Deal of the Day - King Arthur Pendragon: Edition 5.2

My memories of the Pendragon RPG go back to the boxed set. Very much built on the chassis of Basic Roleplaying / CoC / RuneQuest, and yet so, so different. I read the book as an authoritative source on the Arthurian legends, and sadly never got to run anything other than some one-shots with the rules.

This makes today's Deal of the Day - King Arthur Pendragon: Edition 5.2 - very satisfying (especially since DTRPG tells me I already own this in PDF - downloaded for some light reading later this week). With the current times, we are in, some Arthurian legend immersion isn't a bad deal.

Normally 19.99 in PDF, King Arthur Pendragon: Edition 5.2 is 9.99 until 11 AM Eastern, tomorrow morning.

Capture the Spirit of Arthurian Legend!

Relive the grandeur, romance and adventure of the greatest of all legends — the story of King Arthur. Assume the role of a knight starting his career in the time of Uther Pendragon, undertaking quests and perilous adventures for your lord, for your lady-love, for the Church, or for your own glory. Win great renown with your laudable deeds and feats of arms, perhaps even winning the right to carve your name into the Round Table itself as the story of Arthur and Camelot unfolds around you.

With its innovative rules, including the distinctive traits and passions system designed to help you in determining your character's behavior under any circumstances, King Arthur Pendragon provides a unique roleplaying experience laid out against the richest tapestry in Western literature.

This Edition 5.2 offers hundreds of corrections to Edition 5.1 which itself updated the redesigned and reorganized 5th Edition. This book also contains new material and rules changes for 5th Edition by Greg Stafford, the creator of the original game.

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Introducing the Random Party Generator Vidcast

The Iron Rations Vidcast is dead.

Long live the Random Party Generator Vidcast!

During tonight's The Iron Rations Vidcast with guests Matt Jackson and Rob Conley, we (the four of us) realized that Iron Rations was far more than just JoetheLawyer and me, and we needed a name for the cast that better reflected what it has evolved into.

Random Party Generator will feature a random assortment of miscreants, such as Matt Jackson, Tim Shorts, Rob Conley, Greg Christopher, JoetheLawyer, Tenkar, and others, talking about gaming and gaming adjacent topics. 

No script. 

No limits.

Endless entertainment :)

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Now in Print - Treasure Hunt (N4)

Aaron Allston. I still remember his Treasure Hunt adventure N4. It wasn't what I expected . I hadn't played zero-level characters in AD&D prior, and in many ways, it was groundbreaking for the time.

Treasure Hunt is 5 bucks in PDF, 14.99 in Print plus PDF.

Marooned on a barren isle?

The Island of Viledel, the mighty Sea King, was sacked by a pirate army 60 years ago. It's destruction was so complete that even the location of the island was lost and forgotten. Despite rumors of immense treasures still hidden in the ruined stronghold, no one ever found the Sea King's island again

Until now. Through a cruel twist of fate, a small band of unwilling adventurers are washed ashore on a small, barren island, and discovers what remains of Viledel's settlement. But they aren't alone; marauding orcs and goblins have found the island too, and are frantically searching for the lost hoard. In this desperate treasure hunt, the real payoff may be survival.

"Treasure Hunt" is different from other AD&D adventures: The player characters begin the game at 0 level, without choosing a class, and must work their way up to 1st level. It is perfect for a group of beginning players or experienced players looking for a new and different challenge.

Product History

N4: "Treasure Hunt" (1987) is the fourth adventure in the novice (N-) series for AD&D. It was published in January 1987.

A 0th-Level Adventure. "Treasure Hunt" was commissioned specifically as a 0-level adventure. It was the first AD&D adventure ever to present general rules for 0-level characters. Uniquely, the GM assignments classes and alignments to characters at the end of the adventure, based on their actions.

Apparently players liked how 0-level characters worked, because in Dragon #129 (January 1988), James M. Ward asked readers what they wanted to see in an upcoming Greyhawk hardcover, and they told him "rules for zero level characters" - even though that had nothing to do with Greyhawk. Ward dutifully included an appendix about 0-level character in Greyhawk Adventures (1988), expanding on some of the ideas found in "Treasure Hunt."

