleena, as well as many others.

All other SNG printed products are priced under $10. This includes the Chronicles of Amherth campaign setting, the Ghoul Keep and the Ghoul Lands sourcebook, and the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay campaign sourcebook.

Sale ends Friday evening, so don't miss out!

(City of Dolmvay in Print for $8.95 is a steal)

As an aside, I'm very disappointed that OBS / RPGNow has not highlighted ANY Black Friday Sales

Happy Caturday! Wait, It's Turkey Day? Damn!

Yep, it's Thanksgiving Day here in the States, which means way too much food to be eaten later. Woot!

Followed up by turkey driven coma. Fun times.

In between the two I will be updating with more Black Fridays Sales posts and the every expanding bag of OSR Christmas Gifting Goodness.

Enjoy your day and God bless :)

Early Black Friday OSR Sales Update #2 - Frog Gods (and Frog Bags) and Savage AfterWorlds

Frog God Games is offering 25% off everything on the Frog God Games website until Sunday at Midnight. Use the code BLACKFRIDAY14 and tell them Tenkar sent ya!

And if you have a mind for it, they are offering grab bags for $100 that will include $300 minimum of retail RPG madness ($150 if you want some goodies from Bill's private collection.) I'm in for $110 including shipping. I expect some items will make the tail end of the OSR Christmas giveaway.

Play Mutant Future? Savage AfterWorld releases are 40% off at RPGNow and Lulu (which should stack with the SAVE35 coupon for super savings.)

Basic Fantasy RPG 3e Released for Free on RPGNow - Monster Book Released too

I truly like Basic Fantasy. While not quite a clone, i can run adventures from Basic D&D to 3x to the various clones and the editions in between with minor conversions (if any) on the fly.

The price is certainly right, as the PDF for the core game and all the adventures and supplements are free and the print versions are at cost.

The 3rd edition of the Basic Fantasy rules just released as well as the Basic Fantasy Field Guide, which is a monster book with over 180 creatures for your BFRPG game or any other OSR or old school RPG.

Basic Fantasy 3e is currently $4.18 in print at Amazon and the Basic Fantasy Field Guide is currently $3.61. Amazon prices can swing a bit in either direction. Both ship Prime if you have Prime. They should also be available on Lulu.

Early Black Friday OSR Sales - Update #1

I mentioned last night that Goodman Games was running an Early Black Friday Sale on their PDFs. Well, we have a few more publishers tossing their hats into the early Black Friday ring:

The Trolls of Mistwood, a DCC RPG adventure in Print and PDF has been discounted until Dec 2

Engine Publishing is discounting all of their GM aid releases by 25% for the Black Friday festivities.

The Complete Vivimancer is $3 off in print or PDF for the duration of the sale.

Dungeon Alphabet is half off, a mere 4 bucks (part of the Goodman Games Sale)

Random Esoteric Creature Generator for Classic Fantasy Role-Playing Games and their Modern Simulacra - it's a mouthful, it's also a mere 4 bucks and it is also an awesome tool (part of the Goodman Games Sale)

OSR Christmas 2014 - More is More Better - It's a Good Thing Santa's Bag is a Bag of Holding

We have a few more donors to add to the ever growing list. If you are looking to donate, Tuesday, December 2nd, will be your last chance to get in on the list of goodie giving.

Before we get to the list of gifts, the question has come up regarding The Tavern's international readers and their eligibility to get in on the gift receiving. Obviously, PDF gifting is international. In Print or physical product gifting is up to the gifter - shipping cost, and international shipping from the stats cost a pretty penny. I wish it weren't so, but it is. When in print gifts are up for grabs I will indicate whether internal shipping is included.

That being said, the additional gifts are:

- free commissioned piece of artwork (a4, b/w, old school styled) donated by +m foczka , a sample of whose work graces this post above

- First Sentinel Limited & One of the last Whisper & Venom boxed sets donated by Lesser Gnome Games - +Zach Glazar IS The Man. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

- Hard copy of Trolls of Mistwood (DCC) by +David Fisher

- A PDF copy of The Caves of Ortok (choose between LL, S&W, or OSRIC)

- A PDF copy of Bearing A Grudge (choose between LL, S&W, or OSRIC)

- A PDF copy of the Noh-Cha Classbook

- A sub to Issues 1-6 of Another Bunch of Content in PDF (the above donated by Infinibadger Press +Jason Paul McCartan )

- Dyson's Delves Volume I + II donated by +Tony T

- An assortment of +Purple Duck Games  DCC Adventures in print (they are in The Tavern's Prize Closet - need to verify what is in there)

- 1 set of print copies of Crawling Under a Broken Moon DCC fanzine (print) +Reid San Filippo

- PDF copy of the Sunken City Omnibus (DCC) +Jon Marr

- a complete set of Crawljammer (DCC) (print) +Tim Callahan

- Complete Vivimancer and the first issue of the new zine Wizardzine (print copies) +Gavin Norman

- Castle of the Mad Archmage books in softcover +Joseph Bloch

- 12 PDFs of Far Realms, 12 PDFs of Far Realms - More Spells and 1 print version of Far Realms (holy crap if I must say so myself ;) +Rick Stump

- print copy of the S&W Player's Companion, signed +James Spahn

- PDF copy of the LL Class Compendium +James Spahn

- some gems from The Tavern's vaults (my wife is making me downsize my collection, even as I upsize it ;)

Goodman Games PDFs 30%-70% Off (Black Friday)

Goodman Games just sent an email announcing their Early Black Friday Sale. Here's the details:

30% off all DCC RPG, 5E, Xcrawl, and Age of Cthulhu titles. And a few "even better deals" are 50% off, including the DCC RPG core rulebook, and DCC #68: People of the Pit, #69: The Emerald Enchanter, and #70: Jewels of the Carnifex!

