What is the Most Underused (A)D&D Class?

There always seems to be a class that a certain group avoids playing.

In my High School and College years, no on EVER wanted to play a cleric. If there was a cleric in the party, it was an NPC or a henchman.

I have no idea why clerics were so despised in my old gaming groups?

Have there been any verbotten classes in your groups?

Micro Quest Cards in Hand - Looking Good (and a small giveaway)

I got my Micro Quest Cards in the mail today. These are the signed and numbered ones for my collection.

+Lloyd Metcalf did some excellent work with these. Damn shame you can't buy them at his webstore.

I got mine and you can't have them!

Well, maybe you can. I also have 5 to mail out for the holidays complete with envelopes. Hmmm, does Easter count?

Three are spoken for, giving me two to giveaway here at The Tavern, so lets do it.

I'll be picking two winners, anywhere in the world, each will receive one in print micro adventure.

I'll randomly pick the names during tomorrow's Tavern Chat, which starts at 830 PM Eastern tomorrow night, so you have about 23 hrs to post a comment to this post.

Do eet!

If we add Jim Magnusson to The Tavern Art Mix, We'll have a Strong Rotation

I've mentioned I love +Jim Magnusson 's work in the past and Jim has been amazing with turning some of my ideas into amazing pieces of art that evoke the OSR (the above piece was done without any input from me - probably for the best ;)

The following was done with some input from your's truly -

So, new banner by +Eric Quigley and Ive already have twisted +Craig Brasco to also do one. I think if I add +Jim Magnusson to the mix we'll have a trifecta, or a hat trick or some such here at The Tavern.

Yes Jim, you have been officially added to the rotation ;)

Watch Tonight's Recording of the Brainstorm Podcast Right Here at 615 PM Eastern

Just think. Easy as pie to watch tonight's Brainstorm Podcast recording live.

AS it is St. Patrick's Day, I'll probably have a few pints in me. Should be entertaining ;)

Brainstorm Podcast Live Recording Tonight - Episode 50 - Where We Talk About Edition Wars

Can you believe we've hit episode 50 of The Brainstorm Podcast? Well, after tonight, it will be 51 episodes recorded, as we do two each week.

In episode 50 we are going to be talking about Edition Wars - why do we fight so strongly about editions (and probably some minor mud slinging among the hosts.)

I'm really looking forward to recording this episode.

You can listen and watch live by going to the Google Plus Hangout Event tonight at 615 PM Eastern time. The link is below:

Watch as we record episodes 50 and 51 of The Brainstorm

Next Artist Expected to Make an Appearance at The Tavern - Craig Brasco

+Craig Brasco probably thought I was joking when I told him on Saturday night that I wanted him to do the next banner for The Tavern.

This is notice Craig, that I wasn't joking ;)

Ideally The Tavern will have 3 to 5 banners in rotation, highlighting some of my favorite artists in the OSR.

I guess I should tell +Jim Magnusson he should start thinking now...

New Blog Header by Eric Quigley!

Short and sweet - if you want excellent art done at reasonable prices with a quick turn around, +Eric Quigley is your man.

Holy shit!

Does the Happy Dance...

Mini Review - The Snake's Heart (S&W White Box Adventure Levels 2-3)

As if to prove you don't have to be +James Spahn to do a S&W White Box release (although as I type this I see James has released another White Box adventure - the man is undead, trust me), Moebius Adventures and Wild Game Productions have released the first in a series of White Box adventures - The Snake's Heart.

From a production standpoint, the adventure is laid out like a mix between a screenplay and a traditional "Old School" adventure. My first instinct was to rebel against such a layout, but after the first encounter I realized it was so much better than the more traditional and oh so annoying "boxed text." So yes, I like the formatting used.

As for the adventure itself, the DM needs to pay special attention to the narrator text that opens each scene. This is where the flavor is, where the spice lies for each encounter. You don't need to use it, but in avoiding it, you lose much of what makes this adventure what it is. The encounters as written can play out much like any other fantasy encounter, but the narrator text is what evokes the swords & sorcery feel. Use it to it's fullest.

Like any White Box adventure, using  this with most any other OSR ruleset is easy as pie. As far as adventures go, S&W White Box is pretty much the Rosetta Stone between the different ruleset.

At $1.99 The Snake's Heart is a fine addition to your OSR adventures collection.

Patreon Highlights - Dyson Logos and his Maps for OSR Games

When you think OSR mapping these days, two names quickly come to mind - +Dyson Logos and +matt jackson . Sure, there are others, but these two stand on top of the pile. Dyson seems to have taken it up to eleven.

+Dyson Logos seems to have been mapping forever (just look at his blog), whether it was doodling out a map or putting together many levels of dungeon mapping stocked with creatures and death for the unwary. Dyson is also the first of the OSR creators to make Patreon an integral part of the process.

Let me break down the success Dyson has had with his maps on Patreon in simple numbers:

- Number of Patrons - 256

Yes, you read that correctly. 256 members of our hobby are putting money in Dyson's virtual tip jar whenever he publishes a new map to his blog (actually, not 100% accurate, as folks can limit their monthly contribution and later maps in a given month will generally fund less that earlier maps in the same month, but you get the idea - there are a ton of folks backing him to produce content for our corner of the universe.)

