Purple Duck PDFs Are 50% Off Through Canada Day (Some Excellent DCC RPG Picks)

I had to ask myself: "When the fuck is Canada Day?" Thankfully I didn't ask "what" instead, as that would have disrespected our Northern Neighbors ;)

The answer is - July 1st.

Purple Duck is putting their entire catalogue of electronic releases on sale at 50% off right through July 1st. There's Pathfinder stuff, 4e stuff, Icons and more.

Most importantly for folks like me there is some excellent DCC RPG stuff and some very affordable stock art. Heck, the stock art was reasonably priced before - this is simply a steal.

So, go to Purple Duck's page at RPGNow and browse. Oh, and tell The Duck "Tenkar sent ya." ;)

Experience Bonus for High Ability Scores - Shouldn't it Be the Other Way Around?

I was stuck on overtime yesterday afternoon, and probably will be the rest of the week. It's what happens when work needs to get done and the overtime budget was underspent the past 11 1/2 months.

In any case, as it tends to do, my mind started to wander. That often happens after the 11th hour when sitting at a desk signing off on electronic worksheets. The wandering went something like this:

High ability scores already give player characters a bonus, especially in AD&D and later versions / clones of D&D. This bonus is to the chance to hit, to damage, lowering the chance to be hit, more hit points, more languages, better chance to know spells and the ability to know more spells, cast more spells, improve NPC morale, more potential henchmen, open up those stuck doors, bend those bars... I'm sure I missed a few.

With all those potential bonuses, do we really need to add expo to the mix? They do things better naturally but it doesn't mean they learn faster. Maybe, just maybe, the weaker fighter has to learn faster just to make up for his physical deficits.

Maybe those high scores should be an expo penalty and the low ones should be bonuses.

Just a thought...

Kickstarter - Baby Bestiary 2016 Calendar

These is just something about the art. The use of colors. The lack of stark line art. The expressions...

Shit, where was I?

Oh, yeah. The Baby Bestiary 2016 Calendar.

Did I mention I love the art and your girlfriend / wife and / or both will probably love it too? Always a good selling point for fantasy art. They tend to not appreciate chainmail bikinis and blood and entrails adorning one's refrigerator door.

Backers can even vote on the monster babies included on the calendar.

So, there's lots to like. Heck, there's a lot I DO like.

There is a potential pitfall (file this under vetting), at least if you are focusing on the calendar and not so much the Baby Bestiary Handbook -

If you missed the Baby Bestiary Kickstarter, it is an adorable book about the your favorite fantasy beasts, how they reproduce and how to rear them if you so want to find one and train it :) The book features 32 baby beasts within each with amazing artwork done by Conceptopolis, including the eyebeasts, owlbears and phase cats. 

When this kickstarter ends I can send off your PDF immediately, and the books are printing as you read this. 

The official release of the Baby Bestiary Handbook is during GenCon (July 29th) but you will be getting your copy before then :D 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/metalweavedesigns/the-baby-bestiary/description

Sorry, got distracted again. Oh, yes. Calendars are time sensitive. The estimated delivery date is September 2015, but if it slips (as it did with the original Baby Bestiary Calendar) you miss out on some of the very use you are backing for. It does seem Andreas has recognized this:

Looking at last year, I was personally disappointed in myself with the calendars, they were late to market, the images didn't perfectly fit and there some obvious editorial errors that were in it that were a result of being rushed getting the thing to print. And I don't want to repeat those mistakes. 

This year the calendar will be Illustrated by Domenico Nezart, and artist of whom you may recognize his work in the introduction of the Baby Bestiary.

One project wrapping up, one looking to be on target for November or earlier and one about to run late (nothing new for a Kickstarter.) Andreas has multiple balls in the air, with most of it depending on art that appears to be progressing well across the Kickstarters (updates are full of art pieces.)

I think Rachel wants the calendar ;)

Playing Swag Catch Up - NTRPG Con Swag Goes to...

I've been busy since getting back from NTRPG Con - much busier than I expected. I'm playing catch up in many ways. Thankfully, I'm on vacation next week. Damn, but that came fast.

Tonight we're awarding a NTRPG Con swag bag. There may be more to this swag than pictured - I need to inventory all the goodies I returned with.

So, who gets this swag?

None other than...

+James Stanton

James, email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing with your snail mail and we'll get this out to you. Well, I'll get this out to you :)

Free OSR "Kitchen Sink" - From The Vats (Free RPG Day Alternative Picks - Post VI)

As is my usual, I try to find some free RPGs in PDF to highlight for folks that don't have a FLGS participating in Free RPG Day. Or maybe you're like me and just not all that impressed with this years offerings.

I literally just refreshed my RPGNow homepage, saw for the first time and have just downloaded From the Vats.

Holy crap, but there is a lot of old school goodness crammed in here:

54 pages of community-created, bio-sorcery weirdness. 

