Alert - Thief Steals Free Comics - Meanwhile, An "Alleged Thief" Takes Real Money - Ken Whitman appears at Games & Comics, London, KY

Now, I've heard of strange disconnects, but this one really strikes my fancy. I wonder why?

Now, isn't it interesting Marcus is willing to spend the time to take some random mope to Small Claims Court and prosecute him for taking a $3 comic and a stack of "free comics." Nor saying the man's actions were right, just trying something for perspective.

Then we have this post, an hour after the first one, where a real "Alleged Thief" shakes people down for money:

Gee, how many tens of thousands of dollars has Ken bilked folks out of? Yet a $3 thief needs an all points bulletin. Markus, I think your priorities are fucked up. Next time that $3 thief returns, give him the keys to your store. He still won't steal enough to reach the heights of Ken.

"Kids, let me tell you about the time I funded my acting career with money I misappropriated from Pencil Dice.
You won't believe how easy it is to get folks to give you money on a promise when you are a lovable lug like me!"

Old School Blues Podcast Episode 6 - Let's Play Supers

Woot! Another episode of the Old School Blues Podcast is up. Last night Vince, Colin and myself talked about superheroes, comic books and superhero movies and TV shows. It was a damn good time!

Join us and tell us what you think :)

Apes Victorious available in Print (OSR - "Planet of the Apes")

Apes Victorious is Goblinoid Games OSR ruleset of intelligent apes.

What? You heard it right. Here's the blurb:

Apes Victorious is a roleplaying game in which you take the role of an astronaut from the 1970’s who finds himself marooned on a future Earth ruled by intelligent apes. Players may also take the role of an ape, a degenerated human, or a psi-active underdweller. Fight to survive in this post-apocalyptic future ruled by four species of apes. Or play apes who hunt humans for sport. For a different kind of campaign, play highly intelligent but insane underdwellers who have advanced technology and powerful psi powers. 

This book contains:

-A complete game
-A post-nuclear apocalyptic setting in which apes have become the dominant species
-Seven player classes
-Animals and creatures of the post-nuclear future
-Campaign advice
-A complete introductory adventure
-Conversion notes for compatible games including: Labyrinth Lord, Mutant Future, Starships & Spacemen

And now it is available in print - $12.99 for SC, $18.99 for HC ($4.97 for PDF)

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's OBS affiliate links puts 5% of your purchase price into The Tavern's coffers. Don't leave that money on the table for the greedy corps! Tip your barman!  ;)

Extra Life Team Tadpole is Live - Here's Your Chance to Win some Frog God Games Goodness!

Extra Life Team Tadpole is on!!

5e Rappan Athuk Live Stream is up!

Starts at 6 PM Eastern on Friday Nov. 18.  (its live right now)

The Channel is twitch.tv/enn321. If you login and take a screenshot of the activity send a copy to zach@froggodgames.com and I will send a random winner one of our Mega sized PDFs with some extras next week. If the audience for the twitch channel gets a big enough audience you never know what kind of Frog Merchandise could get tossed around to the viewing audience.

If you haven't yet supported the Frog God Extra Team you can do so by clicking on the team page:

tinyurl.com/FrogGodEL


(tell them The Tavern sent you ;)

Pinch Those Pennies - It's 18 Bucks for a Signed Pic With Ken Whitman - Will Work (heh) for Food

I'm not sure what else I can say that isn't obvious from the screenshot above.

I mean, we all know Ken needs a cash infusion to ACTUALLY COMPLETE HIS FUCKING OBLIGATIONS. But no, that isnt what this is going to pay for.

Please, I beg someone to record this shit - audio only is fine - and we'll make Ken the Youtube star he deserves to be.

Yes, you too can be an extra on The Walking Dead. For just $499 Ken will tell you all of his secrets. Sure, I made that part up, but you know his advice will be short on advice and long on "pay me and I'll help you. I know a guy who knows a guy."

Of course it won't be the last time Ken finds a way to remove cash from the gaming public without giving value back in return.

Thanks to yet another Taverner for the info :)

A Moment of Silence for Gareth's One Month of Twitter Free Existence (Far West Kickstarter)

Yep, its been a month since Gareth Skarka, he of a multitude of missed release dates for a single project, announced he was maintaining radio silence on Twitter until the near completion of his Holy Fucking Shit This is Late Project.

So, a month later and Gareth hasn't returned to Twitter. Huzzah!

So, a month later and Gareth has given the backers nothing to show for it.

So, a month later and Gareth has yet to comment on the Far West Kickstarter. Wait, make that a month and a half.

Next month makes this project 5 years late. Yes. 5 years.

I will say one thing for Gareth. He is consistent with his failure to communicate with his backers. I'm sure it serves him well.

