Kickstarter - Crosswell: Junction To Adventure (Generic Urban Sourcebook)

Do you remember the the old CityBooks from Flying Buffalo? I do, although I only had the first back in the day (just rectified at the FBI website) I remember they were highly thought of but the players in my group that had them.

Crosswell: Junction to Adventure is inspired by those books.

It very well be hit or miss, but there are still a handful of early backer slots for the PDF available at 4 bucks - at 4 bucks how can you go wrong?

I hope it's quality and inspires a whole line of releases. Time will tell.

Crosswell: Junction to Adventure is for use with any role-playing system. While designed with a fantasy flare, with a bit of tinkering the establishments presented here can be used for any role-playing game setting--futuristic, post-apocalyptic, etc. Since Crosswell is a generic role-playing aid, no game system-specific statistics are provided for non-player characters or situations. General descriptive terms are provided to aid game masters in determining how to best fit the provided material into their own game. 

edit: Free Preview of Crosswell at RPGNow. It covers the Ten Hearth Inn. I'm partial to Inn and Taverns myself ;)

Tavern Chat Tonight - 9PM Eastern

Another week has passed.

Which means time for another Tavern Chat :)

Drop in and hang out.

Tonight's topics are... whatever you want ;)

Two RPG Dice Kickstarters - One Great to Touch, One Hard on the Eyes - 3d Printers involved in Both

Two Kickstarters, One Post. It's a first ;)

Let's kick things off with the good stuff.

Braille RPG Dice.

Brilliant idea. Not sure if anyone thought of it earlier, but they should have. I'm backing this not because I need braille RPG dice, but because the world needs braille RPG dice.

Now, for the ugly.

The Dragon's Hoard - 3d printed RPG Dice, Campaigns & More!

They remind me vaguely of the "soap dice" I got with my Gamma World Boxed set. I think I see a dragon on the green die. No way this shit is even close to balanced, but as it's virtually unreadable, I suspect they wont be rolled much.

Don't watch the video. If you do, don't draw the conclusions I did. I watched Drugs Inc last night...

Dragon White Setting - Initial Bullet Points

Art by Stom Cook

I really like +James Mishler 's idea of multiple spheres aligned with different colored dragons, but I need a way to keep the initial number of spheres in play limited, thus the closed gates.

Anyhow, here's the initial bullet points if you will. No idea if it will survive the week, or at least, which parts will survive the week ;)

Dragon White

• decayed and broken empire - ruled by dragons over multiple worlds - dragonkin are their face to other races

- dragonkin - humanoids with dragon blood - magically created race

- White Box Elf Variant as base model

- can drain spells from memory to power dragonships planar gates.

     -     inner stellar travel uses ships with sails that catch the solar winds

• inter stellar travel uses planar gates - gates are paired - all gates pair with the Dragon White System - gates directly linking other systems have not been found - ex no direct link between Dragon Green and Dragon Red - think Babylon 5 for travel via gates

- dragonships have their own planar gates that can pair with any stable gate - need power and skilled navigator - rare - single digits in number

- planar gates have just recently reopened after a millennium of closure - no one is sure  

 why they have opened, or those that know aren’t talking

     - the systems / spheres are:

Dragon White - central - numerous races - a handful of inhabited moons -                

                       fragmented governments that can trace their lineage to the empire of old

Dragon Green - elf dominated - isolationist - slowly dying

Dragon Red - orcish empire - expansionist - it’s moon is a dwarven fortress

ever in resistance

     - each system / sphere is one (inhabited) planet with one or more inhabited moons

     - there are other systems / spheres - the gates have yet to be activated

     - pirates / privateers / tax officials know where the active gates are - small towns have

           sprunt up around these gates - built like endless piers with buildings / taverns /

merchants and the like - mostly lawless

OSR Bundle of Holding +3 - Time to Add to my reading Backlog

If it weren't for +James Raggi sending out an email via RPGNow, I'd have no idea there was an OSR Bundle + 3 running at Bundle of Holding. Heck, LotFP doesn't even have any products in the Starter Collection, but the do have a notable title in the Bonus Collection.

