Swords & Wizardry Complete Box Set and Supplement Pack 29.99 Plus Shipping

Announcement:

Frog God Games continues its course of sales that are running throughout 2022. For this week’s sale (through November 13), we feature BOTH the Swords and Wizardry Complete Box Set AND Swords and Wizardry Accessory Pack TOGETHER for just $29.99 (+ shipping)!!! (Regularly, these two products are $94.98 combined, making these savings over $60!) Click here to add both to your cart and save!

Swords & Wizardry is more than a re-statement of the original rules that gave rise to 5e. It is fast-playing, easy to start, and easy to learn by anyone. Swords & Wizardry is a snapshot of the rules as they existed in 1978 right before “first edition” was released. The fifth edition game currently played, watched and beloved by millions is great fun, but the structure of the rules has changed over the course of editions, and there’s a unique feel to the earlier versions of the game which you may not have encountered before. The box set contains the following booklets: Player Book, Spells & Magic, Monsters, and Referee’s Book

Included in this sale is the Swords & Wizardry Accessory Pack. This supplement pack contains a Deluxe Referee Screen, Swords & Wizardry Supplement 1: MOAR Monsters, and the adventure, Baron’s Gambit. All three of these supplements fit into the Swords & Wizardry Complete Box Set.

Simply add both products to your cart and enter the code Swords-Wizardry-Turkey-2022 in the coupon code field. Then click the “Apply Coupon” button before checking out.

Alternatively, you can simply click here to automatically add the books and coupon to your cart to receive the discounted price.

ACT NOW BECAUSE ONCE THESE ARE GONE, THEY ARE GONE!

Get both the Swords & Wizardry Complete Box Set and Supplement Pack today!

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar  

It's Official - Troll Lord Games and Frog God Games are Teaming Up!

I heard about this a few days ago, but it wasn't for me to break the news. I received this email late this afternoon from Troll Lord Games:

Troll Lord Games and Frog God Games are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement to officially support the Castles & Crusades role-playing game via Frog God Games products.

Troll Lord Games has published the C&C RPG since its first printing was released in 2005.

Frog God Games will support the C&C game with supplements such as adventures, bestiaries, modules, and the like. Their first venture into publishing C&C products happened this autumn with their IndieGoGo campaign, “Halloween Double Feature.” The IGG campaign promoted the release of two adventures for the C&C game — Fungus God from Outer Space and Heresy of Rot. Fungus God from Outer Space is authored by Casey W. Christofferson, who is well known to C&C fans due to his many supplements written for C&C and 5e under TLG’s banner, especially Mythical Companions, Free City of Eskadia, and his Haunted Highlands series of adventures. Heresy of Rot is co-authored by Levi Combs and John Maguire, two more established names in the Old School Renaissance (OSR) of which C&C is a progenitor. Both products are now available on DriveThruRPG.com in PDF format with Print-on-Demand versions to follow soon.

Steve Chenault (CEO of Troll Lord Games) said, “Bill and I have been friends for over two decades. We have collaborated on countless projects and spent many an hour discussing projects, industry, and news at conventions from Vegas to Indianapolis. He is one of my closest friends in the industry and I trust him implicitly.

Frog God Games (and Necromancer Games), with Bill at the helm, has created some of the most dynamic, fun-filled, action-packed adventures for the RPG community (Vampires and Liches for the win!), so the idea of seeing them converted and produced for Castles & Crusades, our flagship product, is beyond exciting. Everyone here at TLG is pumped about this, as these adventures will fill some long-neglected holes in our adventuring ranks. I cannot wait to see these hit the shelves and tables! And personally, it will be great to work with Bill and his crew again!”

Fans of both companies should be on the lookout for more products from Frog God Games that will support their favorite RPG. Chatter regarding the venture was made public in September 2022 via Troll Lord Games’ Twitch channel, where they played gracious host to a trio of members of Frog God Games.

 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar    

New Release - Castigant: Gothic Roleplaying in a Time of Inquisition (OSR)

Horrors of the night plague humanity... Can you find the faith to defeat them? 

Right. What can I say about James Spahn that I haven't already said, here or elsewhere? Amazing writer, true friend, and blood brother, and I was his sponsor when he was confirmed in the Catholic faith.

I may be a bit biased, but at least I am honest about that potential when it may be there ;)

I read a part of an early version of Castigant: Gothic Roleplaying in a Time of Inquisition over the summer if my memory serves me right as far as timing, and it was compelling. Gothic horror with real-world trappings and an OSR engine. I'm looking forward to snagging my copy of the final version.

BTW, Castigo means "punishment" in Spanish...

Castigant is a roleplaying game set in a world of gothic horror. Based on the adventure gaming rules found in James M. Spahn's The Hero's Journey: Second Edition, Castigant takes a dark, yet hopeful turn as the night begins to set and sorrow clashes with faith.

Five unique classes, rules for Sorrows, Faith, Intercessions, Relics and more all feature, along with a detailed bestiary of foes and copious of optional rules to help tweak and adjust the game to your preferences. 

Castigant features themes of faith, the nature of humanity, and the role of monsters in our myths and world, and tries to ask difficult questions without easy answers. Horror imagery, art, and descriptions all feature throughout the game. Featuring art from the public domain, and layout by Alan Bahr, Castigant is Spahn's most personal work to date. 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar    

Bundle of Holding - Mongoose Traveller Explorations

The original Traveller was my first "hard science" RPG. I started with the Traveller Starter Boxed Set, which was really the 3 LBBs repackaged into a single book. I ran a handful of adventures but spent many an hour turning character generation into a game of its own.

Mongoose Traveller Explorations is currently up at Bundle of Holding. It uses the rules for Mongoose Traveller 2e (currently updated in 2022) and is as current as you can get.

For just US$12.95 you get all four titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $97) as DRM-free ebooks, including Mongoose's complete Traveller Core Rulebook (in its current 2022 Update version) and the sector sourcebooks Behind the Claw (covering Deneb and that much-Travelled playground, the Spinward Marches) and Sword Worlds. 

And if you pay more than the threshold price of $35.02, you'll level up and also get our entire Bonus Collection with eight more sourcebooks and adventures worth an additional $147, including Aliens of Charted Space Volume 1 and V2; the Sword Worlds campaign Skandersvik; two Spinward subsector sourcebooks, The Bowman Arm and The Lunion Shield Worlds; two Marches Adventures, 1: High and Dry and 2: Mission to Mithril; and Deneb Adventure 1: The Lost Duke.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar   

Kickstarter - The Complete Dungeons at World's End (OSR & 5e)

1E & 5E gaming mechanic swords & sorcery dungeon series done in classic orange spine hardcover style.

When Art of the Genre publishes its "Orange Spine" releases, they look perfect on my bookshelf next to my later AD&D 1e releases. The orange may be a little off, but I think that is more likely due to 40-some-odd years of discoloring of the originals than anything to do with Scott's current releases ;)

Welcome to the newest 'orange spine' adventure book from Art of the Genre, The Complete Dungeons at World's End!  This book compiles two adventure sets, as well as includes new and never before released content that helps expand the sets.  The adventures revolve around explorations into the unknown, one into the wild magic highlands of a distant island and the other mounts and an expedition into the ruins of an empire in the arctic north.  All adventures inside the book are laid out with incredible maps and in both classic AD&D and new 5th Edition D&D mechanics.  This book, and the adventures within, have been years in the making, and I look forward to seeing this collection help DMs take both high and low-level characters through the challenges of settings on the edge of the known world.

What is within these pages? This book will contain two complete adventure campaigns with incredible maps, new monsters, deadly  NPCs, and all manner of dungeon-crawling wickedness.  The first adventure set is for higher level characters, levels 10+, and the second is for new characters, and both are rendered mechanically in both 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons and classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons formats.

Who’s it for? ALL gamers, both new gamers and old-school gamers as it is easily expandable or playable as is. Each trilogy introduces the characters to new 'micro-settings' adaptable to most sandbox worlds and gives the characters good opportunities to explore and dungeon delve. The base mechanic will be for AD&D with 5th Edition stat blocks in grey.

If you haven't been grabbing The Folio as it releases, this is a great way to catch up, as well as simply being a great-looking addition to your gaming collection.

The Complete Dungeons at World's End is 15 bucks in PDF and 45 bucks in print plus PDF. There are further options with the addition of prior releases you can back for. All of the "Orange Spine" books are 128 pages.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar    

 

Is There Such a Thing as a Bum Die (or Dice)?

I was just off on a business trip to wonderful Fayetteville North Carolina, home of the 82nd Airborne and the US Army Special Operations command. During my eight years in the Air Force (working with the Army) I got to work with essentially all types of Army units....as long as they didn't jump out of aircraft (fixed or rotary wing). Because of that I never had a reason, or even opportunity, to visit Ft Bragg.

My current job brings me here a couple times a year and I look forward to it for several personal and professional reasons. 

A big plus on the personal side is that Fayetteville is also the home of Hobbit Hobbies, an odd game store that I just have to visit when I'm in town. Well, have to visit and pick up something. My general rule is if I step into a game store I would count as a Favorite Local Game Store (FLGS), I'm going to buy some stuff. Hobbit Hobbies is a relatively small store and fully half of that is models. The other half is spread out across wargaming, CCGs, minis, RPGs, model supplies, and even some comics and books. This place is packed floor-to-ceiling with stuff and I have totally lucked out on some awesome finds in the past.

...in the past. This time I didn't score anything huge, a couple minis and a Kaplow d30.

Now I love Hobbit Hobbies, but I think they sold me a bum die. I don't think I can return it, not that I would anyway, but...well.....totally my own damned fault. I should have insisted on the store removing the price sticker they put on it and giving her a few test rolls.  My first three rolls were 1, 2, 1....and it took a good dozen rolls to get above a 15.

Totally a bum die and I'm trying to figure out what to do about it. Since I'm already a bit of a dice snob, which I haven't been shy about in the past, one might wonder why I even bothered getting this new d30. I already have enough dice, including d30's, and I even bought a bunch of dice that my buddies at Monday Knight Adventures had made. 

Technically I do not need any more d30's but it's a d30! Can I really have enough? Truth be told I got distracted by a pretty yellow & black d30 because my main d30 is a really old (like early 80's Gamescience old) and this bum die called out to me, and I thought maybe....maybe I could (now I'm almost embarrassed to type this)...replace my cherished d30 for these business road trips.

After my last trip my little Pelican 1020 Micro Case I use for a dice carrier went missing. I assumed I had left it in my hotel room in Ft Hood, or in my room up in Dallas, when I took a side trip in the middle of the business trip. I was a little distraught at the idea of my main game dice going missing. One set of my Gamescience dice were a birthday gift from Barbara Blackburn (of KenzerCo fame) and I cherish them as much as the last two Gamescience d30's that Lou Zocchi had.

One of the Live Dungeons they have at the big cons tried to buy out all of Lou's remaining d30's, and he (Lou) thought he had done so when I showed up right after to get my hands on some. We chatted a bit and later during the convention when he was packing up he found two loose d30's in the bottom of one of his boxes. One was definitely old as he hadn't made that style in decades. Cool thing, for me, was that he actually tracked me down to give me the dice. So these dice are extra special to me....

...oh and I found the lost dice eventually. Evidently I had a whole tote of stuff I had bought while on that trip (a couple of visits to Ikea will do that) that I conveniently set aside and promptly forgot about. Of course this means I don't need this d30 and while it's a bum die, I'm not sure if I should try to jump through some hoops to cleanse and re-balance this die. It's a thing I've done and it worked then....but for one die, maybe better to just find this one a new home and let it be someone else's problem (assuming it is).

Kickstarter - Diapers & Daycares: Parents Handbook, A Parody RPG Your Basic RPG Parody Vol. II

If the contents are half as amazing as the above cover is, we'll have a true parody winner.

Now, if you ask me if I would actually run Diapers & Daycares, the answer is no - except maybe as a one-shot at a gaming convention. In that role, it has potential. Instead, it's something that will likely sit on a table, waiting for a fellow gamer to make a remark about it.

Diapers & Daycares: Parents Handbook, A Parody RPG Your Basic RPG Parody Vol. II is 8 bucks in PDF and 12 bucks (plus 9 bucks shipping in the US) for Print plus PDF. I don't normally comment on shipping prices, but this seems a bit steep. I don't expect they are adding pencils or dice to the package, so media mail would likely suffice, and it's priced at the moment at $3.49. Heck, I'm in for the print myself but thought this should be mentioned so no one is surprised.

Prepare for the role-playing game of a lifetime: PARENTHOOD.

YOU WILL use all of your wits and abilities to survive.

YOU WILL be pushed to the limits of your endurance, and beyond.

YOU WILL see, hear, and smell things beyond your wildest imagination.

Welcome to the world of Diapers and Daycares™, the ultimate in non-stop, ear-splitting, headache-inducing action. 

What kind of parent will you be? The Multi-tasker, the Coach, or the Time-Traveler? How about the Druid or the Cyborg? Choose from these and other exciting character classes, each with its own unique traits and special abilities.

Show your courage as you face impossible obstacles, from the baby-sitter who calls in sick to the insurance company customer-service rep. After all, how much is your out-of-pocket maximum for families? Roll a Knowledge Arcana check, add your Intelligence modifier, and hope for the best.

Oh--and please hold.

Diapers and Daycares™ is a fully playable d20 parody for parents and role-players alike, or for role-playing parents. Or the people who love them.

Or for people without children who just want a good laugh…and a sigh of relief.

All in 36+ black and white illustrated pages, with full-color cover!

(9 bucks to ship? Why?)

 The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern. You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar    

Humble Bundle - Virtual Maps: Caves, Camps, and Crypts

Maps can be amazing, and if you game using a Virtual Table Top, they can be invaluable. A Humble Bundle offering maps and tokens for VTT gaming? Not what I would have expected but a very pleasant surprise.

Virtual Paps: Caves, Camps, and Crypts offer 64 items for 18 bucks, including Borderland Providences, a setting book in the Lost Lands for 5e. 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar    

Kickstarter - Bizarre Blades and Torches, for Use With Fantasy RPGs (Phil Reed)

For those that don't already know, Phil Reed is the master of offering high-value Kickstarters at bargain prices. Bizarre Blades and Torches, for Use With Fantasy RPGs is no exception to the rule, it simply reinforces it.

As I experiment with formats, I find my attention turning to tiny booklets. I've created some smaller books in the past -- Gregor's Guide to Gates and Curic's Cursed Chapbook -- but I've never fully embraced the almost A6-sized page . . . until now! 

With your support, I'll produce at least two -- and possibly as many as four! -- different (approximately) A6-sized booklets. The titles in question are:

•  Bizarre Blades - 16 pages. A d66 selection of magic swords and daggers. 
•  Bizarre Torches - 12 pages. d66 magical and unusual torches.
•  Bizarre Tomes - 16 pages. A selection of d66 odd books, including some magic items. $5,000 stretch goal. Unlocked. 
•  Bizarre Goos - 16 pages. Do you need more slimes and oozes? This d66 collection is for you! $7,500 stretch goal. Unlocked.  

Unlocked stretch goals impact all reward levels. If you select the $1 PDF reward, you will receive the unlocked stretch goals in PDF. If you have chosen the $13 or higher print reward levels (United States addresses only), then any unlocked stretch goals will be included in your rewards in both PDF and print. If the $7,500 stretch goal is unlocked, all print rewards receive all four printed booklets! (note - all stretch goals have been reached)

One buck gets you all the above in PDF. There is no reason for ANYONE not to back for a buck.

$13 plus shipping gets you all the above in Print and PDF.

Do eet! You know you want to!

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar   

Bundle of Holding - Cthulhu Confidential (ONE GM and ONE lone player)

Head-to-head Mythos roleplaying for ONE GM and ONE lone player.

I've been wracking my brain to find a way to introduce Rach to the Cthulhu Mythos while running one on one gaming sessions. Well, I think I've found the solution as well as the system.

Investigator! Once again you fight alone against monstrous adversaries in this revived April 2020 Cthulhu Confidential Bundle featuring the GUMSHOE One-2-One tabletop roleplaying games from Pelgrane Press. Guided by a Game Moderator (GM), you become the sole protagonist in suspenseful investigative adventures -- noir nightscapes right out of the Cthulhu Mythos and superspy espionage. Can you solve the case with your hide -- and sanity -- intact?

This revival once again gives you most of the One-2-One line for a bargain price. For just US$12.95 you get all four titles in this revived offer's Starter Collection (retail value $46) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the complete standalone 328-page Cthulhu Confidential rulebook and three investigations: The Howling Fog, The House Up in the Hills, One For the Money.

And if you pay more than the threshold price of $25.11, you'll level up and also get this revival's entire Bonus Collection with five more titles worth an additional $53, including the complete standalone Night's Black Agents: Solo Ops rulebook by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan based on Kenneth Hite's Night's Black Agents; the Solo Ops adventure The Best of Intentions; and three more Cthulhoid investigations: High Voltage Kill, Ex Astoria, and The Shadow Over Washington.

I'm in for the Bonus Collection.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar    

When is it Too Early to Plan for a Con (213 Days until NTRPG)?

Today a buddy of mine who is coming to NTRPG '23 reached out for advice on travelling to the convention. Unfortunately I'm working on far too little sleep so I was just like, "Dude, just check out the scheduling website and plan accordingly."

Not my finest moment, especially with a friend, but he did actually have a valid point. Sure....the schedule is...well the schedule, but there's a LOT that you don't see in the simple black & white listing of times:

Wed, May 31 2023, 6:00pm - 12:00am

Thu, Jun 1 2023, 12:00am - 8:00am

Thu, Jun 1 2023, 8:00am - 12:00pm

Thu, Jun 1 2023, 12:00pm - 6:00pm

Thu, Jun 1 2023, 6:00pm - 12:00am

Fri, Jun 2 2023, 12:00am - 8:00am

Fri, Jun 2 2023, 8:00am - 12:00pm

Fri, Jun 2 2023, 12:00pm - 6:00pm

Fri, Jun 2 2023, 6:00pm - 12:00am

Sat, Jun 3 2023, 12:00am - 8:00am

Sat, Jun 3 2023, 8:00am - 12:00pm

Sat, Jun 3 2023, 12:00pm - 6:00pm

Sat, Jun 3 2023, 6:00pm - 12:00am

Sun, Jun 4 2023, 12:00am - 8:00am

Sun, Jun 4 2023, 8:00am - 12:00pm

Sun, Jun 4 2023, 12:00pm - 5:00pm

So....if you were having to fly in to the con, when would you want to get there? Well my answer is either Tuesday night or 1st thing Wednesday morning. Sure....technically the con doesn't kick off until 6PM, and realistically not until Thursday morning...BUT and this is a huge BUT....even with Dallas being an American Airlines hub, you want....no, YOU NEED to make sure you get there at a decent hour. My advice is usually to take the 1st flight out of the day so if there are any eff-ups (last year American had about a bazillion of them at the beginning of the con....) you have all day to get there.

That's just one aspect of trying to come to the con "on time". On paper the con starts Wednesday at 6PM, but many cons have an informal/soft start time. I remember at the Origins Game Fair I was regularly able to get my badges and last-minute registrations on Wednesday evening when they had a soft-start to field test any changes before things got hairy on Thursday. Being there on Wednesday not only made sure I got my Thursday gaming in, but it saved a metric butt-load of time and frustration.

Knowing the unofficial schedule helps not only on the front-end, but the back end. A lot of cons have plenty of events scheduled on the last day, but often at least that last time block is near empty or prone to last-minute cancellations. Normally you'll be lucky to get in a quick morning session, but things are winding down fast, and folks tend to be conventioned-out.

So while the actual game schedule for NTRPG isn't out yet (why would it be?), it really isn't too late to be looking at travel options, even though we're only 213 days away....

....Long Con is only two weeks away. if you haven't bought plane tickets to that one (assuming you'd need to), prices are going up now.....they tend to have a price jump about two weeks out (among a few others).

Deal of the Day - GM's Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing (System Neutral Edition)

I've stated it before and I'll say it again, I'm a huge fan of Raging Swan's system-neutral series of releases to assist GM's with game prep and in-session improv. I'd snap GM's Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing (System Neutral Edition) up in a second at this price if I didn't already own it ;)

Until tomorrow morning at 11 AM Eastern, GM's Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing (System Neutral Edition) is on sale in PDF for 6.99, 50% off its usual price of 13.99.

A System Neutral Edition GM's Resource by Ben Armitage, Alexander Augunas, Aaron Bailey, John Bennett, Creighton Broadhurst, Jeff Erwin, James Graham, Brian Gregory, Eric Hindley, Ben Kent, Thomas King, Greg Marks, Andrew J. Martin, Jacob W. Michaels, Julian Neale, Chad Perrin,  David Posener, Brian Ratcliff, Pierre van Rooden, Liz Smith, Josh Vogt and Mike Welham.

Tired of dungeons lacking in verisimilitude? Want to add cool little features of interest to your creations but don't have the time to come up with nonessential details? Want to make your dungeons feel more realistic?

Then GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing (System Neutral Edition) is for you! This gigantic compilations comprises all 34 instalments in the line as well as scores of riddles, new material and design essays by Creighton.  GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing (System Neutral Edition) presents loads of great features to add to your dungeon. Designed to be used both during preparation or actual play, GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing (System Neutral Edition)  is an invaluable addition to any GM's armoury!

GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing (System Neutral Edition) presents the material originally appearing in:

• Dungeon Dressing: Altars
• Dungeon Dressing: Archways
• Dungeon Dressing: Bridges
• Dungeon Dressing: Captives
• Dungeon Dressing: Ceilings
• Dungeon Dressing: Chests
• Dungeon Dressing: Corpses
• Dungeon Dressing: Doom Paintings
• Dungeon Dressing: Doors
• Dungeon Dressing: Double Doors
• Dungeon Dressing: Dungeon Entrances
• Dungeon Dressing: Dungeon Names
• Dungeon Dressing: Floors
• Dungeon Dressing: Fountains
• Dungeon Dressing: Gates & Portals
• Dungeon Dressing: Goblin’s Pockets
• Dungeon Dressing: Legends
• Dungeon Dressing: Legends II
• Dungeon Dressing: Mundane Chest Contents
• Dungeon Dressing: Pits
• Dungeon Dressing: Pools
• Dungeon Dressing: Portcullises
• Dungeon Dressing: Sarcophagi
• Dungeon Dressing: Secret Doors
• Dungeon Dressing: Simple Magic Traps
• Dungeon Dressing: Stairs
• Dungeon Dressing: Statues
• Dungeon Dressing: Tapestries
• Dungeon Dressing: Thrones
• Dungeon Dressing: Trapdoors
• Dungeon Dressing: Walls
• Dungeon Dressing: Wells
• So What’s The Riddle Like, Anyway?
• So What’s The Riddle Like, Anyway? II
• So What’s The Riddle Like, Anyway? III

New Material: New material focusing on concealed doors, strange growths, illumination, graffiti and loads of miscellaneous dungeon features; also includes nine dungeon design essays by Creighton.

This product is a Dual Format PDF. The downloadable ZIP file contains two versions, one optimised for printing and use on a normal computer and one optimised for use on a mobile device such as an iPad.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar   

Humble Bundle - Give the Gift of Pathfinder and Starfinder Book Bundle (Paizo)

I do not play Pathfinder, but I certainly did manage to collect a number of Pathfinder 1e releases. By far, one of the best values in tabletop gaming for years was the Pathfinder 1e Beginner Box. While the Pathfinder 2e Beginner Box does quite hit the same heights, it is still impressive (yes, I own it - I simply had to know how it would compare to its predecessor).

Here are the price points for the Pathfinder 2e and Starfinder Book Bundle:

5 bucks get you both Pathfinder & Starfinder Starter Boxes and a number of adventures and accessories. 10 items in total

15 bucks give you bother Pathfinder & Starfinder Core Books and Both Starter Boxes as well as a number of adventures and accessories. 25 items in total.

25 bucks give you bother Pathfinder & Starfinder Core Books and Both Starter Boxes as well as a number of adventures and accessories. 25 items in total. 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar 

Halloween Freebie - The Arkham Gazette #2

The Arkham Gazette #2 should be free until 11 AM Friday morning.

(other Halloween Freebies - check each day)

“Innsmouth? Well, it’s a queer kind of a town down at the mouth of the Manuxet. Used to be almost a city—quite a port before the War of 1812—but all gone to pieces in the last hundred years or so... And why is everybody so down on Innsmouth? Well, young fellow, you mustn’t take too much stock in what people around here say... Some of the stories would make you laugh—about old Captain Marsh driving bargains with the devil and bringing imps out of hell to live in Innsmouth..."

Welcome to Innsmouth!  Rumors have long swirled around the place, ever since a plague is said to have carried off so many of the town's residents in the 1840s.  Fallen into disrepair and decay, most locals shun the town and its unwholesome-looking inhabitant.  We've elected to brave Joe Sargents' bus and dive deep into the mysteries and dangerous secrets that, dare we say, cast a shadow over the place.

This issue includes the following eighteen articles:

• Shadows of Polynesia: Obed Marsh and his crew brought many things back from that island east of Tahiti...
• Locations in Greater Innsmouth: Three new locations for Innsmouth.
• The Wreck of the Elizabeth Wright: A new location outside of Innsmouth with connection to the town.
• Innsmouth’s Burying Grounds: A deep examination of the many cemeteries in and near Innsmouth.
• On the name “Dagon”: Where did this name come from?  Why did Obed Marsh use it?  What does that imply?
• “The marine abyss beyond Devil Reef”: Bathography versus Lovecraft!
• Edward Morse: A real-world scholar who might be of interest to your investigators.
• The Isle of Shoals and Other Innsmouth Inspiration: Real-world places that have some parallel to Innsmouth - the Isles of Shoals, Matinicus Island and the Malaga Island community.
• The Sacred Cod: Why is there a carved fish idol in the Massachusetts State House?
• The Hymnal of the Esoteric Order of Dagon: A new tome extoling the greatest of Innsmouth's new faith.
• The Ponape Scripture: An in-depth exporation of this tome of occult oceanic lore created by Lin Carter.
• The Feejee Mermaid: P.T. Barnum's dubious mummified "mermaid"; real-world history and occult (and Mythos) options.
• Innsmouth Curios: 8 Weird artifacts investigators can discover.
• Innsmouth Gold: All about Innsmouth's most notable export.
• Cancelled Innsmouth Books: A discussion of two cancelled books Chaosium was once planning related to Innsmouth - the Innsmouth Horror and Children of the Deep.
• A Guide to Newburyport: An extended description of the town that inspired Innsmouth and how you can use it in your Lovecraft Country games.
• “Drawn from the Water”: A Kingsport artist has gone missing and the investigators must follow his trail.  Dark secrets lurk in the waters just off shore...
• Annotated list of Innsmouth scenarios: Notes for the Keeper on all 14 of the Innsmouth-connected scenarios that we can locate in Lovecraft Country as well as a list of every Deep One scenario we can find.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar   

The Dread Thingonomicon (Free Sample)

I bought The Dread Thingonomicon (in Print plus PDF) and it is amazing. I have yet to give it a proper read-through, so a review is still a bit of a way out. In the meantime, here's a free sample to peruse.

The Dread Thingonomicon (Free Sample)

Are you a busy GM? Does session prep take too long? Do you never have time to design the cool little details that bring your game to life? Fear not! That’s where the Dread Thingonomicon comes in.

Crammed full of system-neutral themed lists, flavourful NPCs and more, the Dread Thingonomicon is designed to give you—the time-crunched GM—the tools to effortlessly add flavoursome verisimilitude to your game.

If your campaign features abnormal lesser undead, alchemist’s laboratories, ancient necropolises, archives & libraries, bandits & brigands, besieged castles, black dragon lairs, blue dragon lairs, bustling marketplaces, corpses, creepy graveyards, crypts & catacombs, cultists’ lairs, curio shops & pawnbrokers, dark caverns, fairs & festivals, fallen dwarven holds, fanes of evil, fanes of good, farming villages, fecund jungles, forts on the borderland, ghostly hauntings, goblin lairs, green dragon lairs, haunted houses, henchfolk & hirelings, hill giant steadings, items most wondrous, kobold warrens, lich’s lairs, local landmarks, lunatic asylums, merchant caravans, minions of evil, necromancer’s lairs, noble’s manor houses, noisome marshes, noisome sewers, ocean voyages, orc villages, red dragon lairs, roads, ruined castles, ruined cities, ruined monasteries, ruined wizard’s towers, seedy taverns, shadowed borderlands, slavers’ compounds, smugglers’ villages, smugglers’ lairs, snow and ice, subterranean mines, sun-scorched deserts, sunken ships, thievish doings, torture chambers, travellers’ inns, troublesome treasures, urban chases, urban events, urban landmarks, urban oddities, vampire’s castles, war-ravaged lands, white dragon lairs, wilderness camps, windswept moors, wizard’s towers and wrecked ships (and whose doesn’t?) the Dread Thingonomicon is for you!

Comprising the entire 20 Things line, the Dread Thingonomicon weighs in at 476 pages of content and is the culmination of seven years of design.

Use the system-neutral material herein either before or during play and bask in your players’ adulation.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar   

Kickstarter - Cats of Rahtlü - DCC RPG module

An investigative sandbox filled with HP Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith mythos mood and a fine sprinkling of Hüsker Dü.

A DCC RPG Adventure revolving around cats? Color me intrigued. Good adventures are relatively systemless, and the building blocks of this adventure, "HP Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith mythos mood", seem damn inspiring to me.

Cats of Rahtlü is a 1st level sandbox adventure for the DCC RPG game. 8 bucks in PDF, and 15 bucks for Print plus PDF. I consider that a fair price.

Cats of Rahtlü is a 1st level investigative sandbox using Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. Rahtlü, a small farming village, needs the party's help as mysteries abound. Rahtlü bears striking similarities to another town you may have heard of -- Ulthar. Yes, this town also has laws against killing those of the feline persuasion. Yes, the strange old couple inimical to the cats dwells under a large oak, but there's more to all this than meets the eye!

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar   

Bundle of Holding - Weird Frontiers (DCC RPG Engine in the Weird Wild West)

I backed the Weird Frontiers RPG Kickstarter and received my copy earlier this year. It is a beautiful beast of a book, simply oozing with atmosphere and playable content. I must say I am truly surprised and pleased to see this available on Bundle of Holding, as Weird Frontiers should be in as many hands as possible.

Howdy, trailhand! This all-new Weird Frontiers Bundle presents Weird Frontiers from Stiff Whiskers Press, a standalone Lovecraftian horror-Western tabletop roleplaying game based on the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG from Goodman Games. In an alternate 1865, cultists of Nyarlathotep brought on the Seven Days of Night to awaken long-dormant Elder Gods. Now heroes with extraordinary abilities stand against an ever-growing evil in a wounded country still recovering from the bloodiest war in American history. You can turn tail or take the fight to the night, and you ain't about to be called yeller! Saddle your horses and clean those irons, 'cause there's something slithering across the dark frontier and it's dead set on making vittles out of you and your ragtag posse.

For just US$9.95 you get all three titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $45) as DRM-free ebooks, including the complete 908-page Weird Frontiers RPG core rulebook, the Judge's Screen, and the Trail Map.

Nest of Snakes adventure for Weird Frontiers - And if you pay more than the threshold price of $20.18, you'll level up and also get our entire Bonus Collection with five complete adventures worth an additional $50, including Never Swallow the Worm!, Not So Fast, Billy Ray!, Dig Three Graves, The Malevolent Seven, and Nest of Snakes.

 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar   

How Far Are You Willing to go for a Game?

This weekend I had the pleasure of game....now the game itself isn't a special occasion worthy of note (don't get me wrong, I generally treasure every time I get to sling dice), but I had the pleasure of being able to play with one of my "regular" fellows who has been absent from the game for a couple of months now. Unfortunately some "big picture" life shit that nobody wants to have to deal with had gotten in the way and I think that getting in on this session was a bit of a sacrifice for my buddy.

It got me thinking, as these things do (currently cursed with sleeping issues, so that's a thing) and I really started wondering, "Just how far are people willing to go for a game?"

The question is a simple one, but really.....I think more than anything this is the deciding factor between people who are "gamers" and those who are not. Now for me the answer is simple, but my hip-shot response is roughly 2,054 miles. Yes, I've travelled 2,054 miles just for a game. Not at a convention either, but once I went from Boise to Chattanooga TN to run, well playtest really, a tournament adventure I was writing.

Now I'm not bragging. I had the weekend and (fortunately) the resources to "waste" the time to have the reigning World Champs poke holes in my adventure. It was that important to me so on many levels I wasn't going that far for a game.

Usually the go-to response, and I'm going to say this is from a non-gamer who identifies as a gamer......yeah, I went there....is "I don't have time to play."

First off, I'm going to call bullshit. Less that a thousandth of a percent of us, pretty much nobody who actually reads this blog, actually has their day scheduled out to the extent that they cannot make time for things that are important to them. What I mean is, if it is important we make time for it and if it isn't, we don't. When people say they don't have time, what they are actually saying is, "I'm trying to be polite and not tell you that the thing we're talking about isn't that important to me."

Sure time can be at a premium, but...and bear with me here...if you're a gamer and a specific time is an issue, then look for a new time! My group has had to switch from Saturday to Friday games for time scheduling reasons. I'm not sure how to feel about that yet, but I'm slinging dice so no reason to complain. I'm just fortunate that I don't have major life issues popping up to get in the way (currently, I do remember a few unexpected ones causing grief in the past.) and my work is steady enough to schedule regular game time.

In addition to having time to game, or (as I'm clearly laying down...make time to game) the next nut to  crack to get a gaming fix (bad attempt at a pun) is to find a place to game. My game is online, which is great for me since my work travel, when that happens, is for longer stretches than normal. Now as a single guy with a home...and soon a bonafide game room, a place isn't an issue, and really hasn't been an issue since I was a kid.

I've known players, and even GMs, where gaming space was an issue. In one instance we played in one players home so they'd be able to attend the game. For a while we gamed at the local college...student unions can be great gaming spaces if you don't mind some extra attention (which can be a benefit!) and some game store actually encourage games in their space.

Lastly, well at least the last thing that's coming to mind right now, is in addition to needing time and a place to play, you kind of.....only kind of...need other people to play with. Luckily there are single player games and online play is a thing. There are several online systems ranging from a simple Zoom call (which my group uses) to rather detailed simulated gaming virtual table-tops. Game stores and colleges often have people looking to game, so maybe you can fill a couple requirements in one place?

While I originally was thinking about how far people are willing to go to game, and how there can be barriers to slinging the dice.....thing is...well...we're gamers....problem solving is literally a skill we play with. Really kind of redefines things. I'm of the opinion that we all have some barriers but if it means we get to game.....well most are surmountable, and outside of that "big picture life shit", gamers should be gaming!

So....how far are you willing to go for a game?

....and because I know he reads this....great to have you back Steve!