There's a New Boss in Town - RJ Thompson is the new owner of the Swords & Wizardry G+ Community - Huzzah!

Ownership of the Swords & Wizardry G+ Community has changed hands. The new head honcho is +R.J. Thompson . Yep, the same +R.J. Thompson that has been running the Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day these last few years.

My regular readers know how huge a fan of Swords & Wizardry I am. I can think of no one better qualified to help the Swords & Wizardry G+ Community thrive than R.J. This is seriously awesome news.

Below is a snippet of the announcement:

You can read the rest in the Swords & Wizardry G+ Community.

Tenkar's Tavern - A designated Neutral Ground

You know I don't discuss politics at The Tavern nor allow it at The Tavern's Facebook Community as my attitude is no good can come of it.

Others have no such qualms and even went as far as to circulate a letter in the days before the election, signed by hundreds in the industry - not just encouraging one to vote but telling one how to vote. Sadly, the divide and conquer effort continues.

Gaming is supposed to be above such concerns. Much like real life religion, politics is emotional and those with strong feelings are often unwilling or unable to accept differing views of others. It separates folks and and by its very nature encourages people take sides. Just like PC vs. PC infighting can lead to the end of a campaign if not the gaming group itself, excessive politicking and shaming (bullying if you will) has the potential of harming the gaming hobby. A hobby that by its very nature is inclusive, not exclusive.

Better minds than myself got together to start #GamersForGamers. +Frank Mentzer , +Benoist Poiré , +Alex Karaczun and others are the driving force behind Gamers For Gamers. An effort to bring the gaming hobby together, not leave it divided and fractured. An effort spearheaded from all sides of the political spectrum.

I support this effort.

As such, Tenkar's Tavern (the blog) and Tenkar's Tavern (the FaceBook Group) are hereby designated Neutral Ground. Everyone is welcome, so long as you leave your biases outside. Think of it as Common Ground, if you will, where we embrace that which brings us together instead of that which divides us.

I don't know about you, but gaming is my escape from real world worries. No judgement. Just gaming and gaming discussions and gaming pics and all of that sweet stuff. Its what we have in common.

I mean, where else can I talk about my 6th Level Dwarven Cleric nearly single handedly took down the level 15 DM PC and didnt even get any fat loot. Damn it!

Humble Bundle of Frog God / Kobold Press and Green Ronin Pathfinder Releases (OSR Value here too)

So, Pathfinder is the current Humble Bundle. Pretty impressive. "But its Pathfinder!", you say. It is, but it isn't all such.

What do I mean? Bill Webb's Book of Dirty Tricks is really an OSR release. Bill "thinks" and "schemes" OSR. If nothing else, grab for a buck and you are already ahead.

Zobeck Gazetteer and Cults of the Sundered Kingdoms are setting books. Easy enough to ignore any Pathfinderness. And yes, you are still at a buck.

Rappan Athuk is worth the 8 bucks and then some. Again, just ignore the Pathfinderness, as it was originally written for old School Gaming.

At 15 bucks, the big adds are The Mother of All Treasure Tables (pretty much systemless) and Freeport. Easter egg, I was a backer of Halls of the Mountain King.

Needless to say, I dropped 15 bucks on this ;)

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight - 9PM Eastern - What Will a Livestream Video Tavern Chat mean?

Yes, today is Wednesday. This week has been hell week (had the water line to the house replaced today) but Tavern Chat carries on!

Topics for tonight will include (but are not limited to):

- What is expected from a Livestream Video Tavern Chat? Yes, it's a distinct possibility - we have 2 weeks to add 39 members to The Tavern's Facebook Community to achieve that goal.

- #GamersForGamers - what does it mean and what the fuck is "Orange Listing?"

- What does WotC bringing PoD to TSR Era releases mean to the hobby?

- Usual random diversions...

PSA - Ken Whitman is Making a Public Appearance in London, KY on November 19th

Now I know, many of you are huge Ken Whitman / Whit Whitman / Ken Whitless fans. I know this because I've been told so. Why else would folks be asking for his latest location constantly if not to meet and great the lovable lug.

It is my understanding some folks may be looking to give ken some papers - reading material if you will. Others may wish to encourage Ken to continue to strive for the successful completion of his various Kickstarters. Well, now you can in person (as Ken pretty much ignores emails from what I gather)

Notice Ken can't say shit about season 7 of The Walking Dead? That's because he was a zombie edit - goon in season 6 - he can't say shit because he doesn't know shit. Wait, did I just blow that up on Ken? Sorry dude.

Anyhow, Ken wants to meet you so you really should make the effort to meet Ken. All he wants to be is liked. All he wants to do is make money movies. Well, makes movies with equipment paid for with your money, but really, who's paying that close attention?

