GM's Day Sale OSR Picks at RPGNow - 30% Off PDF Titles - Part 2

Yep, more OSR picks for RPGNow's GM's Day Sale:

Sisters of the Aquarian Order for White Star (mystics) - Print & PDF is on sale for $5.99!

Pretty much all of Troll Lord Games releases are one sale.

Goodman Games / DCC RPG is also on sale.

The AD&D 1e MM and DMG are 30% off, but not the Player's Handbook. Go figure.

Castle of the Mad Archmage and Adventures Dark & Deep from BRW Games

Ghost Ship of the Desert Dunes, Beneath the Comet and Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess and the rest of the North Wind Adventures catalogue.

Warriors of the Red Planet (swords & planet sci-fan) and Colonial Troopers

GM's Day OSR Picks at RPGNow - 30% Off Titles - Part 1 (because I'm sure I missed many)

Yep, the GM's Day Sale is in full swing at RPGNow. There is a whole swath of RPGs on sale at 30% off, but what if you are looking for an OSR focus?

White Star has a bunch of selections. You have the White Star Core Book, The Graveyard at Lus, Have Death Ray, Will Travel, Between Star & Void and others.

Other White Box powered RPGs on sale include White Lies (spy thriller) and Skyscrapers & Sorcery (modern day magic).

Want OSR Supers? Guardians has you covered.

Enjoy +Dyson Logos ' maps? Pick up the 2015 Dodecahedron Cartographic Review

Somehow haven't yet grabbed Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea? Now is the time.

How about Adventures! for less than a buck?

Looking for a system neutral city setting? Check out Drakonheim: City of Bones

Sale prices are in effect until March 17.

Tavern Chat Tonight - 930 PM Eastern - State of the Tavern Answers (if there are Questions)

Yesterday was a State of the Tavern post. There is much in the hopper, both near term and longer term.

I'll answer any related questions tonight as best I can. There will, of course, be the usual Tavern Chat banter in addition.

Lots of good stuff coming up at The Tavern in the near future ;)

State of The Tavern - March 2016 - The Party Starts in 2 Weeks

If all goes as planned, St Patrick's Day (March 17th) will be my last working day before pre-seperation leave kicks in and official retirement rolls around this summer. So, what does that mean for The Tavern and it's loyal readers?

First things first, I've got a shitload of content that needs to be put in PDF and Print format for my Patreon Backers. It's long overdue, but no longer working overnights is going to be wonderful. Hoping to have PDFs start distribution by 3/24 and Print copies moving by 3/31.

StarSlinger posts have been quiet these past few week and I'll squarely blame it on work and illness. I've been drained. Goal is to have something ready for distribution by mid to late April. More content and more posts coming before that.

PubCon NYC 2016 should have more potential locations scouted by mid April. Small, informal with lots of beer is the goal. Mmmmmm.

Speaking about beer, I'd like to have Tenkar's Taproom, the blog about beer, microbrews and (hopefully) homebrewing back with a fresh post BEFORE St Patrick's Day. We shall see. (still need a custom blog banner)

As for Saturday Night Special, that should kick off again once I am officially retired in July. There are reasons for such a delay, not the least of which is that the posts takes days (sometimes weeks) to properly compose.

Oh, and of course, more posts here at The Tavern. More gaming content. More game reviews. Simple more... ;)

Kickstarter - Godbound: A Game of Divine Heroes (Kevin Crawford)

When it comes to RPG Kickstarters, +Kevin Crawford is the Gold Standard. On time if not early, art from the project placed into the public domain, excellent products one and all. Yep, Kevin is "The Man".

Godbound is Kevin's latest Kickstarter. It's funding goal was $8k. That was surpassed in less than a day.

So, what is Godbound?

Godbound is a tabletop role-playing game of newborn divinities awakening to unimaginable power. These men and women find themselves bound to the Words of Creation, the primal powers of a fallen cosmos where the Throne of God stands empty.
The world is shattered, its scattered realms racked by the aftershocks of the Last War and the final terrible struggle of the Made Gods who strove to replace the vanished Creator. 

Some realms have been reduced to nothing more than blasted wastelands and silent bones, while others still endure in faded splendor and growing hardship. Their natural laws flicker, for the great engines of Heaven have begun to fail from lack of care. Their angelic guardians were long ago dispersed by the Made Gods and now nurse a bitter hatred of humanity's usurpation. 

