No Gnomes? Oh Nos!

I'm sure pretty much everyone remembers the "No Gnomes!" videos and other similar advertisements that WotC used when it was rolling 4e out the door. Somehow "No Gnomes!" was supposed to be a selling point.

How did the little buggers get such a bad rap?

In AD&D, the were the only non-elf (or non-half-elf) race to get access to arcane magic, although they did it as illusionists.

In the realm of OSR retroclones, halflings might get slighted, but they aren't overlooked like gnomes are:

Swords & Wizardry - Gnome free

Labyrinth Lord - I believe they make their appearance in the Advanced Edition Characters book

LotFP Weird Fantasy - Just be happy halflings made the cut and don't ask about the gnomes. They're probably being corrupted as I write this.

ACKS - Halflings were omitted on purpose. Gnomes weren't even thought about enough to be purposefully mitted - the were just left out.

Is it just because they were one of the last races (certainly the last race that wasn't a hal breed) that was added to the adventuring mix that they suffer this oversight? Is it because they are some ill defined quasi cousins of dwarves? Is it the curse of the Garden Gnomes that keep them down? Did the Tinker Gnomes of Krynn use up the last of the goodwill that was aimed in the Gnome's direction?

Found! Free City of Haldane (Iridia #87)

I've been trying to find The Free City of Haldane for the better part of a year. I knew I had it somewhere, but I didn't expect to find it in a bunch of papers sitting inside a box of RPGs destined for storage. All because I was trying to track down by softcover copy of Swords & Wizardry Complete (I think that must currently be IN storage - I'll track it down of Friday).

This was a classic issue in Christian's old Iridia zine. I'm glad I found it just in time for the kick off of The City of Haldane series in his Loviatar zine :)

I'm looking forward to the new version, but I'm extremely happy to have my old version too.

Sometimes You Get Amazing Quantity - Other Times You Get Amazing Quality - I Like Both :)

Last month's DCC contest had over 130 entries. Simply amazing. There were some real gems among the zero level professions entered, and I still need to whittle it down to a 100 entry long table for Crawl!

So far this month, the DCC contest has 9 entries for the "Post a DCC Corruption Result of Your Own". It's a fair number, and there is just under a day and a half left in the contest, so there is still time to enter as I post this (hint!).  This contest has struck the quality bar and surpassed it. The entries equal or exceed those in the DCC RPG rulebook on pure imagination alone. At least, that's my humble opinion.

As I am the sole decider of the non-random prizes, I can see this is going to be a beautifully tough contest to judge. I can also foresee that down the line, if the monthly contests pick up in both quality and quantity, I may need to farm out the judging.

Damn cool :)

Converting Between OGL Systems - On the Fly or Prior Prep?

To a certain extent, everything from OD&D through 3.5e (and quite possibly 5e) are somewhat compatible. Back in my early gaming I was using D&D adventures in my AD&D game without batting an eye.

These days, I've used LL, C&C and S&W adventures and supplements in my ACKS campaign. Most of the conversion work I can do on the fly, but there are times I wish I had spent a few minutes ahead of time making sure things were ready for ACKS.

I've also grabbed some stuff from 3x and Pathfinder with minimal effort in converting, but I suspect the reverse would be more time consuming if not downright frustrating.

So, do you mix and match OSR/OGL rules in your games? Convert on the fly or scratch it out ahead of time?

Racial Specific Class - Halfling Adventurer (S&W Complete)

Based on yesterday's Halfling discusion and my later post on Racial Specific Classes, I came up with the following for Swords & Wizardry Complete:

Halfling Adventurer

Prime Attribute: Dexterity, 13+ (+5% experience bonus)
Hit Dice: 1d4/level (gains 2hp/level after 9th - maximum level is 10th)
Armor: Chainmail or Leather; no shield
Weapons Permitted: Any, but magical weapons are limited to daggers, swords and bows

Adventurer Class Abilities:

Fights as a Thief of the same level. (No Backstab Ability)

Saves as a Thief of the same level.

Levels as Thief

All thieving skills except Climb Walls. If wearing chainmail armor that is not magical, thieving skill effective level is reduced by 2 levels (Adventurers of 1st or 2nd level can not attempt any thief abilities while wearing chainmail armor)

Dodge Fatal Blow 1/day (2/day at level 5, 3/day at level 10) the Halfling Adventurer can attempt to dodge a fatal blow (physical attack from combat or trap - does not apply to spells, or spell effects - it does apply to breath weapons). The attack in question must have the potential to reduce the Adventurer to 0 HP or less (the DM will state if it does if the player asks). 

