Kickstarter - Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad Zine Returns! (DCC RPG)

"Four years in the making, the original Metal Gods team returns for three more issues of metal-fueled mayhem for the DCC RPG."

I had no idea it had been four years since the last issue of the Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad Zine. I'm going to need to dig through my gaming shelves and pull them out.

Metal Gods read like some sort of vaguely acid-induced trip through some alternate DCC  RPG setting. It was, and is, awesome. Sigh, more money leaving my wallet.

Issue #4: Time of Crisis!
Like any other multiversal hyper-megalopolis, Ur-Hadad is no stranger to calamity. In fact, crisis is one of the First City's defining features! This issue provides a whole slew of tools for Judges to use to spin up their campaigns from small adventures into city-wide, culture-shaking phenomena! Including profiles of Ur-Hadad's most notorious crises and their causes (along with special rules introduced by each) and a Crisis Generator, this issue is all about turning your game up to 11!
This issue is almost completely written and will be ready for art & layout soon. 

Issue #5: Murder Gangs of Ur-Hadad
First, we gave you Street Kids of Ur-Hadad. Then we gave you The Heist! Metal Gods has always focused on urban adventures and now we're taking them one step beyond! In Murder Gangs of Ur-Hadad, we'll present a system for running a thieves guild, assassins coven, coterie of smugglers or however your criminal taste run. This unique system builds on some trends already out there in the greater DCC-o-sphere, bringing them together in a tight, cohesive package. You'll also get to know the seedy underbelly of the First City, including profiles on some of her most notorious gangs.
This issue is currently in playtesting and is expected to be finished by mid-Summer and Doug Kovacs has signed on to do the cover!  

Issue #6: Mysterious Gods of Ur-Hadad
From the Avenue of One Thousand Gods to the Gloaming Deeps beneath the city's docks, cults and mystery faiths permeate Hadadi society. In this issue, we'll explore some of the First City's stranger religions and sects, from the austere followers of the God of Blackened Skies to the debaucherous Last Adherents of the Sensate, we'll profile these bizarre faiths and how to use them in your game. We'll also include rules to integrate cults into your Murder Gangs of Ur-Hadad game, whether as foes or as your PCs' crew! 

I think the sweet spot is 15 bucks - issues 4, 5 and 6 in print and all 6 issues in PDF.

Neither The Tavern nor myself receive compensation for Kickstarter coverage or Kickstarter posts. Some Kickstarters are brought to the attention of The Tavern by their creators. Such communication does not guarantee coverage here at The Tavern. I do not back every Kickstarter I highlight as my wallet's contents are not limitless but I do find all highlighted Kickstarters interesting for one or more reasons - Erik Tenkar

When an RPG Kickstarter Gets Suspended for IP Violation by WotC, Has the Sleeping Bear Been Awakened?

I've been very happy with the various projects Fail Squad Games has produced via Kickstarter. Lloyd is an amazing artist and a strong adventure writer. I was surprised to find his latest project, The Ruins of Mistmere - a 5e adventure, was canceled for IP violation. At least, I was surprised until I followed the conversation on Facebook.

Before we get to that, here's the notice on Kickstarter:

Obviously, the paralegal got the source of the IP partially wrong, especially considering the Ruins of Mistmere isn't even an adventure in the 1983 Red Box but rather more of a hypothetical adventure referred to in the text. Still, it was, and still is, WotC IP.

If you read the admittedly rather long conversation that resulted from Lloyd's Facebook posting, you see the project was created and submitted with the "potential of poking the bear."

Some highlights: 

https://www.facebook.com/Sprattoo March 19, 2019

Lloyd Metcalf I think I did in saying that it was inspired by the "Your first adventure" in the video and ads. I also accidentally had the phrase Dungeons & Dragons in the text of one of my ads... or something. (how one does this "accidentally" is beyond plausibility)I was in a rush to pack for Gary Con and already tired at launch. lol.

Lloyd Metcalf To be fair - WOTC and TSR never released any product called "Ruins of Mistamere" - it was a paragraph title in the red box DMG titled - "Your First Group Adventure"

James Lowder This Kickstarter is very clearly using that as the springboard. It's not the rules that got you in trouble, but using their copyrighted content--characters, plot, etc. "This adventure is inspired by, and is a revisit of, the first 'Group Adventure' in a certain Red Box set of the world’s favorite basic roleplaying game." and "Borgle is well known in many original adventures and legends; many report that his name was spelled with an “a” in place of the “o”." The last is screaming "we just changed an A to an O but it is the copyrighted content."

Lloyd Metcalf Yeah - i know.... Again, I knew I was stepping up to the line in trying to bring the flavor of this adventure to 5E. I COMPLETELY knew I was rolling some dice on the idea.

James Lowder ... the mention of D&D probably got the project onto an automatic notification list. "Other people got away with similar" as a defense will just mean WotC (rightly) expands its notifications list, so that, say, RPG + "red box" are alerts. This project is clearly intended as a copyright violation. It announces itself as such. It is not a shock it got stopped. That's a much bigger issue than mentioning D&D.

James Lowder voices my fear. Now that the bear has been awakened, it may decide to defend its territory. WotC has mostly played nice with the OSR and publishers of material for the current edition of D&D, even those projects and publications that may have entered and perhaps gone beyond any kind of grey area in the use of WotC IP and trademarks. This may have more of a longterm effect than Lloyd or anyone else may have initially expected.