There are heroes still, and shining cities, and peaceful villages where a son may grow old in his father's trade, but these things darken with each new year's passage. The world winds down by slow inches. Into this twilight age have come the Godbound. Some say that it is the decaying husks of the Made Gods that give them their power, gobbets of divinity falling like rot to congeal about the souls of humankind. Others believe that it is the work of the Creator, reaching out from Their silence to touch Their creations with new light. Most do pretend to know why it is that a common peasant girl should ignite with the sun's own brilliance, or a grizzled old soldier should suddenly find half an army falling before his notched blade. 

The Godbound bring hope and terror in equal measure. Even the freshly-awakened among them have incredible powers, able to hurl thunderbolts like lesser men throw stones, or spit curses that kill five generations of their enemy's kin. They are burnt to ashes, and rise anew. They are buried under hillsides, and shout the stones apart. They sing up gold from barren earth or pour out an autumn harvest from their saddlebags. They work miracles, and men tremble. 

Yet they are men and women, with the dreams that men and women dream. Some are saviors, determined to lift their people from their hardships and lead them to a better day. Others are mercenaries, lending their aid to whatever lord or sorcerer-prince can pay them in suitable coin. And some, of course, are blind fools who wield their powers with the recklessness of children, building their dreams on the bones of the poor mortals around them. There are few who can gainsay a Godbound's will. 

Even so, such terrible powers do exist. In the wilderness the wretched parasite gods swell on stolen celestial power, sucking the world's blood from its wounds. Grim eldritch adepts plumb nameless secrets and forge pacts with the monstrous Uncreated for power enough to tax even a divinity. Hulking Misbegotten shamble from the darkness and bring their numberless spawn behind them. These and other foes can force a Godbound to flee or perish if the newborn wielder of the Words hasn't the help of a faithful pantheon of allies. 

The heroes of Godbound are hurled into a world unprepared for their coming. They will shake the pillars of fallen Heaven and scar the thrones of the kings of earth. Some will seek adventure, others the pleasures of rule, and a few no more than the small and homely things that fate would conspire to deny them. Yet what they will find, in the end, only you can say.

Would You Back a Project Titled "Live Project Novel Vomit"?

Sometimes being known as someone with their fingers on the pulse of various Kickstarter projects is more bane than boon.

The Prefundia page is in pretty poor English, so if this is a sample of a future translation...

The Kickstarter itself is in German. No, I didn't bother to let Google translate it.

As an aside, I guess it would make a good title for a LotFP adventure...

Kickstarter - 21 Steps To A Million! = Book + Real World Game (RWG). (no idea WTF it actually is)

I guess it got stuck on step 4.

There is a video. Please, drink heavily. Extra points if you make it to the end without falling asleep

and who really cares about his degrees?

I never would have guessed this was a First created, Zero backed project. Really...

Remember the Dragonwars of Trayth Kickstarter "Meltdown" at The Tavern? It's been Released as a Free PDF on RPGNow

My God. I remember the Dragonwars of Trayth Kickstarter fiasco like it was yesterday. Actually, it was October of 2014 but hey, whose counting?

The posts regarding this Kickstarter probably generated more comments than anything else that's been discussed here at The Tavern, and that's not including the comments from one of those involved in the KS that were subsequently deleted (but saved as screenshots for the sake of history and entertainment value).

Here's the original posts:

Kickstarter - Dragonwars of Trayth - Tabletop RPG (Pathfinder / OSRIC) - Revised with new Pics and Awesome Legal Threat!

Wayward Kickstarter - Dragonwars of Trayth - Tabletop RPG (Pathfinder / OSRIC) - Indtroducing The PR Fail

Tales from the Backwater Tavern

Closing the Door on Dragonwars of Trayth Kickstarter - Restoring the Deleted Comments

So, here we are and the first installment of a 25 piece epic series known as Dragonwars of Trayth (yes, 25 parts) is available as a free download on RPGnow. Oh, and a free character sheet download (ignore the misspelling in the file name, "character" is spelled correctly on the actual sheet. DO NOT print out all four pages, the first two are simply ads and color ink killers)

Did I mention you can get the character sheets in Pathfinder and OSRIC flavors but the module is only available for Pathfinder thus far.

You know you want to. I WANT TO. And I shall. It is, sadly, pushing away other titles from the top of the review pile (Ed Greenwood's the Terrible Revenge of Simpering Malexineuss the Pretender may still go first)

Remember, the download is free and your time is precious.