After the roll to hit against the Adventurer is successful, but before damage is determined, the player of the Adventurer must decide if he will attempt to use his Dodge Fatal Blow ability. If he decides to use Dodge Fatal Blow, he rolls a saving throw, and if successful, no damage is taken (nor is it rolled). If he fails his saving throw, he takes damage as normal and loses his next attack due to disorientation from attempting to dodge the blow that landed.

Racial Specific Classes - Or - Are the Core Classes Too Human-centric?

I've been running an ACKS campaign for a couple of months now, and if there is one main difference between ACKS and other retroclones (besides the rules for high level / ruler style play) is the inclusion of racial specific classes. Dwarven Vaultguards are very similar to human fighters, but it is a specific class available only to dwarves. Elven Nightblades are a magic-user/thief combo class that takes some abilities from each, but not all (no open locks or find / remove traps, much to my party's dismay).

The thing is, these classes are unique to each race. They are different from the standard classes. It's been  an excellent roleplay tool, and it helps folks think of races in the game as other than just a set of adjustments to a class.

Now, I'm not saying you can't have dwarven fighters or elven magic-users in your campaign - I'm sure I will when I run my next campaign of length, which will probably be a slightly houseruled Swords & Wizardry Complete game. But I think there should be options available for those that want to play something that more "racial specific" in the way of class.

It might also be an excellent way to give the halfling a better definition other that "short thief".

Hopefully I'll have something for the morning, and if I do, I'll post it here. Well, not THIS post mind you, but a new post, but here on THIS blog ;)

How High Should Magic Spells Go in Your OSR Game?

Notice how I said in YOUR OSR game ;)

Should spells go up to level 9 for both Magic-users and Clerics?

How about level 9 spells for Magic-users and level 7 for Clerics?

As low as level 6 spells for Magic-users and level 5 for Clerics?

Magic does set the tone of a campaign to some extent, and knowing how high your caster's potential is can be a defining moment.

For me, the answer would be level 6 for Magic-users and Level 5 for Clerics. It just seems like the right spot to top off the power of mere mortals. Magic beyond that is the business of the gods themselves.

What's your answer?

(there is a poll that will be up for a few days to grab your statistical answers, but I'd like to hear your reasonings too)

Why Do Halflings Get the Short Stick in Many RPGs?

Halflings were never all that powerful in AD&D. Poor guys were limited to 4th level as a fighter (although unlimited as a thief, something they excelled at).

LotFP's Weird Fantasy made them into some kind of "kick it and see if it goes off" trap detector, where their only specialty was good saves. No offensive usefulness, no utility worth besides setting off traps, they seems more like an afterthought.

Adventurer Conqueror Kings System does away with them all together. They're in the moster section if I recall correctly, but they were intentionally left out during the design of the system.

Halflings fair a little better in the DCC RPG, with dual wielding and their luck ability. Actually, with their luck ability, they seem a wee bit like their shorter green cousins of Irish lore ;)

Is it a general disdain of the race / class? Has it been over used and over played due to it's LotR roots? Is there an Anti-Hobbit backlash going on?

I always enjoyed playing a halfling Fighter / Thief - it made for a nice dungeon styles ranger substitute, but maybe that's just me and my style.

Do you also feel the wee folks have been held down, or am I over reaching? (had to get some height jokes in while I could ;)

How NOT to Get a Link Back From the Tavern

Every once in a while, Google's spam catching software let's a post get through. More often, it catches legitimate posts, and I have to release them from the spam dungeon. The following comment dodged Google's Spam Police and actually was live for about 30 minutes:

I just found your site and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your posts.In any case I'll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you post again soon Mr. King Solomon Sword

The Mr. King Soloman Sword part linked back to a novelty store for knives, swords and such. Cheap prices and even cheaper quality.

If you think you have something that this blog's readers might be interested in, reach out to me direct. Figure out how to do it. Others do.

Trying to scam The Tavern's readers is NOT the way to do it. This means you - Jeffery R Carter on G+. 

Free Game of the Week - Flying Swordsmen (OSRish)

So, what exactly is Flying Swordsmen? It is the OSR styled rules turned slightly askew. It's the Sunday Matinee Martial Arts Movies of your (or at least my) childhood brought to life - via an RPG. This is not Oriental Adventures. This is Flying Swordsmen.

Here's how the author's blog describes it at What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse:


Welcome to the home of the Flying Swordsmen Role Playing Game.  Flying Swordsmen is a game of fantasy martial arts, where characters use swords, fists, spells, and more to battle other martial artists and monsters, and seek out new techniques or magic to improve their martial skill.