Contains: 

One full adventure: The Submerged Spire of Sarpedon the Shaper, by Ben Laurence.
Two one-page adventures by Alex Schröder and Anders Hedenbjörk Lager.
25 new monsters.
7 new magic items.
6 new spells.

Even some art by my friend +Jim Magnusson

The price is right. This sucker is free. You know you want it.

Free OSR Adventure - RL1 - The Craft Dungeon of Reynaldo Lazendry (Free RPG Day Alternative Picks - Post V)

As is my usual, I try to find some free RPGs in PDF to highlight for folks that don't have a FLGS participating in Free RPG Day. Or maybe you're like me and just not all that impressed with this years offerings.

RL1 - The Craft Dungeon of Reynaldo Lazendry is an adventure module for older versions of the world's first (and still most popular) fantasy role-playing game. It is meant to be a begining adventure and is purely a dungeon crawl, with no plot or story, where the PCs explore the ruins of a dungeon (nearly 80 rooms) where a retired wizard pursued his hobbies.

Also comes with a small village meant to serve as a home base, though this can easily be discarded.

Free OSR RPG - Saga of the Splintered Realm Book 1: Core Rules (Free RPG Day Alternative Picks - Post IV)

As is my usual, I try to find some free RPGs in PDF to highlight for folks that don't have a FLGS participating in Free RPG Day. Or maybe you're like me and just not all that impressed with this years offerings.

I actually did some work on the Saga of the Splintered Realm Kickstarter - I have a small piece of the mega dungeon. It's a solid system that draws heavily on D&D while taking on it's own strengths.

Best part? It's PWYW.

While you're at it, grab Book 2: Adventures and the Map Book. Well worth your time and again, the price is right.

Frog God Sale - 35% Off All Weekend Long for Father's Day

If I didn't already own just about every Frog God Games Swords & Wizardry release in print and / or PDF already, I'd be all over this:

To celebrate all of the awesome Gamer Dads out there we are happy to offer:

35% Off Site Wide for the next 3 days!

Use this coupon code during checkout:

FATHERS-DAY-3309

Frog God Games linky

Offer expires Midnight on Monday! (PST)

Free RPG - Far Away Land QuickStart - and lots of PWYW Adventures (Free RPG Day Alternative Picks - Post III)

As is my usual, I try to find some free RPGs in PDF to highlight for folks that don't have a FLGS participating in Free RPG Day. Or maybe you're like me and just not all that impressed with this years offerings.

I know. It's almost like I can't stop talking about Far Away Land. Let me put it this way - I've run 4 sessions of FAL with 2 groups and just using the Quickstart, and it has all you need for many evenings of adventure without spending a cent. Even better, if your printer supports duplex and booklet format, you can have your own print copies for the cost of paper and toner.

Dirk does great stuff and the fact that the Far Away Land QuickStart rules includes rules for leveling as well as the first adventure in the series is awesome. Give the FAL rules a try. My groups and I love 'em.

Free OSR RPG - RuneQuest Essentials PDF (Free RPG Day Alternative Picks - Post II)

As is my usual, I try to find some free RPGs in PDF to highlight for folks that don't have a FLGS participating in Free RPG Day. Or maybe you're like me and just not all that impressed with this years offerings.

This time I'm highlighting RuneQuest Essentials, the stripped down version of RuneQuest 6. RuneQuest was one of the early alternatives to Dungeons & Dragons and has gone through nearly as many versions as D&D. BTW, I may call RuneQuest Essentials "stripped down" but it still comes in at over 200 pages for the PDF.

The full version of the RuneQuest 6 rules are 40% off this weekend only, but certainly grab the Essentials version. Can't beat the price.

Free OSR RPG - Iron Falcon (It's Free RPG Day Eve)

As is my usual, I try to find some free RPGs in PDF to highlight for folks that don't have a FLGS participating in Free RPG Day. Or maybe you're like me and just not all that impressed with this years offerings.

Tonight I'm highlighting Iron Falcon by none other than +Chris Gonnerman (of Basic Fantasy RPG Fame)

What is Iron Falcon?

The earliest fantasy campaigns grew directly out of wargames. There was a point in the development of the first commercial role-playing game when the rules shed most of their wargame roots and assumed a form familiar to generations of players to come. Iron Falcon aims to be that game, reproducing its mechanics and style in all its raw and innovative glory, as it was before the advent of more "advanced" rules.

The rules are free in PDF and damn inexpensive in print.

My copy arrives from Amazon on Sunday ;)

 

Thoughts on a NYC Area "PubCon"

+Joe D and I have been discussing the possibility of a NYC Area "PubCon" for more than two years now. Today, we hung for a bit both in Manhattan and Queens. While I would love to game in a pub with 40+ tap lines (Rattle & Hum) the place just isn't large enough and doesn't need our business.