Now, who wants to place a bet that Ken is charging for those autographs and photos...

Holy Sh!t!!! WotC Brings Back TSR Era Modules as Print on Demand!

Huge thanks to Jeff C for bringing this to my attention this morning.

This is amazing news.

WotC is bringing back TSR Era Modules as Print on Demand. I holy fuck kid you not!

edit - direct link to the list of TSR POD

I'm stunned. I'm ecstatic. The aftermarket on the originals is going to tank but that's okay. I collect for collecting sake.

The prices are reasonable too. Dragonlance Adventures for 18 bucks. Hollow World Campaign Setting for 20. Wow.

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's OBS affiliate links puts 5% of your purchase price into The Tavern's coffers. Don't leave that money on the table for the greedy corps! Tip your barman!  ;)

Edit - If you were a member of The Tavern's Facebook Community, you would have seen the following comment from OneBookShelf:

What do the Numbers 825 and 910 have in Significance?

Lets see. What do the numbers 825 and 910 have in significance?

Well, we currently have over 825 downloads of Swords & Wizardry Light. That is with a non-optimized PDF and before we get the Word file ready for prime time. Add in 250 copies distributed in print over the last 2 weekends at GameHole Con and U-Con and we are nearing 1,100 copies. Hot damn.

910 is the current number of members of the Tenkar's Tavern Facebook Community. I was hoping to have 900 before the end of November, and here we are with over 2 weeks left and we are 90 members away from 1k.

Someone suggested I get a Tenkar's Tavern tattoo if we get to 1k members before the month is out. +James Spahn had a less painful idea. A one day Swords & Wizardry Online Gaming Convention if The Tavern's Facebook Community hits 1k members before the end of November. I'm more forgiving. If we hit 1k members before the end of the year, we'll do a 1 day Online S&W Gaming Con. If we hit it before the end of November, it will be 2 days and I'll run a session of S&W Light on both days (and I'll see what other folks from the OSR I can round up to run other sessions)

Let's see where we can get this. Ballpark for the Online S&W Con os March / April.

Kickstarter - Ogre Miniatures Set 1

Plastic Ogre Miniatures.

So damn sweet.

Yep, Ogre Miniatures Set 1 is minis for use with the Ogre Sixth Edition and Ogre Designer's Edition games.

I played the old pocket editions of Ogre and GEV back in my early days of gaming. Hell, we loved all of those mini games, as the value of play for your dollar was unmatched.

Fast forward to the Ogre Kickstarter from a few years ago. Big box. Huge box. Large, cardboard chits / counters and cardboard Ogres to put together. Now Steve Jackson Games is kickstarting minis for use with the Ogre boxed set.

30 bucks for the set of minis which is now, thanks to stretch goals, is a $40 value.

Yeah, this cutting back on backing kickstarters just isn't happening, is it?

New Release - The Witch for Swords & Wizardry Light - PWYW

Yep. +Timothy Brannan has added the first 3rd party player character class to the Swords & Wizardry Light system. Woot!

The Witch is a spellcaster that blends both divine and arcane practices. Whether she is the helpful local healing woman or the evil wicked hag of legends is up to the player.

Note. Tim has written advancement for The Witch class through 5th level, because plans are to have such rules available from SWL before the end of the year.

The Witch is a PWYW release.

There are other releases that I'll be highlighting this week.

Over 1,000 downloads of the Swords & Wizardry Light PDF and approximately 250 Print copies distributed for free between Gamehole Con and U-Con.

Lulu Stackable Coupons - 35% Off and Free Shipping!

Thanks to one of The Taverners over at the Facebook side of the community (you HAVE joined The Tavern's Facebook Community, right?) it appears Lulu has some stackable coupons. Its the first time I've heard of this happening:

Lulu coupon codes NIGEL35 for 35% off and 15MAILNOV for free shipping stack.

So, have at it. Feel free to post suggestions for your fellow gamers...

The Tavern's Facebook Community has hit 888 Members in Less than a Year

Last November it occurred to me that there wasn't any Facebook Community for The Tavern. With the encouragement of +Zach Glazar , I rectified that. That was on November 29th, 2015. I was in the middle of the initial Gygax Memorial Fund drama. Fun times ;)

Here we are, approximately 2 1/2 weeks short of a year from that date and we have 888 members. We should easily surpass 900 before the end of November and there is an outside chance, however small, we may hit 1,000 before the end of the year.

Simply amazing.

It truly is a community, with discussions and shares by various members throughout the day. All of The Tavern's posts get shared via The Tavern's Facebook Community, so if you don't want to miss any (as well as posts from others) its a great place to be a part of.