Time will tell.

Kickstarter - Mercenaries Spies & Private Eyes RPG by Michael Stackpole

Mercenaries Spies & Private Eyes is an RPG I've owned for years and I've always wanted to find a group to play it but being out of print finding others that owned it has been damn near impossible. Now that Flying Buffalo is putting it back in print I may be able to find that elusive MSPE gaming group ;)

Mercenaries, Spies & Private Eyes RPG was first published in 1983 by Flying Buffalo Inc. MSPE (as it came to be known) allowed players to run rpg adventures from the 1800's all the way to the modern era, ranging from Victorian steampunk, and crime noir, to super spy thrilllers in the cold war. Michael Stackpole wrote the MSPE role playing game, using the Tunnels & Trolls framework as a jumping off point.  

In 1986, Flying Buffalo took a hit from an unrelated disaster, and sold the rights of MSPE to Sleuth Publications. They came out with an edition that had a black & white cover, and they left out a few things that Buffalo had included, and inserted a few new things that weren't in the Buffalo edition. The last existing copies of the Sleuth edition have sold out, so now Flying Buffalo is printing a third (Combined Edition of MSPE) which includes all the material that was in both editions!  

The Combined Edition: What's in it? The new edition will contain all the original text and art from the Flying Buffalo and Sleuth editions.  From the Buffalo edition, we will use the amazing painted cover and will include the Tunnels & Thompsons section (which was not in the Sleuth edition) along with some missing art. We have also made various corrections to the rules text that have been found by players and fans over the years.

Shit, looks like even I need the new edition.

18 bucks for the print plus PDF (free shipping in the US), 25 if you want a signed edition. Decisions decisions...

But it damn it! I want to play some MSPE!

edit - in for the Hardcover at 55

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight - 9 PM Eastern

Today is a Wednesday, so tonight is Tavern Chat.

9 PM Eastern

Hang out in voice chat with other RPG gamers from the OSR and beyond.

Here's your handy link:

https://discord.gg/fReGmuD

Kickstarter - Xboat: a Traveller RPG 'zine

I played a lot of Traveller back in high school and college. Character generation was a game unto itself. Although my desire to play Traveller these days has waned I truly enjoy reading the various support material.

I find Xboat: a Traveller RPG 'zine to be a tempting pick up, but I may wait for it to release on DriveThru - my wallet is rapidly emptying with the various Kickstarters I've been looking at.

This is a true FanZine, with most of the material produced by Fans who are participating in the Traveller5 initiative. It's about discussion, example, and bold ideas rather than finished product. So, these issues are "non-canon", although content *could* be re-used in later publications.  

Each issue is at least 16 printed half-pages (5.5 x 8.5) in a saddle-stitched booklet format. I'll mail the issues out in flat envelopes.

While the Fifth Edition is directly supported, these resources typically work with any version of Traveller, or science fiction role-playing games in general.  

Neither The Tavern nor myself receive compensation for Kickstarter coverage or Kickstarter posts. Some Kickstarters are brought to the attention of The Tavern by their creators. Such communication does not guarantee coverage here at The Tavern. I do not back every Kickstarter I highlight as my wallet's contents are not limitless but I do find all highlighted Kickstarters interesting for one or more reasons - Erik Tenkar

Kickstarter - The Isle of The Amazons - RPG Zine for #ZineQuest

I'm falling behind on the cool Kickstarter I want to highlight, and with 14 still in the hopper and with folks sending me links to cool shit I missed, this may never end ;)

So, what is The Isle of The Amazons?

(It's a) 2 issue Setting for Untold Adventure and other White Box based OSR RPGs.

Ok. Let's dig a bit deeper.

The Isle of The Amazons (TIOTA) is an optional setting designed specifically for Untold Adventures by Ennie Award winning author and designer, James M. Spahn.  However, as such TIOTA, is compatible with Swords & Wizardry and really any White Box based game as well as easily convertible to be used with all OSR RPG games. 

TIOTA showcases the island paradise of Elencia, the home of the Amazons.  It also features Amazon City, the Amazons ways, their history, other inhabitants of Elencia, dangerous locations and monsters and much more.   

TIOTA details the 7 new playable classes:  The Aristocrat, Disciple of the High Priestess, Guard, Muse, Psion, Sorceress & Sungia.
 

Not a secret but it needs to be mentioned. James is a good friend of mine. Almost like a brother but without the family baggage ;) That being said, he does amazing work and I'm backing this in a heartbeat!

10 for the PDF, 15 for the POD plus PDF and 25 for "both issues of The Isle of The Amazons Setting Guide. These zines will be printed A5 with B&W Interior and High Quality Color Covers." shipping included.

I'm in a 25.

Neither The Tavern nor myself receive compensation for Kickstarter coverage or Kickstarter posts. Some Kickstarters are brought to the attention of The Tavern by their creators. Such communication does not guarantee coverage here at The Tavern. I do not back every Kickstarter I highlight as my wallet's contents are not limitless but I do find all highlighted Kickstarters interesting for one or more reasons - Erik Tenkar

 

The Origins of Swords & Wizardry Light or Ain't Retirement Grand?