So, what do you get for the base $5.95 in PDF? A damn good amount of gaming.

Quick comments:

Slumbering Ursine Dunes - do not own and that's been my loss. Picking it up now.

Gnomes of Levnec - awesome, strange, awesome.

Strange Stars - +trey causey 's release never made my radar. Correcting that now.

Weird Adventures and Strange Tails - Trey Causey again. Must be read to be believed. I should just steals bits and pieces in every campaign I run in the future.

As for the bonus collection:

A Red & Pleasant Land - love Zak S. or hate him, this is his high water mark. Simply said, it is damn good.

Owl Hoot Trail - never heard of it prior. Into the virtual reading pile it goes.

Fever-Dreaming Marlinko - heard of it but don't really know much about it. Into the reading pile. I fucking need to retire soon.

Beyond the Wall - have heard lots of awesome about this. To the top of the reading pile

You can get it all, basic and bonus, for less than $14.

Oh, and the Original OSR Bundle has been revived too.

Chaosium RuneQuest 2 Coming Back in Print? Time to Break Out Pavis and Big Rubble :)

Although RuneQuest III (Avalon Hill) was my introduction to RuneQuest, it didn't take long for me to find RuneQuest 2 and fall in love. It was my go to system after AD&D and my group spent many a Saturday afternoon exploring the ruins of Big Rubble and the manipulations of Pavis. Good times.

To see it will be coming back in print is awesome (sure, called "Classic RuneQuest, but we know the truth - anything before Avalon Hill is gold.)  I'm very excited. Now the question is - how soon? It's not mentioned yet at the Chaosium site.

Google Hangouts Getting an Upgrade - Looks Like Apps Will Miss the Cut - Roll20 Users Take Note

Engadget has a short article on Google's currently being rolled out update to Google Hangouts. Simpler interface, improved video quality, no apps. Yep, you read that right - those apps you love - and no, not the sound effects and the goofy hats, but apps like Roll20 - do not work with the new update.

Here's the relevant quote from the Engadget article:

Just be aware that you may lose some features you like -- as one early adopter notes, app support within Hangouts is currently missing. That doesn't necessarily mean that the support is gone for good, but you shouldn't count on it coming back.

 And here's Google's official statement:

The comments in the G+ thread are very interesting and there are some names many of The Tavern's readers will recognize.

Another interesting G+ thread:

In the meantime, here's the link to the old Hangouts:

http://g.co/hangouts

Dragon White - The Fantasy-SciFi White Box-Star Mashup - Inner or Inter Stellar Scale?

White Dragon by Storn Cook

Yes, I know this is going to be a project with a long gestation. Doesn't mean I can't map out the basics now so I have a direction to work in.

My quandary is this - do I go with a single solar system with a dozen and a half worlds or so (plus moons) that ships travel between OR do I go with a cluster of star systems that ships travel between.

The first lends itself more towards fantasy with some scifi and / or steampunk elements while the second seems more sci-fantasy. At least, that's how it seems to me.

I was working on the elevator pitch during training today at work (I'm surprised I didn't fall asleep in the middle of it - day two is tomorrow) and both are appealing in their own ways.

Single solar system is probably easier to tap down but the cluster of stars has many more options to play with, not least of which is the solar systems themselves.

All of which would get released in the one-sheet format I discussed months ago, but it would be modular in nature. A one-sheet for the system as an overview, a one sheet for a world overview, a one sheet for a nation / country / empire overview and a one sheet for a city / town / location of interest overview. The one-sheet system should keep things manageable.

Well, in theory in any case ;)

Ken Whitman Deleted from Wikipedia - Does That Mean He No Longer Exists?

Of course not! You can still sue Ken via your State's Attorney General. They'll find him in the Atlanta area, or so he says.

I guess all of Ken's editing of his own Wiki Page caught up with him...

