State of the Tavern - Revisions and Updates to Free RPGs and Free Resources Lists

It's been a number of years since I've updated the various Free RPGs and Free Resources pages. Some of the links are still directing to the RPGNow domain, which is now defunct and needs to be updated to DTRPG . There are also a number of games and resources that need to be added to the various pages.

If you can think of any new games, adventures, resources, etc that need to be added, please leave them as a comment below.

When each page is fully updated, I'll link it via a new post here on The Tavern's Homepage.

Appreciate all of the help in advance :)

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Free RPG - Worlds Without Number: Free Edition

I've been a huge fan of Kevin Crawford's work for years. To see a full-on, fantasy version of the Stars Without Number "tag system" is priceless. Getting access to such for free? Awesome!

Worlds Without Number Free Edition costs exactly that much. There is a full deluxe version of the PDF for 19.99 or you can grab it in print.

The stars gutter and the skies fade and the earth grows weary with years. Ages of men and of Outsiders have ascended and been forgotten, and only the bones of their cities and the dust of their dreams remain upon this tired world. The Legacy of their laws is woven deep now, the edicts of dead gods and fallen sorcerer-kings made to trace patterns of power we no longer understand. We are heirs to their unseen empires, and our lives are built upon their ashes.

Worlds Without Number is a fantasy role-playing game, one fully compatible with the hit sci-fi game Stars Without Number. It's built from the ground up to provide gritty, hard-edged adventure in the fathomless future of the Latter Earth, a fantastic realm of time-lost sorcery, savage foes, a
nd barbaric splendor. The cold steel in the fists of your heroes and the half-understood sorcery in their tomes must suffice to overcome the monstrous remnants of ancient alien rulers and the present depredations of ruthless lords and hideous beasts alike. The riches of lost ages await in the subterranean Deeps that once held their kingdoms, and even the heavens above are not beyond the reach of the recklessly daring.

(Note: this is the free version of WWN. If you'd like to grab the full deluxe edition with almost fifty extra pages of bonus content, head right over.)

Worlds Without Number isn't just a savage game of steel and sorcery. It's packed solid with system-neutral GM tools and worldbuilding support, with hundreds of pages of useful tools, tags, tables, and practical advice usable by any GM, regardless of their favorite setting or system. The well-loved sci-fi tools of Stars Without Number are reworked here to support fantasy gaming, whether in the provided setting of the Latter Earth or in your own carefully-crafted homebrew world. Even GMs who don't prefer the OSR-compatible game system of WWN will find more than half the book dedicated to tools they can use in the systems they like best.

So what do you get in this book?

• Sword and sorcery heroes of blade, cunning, and spell. The proven OSR-compatible character creation system of Stars Without Number is redone here for a fantasy world of blade and black magic.
• OSR-compatible rules, allowing you to plunder decades of existing adventure material for your play. You can even pull in Stars Without Number content, as it's fully compatible.
• The Gyre region of the far-future Latter Earth, a premade sandbox for quick play. Venture forth to clash with the sinister powers that gather in the shadow of the waning rule of the Reaping King.
• Worldbuilding tools crafted to the renowned Sine Nomine standard. Did you like the hundred different world tags in SWN? Then have two hundred inspirational tags to help you build ruins, courts, communities, and wilderness points of interest. Grab a wealth of tools for building histories, societies, governments, religions, and geography, all written with a keen eye toward producing good, playable content for your adventuring group.
• Adventure creation tools to soothe the pangs of a working GM, with guides for building adventures out of combat, exploration, social, and investigative challenges. Use the tags you picked in the worldbuilding section to speed up your creation of a good night's gaming.
• Faction rules for fantasy worlds, with dark cults, fierce lords, grasping abbots, and greedy merchants all serving to keep your world in motion even when the PCs aren't on the scene.

And those contents are in this free edition of the game! If you dare to lay hands on the deluxe, for-pay version, you'll get even more.

