Free RPG Product - GM’s Monthly Miscellany: April 2016

Now that I have the time, I'm going to try and highlight free items that are useful and well worth your time to download and read.

I've been remiss when it comes to Raging Swan Press. Although primarily a Pathfinder publisher, they also publish "system neutral" versions of many of their products, and even the Pathfinder products are easy enough to use with any OSR game with minimal work. When it comes to Raging Swan, you are looking for inspiration, not stats, and their products are high on the inspiration scale.

Case in point, today's free RPG product - GM’s Monthly Miscellany: April 2016. While nominally a Pathfinder product there is much of value in here for the OSR GM.

- Four Things Modern Dungeons Lack - This might as well have been written by an OSR old-timer. Main points? Nothing changes, no wandering monsters, no empty space and level inappropriate encounters. Really, it's pretty much "how to make your dungeons more old school".

- Silver Bluff - A village complete with history,demographics, notable folk, notable locations, village lore, rumors and professionally drawn map. This is pretty much read and drop where needed.

- Looting the Cleric's Body: Pouch Contents - Pretty much what it says on the tin. d100 table to add flavor to the bloody mess your party made of that evil cleric.

- Marsh Town: Sights & Sounds - Another d100 table, this time for sights and sounds in a marsh town. Shit, there are publishers that charge 99 cents for a table like this.

- Marsh Town: Businesses - Yep, another d100 table for exactly what it says on the tin.

- What's the Point (In Gaming)? - Short editorial / article.

Just how much is the GM’s Monthly Miscellany: April 2016? Free.

Monday Morning Kickstarter Update - Classic Quests in the Far West for Pencil Toolkits

One thing I'm guilty of is highlighting Kickstarters, good or bad, and then never returning them to the spotlight, which I think is a shame. Most of the good ones deserve a second look and some of the bad ones certainly have more sacrifices to make to the community on our behalf. The Monday Morning Kickstarter Update is a weekly feature (although the title itself is subject to change).

Without further ado...

Classic Edition GM Screen - already funded - 4hrs left as I type this. you know what to do. Go!

Quests of Doom 3 - more adventures for Swords & Wizardry and D&D 5e from your friendly Frawgs. PDF is $15, HC + PDF is $35

WHAT!? Pencil Dice - not pencils that can be used as dice but dice with little pencils drawn on them. The ultimate "Fuck you Ken!" gag gift.

Far West - Gareth promised we'd be pleasantly surprised by the end of March. Nada. Neither pleasant nor a surprise. The man simply can not help himself. There is a word for this. It starts with the letter "P" and is certainly not logical.

Appendix N Adventure Toolkits - say what you will, but years later John is still slowly shipping and still slowly releasing PDFs. Not that anyone is happy with the slow progress, but unlike Far West above THERE IS progress.

Reminder - Classic Edition GM Screen - Less than 20 hours Left to Back

Normally I'd give this a mention with the weekly Kickstarter Roundup, but as the clock is ticking it's time for me to send a reminder. I've held the prototype (last June) and it was good. It's also a testament to the amount of time put into getting this project right. Remember, you can back for everything in PDF for as little as 7 bucks - Tenkar

+Richard LeBlanc is one of my favorite creators in the OSR corner of the hobby. His D30 Sandbox Companion is THE go to product on my gaming shelf when I'm short on adventure ideas. Rich knows his gaming stuff, knows his art, knows his layout... yes, he simply knows his shit and it shows.

Rich's New Big Dragon Games Unlimited is running a Kickstarter for a Classic Edition GM Screen. It's what you see above. I actually got to handle a beta version of the screen last June at NTRPG Con and I was very impressed. I can only imagine how much nicer it is with 8 more months of development.

