Sale - TinyD6 Holiday Blowout - $335+ Bundle for 50 Bucks

I'll be honest. There is only one game that even comes close to tempting me away from Swords & Wizardry and my Swords & Wizardry Light rules, and that is TinyD6. Streamlined rules that are easy to understand and consistent across genres with excellent presentation and support. Its where I draw much of my inspiration when I play with the ideas of micro-settings for Swords & Wizardry.

I'm impressed with the number of releases in the TinyD6 Holiday Blowout Bundle, and my prior purchases bring my cost for the bundle down to about 40 bucks. It looks like I'm filling the holes in my collection.

Here's the description of Tiny Dungeon 2e:

Tiny Dungeon: Second Edition is the newest iteration of the minimalist fantasy roleplaying game!  

Powered by the TinyD6 engine, with streamlined mechanics that utilize only one to three single six-sided dice on every action, characters that can be written on a 3x5 notecard, and easy to understand and teach rules, Tiny Dungeon 2e is great for all groups, ages, and experience levels! 

Included are over a dozen lightly detailed settings, written by some of the best authors out there. These “micro-settings” are light-weight, open-ended and designed to be inspirational for your games and provide a fast, easy jumping point for your campaign! Covering a wide selection of fantasy genres and ideas, there's something for everyone in Tiny Dungeon 2e! 

With micro-settings by: Tobie Abad, Marie Brennan, Shawn Carmen, Elizabeth Chaipraditkul, Steve Diamond, Miguel Espinoza, Dianna Gunn, John Kennedy, Melanie Meadors, Mari Murdock, Darren Pearce, jim pinto, Steve Radabaugh, Wendelyn Reischel, Ryan Schoon, Howard Tayler, Randy Tayler, Sandra Tayler, and Ben Woerner.

Yep, that is an affiliate link above. Keep the beer cold and the lights on by using The Tavern's affiliate links. 

Tis The Season for OSR Christmas

Wow. We are already a week into December. Time certainly flies. And that means it is time for OSR Christmas :)

We'll be doing things a little differently this year. Actually having 12 posts for OSR Christmas has been insanely stressful, and it always runs long and we still rarely hit 12 days of actual posts.

So, this year there will be 3 actual days of OSR Christmas gifting posts (and possibly the same number of giveaways on the Tavern Chat Podcast)

The plan, on the blogside at least, is to do the gifting on December 13th, December 20th and December 24th, with 5 days after the announcing of gifts to name those receiving and 5 days for folks to claim. Hopefully, it will all wrap up by the end of the year. That would be a first :)

Here's what we need:

If you plan on gifting (I'll be gifting DriveThruRPG Gift Certificates) you need to reach out to me at tenkarsDOTtavernAT that gmail thing with OSR Christmas Gifting in the title and we'll start putting Santa's list of gifts together.

I thank everyone in advance for making this year another wonderful OSR Christmas :)

Raging Swan Press Annual Christmas Megabundle

I literally love Raging Swan's catalog. If you are a DM that likes to be freewheeling, let your players follow hooks and clues that you didn't even put out there and like improvising by the edge of your seat, Raging Swan is for you.

Sure, Raging Swan's Annual Christmas Megabundle is for D&D 5e (there is some hope we may get the same bundle in System Neutral at some point), but converting from 5e to the OSR is fairly easy (the reverse isn't as true).

There are many campaigns worth of material in this bundle - locations, adventures, and treasures - oh my! 50 titles for 20 bucks.

Yes, that is an affiliate link above. Affiliate links keep the taps flowing and the lights on at The Tavern.

New Release - Castle Xyntillan (Funhouse Dungeon)

I'm borrowing the following from Rob Conley's Bat in the Attic Blog:

This begins with a story, back in the 2000's a bunch of folks were organized by Necromancer Games to flesh out Judges Guild's Wilderlands of High Fantasy. The project took a lot of work but finally saw the light of day. 

One of the author involved was Gabor Lux (also known as Melan). 

So as a follow up to the Wilderlands one of the project Necromancer Games was planning on was Tegel Manor and Gabor Lux was tapped as the author. We all knew him from his blog and other writings and was excited about seeing his take on the venerable adventure from Judges Guild. 

But alas it was not to be.

Instead, we now have Gabor Lux's take on what might have been, a haunted castle reimagined. With maps by none other than Rob Conley himself.

“The immense, rambling complex of Castle Xyntillan has stood in its mountain valley for many years. Built over several generations, it has now been deserted by its former owners, and left to time and the elements. However, that is not the end of the story, for Xyntillan’s fabulous treasures and Machiavellian deathtraps continue to fascinate the fortune-seekers of a dozen lands – and never mind the ghost stories!” 

A 132-page hardcover describing the three massive levels of the eponymous funhouse megadungeon, Castle Xyntillan has been designed for the Swords&Wizardry game, and is suitable for 1st to 6th level characters. Built on surrealism and dream logic, Castle Xyntillan has been designed to be versatile, open-ended, complex, and accessible - and always a bit mysterious. From the soaring tower of the Donjon to the inky depths of the Oubliette (and beyond), this module should provide ample opportunities for exploration, confrontation, and subterfuge. Whether you would like a dungeon for one-off expeditions and convention play, or repeated forays and full campaigns, this book should suit the demands of your campaign! 

With cover art by Peter Mullen, and interior illustrations by Denis McCarthy, Stefan Poag, Peter Mullen (again) and The Dead Victorians, Castle Xyntillan ships with four map sheets featuring GM’s and player’s cartography of the labyrinthine complex (the work of Robert S. Conley). Further free downloads are available at beyondfomalhaut.blogspot.com. 

Please note that your print order also makes you eligible for a free copy of the PDF edition, published a few months after the print version. PDFs will be delivered via DriveThruRPG to your regular e-mail address, unless you request otherwise.