40% off all 3E products. This includes our huge library of third edition Dungeon Crawl Classics modules, plus the Complete Guide monster books, DragonMech, and more.

50% off all system-neutral products, including the fan favorites GM Gems, Dungeon Alphabet, and the Points of Light series.

60%-70% off all 4E titles and everything else.

OSR Christmas 2014 - It's Going to be a Nice Christmas

Wow.

Quite simply wow.

The response to the OSR Christmas 2014 festivities has been amazing and the post hasn't even been up for 12 hrs.

Gifts in Santa's Bag of OSR Goodies include (thus far):

- An assortment of Purple Duck DCC Adventures in print (they are in The Tavern's Prize Closet - need to verify what is in there)

- 1 set of print copies of Crawling Under a Broken Moon DCC fanzine (print)

- PDF copy of the Sunken City Omnibus (DCC)

- a complete set of Crawljammer (DCC) (print)

- Complete Vivimancer and the first issue of the new zine Wizardzine (print copies)

- Castle of the Mad Archmage books in softcover

- 12 PDFs of Far Realms, 12 PDFs of Far Realms - More Spells and 1 print version of Far Realms

- print copy of the S&W Player's Companion, signed

- PDF copy of the LL Class Compendium

- some undisclosed prizes

- some gems from The Tavern's vaults (my wife is making me downsize my collection, even as I upsize it ;)

Remember, if you want to pledge prizes to Santa's Bag of OSR Goodies email me at:

       tenkarsDOTtavernATgmailDOTcom with OSR Christmas in the subject of the email

OSR Christmas 2014 - Not a Rerun of 2013

If I've learned an important lesson for running the OSR Christmas in 2014, it's this - trying to act as a central repository / clearinghouse for the gifting of physical product isn't just a nightmare, but shipping is expensive yo!

I also have a much fuller plate this year (and still need to wrap things up from earlier this year) so, if we do an OSR Christmas for 2014, the changes will be minor but substantial.

1 - The only stuff I'm shipping is stuff from my collection.

2 - Those donating physical products will ship directly to the recipients, not to me. Holy shit but this was like hell on my end last year and into early this year. I'd like to avoid the wife agro this time around :)

3 - PDF gift codes would preferably go from gift-er to gift-ee, but I'm willing to play middle man if needed.

4 - I'd like to do 12 days of gifting, starting December 1st and ending December 23. Yes, alternate days. I'm striving for some sanity here.

If you want to get in on the gift giving, drop me a line at tenkarsDOTtavernATgmailDOTcom with "OSR Christmas" in the subject and we'll work out the details. Those gifting will get free plugs of their blog / company / pet pics / whatever.

If we don't have the interest for a full 12 days we'll look at running a shorter "Pauper's Christmas" ;)

Daily Far West Updates - Why It's NOT Tracing or Copying or Whatnot

First things first - I don't do RPGNet. Too much drama. Too many bans. Big Purple ain't for me. Gareth doesn't want folks reposting Far West backer only updates, because somehow that is an attempt to get around his lifetime ban at the Palace of Ill Repute. I don't get that.

So, I'm not going to quote in whole, but only in part. It's the least pleasure I can get for my 150 bucks that I pissed away in a drunken stupor. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it:

I've also gotten a couple questions about the art process -- including some criticism from some corners of the internet about "putting photoshop filters on photos" -- so I figured I'd take the time here to let you know how the art style for FAR WEST has always worked, whether it was me or Rick Hershey behind the pen.   We use source images (public domain film stills, photos of backers sent in by you guys, stock photos, my own sourced photos from trips to Dodge City, Durango Colorado, and more) to create an original digital collage, which is then used as the reference for a new illustration.   The works are then done by hand (in my case, using -- depending on whether I'm doing the work on my laptop or my desktop -- either a Wacom Bamboo or a Yiynova MSP19U pen tablet monitor).

Awesome - so Rich was just better at the whole "photoshop to a fake piece of art" type of deal. I'm glad it's only used as a "reference", because if it were taken lock, stock and barrel, that would be embarrassing. Kinda like saying you only used the real 20 dollar bill to make your counterfeit - it was only used for reference.

Major props to the Kicksnarker Community on G+. Y'all get a cookie ;)

edit: I'm guessing "Musa the Warrior" is still under copyright.

Kickstarter - Far West had Another Update - I Have as Much Faith in the Projected Dates as I do The Backer Portraits

Far West will be completed in digital form by Christmas - or not.

You know what? I was real excited when I backed this over three years ago, back when there was an actual artist doing the art, not Gareth and his photoshop skills.

The above example of the opposite of quality art was completed at least by last September, as it was shown in an update. I'm posting it here to share the laughter with my readers. Yes, this is why I supported the project at a premium, and I'll get to enjoy my very own print of it. Obviously it's NOT a piece of Rich Hersey art.

Why is my face orange and my hands are red? Really, WTF is up with that?