A Truly Introductory Adventure. Though this was the fourth novice adventure for AD&D, none of the others were actually "introductory": That is, they didn't help players and GMs to learn how to play AD&D. Of course, TSR's scant other low-level adventures for AD&D - such as T1: "The Village of Hommlet" (1979) and U1: "The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh" (1981) - weren't really introductory in that sense either. That isn't to say that TSR hadn't written introductory adventures before, but they were all over in the Basic D&D line - particularly B1 through B4 (1978-1982). For "Advanced" D&D, TSR had previously assumed that players knew how to play.

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Kickstarter - Old-School Essentials Fantasy RPG Box Sets

If, perchance, you are one of the few in the OSR that missed out on Old-School Essentials prior, now's your chance to grab the boxed sets. Or if you've already purchased Old-School Essentials, and want a sweet box, now's your chance.

Let's see. The Old-School Essentials Fantasy RPG Box Sets Kickstarter launched less than 12 hours ago, and it's raised over... $415k. Wait? WTF!?!

Anyone that tells you the OSR is a dead genre of roleplaying games must have not yet noticed this Kickstarter ;)

Oh, and there's some bonus stuff for backers in the first 24 hours. Just over 12 hours to go...

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Talking Crit LiveStream - Announcing the Next Five Wednesday's of Guests

Mike and I have set our schedule for the next month and a half of the Talking Crit Livestream.

February 23, 2022 - Greg Gillespie (Barrowmaze)

March 2, 2022 - Emperor's Choice (Arduin)

March 9th, 2022 - Silver Bullette (Rocky Gardener & Ian McGarty)

March 16th, 2022 - Griffith Morgan (The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg / Secrets of Blackmoor Documentary)

March 23, 2022 - Venger Santanis (Alpha Blue)

We are working on securing other guests, but we do have the next 5 weeks covered :)

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Releasing in 2022 - Mazes & Perils 10th Anniversary Edition

Mazes & Perils won a Gold ENnie back in 2012. I find it hard to believe it's been 10 years already. (fixed)

Later this year we will see the 10th Anniversary Edition of Mazes & Perils released by Wizard Tower Games.

I've enjoyed Mazes & Perils in the past (as well as knocking heads with Vince Florio in the beginning of Mazes & Perils gestation period. Such is the way of The Tavern ;). It's been a lighter OSR than some of the other rulesets, and I'm interested in seeing where it lands on the final page count later this year.

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Kickstarter - The Valley Out of Time series for S&W DCC MCC

Okay, let's start with the part most folks don't say out loud. I consider Skeeter a friend. I know, for some that is a scary concept, but I actually like and respect Skeeter. I also consider Skeeter to be a highly skilled adventure designer. He has a skill that many believe they have, but few match.

Now that that part is out of the way, Skeeter's newest Kickstarter is The Valley Out of Time series for S&W DCC MCC. Yep, The Valley out of Time comes in three flavors, and not one is 5e. Good for Skeeter ;)

You can back for the first entry in the series (planned at six) or for the first two entries in the series. I'm in for print copies (plus PDF) of the first two entries in the series for the Swords & Wizardry system.

The Valley Out of Time is a series of 6, 'zine-sized adventures from SGP. This valley can be placed in any ongoing campaign and is set in the "Neanderthal Period" of tech development. Huge monsters – both dinosaurs and otherwise – and devolved humanoids plague the area, and only the hardiest of adventurers will prevail! This series of adventures borrows heavily from classic dinosaur art, books, and movies; if you have ever seen a classic Frank Frazetta or Roy Krenkel painting, or read or watched The Land that Time Forgot, The Lost World, Journey to the Center of the Earth, One Million Years B.C., The Flintstones, any Ray Harryhausen film, etc., you are going to feel right at home.

Get your friends to pack-attack these encounters!

Each book is a 5 1/2" x 8" saddle-stitch (stapled) "zine size" offering, ranging from 2X to 3X (or more!) pages. The price for the books is based off calculations for the 2X page book, so the larger books are just more content! Enjoy!

