Christmas in July - Top OSR Picks at 40% Discounts

The Christmas in July Sale is live on DTRPG. The other day I highlighted the best picks of the Christmas in July sale that are 80% off. Today I showcase some of the top OSR picks that are 40% off. Note, these are all PDFs.

Worlds Without Number - from Sine Nomine/Kevin Crawford. Perhaps the best

choice for purse sandbox play, Kevin hits a home run as always. Worlds Without Number isn't just a savage game of steel and sorcery. It's packed solid with system-neutral GM tools and worldbuilding support, with hundreds of pages of useful tools, tags, tables, and practical advice usable by any GM, regardless of their favorite setting or system. The well-loved sci-fi tools of Stars Without Number are reworked here to support fantasy gaming, whether in the provided setting of the Latter Earth or in your own carefully-crafted homebrew world. Even GMs who don't prefer the OSR-compatible game system of WWN will find more than half the book dedicated to tools they can use in the systems they like best. Normally 19.99, On Sale for 11.99

The One Ring™ Core Rules - who doesn't love Lord of the Rings/Middle Earth? A

Mithral Best Seller at DTRPG, you can't go wrong. Enter the world of Middle-earth with The One Ring™, the official tabletop roleplaying game based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Designed specifically to evoke the atmosphere of The Hobbit™ and The Lord of the Rings™, the game contains rules for creating heroes and sending them off on adventures in a land threatened by the growing Shadow. This beautifully illustrated, full-colour hardcover manual presents Middle-earth as it was twenty years after Bilbo Baggins’ remarkable disappearance and unexpected return. The great events narrated in The Lord of the Rings™ are still fifty years away, leaving plenty of room to narrate stories worthy of an epic. Now in its second edition, The One Ring™ comes with updated and revised rules, a new visual style, and a focus on the land of Eriador — the lone-lands west of the Misty Mountains. Normally 24.99, On Sale for 14.99

Fallout: The Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook - I really enjoyed the first season of Fallout on demand, and placed the first version of the game back in 1997. Its an

awesome setting for post apoc play. This DIGITAL COPY of our 438-page rulebook contains rules and lore for roleplaying in the Fallout world, as well as concept art from the Fallout videogames. Utilizing Modiphius’ celebrated 2d20 cinematic role-playing system, the Fallout RPG will take players on an exciting journey into the post-apocalypse! Create your own survivors, super mutants, ghouls, and even Mister Handy robots. Immerse yourselves in the iconic post-nuclear apocalyptic world of Fallout, while gamemasters guide their group through unique stories and encounters. The 2d20 edition of Fallout is as close to the bottlecap bartering, wasteland wandering, Brotherhood battling excitement as you can get. Normally 20.00, On Sale for 12.00

The Halls of Arden Vul Complete - This must be the largest adventure ever

published, coming in at over 1100 pages. It is a thing of beauty. Arden Vul is the most ambitious megadungeon ever created, with over 1,100 Pages of Incredible Adventure. This First Edition compatible fully-bookmarked PDF product features: 2,162 Encounter Descriptions, 14 NPC Factions, 10 Massive Levels, 15 Extensive Sub-levels, 7 Dangerous Exterior locations, 149 New Monsters, 332 New Magic Items, 69 New Technological Items, 44 New Spells, 189 New Books through which PCs can gain a deep understanding of the dungeon, A full NPC appendix with 10 competing parties at 3 levels of power, Over 140 original pieces of art, including 28 full-page illustrations! Normally 109, On Sale for 65.40

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DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Humble Bundle - All About Gaming Book Bundle

This may or may not be your type of bundle. For those who don't have the two Jon Peterson books in the bundle, it may be a good deal. For those who are video game aficionados, the value of the All About Gaming Book Bundle goes up precipitously. I think you hit your apex if you are also a fan of the history of board games. Of course, fans of wargaming are covered too.

For a buck, you can get three boos - and no, none of the Jon Peterson books are covered. To get the Peterson books and the other 24 books in the bundle (for a grand total of 26 books) you need to spend 18 bucks.