Maybe I should be glad this hasn't released yet. With GMS' record of predicting project completion dates, this should stretch out until my retirement in 2016...

Any "Black Friday" Sales From Our Favorite OSR Publishers?

I'm trying to get a list together of any possible RPG sales for the "Black Friday" weekend, which I guess starts on Wednesday these days. I've been told of one so far. I expect there are others, either going on now or starting shortly.

So, if you know of some upcoming sales (or are a publisher that plans a sale) drop me a line at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing.

I've got a post to put together and I can only do it with your help ;)

(edit: the list is slowly coming together ;)

Swords & Wizardry Compatible Logo Design Contest hosted by Gamers & Grognards

I should have gotten to this post yesterday, but shopping, pubbing, napping and gaming took up way too much time. You can read the latest on the Swords & Wizardry Compatible Logo Design Contest below. It was originally posted at Gamers & Grognards.

They are offering some loot, not just for the design that is picked but the runners up too.

Hey everyone.  Some of you are likely already in the know that the artist that designed the Gamers & Grognards logo and I are going to be creating a "Swords & Wizardry Compatible" creative commons logo that you can slap on the stuff that you make/sell for S&W.  I've already thrown my idea at him.  That said, I thought we could have a little fun.  

Starting today (this was Thursday I believe), we will be running a contest.  I want you to pitch me a logo.  Like I said, I have one in mind, so you need a good logo.  It's going to be difficult to make me like it better than my own (I'm my own biggest fan you know.)   

That said, the idea I like the best, whether we use it or not, will win a prize.  What is this prize you ask?  I have in my possession for the Gamers & Grognards Old School ebay store, a set of mixed Windmill Hobbies sharp edged dice from the 1970s.  These babies are brand new, last made in 1979.  Like all good dice, you have to ink them yourself.  The set is 5 dice 1d20 (marked 0-9 twice, 1d12, 1d8, 1d6, and 1d4 plus an extra d20 and d12 in mixed colors (think of them as Ugly Dice.)  These are yours if I like your idea the best. 

I have received more prize support for this contest!  I have an extra set of dice, as well as Pacesetter Games OSR modules!  Now we have three tiers of winner.  The ideas that we like best will all be played with, possibly combined etc. in the forming of the logo.  The three winner tiers prizes are as follows: 

1st place - 8 pc set of out of production Windmill Hobbies dice, Pacesetter Games & Simulations modules: TM4 - Legacy of the Forbidden City and Q1 - The Screaming Temple. 

2nd place - 8 pc set of out of production Windmill Hobbies dice, Pacesetter Games & Simulations  module RC3/Q2 - Eruptor's Vengence 

3rd place - Pacesetter Games & Simulations module - Q3 - Death on Signal Island 

Now, here is what I need from you: 

1. An description of an image.  Must be something that will be recognizable in a small image (think of the Wizard on the S&W Complete logo or the Old Lizard and Wizard on the 70's TSR logos.)  I only want descriptions or very rough sketches, as +Christopher Arendt will be doing the actually design.  

2. A font and layout for the words "Swords & Wizardry Compatible."  You can just list the font and describe the layout, if you don't care to make it into a sample copy. 

3.  Send this off to me at treewytch_at_yahoo_dot_com.  Please list "Swords & Wizardry Logo Design Contest" as the subject if you want me to look at it. 

Both the image and layout should in some way reflect that this is compatible with Swords & Wizardry and OD&D. 

That's it.  The contest will end one week from today on Thursday, November 27 2014 (that's Thanksgiving day for all of the U.S. Citizens out there.)  Get it in, I intend to start judging when I get back from my Thanksgiving dinner. 

Good Luck and Fight On!

+R.J. Thompson 

My 50% Off Hardcover Purchases at Lulu

I did the deed this morning and ordered a bunch of hard cover RPG goodies. Take 50% off the prices you see above. Later I need to make my softcover purchases at 35% off ;)

50% off hardcovers (HC50) until midnight on Nov, 24, 2014

35% of through Dec 2, 2014 for those that use the coupon code SAVE35 (this applies to all Lulu-ness)

D&D Tools Website Falls to a WotC "Cease & Desist"

I'm going to post the link to what's left at the D&D Tools website as well as their latest (last?) post, but I'd like to make some observations first.

The D&D Tools website was up for 5 years and it's only now that WotC has gotten around to a "Cease & Desist."

It's not like it was a hidden website. It's Alexa ranking is 114,870. For comparison purposes, ENWorld comes in at 44,688 and The Tavern at 237,743. It's highly doubtful that WotC had no idea that D&D Tools existed. (Google is, of course, #1)

Is it that the 3x era OGL rules that were referenced were too close to 5e? Or was there a fear that the current OGL could allow D&D Tools to replicate the 5e rules?

Just some thoughts. In any case, here's the last post at the D&D Tools site...

D&D Tools – End of an Era...

Hello everyone,

TGG here. As you have probably gathered, we have received a Cease and Desist letter from WotC (well, from a law company under WotC rule). I'd like to take some time now to comment on this.

I started D&D tools some five years ago as a tool for me to find "all the feats that affect criticals". From then, it grew up a lot, both in content and audience.

At the time of this letter, the site served roughly 1.000.000 pages a week.

100 races.

500 items.

1.000 classes.

3.000 feats.

5.000 spells.