• Heroic characters, ones fired with the prowess of high fantasy heroes and epic Chosen Ones. Don't care for gritty sword and sorcery? Use these rules to turn even novice adventurers into the protagonists of mighty deeds.
• Legates, those heroes touched with the power of the Legacy itself. Reach beyond the limits of mortal prowess to embrace superhuman abilities and impossible might, and dare adventures that will live for an age in legend.
• Bonus character classes, including the Adunic Invoker, Darian Skinshifter, Llaigisan Beastmaster, Sarulite Blood Priest, Kistian Duelist, and Vothite Thought Noble. Each one is built to help support a broad character concept, such as shapeshifting, mind control, animal companions, divine blessings, or swashbuckling fighters- concepts you can import to any setting.
• Additional GM tools, including a hundred fractal adventure seeds, help with extradimensional Iterums, and a sheaf of bonus GM tables for fleshing out architecture, NPC relationships, and random adventure NPCs.

Seize your chance, bold adventurer! Earnest souls have been waiting for years for a fantasy counterpart to Stars Without Number; now it awaits your daring grasp to help you forge your own mighty deeds!

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Deal of the Day - For Coin & Blood: Second Edition (OSR Ruleset)

I greatly enjoyed mining For Coin & Blood for ideas for my Swords & Wizardry campaign. I hadn't realized there was a For Coin & Blood: Second Edition. I'll need to rectify that ;)

For Coin & Blood: Second Edition is normally 11.99 in PDF, but until tomorrow morning it is on sale for 2.40.

For Coin & Blood is a classically-inspired fantasy roleplaying game, which takes the direction of playing the scum and villains you normally fight inmost fantasy campaigns!

Playing assassins, cult leaders, blackguards and more, For Coin & Blood is a different look at the other side of the coin of fantasy roleplaying games. Inspired by the writings of authors such as Kate Elliot, Joe Abercrombie, Sarah Monette, Glen Cook, Anna Smith Spark, Scott Lynch, and more, For Coin & Blood is dark fantasy roleplaying about antiheroes, thieves, and assassins, rooted in the darkest recess of mankind’s depredations.

For Coin & Blood makes no pretenses about what it asks you to be. You’re the villains that other campaigns fight. You’re the cult leaders, assassins, fallen nobles, murderers, mercenaries, necromancers, and thugs.

Well, there's a lot of reasons. The first edition was our first "classic adventure" game, inspired by the old fantasy RPGs of the 70s and 80s.

But there were a few places we felt we could improve it after a few years. New content, clearer rules, smoother mechanics. It was Alan's first dive into that style of game design, and frankly, this new edition is a lot better. 

Some of the new things we've included: 

• Improved and clarified skill test resolution.
• Revised attribute names and descriptions to fit the theme better. 
• Four new classes: The Diabolist: a cruel and dark demon summoner, the Executioner:  a feared slayer of humanity, the Machiavellian: a scheming noble and plotter, and the Witch Hunter: slayer of mages and magic users.
• Improved rules for hirelings, property, and more.
• Legacy XP, so you can build your next character as you play!
• Poisons and firearms, as well as revised gear rules.
• Rules for: artifacts, corruption points, smuggling, investigations, journeys and travels, mass battles, light, increased enemy lists (including specific demons to summon and their pacts they offer!)
• A full-setting ripe for your adventures (with maps!)

We've also added over 10 pages of art by Ger Curti (which comes to something like 5 half-pages, 4 new character illustrations, enemy art, 20 spot illustrations, and maps!), a new cover by Daniel Jimbert (the cover from the Spanish translation!), a new fiction piece from gaming author Mari Murdock and lots more!

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Deal of the Day - CASTLE OLDSKULL - The Classic Dungeon Design Guide (67 Cents!)

When I noticed CASTLE OLDSKULL - The Classic Dungeon Design Guide was in my email as a Deal of the Day I immediately clicked the link and snagged my copy. Kent David Kelly has a plethora of old-school goodness, and the opportunity to sample some of his work for $0.67 (67 cents) is quite simply amazing.

If you have ever wanted to know how to quickly and masterfully create your own mega-dungeon for your pen-and-paper Fantasy Role-Playing Game (PNP FRPG) campaigns, this is the perfect book for you.  This Game Master’s guide will show you, step by step, how to take your vague-yet-promising ideas and how to sculpt them with precise and careful design decisions (enhanced, if you prefer, by random die rolls), allowing you to conceive an endless mega-dungeon in record time.

