The Tavern Chat Podcast - E149 - Followup to E148 - Delving into the Preface of the AD&D 1e DMG - Comments & a Phone Call

I received a phone call from Chris Clark last night because of yesterday's podcast. I guess being right for the wrong reasons is better than simply be wrong ;)

There was a lot of feedback to E148 was passionate. Three comments on the blogside and a phone call from Chris Clark himself. Guess I need a Google Number for longer voicemails :) I respond to all.

Link to Episode #149 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E149---Followup-to-E148---Delving-into-the-Preface-of-the-ADD-1e-DMG---Comments--a-Phone-Call-e2crfb

State of The Tavern - Crash, Boom, and Back - with a Calendar Added

You ever have one of those nights? You know, the type that simply blindsides you with panic? That was me, earlier tonight when I went to add a Google Calendar Widget here on the blogside. Boom! There goes all of the text from The Tavern's posts!

I could still edit the posts, and they still showed on mobile, but somehow the blog template I used dropped the html that embedded the actual blog posts. I panicked for a bit, then played around and used a new template and lo and behold, the posts were back - and the layout was buggered.

I've spent the rest of the night cleaning things up.

In any case, we now have a Google Calendar at the bottom of the blog page. It seemed needed, as we've added a second night of hosted voice chat on The Tavern's Discord Server - Frog Chat, 9PM Eastern on Tuesday Nights. Believe it or not, we are working on adding two or more regular weekly hosted chats (more on that later) and I simply felt that a Calendar of Tavern related events was useful.

Did I mention we are looking to add some moderators to the Discord Server? I'm thinking of calling them Serving Menches :)

mensch
men(t)SH
noun INFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN
a person of integrity and honor

Tonight - 7 PM Eastern - Matt Finch LIVE with Jason Hardy, MeWe's Product Director

Looks like MeWe wants to accommodate gamers on its platform.

I'll (Matt Finch) have Jason Hardy, MeWe's Product Director talking with me on my youtube channel tonight at 6PM Central time (7 PM Eastern). In last night's panel-discussion show I assembled a set of questions and comments from the live chat, but if there is a topic you would like me to address with Jason on tonight's show, feel free to post it. The live chat will also be enabled during the show tonight. This is our chance to give MeWe an organized presentation of what the G+ gaming community wants and needs from MeWe if they are going to become the go-to location for tabletop gaming communities. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzf_mcgjo_0

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E148 - Delving into the Preface of the AD&D 1e DMG

In last night's Tavern Chat, the AD&D 1e DMG came up in the discussion. It was noted that, except for the combat and saving throw tables, it was the least needed of the three core books.

Fourth time is the charm ;) I delve into the preface of the AD&D 1e DMG, an interesting read, even if it appears a bit contradictory.

Link to Episode 148 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E148---Delving-into-the-Preface-of-the-ADD-1e-DMG-e2clu2

State of The Tavern - God, I Need a Drink - Discord & More

Pexx and I sat down today to discuss all things Tavern. For those that don't know, Pexx is my right-hand man on The Tenkar's Tavern's Discord Server since we merged the Frog God Games Server into it, and he's probably the best thing to happen to it, and The Tavern in general, since we opened up our doors many moons ago.

We talked for two hours. Two VERY productive hours (and we left with even more to discuss in two weeks.) Some changes you will see in the coming days, weeks, and months were probably initiated today. Some quick highlights:

We've merged the Publishers Group and the Content Creators Group on The Tavern's Discord Server into a single new group - Designers & Makers. If you publish, create, blog, podcast, vidcast, etc in our corner of the hobby, this is where you can snag your own channel for announcements and discussion of your creations. If you have a channel already, please, use it. It is there for you. If you don't yet have a channel, message Pexx or myself on Discord and we'll be happy to set you up. We currently have 29 channels in the Designers & Makers Group and are always happy to add more.

I've rejiggered the goals on the Tenkar's Tavern Patreon, which currently has 47 patrons. At 50 patrons, we add a monthly, off hours, Tavern Chat for our overseas community. This would probably be in the AM here on the East Coast, so the evening on the flip side of the world. Almost there.

Pexx and I will organize a virtual gaming con (TenCon?) once we hit 75 patrons (it was 150, and that was simply too far off). We'll use The Tavern's Discord Server to host voice & chat, and probably use Roll20 and of Fantasy Grounds for the VTTs. Add in some panels and "Ask Me Anything" and all you'll be missing is the unwashed masses. It's closer than you think ;)

We plan on hosting more interviews for The Tavern Chat Podcast, using a voice channel (for listening live) and a text channel (for commenting live) on the Discord Server, preferably in the evening hours, to make it more accessible to the majority of the community.

On a side note, I'm going to look into uploading The Tavern Chat Podcast onto YouTube. It should lead to more visibility (doh) and it would allow the use of automatic closed captioning. It won't be perfect, but for those with hearing disabilities, it should help them access the podcast material.

We discussed A LOT MORE. It was, after all, a two-hour discussion. This is stuff that is of the more immediate nature. We are sneaking up on 1,100 members and we want to make sure the community is not just engaged but listened to. I'll touch on that with a later update.

Oh, we are considering adding a few moderators to the mix on The Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server. If you are active in the Discord side of the community and wish to help out, reach out to Pexx or me on Discord.

Onward to tonight's Tavern Chat!

