With Permission, I'm Stealing Lists & Links from Old School Gamer Radio - First Up, Podcasts

With +Matt Finch encouraging me to yoke the amazingly complete lists of podcasts, blogs, social media groups and vidcasts from the Old School Gamer Radio website and mirror them here I'd be a fool not to do so.

First up is podcasts. I've manually updated the links on the left side of this page and will be adding a permanent page where comments and suggestions for additions can be made.

We're trying to get the best bang for the buck and increase the visibility of all of these resources, and this is literally the first step of many that we've talked about.

Here's the list from Old School Gamer Radio:

• Appendix N Book Club (or read description first)
• Dead Games Society Podcast (or read description first)
• Dungeon Master’s Handbook (or read description first)
• Fear of a Black Dragon (or read description first)
• Fear the Boot (or read description first)
• Ggnorecast or read description first)
• Glowburn (or read description first)
• The GROGNARD files (or read description first)
• Happy Jacks (or read description first)
• Hero’s Brew (or read description first)
• Hobbs & Friends of the OSR (or read description first)
• On RPGs (or read description first)
• Radio Free Borderlands (or read description first)
• RPG Circus (or read description first)
• Role Playing Public Radio (or read description first)
• Sanctum Secorum (or read description first)
• Save For Half (or read description first)
• Save or Die (or read description first)
• Spellburn (or read description first)
• Tekumel Podcast (or read description first)
• THAC0’s Hammer (or read description first)
• The Tome Show (or read description first)

PWYW - Black Pudding #4

I quite simply LOVE the Black Pudding Zine. Every issue thus far has been useful and entertaining and Black Pudding #4 is no different than its predecessors. Or it's very different than its predecessors while still being very much alike.

You'll see when you read it.

What's in it?

In this issue you get new classes, a double helping of Meatshields, and a 15 page OSR play book, complete with the basic classes, rules, and Black Pudding flavor to enhance or replace your current play book. For use with dice of funny sides. Inspired by games such as Labyrinth Lord, The Black Hack, and Swords & Wizardry White Box.

The playbook is awesome, with lots of little bits I'm considering stealing for my own SWCL games.

Did I mention it just released this morning?

The price is right at PWYW, so peek and throw a few coppers later if that's how you roll, but certainly peek. Black Pudding #4 is oozing with OSR goodness (see what I did there? ;)

Yep, that's an affiliate link above. Help keep the lights on and the taps flowing at The Tavern with your patronage.

Strange Machine Games to offer Two Robotech Board Games

Well, now we know where the Robotech license went - Strange Machine Games. In addition to board games, they also publish RPGs. It makes you wonder...

Anyhow, here are the two games:

Robotech® – Attack on the SDF-1:  Play as the venerable SDF-1’s crew in this exciting and action packed full cooperative game.  Launch and pilot Veritech fighters, control Destroids, engage Zentraedi Pods, control the SDF-1, and fire the power reflex cannon!  It is up to you.  Can you protect the SDF-1 and Macross City from destruction?  Can you make it back home to Earth?] 

Players: 1-6 

Time: 120 minutes per Scenario 

Ages: 12+

Robotech® – Ace Pilot:  The Zentraedi are attacking!  Quick, grab the nearest crew member and destroy the enemy.  Using luck and skill you can become the SDF-1’s Ace Pilot.  Ace Pilot is a small area, fast playing, competitive dice-based game.  The game takes minutes to learn and can be played almost anywhere.  Your favorite Robotech® heroes help you destroy the Zentraedi Threat. 

 Players: 2-4 

Time: 25 minutes 

Ages: 8+

Video - Ol' Man Grognard Reviews 79 - The Midderlands

I really can't say enough good stuff about The Midderlands by +MonkeyBlood Design (Glynn Seal). Trust me, I've tried, but when I start, I find it hard to stop.

So why don't you listen to +Glen Hallstrom instead :)

Seriously, Glen covers it very well.

Yep, that's an affiliate link above. Keep the lights going strong at The Tavern.

State of The Tavern Keeper - I've Been Drained - No Level Loss but I See More Light!

Well, I survived the afternoon in the ER. Good news is, I found an efficient and dare I say pleasant (all things considered) ER so I'm filing that away for future reference. The oral abscess is drained and I'm feeling somewhat better. I expect more pain to set in as the night goes on. Head back tomorrow to have the dental drain/stitch removed. Joy.

In the meantime, the team has been building itself organically behind the Swords & Wizardry Continual Light Revised Edition. Yes, the 2.0 reference was a joke. The Revised Edition will be 100% compatible with the current edition. Some rules might get more thorough explanations but what you currently have in your hand is "the rules". It's not changing.

What we are doing is "adding". Rob Conley will be providing a sandbox setting and we've confirmed six authors thus far for the 7+ adventures we intend to include - in no particular order: James Spahn (White Star / Barrel Rider Games), Pete Spahn (WWII: Operation White Box / Small Niche Games), Tim Shorts (Gothridge Manor / GM Games), Skeeter Green (Frog God Games / Editor / Project Manager) and Rocky Gardner & Ian McGarty of Silver Bulette Publishing (The Silvery Moon Tavern). I have multiple offers to provide a more professional layout that is compatible with the major POD services (I'll address this over the weekend when I've recovered a bit more from today's activities). This truly is a community project, by the community and for the community. I am honored to be a part of this.