Best of all, the CASTLE OLDSKULL CLASSIC DUNGEON DESIGN GUIDE is also system-neutral.  No matter which of the many FRPGs you choose to play, from basic skill level to advanced, a first edition or a fifth or anything in between, the lessons you master here will serve you in your gaming for years to come.  Learn how to make the most of your ever-dwindling prep time, so that you can spend those saved hours gaming with your friends!

This old school Guide is filled to overflowing with 220 pages of design material and dungeon generation tables.  Highlights include:

* Hack and slash and beyond.  39 adventure scenarios, with 20 diabolical twists, totaling 780 great ideas for your next campaign.

* A myriad of options.  Over 10,000 unusual benefactors (“quest givers”), unusual wilderness encounters your players will never forget, and extensive rumor and dungeon history generation systems.

* Every endless labyrinth ever, under one cover.  Extensive details on realistic underworlds, hundreds of dungeon dressing ideas, over 10,000 room types, and much more.

* The imagined made real.  A complete second book is included herein as a detailed example of dungeon design, featuring many pages of specific examples.  The Goblin Head campaign environment supplement reveals exactly how a 13-level mega-dungeon can be conceived in a matter of hours.

The CLASSIC DUNGEON DESIGN GUIDE is brought to you by Kent David Kelly of Wonderland Imprints, a role-player and Game Master with over 30 years of play experience.  Best of all, if there are any other materials you would like to see relating to dungeon design, feel free to contact the author.  Many more CASTLE OLDSKULL supplements are being prepared specifically to support the players, initiates and Game Masters of the Old School Revival (OSR).  This Guide is your gateway to the realms of sword and sorcery.  Join us for the adventure!

(A complete reference work designed to supplement existing pen-and-paper Fantasy Role-Playing Games.  12 chapters, over 100 section topics, 72,000 words, 188 pages; organized via a fully ordered table of contents.

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Kickstarter - Elements of Inspiration - Bring Your World To Life! (Cards for Gaming Inspiration)

Let's see. I've known the principle behind Nord Games for a number of years and we've been known to talk at gaming conventions - when I was going to such. As for the Nord Games Community Manager, I've known Ben "The Best Hair in the OSR" for a number of years, when he could have rightfully been called a kid to now, all grown up, and I consider him a friend, even if he does critique my drinking red wine with ice. 

Nord Games has a history of putting out good and most importantly, useable products with their Kickstarters, and Elements of Inspiration appears to raise even that high bar.

As an improv style DM, resources like the decks in Elements of Inspiration are my bread and butter. I'm in for $50, for the print plus PDF.

As I type this, the Elements of Inspiration Kickstarter has funded and then some - over $84k from a $20k goal.

Set off for adventure with Elements Of Inspiration! The most expansive, detailed, and dynamic tool for fantasy roleplaying games and storytelling we've ever created. This 420-card box set contains 9 decks, each for a different environment. So no matter where the heroes go, there will be exciting events to experience.

Decks within the Elements Of Inspiration Box Set are based on common and exotic environments found in fantasy adventures including: Urban, Forest, Mountains, Underground, Waterways, Tundra, Deserts, Plains, and Swamps.

We've based our card types on the three pillars of gameplay emphasized in the world's greatest roleplaying game: Exploration, Roleplay, and Combat.

Each card has a cue word and explanatory paragraph to spark your imagination. There are also four options listed that pertain to the cue word for added variety and inspiration. Finally there are three icons at the bottom of each card that present additional intrigue such as moon phase, weather conditions, and supernatural signs. Each of these card elements can be used to form a more and more detailed picture of this particular aspect of the story.

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New Release - Batteries Low, Getting Dark (Gamma World 1e)

Continuing with the "mo secrets" aspect of the posts for 2022, I consider Thom Wilson a personal friend. He has participated in OSR Christmas for years and has had me as a Special Guest at Shire Con in September for the past few years (I still can't apologize enough for missing the last Shire Con this past September but my car had a mind of its own).

Thom is an excellent writer of old-school adventures and material, and he has a soft spot for games like Gamma World. Go figure ;)

Batteries Low, Getting Dark for Gamma World 1e was Kickstarted by Thom in 2021 and is now available on DTRPG for 5 bucks in PDf, 15 bucks for print. I've read my copy, and it tempts me to take my Gamma World 1e ruleset out of storage to run it as a one-shot.