You can grab a copy for 40 bucks plus shipping here

Kickstarter - Car Wars Sixth Edition by Steve Jackson Games

"A complete redesign of the original game of autoduelling. Car Wars Sixth Edition plays faster and includes new plastic miniatures."

I'll be honest. I had heard that the Car Wars Sixth Edition Kickstarter was launching and I was kinda like "eh". I have it from back in its pocket box days and later boxed sets, and while it was always a blast to play, I haven't played in years.

Over 3k backers. Over $440k pledged. 32 days to go in funding. WTF!?! I may need to ride the wave myself ;)

The first car combat game, and still the best . . . Car Wars returns in a bigger, faster edition. The detailed 1/64 scale cars move, shoot, and catch fire the way you remember, with faster car creation and play. Once again you can rule the roads! 

NOTE: All miniatures are pre-assembled at the factory and packed unpainted. Miniatures shown in the photos are prototypes. Miniatures painted by Ben Williams. 

Kickstarter - The StoryMaster's Tales "Deeper into the Woods" Hybrid RPG

"Explore more of the Weirding Woods. Fantasy Roleplaying, Boardgame, Gamebook Hybrid gateway game for all ages 7-Adult 1-5 players."

Somehow I missed the first (core), Weirdling Woods Kickstarter. I'm correcting that now, as Weirdling Woods looks like a perfect net step from the classic Dungeon! boardgame for my niece (she turns 9 in less than 2 weeks).

So, of course, I ordered the core game plus the new expansion.

About 77 bucks for both shipped to the States.

Shit - you can add soundtracks and live reads of the cards for a few more bucks. Think of the children!

Enter a world of folklore fantasy, epic storytelling, and mighty magic! Set in the Grimm world of 18th Century dark fairytales. You will make your own treacherous pathway through the wild woodlands, encounter strange mystical creatures and find lost arcane artefacts.

Alone but best played with friends, you must choose a dangerous quest but beware only those with the skill, intelligence and bravery of a hero will survive. 

Quick to learn, portable and most importantly really fun. This game is a unique hybrid of Role-playing, board and adventure gamebook.

Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying to go OGL with an SRD?

Sure, Mongoose made their licensed version of RuneQuest Open Game License and released an SRD, then did the same with the later Legend rules, which are both built off of Basic Roleplaying (BRP). But to have Chaosium do the same for their actual "house" rules? Color me surprised:

Interesting development.

Original thread here: https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/10565-new-version/page/5/?tab=comments#comment-162231

Tip of the hat to Rob Conley of the Bat in the Attic blog.

Kickstarter - The Book of Beginnings for 5e

I always enjoy low-level adventures as a GM. It always seems to be more about the play and less about "the power". Low-level adventures are also easier to run in my experience, as most rulesets tend to break down a bit at higher levels. The Book of Beginnings is a series of low-level adventures for 5e (and I suspect easily converted on the fly to one of the older D&D rulesets and the various clones and simularums)

Some of the adventures are (you get at least 10 adventures): 

Tower of Senleros: An abandoned tower seems to be active once more. A young mage apprentice went off to explore the secrets this tower may hold. The town is in need of adventurers to save the young wizard! (1st Level) 

Battle of the Dance: Local nobles are in need of fresh adventurers to be their champions at a charity ball. You must represent your patron, impress other nobles, and possibly perform bardic tale to influence. However, where great wealth gathers, trouble soon follows. (1st Level) 

Tomb of Sir Cadogan Kerrington: Adventure into a disgraced knight's tomb to find what treasures he wrongfully acquired! (3rd Level) 

Guardian of the Grove: An ancient grove dedicated to the nature god Pan is under attack. Find a way to stop the radical cultists before they defile the shrine! (3rd Level) 

Mystery at Mistwood: The town of Mistwood is experiencing unknown horrors. At night the town gets deathly chill. Townsfolk are found in the morning petrified. Investigate the village to put an end to the mysterious terror! (5th Level)

Buy-in is 15 bucks for the PDF and 30 bucks for the Print plus PDF.

More Black Friday Deals - Goodman Games 40% Off - KenzerCo up to 50% off - 2019 Palladium Xmas Grab Bag

More Black Friday Sales for gamers and the OSR in particular.

Goodman Games has a coupon code for 40% off - and more codes for 20% off most of the third party products they sell in their online store.

KenzerCo has selected Aces & Eights Reloaded and Hackmaster at 50% off as well as Back Issue Specials of Knights of the Dinner Table.

Palladium has its 2019 X-Mas Surprise Package for 50 bucks. I did it one year and got a signed first printing of Palladium Fantasy (and a bunch of other stuff) - one of my favorite fantasy RPGs for the default setting alone!

There are NO affiliate links above, but there are good deals :)

Black Friday Deals - Frog God Games - PRINT Products as much as 59% off - 2019 10" iPad for $249 - Troll Lord Sale 25% (plus 10% or 20%)

Sorry I'm late getting these deals up, but I had to confirm the Frog God Games Sale. Frog God Games is running a Black Friday weekend sale on the Frog God website. A large selection on the site, PRINT & PDF, is 35% off.

But wait! If you go to Humble Bundle and buy the Orcus' 5e Holiday Horde Bundle (an amazing value no matter the system you play, and you can buy in for as low as a buck) you get a one time use coupon for 30% off your Frog God Games order. Together, the sale discount and the coupon discount come to 59% off the regular price. Damn!

I snagged the Necromancer Gab Bag myself - normally $200, snagged for $91 plus shipping.

Then on Amazon, you have the 2019 10" iPad for $249 (regularly $329) - a hard to beat price for probably the best tablet on the market if you are swimming in PDFs like me, this is hard to pass up.

Troll Lord Games is also having a sale. Here's the skinny:

OUR BIGGEST SALE OF THE YEAR IS HERE!
Yes, that's right, Black Friday is upon us and now that we are full of turkey and stuffing and pie, it's time to get down to business!

