I Just Flew Into Dallas, and Boy Are My Arms Tired (NTRPG Con - Day Zero)

Yes, I do believe there is some flooding in the Dallas area

Rach and I arrived at the beautiful Marriott Airport South a little more than 2 hrs ago, which means we were about 3 hrs before check in time. The customer service rep at the reception desk remembered us from last June and found us a room in 2 minutes, if that. Heck, we are away from the Ice Machine and elevator this year too! ;)

After settling into our room we went down to the hotel restaurant for lunch. Guess what? The waiter remembered us (as we also remembered him.) I told Rach we must tip too well and may need to cut back - heh.

Then we caught the attention of +Zach Glazar and +Matt Finch (and another whose name escapes me at the moment.) A minute later, our waiter has the two tables next to each other and NTRPG Con kicked of for Rach and myself.

It's going to be an awesome con. I can feel it in my bones.

Remember, Tavern Chat tonight hosted from the hotel bar. I'll try and put up a post or two livish during the event.

Chaosium Reboots back to It's Roots - The Return of Stafford and Petersen

From the latest update: Project Update #129: Horror on the Orient Express: Call of Cthulhu by Chaosium by Chaosium Inc.

Greetings to all our Patient Backers,

We have pressed the reset button...

In 1975 Chaosium started out as a quirky boutique game company. We were all about creativity, artistry and craftsmanship. With every game we provided you with new realms of imagination and entertainment. Over the last few years we forgot that, and lost our way.

The Great Old Ones have Returned…

Greg Stafford, founder of Chaosium and creative force during its heyday, is now President. Sandy Petersen, world renowned game designer who brought Cthulhu into the light three decades ago, has rejoined the team as well.

Greg says: "Chaosium is part of my legacy. My intent is to restore it to its rightful place in the world of gaming. Something we can all take pride in, and something that fans will look forward to.Where 'what’s next?' is answered with 'I can’t wait'."

The Stars are Right…

Sandy says: "I am excited to return to active participation in the Call of Cthulhu line, and I’m eagerly looking forward to working directly with Greg again. We are Chaosium's original team from the 1980s. My first focus is going to be the Call of Cthulhu 7th edition Kickstarter campaign."

Our main plan is simple (but will be a lot of work):

Quickly sift and sort through the current company problems

Immediately ship the remaining Horror on the Orient Express backer rewards

Focus on the Call of Cthulhu 7th edition Kickstarter backer rewards

Return to regularly making awesome new games.

We offer new hope, and ask only for your patience."

Please visit Chaosium.com for regular news and updates. Contact us with questions, kudos, curses, or kindness. We are listening, and we will respond.

Greg Stafford, President and CEO of Chaosium Inc.
I’m puttin' the band back together.

Sixteen Far Away Land Quickstarts and One Tome of Awesome Head to NTRPG Con to Find New Homes

This pile you see is not returning with me from NTRPG Con. All will find new homes with attendees. Fun times :)

Remember, Tavern Chat Tomorrow Night at 830 PM Eastern, 730 PM Central. I'll be hosting from the hotel bar at NTRPG Con.

Packin' the Beer Mats for the Com

I'll be bringing 20 or so of +Peter Regan 's Beer Mats to the NTRPG Con. Hit me up and I'll give you one while supplies last. You need to be at the con to hit me up ;)

Con Alert! Full Prep Mode Engaged!

Today will consist of packing, printing, prepping, organizing, clothes washing and other assorted sundries that need to be accomplished before tomorrow morning's flight to Dallas and the NTRPG Con.

Remember, there WILL be a Tavern Chat tomorrow night - 830 PM Eastern, 730 PM Central. It will be hosted from the hotel's bar. If you are at the con tomorrow night, want to join the chat and don't have hotel internet nor a hotspot, I'll turn by phone into a hotspot for the duration of the chat.

Not sure what other posts will get up today. I do have a review or two to put up, I just need to write them. If I don't do it today, they probably won't get done until next week.

Expect lots of NTRPG Con pics on the blog this week :)

Printing Out the Free Far Away Land Quickstarts for NTRPG Con

I have 16 covers printed (using heavier paper than the insides) and 3 copies completely stapled up of the Far Away Land Quickstart. Gonna bring at least 12 copies with me. These copies do not include the Isle of the Rat Wizard as they are play copies for the players, not the GM.

I know conventional wisdom says you should provide your players with pregens, but as it took my highly distracted group about 20 minutes for 4 players to create characters via Roll20, I strongly suspect we'll have similar if not better results at NTRPG Con.

Guest Poster - The Frugal GM - As The d20 (Entertainment) Spins - Wayward Kickstarter

As most of you folks know, The Tavern is open to to guest posters. Send me an email using the contact form to the right of this post with your elevator pitch. Today's guest post is from Christopher Stogdill, the Frugal GM. It's topic - d20 Entertainment / Ken Whitman. There is much more to this story. Hopefully in the coming weeks, Chris or I will be able to expand on what it here.

Greetings Tavern,

My name is  +Christopher Stogdill and like Erik, I try to give back some to the RPG community at-large through my blog and some other writing/design efforts under the “Frugal GM” banner. I try to get in on the Tavern Chats and have been fortunate enough to be able to contribute here or there elsewhere. For a couple of months I’ve been doing my best keeping Erik apprised of the general fuckery that has become the Knights of the Dinner Table: Live Action Series (KoDT: LAS) Kickstarter. I’d hoped he would use his site as an additional forum to highlight this “issue”. Although he’s aware of what is going on in general, and I’m sure on some of the specifics, he’s been reluctant to do so for some very good reasons, primarily because his information is second-hand. I don’t have that problem….not the willingness to use second-hand info, but because I have 1st hand info. I get his point loud and clear and the more I think about it, I cannot come right out with everything I know because I’m certain some of it was told to me in confidence.