Link to The Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server - https://discord.gg/fReGmuD
 

Reminder - Tavern Chat - The Great MeWe Exodus - 9 PM Eastern

Google announced the impending end of Google+ earlier this week, and the migration has been to MeWe.com. I expect much of tonight's conversation will be related to such.

Tavern Chat on The Tavern's Discord Server - https://discord.gg/fReGmuD

"It's like a live podcast, but with audience participation and no recording ;)"

The Tavern Chat Podcast -E147 - Kickstarter Roundup for October 10, 2018 - Dice, Wands, Bunnies, Airships, Mutants, Oh My

Better late than never, right? This week's Kickstarter Roundup is a day late, Damn you Google+ and your newsworthiness!

Our Kickstarter Roundup is a day late, so we cover not five, not six, but seven current Kickstarters: Bunnies and Burrows, Phantasmagoria #1, Dragon-Slayer: RPG & Cosplay Wands, Dragon Scales - Dual Drake Metal Gaming Dice, Calidar "On Wings of Darkness", Mutant Mayhem Minis, and "Table Breakers" - Super Heavy Solid Metal Poly Dice Set. 

Link to Episode 147 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E147---Kickstarter-Roundup-for-October-10--2018---Dice--Wands--Bunnies--Airships--Mutants--Oh-My-e2cdcf

Links to mentioned Kickstarters:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/froggodgames/bunnies-and-burrows

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/424112640/phantasmagoria-1-a-sword-and-planet-zine-for-dcc-r

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1658949603/dragon-slayer-rpg-and-cosplay-wands

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ulfsarkgames/dragon-scales-dual-drake-metal-gaming-dice-14-days

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ambreville/calidar-on-wings-of-darkness

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/806737090/mutant-mayhem-minis-rpg-post-apocalyptic-figures-f

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/373390096/table-breakers-super-heavy-solid-metal-poly-dice-s

Announcing the Frog God Games and the Official Swords & Wizardry Communities on MeWe

As the mass migration of gamers from Google+ to MeWe continues, I thought I'd announce some new communities that might interest The Tavern's readers.

The Frog God Games Group - the official presence of Frog God Games on the MeWe social media platform.

The Official Swords & Wizardry Group - there may be more than one, but this group will be maintained by the Frogs. Can't get more official than that ;)

Of course, the Tenkar's Tavern Group went live last night, and if you are looking for your humble bartender on MeWe, here's a handy link.

As a dev actually dropped into a group chat to get feedback from the influx of Google+ RPG refugees earlier today, I'm pretty enthusiastic about the move. :)

(Evan Edwards has been putting together a comprehensive list of tabletop RPG groups on MeWe. With his kind permission, I'll be posting such here at The Tavern in a day or so.)

My Seven Year Old Niece Schools Me on Dungeon Design

The video is short, but my God, she understands what goes into designing a challenging dungeon.

Trick rooms, false treasure, lave, traps, bad guys, wizards, and limited access. All in just over a minute.

She has never played D&D or any of its variants yet. She has played some of the Dungeon boardgame and two sessions of No Thank You Evil!

I suspect she will be a natural :)

So, with the children in your family circles, are you leading them into the corrupted future of "fantasy roleplaying?" ;)

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E146 - Google to Shut Down G+ After Exposing User Info - OSR Migration has Started to MeWe

I blogged about this yesterday and the migration to MeWe is real. Over 400 new members in the MeWe OSR Community and 125 in The Tavern's MeWe Community in less than 24 hours.

What do you do if you expose the user info of half a million of your users? Shut down the service, that's what. Google has given G+ users a 10-month warning that its social media platform is going the way of the dodo. Most migration in the OSR Community appears to be heading towards MeWe.

Link to Episode 146 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E146---Google-to-Shut-Down-G-After-Exposing-User-Info---OSR-Migration-has-Started-to-MeWe-e2c4m3

https://www.tenkarstavern.com/2018/10/google-plus-to-come-to-end-august-2019.html

https://www.tenkarstavern.com/2018/10/the-mass-migration-of-osr-from-google.html

The Mass Migration of the OSR from Google+ has Begun

Yep, Google+ was given a notice today than in 10 months, Google will be pulling the life support plug on their social media platform. The OSR is strong on Google+, or it was. What is the point of staying with a dying social media platform? Who wants to be the one tasked with turning off the lights and locking the door?

Facebook is an option, but not all want to do Facebook. I understand that. The Tavern has a Facebook Community which can be reached at https://www.facebook.com/groups/849179298513223/

But what if you don't want to do Facebook? Or what if you simply want more options?

Discord is certainly an option. There is an OSR server which can be reached here: https://discord.gg/36Hfr2

There is also a Tenkar's Tavern server which does double duty as the Official Frog God Games Discord Community. Its active day and night, 24/7. You can join with this link:
https://discord.gg/fReGmuD

But you know what is on fire today? MeWe.com. Seriously, it seems to be a very viable Google+ alternative. There is an OSR Group (I am one of the admins) as well as a new, as of 2 hours ago as I type this, Tenkar's Tavern Group. Huzzah! Join us on the non-Google+ / non-Facebook alternative!

MeWe OSR Group - www.mewe.com/join/osr1

MeWe Tenkar's Tavern Group - www.mewe.com/join/tenkars_tavern

edit - if you want to "friend" me on MeWe, here's the link:  www.mewe.com/i/erik.tenkar

Google Plus to Come to an End August 2019 - Will the World of Social Media Even Notice? Will the OSR Move On?