Now, I have the Pereterson boos - one in print and one in Kindle. I should note, that all but one of these books is exclusively in ePUB format. Now that Kindle supports ePUB, that works for me. Here's a link to an article on how to get your ePUB books on your Kindle device or app: https://kindlepreneur.com/epub-to-kindle/

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Christmas in July - 2024 Sale Doorbusters @ 80% Off

 

Over the next few days, I'll share some OSR Picks for the 2023 Christmas in July Sale over at DTRPG. In the meantime, there are some really deeply discounted picks on this page. The Witcher and Dragonbane are on my "must-buy list", although I DO own Dragonbane already ;)

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Bundle of Holding - The Gaia Complex (Cyberpunk)

I'm a fan of the Cyberpunk genre. I always have huge plans to run a cyberpunk campaign, going back to GURPS Cyberpunk and Cyberpunk 2020 from the 80s and 90s. Alas, it has yet to be.

The Gaia Complex is Cyberpunk tabletop roleplaying in New Europe, 2119, and is a bundle at Bundle of Holding. You can snag the complete collection for 14.95.

Adventurer! This all-new Gaia Complex Bundle presents The Gaia Complex, the Hansor Publishing tabletop cyberpunk roleplaying game of flesh and wires. In a megacity of intense violence, secret corporate warfare, and vampiric uprisings, an overzealous AI called Gaia governs the city and protects (controls) its citizens. You're a Merc, uncovering secrets and using them to chase your next payout from the syndicates. But Gaia's secrets are many and unexpected. Whether you're a combat-ready Operator, Core Hacker, black marketeer, Data Dealer, or feral who mind-melds with animals, the concrete jungle of New Europe – of NeoMunich, Bruss, Morvan, The Hamm, Paris-Zone, The Dome, and the vampire-controlled Outer Fringe – can eat you alive (especially the vampires). For fans of Blade Runner, Altered Carbon, Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed, Elysium, and Dredd, The Gaia Complex lets you create stories of conspiracy, discovery, hardship, and brutal violence.

This Gaia Complex Bundle presents the entire game line to date for an unbeatable bargain price. For just US$14.95 you get all four complete titles in our Gaia Complex Collection (retail value $78) as DRM-free ebooks, including the full-color, 291-page Gaia Complex core rulebook (plus the free 48-page QuickStart) and the recent supplements Evolution by Design and Hardware 2119, along with the GM Screen & Data Vault.

 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Deal of the Day - A Magical Society: Beast Builder

The complete "A Magical Society" series is top-notch, even if it is well over a decade old. Today's Deal of the Day is A Magical Society: Beast Builder. Normally A Magical Society: Beast Builder is 30 bucks in PDF, but until tomorrow morning at 11 AM Eastern it is marked down to $12.

A Monster Builder like nothing ever seen before…

A Magical Society: Beast Builder is 224 pages packed with information that helps you make your own monsters. In the tradition of A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe and A Magical Society: Ecology and Culture, A Magical Society: Beast Builder gives you the tools you need to make your own campaign specific monsters to challenge and excite your players while adding to the depth and realism of your campaign world.

Chapter One: Monster Concepts and Functions— Monster concepts and functions drive what a monster is and even more importantly, what it does. This chapter discusses common concepts such as creature hierarchies (juvenile, adult, elder etc.), additive abilities (like the vrock’s dance of ruin), mythological inspiration and other monster building aspects.

It gives advice on creating a good concept based upon the function of a creature. Every monster has a concept and a type (such as giant, vermin, etc.), but more than that every monster has a function; the part of the monster that answers the question “What does it do?” I outline the 20 most common functions such as grappler, caster, disabler, energy attacker and PC killer, and how such functions play out in the game. Under each function, you’ll also find a list of the creatures from the SRD as well as creatures from Monster Geographica: Underground that possess that function.

