OSR Christmas - Day Three - OSRIC Pocket SRD - Print + PDF

Its Day Three of OSR Christmas. Before we get to today's festivities, let's find out who is the recipient of yesterday's awesome gift.

I would do a drum roll but that doesn't work so well on a blog post. Oh well.

Erik Myers - congrats. Email me at tenkarsDOTtavern and we'll get you hooked up.

Now for today's gift. We are giving away the OSRIC Pocket SRD in Print & PDF. OSRIC is a cornerstone of the OSR. Note, the PDF is free and there is absolutely no reason anyone should not have a copy.

This book represents a compilation of rules for old school-style fantasy roleplay gaming, and is intended to reproduce the underlying rules used in the late 1970s to early 1980s. A complete game manual in itself, this source reference document (SRD) includes everything the game master and player alike require for beginning to advanced level play.

Comment on this post before 8 AM Eastern Time, December 16th, 2016 to be in the running for $13.50 in an RPGNow Gift Card. OSRIC Pocket SRD, Print plus PDF is exactly $13.50 (plus shipping which is on the winner) or use it for other purchases at RPGNow. The choice will be yours - if Santa picks you :)

This prize is available because of readers like you. Your use of The Tavern's affiliate links allows for giveaways like this.


More OSR Christmas

+James Spahn is giving away 12 prizes over 12 days and all you need to do is comment on one blog post. You will need to follow the instructions carefully if you want a chance to be gifted.

Note: You MUST comment on the Halfling's Luck blog. This post it just to let you know where to go.

Reminder - Tavern Chat - Tonight - 9 PM Eastern - Suggest Some OSR Christmas Gifts

Can you believe its yet another Wednesday? That means, you guessed it - Tavern Chat!

Where? Here

When? Tonight at 9 PM Eastern

How? Using the "chat box" on the right hand side of this page

What state will I be in? My Pub's Christmas Party is from 5 PM until 8 PM. You figure it out ;)

Talk with you all tonight!

Free Stocking Stuffer - Gongfarmer's Almanac - DCC RPG

Sometimes you just want to gift yourself. Its easier when the gifts you want are free. Such it is with the Gongfarmer's Almanac, a free in PDF DCC RPG Fanzine. Just because its free doesn't make it cheap. Grab an issue or a dozen see what you can squeeze into your OSR campaign.

Looking for an at cost, in print compilation? Lulu has you covered.

The Gongfarmer's Almanac is a Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG(TM) 'zine that is written, illustrated, edited and produced by the DCC RPG G+ Community.

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!  ;)

OSR Christmas - Day Two - WG5: Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure (1e)

Its Day Two of OSR Christmas. Before we get to today's festivities, let's find out who is the recipient of yesterday's awesome gift.

I would do a drum roll but that doesn't work so well on a blog post. Oh well.

+Wayne Humfleet - congrats. Email me at tenkarsDOTtavern and we'll get you hooked up.

Now for today's gift. WG5: Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure (1e), written by Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz, its part of OBS recent TSR Era POD offerings.

Four great and powerful heroes travel in search of adventure. Led by Mordenkainen, wizard without peer, they have come to mysterious Maure Castle, a forlorn and foreboding place, source of wonderment and awesome adventure, following a strange and terrible story. 

For, somewhere deep beneath Maure Castle, from whence no person has returned alive, there stand two massive iron doors -- doors without latch, lock, or handle -- the Unopenable Doors. 

And if the doors are opened, what then? Such potent evil, such terror lies beyond, that even the bravest adventurers may quail before the ultimate test! 

Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventureis a challenging adventure for high-level play. Four original characters from Gary Gygax's famous Greyhawk campaign are included for your use. 

Can you meet the challenge? Can you survive what lies beyond ... the Unopenable Doors? 

An adventure for characters level 9-12.

Comment on this post before 8 AM Eastern Time, December 15th, 2016 to be in the running for $11.99 in an RPGNow Gift Card. Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, Print plus PDF is exactly $11.99 (plus shipping which is on the winner) or use it for other purchases at RPGNow. The choice will be yours - if Santa picks you :)

This prize is available because of readers like you. Your use of The Tavern's affiliate links allows for giveaways like this.

PSA - Playing D&D for Tree of Hope because Thomas needs to dance! - Child with Cerebral Palsy

Thomas was brought to my attention earlier today. As gamers, we tend to be a generous lot. This is simply another opportunity to be generous for a worthy cause.

You can donate for Thomas at this link

The Tavern will match up to the first £100 donated by readers of The Tavern by the end of the week, Saturday December 17th, 2016. Please indicate your donation in the comments to this post.

What follows is the text from the donation page:

We organized a sponsored 24 hour Dungeons and Dragons session to help raise money to support a young boy called Thomas with Cerebral Palsy.

I was Thomas' key person at his nursery and I can't tell you how wonderful and resilient this little guy is. He is always making everyone smile and we would love to return the favour!