Starting Now save on all our items, including the Castles & Crusades Players Handbook, Castle Keepers Guide, adventures, maps, 5th Edition adventures, Amazing Adventures RPG, Victorious RPG -- you name it! All you have to do is enter this coupon code at checkout: THX25 and your 25% off will be automatically applied!

That's not all!
You can save even more in our biggest blowout yet!

Spend $20 to $49.99, get an extra 10% off automatically applied.
Spend $50 or more, get a whopping 20% extra off!

There's never been a better time to stock up!
It all starts now! We'll roll this through Cyber Monday Night at midnight but don't delay as some items are low in stock.

Note, both the Amazon and Humble Bundle links are affiliate links, and a portion of your purchases will help fund The Tavern. I thank you in advance and will post more deals as I come across them.

Dungeons & Dragons Movie to Focus on the Eye of Vecna, Will Feature a Forgotten Realms Character (Comicbook.com)

Comicbook.com shared an article about the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie (due Summer of 2021) - Thanks to Luke Gygax for sharing the article on Facebook

The upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie will feature at least one character with ties to the Forgotten Realms and will focus on a quest for an iconic magical object. ComicBook.com can exclusively report that the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie currently in development by Paramount will focus on a group of adventurers looking for the Eye of Vecna, a powerful artifact that dates back to the earliest days of the game. Vecna is a powerful lich turned god whose hand and eye (remnants from when Vecna was a mortal) grant unspeakable power. Both the Hand and Eye of Vecna come with a terrible cost - in order to use either artifact, the user must remove their existing eye or hand and then replace it with the artifact. 

Additionally, ComicBook.com can exclusively report that Paramount was looking for a male actor to voice the dragon Palarandusk, a dragon that lives in the Forgotten Realms. Palarandusk hasn't played any major roles in any D&D adventures, but the dragon was named in several Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks as a protector of the village Ieirithymbul who concealed his true identity as a gold dragon. While Palarndusk's involvement in the Dungeons & Dragons movie indicates the movie will take place in the Forgotten Realms, our source indicates that the dragon will act as an ancient leader of a group of Triadic Knights. In D&D lore, Triadic Knights are followers of the gods Ilmater, Torm and Tyr. 

Our source indicates that Dungeons & Dragons will feature a group of adventurers led by Raven Hightower, a warrior with a magic flamesword that's haunted by his sister's death. Other characters include the "half-dragon" Hack Karroway, the gnome thief Olivan Trickfoot, and a masked warrior named Alyssa Steelsong who is set to take over Palarandusk's role when the dragon dies. Additionally, the main villain of the movie is a male drow named Razer Horlbar who once kept Raven and his sister as slaves, along with a female tiefling named Damala and a brutish warrior known only as "The Beast."

You can read the rest of the article here.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Humble Bundle - Orcus' 5e Holiday Horde (Frog God, Troll Lord, Kobold Press and More)

I've been really enjoying the Humble Bundle bundles that Frog God Games has been putting together, regardless of system. Sure, I'm mostly a Swords & Wizardry / OSR guy, but I've converted 5e and DCC RPG adventures to S&W on the fly - I doubt it would work so easily the other way around ;)

For the Holidays, Humble Bundle and Frog God Games has organized Orcus' 5e Holiday Horde.

There is a HUGE amount of amazing stuff in this bundle regardless of the system you mostly use:

At a buck you get 30% off coupons for Frog God Games, Troll Lord Games, and Kobold Press. 25% off of World Anvil is simply amazing. I may need to do that myself. Encephalon is from Casey Christopherson - need I say more?

9 bucks gives you City of Brass, a campaign worth of material and simply amazing art. How Orcus Stole Christmas is perhaps James Spahn's finest work. Crypt of the Science Wizard by Skeeter Green is a pleasure to read and run. I am curious about the Lost Lands fiction in Tales from the Roadhouse. And more that I haven't read yet.

 

If you run games via a Virtual Table Top, you want to buy-in at the $18 level. Not only do you get Rappan Athuk, but you get maps for Rappan Athuk AND City of Brass, with player's (unkeyed maps) and GM maps. Oh, and a huge amount of VTT tokens for Rappan Athuk, but you know you can use them anytime they are appropriate. Oh, and Fantasy Grounds ready modules for Enchephalon Gorgers of the Moon, The City That Dripped Blood and How Orcus Stole Chrismas. Oh yeah, and more stuff.

A portion of monies raised goes to support the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

Remember, by using The Tavern's Humble Bundle affiliate link, you help support The Tavern. I really do appreciate it.

Cubicle 7 Loses Middle Earth License - The One Ring 2nd Edition Cancelled

From the Cubicle 7 website:

Date Posted: 27-11-2019

UNEXPECTED TOR2 UPDATE

‘I am with you at present,’ said Gandalf, ‘but soon I shall not be. I am not coming to the Shire.’

We have some very unfortunate and unexpected news to share. Contractual differences arose recently which we have been unable to resolve, and so we have decided to end our licensing agreement with Sophisticated Games. It is with regret that we have made this very tough decision to withdraw.

This means we will cease publishing The One Ring and Adventures in Middle-earth™ in the first half of 2020. Unfortunately, this doesn’t give us enough time to release the much-anticipated The One Ring – The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game second edition.

As many of you know, our first edition of The One Ring is eight years old, and we had high hopes of a full product line to support our second edition. Our team have worked incredibly hard on this new edition; with many of the announced titles already written and edited, so being very close to completion makes this decision even harder.

Although we were very close to the finish line when these issues arose, as gamers ourselves we did not feel it was right for the game, or fair to you, to release a new edition which we would be unable to support.

We appreciate how passionate so many of you are, especially those who have followed our journey from first edition or have pre-ordered the second edition. Thank you for your support over the years.