There is an off chance we may hit the magic number (48 pages) for a hardcover release in addition to softcover. As for a digest-sized version, while not part of the initial release the plan is to offer such afterward.

When will this be ready? While the PDF MIGHT release in time for NTRPG Con in June, I don't foresee time enough for proofs and related revisions. So, don't look or it unless you are told otherwise.

Alright - time to med up and go sleepy-bye...

Kickstarter - Self-Standing Leather - Lite Dice Bags (One dice bag to Rule them all!)

Want a dice bag that holds approximately 400 standard sized dice? Look no further, as these Self-Standing Leather - Lite Dice Bags do just that. I could take my overflow dice collection out of their pickle jar ;)

We are producing a series of high quality, self-standing leather-lite dice bags that will make you drool. 

We call this material Leather-Lite and we're enhancing them by adding our original graphics, many that were used to create our dice trays prior to this. This material is man-made and holds images extremely well .  The material is also very durable and light weight.This is a similar material that we use to wrap our dice trays with, but in a rich brown color.  These awesome dice bags are sure to be a hit at your gaming table!   

Size: Each bag measures 7x5x5 inches and holds approx. 400 16mm polyhedral dice with ease.

Practically guaranteed to get your carryon pulled for further inspection by the TSA next time you leave Gary Con.

Seriously, that's a large dice bag.

19 Bucks a bag plus 5 to ship in the states.

In for one :)

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight - 9 Eastern - Lets Talk SWCL 2.0

Tonight is a Wednesday Night and that means Tavern Chat. Now, I'm going to warn you all, my abscessed tooth and gum means my speech is not as clear as it usually is - and being and being a New Yorker it probably isn't all that clear in the first place ;)

We will have a topic tonight - Swords & Wizardry Continual Light 2.0  No rules changes, but new, more professional layout, a sandbox setting by none other than our own +Rob Conley and seven adventures by myself, +James Spahn and players to be named later. The adventures will be 2 to 3 pages long (Rob's sandbox about 4 pages). Not going to venture a guess yet on total pages for the new version.

Where is Tavern Chat? Its held every Wednesday Night on The Tavern's Discord Server.

Use this link: https://discord.gg/fReGmuD

We mostly use voice on Wednesday Nights (with additional conversation in the Tavern Chat Text Channel)  Throughout the week the main text channel is hopping on a daily basis.

Swords & Wizardry Continual Light 2.0 - Er, Say What!?!

There was a survey and discussion over at the S&W Continual Light Google Plus Community about what folks would like to see in the future for SWCL. Overwhelmingly folks what to see a better, more professional laid out version.

I wholeheartedly agree. I am not a layout guy. It is not one of my skill sets. While the layout of the current version of SWCL is certainly serviceable, it doesn't have that "pop".

Additionally, a new layout would probably have embedded fonts, allowing for print copies at RPGNow and Lulu, not just Amazon.

In truth though, I want more than just a better layout. So the plan is to include seven two to three page adventures in the back of the rules, one for each level of SWCL. This should bring the page count to about 32 to 36 pages or so.

I've got 2 adventures in hand and a good idea of who to ping for the rest.

I'm guessing the PDF cost goes up to $2.95 with current owners of the PDF getting a free update of the PDF.

Now to track down a layout guy / gal / wizard ;)

State of the Tavern - Ho Ho, More Snow and Still an Infected Tooth

There is stuff that needs to get done and this week has pretty much been a lot of wheel spinning.

WTC Health appointment took most of yesterday afternoon. Today, the afternoon was spent at the dentist, then referred to an oral surgeon and finally left at 6PM still owning an infected tooth and the accompanying annoying abscess.

Apparently being a type 2 diabetic and having had 23 radiation treatments that radiated the same side of your face as the tooth infection is enough of a variable to refer you to be a walk in at an ER room. Time to dig out the anti-biotics stash and wait the latest Noreaster out.

So, I have stuff to mail. If you are waiting for me to mail stuff it may take a few days before we are dug out on my end.

Calling for a foot or more of snow here in the city that never sleeps. I'll be sleeping thank you very much ;)

Oh, might have a Swords & Wizardry Continual Light question or two to ask our readers in a day or so based on feedback from a survey that's been up in the S&W Continual Light Community on Google Plus.

Kickstarter - Operation: Deep Freeze - A Top Secret: NWO Adventure

I've been playtesting the rules that became Top Secret: New World at NTRPG Con for the past few years. I like the rules because they are light yet full, allowing the game to take place without constantly referring to the rules.

Operation: Deep Freeze - A Top Secret: NWO Adventure looks to be a nice fit for the game engine:

A Top Secret Soviet lab located just outside a small town in Latvia. Secrets put in Deep Freeze that should not have been. Secrets that leaked out in the dead of winter. Secrets of things that should never have been.

Perfect for episodic play, and isn't that why spy games are all about?

The sweet point seems to be 18 bucks for the Print plus PDF.

As for the publisher, New Comet Games, they've been good at getting projects delivered on time for various RPG systems: D&D, C&C as well as Paranoia. I look forward to reading and running their latest venture.