I know I've posted about the origins of Swords & Wizardry Light in the past but there comes a time when you need to address certain falsehoods in the narrative making the rounds. So, here we are, back to the beginning. Strangely enough, the origins go back nearly three years to the day. Hold my beer, I need two hands to type ;)

Three years ago on St Patrick's Day, 2016, I signed out from work for the final time at 605 AM. I would run accumulated time and terminal leave for nearly four months, but for all effects and purposes, I was retired.

Retirement hits different people in different ways. A common theme is a need for a replacement time sink to work. You wouldn't think this would be needed. Not having to work is awesome! Work does, however, give one a purpose and I found myself in search of such purpose and lots of free time on my hands. Pub lunches and naps can only take one so far ;)

I started toying with the idea of a guerilla marketing ruleset for OSR gaming. Something that could be printed on a single sheet - both sides - and left in libraries, community centers, game stores and the like. I brainstormed that idea for a while. Bought legal sized paper for my printer, as I thought I might need the extra space of a larger sheet of paper. I had lots of ideas, and that was good. I found something to do in retirement.

Sometime in the late spring, I shared my idea with Zach Glazar (Frog God Games). We are friends and often use the other as a sounding board. Ideas that may sound good to oneself may not survive the intense gaze of another's more critical - and less biased - thinking.

I expected some ideas for layout, general feedback on rules to include or exclude. I hadn't even settled on a ruleset to strip down. I half expected to build one from the ground up of my own, using the various existing rulesets for inspiration. Instead, Zach told me my vision was lacking. I had a great idea - an awesome idea - but I was thinking too small. He then told me to hold that thought and he would get back to me.

Before I knew it, instead of some throwaway sheet of paper that would probably never fit enough rules to be playable (or if it did, the font would be too small to be readable), what if I had four pages, professionally laid out with high-quality art, using the Swords & Wizardry rules and stripping them down to the bare bones (and even whittled away at some of those bones) and Frog God Games would publish - both in print (to give away for free) and in PDF. Oh, and it would be called Swords & Wizardry Light.

Without Zach, without Frog God Games, there would be no Swords & Wizardry Light. There might be some hacked out ruleset, barely playable but certainly loved by its creator, hoping to be found in some random libraries, but its impact would have been minimal.

Swords & Wizardry Light was never the work of one person. It was a team effort from the moment we named it. Zach doing layout and feedback, Scott Swift on editing, James Spahn on smoothing out the rules and all of us trying to save space, one character (note: not "player character") at a time. All while thanking Matt Finch and Bill Webb for even allowing us to do what we did to the house ruleset of Frog God Games.

As a ruleset, Swords & Wizardry Light was intended to lower the entry bar to old school style roleplaying and RPGs in general. To feel comfortable and familiar to lapsed gamers and non-intimidating to new players, young and old. Oh, and since it is built on the bones of Swords & Wizardry, its a perfect marketing tool for Swords & Wizardry Complete. It is meant to complement the larger ruleset, not compete with it. It only covers three levels, and that is by design (and space consideration)

The rest pretty much is history. It debuted at GameHole Con in 2016 and has been given away at cons, via snail mail, with Frog God orders, PDF and more - thousands upon thousands of times. It's a perfect ruleset to run at conventions and works well for pick up games. It gives just enough of the fuller rules to bring folks back to the Frog God booth at conventions asking for more Swords & Wizardry. More OSR.

I do believe it accomplishes the goals we set out for it and more.

So, there you have it. The true story of the origins of Swords & Wizardry Light. Less exciting then some narratives and dramaless, unless you include the period where I was trying to emulate a d20 with 3d6...

Kickstarter - Powered by GURPS: Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 2 & Game Reprint

I like GURPS. Well, I love the sourcebooks and used to run some GURPS back in my college days. It just seemed a bit heavy for my gaming tastes.

Now, I really like the GURPS: Dungeon Fantasy boxed set. The rules focus on what I focus on - fantasy gaming - and without the need to cover every genre the rules seem more approachable. I could see myself running this. I certainly could see myself playing it.

The Powered by GURPS: Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 2 & Game Reprint Kickstarter puts the relatively small print run associated with the original Dungeon Fantasy Kickstarter back in print. More copies - more circulation - more players - more support material. Isn't that how it works?

With your support, we're going to bring back the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game with a second printing and, more importantly, expand the line with a new book: Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 2! This companion to Dungeon Fantasy Monsters introduces even more foes to the dungeon, giving the GM new tools to use when designing adventures and the players more beasties to slay and loot.   

If you already have the Dungeon Fantasy boxed set, the Monsters 2 book is 20 bucks in print plus PDF.

If you need the Dungeon Fantasy boxed set (along with Monsters 2), print plus PDF is 95 bucks.

Dungeon Fantasy is a really sweet ruleset :)

Neither The Tavern nor myself receive compensation for Kickstarter coverage or Kickstarter posts. Some Kickstarters are brought to the attention of The Tavern by their creators. Such communication does not guarantee coverage here at The Tavern. I do not back every Kickstarter I highlight as my wallet's contents are not limitless but I do find all highlighted Kickstarters interesting for one or more reasons - Erik Tenkar

Kickstarter - Strange New World Gazetteer: Weird Colonial Roleplaying Zine (OSR)

I'm a sucker for settings. I really like the Colonial Gothic setting even if I don't much like the attached rule system. So color me excited when I stumbled across a zine that is both OSR AND about a New World Colonial Era setting. Strange New World Gazetteer: Weird Colonial Roleplaying Zine Kickstarter looks to be my cup of tea.