Thoughts on an OSR "Dragonstar" Type Campaign - and Other Random Thoughts of a Dangerous Type

I've got training this week, so instead of being a vampire an working when the sun is down I'll be in training at 7am tomorrow. My mind is bouncing around, and lack of sleep this morning after last night's overnight shift has left me a little punch drunk. But hey, the Jets AND the Giants both won today. Football is alive and well in NYC :)

Anyhow, back in the D20 era, when I didn't game but I did collect gaming books, Dragonstar was a setting that really caught my eye and sparked my imagination. On the surface, it seemed similar to Spelljammer, but it was much darker (Spelljammer always felt "campy" to me.) Hmmm, the other D20 era setting that got my imagination going was Midnight. Must be the idea of dark in my fantasy.


Tonight I stumbled across the Dragonstar SRD, which to be honest is really just the 3.0 SRD with some minor additions. Of course, the fluff is not open, so it's not included, but it did get me thinking - how hard would it to be to take one part S&W White Box, one part White Star, add in some dragons, borrow inspiration from Spelljammer, Calidar and Dragonstar, sprinkle the decay of a multi-world evil empire, distill it down with White Box sensibility and simplicity and cook it on the stove of creativity?

Yeah, not something I should even be thinking off with my current screwed up work hours. But wait! I've decided to run some of the comp time I've accumulated (and vacation time I've banked) to give myself a four day weekend every other week before I hand in my shield in the Spring. If I block out some creative time I may have something usable before I retire. With some work, it may even be usable by others too ;)

I think I'm going to bring a notebook to training tomorrow. 8 hrs of lectures by folks that don't and can't, so therefore they teach. I'll look attentive, taking notes and such while I'm really mapping out universe of White Dragon (or whatever it's going to be called - for now, it's code name "White Dragon".)

The secret to anything White Box is less is more. So I need to think big and execute small.

Alright, time for sleep. I have to be at work an hour before I'd normally be heading for home. Sleep won't come easy...

Free OSR - PX2 Extra: Planar Primer

I've yet to come across a release from New Big Dragon Games ( +Richard LeBlanc ) that I haven't found immensely useful and a bargain for the price paid. The fact that Rich is giving the Planar Primer away for free is awesome. Some may dismiss it as only 7 pages long. Those 7 pages hold more useful Planar information than some 128 page books.

Did I mention the Planar Primer is free? It's also pretty much edition neutral. It might say BX / LL on the tin but the inside is pretty much game mechanic free and what game mechanics are there apply across rulesets (I can't speak for 4e, but then again, I never have ;)

Grab a copy of the Planar Primer. Study the Schematic of the Planes. I'm working on something in my head referencing it and you may be quizzed on a later post ;)

Just imagine if the Barrowmaze was below all this...

Kickstarter - Agent of the Imperium: Marc Miller's Traveller Novel

Maybe with proper funding they can afford proper art for the book cover

Traveller, in the Black Starter Box release, was my first non-TSR RPG. It was also the first RPG I seriously tried to house rule - where the hell were the rules for character advancement? Such an obvious omission ;)

The background of the universe as I dug deeper into the system was damn cool, even if it did get muddled in later editions. Heck, my brother-in-law, who hasn't played an RPG in over 25 years still cherishes his Traveller books.

Marc Miller, now that T5 has been put to rest (preferably buried, but that's just me) is trying his hand at a Traveller Novel, Agent of the Imperium.

Color me intrigued.

I'm happy to back just for the history aspect of the project. Well, not real history, but the Traveller Universe has always been much more than the 2d6 system that powered the Little Black Books. I want to see where this goes.

Maybe, just maybe, there's a bit of morbid curiosity involved too.

In any case, it's smashed it's meager $1k goal and comfortable sits at over $20,000 with 535 backers. It certainly has a following.

Tavern Updates - Talk, Tutorials, Tap and Pre-Podcasting

I've had uncle-duty since noon yesterday - yes, I've been a busy uncle for a nearly 5 year old girl. Needless to say, I've accomplished nearly nothing over the last two days that I had hoped to, but damn I've been a good uncle ;)

Tavern Talk was nice and lively last night even with me arriving late and leaving early due to priority commitments (my anniversary being high on that short list.) I'm really excited with Dyson's latest project (I posted about it here) and it was great to see +Dyson Logos and others in the chat last night.

