The Tenkar's Tavern 2017 Predictions From the Privy Scrying Pool

Yep. Last day of 2016. Time to wake up the Grumpy Dwarf and lead him to the Tavern's Scrying Pool, complete with runnoff from the privy.

Grumpy Dwarf here. I don't give a Rat on a Stick's Ass how accurate my predictions were for 2016. 2017 is right around the corner and its time for predictions!

1 - Far West WILL NOT RELEASE IN 2017! It will not release in a box. It will not release on a dock. It will not redeem a career. It will not do anything I fear - The Grumpy Seuss

2 - Con Man Ken will move YET AGAIN! You read it here first. The man has had more addresses than a Hunt's Point Hooker has tricks on New Year's Eve (and at least the hooker will give you what you paid for)

3 - The Gygax Memorial Fund won't look any different than 2016. or 2015. No bricks will be sold, no groundwork will be laid, no call to arms and no audit. Why fix something that's broken?

4 - There will be no further Holiday purges at WotC. There is no staff left to purge.

5 - The Greyhawk Setting will be resurrected. Joe the Janitor will have it added to his portfolio of responsibilities at WotC.

6 - Swords & Wizardry Light will spawn other pared down rulesets in the OSR. Light Labyrinth Lord (LLL), Mini OSRIC (MOSRIC), Tiny Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea (TASSH) are just a few examples.

7 - Frog God Games will absorb Kobold Press. The first release of the expanded company will be a 550 page Pathfinder release, 500 page D&D 5e release, 350 page Swords & Wizardry release of the mega-dungeon Klomoring Kobolds of Doom for levels 1 to 12. The Pathfinder version will be rated IIIA by the NIJ when worn in a backpack, the 5e version IIA and the S&W version I.

8 - Starfinder will release from Paizo. Grogs will be disappointed that your character can't die during character generation. They will be further disappointed when they find their characters can't die during play.

9 - Fake News will find its way into the RPG field with the announcement of completed Kickstarter Projects that faded away. The first such will be Quantum soon followed by anything still owed by Nystul.

10 - The Tavern will appear in one version or another in many different mediums. Er, wait, this is already happening...

Frog God New Year's Sale - 25% off Print or PDF (and get a free copy of Swords & Wizardry Light with Print orders)

Frog God Games is running a 25% off sale through the end of the year.

2016 is over and your players crave a new party. This is your chance to give it to them. From now until January 3rd, 2017 take 25% off everything* in the store.

Use Coupon Code - 2016-IS-OVER

*Excludes Bard's Gate and Sword of Air

I do believe all order of physical books will include a copy of Swords & Wizardry Light.

As a side note, Tome of Adventure Design is back in print AND included in the sale. I can't recommend it enough.

State of the Tavern Tavern - Livestream, Swords & Wizardry Light and More

+Zach Glazar and I recorded the first ever Tavern Chat Livestream earlier tonight. It was a blast. Suffer through the first few minutes as we figure our shit out and it gets better ;)

Seriously, it went well.

+James Spahn spilled some Swords & Wizardry Light plans, Zach and I answered numerous questions and a good time was had by all.

I expect attendance will only grow as we get more familiar with the set up and word grows. That being said, you can watch the entirety here:

I'll be awarding the Mythoard gifts tomorrow and the last day of OSR Christmas (and the Tenkar Box of Goodness) will probably be New Year's Day.

BTW, I do not live in Lake Geneva. Unless I win Lotto. Then perhaps...

Tavern Chat Livestream is Live!

Yep. we promised to kick this off before the end of the year and we did. We make no promises of quality or content. Expect some adult language because simply, it's live.

Still, it should be a fun time. Feel free to ask some questions via the chat feature.

As for topics? We don't need no steenkin' topics!

Join us for the free BYO beer and booze ;)

Here's the link:

http://youtu.be/4hdRWbFsAZQ

First Tavern Chat Livestream - Tomorrow - 730 PM Eastern

Tomorrow night at 730 PM Eastern, give or take, +Zach Glazar and I will be kicking of the first of the semi regular Tavern Chat Livestream sessions. Oh yes, live interaction. You can ask questions. We may even supply answers. Possibly even puppets.

