Looking for Art Suggestions for S&W Light from Current and Past FGG Releases

Swords & Wizardry Light is a labor of love. It is an offering to the OSR from Frog God Games and myself. As such, you should have input as to how it gets to show itself off.

We (as in you and me) have access to nearly the whole Frog God Games and Necromancer Games art libraries.

What we (as in FGG and myself) need are some suggested pieces. Something that you feel screams old school gaming, Swords & Wizardry, amazing fantasy - if it speaks to you, we want to know about it.

We can only squeeze in 3 or 4 pieces but I'd really like to see what the community identifies with.

What we need in your comments below is:

1 - Book it appears in

2 - Page number it is on

3 - Brief description in your words

4 - Why you think it should be chosen

What do you get in return? Bragging rights for having helped chose the art direction for Swords & Wizardry Light.

Now, for those still reading. Over the next few days I'll be giving away some of the duplicates in my Swords & Wizardry collection. These will be "flash giveaways", only accepting entries for 12 or 24 hours, depending on how I feel when the post goes up. I'll only be able to ship to the US, so if you enter from outside the states, you'll get a $10 RPGNow GC instead. Sorry about that.

So, keep your eyes open, and in the meantime, start posting those art suggestions!

Kickstarter - Legendary Realms Terrain - Ice Caverns & Terrain Accessories

It's funny. I never made the connection between the Legendary Realms Terrain and the Legendary Realms Game Store until I actually walked in and saw the terrain for sale in the store. It was one of those eye opening moments ;)

What this means is that I actually got to look at this stuff in person and its fairly impressive.

Then I realized something else. I had backed and received some amazing pieces from a previous Legendary Realms Kickstarter a few years back. I had forgotten that the company was one and the same. Nice set of painted terrain pieces (there was no unpainted option, which is cool, because I suck at painting) and accessories. Sadly, I wasn't doing face to face gaming at the time, so it was boxed up fairly quickly. I did unbox them this morning to ogle it all and remind myself I will soon have an opportunity to use them.

But I digress. Yes, the Legendary Realms Terrain - Ice Caverns & Terrain Accessories  Kickstarter looks pretty cool. According to the KS page, if a piece needs to be painted (I'm assuming the basic ice pieces won't need it) it will be painted. I was pleased with the painting jobs from the previous KS.

So tempting.

Why is Ice, Ice Baby bouncing through my head?

New Episode of Old School Blues is Up - Episode 3 - Vince and I Talk about Kickstarters

Yes, episode 3 of the Old School Blues podcast is up. Get to here my words of wisdom when it comes to creating a successful gaming Kickstarter (and an old school one in particular)

Its just over 30 minutes, so it can be listened to whenever you have a spare moment.

Remember to keep your dirty socks off the video.

Enjoy the listen. I figured the above pic would allow you to share the laugh when you reach the proper point in the podcast ;)

New Podcast - Glowburn-Mutant Crawl Classics RPG

Glowburn is the new podcast for the Mutant Crawl Classics RPG.

What's that? the MCC RPG hasn't released yet? How can they have a podcast for a game that hasn't released yet?

You'll need to listen ;)

(Well, that and they talk about other post apoc RPGs - it's an interesting listen IMHO)

Lulu Coupon Alert! - 30% Off - Lulu Coupon Alert!

I just noticed (thanks to +joseph browning ) that there is a 30% off all Lulu.com purchases coupon code floating around.

30% off is pretty huge and will go a long way to adding books to your gaming library.

The code is:

OCTSAVE30

Ends October 10th at 12:59 PM

(Joe also has 20% off on the Advanced Adventures Compendiums (vol. 1-3) - lots of adventuring for a very fair price)

Note - there are no affiliate links for Lulu. I'm sharing this because it's freaking awesome! :)

Add suggested purchases for your fellow Taverners in the comments section. They'll appreciate it as will I.

