Tip Toe Through the Tunnels and Avoid the Trolls...

I really have no idea if I'll be running DCC (and finally wrapping up Doom of the Savage Kings) or some Tunnels & Trolls - all depends on the turnout we get for Saturday Night's Hangout Session.

In the meantime I'm thinking of some house rules...

I'm figuring classic fantasy races only. Well, classic for T&T, including fairies and leprechauns. I see hobbits are actually called "hobbits". Guess FBI didnt fear the Tolkien Estate as much as TSR did.

Humans get to roll 2 extra d6 at the end of generating their stats, and can swap them with any other dice rolled. As I'll be using Triples Are Rolled Over, it may allow the humans to overcome some of the stat advantages the demihumans have.

I've going to allow creative use of the Saving Rolls, especially for the rogues. I was thinking of using the optional skills from the back of 5.5 rules but they seem to add move numbers tracking then they are worth, at least for now.

Full "death spiral" for the monsters (both in combat dice and adds) and Spite Damage. I'll be using the special attacks based on Spite from 7e for some of the more special monsters. I've done enough of them on the blog to have some decently new things to throw at the party.

Definitely using the 5x expo and leveling rules as a base and not the 7x rules. Both the 7e and 7.5e expo and level rules seem broken to me. I understand why they are as they are, but they just dont feel right (I'm interested in seeing the dT&T leveling rules).

That's probably the extent of the house rules, which as house rules go aren't all that much ;)

The Classic "Temple of Elemental Evil" for FREE at D&D Classics (AD&D)

Yep, Temple of Elemental Evil is FREE at the D&D Classics web store until September 28th.

How good are the scans? Damn if I know, as I can't get the fucker to download ;)  Still, the price is right, and once it's in my online collection I can always download it later - assuming WotC doesn't pull all of it's products like it did in the past...

Some Thoughts on Hit Points and Why the Resource Differs for PCs and Their Adversaries

I've been thinking a bit about Tunnels & Trolls recently. Specifically the "death spiral" that applies to monsters in 5e (I believe it no longer applies in 7e, but as this is being written on my lunch hour, I'll have to verify that later).

Simply put, monsters in T&T do damage based upon their Monster Rating. MR determines the number of d6 they roll for damage, and half of the CURRENT MR is added to the roll as Combat Adds. When a monster takes damage in 5e, it becomes less effective. As damage in T&T is applied to one side or the other (high total minus lower total equals damage to the losing side), as the MR of the monster decreases, it's opportunity to do damage drops quickly. Therefore, "Death Spiral".

Initially, I didn't like the rule, as D&D doesn't have a similar one. It just seemed foreign to my sensibilities.

Now I realize it's damn near genius. Monsters are, for the most part, just there for a single encounter. Rinse and repeat. PCs get whittled down - monsters get beat down.

You see, hit points or health or whatever you want to call it is different for PCs than it is for monsters. PCs need to survive multiple encounters - a monster, one or done.

Minions in 4e come to mind - it's probably the one think introduced with 4e that I like.

Ah well, back to the grindstone...

Razor Coast - FINALLY in Hand!

This would have been in the list of things to review that was voted on if only it had shipped on time.

It is a beauty to behold. Sure, the pages have the annoying artwork behind the text, but at least it looks readable.

I had gotten about a 1/4 of the way through the PDF earlier this summer before deciding to wait on my dead tree copy to arrive. Looks like I'll be waiting a bit longer with the review pile I have in hand already ;)

When is "Talk Like a Pirate Day"?

Thinking of Using Tunnels & Trolls to Convert The Wife to "The Dark Side" :)

I mentioned earlier this week that I plan to use Tunnels & Trolls as my back up game to run when our weekly game night runs a bit short on players. It's a handy system to balance on the fly, and so long as you keep the "death spiral" for monsters as a rule, combats shouldn't drag out overly long.

