Frog God Games 35% Off Sale

Yep, Frog God Games has hit its 7th Anniversary and they are running a 35% off sale. My suggestions? Lost City of Baracus and Bard's Gate for Swords & Wizardry, but that's just me ;)

(Sure, they have stuff in Pathfinder and 5e flavors too)

Save 35% on all orders! (that's 5% for every year we've been in business)

Seven years ago today, Greg Vaughan, Charles Wright, Rick Sardinha and I formed Frog God Games out of the ashes of Necromancer Games. 

Our intent was to sell enough pdf books to print a single book, now known as the Slumbering Tsar Saga. 

Oops, we did a few more books. 

After 18 years in the business and 7 of those in our current incarnation, I am humbled and honored by the support we have gotten from our friends and fans. 

As we move ahead, on the day of our 7th anniversary as FGG, I can say that I am proud to lead on of the most talented teams of game designers, artists and cartographers in our industry. 

Look for big things coming soon (one in about 4 hours) over the next few years.
Bill 

Go to www.froggodgames.com and use coupon code ANNIV7 at checkout.

Sale ends April 7, 2017

Tavern Weekend Update for April 1st, 2017 - Downloads, Signups and Assorted Minutiae

Volume 2 of Pocket Creatures has 56 downloads since Thursday night, which is faster than Volume 1, but its only sitting in 48th place for Hottest Small Press at RPGNow. Still trying to figure out how that all works but I must say, it's a wonderful feeling to see so many copies download this quickly.

Volume 1 of Pocket Creatures is sitting at 36th place with 127 downloads. Volume 3 is probably two weeks out as I start learning InDesign.

We have a half dozen people signed up at the Swords & Wizardry Slack Community for those looking to contribute to Torchlight, the Official Swords & Wizardry Magazine, from Light to Complete. We are looking to compensate contributors with a percentage of sales at OBS (hopefully I'll have that feature unlocked at RPGNow when we go live) No one is getting rich in the OSR but everyone should be paid for their work. Most of the art we'll be using is stock art but we are considering selling some ads (no more than 10% of the total page count per issue) to commission original art as needed.

Still working on the Torchlight guidelines (uncle duties commenced today and I should be running a game tonight, so we'll work on getting that hashed out tomorrow.) One thing to note is that creatures / characters / adventures will be dual stated for Light and Complete flavors of Swords & Wizardry, in order to give the greatest compatibility not just for S&W but other OSR systems as well.

Swords & Wizardry Continual Light will be releasing in PDF on April 22nd - three weeks from today, priced at PWYW. Layout by the amazingly talented +Zach Glazar . It will be followed later this year by a print run funded by Frog God Games. Print copies will be distributed for free. SWCL covers 7 levels of play, optional classes, new spells, new monsters, magic items - a complete game in 16 pages (current layout - subject to change but not by much ;)

There's more in the works (I need to put Beneath the Battered Dwarf Tavern into a PWYW PDF) that we'll post more on as we get closer ;)

DCC Lankhmar releases in PDF Just 2 Bucks Each at RPGNow

Two bucks a piece for the Goodman Games DCC Lankhmar releases? If I didn't already have them in print I'd be all over this ;)

DCC Lankhmar: Masks of Lankhmar - A level 1 adventure for DCC RPG - A heist gone wrong brings an unlikely group of thieves together and sets off a search for forgotten treasures hidden in the City of the Black Toga! Can our heroes of questionable moral character survive the twisting chase that leads through the Plaza of Dark Delights, crosses paths with Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, and delves into one of the oddest tenements in Lankhmar? Not if the Thieves’ Guild has their way!

DCC Lankhmar: Through Ningauble's Cave - Tread in the footsteps of the legendary Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser! - Through Ningauble’s Cave is the first release in the Dungeon Crawl Classics line of Lankhmar supplements. As we build toward a large boxed set, this “first-look” sourcebook provides DCC RPG judges with all the information needed to journey to the world of Nehwon, home to Lankhmar, the fabled City of the Black Toga. - Through Ningauble’s Gate details the secrets of Ningauble of the Seven Eyes. It includes rules for using him as a patron, as well as information on his fantastic cave that touches multiple worlds. With the material in this book, your players can journey to Nehwon…or have Nehwon come to your campaign world!