I'm trying to think of a way to celebrate when we hit 1,000 members. No worries. I'm sure something will occur to me :)

Ken Whitman Moves Back to Kentucky (and a whole lot more)

It's been fairly quiet on the Ken Whitman / Whit Whitman / Ken Whitless front lately. I'm guessing he's been attempting to keep a low profile, what with lawsuits and other charges hovering like drones over his head. Ken is kinda like Whack-a-Mole - you never know where he is going to pop up next.

Well, now you do know:

So, Corbin Kentucky, eh?

I've been told Ken has some... revealing pics at the site this screenshot game from. I'm glad my source didn't pass that on.

(edited to conform to my own social mores and not my intense dislike for all things Ken Whitman)

Then there is this:

Corbin is 22 minutes away by car. Looks like Kenny will be making an appearance. Ask him about being a zombie . I mean, he did play one of the Walking Dead, right? A zombie, that is.

New Release - Monster Stand-Ins Virtual Table Top Tokens v1 (what it says on the tin)

I've been using Roll20 pretty much from release. Although I use Fog of War to reveal the map for the players, I really haven't used tokens. I'm tempted to change that in the future.

Monster Stand-Ins Virtual Table Top Tokens v1 is from Inkwell Ideas. If you don't know Inkwell Ideas, you probably know Hexographer, one of the easiest to use mapping programs in the hobby. Well, Inkwell has also published stock art and related projects, so VTT Tokens should be a perfect next step for them.

With Monster Stand-Ins VTT Tokens v1, you get over 80 monsters with over 130 different images for $2.95. That's a huge amount of bang for your buck.

So yeah, very tempted to spend a few bucks and start using minis, er... I mean TOKENS in my upcoming Swords & Wizardry Light sessions.

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's OBS affiliate links puts 5% of your purchase price into The Tavern's coffers. Don't leave that money on the table for the greedy corps! Tip your barman!  ;)

Back in the Saddle - Prepping to Return to the GM's Chair for some Swords & Wizardry Light

My regular gaming group, which in one form or another has been gaming most Saturday's since the Friends & Family D&D Next Beta, has had one gaming session since the summer began - and we are halfway through the fall.

So, +James Spahn and I have decided to share the GM hat, but not at the same time. James will run an arc of White Star (and maybe playtest some upcoming stuff) and I'll follow that with an arc of Swords & Wizardry Light (with some playtest material for upcoming stuff). I'll make sure that session reports pop up here at The Tavern, as there may be some Easter Eggs ;)

I'll also be resurrecting the Friday Night "B" Team, where my 2nd group gets together for some S&W Light madness (we used Swords & Wizardry Complete before, but having two groups playtesting new material for Light will be wonderful). That won't re-kick until next month at best. The "B" Team is usually once a month and its a small core of players, so we may be open to drop ins. As this is their first notice of the impending resurrection, we'll discuss that more at a later time.

The Saturday night group will be more sandboxie in nature. As the Friday group will only be playing once a month, more or less, and will be a bit more structured.

Then in the late spring I plan on running some Swords & Wizardry Light at Legendary Realms out on Long Island.

Aint retirement grand?

Kickstarter - THIS DEFIANT EARTH: 1950s Sci-Fi Movie Roleplaying! (what it says on the tin)

To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm going to back This Defiant Earth, but it certainly deserves a close look.

I grew up a child of the 70s, and my after school babysitter was the 430 Movie. A staple of the 430 Movies was bad scifi from the 50s, and when I say bad scifi from the 50s, I mean that in the best way possible. The Blob still gives me nightmares.

So, an RPG that is specifically made for that crazy style of 50s scifi certainly grabs my attention, as does the art. The author used to draw comics for a living and it shows. His art is perfect for the genre.

THIS DEFIANT EARTH is a roleplaying game set in a universe inspired by the popular imagination of the 1950s: an Atomic Age dreamscape as envisioned by television, cheap paperback novels, comic books, and above all, movies. In this world, the American Dream is alive and well, but threatened by monsters from the deep recesses of the Earth, alien flying saucers, and sinister foreign agents pledged to destabilize the American way of life with super-advanced technology. Players take on the roles of America's noble defenders in these thrilling but dangerous times! It's up to you, dear reader, to stop the horde of gargantuan ants before they establish a colony in the heart of New York City. It's up to you to thwart the sinister plans of Kro-Gar, the conqueror from space. You will test-pilot rockets, fight monsters, challenge unknown landscapes, and make the world safe for freedom and democracy. You will stand a champion of…THIS DEFIANT EARTH!

THIS DEFIANT EARTH is rules-lite, so it's easy to learn and play. At the heart of the game's mechanics is a simple task resolution system based on rolling a pool of six-sided dice and counting the number of fives and sixes rolled. Each five or six is a success; match or exceed the required number of successes, and your action succeeds. Roll too few successes, and your action fails. It's as simple as that! There are some other variables to consider, of course--mostly situational modifiers--but those are the basics.