I'm also thinking of running a short "one on one" session with my wife. Again, not as overwhelming as D&D and it's immediate siblings, just uses d6s and again, easier to balance on the fly.

I did run a "one on one" session for her a few years back using the 7.5e rules, but I think I'll have her roll a 5.5e rogue this time around.

Not sure when I'll get around to running it for my wife, but the thought of it makes me smile :)

A Wayward Kickstarter - How NOT to Present Your Kickstarter - Dungeon Crusade (Solo Board Game)

First things first - a big thanks to +James Aulds for pointing out Dungeon Crusade - it is destined to be a classic. Maybe not in the manner the creator had hoped, but a classic Kickstarter none the less.

Where shall I start?

Maybe the 22 minute long motion sickness inducing video that tops of the project's Kickstarter page. Simple rule of thumb - any video longer than 3 minutes is going to drop viewers faster than a 9th level fighter slicing through a pack of kobolds. 22 minutes means you just don't give a shit about your potential customers. If you can't say what you need in 2 minutes, you'll never be able to say it in 22. Well, that and cut down on the camera motion. If I want motion sickness, I'll get on a boat.

Looking to raise 80 grand? How about using proper grammar in the very first image we see of your prospective product:

Remember, when it comes to crowd-funding, you are selling yourself as much as you are your product. If you come off as sloppy on your Kickstarter page, what can we expect from what you are trying to sell?

Hey, but wait! There's more sloppiness in the first paragraph:

Alright, you can have a full paragraph, but let me warn you ahead of time, it will trip you up. Hell, maybe it's a solo adventure of it's very own.

So yeah. Decent concept, horrible presentation.

Over / under? About 6 feet.

Sometimes I Forget I Own the Wilderlands Boxed Set

As I begin my delving into the City-State of the Sea Kings, it reminds me that I own the Wilderlands of High Fantasy boxed set. Which is cool, but I wish I owned the Judges Guild originals.

Ah, for a time machine. I remember my trips to the Complete Strategist in the late 80s and early 90s, where pretty much every Judges Guild product was on sale for original cover price - it lined the floor on the left side of the left isle. To my teenage eyes, it looked cheap and poorly put together compared to the TSR (and Role Aids) releases. To know then what I know now.

Sure, I've picked up some of the releases in PDF over the years, but original Wilderlands releases? I'm sadly lacking. I'll need to fix that at some point in the future.

The maps in the boxed set surely do rock :)

I Think the Backup Game for the "Low Turn-Out" Game Nights Will Be...

Tunnels & Trolls.

The answer was kinda staring me in the face. It's an extremely easy system to adjust on the fly based on part numbers / power.

The 5e rules have a free PDF that covers a decent spread of levels, including spells. And it kinda makes sense to use T&T, as I have 10 copies for the deluxe Tunnels & Trolls arriving whenever the Kickstarter finally ships - enough for the group and then some (yes, there will be a blog giveaway at some point).

Non-solo T&T adventures are rarer then for most system, but I do have access to a few, and there are more online I can grab in PDF.

I still want to run my SWN / Starships & Spacemen mashup at some point too. Too many games, so little time...

Dice - Often Imitated, Never Replicated

The one thing I miss about gaming at a real, as aside from a virtual table, is the dice.

Don't get me wrong, virtual dice can be fun too, and the ability to game in your underwear is hard to beat - it's just that the physical act of rolling dice with all of the sights and sounds can't be replicated. Imitated maybe, but not replicated.

Well, that and the cat can't dream about how she's gonna knock your virtual dice around.

I admit to having a dice fetish of sorts. At least once a year I buy a pound of dice, or a 100 die grab bag and see what I get.

Do you too have a dice fetish? ;)

Review - City-State of the Sea Kings - Part the First - Looks Good, Easy to Read (Judges Guild Wilderlands)

You know how I bitch and moan about some gaming books having layout that simply distracts from the words on the page, thereby making it difficult to read (Numenera, I'm talking to you)? City-State of the Sea Kings (henceforth referred to as CSotSK) does not suffer from that distraction. Simple layout, easy to read with black and white art, CSotSK has the proper "old school" feel for a work that is the first in a line to bring the Wilderlands back into print.