While traveling along an old, westbound trail, characters notice a mysterious petrified forest within sight of their latest campsite. Upon investigating, they discover a pre-war manufacturing plant amidst the tall, stone-skinned trees. Lying hidden in the forest, the facility seems to be relatively untouched since the great wars. If the characters can find a way in, they are sure to find vast, untold resources within...

This adventure was designed for use with first edition Gamma World but can be adapted to any post-apocalyptic roleplaying game.

42 B&W interior pages, digest sized booklet.

For 1E Gamma World (sci-fi) adventures

Created for the North Texas RPG Convention, 2019

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Castles & Crusades Player's Handbook - 7th Print FREE in PDF (and more goodies)

So, I was wandering around the Troll Lord Games website and I notice that the Castles & Crusades 7th Print Player's Handbook was free in PDF format. I literally had a Holy Shit moment, so I snagged it up.

There are actually two different covers available, both for free.

https://www.trolllord.com/tlgstore/#!/Players-Handbook-7th-Pr-FREE-Digital/p/89198209/category=119538267 

https://www.trolllord.com/tlgstore/#!/The-Players-Handbook-FREE-PDF/p/89198194/category=24093125

Also for free is the Castles & Crusades Quickstart, covering the core for classes through sixth level.

Through the end of the month, the Castles & Crusades basic ruleset for Fantasy Grounds is available for free.

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New Release - Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Cyclopedia & Gazetteer (Labyrinth Lord)

Time to get the disclaimer out of the way. I've been following James Mishler since his early days as a licensee of Judges Guild Wilderlands setting. Although that project overwhelmed James (and understandably so) it showed that James truly has a handle on the sandbox/hex crawl style of setting. James and Rob Conley (Bat in the Attic James) are cut from similar cloth.

Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Cyclopedia & Gazetteer is one of James' more recent releases, and James was kind enough to send me a comp copy of the PDF. I did not request it, and James did not offer it to me. It simply arrived in my email earlier today. I'll follow this post up with a review at some point in the next few weeks.

At first glance, this is an impressive campaign. It claims to support years of gameplay, and that certainly looks to be the case. 

The one thing that sticks out prominently to me is that there are FOUR versions of the setting map - "One map with all the names, location symbols, and mountain passes with hex numbers (identical to the PWYW map available separately), and one such map without hex numbers. One map without all the names, location symbols, and mountain passes with hex numbers, and one such map without hex numbers."

I really love this touch. I can hand out a map to my players without giving away all of the secrets this way ;)

How much is the Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Cyclopedia & Gazetteer? 15 bucks for the PDF and PNG maps. 

The Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Cyclopedia & Gazetteer is a 76-page campaign guide describing the Southlands of the Isle of Eldisor.

Jordvann was once a land dedicated to Law and Good, until the rise of Eldisor, the Devil’s-Son, who together with his hordes of giants, dragons, trolls, ogres, orcs, and goblins conquered the land, reduced the people to slavery, and brought down Fimbul Winter, which caused empires to fall world-wide. Eldisor ruled for 400 years, until he was slain or brought low during a rebellion of his captains, the Old Evils. Fimbul Winter ended, and civilization rose again elsewhere, while the survivors on the Isle of Eldisor sought to stay alive between the warring Old Evils.

Now, descendants (or claimed descendants) of exiled Jordvanner have settled the southern verge of the southern portion of the island, building colonies and rebuilding civilization among the monstrous and savage peoples of the isle. Little is known of the Isle of Eldisor, and what little is known is merely myth, legend, and rumor. The adventurers can partake of the return to the Isle of Eldisor in many ways – find and recover the lost treasures of the ancient civilization; discover, ally, and trade with the savage descendants of the Jordvanner; battle the remaining hordes of evil giants, dragons, trolls, ogres, orcs, and goblins; or seek to re-establish the lost realm of Jordvann and protect the native peoples from the inroads of the colonial factors.