Rob Conley gave me the heads up earlier this afternoon - Google Plus will be ending as we know it in 10 months (Enterprise users may have a version going forward). Rob blogs about the announcement at his Bat in the Attic blog.

Strangely, it's almost a non-announcement.

This review crystallized what we’ve known for a while: that while our engineering teams have put a lot of effort and dedication into building Google+ over the years, it has not achieved broad consumer or developer adoption, and has seen limited user interaction with apps. The consumer version of Google+ currently has low usage and engagement: 90 percent of Google+ user sessions are less than five seconds. 

Our review showed that our Google+ APIs, and the associated controls for consumers, are challenging to develop and maintain. Underlining this, as part of our Project Strobe audit, we discovered a bug in one of the Google+ People APIs:

Users can grant access to their Profile data, and the public Profile information of their friends, to Google+ apps, via the API. 

The bug meant that apps also had access to Profile fields that were shared with the user, but not marked as public.   

This data is limited to static, optional Google+ Profile fields including name, email address, occupation, gender and age. (See the full list on our developer site.) It does not include any other data you may have posted or connected to Google+ or any other service, like Google+ posts, messages, Google account data, phone numbers or G Suite content. 

We discovered and immediately patched this bug in March 2018. We believe it occurred after launch as a result of the API’s interaction with a subsequent Google+ code change.
We made Google+ with privacy in mind and therefore keep this API’s log data for only two weeks. That means we cannot confirm which users were impacted by this bug. 

However, we ran a detailed analysis over the two weeks prior to patching the bug, and from that analysis, the Profiles of up to 500,000 Google+ accounts were potentially affected. Our analysis showed that up to 438 applications may have used this API. 

We found no evidence that any developer was aware of this bug, or abusing the API, and we found no evidence that any Profile data was misused. 

Every year, we send millions of notifications to users about privacy and security bugs and issues. Whenever user data may have been affected, we go beyond our legal requirements and apply several criteria focused on our users in determining whether to provide notice. 

Our Privacy & Data Protection Office reviewed this issue, looking at the type of data involved, whether we could accurately identify the users to inform, whether there was any evidence of misuse, and whether there were any actions a developer or user could take in response. None of these thresholds were met in this instance. 

The review did highlight the significant challenges in creating and maintaining a successful Google+ that meets consumers’ expectations. Given these challenges and the very low usage of the consumer version of Google+, we decided to sunset the consumer version of Google+. 

To give people a full opportunity to transition, we will implement this wind-down over a 10-month period, slated for completion by the end of next August. Over the coming months, we will provide consumers with additional information, including ways they can download and migrate their data. 

At the same time, we have many enterprise customers who are finding great value in using Google+ within their companies. Our review showed that Google+ is better suited as an enterprise product where co-workers can engage in internal discussions on a secure corporate social network. Enterprise customers can set common access rules, and use central controls, for their entire organization. We’ve decided to focus on our enterprise efforts and will be launching new features purpose-built for businesses. We will share more information in the coming days.  

Cheaper to shut down than to fix...

I'm not surprised by the announcement. I am surprised that Google took this long to make such an announcement. Facebook drives over three times the traffic that Google Plus does for me at this time, despite 9,453 having me in their circles on G Plus and a hair over 2,000 friends on Facebook.

I know the OSR as a community is heavily invested in G Plus. Where will they move now?

G Plus has been the red-headed stepchild of Google for years. They never really knew what to do with it, and now it follows Google Wave and Feedburner onto the trash heap. I can only wonder if Blogger itself is close behind.

Other articles:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/08/google-reportedly-exposed-private-data-of-at-least-hundreds-of-thousands-of-plus-users.html

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/social-network-google-plus-bug-exposed-data-of-up-to-5-lakh-people-will-be-shut-down-1928902

https://abc7.com/technology/google+-to-shut-down-following-data-breach-affecting-500k-users--/4441213/

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E145 - Level Draining - Is It the Result of an Overwrought & Drunk DM or Something More Sinister?

Level draining undead. See them and see how I run ;)

Level Drain - never liked it, never will. In today's episode, I discuss some alternatives to the classic level drain threat.

Link to Episode 145 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E145---Level-Draining---Is-It-the-Result-of-an-Overwrought--Drunk-DM-or-Something-More-Sinister-e2bv37

Free Map Mondays - Dalgenar's Tomb

Its the second Monday of Free Map Mondays here at The Tavern. Today, we have what I have called Dalgenar's Tomb.

Lower right is the false tomb. There is a partially collapsed corridor which may or may not lead to more dungeons. Mid right is the old area for church services for the builders of the tomb. Upper right are caves that were uncovered when the tomb was dug. They are partially flooded.

Upper left was a barracks that also uncovered caves. The caves will lead above ground and may be inhabited.

Lower left is the actual tomb, hidden behind a secret door. A short set of stairs leads to the main tomb. Three coffins, two magic altars, and an altar occupy this room. To the north are the hastily stacked coffins of the workers that were killed after the tomb was built. The south room is the treasure room.

This tomb may have been raided prior, partially or fully. Parts may be occupied, but undead, bandits or adventurers.

This map is released under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ / Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0). Enjoy :)

Kickstarter - Phantasmagoria #1: A Sword and Planet Zine for DCC RPG

I love RPG Zines. I'm a huge fan of the Sword & Planet genre. Mix them together in a DCC RPG Zine and you have me hooked. Phantasmagoria #1: A Sword and Planet Zine for DCC RPG Kickstarter has me on the hook.