Now, being it will be the first, I'm sure there will be many firsts, as in screw ups. Please, be patient with us.

It will be available via a Youtube Hangout link. I'll post it tomorrow when we have the link. If you miss the live chat, you'll be able to catch it at a later time.

Ken Whitman now Produces Commercials - Using Equipment Paid for by Kickstarter Backers

Ah, you really have to give it to Ken / Whit Whitman. Having burned every possible bridge in the film industry in Atlanta (Ken, how many folks are trying to track you down for services paid for but never fulfilled?) has now landed in the area of London, KY. I'm guessing Toronto actually has standards and that's why "Con Man Ken" didn't make it to our neighbors up North. Shame really, as I suspect Ken would have had a great time with the Toronto film industry.

In any case, Marcus King has gone "full enabler" now, which is a damn shame, because if it weren't for "Ken, I Allegedly Bilked Honest Folks Out of Tens of Thousands of Dollars to Make Myself Great" I've heard only good things about Marcus. But then he became Ken's Uber Enabler, and now, sorry to say, Marcus is going to have his rep tarnished by none other than one of Kickstarters most prolific con artists - allegedly.

At least backers know what their monies paid for - the equipment Ken is using for these cut rate commercials.

Here's the link for the commercial Ken did for Marcus. Aren't you proud of your Kickstarter dollars at work?

A WTF Kickstarter - Cage Hat - Bobble Head American Football

Listen. Watch the video. I beg you. Maybe not all, but the first 30 seconds or so and then come back here.

Now, if there were any interest in this, it would have funded privately.

I have an interest in this, but only along the lines of Bobble Head American Football would be funny as hell to watch.

A modest goal of $5k. $29 raised.

The moon is calling, it wants its astronaut back.

Tavern Chat - Reminder - Bard's Gate and Other KSs Arrive and Talk About the Livestream

It's Wednesday. That means Tavern Chat. 9PM Eastern. Here, in the chat box on the right side of the page.

Potential topic?

Livestream

Bard's Gate (with bonus Swords & Wizardry Light)

Other Kickstarters

2017 and beyond

9PM to 11PM ish

Best Laid Plans and all that Crap

So, today was set aside for projects - as in writing.

Yeah, that didn't last.

Pinky called to strong arm me into taking her to a movie. I punted that to another creative day I had planned - tomorrow.

Then another phone call, something not puntable. Ah well, best laid plans of mice and men.

All this and my son wants to take me to lunch (normally he tags along with me because I'll pay the bill ;) Can't pass up free food now, can I?

Maybe tonight I'll catch up on last week's email and get today's planned writing in.

Oh, and Tavern Chat...

Getting Closer to the First Tavern Livestream Event

New camera? Check

New software for that green screen effect? Checkity check check

Finding awesome pieces of art for such effect? Fun times

Never again see that basket of laundry in the corner of the room? Rach thanks God ;)

Where's the top of my head? Eh, its optional anyway...

OSR Christmas - Bonus - 2 Physical Boxes of Goodies - 2 Gift Receivers - Mythoard

The OSR Christmas season is still upon us. I'll close it out at some point with a box of goodies from the Tenkar Games Collection, but in the meantime we have more gift to give.

+Jarrod Shaw , he of Mythoard, the monthly box of gaming goodies that had its own resurrection of sorts, has offered up 2 past Mythoard collections to the readers of this fine Tavern.

Here's the deal. These are physical copies, so US only. Comments must be made by 8 AM Eastern Time, Friday December 30th, 2016. As for the comments, we are going to do things just a tad differently. You need to include the following in your comment:

- an old school release (old or new) that you don't own and wish you did AND why

Yeah, a bit trickier than The Tavern's usual ;)

Good luck to all!