Pre-orders and refunds
Our immediate priority is to make the refunding process as easy as possible for those who pre-ordered from us. We understand your frustration and we sincerely apologise for this disappointment. If you pre-ordered The One Ring – The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game (standard or collector’s edition) or Rohan Region Guide directly from our webstore, you should have already received an email from us detailing your options and outlining any action required on your part.

We will be refunding you completely, or alternatively we would like to offer you 125% of the value of your order in Cubicle 7 store credit as a gesture of goodwill. This credit can be used across all of our other lines and future products. While those who pre-ordered Rohan Region Guide will have already received the PDF version, we will not be printing this title and you will also receive a full refund.

We are commencing our Black Friday offers today which include 50% off current The One Ring first edition stock and 30% off Adventures in Middle-earth™ stock, see our webstore for more information.

If you have not received an email, please contact us as soon as possible at info@cubicle7games.com.
If you wish to receive a full refund, you do not need to respond to the email, we will automatically process your full refund within the next 14 days.
If you wish to opt for 125% store credit, please reply to the email stating this by December 4th and we will arrange your credit.
If you ordered from your local games store, please contact them directly as we cannot comment on third party pre-orders.
We would ask that you bear with us as we do our best to organise these refunds as efficiently as we can, but it is a considerable administrative task as we have a substantial amount of web store pre-orders to manually process.

Thanks to our team
We would like to thank our talented team for their amazing work on The One Ring – The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, including our producer, editor, artists, graphic designers, sales and marketing team, and all the freelancers involved.

Any freelancers with outstanding work on these lines who have not been contacted by C7, please contact their usual contact immediately.

Thanks for your support
We have enjoyed sharing glimpses of our vision for The One Ring second edition over the last number of months, and we are disappointed that we cannot bring our extensive plans to fruition. We’d like to take the opportunity to thank you all once again for your incredible support, patience and understanding in this matter.

What’s next?
This year has been Cubicle 7’s most successful year to date. We have been awarded funding from the Irish Government to support our continued development, and have recruited new staff to our passionate and dedicated team.

Work continues on Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, led by our new WFRP Producer Pádraig  Murphy. The PDF of Enemy in Shadows Companion will be released imminently. We are excited to continue working on Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Soulbound, Warhammer 40,000: Wrath & Glory, Lone Wolf and Doctor Who.

We are looking forward to 2020, which is shaping up to be our busiest year yet with many exciting releases planned!

Thanksgiving Week Sale at DriveThruRPG - 35% Off Many PDFs

DriveThruRPG is running a Thanksgiving Week Sale from now through Monday, December 2nd. Many PDFs are 35%. They are also promising special sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I'll post those specials when they go live.

Here's the link to the OSR releases on sale.

Yep, those are affiliate links. Affiliate sales keep the taps flowing and the lights on here at The Tavern.

Luke Gygax Shared Some Photos and News Clippings on Facebook that his Mother Sent Him

I know not all of my readers do Facebook, so this is pretty much a photo dump of Luke Gygax's recent photo shares:

Bundle of Holding - Worldbuilder's Toolkit 6

Worldbuilder's Toolkit 6 is an interesting bundle. It offers tools to build and enhance your campaigns.

What do you get for 9.95?

Hex Kit is a multi-platform desktop application that lets you quickly and effortlessly create hex maps for your RPG campaign. Hex Kit is a lightweight, art-focused program that emphasizes simplicity, variety in tile placement, and use for online play. Created by designer-artist Cecil Howe and published through his company Cone of Negative Energy, Hex Kit includes hand-drawn black-and-white hex images, and you can easily import custom color tiles as well -- both your own drawings and commercial expansion tilesets. (Two sets of color tiles are part of this offer's Bonus Collection.) 

Export maps for your printers or optimized for screen-sharing. By controlling the information visible on the map, you can make versions for both players and gamemaster. Share a player-facing version of the map to a second monitor, a projector, or over any screen-sharing application. Hide unexplored regions with fog-of-war, and update the map in realtime as players discover new areas.

Kenzer & Company's Trove of Treasure Maps provides ready-to-go action. Simply drop one of these seven mysterious hand-drawn player aids on the table and let the players take it from there. You have full knowledge of what awaits them -- plus an accurate map of your own.

• "Crowns": A hidden stash of royal genealogy could spark the beginning of a civil war.
• "The Battle of Murnig Heights": An ancient battlefield is rumored to hide riches, but there may be surprises for those who tread in the footsteps of fallen soldiers.
• "Lucky Bob's Prize": Lucky Bob was a pirate of great renown, so his lost prize must be a thing worth having. But beware the mocking voices.
• "The Moon Key": The Church of the Night's Beauty has been sacked, and one of its most holy relics is lost. Can your players unravel the riddles and withstand this divine test of heroism?
• "The Tomb of Prince Thiebault Ironhelm": A fallen dwarven prince lies buried in a forgotten mountain stronghold. He will not rest until he fulfills his oath to avenge his clan.
• "Toby's Tomb": The corpses of two gnome adventurers need to be returned to their home for a proper burial -- in the heart of ogre territory.
• "The Underwater City of Hurjurta": A sunken city holds relics of an ancient civilization. Cryptic runes show the path to the true prize.