Welcome to the Valley

Welcome to the Valley is Part 1 of the series, suitable for entry level characters and those beginning their explorations into the Timeless Valley. Four to six characters of level 1–3 should find the encounters presented herein challenging but manageable. This entry to the Timeless Valley series introduces the characters to the valley, some of its peaceful and helpful inhabitants, as well as several of the less hospitable ones. The characters encounter a humanoid camp, and 3 additional animal encounters to give them a taste of what they're in for with further exploration. Welcome to the Valley includes 4 new/modified valley inhabitants, an Appendix showcasing where to find existing adversaries for the valley, and a brief explanation of what the Timeless Valley "is"; it is 20+ pages in length, with a map of the initial humanoid camp, original art, and a convenient, easy-to-follow layout. 

Exploring the Valley

 Exploring the Valley is Part 2 of the series, suitable for more experienced characters in the valley. Four to six characters of level 2–5 should be challenged by the encounters provided, including stumbling upon a humanoid hunting group taking down a giant bison, a massive saber-tooth cat having some lunch, and the Timeless Valley's version of an owlbear (think owlbear, BUT THINK BIGGER!). In addition to these encounters, 6 new valley inhabitants are presented, and Appendix B offers Random Encounter Tables, suitable for fleshing out the valley, or for use in any hex crawl involving the jungle, grasslands, or rolling hills. The encounters presented cover 13 pages of classic "Appendix N" and "Frazetta-esque" adversaries to give the classic stop-motion movie experience! Exploring the Valley is 30+ pages in length, with original art, tables and charts galore, and plenty of information to aid Gamemasters to fill up hours of overland adventuring!

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Deal of the Day - Adventures Great and Glorious (OSR)

Just for a little perspective, I've known Joe Bloch for a number of years - probably a decade or more. The first time I met Joe in person, it was at the Gygax Magazine Launch Party, where we both remarked on the long line and the cold weather, if I recall correctly ;)

Joe is THE most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to the World of Greyhawk setting,  and he's shown his game designer abilities with the release of the AD&D 2e "What If?" game system, Adventures Dark and Deep.

Joe has the current DTRPG Deal of the Day, Adventures Great and Glorious, a sourcebook for higher-level play using the OSR ruleset of your choice. Normally 9.99 in PDF, Adventures Great, and Glorious is on sale for 4.97 until 11 AM Eastern, 2/21/22. I know this is a late notification of the deal, but its the best I could do with the day I had :)

What if there was something for high level characters to doother than kill bigger monsters? Now there is.

A continuation of the possibilities set forth in ADVENTURES DARK AND DEEP™and other fantasy role-playing games, ADVENTURES GREAT ANDGLORIOUS™ lets you take your game to the next level, letting your playersbecome lords of their own territories, courtiers at the royal court, scions oftheir own families, and even creators of their own demiplanes of existence.

Fully compatible with most old-school role-playing games, this book includessections on:

• Clearing territory and attracting followers and settlers in the wilderness

• Becoming functionaries and courtiers and sharing in the intrigues of a

royal court

• Governing territories, collecting taxes, creating mines, and dealing with

the unexpected events of rulership

• The Long Game, with campaign turns, events, and growing families

• Mass combat, with simple rules that let the players take center stage at

the critical moment and help decide the outcome of the battle

• New secondary skills, treasure, magic items, and spells

Please note this is a rules supplement, and is designed to be used with other rule systems. It is not a complete game unto itself. While it is written with the Adventures Dark and Deep game in particular, the references have equivalents in most other popular OSR games, with the exception of the new character classes in Adventures Dark and Deep. Unfortunately, due to limitations of the OGL regarding indications of compatibility, we cannot provide precise cross-references for other games. 

 

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Thinking of Using Minecraft to Run a TTRPG as a Game Aid

I know I've mentioned several times that I'm pretty much using, or at least trying to use, the month of February to move out of my old rental and into a new (to me) house that I bought. I'm not bragging, just that this process is a total PITA and it has been taking me way too much time to get what should be a simple and straight-forward job done. It really didn't help that I lost a good week to my back being screwed up from repetitive motion. My VA doc was less than helpful, at first, with my pain management and I seriously thought I was going to spasm out and require another hospital visit.....

