The Gygax Memorial Fund Lost Over $1,000 in 2014

So, I've basically been told that only positive interviews are going to happen with Gail. She will participate "only in interviews focusing on the positive aspects of gaming and positive news of Garys legacy."

This post is about a negative aspect of the Gygax Memorial Fund which I guess makes in a negative aspect of Gary's legacy. More accurately, a negative cash flow issue for the Fund in 2014. Yes, the Fund lost money in 2014 and compared to 2015 the website was a font of activity. Just imagine how 2015 will shake out.

Look down below. The fund took in a mere $421 in 2014. It's obvious that 2012 and 2013 numbers were from the sales of the AD&D 1e reprints (Thanks WotC) and 2010 and 2011 were probably mostly corporate sponsors.

Again. $421 in 2014. Someone has dropped the ball on their fund raising efforts it seems.

Actually, it's worse than that. See the page below. That a "Schedule O". It's missing from the first few years of tax returns posted, but it's important, as it gives a breakdown of expenses.

Office Expenses:             $1,129

Filing Fees:                     $     10

Conferences / Meetings: $   653

Total: $1,792

Less   $   421

The Gygax Memorial Fund LOST $1,371 in 2014. How do you spend more in a year than your raise?

Now I know why the Fund is a sensitive topic. It's actually moving backwards now. There is apparently little support from the gaming community as a whole, and that's a damn shame.

Day Three of OSR Christmas - "You MUST Delve In!" (Print Copies of Dyson's Delves I & II)

Is it really Day Three of OSR Christmas? Yep, it is! heh

Before we get to today's main event, there is a prize I must award here at The Tavern:

 +Forrest Aguirre  email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing and I'll get that $10 RPGNow GC to you.

So, what is today's OSR Christmas Offering?

+Dyson Logos is gifting his stellar Dyson's Delves. Amazing maps, excellent adventures, all for you. How do you get your chance at such goodness?

Here's Dyson in his own words:

I'm giving away print copies of Dyson's Delves I & II as part of +Erik Tenkar's 12 Days of OSR Christmas. 

But I'm also using this as a chance to collect new uses for old maps - to produce an additional resource for people who are using the blog and who want an idea or seed to go with the maps.  

So to enter, you need to find a map on the blog and propose another use for it. A quick adventure seed or idea of how it could be used. At the end of the day (or tomorrow morning depending on how sleepy we are) one entry (possibly 2) will be chosen randomly to receive print copies of Dyson's Delves I & II. 

This contest is open to entries from anywhere in the world, so get on it!

Oh, and if comment on this very post here at The Tavern and answer the following question - What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow? (the answer matters less than your creativity, but thw gift receiver will still be chosen randomly ;) you'll have a chance to snag another $10 RPGNow GC. Entries close for the GC when the next OSR Christmas Post goes live - probably on Wednesday, as I'm working a double Monday into Tuesday.

Don't forget to click on the OSR Christmas pic in the upper right corner to bring you to all of the OSR Christmas posts. There are other offerings from earlier that are still collecting entries, so you may have a Very Merry OSR Christmas!

An Open Letter to Mrs. E. Gary Gygax (cc: the Gaming Community at Large)

Mrs. E. Gary Gygax

The questions posed regarding the Gygax Memorial Fund were submitted by the gaming community at large, which is why I'm posting this letter here and not sending it direct, as it is their questions that need to be answered, not mine. Nearly half of the questions submitted to me in relation to the Fund were actually about the Trust and were therefore not submitted for your attention.

I understand your frustration when members of the gaming community are unable or unwilling to distinguish between the Gygax Memorial Fund and the GAIL C. GYGAX REVOCABLE TRUST. Perhaps you need to understand WHY people in the gaming community have that issue.

Emotions.

When emotions are brought into an issue, simple facts become not so simple. When the only mention of the name "Gygax" in the gaming community these days is legal actions taken against those using the name "Gygax" - yes, I'm referring to the recent trademark dispute - the Trust muddies the waters of the Fund.

Is that fair?

Fair has little to do with the real world. Most of us know that. The Trust using all of its legal rights to enforce its trademark against a company using said trademark is certainly legal. Was it fair? Not for me to judge. The community at large will do so.

You say you did not force Ernie and Luke Gygax to leave the new TSR, which is technically true. I do have it on good account from a trusted third party that any that signed on to the trademark agreement had to also agree to refrain from saying, writing, etc disparaging remarks about yourself. Strange that would be a requirement to settle a trademark dispute.

You've communicated that you want the Gygax Memorial Fund to be supported by the gaming community, but the site itself is virtually dead. No updates in nearly a year, no stock in the store, no activity. The Fund's board itself is composed of non-gamers with little to no connection to the gaming community.

You are frustrated. The gaming community is frustrated. Gary was loved by many. His work influenced millions of gamers. We all want the man to be honored. Many of us do that in the games we still play. Sadly, time makes people forgetful, and the longer this goes on without being fulfilled will leave us with fewer people that will care in the end, assuming we get there. An ending like that would diminish us all.

Sincerely,
Erik Tenkar

WotC Posts Another Cartoon Map Walk-Through - Out of the Abyss (5e)

I almost missed this one. The Out of the Abyss walk-through been up for a bit (and the link has been open in my browser for over a week, but free time hasn't been too free for me recently) and I figured it's about time to share it out.

Sure, it's for a 5e adventure but it's still fun to look at / read.