Follow Up - Giving Away a Bakers Dozen of MegaHeroes Priority ID Cards (Upcoming Frog God / Jim Wampler KS for Late 2018)

We were giving out MegaHeroes Priority Identification Cards at the Frog God Booth at Gary Con and we had a few left, so I "liberated" them.

MegaHeroes is +Jim Wampler 's upcoming supers RPG that will be Kickstarted by Frog God Games this fall.

The cards are good for 20% off at the Frog God website. Don't ask me how, look at the pic above and it should be clear ;)

That being said, there are a limited number and they were only distributed at Gary Con. We have picked 13 names and they are:

FrDave
Cirlot
SteveSimi
Dan Delgado
Bob Hill
Zach Sweetland
Brian Cross
Hector Cruz
Tony T
NeuronPhaser
Michael Gross
Ned F
M Po

The above should email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing with MegaHeroes in the subject line. I need your snail mail address. I MAY be having a tooth pulled over the next day or two, so there MAY be a delay in getting this out. Won't know until the deed is done - or not.

News - The Fantasy Trip - Melee & Magic - 14.95 Price Points on Each

Steve Jackson Games made an announcement about The Fantasy Trip at GAMA and followed up with more info over at the Steve Jackson Games website:

At the GAMA Trade Show, just ended in Reno, we announced that the relaunch of The Fantasy Trip will start with miniboxed editions of the two combat games, Melee and Wizard, each retailing for $14.95.

The Fantasy Trip was Steve Jackson's first RPG. Its first part, Melee, was published in 1977. TFT was published by Metagaming, which went out of business about 1982, and TFT has been unsupported since then, and only available on the secondary market. 

In late 2017, Steve regained the rights to the eight TFT releases that he had written himself: Melee, Wizard, Death Test, Death Test 2, Advanced Melee, Advanced Wizard, In The Labyrinth, and Tollenkar's Lair. 

Most if not all of this material will be republished. The format is totally up in the air right now . . .

You can find more details at the link above.

Notes From the Tavern Keeper - How I Run Convention Games (YMMV)

I've now run convention games (Swords & Wizardry Light to be exact) at NTRPG 2017 and Gary Con 2018 - two sessions at each convention. At North Texas it was all "theatre of the mind". At Gary Con we had a level of Rappan Athuk in 3d dungeon terrain. It was certainly a different experience between the two, but some things for me remained consistent. Below is how "I Roll." Some of this might be useful for other GMs to consider or not. The only hard and fast rule is "Have Fun"

I roll characters at the table. With SWL clocking in at 4 pages as well as having character class cheat sheets that double as character cards, character generation shouldn't take more than 15 to 20 minutes, even with a table of 10 or so. Heck, my players expecting a 5e game adjusted to SWL with no issues and character generation went just as smoothly.

Note, I allow surviving characters to be used in follow up sessions at later conventions, so yes, your characters can "level up." Not an original idea - +Matt Finch and +Bill Webb do the same. It does allow for a bit more buy in from your players than "one and done" games do.

Keep it moving. While your home game may consist of half an hour of catching up and banter at the beginning of the session and assorted bullshitting throughout, a convention game must fit into a particular time slot. Additionally, if the pace slows you will lose the attention of your players. For most games you want a thrill ride, not a plodding place.

I embrace walk ups to my table. Generally speaking, most games expect 6 to 8 players. With the Swords & Wizardry Light rules, I expect I can handle up to a dozen. Even if the game is started we can probably fit you in (note, I'm speaking for myself here and not others - games with pregens and such are much more difficult to add a random person to the game)

Project your voice. While this wasn't much of an issue at last year's NTRPG Con, as we had a semi-private gaming space, at Gary Con we were set up in a hallway right outside the door for the majority of the wargaming going on. The table was large and I had to project to be heard. I wasn't always successful but I tried my darnedest.

Minis are used best for marching order. Even with the 3d terrain, it was difficult (if not damn impossible) to accurately show battles and digging out appropriate monsters would have been time consuming AND would slowed down the pace. Moving minis from room to room also slowed down the pace. But using them for marching order and pointing out the location the PCs were in combined theatre of the mind with a 3d dungeon seemed to work best.

Make magic special. Magic items that are unique will be remember well after the players leave the session. They don't need to be over powered to be very useful.

When your players are about to go off the map, improvise. They find the secret entrance to a lower level? Have it lead to a hidden chamber.

Embrace the metagaming. Its going to happen, especially with 3d dungeon terrain revealing secret rooms and occasional traps (doors to nowhere) - "Yep, there are two doors in this room that go nowhere. Don't blame me for what happens ;)"

The bottom line is everyone should be having fun. If folks walk away happy and energized, you did well.

ICv2 - Top 5 RPGs Fall 2017 - Starfinder Surpasses Pathfinder - D&D 5e Remains #1

Starfinder got the huge bump of a Gen Con release. 5e holds strong to the first position.

Star Wars traditionally holds a top 5 spot and Star Trek Adventures is a new release.

While I find the ICv2 rankings interesting, "the charts are based on interviews with retailers, distributors, and manufacturers." I prefer hard numbers. I need to find the latest ORR (Roll20) report.