DCC Lankhmar: Patrons of Lankhmar - From beneath the Outer Ocean, from out of the depths of the Great Salt Marsh, and from the odd fanes of the Street of the Gods, they come: the Patrons of Lankhmar! With the information contained in this tome, a judge can introduce such formidable beings as the Sea King, Mog the Spider God, Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, and even Death himself into any DCC RPG campaign setting. - This early look at the upcoming Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar line introduces a half-dozen supernatural powers and eerie entities for use in your DCC RPG or Lankhmar campaign. Each power’s entry includes details on the entity and their role in Nehwon, tables for invoking that power’s aid, corruption charts for when things go wrong, and new spellburn possibilities. Are you ready to serve the Patrons of Lankhmar?

5% of your purchases at RPGNow go to support The Tavern/

Kickstarter - DCC Lankmar

I've said it before and I'll say it again, although I support every DCC RPG Kickstarter, I do not play the system very much. I do, however, use the various adventures with the Swords & Wizardry rules, as good adventures transcend system.

There. I've said it. That all being said, having played DCC Lankmar at NTRPG Con with +Doug Kovacs , I'm damn tempted to give it a try with the system it was written for. It simply played that well.

You can back for the boxed set for as little as 50 bucks, but if you want the stretch goals that won't fit in the box you'll need to pony up 100. I'm in at 50 for now, but that may chance in the near future.

Did I mention the KS has already hit its second stretch goal and is knocking on its third?

Bundle of Holding - Advanced Fighting Fantasy

I've looked at Advanced Fighting Fantasy before before but never pulled the trigger. Now, I'm not saying I'd use the system, but I wonder how convertible the adventures would be to Swords & Wizardry.

In any case, $7.95 is certainly a fair buy in. Its about 20 bucks for the Bonus Collection. Very tempting.

Pocket Creatures Volume 2 is Live on RPGNow - PWYW

Yep, Pocket Creatures Volume 2 is now live on RPGNow. I'm very excited.

Pocket Creatures Volume 1 has been downloaded 113 times in a week and a half. That's in addition to the 50+ copies downloaded off the Dropbox link.

Did I mention we gave away over 40 copies each of Pocket Creatures Volumes 1 and 2 in print at Gary Con?

I'm dancing a happy dance :)

Torchlight Magazine - A Place for Slackers ;)

As I work on the writers' guidelines and such for Torchlight I wanted to mention something real quick. We'll be using an app called Slack for communication with contributors, whether its for Torchlight or with third parties that are working on independent Swords & Wizardry Light / Continual Light projects and want a link to myself and others to bounce questions / preview work / etc.

We will be using the free version of Slack, which I happen to think is pretty damn awesome.

It has Android and IOS apps as well as an app that runs on your browser, so we are well covered.

If you are a creative and wish to join the SWLight Slack Community, email me over at tenkarsDOTtavern at gmail. I'll get an invite to you within 24 hours.

RPGNow Deal of the Day - 2016 Dodecahedron Cartographic Review (Dyson Logos)

If you play RPGs, especially fantasy RPGs, you need the 2016 Dodecahedron Cartographic Review. I'm serious. Actually, you need just about all the maps that +Dyson Logos produces. They are, quite simply, amazing art that doubles as RPG maps.

This just released last week so this is fresh AND on sale! Normally $8.50 on sale for $4.25

From the blurb:

The 2016 Dodecahedron Cartographic Review is a 107-page curated collection of most of the maps and descriptions thereof that appeared on Dyson's Dodecahedron throughout 2016. Designed to be a letter-sized spiral bound book, this digital edition also includes a second version of the book where many of the maps have been resized (larger) to better fit the page once all the text has been removed.

Like the 2014 and 2015 Cartographic Reviews, this volume contains almost all the maps published to the website in 2016 except for one megadungeon map that is still incomplete at the time of publication. The PDF edition of these maps is provided as a convenience for readers of the blog and fans of RPG cartography and contains no exclusive content - everything in this PDF can be hunted down on the Dyson's Dodecahedron blog and downloaded at high resolution. What this collection gives you, however, is that material collected in one place, sequenced, and annotated from the notes on the blog.