Grab it in low, medium or hi resolution directly from the WotC site here. (edit: link fixed to offer all resolutions)

And no, I haven't read the adventure it's based upon...

Another WTF Kickstarter - With Dice! - Custom RPG Dice

A tip of the hat to +Jennifer Fuss over at the Kicksnarker Community, because this is pure gold.

Yes, a Custom RPG Dice Kickstarter, but the twist is - you don't get to customize them! Nope. It's been done for you to save the stress.

Ah shit, let me just post the project text and make my comments. Do you really want to waste your time going to the actual Kickstarter page?

So I discuss a lot of this in the video (there is no video - oopsie!), but I wanted to talk about this more in depth here. These dice were originally an idea to help get my name out there in the dice/pen&paper rpg community (uhm, you do that by being part of that community) so that when I launched a game I intend to release, people are more willing to pledge to such a big project. (because they'll surely see my design skills with these dice) See my logic was people are more likely to pledge a large project(not saying this one is exactly small but the game will be about 5 to 7x this cost) if they can see you have successfully created a project before. Thus this idea was born. (right. so, the Algerian Flag was the inspiration for the 12 sided die? )

Now the project has undergone several attempts (two canceled and one fail to fund - say what?) and revisions due to customer base trying to help get this project where it needs to be in terms of cost and currently...this is about the best I can do on pricing. Why is this the best? Well here is my expense break down: The dice themselves require 100 sets at $22.00 to purchase from Q-Workshop (so I could buy from them direct and actually get what I want?) who i have supplied the designs to. Shipping them TO ME is about $81.00 shipping the 100 sets out is around $250.00. So we have $2200.00+$81.00+$250=around $2531.00 if my math is correct which is not factoring in International shipping which is around...oh $6.00 and some change.So let's look at a 50/50 split in shipping. $125 would be my local cost and intenrational (irrational shipping costs perhaps, because the numbers seem awfully low) comes to about $300 which changes it to $425 or double almost double the original shipping plan. SO let's add this extra $175 in 2531+175=$2706. So 10% of this would be $270.60 resulting in a total cost of $2976 in the event of a 50/50 split, which isn't very likely. Since last attempts had a high number of international pledgers we shall simply say around $600 for shipping as a ballpark estimate bringing us to a little over $3000 roughly after all is said and done, but that is just for the dice. My pledge levels also include special art work from the currently tabled Fated Worlds tabletop I conceived so then we have artist fees to consider and such so when all is said and done I am not really making a profit as all my funding goes to cover my expenses (I couldn't follow the math but I suspect the creator couldn't either...)

So what exactly does polyhedral dice mean? The type of dice being funded called polyhedral dice are commonly dice used in Tabletop gaming also known as pen and paper rpg. This set consists of a 20 sided die, 4 sided die, 8 sided die, 2 ten sided dice(one is a percentile die), 12 sided die, 6 sided die. (if your audience needs to ask this question, they aren't the customer you are looking for. please more along. we know someone that is going to try - again - to sell pop-o-matic dice on Kickstarter. give your money away to him)

What makes these special? These dice have numbers on them replaced with symbols, most of which were chosen at random except the d20 which replaced the 1 with a skull to represent a critical fail. The six if i can manage it will replace all numbers with symbols or if the render is chosen with numerals. (which means they will be total useless in game. Woot!) 

Now for the fun part: The render I have was for my original design and several people liked it, but last try only hit about 50% of goal, so i decided to change it up a bit this time. I have a color table from Q-Workshop showing several body and numbers colors. So you will have a choice this time. I have a secondary set of symbols picked but since I cannot afford a second render($150) I am using the original render to give you an idea of what kind of quality and all we are looking at. So in this project at the end I will send out a survey asking whether the render should be made, or if a different color set and symbols should be used! If you like parts of both symbol sets, tell me which ones you like and then I will tally the results and the dice with the highest votes get made. But what if there is a tie on certain aspects? Well I shall then work to reach a middle ground and send the survey with that to see if it is yay or nay. (oh my fucking God - even f this funds it will never be completed)  

I laid the foundation, but you guys get final say in this creation! Also please remember this is an all or nothing site so there is no need to cancel pledges unless you cannot afford your pledge. Below are the alternate symbols and color chart. I will also do these in updates to tidy it up a bit. (guess what. no chart either. maybe the chart and the video were too smart to stick around) 

Also one final note: There will be a project for individual dice starting with the d6. After this renders set I will simply have someone draw the rough idea. These will be small projects usually around $500 maybe a bit more or less. (because more projects will give me street cred in the RPG community) They will be 50 units of the dice. However Another branch of Soulcraft Games is talking about doing this. (there's more than one branch? WTF? )  More information on this to come.

And the last reminder I wish to offer: to people thinking these dice are too expensive. This set for 1 set from Q-Workshop without a 100 set minimum is $40 a die....or $280 dollars. Just thought i should address that issue here. (okay - but it's custom FOR YOU. It's not custom made for the rest of us) 

Oh One final thing, I will try to have the color chart Q-Workshop gave me up soon, I just either have to find it or request a new one (uhr?) 