....anyway, I know that really isn't why you're here, but it's a bit of backstory to explain I've had a bit more time laid-up than I'd like and I've been a bit stressed about it. Should I mention my car engine died on me and I had to purchase a new ride on top of everything else? Stressed is an appropriate response I think.

One thing that has really helped me calm down a bit is playing Minecraft. It's definitely not slinging dice at the game table, but it has proven to be a good time-waster that keeps me a bit more engaged than just watching TV.

Minecraft is now owned by Microsoft and it seems to be available on just about anything these days and while I haven't messed with a server or played in any online games, I know that is an option. What I didn't know, until this morning around 5 AM (couldn't sleep thinking of all the crap I have to get done today). I learned that there is an Education Edition and that schools are using Minecraft to be a fun way of teaching "geographical issues like erosion, pollution, urban planning and more".

Of course, as these things tend to do, I got to thinking of how Minecraft could be used at the gaming table, and now I think I'd like to try this: build an adventure in Minecraft, well at least the map. I'm not all that familiar with creative mode, but it has to be easier than survival mode since you have access to everything. Let Minecraft create the general world map then start placing villages and building out your dungeons per your adventure map. Using a projector, give the players a 1st person 3d view of your dungeon. Since Minecraft is already blocky laying things out should be easy. As the GM you'd just have to be careful about where secret doors and traps are, but if you're running the player walking through the world, as a place-holder for the party, that should be easy enough. Allowing the players to connect through on laptops would be possible, but could also be problematic.

I think if you just used Minecraft and a projector to show the map and then switched to a traditional battlemat when combat ensued, you'd be good to go. It could be a LOT more fun if you ran a maze and let the party's mapper just keep track not by what you tell them, but what they have to pick up from the screen. Is this room 40' or 50'....wait, were those double doors back there?

I'm thinking there is a lot of potential here......thoughts?

Humble Bundle - Masters of British Comics

I remember my first exposure to Judge Dredd and the 2000 AD world of comics. It was at Forbidden Planet on 13th Street in Lower Manhattan in the mid-80s, and I didn't care if the issues were new or old, I just knew that they were new to me.

I still have a special affection for Judge Dredd and 2000 AD, so seeing the large collection of titles available with the various titles included in the Masters of British Comics Bundle. 25 bucks get you the following 64 titles. You can purchase for less for a smaller selection of titles.

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Deal of the Day - Barbarians of the Ruined Earth (Special Edition Cover - OSR)

It has been a busy day, or else I would have shared this earlier. As it stands, there are about 12 hours left in this deal.

Barbarians of the Ruined Earth (Special Edition Cover) is a post-Apoc OSR ruleset/setting. Normally 15 bucks in PDF, it's on sale for a mere $6.00 until tomorrow morning, 11AM Eastern.

This is the Special Edition cover for the book by James V. West.  You can find the Standard Edition cover by James Hanson here.  

Barbarians of the Ruined Earth is a weird post-apocalyptic fantasy setting inspired by Thundarr the Barbarian. Throw in a healthy heap of Mad Max: Fury Road and a little Pirates of Dark Water and you’ve got yourself a Saturday Morning Cartoon Stew fueled by heavy metal!

The players take on the role of heroes (or maybe some feisty brigands or profiteers), wandering the Ruined Earth defeating evil Sorcerers, beating the crap out of mutated frog-men, bashing some raider skulls, or wandering through the stinking ruins of an Ancient Earth space shuttle hanger looking for bits of Stupendous Science! 

Blurb From the Back Cover: 

What can I say about Barbarians of the Ruined Earth that the tasty 89 full color illustrations packed into this goddamned book doesn’t already scream at you? I mean aside from the fact it uses The Black Hack, has 4 classes and 4 races (each with cool abilities, starting gear, and tables to generate unique trinkets and life events), 7 sample traps, new magic system with 30 spells, new and fun equipment for the setting, including 12 weaponized animals, hireling and vehicle rules, 14 pieces of Stupendous Science, 60 different mutations, 18 pieces of cyberware, 11 charts and tables for GM’s to use on the fly, 46 adversaries to pit your players against, a point crawl in the ruins of the Los Angeles area with 13 locations, all channeling the spirt of Thundarr the Barbarian, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Pirates of Dark Water and it’s wrapped up in a 162 page sexy package… what else is there?! Not much, I’m afraid…

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Deal of the Day - Beyond the Wall - Further Afield

I am a huge fan of Beyond the Wall. It's an oft-forgotten OSR ruleset, but it truly has mechanics to drive the story, and I'd love to have a version or adaptation for Swords & Wizardry. Or just hack it on my own. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Today's Deal of the Day is Further Afield for Beyond the Wall. Normally it costs 5.99 in PDF, but until tomorrow morning you can snag a copy for 2.40.