OD&D Supplement IV: Gods, Demi-gods & Heroes - $4.99 in PDF

and now the circle is complete.

white box and tan covers.

three plus four ends the tour.


Yeah, my poetry sucks. Thank the gods no one comes to The Tavern to read my poetry.

OD&D Supplement IV: Gods, Demi-gods & Heroes (0e) is available in PDF for $4.99 at RPGNow. Sure, you can snag a poor quality scan off of a torrent or two (as has been mentioned ad nauseam by the same commenter) or you can grab a legit and cleaned up scan from RPGNow for about the cost of a large / grande / tall / wtf they call a large coffee at Starbucks these days. Wait, they may add in a stale cookie for that price.

Note: the Melnibonean and Hyborian mythos have been removed due to copyright issues.

Kickstarter - The Mystery at Port Greely (OSR)

What can I say about The Mystery at Port Greely? It's written by +Jeff Talanian and inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. If that isn't an awesome combination of OSR goodness, I don't know what is.

See the cover above? The stuff nightmares are made of. Good nightmares I hope, but nightmares none the less.

Did I mention the Kickstarter funded in a day?

That 20 bucks gets you a signed and numbered copy as well as a PDF version?

That higher levels allow you to snag original art?

For now I'm in for 20, which is a steal...

The award-nominated role-playing game, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea™ is back with a brand new, exciting adventure, written by the game's creator, Jeffrey Talanian. 

This sword-and-sorcery adventure module is site-based, fleshing out a small portion of the Hyperborea setting and providing classic, memorable adventure material. 

The Mystery at Port Greely is designed for the AS&SH™ game, but it is suitable for use with the traditional editions of the world's most popular RPG, as well as its modern simulacra, such as OSRIC™ and Swords & Wizardry™. 

Physically, this module will be saddle-stitched, ranging from approximately 32 to 40 pages, and measuring 8.5 x 11 inches. It will feature a full-colour, card stock cover, and sharp, black & white interiours on durable paper.

My POD D&D 5e Basic Rules (with screwed up cover ;)

Yeah, I had a feeling the cover was going to be screwed up, but I didnt expect superimposed text to be the culprit. Does it really matter though?

Nope!

The insides of my D&D 5e Basic Book appear to be fine and really, that's what I need for the soon to be no longer be secret project...

White Star Companion released in PDF - More White Star from the Spahn Himself

Last night the White Star Companion was released. I know, because I got the message from +James Spahn while I was sitting at my work desk last night. Worst thing was knowing it was released and I couldn't peek yet. You know, that whole work thing.

Now I have peek although I have yet to give it a thorough read from front to back. Actually, it's rare that I read any RPG release from front to back these days. Still, I suspect you know what I means. I still need to sit down with this book longer than I have. That being said, I very much like what I see.

Daring Men of Tomorrow and intrepid Deep Space Explorers face off against a horde of savage White Simians in the floating jungle of a lost world. Plucky Sidekicks escape relentless Bounty Hunters aboard their modified skyboards. Somewhere on the edge of the galaxy, an Orbital Battle Station is about to obliterate an entire planet with the push of a button. 

The White Star Companion brings nearly one hundred pages of new options to your White Star: White Box Science Fiction Roleplaying experience. New classes, new aliens, new creatures, new weapons, and new starships are all revealed. Complete rules for planetary vehicle combat are provided along with ways to generate complete star systems simply by rolling a few dice. The brand new skill and Serial systems can instantly flesh out a character's history and talents. 

With the White Star Companion, you'll expand your game to the edge of the galaxy and beyond! White Star: White Box Science Fiction Roleplaying is completely compatible with Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox and many other old-school roleplaying products.

Here's the list of new classes:

Bounty Hunter
Deep Space Explorer
Freed Assimilant
Man of Tomorrow
Novomachina
Plucky Sidekick
Two-Fisted Technician
Yabnabs

Did I mention the hyperlinks in the PDF yet?

Oh and it gives options for a simple skill system.

Alright, fuck this post. I'm reading the White Star Companion from front to back starting now...

Humble Bundle RPG Book Bundle - Pathfinder - Starting at a Buck

I don't normally post much about Pathfinder as it is WAY too crunchy for my tastes. I will, however, make an exception today with the Humble Bundle RPG Book Bundle - Pathfinder. Why? Simply because for as little as a buck you can get some excellent value even as an OSR gamer.