It would mean the world to him and his family if you could help him get SDR (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy) surgery which is sadly unavailable on the NHS in the UK, and would greatly increase his chances of walking, running and dancing!

This would cost a total of £75,000 with surgery, physiotherapy and aftercare and so as much as you can donate would be incredible!

The stream took place on Saturday 19th November 2016 from 12pm midday (GMT) until the following Sunday 20th November 2016 12pm midday (GMT) on our Twitch stream:

http://www.twitch.tv/helpthomastodance

(You can now watch all of the sessions on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFjSGK2z__8B23ujBDIAM5g)

There will be one more session to support Thomas streamed on our Twitch channel in approx. 4-6 weeks!

For those who do not know what this entailed, there is around 2-3 days of planning for 4 hours of Dungeons and Dragons and so a session of this length will take around 12-18 days to plan and get ready for upfront.

It will also mean finding at least 3-4 people to play the characters in the story at a time, and will likely mean having at least 12 people involved to take turns and share the 24 hours. I was the storyteller, or Dungeon Master, throughout the entire 24 hours,  helping players to find conclusions to their often questionable actions alongside enforcing rules.

The story led our characters through our fantasy world of Vanderuum, with elves, orcs, magic, monsters and dungeons. They will interact with different people, and decide how they solve problems in the world, as the story unfolds for everyone.

You will be able to watch us live through a Twitch stream so that you can watch as we play through our session, and donations during the stream will help or hinder the players through donation rewards.

Anything you can donate will be greatly appreciated and will help a wonderful child to gain more independence.

 If you can not donate then please share to as many people as you can!

You can follow our twitter at:

https://twitter.com/DnDtoHelpThomas

#helpthomastodance @dndtohelpthomas

------------------------------------------------------------

(From the Help Thomas to Dance page: http://www.treeofhope.org.uk/thomas-story-help-thomas-to-dance/)

Thomas and Dylan arrived on the 4th January 2013 very early, nearly 10 weeks early. Weighing less than 3lbs they had to fight hard to survive but they did and thankfully soon began to put on weight and grow strong.

After 10 weeks in SCBU ( Special Care Baby Unit) they came home and finally we were free to hold and nurse our babies- after 10 weeks in hospital we were free to take care of our boys. They thrived.
We all fell in love.

An MRI scan at 2 years of age showed that Thomas has some neurological damage. A diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy was confirmed.This explained why he had been slow to reach many of the expected physical milestones.

Thomas is now 3 years old. He continues to make good progress but he is still unable to stand or walk independently. Thomas is able to walk with his walker and enjoy chasing his brother around but he wants to do more, he wants to catch him!

He needs SDR ( Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy) surgery to increase the chances of being able to live and walk independently.

The cost of having this life changing treatment in the UK is approximately £45,000.

To give Thomas the best chance of benefiting from the surgery and subsequent physiotherapy, it’s important that he goes into the operation as strong as possible.

He needs intensive physiotherapy and numerous specialist pieces of equipment to build up this strength. The cost of pre-op equipment is likely to be £5,000 to £10,000.

Physiotherapy and equipment post-op will be a further £10,000 each year for 2 to 3 years after the operation. Therefore we want to try and raise £75,000 in order to give him the best possible outcome.

If you would like to make a donation, organize an event, be sponsored or donate a prize to be auctioned please do. Your help will be life changing and would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

OSR Christmas at The Barrel Rider's Blog / James Spahn - Free Loot for 12 Days

+James Spahn is giving away 12 prizes over 12 days and all you need to do is comment on one blog post. You will need to follow the instructions carefully if you want a chance to be gifted.

Note: You MUST comment on the Halfling's Luck blog. This post it just to let you know where to go.

What is James offering up to the community this year? Nothing short of his SOUL! Well, maybe that is a slight overstatement ;)

Swords & Wizardry - PDF Bundle of Boom! As Little as a Buck!

Frog God Games has a Bundle of Awesome going on for the Holidays. Its in PDF and comes in at three levels.

For a buck (you can't even buy a cup of coffee for a buck these days) you get:

Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook
Bill Webb's Book of Dirty Tricks
The Black Monastery
Quests of Doom
Cults of the Sundered Kingdoms
Grimmsgate

Holy shit! That is super awesome! Its also a steal. I'll pretend I didn't see it. Because stealing is wrong.

Now, for Eight bucks you can add in:

Rappan Athuk
Against Tsathogga
 Cyclopean Deeps 1-2
1975 

Yes, you read that right. Rappan Athuk for $8. I'll wait for a moment as you digest that.

If you hit 15 bucks, you add the following to all of the proceeding:

Mother of All Treasure Tables 
Splinters of Faith 1-10

Shit. At this point you can all fund your own OSR Christmas!  ;)

Seriously, if you can scrape up a buck, go in at the basic level for this bundle. You seriously can't beat the value. You can't beat the other values either, but a single buck? Holy shit!
                                                                                           

OSR Christmas - First Day - Escape from the Shrouded Fen (DCC RPG)

Let's kick off the first day of OSR Christmas 2016!