Risks and challenges 

I am simply making dice. (actually, no you aren't. Q-Workshop is) The biggest risk here is delays with getting the dice made and art made. (which is the whole project if I'm not mistaken. Where's that street cred going to be?) After all the company making them for me are overseas. If this does occur I will try to do something to make it up to my backers and will keep you posted every step of the way. (I may back for a buck, just for the updates)

Day Two of OSR Christmas - "And Five will INHERIT Bundles (Print & PDF)"

Is it really Day Two of OSR Christmas? Yep, it is! heh

Day One kicked off two days ago and there is a prize I must award here at The Tavern:

GM Tim - email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing and I'll get that $10 RPGNow GC to you.

So, what is today's OSR Christmas Offering?

Mischief Inc is offering FIVE Print and Play bundles of The Inheritance, an introductory / 1st level adventure for the OSR ruleset of your choice. It comes in at 40 pages.

How do you get your chance for one of these bundles?

Simple. Go to the Mischief Inc forums. Register an account so you can post in this thread. Say something to the effect that "I'd surely love a copy for OSR Christmas." You have a week to enter, so don't wait too long.

Oh, and if comment on this very post here at The Tavern, you'll have a chance to snag another $10 RPGNow GC. Entries close for the GC when the next OSR Christmas Post goes live on Sunday.

Tavern Chat Tonight - 930 PM Eastern - Don't Say You Weren't Notified ;)

Yep. It's Thursday, which means tonight is another Tavern Chat.

Tonight's topics will be - whatever we wan't them to be. I'm sure OSR Christmas will be on the list. OSR Santa has been good so far this year - have you?

What is Tavern Chat? It's that chat box to the right we hang out it once a week :)

12 Days of OSR Christmas is LIVE! - Big Dragons and Not So Small Hobbits - Oh My!

Yes, what you've all been waiting for is here! The 12 Days (or more) of OSR Christmas has started!

If you wish to participate and possibly receive a gift, you must closely follow the instructions on each OSR Christmas post as they occur (roughly every two days.)

Here's the instructions for Day One:

1 - Make a comment on THIS BLOG POST for your chance to win a $10 RPGNow Gift Certificate. Comments open until sometime Friday.

2 - Make a comment over at the SAVE VS DRAGON BLOG (New Big Dragon Games / +Richard LeBlanc ) Actually, make several comments over the next 2 weeks. This is what Rich is doing:

"First, I'll be giving away 12 print copies of the Creature Compendium. I'll be giving away 1 copy away each day; 10 of the 12 will be open to US recipients only, 1 of the 12 will be open to Canadian residents only, and the final copy will be open to any location in the world except the US or Canada. Each print recipient will get a PDF copy as well. 

Second, I'll be giving away 12 PDFs of the Basic Psionics Handbook; again, I'll be giving away 1 copy each day. "

3 - Make a comment (and follow the instructions carefully) over at the HALFLING'S LUCK BLOG ( Barrel Rider Games / +James Spahn ) This is what James is doing:

"Here's what's up for grabs: 

Class Compendium (for use with Labyrinth Lord) (hardcover)
White Box Omnibus (for use with Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox) (hardcover)
White Box Omnibus (two of them!, for use with Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox) (softcover)
White Star: White Box Science Fiction Roleplaying (hardcover)
White Star: White Box Science Fiction Roleplaying (two of them!) (softcover) 

But if you want to win, you're going to have to earn it this year! You can only win once and you can only win one product! Here's how ya win: Comment on this blog post with why hobbits or ewoks are the best races to ever grace the pages of fantasy literature and sci-fi film. It's not a contest, but I want to know that folks read the post and didn't just blindly comment. Those who follow these simple rules will be eligible to win.

 4 - Good luck to all!

"OZ to US" Aussie Gamer Photoblog looking to Raise Money for GaryCon Visit

Heath Farden is an Aussie. He's looking to go to GaryCon and basically bring it to life for those of us that won't be able to make it (which includes Rach and me - one trip a year, and for us that NTRPG Con.)

I'd love to go to GaryCon but it just doesn't fit our schedule, so if there was a skilled photographer that was also a huge old school gamer that could attend, that might just be what we need. It won't stop +Doug Kovacs from mercilessly reminding us at NTRPG Con every year about how much we need to get to GaryCon but from what I can tell, not much stops Doug at all ;)

Need more background on Heath before considering backing his GoFundMe? Here's Heath in his own words:

If I am able to raise enough to make it to Gary Con, anyone (and I do mean anyone) who contributes will receive a nice little folder full of high res photos of my trip over there.  I intend to capture the spirit of gaming via photography.  Anyone who wants to contribute a substantial amount can AMTDA (Ask Me To Do Anything) (within reason of course).  You could ask me to take a photo of a game at the highest point here in Adelaide!  You could ask me to send you a postcard via snail mail!  You could ask me to find someone from your State / Territory / Provence / Country here in Adelaide!  You could ask me to share some Christmas cheer with a complete stranger!  You could have me play in one of your games at Gary Con!  You could…. Well you get the idea! 

Ok, so now you are probably wondering a little bit more about me.  Who I am and why I want to do this.  Well let me tell you! 

My name is Heath Farnden, and I am, amongst other things, a gamer and a photographer.  I’m an Aussie and I have travelled some of the world, but have not been to the US… yet.

BTW, that $5k is actually about $3,600 American. Honest numbers. Come next paycheck I'll toss in a few coppers myself. Of course, I may ask for a photo of the site for the yet to be built Gygax Memorial...

So, Anyone Find Updates on the Gygax Memorial Fund Site That I Missed?