The 1 buck level gives the core game and some other goodies - the ones that stand out are the GameMastery Guide and the Pathfinder Beginner Box. Really, if the only value you find is using 1% of each of those 2 items, you've made your buck back and then some

The Bestiaries available at the higher levels are ripe for OSR conversions, but by far the best value is a single dollar.

Bundle of Holding - Castles & Crusades - Starting at 12 Bucks

I like Castles & Crusades. I like it a lot. I've referred to it as the Rosetta Stone of the OSR in the past and I still see it that way. You can pretty much grab an adventure from any edition (can't speak for 4th) and run it in C&C pretty much as is.

On a side note, I've also referred to C&C's Classic Monsters as the frugal DM's Tome of Horrors Complete. Much of the same source material, compatible with most editions and much more affordable.

Really, you can't got wrong with Castles & Crusades and it is a HIGHLY supported system.

12 bucks gets you in the door. Just over 20 bucks get's you a whole lot more.

Creature Compendium only 1 Measly Buck (0e/1e - limited time - PDF)

Has New Big Dragon Games ever released a product that was less than excellent? I think not.

200 creatures for a buck? That's half a cent a monster.

The Creature Compendium is on sale right now for 1 (one) small (inconsequential) buck (dollar) in PDF. Do yourself a favor if you don't already own a copy - grab it now!

Remember those flashes of inspiration
that electrified your brain when
you first picked up that hardback volume
of monsters all those years ago? 

The countless nights you sat up thinking of how to use those monsters,
where to put them, and when your players would meet them? Those unceasing
waves of joy that swam over you and your players as you unleashed
those creatures, critters, beasts and behemoths upon their characters? 

Collected herein are over 200 monsters from Abysmal to Zathoa,
instilled with that same spirit, presented in a “dual-stat” format,
and designed to be used with most early editions of the world’s
original role-playing game and comparable retro-clones.

Looking at Possible PubCon Locations in Queens, New York

Damn, the post title looks official ;)

As we head towards the end of February and to March (and therefore closer to me putting down the gun and shield and spending more time with the pen and keyboard) there are a few things to touch upon. Tonight, I'll touch upon the one I hear the questions asked about the most:

PubCon

I'd like to get an informal PubCon set up for a saturday afternoon in late spring / early summer here in Queens. So far, I've "scouted out" three potential locations:

1 - a local pub (The Grandstand) where I know the owner. We would have to ensure that it's a day they haven't reserved the hosting room. Probably could comfortable fit 50 or so gamers. I'd be happy with a dozen ;) - close to the subway

2 - a Korean BBQ (Unidentified Flying Chickens) place with a dozen beers on tap and a basement that is used for overflow customer seating. Food is good as is the craft beer collection - close to the subway

3 - a local brewery (Finback) with about a dozen taps of it's own brewed beer. Does not serve food but encourages patrons to bring their own. The have board games available for customer use, so they should be open to gaming. Does occasional community events. Probably wouldn't charge for use of their picnic tables - not close to the subway

As I said, if we get this off the ground it would definitely be as informal as possible.

How Many Facebook Accounts Does One Whitman Need?

Only Ken Whitman could be friends with... Ken Whitman

https://www.facebook.com/ken.whitman.374/friends

How many Facebook Accounts does one Whitman need?

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009540615587

https://www.facebook.com/Whit-Whitman-1015112031881963/

Does he talk to himself among the various accounts? Does he have others?

Damnit! I could clone myself via Facebook! Why didn't I ever think of that?

Oh, THAT's why!

Kickstarter - LAND, the game (24 hour funding period)

The Tavern's Community is awesome, especially when they can bring wonders like this to my attention. LAND, the game has a funding period of 24 hours. I've seen Kickstarters run as little as a week, but this is the first time I've seen one that will only last a day. Act fast, because when LAND is gone, it's gone - at least until it comes back. Maybe 24 days next time? Or is that 39? The graphic says one thing, but the countdown says another.

Sadly, this shot in the foot isn't going to be helpful even with a relaunch.

Hexmancer Procedural Hex Generation System by Martin Ralya

You know +Martin Ralya . He's the main man at Gnome Stew and Engine Publishing. Gnome Stew is a great system neutral blog and Engine Publishing has put out some amazing books to help any GM hone his skill and have an easier time behind the GM screen.

I bet you didn't know Martin is a sandboxer at heart loves the funkie dice. You know, the dice you might use in the DCC RPG or with the D30 releases from New Big Dragon Games. Actually, Martin's Hexmancer Procedural Hex Generation System should be in every OSR DM's book of tricks.