An RPG and OSR setting zine for adventuring in a strange fantasy version of colonial America. Fearsome creatures, witchcraft and weird.

The above is the elevator pitch and it calls to me. I'm sorry, but I was a history major, and American history, up to the Civil War, is one of the areas I concentrated in. Of course, that was 30 years ago, so don't expect much fact checking from me ;)

Strange New World is an OSR-compatible campaign setting set during the colonization era of North America (1600/1700's era) but set in a world where magic, monsters and, more importantly, strangeness have returned to the new world. Soldiers and monster hunters fight side by side trailblazers and mountaineers. Witches weave terrible magics while preachers vanquish chaos and shepherd the people.  

(Strange New World content is compatible with any WhiteBox / B/X / BECMI or AD&D system, we use a hacked version of Lamentations of the Flame Princess as our OSR base. SNW content could even be used with OSR-adjacent games such as Dungeon World.) 

Compared to a traditional fantasy world, the Strange New World is a points-of-light setting. Colonization of the new world has slowed and exploration in many regions has ceased after proving too risky. There are fewer settlements than there were in actual history and they are spread very thinly through the perilous frontier. The land rages against colonization, it cracks and leaks hellfire pockets of poison gas, it births powerful megafauna guardians, and summons woeful bogeys from the fey realms in efforts to protect itself. Society has instead packed itself into well-protected cities, increasing urban population above historical levels, while spending more resources on military outposts and organizations opposed to the chaos of the new world. 

This is also a world where gonzo weirdness has found a home in history. Ancient alien visitation shaped the beliefs of the native people, once-mighty and now-lost civilizations that existed thousands of years ago in the new world are there to be discovered or pillaged. This is a world where fables and folk lore are not merely cautionary tales but historical accounts. A world where the mythical Underworld is a real land of the dead that can be visited. Strange New World also exists in the meta-setting of 400 Billion Suns, where "billions and billions" of possible worlds could have interacted with each other through the magical eons. 

Monsters, magic and bedlam must be dealt with before man may progress in this Strange New World.

Even if I never use the setting, I'm going to enjoy the hell out of it :)

The Strange New World setting will be supported through a dedicated website that will function as an information hub and lore encyclopedia. 

A living, updating, OSR compatible setting guidebook will be offered online, containing core setting information and rules hacks. Each Gazetteer volume will be available in print and feature expanded setting information, lore and rules (all OSR compatible!) such as classes, magic, monsters and adventure hex-ploration sites. 

The Gazetteer will be presented as an in-universe gazette written and presented by characters from within the Strange New World itself. Such characters include Willam van Dook, renowned world explorer; Jeremiah Shagbark, famous bogey hunter with the Fang and Fur Company; Wolf-that-Sings, a Hopi warden with ties to the western world; and more!

I'm in for the signed, alternated cover plus PDF for 12 bucks shipped within the US. Huzzah!

Neither The Tavern nor myself receive compensation for Kickstarter coverage or Kickstarter posts. Some Kickstarters are brought to the attention of The Tavern by their creators. Such communication does not guarantee coverage here at The Tavern. I do not back every Kickstarter I highlight as my wallet's contents are not limitless but I do find all highlighted Kickstarters interesting for one or more reasons - Erik Tenkar

You've Been Banned! - Pexx's Experience with the OSR Discord Server

Hello, my name is Pexx as I wear many hats, but I mainly hang my hats in Tenkar's Tavern Discord and run a lot of the behind the scenes activities that go on there. My tag on the server is the Tavern Custodian because I fix things that break and take care of the little things that need working on.

So I recently I got banned from the OSR Discord server, that some of you are a part of. Let me give you some history before I got banned with direct interaction with one of their moderator James Young.

Once upon a time I tried to get Tenkar’s Tavern Blog submitted to their pinned blog roll list that we also have pinned here in Tenkar’s Tavern back when the Google+ Shut down was announced and people were flooding into Tenkar’s Tavern Discord and the OSR Discord. I followed the instructions, but it kept getting removed. I messaged the server owner Chris McDowall to clear up the confusion.

The Blog List: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10qvE1s62UA55pleTW54RAZZw-oJQV8yYGZb_UtYo9TE/edit#gid=0

Here’s what he had to say…

Next up is my first interaction with James Young:

So not only did he lie to me my very first time talking to him, but he let his biased opinion dribble onto me to me from the get go. I honestly didn’t care, sure you can dislike someone, but why lie about it?

So that was back in October 2018. Jumping forward I didn’t really have any more interaction with him until recently when I noticed one of my servers was missing. For those of you that don’t, know when you kick or ban someone you can provide a message to the individual when you perform the action. Parting words if you will or a reason as to why you got banned or kick. There was none of that. Didn’t think much of it, I simply rejoined the OSR server.

Happened again the next day. Ok someone is screwing with me so like a good little soldier I re-joined yet again, but I wanted some answers so I messaged 2 moderators ( Xsi & Cavegirl) followed by the server owner Chris McDowall.

Xsi had this to say….

I did not receive an answer back from Xsi before James Young messaged me that he was banning me.

Cavegirl had this to say....

Another lie, there is an audit log! I’ll give Cavegirl the benefit of the doubt here, Chris may have restricted that part of the server to his mod team for whatever reason. The audit log does exist on every single Discord server, and you can view any changes (including bans and kicks) and it tells you who has done the action.