We were promised that, at the very least, the Tax Returns for 2013 and 2014 would be posted at the Gygax Memorial Fund before the end of last week - assuming the web master had time. Guess there wasn't any time.

Folks are still listed as affiliated with the fund that don't recall being affiliated with the fund. I would have assumed that to be an easy fix.

So, did I miss something? Has it been updated? The responses weren't much in the form of answers but that's what happens when lawyers apparently prepare them.

Do we need a new definition of transparency?

OSR Christmas to Kick Off This Wednesday - Need a Volunteer or Two from the Gifters

Yeah, in less than 48 hours we are going to kick off OSR Christmas. Which means December 9th. Wow.

Current game plan is for a new gift / set of gifts to go up every 2 days or so, with some exceptions (yes, +Richard LeBlanc , this means you and the plethora of gifts you have for the community.)

Remember, if those gifting have a website, they are going to host their own giveaway - The Tavern is just going to give directions. Allow folks 1 day or 1 week to make a comment and enter, the choice is that of the gifter.

For those hoping to get lucky and snag a gift - you need to comment on the relevant post at the site giving away the gifts to have a chance. On each of those 12 days The Tavern will be giving away a $10 RPGNow gift certificate and maybe more - that you'll be entered for by commenting on the relevant Tavern post.

For those that are gifting - I know a 2 day warning is short, but I do need a volunteer for Dec 9th and one for Dec 11th. Email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing if either day is good for you. First to volunteer for either date gets it - I'll work on the schedule for the rest of the month on Friday in all likelihood. I'll send you an email confirmation before i head to work tonight if you are confirmed for the 9th or the 11th.

The Tavern's linking post to the individual gifting sites will go up in the afternoon of the day(s) in question. I ask the gifters to send me a link to their post so I can send the Christmas Carolers your way.

Alright, nap time before work tonight...

State of the Tavern - Long Hours, Shorter Work Weeks and Non-Work Productivity

Adding some inspiration ;)

I see I just had 10 posts last week. For some, they would be a huge number. For me, that's tied for my lowest weekly post total in the past year plus. The other weeks are 10/19 - 10/26/14 (10) and 08/23 - 08/30/15 (10). I'm sure +Charles Akins has the stats for my posting decrease for the last half of 2015 compared to the last half of 2014.

The new work hours (overnights) are a huge cause of that decrease. It's just hard to be productive when you work from 930pm to 6am (not counting overtime) and sleep from 7am until whenever (plus naps - I LOVE naps these days.)

So, I'm going to attempt to be more productive during my non-working days off. How am I going to do that? Instead of holding off and running all my time come mid March, I am going to do a four day weekend every other week until the end of March or early April - and then run the remaining time off to carry me over to retirement. It delays when I actually stop working but allows me to regain some sanity in the meantime.

I'm designating Fridays for productive time, as I owe my blog readers and my Patreon backers gaming content. Friday is the only day in the week that is completely my own. Well, except for Christmas and New Years coming up, which the family are going to grab, but I'm off Christmas week so I'll designate an earlier day in the week for creative time.

Besides, I grabbed a new collection of stock art (fatgoblingames.com). Uploading it to my phone for inspiration during the down time at work. 1 am until 5 am gets pretty quiet ;)

50% off Lesser Gnome PDFs - 40% off Lesser Gnome Minis

A portion of the proceeds are 'donated' to Tenkar's Unregulated Slush Fund Celebrating Gaming ;)

Minis come unpainted. Results not typical. Gnomes may smell. PDFs will not smell. +Zach Glazar smells less than he used to.

Kickstarter - Calidar "Beyond the Skies"

Back in the heyday of Dragon Magazine, one of my favorite reoccurring features was The Princess Ark series by +Bruce Heard . It was fiction, but such game-able fiction, that along with the actual game rule bits, inspired my imagination as a DM for years to come. Heck, it's one of the main reasons I want to work on a White Star / White Box mashup. Yes, the airships :)

+Bruce Heard has been working hard on the World of Calidar, a fantasy world of his own design with - airships. I'm ready to swoon like a school girl in a bad 50's movie. Anyhow, Beyond the Skies is the 2nd in the Calidar series (In Stranger Skies was the first and presented the world) and presents the gods, their cults and the special powers their followers can earn. Temple maps. Other goodies as described here. Bruce has done a pretty good job in the past keeping the crunchy parts minimal (thereby making conversion to the system of your choice fairly simple) and I expect much of the same from Beyond the Skies.

Of course, you can always add the first book, In Stranger Skies, to your pledge. $6 in PDF ($10 if you just want to snag a copy on RPGNow)

Alright, all this makes me want to reread the fiction from In Stranger Skies. Maybe tonight at work. In between phone calls. Shhhs! Don't blow up my spot!

Current List of OSR Christmas Gifters and Gifts - Updated with Huge Amounts of New Swag!

Every year the community here at The Tavern never ceases to amaze me.