Of course, Dyson's latest is part of the reason I'm trying to kick of the Tavern Chat Podcast as soon as possible. Isn't going to happen today, but with some day time training and some more time off next week I may actually be able to kick off this timely gaming news podcast.

Which leads back to the tutorial aspect. I have no problem talking, as you can see from the previous podcasts I've shared hosting duties on. Then again, this is the first one where I'm doing more than simply yapping. Time to get the moving parts down. I expect the Tavern Chat Podcast will be more "quick and dirty" than the others. By its very nature, it will have to be. I'm aiming for once a week releases initially before moving to twice a week and finally three times in March, 10 to 20 minutes per episode.

I've got my topics worked out for the first episode, but if I don't get it done this week coming up, I may need to change some of the topics, as they will no longer be timely...

Oh, and this was my latest Kickstarter to deliver. Just need to get it up and running :)

Kickstarter - Starvation Cheap: Planetary Warfare for Stars Without Number - Kevin is Early - Again - and with more Free Art

Want to learn how to run a successful gaming Kickstarter from pitch to funding to completion? Look no further than +Kevin Crawford (Sine Nomine Publishing.) Kevin sets the Gold Standard that all other project creators should be looking to emulate.

Starvation Cheap: Planetary Warfare for Stars Without Number is a month early of estimate. Sure, Kevin bakes some extra time into his estimates but he knows the process better than most.

Best of all, more free art for the community to use in their commercial projects. You can download the Starvation Cheap art pack here. Did I mention it's free to use in all of your commercial work, just like the other art packs Kevin has put together?

Another tip of the hat to Kevin :)

Indiegogo - Scrote'n'Tote: The Satchel of Life - I've got the Biggest Balls of Them All!

I've been bombarded with emails and social media messages about the Scrote'n'Tote: The Satchel of Life project on Indiegogo.

Don't want to bother reading the project website? No worries - watch the video:

How serious is the project?

I give them credit for using the fixed funding option at Indiegogo, so it's not a quick money grab at your crotch.

Bad. I know.

But it does seem legit-ish.

Although the video may suggest otherwise, this is an actual and legitimate project.
The aim of this campaign is to produce sturdy, functional, durable, high quality and of course stylish Scrote'n'Tote backpacks to be made available to aesthetes  all over the world.  

The funding goal of $33,000 will cover the cost of producing the mold for the skin textured part of the bag, which is the biggest pre-production expense.  The money also covers various smaller research costs including testing out different materials, different methods for attaching the skin part to the backpack part, producing various prototypes, quality tests, trying out different production facilities in different locations to see who can make the best product, etc.  

The Scrote'n'Tote prototype you see in the images was produced by hand by special effects prosthetics artist C.J. Goldman and is too heavy and delicate to be used as a proper backpack, on top of costing almost $1000 to produce per bag, which is why we can't use that method or materials. 

Once we've produced something functional and sturdy that looks as close to the original as possible, we'll sell the Scrote'n'Totes online for $120 USD each, plus shipping. 

However, everyone who donated $10 will be entitled to buy one for only $69 plus shipping, as well as getting the satisfaction of knowing that they helped bring the gift of scrotes into the world.   

There's also the option to put the whole $69 down right away which saves you the extra $10.

Not much to say. The whole thing kinda speaks for itself.

Tavern Chat Tonight - 9PM Eastern - Your Host Will NOT be There

Thursday's has been the night for Tavern Chat for a while now and I've been pretty good at making the chat sessions. Tonight will be different though, as tonight is Rachel and I's wedding anniversary.

With her new work hours, I suspect we won't get out to dinner until 8ish and back by 10pm at the earliest. Which means I'll miss the kick off of the chat but might make the last half.