Chapter Two: Monsters and their Environment— Every monster has a place in your world and every place has its monsters. This chapter is simply stuffed with useful information about environment, ecology, biology, and behavior that will help you completely customize every creature to suit your needs. We all know that statistics alone don’t make a great monster. The best monsters are ones with a rich place within your world and this chapter will help you give your new creation a fitting background.

Chapter Three: Monster Statistics— Although a great background is a must for a great monster, statistical accuracy is just as important. This 19 page chapter discusses every bit of the monster stat block and gives you the information you need to insure your great fluff isn’t let down by poor crunch.

Chapter Four: Type and Subtype— Continuing the statistical break-down of creatures, type and subtype is analyzed in chapter four. I give advice about determining subtype (just what is an aberration anyway?) as well as breakdown on ability scores based upon the SRD monsters. You’ll find that although the rules say one thing, the execution often shows another when it comes to ability scores.

Chapter Five: Templates— Worthy of their own chapter, templates are great additions to any GMs bag of tricks. This chapter gives you information on the main 14 template (such as archetypal, greater, half, and planar-aligned) themes as well as seven main ways of acquiring a template. It finishes with a template-only version of chapters four and seven, giving you all existing information so you’ll have more options when designing your own templates.

Chapter Six: Bits and Pieces— Bits and pieces is a short chapter filled with campaign oriented monster parts. In a magical world filled with hostile monsters, holistic magic plays its role and the remains of fallen foes can often be used against those who lived. This chapter helps think of monsters from yet another perspective.

Chapter Seven: Special Attacks, Special Qualities, and Conditions— This huge chapter provides you with 600 special abilities taken from all the creatures in the SRD and all the creatures in Monster Geographica: Underground. Each of these abilities has been broken down to component parts to demonstrate useful guidelines when using them with any CR creature. For example the balor’s death throes SA/SQ is now tied to a creature’s HD, instead of being a straight 100 points of damage. Every SA/SQ has its source monsters (the monsters that possess that ability) listed as well. Once you jump into this chapter there’s no turning back; there’s simply so many cool things you could do when making your monsters you may not want to move onto the next chapter.

Appendix I: D20 Mechanic Table— A single table showing the d20 mechanic. You’ll be surprised how useful this is when deciding monster hit percentages and saving throw percentages. It’s much easier than just doing it in your head.

Appendix II: Editing Checklist— Every monster should face the checklist! A short outline-format editing checklist that covers the most common dangers/errors of d20 monster creation.

Appendix III: Random(ish) Monster Generator— And last but not least, a random(ish) monster generator is provided for when inspiration has simply gone dry. Don’t expect the most sensible results, but anything can happen! This is particularly useful if you want to make creatures for the hordes of chaos.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Bundle of Holding - Stars Without Number

I'm a huge fan of Kevin Crawford. With every Kickstarter he's done, he's given value back to the gaming community as a whole. Stars Without Number is an awesome system - probably my top two in OSR sci-fi RPGs, standing right next to White Star. I've backed every KS Kevin has run without hesitation. His work is simply that good.

Stars Without Number is currently available over at Bundle of Holding. If you don't have a copy yet, do yourself a favor and snag it.

Adventurer! We've resurrected (for a second time!) our March 2019 Stars Without Number Bundle featuring the 2017 Stars Without Number Revised science-fiction tabletop roleplaying game from Sine Nomine Publishing. SWN sets the standard for "sandbox" roleplaying. Forget pre-packaged, pre-digested plotlines that put the players on railroad tracks. In a sandbox game the setting is wide open for adventure in all directions. The Gamemaster presents situations, not storylines – problems, not plots. The player characters go where they will, do as they wish, forging their own career. And one of the best games for sandbox-style spacefaring is Stars Without Number.

For just US$7.95 you get all three titles in this revived offer's Starter Collection (retail value $32) as DRM-free ebooks, including the complete Deluxe Stars Without Number Revised rulebook; Sixteen Stars (popular sf scene backdrops); and the SWN Revised GM Screen.