Below is the current listing of gifters and the gifts they are offering:

(assume US only for Print items unless otherwise noted when the post for said items goes up)


Lesser Gnome / +Zach Glazar              - Death & Taxes Boxed Set (Kickstarter Edition)

                                                              - Death & Taxes Minis

                                                              - Whisper & Venom Hardcover

                                                              - Possibly some assorted TSR era signed stuff

Barrel Rider Games / +James Spahn    -Class Compendium (hardcover)

                                                              -White Star core book (hardcover)

                                                              -White Star core book (x2, softcover)

                                                              -White Box Omnibus (hardcover)

                                                              -White Box Omnibus (x2, softcover) 

New Big Dragon / +Richard LeBlanc  -Creature Compendium (x12, softcover)
                                                              -Basic Psionics Handbook (x12, PDF)

+Reid San Filippo                                 -Under a Broken Moon 1-10, UX01 (PDF)

BRW Games / +Joseph Bloch              - Adventures Dark & Deep core rulebooks - set (softcover)

Precis Intermedia / Brett B                   -PDF of receiver's choice from the Precis Intermedia catalog                                                                    (Lords of Olympus, Shatterzone, Two-Fisted Tales,                                                                                Hardnova, Coyote Trail, Story Engine Plus, Treasure Awaits!,                                                                etc.)      

+Dyson Logos                                       -Dyson's Delves Vol 1 + 2 (print - ships anywhere)

Mark Craddock                                     -Cypher System Rulebook

thunderbunnypress.com / stieha           RND (zine) - (3 print + PDF)

+Dak Ultimak / Stray Couches Press   -1 complete set of Crawl!, printed+PDF.
                                                              -2 complete sets of Crawl!, PDF editions.
                                                              -3 single copies of anything in print.
                                                              -4 copies of no.11.
                                                              -5+ copies of Dungeon Crawl Basics (proof of                                                                                          concept/beta/not final print copies, and free copies of the final                                                                edition when finished.)      

+Matt Snodgrass                                   -6th Printing of C&C PHB
                                                              -$15 RPGNow GC

eric samuels                                          -5e Monster Manual

+Art Braune Skullduggery Press          -1x Art's Polyhedral Dice Super Font Bundle
                                                              -1x Set of all 5 of my Classic Dungeon Tiles PDFs

+Sophia Brandt                                     -2 sets of Swords & Sixsiders, international giveaway
                                                              (1 set consists of: a 24 page Player's Book, a 36 page                                                                               Gamemaster's Book, a few character sheets and 1 adhesive                                                                     label for making a box set (no box).)

+Pete Spahn / Small Niche Games       -Gray Nebula, Star Gods Help Us and Stuck on Etholk (PDF)

Jimm Johnson / The Scribes of Sparn  - HG1 The Kringle Castle Invaders (PDF)

Joe Johnson / Taskboy                          -Manse on Murder Hill and Tranzar's Redoub (Print and PDF)

Forrest Aguirre                                      -Heraclix and Pomp (Novel / Print x 3 US / Canada only)

(big edit / update)

+Tim Shorts / Gothridge Manor            -Starter Adventures
                                                               -a print bundle of Manor Zines

+matt jackson                                         -two large manila envelopes with the original, hand drawn                                                                        maps. Mailed anywhere on the planet

keith nelson                                            -Transylvania Adventures - softcover.
                                                                -Castles and crusades 5th printing set of 3 core books, new.
                                                                -Dyson's Delves I and II - softcover
                                                                -Razor Coast for S&W
                                                                -DCC adventures - In the prison of the squid sorcerer; Cast                                                                      Tower of the Blood Moon Rises!

+James Carpio / TSR                              -Tales From the Fallen Empire Hard Cover
                                                                -Tales From the Fallen Empire Soft Cover
                                                                -2 Copies of Gygax magazine issue 6




I'm sure I missed something from someone ;)

Some gifter's I have neither email nor G+ for contact. Please, if you only added a comment and didn't email me nor do you see a valid G+ link for you, I need your contact info to make this work. tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing. Put OSR Christmas in the email subject line.

OSR Christmas will kick off in a few days...

A Wayward Kickstarter - After the Apocalypse - Bad Math and No Details Make it a Failure Out of the Gate

A tip of the hat to +Andy Kitkowski over at the Kicksnarker Community.

So, just how bad is the After the Apocalypse Kickstarter? They can't even center their art correctly:

But wait! There's more!

Actually, no there isn't. Well, not much more:

That's it. That's the whole description of the game. Mechanics? Who gives a fuck! Setting? Fogetaboutit! Because as we all know, games that can cover all possible end of the world situations just aint out there. If you want a Mad Max meets Gamma World meets Walking Dead meets Mars Attacks, this is you game. No other game can do the same.

Or not.

But hey! Look at the amazingly affordable support levels and low goal:

But math! Only $5k can be raised by print backers, so I hope the other 1,500 backers like their 50 dollar PDFs. Or 7,500 backers like their $10 PDFs. How many backers did Numenera have? 3,317...

Sometimes the Brain Box Rattles

Something has been on my mind for the last few days. Nothing major. Nothing urgent.

Just a definition of a simple word. One I've seen thrown around in politics, on Kickstarters and even other crowdfunding endeavors.

Transparency.

Does it mean what we think it means? Does it mean the same to you as it does to that Kickstarter creator? At what point does transparency become opaque?

Here ares some definitions of Transparency:

The first doesn't apply to much of what we come across in gaming, unless it's at the gaming table. The fourth doesn't really apply at all.

The second and third seem really important when trying to vet any project that is seeking crowdsourced funding.

How important is transparency to you and the crowdfunding you back?

Tavern Chat Tonight - 930 PM Eastern Till Whenever

Topics?

Gygax Memorial Fund and the responses received? Check!

New Tenkar's Tavern Facebook Group? Check!

Piss poor amount of gaming content posts? Check!