The setting is presented as a Hexcrawl sandbox, and includes the following details:

• History of the Isle of Eldisor.
• Details on the Colonial Powers.
• Geographical information, including specific regional encounter options.
• The Jordvanner (including the four descendant peoples – the wild Cavemen, the sorcerous Gray Folk, the monstrous Morlocks, and the savage Tribesmen, as well as their cousins, the barbaric Kruski berserkers and vikings).
• 13 Gods, Demi-Gods, and Demons of the Isle of Eldisor and the Continent.
• 36 Myths, Legends, and Rumors.
• Complete Campaign Notes on making the Isle of Eldisor experience more immersive and unique.
• Details on the Weather on the Isle of Eldisor, still recovering from Fimbul Winter.
• A complete Hexcrawl Exploration Procedure to determine encounters and the discovery of minor ruins and settlements.
• A gazetteer detailing 156 major settlements, strongholds, ruins, and lairs.
• New monsters, including the Mammoth, Northern Titan, Giant Troll, and Multi-Headed Troll.
• An Appendix N detailing literature inspirational to the campaign.
• There are four separate maps included in PNG format:
• One map with all the names, location symbols, and mountian passes with hex numbers (identical to the PWYW map available separately), and one such map without hex numbers.
• One map without all the names, location symbols, and mountain passes with hex numbers, and one such map without hex numbers.
• The map is 52 hexes east-west by 34 hexes north-south; each hex is 6 miles across, providing more than 50,000 square miles of adventure!
• The map is also provided in the book, divided into eight sections for easy reading.

The Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign can provide a Judge and their players with years of adventure!

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily adaptable to any Old-School RPG or even Fifth Edition!

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Far West Kickstarter - An ACTUAL Update From Feb 1, 2022 - More Promises

Now, it should be noted that Gareth was informed of the Far West Forums being offline from one of The Tavern's readers. Never let it be said that we don't care. I'd have notified Gareth myself via the only medium he communicates via - Twitter - but he has me blocked. Ah well.

Now, on to the update:

Gareth-Michael SkarkaCreator

February 1, 2022

Greetings, All -- 

Several updates in this email, and we're busy as a cow’s tail in fly time, so I'll get right to it:

1) The manuscript has been handed off to Eric Trautmann (my business partner, formerly of West End Games) who is well underway on the layout, and should be done soon.

2) All additional spot illustrations requested by Eric have been delivered to him.  You can see one of them here, illustrating the "Artist" skill (in this case, a musician):

3) Once complete, we'll be delivering the PDF to you.  While layout is underway, meanwhile, I am conducting reviews of US-based printing companies, checking on prices, scheduling, and quality -- the pandemic-related supply chain issues, as you may have heard, have made overseas printing problematic.  Shipping from printers in China, for example, can take as long as 18 months or more.  So US-based it will be.  I'd rather not go the print-on-demand route, so I'm looking at offset printers -- -the costs will be higher, but, to be honest, this project is already a money-losing operation, so that's not a massive concern (but I would obviously like to keep it reasonable).

4) To that end, before physical delivery, I will be asking you all to email me directly with your present address.  Obviously, since this project has taken so long, there will be many of you who have changed your residence.  I will make an announcement of when I need that info.

5) We have been the victim of some malicious bastards who decided to mess around with our websites -- last week, backer John Fiala notified me that the forum on the FAR WEST website was spitting back fatal errors.  I hadn't touched anything on the site in over a month.  When digging, I discovered that somehow, the entire database for the forum had been removed.

Today, I discovered that the Adamant Entertainment website had been vandalized.  Somehow, somebody had managed to gain access to the admin account.  Luckily, I had a "back door" account set up (in the event that I ever forgot my login info, etc.) -- so I used it to gain access to the site and I deleted the offending account before it could do more damage.  UN-luckily, that account was the genuine admin account, so literally every post and page created by the account was deleted as well.  POOF.  The entire site is now empty.  

I have changed all of our login info, passwords, etc., on every site, and increased our security.  The amount of work that is currently staring me in the face is formidable -- so much so that I'm considering just starting from scratch on the Adamant site, and foregoing a forum entirely on the FAR WEST site (in favor of a dedicated Discord channel).  We'll see.

I know that the ridiculous amount of time this project has taken has made me some enemies out there, but still -- this has really been a gut-punch.