Polychrome supplement for Stars Without NumberAnd if you pay more than the threshold price of $20.41, you'll level up and also get this revival's entire Bonus Collection with five more SWN supplements worth an additional $48, including Dead Names: Lost Races and Forgotten Ruins and four system-neutral campaign sourcebooks: Starvation Cheap (ground warfare and mercenary campaigns); Skyward Steel (the Stellar Navy); Suns of Gold (merchants and traders); and Polychrome (cyberpunk).

 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Backerkit - Caverns of Thracia Legendary Adventure 5E+DCC

By popular demand, new add-ons are available! 5E edition of "Beneath the Isle of the Serpents," DCC edition of "Sacrificial Pyre of Thracia," and a slipcase! Crowdfunding backers get the exclusive stretch goal booklet packed with stretch goal material! Plus great deals on bundle pledges, free PDF with print purchase, the exclusive art folio, and special crowdfunding covers! 

I almost missed this, as Goodman Games went straight to Backerkit (and skipped Kickstarter) for this project. And what project is that? Caverns of Thracia Legendary Adventure for 5E+DCC. Yep, that's a mouthful. Yet with 10 days left in its funding, Caverns of Tracia has already raised over $475K. That's huge!

Caverns of Thracia Legendary Adventure 5E+DCC is based on Jennell Jaquays' classic, originally published by Judges Guild for use with Dungeons & Dragons. 

The end of one empire sees the birth of a new one deep within the earth. Born in the forgotten chambers and caverns of age-lost Thracia rises a formidable foe: the Minotaur King, along with his host of dog brothers, gnolls, lizardmen, and others. Some say that even Death itself lingers in the Caverns of Thracia, ready to claim any who stumble upon its unholy chapel. The secrets of Thracia are manifold, its treasures thrice that. Do you have the mettle to survive… the Caverns of Thracia?

The Caverns of Thracia is a complete mega-dungeon setting that supports a full-year campaign! 

• Takes characters from levels 1-10 (5E) or 1-5 (DCC)
• 6 vast dungeon levels
• 250+ encounter areas
• 125+ new monsters
• 40+ new magic items, spells, and curses
• Stretch goals expand the ruins and an overland archipelago
• Combat, exploration, and social interaction

 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Deal of the Day - When Sea Is Calling: A Guide for Nautical Adventures (OSR)

Today's Deal of the Day is When Sea Is Calling: A Guide for Nautical Adventures. Normally 8 bucks in PDF, but until tomorrow morning When Sea Is Calling: A Guide for Nautical Adventures is on sale for 4.80.

In truth, I've always avoided waterborne adventures as a GM, as I never felt comfortable with a nautical setting. This may be a useful resource for those willing to take the plunge ;)

When Sea Is Calling is a system-neutral OSR-oriented guide for (non-historical) nautical adventures. It is intended for both DMs and solo players. With it, explore the surface and the dark depths of the sea, meet its strange inhabitants, lift terrible curses and get your hands on fabulous treasures!

The purpose of this book is not to generate a sea map. Instead, it is meant to be used with a pre-existing one (and is compatible with Sandbox Generator). The aim of this supplement is rather to generate encounters during sea voyages.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

New Release - ShadowRim (ShadowDark Setting)

 

ShadowRim is a new release from Chubby Funster Games for ShadowDark. Already Copper at DTRPG 10 days after release, ShadowRim is currently on sale for 9 bucks in PDF.

Enter the frozen northern province of an Empire in turmoil, inspired by the greatest CRPG of all time.