The first issue of Phantasmagoria will contain: 

Five new classes:
The Automaton: an independent robot discarded by its creator
The Captain: an inspiring leader and great duelist
The Gremlin: a tricksy demihuman with technical and magical skills
The Jovian: an exiled native of a gas giant
The Star Prince: the final, humanoid stage of a star's life cycle 

And additional material for playing in a science fantasy setting:
New equipment and weapons
New 0-level occupations
Rules for creating spaceships

Looks like I'll be using more DCC RPG material to inspire my Swords & Wizardry games :)

PDF is 4 bucks, Print plus PDF is 8 bucks plus shipping. I'm in for a Print copy myself.

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E144 - Social Norms, Unexpected Actions & Freedom to Do What You Want at the Table - Where's the Line?

My niece is staying the night, so I try to avoid the F-bombs in this episode. Didn't stop the S-bomb though. I'm a bad uncle ;)

I try to avoid the F-bombs today. No idea if I succeeded ;)  

I talk about unexpected actions, thinking out of the box, freedom to do what you want and social norms at the game table.

Link to Episode 144 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E144---Social-Norms--Unexpected-Actions--Freedom-to-Do-What-U-want-at-the-Table---Wheres-the-Line-e2brfr

New Release from Barrel Rider Games - White Box: Vigilant of the Midnight Gourd [Swords & Wizardry]

James Spahn gives us a new class for Swords & Wizardry just in time for Halloween - White Box: Vigilant of the Midnight Gourd.

Those Who Faithfully Await His Return Are Rewarded... 

White Box: Vigilant of the Midnight Gourd puts a dark twist on a modern Halloween classic, reshaping it into a terrifying and twisted class for use with Swords & Wizardry White Box and other OSR roleplaying games. 

Children who wait in the pumpkin patch sometimes receive strange gifts and become known as the Vigilant of the Midnight Gourd. Entice new followers to your dark master with sweet treats, stand sleepless and untiring in the pumpkin patch, and cut down those who would dare doubt the existence of the dark gourd that is your master with this 10-level class!

Damn it, James! Now I want to write an adventure centered around this. How much time do we have before Halloween?

White Box: Vigilant of the Midnight Gourd is available in PDF for a buck at RPGNow.

Yep, that's an affiliate link above. Go ahead, buy your bartender a beer ;)

Old School Blues Live! Podcast / Youtube - Episode 13

Join Vince, Glen and me as we ramble and meander our way through the latest episode of the Old School Blues and occasionally talk about where we find our inspiration in gaming.

It was a fun time :)

Link to the Old School Blues Anchor Podcast: https://anchor.fm/oldschoolblues

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E143 - Did Evil Hat Get Too Big? Layoffs and Product Cancellations Announced

Evil Hat, purveyor of FATE, is not having a good 2018. Reminds me of the yearly purges WotC would have at the holidays...

I received review copies of Dungeons & Dragons - Art and Arcana: A Visual History yesterday and they look amazing. Doesn't translate well to a podcast though ;) Black Hat is laying off stay and canceling some planned releases. They are hoping to be back in "the black" in 2019, which means they are "in the red" for 2018...

Link to Episode 143 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E143---Did-Evil-Hat-Get-Too-Big--Layoffs-and-Product-Cancellations-Announced-e2bl2c

https://www.evilhat.com/home/refocused-resized-hat-mode-activated/

First Look - Dungeons & Dragons - Art and Arcana: A Visual History

Just as I was walking out of the house this morning, the postman delivered a not too large but fairly heavy box into my hands. I saw Random House of the box and knew it had to be a review copy of the soon to be released Dungeons & Dragons Art and Arcana: A Visual History. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I found not just the standard released but also a copy of the Special Edition, Boxed Book & Ephemera Set. Grognard heaven :)

These are huge books and they may not weigh a metric ton, but they come close ;)

The paper quality is really good (much better than the B1-B2 omnibus) at the same base retail price (50 bucks). The binding looks like it will stand up to a lot of reading, and reading I need to do. It's not just the art but the history happening around the art.  Maybe I'll read this instead of watching football on Sunday, as both the Jets and the Giants are having a horrible start to the season.

I'll be sharing a bunch of pics on this post. It's not a review post. Its simply first impressions, an I'm simply blown away.

Dungeons & Dragons Art and Arcana: A Visual History has a suggested retail of $50 - on Amazon, it is available for pre-order at $31.45

Dungeons & Dragons Art and Arcana: A Visual History - Special Edition, Boxed Book & Ephemera Set has a suggested retail of $125 - on Amazon, it is available for pre-order at $76.27

Note - these are Amazon affiliate links. A small portion of your purchase price made via these links will go to support The Tavern. I Thank you.

The following pics are from the Special Edition:

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E142 - Protecting Your Reputation from Groundless Accusations

Groundless accusations. They are a dime a dozen these days. Often, just the accusation can hit your reputation. Take steps to protect yourself.

We have some voicemails related to Episode 141 and the Tome of Adventure Design. Afterward, I talk about steps you can take to protect yourself and your reputation from groundless accusations on social media. Quite simply, screenshot anything and everything in a conversation online that may go south.

