How Much Gaming Have I Missed Out on This Week Due to the Storm?

Well, thanks to the Hurricane and the overtime attached to it, I've had to cancel one game (the LL session that would have been last Monday), bow out on Keith's Wednesday Night Blood & Treasure Game, unable to play in Edjar's DCC Game and couldn't pound some drinks in Mark's Drinking Quest session.

Heck, tonight's game which was canceled as I was going away for the weekend I probably can't uncancel, as most of the group made other plans.

How the fuck I was going to do all this playing I have no idea, but doing none of it is damn depressing.

No weekday gaming for the foreseeable future with 4 am starts at work either.

Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Charity Bundle at RPGNow

RPGNow and a ton of publishers are offering the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Charity Bundle to help the Red Cross and those suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

This whole event has really opened my eyes to the power of Mother Nature. Yesterday I spent my afternoon and evening walking through housing projects in Brooklyn, checking on residents to see how they were holding up without electricity, water or heat. The strength of the human spirit never ceases to amaze me - nearly every person I came in contract with had a positive attitude in spite of their current hardships.

I work with people who lost their homes to the storm surge overnight Monday into Tuesday, yet they still came to work Tuesday morning to serve the city they are sworn to protect. My home and my family come through the storm relatively unscathed, but others up and down the eastern seaboard are not so lucky.

If there are games / and or other gaming products that appeal to you in the bundle, this is a great way to give while getting something back. Over $450 worth of gaming products in PDF for 20 bucks

(Pathfinder players / GMs will wind that Raging swan Press donated a number of pieces to the bundle. There are some hidden gems like Part-Time Gods and some Savage World Adventures and a ton of other stuff. It's light on OSR stuff, but then again, what isnt?)

Hopefully I will get a chance to get some of my usual game related posts posted this weekend. Maybe the fine folks at WotC would have been kind enough to post an article Grumpy will find appealing when he finally gets around to reading it. I'll need to take a peek it seems ;)

Pictures Are Worth A Thousand Word - Sandy's Work From Earlier in the Week

I was "In the Bag" today (NYPD vernacular for in full uniform) which rarely happens with my current position, but the devastation left by Hurricane Sandy is one hell of a exception to the rule.

No gaming thoughts today - I didn't have the time to play with such thoughts.

Nope, today real life stared me in the face for 15 hrs, and I was happy to offer what help I could (my feet are paying the price tonight).

Some scenes from a flooded area of Brooklyn earlier today -

Water, Water Everywhere, Nor Any Drop to Drink...

One of the situations I'm dealing with at my job is that the building we are located at has a basement that is flooding right now. Sure, I know the hurricane is long past, but we have a basement with 3' of water when I left for the day (saturated water table for the win) which is about the overcome and flood the pumps that pump water to the roof, which gives us water pressure.

Basically, too much water is going to cause us to have no water. Forget drinking water for the moment. We are going to have very disgusting toilets that won't flush.

Which of course brings us to the idea of "water traps".

Water is the one thing that can pass through doors (via the cracks in the door seal), seep through walls, ceilings and floors, and can devastate whole swaths of land in the blink of an eye.

It's also the one thing that life can not survive without.

Do you use water in traps and such? Do you penalize your parties when they "seek adventure" without enough drinkable water?

Some Much I Want to Write - So Much Burn Out From the Day

It's funny. You wouldn't think I'd have much time for gaming thoughts in the middle of the 2nd full day of the lower Manhattan blackout, but gaming certainly snuck it's way into the spare brainpower of my head today.

Lots of thoughts, all scattered around, and nothing forthcoming at the moment.

I think I need a beer of two to take some of the edge off of the day.

Well, that and maybe my wife can massage my painful feet. I think I've gotten way too used to spending most of my work day in the office and I'm paying for it now.

Ah well, maybe I'll get something out and on the page in a few.

What Can You Really See in the Dark?

Top of a Cabinet in My Office During
The Lower Manhattan Power Outage

Driving on a partially lit turning into unlit Williamsburg Bridge, I was immediately surprised at just how poorly my lowbeams actually illuminated the roadway and the bridge itself. It was a stark difference from the lit roadway.

