Mutant Crawl Classics is Part of Free RPG Day - Kickstarter Around the Corner

Five Different Covers ?!?

This year's Goodman Games Free RPG Day release has a DCC RPG Lankhmar Adventure and the very first Mutant Crawl Classics Adventure with quickstart.

Oh, and it comes in five different covers.

Whle the Lankhmar stuff is really cool, it's the Mutant Crawl Classics that has me excited. I've listened to +Jim Wampler talk about it on various podcasts an it's something I'm really looking forward to snagging a copy of the free releases and the impending Kickstarter.

How impending is the Mutant Crawl Classics Kickstarter? I don't know and Jim isn't telling, but I'm damn close to giving him my cell phone number to speed dial when it goes live, both so I can back it early and let my readers know ASAP.

In any case, time for a one hour trip to see if I can snag a copy of today's release...

Free RPG Day Online Sales and Specials - Frog God Games and More!

It's a good day to be a gamer even if you can't get to a FLGS that's participating in Free RPG Day.

Let us count the ways:



Mazes & Perils Deluxe Edition is a measly buck for a day only. This best seller on OBS won't stay on sale at this price beyond today, so don't delay.

Frog God Games is running a huge sale at their online store. How huge?

Buy More Save More 20% Off!
Receive 20% Off when you purchase $50 or more!
Offer Expires 06/20/2016. Coupon Code: DAD20

Buy More Save More 30% Off!
Receive 30% Off when you purchase $75 or more! Offer Expires 06/20/2016. Coupon Code: DAD30

Buy More Save More 40% Off!
Receive 40% Off when you purchase $100 or more! Offer Expires 06/20/2016. Coupon Code: DAD40

$5 Off All Hardcover Books!
Take $5 Off any Hardcover Book for Father's Day!
This offer can be combined with any "buy more save more" coupon for even more savings! Offer Expires 06/20/2016. Coupon Code: DAD5

Dont forget the Open Gaming Store. Go to the link for a list of free stuff, but you must use code FreeRPGDay2016 when checking out.

Kickstarter - Massive Darkness (Fantasy RPG Inspired Dungeon Crawl Board Game)

With yesterday's discussion of "how to bring more people into the hobby" I think a board game such as Massive Darkness would be key. Playing a game like this, (hopefully) rules light, observable by customers in a gaming store, maybe even allowing players to drop in and out and experience the game - this might be something that could work. Or maybe not in a game store, but in a public place like a library and sponsored by a local game store.

In any case, Massive Darkness looks to be "massively cool", and as it's by CoolMiniOrNot, I guess that's to be expected.

Massive Darkness is a dungeon crawling board game for 1 to 6 players. With no game master and streamlined rules, players take their heroes on a series of quests to defeat the forces of Darkness. On their way they'll face many challenges, including a large variety of enemies that range from mobs of evil dwarves to gargantuan demons and spiders. To be victorious, heroes will need to acquire new skills throughout the campaign, find the the best loot to equip themselves, and learn how to use the cover of darkness to their advantage!

Buy in is $120. These are no other pledge levels.

It reminds me of Dungeon! taken to 11.

Did I mention your characters can level? Yep.

I think I'm in.

Ah, who am I kidding, I'm in.

How Can We Make Free RPG Day About Growing the Hobby, Because it Isn't

Aldo Ghiozzi made an eye opening comment on today's earlier post about Free RPG Day, as I always assumed it was about growing the hobby. I was wrong, and certainly not the first time.

The issue isn't just growing the hobby, but getting feet into the FLGS. I'm as guilty as many, as most of my purchases are made from either OneBookShelf or Amazon when it comes to my gaming needs.

So, how does one get low cost or free marketing that will be seen outside the hobby for Free RPG Day? Maybe a poster or 2 per box for advertising the next year's Free RPG Day? Retailers now have their advertising material a year in advance (and it's probably much more effective than flyers at the door that no one reads or are placed in bags that are quickly thrown out)

Aint It Cool and the Escapist would probably run articles for free. Their audience is far larger than just the geeks that habitually play RPGs and are more likely to spark the interest of lapsed gamers.

I'm sure there are blogs and sites like ENWorld that would post about it in the weeks or months prior if they were given details about the releases to be included in the Free RPG Day release. To be honest, I only knew it was this weekend because I realized June was halfway over and it's usually in June, so I did a Google search.

Is there a Facebook group where gamers can talk about Free RPG Day releases, invite their online friends to check it out and basically pimp the potential awesome of Free RPG Day?

Any thoughts from the ranks of the Taverners?