Want to peek at it?

That's the first of 2 pages. Yep, it fits on 2 sides of a single sheet of paper.

You can grab Hexmancer at Martin's website: MartinRayla.com

You can also see a nice walkthrough of Hexmancer in operation.

This would have been up sooner, but your Tavern Keeper has been under the weather this past week :(

A WTF Kickstarter - Rpg Maker For Terro

See that video snip above? You'll need to watch the video to have any hope of making sense of the pitch used for Rpg Maker For Terro:

There isn't much more to say as there isn't much more to be said. Hey, at least he's only asking for $85. Maybe if we all chip in we can include money for a haircut.

Oh, and thank God there are no risks and / or challenges associated with this project:

Lets all say it together: "Zero Backed! First Created!"

(isn't this more of a GoFundMe type of scenario?)

OD&D Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry (0e) Now Available in PDF for $4.99

Gone is the naked lady tied to a sacrificial altar. Is nothing sacred? ;)

5 bucks for Eldritch Wizardry is a damn good deal, even with the replacement cover.

Of course, I have my copy in print, with naked lady. heh

24 Hour Roll20CON to be Held in June

Sadly, June 3rd is the day NTRPG Con kicks off, so I doubt I'll have a chance to see any of Roll20's online con in action. I hope it is successful and there are ore of them in the future, possibly even themed (OSR, Horror, Scifi, 5e, etc)

Here's an excerpt from the Escapist article:

According to Roll20, the site, later this year, will be hosting its first "online-only tabletop gaming convention." Dubbed Roll20CON, the event will run for 24-hours beginning on June 3, 2016 and ending at 11:59 (PT) that night. During Roll20CON, gamers will be able to access "an organized schedule of tabletop games" along with a selection of "panels and demonstrations." These events will all be streamed via Twitch. Attendees will likewise be encouraged to play their own games and try out "subscription features" normally reserved for Plus-level members of the site. Assisting Roll20 in its efforts will be the anti-bullying group Cybersmile. During the event Roll20 will work with attendees and sponsors to raise money for Cybersmile.

Looking at 5e and the Wonders of Improvising An Action

Maybe it was just my experience. Well, more accurately that of my gaming group at the time we were playtesting D&D Next. Our DM assembled a group of players from throughout the editions of D&D and it was one hell of an experience for this Grognard.

See, the 4e'er got all twisted when the DM ruled that an amazing speech by a PC succeeded without a roll. I'm not a 4e player myself, so I'm not sure if 4e resolved everything with a roll and there was a rule for everything or if this was the player's perception as to how things should be resolved, but it left a sour taste of 4e in my mouth (and was pretty good at showing what the expectations were of the new iteration of D&D from players of different editions of the rules)

I like the quote pictured above. I specifically like this line: "the DM tells you whether that action is possible and what kind of roll you need to make, if any, to determine success or failure." This is how I run things. It's how I've always run things in my game. If I ran a 5e game, I'd do this even if it weren't mentioned in the Player's Handbook, but it is mentioned, and it is good ;)

As I delve into the D&D 5e rules, I'm beginning to like what I see. It may not replace Swords & Wizardry as my go to game, but I'm definitely seeing pleasant surprises. Now to look at "advantage and disadvantage"

(did I mention that the "grid" being optional is another win in my book?)

Goblinoid Games has Organized a Fundraiser for Ryan Denison (coauthor Mutant Future)

Ryan Denison lost his wife back in November, leaving him and his 2 year old son in a rough spot. Even though my son was 14 when his mother passed, I understand much of what Ryan and his family are going through. It's not easy. It never is.

+Dan Proctor has organized a GoFundMe fundraiser for Ryan and his family as well as some truly generous RPG PDF and POD bundles in return for donations that reach certain thresholds ($30 and $60). Give what you can if you can. It is the nature of this hobby to be generous as it is a hobby that embraces community. Helping folks out is where it's at.

Here's more from Dan and details on what you can get in return for your generous donation:

I write with profound grief that my good friend Ryan Denison (coauthor of Mutant Future) lost his wife (Suzanne) and mother of their two-year old son abruptly and unexpectedly on November 20, 2015.

I have put together a “donation bundle” to help support Ryan and his family through the next few months as he gets his financial matters arranged. The bundle includes links to many PDF and  a few print products provided by myself and other generous publishers. Supporters will have access to links to download PDFs for free and links to print products that can be purchased “at cost” of manufacture plus shipping.