Players take on the role of a Fighter, Wizard, Shaman or Thief, and can customize their martial arts abilities as they advance in level.  The Stunt system allows players to create the sorts of wild and crazy abilities and moves seen in Wuxia (fantasy martial arts) movies and comics.  

Alright, I guess it even covers the more recent martial arts flicks, but I still love my poorly dubbed ones from childhood ;)

If you are comfortable with OSR style rules, this should be an easy fit for you. The stunt dice even remind me a bit of Mighty Deeds of Arms from the DCC RPG.

What's the Deal With Parrying in S&W Complete?

Alright, this has my head scratching (Swords & Wizardry Complete Page 14):


Parry: Fighters with a Dexterity score of 14 or better can fight on the
defensive, parrying enemy blows and dodging attacks, as shown on the
table below.

Fighter Parrying Ability
Dexterity Score Penalty to Enemy Attacks

14 -1
15 -2
16 -3
17 -4
18 -5

Is this in lieu of Attacking? In addition to? Is this like a super AC bonus? Does it stack with the +1 from a high Dex?

Heron Prior on G+ got me thinking about this and I'm not sure.

I've read a post on Dragonsfoot that indicates Matt intended it to be vague and open to interpretation. I find that answer to be disappointing, to say the least. If there are options on how to use something (ability, skill, spell, whatever), say so in the book - don't leave folks wondering if they have it right or wrong.

There is a post at the above link suggesting that it be limited to Fighters in light or no armor. Another post suggested the Fighter choose between Strength bonus to hit and a Parry bonus based on Dex - you can't have both in the same round.

I think either solution could work, but a Fighter in plate with an 18 Dex get +6 (+5 from parry, +1 from pure Dex) to his AC - so then I'd say know to the Hit OR Parry bonus scheme.

My vote is - light armor or no armor, the fighter can elect to gain a parry bonus from high Dexterity.

So let it be written, so let it be done ;)

Re-Reading Swords & Wizardry Complete Has Started...

Somehow, I never noticed during my first read through that Con and Dex have a maximum adjustment of +1 for high stats. At first, my mind rebelled when seeing this, but in further thought, it keeps AC and HP less swingy. I actually like it.

Str bonus only for Fighters I'll probably house rule away, although I'd probably cap it at +1 for non-fighters.

S&W Complete feels much like AD&D, simplified to the way my groups played it. We had houseruled it without knowing that's what we were doing.

I do miss the Illusionist. I might have to write up my own version of the class, much like I did the Bard last year.

The Google Nexus Tablet Meets My RPG PDF Collection

I've had the Google Nexus 7 Tablet for about 5 weeks now. I can tell from an earlier post today (talking  about the Blood & Treasure RPG) that folks are interested in knowing how the Nexus 7 holds up when reading RPG PDFs.

It holds up very well.

The last two PDFs I've looked at on the Nexus 7 (using the EZ PDF Reader App) have been Blood & Treasure and Swords & Wizardry Complete. Why? Because I just bought the first one, and the second one is on my mind with the Reaper Kickstarter and the Swords & Wizardry Complete Kickstarter.

Both are readable with the tablet held in the vertical position, like a book. The print is small, but readable. I've mostly been using it to read for a few minutes in bed before sleep. If I were going to read for a longer period of time, I'd probably hold it in the horizontal position and move the page up and down for the two column format most games seem to favor.

Actually, I've got bunch of stuff on it in PDF format, so I'll rate them from zero to 2 thumbs up for vertical (V) and horizontal (H) reading. In no particular order:

RuneQuest 6 - 1V, 2H
S&W Complete - 1V, 2H
Blood & Treasure - 1V, 2H
Death Love Doom - 1+V, 2H (just a tad better to read than the others so far in vertical position)
ACKS - 1-V, 2H (its readable in vertical, but the walls of text don't make it easy)
Advanced Dungeons & Savages - 2V, 2H
Attack of the Frawgs! - 1V, 2H
The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk - 1V, 2H
Stars W/O Number - Core Edition - 1V-, 2H (readable but not easy on the eyes in vertical)
Other Dust -1V-, 2H (readable but not easy on the eyes in vertical)
DCC RPG - 1V+, 2H (maybe it's the font, but it's a bit easier on the eyes than most of the others when held in the vertical position)

So, most is readable in the vertical (book held) position, but for extended reading, you'll probably want to hold it vertically. I couldn't even really try to read most of my PDFs in the vertical postion with my Kindle Fire. I'm going to chalk that up to the quality of the screen.