Everything was interlinked with each other. Feats listed requirements as links. You could find what a class had for prerequisite and click it right away. Wanted to know what spells are there available for a class in campaign settings? No problem. Lots and lots of filtering and searching.

At November 14, 2014, I've received a letter requesting that we put the site down. As of now I have to comply, since I have neither time nor law skills nor resources to do otherwise. Also, I'm not allowed to post the letter itself here.

... about future?

First of all, the site itself is open source project. The sources are my intellectual property and I'm free to share them as I wish. About a year ago I created a repository at github – https://github.com/dndtools/dndtools. The setup notes might not be up to date, but it's possible to get it running with OGL contents. Since it was there long before the C&D letter, I feel free to share the knowledge.

Second, there is also great mobile app for android a Google Play (sorry iPhone users). It comes with full OGL contents. If you are friends with Uncle Google or Web Archive, you might even find a more interesting database for it. I myself cannot claim to be the creator of it, so please do give some love to the author on the app page!

Third, since the sources codes are available for public use and the database itself was distributed among users, there is nothing in my power to prevent others to try to resurrect the site.

Final words

I want to thank very much to all the people who put a lot of effort to see the site grow! Without you, it could never have grown into what it did. Thanks!

I'd also like to say something to WotC. The game you created is great. I spend a lot of time playing it. You have moved to 4e and then 5e. Why do you try to destroy what your fans have created? Things that can help players, that encourages them to play more? (I'm talking about all the sites that went down over the years) You'd better invest the money into creating something yourself than to spend it on law companies...

tgg out.

Castle of the Mad Archmage - Session Report "Whatever" - More Fun Than a Barrel Full of Drunken Monkeys!

We had a blast during last night's session of the "B" Team's adventuring in the Castle of the Mad Archmage.

+Douglas Cole says it was six weeks since out last session - it felt longer than that. Our last session was postponed due to me being sick and rescheduling wasn't easy to do. To make up for it, we are aiming to get our next session in in two weeks.

+Peter V. Dell'Orto , +Tim Shorts and Doug rounded out our regular trilogy and +Joe D and +Reece Carter brought out numbers to five for the night. First time in a long time that all four core class rolls were covered even if three of the five are pure fighters.

The group descended from level 3 to 4 last night, which surprised me as much as anyone else, as i couldn't find the stairs down on the map if my life depended on it (like I said, our break from last session was a long one.) Amazingly enough, the party found it in about 10 minutes of play (intermingled with about 50 minutes of bullshitting at the time.)

Level 4 should be a blast. As +Joseph Bloch said elsewhere, level 4 of CotMA is chuck full of role play opportunities should the party accept it. If not, there are stairs leading to lower levels (and possible death.)

I award my players a 10% experience point bonus if they do a write up of the session. Thus far, Doug, Peter and Tim have done so. Click the links and enjoy yourself. I know we did.

Knocking Your Noggin - Helmets in AD&D

Last night during our more or less monthly delve into the Castle of the Mad Archmage, obscure rules from the AD&D 1e Dungeon Masters Guide came up. For me, one of the classics is the rule for helmets on page 28 of the DMG:

It is assumed that an appropriate type of head armoring will be added to the suit of armor in order to allow uniform protection of the wearer. Wearing of a "great helm" adds the appropriate weight and restricts vision to the front 60" only, but it gives the head AC 1. If a helmet is not worn, 1 blow in 6 will strike at the AC 10 head, unless the opponent is intelligent, in which case 1 blow in 2 will be aimed at the AC 10 head (d6, 1-3 = head blow).

I always found this to be a strange rule for a game with an abstract combat system and no called shots rule.

Not that we didn't try using this for a while, but it didn't make much sense for us. If you couldn't "call a shot" in the game as written how could you "call a shot" for an unarmored head?

It was least painful to the magic-users (whose magical armor and bracers covered them head to toe) than it was to other combatants whose armor (magic or otherwise) only protected from the neck down.

Also, what kind of AC does a chain coif or leather helm give? 5 and 8 respectively probably, but EGG doesn't say.

About the only thing helmets protected from in our campaigns was ear seekers, and you had to removed your helmet to listen anyway...

Lulu Hardcovers 50% Off Thru November 24th

I'm kinda glad that my Lulu card crashed the other night and I was too pissed to go through the motions a second time, because I found this over at +joseph browning 's Sorcery & Super Science blog:

FYI - Lulu's having a big sale - 50% off hardcovers (HC50) and 30% off softcovers (FLASH30) until midnight on Nov, 24, 2014.

Damn Lulu! Damn you to hell!

Ah well, just adding to the bandwidth.

(Oh, and the 35% off coupon thru Dec 2)

Pandantilus - Petty God of Gong Farmers - In Technicolor!

Props to +Jim Magnusson . B&W version will be appearing in Petty Gods :)

Let's Open our Books to Chapter 7 - Centerstage Miniatures Files for Bankruptcy (No Surprise There)

Our New "Fucked up Kickstarter Mascot" thanks to Jim Magnusson

So, remember they fiasco otherwise known as CenterStage Miniatures various Kickstarters, in particular Tome of Horrors Complete - 28mm Heroic Scale Miniatures. Well, it appears the final shoe has dropped - Chapter 7 bankruptcy has been filed. Now, like true venture capitalists, backers can expect to get back pennies on their dollars - if they are lucky. Woot!

