Free OSR - PX2 Extra: Planar Primer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Color me intrigued.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Another tip of the hat to Kevin :)

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

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

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

How serious is the project?

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

Bad. I know.

But it does seem legit-ish.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Play nice amongst yourselves ;)

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

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

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

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

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

I never thought that it could be improved upon.

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

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

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

RPGNow Deal of the Day - OpenQuest 2 Deluxe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Four bucks. Four adventures. Today only.

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

From the blurb:

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

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

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

You Can Run, But You Can't Hide - Ken Whitless Moves to Atlanta

Kickstarter related lawsuits got you down? State attorney generals on your ass? Ownership of a certain fairy game going to court? Trying to dodge possible pending criminal charges for a domestic incident with your on again, off again, on again, off again girlfriend? (note - due to multiple deleted Facebook posts by the alleged victim, this part is mere conjecture - if you want my professional opinion, you know how to contact me)

No worries!

Move to Atlanta and leave your Kentucky troubles behind you!

Ken Whitless. Support the Kickstarters for the dream. Stick around for the drama.

BTW, did you see Ken's horrible release for the C&C TV Pilot? No, neither did the backers. Nor can I find the link. I saw it, and wasn't impressed.

Oh, and rumor has it Ken is growing a beard. Still can't hide that lovable mug.