Anyway -- that's it for today.  Back to work.  I hope that you and yours are staying safe and healthy in these most peculiar times.

Gareth-Michael Skarka

Lawrence, Kansas

1 February, 2022

Before this fiasco known as Far West, I used to be a supporter of Adamant Entertainment. I literally couldn't give two fucks about Gareth politics, as he put out a crapton of good product. At some point, that morphed into producing no product and spewing politics non-stop on Twitter. It seems, for some, social media literally is a curse.

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Themed D&D Adventure: Rick & Morty

I should be finishing up packing my house for my move next week, but I'm taking a break and re-watching Rick & Morty (waiting for my medication to kick in....).

Now I know this isn't OSR, but Ha$bro did make a Rick & Morty D&D box set. I keep seeing it in the stores as I travel and I've never picked it up, mostly 'cause it's not OSR and I don't know if I need another ruleset I'm probably not going to play. I did wonder about it though, because it might be a decent gaming-entry for some new players.

I have bought an adventure game-box or twelve in the past, but the majority of them were probably the old Basic Set from Waldenbooks. At one point they were practically giving them away and it was cheaper & easier to just buy a set for the dice than it was to track down a gamestore (especially when you're a kid with no means of transport) to get replacement dice. I was a fan of the D&D 3.5 gamebox because it was just a well designed piece of kit.

Anyway I'm pretty clueless about the Rick & Morty Boxed set.....is it just a "regular" set with comics and some light theming, or it is just straight-up Ricktastic?

A quick search and I did find a decent review online. It looks like it is just packed with show references and it looks like the players can play the family (not Rick) or an add-on fighter named "Meatface". Surprisingly enough there is even a playthrough.....so if you don't think you'll pick the set up you can watch it?

I'm thinking if we get a Season 6 I need to spend the $30 and pick this thing up. Then I need to come up with a drinking game that can go along with the season premiere and once everyone is slightly tanked break out the box set and play The Lost Dungeon Of Rickedness: Big Rick Energy.

Should be good to go by this fall......man I'm not sure I can wait that long. Maybe I should look at something for NTRPG?

New Release - Traveller: Explorer's Edition (A Single Buck!)

I started my Traveller experience with the Traveller Starter Set. My God, it was an amazing experience and my only regret at the time was a lack of an experience point system (heh - I still harbour that regret)

The Traveller Explorer's Edition is a mere buck. I strongly suggest, that at that price, one can easily make a decision on whether to dive in further to what Mongoose Traveller has to offer, game on with what one has, or forgo any further. 

Simply a bargain.

Traveller is the science fiction roleplaying game of the far future. The Traveller Explorers’ Edition is an introduction to the game for newcomers that provides all of the tools you need to create adventures or even an entire campaign. Create bold scouts and intrepid scientists who travel into the unknown aboard their trusty Type-S Scout/Courier, a rugged exploration ship perfect for the job.

Dock your ship at advanced starports, visit strange worlds, encounter alien beings and animals, and take on the challenges that the galaxy sets before you.

The Explorer’s Edition provides all core game rules for Traveller, plus a universe creation system that allows referees to create new star systems on the fly for their players to visit and explore…

The universe awaits. Welcome to Traveller!

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New Release - Adventure Module V2 - Red in Tooth and Claw (OSR from BRW Games)

I've been attempting to make a special effort to reveal any connections I may have to the various products I highlight here at The Tavern. This post is no different. 

I've known Joe Bloch for a number of years (and got to meet him face to face for the first time at the Gygax Magazine launch in Brooklyn back in January of 2013 - my God, 8 years ago!)

When Joe put out his AD&D 2e "What If Gary had Written 2e Clone" Adventures Dark & Deep, it showed me that Joe really knows the OSR and game design. I ran his Castle of the Mad Arch Mage for well over a year. Joe's knowledge of Greyhawk is second to none. 

Joe's latest release is Red in Tooth and Claw, an adventure written for Adventures Dark & Deep but usable with an OSR ruleset. It's 2.95 in PDF and 5.95 in Print plus PDF. 