Today's offering is Escape from the Shrouded Fen for the DCC RPG, published by Purple Sorcerer Games.

What happens when a demon dies? 

Oozing, scalding, deathblood floods the land, cursing it forevermore. Every seventeen years, the blood moon rises and the Fog Beast beckons villagers into the Shrouded Fen; those that follow never return. Now you have been chosen!  Seeking ancient ruins, vast treasure, and arcane lore, you plunge deep into the mist-laden swamp. Plants impale corpses ravaged by man-eating birds, while specters of past victims roam the blood-cursed land. A mysterious floating portal defies entry, though the bog’s hidden artifacts are rumored to provide the key. Can you solve the riddles of the swamp and escape from the Shrouded Fen? 

A 112 page digest-sized DCC adventure from Terry Olson that contains:
-A 0-level funnel...
...Leading into a deadly 1st-level sandbox sandbox adventure
-Incredible artwork from Benjamin Marra, and maps from Dyson Logos!
-A host of random encounters and events to keep things interesting!
-Notes to run the funnel and first level sections as stand-alone adventures 

An additional 61 page letter-sized PDF appendix featuring:
-Full-sized handouts
-Author's notes
-All the statblocks from the adventure for easy reference
-A complete patron write-up with spell sheets
-All the tables from the adventure to use as judge's screen inserts
-The usual horde of Purple Sorcerer paper miniatures
-All the maps from the adventure, both keyed and unkeyed
-Every image from the adventure, many in both color and BW

Comment on this post before 8 AM Eastern Time, December 14th, 2016 to be in the running for $12.99 in an RPGNow Gift Card. Escape from the Shrouded Fen, Print plus PDF is exactly $12.99 (plus shipping which is on the winner) or use it for other purchases at RPGNow. The choice will be yours - if Santa picks you :)

This prize is available because of readers like you. Your use of The Tavern's affiliate links allows for giveaways like this.

Fat Goblin Games - Old School / Labyrinth Lord - 1 Buck a Book - 24 Hour Sale

Fat Goblin Games has marked its selection of Old School / Labyrinth Lord releases down to a buck each for the next 24 hours.

Now, while I do not have experience with the Bestiarum Vocabulum series of releases, I do own both Basilisk Goggles & Wishing Wells and Sinister Serpents: New Forms of Dragonkind. They are amazing values at full price, let alone a buck.

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!  ;)

12 Days of OSR Christmas Starts Tomorrow - How Will it Run This Year?

This December has been overwhelming thus far on the personal side of things. Nothing huge, just lots of little moving parts that I probably wouldn't have been involved in when I was working. Yes, work is an amazing excuse to put aside or ignore certain family responsibilities ;)

Anyhow, OSR Christmas kicks off tomorrow, December 13th and will run for at least 12 Days consecutively, December 24th. I suspect there may be some bonus days between Christmas and New Years.

Here's how we are handling it this year:

- Each day of OSR Christmas I will be giving away RPGNow Credit equal to the price of an OSR product of my choosing that is available Print on Demand. You are not required to purchase said item in Print nor PDF, and shipping will be handled by the gift recipient. Overseas may prefer to use said credit for PDF purchases depending on the shipping costs.

- Publishers / Bloggers / Podcasts / Friends of The Tavern, are encouraged to run their own giveaways and / or sales for OSR Christmas. I will post and link to every OSR Christmas Giveaway / Sale that is brought to my attention, and will repeat the information for each day such Giveaway / Sale is in effect. How each giveaway is handled is to be determined by the gift giver. It may require commenting on a blog post, forum post, G+ post, Facebook post - such info will be included in the posting "here" that will send you "there"

- A very small handful of publishers have arranged for me to host their giveaways. This is an exception to the above rule. I have no intention to be a clearinghouse like I've done in the past, as that leads to madness (and lost packages - both in the mail and in my house - I kid you not)

- I intend to offer a Santa's Grab Bag on December 24th. It will include a shitload of stuff. It will only ship within the states. Yes, the US Postal Service hates every other country in the world.

- OSR Christmas posts for The Tavern Giveaways will usually go live in the AM. Posts for other Publishers / Blogs / Podcasts / Friends of The Tavern will generally go live in the afternoon.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Someone Cast a Raise Dead Spell - Mythoard Rises From the Ashes!

Remember last week when Mythoard was done? Apparently there is a Santa Claus, Virginia, because Mythoard is back!

+Jarrod Shaw is good people. Mythoard is an excellent project. I'm glad to see plans come together, especially when they were unplanned ;)

New Release - White Box Gothic [Swords & Wizardry WB - Barrel Rider Games)

Barrel Rider Games / +James Spahn has a new release for Swords & Wizardry White Box - White Box Gothic. I'm chomping at the bit to read it, but I figured I'd share the fact that it has released first.

I'm excited because I always like a little horror in my fantasy roleplaying. Not the over the top, often campy horror the the Ravenloft setting often coughed up, but something a bit more - I don't know, not realistic, thats for sure, but certainly something more.