- Donations per map - $351.84

Dyson says he produces 8-10 maps per month. So, ideally he could potentially make $3,518 or so per month, but remember what I mentioned above - later maps fund at a lower overall donation than earlier maps. Still, Dyson isn't just a skilled mapper, but he's a successful one too.

I look at Dyson's maps and realize I'll never come close to the skill the man has but then again, I've never been much of an artist. So color me excited when Dyson hit his milestone of $300 a map  - maps that fund at $300 or more get released under a free commercial license for anyone to use (you don't even have to be a backer, but really, you should ;) Dyson has promised me a complete and detailed breakdown of this whole "use my shit for free" scheme for his highly funded map releases (which I will share in a follow up post.) As someone that likes to write small projects for his own personal use, free use of Dyson's maps combined with the stock art that +Kevin Crawford has released from his Kickstarters gives one a hell of a head start if you want to share your creation with the public at large.

Now, if you haven't gotten your fill of maps yet, the next post in the series will take a peek at +matt jackson and his excellent maps.

Far Away Land Tome of Awesome Premium Color HC in Hand (and thoughts on a NTRPG Con Giveaway)

Yesterday I received my premium color hard cover version of the Far Away Land Tome of Awesome, and it is awesome! The color pops and the pages look great. I can't thank Dirk ( +Far Away Land RPG ) enough for sending it.

It does leave me with a bit of a situation, as I now have 2 hardcovers of the Tome of Awesome - on standard and one premium - and as my lovely wife is frequently reminding me, space for my game related stuff is at a premium.

+Michael Badolato , AKA Bad Mike of NTRPG Con fame asked me if I was going to run a session of FAL at this June's NTRPG Con. I was toying with the idea, but I am now happy to say - yes I will be running a session of FAL this June. I still need to think whether I'm going to put it on the list of games or just run it off label in the Atrium, but I will be running a session.

Don't look for me to be bringing the premium copy of FAL ToA, as I'll be bringing and giving away my standard copy after the session to one of the participants randomly. Hey, another reason for you to attend ;)

One Does Not Simply Cow Bell into Mordor!

Many levels of awesomeness!

Kickstarter - Beasties & Bygones: Raunchy Comedy RPG - Dungeon World & 3.5

If this graphic isn't busy enough to turn one off...

In a recent episode of The Brainstorm Podcast, we discussed using humor in RPGs.  From my experience, it's fine in small doses or when occurring naturally, but when force upon the players or the campaign it is rarely as funny as the adventure author expects it to be. There are exceptions - Paranoia and Toon come rapidly to mind, but neither system was built with the idea of campaign play.

Beasties & Bygones appears to be an attempt to build upon the natural humor that comes from group play and make it the default style of gameplay.

The Kickstarter may very well be successfully funded down the line, but I doubt the final product will be all that successful. I'm seeing visions of Castle Greyhawk in my head, and that is not a pretty sight for anyone to see.

Many Mythical Creatures call Al'tearth their home but most Beasties were tainted upon arrival: 

Some creatures were once a daydream on Earth but now exist only in Al'tearth, like the Dingle Faeries; tainted faeries that are servants to the Excremental Gods.  

Some creatures were morphed into one like the Chupasasquatch; it was created when the Chupacabra of Mexican lore was merged with a Sasquatch or like Mime-pyres; who were Vampires that merged with Mimes. 

Bi-Nicorns are randy animals that were unicorns that grew another horn when they came over. Some say that Hermaphrodite has a special love for these creatures and watches over them, kind-a like we watch Animal Planet. 

Ancient Gods from all mythologies have been twisted into bizarre bygones of their former selves. They govern each other with a yearly award ceremony where they grant positions in the Zodiac Council. All creatures are born under a zodiac sign. The Gods govern the population based on the sign/seat they rule. For example, Leo is a seat at the council of 12. Here are some Bygones: 

Penetor, the God of Fertility was Priapus in Ancient Greece. 

Hermaphrodite wasn't always the androgynous lord of sexual ambiguity, s/he was once Aphrodite, Greek God of love, beauty, and sexual passion. 

Uranus, The Evil Brown Eye...I think you get the picture.

When I was 12, this might have been funny.

Oh, but wait, if you watch the video, you are treated to:

Which is more Useful to you as a DM - Adventures or Rules Supplements?

I ask this as a DM that loves both adventures and rules supplements (although I am more likely to use an adventure nearly as is than I am a rules supplement.) What is more useful to you a as DM - pre-written adventures or rules supplements?

Back in the days that Dragon and Dungeon produced useful material for AD&D 1e and 2e, I found Dragon to be more inspirational and Dungeon to be more practical - as the primary DM in my group, I needed adventures faster than I could whip them up myself, and Dungeon was one hell of an asset.

Of course, we have neither these days even if we do have fanzines that do their best to fill in the gaps?

So, Dungeon, Dragon, a mongrelization of the two or neither?