But wait. Your not just getting 2 3-panel GM screens:

6-panel (12-page) BX Game Masters Screen (in two 3-panel pieces) 

This is the most comprehensive GM screen ever created for BX editions of the original RPG and comparable retro-clones. The inside and outside faces of each screen will be printed on 15 pt. cover stock, and glued together to create 30 pt. thickness!!! Additionally, the entire screen will be protected with a UV coating for resistance to abrasion and staining. The exterior of this 6-panel (12-page) screen features artwork by the legendary artist Arthur Rackham, and content panels include all the pertinent information any Classic (BX/LL) GM needs to run their game, including:

-Experience point & spell level progressions for each character class
-Class-based combat & saving throw tables
-Class abilities & attribute adjustments
-Tables for Clerical turning and Thieves' abilities
-Variable damage by weapon; missile fire ranges; AC by armor type
-Step-by-step outlines for both turn sequence & combat sequence
-A simplified Treasure Types table
-Comprehensive cost lists for weapons, equipment, and animals
-Complete movement information (including dungeon, wilderness, airborne, and encumbered movement)
-Henchmen/hirelings, mercenaries & specialists (recruitment, requirements, salaries, and abilities)
-8-page GM Table Reference Document: This 8-page letter-sized piece includes all of the tables from the GM screens in a handle table-ready format. Features additional cover art by Arthur Rackham. Printed on a 60# uncoated cover stock and saddle-stitched.

8 Individual Card Stock Master Character Sheets (1 Generic Sheet + 7 Class-specific Sheets): Each of the 7 class-specific character record sheet contains the most pertinent information each player needs (e.g., notes on which types of weapons & armor may be used by the class, additional experience earned based on prime requisites, and special abilities like clerics' turning and thieves' abilities). In addition to the 7 classic character class sheets (cleric, dwarf, elf, fighter, halfling, magic-user, and thief), an 8th "generic" sheet is usable by any character class. Printed on an 80# uncoated cover stock.

Spells Record Sheet: This record sheet is usable by any spellcasting PC, and includes places to list each known spell's name, range, duration, and area of effect, as well as other pertinent notes. Printed on an 80# uncoated cover stock.

Character Record Log: This record sheet provides a place to write the information a GM needs for up to 6 PCs or NPCs, including the basics (name, class, hp, level, AC, etc.) as well as ability scores, saving throws, equipment/inventory, and other notes. Printed on an 80# uncoated cover stock.

4-page Cleric Spell Handout: The cover of this digest-sized piece notes spells gained by level, and the inside includes all the key information (e.g., range, duration, spell notes, etc.) for all the cleric spells contained in the classic red and blue rule books (plus a few additional core spells from other early editions). Printed on a 60# uncoated cover stock.

8-page Magic-user Spell Handout: The cover of this digest-sized piece notes spells gained by level, and the inside includes all the key information (e.g., range, duration, spell notes, etc.) for all the magic-user spells contained in the classic red and blue rule books (plus a few additional core spells from other early editions). Printed on a 60# uncoated cover stock and saddle-stitched.

That's a lot of stuff for your $43 investment and you get it all in PDF too. If print isn't your preferred media (or if your budget is tight) you can get the total package in PDF for a mere 7 bucks.

Did I mention I love the art used?

Mini Review - The Carnival of the Damned (DCC RPG - Tournament or Funnel Adventure)

First, let me apologize to +Jon Marr and +David Baity . Jon put a prerelease copy of The Carnival of the Damned in my virtual hands in early January and I never got around to reviewing it. The last few months were certainly hectic, but now that time is slowly becoming my friend, Ive been playing catch up. Which is where we are at right now ;)

The Carnival of the Damned can be played either as a Tournament adventure, in which case players play until their character dies and then a new player jumps in OR as a 0-level funnel. If used as a funnel, it has the ability to be used multiple times, as you'll probably only use a half dozen or so of the encounters (and maybe one or two of the random encounters) in a session. As you can see already, you get lots of gaming material for your money.

Now obviously, if there's a carnival, there has to be clowns. And when I think of evil clowns, Killer Klowns from Outer Space comes to mind. So, sidetracked. Anyhow, the artwork in CoD isn't the cute but disturbing art that Jon Marr is known for and that's because Jonn didn't do the art in this one. +Doug Kovacs did the cover and David Baity, Todd McGowan, Danny Prescott, Stan Reed, Simon Todd did the interiors and what interiors they are.

Right. Encounters. There's a gawd damn Whack-A-Mole encounter. How awesome is that? More awesome than you can imagine, but I'm not giving it away. Yep, even a Petting Zoo. Bet you won't see what's coming in this encounter. Heck, you wont see what've coming in nearly all the encounters.
They aren't curve balls and they make their own kinda sense, but your players won't find themselves in familiar territory.