Tenkar's Magical Tidbits - Talizmar's Woundlicker (OSR Weapon)

I was going to label this for use with Swords & Wizardry, as it certainly has gained some fame over the last few days, but Talizmar's Woundlicker should work in any OSR/OGL game with little changes necessary. So use it in ACKS, DCC RPG, Blood & Treasure - it should work in all.

Talizmar's Woundlicker is a magic longsword with some known history. It's first owner of any sort of fame was Talizmar, a warrior that fancied himself a ranger of sorts. He found the sword in an ancient barrow, and quickly fell fond of it. Maybe it was the etchings on the blade that seemed to slowly flow when stared at, or maybe it was the minor yet consistant healing of his wounds in combat that caused the bond, but he was never without out it. He kept it until the day he was felled by Tal & Mal, the two-headed giant, who left the sword where it fell with it's owner.

The game effects of Talizmar's Woundlicker are as follows. It is long sword of excellent quality, and as such, it inflicts +1 damage on all damage rolls. The blade is enchanted, with the following effects. When first used in combat, it instills a -2 adjustment to the wielder's to-hit roll, as the blade is groggy and desires blood. After the first hit, the adjustment becomes -1 to hit, after the second successful hit in the same combat it has no adjustment, upon the third successful hit it is +1 to hit and so on until the 5th successful hit, where it becomes +2 to hit until the end of the combat (and combat within 1 turn / 10 minutes picks up where the blade's bonus last was at).

Additionally, each successful hit on a living opponent heals one point of HP damage of the wielder (2 points when maximum damage is rolled). These points can heal past the normal maximum HPs (phantom HPs) of the wielder. Any phantom HPs fade one turn after combat has ended.

When the blade heals the wielder, an observer will notice blood drawn by the blade flows down the blade, over the hilt and seemingly into the wielder's hand.

First Impressions - Blood & Treasure (OSR Ruleset)

I bought Blood & Treasure Complete (Player's and GM's Books rolled into one) the other night, as I had both a Lulu 20% off coupon and a desire to see what John Stater, he of the Land of Nod setting, was going to put together as an OSR RPG. Besides, he was offering the PDF for free to those that purchased the hardcover copy. Win - Win if you ask me.

So far I'm impressed. I don't agree with everything John has done with Blood & Treasure, and I'm not sure I'd run it as is (do I run anything as is?) but it appears to be a tight set of rules that are easily houseruled. I dare say they were built for houseruling.

Blood & Treasure draws deeply from earlier editions of D&D, but it's not afraid to also draw inspiration from D&D 3e (such as with the optional Feats he's included, but I'll probably touch more on that with a later post).

The classes seem like fun to play (and higher level assassins even get spells). Heck, there's even a Bard class included - and if you know me, you know I love a flexible Bard class.

I have a minor issue with the layout - it only effects the class section, and I understand why it happens. Sometimes, class descriptions get broken up by the full page spread of the following class's base info / character portrait. I understand why it is done - to avoid lots of white space, but it breaks up the flow while reading.

I do like the Spell section. Spells descriptions are, for the most part, short and to the point. Easy to reference. Much like the Monster section - easy and quick to reference.

I'm still working my way through the PDF (which is surprisingly readable on my 7" Google Nexus tablet held in the vertical positon) but I like what I see so far. I also need to go back and reread by Swords & Wizardry Complete PDF at some point, as it might become the standard currency of the OSR after Reaper's Kickstarter ;)

My Afternoon With Guild Wars 2

Well, not the whole afternoon - I spent a good 2 hr chunk with one of those naps from hell, where you get to tell the dead that they shouldn't be in your dream, because, well - their dead. Thank God the fact that the living room renovations were done were the clue that let me know I was dreaming, because everything else was real as rain.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Guild Wars 2. Pretty damn sweet if you ask me. No monthly fee right from the start? Win win. PvP where everyone get's leveled up to 80, so the level gap is less pronounced (I assumed you still get skills and other bennies earned, so your true level will probably help, but it's not the swing like in other games of it's type).

Started with a human necromancer. Hit level 4, then took the nap.

Came back and played a norse ranger. Hit level 8 with him. No dwarves in the game, so if you see Tenkar Calishun running around on Tarnished Coast, that would be me ;)

I like the personalized quest chain - it reminds me a bit of the latest Star Wars MMO - it's about the one thing SW really got right. I like the on going events, much like Rifts. I like the PvP, although I would like to see some Warhammer Online type PvP, with limited time and set goals. Maybe that stuff is there and I haven't seen it yet.