A quick background: I was quite active with the HackMaster Association and while I was just a rabid fanboy I’ve generally come to consider the D-Team (Kenzer & Company Development Team) friends. Through volunteering and just straight-up social visits I’ve gotten opportunities to develop actual relationships with these people that at one time were stronger than those with my immediate family. I could try to “prove” this connection somehow, but it is one of the things you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Another thing you’ll have to take my word on, and I think it is a fair bet to say this is a general assumption, is that the publicly-viewable problems are the tip of the shitberg, er…I mean iceberg. As much as I’d like to type out, “..and this happened to Barb, or some such” I’ll point out only what has happened to me & the Mrs. and what you can easily read for yourself online. I’m sure I’ll miss stuff, which just adds credence to the sh…iceberg analogy.

The basic facts are that Ken Whitman of d20 Entertainment started what ended up being a series of Kickstarters with the KoDT: LAS Kickstarter than ended on February 5th, 2014 with 795 backers coughing up $69,525. My wife backed the “GEN CON 2015 THEATRICAL PREMERE & AFTER PARTY PACKAGE” at $450 which was promised this:
1.            Blu-ray DVD of the KODT:LAS with bloopers and extras
2.            Ability to download a 480p .mp4 of the KODT:LAS series after the “theatrical debut”
3.            Thank You in the movie credits
4.            24” x 36” print of the movie poster painted by Larry Elmore
5.            Hardback Limited Edition Book (KoDT: 20 Years of Covers)
6.            2 Tickets to the “world premier” of the KoDT Live Action Series at GenCon2015
7.            Question & Answer session with the D-Team and KODT: LAS Actors
8.            Hang out at the After Party with the D-Team and KODT:LAS Actors

Now obviously I cannot really get into items #1-3 because the “movie” isn’t out yet, I can speak a bit to items #4-8. Remember, all of this is pretty much publicly available knowledge except for any “this happened to us” input.

Item #4.               24” x 36” print of the movie poster painted by Larry Elmore
One of the lower tiers of pledges states the KODT: LAS DVD will “feature” cover art by Larry Elmore, but pledges at level $100 or higher, like mine, are to receive a “print of the KoDT 24” x 36” movie poster”. According to d20 Entertainment’s comment dated May 21, 2015 “The Elmore Movie Poster will come out ON the DVD itself in Mid August!” If I buy a “print”, I’m expecting an appropriately-sized piece of paper with art on it, not a digital file.

Item #5.               Hardback Limited Edition Book (KoDT: 20 Years of Covers) (review of the Limited Edition is here)
Backers pledging above the $200 were to “receive a FREE copy of the Hardback Limited Edition Book!!!” The content of this book wasn’t quite what it was described to be, but like the basic format of the KODT:LAS, I understand that some allowances have to made for a product that is in the process of creation. What is not acceptable is the “misleading, or inaccurate” content regarding this book. I ascertain that d20 Entertainment was deceptive and dishonest about the fundamental nature of this “limited edition” book. 1st the KODT:LAS kickstarter page clearly states, “IT IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON KICKSTARTER. AFTER FEBRUARY 5th, YOU WONT BE ABLE TO GET THIS BOOK.”, which is patently false since you have been able to buy a copy of this book directly from d20 Entertainment even as late as this morning, more than two years after the Kickstarter completion. d20 Entertainment also claims that “Just 250 copies of this beautiful book will be available in Hardcover”, which is also false since they printed and extra 25 copies as part of the author’s payment and they created another hardcover version of 50 copies (at $250 each) not listed on the Kickstarter, but available on their website.

Item #6.               2 Tickets to the “world premier” of the KoDT Live Action Series at GenCon2015
As of today I have not received any tickets for this event from d20 Entertainment. Since the end of the Kickstarter d20 Entertainment has been selling “premium” seating for the 1st two rows of the “premier” showing. My wife has inquired about this on several occasions and has yet to get a direct response from d20 Entertainment. Today there was some mention that they’ve updated their website to accommodate this, but frankly, for the huge premium, we should be jumping through hoops 60 days out form the event.

In addition to the issue with tickets, it has come to my attention, via d20 Entertainment’s posts on the subject, that this initial GenCon showing will in fact not be the premier for at least one of the episodes, which significantly dilutes the pledge package I bought into, “Episode Two will premiere on line in June 25th Where? Two locations! On line, and ready to download for backers AND the the nexus game fair in Milwaukee. Jolly and the D-Team will be on hand to talk to you about the episode and all HACKMASTER PRODUCT. If you are interested in attending log on to http://www.nexusgamefair.com.”

Item #7.               Question & Answer session with the D-Team and KODT: LAS Actors
It has also come to my attention, via a post from one of the KODT:LAS producers that the actors have largely not been contacted (as of May 24, 2015) about attending either the “world premier” and the Q&A, or the after-party.

Item #8.               Hang out at the After Party with the D-Team and KODT:LAS Actors
As far as the KODT: LAS Kickstarter pledge levels go, this is the one item that distinguishes my original $450 pledge level from the original $150 pledge level. There are several issues with this after-party that rise to the level of “taking action you know is false or misleading”. First we have the aforementioned unknown status of the actors, much less the complete cast, being able to attend GenCon. Second is the simple fact that for $40 I could essentially purchase attendance to this party which I already paid an additional $300 for! In one of the comments to another backer d20 Entertainment stated, “Throwing a party at gen con is an added expense. Not promised in our Kickstarter.” This in and off itself is a falsehood because that is the differentiation between my $450 pledge level and the $150 pledge level. Either d20 blatantly lied about their intent to throw an after-party when creating the Kickstarter, or are lying now during their attempt to elicit and additional funds to throw one of three parties at GenCon.

So basically we’ve spent an extra $300 (that’s $150 for each of us) on what? That’s an injury if I’ve ever seen one…and Ken’s incessant spamming is just adding insult to injury. Now to be fair, Ken’s email and social media “marketing” may have slowed down or stopped, but I wouldn’t know because the only relief I could get was to block, de-friend, unsubscribe to everything I could.