Next up Chris McDowall the server owner was messaged.

Several hrs later I get a message from Mr. James Young stating the following…

So because it was funny and he thinks I am worthless not only his community, but all others.

Thanks James! You sir, are a class act.

I forwarded James message onto Chris McDowall our server owner just before James Young got the ban off severing my contact with anyone on the OSR server unless they were on my friends list (I sent friend request to Xsi, Cavegirl, and Chris in hopes of resolving this). Mr. McDowall has been informed about James Young actions. I dunno if he will unban me and let me back into his Discord or not. It’s his server, and he can do with it what he wants to.

So what did I post over there you may be wondering? Pretty much in the link section when people from our Tenkar’s Tavern server had a kickstarter, product launch, podcast come out (including my own) I would drop a link in their OSR link section. That was pretty much it. Just sad I won’t be able to do so any longer. It’s hard enough to try and advertise on your own all I was doing was attempting to spread the word about good content for the OSR.

I have no regrets standing beside Tenkar, and I do so proudly. If that comes with me not being able to associate with certain circles within our small niche of the gaming the industry so be it. We are doing great things in The Tavern and we have even more great things in the works for everyone.

**How do I get to The Tavern Discord? Follow these Steps:**

**Step 1.)** Go here https://discordapp.com/download

**Step 2.)** Click which is best for you Windows, Mac, Android, IOS, or Linux and download it.

**Step 3.)** Once it has finished downloading click the + button surrounded by a dotted circle on the left hand side

**Step 4.)** Click the Join a Server button and copy and paste this into it https://discord.gg/GaXW2TX

Kickstarter - Terror of the Stratosfiend : A DCC RPG Zine

I'm trying to get to the "short date" Kickstarters first. In this case, we are down to 16 hours as I type this for Terror of the Stratosfiend : A DCC RPG Zine Kickstarter. Short story? I'm a backer :)

What is Terror of the Stratosfiend?

Portals and warp gates have been opening all over the earth and giant aliens have been pouring out. Players will quickly find out that some of their own have been aliens the whole time, and that humans from distant stars have also shown up to help quell the madness. The setting is meant to be both an add-on to any DCC (Dungeon Crawl Classics) session the Judge and players would be running; adding a splash of tentacles. It's also being built to be a standalone setting where tentacles and sorcery would be the focus. 

As a player you'll be wielding future weaponry like laser chainsaws, and living breathing shotguns that incubate sleeping horrors. You would also find out what it's like to be 20 foot tall living battering ram... (scroll up to be reminded of what that means) 

As a Judge you'll be introducing players to maniacal Orbital Intelligences that seek to guide, destroy, and illuminate the lives of their charges. You will be throwing strange alien beasts at them, and guiding through portals leading to the stars beyond our stars.
What path will you take? Will you abandon your fellow humans and take to the stars? Or will you embrace the chaos and obliterate all that stand in your path with your tentacled fury?

I'm gonna steal the shit out of this Zine for a Swords & Wizardry campaign. Oh, maybe with the forthcoming Far Away Land hack. Oh my ;)

Actually, this would also be a good fit for Mutant Crawl Classics or Mutant Future...

5 bucks for the PDF. 12 bucks for the Print plus PDF (shipped free to the US.

Time is ticking...

Neither The Tavern nor myself receive compensation for Kickstarter coverage or Kickstarter posts. Some Kickstarters are brought to the attention of The Tavern by their creators. Such communication does not guarantee coverage here at The Tavern. I do not back every Kickstarter I highlight as my wallet's contents are not limitless but I do find all highlighted Kickstarters interesting for one or more reasons - Erik Tenkar

RPG Kickstarters Highlights in the Hopper

I rebuilt my list of pending Kickstarters to highlight and the list is now longer than the one I had tabbed prior. Somehow this list is twice as long as it was before. Expect a series of Kickstarter postings in the near future and I expect my wallet will be getting significantly lighter.

For those that want a to peek ahead:

Strange New World Gazetteer: Weird Colonial Roleplaying Zine
An RPG and OSR setting zine for adventuring in a strange fantasy version of colonial America. Fearsome creatures, witchcraft and weird.

Xboat: a Traveller RPG 'zine
A fanzine supporting the Traveller role-playing game. #ZineQuest

Fantasy World Creator + APP: Modular tiles for TABLETOP RPG
Write your adventure with the included APP, create maps and make them live with creatures token. REPRINTED and UPDATED VERSION

DCC RPG Module: Reckoning of the Gods-Into the Shadow Realm
Trespass into a parallel realm to heist the hoard of an ancient evil. A booklet of two level 3 DCC RPG adventures (adapts to any RPG).

The City of Great Lunden
A City Setting for Old School RPGs - The Midderlands setting compatible.

Spiral Isles
A pointcrawl adventure module for 5th Edition and Swords and Wizardry rulesets.

Lost Classes and Cannibal Corpses - Two Original RPG Zines
One Zine featuring re-imaginings of two character classes from proto RPG days. One adventure module.

Terror of the Stratosfiend : A DCC RPG Zine
A new tentacle and sorcery zine for the DCC RPG. (ZineQuest)

Traveller RPG: The Journal of the Travellers Aid Society
The Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society returns, in a brand new full colour, slipcase format.