And found it:

If 5e has twice the players as Pathfinder, I can see why they are rebooting to reclaim their share of the market.

Starfinder is much further down the list here...

Kickstarter - HYPERBOREA: Beasts and Cannibals (Two AS&SH Adventures)

Some of the best OSR adventures come from +Jeff Talanian 's publishing Northwind Publishing arm. Although they are written for and labeled with Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, these adventures are readily usable with the OSR ruleset of your choice. I plan on running previous adventures that Jeff has published using Swords & Wizardry. these two will get added to the list. Sweet point for Beasts & Cannibals appears to be $44 - both adventures in print plus PDF. I'm in.

Did I mention it hit and surpassed its 10k funding goal in a day? Well done +Jeff Talanian . Well done.

THE ANTHROPOPHAGI OF XAMBAALA 

The Anthropophagi of Xambaala, by Corey R. Walden, is an adventure in HYPERBOREA designed for from four to six characters of 1st through 3rd level. 

Visitors to the desert city of Xambaala, beware! When the city slumbers, dæmoniacal cachinnations roll in from its outskirts, and dull totemic drumbeats rumble in the surrounding waste. Vile shrieks and noises out of nightmares bring shudders to the spines of even those who fancy themselves heroes, and when the eventide bell tolls residents lock themselves behind stout walls—for something sinister moves during the dead time. But the people of Xambaala do not speak of the hellish noises that haunt their city; only furtive whispers hint that those who trust in the safety of the inn of Aramis D’Athak oft disappear, vanishing into the unknown. And the sounds outside the city walls grow louder . . .

THE BEASTS OF KRAGGOTH MANOR 

The Beasts of Kraggoth Manor, by Tim Callahan, is an adventure in HYPERBOREA designed for from four to six characters of 4th through 6th level.

Your party have travelled northeast from the great city of Khromarium, through the unforgiving expanse known as the Lug Wasteland. You undoubtedly seek greater riches in the north: ruined tombs secreting ancient artefacts, deep caves filled with long-lost Atlantean technology, or strange villages built atop sacred Hyperborean burial grounds that brim with pre–Green Death treasures. Finally, after having emerged from the treacherous bogs, you set up camp on a craggy outcropping that provides dry land and a modicum of protection from the crawling unknowns. Straightaway your attention is drawn by a nearby light source, a fire not more than 100 yards away. Through the cacophony of croaking frogs, buzzing insects, and hissing slimy things, a shriek of pain knifes through the air. 

News - Interesting D&D 5e Figures Releases by WotC at GAMA Earlier this Week

+Stan Shinn was at the GAMA (The Game Manufacturers Association) Trade Show earlier this week and came away with some interesting figures about D&D 5e released by WotC's Mark Price. Here's the takeaway:

— 2017 was the best year for D&D ever in terms of sales
— Year 3 of D&D sales is stronger than their first year
— Actual play streaming is a key driver of D&D’s success, with 9 million users watching D&D on Twitch
— 8.6 million Americans have played D&D in the last 12 months (they did not give stats for overseas)

Certainly stuff to think about. A rising tide lifts all ships and 5e is certainly doing more to raise that tide than any other system right now.

Thoughts?

The Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server has Surpassed 400 Members

The Tavern's Discord Server has been lively since it kicked off last summer. Not only is the text chat active close to 24/7 but the Wednesday Night Tavern Chat (voice plus text) keeps getting better.

Case in point - this past Wednesday, March 14th, I finally bowed out at 130 AM (Eastern) with the chat still going strong with nearly a dozen members logged in. That's for a chat that kicked off at 9 PM. And we didn't have Bill Webb holding court either, it was simply an amazing chat.

We currently have 403 members at The Tavern's Discord server (I'm sure there are some duplicate accounts, but the numbers rise every day)

I want to thank everyone that participates and or lurks in the weekly chats. Its been likened to a live, multi-participant weekly podcast that DOESN'T get recorded, so its fairly unique and an awesome chance to talk with members of our corner of the gaming universe, especially if you don't get to conventions all that often - if at all.

Haven't joined yet? There's plenty of time before the next voice chat (and text chat is going on as you read this):

https://discord.gg/fReGmuD

Giving Away a Bakers Dozen of MegaHeroes Priority ID Cards (Upcoming Frog God / Jim Wampler KS for Late 2018)

We were giving out MegaHeroes Priority Identification Cards at the Frog God Booth at Gary Con this past weekend and we had a few left, so I "liberated" them.

MegaHeroes is +Jim Wampler 's upcoming supers RPG that will be Kickstarted by Frog God Games this fall.

The cards are good for 20% off at the Frog God website. Don't ask me how, look at the pic above and it should be clear ;)

That being said, there are a limited number and they were only distributed at Gary Con. Here is your chance to have one mailed to you anywhere in the world. Well, you have 13 chances.

How do you get YOUR elite card?

Comment below with your thoughts on why you like supers RPGs, or if you don't like them, in what way do they fail for you. Comment by 6 PM Eastern, Monday March 19th, 2018 right here on this post. I'll pick thirteen recipients of this awesome honor that evening and will share the names with a new post that night.

Troll Lord Bundle - Five Games - Twenty Bucks

Troll Lord Games - 5 Games, 20 Bucks Bundle - Only available for 24 hours and only to the first 125 customers.