• Create an enduring ShadowDark campaign as you traverse a massive map with over 200 keyed locations and 450 encounters.
• Play as Catfolk, Dark Elf, High Elf, Imperial, Lizardfolk, Nord, Orc, or Wood Elf.
• Choose one of the Nine Divine Signs to guide you; the Blade, Coin, Dragon, Eye, Falcon, Horn, Fist, Ring, or Skull.
• Build alchemical knowledge through play using ingredients with up to 4 different interacting effects that change every time you play.
• Enchant your own magic items using the captured souls of your enemies.
• Fight classic monsters that you know and love, such as Dwarven automatons, tyrannical High Elven Dominionists, Sabretooths, Spriggans, and more.
• Choose to support the Empire, one of two different rebel factions, or your own goals as the province slides towards Civil War.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Humble Bundle - HUGE Classic Pathfinder Bundle

Earlier today a HUGE Classic Pathfinder Bundle hit Humble Bundle. If you play ANY of the earlier versions of D&D or its clones, it's easy enough to convert Pathfinder 1e on the fly. 

74 PDFs for 25 bucks - (and 69 more PDFs for 50 bucks total) - more gaming than you can shake a stick at.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Bundle of Holding - Spirit of '77

I grew up in the 70s, and TV was my babysitter. Spirit of '77 is me reliving the 70s as I experienced it via TV - Starsky & Hutch, Mission Impossible, Columbo, and all the rest. THIS is a game I want to own, if only for the source material. For 9.95 you can grab the Funky Collection of Spirit of '77. For less than 19 bucks, you can snag the Funkier Collection ;)

Hey there, bopper! Get good vibes with this new Spirit of '77 Bundle featuring Spirit of '77, the high-octane 1970s pop-culture tabletop roleplaying game from Monkeyfun Studios. In a world where Nixon made a deal with aliens to win the Vietnam War and remains in power behind the scenes, your characters – kung-fu tough guys, red hot mommas, starry-eyed rockers, hardboiled sleuths on an expense account, maverick agents, motorcycle daredevils, you name it – might investigate government conspiracies, fight drug-dealing luchadores, ride shotgun in a Disco Ambulance, or confront angry spirits at 77,000 feet. You solve problems, shoot troubles, and stick it to The Man in funkadelic adventures that use an open-ended player-driven rules system Powered by the Apocalypse.

For just US$9.95 you get all four titles in our Funky Collection (retail value $57) as DRM-free ebooks, including the complete Spirit of '77 core rulebook (previously in the Sept 2017 Apocalypse Engine 2 Bundle), the rules expansion Wide World of '77, and two scenario compilations, Greatest Hits 1 and Greatest Hits 2.

And if you pay more than the threshold price of $18.43, you'll level up and also get our entire Even Funkier Collection with ten more titles worth an additional $50, including three "Very Special Episode" one-shots – Masterpiece '77, Return to the Cruise Ship of the Damned, and Wrath of Cons – and two "Pilots" (campaign starters): Rad Planet: Big Trouble in Little Jupiter and Spirit of the Seventh Realm: The Once, Twice, and Future King.

 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Kickstarter - Tome of Essential Horrors 2 (OSE)

Frog God Games and Necromancer Games are back with a new book for Old-School Essentials containing over 100 new monsters.

Before The Year That Shall Not Be Named, I often worked at the Frog God Games table at various conventions. Frog God also published my Swords & Wizardry Light Rules. There was a period when The Tenkar's Tavern Discord hosted Frog God Games' Official Discord presence. I'm also friends with many of the owners at Frog God. So yes, there are some connections ;)

Tome of Essential Horrors 2 for OSE is Frog God Games/Necromancer Games' latest Kickstarter. Tome of Essential Horrors 2 is 15 bucks in PDF and 48 bucks in print plus PDF (POD for International Backers or Standard Hardcover: Offset printed A5 hardcover version that will be printed on an offset printer overseas, meaning it is traditionally printed). Both of these come with PDF stretch goals. Shipping is not included with the print versions. If you want the stretch goals in print, you need to back for the foil cover Deluxe Edition. Damn, very tempting...

Tome of Essential Horrors 2 is a 150-plus-page hardcover book containing monsters (most in gorgeous black-and-white art) with fully designed stat blocks for you to pluck out and use in your own OSE game. Each entry is designed with Advanced Fantasy Old-School Essentials in mind, but totally compatible with both Classic Fantasy and Advanced Fantasy OSE, plus any and all classic “BX” versions of the world’s most popular roleplaying game.