Wizard Burial Ground: A Dungeon-Punk RPG Book (Zine Quest)
Prog Rock inspired Dungeon-Punk resource book full of plot hooks, monsters, NPCs, and magic items (Zine Quest)

Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad Zine Returns!
Four years in the making, the original Metal Gods team returns for three more issues of metal-fueled mayhem for the DCC RPG

Draugr & Draculas
An old-school RPG zine about undead vikings and vampires

Mercenaries Spies & Private Eyes RPG by Michael Stackpole
A New Edition of the rulebook for Mercenaries, Spies, and Private Eyes (MSPE) a modern role playing game by Michael Stackpole.

Secrets of the World Harvesters
An RPG adventure for DCC (Dungeon Crawl Classics)

The Folio: Black Label #1
A fantasy adventure for a more refined RPG gamer in both classic AD&D and 5th Edition D&D formats.

Phew! I got my work cut out for me ;)

Goodman Games Announcement - OAR #3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks

You know you are having a busy con time when you are at the con and miss announcements like this - http://goodman-games.com/blog/2019/03/11/announcing-oar-3-expedition-to-the-barrier-peaks/

We’re very excited to announce the next release in our Original Adventures Reincarnated line: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks! As with previous releases in the OAR series, this one will include scans of the original 1E editions, a conversion to 5E, and new 5E material filling in some gaps from the original 1E module. 

OAR3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is slated for a September release. It will be solicited to distributors soon and will be available for pre-order once the book is at the printer. 

Originally run was a tournament adventure at Origins II, the adventure was published by TSR in 1980. Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is a famous adventure module, because it mixes “science fiction” and “fantasy.” For this reason it is both well known, and an enduring favorite for those who played it during its heyday. The 5E conversion is consistent with the original design principles, and also offers new avenues for exploration. 

In the adventure, characters come across a spaceship that has crash landed into your fantasy world, and have to deal with the consequences. Which include robots, plant people, and a zoo of alien creatures. And ray guns. It has ray guns.  

The OAR volume will also include complete scans of the original 1E publication. This includes both the adventure booklet as well as the extensive book of handouts that was part of the original publication. Dedicated fans may already know that the handout art changed between printings. Three handout illustrations were changed between the first (1980) and second (1981) printings of Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, and most of the remaining handouts were renumbered. The OAR volume will include scans of both versions of the handout booklets. For those of you who have an old ragged copy of Expedition to the Barrier Peaks in your personal collection, you will be able to discover which set of handouts you never had the chance to see before!

Kickstarter - Shotglass Adventures - 10 adventures for D&D 5e and OSR RPGs

True confession. I had a nice handful of crowdfunding projects all tabbed up and ready to be shared and I decided to update my OSX this morning. Eight hours later with a fresh install, I finally had a working computer again. Of course, those open tabs are gone. I may miss something that I was intending to share as well as back. I'm working on re-finding those tabs :(

Which brings us to Shotglass Adventures - 10 adventures for D&D 5e and OSR RPGs. This wasn't even on my initial list - somehow I missed it. I'm very glad I found it!

A book of 10 fantasy adventures with DM and players' maps, new monsters and magic items, city and region settings and random tables.

That's the elevator pitch, and what a pitch it is.

SHOTGLASS ADVENTURES is published under the OGL and compatible with 5e and other OSR fantasy role playing games. It’s 52 pages long (with unlocked stretch goals included). Inside you’ll find: 

· 10 'adventure-on-a-page' one-shot adventures of all varieties - murder, dungeon crawls, heists, breakouts, sieges, love stories - complete with additional DM and player maps! These adventures are fully playtested, for PCs of 1st - 5th level and are designed for minimal preparation and flexible delivery. Each adventure can be run as a ‘fill-in’ for 1-2 gaming sessions (3-4 hours per session) or played as a mini-campaign. Over 50 hours of gaming content!    

· 12 New monsters! 4 new magic items! Plus some monsters from Kobold's Tome of Beasts! 

· Hints on the art of improvisation to bring your NPCs and adventures alive 

· Random tables - for names, motivations, room dressing and special items to add additional nuance to your adventures  

· Verona City - a city for adventurers to use as a base  

· Verona Province - a region for players to explore, complete with every location used in SHOTGLASS ADVENTURES

But wait, there's more!

That a lot of value for 11 bucks US - PDF plus at cost POD.

Neither The Tavern nor myself receive compensation for Kickstarter coverage or Kickstarter posts. Some Kickstarters are brought to the attention of The Tavern by their creators. Such communication does not guarantee coverage here at The Tavern. I do not back every Kickstarter I highlight as my wallet's contents are not limitless but I do find all highlighted Kickstarters interesting for one or more reasons - Erik Tenkar

Kickstarter - For Glory #1, The Hexanomicon

It's rare that you find something truly new and different for use with RPGs. Let me revise that - it's rare to find something truly new and different and holy shit extremely cool and useful. For Glory #1, The Hexanomicon is simply all this and more.

Seriously, I never would have thought to have a hex ap created by stickers, but now that I know such exists, I need it. Note: not saying I want it, I NEED it.

Sure, it says DCC RPG on the tin, Hexanomicon this is going to work fine with Swords & Wizardry and I'm chomping at the bit.

The Hexanomicon is a setting generator using stickers of hexmap landscape elements, sheets on which to place them and tables to determine the contents of hexes. Specific destinations are left to the judge. I dot my map with published adventure modules and a few NPC homes. This issue includes a template to create and print your own stickers from graphics you create or find.  