These 5 core books regularly sell for a total of about $72.00, but you can get them all for only $20!

Amazing Adventures, Victorious, StarSiege, Tainted Lands, and Harvesters

All 5 core books!

But act fast -- only the first 125 in the next 24 hours can get in on this deal!

Yep, that's an affiliate link above. If you shop through then link, 5% of the monies you spend go to support The Tavern. I thank you in advance.

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight - 9 PM Eastern - Gary Con Wrap Up and Frog God Games News

Quick update, as nap time calls an I haven't had one in a week ;)

Tonight, on the Tavern's Discord Channel:

- want to save 20% off at the Frog God store? I got you covered.

- Pathfinder player with lots of Frog God inventory and not sure what's in your future? We can help.

- Gary Con wrap up? I got ya ;)

Should be an awesome chat :)

https://discord.gg/fReGmuD

Time - 9 PM Eastern

Warning - D&D Rules Cyclopedia Drops in Price and Possibly POD Quality

Apparently WotC / OBS updated the file for the D&D Rules Cyclopedia along with dropping the price on the POD version of the rules but it isn't without issues.

Here's the recent comments on the RC page since the file was updated.

Tony M Mar 14, 2018 7:39 am EST
This is all very confusing. Two weeks ago I ordered the PoD version  and paid 21.48 sterling for the privilege, now the price has dropped to 12.95 sterling but consensus suggests my PoD copy may be superior to what is currently being offered...
An explanation for the price drop and the PDF 'update' would be appreciated, either from WotC, OBS, or both. 

Joshua G Mar 14, 2018 6:43 am EST
Wow, the "updated" pdf really sucks compared to the previous one, so blurry and washed-out looking. Why is the price reduced so much for PoD? Makes me VERY suspicious of purchasing this in print format now. I know mistakes happen, but this is really awful. 

Scott S Mar 14, 2018 2:54 am EST
The new PDF is awful and blurry, the older one (pre Mar 13) is fine and also good as PoD - don't get as PoD until it's confirmed fixed IMO. 

Christopher S Mar 13, 2018 7:18 pm EST
I put in an order for a hardcover copy of this yesterday afternoon, only to get up this morning and find out that the PDF has been changed and the price has dropped 50% in the last 24hrs...still excited to get the book, but that hurts. 

Richard T Mar 13, 2018 5:10 pm EST
The new scan released this week is very blurry compared to the old one. I'm glad I still have my original download. Didn't they look at it before releasing it??? 

Rodger D Mar 13, 2018 7:21 pm EST
Yer its very bad. The worst I've seen. They need to redo it or put an older one back up. 

Rodger D Mar 13, 2018 7:27 pm EST
My August 2016 download is way way better then this one. So much sharper. 

Jeff E Mar 13, 2018 10:42 pm EST
Also, it's flat. That is, there is no text, just a static image. You can't highlight and copy a portion of text, as you could before. 

Michael S Mar 13, 2018 3:24 pm EST
yeah, I just downloaded the new one and it's horribly dithered and shows all sort of compression artifacts. 

Lloyd M Mar 13, 2018 1:15 pm EST
BLURRY print on my copy as well. Headache inducing, even if I do enjoy the content of RC. 

Mar 13, 2018 12:33 pm EST
The PDF was updated today. Apparently "The book has been rescanned and page references in the book have been linked." However, there are two different versions downloadable, neither of them with linked page references and neither of them the same file size as the last version I downloaded. Which one is the current version? 

Jeff M Mar 13, 2018 1:44 pm EST
PURCHASER Flag comment as inappropriate.
I have the original download from Feb 15 and the size is 164.3MB and has an outline that I can click to different areas (D&D_Rules_Cyclopedia_(Basic).pdf
The DDB_RulesCyclopedia.pdf & RulesCyclopedia-Basic.pdf doesn't have an outline. The DDB* is 163.6MB while the RulesCyclopedia-Basic.pdf is 96.8MB.
Something changed and just recently the DDB* and Rulescyclopedia have been removed and D&D_Rules_Cyclopedia_(Basic).pdf has been put in place but 94.5MB in size. 

Jeff M Mar 13, 2018 1:53 pm EST
The new D&D_Rules_Cyclopedia_(Basic).pdf from today looks like the RulesCyclopedia-Basic.pdf. not the same as the Feb15 downloaded file that is sharp and not blurry with an Outline.

PDF is 9.99
SC is 11.52
HC is 16.12
add 2 bucks for Print plus PDF

My advice - hold off until the issue is corrected.

Thanks to The Taverner that pointed this out to me.

edit: updated yet again since this post went up. I've been told its now less smudgey, still random blurry pages. Images are sharper. I'm guessing still not ready for prime time.

Yep, thats an affiliate link above. I truly appreciate your support.

Gary Con X - Bill Webb and Jim Wampler talk about what's Coming Up from Frog God in 2018

The above Youtube video was shared with me while I was sleeping and oh my, is it full of info for those curious about Frog God's plans for 2018.

City of Brass, Lost Lands Campaign Setting and Jim Wampler's new game - MegaHeroes - and more, all get revealed.