I trust James to have delivered that "something more"

From the blurb:

White Box Gothic brings gothic horror to your Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox campaign! Inside this terrible tome you'll find a horde of horrors!

- Six New Classes: From the deadly Monster Hunter to the damned Dhampir.
- Thirty New Spells: Speak with the dead, defile the land, and bind spirits to your service!
- Twenty-Five New Magic Items: Draw undead servants from your Bag of Bones, learn the secrets of the Book of the Damned, and draw hope from the Symbol of Piety!
- Fifteen New Monsters: The lowly Cultist, the mysterious Breath Stealer, to the powerful Vampire Lord!
- Optional Rules: Corruption, Dread, and laying Curses!

Inside these fifty pages you'll find all manner of dark and dire secrets to vex your players and defy the undead!

Disclaimer - I know James. Not only is he a good friend, but he is a coconspirator with myself on future Swords & Wizardry Light releases. We wouldn't be coconspirating if James weren't damn good!

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!  ;)

Snowy Sunday Reading - The Brain Gorger's Appetite - 5e

Well, its not a lot of snow, its more of a dusting. It also hasn't been as much reading as I had hoped for - cleaning, measuring for new storage shelves for my game collection, multiple loads of wash, a Jets / SF game that went into overtime - before I knew it the day was nearly gone.

I did, however, squeeze some time into do something I rarely do with a gaming release - start reading it from the front on the way to end (I tend to bounce around). I don't have a choice this time - the adventure in question is a mystery, and although as the GM you know the mystery, you need to read it carefully so you play the mystery out properly for the players.

The highest compliment I can give The Brain Gorger's Appetite is this - I haven't skipped a word in my reading yet. The story is good, the mystery is solid and I want to be sure I have all the bases covered if I decide to run it. I also want to see if there are any holes in the story - I haven't found any yet and I suspect I won't.

Expect a full review in a day or so, assuming life cooperates. The family has three birthdays this week, my mother, my sis and my niece, pinky - as well as the pub's Christmas party, my twice a month face to face AD&D 1e group and a trip to assisted living with my mother's cousin to see if it meets her approval. Oh, and general Christmas prep. Full plate this week ;)

Kickstarter - Valley of Kildar | For 5th Edition and other RPG games

It seems The Taverners have taken it upon themselves to make a new challenge - who can find gaming Kickstarters with possible red flags. Now, just because something raises flags, doesn't mean its not a valid project. It does mean you shouldn't just jump in without doing some vetting on your own.

Which takes us to Valley of Kildar | For 5th Edition and other RPG games. Its a setting and adventure package. The map looks fine if a bit simple although many old school gamers would find issue with the walled off nature of the setting. These are not flags, just observations.

here come the flags:

1 - PDF buy in is just $5 American. For that you get -

• Color Map of the region
• "Zoom in" maps : town, village, forest, mountain and more...
• More than 20 quests (adventures) ready to play
• 12 dungeons with complete descriptions and layouts
• 15 buildings with complete descriptions, facades and interiors
• An illustrated Bestiary containing 12 "monsters"
• More than 20 NPCs with description and background of each character
• 32 battlemap sections

How will all of this be produced for 5 bucks?

More importantly -

2 - Print plus PDF buy in is $19 American. That apparently includes shipping.

It includes all the above in print plus:
• 32 battlemap sections printed on cardboard
• DM Screen

When the price is too good to be true, it means one of two things:

a - it literally is too good to be true and its a scam - or -

b - the project creator is clueless as to the cost of his project

I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt here and go with clueless.

As an aside, there is no indication as to the size of the printed color map of the region not the printed "Zoom in" maps.

1st created, 1 backed.

And Work Begins on The Ramshackle Sewers of the Moon Tribe Ratlings

So, Rach and I broke out The Tome of Adventure Design as well as the Swords & Wizardry Monster Book. Oozing of awesome between the two.

I had her give me a few random numbers between 1 and 100, and what we came up with for the adventure title was The Ramshackle Sewers of the Moon Chieftain of the Goblins. Rach didn't want to go with goblins, so we broke out the S&W Monster Book and found Ratlings. She felt chieftain made the title too awkward, so we dropped it.

Thus, The Ramshackle Sewers of the Moon Tribe Ratlings came to be.

The goblins are addicted to a strong narcotic that the town apothecary supplies. For most humans and demihumans, it is a stimulant a bit stronger than coffee. For the ratlings, it is a highly addictive stimulant with amazing highs (and + 1 to attack and damage rolls while in effect) and horrible lows (- 2 to attack rolls when in withdrawals)

Now, one of the PCs will also be an addict, with a bonus to attacks when properly buzzed and a penalty if he / she is feeling low.

Yeah, Rach is really digging this. Not 100% sure she will run it, but she is certainly going to write The Ramshackle Sewers of the Moon Tribe Ratlings.

The bonus is that I've been in a rut with the adventure I've been working on and thanks to the Tome of Adventure Design, I think I see my way forward. Woot!