Ryan is back to work, but Suzanne was the primary provider for the family. There are many, many expenses associated with this loss and getting a new start. In the long term Ryan’s financial situation will stabilize, but in the short term he needs some help to get there.

If you enjoy Mutant Future in particular, or any of my other products and those of my publishing partners, please consider helping my friend by donating to this bundle fundraiser.

There are many great products in this bundle, available at different funding levels. Links for products are valid until April 1st. It works best to already be logged into both RPGnow and Drivethrurpg before clicking to redeem coupons. You may have to copy/paste the links for them to work properly. You can order print products where applicable via RPGnow at cost to print, but you have to cover shipping.

Thank you for your time. I want to extend my profoundest gratitude to my colleagues for contributing products to this cause.

(Please note that I have to manually email links to backers, so please bear with me! Please make sure to provide an email address when backing.)

Products available:

LEVEL ONE - $30

Goblinoid Games
Labyrinth Lord (PDF, soft and hard covers)
Advanced Edition Companion (PDF, soft and hard covers)
Original Edition Characters (PDF)
Realms of Crawling Chaos (PDF, soft cover)
Idol of the Orcs (PDF, staple bound)
Mutant Future (PDF, soft and hard covers)
Starships & Spacemen 2e (PDF and soft cover)
Wizards’ World (PDF)

LEVEL TWO - $60
All of the above, plus:

Barrel Rider Games
Class Compendium (PDF)

Faster Monkey Games
The Gyre  (PDF)
Re-Energizers (PDF)
Realm of the Technomancer (PDF)

James Mishler Games
JMG First Three Years Bundle (all of their products) (PDF)

Lesser Gnome
Whisper & Venom (PDF)

The Savage AfterWorld
Deviant Database (PDF)
Deviant Database 2.0 (PDF)
One Year In The Savage AfterWorld (PDF)

The Knotty-Works
Going Postal - Tech Bites (Microbots) (PDF)
Going Postal - Tech Bites (Vehicles) (PDF)
Table Scraps Issue 1 (PDF)
Table Scraps Issue 2 (PDF)
Table Scraps Issue 3 (PDF)
Table Scraps Issue 4 (PDF)

Mithgarthr Entertainment
The Mines of Valdhum (for Labyrinth Lord) (PDF)
The Mines of Valdhum (for Fifth Edition) (PDF)
Campaigns in Cairnvarthi (campaign setting is system neutral, included adventure is for Fifth Edition) (PDF)

Taskboy Games
Manse on Murder Hill (PDF and soft cover)
Tranzar's Redoubt (PDF and soft cover)

I wish I was in position to match the donations of The Tavern's patrons at this time but I'm not. I did, however, make a $100 donation in the name of The Tavern, using funds raised previously by The Tavern. As always, it's your community. If you can do more to help Ryan and his 2 year old, please do so.

Donate HERE

And So it Was That I Could Not Find My D&D 5e POD Basic Rules...

So, back in the way back I ordered a Print on Demand (POD) version of the Dungeons & Dragons 5e Basic Rules via Lulu. Yes, someone had put together an at cost version of the D&D Basic Rules. Of course, I couldn't find it when I needed it.

Now, it only was the Player's side of the rules, not the Dungeon Master's part. Which means it wouldn't have done all the work I needed it to do anyway.

So, I did what any enterprising gamer who has a project in the works that requires knowledge of the 5e rules... I put together a personal version on Lulu.

I followed the steps here, but the cover didn't work for me, so I had to improvise. Being that it's not for sale and just personal use, I figured the cover didn't matter much. We'll see when it get's delivered in about a week.

Yes, I have the core 3 5e books, but I want something simpler to get my feet wet. Besides, if I'm going to work the angle of "5e from an OSR perspective", less certainly is more...

Tavern Chat Tonight - 9PM Eastern

Yep, an early reminder.

Tonight is another Tavern Chat.

Possible topics:

- How the F' is Tenkar going to get up to speed on D&D 5e in 2 short weeks?

- When the F' is Far West ever going to be published?

- Will The Badger drop in and discuss the success of the one day sale for "Lus"? (sale ended mere minutes before this post is going up)

- When will Tenkar be posting more StarSlinger posts?

You never know just who will drop in, but it's always a lively chat.