5% of purchases made through The Tavern's affiliate links helps to fund The Tavern.

Kickstarter - Trinity of Awesome Returns! (Multiple Genre Adventure Collection)

For those following along at home, +Venger Satanis and I had a very nice breakfast and long talk at Gary Con. Surprisingly enough, or maybe not surprising at all, we have far more in common than we do differences. After all, gaming is the glue that binds us, one and all, as a community.

V's latest KS is Trinity of Awesome Returns! For as little as 7 bucks, you get three adventures in PDF format - "one eldritch science-fantasy scenario (Crimson Dragon Slayer), one retro sleazy sci-fi scenario (Alpha Blue), and one pulp / investigative horror scenario (The Outer Presence)."

If V has a strength, it is most certainly adventure writing and art choice. His art may occasionally disgust or offend, but the quality is never less than top notch.

I convert other RPG ruleset adventures on the fly to Swords & Wizardry and this shouldn't be any more difficult, which isn't difficult at all.

About 12 hours left on the KS. Blame post con sleep recovery for the delay in me getting to this posting ;)

Reminder - Tavern Chat Tonight - 9 PM Eastern - Post Gary Con Recap

Yep, that's me at Gary Con, at the resort that used to be a Playboy resort. Woot!

I've got some Swords & Wizardry news to share with the peanut gallery before putting it into blog post form, so if you want to get some info and other GC updates, drop into Tavern Chat tonight.

Sadly, this is NOT the shirt I was wearing when the cops from Seattle and Los Angeles "kidnapped" me for drinks. Ah well ;)

Tavern Chat - 9 PM Tonight, Eastern Time - Chat Box on the right side of the page.

ConManKen Wants to Make YOU a TV Host

What a fucktard! Wait, is that even a word?

Somehow #ConManKen can hook you up with a full time job hosting a geek show on TV? Oh wait - that's a "maybe"

If this were true Ken would find a way to make money from it. As I'm sure he is asking for money to provide the application info, I guess he has found his latest money making scheme.

Classic Kenny. How many typos?

Hey Ken, how's Marcus doing?

Gygax Memorial Fund and the Gail C. Gygax Revocable Trust

It's frustrating when members of our community mix apples and oranges freely. The differences between the Gygax Memorial Fund and the Gail C. Gygax Revocable Trust couldn't be huger, but the main point is - they are completely separate and independent entities even if the one calling the shots behind both of them is the same person.

The Gygax Memorial Fund Inc "is a public charity non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are fully deductible to the extent allowed by law. The fund's tax identification number is 30-0580070." That's a mouthful but it establishes it as a public charity recognized by the US government and subject to Wisconsin laws.

What actually defines section 501(c)(3)?

Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or International Amateur Sports Competition, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals Organizations.

How does a memorial fall under this section? It's an interesting solution that was used for this.

The specific objectives and tax exempt purpose of this 501(C)(3) organization shall be:

• To commission and place a memorial in a public park of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to honor Gary Gygax by commemoration of literary achievement in the creation of Dungeons & Dragons and other published works
• To maintain this memorial in perpetuity
• To sponsor informational events open to the public which focus on his work
• To engage in other activities related to educating the public about his achievement
• And to establish a scholarship program in his name for students with a demonstrated need for assistance to study at an accredited college or university.

Notice those last two bullets? That firmly establishes and defines the Gygax Memorial Fund as a 501(c)(3) for IRS purposes. It would be interesting to see the monies spent on those last two bullet points as I have heard little if any discussion of efforts to fulfill those objectives. The scholarship program should have been an easy one to kick off.

The Gail C. Gygax Revocable Trust is a strange beast, but the very nature of Revocable Trusts in the State of Wisconsin is strange:

What is a revocable living trust? 

A trust is a written document that names someone to be responsible for managing property for the benefit of others. A revocable living trust (also called a "living trust" or "revocable trust") is one type of trust. 

It's a "living" trust because you create it while you're alive. It's "revocable" because, as long as you're mentally competent, you can change or end the trust at any time, for any reason. You need no one's permission to do so unless you have created a joint trust with your spouse. In Wisconsin, a trust is revocable unless it specifically states it is irrevocable in the trust document. Usually a living revocable trust becomes irrevocable (not open to changes) when you die. 