Swords & Wizardry Light - Plans for 2017 - Zine, Rules, Settings and More

Swords & Wizardry Light has taken on a life of its own and I couldn't be happier. New classes, pocket settings, adventures and more, all already published or in the works by members of our community. Huzzah!

So, what "official" plans are in the works for Swords & Wizardry Light for 2017 and beyond? Good question. In no particular order:

- The release of the rules in print by Frog God Games, available free with purchase of physical product from their webstore. If they are sending something to your house, you can expect a copy of SWL to sneak into the box.

- The release of a SWL Zine called, appropriately enough, Continual Light. Adventures, monsters, classes, spells, magic items, etc.

- The release of the SWL rules in a Word.doc, so you can hack and houserule to you are content. I'm the hold up on this - aiming for mid January release.

- Extra Light - building off of the SWL rules, this 28-32 page digest sized book will include leveling to 5th or 7th level (still working out the details), new spells, new classes, new monsters and a sample adventure for each level. +James Spahn is co-author on this, so if we give you a product you don't like, blame me.

- Torchlight - a series of One-Sheet releases of various types (creatures, adventures, locations, etc)

- Pocket settings - not much is more than a basic outline for this concept yet, but thinking genre toolkits instead of detailed locations - so, rules for low fantasy, American westerns, sci-fi, horror and the like. Hmmm, would this be the Pocket Light series of releases? heh

+James Spahn and +Zach Glazar are my coconspirators. I truly couldn't ask for a better team to cover up and correct my mistakes ;)

Is there more possible than what is listed above? For sure, but the above I'm fairly confident of.

Now, stuff that is needed. Title graphics for Continual Light and Torchlight as well as a Swords & Wizardry Light Compatibility Logo. If you are an artist with some ideas, we need to talk :)

Endzeitgeist Reviewed Bard's Gate - and this Humble Tavern gets a Mention

Endzeitgeist is one hell of a review site. The reviews are in depth, extensive and no holds barred. I literally don't know how they do what they do and do it so well.

Today Endzeitgeist reviewed Frog God Games latest release - Bard's Gate. I have the PDF and impatiently await the printed copy to ship because it is damn good (I backed the Kickstarter). I saw the map at NTRPG Con last spring and now have the remorse of not having such a huge map to hang behind me during vidcasting and online gaming and such. There is so much to love about the book, the maps, everything. There are easter eggs for those that look - and some aren't hard to find at all:

So, go read the rest of the review at the Endzeitgeist site. If it doesn't make you want to to order a copy for yourself or your DM, I don't know what kind of a gamer you are. Well, maybe one that doesn't explore urban locations. Ah well ;)

I'm hoping to get a short review up myself by the end of next week. No guarantees. Plate is full and I'm falling behind on most everything, but yes, Bard's Gate is as good as the review you just read. You did read it, right?

Frog God Games PDF Bundle - Swords & Wizardry Starting at a Buck - Last Night!

Last Night for the Frog God Games Bundle. Available in Swords & Wizardry and Pathfinder flavors, we know you probably don't give a fig about the Pathfinder version.

That's fine.

Grab the Swords & Wizardry version. Buy in is as low as a buck. Cults of the Sundered Kingdoms for a fucking Buck - excuse my French ;)

Rappan Athuk gets thrown in at Eight Bucks. Holy shit! The be all and end of of Mega Dungeons.

Splinters of Faith and Mother of All Treasure Tables is added at Fifteen Bucks. Awesome! I still think the sweet point is Eight Bucks.

Do eeettt!!!

Hydra Collective Titles on Sale in Print and PDF

A number of Hydra Collective titles are currently on sale at OBS.

Slumbering Ursine Dunes, normally $9 in PDF and $25 in Print + PDF is currently $5.40 in PDF and $10.72 in Print + PDF.

Misty Isles of the Eld is normally $9 in PDF and $28 in Print + PDF is currently $7.20 in PDF and $12.12 in Print + PDF.

Similar sale prices are in effect for their other releases.