Play nice amongst yourselves ;)

Want something to discuss? Dyson's Monster Manual Madness. There. Drops mic and leaves the stage...

Dyson Does... Holy Sh!t What Dyson Does! Monster Manual Madness

I cut my RPG teeth on AD&D 1e. As +Dyson Logos says on his blog post (where I "borrowed" this pic from) there is just something special about the 1e rules.

Me? I remember reading the Dungeon Master's Guide and Player's Handbook from front to back and back to front. I had to wait a bit for the Monster Manual but when I finally had a copy I wore it out. I'm pretty sure my MM would open to the same page if dropped on a table. The same page it would open for just about every teenage boy that played AD&D in the early 80s.

I loved the art in the Monster Manual. It fit the vision I had of Dungeons & Dragons at the time, or maybe it formed that vision. Damned if I know.

I never thought that it could be improved upon.

Damn you Dyson! I'll never be able to look at my Monster Manual the same again. What you're doing is making the Monster Manual magical again. It's beyond amazing. It's jaw dropping.

I hope you keep us constantly updated as this project progresses.

I'll need to save my pennies for the future when you auction the complete illuminated copy off...

RPGNow Deal of the Day - OpenQuest 2 Deluxe

Ask me my favorite flavor of D&D and without hesitation I'll tell you "Swords & Wizardry." I like them all up to 2e as well as the various clones (and 5e is certainly playable) but S&W is the version that plays the smoothest for me.

Ask me my favorite flavor of Basic Roleplaying, the system that powers everything from CoC, RuneQuest, Legend, Elric and so much more and I'll tell you "OpenQuest." It doesn't overwhelm and works pretty well will adventures and settings from the various other flavors of Basic Roleplaying.

Until 11am tomorrow morning, you can get the OpenQuest 2 Deluxe rules in PDF for $7.50 (normally $15.) Not sure? Grab the OpenQuest 2 Basic Edition in PDF for free.

Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls Hardcover in Hand and it's a Beast

Sure, I've had my 10 pack of Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls softcovers for a few weeks now but the hardcover is something special. One thing that is striking right off the bat (and it applies to the soft covers too) is that the font sized used is perfect. Easy to read, no squinting - simply a pleasure. I guess you need old folks to edit books for old folks to get books that are easily readable by us old folks ;)

Look how well the hardcover lies flat. Plop this on your desk or table and you are ready to go, no need to hold the pages down. I really need to budget some time to give this more than a scan - I really need to dig deep into the new edition of T&T.

Strangely enough, it came pack in a 5e T&T box (there are also some character sheets and some poster-y stuff packed inside the box. Except for a razor cut on one of the four sides, this 5e T&T box is in better condition than any in my collection. Go figure.

And now you can consider the Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls Kickstarter fulfilled ;)

RPGNow Deal of the Day - Starter Adventures (by GM Games / AKA Tim Shorts)

Back in 2014, +Tim Shorts was nice enough to give me a comped copy of Starter Adventures with the intention of using it to give my wife Rachel a nice introduction to the world of RPGs. I was very impressed with what I saw. I still am.

Starter Adventures is the prefect way to introduce a new player to the world of RPGs, or a more experienced played to the corner of the worlds we call the OSR. There are four adventures, each tailored to one of the four classic classes. They get to learn about their chosen profession as they learn about gaming. Or simply use the enclosed adventures as seeds for further adventures. Hell, it includes a Tavern, but not The Tavern. Damn oversights ;)

Four bucks. Four adventures. Today only.

Do it. They'll thank you in the end.

From the blurb:

Starter Adventures is where you learn to fight, steal, cast spells and heal.  You'll have to use your wits to figure out puzzles.  Use a sword to murderize goblins.  And crumble the undead beneath the power of your god. 

It's time to grab a weapon, memorize a spell and strap on some armor.  This is going to be fun. 

Starter Adventures is targeted toward introducing a new player into RPGs.  Inside are four short adventures for each of the four main classes, a tavern to hangout in, and a full-fledged adventure when they've got enough blood encrusted on their blades.