Joe finally got to see the pub out by me today and although it only has a mere 10 tap lines, it also has a catering side that could probably hold 70 folks or so gaming comfortably.

We are considering holding an informal gathering in the fall or next spring (preferably a Saturday evening or afternoon) - reserved table or three and pay for your own grub and beer - to judge the interest and feasibility. Location would be near the subway and bus lines (because we wouldn't want to encourage drinking and driving.) If there was enough interest, we would work on organizing a more formal PubCon. Or, it might turn into a seasonal and informal Old School Gathering at a friendly pub. Depends on the interest shown.

Consider this post an attempt to judge interest on the informal gathering to judge interest ;)

(I've already told Rachel I'll be spending her B-Day tomorrow posting Post 5k / NTRPG Con gift recipients - and she didn't kill me)

Thank You All for Keeping it Civil - Yesterday Was a Busy Day at The Tavern

Two posts yesterday.

Fifty-four comments on those posts thus far, including twenty-nine on the polarizing "OGL and Fair Use" rant.

You've all kept it civil.

I really appreciate it.

With the exception of the occasional piece of spam that slips through, I moderate a handful of comments a year, if that. This year, I've had to moderate exactly zero.

Without you, readers and commenters and guest posters, there would be no Tavern.

On that note, a piece of entertaining spam:

ALL THANKS TO OLUMBA SPELLCASTER 

i was married for 6 years and we were living happily together until he traveled to France for a business trip, where he met this girl and since then he ma treat me and the kids and love her only. Any time my husband comes back from work,he said he does not want to see me and my kids ever again and he drove us out of the house.he was always going to France to see the other woman.i moved my kids to my mother's house out of frustration. we were not well treated due to the fact that my mother remarried,i was so confused that i started searching for solution from every angle until one fateful day, i was browsing with my computer when i saw a testimony about olumba spell caster testimonies shared on the internet by a lady and it impressed me so much that i decided to give it a try. At first i was scared but when i thought of what myself and my kids were passing through i contacted him via mail at olumbaspellcaster@gmail.com and he told me to stay calm for just 24 hours that my husband will come back to me and to my greatest surprise i received a call from my husband on the second day asking after the kids and i called Dr olumba and he said your problems are solved my child. so that was how i got my family back together after our long break up. please i want everyone on this forum to join me to say a huge thanks to Dr olumba and i will also advice for any one with this similar problem or any kind of problem to contact him. via email olumbaspellcaster@ notmyfuckingemail.com he is the solution to all your problems and predicaments in life. He is the best in casting of spell of the following: 1) If you want your ex back. (2) if you always have bad dreams. (3) You want to be promoted in your office. (4) You want women/men to run after you. (5) If you want a child. (6) You want to be rich. (7) You want to tie your husband/wife to be yours forever. (8) If you need financial assistance. (9) How you been scammed and you want to recover you lost money. (10)if you want to stop your divorce. (11)if you want to divorce your husband. (12)if you want your wishes to be granted. (13) Pregnancy spell to conceive baby (14)Guarantee you win the troubling court cases & divorce no matter how what stage (15)Stop your marriage or relationship from breaking apart,(16)If you have HIV AIDS, E.T.C once again the email address is olumbaspellcaster@notmyfuckingemail.com or phone +99nevermind contact him immediately

Wherein I Rant about the OGL, Compatibility Logo and Fair Use - If you Don't Understand Them, Don't Use Them

There's been a bit of a kerfuffle over at the White Star G+ Community. I won't bore you with needless details - you can get that and more at the original source.

Here's the meat and potatoes:

- 1 page adventure contest

- one submission omits the OGL, includes the White Star compatibility graphic and uses 2 pieces of art without permission and with the statement / question "I think this counts as fair use, right?"

- submission is pointed out for it's issues

- internet drama blossoms. adventure creator locks down all relevant G+ threads he started after getting his last words in and states "to put an end to the drama I started and kept poking..." (which tells me he enjoyed the drama)

Now, on to the rant...

The OGL - love it or hate it, I really dont give a shit. Use copyright law for all I care. But if you are deriving your work from an OGL product, use the fucking OGL. Mocking the OGL while displaying a compatibility logo isn't just poor taste - it's asinine.

Compatibility logos and licenses. You get to use someone's trademark on your product. It's awesome until you fuck with it. Why are you fucking with it? Sure, this is the internet and we are all to some extent attention whores, but why piss on someone else's work that you are making a claim to appreciate?

Fair use. I wouldn't touch it with a 10' pole. If you're not sure it's fair use, assume it isn't. That sir, is a ground ball.

Oh, and blocking comments on all your threads after getting your final words in? That's just lame.

Alignment - Is It Better Left Out?