Driving through normally lit streets that were totally unlit was also surreal. It was not the commute I was used to.

Getting to work and having the building itself totally blacked out, with even the emergency lighting failing, and it struck me just how totally unnerving it was to explore and unlit floor with hallways and rooms and wandering people with just a simple flashlight.

Imagine if all you had were a sputtering torch or a sloshing lantern in your hand?

I have a huge newfound respect for dungeons as an adventure location. There is simply an untapped potential to use the darkness as part of the dungeon dressing. I need to think on this when I have more free time, but I like the potential i see.

Sandy Overstays Her Welcome - Not a Pleasant Visitor

Today was a long day at work - the immediate future will be full of long days too - 12 hour plus tours until further notice. The five day vacation to the Poconos for my first wedding anniversary may be put off for a week or two.

Millions without power. Over 100 homes burned down in Breezy Point in Queens. Mass Transit taking a huge critical hit. Significant loss of life (including an off duty Police Officer who drowned in his home).

Mother Nature is an predicable and powerful creature, both friend and foe.

She can visit elsewhere next time.

(back to the usual gaming blogposts with the next post)

I Made Joe The Lawyer Pick Up a Copy of Palladium Fantasy

Yep, when we were warming up for PubCon at The Complete Strategist, Joe and I (and later Sarah) perused the aisles of gaming goodness. I pointed out Palladium Fantasy, probably the only Palladium game I would run as an adult and certainly something I'd gladly lift ideas and races from for my own campaign.

Joe pick up a copy. He should enjoy it, there is much old school fun held within.

Pictured is my 2nd copy. I grabbed it during the Palladium Christmas grab bag back in 2009. Nice piece of original art within.

I think I'll need another grab bag again this year. Hopefully no miniatures this time ;)

Barebones Fantasy is Released!

I'm sure you've seen numerous posts talking about Barebones Fantasy and the fact that it has released in PDF. I have one serious question - when is the Print on Demand coming?

It's not like you can't print it at home. DWD Publishing was nice enough to include a "printer friendly version" with the purchase of Barebones Fantasy, but a POD option would be nice. Larry, if you're listening, I have spoken!

I need to set aside some time to do an actual review of the system. I'll say this much, it's one of the few systems that my "grognard mind" can wrap around that isn't D&D based. I still need to work on the spell section, but it isn't so big I'll fail my Knowledge Roll ;)

I'm very impressed with the rewrite of the Maidens of Moordoth One-Sheet into a full sized adventure that's included with the Barebones RPG.

Wonderful, more lights flickering...

Damn you Frankenstorm!

From the blurb:


It may be small, but this game is a complete and unique fantasy role playing game. Add pencils and dice and you’ll have everything you need! Create your character and embark on an epic journey wrought with peril and rewards limited only by your imagination. Flip through the pages and you’ll see:

Classic character races: Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, and Human.
Eight character skills: Cleric, Enchanter, Leader, Scholar, Scout, Spellcaster, Thief, and Warrior.
Spells: 17 very flexible magic spells in a unique and simple magic system.
Equipment: a robust equipment list containing classic weapons and armor in addition to animals, gear, and even castles and ships.
Characters: Rules on creating and developing your character.
Rules lite: simple game rules relying on rapid resolution, action, and adventure.
Cool tools to get your creativity flowing: Magic item creation, alchemy, rune craft, spell scrolls, creature creation, traps, treasures, and more!
Adventure generation: we give you the nuts & bolts for developing memorable adventures, you sprinkle with creativity
Random dungeon creation system to help a GM prepare for a night’s fun.
A bestiary of over 45 creatures, ready to spread havoc on the world!
A broad brush-stroke setting, Keranak KingdomsTM, complete with brief history, atlas, and pantheon. A great backdrop for your epic saga.
Portable: fully indexed, e-book friendly, well-organized, and fits neatly in your pack or a large pocket. Take it with you and have it ready for an impromptu game. Try doing that with other fantasy role-playing game’s core rulebooks!
Within this zip file you should have:

BBF-Core Rulebook.pdf
BBF-Character Sheet.pdf
BBF-Player Reference.pdf
Kerenak Kingdoms Map.jpg
Keranak Kingdoms Map (Hexes).jpg
And because we like saving ink:

BBF-Core Rulebook-Print Friendly.pdf
BBF-Character Sheet-Print Friendly.pdf
BBF-Player Reference-Print Friendly.pdf
And finally we've added a free adventure module:

Maidens of Moordoth.pdf
Maidens of Moordoth-Print Friendly.pdf
MaidensOfMoordoth-GM.jpg
MaidensOfMoordoth-Player.jpg

Please join the site over at www.dwdstudios.com/barebones and get involved.  This game was written under a creative commons license, meaning YOU can write stuff too.  We already have several great promising adventure modules submitted, and we're excited to see what you add to the mix.