That doesn't mean it's all perfect. I'm glad the grey highlighting was explained by the author as a comment to a previous blogpost (it's there to highlight GM information) it would probably have been better served using a lighter gray for the highlighting. If you, like me, tend to read in poor lighting so as to not keep the significant other awake, the darkness of the highlighting can make things a tad difficult at times. Sure, I could read in better lighting - but that would cause other, non-gaming, issues ;)

The map (which is two sided) is excellent. I comes attached to the inner cover with a small bit of a rubber cement like glue. No stains to the map or the books itself.

I expected CSotSK to start out with detailed hex listed by numbers, but I was pleasantly surprised that it starts with the important settlements on the Isle of the Blest (which is the Isle this book covers). It lists them by hex number, but it isn't ordered by hex number. Having the population centers grouped together works well, especially when one is trying to read the material. I guess I'm used to sandbox styled products that list everything by order of hex number, which isn't easiest way to read material (although it does make for easy look up).

Currently, I'm at the beginning of the book, just reading about the settlements. I really want to skip ahead - I always do it seems, but if I'm going to do this right I need to go in order.

Something Was Left Off of the Review Pile List Voting... Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle for D&D Next... I Suspect It's NOT a Loss

As I've said on earlier posts, my review pile is much larger than my free time will ever allow me to dig through it.

That being said, Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle probably should have been included on the list of games to be voted on. That was an oversight, but probably not a loss.

My experience with D&D Next is mixed - it brought the core members of our gaming group together, and then nearly destroyed the same when the first Friends & Family update to the Beta (or at least, the first update AFTER we were accepted) made the game far more "wonky" and less playable then any of us desired to play. Yes, most of us moved on to ACKS, AD&D/OSRIC and now DCC as a group, but the final taste that D&D Next left with us was not a good one.

Now, after pretty much ignoring the Beta updates (both regular and Friends & Family) as my interest was no longer there, I thought the first "print" version of the Beta rules would be a good place to take a new look with fresh eyes.

It appears to me to be some hybrid of AD&D 2e / D&D 3.5 and the kitchen sink thrown into fill in the gaps. Alright, maybe not so bad as to deserve the kitchen sink line, but it doesn't seem to really do anything that hasn't already been done by a previous D&D rules system.

As for Dragonspear Castle the adventure? It's a campaign railroad, but so is every adventure path. It's not poorly written, but doesn't excite me - at least what I've read thus far. Probably won't read further either.

I'm kinda glad I forgot to include it in the voting - I might have actually have had to read this in full ;)

How Often Does Your Group Game?

My RPG group of friends generally plays every Saturday Night via G+ / Roll20, but recently we've had some cancelled nights - the most recent being last night, when I canceled the session due to events on my end.

Still, attempting to get 30 to 50 y/o somethings together on a weekly basis, in face or virtually, is set up for failure. We are no longer college students with responsibilities we can blow off - we now have "adult" responsibilities - it sucks ;)

So, I'm thinking to change things around a bit. I'll run 2 DCC sessions a month, and we'll leave the other Saturday nights open for open gaming - I could run a side game, one of the others could try running something, maybe a game or two of Drinking Quest.

Open game nights would be just that - no harm, no foul if you can't make it (which is why I was asking about RPGs suitable for small groups and easily picked up). It might relieve some of the coordination stress (although admittedly, emergencies come up, as I well know) of folks blocking out every Saturday Night on their calendar.

So, how often does your group get together? Do you use something like "open game nights" to break things up?

And the Random Winners of the "Pick the Top of the Review Pile Are...