Cop nightmares are
made of this

If you are running this for your home group, once the 0-level survivors reach 1st level you could easily keep the Carnival running for another session or three. In it's own way, it's a contained sandbox and there is a mystery for the PCs to solve (and souls to save - maybe even their own). If I get a chance to run this, it's how I would want things to work out. Multiple sessions with the group whittling down and the survivors getting enough experience (a level or two) to solve the mystery.

Which is a great thing about The Carnival of the Damned. There's a ton of fun content. It would be a shame not to get the most out of it.

Oh, before I forget to mention it again. The art. Flat out awesome.

The Common Room Forums are a Week Old Today - How Have We Done?

33 Publishers, 36 Blogs, 18 Reviews, 3 Artists Highlighted and much more.

Not bad, but The Common Room needs more.

It needs you.

If you are a publisher, start a thread for your company and your releases. If you're a blogger, start one so members of the Old School Gaming Community can find your blog along with other Old School Blogs.

Are you an artist that works in the RPG field? Put up some sample of your work. Publishers, look at these samples and see if you might find an artist that fits your style and needs.

Old School Gaming Podcast? Add yourself to the Podcast forum. Old School Convention (or a convention with an Old School Track? There's a section for you.

Do you want your own sub-forum? Ask and you'll probably get it.

Most importantly, if you are a regular reader of The Tavern, use The Common Room to expand upon your Old School Gaming horizons. Find new publishers, blogs, podcasts and more that you might not have known about prior.

The Old School Gaming Community is much more than the sum of it's individual parts. It's that sense of community that makes the OSR and Old School Gaming the joy that it is.

The Common Room has gotten off to an amazing start and will only get better with time. Be a part of it. Oh, and thank you :)

Another WTF Kickstarter - Mithlonde (Compares itself to Diablo, Pillars of Eternity, Skyrim and World of Warcraft)

Look at the above screenshot.

Now, look at the sales pitch:

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not feeling it.

Goal? $10k

Amount raised? Why even ask.

Alright, I think the first challenge will be to get this product funded. Assuming it funds (not gonna happen) at $10k, I'd love to see the following challenge met:

His bio says he's a student. I'm guessing freshman - in high school.

Mini Review - RuneQuest 2nd Edition (PDF)

Classic RuneQuest is back and I'm loving it. I was a backer of the RuneQuest: Classic Edition Kickstarter and I've just gotten around to looking at the PDF. My God, if I had this in PDF when I came across Chaosium's RuneQuest back in 86 or 87 I might never have stayed with AD&D.

RuneQuest has flavor that D&D in it's various incarnations lacked at the time. It's default world, Glorantha, had depth. Ah shit, I'm sounding like a fanboy. The thing is, RuneQuest lacked something that D&D was built upon - levels. Hit points didn't progress, combat ability went up slowly. Armor prevented damage by hit location. If you wanted your party to stay in the same general area, they didn't suddenly out power all of their adversaries. It was, and is, a damn good system. You've seen it elsewhere, most likely in Call of Cthulhu.

RQ uses a percentile system and using skills is what increases them. Want to be an excellent pick pocket? You need to use the skill every session (and probably get thrown in the stocks in return, but that's another story)

As for races, you had some of your standard fantasy races but you also had Ducks (i'm sure someone on staff had Howard the Duck on their mind when writing this up)

For the time, RuneQuest had a rather complete presentation of the game rules. You could learn how to run RQ from just reading the core book. Certainly better organized and much more complete than Tunnels & Trolls, another game I enjoy from the early era of RPGs.

I ran Pavis and Big Rubble with my group for over a year using these rules and we had a blast. Of course, the group always went back to AD&D but that's another story ;)

The PDF is a beauty with hyperlinks in it's table of contents. This is going right on my tablet.

It's a well presented piece of gaming history that is just as relevant today as it was in the late 70's.

The Most Complete Listing of Gareth's Broken Delivery Promises of Far West EVER Compiled (and it's not by me)

Let me start this by saying "Holy Shit! I knew it was bad, I didn't know it was THIS bad!"