There are already too-numerous-to-list complaints regarding unwanted solicitations regarding other d20 Entertainment KS projects using the KODT: LAS pledge list (just read the comments in the KoDT: LAS Kickstarter), d20 Entertainment used the KODT:LAS project to promote the Traveller Kickstarter on May 9, 2014 (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/d20e/kodt-live-action-series/posts/838878); May 15 (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/d20e/kodt-live-action-series/posts/844526); May 23 (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/d20e/kodt-live-action-series/posts/851667); Jun 1 (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/d20e/kodt-live-action-series/posts/862367); August 13 (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/d20e/kodt-live-action-series/posts/952173); January 5, 2015 (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/d20e/kodt-live-action-series/posts/1099566). The KODT:LAS update feed and email list was also used for promotion of the Dice O’Matic Kickstarter on July 4, 2014 (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/d20e/kodt-live-action-series/posts/900252) and even the Castle & Crusades Kickstarter on October 3, 2014 (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/d20e/kodt-live-action-series/posts/1006805) & November 2, 2014 (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/d20e/kodt-live-action-series/posts/1021668). At one point d20 Entertainment’s own Ken Whitman comments, “For those of you receiving KODT: LAS shirts, Hackerjack boxes, etc. Please e-mail me with photos so I can spam the other members with your happy faces! :-) -Ken Whitman” Later he even goes to defend the use of SPAM as an appropriate business activity, even though it clearly violates the TOS, “@ RevChewie I am sorry thats our business model does not work for you. If there is anything I can do for you, please send me a personal e-mail at sales@d20entertainment.com. -Ken Whitman”

The over-arching theme of this KODT:LAS Kickstarter has been manipulating fans of the Knights of the Dinner Table into giving d20 Entertainment as much money as possible with no clear intention to fulfill all of the promises made to backers. The recent attempts by d20 Entertainment to solicit more funds from current backers and GenCon attendees at best is diluting my pledge package by $300 and at worst is outright fraud since d20 Entertainment has demonstrated their inability or unwillingness to full pledge packages as outlined in the Kickstarter.

Ken Whitman/d20 Entertainment agreed to a specific set of rules when they started their Kickstarter binge, outlined in the applicable Terms of Service TOS, dated October 2012. The specific rule(s) that have not been complied with are (emphasis mine):

“You shall not, and shall not permit any third party using your account to, take any action, or Submit Content, that: infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity, or other right of any other person or entity, or violates any law or contract; you know is false, misleading, or inaccurate; is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, tortious, obscene, offensive, profane, or invasive of another's privacy; constitutes unsolicited or unauthorized advertising or promotional material or any junk mail, spam, or chain letters;”

The majority of these rewards are not scheduled to arrive until August 2015, but it has become evident from the publicly-viewable comments for KODT: LAS that a) d20 Entertainment has knowingly and willfully taken action widely considered to be “unsolicited or unauthorized advertising or promotional material or junk mail” and b) has “taken any action, or submit(ted) content….you know is false, misleading, or inaccurate”.

But hey, don’t take MY word for it……

How Protected Are Your PCs? The Safe and Secure Illusion

Ash thinks she's safe and secure, but evil can lurk from above.
Such evil goes by the common name "Tobby".

I'll admit that I rarely think about my PC dying. Not because I want to avoid the thought, but because the idea of my PC failing to survive is rarely part of the equation.

It's much like being a teenager or young adult. "That shit will never happen to me!"

Actually, it's much like law enforcement. You put aside fears (and smart thoughts like "self preservation") and get the job done. You deal with the fears afterwards.

Of course, that's all an illusion, even if it's one created by you for your own benefit. It's useful though.

In game, I think it's important to remind PCs (and their players) of their relative vulnerability. If the players discuss running instead of engaging (even if they do engage 90% of the time after having said discussion) when things look horribly tough, you as the DM are doing something right. If your players always run head long into each fight, never thinking twice, never considering escape, you need to remind them of their vulnerability. Sometimes all it takes is a single PC to die to make it real (in the context of the game, of course.)

A little fear goes a long way...

Far West isn't Late (Well, Yes it is but...) There's Still May 2016

To be honest, I don't think ANYONE expected a May 2015 release date for Far West. May 2016? Perhaps. Considering Far West is already 3 1/2 years late, what does one more day, week, month, year mean at this point anyway?

Far West has stood up more gaming nerds when it comes to dates than the 1980s ever did.

If I had a girlfriend who missed this many "release dates" it would be too late to consider an abortion.

Far West is approaching TWICE the gestation period of an African Elephant, and that's only counting the days it's late.

I fly into Dallas on Wednesday and boy, will my arms be tired.

Try the fish!

Second Session of Far Away Land in the Bag - Scything & Dicing

Last night was the second session of the Temple of Zoko, my Saturday Night group's introduction to Far Away Land and a testing of the system / gameplay prior to me running a session or two at NTRPG Con later this week.

My four player group survived without a casualty. That was due to smart play on the part of my players.

As far as I know (as I didn't see them in the FAL Quickstart and I didn't have time to refer back to The Tome of Awesome) there are no disarm / weapon grabbing rules for FAL. Well, one of my players, whose character was skilled in unarmed combat, decided he want to take away the BBEG's apparently magic scythe. The two wrestled over the scythe for two rounds, and the player's character gained control on the second round, which changed the dynamics of that final encounter. I'll post my house rule later.

Far Away Land is a big hit in my group, a grumpy set of grognards one and all. It's nothing like D&D and yet plays out very much like D&D. It also seems to encourage me to "ham it up" just a bit, which has gotten my wife laughing from the next room and entertained my players to no end.

We've pretty much agreed FAL is going to be the game we play to take breaks from ongoing campaigns, as the change of pace should keep everything fresh.

All I need to do is print up a dozen or so Far Away Land Quickstarts for NTRPG Con.

Now I'm going to sneak in yet another giveaway, also open until June 8th. On June 9th I'll pick a winner and mail them the self printed copy of the Far Away Land Quickstart that I used for the last 2 sessions (the very one pictured above). And yes, I'll mail it anywhere in the world on the following weekend.

All you need to do to enter is comment on this post :)

6 Years / 5k Posts Giveaway - City of Dolmvay - Print Copy (US Only)

A while back +Pete Spahn sent me an print extra copy of the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay, an excellent OSR City supported and backed by members of the OSR on Kickstarter. I vowed to give away the 2nd copy, but an opportunity never availed itself. This is that opportunity.

How do you get a chance to win that copy of the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay?