I'm awarding 3 $5 RPGNow Gift Certs to random readers of the blog that voted for items for the top of the review pile. The lucky folks are:

Peter V

Dell'Orta

DerrikB

I'm also awarding 1 $5 RPGNow Gift Cert to a random voter on the G+:

+Joshua Ramsey

I need the above to email me at tenkarsDOTtavernATgmailDOTcom so i can send the prizes.

Moving to the Top of the Review Pile is... City-State of the Sea Kings

The readers have voted, and City-State of the Sea-Kings has made it to the top of the review pile here at the Tavern. I'll start digging into it heavy tomorrow.

Close behind it will be the Adventures Dark and Deep Player's Manual.

Rounding out the top 5 are Five Ancient Kingdoms, Whitehack and Arrows an Indra.

The above will all have multi part (or continue) reviews. Those not in the top five, as well as other items that crop up (like some DCC RPG adventures - hint, hint) will get the usual mini-reviews inter-spread amongst the longer reviews.

Tomorrow I'll award the random RPGNow Gift Certs. One will be awarded on the G+ side and three on the blog side.

Fun stuff.

On a personal note - the family dog has been in the local animal hospital since last night - she had two seizures late last night and one overnight at the hospital. She seems stable now, and we hope to take her home tomorrow night. She's already on three meds twice a day for her heart condition and it looks like we'll be adding a new medication to the mix. She's soon to be 12, and we treat every day we have with her as a blessing. We'll gladly take kind thoughts and prayers for her well being. She doesn't get into many photos, as she can't jump up on my desk like my cat can ;)

Pay What You Want - Westward Basic (Open D6 Steampunk Western)

There. I said it. Westward is a "steampunk western". Wasn't there a TV series a little while back that hit on both themes?

Personally, I really like the D6 ruleset, even in it's various flavors. I have fond memories of WEG Star Wars, and it's a simple enough system to learn with a decent amount of options. Well, that and the core D6 books are free. As in, well, free. Oh, and OGL. So have a blast.

Westward, the "steampunk western" comes in 2 flavors. "Pay what you want" (slightly crippled - no printing, no copy / paste, etc) and a full usable (printable) version for 10 bucks. The contents are the same in each, and neither requires other rules - they are self contained.

So, here's my advice. Pay NOTHING for the PWYW version of Westward. Set some time asides, as it's over 350 pages long with some decent color art. If you like what you see, and want to actually use it, as a GM or player, plop down the $10 for the full, printable version. Why pay twice?

I do suggest grabbing a copy of Westward, even it it's just for ideas in other games. The price is right.

From the blurb:

Westward Premium is the HighResolution version of Westward.  Buy the Premium Edition to remove the watermark, enable copy and paste, and printing!

In the distant future, a massive crew of brilliant explorers and their families set out to start a new world in a massive starship, the Chrysalis, but instead, they find Westward, a desolate and barren landscape ripe with adventure and danger! Far from Earth, their starship crash lands on this massive planet. This is where they form their colony, the Capital City. With scarce resources and a need for more, Humans begin expanding away from the city. With the need to survive, people turn to the ever-evolving Steamtech to stay alive. The places between the city and its prefects and forts are the Badlands. These regions are wild and known for outcast Humans, called Ferals, and bandit raiders. Amidst the treachery and betrayal of the steamtech-laden Capital City, or the danger and adventure of the desolate wild badlands, there are tall tales to tell. What is yours?

Westward is a fast paced, cinematic role playing game that uses OpenD6, made popular by West End Games. Whether by air or land, players can travel to every corner of the Westward world, exploring their imaginations and finding the new frontier!

For 3 or more players, playable in 30 minutes. (is this 30 minutes from opening the book to running the first adventure, or 30 minutes sessions? Either is intriguing.)

"Review Pile" Voting So Far Has "City-State of the Sea Kings" on Top

As of this posting, City-State of the Sea Kings has 21 votes between the blogside and G+ (G+ has been fairly quite).