Gareth has broken more promises in regards to Far West than... fuck if I know. Really, I can't think of anything that comes close. And he's been doing it for over FOUR FUCKING YEARS!

Milestones are a thing, so in the time between the funding of Far West and, oh, I don't know - today maybe, I've - gotten married, worked in 3 different units and RETIRED from my job, watched my son go from high school student to gainfully employed to engaged, backed 188 further Kickstarter projects (don't tell my wife :) (Far West was #3 that I backed) and I can count the totally fucked up project creators that I supported on one hand. (I did not back any of Ken's)

With the exception of Tom and the Myth & Magic fiasco and mistruths, nothing comes close to the blatant lying that Gareth has put forth over four plus years. For simple volume alone, Gareth wins the crown handily.

How well?

Over the course of those four plus years, Gareth has made at least 46 promises as to the release date of Far West, some claiming completion was a mere few weeks out YEAR AGO.

Here's a sample from late 2014:

Where can you find the rest of this amazing list?

Do not pass go, do not collect on the empty promises of the Far West Kickstarter creator. Instead, go to http://www.mutedhorn.net/far-west-delivery-estimates/

You'll laugh. You'll cry (if, like me, you backed for $150 and have this as the professional piece of art work to remember Far West)

I didn't say "Beet Juice" you idiot!
I said I'd "Beat YOU!"

Best of all, you'll have some window into the mindset of Gareth.

It's Not Often That I Give Interviews, But When I do, It's to the Quasar Knight's Fantasy Blog

+Ray Chapel of the Quasar Knight's Fantasy Blog asked me if I was up for an interview. Now, I don't give many interviews, but for Ray, a frequenter of the weekly Tavern Chat sessions here at The Tavern, it was hard to say no.

The interview is up at the Quasar Knight's Fantasy Blog.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Sadly, at the time the interview was conducted I was at liberty to discuss any podcasts. Maybe next time.

The Common Room has 15 Reviews Linked so Far - Needs More ;)

The Common Room Forums, which launched last Saturday as a resource for Old School Gaming, has a section for bloggers and publishers to link reviews of recent releases (generally released within the last 12 to 18 months but it's just a guideline)

At the moment, in addition to the 31 publishers and 34 blogs currently listed (and more adding themselves daily) we have 15 reviews listed and linked. We need more. Many of you have already written reviews of old school gaming products, so why not get eyes on them?

Signing in as as simple as using the social media application if your choice (the plan really was to keep this simple, and if you are like me, you detest having to constantly register for new websites and forums)

Hopefully over the next couple of months we can turn The Common Room into a fairly complete directory for all aspects of Old School Gaming. For now though, posts those review links :)

Sword Coast Legends Developer n-Space Shuts Down - Did The D&D Digital Curse Do Them In?

It's all over the internet. Well, not ALL over. But in the right corner you will find a few articles discussing Swords Coasts Legends developer n-Space closing it's doors. SCL never really lived up to it's expectations. It was a Dungeons and Dragons game without much Dungeons & Dragons mechanics, and a DM with group feature that felt very incomplete and clunky the very little time I experimented with it.

So, lets see, how many failed digital adventures can we link to D&D in the recent years? 4e's VTT and failure to digitally monetize, the death of Project Morningstar for 5e, Pathfinder's MMO fiasco and now Sword Coast Legends.

Ah well, I guess I should finish the single player storyline for SCL when i get the chance.

Should still be coming to Xbox One and PS4 though. Go figure.

Read more here, here and here.

Whitman Will Work for $250 a Day - Does Blue (Ray)

Alright, he does "blue-ray". Who exactly is picking nits?

Still, for a man dodging creditors and Kickstarter backers, Kenny likes to be found. Heck, Kenny was kind enough to leave contact info and a list of valuables that creditors could use to secure his debt. As for the green screen experience, he does have one behind his bed (saw it in a pic and pics don't lie)

BTW, we need a name for the Tavern's well motivated army of investigators. Give me some ideas :)

Tenkar's Tavern Mid-Week Roundup for Thursday, March 31, 2016

Mid-week roundup is something I'm going to experiment with. I'm guessing it will move to Wednesday's in the future but who knows. Still trying to adjust to "free time" and the day of the week doesn't have as much importance as it used to ;)

What is the mid-week roundup?