Waiting on the Frankenstorm - It Moves Slower Than an AD&D Class E Flyer

This storm is taking forever to get to NYC. I'm sure it will be the equivalent a Old Red Dragon, but it's got the maneuverability of a block of wood:


Class A: Creature can turn 180° per round, and requires 1 segment to reach full airspeed. Creature requires 1 segment to come to a full stop in the air, and can hover in place. Class A creatures have total and almost instantaneous control of their movements in the air. Examples: diinn, air elementals, aerial servants, couatl.

Class B: Creature can turn 120° per round, and requires 6 segments to reach full airspeed. Creature requires 5 segments to come to a full stop in the air, and can hover in place. Examples: fly spell, sprites, sylphs, giant wasps, ki-rin. 

Class C: Creature can turn 90° per round, and requires 1 round to reach full airspeed. Examples: carpet or wings of flying, gargoyles, harpies, pegasi, lammasu, shedu. 

Class D: Creature can turn 60° per round, and requires 2 rounds to reach full airspeed. Examples: pteranodons, sphinxes, mounted pegasi. 

Class E: Creature can turn 30° per round, and requires 4 rounds to reach full airspeed. Examples: dragons, rocs, wyverns. [DMG, p. 50-51]

The Slow Rebuilding of the Free RPG Game Links - OSR

These are the games I have so far. I'm sure I'm missing one or a half dozen ;)

Add them in the comments and I'll add them here. Mind you, this is the list for Free, OSR, D&D Clones and the like. I'll be doing other posts, and other side bar links, for other free RPG sources.

Damn Wayback machine last crawled the Tavern in 2011 :(

Labyrinth Lord
Labyrinth Lord AEC
Swords & Wizardry - Core
Swords & Wizardry - WB
Swords & Wizardry - Quickstart
OSRIC
LotFP Weird Fantasy
Delving Deeper
Spellcraft & Swordplay
Dark Dungeons
For Gold & Glory
Basic Fantasy RPG
Ambition & Avarice
Myth & Magic Player's Starter Guide
Myth & Magic Game Master's Starter Guide

Dearth of OSR Goodness at One of the Largest / Oldest Game Stores - The Complete Strategist NYC

Picture Borrowed From Google Maps

I mentioned in my last post that Joe the Lawyer and myself spent some time at the Complete Strategist yesterday afternoon. I walked out with CoC 6th Edition, Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer's Edition and Action Castle II (I'll discuss Action Castle in a later post). There's is a crapload of RPG goodness at the Strat, but there is a dearth of OSR games from any publisher.

Rifts and the rest of the Palladium line? I think the Complete Strategist keeps Palladium Book and Kevin Siembieda in business.

World of Darkness? Huge Selection

Warhammer Fantasy Role Play and WFRP40k? My God yes.

Pathfinder? Amazing selection.

D&D 4e / 3x? Eh. Not great, and the only section you are stuck looking at book spines and not covers.

OSR? A few copies of LotFP Grindhouse Boxed Set, Carcosa and Labyrinth Lord Core and AEC. That was all I saw.

No OSRIC, no Swords & Wizardry and certainly no modules with the exception of DCC RPG adventures.

Fucking humbling experience to see games like The Dying Earth RPG had more product available than the whole OSR.

My Latest Acquisition - Call of Cthulhu 6th Edition

Yesterday, part of PubCon was wandering the aisles of the Complete Strategist and deciding what I would be spending my money on. Mind you, "if" I was going to be spending money never came up - I knew I was, the question was "on what?"