No idea how long the sale prices are good for.

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's OBS affiliate links puts 5% of your purchase price into The Tavern's coffers. Don't leave that money on the table for the greedy corps! Tip your barman!  ;)

Thanks to the member of The Tavern's FB Community who brought this to my attention.

James Spahn is Introducing a New OSR Tradition - OSR Box Set Day

From the Halfling's Luck Blog:

Today is December 26th, known in many nations as Boxing Day. Today, I'm starting a new tradition in the OSR gaming community. With that I wish you a happy... 

That's right, Box Set Day. How does one celebrate Box Set Day? Well for me, that means giving away an RPG Box Set. This won't necessarily be an OSR game, but it will always be an RPG Box Set. So, this year I'm giving away a complete Pathfinder Beginner Box. While I'm not a fan of Pathfinder's endless supplement glut, the core game is a great RPG and the Beginner Box has more than enough to keep a campaign going for quite some time. Rule book, adventure, color cardstock minis, maps, four pre-gen characters with rules for taking them to 5th level, and a set of dice. It's very open-and-play. 

This Pathfinder Beginner Box is VERY SLIGHTLY used. I took the shrink off, looking through the contents, and then shelved it. It can be yours, but you have to comment today, December 26th, and tell me your favorite RPG box set. I'll select a winner on the 27th. The contest is open to all US residents, and it will be shipped media mail.

Now, obviously you don't enter here but over at +James Spahn 's Halfling's Luck Blog.

For me, the Pathfinder Beginner Box is very special, and not just because it showed me for the first time that Pathfinder was actually playable without a laptop and spreadsheets. My review of the Pathfinder Beginner Box went viral, and was my most trafficked post for years.

Later today or tomorrow I'll post the Huge Grab Bag post, closing out OSR Christmas for 2016 ;)

Christmas & Hanukkah & Winter Solstice Wishes to All!

Its just past midnight here in New York, so its officially Christmas. Its also my first Christmas that I'm retired for, which feels... strange. Good, but strange. 8 Christmases spent working retail, 20 as a cop, 1 now retired.

I'd like to wish everyone that reads The Tavern a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and a Joyous Winter Solstice. To some extent, you are all my extended family, and I can't imagine The Tavern without you.

December has been a busy month for me, which in and of itself is nothing strange - it always seems to be a busy month. This is the first time I've had to deal with court and legal guardian issues, which has been time consuming. Long story short, my mother's cousin was declared incompetent by the courts and has been appointed a legal guardian. I considered taking the responsibility myself, but the paranoia combined with dementia convinced the family it was better for a third party to be put in that position. That being said, I've become the family liaison of sorts (go figure, last time I was a liaison I was working ;)

January 3rd is the magical day we go from nursing home (at over $15k a month) to assisted living (at $5.5k a month) Better food, wine with dinner, freedom to come and go, an actual 1 bedroom apartment. Hell, I found it damn tempting for myself - sadly I'm too young ;)

Anyhow, things should sort out with that soon and my focus should return. There are plans for Swords & Wizardry Light, but that's for another post (some of those plans are posted in a thread at The Tavern's Facebook Community earlier tonight, but we'll try and get some things nailed down with a real update)

Deal of the Day - Apes Victorious (LL goes Planet of the Apes)

Apes Victorious is the Christmas Eve Deal of the Day. I'm not even going to touch on how Planet of the Apes drew some inspiration from the story of Christ - oops! I guess I touched on it ;)

Anyhow, Apes Victorious, normally $4.97 is on sale until tomorrow morning for $2.98 - 50% off. This is for the PDF version.

Apes Victorious is a roleplaying game in which you take the role of an astronaut from the 1970’s who finds himself marooned on a future Earth ruled by intelligent apes. Players may also take the role of an ape, a degenerated human, or a psi-active underdweller. Fight to survive in this post-apocalyptic future ruled by four species of apes. Or play apes who hunt humans for sport. For a different kind of campaign, play highly intelligent but insane underdwellers who have advanced technology and powerful psi powers. 