Make a comment below before I return from NTRPG Con. We fly back on the Monday after the con, June 8th. On June 9th I'll pick a winner and mail their copy out the following weekend.

In the meantime, grab a copy of the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay PDF for yourself. It's priced at PWYW pricing, so there is no reason not to pick up a copy.

(Today marks 6 years of posting and we are 13 posts away from 5k)

Today Makes Six Years of Posting at The Tavern - It's Been one Hell of a Ride!

As I sit here at type this, I find it amazing that I've been doing this "blog thing" for six years. Six years of writing, reviewing, learning and more learning. Blogging is equal parts craft and art. It's finding one's writing voice and falling flat on one's face more often than not, at least in the beginning.

In the early days of Tenkar's Tavern, I think at least half of my page views was me opening up the blog and reading what I wrote for the umpteenth time. The first truly notable traffic spike was my review of +James Raggi 's The Grinding Gear . I think that got somewhere around 60 views in those first 24 hours, nearly tripling my average traffic. Two years later, the Pathfinder Beginner Box unboxing went viral on Facebook and I had over 1000 views in 24 hours.

I wouldn't still be doing this - posting 2, 3 or 4 or more times in a day if it wasn't for the community that has formed around The Tavern. This is as much your blog as it is mine. Without you - the readers, the commenters, guest posters, Patreon backers, fellow bloggers, publishers and more - there would be no need for The Tavern. As I've stated before, I am forever in your debt.

What does the future hold for The Tavern? I can't say for certain (even as we come up on the 5,000 post later on this week) because this blog seems to take on a life of it's own. I can say this - the immediate future should hold more new gaming content in addition to the usual assortment of blog posts. I expect next year around this time there will be some major changes - both with The Tavern and some other side projects. More free time means more stuff to fill that time.

Later on today I plan to do a small giveaway. US only - as it is print, but as the week goes on I hope to be able to get some smaller print and / or PDF items to giveaway.

For those that have been along for the ride since the beginning ( +Joe D I know has been a regular at The Tavern since before the taps were installed ;) I hope you've enjoyed the growth and changes (which were, for the most part, for the better I think.) Those that are recent arrivals, I hope that you'll stay for the next six years and then some.

Little Notebooks - Big Thoughts

As Rach and I were going out to lunch earlier, our mailman arrived with the above. Not the cat, but the little notebooks. The blue covered one is hex lined, the black covered one is unlined.

These were sent to me curtesy of Wombat's Workshop.

They really are the perfect size to slip in a pocket for the times inspiration strikes.

I plan to bring them with me to NTRPG Con next week. Feel free to hit me up for a peek at them.

Pocket Creatures - The Four Armed Squatch - For Swords & Wizardry and White Star

I love the point blank shot to the head myself ;)

There is little more amoral or disgusting in the known world (or known universe for that matter) than the Four Armed Squatch (what they call themselves is unknown). These green, 6' tall and obviously four armed creatures communicate exclusively via a form of telepathy. They are known as slavers, and make the average slaver compare favorably to a Star Knight or Paladin of old.

They rarely use weapons, preferring to use a form of psychic blast to stun their opponent, as dead new slaves are fairly worthless (except to feed other slaves - waste not, want not.) The lifespan of the average slave of a Four Armed Squatch is counted in weeks and therefore recruitment of new slaves is an ongoing concern.

Physically weak, nearly everything in Squatch society has been built by, prepared by, cooked by, moved by, carried by, etc - slave labor. There have been few slave rebellions and none successful. The last rebellion resulted in the recycling of over 90% of the slave population, the remainder being used to clean up and process the bodies of the former.



Four Armed Squatch

ARMOR CLASS   5 [14]
HIT DICE   2+2
TOTAL HIT BONUS   +2
ATTACKS   2 x Fists (1d6-2) or Psychic Blast
SAVING THROW 15
SPECIAL - Psychic Blast - Range 6" - Save or sleep 1d6 rounds
MOVEMENT 12
HDE/XP 4/340

For use with White Star (discount link - link expires in 3 days - use it if you want it) and Swords and Wizardry White Box (free download link)

Dungeon Crawl or Sandbox Styled Adventure for a Con - What Say You?

I plan to run a session or two of Far Away Land at NTRPG Con next week. I'm currently running the Temple of Zoko for my Saturday Night group. We do a lot of BSing during our game sessions, so it should take about 2 sessions to play and it's fairly sandboxie. I estimate at a con that would convert to 3 hrs or a tad more of game play. Well, depending on number of beers, that may significantly increase the time to complete.

Or I could run Isle of the Rat Wizard. Sure, it's in the quickstart, but I can always leave it out of the copies I print for the con. It's a bit of a sandbox and a bit of a dungeon crawl.

Damn!

Either will okay quick enough to generate characters and run the adventure.

In general, I suspect a dungeon crawl workds better than a sandbox in a convention environment. It's also probably the only time most players won't violently rebel a railroad.

What are your thoughts?

Prepping for NTRPG Con and "Yes, there will be a Tavern Chat next Wednesday from the Con"

When I leave work this afternoon I'll be kicking off a week long vacation. I thought I'd have plenty of time for con prep, but Sunday thru Tuesday I'll be in the Poconos. Yes, very full vacation.

I'll be printing out about a dozen copies of the Far Away Land Quickstart tomorrow and maybe 2 or 3 copies of Pocket Monsters, Creatures & NPCs for the con.

Need to grab the right dice - need to like enough to want to use but be okay if I lose one or two ;)

Rach wants to be prepared for all of her games this year - she is taking her second con very seriously. I told her to relax and have fun, but she's been bit by the RPG bug it  seems.

Next Wednesday night I'll be hosting Tavern Chat from the hotel bar. If you have questions for any attendees, it will be a perfect time to ask. If they aren't around at question time, I'll track them down later at the con and post the info here at The Tavern. If you arrive early for the con, search Rachel and me out :)

Pocket Creatures - Muelitoad - Swords & Wizardry and White Star

Really, what can be said about the Muelitoad race that hasn't been said prior? The fact that they all seem to be female, with wart covered breasts and the frame of an ogre? Perhaps the small stalks that protrude from the eyes and ears that appear to have no useful purpose? Or maybe that they are drawn to the females of intelligent races - for what nefarious purpose we know not yet.