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!  ;)

Kickstarter - Traveller Customizable Card Game

Huge thanks to The Tavern's Community for bringing this to my attention - I may have missed it otherwise.

There are so many red flags with the Traveller Customizable Card Game. Let us count the flags, shall we?

1 - First created - zero backed. Never a good sign.

2 - Its Traveller. Please point me to a Traveller Kickstarter that wasn't fucked up.

3 - The video is pretty well produced, yet there are no credits at the end. Not a huge flag, more of a question. Just who produced the video? (host and music are indicated at the bottom of the page - I'm more interested in who produced - because, you know - history)

4 - How many fucking add-ons does one project need?

5 - See that site travellerccg.com? Its a placeholder. It links back to the Kickstarter.

6 - Where are the actual cards to this game. All I see are computer art mockups. Where's the
prototypes? Ah, see, we haven't even gotten to the art stage yet. Its still be ing playtested but will ship in July 2017. Yeah, right.

7 - Horizon Games apparently doesn't have a website. How can the publisher of the game not have a web presence?

8 - Two collaborators, they've backed 6 projects between them and have essentially no bio. Heck, this was even mentioned in the comments of the project's page.

Yeah, too many flags for me. Like any classic LBB Traveller character, lets see if this dies during creation...

So, if Rach Wrote an Adventure, What Would it Be Like?

Over dinner earlier tonight, Rach and I talked about the strong possibility that she will run a session of Swords & Wizardry Light at NTRPG Con in 2017.

Rach - So, I'll need a math person at the table. Because I understand the rules well enough but I hate the math.

Tenkar - There's little math in Swords & Wizardry Light and its just 2 dice sizes. You'll be fine. Besides, we'll find you a short adventure to run.

R - Don't most people run their own adventures at NTRPG? That's the feeling I got.

T - Well, yeah, many do. If you wrote the adventure you probably have ideas of what to do if the session goes off the grid, so to speak.

R - Off the grid?

T - Off script. If the players want to do something that isn't written in the adventure.

R - So, if I do do this, should I write my own adventure? Because that's really insane.

T - If you write your own adventure, fall back on what you already know.

R - Like drug addicts and alcoholics?

T - Exactly

R - There's also sex offenders.

T - Let's forget about them for now...

R - So, like the drug addicts live in the sewers and they steal from the pharmacy... there are pharmacies, right?

T - Er. Maybe an alchemist shop.

R - Right. Alchemist shop. Which is what?

T - Potions and the like.

R - How about salves and creams? Would they make that too?

T - Probably.

R - Damn. We need that here. Okay, this could be fun. But I still have no idea how to turn it into an adventure with numbers and shit.

T - We'll get there.

Tomorrow we will sit down with +Matt Finch 's Tome of Adventure Design to give some more ideas to Rachel and help come up with a snazzy name.

New Record - Original Dungeons and Dragons Set - Woodgrain Box - First Printing - Sells for Over $22k on eBay

Let me just say this...

HOLY SHIT!

My understanding is the old record was at or around $10k $5,378 for an OD&D Woodgrain Box 1st Printing. (Acaeum used for pricing history) This is simply amazing.

Personally, I'd prefer to use the money for a new car, but if you have the spare cash? Good for you.

So, who wants to but my OCE for $1k? ;)

Steve Jackson Games is Organizing an Organized Play Program

While the news is nearly a week old, I find it very interesting the Steve Jackson Games is joining the ranks of organized play and have even hired an Organized Play Manager.

Why is this important?

Because organized play brings people into game stores. Its as simple as that.

While many bemoan the swing to Kickstarters for even the larger players in the gaming industry to protect themselves from potential losses should a new game not sell, the fact is, Kickstarter is keeping many of these companies in the black. What Kickstarter does, however, is divert sales that may have been made at the FLGS. Which sucks for the FLGS.

Now, what will be interesting to see is if this will be a new trend amongst the publishers of RPGs and similar games to get customers into the stores they've been diverting business from.

We know Paizo and WotC have their Organized Play programs. From the original posting, I'm going to guess SJG is going to cover their core games - Munchkun, Ogre, Car Wars and possibly, dare I say it? Dungeon Fantasy?

At Steve Jackson Games, we've big plans for OP, and 2017 will see us adding programs for pretty much all of our existing lines, plus a few games we've yet to tell you about! Stay tuned!!!

I've heard rumors of another company exploring the idea of adding some sort of organized for their RPG lines.

So, what other gaming companies have or soon will be joining in on Organized Play Programs? Will it benefit the FLGS enough to keep them in the black?

DCCisions - Which Do I Swap in First?

The postal service seems to have taken the long way around, but the DCC belt buckles +James Spahn was nice enough to sell me arrived today.

I have a new belt all ready to go.

So, which one gets the first go?

Mini Review - Broodmother SkyFortress (LotFP)

Look, I have this habit. Its a bad one. I generally pick up all of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess releases even if I know I'd never run them. Fun to read. Total party killers by nature, at least for the past couple of years. Maybe that's too broad a statement, as the party killing aspect is certainly a +James Raggi feature, but its not always as strong when he hires other authors.