Link to Episode 142 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E142---Protecting-Your-Reputation-from-Groundless-Accusations-e2bg5v

The Evil DM's Video Walkthrough of Illwinter's Floorplan Generator

Vince Florio - AKA The Evil DM - does a video walkthrough of Illwinter's Floorplan Generator and it's awesome. Even taught me a new trick or two ;)

I plan on putting together a "cheat sheet" of sorts for Illwinter in the next few days and will probably follow that up with a step by step tutorial on the blogside.

I simply don't have the video chops that Vince has :)

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E141 - Finding Inspiration in the Tome of Adventure Design

I love referring to the Tome of Adventure Design when I need inspiration when creating an adventure. It really is the go-to book on my gaming shelf, although I tend to roll less and scan and pick more.

Last night, while recording the latest episode of The Old School Blues podcast (here on Anchor) we touched on the topic of "adventure inspiration" and I totally forgot to mention the Tome of Adventure Design.

Link to Episode #141 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E141---Finding-Inspiration-in-the-Tome-of-Adventure-Design-e2b93l

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight - 9 PM Eastern - Let There be Maps!

I've got maps on my mind and my mind on maps, so I'm sure maps will be part of tonight's conversation ;)

What is Tavern Chat? Its mostly a voice enable hangout of members of the community using The Tavern's Discord Server.

Here's a link:  https://discord.gg/VEEYmx

See y'all tonight :)

The map on this page is released under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ / Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E140 - Review - Illwinter's Floorplan Generator (Maps)

As I posted earlier this week, I simply love Illwinter's Floorplan Generator. It simply hits all of my sweet spots.

I had put a call out for mapping programs that were easy to use and the results were usable commercially. Illwinter's Floorplan Generator fits the bill perfectly. Its affordable (7 bucks) and cross-platform )PC/Mac/Linux.

Link to Episode 140 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E140---Review---Illwinters-Floorplan-Generator-Maps-e2b40m

Link to Illwinter's Floorplan Generator - http://www.illwinter.com/floorplan/

Review - The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide

Long story short, I was offered a reviewer's copy of The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide by the publisher. How could I say no?  ;)

I gave my initial impressions (they were good) last week on The Tavern Chat Podcast, but how does "The Ultimate" stand up to a more thorough perusal? Very well.

Let me start by repeating something the author himself mentions - hop around the book. Use what inspires you. There is no need to use it all - hell, I don't think that is possible or even advisable. Simply use what works.

Now, I am primarily a DM / GM these days, and I'm going to ask you to note that the title doesn't say "Player Character... Guide" but "Character Guide". Think of this book not just as a useful tool for the players at your table, but an amazing toolkit to give your NPC some depth.

The first entry is a series of tables to invent your own idioms. Want an easy way to make each town identifiable for your players? Give your shopkeeper a unique idiom or two.

"Can't make a dwarf till a field."

"A foolish thief finding a dragon's horde may as well dig his own grave."

"Happiness gets you killed in front of hell's black gates."

Damn. I could really enjoy this :)

Some of the sections are of the "world building" type. Unique holy/holidays, a character's approach towards religion, details of your homeland/town/etc. These sections work best hand in hand with your DM, but also serve the DM well as he/she seeks to add depth to the campaign world - either one of their own creation or taken off the shelf. Its details like this that make an RPG campaign more than a simple series of connected adventures but a living, breathing world.

One of my favorite entries deals with what a character brings with them on adventures to keep that connection to home. Again, its presented as a tool for your players, but imagine the response when your players find the bandit leader's lair, and there is a small jewelry box filled with earth next to his bed. Is it magical? What's the purpose? (I still remember my Commanding Officer in the late 90's, when I was a cop in the South Bronx, having a small piece of Irish Turf on a shelf in his office, to remind him of his childhood in Ireland)

The most surprising thing about The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide is that it hasn't been done before. I find myself reading sections like Five Things You Can't Throw Away (applies as much in real life as it does in game) and Wanted (the joys of "Wanted Posters") and think "This is brilliant!" followed by "How come I never thought of this?" It's obvious once it's brought to one's attention, but the fact is that the obvious often remains hidden in plain sight. It takes the right person, or writer, to bring it into the light.

I can give The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide the following praise - it's inspired me to want to kick off a new RPG Campaign for the first time in a year and a half. I want to DM a campaign and I want to play in a campaign. I want to pick through the guide for nuggets of inspiration, for added depth to my next gameworld. I can think of no better endorsement other than "this book will be used". Sadly, I can't say that for the vast majority of my gaming collection.

The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide has a retail price of 14.99. On Amazon, its 10.39 in softcover, 10.99 in Kindle format.  https://amzn.to/2IE1gFb

Yep, that's an affiliate link above. Keep the taps flowing and the beer cold at The Tavern by using our affiliate links.

Ramp up your role-playing game and make your character your own with this fun, interactive workbook—an essential addition to any RPG player’s gaming kit. 

You’ve chosen your class, bought your weapons, and rolled for your stats, and you’re now the proud owner of your own RPG (role-playing game) avatar. But before you begin your adventure, there’s so much more you can do with your character to make him or her your own! Just how evil is she? What does his dating profile look like? Where did she get that scar? What does he want for his birthday? With fill-in-the blank narratives, prompts, and fun activities to help you customize your character at the start of the game, or build out your backstory as you play, The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Book will help you fully imagine your character and bring them to life for the ultimate gaming experience!