From the comments on the Tome of Horrors Complete Kickstarter from earlier today (not my comments - I didn't back this train wreck):

After filing a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office last week, I received 2 correspondences from the attorney Matt has retained to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. It was clear in the letter, and his response to my questions, that he (the attorney) is still waiting on Matt to provide a bunch of documents so that they can proceed with the Chapter 7 filing. It looks like we are considered “customer deposit creditors” in this case, (but remember, I Am Not An Attorney).  

It was mentioned that there was a review of the possible sale of his business by Mortal Arrow LLC, but the bottom line was that Matt realized it would not resolve all the problems or guarantee that all creditors would be paid (that could mean us, or other businesses/entities). It was emphasized that Matt was not happy going this route, but it seemed inevitable.

So from here (once all the paperwork is filed, court costs paid, etc. , there will be a Court supervised liquidation sale. The attorney indicated that “For the purposes of distribution in the Bankruptcy context, consumer deposits for undelivered services and products have the highest priority under the Bankruptcy Code.  

He also indicated that a business entity might be willing to purchase the inventory, molds, customer list/goodwill of the business for a significant enough sum from the Bankruptcy Estate to warrant a meaningful distribution to creditors  

When the Bankruptcy case is filed, all creditors will receive notice in the mail of the date set for the “debtor’s examination” and other terminal dates. You may attend the Debtor’s examination or you may review the Petition once filed. It is public record and It will disclose all assets and all creditors. 

So, there you have it. A Shit sandwich for all.

The success of the various Kickstarters killed CenterStage Miniatures as they apparently failed the basic math of funding less fees (Amazon & Kickstarter) less additional cost of generous stretch goals must => cost to fulfill and ship rewards.

Again, thanks to +Jim Magnusson for the generous use of his art ;)

Dragon, Dungeon, Adventurer and Other Magazines Archived and more (AnnArchive)

So, earlier today I was looking for a cover picture of Dragon Magazine #68 for my post on weather in RPGs. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled on an archive of Dragon Magazine, Dungeon Magazine, Adventurer (mid 80's RPG mag from the other side of the pond) and a whole lot more.

I give to you:

AnnArchive

Scroll down and I see Amber Diceless

Wacky Weather - Six Feet Under (Buffalo & Homlet, Perfect Together)

Looking at the weather in upstate New York, where parts of Buffalo are looking at 6 feet of snow, it makes me think of the campaign I had that died before the players ever reached their destination. Not because of random encounters but due to random weather.

The party was going to adventure in the village of Homlet and the Temple of Elemental Evil, but they had to get there first. We had decided it was winter in the campaign (as it was for us in real life at the time) and I broke out Dragon Magazine #68 (found a link to the PDF here) and used the enclosed weather system to add some realism.

This was fairly early in my gaming career (if you can call it that) and I was very much "play it as it rolled." We didn't fudge.

Well, the damn weather system dropped 5 1/2 feet of snow on the ill prepared party in less than 2 days, with temperatures remaining below freezing for at least the next few days. The party had no shelter. They were first level and were lucky to have bed rolls.

They died.

We never used the weather system again.

Come to think of it, that was my first and only TPK inflicted without rolling an attack roll (or ten) against the party.

Kickstarter - Silent Legions (OSR Sandboxed Modern Horror)

+Kevin Crawford has done some excellent Kickstarters. Spears of the Dawn and Scarlet Heroes are both great games, shipped early and put an amazing amount of quality art that was released to the gaming public (and publishers) to use for free (here, here and here)

This time around we get an OSR Sandboxed Modern Horror RPG - Silent Legions.

Kevin explains it better than I can:

Silent Legions is a modern-day Lovecraftian role-playing game, one built to support a sandbox style of gaming and the creation of your own diabolical Mythos. While compatible with the Stars Without Number game system and many other classic old-school games, Silent Legions is built to stand alone and provide you with everything you need to develop a grim world of unspeakable occult secrets and mad, sorcerous scheming. 

Silent Legions is 160+ pages of specially-designed material to help a game master create their own cosmic evils and mysterious alien powers. Rather than simply recycle the traditional Cthulhu Mythos baddies, Silent Legions gives you the tools and techniques to make your own, the better to shock and dismay your players with fresh horrors that haven't already been wrung dry by familiarity. The creatures and cults the game helps you build are also fully compatible with most classic OSR games, allowing you to export them to other settings or mix and match with material you've drawn in from your other games. 

More than that, Silent Legions is designed to help a GM create a true sandbox horror campaign. Instead of sending the hapless investigators along an intricate story arc, the GM creates a region, seeds it with points of interest, and then uses the tools in the book to quickly and easily create content for the heroes wherever they may go. The faction tools help keep the nefarious cults in motion even when the heroes are otherwise engaged, and both players and GMs are allowed the special excitement of not knowing how their desperate struggles are actually going to end. Will they crush the insidious powers of darkness, or will they miss some cyst of evil until it is far too late?

It is, quite simply, the horror game I've been waiting for. How can I be sure? Because the moment I pledged, I was able to download the the complete draft of Silent Legions.

I think it's going to work very well with some one on one play with my wife.

Yes, color me very impressed.

Oh, and it funded in less than 24 hrs. And than some. Hoy shit...

Does Your Party Use Henchmen / Hirelings?

Back in my early days of RPG gaming (late 90's) all of our PCs had henchmen, but we rarely if ever used them. I'm not sure we understood the concept 100%, as we saw henchmen as "the new PC to replace my old PC when he dies and gets to inherit all of his shit."