Turn a boring, static weapon into something flavorful and story-driven with Be a Better Weapon Master Practical advice, tools, tips, and inspirational roll tables unsheath hundreds of options for fun and unique weapons. Bestow legendary names and rich histories on your weapons with robust generators; invigorate your tavern brawls with 40 distinct improvised weapons; wade through waves of enemies with exotic weapons from throughout history. Your weapons will never be boring again.

and finally:

The Books of Random Tables give you items for a wizard's chambers, campsites, desks, and more -- random encounters for different terrains -- names for humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, goblins, orcs, kobolds, inns, clans, and knightly orders -- and flavorful, fun encounters for any kind of terrain. Just a few of the tables included:

• Items in a Troll's Cave, a Dragon's Lair, a Cell, a Wine Cellar, a Wagon, Saddlebags
• Spices, Musical Instruments, Maps, Adventuring Gear
• Booths in a Market, Notes in a Bottle, Talking Inanimate Objects
• Fortunes, Insults, Beers, Epitaphs, Spices
• NPC Reaction to Failed Pickpocket Attempt, Critical Fails for Melee and Spell Attacks
• Reasons a Player Character is Absent for a Session, Causes of Death

Indiegogo - The Lost Crypt: A Classic Crawl (S&W / 5e)

"Ever wonder what it would be like to write an adventure with Gary Gygax? Around the year 2005, Gary started working with a small number of authors on a project to write new material for his world setting (which was totally not called “World of Greyhawk”). Bill Silvey was one of those authors, and this book includes the story of working with Gary as well as the adventure Bill wrote for inclusion in Gary’s campaign world. For obvious legal reasons, none of Gary’s original material is included in Lost Crypt: this module is all Bill’s work. However, those who are interested in Gary’s world setting will be interested to read material that would have been included in it if Gary had lived to see the project through..."

I love finding gaming stuff that was written far earlier than the day it hits publication. It's like finding a time capsule of RPG goodness that you don't have to stress about removing the shrink. To my eyes,  The Lost Crypt: A Classic Crawl is a modern release of a piece of gaming history.

Almost lost to the pages of history!

The Lost Crypt, originally inspired by master of role playing game adventure himself was almost lost to the annals of history. Until now! Written by veteran RPG scholar and scribe Bill Silvey, The Lost Crypt is an old school rules style romp through an ancient tomb and hidden lairs filled with clever monsters. Originally written for OSR rule is designed to be a challenge for veteran characters of 7-8th level.

• Authors notes on the inspiration behind the Lost Crypt and his legendary adventures working with Gary Gygax, co-creator of the most famous role-playing game in the world!
• Loads of traps, puzzles, and adversaries to keep characters on their toes as they navigate the terrors of the Lost Crypt
• Cover and interior art by acclaimed artist Hector Rodriguez.
• Can be played as a stand-alone, one-shot adventure or be fit into a larger campaign, or made part of a larger dungeon complex!
• Hand cartography by Ian McGarty of the Silver Bullettes
• An original piece of art from TSR veteran Tracy Lesch whose work is featured in Dungeons & Dragons Art and Arcana: A Visual History.

6 bucks for the PDF, 16 for the Print plus PDF. The Lost Crypt: A Classic Crawl is offered by Necromancer Games. Yes, THAT Necromancer Games!

So, of course, I had to find out more details of the rebirth of Necromancer Games, and here we go: Necromancer Games is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Frog God Games. As an imprint, it is like the punk rock side of Frog God - good stuff that might not fit well under the Frog God banner, but under Necromancer Games and its storied history, it becomes a perfect fit. I've been told of some future projects under the Necromancer label (I'm effectively under an NDA) and I am truly excited :)

CaveGeek Art is Offering The Tavern's Community a 15% Discount on Giclée Reproductions

Last night I interviewed Kfir Mendel (CaveGeek Art) on The Tavern Chat Podcast. My God, his work on buckskin comes out looking amazing.

Here's some background on Kfir from CaveGeek Art:

I was focusing on making what is known as Traditional Brain-Tanned Buckskin for a living. It is an ancient (yet still valid)  natural technique of making an extremely soft, supple, luxurious, and yet strong and durable leather. 

It took a few years, but eventually my love for all things geeky began to merge with my love for all things natural and primitive. I started making bone knives and swords inspired by weapons I saw in movies or by various cultures. Soon, I got interested in Pyrography and started burning all things geeky on buckskin. It actually started with a map of Middle Earth. To my surprise, art burned on buckskin acquires a 3-Dimensional look. I just cant get enough of it! I keep thinking "Wow! This is so cool!" every time I finish a piece. And it seems that, fortunately, I'm not the only one who likes my work. Which is why this website exists.

Want to buy some for yourself? I know I do :)

Go to CaveGeek Arts and use the code: tenkar to save 15%

Kickstarter - Spin Dice and Gaming Gizmos: An RPG Player's Dream

Keep track of health points or current score in games like D&D and Magic: The Gathering!

Wow. As random number generators, these things do not impress. They take up more space than actual dice, requires respins when it isn't clear which number was landed on - or just chose the more advantageous one I guess, and doesn't seem to "spin" all that well either.

The Spin Dice and Gaming Gizmos: An RPG Player's Dream Kickstarter is not MY dream.

In the video, the spinners for the different dice appear to be different sizes, but not so in this pic.

I guess the ones made to track your health points in Magic the Gathering might be useful for such.

45 bucks for a "full set of dice", if you want to include a d100. Shipping in the states is free, the rest of the world appears to be 20 bucks to ship.

A big "ehhh!" from me.

State of the Tavern - Torchlight Zine Recruitment Started Without Me ;)

Low and behold, over the past weekend, over on the MeWe social media platform, someone inquired in the group chat of the Inglorious OSR Group, if I was looking for artists for the upcoming "Unofficial" Swords & Wizardry zine, Torchlight.

Within the next day or so, we now have 3 confirmed, highly talented artists on board. I guess it is time to put out the general recruitment call for those looking to provide content for or help with the Torchlight Zine.

We are looking for writers and artists, and I suspect someone who can layout 8 to 12 pages - potentially more, per month. The size of the zine is digest-sized.

When it was going to be a mere 4 pages a month, I was thinking I'd do the layout with my pedestrian at best skills, but I don't want to take the work of skilled contributors and lower them to my layout ability (or lack there off)

I believe in compensating my contributors, even with small projects like this.

The first issue will be PWYW. Later issues will be a buck or 1.50 depending on the number of pages. PDF only initially.