Well, the main purchase was Call of Cthulhu Sixth Edition. I have a boxed set of CoC but I really haven't bought anything for it in years. As Halloween is just around the corner, CoC was an easy choice.

The book is much more complete than I expected, including 4 adventures. I'm considering doing a search for a 1 on 1 adventure to run for my wife on Halloween. As her only other RPG experience was a 1 on 1 Tunnels & Trolls session, it might be fun for her. If nothing else, I expect she'll humor me ;)

I also picked up the Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer's Edition for $9.99. I already own the hardcover, but for 10 bucks it's an amazing value. Who knows, I may actually run it at some point.

RATS! An Indiegogo Funded RPG to Roleplay Rats...

It's funny. I've been looking at the RATS! RPG since Uri first announced it, and yet I haven't got myself to pull the trigger on it. With 4 days to go in the crowdfunding, I'll need to make that decision soon.

The art looks amazing and I think Uri has done a great job putting together a game that might actually make roleplaying rats an enjoyable experience - I just dont have a good recent experience with rats in the RPGs I play ;)

That being said, and I don't want to draw a conclusion that may not play out when the full game, there seems to be an undertone of real life events boiling forth in the game itself. Not sure I would have used the term "holy war" in today's environment of political correctness. Hmmm, no - I probably would have, but then I don't have all that much published ;)

From the RATS! Indiegogo site:


RATS! is a satiric role playing game chronicling the rats’ awakening and subsequent holy war against modern humanity, other animals, each other and numerous inanimate objects as well. Players take on the role of intelligent rats who participate in various insanely dangerous, or just plain insane, missions to further the rodent cause.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Our world holds more mysteries and horrors than any man, or even rat, can imagine (without reading the book).

Publishing a game about revolting rats has been my dream and obsession for many years now. During my work on RATS! I’ve come across two wonderfully talented artists who felt inspired by the campaign setting and started creating stunning art for the future book, as well as contributing their own ratty ideas.

We have put a tremendous amount of hard work into this game. With your help, we hope to make this furry vision a reality!

PubCon Fall 2012 Recap - Pints, Grub and Dungeon!

Setting Up Dungeon! at the Pub

This afternoon was the first official / unofficial PubCon in NYC at Rattle N Hum, right across from the Complete Strategist. The party was so rocking that I had to call off tonight's gaming session. I'm beginning to feel the afternoon of beers and ciders in my head now, but it was worth it.

Alright, we call it a PubCon, but the turnout was small. Still, you need to start small to build bigger things, and we plan to make this big. Beer (and cider), great pub grub and gaming - how the f' can you go wrong?

I had a nice wheat beer, followed by a number of different ciders (including a delicious pear cider) and some insane shot that Joe the Lawyer has us drinking that had no right to taste as good as it did. I really can't tell you how much I drank, but I had 2 pints of seltzer to clear my system before leaving ;)

Anyhow, the four of us (told you it was small gathering - Joe, Tavis Allison, a young lady whose name escapes me and myself) foolishly ate and drank before deciding to pull out a game. I had brought Drinking quest 1 + 2, but at the rate we had been drinking , DQ would have put me down for the count. As Joe had just picked up a couple of copies of the newly revised Dungeon! game, we played a round of it.

The Inaugural PubCon NYC 2012 Attendees 

It was fun. The young lady won the first and only session, playing the role of the thief, I mean Rogue.

My few complaints? Why the need to change the classic "character classes" of the player's pieces? The old game did it just fine. Oh,and no PVP, so we couldn't stop the young lady from getting back to the starting area with her loot intact. Yes, WotC found a way to "carebear" even the revised Dungeon! board game ;)

We are already planning for PubCon II this spring. No date yet, but there will be a Sprint PubCon :)

Delving Deeper Offers Original Flavored D&D For Free

It's been a heck of a wait, but if you are looking for some Original Flavored D&D, Delving Deeper might just be your game.

Did I mention it's free in PDF?

Three booklets are in the release

The Adventurer's Handbook - which is where the classes reside

The Referee's Guide - where you find the rules for running the game

The Monster & Treasure Reference - where you find monsters and treasure. What, were you expecting a tricky type of answer? heh

You can grab all three together at the link above.

From the blurb:


What is the Delving Deeper RPG?