Heck, even the old TSR adventures that had pregens (because they were inevitably originally tournament modules) didn't include henchmen. The adventures were balanced (if we can dare say that word) apparently to not need henchmen.

In the late 80s to mid 90s - the college years - my players experimented with a henchmen or two, but they inevitably became "party henchmen" or even "party controlled (N)PC." More than an NPC, less than a PC, controlled by the players with final decision making by the DM.

Yeah, I don't know if we ever really grasped the concept ;)

So, did you use henchmen / hirelings back in the day? Do you use them now?

Name That Island! (Tenkar's Landing Crowdsourced Sandbox Setting)

Way back in early October I played around with opening up a small sandbox setting i had mapped out using Hexographer to the community based here at The Tavern. I figured if a dozen folks decided to work on bits and pieces it would be a success.

Six weeks and 128 G+ Community members later, The Tenkar's Landing Crowdsourced Sandbox Setting has literally exploded beyond my wildest dreams.

I am forever in the debt of +Milton Murphy and all the other 126 members of the community (128 less Milton and myself ;)

In any case, we did a huge poll on the G+ Community side and whittled the list of possible names of the main island of the setting down to these six:

Garacos

Scarlet Coast

Dun Halden

Eilean Dubh (Black Isle)

Tangrell Island

Windbreak Isle

When the setting gets released to the gaming community at large, it will under the name that is picked via the poll in the upper right hand corner of this page. The poll will be open for a week.

Here's your chance to have a part in naming a setting. How cool is that? :)

Just 30 Hrs Left in the Death & Taxes Boxed Adventure Set Kicktarter (OSR / Pathfinder / 5e?)

The Death & Taxes Kickstarter is down to it's last 30 hrs or so. If you haven't pledged yet and you were a backer of Whisper & Venom, obviously you somehow never got the message.

In case you don't already know, the Whisper & Venom Kickstarter (predecessor of the Death & Taxes Kickstarter) was one of the most successful Kickstarters I've backed. Not by money raised, but based on what the backers got for their money. A complete boxed adventure, minis, dice, a beautiful map - and the shit was on time. +Zach Glazar understands Kickstarter.

Death & Taxes is Lesser Gnome's follow-up box set to Whisper & Venom. It was nominated for an ENnie, for those of you who are into that sort of thing. Twice!* 

Death & Taxes is an adventure for 4-7 players using characters level 4-6. Although designed for classic rules, the ultimate goal is to create total conversions of the game for popular modern systems. Once the goals for project funding and the backer surpass the initial stretch goal targets all options are on the table, As backers, you will have a seat at that table to decide which one will happen first! Look for the results to be revealed in our Stretch Goals section as the campaign progresses. The Gnomes are ready start to translating Death & Taxes into Pathfinder/OGL and (we hope) fifth edition compatible versions. 

The Premise 

South of the Whisper Vale lies a land of gentle slopes with forests and greenswards. Small townships have sprouted alongside decayed municipalities. The area’s sparse populations are independent and self-reliant. Sporadic trade and a dim memory of avaricious rulers connect them.

So, here's what you get for your $70 bucks with Death & Taxes right now (although with so many easily reached stretch goals lined up, the list is sure to grow):

Currently included in the Deluxe Box Set-

2 Books-

Setting Guide
Adventure Guide
Chessex Dice plus 2 Custom Gnome Dice
24" x 18" Poster Map Monster Cards
PDF Copy Tokens and Maps for Virtual Tabletops

14 Miniatures (this is the $40 mini pack too)

Taxman
Goblin Herald
Thopas
Nogrod
Hryggan
Swordsman
Harpy
Siren
Sylph
Archivist
Bone Byrgh
Torlings x3

Add-on Figurines

The Auditor ($15)
Hydra ($20)
Coming up in the last 48

125 Backers- PDF for each system release. Annoying choices no longer required.

$16,000- GM Map Reference Booklet

$16,500- Signature Dice Upgrade (Deluxe Box & Up) and Dice Bags (All Boxes)

$16,750 For whom the bell gnolls (first custom gnoll figurine unlocked)

$17,250 For whom the bell gnolls, part deux (second custom gnoll figurine unlocked)

$17,500 Fifth Edition Conversion* Option

$17, 750 Second Pack of three Torlings join the swarm.

$18,000 Hydra Fountain Terrain Set

*This option will start conversion in May of 2015 (After Pathfinder). It is dependent on a friendly interpretation of the OGL from WotC. Other, more prominent, game companies have started producing titles for it. Why should they have all the fun?

PWYW - The Lizardmen of Illzathhatch (OSR)

My first reaction upon seeing The Lizardmen of Illzathatch was "how did I miss this?" Then I noticed it released yesterday, so I didn't really miss it ;)

The green dragon Illzathatch has been dispatched by local heroes “The Shields of Atreu”, thus ending his reign of terror across the countryside.  Only one problem remains, the adventuring party left to raid the lair of the dragon, they have not been seen since.  

A OSR Module for 4 - 6 Characters Levels 3

No, I haven't read it yet (probably tonight) but the price is right - Pay What You Want.

Axes & Anvils - Resurrected (again) - Andrew Shields Writing (again) - Will Nystul F@ck it up? (again)

"It's like deja-vu, all over again."

Yogi Berra

It certainly is Yogi. It certainly is.