65% of the sale price is what we get to play with. 10% to the publisher, 55% to be split between the artists, writers and (hopefully) layout person. I do believe I should be able to set things to automatically send shares to each contributor's DTRPG account.

Contributors retain all rights to their work. The publisher retains perpetual rights to include the work in Torchlight and potential annual POD compilations of the work. If I would like to use your work in a separate publication (monster book, etc) we will negotiate new compensation if you wish to allow your work to be reused.

Customers will have express permission to print at home for their own personal use, and I may print limited numbers for distribution at conventions I attend.

Yes, we are not talking much in the way of monetary compensation, but hopefully, we get to bathe in the glory of a thankful Swords & Wizardry Community.

All contributors will have links to their storefront / etc hyperlinked to their name in the credits.

As for content? 1 or 2-page adventures, short encounters, adventure hooks, monsters, spells, magic items, new classes - if in doubt, make a pitch ;)

As an aside, Triumvulate Tavern Publications is now Tenkar's Tavern Gamen (olde English for "games"). Figure that should help with visibility ;)

So, if you want to contribute, email me at tenkarsDOTtavernATgmailDOTcom, put Torchlight in the subject and let me know what you are offering to do. Looking forward to hearing from you :)

Deal of the Day - Wilderlands of High Fantasy, Color Maps

Note that buying the Wilderlands of High Fantasy, Color Maps will get you the Guidebook PDF as well. There are 18 maps to the Wilderlands divided into four sets of guidebooks and maps. This deal is for the first set of five maps including the City State of the Invincible Overlord.

The guidebook has an introduction and map commentary by Rob Conley. Each map in the guidebook is detailed with the following listings: Villages, Castles & Citadels, Idyllic Isles, Ruins & Relics, and Lurid Lairs. Any statistic or rule is compatible with Swords and Wizardry and various classic editions of the original roleplaying game. (Borrowed from Rob's Bat in the Attic post)

Normally 9.99, as the current Deal of the Day it is on sale for 4.99

Product Description

In 1976, Bob Bledsaw and Bill Owen went into business as Judges Guild. Their initial offering was centered on a magnificent 34" by 44" map of the City State of Invincible Overlord. First appearing at Gen Con IX, it was sold literally out of the trunk of a car during the convention.

This map launched Judges Guild which began working on even more ambitious project, the Wilderlands of High Fantasy. This became an ambitious project of 18 22" by 17" maps covering a total area 800 miles from west to east, and 1,000 miles from north to south. Each individual map was divided into 5 miles hexes covering an area of 260 miles west to east, and 170 miles from north to south.

Now forty years later those maps have been redrawn in full color. These maps preserves the original detail and applies known errata and corrections. Each was drawn as part of single 6 foot by 8 foot map encompassing the entire Wilderlands then subdivided and cropped.

These maps are not a scanned images of the original but have been redrawn from scratch. The guidebook is also not a scanned image but has been relaid out from the original text with errata and corrections applied.

The Wilderlands of High Fantasy Guidebook
This product contains a 24 page Guidebook for the five maps of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy. The books has an introduction and commentary by Robert S. Conley who has used the Wilderlands as his main fantasy campaign for nearly forty years. Each map is detailed with the following listings: Villages, Castles & Citadels, Idyllic Isles, Ruins & Relics, and Lurid Lairs.

This product contains
5 PDFs of the following 22" by 17" maps: City State of the Invincible Overlord Map One, Barbarian Altanis Map Two, Glow-Worm Steppes Map Three, Tarantis Map Four, and Valon Map Five.
1 PDF of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy Guidebook.

The print option adds the following:
Ten overlapping full scale maps of each half of the maps.
There is a separate print product avaliable for the Wilderlands of High Fantasy Guidebook if you want a print copy of the Guidebook. Otherwise the PDF for the guidebook is included in this product.

This product is a authorized Judges Guild release for the Wilderlands of High Fantasy.

Note: That is an affiliate link above. I thank you in advance.

Kickstarter - Silver Swords: a role-playing zine issue 2 (OSR & 5e)

I like zines. I really like RPG zines. Silver Swords looks like a really cool RPG zine.

32 pages and digest-sized is right in my wheelhouse.

OSR and 5e content? I'm definitely in :)

The content of the zine will be made up of OSR and 5e related content. 

This edition will include both old and new authors with many fresh ideas for your RPG experiences! We will also be including some comics and maps with this issue, so if that's what you want, then look no further!

The articles will give a good look from many new perspectives at different parts of the role-playing experience you may never have thought about. And who doesn't love the feel of a good zine in their hands? Flipping through the pages and enjoying the comfortable, nostalgic art and the well-written articles that are the hard work of dedicated authors. It doesn't get much better than that.

I'm in for issues #1 & 2 in Print and PDF.

Sale - Dragonlock 3d Printing Sale - up to 75% off (Fat Dragon Games)

If you know Tom Tullis, you probably know he's dangerous, but in a good way. Well, Tom Tullis is the man behind Fat Dragon Games, and the tempter of all things 3d printing has to offer is offering a sale on his Dragonlock series of 3d printing files - up to 75% off.

I really need a 3d printer. Well, "need" might be the wrong word. I desperately want a 3d printer and openly covet those of my fellow gamers. Tom is not helping me...

The quality is high and the prices are low. Damn you, Tom!

Link to 3d Printers on Amazon for those so tempted.

Yes, those are affiliate links above. Shopping with The Tavern's affiliate links keeps the taps flowing and the light on at The Tavern. I thank you in advance :)

Marmoreal Tomb Kickstarter Update - The Reason THIS Kickstarter was "White Knighted" and CSIO Will NOT

I shared this last night on the Tavern Chat Podcast but it deserves to be shared on the blogside too. The reason the Marmoreal Tomb Kickstarter was "White Knighted" by Troll Lord Games is that the bulk of the funds raised by the Kickstarter are still in the bank. Otherwise, it would likely have been financially infeasible to save.  As far as the City-State of the Invincible Overlord Kickstarter goes, there ISN'T ANYTHING left in the bank. Troll Lord Games is basically taking on the role of a project manager for the Marmoreal Tomb. CSIO needs someone to donate funds, possibly more than was raised in the first place.