Latest Whit Whitman witticisms? Checkity check check!

Remember, it's the chat box on the right side of this very page...

Update: Tenkar's Tavern Opens on Facebook - Ask and Ye Shall Enter - And Stuff

What a day.

The Tenkar's Tavern Community over on Facebook is currently at 140 members. Pretty much all in the last day and a half. Simply amazing. You all rock. I expect it will be a fairly active community and it will be a vetting place for some post topics and themes.

I've been laid up on the couch most of the day will a rebellious stomach, so no work for me tonight. If I had been at work, I'm sure today's events in California would have been on everyone's lips.

+Dyson Logos drew this with The Tavern in mind earlier (no ill intent - I'm sure it relates to some pushback I've received for my more active use of Facebook) but it has a further meaning for me today. I'd like to send this out to ISIS and their sympathizers:

I'm getting really close to swapping out my off duty 5 shot 38 for my duty 9mm 15 + 1 with some extra mags. That's a whole 'nother non gaming discussion.

Tenkar's Tavern Opens on Facebook - Ask and Ye Shall Enter ;)

Yep, I finally did it. I formed a Tenkar's Tavern group on Facebook.

Why?

Because it has been requested numerous times.

What goes on there?

That's for you all to decide ;)

Seriously, it's a semi private place for discussions and lord knows at times we all need that.

Alright, time to shake the cobwebs and work on the updated OSR Christmas post...

It Appears Ken Whitman's Old D20 Entertainment Website Has Gone Rogue

Priceless.

Here is the actually link:

http://d20entertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Screen-Shot-2015-11-29-at-6.44.52-PM1.jpg

Gail Gygax Responds to the Community's Questions Regarding the Gygax Memorial Fund

Gail Gygax has responded to the questions posed by the gaming community and previously posted here at The Tavern.

I am posting her responses as screenshots below. You can read the questions asked at this previous Tavern post.

Tavern Update - Christmas Time and All That Jazz

You can tell it's the holiday season. The days have gotten shorter, the air is crisp and folks at work are piling up on annual vacation - yep, it means overtime for me ;)

I'm hoping to get out the master list for OSR Christmas 2016 tomorrow. I was going to attempt it today, but stayed late this morning, head in early tonight and stay late at the end (tomorrow morning.) The list is huge and full of awesomeness and generosity. It's going to be lots of fun to watch this take off.

Yes, I'm still playing catch up as certain issues and events took priority at The Tavern and the community at large. Hopefully we'll have some answers about the state of the Gygax Memorial Fund by the end of the week. The questions posed by the community were well thought out and many are probably questions that need more that a sentence or two to answer.

Alright, time to get my shit together for tonight's shit...

Kickstarter - RuneQuest: Classic Edition - RQ2 is BACK!

Sometimes what is old is new again. Sometimes old is simply better than new.

Much like with Dungeons & Dragons, there is a certain charm and simplicity to RuneQuest's earlier editions. RQ2 (Chaosium)is what I cut my RuneQuest teeth on back in the day even if technically RQ3 (Avalon Hill Edition) was my first encounter with RuneQuest.

Ducks! You have to have ducks!

In just over a day the Kickstarter to bring RuneQuest 2 back into print has raised over $65k. In just over a day. Holy shit. It's knocking over stretch goals like they're bowling pins (unless I'm the one bowling - I have a knack for gutter balls)

Pavis and Big Rubble might just see their first use by me in nearly 30 years this spring...

A Closer Look at the Gygax Memorial Fund - Some Questions for Gail Gygax

+Gail Gygax has kindly agreed to answer questions posed by the gaming community regarding the Gygax Memorial Fund. I've done my best to present those questions in a coherent manner. The questions are being presented to the gaming community via this blog post as I concurrently pass them on to Gail. I appreciate the time that Gail will need to set aside to answer these questions and look forward to the responses and the opportunity to present the community with an updated post with said answers.

-As of the end of 2013 there was $222k in the Gygax Memorial Trust Fund according to the Tax Filing. What is the current asset total of the Memorial Fund? How much more is needed before work on the memorial can commence?

-When will the 2013 and 2014 tax returns for the fund be linked on the Memorial Fund's website?

-How much was donated by WotC / Hasbro from their sales of the AD&D 1e reprints? What year(s) did the fund receive those monies?

-What, if any, legal expenses have been incurred by the fund?

-How much money has the Memorial Fund spent on things not directly related to the creation of the memorial (salaries, litigation, auto expenses, etc)?

-While 5 hours a week, as reported on the tax returns, may not seem like much, time, that is still 260 hours a year or 6.5 full work weeks. In that time per year, what HAS been accomplished versus what has not?

-How many bricks will be sold and at what cost to the buyer? What is the expected margin on the bricks that will go to the Memorial Fund?

-What is the hard-line number needed to make the memorial a reality and how far is the fund from achieving that number?

-The Gygax Memorial Fund is a 501 (c) (3) organization under Wisconsin Law. When was the last time the Board met? (it must meet at least once per year) Where can we view copies of the minutes of previous board meetings? (this is a public record) Yearly audits of the fund's expenses and income must be made. Again, these are public records. How can one obtain copies of these audits?

-Is this the actual listing of the current board members. I've been told by multiple sources that Jim Ward has never been informed that he is no longer on the board. Board members must be elected on a yearly basis. Who votes for the board members?