The other front runners are Adventures Dark and Deep Players Handbook, Arrows of Indra, Five Ancient Kingdoms and Whitehack (all with 10+ votes).

There's a complete listing of the slush pile (and vote placing) going on on this post.

Voting is open until tomorrow (Saturday night). I'll close the voting whenever tomorrow's game session wraps up.

For every 20 vote posts (unique, you can only vote once but may vote for up to 3 items to be reviewed) or fraction of 20 posts, I'm putting a $5 RPGNow Gift Certificate into the random prize pool. The blogside currently has 2 GCs in the pool (to be awarded Sunday) and the G+ side currently has 1 GC in it's pool.

Help decided what gets moved to the top of the review pile!

(max of 5 gift certificates will be awarded on the blogside and a max of 5 gift certificates will be awarded on the G+ side - other reviews may crop up of shorter products / immediate gratification / just because - but for the major reviews, the readers will be selecting the order)

How Encumbering is Encumbrance in Your Campaigns?

Do you strictly track encumbrance? Hand wave it? Ignore it? Give everyone in the party Bags of Holding and hope it all goes away?

I find myself somewhere between ignoring and hand waving. Trying to jump over a pit trap? What are your carrying. Otherwise, I dont give it much thought, as the play is the game, not the number crunching.

Still, LotFP has a decent semi-abstract encumbrance system that doesn't seem to be overtaxing.

How do you handle encumbrance in your games?

New Bundle of Holding - Pay What You Want for a Bundle of FATE

Lets see, for as little as $4, you get FATE Core, FATE Accelerated, Spirit of the Century (my personal introduction to FATE), Full Moon and Ehdrigohr.

Beat the average price folks are paying (as I type this, its a hair over 12 bucks) you also get Starblazer Adventures, Legends of Anglerre, the Kerebos Club and any future additions to the bundle.

If you are "FATE Curious", this is you opportunity to get a ton of FATE for a really cheap price.

Did I mention it's all DRM free?

It's one hell of a Bundle of Holding

I'm in at $14 myself ;)

Vote on What Gets Moved to the Top of the Tavern's Review Pile - Because it's a Damn Big Pile!

I have a shitload of stuff to review, and I'm failing badly at doing so. Work is taking up more time then it had (which means overtime and more money to spend on goodies, so I'm not really complaining) but it does mean free time is at a premium.

So, I'm letting you vote on what gets moved to the top of the review pile (one random voter gets a $5 RPGNow credit, so there is an added bonus in voting).

In no particular order:

Adventures Dark & Deep Players Manual - a AD&D 2e "what if".

City State of the Sea Kings - a new Wilderlands sourcebook / campaign.

Five Ancient Kingdoms - a new arabic twist to a classic ruleset - and no D20's either

Whitehack - a nice, compact OSR style game that steps away from the OSR

Arrows of Indra - OSR gaming inspired by the subcontinent of India

The Dungeon Alphabet, Expanded Third Printing - do I need to explain what this is? ;)

Stoneheart Valley - just noticed the S&W version says "Pathfinder" on the cover - that's going to make for some confusing retail sales.

Tome of Horrors 4 - the latest monster book from Frog God

The Free City of Eskadia - a city book for C&C

Call of Cthulhu 6th Edition - cause Halloween is right around the corner

Army Ants RPG - 'cause I almost forgot ;)


I'll leave the voting up through Saturday evening.

Vote on the blog or G+. Vote for up to 3 choices. All picks get equal weight.

Do You Use Alignment in Your Campaigns?

I use it, but there are times I wonder why I bother.

Alignment is rarely a driving force in any of the games I've run, and my interpretation of the different alignments and the interpretations of my players rarely meet. Yes, even after reading the exact same section in the rules. Needless conflict ;)

I'm beginning to wonder if more general good / indifferent / evil type of axis would be more effective in future campaigns for my usual group. More latitude and less "various interpretations".

So, do you use alignment as is? Do you tweak it? Drop it all together?