The Return of the Open Source White Box and Core Rules Swords & Wizardry Docs

I've been asked on nearly a daily basis "When is the SwordsandWizardry.com site coming back up?". The truth is, I don't know. When I have an update, you'll see it here first.

In the meantime, I've gotten permission to host the Swords & Wizardry White Box RTF File and the Swords & Wizardry Core Doc file. Just go to http://bit.ly/SWOpenSource

What does this mean for you?

If you like to house rule, you can go in, edit the files and print it at at home, at a professional printer or at Lulu.com. Yes, your own, customized, Swords & Wizardry ruleset. (sorry, art assets and cover art are not included)

It also means if you have the desire to hack together a new ruleset, using Swords & Wizardry as your inspiration, the tools are here. The S&W White Box rules are what I hacked up to come up with Swords & Wizardry Light.

I'll be looking to put together a page with other Swords & Wizardry resources. I'll post it at The Tavern when such is live. (If you have houseruled / hacked S&W ruleset you want to share with the community, this will be the place)

Long live Swords & Wizardry :)

Note - the PDF files and the POD are still hosted at Lulu.

Getting New Gamers into the OSR isn't About Slapping on a Fresh Coat of Paint

The truth of the matter is that the cover to the 3rd printing of Swords & Wizardry Complete and the all female art team isn't going to make a noticeable dent in the numbers or percentage of female gamers in the OSR. Why?

Because it isn't a retail release.

Not many are going to be looking at a shelf of gaming books in some bookstore or game store and stumble across Swords & Wizardry Complete. Not the Otis cover. Not the tree on acid cover. Not any cover at all. Simply because it won't be on a shelf to be seen.

Those that find it either will have found the Kickstarter itself or, afterwards, the Frog God Games webstore. They are already IN the gaming hobby. Most likely they are already in the OSR and are already playing Swords & Wizardry.

So, how do you bring more gamers, regardless of gender or age, into the OSR?

It isn't by playing in your weekly group composed of real life friends. That group has it's own dynamics and is probably a bit insular. It's never easy to add to a group like that and the vetting process for prospective new players is often on par with joining a secret society.

It isn't with new art or old art. Not unless you can get it in a retail environment, either in a boxed set (visibility) or distributed for free (viral marketing.)

The answer is quite simple.

Play in public.

Open spaces. Game stores. Libraries. Pubs. Cafes. Whatever it takes to make the play visible.

Last night I played in Tim Connolly's Benchledale Campaign at Legendary Realms out in Plainview, NY. We are using the AD&D 1e rules. My first session had 11 players. I think last night had nine. It's a mixture of grognards who have played the game in one form or another since the late 70's and Pathfinder players that are trying something new. That just happens to be old. And they like it.

See, the play is the key. Roleplaying games don't sell themselves while in a virtual store or on the shelf in some retail environment. You have to know about RPGs to be interested enough into finding out more about them. The way to gather that interest is public play.

I'll even put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. Or at least, my DMing time. Come Spring of 2017 I'll offer my services to run Swords & Wizardry twice a month at Legendary Realms, if they will have me. Games run, in public for other gamers to see, question and hopefully gather interest. You could be a 18 year old from the Planet Alpha Centuri or a 60 year old Grognard, we'll find room for you at the table.

I noticed they have +Joseph Bloch 's Adventure's Dark & Deep prominently displayed near their D&D / Pathfinder section. Maybe as time goes on we can get other OSR games there as well.

Prepping for the Evening Game in Long Island Tonight - Benchleydale

My first (and only) session of AD&D 1e at the Legendary Realms Game Store was 3 weeks ago. It was a blast and my dwarven cleric, Calishun, survived the day and still hope to make 5th level.

We had a very full table, so I learned the following lessons:

1 - Getting a seat early can keep you from accessing the bathroom easily. I would have had to have disturbed about a half dozen of the dozen at our table. Yes, we had that large a group and it was fun. Ensure empty bladder prior to game time ;)

2 - Dice rolling off the table is not fun. I don't want to lose dice. Therefore I now have this snazzy dice rolling tray.