This Defiant Earth has met its minimum funding goal with 18 days left to go, so it should hit some stretch goals. I really like the concept, I just don't think my group would actually play it.

Podcast - Old School Blues - Episode 5 - Star Trek RPGs

To tell you how under the weather I've been for the last two weeks or so, the latest episode of the Old School Blues Podcast released over a week ago and I've only thought of sharing it out now. Yeah, it's been that kind of a month so far.

Episode Five of OSB we talk about Star Trek RPGs. There have been so many different versions of Star Trek RPGs from different publishers, I really should do a post about it.

Anyhow, listen to +Vincent Florio , Colin (from Dead Games Society) and myself talk about Star Trek :)

Some thoughts on StarSlinger - Light

Its been a while since I've touched upon StarSlinger, the western SciFi setting I was working on for White Star. Swords & Wizardry Light sort of took precedence and then some.

Now, I'm not sure if I've discussed this, but my original thought for what became StarSlinger didn't involve SciFi as much as lighter than air ships and a solar system with three inhabitable planets. Inspired by Spelljammer and Calidar as much as from spaghetti westerns and Firefly, all wrapped up in more or less traditional fantasy.

I think I'm going to revisit that idea in a series of one sheets.

Just thinking out loud at the moment, but open to feedback. And I'm not saying that StarSlinger won't make an eventual appearance using the White Star ruleset, just that Swords & Wizardry Light is my focus at the moment...

Hmmm... maybe a four page OSR sci-fi ruleset titled StarLight...

Dungeons & Dragons enters the Toy Hall of Fame

Yes, its the wrong box. Do you know how much wood grained goes for these days on eBay?

It happened.

Dungeons & Dragons has entered the Toys Hall of Fame. Heck, Time Magazine has an article on it. D&D wasn't alone, either. The Swing and Fisher Price Little People also made the cut.

"The tabletop role-playing game that gave rise to World of Warcraft was created in 1974 by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson during a time when TIME credited the game for creating “a new genre of entertainment” that “encouraged teamwork to succeed” and inspired TV shows, films, online imitators and even an audiobook narrated by Ice-T."

There's more to read about Dungeons & Dragons and what Time Magazine wrote about it a few years after it came out. Go and read it. Its short but informative.

Link to the Toy Hall of Fame.

Deal of the Day - Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms Classics Vol. 1 (Comic)

Today's Deal of the Day is a comic book. More accurately, its the first eight issues of Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms Classics Vol. 1.

Coming in at 210 page, this graphic novel is $2.99 (normally $4.99) for the next 17 hours or so.

Comes in both PDF and EPUB versions.

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's OBS affiliate links puts 5% of your purchase price into The Tavern's coffers. Don't leave that money on the table for the greedy corps! Tip your barman!  ;)

Swords & Wizardry Light Going Ons at The Other Side Blog

I must say, I find it truly exciting to see others in the OSR embracing Swords & Wizardry Light. +Timothy Brannan of The Other Side blog has taken the SWL PDF and broken it down into a folder (which is exactly how the print version plays out - if you a U-Con this weekend, +Bill Webb has a few dozen copies - track him down ;)

Tim also shows a peek at a Swords & Wizardry Light compatible release thats in the works - very exciting!

A more printer friendly version of SWL should be coming down the pipe soon.

Did I mention there is some retooling of StarSlinger material going on to fit the Swords & Wizardry Light ruleset?

Fun times...

There is some White Star in the Air...

+James Spahn has releases this teaser piece of art for a new White Star release. While I MIGHT have some idea of what is in the works, I PROBABLY have been sworn to secrecy.

Because if I weren't, I'd be gushing.

That's all I'm saying. If...

Deal of the Day - Polyhedral Dungeon - (Old School Style RPG)

I was out most of the day and when I came home passed out into a deep nap (I was up late last night, go figure) It took until now for me to notice todays "Deal of the Day" at RPGNow:

Polyhedral Dungeon - normally $4.99 in PDF, for the next 16 hours is just $1.99. SC plus PDF is $5.99 and HC plus PDF is $7.99. Those are excellent prices for a 50 page release.

What can I say about Polyhedral Dungeon? Its the rare non-OSR RPG that I grokked right off the back, but that's probably because of its old school sensibilities.

Its a damn good game and plays well (I know, I've played it) $1.99 is a steal.

Disclaimer: The Badger / +Jason Paul McCartan is a good friend of mine. He writes games and adventures. He's pretty good at it and Polyhedral Dungeon is possibly his best work yet.