The southern verge of the Sesve Forest is beset by evil. Woodsmen are slain, villagers’ flocks and herds are rended asunder, and no one seems able to stem the tide of evil. But this is no ordinary pack of wolves threatening the forest precincts; they strike with supernatural cunning, behave with human-like strategy, and show a pure evil unknown to nature.

You and your companions must explore the southern edge of the forest and root out this pack of evil beasts before they strike again, and bring peace once more to the region. This adventure is the second in a trilogy of adventure modules, but can easily be played as a stand-alone module.

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New PWYW - Mere Anarchy (1-Sheet RPG)

I've always enjoyed Dirk Stanley's work, and actually snagged some of his adventures for the Far Away Land RPG before I even bought the core rules. Quite simply, he does good work. Dirk, Vince Florio, and I even did a short-lived podcast for the Far Away Land RPG. 

(edit: Doh! And yes, that is Dirk's artwork at the top of this page)

So yes, I know Dirk. Yes, I am likely biased. But that's okay because Mere Anarchy is priced at PWYW pricing for two pages (1-sheet) and your risk (and investment) is literally nil (unless you tip Dirk for his fine work.

I suspect Mere Anarchy would work best as a convention game. Simple to learn, everyone can be given their 1-sheet of the game AT the game, and all one needs are some d6's.

Mere Anarchy is an ultra-lite, 1-page (front and back) rpg that uses a simple 2d6 system. You can learn the game and make characters and get started playing in minutes.

The game features unique and simplified systems for many things like NPCs and monsters and generating treasure.

• Overview of basic mechanics
• Character creation (with optional rules)
• PC Advancement
• Combat
• Magic (freeform system)
• Gear
• NPCs & Monsters
• Treasure

 

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Borderlands & Beyond for RuneQuest - Glorantian Classics Reprint Print plus PDF Sale (over 50% off)

I've recently been bitten (again) by the RuneQuest Bug. I last ran a RuneQuest Campaign over 30 years ago, using the RuneQuest 2nd edition rules and the Pavis and Big Rubble box sets. It was an amazing summer of RuneQuest fun, and although we didn't call it a "sandbox" back then, it was certainly the first sandbox I ran.

I noticed last night that on the Chaosium website, they offer Glorantian Classics: Borderlands and Beyond for $18.99, in print plus free PDF - basically half off the regular price. Not owning a prior version of Borderlands (but remembering the rave reviews of it from years ago) I promptly ordered the hard copy and started perusing my newly acquired PDF.

I'm inspired to run a RuneQuest Campaign again, with Pavis & Big Rubble, as well as the Borderlands at my disposal. Apparently, I ordered a PDF copy of Pavis & Big Rubble from DTRPG in the past, and I'll be uploading that to my iPad, much like I've uploaded Borderlands. Edition changes don't phase me, as I've been running all editions of various D&D / OGL adventures for years using Swords & Wizardry rules. So long as the players don't know what the "true" stats should be, any stats you present as a GM are the "true" stats ;)

So, what do you get in Borderlands & Beyond?

This is an updated and reformatted 300+ page reprint of ALL of the information from the original Chaosium Borderlands boxed set, Plunder, and Runemasters.

Rick also included additional Plunder items, expanded Runemasters character histories, and loads of background info from Nomad Gods and Wyrms Footnotes magazine. The interior is lavishly illustrated with dozens of new pictures from Simon Bray, Dario Corallo, plus loads of oldies but goodies from Lisa Free, Luise Perrinne, Gene Day and Rick Becker.

Note, this is the last of the Glorantian Classics line Chaosium has in print.

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Bundle of Holding - Goodman Gems

Looking at one of the latest Bundles of Holding, I am quite impressed by the quality works included at these price points. Truth be told, I believe I already own everything, if not in print than in PDF. That says a lot IMHO.

With the Goodman Gems bundle, you get The Adventurer's Almanac, the DM Campaign Tracker, PC Pearls, and GM Gems for 9.99. If you increase your buy-in to about 26 bucks, you also get The Dungeon Alphabet, The Monster Alphabet, The Cthulhu Alphabet, 50 Fantastic Functions for the D50, and How to Write Adventure Modules that Don't Suck.

It's a pretty damn strong collection overall.

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Giantlands - Reviewish - Book 1, Part 1 - Damn It Tenkar, Where Are the Rules?