3 - Cool dice. I'm breaking out my cool dice. With this tray they shouldn't damage the table. They should also avoid the floor - see number 2

4 - My own mini. Part of the Reaper Bones 2 collection. Cant see much detail in the light, but it's a dwarven cleric. Woot!

Deal of the Day - Galaxy War 1939 - Legacy of the Oros (White Star Adventure)

Today's Deal of the Day is Galaxy War 1939 - Legacy of the Oros, an adventure for the White Star RPG.

So, what is Galaxy War 1939?

It’s 1939. You’ve been sent by the Space Operations Executive to recover a mysterious doctor, shot down behind enemy lines; only these battle lines are far from home. 

On Churchill IV, the Deutschstern Reich keeps order over its new conquest with Kriegstier, vicious alien predators gene-built to root out partisans in the planet’s highlands. And something else lurks in the broken hills: An alien intelligence bent on escape! 

Can you find the doctor before the Kriegstier and the Nazi Raketekommandos find you?
This is a White Star (TM) RPG Compatible Adventure for character levels 1-3.  

What will you find inside? Genetically modified alien predators, Nazi rocket men, intrigue, betrayal, and the mysterious Oros -- a sleeping entity from the beginning of time that seeks new disciples in its quest for domination. 

12 new monsters, 4 new ships, a new class, and the Reich's finest threats for your White Star (TM) or OSR sci-fi campaign. 

The PDF is normally $4.99, on sale for the next 23 hours for $2.99

The Print plus PDF is normally $10, on sale for $7.50

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's RPGNow 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!  ;)

Get Swords & Wizardry Complete 2nd Printing at an 11% Discount

I know there's some pushback with the cover art of the 3rd printing of Swords & Wizardry Complete Kickstarter.

Is it my preferred cover art? No. I'm firmly in the Otis camp.

You can, however, still support the 3rd printing of Swords & Wizardry Kickstarter AND get the 2nd printing of the Swords & Wizardry Complete rulebook if you prefer.

Here's how:

1 - Choose the Pledge Level of $1 - PDF Backer. (Top pledge level on the right hand side of the KS page)

2 - Actually back for $31 - The 2nd printing of Swords & Wizardry Complete is available as an add on for $30 (at the Frog God Website it's $34.99)

3 - At the end of the KS Campaign, you'll get a Backerkit Notification. Choose the 2nd printing of Swords & Wizardry Complete as your add on.

Done!

Personally, I'm looking forward to the stretch goals and may be interested in an add on or two.

Kickstarter - Dungeon Builder: An Isometric Map Maker for Role Players

I like maps. I like mapping. My freehand map skills suck. Therefore, I have a fondness for mapping programs.

I REALLY like what I see with Dungeon Builder.

Heck, there's even a usable demo for Win, OSX and Linux.

What more can I say? The sample map should speak for itself.

Buy in for a Personal License is $45.

If you want to be able to use it for commercial work, its about $302 for the Indie License and $604 for the Professional License. What's the difference? Indie has revenue of approximately $75k a year or less, professional has not revenue limit.

Tempted to get the Indie License but may just wait for release.

There are a ton of support levels between Personal and Indie. Feel free to ignore them.

You should watch the video. So much awesome :)

Tavern Chat - 9 PM Eastern - Tonight - Ask Me Anything (I won't answer everything ;)

Tavern Chat is Tonight, 9 PM Eastern.

Every week someone asks me "what's the topic?"

"How the flying fuck should I know? I don't herd cats for a living!"

That being said, S&W Complete 3rd printing KS went live yesterday. Crypts & Things Remastered went live to the public today. And random other stuff...

See you tonight ;)

New Release - Crypts and Things Remastered (OSR Swords & Sorcery)

I backed the Kickstarter, have the PDF and I'm waiting on the HC to arrive. I'm talking about Crypts and Things Remastered.

I ran a hack of the original Crypts & Things a few years back and it played real well. I'm looking forward to running Crypts and Things Remastered.