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's OBS affiliate links puts 5% of your purchase price into The Tavern's coffers. Don't leave that money on the table for the greedy corps! Tip your barman!  ;)

Tavern Chat - Tonight - 9 PM Eastern - Politics free Gaming Talk :)

Yep, tonight is a Wednesday night, and that means another Tavern Chat.

We all know the US Presidential was yesterday and I'm sure the results will be on everyone's lips. No political talk tonight folks. Sorry. It always turns into a sordid mess.

We may talk a bit about Mazes & Perils Deluxe along with the usual scattershot of topics. I'll also filed any questions one might have about Swords & Wizardry Light's recent release and current plans for its future.

So, join us in that little chat box on the right side of the page. You can use just about any social media platform to log in.

Sorry I missed last week's chat. I'm feeling mostly better now...

Deal of the Day - Black Books: Tomes of the Outer Dark (OSR Cthulhu Mythos)

Somehow this escaped my notice earlier. Black Books: Tomes of the Outer Dark is an OSR Mythos themed game. It looks like its pretty much CoC, but with OSR sensibilities. Haven't read it yet, but for a $1.50 I don't see how one could go wrong picking it up.

From the blurb:

Black Books: Tomes of the Outer Dark is an OSR investigative horror role-playing game where the player characters are ordinary people (historians, detectives, scholars, artists etc.) drawn into a dark and horrific version of our world - the world of the Cthulhu Mythos. As the investigators learn more of the true horrors of the world and the irrelevance of humanity, their sanity inevitably withers away. The rules are biased towards playing in the 1920’s although there is no reason these rules can’t be adapted to other time periods. The rules are familiar - they use a D20 for most actions - and the games is class based, with 5 investigator classes - Charmer, Enforcer, Sneak, Scholar and Spiritualist. If you like old school gaming and you like horror, this might well be the game you're looking for!

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's OBS affiliate links puts 5% of your purchase price into The Tavern's coffers. Don't leave that money on the table for the greedy corps! Tip your barman!  ;)

The Tavern gets a Mention in Knights of the Dinner Table 235

Huge thanks to +Tim Shorts (and +Rob Conley ) for pointing out that Tenkar's Tavern got mentioned in a recent Knights of the Dinner Table - issue 235 to be exact. (Gothridge Manor and Bat in the Attic also get a paragraph each as do some others)

Its nice to get recognized outside of the OSR circle and even nicer when that recognition is in print.

Of course, this reminded me that I let my KotDT sub lapse a while ago, but with the KotDT Back Issue Madness option, I was able to get the last 36 issues (more or less, #210 is sold out) for $60 bucks plus shipping. Less than 2 bucks an issue. That isn't madness, its insanity ;)

I make no money if you purchase from the above link, i just think the deal is insanely good :)

As for StarSlinger, I'm working on an idea to make it a Swords & Wizardry Light setting. More on that later...

20 for $20 - Legendary Games - 5e Bundle

A tip of the hat to the Taverner that pointed this out to me.

Legendary Games has a bundle of 5e releases aptly named 20 for 20 - 20 PDF products for 5e with a total value of over $100 for 20 bucks.

A pretty sweet deal for the 5e players out there (and for those willing to take the short amount of time to convert some of these to OSR use in their home campaigns.)

It includes adventures, bestiaries and more.

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's OBS affiliate links puts 5% of your purchase price into The Tavern's coffers. Don't leave that money on the table for the greedy corps! Tip your barman!  ;)

Free - GM's Monthly Miscellany: November 2016

I just downloaded and read the latest GM's Monthly Miscellany: November 2016 and I'm impressed at what you get for the price of free. Sure, it's labeled Pathfinder, but GMs of any edition of D&D or its retroclones should find 10 pages or truly useful content.

I should grab all of the previous releases, as this is a sandbox GM's friend and then some. Print the pages out and just organize everything as needed: random tables, plot hooks and urban areas. Really, what more do you need to keep your players engaged when they step out of the dungeon?

Did I mention the price was free?

This month’s issue features: 

-10 Cultists with Personality
-Suurin at a Glance (from Village Backdrop: Suurin)
-Tumblestone at a Glance (from Places of Power: Tumblestone Inn)
-Gloamhold Updates
-20 Vile Things to Find in a Cultist’s Lair

Frog God Games - Lost Lands Campaign Setting Boxed Set - Kickstarting in June, 2017 (tentatively)

I just got the latest update on The Lost Lands: The Blight - Richard Pett's Crooked City Kickstarter by Frog God Games. If all goes well, it should be shipping to backers 1st quarter of 2017, which is exciting. More exciting to me was this little bit in the update:

"Incidentally that is also the time frame when design assignments are supposed to go out for the Lost Lands Campaign Setting boxed set that we're Kickstarting next June"

The upcoming Lost Lands Campaign Setting Boxed Set hasn't been so much a secret - I've heard rumors and rumblings of it for nearly a year, but this IS the first time I've seen a date associated with the launch of its Kickstarter.