An exciting supplement for convenient campaigns of Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures.

Sometimes heroes must wander…

Shadows gather throughout the world, threatening you, your village, your friends, and your family.

The lands are wide and wild, filled with dangerous foes and fantastic treasures. You are a little older now, ready to see the world far from the village, face the darkest threats, and make your own legend. It is time for you and your companions to leave home.

Travel further afield...

Just as Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures provides for an exciting evening of play with zero prep, Further Afield offers guidelines and rules to create and run an extended campaign in the same spirit. Now the players and gamemaster work together to create the myths, legends, and rumors of a unique setting. Included in this book are all the necessary tools to create your world, travel and explore within it, defeat great and terrible adversaries, and reap the rewards of adventures even further beyond the wall.

• Collaborative player-driven campaign creation for making your own shared sandbox. 

• Threat Packs for dynamic villains and dangers affecting the world beyond the village.

• Helpful hints and systems for integrating new characters into existing groups.

• Rules for creating magical items through your crafts, deeds, or sorcerous powers.

• Four Threat Packs, including the Blighted Land and the Vengeful Wyrm.

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In Memory of John Browne, Pub Owner and Bartender without Equal

 Tonight, Rach and I went to the wake of John Browne, owner of the Grandstand Pub and Restaurant. Rach and I did much of our courting here, had our wedding reception here, and celebrated many family milestones in the establishment I’m sitting in right now. 

We are celebrating John’s life, which touched our local community deeply. 

If I could accomplish a tenth of what John did in his life in my own, it would be a life well lived. 

God bless you John. May you legacy last 100 years. 

Bundle of Holding - Worlds of 2000 AD

I was a HUGE Judge Dredd / 2000 AD fan in my college days. There was just something about the comics - over the top, gritty, and far from other comic book fares for the time.

When I saw that ENWorld Publishing had the RPG licenses for 2000 AD and other related IP, I wasn't all that excited. Maybe it was the time between when I collected and now, or the fact that it used the WOIN System, which really didn't do much for me.

All that being said, for 7.95 for the Worlds of 2000 AD Rulebook Collection, including Judge Dredd & 2000 AD, Strontium Dog, Rogue Trooper, and the Judge Dredd GM Screen is a price point I can buy in at, even if only for the setting material and background stuff. The threshold price (about 19 bucks) includes the Adventure Collection with seven more Judge Dredd RPG supplements worth an additional $49, including the Luna-1 Sourcebook, five full-length adventures (The Apocalypse War, The Cursed Earth, The Judge Child, The Day the Law Died, and The Robot Wars), and the Case Files Compendium of short scenarios.

Bang for the buck, I suspect the Rulebook Collection is all I need. YMMV.

21 days left for this offer as I type this.

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RPGs and Dating......?

I've mentioned a couple of times now that I'm in the (way to effing long) process of moving into a new home. It's shaping up to be easily a stressful month-long process and it's intruded somewhat into my gaming life. "Somewhat" because I have discovered that Minecraft is strangely calming and while it's not D&D, it's getting the job done for me.

No, this isn't going to be a Minecraft post. If you need some of that I highly suggest YouTube. Tons of videos there.

This week I was supposed to be slinging dice at my new place, but the GM bailed....to go out on a date. While the gamer in me says, "Really dude....a date?" The single 50 y/o in me totally gets it. In my gaming group only the GM and I are single. My old gaming group used to be made up of couples so Sunday was game night and dating just wasn't a potential pitfall.