Still reading the expanded rules, so a review will have to wait, but what I've read thus far looks good. I may steal some pieces for my upcoming Swords & Wizardry Campaign using DCC RPG Adventures. SWCTDCC. Heh.

The PDF is $13, the SC Print & PDF is $26 and HC Print & PDF is $40

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's RPGNow 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!  ;)

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 adventure seeds and encounter tables.-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.

Kickstarter - Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook 3rd Printing

Frog God Games has kicked off the 3rd printing of the Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook. Now, if you are a regular reader of The Tavern, you know my love of all things Swords & Wizardry. If I have a bias, it is solidly here. I still have my softcover 1st printing and multiple copies of the 2nd printing in HC. Heck ,The Tavern has distributed over 5,000 copies of S&W Complete 2nd printing in PDF. That should give an indication of my love of S&W.

The 3rd printing follows the 2nd printing fairly closely. New cover art, new interior art and the sample of play has undergone some editing, but everything else is as Matt Finch wrote it. It may have new art and a new layout, but the words are still Matt's.

After a few hours being live it's over halfway funded. Not too shabby.

It's $35 plus shipping for the HC. The PDF will be available as PWYW.

Disclaimer: I am a huge fan of Swords & Wizardry and Frog God Games. I've worked on the condensed rules (coming shortly, hopefully) known as Swords & Wizardry Light. Its no secret that Stacey D, the Project Manager on the 3rd Printing of S&W Complete and I have little affection for each other. The interior art and layout were done by a team she assembled, which includes well respected OSR artists such as Gennifer Bone. I think the interior art choices were superb.

Kickstarter - Knights of the Dinner Table - KODT Chibi Fantasy Miniatures (Impact Miniatures)

I'm a long time fan of the Knights of the Dinner Table going all the way back to Shadis Magazine. Yes, I'm showing my age? So what! heh

So when Tom Anders of Impact Miniatures told me he was going to be producing licensed Knights of the Dinner Table Chibi Gaming Miniatures, you know I was interested.

Here's the story behind the project, as relayed to me by Tom himself and posted on the KS page:

Because of my love for KODT, I was an eager backer of the KODT: LAS KickStarter. I have been a bit horrified to see Jolly Blackburn's wonderful IP left in the dust of this KickStarter gone off the tracks. This upset me for several reasons. 1) Jolly is a great individual and known benefactor of the gaming community. 2) KickStarter is a major investment tool of my company and when one goes badly in the fantasy/gaming realm it means my possible future backers might not want to back another KickStarter and 3) The Creator has been regularly abusing the backers. 

As a result of all this ... I've done what I could to help. I've helped get data on the backers to assist verifying claims by the Creator. When it was revealed he had sold backer rewards to a retail outlet instead of sending them to the backers, I sent free product to the retail outlet that they could sell to cover the cost of shipping those items as rewards to the backers who should have received them. 

During all of this, I mentioned to Jolly in July 2015 that I would love to run a KickStarter with the KODT IP so that I could give him what I believe would be a very positive experience with a KickStarter of his licensed IP. Jolly let me know he was not against trying another KODT KickStarter with the focus on making miniatures for the KODT characters. This led to a year of conversations about what would the design of the miniatures would be, art proof of concepts for approval and even a Kenzer & Co employee sucking on a prototype model at Gen Con 2016 to try and figure out what chemicals were in the model when Jolly wondered. All events leading to a license contract signed on September 26, 2016 to bring you this project!

Now, we all know who the unnamed project creator is. I won't sully this KS by mentioning his name.

The sweet spot of the KODT Chibi Fantasy Miniatures KS is $24, which gets you the original 5 characters Unless you want more, cause sometimes more is better ;) If you back in the first 24 hours (it just launched this morning) you get 2 add on minis for free. What's your selection?