Still, unusable or not, LotFP releases are always top notch in presentation, art and readability. Broodmother SkyFortress is no exception to that, except it is an exception. Not only is it playable but its a great resource beyond the adventure presented within. How did that happen? Simple. +Jeff Rients .

Jeff gives us an adventure that might not be world shaking, but is certainly a major campaign event that your players should want to stop. And yes, you need a campaign world, because terror, death and destruction falling upon towns and cities your players have connections to just makes the adventure stronger.

I really like Jeff's approach to Broodmother SkyFortress - tight enough that the storyline is easy to follow, loose enough that you can flex it to the needs of your players / campaign world. That is always a trick, as most adventures are written for a certain campaign world and setting, even if that is never actually said in the adventure.

In a way, its an Adventure Toolkit with a set theme. There is no "this is how this plays out." Jeff asks questions. You provide the answers. No two groups will see this play out the same way.

Can the location withstand attack by giantish bludgeons and hurled boulders? 

Will it be completely smashed or mostly damaged or relatively unscathed?

Charts are the core of this adventure. Heck, there is so much here that you could easily use the charts provided to seed other adventures down the line.

I can see the build up to this adventure take months of real life, weekly gaming, before the players know what's going on and how they can try to stop it. Its like fishing, and with enough play in the fishing line your party should get hooked and hooked well.

As an aside, although written for LotFP WF, Bloodmother SkyFortress is easily run with any of the OSR rulesets in circulation. Play what you want, how you want to. Its what the OSR is all about.

Beyond the adventure, which is the first 90 or so pages, we have 80 or so pages of tables and articles from Jeff's blog, going back years. It really is a "Best of Jeff" selection and is well worth the price of admission on its own and I don't say that lightly. Sure, you could read through Jeff's blog and read through years of excellent posts or just grab Broodmother SkyFortress and have the cream skimmed for you, ready for you to consume, or read.

I'm a backer of this crowdfunded project. Money in, amazing content given in return. I am happy.

On that note, I will leave you with this:

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 End of an Era - Mythoard is No More

I literally just got the email minutes ago. Mythoard is no more. Damn fucking shame. It was great to have something waiting in the mailbox after a long day / night at work. Or now, appearing in my mailbox, making every month a month with Christmas.

I was an addict. Heck, I inadvertently had two subscriptions running, and that was okay, as it gave me stuff to pawn off on my niece or give away at some point to the community.

+Jarrod Shaw , you gave me more joy than you will ever know. Even if the business wasn't the success you had hoped it would be, you were more successful in ways that counted than you give yourself credit for.

I thank you.

Erik Tenkar


The letter Jarrod sent is below:

Tavern Transparency - November Financials Update and a Thank You

I'll be giving a full breakdown of The Tavern's income and other financials come the New Year for 2016, but I wanted to give an update on the month of November, which was really amazing.

OBS Affiliate Credit came in at $307 for the month, which was higher than any of the prior quarters for the year. I really can't thank everyone enough for using my affiliate link when making their purchases at the OBS storefronts.

Patreon came in at $82 ($118 less fees and other projects backed) for the month after backing a plethora of gaming related projects. I really do enjoy backing the work of those much more talented than I.

Adsense came in at $32. Paypal support came in at $12. Amazon affiliate credit ended the month at $6. Not even sure if Amazon is even worth keeping. It has potential, but doesn't seem to hit it.

So, the month of November came in around $440 for income raised by the Tenkar's Tavern blog, directly or indirectly.

What does that mean?

Well, as much as I'd like to see number like November continue, it's unlikely. Still, overall the numbers are trending up, and that's good. For one, it means supplemental income in my retirement (went off the active payroll on July 18th of this year and onto the pension). More importantly it means that the potential is there for my hobby to be profitable enough to maintain my hobby. What I'd really like to do is use monies from The Tavern for two main things - run contests / giveways for my readers and cover convention expenses multiple times a year to actually meet The Tavern's Community face to face. Oh, an of course, art purchases. I have need for two art purchases coming up - headers / logos for the upcoming SWL zine and the series of one-sheets.

2017 looks to be a good year for that. Frog God Games will be covering NTRPG Con for me - all but airfare. It also looks likely I'll be getting to GaryCon in 2017 with FGG covering many of the expenses. Which really means no excuse not to make GameHole Con in the fall. Maybe even squeeze a fourth one in if possible.

Again, I'd like to thank everyone, backers via Patreon and Paypal, those that have used my affiliate links and those that simply read The Tavern on a regular basis. There would be no Tavern without you.

Tavern Chat Reminder - Tonight - 9PM Eastern

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

Where can you find Tavern Chat? At 9PM Eastern using that chat box to your right.

In the meantime, I have Uncle Duties until about 7PM. Posting will be light unless I can convince a nearly 6 year old to nap. Not bloody likely ;)

TSR Tuesday - New PoD Releases - Heroes, Locations and Clans Undermountain

So, what do we have this week?