30% Off of Troll Lord Games PDF Releases at OneBookShelf for Free RPG Day

Troll Lord Games has a 30% off sale for their PDF releases in celebration of Free RPG Day. It appears to be across all of their lines, rules and adventures.

If you missed their previous sales, now might be a good time to grab titles you've been thinking about.

Of course, if you miss this sale, I'm sure they'll be others.

An Underwhelming Free RPG Day 2016 From an Old School Perspective

Let's see, what do I actually have an interest in from the above picture Free RPG Day 2016 releases?

Goodman Games Quickstart, the CoC Adventure and maybe the LotFP release. The C&C release doesn't really catch my attention.

Pencils? Do they at least serve as Pencil Dice?

Ah well. I'll be in the Poconos this weekend, so even the ones I'm interested in will be out of reach...

Gareth Releases Prior to Mid Month! Thrilling Tales 2e: Thrilling Tales of the Seven Seas (Nope, It Ain't Far West)

You know what? It's June 15th. It's not the beginning of the month. It's not the end of last month. Tomorrow starts the last half of the month.

Guess what missed it's vague-ish release date yet again?

Ding ding ding!!!

You guessed it. Far Waste, er, West.

But in case you have money burning a hole in your pocket, Gareth did release SOMETHING before the middle of the month passed: Gareth gives you Thrilling Tales 2e: Thrilling Tales of the Seven Seas.

Anything to do with the oft promised Far West? Nope.

Do you care? Probably not. But hey, Gareth cares enough about you to preview THE ENTIRE book. Seriously.

Now, go peek for yourself. If you feel the same lack of enthusiasm for the product that I do, we read the same shit.

Tavern Chat Tonight - 9PM to 11PM Eastern - Be There or Be Not

Yep, Tavern Chat tonight.

What shall we discuss?

How about over 300 requests for Tenkar's Tavern Membership Cards.

Or the rumblings of an online Tenkar's Con (I didn't start the rumblings)

Maybe some of the bennies lines up.

Or the usual chatter :)

Gygax Medalion in... Paw?

I received my Gygax medallion in the mail earlier this week. In truth, I am underwhelmed by it in person, but Ashley can't keep her paws off of it.

The chain feels like it's Aluminum and the medallion itself has a cheap plastic look. Ah well, if I display it hanging from the wall, no one will get close enough to tell ;)

Ash doesn't wear a collar (house cat and all that) and the few times I've tried to put one on her, she had them off in minutes.

If she did wear one, she'd be identified as one of Gary's familiars by the medallion that would hang from her neck. Alas, it's not to be.

Stephen Marsh Adds His NTRPG Con 2016 Scenario to The Tenkar's Tavern Community Card Benefits

The response to the Tenkar's Tavern Free Membership Card and Google Community has been overwhelming, not just from gamers that want their slick card but from publishers, conventions and even game writers.

Last night Stephen Marsh forwarded me his 2016 NTRPG Con Scenario, Volume 2 of City of the Revenant, for the use by members of the Tenkar's Tavern Community:

This is a pdf release of the OSR scenario I ran at the 2016 NTPRG Con. It is provided for free for members of Tenkar’s Tavern as of June 2016. You may make up to ten copies for personal use and may run the scenario. This is not a general release or a release for purposes of making derivative works. I eventually hope to find a publisher for the complete work.

How do you get access to such an exclusive adventure?

First, you need to request your very own FREE Tenkar's Tavern Card which will ship anywhere in the world. Email your request to tenkarstavernDOTcommunity AT that Gmail thing. Give it at least 3 weeks to get your card at this point, as we are closing in on 300 requests and I only received the cards yesterday.

Second, you'll need to join the Tenkar's Tavern Community Group on Google. I'll send you an invite when you request your card. The group seems to work best with Gmail email addresses.

Much thanks to Stephen Marsh for his generosity. Expect more benefits over the next days and weeks.

Tenkar's Tavern Cards Have Arrived - They Look Sharp

I'm very impressed with the sharpness of the front of the card. The colors "snap" (the above shot does not do it justice)

Now, the above back is for Rach and filled out as a sample of sorts. The numbering uses metallic blue ink, the date and my signature (such as it is) are in green metallic ink. I wanted to do the same with the names but some names are too long and will be lucky to fit on 2 lines with a fine tip black ink pen.

I also have metallic pink, but that almost looks like a blood and puss mixture ;)

So, comments on the back? Go with the colors? Go all black? Go all metallic and find a way to make the really long names fit ;)

I'm hoping to have the first 50 cards or so in the mail sometime Friday. Then I am gone for a 3 day weekend. Then I'm back to mailing cards. Want a card? Email me at tenkarstavernDOTcommunity at that Gmail DOT com thing. I'll need a snail mail address.