I really enjoy reading all the material that's been set in the Lost Lands thus far and a boxed set for the setting just makes me feel all warm inside.

I'll be on top of this upcoming project and I'll update when I know more.

edit: here's the update - June 2017 is "tentative"

Kickstarter - Dungeon Grappling RPG Supplement (OSR thru 5e)

Before I talk about the Dungeon Grappling RPG Supplement Kickstarter, let me talk about the man behind the project, +Douglas Cole . I've known Doug for a couple of years. I was one of his earlier Youtube interviews (my God, I actually spoke favorably about Ken Whitman in that piece). Additionally, Doug was one of the key members of my "B-Team" adventuring party, a once a month, more or less, delving of Castle of the Mad Archmage. He is also well known as a bit of a GURPS fanatic (and I can say that as a solid Swords & Wizardry fanatic myself.) Doug is one of the more meticulous gamers I know, and I mean that is a good way. I fully expect any project he is involved in to hit the goal post and the some.

I came into gaming with the AD&D 1e rules. If you care to think back on that edition of Dungeons & Dragons, you will remember that the unarmed combat / grappling rules were an unintelligible mess. We never used them. We couldn't make heads or tails from them. If my players wanted to go weaponless, I used to tell them they should have made a Monk instead.

Doug was kind enough to forward me the current rough of Dungeon Grappling. I haven't had time to give it more than a quick glance, but what I have looked at looks good. He even addresses rulesets with descending AC. I'll give this a closer look over the coming week.

Did I mention the buy in is just 5 bucks? Seriously. Currently PDF only, 5 bucks to solve my RPG grappling issues that have dogged me for the last 33 years or so? Priceless...

Kickstarter - The Folio #11 Adventures from the Emerald Serpent (1e/5e City Setting and Adventure)

I happen to like the Folio series of adventures, not because I plan to run any of the story arcs as is (they are nice, but story arcs generally aren't my cup of tea) but because the products themselves are very modular. I can strip encounters, locations, personalities and maps and drop them where I need them. That, and I'm a sucker for adventures with covers that are more like folders, like the TSR adventures of old. They read well too.

The Folio #11 Adventures from the Emerald Serpent is an urban adventure and setting, and that makes it especially ripe for me to use the city as a drop in in my own campaign. I love city adventures, I just hate having to do the groundwork myself ;)

This first volume of the Taux Trilogy will take place in and around the events Tales of the Emerald Serpent, your characters interacting with the various personalities of the infamous Black Gate District. Included as always will be out bevy of maps, both 3D & 2D, a setting gazetteer, adventure booklet, and of course removable cover for use as a DM screen.

I have a nice collection of Folio releases on my gaming shelves. The covers deserve some frameable prints :)

Swords & Wizardry Light - Designer Notes - Swords & Wizardry Light Emulates Swords & Wizardry, Not OD&D

When I started working on Swords & Wizardry Light, the idea was to tear down Swords & Wizardry White Box to its bare bones and rebuild it minimally, with one of the the ideas being that it would be a stepping stone to Swords & Wizardry Complete. The other idea was for it to be a lighter yet viable alternative to the current Swords & Wizardry options, both for campaign play and convention play.

SWL does NOT emulate OD&D, with or without its supplements. It emulates Swords & Wizardry. That is its purpose. As such, it doesn't hew exactly to White Box, Core or Complete but works with all of them. You should be able to use spells, magic items and creatures from any of these flavors of Swords & Wizardry with little if any adjustments. Character classes have been greatly simplified with Light, so if there is a hiccup in compatibility, its on the preparation side and not so much in the game session itself.

In the next week or so we'll be putting up a conversion guide for those that want to start with SWL and move on to Swords & Wizardry Complete. While the rules are compatible, characters created using the Light rules are less powerful than those made directly with the Complete rules. We are also putting together some support material to make running current Swords & Wizardry Complete adventures using Light a seamless process.

In addition, +James Spahn and I are working on a player's one-sheet and a GM's one-sheet to add a few classes from Complete (and beyond), leveling to level 5, new spells and for the DM more creatures, magic item guidelines and a bit more. Our goal is for a gaming group to have a complete campaign in the Lost City of Barakus setting using the Light rules. I think we can hit that mark ;)

We treat classes beyond the core four as variants of the core. I'll offer the Bard as an example:

Bards function exactly as thieves, except they may cast Charm Person and Detect Magic once per day. Once per combat they may sing an inspiring song, granting all allies +1 to all attack rolls for 5 rounds. Bards need one additional adventure for each level attained.