FR7 - Hall of Heroes: Hall of Heroes provides complete histories and AD&D game statistics for such beloved characters as Elminster, the greatest sage and magic user of the Realms, Tristan Kendrick and Robyn of the Moonshae isles, Wulfgar the Barbarian, Drizzt the dark elf, and Bruenor the dwarf, all from the northern reaches, plus Alias and Dragonbait, Shandril and Narm Tamaraith, and many more.

But the Hall of Heroes is more that a listing of game statistics: It's also a sourcebook describing (among other things) artificial and magical lifeforms of the Realms, as well as the lives of the world's elves, dwarves, lizardmen, and exotic creatures.

Fantastic Locations - Hellspike Prison - its for 3.5, so...

GAZ14 - The Atruaghin Clans: The Atruaghin Clans is the fourteenth book in the best-selling Gazetteer series. It provides a complete description of the culture, history, and goals of the noble Children of Atruaghin. Included in this product are:

- A 64-page Player's Book that provides rules for Atruaghin character creation and introduces the Shamani, a new character class.
- A 32-page DM's Guide that details the history of the Atruaghin Clans, the unique Immortals that they worship, and several sample characters.
- A large, full-color map that details the geography of the Atruaghin Plateau and the lands around it.

Note on the Print version: The Player's Book, DM's Guide and Map have been combined into a single Softcover volume.

Undermountain - Stardock: This DUNGEON CRAWL adventure returns once more the the hallowed halls of Undermountain, but it's a different day. At dawn of Highharvestide 1369, every practitioner of magic on the Sword Coast knew there was a problem. By midmorning, the Lords of Waterdeep confirmed the ill omens: Some brave souls worthy of the title "Hero" must enter Undermountain on a mission to save Halaster Blackcloak! Could these heroes be your group of player characters?

This is a stand-alone module and does not require extra support materials. It can be placed into a campaign on any AD&D world, but best fits and impacts a FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign set in Undermountain or Waterdeep.

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!  ;)

Flash Kickstarter? Troll Lord Games Runs 72 Hr KS - 3 Days in the Darkenfold

So, a 72 hr Kickstarter. This should be interesting.

Have I mentioned I have more Castles & Crusades stuff than a gamer could hope to use in two lifetimes? Maybe even three lifetimes?

So, since much of the adventures in question already exist, why the Kickstarter?

To expand the Darkenfold environs through publication of two more adventure setting modules C6 Ends Meet and C7 Castle Upon the Hill and to update the previous C Series adventures. These adventures will be vehicles to bring the forest and the adventures to life with 3D maps, isometric views of towns such as Ends Meet and Greenbriar, encounter tables, NPCs, monsters, more detail on the occupants of the forest and through all this, make the Darkenfold a realm of adventure like no other!

Maybe I'm Trolled out, but there is nothing here that interests me except for the fact the KS only runs for 72 hrs.

The timing interests me. Now that truly is sad.

Are Charity Bundles getting Out of Control?

Charity bundles are part of the landscape at RPGNow. Medical bills for a creator in the hobby. Death in the family. Apartment gutted by fire. We've all seen those. Heck, I back those without hesitation. Doesn't matter the content - it's going to a good cause and generally they need money fast.

Then you have incidents like Black Rock. Time and money is of the essence and getting a chance to donate to a cause you support while getting gaming content back is a win win. Again, you know it is time limited. You know the incident won't be lasting forever.

Now we have the Southern Poverty Law Center bundle. The SPLC was formed in 1971. Its not going anywhere. This isn't something where raising money has a time issue. What's next? Planned Parenthood? Right to Life National Committee? ACLU? Judicial Watch? PACs? Political Candidates? Where does one draw the line?

When I can see the person or family where the money is going, I'm all in. If its an incident going on NOW I can see how a bundle to raise cash has an imminent need. When its for organizations that have been around for decades it just seems to me to belittle what a charity bundle is for (from my perspective) - a call to arms, either for a member of out community or for a current incident.

Constant charity bundles might just leave those in need with less charity coming their way.

DC Adventures - 5 Bucks a Book - PDF

It looks like Green Ronin's license for DC Adventures is coming to an end. The four titles in the series can be snagged for 5 bucks each in PDF through the end of the month.

If you know Mutants & Masterminds, you already know the system.

I own the books in PDF because I'm a DC Junkie, but I've never played it nor read the rules with the expectation that I would run it, so I can't give that kind of feedback.

BTW, the Quickstart is free if you want to peek before considering buying.

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!  ;)

There's a 1st Print - Woodgrain - Original Dungeons & Dragons Boxed Set for Sale on Ebay - Brother, Can I Have $5k?

Woodgrain Dungeons & Dragons boxed sets don't pop up for sale to often. Sadly, I don't usually pay much attention, as the prices are quickly out of my range. This is by far out of my price range but the story behind this box is a good one:

Statement from the owner: 

This set is in Very Fine condition with one small stain on the front label and very minor scuffing on the corners of the box. Note that the Reference Sheets are not stapled, but loose sheets folded together. This was the original condition. 