I suspect you didn't realize that they spit poison at their adversaries, for if you did the wad of spittle oozing down your face would cause you no small amount of alarm.

Ah, never mind. You are experiencing such knowledge first hand right now. What a lovely shade of blue. I shall take your leave now if you don't mind. I wonder what will happen to your woman?

Muelitoad

ARMOR CLASS   4 [15]
HIT DICE   4+1
TOTAL HIT BONUS   +4
ATTACKS   Fists (1d6) or Spit (1d6-3) and Save or Die
SAVING THROW 10 (save bonus due to thick skin)
SPECIAL - Poisonous spit - Range 3"
MOVEMENT 9
HDE/XP 5/600

Kickstarter - Murderous Monsters Bestiary for Old School Tabletop RPGs

Murderous Monsters Bestiary for Old School Tabletop RPGs is a Kickstarter to fund a bestiary for multiple "old school" fantasy RPGs. On just that hook, it's an interesting project by +Brent Newhall .

Know what makes it damn near irresistible for me? The +Eric Quigley art.

Know what  puts it over the top? Eric's art is going released under a Creative Commons license, allowing it to be freely used in other commercial projects.

I backed last night.

Did I mention that the "giant rat" gets added at the $4k stretch goal? Every tavern needs some rats and maybe a hoard of coppers ;)

Further Thoughts on "Four Page Pocket Projects"

So, the first "Four Page Pocket Project" to release on Patreon will be Pocket Monsters, Creatures and NPCs - Ashcan #1. I call it an "Ashcan" because the plan to to rerelease it later in a more professional format consolidating at least three to four releases. I'll cross that bridge when it gets there ;)

The goal is to release 1 to 2 four page pocket projects a month, get feedback and tweak as needed.

Now, I'm also thinking of adding a Four Page Pocket Treasures into the mix, which would include magic items, tech items and all the stuff inbetween. As always, they will be posted at The Tavern first.

The fun part is I get to splurge on some stock art. I'll be like a kid in a candy store :)

Oh, got my mailing envelopes for the printed Four Pagers.

And no. No zine on the horizon. Need to crawl before I can even walk ;)

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight 830 PM Eastern

Yep, it's another Wednesday, and that means another Tavern Chat.

I'll gladly answer questions about the forthcoming Pocket Monsters, Creatures and NPCs as well as the Pocket Settings. However, if all goes as usual, I suspect the conversation will take care of itself ;)

Weather as the Adversary - Can it be a Heroic Opponent?

Whenever weather goes extreme and is in the news every day (2 feet of snow in /nyc, flooding in Texas, tsunamis and the like) it always makes me think about integrating such into an RPG adventure. Instead of heroic acts killing the bad guys, it's heroic acts saving the common folk.

Now, part of the problem with implementing that is that earlier editions of D&D and it's clones really stressed combat. Sure, and argument can and will be made that ealry editions were all about the money and the expo and avoiding combat was usually more effective than engaging in it. While that might be true, I've never played in or run a session for a group that wasn't eager to engage in combat. Stealth be damned, half the group is usually wearing chain mail or better anyhow.

Of course, since D&D has it's roots in wargaming, none of this is a surprise.

With all that out of the way, how would you integrate weather as an adversary in your campaign? How do you make them heroic without the incentive of gold and combat? Fight the ogre tribe or rescue peasants from flood waters?

I know you can use extreme weather as obstacle, but my desire is use it as something that will bring out noble, or at least, decent deeds from the PCs.

Throw some thoughts my way.

Playing Around with the 4 Page Pocket Format - Monsters, Creatures and NPCs

I'm pretty happy with the 4 Page Pocket Format that I've been playing around with. Each piece fits pretty nicely on the page with the 4 page Pocket Monsters, Creatures and NPCs. I need to add the White Star and Swords & Wizardry logos, but that's not a big deal. OGL would have to be on a half sheet insert for the printed version - for the PDF I'll just add a page.

Sure, it's basic, but this is as much a way to reward my backers as it is for me to learn new skills. Layout, formatting and the like aren't learned overnite. One only learns from doing.

I want to thank all my Patreon backers - today you pushed the total monthly backing of The Tavern to over $200 a month. If that isn't humbling, I don't know what is.

25 Posts From 5k - 5 Days to 6 Years of Posting

Strange when the stars line up unexpectedly.

We are 25 posts from 5k. I expect to hit that next week while at NTRPG Con.

We are 5 days from 6 years of posting here at The Tavern.

Trying to think of a unique way to celebrate all that. Failing that, I'll settle for a fun way.

Thank you all.

Your Tavern Keeper :)

Kicking it Forward on Patreon - at 28%

As I updated my Patreon page I decided to see where my pledges to other content creators currently stood.

$43.34 and the month isn't over yet.

I have some amazing folks that currently back me for $153 a month, so if nothing changes I'm kicking forward at 28%. Actually, after fees, it's probably about 33% of what I net for the month and I'm damn happy with that.

We (not just me) are literally backing an exciting list of OSR and other RPG creators (as well as a few musicians.)

Who?

+Dyson Logos , +Tim Shorts , +Jim Magnusson , +matt jackson , +James Spahn and a bunch of others. You can see the list here.

Thank you for being generous not just to me, but all those that are in turn backed by your favorite grumpy bartender.

Huzzah!

Just Because I Now Have a "Long-Arm Stapler" It Does NOT Mean I'll be Producing Zines - Really

I must say, now that I have a new laser printer (PHEW! PHEW!) printing stuff out at home is a pleasure. I just added a long-arm stapler (Sparco Long Reach Stapler, 20 Sheet Capacity - $5.99 at Amazon) at a price I couldn't resist. It will make it easy-peasy to put together 10 or 12 Far Away Land Quickstarts for NTRPG Con.

As tempting as it may be, I don't plan to do any sort of regular zine at this point. A monthly 4 pages Pocket Setting or Pocket Creature Collection is probably my limit right now. I'm not saying a highly irregular zine might not pop up in the future, but that future is not immediate.