Over my commute the last 2 days I've been listening to the Save or Die podcast wherein they discuss the Basic Fantasy RPG ( +Chris Gonnerman is the special guest.) It's and excellent episode and very informative, but it got me thinking when it was mentioned that there is no alignment system in BFRPG.

Is alignment really needed in an RPG?

How many RPGs that aren't derived or inspired by RPGs have alignment?

Does the removal of an alignment system open up the game to moreor less defined monsters and NPCs?

If 90% of PCs are either Chaotic Selfish (or Chaotic Crazy Homicidal Murder Hobos) and the other 10% are Lawful Rules Lawyers, is the 9 point alignment chart even accurate?

How Do You Handle Encumbrance, Especially Coinage?

I know that D&D as written was intended to be as much about resource management as anything else. Really, when you think about it, 10 coins to a pound might make for easy math, but the ability to move with your loot was practically nil. You needed 40 pounds of gold just to buy a suit of plate mail.

So, of course, encumbrance was one of the first parts of the game we houseruled in high school. Not intentionally, we never discussed it, but the sheer weight of coinage made it something we just stopped counting towards weight. Heresy, I know.

Later, bags of holding and portable holes gave us an in game reason to no longer fret about coins. Drop them into an inter-dimensional space and be done with it.

Later still, we changed it to 100 coins per pound, but even that didn't satisfy.

These days, my groups trade in coins for gems, but really, who else but a gem merchant or jeweler is ever going to cash them out?

How do you handle the heavy coins of classic D&D?

Kickstarter - The Folio #3, 1E/5E format, Adventure Module!

Sure, the title of this Kickstarter - The Folio #3, 1E/5E format, Adventure Module! - doesn't quite flow from ones mouth, but that's not the driving question. The question is - does this Kickstarter provide me with quality gaming material at a fair price?

Simple answer - yes.

More in depth answer - I am lucky enough to have been forwarded PDF copies of The Folio #1 and #2 to review. They will get full reviews later, but I'll give the basics now.

Art? Excellent choices. I've always been a huge Jim Holloway fan, whether his work was for TSR or West End Games. I'm not sure where I've seen Travis Hanson's work prior, but I like it. All the artists are good in the early folios and I expect more of the same (even if the artists change) from Folio #3.

Maps? Here's a sample from Folio #1:

The writing itself? Entertaining. I like the split between gazetteer and adventure. I'd gladly run this for one of my groups, although I'd be converting to Swords & Wizardry on the fly.

Do I have any complaints? My usual, so it's not like it's pointing out the Folio series in particular, but I really hate the watermarking behind the text. Sure, it's there to make the "paper" look old, but I hate it everywhere I see it. Still, I can more than tolerate it here as the product itself rises above it.

Edit: Scott told me he removed the watermarking after Folio #1 - outstanding!

For those that may ask, no, there's no OGL attached. It really isn't needed, but that's a whole 'nother discussion ;)

Did I mention that the print copies have removable covers just like the old TSR modules? Yep.

Folios 1 and 2 shipped on time. The creator states that Folio #3 is ready to release in PDF when the Kickstarter funding wraps up. 11 previous Kickstarters (one cancelled to tweak the presentation of the Folio series.) Project has funded with 16 days to go in the funding period as this is posted. Folio #3 to ship in print in August. No stretch goals listed at this time. No distracting swag.

I'll be backing for #3 and I'm damn tempted to back to get 1-3 in print. We'll see when I get paid this Friday.

Finally Caught Up Enough to Start Playing Catch Up

Amazing what an excellent convention followed by overtime at work can do to one's posting schedule. I finally feel, a week after returning from NTRPG Con, that I'm in position to start playing catch up ;)

Among the many reviews I need to address, Westward - a western steampunk mashup - is high on the list and is literally sitting on my desk awaiting some love.

There are a handful of vetted Kickstarters I need to highlight.

Can't forget content for White Star and White Box. I've been slacking the first half of June and need to get back to it.

Oh, and can't forget to award gifts for the Post 5k / NTRPG Con celebration.

Phew!

Guidebook to The City of Dolmvay (Print) Goes to...

I got back from NTRPG Con last week and I'm finally playing catch up. Phew!

Anyhow, here goes the first gift to be given out for the Post 5k / NTRPG Con Celebration - it's a print copy of Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay:

After appealing to the Random Gods (or is that Petty Gods?):

+Allan Bray

Congrats! I'll need your snail mail address. Email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing.

(I'll be awarding one or two gifts a day until we get through the backlog - and then more gifts to give away ;)

Be Forewarned - I Hosted The Latest Brainstorm Podcast - The Episode of Hate!

I dropped an F-Bomb or two in this Brainstorm episode and I don't know if Vince took them out. I also filled the "host" role.

A fun fill in episode recording in a winter marathon.

Stuff we hate in RPGs, RPG Players and more.

edit: oh my God! once we hit midpoint it is awesome in such a bad way ;)