It was acquired by the present owner in an interesting way. 

In 1974 I worked in a project offering supplemental educational materials to four school districts in Northwestern Wisconsin. I met Bill, an elementary school librarian, who was very excited about working with his students using role playing games. He had a friend in Minneapolis whom he had met through their shared interest in war gaming. This friend, “Lance,” was involved with creating a new project, a fantasy-style wargame in a box that could be played by anyone. 

My librarian friend was working with a sixth-grade class to create a book based on playing the game. Included in this set is a copy of the booklet that his students created using the game.  

Bill also used a 20-sided die that he had hand-colored to differentiate scoring. Adding to the charm of this set, the die is included, as is a hand-written note from Bill, the librarian, explaining the use of the die. He added that there was currently a shortage of these dice, but they were available in England. He was going to England for a vacation, and would be bringing some back with him.

As I type this it is currently sitting at a bid of $5,600 on eBay.

Probably not a bad price, all things considered, but I'll have to be satisfied with my 2 OCE White Boxes ;)

Wherefore Art Thou Buckaroo Banzai the RPG?

Before there was the fiasco know as Far West, Adament Entertainment (Gareth Sharka) grabbed the RPG license for Buckaroo Banzai.

What were the excuses for the preorders getting fucked on this one? Con Crud? Flaky artist? Incompetent publisher? Do tell...

Tip of the hat to one of The Taverners for sharing the above pics in The Tavern's Facebook Community.

Now, to be fair, this was due AFTER the Far West Kickstarter, even though it started shaking down marks prior to the Far West fiasco.

Anyone have an estimate of how much Kickstarter / Preorder monies this "Icon of the Gaming Community" bilked folks out of?

Barrel Rider Games is Running a 25% Off Sale on PDFs 'Till the End o The Year - White Star, White Box, oh My!

+James Spahn / Barrel Rider Games is running a 25% off sale on nearly all of their digital releases as a way of thanking the gaming community for all of the support they've shown James over the years and especially in the past few months. Even Kamikazi Bambis can't stand up to the power of community support ;)

White Star? 25% off

White Box? 25% off

Heroes Journey? Already PWYW

Labyrinth Lord releases? 25% off

Sale prices are good until the end of 2016.

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!  ;)

Rach MAY be Onboard to DM some Swords & Wizardry Light at NTRPG 2017

I understand that rounding up women / ladies to run OSR games isn't easy. Maybe its the subject matter. Maybe its that the system the OSR draws upon is old and doesn't excite newer gamers. The "why" doesn't really matter. The fact is there are far fewer women running OSR games at cons than men.

So I challenged Rach earlier today. I told her 4 pages of rules and a single sheet adventure shouldn't be intimidating. I reminded her that she's played in games run by +Tim Snider , +Doug Kovacs +Zach Glazar , +Matt Finch , +James Aulds , Merle Rasmussen and others at NTRPG Con for 3 years running now. She's sat at the tables of some of the best GM's in our hobby. Its not that she doesn't know how to do it - she just needs to be confident that she knows the system and the adventure.

A total of six pages should be right in her wheelhouse.

She's agreed to give it serious thought. I've agreed to to make sure she is comfortable with the rules.

To think back in 2013 she thought she'd spend her time in Dallas shopping and swimming in the hotel pool. Damn OSR gaming bug bit her too ;)

The OSR is like the Borg - Resistance is Futile :)

Podcast - Old School Blues - Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells - Review

On Friday Night I got together with Vince and Colin to review Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells, a PWYW OSR styled release for the Old School Blues Podcast.

I think we did an excellent job covering it and the great thing is, you get three perspectives on what is a very solid product.

So, head on over to the Old School Blues Podcast website and give it a listen. Heck, download a copy of Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells before you do so and you can follow along at home. Its Pat What You Want, so if you like it you can always go back and tip the publisher / writer. I suspect many of you will do just that.

OSR Creature Decks - 5 Decks IN PRINT - $12.95 - Inkwell Designs

If you haven't checked out +Joe Wetzel / Inkwell Designs' Creature Decks for 0e / 1e / LL/  OSR, you've been missing out. Normally 10 bucks to 12 bucks a deck, you can get all 5 decks of creatures for just $12.95 and that includes the PDF files.

What is covered by the actual decks?

This is a HUGE discount and I'm not sure how long Joe will keep the prices in effect. No coupon required.

Oh, yeah - if you play those "other" systems, those card decks are also on sale: 5e, PF, Dungeon World, Fate and even System Neutral.

I already have a complete collection of these cards for the OSR and will be using them quite liberally or else I'd be all over this.

Disclaimer - I make no monies off of any of the sales from Joe's store. I STRONGLY endorse Joe's Creature Decks. The art is awesome and the utility is great. At these prices you would be a fool to pass this up. 'Nuff said.