The Wandering Wizard has put Axes & Anvils in +Andrew Shields capable hands. It's not the first time Mike has done so, and I highly suspect the moment Andrew submits something that is highly improved on Mike's last attempt, Mike will inevitably pull a Nystul and pull the plug on Andrew.

Still, in the realm of things Nystulian, there is now a glimmer of hope.

Here's the latest update from the Axes & Anvils Kickstarter fiasco:

New Designer (Update #76)

It has been a tough couple of years. 

At this time, I am attempting to pull my life together and get to a level of stability with my health and my finances. I am also trying to make good on the Kickstarter projects that I owe my backers. Trying to do all this at once is hard on my focus and my morale. In the end, the only way I will ever be able to complete my Kickstarter obligations is if I get to a point where I have more discretionary time, income, and energy. 

I need to concentrate on getting my own life together. However, I do not want to completely suspend progress with Axes and Anvils until I can give it more attention. I have brought Andrew Shields on to get the Axes and Anvils project to the next level of development. He will take the draft that was developed for playtesting and released in July 2013, and continue work on it with his own design style. The foundational concepts and design goals that inspired my vision of Axes and Anvils will be the base for Andrew’s work on the project, and I will still offer feedback and advice. 

On the project home page, I laid out my plan for the game. These principles will guide Andrew as he continues the work on Axes and Anvils. These are the criteria we will use to judge the game’s success: 

What can you expect? 

Dwarfiness: Everything about the game is intended to put players into the right frame of mind to play dwarves. It is a celebration of all things Dwarf from what a Dwarf's beard says about him to what the deal is with Dwarven women. 

Simplicity: Because this is a niche game many people will turn to for a "pick up and play" experience the system has to be simple and character creation has to be fast and fun. It is possible to create a Dwarven clan and a full party of 4 to 6 player characters in under an hour. 

Cooperation: Whenever possible the game places more value on "we" than "me". Your party works together to solve whatever problems face their clan. The combat system is also structured around team play. Work together and victory shall be yours - fight alone and face an ignominious defeat. 

The design is axiomatic, meaning a few simple rules drive everything instead of having a special case rule for every situation that could arise. Character development is based on the idea that you start simply and add depth as the campaign unfolds, which allows players to get started quickly and learn any complexities they may add as they go along. 

A key concept is that the Dwarven Clan is treated as a character unto itself. As you develop as individuals the Clan for which you fight will gain respect and wealth. Your Clanhome will also expand to suit your needs. This gives an Axes and Anvils campaign a focus that many games lack right out of the gate. 

This decision has not been easy for me. However, I believe that bringing Andrew back on the project is what is best for everyone at this time. 

At this point it is too soon to project out reliable timelines. There will be an update at the end of November that will have a lot more information. 

For now, please join me in welcoming Andrew Shields as designer on Axes and Anvils!

Lulu Has a 35% Off Sale Through Dec 2

Huge thanks to +Jason Paul McCartan over at OSRToday for pointing out that Lulu is running an amazing sale. 35% of through Dec 2, 2014 for those that use the coupon code SAVE35. It's a one time only use code, so fill your cart and make that one time purchase.

I'll put up a post tonight or tomorrow with some of my picks but I wanted to get this code into your hands as quickly as possible :)

Ah Sh!t, Another Kickstarter Post! Let Me Link a Blog Post From 2007 in the Comments in Protest!

I'm passionate about the OSR and a huge part of the OSR overlaps with Kickstarter projects. They are easily the number one and number two topics I cover here at the blog. That's not a secret.

If you don't like my OSR posts, don't read them. Same goes for the Kickstarter posts. Don't read what you don't like.

Do not, however, drop 7 year old links to some random blog posts because you do not like the topic.

Andre is entitled to his opinion. See, I didn't delete his rant, I just deleted his random link.

I have an EXTREMELY light touch as a moderator of the comments here at The Tavern. If I delete a half dozen posts a year that's a lot, and it probably also includes the handful of spam that makes it past Google's screening.

I like to encourage conversation. Random blog links are not conversation. Just a small note, I DO allow links within comments that are on topic or nearly so, but shit like the above just pisses me off.

Oh, Andre had been dropping links for a while, but this time he was nowhere near the broadside of a barn...

The Tavern's Free Pick of the Week - Blackmarsh (Sandbox OSR Setting)

In case you missed it, the suits over at RPGNow have no idea what a quality free RPG product actually is. Their last weekly pick was the antithesis of what such a highlighted product should be. It might even be consider an insult to anyone of average intelligence or higher.

So, how do we rectify such a miscarriage of gaming justice?

With a Free RPG Pick of the Week here at The Tavern. In this case, I'll be including PWYW in the mix, as they are free with the option to tip.

What's out first Free RPG Pick of the Week?

The OSR classic - Blackmarsh by +Rob Conley 

In the days when man knew only the working of stone and fought for their existence against the orc and the goblin, the sky turned to ash and down fell the fiery mountain onto the land. The world tore open and the grey waters rushed in. 

Those who survived the impact were lost as boiling clouds rushed out in all directions leaving a wasteland in its wake. 

The Mountain That Fell left a gift; magic. Near and far, those of learning and strong of heart discovered new powers to shape the world. In the desolation around the Smoking Bay the adventurous found viz, magic in physical form. And there was more, scattered amid the landscape were strange artifacts and stranger creatures that survived The Mountain That Fell. For a time men, dwarves, orc, goblins, and other races braved the dangers and fought each other in the wastelands. Then the elves came into Blackmarsh expelled the feuding races, drove the monsters out, and healed the land. 