As I've said before, Swords & Wizardry Light has legs. Surprising legs.

Oh, and just over 540 downloads for SWL as I type this...

Over 300 Downloads of Swords & Wizardry Light in just over 24 Hours!

Thank you. Thank you all.

Over 300 downloads of Swords & Wizardry Light. Wow. Simply wow.

We've been getting some great feedback as well as identifying typos that need fixing (and some things that could use a slightly more detailed explanation)

I've been asked about a Swords & Wizardry Light Compatibility License. At the moment, there is none, but considering that the printed version of SWL does triple work (folder, GM Screen and rules) one-sheets are the ideal format. Just print out, drop inside the rules and you are ready to go.

Remember, magic items are not detailed in the SWL rules, so if your adventure includes magic items you'll need to include the relevant details.

The OGL must be included with any one-sheet releases, but that can always be on the third page. It would just take up needless space in the folder anyway ;)

+James Spahn , +Zach Glazar and myself have plans for Swords & Wizardry Light. It is very much a living system. In the next week or so there should be a "lighter" PDF version as well as a Word Doc file. We will be publishing one-sheets and a bimonthly zine.

As for why the Swords & Wizardry Light forum makes The Tavern's homepage scroll right to it? No idea. But in a day or two it will move to the second page and take care of itself :)

Kickstarter Roundup - Degenerate Adventurers! with Unfathonable Swords & Swordsmen embark on an Astonishing Tiny Epic Quest

One of the first things I said when I retired was "I need to back less Kickstarters!"

That comment was answered by Rachel, my wife, wth "Who the hell are you trying to convince? It better not be me because you are full of shit!" Did I mention today is out 5th wedding anniversary? Heh!

So, time to run down some amazing Kickstarters that I'm currently backing. Some of them are ending soon, so if you find them interesting don't wait too long.

Tiny Epic Quest - Introducing ITEMeeples - "A 45 minute sandbox adventure for 1-4 players w/ limited action selection, grid movement, press-your-luck & Item-Holding Meeples!" $24 is the sweet spot to support at. Excellent price for a sweet looking boardgame.

Adventurers! Revised Print Edition -"What is Adventurers? It is a traditional, old school RPG,with strong roots in Fighting Fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons, Savage Worlds and a bit of FATE." I like the Adventurers! system A LOT. Easy to pick up and easy to run, which at my age (knocking on 50 soon) ease of use is key to my gaming. Light enough to run comfortably in a convention setting yet deep enough to use with campaign play. I have a copy of the KS revised Print rules for review purposes, and although I haven't yet read through it all, I can say it is extremely well done. The revised print edition is kinda like GURPS without the complexity but with all of the world and setting options. It really is a system that covers it all. You can download a PDF of the core Revised Adventurers! rules for free here. The KS includes five settings. $34 is probably the best buy in level for the amount of material you get.

Dungeon Degenerates - Hand of Doom Fantasy Board Game - "Dark Fantasy Board Game with a classic RPG feel. Wandering outcasts look for trouble in the grim, monster-infested Würstreich! Blending a Dark & Dirty Old School role playing game aesthetic with an easy to learn, fast-moving & engaging board game system, Dungeon Degenerates delivers the dark fantasy adventure you want, when you want it." I'm so in at $55.


Swords & Wizardry Complete 3rd Printing - Dude! It's fucking Swords & Wizardry! Anyhow, either go small or go big, there really is no middle ground. Go in for a buck and get the new printing plus an adventure or two in PDF. Really, how can you go wrong? OR drop $225 for the Complete Gamers level (should be Complete Adventurer if you ask me) and get more Swords & Wizardry than you can shake a stick at. Seriously, the value is easily over $400 and growing. I have much of it and yet I think I'm going to up my pledge to $225. The Horror! heh



Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 2E - "The heroes of an AS&SH game delve dungeons filled with horrifying monsters, lethal traps, and bewildering puzzles; they explore savage wilderness frontiers and hostile borderlands; they probe ancient ruins and investigate cursed tombs; they match steel against sorcery and sorcery against steel; and they plunder for gold, gems, and magical treasure." I have the 1st edition, and it is GOOD. 2nd edition looks simply amazing. So yes, I'm in. BTW, grab some adventures while you are at it. Also damn good.


Operation Unfathomable - "A party of experienced adventurers led by the stalwart Prince Eyraen have stolen an artifact from Syantides, Sorcerer-King of Mur, and entered the Underworld on a mission of vengeance. That brave band is lost and presumed dead. Perhaps a smaller, stealthier party can succeed where mighty heroes failed? You’d better hope so... From the author of The Dungeon Dozen! A weird underworld adventure and campaign setting for Swords & Wizardry and other old school rpgs" $40 is the sweet spot if you want it in print.