No clerics. Kinda strange to play a Fantasy MMORPG without a declared healing class (a role I often took upon myself). I really need to give this some more time to find out how all the classes play out. I do like the engineer class, as it reminds me a lot of the same class from Warhammer.

Ah well, back to reading my PDF of Blood & Treasure. If you decide to grab it from Lulu, the code for August is AUGBOOKS12 for $20 off. If you get it in Hardcover and email Matt your Lulu receipt, he'll hook you up with the PDF for free.

Reaper "Bones" Miniatures 3rd Largest Kickstarter Ever!

It looks like I need to get back to painting miniatures after a 20 year break ;)

Here's what arrives in March (not counting a few extras I'm getting)

I think the count is 240 plus extras - plus S&W Complete AND Shotguns & Sorcery

August DCC RPG Contest - Get Some Corruption and Maybe Win a Prize!

I'm going with ScrivenerB's suggestion - new Corruption results, with the idea of getting enough entries for a few alternate tables. (ScrivenerB - email me at erikATtrubluniteDOTnet so I can get your gifts to you).

So, here's what you gotta do:

Post a Corruption result of your own design for the DCC RPG in the comments below. It could be Minor, Major or unlabeled if you are not sure. Use pages 116 and 118 in the DCC RPG rulebook to find other examples (the following example is from the DCC RPG Rulebook:


Ears mutate. Roll 1d5: 
(1) ears become pointed; 

(2) ears fall off (character still hears normally); 

(3) ears enlarge and look like an elephant's;

(4) ears elongate and look like a donkey’s (character also gains braying 

laugh); 

(5) ears shrivel and fold back.

Prizes - Dak will be sending out a copy of Crawl! #3 to the entry that I think is best.

Purple Sorcerer is donating a PDF copy of each of it's released adventures to the prize pool - Perils of the Sunken City, Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk and the soon to be released Mist Men.

Other prizes - I'm working on some PDF copies of DCC adventures from some of the 3rd party publishers. Expect this to get updated shortly. These prizes will be distributed randomly amongst the entrants.

I'll be purchasing  copies of Toys For the Sandbox for 5 entrants of my choice. They will each have their choice of an issue from 1-16 in the series.

Contest ends at midnite, August 31st, EDT. Enter as often as you like, but you can only win one prize no matter how many entries.

(by adding your comment to this thread, you agree that your entry may be compiled into a list with other entries, that it may appear in on this blog, Crawl! or the DCC Crawler's Companion. The lists compiled will be given to the DCC community to use. And corrupt...)

Reaper Kickstarter Could Put Swords & Wizardry Complete in the Hands of 13,000+ Gamers

I just read the above on Mythmere's blog. Think about that for a minute. 13K copies of S&W Complete in PDF being given to gamers kicking in to the Reaper Kickstarter, (as there are about 13k at the Vampire or Undertaker levels - Matt's numbers were low ;)

That's 13k people potentially getting exposed to one of the more popular OSR rulesets. Pathfinder might have some of it's iconics being reproduced in plastic as part of the stretch goals, but only one ruleset is being given to 13,000 gamers / miniature painters / collectors. Swords & Wizardry Complete.

It boggles my mind.

For those that say the OSR is dead, that the OSR has served it's purpose, that it's time to move on - 13,000 people - some of whom will be getting their first look at an OSR set of rules, may differ.

OSR - Oh Shit! Run! May it live on forever ;)

(19 hrs left to the Kickstarter as I type this)

Castles & Crusades 50% Off Sale at RPGNow

My return to active RPG Gaming was due in large part to Castles & Crusades. Heck, I played in a D&D campaign for the better part of two years via Fantasy Grounds 2. It was fun and certainly felt like D&D to me. In many ways, it was my introduction to the OSR before there even was an OSR movement.

I still buy much of the C&C stuff that is released, even if my current game of choice to run as a campaign is ACKS (and of course DCC RPG in shorter arcs). C&C Classic Monsters is the poor man's Tome of Horrors Complete if you ask me ;)

Not everything is on sale for 50% off (regretfully Classic Monsters isn't included) but the Player's Handbook is $6.99, Monsters & Treasures is $5.59 and even the Castle Keeper's Guide is marked down to $12.79. 

That being said, the true diamonds are Fields of Battle at $3.35 (though the mass combat rules can work in most OGL / OSR games), Engineering Castles at $2.10, Engineering Dungeons at $2.39, Arms and Armor at $3.00, Heart of Glass (adventure) $2.12 and the Aihrde Campaign Setting for $3.99 among others (a bunch of adventures are $2.10 each).

Not sure how long th sale is for, so strike while the iron is hot ;)