See you then :)

(for those that don't know what Tavern Chat is, see the chat box on the right side of this website? That's where the chat takes place. If you belong to basically ANY social media, logging in is a breeze. Here, I'll add a screenshot for easy reference)

RPGNow Deal of the Day - Graveyard at Lus (White Star) - Just a Buck!

I have Graveyard at Lus in hardcover and it is an excellent OSR space supplement, especially for those that like to sandbox. +Jason Paul McCartan went off his rocker and has priced the PDF at a buck for the next 24 hours.

So, what do you get for your buck?

Space Graveyards - what's left behind when battles are fought among the points of light that map out the universe. Sometimes there's good salvage to be had there. There's always danger, though. Not everything is dead in a Graveyard, and you're not the only one that's come looking for the good stuff. And that's not even mentioning the radiation and debris left behind, or the dangerous creatures that end up finding their way there like graveworms and ... the undead. 

-A comprehensive toolkit for creating space Graveyards - the result of battles between forces at war in the stars
-Multiple tables for the creation of starship damage, system damage, and crew survivorship
-An event table to ensure that exploration is dynamic during sandbox play
-New rules for Cinematic and Realitic space combat
-New starship technology including sensors and rules for targeting/repairing specific systems
-Additional rules for space-based phenomena, space-based explosions, and boarding other starships
-Four new alien races for your White Star RPG campaigns
-Updated starship usage for four of the core alien races in the main game
-Five new creatures, including The Unquiet, a horriffic form of undead
-Use the pregenerated Graveyard At Lus for your own games, or as a guide to create your own Graveyards.
-Worksheets and sample hexmaps at the rear of the book to help with generation of Graveyards 

Designed for use with the White Star RPG, but easy to convert for other OSR sci-fi systems. 

The Graveyard at Lus will be continually supported by the release of FREE expansion material that includes additional rules and other content, including new races, creatures, and tables to help support additional sandbox usage of the product beyond the core book here. This material will not be included in the core book, but as separate products. The first of these will be the release of all of the silhouettes of the starships in the book (and many more) for use in creation of your own counters for table-based play or use with a VTT. 

Infinibadger - the fucker is simply INSANE! (any relations to Crazy Eddie are purely coincidental)

And Now I Have to Learn Myself Some 5e...

Kinda surprised myself. I was asked to participate in an upcoming D&D 5e project and my 5e-fu is barely there. I need to shed myself of lingering D&D Next playtest baggage and become fluent enough in 5e that I can bring my OSR background into play.

I have played 5e as a player, briefly and it was certainly enjoyable, but my rules knowledge was minimal.

I guess it's good that I'm home from work this week. Something positive to say about getting the flu bug ;)

Now, where is that printed out version of the D&D 5e Basic rules that I squirreled away?

Destroy Your Original Copies of D&D Releases and You Too Can Get $50 in OBS Credit

So, it appears WotC and OBS are going whole hog into putting out digital copies of the WotC catalog, but they want YOU to do the dirty work.

Here's the pitch:

Help us preserve classic D&D — and earn a bounty for it! 

Our goal at DriveThruRPG has always been to support the RPG hobby by making every RPG title ever published available to RPG fans at a click. To that end, together with Wizards of the Coast, we have been digitally re-mastering hundreds of classic D&D titles and offering them through DriveThru and DMSGuild.com.  We still have about 600 more classic D&D titles to go, and we need the help of D&D fans to get them all. 

If you’ve got some classic D&D titles in your collection and you have access to a scanner, you can help us re-master and preserve these titles. In return, you’ll get a $50 bounty per title (once we verify your scan meets our specifications below). We are looking for  high-quality scans, but these days, most inexpensive home scanners can handle the specifications if set correctly.

You can read the rest here.

So, if you are willing to destroy your collection (see screen shot above) you MAY (if your scans meet standards) qualify for a $50 bounty.

No thank you. Can you imagine the actual time it would take to scan a 128+ page book on the usual home scanner? Add in the fact that you need to destroy the original and all this is is an attempt by OBS / WotC to have someone do their work for them.

As an aside, I thought the parent company was OneBookshelf. I wonder if this means the RPGNow branding is going to be put aside at some point in the near future.

Kickstarter - World Architect Cards (from the guy that brought us the Far Away Land RPG)

If it seems like I'm on a Kickstarter "kick", I very well might be. This isn't a planned post however, as I just stumbled across the announcement in my email when I woke up. I've enjoyed everything that +Far Away Land RPG (Dirk Stanley) has released, and I expect nothing less from the World Architect Cards Kickstarter.