This book contains:

-A complete game
-A post-nuclear apocalyptic setting in which apes have become the dominant species
-Seven player classes
-Animals and creatures of the post-nuclear future
-Campaign advice
-A complete introductory adventure
-Conversion notes for compatible games including: Labyrinth Lord, Mutant Future, Starships & Spacemen

OSR Christmas - Day 11 - The Gifting - Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells - Print

Just a reminder - Day 12 of OSR Christmas won't come around until Monday. I figure between Christmas and Hanukkah there will be plenty of gift giving this weekend. Besides, my free time is tapped out until Monday.

Still, that doesn't mean there isn't a gift to award.

Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells in Print. The PDF is PWYW so there really isn't an excuse for everyone to at least peek at the rules.

Anyhow, the winner of the Print copy of SS&SS is:

+Lincoln Shone 

If you are looking for those that are receiving copies of Crypts & Things Remastered, here is that post.

Winners should reach out to be at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing.

OSR Christmas - Bonus Gifting - Crypts & Things Remastered - 1 HC Print and 2 PDF Copies Will be Finding Homes with this Post

+Newt Newport / D101 Games is offering an amazing set of gifts for OSR Christmas. Three fine gift receivers, three fine gifts. One person will receive Crypts & Things Remastered in Hard Cover Print shipped anywhere in the world. Two others will receive Crypts & Things Remastered in PDF. Can I get a Huzzah!?!

The hardcover is a $40 value and the PDFs retail for $13.

Crypts and Things (C&T) is a Swords and Sorcery Roleplaying game based upon the Old School Rules of the 70s/80s. It also draws upon the British fantasy games and game-books of that period to bring a distinctly dark and dangerous feel to the game.
It was originally released back in early 2012 and after a highly successful Kickstarter in 2015 it returns in a Remastered edition, with revised and expanded content and completely new art by David M. Wright. 

Contents
-Introduction : An over view of the book.
-The Scrolls of Wonder
-The Player's section of the game, which explains how to create and play the character who will be the player's alter ego in the game.
-Creating a Character: Guidelines for creating the player's fictional alter-ego in the game.
-Character Classes: Nine character archetypes for players to choose from. Four Core (Barbarian, Fighter, Sorcerer, Thief) and five exotic (Beast Hybrid, Disciple, Elementalist, Lizard People and Serpent Man).
-Life Events: Quick background events tables which briefly detail the character's origin and what they did before adventuring.
-Spell Lists: Black, Grey and White Magic, plus Elemental Magic.
-How to Play: The game's simple and straightforward rules.
-The Continent of Terror: A brief overview of the game's included setting.
-What the Elder Told Me: Each of the eight human cultures of the setting detailed in ten questions and answers from a young adult to a respected elder about their worldview. 

The Book of Doom
-This is the referee's section of the book.
-Secrets of the Continent of Terror: A deeper view of the setting for referee's, with -The Greater Others and their Works: Three of the terrifying Greater Others and their followers detailed for use in play.
-Snake Dance: A closer look at the society of the insidious Serpent Men.
-Scourges of the Dying World: Five evil nemeses to thwart and oppose the player characters.
-Ill Gotten Gains of Dark Desire: Treasure and perilous magic items.
-A Compendium of Fiends: Dark and deadly monsters to populate your adventures with.
-The Halls of Nizar-Thun: An introductory underground adventure.
-The Haunted Lands: An introductory wilderness adventure.
-Port Black Mire: A fearsome city detailed for urban adventures.
-Notes from the Abyss: A compilation of articles and resources to aid the referee.

So, who are the receivers of these very generous gifts?

The Hardcover Copy of Crypts & Things, shipping anywhere in the word goes to:
Scott Jenks

The PDF Copies of Crypts & Things go to:
Jargogle Bamboozle and Peter V. Dell'orto

Email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing and Newt and I will work out the details. Its the holiday weekend, so please forgive what I expect to be some lag.