In the game I currently run, the party may learn that there is a Wizard's tower a few days journey away. I decide that their journey should not be trivial so I use the hex name generator to create The Glittering Bogs of Ada'akka. The bogs will contain beasts so Jumping Gore Beetles are created from a table that combines stats for jumping, gore, and beetles. Later, the evil wizard is defeated easily by burning down  the party's luck and stats. With their decreased luck, on the way home they roll a terrible encounter in the Glittering Bogs. Perhaps they should not have burned down their stats so far. 

These tools are created for Dungeon Crawl Classics but can be easily adapted to other systems. 

It's an improv hexcrawl and I so fucking dig that.

I think the sweet spot is 18 bucks (plus shipping) - PDF, Print, map stickers & map sheets and fleeting luck tokens. I do like the idea of using such tokens with rulesets beyond the DCC RPG.

Neither The Tavern nor myself receive compensation for Kickstarter coverage or Kickstarter posts. Some Kickstarters are brought to the attention of The Tavern by their creators. Such communication does not guarantee coverage here at The Tavern. I do not back every Kickstarter I highlight as my wallet's contents are not limitless but I do find all highlighted Kickstarters interesting for one or more reasons - Erik Tenkar

Kickstarter - Era: The Consortium 5th Anniversary Rulebook and Miniatures

There are times I like a Kickstarter less for its core product and more for some of the additional offerings. Such it is with Era: The Consortium 5th Anniversary Rulebook and Miniatures Kickstarter. It's not that I don't like the core rules being offered in the Kickstarter, it's just that I don't play enough sci-fi RPGs to justify investing in a new sci-fi ruleset.

Then I look at the miniatures connected to this Kickstart and I realize I want them. I certainly don't need them, but I do want them.

So, what is Era: The Consortium?

Era: The Consortium is an epic Sci-Fi Tabletop RPG with 500 years of playable history.  

Within this history, every sub-genre of Sci-Fi is available, meaning that you can play as colonists taming a new world, explorers encountering alien races, soldiers in a war against a hostile alien race, resistance members fighting against an oppressive government, and anything else you can think of! 

The endless possibilities have opened up the Consortium to some amazing roleplaying experiences, from being a member of the Resistance, trying to restore it after the Orion Incident to time travel to change the history of the Consortium! 

It's been five years since we first launched on Kickstarter. Since then, the universe has grown more than we ever imagined! With 13 expansions - each of which offers a new dimension for gameplay - three versions of the Rulebook, plus multiple sessions and campaigns released over that time, we have created a lot.

For those heavily digging sci-fi RPGs there appears to be lots of setting potential within the pages of Era. Fuck me though if I don't get continually drawn in bt the minis themselves.

I can see these working well in Rifts, Star Wars, Traveller and the like. Tempt me not Satan, for I haven't painted a mini in over 20 years! But I might...

Neither The Tavern nor myself receive compensation for Kickstarter coverage or Kickstarter posts. Some Kickstarters are brought to the attention of The Tavern by their creators. Such communication does not guarantee coverage here at The Tavern. I do not back every Kickstarter I highlight as my wallet's contents are not limitless but I do find all highlighted Kickstarters interesting for one or more reasons - Erik Tenkar

Frank Mentzer Posts on Facebook re: Gary Con

Frank put up two posts on Facebook today. I'm sharing without comment:

https://www.facebook.com/frank.mentzer

PLAY GAMES

A YUUGE show is selling tickets for 2020! A colossal extravaganza!
Play the latest new games, Buy the cool Stuff… and New School rocks!
https://tabletop.events/…/hotel-registration-for-gary-con-2…

The Company is also warning you about a Clear & Present Danger:
https://garycon.com/blog/2019/02/18/harbinger-unheeded/
(Another source: https://boundingintocomics.com/…/garycon-removes-frank-men…/ )

I haven’t been the company’s Guest since 2017. I don’t know why I’m being harassed.
You’ve waited patiently for details of the accusations in that February post. You’ll have to wait longer.

I know as little as you. I’ve been in the waiting room for 3 weeks.
The Company wrote to me and said “Don't contact me again by any form of communication”. (I will not reveal details about actual People.)
Catch-22; I cannot fix this.

This Company speaks of “toxic aggression” while it does the same.
It warns of terrible danger while asking for money.

I’m a retired wizard, not a young fighter.
A creepy corporate monster ate my friends. Someone should free them.
I shall be wary of this danger. You can decide whether to flee or obey.
Is there a monster-slayer among you?

-- mustengo
(the dead horse still being beaten)

and...

The Assassination Game

"we must ensure that everyone feels welcome, safe, and believes that they are a valued member of our community regardless of..." (etc etc) -- a Gary Con business executive

Except me, of course -- for reasons Gary Con has yet to explain.
I'm just an ailing retiree, not valued at all.
Ask them why.

My public execution was a month ago. We're all waiting for the mock trial that should follow.
Ask the con for details. They haven't told me yet.
Gary Con has accused me of the following. No due process, just internet smears.

past misconduct
harassing behavior
threatening behavior
threatening communications
tone-deaf unapologetic responses
violation of the ethics policy
violation of the harassment policy
toxic aggression detrimental to the safe space

And of course Gary Con is breaking all their own rules -- a month of one-sided internet attacks -- but don't bring that up. (Oops! Do as we say, not as we do...)