Events and interesting posts from our corner of the OSR. Could be links to previous posts here at The Tavern or from other blogs in my "I read their blogs" circle or other stuff that strikes my fancy. Just call me "Mr. Fancypants"

Releasing the Kraken!

+Dyson Logos of Dyson's Dodecahedron just went to eleven. His Patreon has hit the support level need that he is now going back to some of his previous work and releasing it under a free commercial use license. First one up? Just look to the right...



They're Coming Over the Wall!

+James Spahn , he of White Star, The Hero's Journey and many other best selling releases on RPGNow, gives a highly rated review on his Halfling's Luck blog to none other than Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures. To be honest, it's a game that ever really hit my radar, but after reading James' review I know I need to grab a copy. It seems like the system is perfect for creating a cohesive adventuring party right out of the box.


It's a Hero's Journey

Olde House Rules over at the Pits Perilous blog reviews The Hero's Journey by +James Spahn . Hero's Journey is a product I've been following since fairly early in it's development and I'm suspecting a mashup of Beyond the Wall and Hero's Journey could come close to matching my love for all things Swords & Wizardry.

Good Rules for Selling Goodies

+Tim Shorts of the Gothridge Manor blog has a series of posts dealing with Selling Your Loot. It's two posts into the series with more to come. There's some good GMing advice thus far, but that's nothing new for Tim.

What a Witch

+Timothy Brannan of The Other Side blog has written up Koliada, The Winter Witch for both BECMI and D&D 5e. She is a bad ass in both rule sets... heh. If you didn't already know, Tim really digs witches and has even released a Witch Sourcebook for OSR / Classic D&D games.

K, that's it for this week. Unless it isn't...

It isn't!

Heh

Last weekend Tenkar's Tavern opened up a new forum called The Common Room. The idea is to have a place where old school publishers, bloggers, conventions, podcasts, artists, writers and the rest of the OSR can find each other. Check it out. Sign in (using the social media app of your choice) and sign up. It's your community. It's your Common Room.

BTW, The Common Room needs more reviews linked. I'm sure many of you have already posted reviews on your own blogs, so why night make sure they get more eyes on them?

The Far West Missed Deadlines Tracking Page - More Fun than TWO Far Wests

Last night in Tavern Chat, the topic of the Far West Kickstarter came up. I had remembered there was a page that tracked the number of promised completion dates for Far West that Gareth had given his adoring fans - but I had no idea where to find it.

Well someone dropped a link to Is Far West Out Yet? I think it was Tim Snider but not 100% sure. Anyhow, the amount of promised completion dates is mind boggling.

I'm only going to screenshot through the end of 2013:

And some folks wonder why backers are pissed. There's a dozen more missed dates after those.

Now, for you your musical entertainment:

This is Not the Far West You Are Looking For ("Far West", Meet "Far West")

So, silent Gareth, he of the Twitter account that by words sent since Far West funded over 4 years ago could probably add a couple of completed chapters to the book, hasn't updated the status of the Far West project on Kickstarter since January 29th, 2016. That's a hair over 2 months for those playing along at home.

As I indicate above, Gareth may be silent with the Kickstarter updates, but Twitter tells us he's had a bout of food poisoning and his commenting on the Kickstarter comments section gives us this little tidbit:

Now, the month ends tomorrow and I suspect I will be neither pleased nor surprised when April 1st comes around. Oh yeah, that's right, it will soon be April Fools Day. Well, here's a joke on Gareth that is real:

Yep, there's a Spanish Far West that's finishing up (more like a 2nd edition, as this game first came out in the 90s). Any bets on which Far West gets to the finish line first?

The art's decent too.

Ah well. If they do an English translation I'll have a Far West RPG in hand. Maybe not the one I paid for nearly 4 1/2 years ago...

Escapist HQ Shuttered - Majority of Staff Let Go

Forbes has an article on the current downsizing of The Escapist website staffing.

As for the move to Seattle, that will be under editor-in-chief Joshua Vanderwall, who appears to be the last man standing.

Quoting the Forbes article:

While Defy is calling the number of employees affected “small” my own source tells me that “Every full-time staff member has been laid off there, from editors to artists to the IT team.”

Damn shame.