I'm in for $24 :)

Mini Review - Caverns and Creatures - Book 1 (RPG Fiction)

Caverns and Creatures: Volume I (Books 1 - 4) (This is a link to the book at Amazon - Print / Audible / Kindle format - the book and most of the series are free in Kindle format if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited)

Critical Failures (Caverns and Creatures Book 1) (Book 1 only - 99 cents in Kindle format)

See what it says on the faux cover of Caverns and Creatures Volume 1? Swords. Sorcery. Dick Jokes.

Well, it delivers on all three.

I'm trying to think of what series of books I could compare this to. I guess Joel Rosenberg's Guardians of the Flame, but without the harsh reality and with the harsh dick jokes.

I must admit, reading this in bed I woke Rach up a number of times with my chortling, snorting and outright giggling. I finished the first book and I'm about a third of the way through the second. I assume the jokes will go stale at some point but there are a ton of books in the series.

The writing is special, but the situations and the jokes are.

And the vast majority are free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

It's a fast, enjoyable read and it's pretty obvious the characters were playing D&D before it all goes south on them.

From the blurb:

Tim and his friends find out the hard way that you shouldn't question the game master, and you shouldn't make fun of his cape. 

One minute, they're drinking away the dreariness of their lives, escaping into a fantasy game and laughing their asses off. The next minute, they're in a horse-drawn cart surrounded by soldiers pointing crossbows at them.  

Tim now has the voice and physique of a prepubescent girl. Dave finds that while he lost a foot or two in height, he somehow acquired a suit of armor and a badass beard. Julian's ears have grown ridiculously long and pointy. And Cooper... well Cooper has gotten himself a set of tusks, a pair of clawed hands, and a bad case of the shits. He also finds that he's carrying a bag with a human head in it - a head that he had chopped off when they were still just playing a game. 

Shit just got real, and if they want to survive, these four friends are going to have to tap into some baser instincts they didn't even know existed in their fast-food and pizza delivery world. 

It's fight, flight, or try to convince the people who are trying to kill them that they don't really exist. 

Meanwhile, a sadistic game master sits back in the real world eating their fried chicken.

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

Bringing the Old Group Back to Life - Two Great Games, One Seamless Campaign - DCC RPG adventures and S&W Complete rules

My old gaming group, the one formed in the early 80s when we were in High School, continued in one form or another through college and gamed weekly right through the night before my rookie assignment to the South Bronx, wants to get back to gaming.

Sure, we've done the Everquest, Anarchy Online, Conan Online, Star Wars Galaxies, EverQuest 2 and myriad other MMORPGs together since then, but getting them to sit down for tabletop roleplaying has not been in the cards. Not until now that is.

I've been giving away RPGs every spring when we gather together for out yearly meet, eat and drink and there is always talk about playing but never a consensus. Which is why I was surprised that last month I was getting emails about not "if" we will game again, but "when."

Well, that when is soon. We'll be using Roll20 (as 2 members of out group are in Texas) and the Swords & Wizardry Complete rules. They are close enough to the AD&D that everyone used to play to feel familiar without bogging down in the AD&D rules we used to argue about and then ignore (weapon speed I'm talking to you!)

I gave them the option of campaign play or episodic and they have opted for episodic, at least initially. Which of course made me think about the DCC RPG adventures, which simply scream episodic play.

So, I'm tossing this out to my readers. What DCC RPG Adventures should I put my soon to be resurrected gaming group through? Remember, I'll be using the S&W Complete rules, but I've converted DCC RPG adventures for use with S&W Complete in the past, mostly on the fly and it works fine.

The Not so Ugly Truth as to Why There are Few Negative Reviews in the Gaming Community

There was a discussion on social media this past weekend about honest and accurate product reviews for RPG products, whether affiliate links muddy the waters and how much disclosure is needed regarding relationships and such. Opinions ranged across the board. One thing is certain though - the RPG Hobby / Community / Industry does not have professional reviewers.

Before anyone gets bent out of shape, let me explain what I mean. Unlike the film industry, we don't have full time (or part time), paid for by a third party (media / news outlet) reviewers / critics. Heck, we have few full time creators in the RPG industry. Most folks that create do so on the side - they have "real jobs" that pay the rent, put food on the table and hopefully offer health benefits.