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E139 - Gygax Memorial Fund - 2017 Tax Return is In - Not What I Expected

You know when you expect one thing and get another, and the other you get does answer a question, but not the one you really wanted an answer for. That is this. We sill don't know where the monies that WotC states they are sending the Gygax Memorial Fund from the sales of the POD and PDFs of the core AD&D 1e books, but Alex Gygax is now listed as a "Director" on the Fund's tax return. He still hasn't made the Fund's webpage yet. And what's up with the left justification?

Back in early June of this year, Alex Gygax messaged me to let me know that the latest filed tax return was being updated and refiled. I thought that meant an accounting of the monies WotC indicated it had been forwarding to the Fund since 2015 for the 1e reprints. I thought wrong...

Link to Episode 139 -  https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E139---GMF---2017-Tax-Return-is-In---Not-What-I-Expected-e2auqn

Link to the Gygax Memorial Fund - http://www.gygaxmemorialfund.org

Link to the Gygax Memorial Fund's Tax Returns - http://www.gygaxmemorialfund.org/fund-info/financial-info

Podcast - Old School Blues - Episode 13 - Vince Florio & Yours Truly

Last week Vince and I recorded Episode 13 of the Old School Blues Podcast.

Its available via Ancor and Youtube - yes, there is a video :)

As if you didn't have enough of me unscripted - heh.

More to come. Maybe even with Old Man Grognard.

Anchor Link: https://anchor.fm/oldschoolblues/episodes/Old-School-Blues-The-Revival-Live----Episode-12-e2a7ms

Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/6NNTw5mJiqA

The Tavern Introduces "Free Map Mondays!" (Beers are 5 Bucks ;)

As I posted about last night, I seem to have found my dungeon mapping program for the immediate future - Illwinter's Floorplan Generator. I'm still learning the interface, but my second map look less than an hour and looks pretty darn good (if I must say so myself)

If you are a frustrated mapper much like myself, I recommend Illwinter without reservation. For 7 bucks, there's little risk and the results are amazing. Its cross-platform and projects using the core resources can be published commercially.

Which is where Free Map Mondays comes into play. I plan on releasing a map on Mondays, every Monday. The maps will be free to use personally and commercially. All I ask is you include the following if you use any of the free maps commercially: "Map by Erik Tenkar using Illwinter's Floorplan Generator."

Or just buy the program yourself.

I have more map ideas in mind. Need to tweak before announcing, but it should be fun for all :)

Oh yeah, the map above is released for free commercial use subject to the above simple terms.

Edit - I'm guessing there is a CC license that covers this...

Editing the Edit - Maps will be released under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ / Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E138 - Four Wayward Kickstarters, See How They Run - Or Not

Ah, Wayward Kickstarters. If I didn't mock them, I might cry. And yes, I backed all four of these.

I've been meaning to so this episode for a couple of days now. I guess I was kinda busy ;) I talk about the following Kickstarters: Yarr! The Pirate ArrPG Hardcover : Make 100 Edition, Far West: Western/Wuxia Mashup adventure game, Artisan Dice Does Handcrafted Polyhedrals, and Appendix N Adventure Toolkits (DCC RPG Modules).

Link to Episode 138 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E138---Four-Wayward-Kickstarters--See-How-They-Run---Or-Not-e2ao6l

Link to Kickstarters:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/511830989/yarr-the-pirate-arrpg-hardcover-make-100-edition/description

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/Adamant/far-west-western-wuxia-mashup-adventure-game/description

https://www.mutedhorn.net/far-west-delivery-estimates

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/charliebrumfield/artisan-dice-does-handcrafted-polyhedrals/updates

https://www.artisandice.com/faq/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1778492214/appendix-n-adventure-toolkits-dcc-rpg-modules

I Found My Mapping Program - Illwinter's Floorplan Generator (Win / OSX / Linux)

About 30 minutes of initial playtime with Illwinter's Floorplan Generator

Thanks for all of the feedback. I was presented with lots of mapping tools to explore and I will do so, but for now, I have found my dungeon mapping program - Illwinter's Floorplan Generator.

It hits a few sweet points for me.

1. It works on OSX (and Windows and Linus too).
2. Maps made with the core assets can be used commercially. Using "mod" assets, you'd need to confer with the creator(s). I haven't progressed that far. (https://steamcommunity.com/app/630900/discussions/0/1694920442953847793/)
3. It's inexpensive. 7 bucks on Steam.
4. It's easy to use and user-friendly (the map you see above I did in about 30 minutes, playing with various features)

Here's a list of features from the Illwinter's Floorplan Generator Steam Page:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/630900/Illwinters_Floorplan_Generator/

Illwinter's Floorplan Generator is a grid-based dungeon and wilderness floorplan creator. The floorplan generator can be used to quickly draw and print an encounter floorplan for your favorite pen and paper roleplaying game. It is very quick and easy to create a simple floorplan, you just select what terrain type each square should be and the program fixes the rest. E.g. a cave wall next to a rocky ground will automatically create a jagged wall, but the same cave wall next to a marble floor would create a much smoother wall because this is likely to be an indoor room with polished walls.