To be honest, I did not purchase Giantlands with high hopes. At $130 plus shipping my expectations were severely muted. That being said, I can honestly say, the editing is, by far, better than any of the peeks we've had of various TSR3 products that have not been released yet. Surely, not a high bar to meet, but one that has been met and exceeded.

Now, on to the cover of Volume 1 of Three Booklets, Spirits Guide. Yes, I know that looks awkward, but there it is. 

Giantlands: Science Fantasy Roleplaying Game Playable with Pen, Paper, Dice & Masks

Maybe it's just me, but we never played with masks back in the day OR today (but occasionally we did play with hand puppets, like the Rocky & Bullwinkle Game from TSR). This makes it seem like masks are expected to be used as part of gameplay. It should be noted that masks are NOT included in the box, but pencils are, as well as dice and some tokens.

At first glance, the art looks above average to pretty damn good. Jeff Dee did some interior art, and the other artists did fine jobs overall.

We start with the description of the 5th Age. If you've played an RPG with a default setting before, you probably already know much of the script.

This is followed by the section The Fun of Roleplaying. If this is your first RPG, do read it. Also, my sympathies, as this should likely not be your first RPG. That applies to MOST RPGs. It's not a knock on Giantlands specifically, just a general note.

Definition of Terms comes next. At four pages, it does a decent job of defining terms used in RPGs in general and Giantlands in particular. 

Core Guidelines is the next page and really feels like it could have been included with The Fun of Roleplaying Section. Again, as a gamer, this section can likely be ignored by most.

The What Do You Need Section ("the following is a list of what is needed for a game of Giantlands") is where I find myself blinking and shaking my head. Spirits (players), Spirit Keeper (GM), Dice, Sigil Coins (tokens of a sort. Four are included in the box, but you could substitute coins), Pencil (the cover says "pen", but that's nitpicking), Paper, Imagination, Lusory Attitude (basically the ability to immerse yourself in the game - yeah, Gygaxian word) and lastly Masks and Costumes.

Now, let's pull that last piece out on its own.

Masks and Costumes

Masks are a way to help us stay safe while stepping even more out of our everyday selves and into other roles. Decorate your mask with Sigils, human or animal features, or anything else that makes you feel more like your character. Costumes of any kind also help us and others to imagine more deeply and suspend disbelief in the fantasy

Does the above paragraph make anyone else cringe? It certainly makes me cringe. Needless to say, no masks or costumes are included with Giantlands but they are included in the What Do You Need Section of the rulebook.

Now, I'm not saying that an RPG with masks and costumes can't work, but marketing such to old-school gamers is likely the wrong market to aim for.

But wait! There's more on Costumes and Masks a few pages later. 

Costume and mask creation is an important part of playing Giantlands.

We strongly and sincerely suggest you craft your own.

Playing dress-up is great fun, but it comes with game benefits too. The costume rules state that if you wear a mask, you may add +5 to each of your Ability scores. If you wear a full-body costume, you can add +10 to each Ability score.

I'm an adult. I don't play dress-up. 

But it seems as though Costumes and Masks are NOT required to play Giantlands, just highly beneficial with in-game bonuses that literally make no sense. 

"Hey, bring blue dice to my game table and I'll make sure you get +1 hit for the rest of the session" is not the way to design a game.

Damn, where was I?

Oh yes, the Play of the Game Section. This is another section that makes me scratch my head, specifically Step Three. Actually, everything from Step Three on. Fuckit, there's too much to type. Here's the page for review purposes only:

There is no sample adventure in the box (and I just confirmed that Volume 2, the Keepers Guide, lacks such). It appears that the assumption is that the Spirit Keeper will know how to design an adventure for Giantlands, but the rules thus far seem to be directed at players new to RPGs in general.

How do you NOT include a sample adventure for a totally new game system? Even a free one on the website would suffice. From what I can tell, the only download on the WFD website is for a Giantlands character sheet. At 2 bucks, BTW.

K, I'm burned out. 

Tomorrow Night on the Talking Crit LiveStream, we'll do a Giantlands Session Zero - Character Generation. At first glance, it doesn't seem all that balanced, but maybe that's where the "old school" aspect comes into the ruleset.

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