For those wondering, yes, it's the same +Alexander Macris from Autarch. Hopefully they can keep paying the bills and rebound in the future.

Reminder - Tavern Chat is TONIGHT - 9 PM to 11PM Eastern

Tavern Chat is back to it's original night, a Wednesday, starting tonight. We may wind up moving the night of the week on a monthly basis and we'll experiment with a weekend chat during the afternoon one day in April.

What is Tavern Chat?

It's where a bunch of folks that enjoy old school gaming get together in a virtual chat room and shoot the shit. It's fun and time flies.

Where is Tavern Chat?

Look on the right side of this page for a chat box labeled Tavern Chat. To log in you use the social media service of your choice.

If your looking to meet folks from around Old School Gaming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week check outThe Common Room. 31 publishers and 32 blogs are represented as well as gaming conventions, podcasts, an artist showcase and more. As with Tavern Chat, participation in The Common Room requires nothing more than the social media login that you already have.

Bundle of Holding - Hackmaster 5e

Hackmaster 5e is the latest RPG collection to hit Bundle of Holding. Unlike the concurrent OpenQuest 2 and Classic Paranoia Bundles, where I already own virtually everything, this is a collection that I own very little of.

Actually, all I own is the Hackmaster 5e Basic Rules in print.

So very tempting. $12.95 for the Player's Collection and currently about $28.50 for the Player's plus GM's Collection.

Can anyone sell me on the system? Should I jump in?

Look What I Got to Peek at Today - Mazes & Perils Deluxe Edition

The Ennie award winning Mazes & Perils is getting a facelift and I got a copy of the not quite ready for public consumption but yes it's damn good earlier today.

I'm really enjoying the optional rules, allowing one to tweak between a "basic" feel or an "advanced" feel (or somewhere in between).

Ah heck, I'm just enjoying the rules and the additional classes (Enchanters and Shamans).

Maybe I can twist +Vincent Florio to allow me to sneak some peeks into some blog posts over the next few days ;)

Alright, back to reading. Might need to charge up my tablet and see how it looks on it. Did I mention hyperlinks from the table of contents?

Monte Cook Games and DriveThruRPG Announce the Cypher System Creator Program (Look Like Another DMs Guild to Anyone Else?)

Looks like the framework developed by WotC and OBS is going to be used by other publishers. DMs Guilds for everybody!

Below is the press release from March 25, 2016 by Monte Cook Games:

Monte Cook Games, LLC, and DriveThruRPG today announced an exciting new program for the licensing and publication of Cypher System-related products. The Cypher System Creator program will allow third-party publishers, including members of the gaming community, to create, publish, and distribute their own Cypher System content at DriveThruRPG and its family of sites. 

Through the Cypher System Creator program, publishers large and small—and even individual gamers—will be able to publish Cypher System related works of any size in PDF format and sell them (or offer them for free) on DriveThruRPG. Anyone who can generate a PDF can become a Cypher System publisher! 

Monte Cook Games will provide a variety of resources for publishers, including logos, templates, and artwork. Publishers will be free to use these resources, although their use isn’t required. 

Publishers may set any price they wish for their products (or make them free). Cypher System Creator products are subject to the standard DriveThruRPG commission, and a portion of the selling price will be paid as a royalty to Monte Cook Games. Terms and conditions, as well as the exact breakdown of commissions and royalties, will be released closer to the launch of the program. 

“This is a really exciting addition to the Cypher System universe,” commented Charles Ryan, COO of Monte Cook Games. “The Cypher System is modular, elegant, and designed for players to build out in any direction their gaming inspiration leads them. The Cypher System Creator will at once let gamers and publishers share the ideas and content they create for the game, while also providing a vast resource for players of rules, settings, adventures, creatures, character options—things we haven’t even thought of yet! When you unleash the creativity of gamers, you get a whole lot of awesome.” 

Matt McElroy of DriveThruRPG added, “Roleplaying games have always been about each participant being a creator of the story and the game experience. We’re excited to work with MCG to make it easier for anyone creating for the Cypher System to share their creations with other Cypher System fans.” 

The Cypher System Creator will go live in spring 2016.

I have a post brewing in my head about the DMs Guild and this Creator Program, but it will wait for now...