Our "reviewers" are pretty much the same. They review on their blog, podcast or YouTube channel on their own time. Nobody pays them to review products (that's where affiliate links come in - that's fodder for another post).

So, what does all this have to do with a noticeable lack of negative product reviews?

Simple. There are basically two ways for a potential reviewer to obtain a product for review. The first is to buy it themselves and the second is to be comped / gifted a copy to review, usually from the distributor (OBS / OGS) or from the publisher / creator themselves.

If I'm going to buy something for review purposes, I'm going to pick something that I have high expectations of. The publisher / creator will have a history of releasing top notch work. It's likely to be something I could see myself using in my own campaign.

What I've done here is I've filtered the results of the potential review pool. I am, most likely, going to have a product that will have a positive review.

What about review copies? If you are a reviewer for OBS, you likely get numerous emails each day containing links to comp copies of products to review:

Now, how many of those will I actually download and review? Very few. One in a hundred, maybe. It really has to strike my interest to want to grab a copy and review it, even if it's free.

Why?

Because its no fun reading crap and generally speaking, its even less fun writing a review about crap. So I self filter, again. Looking mostly for OSR releases and even then, looking for something that I may actually use at my table.

Products aren't chosen for review by a random lot, at least not by me. They are chosen based upon my interests.

If they were random, I'm sure there would be a spike in negative reviews. Come to think of it, if they were random I'd be less likely to do them at all. As stated earlier, writing reviews of RPG products generally isn't a paying gig. Affiliate links to the products reviewed aren't just about the immediate sale but the long tail and later sales. I don't post reviews hoping to sell copies at an online store. I do hope that folks will be interested enough to check out the online store and maybe make a purchase down the line that suits their interests.

I do post some negative reviews, but that isn't by design. I just happen to grab the occasional product that, despite my best hopes, isn't up to par.

As stated, reviewers generally are filtering what they will review, not how they will review it. That initial filter does keep the number of negative reviews in check.

Kickstarter - Lands of Lunacy - A tabletop RPG Setting Guide for 1E or 5E

Lands of Lunacy - A tabletop RPG Setting Guide for 1E or 5E is from +Lloyd Metcalf 's Fail Squad Games. Lloyd has produced 6 prior RPG related Kickstarters and I've backed them all. Yes, I am a happy backer.

So, what actually is Lands of Lunacy?

The Lands of Lunacy setting, a place created from chaos and consisting of limitless dimensions connected to limitless planes.   

Herein, domineering lords rule domains interconnected by webs of lunar gates surrounded by the utter madness of the Chaos Void. The price of entry may be your sanity, or even your life. The rewards are immeasurable, and every domain brings new possibilities, rewards, and challenges.  

You can choose between 1e and 5e (care to guess what I'm choosing?)

My only question is do I back high enough for a piece of original art from Lloyd? Decisions, decisions.

$5 for the PDF / $14 for the Print + PDF (or $10 for Print w/o the PDF)

Or for $29 you can get Print + PDF + Stone of Power:

In the sample adventure included, the key magical item of the quest is a mystical Stone of Order. Pyramid stone of unknown power. 

You can get a Stone of order with your adventure and setting guide if you act fast (Limited Quantities). You not only bring the lunacy to the table.... but the actual magical item from the quest at hand!!

Is it a gimmick? Sure. Is it cool? Yes.

In Print - The Frost Fang Expedition (DCC) - Purchased with Review Forthcoming

Over the last couple of days I've noticed I've sold (via my RPGNow affiliate links) a number of copies of The Frost Fang Expedition (DCC) by Purple Sorcerer. If you don't know who Purple Sorcerer is, go now. We'll be here when you return.

Cool stuff, right? Anyhow, The Frost Fang Expedition is also current the #1 best seller on RPGNow. Not too shabby, right?