These days.....gaming and dating don't mix very well. Lucking my gaming group is just every other Saturday night so the timing isn't too much an issue, although it could be. No the hardest thing is having the "RPG" conversation with a new date. I'd say maybe half of the women I get involved with think they get what my gaming is, with the other half just thinking I play Xbox...well just play Xbox. That 1st half that gets it.....no, no they don't. I've yet to have one understand that we use dice in our games. Yeah, if you've got to explain what a d20 is.....no bueno. Luckily most don't really care, or that's it's too early for them to express that they care.

No that's real life....in-game I've never had a PC "date" or even heard of that ever happening. Too cringey, most likely. Now I have run a married PC before, which was married to my (then) wife's PC. I know I ruffled my GM a bit 'cause I played things up a bit...because I could. Due to the nature of HackMaster's tournaments our PCs hadn't seen each other in a couple years game-time (they were Elves, so not that big of a deal?) so when they did get together, my PC demanded an extra week-downtime where he rented out a boat. Yes, I told the other PCs, in-character, "If this boat's a rockin', don't come knocking." I allege that it sounds so much more eloquent in Elvish.

Yeah, I'm generally coming back around to the opinion that gaming and dating don't mix. Adding a pre-existing relationship to the gaming table, probably....but a new date, not so much. Too bad that "Only Gamers" dating site from KoDT (not the actual name, mind you), doesn't exist.

State of the Tavern - Revisions and Updates to Free RPGs and Free Resources Lists

It's been a number of years since I've updated the various Free RPGs and Free Resources pages. Some of the links are still directing to the RPGNow domain, which is now defunct and needs to be updated to DTRPG . There are also a number of games and resources that need to be added to the various pages.

If you can think of any new games, adventures, resources, etc that need to be added, please leave them as a comment below.

When each page is fully updated, I'll link it via a new post here on The Tavern's Homepage.

Appreciate all of the help in advance :)

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Free RPG - Worlds Without Number: Free Edition

I've been a huge fan of Kevin Crawford's work for years. To see a full-on, fantasy version of the Stars Without Number "tag system" is priceless. Getting access to such for free? Awesome!

Worlds Without Number Free Edition costs exactly that much. There is a full deluxe version of the PDF for 19.99 or you can grab it in print.

The stars gutter and the skies fade and the earth grows weary with years. Ages of men and of Outsiders have ascended and been forgotten, and only the bones of their cities and the dust of their dreams remain upon this tired world. The Legacy of their laws is woven deep now, the edicts of dead gods and fallen sorcerer-kings made to trace patterns of power we no longer understand. We are heirs to their unseen empires, and our lives are built upon their ashes.

Worlds Without Number is a fantasy role-playing game, one fully compatible with the hit sci-fi game Stars Without Number. It's built from the ground up to provide gritty, hard-edged adventure in the fathomless future of the Latter Earth, a fantastic realm of time-lost sorcery, savage foes, a
nd barbaric splendor. The cold steel in the fists of your heroes and the half-understood sorcery in their tomes must suffice to overcome the monstrous remnants of ancient alien rulers and the present depredations of ruthless lords and hideous beasts alike. The riches of lost ages await in the subterranean Deeps that once held their kingdoms, and even the heavens above are not beyond the reach of the recklessly daring.

(Note: this is the free version of WWN. If you'd like to grab the full deluxe edition with almost fifty extra pages of bonus content, head right over.)

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.

So what do you get in this book?

• Sword and sorcery heroes of blade, cunning, and spell. The proven OSR-compatible character creation system of Stars Without Number is redone here for a fantasy world of blade and black magic.
• OSR-compatible rules, allowing you to plunder decades of existing adventure material for your play. You can even pull in Stars Without Number content, as it's fully compatible.
• The Gyre region of the far-future Latter Earth, a premade sandbox for quick play. Venture forth to clash with the sinister powers that gather in the shadow of the waning rule of the Reaping King.
• Worldbuilding tools crafted to the renowned Sine Nomine standard. Did you like the hundred different world tags in SWN? Then have two hundred inspirational tags to help you build ruins, courts, communities, and wilderness points of interest. Grab a wealth of tools for building histories, societies, governments, religions, and geography, all written with a keen eye toward producing good, playable content for your adventuring group.
• Adventure creation tools to soothe the pangs of a working GM, with guides for building adventures out of combat, exploration, social, and investigative challenges. Use the tags you picked in the worldbuilding section to speed up your creation of a good night's gaming.
• Faction rules for fantasy worlds, with dark cults, fierce lords, grasping abbots, and greedy merchants all serving to keep your world in motion even when the PCs aren't on the scene.