"left the door open for him to attend Gary Con" -- a business executive

Yes indeed. I could again be treated like an Unperson and an outcast -- "That Guest" of 10 years and a family friend for 35, who had been Cast Out and conspicuously erased from the ranks of the Privileged.

No Thank You.

Post Gary Con Wrap Up - "Attack of the Con Crud" with Special Feature "Losing Voice"

Chris Clark

At Gamehole I got hit with some con crud that Saturday night. Or maybe I failed my save against beer and booze, who knows.

At Gary Con this past weekend I started getting the runny nose sniffles along with some hoarseness of voice. Now its Tuesday night and my sniffles are mostly gone, my voice is nearly gone and my bowels have been having issues most of the night. If things don't improve I may need to reschedule the two Fireside Chats I have for tomorrow, one in the morning and one in the evening.

Worst case of Con Crud I can recall getting. If I was running a Kickstarter it would be worth AT LEAST a year or two of delays.

Had a great time at Gary Con. Was concerned Rach and I wouldn't make it back next year, but with a 5-week spread between TotalCon and Gary Con in 2020, we're looking good :)

I did take this one :)

Didn't take nearly the number of photos I would have liked, but there were a few photos taken by others that really rock!

Edit - and Google / Blogger is having issues with uploading photos - le sigh

Kickstarter - Dark Streets & Darker Secrets

I've really enjoyed Diogo Nogueira's prior releases: Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells and Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells. Rules light is right up my alley and Diogo knows his light rules well ;)

This time Diogo gives us Dark Streets & Darker Secrets.

Let's take a peek, shall we?

Dark Streets & Darker Secrets a game about modern adventures in the world we live today, only with a layer of supernatural weirdness and horror. Characters are people who have found out about the mysteries and horrors that exist in the world and have decided to do something about it, be it battle it, join it, or simply explore its possibilities in any way they see fit. They will battle evil cultists, corrupted ghosts, bloodsucking vampires, and frenzied werewolves, or maybe they will be the horrors of others. The game was inspired by TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, Grimm, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, X-Files and others. 

This edition of the game assumes the reader knows the principles of what role-playing games are and how they are played. This is a complete game, containing everything you need to play sword and sorcery adventures in the streets of a corrupted city of a fantastical and horrific version of our own world.

Consider me very intrigued. Most modern-day horror games have the "reality weakness" in my opinion, as we hold them up against the real world, or at least I do. Holding the game world up against TV fiction will make that an easier transition.

As for the mechanics:

Powered by the same simple and flexible system as Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells, Dark Streets & Darker Secrets core rules revolve around rolling a d20 die and getting a result equal or below the character stat, but above the Difficulty set by the Referee. There are other nuances that may apply depending on the situation, but that's the main type of die roll that is made in the game. 

Characters in the game have a defined character Archetype like The Tough, The Nimble, The Smart or The Gifted, which determine the main role of said characters and their most special abilities. However, the game also allows players to define a character Concept, which is completely free form and allow each character to be customized anyone players want. The Tough could be a "Honest Ex-Cop", "Vindictive Biker" or "Zealous Vigilante" for example. The character Concept affects rolls, giving characters better chances at accomplishing deeds related to them, but hindering them when some activity would be harder for them to execute because of it. 

Game play is very fast and focused on freedom and flexibility. Referees will find dozens of tools to help them create scenarios, locations, NPCs, monsters and complete adventures. 

If you are curious and would like to take a deeper look into the game, you can find the complete text of the game right here: https://oldskulling.blogspot.com/2018/12/dark-streets-darker-secrets-complete.html

Woah - that includes a link to read the complete text of the game for free. Wy kind of gaming Kickstarter - already written and available for a free peek.

10 bucks for the PDF  15 bucks for the PDF plus at cost POD coupon.

Neither The Tavern nor myself receive compensation for Kickstarter coverage or Kickstarter posts. Some Kickstarters are brought to the attention of The Tavern by their creators. Such communication does not guarantee coverage here at The Tavern. I do not back every Kickstarter I highlight as my wallet's contents are not limitless but I do find all highlighted Kickstarters interesting for one or more reasons - Erik Tenkar

Frank-Con in July?

What do you get the man who no longer has cons to got to?

Thursday thru Monday. Five days. New unnamed con.

I have lots of questions. What about you?

Edit - I received this screenshot from multiple trusted sources. Looks like the joke is on me apparently. DNC weekend I’ve been told. Ah well.

Gary Con Wrap Up - 2019

When I was packing for Gary Con I realized I never brought anything with me to have members of the gaming community sign. It didn't take long to realize that my AD&D Player's Handbook from 1980 (one of my first two RPG books - the DMG being the other) was the perfect book to bring. Thanks to all that signed it. I'll track down more folk at NTRPG Con. (Beware Tom Tullis)

I ran the last (convention) session of Rappan Athuk: Mouth of Doom today. I must say, not having to assemble the dungeon at every con going forward is a blessing, but not running it again is a shame. There will be another level of Rappan Athuk in 3d terrain up and running by Gamehole, or so I've been told. Leaner, more deadly and possibly cavelike ;)

It was great meeting folks from the gaming community. I'd name you all but I'm sure I'd forget to mention more than would get shout outs. I appreciate every kind word said.

Gary Con was a blast. Hopefully, Rach and I will get the opportunity again next year. And the year after that. And the year after that. And...