Really, it looks like a great tool for a DM that likes to sandbox. What's in the next hex? Let me pull out a card. I've got graphics, descriptor words and even a random weather table on the bottom of the card.

How does this actually work?

Each card has an image of an overworld map location (like a forest, mountain, desert, etc.) on the front and back of the card. Cards are chosen at random to create map locations. Each location has a series of descriptors to describe the location. The location is then drawn on a piece of paper and described. The map maker continues to draw cards and create locations. Other cards in the deck can be used to describe specific locations within a map (like a mine, temple, bridge, etc.). These cards also feature a series of descriptors to inspire the map maker and easily describe the location. The goal of the World Architect Cards is to take the guesswork and time out of creating a map from scratch.

I really like Dirk's art and I think it's a prefect fit for a project like this. Heck, it was a prefect fit for the Dungeon Architect Cards, which you can also snag from this Kickstarter.

I'd really love to run a campaign using the 2 decks and something simple like White Box or Far Away Lands itself. Maybe this summer...

Kickstarter - The Black Hack (OSR Ruleset)

I've had a busy week, as you can gather from the posting frequency (or lack there of) here at The Tavern.

I've been trying to put together a post that details - without going into too much detail, how The Black Hackack differs from other OSR style rulesets. From my personal impression, I think it would play out amazingly well in a convention or pick up game type of set up, as it looks to play fast and deadly. Still, putting the how and why into a coherent post hasn't been easy (possibly because putting together a coherent post at all hasn't been easy - heh).

So, what do I see in my email?

This nice little summary (and example of the layout of The Black Hack):

So, what can I expand upon?

Usage Die - awesome concept for consumables. Stop counting arrows. A quiver starts at a 1d10 and goes down from there. It may last 4 shots or 20 or more. I like it. It's used for rations, holy waster, oil, herbs, torches, wineskins - the consumables.

Out of Action - I'm yoking this flat out

Advantage & Disadvantage - borrowed from 5e but I'll allow it

Armor Points - feels like Tunnels & Trolls and I like it

I'm very happy to be in for multiple copies :)

Oh, yeah, the PDF is done. I have a copy. If I can get a playtest done before the Kickstarter funding runs it's course, I will but don't count on it. Work seems to be getting busier just as I'm running up to my retirement date. Go figure.

(The Black Hack, not The Black Hand. Warning, posting while your dog is incessantly barking for you to go to bed is dangerous ;)

Kickstarter - The Lost Temple of Forgotten Evil (5e/OSR adventure)

We know I'm heavily into the OSR. I also enjoy sandbox and / or non-linear adventures. The Lost Temple of Forgotten Evil offers to fill both desires for me, as well as delivering it's print version with a detachable cover. How cool is that?

So, what does Temple of Forgotten Evil offer?

- Saddle-Stitched 32+ page adventure
- Detached color cover with classic blue maps on the interior
- 4 half page maps (maybe more)
- 4 pages of art (maybe more)

The sample art from the video is atmospheric as all hell and I'm looking forward to seeing it on print.

I know the stretch goals offer custom dice, but I'd rather see some 8x10 art prints. Yeah, I know, I'm such an art snob ;)

What's the blurb, you may ask?

The Lost Temple of Forgotten Evil is an adventure for three to seven characters between levels four and six. It is designed for use with Fifth Edition and OSR versions of Gary and Dave’s RPG. It can be adapted to any fantasy RPG. 

The Premise 

The small town of Boldon, and its surrounding villages, are afraid. Dozens of people are missing, some speculate lost to some nefarious purpose. Tales of an evil temple and the horrible things within circulate. The few who know the legends and history of the region are beginning to think the dark times have returned, not seen since the fall of the first age of man. People are beginning to feel the icy fingers of fear closing in. Upon arrival, the party encounters a broken man, a homeless drunkard prone to incessant rambling. This inspires an investigation into the stories of a lost temple. Has it been rediscovered by men seduced by its forgotten evil? The drunkard’s tale leads to others who might help the party discover more before they face The Lost Temple of Forgotten Evil.

I wish the art was shown on the Kickstarter page itself, as it would make it easier to share...

Yeah, I captured those pics from the video and they do NOT do the art justice. Watch the video, for the art alone if you must, but watch it.

Print + PDF is $25, PDF is $10