Want to know some details? Watch the video. Bill is always interesting :)

Goblins Henchman Has Made a Video about his Spreadsheet Adventure Module Idea

Goblins Henchman over on G Plus pinged me earlier today to ask if I had looked at his "proof of concept" Spreadsheet Adventure Module idea, where text is basically linked to an adventures map as a pin or pop out (I have no idea about the proper technology)

I hadn't seen it, but as the video in question is a mere 5 minutes in length, I've seen it now and damn - this would work great, especially with a sandbox type adventure setting where, instead of looking at the map and referring to the hex number or the keyed adventure location, you just click on it and the info pop up right over the map.

Could you present an adventure just using this method? Doubtful, as it doesn't make for a convenient first read through (and GH notes this) but as a supplement to an adventure it would rock.

I don't know the time involved in making such and it might not be cost effective (time-wise), especially on larger releases, but for some smaller releases it may be a selling point.

Add your thought's here or comment on the video. I'm sure Goblins Henchman would be happy to get your feedback.

Gary Con - Black Gate did an Amazing Con Write Up (and a nice bit on the Frogs)

Photo originally shared on the Black Gate website

Ever read an article and have one of those "holy shit, I was there!" moment? Well, that's what I had when I read this article from Black Gate about this year's Gary Con. Not just due to the fact that I was at Gary Con, but I was there when the author made his purchase from the Frog God booth.

The first folks I met in the booth were authors Keith Hershey and Tom Knauss, who were very friendly and knew of Bob’s work at Black Gate. Tom was the author of their excellent environmental books, including Perilous Vistas and the upcoming Icebound. 

We quickly struck up a conversation around the big news of the show — Paizo’s announcement of a Second Edition of Pathfinder. Had the announcement taken them by surprise? In a word, yes. Tom said they were “blindsided” by it, and in fact they’d had to cancel an upcoming First Edition Pathfinder title. Did they think all the attention to the upcoming Second Edition would negatively impact sales of their extensive Pathfinder back catalog? 

In response, they wordlessly pointed me towards the table where their first edition-compatible Pathfinder titles were stacked next to a scale. A large sign next to the scale read “Pathfinder by the POUND!! $5″

Heh. There more about the Frogs, The Trolls, Northwind Adventures, the Goodman Games booth and more in the original Black Gate article. Its a good read, whether you attended Gary Con or not and I giver it my highest recommendation.

Home From Gary Con - Mostly Without Issues

Rach and I Ubered from Gary Con to Milwaukee for our flight home. Uber was a few bucks more than the car service we had called, but the car service cancelled 10 minutes after we made our reservation. Ah well.

There was no line at the TSA checkpoint at the airport. All was well until Rach's bag got pulled for inspection, followed by mine.

Rach's bag got pulled for trying to pass 8 ozs of hair conditioner through the carry on checkpoint. She knew better but bought it at the Grand Geneva Spa. Oh well.

My luggage got pulled for dice. More specifically, my dice bag with my original set of dice from 1979. When the TSA agent located the culprits she smiled. I'm guessing gamers were an issue over the last 36 hours or so.

Okay, enough for tonight. I'm beat to shit. I do have more con related stuff to share. Want to get 20% off at the Frog God Website? I've got the skinny...

Gary Con X - And Now, It is Done - Mostly

 

Last day of Gary Con today. We sold all but 11 Pathfinder books at 5 bucks a pound. Damn, but it was good sale.

We has many empty crates at the Frog God Booth while packing up, and that is always a good thing.

Packing up the Rappan Athuk terrain was not my job, but i did have to move the containers to a Frog God hotel room. I have no idea how all those pink "popcorn" packing kernels got all over the parking lot. Musta been gremlins.

I've been pretty much told I'm running at least two sessions a con for the Frogs going forward. They will generally be in the evenings, as the mornings and afternoons I'll be manning the booth. Yes, I may be influenced with beer.

There are a nice handful of follow up Gary Con posts that will be shared this week, including my thoughts on how to run a gaming session with dungeon terrain already on the table.

Highlight of my day was getting to meet my Milwaukee to NYC airplane companion again, but this time at the Frog God Booth (along with her husband and mother in law). Yes, Colette, Rach and I will find a way to make it to the Hinterlands Bar in Brooklyn for some gaming.

Next Con - NTRPG :)

Gary Con - Wherein I Was Summoned to Run a Table of 5e Rappan Athuk...Transformed into Swords & Wizardry

I was working the Frog God booth when I was told shortly after 2 PM: "Dude, you gotta run a 5e Rappan Athuk session - our DM never made it to the Con!"

There were a few issues with that:

1 - I don't run 5e.

2 - I didn't bring any of the 5e rules with me.

3 - I don't run 5e.

Thankfully:

1 - I ran the same table last night for Swords & Wizardry

2 - I can run SWL pretty much without opening the rules

So, I got to the table and announced that yes, you are expecting a 5e session but your DM isn't here. I own but do not run 5e, so therefore we are going to be playing Swords & Wizardry. I'll do my best to ensure everyone has fun and if for some reason you don't, et me know where i went wrong at the end of the session.

15 minutes later, we were up and running. No one left the table at the start (but two dropped out at the 2 hr break and we added a new player)

Results?