A trust involves three parties: 

The settlor or grantor is you, the person who creates the trust. 

The trustee is the person who agrees to accept your property and manage it as the trust agreement directs. You can name more than one trustee, thus creating co-trustees who must act together. Usually you are the trustee during your lifetime. 

The beneficiaries are those who will receive the income from the property in the trust and, with your direction, the property itself.

It is the Trust, not the Fund, that controls Gary's IP. While the Fund is subject to public scrutiny, the Trust is not. Do NOT confuse the two. Gary's IP is not linked to the memorial and it never has been. While the Trust could, in theory, donate money to the Fund, the Fund could not give monies to the Trust.

Is the Gygax Memorial Fund still Funded? Where is the Audit?

I woke up to phone calls and private messages in regards to +Tim Kask  's post on Facebook. "What do you know? What can you tell us? who are the sources?"

Well, I spoke with Tim a little while ago and he revealed to me, in confidence, one of his sources and exactly what was said. His source is certainly legit and honest, but would only have direct knowledge if Gail divulged directly or if the source had access to "the books". While the first is certainly a possibly the second is unlikely - hell, I'm still waiting on the Magical Mystery Audit that was promised last April.

If Gail would like to communicate with me directly to explain this current supposition I am all ears. She most certainly knows how to find me, but I suspect she will put her head in the sand as is her standard operating procedure.

Alex Gygax is more than welcome to communicate with me. I met him on Saturday night at the hotel bar (I am fairly sure he did not initially know who I was and if he did, avoid playing poker with him ;) Alex seems genuinely interested in the Gygax Memorial and the Gygax Memorial Fund and ensuring it bears fruit. At the very least, he should be taking over communications for the Fund, as he seems to have both the energy and the interest to do so effectively.

Questions that are left unanswered often breed their own answers. This issue could be easily put to bed if Gail were to open the books. I'd be willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement to view said records and be able to say "all the monies are accounted for" or "there is a discrepancy" with no further details divulged. I don't think such a legal step is necessary, but with lack of public disclosure being the Fund's standard operating procedure, I figured I'd offer a potential solution to finding the truth the community so desperately desires.

As I've stated before, the Fund and the Trust are two entirely separate entities. I'll do a follow up post to explain this in full, but for now, remember the Fund is just the Memorial, not the IP.

Home From Gary Con - The Good Lord Works in Mysterious Ways - Or Was it Just Fate?

So, I left Lake Geneva this morning. Over breakfast I noticed my flight was going to be delayed a half hour, so when Uber arrived and asked if I wanted the scenic tour for a 5 minute longer trip, I said yes. My driver was a retired pilot from SouthWest Airlines - very interesting trip.

I get to the airport and breeze through security. Get to my gate, and notice my plane is now running an hour late. Sigh.

Here an announcement that seemed to indicate my flight was changing gates. "What a PITA!"

Get to the new gate and I was wrong. Its the previous flight to NYC, also delayed, with seats available. They were rebooking people to the flight that was leaving NOW! Woot!

Get on the plane, find my seat and sit down next to a young woman who asked me "Did you enjoy the Con?"

Yep. I had to go to Gary Con, have my flight delayed and my departure moved up, to find an RPG player from Brooklyn that also reads The Tavern. Not even star struck - I have +Harley Stroh for that ;)

Needless to say the flight was over before I knew it. Gave out seven copies of Swords & Wizardry Light as we disembarked. Rach and I should be gaming in a few weeks in Brooklyn at the Hinterlands Bar.

See, +Bill Webb ? I even evangelize 15,000 feet in the air ;)

Gary Con - Gygax House

Gary Con wrapped up today. I'll be giving some observations and recaps throughout the coming week.

Tonight we did a "drive-by" of the old Gygax House. It was a bit foggy. so maybe that's where we got the halo effect on the left side of the page. Interesting in any case.

Spent the midnight hours last night  drinking with a handful of gamer cops from Seattle and Los Angeles. Never would have expected to find them, or should I say have them find me. +Zach Glazar and +Michael Badolato thought #ConManKen had hired some hitmen to take me out as I was "borrowed" for a few minutes. Damn good time had by all.