I've really enjoyed everything +Jon Marr / Purple Sorcerer Games has published for the DCC RPG, so this one was a no brainer. It was purchased using the affiliate monies raised by The Tavern thanks to readers like you. Who will I be beholden to when I do the review?

You. Actually, I'm always beholden to you, my readers and my community. This time though, the item being reviewed has been purchased by you.

As an aside, it claims to be readily adaptable to "any old school system". As I will shortly be kicking off a Swords & Wizardry Complete campaign for my old high school and college group using Roll20, this just may be their ticket to return to gaming. We'll certainly be putting the claim to the test.

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's RPGNow 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!  ;)

The Frost Fang Expedition challenges PCs to reach the top of a frozen and treacherous peak on a mission of discovery: why have huge chunks of a mysterious sorcerer’s floating castle begun raining down on the once quiet village of Neverthawes? The quest for answers will uncover hidden motives, fearsome foes, and deadly environments galore! 

72 digest-sized pages of level one Dungeon Crawl Classics carnage! 

Easily adaptable to any old school system. 

An 'instant action' adventure with tips to play in a single 4-hour session (perfect for cons or demos), but with enough backstory for extended campaign play. 

Includes a 40 page appendix PDF containing judging tips, patron sheets, a host of paper miniatures, and easily printable versions of every map and image in the adventure (to be used as handouts or judge's aids). 

From the author of the best-selling Nebin Pendlebrook's Perilous Pantry (including tips on how to link the two adventures).

Kickstarter - Salt in Wounds Tabletop Setting (Tarrasque tastes like Chicken)

Yes, in the background that is dinner. Have a few kabobs ;)

Numerous readers sent me links to the Salt in Wounds Tabletop Setting for 5th Edition & Pathfinder Kickstarter. Most emails started with something akin to "Have you seen this shit?!?" followed by "its either a great concept or..." where "or" led to many other varied and sometimes colorful descriptors.

What is Salt in Wounds exactly?

Salt in Wounds is a fictional city; a detail-rich dark fantasy setting designed specifically for tabletop roleplaying games (although it can be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates intricate works of imagination). More specifically, Salt in Wounds is a city whose culture, economy, and existence is beholden to the reality of the giant, regenerating kaiju called the ‘Tarrasque’ which is imprisoned within the city center so it can be butchered over and over again. 

There are few monsters in role playing games more iconic than the Tarrasque: the ‘end game’ boss that’s been terrorizing high level characters (and delighting players) for decades. The Salt in Wounds setting takes the beast in an entirely new direction: as the perpetually slaughtered ‘natural’ resource that has been feeding the population & fueling economy of the sprawling metropolis of Salt in Wounds for the last two centuries.

Yep, Salt in Wounds is a city that has gone green... or something like it.

I love the art sampled above. Shit, I'd like a print of it. I just don't know if the project has much appeal to me.

Here's the scary thing. Its smashing through stretch goals that add content like a Tarrasque through a 1st level party.

As for Risks and challenges:

There’s always risks associated with supporting a Kickstarter campaign, but for this campaign the risks are minimal. 90% of the initial descriptive text has already been written/collected and much of it has been published on the weekly Salt in Wounds blog (that hasn’t missed a single scheduled update). There is still plenty to do: some rewrites/expansions, lots of game design, editing, and otherwise wrangling art and maps and so on. But J.M. Perkins has been publishing high quality supplements like this for years, and has run two previous kickstarters that delivered on time (for The Adequate Commoner and CHEMO: How I Learned to Kill via his brother’s account). We should point out that page counts are only a ROUGH ESTIMATES (subject to change given editing and stretch goals).

Personally, I'd be afraid of stretch goal content spinning out of control.

Now, something else that I noticed and I really don't know what it means, if anything, but there are currently 356 backers of this very unique setting with multiple stretch goals behind it, but there's only 16 comments on the KS page from 11 individuals including the project creator. The lack of activity just seems... odd. I mean, I had nearly half as many people email me about Salt in Wounds as are actively talking about the project on it's page.