1 - Only one PC death, and that spot was quickly filled by the character's torchbearer.

2 - Two players (a couple) went to the Frog God booth immediately after to grab their free Swords & Wizardry Legion folders (we have more available at the Frog God Booth - just tell them Tenkar sent you)

3 - Treasure was well earned and the players, for the most part, played it damn smart. The dice were in their favor, as least more so than Friday Night's group.

4 - I had a blast and feedback from the players was that they had a good time too.

5 - It left me exhausted, but in a good way. The area we were in was very noisy, and i had to keep my voice projected fairly strongly to be heard.

We lose an hour tonight. Time for bed. Drop by the Frog God Booth tomorrow and take some freebies (and some $5 a pound Pathfinder. Shit, at that price you can convert to S&W right on the actual page. Imagine being able to write in your $15 copy of Swords of Air ;)

Gary Con - Tonight I Ran Rappan Athuk - The Mouth of Doom

Yep, tonight I ran Rappan Athuk: The Mouth of Doom Level in full, painted 3d terrain, and it was f'n cool!

We had a table of nine and I killed  - well, the dice killed - five PCs, and it was good.

I wish I had the space to do a setup like this at home, but it is damn huge :)

Great group, great time. Still no convention TPKs under my belt - heh.

Now, as for some Gary Con related questions that have been asked of me:

- Haven't done anything beyond some basic page flipping of Into the Borderlands and won't do much more until after i get settled back home next week. Is it worth you picking up or pre-ordering? Don't know yet.

- The Midgard Swords & Wizardry Guidebook was part of Kobold Press' recent Kickstarter. It should be on the way to backers that supported for it. I assume it will be for sale on the Kobold website shortly.

- Yes, I occasionally "Hang with Hobbs"

- Pathfinder By The Pound at 5 bucks a pound is a thing at the Frog God booth at Gary Con. The Frogs are not taking requests for mail order. No, I can not bring your books back to NYC in my carry on and ship it to you upon my return. I'll be lucky to bring my own purchases home in my carry on without throwing out clothes and I've hardly shopped yet. Rappan Athuk and Bard's Gate are sold out.

Gary Con - Day One Acquisitions

So, having arrived at 1130 and put to work spiffing up the Frog God Games presentation, I still had time to make certain acquisitions.

In order of acquisition:

The Midgard Swords & Wizardy Guidebook was put into my hands by none other than Kobold Press' +Wolfgang Baur . No, I haven't had a chance to do more than flup through the pages thus far, but it looks good so far and its exciting to see Kobold Press supporting Swords & Wizardry.

Into The Borderlands: A Fifth Edition Conversion & Classic Homage is the acquisition I almost didn't make. Not that is doesn't look good - it looks amazing. Not that it wasn't value for the money - page count alone is 384 pages. All that for 50 bucks is a bargain. The fact that WotC was throwing in a nice dice bag with dice (picture coming later - I forgot) is something I didn't know before making the purchase, so it wasn't part of the equation. No, the reason I almost didn't pick this up is that I may need to leave some clothes behind for this to fit in my carry on going back to NYC.

Hobbs & Friends of the OSR Fanzine #2. Issue #1 was simply good shit. I expect more of the same. Thanks to +Jason Hobbs for putting the latest issue into my hands.

Alright, time for this man to catch some sleep.

Quick Post from Behind the Booth

Rach and I got to Gary Con around 1130 this morning. A day later than planned but awesome in any case. I've a number of Con related posts in the works, just need time in the room. Actually, we have more than a room, we have a villa.

Thanks Bill, Rocky and Zach. You all rock!

Video tour of our "room" below.

Kickstarter - Folio of Fiendish Monsters 1E Monster Compendium

The Folio is a series of adventures that have been Kickstarted. Production quality has been top notch, right from the start and each project has been spot on for releasing on time. Now, R Scott Taylor wants to release a monster book in the feel of the classic 1e monster manuals.

Presenting the Folio of Fiendish Monsters Kickstarter.

What's in it?

Our plan is to create a 128 page book (like those in the original AD&D orange spine series) and fill it with as many monsters as we can get in there.  All monsters will be set up for 1E AD&D.

What is a Monster Sponsor? 

Well, art is expensive, and even old TSR didn't get images for all its monsters in the original books, so this campaign features a level called a 'Monster Sponsor', and as a backer you are helping create a piece of art for one of the monsters in the book, and in doing so, you will get credit posted next to the image, so you'll be immortalized inside the book. 

There are two sweet point for the backer levels IMO - $50 for the book in print plus PDF and $150 for the Monster Sponsor. With Gary Con this week (damn it I should be there already - curse you Boreas!) money may be a bit tight so I may limit myself to the print and PDF backer level - but damn I'd love to sponsor some art. In any case, 128 pages of OSR monsters will simply rock.

No Flight For You! Gary Con Delayed Until Tomorrow...

Well, the wait at the airport is over and Rach and I are back home. Yes, it was that kind of a day.

1215 flight was cancelled as we were literally walking out the door, rescheduled to a 230 flight.

230 flight was delayed until 500PM at which point Rach and I decided to splurge on some airport food. After we ordered the food, we heard out flight get cancelled.