Holy Sh!t! The 2015 Gygax Memorial Fund Tax Returns Have Been Posted! (It Raised $566 in 2015)

Every couple of days I check out the Gygax Memorial Fund website in the hope of finding an update. I never actually expect and update, but I look anyway.

Today I see that the 2015 GMF ax Return has been posted. Does this mean an audit will soon be posted too?

Now, we were told that all of these expenses (architects bill sculptor's contract) and would be reflected in the 2015 return:

Lets look, shall we?

The Fund took in $566 last year. It took in $421 in 2014 when Gail was "ill". Apparently, good health is worth less that $150. BTW, that also means the Fund took in less than $1,000 over the last 2 years combined. That lack of support is not a good thing. It's obvious that there is little interest in actually reaching out to the gaming community to raise funds. The money is nearly all corporate donations. If you don't have the support of the gaming community who is actually going to visit the site?

$2,890 paid professional contractors. Seems small for what's she mentioned, but then I'm probably thinking NYC pricing.

Here's the Schedule "O":

Real quick - light on meetings, heavy on office expenses. Hell, they spent twice as much on meetings and office expenses as the Fund took in for the year.

Oh, and "C", "D" and "E" still aren't happening.

Between the three of them, 364 hours devoted to the Fund for the year and the couldn't choose something from "C", "D" or "E" to be able to say the Fund accomplished ONE of it's goals over the last SIX years?

And So It Began - Looking Back at My First Game Session

Over at the Tenkar's Tavern Google Community we have an "Introduce Yourself" thread. 74 members (including myself) have introduced themselves in the thread (and another 8 scattered in their own threads) It makes for interesting reading, especially if you want to get some insights into old school gamers. There are many paths, but all have led them to one general destination - an enjoyment of RPG and a fondness of old school gaming.

I've mentioned my entrance into RPGs before, but I omitted it in the thread and thought I would share it here for all. It's a bit more detailed then I've done before.

It was the late in the spring of 1979. I was at my friend Kenny's house. (background - For grades 1 thru 4 we went to the same public school, but in 5th grade he transferred to the local Catholic School out of fear I suspect. While our elementary school was damn good, there were some not so good stories of what 7th grade and Junior High School would bring, and not all of them were false). We were nearing the end of sixth grade.

Anyhow, the advantage to this is it expanded our circle of friends. The day in question we were goofing around with the Game of Life when Kenny said something to the effect of: "I have this new game. You wanna play it? You get to kill stuff!" Sounded like playing with our GI Joes when we were younger, but sure, I was up for just about anything. There is only so much fun to be had in a two player Game of Life.

He broke out these amazing dice. I mean, he said they were dice, so they must have been dice, but I only recognized the six sided ones. "You use these six sided dice to roll out your character. Your going to play a fighter." Sounded good to me, as a fighter musta been someone who fought. "He needs a name." Sure. Cyrus. Don't ask me why. I do not know. Cyrus Vance maybe?

I fought skeletons. I found a chest with a magic sword. I fought more skeletons. I found a magic shield. A phone call was made to one of Kenny's classmates to see if I leveled up, as he only had the DMG and his friend on the other side of the line had the Player's Handbook. Somehow, I made level 2. Cyrus was now a Warrior and I was hooked. My birthday was in July and I received the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide AND an awesome set of poly dice.

Here I am. 37 years later. Still gaming. Still loving the hobby and the friendships I've made over the years and continue to make, hopefully for years to come.

Tenkar's Tavern Community Cards - 270+ Requested - Still Available for Free - Expecting to Mail First 50 By Friday

You know how I said I'd never do a Kickstarter? I suddenly feel like I'm doing one ;)

We are at about 275 requests for Tenkar's Tavern Community Membership Cards. Yes, I'm shipping them worldwide for free. Yes, we are accepting more requests. Yes, membership has it's privileges.

The latest shipping update indicates I should have the cards tomorrow. I'm hoping to have the first 50 cards or so in the mail sometime Friday. Then I am gone for a 3 day weekend. Then I'm back to mailing cards. Want a card? Email me at tenkarstavernDOTcommunity at that Gmail DOT com thing. I'll need a snail mail address.

I have NEVER done anything on this scale before. The notoriously uncoordinated and disorganized Tenkar is actually using a spreadsheet for this. I'm hoping to have all of the current requests in the mail within 3 weeks, but I really have no idea how time consuming this will be. I have most of the first 50 entries on the spreadsheet, but still waiting on some Patreons to finalize it all.