• About 50 different terrain types to choose from
• Icons included for the most common objects, e.g. doors, stairs, tables, beds, trees, bushes, pentagrams
• Color maps or old school black and white style
• Adjacent terrains interact automatically to create jagged edges, smooth transitions and shadows when necessary
• Random fractals used to create shapes for cave walls, rivers and other non regular terrains
• Create a multi-page pdf with the dungeon divided into pages suitable for printing
• Export dungeon as a single png suitable for roll20 and similar applications
• Configurable square and paper sizes, (default is 1 inch squares on A4 pages)
• Outdoor and dungeon shadows with configurable strength
• Export to your favorite paint program for finishing touches
• Import your own icons
• Create new terrain types from imported images
• Configurable grid, default is to not draw it on top of walls and with thicker lines between pages
• Grid based, terrain is placed in squares or on square edges (icons can be placed and rotated freely)
• Shortcuts to quickly put a random door, tree or bush in a square
• Dungeon layout can be imported from a simple ASCII text file, like this http://www.illwinter.com/floorplan/ss/ascii.jpg
• Create random dungeons automatically
• Editor to create rules for your own random dungeon
• Color dungeons can be converted to Black & White style dungeons automatically
• Steam workshop support

Better mapping example. Not my work ;)

I have some ideas on the usage of the maps I'll be working on. More on that later.

Edit: I tweaked a bit and learned new features, like hiding secret doors for VTTS

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E 137 - Meltdown in the Roll20 SubReddit Makes Newsweek

How often does our corner of the universe make it to a news outlet like Newsweek? I'm not talking major announcements, I'm talking dumpster fires.

First, thank you for all of the support. It means more than you know. We have voicemails from Jason Hobbs and Old Man Grognard. The news section is about Roll20 moderator, cofounder and manager Nolan T banning a Reddit user, the backlash and dumpster fire that resulted and the actions taken to resolve the public relations nightmare.

Link to Episode 137 -  https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E-137---Meltdown-in-the-Roll20-SubReddit-Makes-Newsweek-e2ajet

Link to Reddit Thread 

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/9iwarj/after_5_years_on_roll20_i_just_cancelled_and/?st=JML9EREZ&sh=251d99b5

Link to Newsweek Article - https://www.newsweek.com/roll20-reddit-nolant-jones-apostleo-apostleoftruth-dungeons-and-dragons-ban-1142706

Announcing Midderlands Patches - Ships Worldwide for 6 Bucks a Patch

Pick a patch, any patch!

With apologies to Thad. This past week has simply had a life of its own.

In collaboration with MonkeyBlood Design (Glynn Seal) I am proud to present a new OSR patch for the Ennie award winning Middlerlands.  

The Midderlands is an old-school game setting with bestiary for use with old-school role-playing games. It is based on Swords & Wizardry Complete, but could easily be used with other old-school systems and even non-OSR systems such as D&D or Pathfinder. It is a green-hued, dark-fantasy, late-middle ages, early-renaissance view through grime-smeared spectacles. The setting itself is based on an area in the middle of England called The Midlands. Many of the locations are loosely based on reality, but others are pure fantasy from an addled mind.

http://monkeyblooddesign.co.uk/The-Midderlands

Patches are available now! All OSR patches have an iron on backing, 100% digital embroidery coverage and merrowed edges.

To order ANY OSR patch send $6 per patch to: paypal.me/thaddeusgmoore

Free Shipping world wide from the USA is included in this price. Please make a note specifying which designs you would like and ensure your shipping address is correct in your PayPal account info. Thanks to all of you in the OSR community for your camaraderie and support.

The Tavern Chat Podcast - Episode # 136 - Stacy D's Allegations re: Myself - Debunked

Wow. And here I thought I could rant. Normally, I'd leave this be but there are so many outright lies here I need to address it. More details will be in the Podcast Episode, but my commentary should suffice for some.

Link to Episode 136: https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E136---Stacy-Ds-Allegations-re-Myself---Debunked-e2admn

First, some background. I first came across Stacy when she was organizing Contessa as an online convention. I remember her complaining that she couldn't get enough female GMs to fill the slots needed to be filled. I pointed out that when you ONLY will accept women as GMs, you are probably excluding 80%+ of the gaming public, maybe even a higher percentage of GMs. I also wasn't comfortable knowing that all sessions were being recorded on Google Hangouts for a lifetime of viewing on Youtube. Yes, I criticized her and her project. Its been all downhill from there.

In the summer of 2015, she went online and criticized NTRPG Con for both the "serving wenches" and the fact that Merle Rasmussen ran an "all ladies" game. A game he ran with his wife in the room. I know, Rach played in it. Stacy then lobbed stones at Rach and I. Here's the post and here's the screenshot:

Apparently, I should spend less time with my wife. Sigh. Stacy was upset that I responded to her G plus thread because it was private and I basically had no right to even read it. 

Did I mention that Rach is legally blind? That would make her a "marginalized" person according to Stacy.

This to me was the point where I realized there was something special going on.

Latest:

If you're friends with Erik Tenkar, please don't be friends with me. If you're interested in keeping women in RPGs safe, please don't be friends with Erik Tenkar. (THIS. WTF does this imply? EVERY con I've gone to I've gone with Rach except my first Gary Con, and that was last minute) Erik Tenkar only cares about one thing: Erik Tenkar. (How many fundraisers have I offered matching monies for from The Tavern?) He has been following me around the internet in super creepy style since ConTessa began.  (I've given the background above. I'm not the one ranting on a monthly basis to have someone unfriended and complaining about him. Last time you came up in The Tavern was in October of 2017 - https://www.tenkarstavern.com/2017/10/gamer-in-need-stacy-dellorfano-cancer.html)

WHEN ConTessa began, he spread lies that we thought all white males were potential creepers, and immediately distrusted them. (All sessions were on Google Hangouts Live in 2014 and put up on Youtube. I felt uncomfortable putting myself on YouTube, in a game session with strangers, for all time. It was a measure used to ensure the safety of the women. Here's my quote: "The assumption that male players are bound to include their share of "creepy guys" and "that's why we have to record everything" creeps me out...") While that is now actually TRUE, it wasn't at the time, and it's people like Erik Tenkar who've made that true. (Crock of shit. Give examples.) Sorry dudes, you don't police your own, that's what happens.