 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Announcement - EGG Con is Seeking Donations to Fund the E. Gary Gygax Memorial Scholarship

I shared this on YouTube and am now posting it on the blog. It's a good cause, so look in your gaming collection and see if there is anything you can spare - Tenkar

Please consider donating an item to benefit the E Gary Gygax Memorial Scholarship Auction to be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, July 27th at American Legion Hall, during the first annual EGG Con in Lake Geneva. Items can be sent to EGG Con, C/O GAXLAND, Box 216, Lake Geneva, WI 53147 or dropped off at the GAXLAND/EGG Con Information booth by 11:00, Saturday, July 27th. If you have questions, contact heidiATgaxlandDOTcom.  

What is the E. Gary Gygax Memorial Scholarship, you ask? Erik and Heidi Gygax Garland recently set up this new annual scholarship award through the Badger High School Scholarship Committee, with the first scholarship to be awarded to a high school junior or senior in May 2025. To be eligible, the student must be in good standing and desire to pursue higher education leading to a career as an author and/or game designer. The applicants will submit a short story in the genre of fantasy or science fiction with the awardee being chosen by a committee of three (or more) published authors. 

All proceeds, less payment processing fees (usually about 3%-5%) realized from the auction will go to the scholarship fund. Erik Garland

 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

I Don't Think Gamerant Gets D&D Treasure

I haven't picked up Baldur's Gate 3 (yet) but  came across this Gamerant article regarding the distribution of loot in the game vs. TTRP D&D. The title was total clickbait (well, at least clickbait to the likes of me): Baldur's Gate 3's Approach to Treasure is a Great Lesson for D&D DMs

Now I read the article and I don't think the author gets it. The core of the article, and coincidentally my problems with it can be summed up in just these two sentences from the article: "Crates, buried chests, and specialized loot containers are at every turn in the slice of Faerun players can access, something that greatly encourages exploration and thorough investigation. This is in contrast to the way many DMs approach loot, reserving piles of gold, consumables, equipment, and magic items for the post-boss treasure hoard."

Even in video games, and especially in TTRPGs, I don't think players should be rewarded with loot simply for walking around. Sure....walking around might lead to opportunities to adventure and acquire loot, but you shouldn't be picking up loot simply because you wandered around and tripped over some boxes. Sounds more like smashing every pot & crate in The Legend of Zelda.

I think that some of the best loot should be reserved for a post-boss treasure hoard. I mean, think about it.....the BBG (Big Bad Guy) is generally large & in charge, right? If he/she/it wasn't then there's nothing for the party to contend with. As the BBG, a good percentage of the available loot is going to be taken up to be hoarded or used. Sure, some items may be farmed out for minions to use, but the good stuff should be hoarded from and used against the party.

WTF would the BBG take all of the good stuff and box it up and store "at every turn....of Faerun"? If that was the case, wouldn't somebody else....hell, everybody else, be rooting around smashing & grabbing what they can?

I mean I kind of get wanting to have the players explore everything that the GM (or in the case of BG3, game designers) has created, but you know....that's not what being a GM/DM is. I do not feel it is the GM's job to get the players to explore every nook & cranny. The GM can dangle some threads for the players to pull on, but they should be running the show...making the actual decisions. Sure, there is some expected back & forth, but when the GM starts pushing the players to basically show off....that's not the name of the game here.

Personal Note: This is going to be my last regular post here at Tenkar's Tavern. I'm not even sure how many years I've been posting on Sundays, but I feel like the reasons I started doing so aren't relevant anymore and posting here has become a bit much for me. I'd like to get back to my own blog and doing reviews, free GM resources, and whatnot and honestly after posting on Sundays I'm not feeling like doing more over at my own space...

No worries. Erik & I are good and I'm grateful for the opportunity he gave me to share my thoughts here.