Now I need to wait on the heaver printer paper to print the the covers for the Quickstart. It's looking like I may run 2 1/2 to 3 hr sessions. I suspect one will be Sunday Morning while Rachel is in the "all girls" Top Secret game, and since Rach insists she is playing in a session, I'm probably running another earlier in the con.

Morath Ogre for White Star by Jim Magnusson

For the write up and stats for the Morath Ogre, see this previous post.

Art by +Jim Magnusson

Playing Around with "Ascan" Pocket Monsters, Creatures and NPCs

So, in addition to the Pocket Settings I've been working on, I've also been writing up monsters, creatures and NPCs for the use with White Star and Swords & Wizardry. I've been trying to think of a reward for my backers on the Patreon side of things, and I think I've found a fun way to do it.

Backers at $1.50 or higher will get at least one four page PDF each month - it will be either Pocket Monsters, Creatures and NPCs or a Pocket Setting of four or eight pages. Backers at $4.50 or higher will get a printed copy mailed to them each month (it will be a booklet sized one-sheet - 4 pages on one folded sheet - I need to check on international shipping and may need to add 50 cents or a dollar to the print level for those outside the states.)

Sure, the above layout sucks - but it will only get better as I practice ;)

Everything in the "Pocket" series of ashcans will have been posted previously at The Tavern. I'm just making it easier to refer to for those that toss a few coppers in the tip jar.

I'm considering releasing a a low cost PDF collecting the "Pocket" whatevers one or twice a year, but I'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Consider the above screenshot to be a placer for now. I need to ask +Jim Magnusson if I can use it in this way ;)

We Are Exactly a Week Away From The Tavern's Six Year Anniversary - Time to Plan

I can't believe I've been doing this "blog thing" for nearly 6 years.

Now, I need to figure out how to celebrate this with my friends and virtual family here at "The Tavern." I've got some ideas and more than happy to take the ideas of others into account. What started as a mere blog has turned into a strong community, so it's something we all should be celebrating - I couldn't have done any of this without all of you.

The Patreon rewards will be changing a bit come June. Good stuff only. $4.50 and above will be getting some limited "ashcan" printed material - monsters and / or pocket settings mailed to them once a month. I'm still finalizing the logistics but it is exciting. I suspect it will look fairly poor early on, but I promise to get better with practice ;)

Alright, enough blather. Dinner needs to be made.

First Session of Far Away Land Completed - And it was DAMN Good!

You know how sometimes an RPG reads really well and then falls down in actual play? Far Away Land reads really well, almost intuitively, but I hadn't had a chance to run it until tonight (we've been having a blast playing in +Joe D 's Blood Island game.)

With the recent release of the Far Away Land Quick Start rules, I figured now was a good time to get back behind the virtual GM screen and get a session or two of Far Away Land in before I run it at NTRPG Con in two weeks.

It went smoother than I could have ever hoped for.

Most of my group hadn't even read the Quick Start before we started the session, which was disappointing on one level but excellent on another - I got to experience how long it will take to go from "here's the rules" to "create a character" to "lets roll." The answer to that is about 20 minutes. Hot damn. So, as I had originally planed, my players at NTRPG Con will be creating characters at the beginning of the session using copies of the FAL Quick Start rules.

Combat went very smoothly. A bit swingy at times, but it wasn't so swingy that they were turned off by it. If anything, it kept the combat exciting. While none of the PCs were knocked out or killed, there were moments of "oh shit, one more hit and you could be dead." Leveling won't change that much, as +1 HP per level is going to keep the damage receiving potential of the PCs in check.

Magic use was pretty intuitive and the players grocked it right away, which was nice to see. I didn't see a rule in the quick start for shooting into melee, so I'll need to search the Tome of Awesomeness. If not, as a group we've pretty much come up with a decent houserule.

I ran Temple of Zoko and the players managed to reach the island with the temple about 3 hrs after we started our session. They created characters, spoke to a witch and answered some riddles (and got some answers to their questions), surprised their own ambushers in the forest, beat up some goats, killed a cyclops and recovered a neat sword, killed some elven pirates and avoided getting possessed by Lake Phantoms while still making it to the island.

My group was enthusiastic about the FAL system. Some random (paraphrased) quotes:

"D&D for drunks that can't do math!"

"Plays fast and lose and the rules get out of the way."

"Take it to the pub with your non-gaming friends. They can raid their kids' board games for the D6s."

"This is a good place to stop. Pick up from here next week?"

"You ran this before, right? No? Could'a fooled me."

"This system plays really well."

So, it looks like my "Tales of the Ratcatcher" campaign for White Star will be pushed back just a wee bit ;)

P.S. As an aside, I ran this will just the Far Away Land Quick Start Rules and the Temple of Zoko, both offered as PWYW. I referred to the Tome of Awesome once, for a rule that WAS in the quickstart but somehow I had missed. There is a lot of gameplay available with little or no "out of pocket" risk.

Tonight, the Saturday Nighters Will Seek "The Temple of Zoko" (Far Away Land)

Tonight my Saturday Night group will be taking their first stab at Far Away Land. We'll be using nothing more than the FAL Quick Start Rules and A7 - Temple of Zoko. Both are available at PWYW pricing and print out amazingly well in booklet format (three cheers for the new laser printer.)

We'll follow this up with a session recap tomorrow. In the meantime I'm very excited, as Temple of Zoko makes for a fine sandbox to kick things off with.

Morath Ogre - A Creature for Swords & Wizardry and White Star

Morath Ogres are bred to be walking watchtowers, allowing watchmen an extended view of an otherwise visually obstructed urban environment. Their hands are wrapped in hide and leather while their arms are extra long, serving as a second set of legs and offering a steadier ride for the watchman stationed above. Their mouths are covered by what is effectively a barred mouth brace. Morath Ogres with unwrapped hands and unbraced mouths have been known to snatch random creatures and pop them quickly into their mouths for a meal. Their are especially found of sentient "teenaged" or pubescent creatures, as the raging hormones add to the flavor of the meal.