The agent rebooked us for 905 tomorrow morning. We arrive in Milwaukee at 1050 or so. Ubering to the Grand Geneva. Reporting direct to the Frog God booth.

Le sigh...

But I WILL be in Tavern Chat tonight (probably bowing out early though)

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight 9 PM Eastern - Glen is Hosting - I'm Heading to Gary Con - Hopefully...

Real quick, as my scheduled flight was cancelled and I'll be hading out to my rebooked flight soon. This is turning into an Escape from New York situation!

Tavern Chat will be held as usual tonight at 9 PM Eastern. None other than our very own +Glen Hallstrom will be hosting. I'll try to drop in as time permits but I'll be at Gary Con - hopefully...

If you've never experienced Tavern Chat before, here's the link:

https://discord.gg/fReGmuD

Have a few beers for me ;)

Gary Con Here We Come!

Our son drives us to the airport in about 90 minutes. Our flight leaves just after High Noon. They are calling for a foot or more of snow before the storm passes here in NYC.

So far, not a flake on the ground.

Expected to land in Milwaukee just before 2 PM, then Uber to Lake Geneva.

Saying a few prayers it all goes off as planned ;)

News - Pathfinder 2.0 is Coming! Itssss Coming!

Paizo announced earlier today that Pathfinder 2.0 would enter Beta Testing this summer. Is anyone all that surprised? I'm not. Starfinder is far from a failure, but it isnt the reboot of Pathfinder that is need to generate new revenue. While Pathfinder is still profitable for 3rd party publishers, D&D 5e took a huge chunk of the market away from Pathfinder. Hmmm, actually, they clawed back much of what they lost with 4e.

Anyhow, here's the link to the Paizo post about Pathfinder 2.0 and some interesting tidbits - and no, it doesn't look like its compatible with the current Pathfinder rules - cha-ching!

"The rules that make up the game have to fundamentally still fill the same role they did before, even if some of the mechanics behind them are different."

"We've made a number of changes to the way the game is played, to clean up the overall flow of play and to add some interesting choices in every part of the story. First up, we have broken play up into three distinct components. Encounter mode is what happens when you are in a fight, measuring time in seconds, each one of which can mean life or death. Exploration mode is measured in minutes and hours, representing travel and investigation, finding traps, decoding ancient runes, or even mingling at the queen's coronation ball. Of all the modes of play, exploration is the most flexible, allowing for easy storytelling and a quick moving narrative. Finally, the downtime mode happens when your characters are back in town, or relative safety, allowing them to retrain abilities, practice a trade, lead an organization, craft items, or recuperate from wounds."

"After initiative is sorted out and it's your turn to act, you get to take three actions on your turn, in any combination. Gone are different types of actions, which can slow down play and add confusion at the table. Instead, most things, like moving, attacking, or drawing a weapon, take just one action, meaning that you can attack more than once in a single turn! Each attack after the first takes a penalty, but you still have a chance to score a hit. In Pathfinder Second Edition, most spells take two actions to cast, but there are some that take only one. Magic missile, for example, can be cast using from one to three actions, giving you an additional missile for each action you spend on casting it!"

Note - italics above is added by me.

Podcast using the current state Pathfinder 2.0   https://glasscannonpodcast.com/

Interesting times...

GM's Day Sale - Tavern OSR Pick Day 4 - Designers & Dragons Complete [BUNDLE]

If you want the history of the RPG hobby, not just D&D or TSR, then Designers & Dragons is what you need to be reading.

Seriously, its that good.

10.95 gets you all four volumes of Designers & Dragons in PDF, Mobi and ePub, so you can read on your tablet, your Kindle, your computer screen, your ebook readers - you're covered from the 1970's through the 2000's. Did I mention it includes a 5th book now - its an appendix with essays. Heck, I don't even have the appendix. 42.50 if the collection is bought individually, normal bundle price is about 28.50, you can get it all for less than 11 bucks.

If you don't have Designers & Dragons yet, you really should think about snagging a copy of the collection.

There is also a GM's Day Tips & Tools [BUNDLE] for 7.95 and a GM's Day Worldbuilder [BUNDLE] for 5.95

Yep, those are affiliate links above. By making purchases via The Tavern's affiliate links you help keep the lights on. Its much appreciated.

State of the Tavern - Gary Con or Winter Storm - Who Will Win Out Tomorrow?

Rach and I are scheduled to leave for Gary Con shortly after noon tomorrow. Of course, the snow in NYC starts late tonight. Delta is already issuing travel warnings. Sigh.

At least I'm mostly packed. Lets see if it even matters :(

Game plan is to have a handful of copies of SWCL on hand and I'll mostly be found manning the Frog God booth or lounging in the bar area. I'll have my voice recorder ready for quick interviews ;)

Magic the Gathering - ABC Local News Piece KVIA Texas - "Magic the Gathering players struggling to weed out sex offenders"

Earlier tonight KVIA 7, a local affiliate of ABC, aired a piece on sex offenders in the Magic the Gathering Community.

This bit of controversy is not going away quietly.

Link to the 2 minute 23 second long video is here (along with the article):

http://www.kvia.com/crime/magic-the-gathering-players-struggling-to-weed-out-sex-offenders/711842814

There is a nice piece of history as to what caused this all to come to the surface: