Weekend Bits N Pieces

Lets see.  I've been getting a bunch of hits on the blog today from Germany.  It appears a German RPG Forum linked my BRP Classic Fantasy review.  Of course, I haven't taken a German class in over 16 years, and even when I was taking it in college I sucked at it.  I'd love to post a comment on their end, but I'm probably safer not doing so ;)

I just realized yesterday that Netflix on Demand has many of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 movies for instant viewing.  Some great Scifi and Fantasy cheese to watch.  Of course, my all time favorite Mitchel isn't available for instant viewing... I might have to pick that one up on DVD (not a gamer movie, but oh god, its great in its badness).

The Smallville RPG just hit RPGNow.  I don't think I've watched more then an episode or two, but I have friends that watch it religiously.  I have access to a reviewer's copy, so I might have to check this out.  Alot of folks like the Cortex System, so it should be fun to see how good a fit it is.

Oh, and I'm still going to bitch about the heat we've had in NYC.  Last year I didn't need to run my AC at night until August - but then again, last summer was unseasonably cool.

Last bit - open to suggestions for a new wireless router.  Mine is "okay", but I'm looking for some extra range and perhaps better support for wireless gaming.

Thanks for listening.  Should have some more Quickstarts listed in a day or so.

Fantasy Hero 6th ed- The Beast

I'm referring to Fantasy Hero 6 as The Beast because the sucker comes in at nearly 500 pages, and you still need the Core Hero Rules to use it.  It is an impressive PDF to behold, although it is of limited use to those that do not use the Hero System.

I tend to beg, borrow and steal from many sources when I run a game, and good ideas don't need to share the same rule system.  There is much here that is not specific to the Hero system.  The sections Elements of Fantasy, Fantasy Sub-genres, and crossing fantasy with other genres could stand on their own as generic advice for anyone about to begin a new Fantasy game with any set of rules.

Other Chapters, such as Beyond the Fields we Know:  Fantasy Worlds and Races and Wonders of the Imagination: Gamemastering Fantasy Hero stand pretty well on their own too.  The ideas and advice presented could easily be published as a systemless supplement, and I strongly suggest that Hero Games, or whatever the company is called these days, consider publishing these chapters to an audience outside of the Hero Game circle.  I suspect they would do well.

As for the bulk of the book?  Its been ages since I've run anything Hero / Champions - wise, so I am far from the person to be counted on for a definitive judgement, but even with my time away from the game I could see myself creating a Fantasy Hero character.  I don't have the day and a half available to do so at the moment ;)

On a more technical note, there is an excellent use of bookmarks in Fantasy Hero, something that is unappreciated until you start using them.  At that point, they become priceless.

The Lonely Coast Campaign Setting

Raging Swan Press (now THAT'S a company name) has released a mini-campaign setting called The Lonely Coast for free.  Its about 30 pages long and made for the Pathfinder RPG, but as we all know the easiest thing to convert from one rules set to another is a campaign setting (at least ones that don't include lots of optional rules).  As such, you could easily convert this to any Old School game on the fly.

The setting details a small area that can fit into just about any campaign world.  It's designed to fit on the outskirts of a kingdom, and doesn't cover a huge area, so it shouldn't disrupt much if you drop it into a world you already plan to use.

Five wandering encounters are included to help the DM hit the ground rolling.

You can grab The Lonely Coast here and visit the Raging Swan Press' website here.

Raging Swan has also released an adventure named Retribution for 1st level PCs, that can be used with The Lonely Coast or not.  It's also for Pathfinder and would required some conversion to use it with other rule sets.  I'll give my thoughts on it when I finish reading it.

Fantasy Games Unlimited Seems Limitless

Foolish me.  Here's I thought the 10 notifications I received last night that FGU had uploaded some of its classic library to RPGNow meant that is was a new thing.  Apparently there is a crapload of FGU stuff to be found in PDF format.

There are 26 adventures and supplements for Villains and Vigilantes along.  I assume that they are pretty compatible to the new release of V&V, but maybe someone can confirm or deny that for me.

The title that caught most of my attention last night was Swordbearer.  It was one of the first non-AD&D RPGs that I purchased.  Never played it, not even sure if I understood how all the rules would have worked in game play, but I loved that boxed set.  Come to think of it, games in boxes were generally more exciting then book format.  It's kinda like opening a present every time you play.

I did use the Swordbearer adventure Dwarven Halls in my AD&D campaign back in the day.  Wish I could remember how well it played, but time has stolen the details from me.

Anyhow, FGU appears to be participating in the Christmas in July promo on RPGNow.  25% off aint bad.

FGU Classic Releases on RPGNow

Last night I received numerous emails informing me of Fantasy Games Unlimited releasing classic titles from it's library on RPGNow. It included some V&V titles, some Aftermath and Space Opera supplements and even the Swordbearer rules (of which I have the original box packed away somewhere).

Over the weekend I'll take a closer look at the releases. I figured I'd let y'all know now, as there are some FGU fans out there ;)

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And The Winners Are...

Yep, giving away THREE PDFs thanks to the generosity of RPGNow and the publishers of the books being offered.

Still haven't figured out a better method than rolling dice by hand, although I'm sure there is a better method.


Forty-three peeps registered via Google Friends Connect.  I'm going to be lazy and just roll percentile dice and disregard any results over 43.  Breaking out the pink crystal dice inked in black (which I SWORE were red when I ordered them online).

Ashley the Feline will be our dice rolling witness.  Hopefully she will refrain from playing with the dice until after the winners are chosen.

And the rolls are:

18 - JimLotFP - Fantasy Craft - (go figure - he can read it at RopeCon)

 95 - ignored roll

36 - Le Bâtard - Karma Roleplaying System

42 - Marcelo - Fat Dragon's Dragonshire Deluxe 

  The winners should be receiving an email to their gmail shortly with a link and coupon code. 

Congrats to all. 

Just think, we get to do it again at 50 - just need to check the prize closet and make note of what we have ;)

Breaking Out the Dice Tonight

We, I have three items to give away from June, and I'd hate to see them expire and go to waste, so everyone that is on the Tavern's Google Friends list by 7 pm NYC time tonight is entered. Raffling off PDF copies of:

Fantasy Craft Karma Roleplaying System Fat Dragon Deluxe Set

Should be fun ;)

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My ENnie Choices - Atomic Highway

Is there anything better then a nuclear, chemical and biological agent wasteland to adventure in?  The Road Warrior showed us the fun potential of a world gone to shit.  Atomic Highway puts that holocaust world in your hands.

Even the cover plays homage to the Road Warrior series of movies.

This book is a blast (nuclear?) to read.  Simple rules (as in not too crunch heavy), nice setting rules (so you can customize your own setting) and a well done sample adventure.  Haven't yet put the rules to a playtest, but I suspect they would be quickly picked up by the average gaming group.  All that and a solid 5 star rating on RPGNow.

Now, for a free alternative post holocaust RPG (more on the side of Gamma World then Road Warrior) you can check out Mutant Future.

Or just read them both and make your own future. 

The 40th Person Just Stepped up to the Bar

Thanks to bliss_infinite, the Tavern now has its 40th regular.  Kinda like Cheers, but with RPGs and BYOB.

Tomorrow night I'll do the random rolling to determine the winner of a PDF copy of Fantasy Craft, compliments of RPGNow.  Actually, I'm leaning on giving more then one prize away, as the codes are from June and I'd hate for them to expire ;)

Best of luck to all.

Bits n Pieces

Over the next few days I'll be posting some short reviews of my picks from the ENnies list. I figure most of them are independent publishers and might have flown under some folks radars.

I also need to complete another Tales of the Blue Knight installment. Let's see how far I can get on that.

Another week in the 90s here in NYC. Saturday will be gunning for 98. Did I mention I hate the heat?

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Eenie, Meenie, More ENnies....

Alright, the rest of my Ennies pick list... so you can all stop waiting on it (not like you were).

Best Production Values
Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios) - 'cause its a damn good book
Pathfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo Publishing) - Paizo outdid their already high standards on this one
Warhammer Fantasy RPG (Fantasy Flight Games)- Holy Shit!  Open the box and be left in awe!

Best Regalia
I'm not even sure what this means

Best Rules
Atomic Highway (Cubicle 7 & Radioactive Ape Designs) - a most excellent post nuke the world game
Diaspora (VSCA) - FATE system rules rule

Best Setting
Day After Ragnarok (Atomic Overmind Press) - If I were to play in a pulp setting, this would be it... excellent read, even w/o getting to play it

Best Supplement
eh, I refuse to vote for Player's Handbook 3

Best Website
Obsidian Portal - if you want a site that will help you run your game between sessions, this is it

Best Writing
Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios) - like i said before, its a damn good book
FantasyCraft (Crafty Games) - i like the book, even if i know i will never use it

Product of the Year
Pathfinder (Paizo Publishing)  - why?  because this one goes to ELEVEN!  or 3.75, or the alternate 4e

Closing the Pandoren Box

Something I think I forgot to mention about iTabletop Pandoren is that is uses Silverlight or some such (I'm doing this from my iPad so I'm just gonna roll with it). There is nothing to download. Everything is saved server side, even the application.

Which can be good or bad, depending on the future health of the company. In the hear and now it is awesome. Log in on any computer that can access the Internet and your account, your resources, everything you have saved game-wise is there.

Alright, closing the Pandoren box for now. I'm sure I'll have more after I give it a bit of a workout in the coming weeks.

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Opening the Pandoren Box

iTabletop... I mean iTabletop Pandoren, has come a long way since I first stumbled across the v1.0 software nearly 2 years ago.  It was Easter Sunday of 2009 that I took the plunge and invested 200 bucks in a Lifetime Membership with 11 floating licenses.  I liked the potential I saw.  And I waited.  And waited...

For a brief time I was a volunteer mod on the site, it was at a point where v1.0 was no longer being worked on, and v2.0 wasn't even in pre-beta.  Like any real growth, it was a rough spot.  So I walked away.  Not proud of it, but I was hoping to get my own fairly regular game running, and iTabletop wasn't ready for prime time.  I turned my attention back to Fantasy Grounds 2, no slouch in the Virtual Table Top field, but with a decent learning curve if you wanted to run a game with it.

I never completely walked away from iTabletop Pandoren (which I assume is a play on Pandora's box), as the stream of emails updaying threads I was following on the forums could attest to.

At the moment they are offering $25 Lifetime memberships, good for one person, with all the bells and whistles.  Crap, that's right, the bells and whistles that set iTabletop Pandoren apart from the others:  Video and voice built into the platform.  Which is damn nice, as my group is in NYC, Texas and Washington State... and everyone wants to make faces and crack jokes.  Hard to do that via the chat log in Fantasy Grounds 2.

You can also share sounds for events, video clips, PDFs (tho the last part is a bit touchy, as copyrights can be involved).  Suffice to say it is far enough along that I can now stumble my way thru the idea of getting a game running with it.

At the very least my group with use this for the 4 time a year Gathering of Fools... so  that those in distant lands (Texas and Washington) can enjoy and participate in the foolishness.

Eenie, Meenie, ENnies....

Its that time of the year again, where all good publishers hope to get their products the recognition that an ENnie awards gives.  So, on that note, I'll be highlighting my favs from the list of nominations:

Best Adventure
The Grinding Gear (Lamentations of the Flame Princess)

Best Aid or Accessory
er, don't know, don't rightly care 

Best Art, Cover
Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios)  
Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)
Rogue Trader Core Rulebook (Fantasy Flight Games)

Best Art, Interior
Pathfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo Publishing)  
Rogue Trader Core Rulebook (Fantasy Flight Games)

 Best Blog
guess i dont read the big ones 

Best Cartography
and don't now much about the final picks  

Best Electronic Book
not one of the finalists are on my digital bookshelf... sigh  

Best Free Product
amazingly enough, I don't know anything off this list either... and I LOVE free

Best Game
Pathfinder (Paizo Publishing)
HM: Labyrinth Lord (Goblinoid Games) Honorable mention isnt bad, but I'd have preferred a vote ;)

Best Miniature Product
I dont really do minis these days  

Best Monster/Adversary
Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)  
Pathfinder: Classic Horrors Revisited (Paizo Publishing) 

Best Podcast
I listen to like 4 podcasts a year, so my vote doesn't count  

eh, there's more, but I'll post it later tonight

Quick Start Rules - The Listing - Part the Sixth

The never ending list... well, it will end, or slow down, but not yet.

Misguided Ambitions - An Introduction to Earthdawn Third Edition - My experience with Earthdawn is limited to the harcover published by FASA back in my early days of gaming.  This cover to the new edition's quickstart reminds me of little in that old book, which is a good thing.

Mage: The Awakening Demo Part 1 and Part 2 - ENnie Nominated for best free product or web enhancement.  Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the Ascension and Awakening line for Mage?

City of Heroes RPG Quickplay Pack - Based on the MMORPG of the same name, it appears the full system was never released.  If this weren't a PDF, it would be a collectible. 

A Players Guide to Castlemourn - Not so much a quick start as an intro to the setting with enough rules (for use with 3.5e) to allow a player to create a character for use. Includes original fiction from Ed Greenwood, which by itself means it deserves a gander, especially for free.  Castlemourn Quickstart for the Cortex System here.

The Osmond Family RPG

No, don't go looking for a link or bother doing a google  search.  There isn't one (my God I HOPE there isn't one).  It's just that as I sit here in the Poconos, watching my hives appear even fuller (but the discomfort is almost all gone, go figure) I have Donnie and Marie Osmond bouncing around the nether region of my mind.  The Dark Side, if you will.

That damn stupid ass song:  I'm a little bit Country... I'm a little bit Rock n Roll!

I'm a little bit OSR, I'm a little bit 3E.  And a smidgen Rolemaster, MERP, BRP, CoC, FATE, Rifts, peanut butter and chocolate...

Just imagine if I HAD been drinking.  This could have been a whole lot worse, but the point is labels dont mean shit except from a marketing perspective.

Talking about marketing, I wonder if one could pull off an Osmond Family RPG.  I mean, TSR did publish a Dallas boardgame.  I actually owned that train wreck in my youth.

Pendragon - The Once and Current King

Pendragon 5.1 was just released in PDF format on RPGNow.  I don't know how it differs from 5.0, as the Wikipedia entry hasn't been updated to include the release of 5.1.

Pendragon is one of the great games that I never played.  I have the 1st edition boxed set and the 3rd edition soft covered book (there was no 2nd, and i missed the 4th and 5.0).  I've read them repeatedly, cover to cover, over the years as they are great King Arthur  resources unto themselves and make for nice reading (my BA is in History, so I may be biased).

The new PDF is 238 pages from end to end, and I'm starting at the begining and moving directly forward.  It's not the only thing on my plate, so its going to take some time before I can give a full (or even partial) review, but if it stays true to form it should be excellent.

Maybe I'll finally get to play with the rules this time.

Room for Another Mag?

D-Infinity is a new gaming magazine in the pipe, with a scheduled release at this summer's Gen Con.  While most gaming mags these days seem to go for a focused approach (OSR, C&C, 4e, 3.5) D-Infinity is painting with a much broader brush.  With nine publishers backing it, the opportunity to cover a large swath of gaming material certainly is there. 

In addition to covering many different RPGs, the plans include coverage of tabletop and live action gaming.  It should be interesting to see how this plays out.

Issue Zero, a 16 page preview, is available for free as a download from RPGNow here.

Life Sucks - Then You Blog

So, my sinus attack became a nice hive (welts / rash) attack!  Joy oh joys!  The fix?  Time and Allegra.  Crap.  The soles of my feet are in pain damn it!  And I still went to work!  I'm an ass!  heh

It's one hell of a distraction.  I'm sure its a D&D spell already, but damn I'm ready to write one from experience.

On a positive note, despite all the noise James managed to raise recently, his Weird Fantasy game is ready for preorders.  I'm in for one.  He may be a loud mouth, but he is an extremely talented loudmouth.  I have high expectations for it.  I'll review it when I receive it.

It aint cheap, but damn thats alot stuff!

Optimal Salacious Review - OSR

I am beginning to get a stiff neck bouncing back and fourth with all the OSR posting going on these days.  Jim probably started the scuffle, the green dragons responding and the hobby goes in a tizzy.

Truth of the matter is it served its purpose.  It drove traffic to Jim's site, just as Weird Fantasy is getting set to release.  Who will be the main buyer's of Jim's game?  People that are interested enough in this corner of the hobby to read blogs about this crap... me, you maybe?

I personally didn't like Jim's telling people what they should be called, making people a part of the OSR based on his word alone.  If I read a book by a Communist, am I now a Commie?  If I read the Bible do I now have to "witness" for everyone, or whatever the heck it is they do when they knock on my door and try to save me?

I'm fine at defining myself.  I might game mostly in what is defined loosely as OSR, but I have no products to push, no game to publish.  As someone else said... this is my hobby, and lets leave it as such.