Here's the latest two updates (second correct part of the first update)

Greetings from the Dens (Troll Lord Games)! 

It’s been roughly a week of looking at what goes into the Marmoreal Tomb Kickstarter. As noted in the previous update, my primary objective at the moment is to get a good handle on the status of the material offered in pledge levels and stretch rewards and the overall financial health of the Kickstarter. So without further ado…. 

The status of the main book is my primary concern. I’m working toward getting a copy of that to see  exactly what remains to be done.  Benoist and I have set up a drop box and he’ll start moving files over shortly. When I have a better handle on the main book, I’ll let you know. The expansions are in a similar state. I am working toward getting copies of what has been done on those as well. 

Financially the Kickstarter is very healthy. Ernie has kept the money in an account all this time, ready to pay for things as needed. Though I did not request an expense report, I can estimate the cost of much that goes into these books and things look good on that front. I’ll know more as we go forward, but overall this looks good. 

We are going to try to make sure all pledge offerings and stretch rewards are honored. There will be some that have to be changed. In those cases (and we have two already, see below), we will endeavor to replace the stretch reward with something else. We will, of course, keep you in in the loop about any changes. Speaking of changes…. 

The first one up is the cartoon by Tom Wham. Tom’s a good friend of mine, we’ve worked together on multiple projects, but he’s stepped back from active game design and cartooning these days and doesn’t feel up to taking on any more work. We will replace Tom’s cartoon with a cartoonist we work with, Jason Walton. Jason does our Christmas card every year, hosts of covers and interiors. Though he does not have the old school credentials as Tom does, he’s exceptionally good. See the bottom of this update for two samples of what he has done for us in the past. 

The cartographer who was working on the maps has since moved on. Benoist is sending me the level that was completed so that I can get a hold of one of the cartographers we work with, to get these maps wrapped up. We will strive to maintain the style and feel already established. Also, when I get that map, I’ll post it for you all to see. (He sent me some material through facebook but I want to get it in drop box where I can manage it better). 

That’s all I have for now. I will try to do weekly updates, even when there is no change. I can't promise that however, as time seems to fly by here in the Dens, but we will try.
Benoist and Ernie both are very excited to have us helping out and I hope it is affording them enough mental relief to get the finals done and to us. 

As a last note, don't hesitate to reach out with comments or messages. If you see I am missing something or something needs addressed please let us know. 

Thank you all and have a wonderful weekend.
Steve Chenault

and then the follow up:

Greetings from the Dens (Troll Lord Games)! 

Hey all, my update of this morning had some misinformation about the maps. It was pointed out to me in the comments on the update and  thank you all for doing that. Please remember I'm a new comer to this Kickstarter and still have lots of catching up to do. Any information you can provide is appreciated. 

So in the earlier update I told you that the maps were not complete and that we may have to find a new cartographer. That is incorrect. The maps are complete, aside from final adjustments Benoist may have to make as he finishes the text (adding the symbol for a secret door, changing a room number and so on). But that aside, the maps are ready to go. 

What is not ready to go are the duplicate set of miniatures-sized maps with a resolution high enough to be printed at 5 feet per inch. The first level was completed; the others were not. 

Also, we are looking at moving this project to Backerkit sooner rather than later. That will help us get a handle on the numbers, especially for those of you who had add-ons; we need to have a proper count on certain things to know how much to manufacture.   

Thank you all and my apologies for the confusion.
Stephen Chenault

DARK PLACES & DEMOGORGONS - Survive This!! - Core Rule Book OSR RPG - 99 Cents - Hours Left in Sale!

Crap!

I nearly missed this sale. There are only hours left in the DARK PLACES & DEMOGORGONS - Survive This!! - Core Rule Book OSR RPG sale. For a VERY SHORT TIME it is only 99 cents in PDF.

You know you want it!

Following in the tradition of SURVIVE THIS!! Zombies! comes SURVIVE THIS!! Dark Places & Demogorgons, a tabletop roleplaying game that uses the Original 1970s Fantasy Roleplaying game rules but mutates it into this retro nightmare. It’s sleek, slender and creepy as Hell.

In Dark Places & Demogorgons, you play as high school students during the early 1980s. The town you live in has had a rash of disappearances and strange happenings. The adults seem lost as what to do, the police are as clueless as ever and aren’t helping and Reverend Phillips is on another witch-hunt. It’s up to you and your friends to figure out what’s going on and stop it from happening again! 

There is an affiliate link above. The Tavern's affiliate links keep the beer cold and the lights on at The Tavern.

State of The Tavern - Layout, Torchlight Zine and Swords & Wizardry

As I mentioned last week I'm gearing I'm behind the scenes in preparation for the Kickstarting of the new Swords & Wizardry Boxed Set, due to launch sooner than later (I'm not privy to a more exact time frame).

One of the things I have to do is get my barely serviceable layout skills out of retirement. I haven't laid out a product since Swords & Wizardry Continual Light, and while it did the job, the app I used, Lucid Press, did not embed fonts, so no POD on DTRPG or Lulu, although it is up on Amazon, go figure ;)

Now I am playing with Swift Publisher 5, and it seems to do what I want without the overwhelming complexity and limitless options of InDesign. I am playing with the layout of Torchlight Issue #0, intended to launch in conjunction with the upcoming Kickstarter (with Issue #1 planned for right before the closing of the Kickstarter).

Here are the current plans for my approach to Torchlight:

It is currently planned to be a 4 page, digest-sized, Pay What You Want (PWYW) monthly zine for Swords & Wizardry. Content will begin on the front (cover page) and run through page four. The OGL will be attached as a 5th page. Those printing at home simply won't print that final page.