Morath Ogres stand 12 to 14 feet tall at their shoulders and are believed to be a crossbreed of standard ogres and cloud giants, but they have the intelligence of neither. To cut down on their innate aggression, all male Morath Ogres that are not used for breeding are gelded as early as possible. Morath Ogres do not like heavy rain, as it causes the leather wrap around their hands to constrict which imparts pain on them that they rarely feel. They have been known to panic and lash out in prolonged, heavy rains.

The watchman stationed on a Morarth Ogre lights a green lantern on his tower post from dusk to dawn. This light allows the populace to know that a watchman is nearby.

Morath Ogres are fairly common in the more populate cities of low tech worlds.

For use with White Star (discount link) and Swords and Wizardry White Box (free download link)

Morath Ogre

ARMOR CLASS   1 [18]
HIT DICE   8+1
TOTAL HIT BONUS   +8
ATTACKS   Fists (2d6 +2) 
SAVING THROW 10 (save bonus due to thick skin)
SPECIAL - none
MOVEMENT 12
HDE/XP 8/1,100

Prepping for NTRPG Con - Printing the Far Away Land Quickstart Booklets

North Texas RPG Con kicks off in less than 2 weeks and like others, I have found it is time to get ready. I'll be running a session of Far Away Land off the grid, probably in the hotel bar. Time and day still need to be nailed down.

I just installed my Brother Laser Printer and it does an excellent job printing in booklet form. I'll have about 8 copies or so of the quickstart for my players to refer to during the game.

All I need now is a long arm stapler and I could start publishing zines...

Nope ;)

Jim Magnusson's Morath Ogre

I asked +Jim Magnusson to come up with something with a "law enforcement" theme to it. Damn did Jim do good!

I'll stat this out tomorrow for Swords & Wizardry and White Star - yes, I see it fitting well in both :)

Experience Points - Does Gold Still Have the Same Weight as the Early Days of Gaming?

Back in the early days, when the "Dungeons" part of D&D defined much of the gameplay, giving expo primarily based on Gold Piece value made sense. Even if you think it doesn't make sense, it's understandable - it was an easy short cut that kept things simple. And just think of the difficulty in removing that heavy hoard of coin.

Later, when "the wilderness" was initially introduced, much was hand waved and adventuring was still primarily in dungeon environments. Conducting home invasions of dungeon denizens was still the primary source of income and expo.

At some point the "sandbox" became a thing, even if it wasn't called such at the time. Exploration and the wilderness came to the forefront but the method of awarding expo did not change. At 10 gold coins to the pound, how did anyone travel with money? (gems, of course)

Sandbox play damn near requires a rethinking of the method to award expo. Do you give points for each 6 mile hex explored? Double the xp from monster kills? Gold and the like is much rarer in the wilds.

By it's very nature, sci-fi roleplaying is very sandboxie - no one plays scifi on a single world, they want the universe. Can credits in lieu of gold really be sufficient as a source of expo? Doesn't this hamper the viability of a Space Marine themed campaign, where killing xenomorphs doesn't lead to the recovery of credits?

What, if any, alternate methods of xp awarding do you use? Do you change methods depending on the type of adventure? Is gold = XP an OSR sacred cow?

Stirring Sh!t and Taking Names

Apparently I stir shit. Maybe +Tim Shorts didn't call it such exactly, but I got his meaning ;)

Settings or Rules or Both and Why Not, Another Giveaway - enter for the giveaway - it's good shit.

Innovation: settings, rules, or... what? - give +Joseph Bloch a piece of your mind

If stirring shit means driving conversation, I've done did good :)

I'll be (along with my wife Rachel) at NTRPG Con in less than 2 weeks. I've already agreed to have my hair cut that Tuesday and shave before flying that Wednesday. I will not be "scruffy." If you see me, feel free to say "hi!" I don't bite and may even buy youra beer ;)

How Big a Role Does Alignment Play in Your Campaign? Is it Even Needed?

Assuming your system of choice includes alignment in anywhere from three to nine flavors, how big a role does alignment play in your campaign?

Back in my High School years, I used to plot that out on a grid for each PC, much like the DMG suggested. What a fucking waste of time. With the exception of any Paladins in the party, the average PC could at best be defined as Chaotic Selfish. Paladins were Lawful Stupid, Deaf and Blind.

These days I mostly hand wave it "So, you take the Orc hostage, put him tied up in a mining cart, pour oil on him, light him and send him screaming and flaming down the tracks? Neutral Good you say you are? You gave him a choice: talk and live or stay silent and burn and the choice was his? This would have been fair game on 24 with Jack Baur? Sigh. Lets move on to the mobile flaming orc."

Do we need alignment? Is good and evil a matter of perspective? Should alignment be kept but redefined?

Where Should the Innovation in the OSR Be - Rules or Settings?

+Michael S made some good points at The Tavern earlier today and it made me think - where should

the innovation in the OSR be - rules or settings?

Mike specific brought up Empire of the Petal Throne and Blackmoor.

EPT's strength is not it's ruleset, which is basically OD&D with some houserules, but it's setting. Deep and alien and multilayered while still slightly familiar.

Blackmoor brought us the first published adventure. Common now, it was a first for the fledgling hobby.

So, where should the OSR innovate?

I think it should be with the settings, using house rules to make it unique where necessary. I have enough generic fantasy settings to last me a lifetime. We need more Spears of the Dawn and Arrows of Indra (both complete games where the innovation is the setting) and less reworks of Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms - been there, have it, don't need a pale imitation.

From my own perspective, I'm working on a series of Pocket Settings for White Star. I want a fun hook for each, but I don't expect them to truly innovate on their own. 8 pages doesn't give one much room to innovate. But I have been given peeks and "elevator pitches" of what some others have in store for their White Star settings, and some may just hit the "new and not seen before" level.

I see sci-fi as a less trod and overworked field to plant than fantasy when it comes to RPGs. Hopefully White Star achieves it's goal as a toolbox for others to truly innovate. Time will tell.

What say you? Rules or settings and why?

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight - 830 Eastern

Pull up a chair, grab a beer and join us for the weekly chat :)

How Big a Role Do Ability Modifiers Play in Your Game?