You do get the majority of the benefits upon request, as I'm sending the requests for the Tenkar's Tavern Google Community within hours if not minutes. It is important that you join the online community, as that is where we are sharing the discounts and freebies. It is invite only. You get your invite upon requesting your free card.

It is important to use the discount codes and links available to you from the community if they interest you. You are not doing yourself, or the publisher / venue / retailer any good by paying full price. By using the links / codes, you are showing the influence of the Tenkar's Tavern Community as a whole. There are many discounts / freebies in the works and if they interest you, use them. I myself are very close to using the Gamehole discount for Rach and I. There are other discounts / promotions I hope to secure for this focused, Old School Gaming Community (yes, that's how I plan to "sell this" to other publishers)

When you ask "where does The Tavern's Patreon funds go to?" or "what do the OBS affiliate funds go to?" this is one of your answers. It goes back to the OSR, Old School Gaming and to the loyal readers of The Tavern.

Thank you for putting your faith in me. Thank you for sharing this expanded community (the blog, the G+ Community, the Facebook Community and the new Google Group Invite Only Community) with me. If you have offers of discounts or free material you want to give to Tenkar's Tavern Card Holding Members, you know where to find me ;)

Far West - Done by Late May, Early June, When Cows Fly Over the Moon...

Remember this?

Well, it's June 13, so neither late May nor early June.

Assuming it ever ships I am very tempted to raffle off my hard copy to a Card Holding Tavern member. Seriously, the bad taste left in my mouth is matched only by the following:

NTRPG Con Pic Post - Look Ma, I Actually Met People for Real This Time!

I promised more NTRPG Con pics and I have them. Not a huge amount of selfies, but I was apparently too busy talking to people. I need to talk less and take more pics ;)

There are more pics.

Next pic post - Ghostbusters :)

left in the The Tavern's Room for me upon arrival
left in hotel room due to lack of space in luggage

must be a cop - he turned his badge around when he saw the camera ;)

that's not the man you think it is, or is it?

damn, i must have screwed up - my badge can be read

damn it!

the shirt i'm wearing I got in 98
I'm amazed it still fits
Chris is amazed too
he forgot to turn his badge around

look ma, i'm a sponsor!

All Invites to The Tenkar's Tavern Google Group Community Were Sent - We Are Nearing 250 Cards Requested

A few quick things.

I sent out over 235 invites (some requests were made by couples - 2 cards, 1 email) to The Tenkar's Tavern Google Group Community yesterday (well, I finished after midnight) as well as individual emails to let folks know the invite was incoming. If you haven't gotten your invite yet, check you spam folder. If you need a new invite, email me at the same email you used to ask for a card.

The Tenkar's Tavern Group is where you will find you discount codes, links to free and discounted products, announcements for brick and mortar promotions, deals at cons and the like. If your not in the group, you won't have access to these bennies.

If you are in the group and want to change the email your notifications go to, again, send me an email with your current email and the email you want to use and we'll delete the one and invite the other. It's that simple.

If you signed up via Instant Messaging I don't have your email and you didn't get an invite. Forward me an email address if you want the bennies to go along with your free Tenkar's Tavern Card.

If we include folks that I know are going to sign up (we've spoken, I have your emails, I may just do it on my end) we are just a few members short of 250 soon to be card carrying members. To think I came close to ordering only 250 cards (I ordered 500, so we are good for a bit).

Another 100 requests and we hit NTRPG Con numbers ;)

I'll be very happy when every request is entered into the spreadsheet, as we have requests from all over the world. It's nice to see The Tavern has a large and far reach.

Don't have a membership card for Tenkar's Tavern? Why not? It's free. Really. I will mail you a physical copy anywhere in the world. What does it look like? It's pictured to the right of this post.

Note - We have over 240 requests and I'm still waiting on delivery of the cards. (I won't have an accurate number until I complete the spreadsheet, as some emails requested 2 cards - couples - and a small number of requests were made via Facebook IM). Requests made at this point are probably looking at 3 weeks from now or so for delivery. I've never done this before, so this is pure speculation. It depends on the number of cards I can prepare and mail on a daily basis.

You'll need to email me your mailing address and the name you want on the card. Send the info to tenkarstavernDOTcommunity AT that gmail thing. Yep, brand new email for a brand new way to share our community. Your email may be used to offer you savings and other such exclusives to Tenkar's Tavern members and will NOT be shared with anyone.