Never Drink with Your Wife and Kid - and other Lessons Learned not Fully Game Related

Right.

So, after an eleven hour day at work I went down to our neighborhood pub with my wife for dinner. I was non pulsed to find my son already pulled up to the bar. Ah, to be 21 again.

4 Pints, 3 shots and 2 007s later, I have come to one indisputable conclusion...

I am no longer 21.

At 21 we could drink all night (and when I was 21, the drinking age was still 18, so I had been legally practicing for 3 years.)

At 21 we could game all night. Start gaming at 6pm and game right thru to 6am - the unwritten rule with our parents was no sleeping - when you had to sleep, you went home to your own bed.

At 21 I had no bills. My money went to gaming, booze and snacks - mostly in that order. The world was care free.

At 21 Led Zep and Pink Floyd defined my life. These days, my life is defined by counting the days down to my retirement.

At 21, I gamed nearly every moment I could squeeze in. These days, work interferes more often than it has a right to.

Maybe if I'm lucky, in less than a year I can be 21 again...

Free Call of Chtulhu Solo - Alone Against the Flames

Free Solo adventure for Call of Chtulhu? All you need is the free Quickstart rules? Over 60 pages?

Where do I sign up?

I need to block out some time and enjoy this to the fullest.

Alone Against the Flames? Never alone when I have dice...

Tavern Chat Tonight, 830 PM Eastern - Be There or Be Not

Tonight is Tavern Chat night, where we use the chat widget to talk about all things gaming related.

It is very much a free for all and drop in, drop out and you literally never know who is going to pop in to chew the fat.

Later on this month I'll be hosting a G+ Hangout under pretty much the same rules - for that I expect moderate insanity will take place ;)

Hope to see you tonight, 830 to 1000 ish.

New Header Commissioned for The Tavern - I'm Giddy as a School Girl

Last night I commissioned a new header for The Tavern. Top end fantasy artist, one I'm a HUGE fanboy of. I'm so excited :)

No details yet. No name until it's ready, but I fully expect to commission a second later on this year. I'd like to have 3 or 4 in rotation.

I feel like I'm sprucing up the place.

If folks want to know where their Patreon money is going, this will be as fine an example as I could ask for.

OGL - Boon, Bane or Curse?

There was a bit of a kerfuffle last night on G+ regarding the OGL, as one small publisher has taken to republishing another small publishers work word for word - no addition or subtraction, just a copy paste job. Legal under the OGL, but bad form and in and of itself a reason not to leave one's products totally open under the OGL (my suggestion was to ensure each product contained Product Identity and designate that pieces as such.)

Sine Nomine does fine publishing OSR products under copyright - no OGL. Others do the same even though the vast majority do publish under the OGL.

Now that the cat is out of the bag and the OSR is full of clones and such built upon the OGL, how needed is the OGL going forward?

Kickstarter - From the Folks That Brought You "Pencil Dice" (twice), Deck Dice - Playing Cards with Roll-Ability!

Just how many open Kickstarters does D20 Productions have? (and by open, I mean yet to be fulfilled, not necessarily still taking cash)

Pencil Dice (because an unbalanced, not truly random randomizer of the numbers 1-6 is useful in our jail system)

RPG Pencil Dice  (and still open for another 17 hrs as I type this)

Castles & Crusades: Beyond the River (TV Pilot - shudder - I dare you to watch the sample video)

Spinward Traveller (another TV Pilot, and yet more shuddering)

Knights of the Dinner Table: Live Action Series (I've heard some not so good things about the path this has gone down, but my knowledge is 2nd hand, so maybe I should hold out some hope)

Now we have Deck Dice, for those times real dice or even Pencil Dice just won't suffice.

For Ken's next trick, I fully expect Dice Dice, for those that like dice and like rolling them too...

Torchbearers, Hirelings and Redshirts - Oh My!

When I read about the early days of gaming (Hawk & Moor) hirelings - or maybe more accurately cannon-fodder were commonplace. When I played in the early 80s, almost every character had a henchman or two in the group I played with in the Poconos (summers and occasional weekends) and nearly no henchmen in my New York groups.

The primary difference was number of players in the group.

In the Poconos we had a group of four at best - a DM and three players. We tried using two PCs per player for a bit (and even the evil DM PC on occasion) but quickly decided one PC per player and a rotating stable of henchmen and followers was more satisfying. It gave each player a singular lead character and gave an easy solution to the question "what do I do with this + 1 sword now that I have something better?" You simply passed it down.

In New York, my group consisted of schoolmates. We could easily have six, eight or even twelve or more players at the table. Hirelings and henchmen weren't feasible to add to the number of characters already in play.

When the New York group stabilized at five to six players plus DM, we did see the occasional henchman or torchbearer, but they were the exception to the rule.

These days my players often grab a handful of men at arms at first level, but by the time they've reach second level, those red shirts are either dead or dismissed. Unless they gain a henchman through roleplay and the events in the adventure, henchmen are rare indeed these days.

Where do you stand on henchmen and hirelings these days? Does it depend on the size of your group?