Delving Deeper is an emulation of the original fantasy role-playing game.

Meticulously forged over two long years of development, Delving Deeper invites you to recreate the original role-playing experience as it was in its earliest days.

Return to a time when three alignments were enough, when a handful of character classes ruled, and when magic swords had their own ideas about who's boss.

If you’ve ever read or watched a good fantasy with hungry eyes, then this is the game for you. Right here are all the rules you'll need, none of the rules you won't, and unparalleled room for expansion and growth. Grab your trusty sword, your magic wand, and call the guards to arms! There are treasures in these pages...

Pushing Back Monday's (Oct 29th) Labyrinth Lord Session

With the possibility of the "Frankenstorm" hitting the NYC metropolitan area, I'm pushing the LL session that was tentatively set for Monday night back 2 weeks (I'm away the first week on November).

I'm not so much concerned about the possible loss of the internet at my house, but as an "emergency worker" I may not even be home to run the game. I figure it's best to move it now than have folks wonder "where the f' is he?" ;)

Best laid plans of mice and men and all that crap...

The Grumpy Dwarf Asks: Why Drain the Life Out of Undead Energy Draining?

Foolish dwarf! Why are you reading D&D Next articles when you have serious doubts you'll ever play a session? Because, I tell myself, it might become big, or even Big (but not as BIG as D&D was in the past) and it certainly isn't 4e, which can only be a blessing.

So, why is James Wyatt taking the rusty scissors to the already shrinking private parts of the energy drain ability of certain undead? I don't mind limiting the ability to a handful of the critters, or even to just 2 (wrights and wraiths as James writes in his article), but why make the effect inconsequential?

Here's how James sees it:

A wight's most dreaded quality is its energy drain, and here's a place where we're still hammering out some details. In the current playtest bestiary, energy drain is an attack the wight can use in place of two weapon attacks, so it does less damage, but it also reduces the target's maximum hit points (limiting the effects of healing until after the target's next long rest).

Not for nothing James, but really, what's the point at this point? I like the idea of a drain to maximum HP (works even better for Vampires in my opinion, but whatever, we'll work with what we got) but a long rest does away with the effect? Whoop de frickin' do! That's not a threat.

Maximum HP are reduced until the casting of a high level spell, or a restoration potion, or a minor quest - something that actually has an effect on the party's resources. Heck, something, anything that has more of an effect than necessitating a good night's sleep. Maybe add some chicken soup to the requirements, it heals everything I've heard.

Again, it's not the effect that I have a problem with - I like this method much more than level drain. This method has no real risk for the PCs. It's not a threat. It's not something they need to overcome. It's a booboo with a slightly longer heal time.

There's no need to carebear the game to this extent. Trust me, the players will enjoy playing with a bit of actual risk. it makes success all that much better.

Are Your PCs a Part of the World, or Apart From the World?

The latest podcast over at RPG Circus touched on the idea of wether or not PCs were a part of their gaming world, or a part from it. It got me thinking about the topic, and truthfully, I think MOST games are run in such a way that PCs are apart from the world their in.

Few campaigns have events that don't impact the PCs. Events happen because they will impact the campaign and the PCs, but that doesn't make the PCs part of the world. It doesn't exist except where it further's the ends of the campaign.

If the campaign is on rails, you know which parts of the world exist, or will exist when needed. In a sandbox, it exists immediately around the PCs.

It helps to ground your players if they have a background - family, history, friends and the like will help the DM make the PCs a part of the world, as apposed to a part from it, but not all players want that kind of depth or experience to their game.

I guess a part of, or apart from, depends on style of play - but it's certainly easier to run a campaign as he second type.

So, a part of or apart from? Which do you prefer and which do you find yourself mostly playing in?

I've Been Attacked By the Frawgs! (More Prizes for the Next DCC Contests)

Thanks to Stephen Newton and his company Thick Skull Adventures, we now have print copies of Attack fo the Frawgs for upcoming DCC RPG Contests here at Tenkar's Tavern.

If I've said it once, I've said it at least a dozen times - the DCC RPG Community is the best there is in our hobby, bar none.

Hmmm... I guess I'm about due to announce a new monthly contest ;)