-Apparently Tim Hutchings had no idea he was the Memorial Fund's "Audio Visual Engineer" and hasn't been contacted by the fund in years. Ryan Browning says he didn't design the logo, just took the old shield and turned it into vector drawings. Is the page currently displaying those listed as affiliated with the fund accurate to the best of your knowledge? When was the last time this web page was updated?

-What is the current state of the project?

-Have you considered a more modest monument?

-Is there more planned than just the monument?

Again, I would like to thank Gail Gygax for agreeing to take the time to answer the community's questions regarding the Gygax Memorial Fund. If I may make an observation of my own, I think some of these questions would have been answered on the fund's website if it was updated more often (monthly perhaps?) Hopefully the fund's website will see more regular updates in the future.

Thanks again to all who submitted questions.

-Erik Tenkar

RPGNow Deal of the Day - Castle of the Mad Archmage

Today's RPGNow Deal of the Day is Castle of the Mad Archmage by +Joseph Bloch .The Adventure Book is on sale in PDF for a mere $4.97.

I ran this once a month for about a year before work threw it's ugly head into the gears of my gaming time. It was loads of fun. Watch out for the sloping halls ;)

The legendary megadungeon is here at last! 

More than thirteen levels and over 1,500 keyed encounters of perils, monsters, traps, and treasure to bedevil your players. Find levels of warring humanoids, the deadly Arena, ancient artifacts, lost temples, portals to other worlds, and the ultimate secret of the dungeons... the Mad Archmage himself.

Originally released as a free electronic book in serial format, the Castle of the Mad Archmage has been completely revised, expanded, and updated. It is a complete adventuring environment, from the surface ruins to the deepest caves and caverns. 

You and your players could literally spend years exploring the dungeons beneath the Castle and still not discover everything. It can accomodate characters from first to fifteenth experience level and beyond.

Castle of the Mad Archmage is written using the Adventures Dark and Deep™ rules, and is compatible with most Old School type rules with little or no conversion needed.

Note: You must also purchase the Map Book and the Illustration Book in order to run this adventure (due to a technical limitation of the site, you need to add each to your cart separately).

Frog God 40% Off Black Friday Sale (Print & PDF) and 50% off Lesser Gnome in PDF

I expect there will be a lot of posts going up among the gaming community of various Black Friday Sales.

This one is huge, as 40% off Frog God products may even make purchases affordable-ish for those on the other side of the pond (damn that shipping.) This is a one day sale

Lesser Gnome has put it's PDF releases at 50% or more off. Whisper & Venom for $5 in PDF isn't a bargain - it's a steal! These prices are in effect until Christmas, which is good as RPGNow is suffering from high traffic at the time I type this.

OSR Release - The Golden Scroll of Justice (Chinese Themed OSR Supplement)

I am WAY behind on announcing recent OSR releases. I thought this week of vacation would lead to some catch up time, but "uncle duties" ran from 10 AM Sunday through 7 PM Tuesday. "Pinky" was awesome but this uncle is exhausted. It is now Thanksgiving, catch up commences NOW.

The Golden Scroll of Justice is an interesting release. Most Asian themed RPG supplements I've read or seen in the past seem to make a hodgepodge of various Asian cultures, histories and mythology and churn out something that is less than the sum of it's parts. +Joseph Bloch went the other way, bringing "your old-school RPG into a whole new world of wuxia/kung fu action based on Chinese mythology, history, and folklore."

Sticking to a single culture and making it true is probably the best thing your can do to make it come to life. The Pundit ( +Kasimir Urbanski ) did such with Arrows of Indra and his recent Dark Albion: The Rose War

Two things that never clicked with me as far as RPGs go have been superhero games and Asian settings. The Golden Scroll of Justice is temping enough to make me want to invest the time in it to see if it clicks.

From the blurb:

The Golden Scroll of Justice lets you bring your old-school RPG into a whole new world of wuxia/kung fu action based on Chinese mythology, history, and folklore. The book contains:

Two new PC races: the shanxiao (monkey-man) and gouren (dog-man)
Two new character classes: the wu and the fangshi, along with guidelines on how to use your existing classes in a mythic China setting
Hundreds of new spells
Rules for kung fu that fit seemlessly into the existing combat and skill system, but still allows for cool "cinematic" moves
New weapons and armor
New magic items
New monsters
And much more!
The rules are designed to be completely modular; take what you like, leave what you don't. Want fangshi and gouren but not the kung fu system? No problem. Everything will still work fine.

Note that this is not a complete game! This is a supplement intended for use with your existing old-school role-playing game

Tavern Update - Gobble Gobble!

Yep, it's Turkey Day here in the states. For some it is Ham day. If I had time before heading to my sis's I'd stop in the pub for a few and make it a Tavern Day ;)

It's been busy the past few days. Planning for the 12 Days of OSR Christmas. Gygaxian (not yet a trademarked) Drama. Catching up just never seemed to happen.

I plan to submit the list of questions regarding the Gygax Memorial Fund to Gail Gygax on Friday (tomorrow.) I'll post the questions here at The Tavern so you have access to the same list of questions Gail will be answering. When I have the answers I'll post them with their questions again here at The Tavern.

Gail is promising full transparency. Hopefully this will resolve questions folks have regarding the Gygax Memorial Fund.

Batman vs Darth Vader - Possibly the Best Fan Film I've Seen

Just watch it.