In the present day, many come to Blackmarsh to harvest viz, kill monsters, or seek the strange artifacts left by The Mountain That Fell. The only force that stands against the wilderness is the Blackmarsh Rangers. Anyone who is willing to defend the land and its people are welcomed into their ranks. Powerful kingdoms outside of Blackmarsh are beginning cast a covetous eyes toward the land's riches. Will the adventurers of your campaign become wealthy and powerful? Or will their bones join the many that have sunk into the swamps? 

Blackmarsh is a complete, ready to run setting for your campaign. It can be run as its own setting or an expansion of your existing world. Contained in Blackmarsh are 17 geographical entries, 78 described locales, and one detailed town; Castle Blackmarsh. Each entry provide one or more adventure hooks to use in your campaigns.

Blackmarsh is free in PDF and a mere $4.95 in print. I've run it in the past and will probably do so again in the future.

How the Bloody Hell is THIS the Free Product of the Week at RPGNow?!?

Iron Age RPG, how much do I hate thee? I remember when you were just an annoying wee lad with a failed Indiegogo Campaign (well, "flexible funding" never really fails i guess) whose creators spent most of their time spamming The Tavern's comment section with links to their project.

Now they are selling their rules on RPGNow. More power to them. 

Here's the fucked up thing. The Free RPG Product of the Week for DriveThruRPG / RPGNow is the Iron Age FRP Basic Rules Booklet. How many mistakes do you see on the cover? 

Before we go further, this is not a "basic" version of the rules. You can not play the game with these rules, they are more like highlights and summaries. So, unless you plunk down $12.41 for the rules, this is pretty worthless.

Actually, I'm wrong. This is invaluable, as it will prevent anyone who spends 5 minutes reading it from loosing money on actually purchasing the full rules.

Look at the sample page below. The first two sentences have at least three grammatical mistakes. It's obvious that the author is not a native English speaker (as was obvious from the now defunct Indiegogo page and the spam comments on this side) which in and of itself isn't a horrible thing. Still, at the very least they should have used a native English speaker to proofread. Apparently that was too much of an effort. This shit makes the average Troll Lords release appear to be professionally edited.

Which leads me to another thought - does anyone at RPGNow bother to read this shit before labeling something "Free Product of the Week?" How about "The Pick of the Week?" Does any effort go into that? Just how the fuck did this train wreck get picked?

First person that posts a detailed proofread with corrections in the comments section gets a $5 RPGNow gift certificate from me. It's the least I can do for anyone that braves the whole product.

I will admit the cover looks cool. Maybe that's how they decided at OBS...

It's "Teach Your Kids to Game Week" at RPGNow - There is even a "Sorta Sale"

Yes, it's Teach Your Kids Your Kids to Game Week at RPGNow, and they are running a sale, or sorts. It's strange, because much of what they have linked under the sale is not actually "on sale" so far as I can tell.

Those items that ARE on sale are 50% off in PDF and 20% off in print (assuming they are available in print.)

So, let's pick out some of my favorites:

Dragon Warriors - I've been enamored with this game ever since I saw ads for it in Dragon Magazine back in the day. I have some of the PDFs of the new edition. PDF is $10, HC plus PDF is $28 - not bad, I may get the hard cover. The rest of the books in the series are listed at $10 in PDF as their regular price, so either they aren't on sale and are normally $10, are on sale and are normally $20 and Serpent King Games did the sale wrong or should be $5. Who the fuck knows. Core book is a good deal tho'.

Little Wizards - I know nothing about this game except for Geekdad's endorsement. Still, I suspect my nearly 4 year old niece would take to it like a fish to water. We took her shopping today and she was called "A Little Princess". She got all pissy and told me "I want to be a King and rule a kingdom and kill dragons." Yes, she will be a gamer.

Mermaid Adventures Coloring Book - it's a buck. The niece likes to color. I can print out the same page over and over when she get's fixated on one ;)


Yarr! The Rules Light Pirate Game - the price is right. $2.50 in PDF and $6.79 for the Print  / PDF Combo. OSR too.

BEAN! The D2 RPG Second Edition - this D2 powered RPG is perfect for gaming with kids. An excellent example of KISS

Argyle & Crew - Adventure in the Land of Skcos - an RPG for kids as young as 4 - in print and PDF.

Lost City of the Dwarves Part 1:Discovery - an OSRIC compatible choose your own adventure. The PDF is 3 bucks and there are some free short adventures to let you know what to expect. Worth it for those days your game is canceled.

Woodland Warriors RPG - this is one of those RPGs that I'm not sure if it's actually on sale, but it's a more that fair price at $3.50 for this animal based Swords & Wizardry derivative.

Cavemaster RPG - $5.98 for Jeff Dee's 2013 NTRPGCon Three Castles Award Winner. I may very well have to grab a copy.

Dogs Playing D&D - Where's My Dachshund Damn It?!?

I need to see if I can convince my wife to adda framed print of this to our art collection. If there was a dachshund in the painting it would be an easy sell ;)

Dogs Playing D&D - it should show the DM trying to herd cats ;)

Of course they have to be playing 4e. I wonder if we'll ever get a 1e version...