Issue #0 will likely include a rewrite of the Elementalist Class I wrote for Swords & Wizardry Light a few years back for Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day as well as monsters and magic items released on the blogside for SWL, updated and tweaked for the full Swords & Wizardry rules.

The great thing about Torchlight releasing as a PDF zine meant to be printed at home is that the page-count can accommodate additional submissions. If others submit material, we could include a dungeon level or outdoor encounter in the center spread and simply more content (and more voices). Moving the page-count to 8 pages allows for a true front cover. I see page-count as fluid myself. Besides, 8 pages are still only 2 sheets of paper ;)

The plan is to collect a year's worth of zine material and release it as a POD release yearly.

I may print at home some copies of the zine for distribution at the various conventions I attend with the Frogs.

Alright, that the skinny as of right now. More when I have more :)

Dungeons & Dragons vs Rick and Morty - New Boxed Set releases Nov 19, 2019

Trying to find something for the gamer in your life who has everything and you AREN'T looking to spend 300 bucks on a dice set?

Dungeons & Dragons vs Rick and Morty is a new beginner boxed set for the 5th edition D&D rules.

Play D&D through the lenses of the mad narcissistic genius, Rick Sanchez, from the animated Cartoon Network series, Rick and Morty—the Rick Way! 

This tabletop roleplaying game boxed set blends the world of Dungeons & Dragons with mad narcissistic genius, Rick Sanchez’s power gaming sensibilities, nostalgia, sarcastic metacommentary, and the reasons why people play D&D in the first place. 

• Following the hugely popular comic book series Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons, this boxed set is co-authored by Jim Zub (co-writer of comic book series) with new art by Troy Little (illustrator of comic book series).

• This complete campaign experience includes the following components: (1) 64-page rulebook annotated by Rick (2) 32-page original adventure for levels 1–3 (3) 4-panel folding Dungeon Master screen featuring new art (4) 5 ready-to-play character sheets (6) 11 dice 

• A great companion to the comic book series, and a perfect gift for the Rick and Morty/D&D fan in your life.

Dungeons & Dragons vs Rick and Morty has a suggested retail of 29.99. By using the prior link, you can order from Amazon for the low price of 20.59

Remember, Christmas is a stone's throw away ;)

Yep, that's an affiliate link above. Affiliate links keep the taps flowing and the lights on at The Tavern and is an excellent way to show your support.

Kickstarter - Isometric Map-Making (Battlegrounds Games)

"Developing new features to support isometric mapping in MapForge AND creating a wealth of top-notch isometric mapping content Add-Ons."

I've been following and supporting Heruca / Battlegrounds Games for over a decade at this point. It was one of the first virtual tabletops I encountered, and Heruca was always available to answer questions and had quick responses when I needed support.

I was an early backer of Mapforge and seriously need to set some time aside to get back to playing with maps again. I find such to actually be therapeutic and relaxing. Free time in retirement isn't as free as I thought it would be.

Isometric maps, like the ones found in many DCC RPG adventures, are a beauty to behold and tend to spark my imagination more than standard 2d maps.

The Isometric Map-Making Kickstarter is being run to upgrade the original Mapforge mapper to isometric mapping options. How fucking cool is that?

The 5 buck backer level is for owners of the original Mapforge. It gives all stretch goals and helps fund the upgrade. 33 bucks gives you the original Mapforge program plus and 24 add ons. Not too shabby at all.

Need a mapping program? Mapforge may just be your cup of tea.

Kickstarter - A Time for Sacrifice: A Call of Cthulhu Adventure

"A Time For Sacrifice" is a Call of Cthulhu 7th edition adventure book set in Central/South America in the classic 1920's time era."

Although I own the Call of Cthulhu 7th edition core books, I much prefer the CoC Starter Box - the same rules in a nice, bite-sized offering.

Which makes the A Time for Sacrifice: A Call of Cthulhu Adventure Kickstarter very attractive, because now I feel like I have rules for CoC that I feel comfortable running adventures with, and this looks like a damn nice offering.

A Time for Sacrifice is a Call of Cthulhu 7th edition adventure book set in the classic 1920's era, licensed by Chaosium.  The book contains a series of three (now FIVE with stretch goals being met) adventures set in the Mesoamerican setting, including the Mayan society. The book will feature the beautiful art work of  Edoardo Campagnolo, brought to you by New Comet Games, the same people who brought you the award-winning Call of Cthulhu book Devil's Swamp. 

15 bucks for the PDF - 36 (plus shipping) for the Hardcover book plus PDF (shipping not included)

Kickstarter - The Folio #24 & #25 Double Edition Adventure Set

"Double Edition, 5E & 1E High Level Adventure Module Set"

I've enjoyed the various Folio releases over the last few years. High production quality, nice art, removable covers, dual system (5e and 1e) and generally well written.

With the latest Kickstarter, The Folio #24 & #25 Double Edition Adventure Set, wraps up the Roslov Keep storyline.

What's the pitch?

My Project: This project consists of two separate Folio adventures, each containing close to 30 pages of adventure content, a new monster, 2D and 3D dungeon, and removable 'DM Screen' type covers.  They are in 1st edition AD&D and 5th edtion D&D rules sets, and are designed for higher level adventures 12+. 

Who’s it for?  ALL gamers, both new gamers and old  gamers as it is easily expandable  or playable as is. These two adventures are based around the endgame of The Curse of Roslof Keep mega-dungeon campaign, but they can be used independently as a standard dungeon level.  The base  mechanic will be for 1st Edition with 5th Edition stat blocks in grey.

Note - this Kickstarter is for 2 releases, Folio #24 and #25.

PDF cost to back is 10 bucks, print plus PDF is 20 bucks. That's a lot of value for 20 bucks.