And those contents are in this free edition of the game! If you dare to lay hands on the deluxe, for-pay version, you'll get even more.

• Heroic characters, ones fired with the prowess of high fantasy heroes and epic Chosen Ones. Don't care for gritty sword and sorcery? Use these rules to turn even novice adventurers into the protagonists of mighty deeds.
• Legates, those heroes touched with the power of the Legacy itself. Reach beyond the limits of mortal prowess to embrace superhuman abilities and impossible might, and dare adventures that will live for an age in legend.
• Bonus character classes, including the Adunic Invoker, Darian Skinshifter, Llaigisan Beastmaster, Sarulite Blood Priest, Kistian Duelist, and Vothite Thought Noble. Each one is built to help support a broad character concept, such as shapeshifting, mind control, animal companions, divine blessings, or swashbuckling fighters- concepts you can import to any setting.
• Additional GM tools, including a hundred fractal adventure seeds, help with extradimensional Iterums, and a sheaf of bonus GM tables for fleshing out architecture, NPC relationships, and random adventure NPCs.

Seize your chance, bold adventurer! Earnest souls have been waiting for years for a fantasy counterpart to Stars Without Number; now it awaits your daring grasp to help you forge your own mighty deeds!

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Deal of the Day - For Coin & Blood: Second Edition (OSR Ruleset)

I greatly enjoyed mining For Coin & Blood for ideas for my Swords & Wizardry campaign. I hadn't realized there was a For Coin & Blood: Second Edition. I'll need to rectify that ;)

For Coin & Blood: Second Edition is normally 11.99 in PDF, but until tomorrow morning it is on sale for 2.40.

For Coin & Blood is a classically-inspired fantasy roleplaying game, which takes the direction of playing the scum and villains you normally fight inmost fantasy campaigns!

Playing assassins, cult leaders, blackguards and more, For Coin & Blood is a different look at the other side of the coin of fantasy roleplaying games. Inspired by the writings of authors such as Kate Elliot, Joe Abercrombie, Sarah Monette, Glen Cook, Anna Smith Spark, Scott Lynch, and more, For Coin & Blood is dark fantasy roleplaying about antiheroes, thieves, and assassins, rooted in the darkest recess of mankind’s depredations.

For Coin & Blood makes no pretenses about what it asks you to be. You’re the villains that other campaigns fight. You’re the cult leaders, assassins, fallen nobles, murderers, mercenaries, necromancers, and thugs.

Well, there's a lot of reasons. The first edition was our first "classic adventure" game, inspired by the old fantasy RPGs of the 70s and 80s.

But there were a few places we felt we could improve it after a few years. New content, clearer rules, smoother mechanics. It was Alan's first dive into that style of game design, and frankly, this new edition is a lot better. 

Some of the new things we've included: 

• Improved and clarified skill test resolution.
• Revised attribute names and descriptions to fit the theme better. 
• Four new classes: The Diabolist: a cruel and dark demon summoner, the Executioner:  a feared slayer of humanity, the Machiavellian: a scheming noble and plotter, and the Witch Hunter: slayer of mages and magic users.
• Improved rules for hirelings, property, and more.
• Legacy XP, so you can build your next character as you play!
• Poisons and firearms, as well as revised gear rules.
• Rules for: artifacts, corruption points, smuggling, investigations, journeys and travels, mass battles, light, increased enemy lists (including specific demons to summon and their pacts they offer!)
• A full-setting ripe for your adventures (with maps!)

We've also added over 10 pages of art by Ger Curti (which comes to something like 5 half-pages, 4 new character illustrations, enemy art, 20 spot illustrations, and maps!), a new cover by Daniel Jimbert (the cover from the Spanish translation!), a new fiction piece from gaming author Mari Murdock and lots more!

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are the affiliate programs that support 

The Tavern.  

You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube, 

or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.