A Closer Look at the Gygax Memorial Fund - Looking for Questions to Ask Gail Gygax in Regards

Gail Gygax has taken an interest in my previous post (you can read her comments over at Facebook.) I told her I'd have questions to ask her about the Gygax Memorial Fund. She stated she's "looking forward" to the post in question.

So, I'm throwing a net far and wide in search of questions to ask Gail Gygax with the intention of posting / asking on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

Simple rule - the questions must pertain to the Gygax Memorial Fund. Questions about trademarks, family, Gygax magazine and TSR, Gary's old properties like Lejendary Adventures and Castles & Crusades work that he did and wasn't released and the like are for another day.

Keep your questions to the topic at hand - the Gygax Memorial Fund.

Alright - lets get 'er done!

A Closer Look at the Gygax Memorial Fund - Why Does it Seem to be Spinning Its Wheels?

With yesterday's news that Gail Gygax was asserting her rights to the Gygax name (and pushing the Gygax sons from the new TSR board) it got me thinking about the Gygax Memorial Fund. It's strange how Gail and her legal legal team can be so involved in protecting the Gygax name when it's used by family but there has been little if any recent movement on the side of the Gygax Memorial Fund.

What do I mean?

The Fund's website is rarely updated, so I went to Facebook. On the Fund's Facebook page, we have this update from nearly a year ago:

So, the sale of bricks is going to help fund the memorial. How many brinks? There has to be a low end number. It's nearly a year later. No footprint has been finalized?

Actually, this very article says there's going to be about 250 bricks. The maintenance fund requires $25k (as per the linked article). Do the math at home...

The following is from November 6th, 2013. Its from the Lake Geneva Board of Parks Commissioners Minutes.

and from December 4th, 2014

Gail's been talking bricks for 2 years now. The footprint is 10x10. Sure, some space is going to be covered by the base of the statue but how many bricks does she expect to sell?  How much is the statue? (actually, in the above article Gail estimates the statue / memorial at $250k)

Holy shit! $250k for the piece pictured above? Someone is getting robbed. I guess those bricks will need to be priced using "new math."

How much money does the fund currently have? Damned if I know. The last tax return posted on the Fund's website is for 2012 and it lists $129,162 in net assets. $123,196 was raised in 2012 alone, which means it carried over less than $6k from 2011. Why the huge bump in funds? Safe to assume it's from the sale of the AD&D 1e reprints by WotC. No, wait, that can't be right. The reprints went on sale in 2013 so that huge shot in the arm was from elsewhere. The fund must be sitting in mountains of money after WotC donated a portion of the proceeds from the sales of the reprints.

In 2012 Gen Con had a Gygax Memorial Fund Auction. That must be where the 2012 donations came from, right?

Nope, just a drop in the bucket.

Anyhow, why no posted tax returns for 2013 and 2014?

Laziness? Perhaps. There doesn't seem to be much effort to get eyes on the Gygax Memorial Fund website. The last update on the website appears to be from June 12th of this year.

Incompetence? Not likely. Certainly not if the same legal team is helping with the fund that is steering Gail's iron grip on the Gygax legacy.

Something else? Perhaps. Earlier this morning I sent the Gygax Memorial Fund a request for the Tax Documents related to 2013 and 2014. Those tax returns are supposed to be available to the public.

See, if 2013 and 2014 were posted on the Fund's website, I wouldn't have to make such a request.

I'll post more as I dig more. At the moment I can't figure out why the sale of bricks hasn't happened yet. If and when I get the tax returns I'll post that info also.

Earlier article from April 10th, 2014 for those interested:

Gygax Magazine All Out of Gygaxes - Ernie and Luke Leave to Settle Suit with Gail Gygax

Remember how the new TSR arose out of the ashes of... well, nothing really. It was just three letters and it was grabbed for nostalgia purposes.

Same as Gygax Magazine - named and laid out to evoke nostalgia of Dragon Magazine in the mid 80s but not aimed at the D&D player, old or new. Instead, it's a shotgun aimed at pretty much all RPGs. Which means it's value to the old school gamer is fairly lacking.

Well, it seems that Gail Gygax had a lawsuit against the new TSR for using the Gygax name (I wouldnt be surprised if trade dress was also an issue.) The suit is now settled. TSR has non-exclusive rights to use the name Gygax and in the process Luke and Ernie Gygax have left the new TSR. That leaves Tim Kask as the only true heir to the Gygax legacy at TSR.

You can read the article over at ENWorld, as Gail sent the notice to +Russ Morrissey

In the end, I doubt this will have much of an effect on the viability of Gygax Magazine. The content is too scattered to appeal to many and I suspect the initial excitement of Dragon nostalgia has worn off for the grognards. A friend just predicted Gygax won't make it past issue #10. Even if it does, I doubt few will notice.

Now, any updates on the Gygax Memorial, or has that become a forgotten project?

New Podcast Coming to the OSR...

No, not the solo Tavern Chat OSR News one that I'm working on.

This one is different.

But possibly familiar, and least in chatter if not topic.

We may just bring the old party back together.

Which party is that?

Can't tell you just yet ;)

I can say I will be the host on occasions, not just a cohost.

Did I just scare you?

Stay tuned for further announcements...

Holy Crap! - DC's Legends of Tomorrow (Justice League?) Coming to the CW in January

Who needs to read comics these days? The best of the superhero genre is on TV or at the movies.

This looks pretty damn good.