How big a role do ability Modifiers play in your game. I ask, because the White Box range is -1, +1 where it even exists. 3d6 in order isn't a big deal in such an setting. AD&D has a range (mostly) of -4 to +4 and I see where the 4d6 drop the lowest and arrange as you will came into play, as ability modifiers greatly effect what a character can do well (or not.)

Do you prefer the lower spread of ability modifiers, the larger spread or somewhere in between?

Kickstarter - The Zine Vault (White Boxed sized Boxes for your Zines)

I have too many zines. This isn't a bad thing (and I've got a few I need to review) but finding the ones I have is often similar to an Easter Egg Hunt - they are squirreled away between game books on my shelves and other places.

Earlier tonight +Tim Shorts pointed me towards The Zine Vault Kickstarter. My first response was "why would I need this?" After thinking for a minute it became "how the fuck have I survived without this?"

So yeah, I'll be getting 8 boxes, which if I can track down all of my zines probably still won't be enough. It should cut down on the Easter Egg Hunt tho'.

Rant - Comparing What is To What You Might Have Done But Didn't Do is Just so Much Bull....

I hate when someone says: "I had the same idea 5 years ago, but back then I thought it was lame. Or I was lazy. Or uninspired. Now someone else has done it and it's hot as shit on a stick. But I thought of it first so this thing NOW is a pale imitation of this thing THEN that never was."

It's like comparing apples to... the thinking of an apple. Well, I mean thinking about an apple. Until it is an apple it doesn't exist. Thoughts are fleeting and for the most part private.

It's the person claiming credit for a screenplay of a box office smash that was never submitted but he had the idea first but never showed anyone.

Someone else striking gold on a claim that you investigated but you never bothered to claim and being bitter about it is just... sad.

Petty Gods: Revised and Expanded is Here - Free in PDF and at Cost in Print

I have seen Petty Gods, and it is good. Really. I got my advance copy of the PDF last night and holy shit it rocks.

396 pages cover to cover. I want this in hard cover for my bookshelf ;)

It's available in three ways:

First - Free Petty Gods PDF. As in "air" and "freedom" and all that jazz. Ignore what RPGNow says about there being a watermark - there ain't none. Believe me, I checked.

Second - At Cost Petty Gods in Premium Soft Cover - $13.22 - Did I mention the PDF has 396 pages cover to cover? Huge book.

Third - At Cost Petty Gods in Casewrap Hardback - $22.47 - no idea what the heck "casewrap" means, but it must be good.

While your at Lulu, you may as well add the Old School Adventures™ Accessory CC1: Creature Compendium for $7.99. An excellent value and it's keeper than paying for shipping twice ;)

Or find some more goodies at Lulu. Buy 4 and get the one of lowest cost for free. Code: TRGE15

Looking for Advice From the Tavern's Patrons on a Laser Printer Potential Purchase

As I get closer to refining the whole Pocket Settings concept for White Star, I'm realizing that my current ink jet is not quite up to spec. I'm running through ink way to fast, including color which I don't actually use. I think there is some sort of magical drain on the color ink cartridges.

Anyhow, with the pocket settings currently being worked on, I'm considering sending print "ash can" copies to some of the higher end supporters of my Patreon as well as giving away a copy or two of each one when completed here on the blog.

So, I need a better printer. I'm looking at the Brother DCPL2540DW Wireless Compact Laser Printer on Amazon for $139. The price is right and the reviews look good, but I'd like to get opinions of others.

I'm listening, so comment away :)

Resources - Found an Excellent Resource for Detailing Star Systems (and most anything else for all RPG Genres)

Donjon. I'm sure I've heard it mentioned before, perhaps whispered of in side alleys, but this shit is the real shit. You can drill down and detail the planet itself.

If you share the "random seed", all someone has to do is input that seed on the proper page to pull up the same thing on their end. Pretty snazzy.

I do so like the Random Tavern Generator. Is anyone surprised?

Oh, and the star systems are plotted on the map - now to detail some of them.

Resource - Found an Excellent Resource for Blank Numbered Hex Maps (and other goodies)

I was trying to find a usable and numbered hex map to start working on the sector map for "Tales of the Ratcatcher" for my upcoming White Star Campaign. Finally found it at The Isomage's House. Map generation of all types, and if you do Traveller, they'll map it out in Traveller format. Damn sweet stuff.

Of course, I just need a blank map to work on, so I got that (resize to 80% if you want it to fit on a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet.)

White Star - Pocket Settings - Tales of the Ratcatcher - New Ship - Ratcatcher

Art by Shaman's Stockart

The Ratcatcher is a modified troop transport ship. As originally designed, the bottom half of the ship can detach from the upper part, allowing the lower part of the ship to land and disembark troops while the main half remains in orbit. 18 high speed entry capsules (9 per side) would allow for space paratroopers to descent directly from the edge of the atmosphere.

As currently modified, the troop transport section is now a pressurized cargo hold for the transport of goods. Black market and restricted items are often stored in the high speed entry capsules, allowing for quick removal of illicit goods before the authorities are close enough to detect them.

It got the name Ratcatcher from it's previous Captain (and current owner), who in addition to being a legitimate merchant (and occasional black marketer) was known to take on Bounty Hunter contracts. As such, one of the 8 staterooms in the upper part of the ship is modified for gravity enhancement of up to 5 times standard, a very effective way to help ensure control of one's temporary guest.

These days the Ratcatcher is leased to a party of traders and explorers - with the option to buy if they can raise sufficient funds.

It is much like a medium transport from the core White Star rules, except as noted above. When the two halves are disengaged, the upper half has a movement of 9.

We'll be Kicking off a White Star Campaign in Two Weeks - Now I Need to Prep

Art by Shaman's Stockart

Next Saturday night I'll be putting the Far Away Land Quick Start rules through some testing before bringing them to North Texas RPG Con. I'll be running a different adventure than the one in the Quick Start.

The following Saturday I'll be kicking off a White Star Campaign. After talking with my group, I'm thinking "Tales of the Ratcatcher" (subject to change depending on player pushback ;) borrowing inspiration from Firefly, some classic LBB Traveller and using Stars Without Number to help with the sandboxing. Yes, the plan is some smuggling, plot seeds, sandboxing and more.

Looks like I'll be working on two pocket settings concurrently ;)