At the time, when I corrected him, he ignored me, and continued to spread lies about ConTessa. (Did you then, and have you in the recent past, struggled to fill Contessa GM seats? Not a lie. But please, list the lies I spread about Contessa. Wait, recording sessions were done for what reason exactly?)

All four of my Contessa posts. http://www.tenkarstavern.com/search?q=contessa

The post from 2014 that Stacy is still fuming over: http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2014/02/if-you-have-con-and-no-one-shows-did-it.html

He writes a vague blog post or podcast EVERY TIME I mention him outside my walled garden.  (link them please, because I'd like to see them myself. Because you mention me an awful lot, and I do have other stuff to post about) When I was diagnosed with cancer, he grossly and inappropriately used it to promote his own work (I offered to raise at least 50 bucks from the proceeds of the sales of SWCL. I was to make no money off of it. A third party on your behalf demanded I rescind the offer and I did. If I was out of place with my offer, its because I am a cancer survivor myself and I acted on emotional impulse, without malice.) He never asked me if that was okay, he never apologized for all the times he treated me like shit (and you've never apologized to me nor Rach for the insults you threw at us. What exactly is your point?), he just put it up complete with backhanded compliments.
I sat at my keyboard, ugly sobbing, trying to get friends to go talk to him because I refuse to talk to the asshole. He refused to take the post down, but kept the money when it got to him I didn't want it, and added a snarky edit to the post. But he left the post up, completely fucking missing the point.

Link to post: https://www.tenkarstavern.com/2017/10/gamer-in-need-stacy-dellorfano-cancer.html

(You are missing the point. I've never deleted a post. Ever. The internet never forgets. I don't hide anything, even my mistakes. As for never sending you the money, your third party told me you didn't want it and then BLOCKED me from responding or explaining. So, at that point, what do I do? You didn't want it. You can't have it both ways)

His current method of harassment is to talk about me boldly on his podcast, claiming I have so much power over the people of the OSR (a community I've repeatedly stated I want nothing to do with anymore) that I function as the "thought police", and my asking people to not be friends with me if they are friends with my harassers is somehow controlling a community I can't even stand.
Erik Tenkar is such a coward, however, that he refused to name me in his podcast and redacted my name and likeness from the screenshots he took of me saying this very same thing to other people on one of the posts about Darrick Dishaw AKA Venger Satanis. (Yep, I didn't mention you because quite frankly it was more of a community learning moment. But here, now you are mentioned)

Erik Tenkar seems to believe I shouldn't be allowed to decide what content from whom I wish to see in my feed.  (apparently, you don't know how social media works. If I'm blocked or not on your friends' list, I won't appear on your feed.)

Someone on the thread called me "vindictive". You don't know the half of it, buddy.
Let's be clear. I don't have some strange, illuminati-based power against the OSR you all have to wear tin-foil caps to avoid. I am not an influential voice within the OSR, and I don't strive to be. I don't even run OSR games anymore, aside from Lamentations of the Flame Princess, which, aside from the system, is definitively NOT an OSR game. (wait. this is double speak. It's built off of B/X, the rules are certainly OSR and LotFP is sold to the OSR, but it's not OSR)

If you want to see all of the times he's mentioned me by name in his blog, take a look here:
https://www.tenkarstavern.com/search?q=stacy+dellorfano

The first part was so wildly successful, that he's made a second part:
https://www.tenkarstavern.com/…/the-tavern-chat-podcast-e13…
https://plus.google.com/+ErikTenkar/posts/NJtwS1yHkyx

Now, since Erik can't read this himself unless he logs out of Facebook, I expect one of his lackeys to take screenshots and share it with him. Go ahead, stick your nose right up his ass, I'm sure it smells splendid. (Nope, they did fine)

Note: Continued unfounded accusations of nefarious activity will be treated seriously and potentially legally.

Help me Obi Wan - Looking for User Friendly OSX / Mac Mapping Software

I'm looking for some user-friendly OSX Mapping software. Primarily looking to map out some dungeon, underground environments. If the end rest can be used in commercial projects, so much the better.

OSX is not a target-rich environment for mapping software it seems.

Please, point me in a direction or three ;)

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E135 - Follow up to Beware the OSR Thought Police

Ah, sweet irony. I call out someone, well, more accurately, it's being actively done by more than one person but anyhow - I call someone out for demanding their social media "friends" unfriend those they feel are sources of "wrong think" and I'm called a coward by a random individual on social media. Musta struck a nerve. Might need a root canal...

Remember when Bad / Wrong / Fun was all the rage? We had an element telling other gamers that they were doing it wrong. That their "fun" was wrong and bad. We have officially jumped that shark I think.

Wow. Yesterday's episode was well received. Lots of feedback, much direct, some by voicemail and comments on the blog side. I share and respond to some of the feedback.

Link to Episode 135 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E135---Follow-up-to-Beware-the-OSR-Thought-Police-e2aanf