Manhattan Mini Con III - We played Swords & Wizardry Continual Light

This afternoon Rach and I played in a session of Swords & Wizardry Continual Light run by +Denis McCarthy at the Manhattan Mini Con III. Its the first time I've actually played (not run) SWL / SWCL.

I had a blast. It was great to see Rach really getting into her character and grasping the rules. Ranger was a good choice for her. She likes to hit things - in game ;)

It was great to see faces I hadn't seen in a bit (Miguel & Noah), put a face to a person I've gotten to know online (Denis) and meet a new face (damn but we need name tags - doh)

We played in Denis' soon to be released for SWL / SWCL Beneath the Fallen Tower scenario. We barely scratched the surface in the session of play but Denis let us peek behind the screen afterwards. There is a whole lot of adventuring for a party in this package. I'm going to guess at least 2 to 3 sessions, but with the hooks and setting bits you could build a whole campaign around it. Denis should have a hit here.

I really don't want to give away any spoilers. It was a quest to find a missing son (not a child - though we found a child - but not child sized) with enough hooks and shiny parts we could have caused trouble for many levels. Heck, I even played a combat mage (15s in Strength and Dexterity)

Oh, and as I told Rach over dinner tonight. Its recharged my batteries. Woot!

Kickstarter - ITHERVERSE Fantasy Turn-Based Game / D&D 5e RPG Play-By-Post (Let me Count the Ways)

Alright, what could be wrong with the ITHERVERSE Fantasy Turn-Based Game / D&D 5e RPG Play-By-Post Kickstarter besides the horrid title? Let me count the ways...

1 - The Kickstarter page is a word for word transcription of the 7 minute video. Best part of the video? The first 4 seconds of audio.

2 - This is apparently going to be a subscription service. 15 bucks gets you into the "Closed" Beta, but after the Beta, you'll have to pay.

3 - How much with the service be? Doesn't say. But first level will be free, so never level up and you can play forever. If you wanted to.

4 - This quote irks me, as I don't think it refers to many - if any - table top RPGs: "Does your current game hold you back, limiting your creative use of the environment, such as swinging from chandeliers, parkoring out of danger and being heroic? Well, not here. Just like any other epic story-telling RPG, you are integral to making up your story and your character attempting anything you can think of. "

5 - Yeah. PVP. So, its really being targeted at MMORPGers. Therefore the subscription. Oh, and billing it as "the fantasy turn-based-game". Which is pretty much ALL TTRPGs.

6 - Can't you already do this for free? Aren't there forums dedicated to Play by Post?

7 - Prior failure -

8 - Backed all of 4 projects - all early 2017 - 3 of 4 failed to fund.

9 - "Look, I already own ITHERVERSE.com! I need to USE it!"

10 - "The risks are minimal" Damn skippy they are. I doubt this will fund either...

Some folks think the Kickstarter cash cow hasn't been beaten to death. It has. Sure, the new KS is only asking for 1k, but the fact remains that nothing new is being offered.

Goodman Games 2018 Mystery Grab Bag - $25 and $50

2017 was the first holiday season in years where I didn't grab one of the mystery grab bags offered by the various OSR publishers. I pretty much hda what I needed. Or so I thought...

Then Goodman Games had to announce their 2018 Grab Bag. Damn it! I nearly escaped! heh

25 bucks gets you a 1" deep box of random goodness. 50 bucks gets you 3" deep - about 8 pounds. Cost is 9 bucks to ship the 50 pound box to New York. Don't ask how I know ;)

Product Description

Grab bags are back! Once every couple years we give fans the chance to get a giant box of Goodman goodness at a great price. The catch? We pick what goes in the box! 

This offer is only available to customers in the USA. Sorry international folks, but shipping this many pounds of books overseas is cost-prohibitive! 

This year we are offering two sizes, the 1” deep box and the huge 3” deep tab-lock boxes. The 1” box is $25 and the 3” box is $50. We will stuff the box full of books and send it your way. Each small grab bag holds approximately 2.5 pounds of books, and each large grab bag holds approximately 8 pounds of books. Which books will you get? We guarantee no duplicates in the box, and that all contents are in English. Otherwise, it can be anything from any of our product lines: Dungeon Crawl Classics, Age of Cthulhu, Xcrawl, Judges Guild, Metamorphosis Alpha, Fifth Edition Fantasy, systems neutral, maybe even older 3E or 4E titles. Only the gods themselves know for sure! 

There is a new grab bag feature this year: 

We may include a T-shirt as well! When you place your order, tell us your T-shirt size in the comments field. If the stars align, you may get a T-shirt in your size along with the rest of the grab bag contents.

Talislanta Arrived at RPGNow - Free PDFs - Low Cost HC - No F'n Elves!

Thanks go out to The Taverners. I received multiple notifications that some Talislantian goodness had arrived at RPGNow.

There are six titles available. All Talislantian are free in PDF and reasonably priced in Hardcover (I'm guessing at or near cost)











Now all we need is Skyrealms of Jorune to go free and both weird settings of my teenage years (and well remembered for their ads in Dragon Magazine) would be complete....

That's an affiliate link above. Feel free to just grab the free PDFs. I am, and I'll probably grab the PODs later...

Troll Lords Sale at RPGNow - 30% off (Stacks with Current RPGNow Sale where Applicable)

Troll Lords is having a 3 days sale on their PDFs at RPGNow - 30% off everything, and if its already on sale with the current New Year, New Game promotion at RPGNow it comes out to be just over a 50% discount.

Even better for the bargain hunters, Troll Lords has a series of titles that are normally marked down to $1.99 - it includes some classic C&C adventures. They come out to be $1.39 on sale.

Those are affiliate links above. Keep the lights on and the beers cold at The Tavern ;)

Kickstarter - Dice Roll Dungeons — Instant Encounters for DND & Pathfinder

I'm on the fence about the Dice Roll Dungeons — Instant Encounters for DND & Pathfinder.

From what I gather, its fairly systemless, which makes it useful for OST systems too.

I'm just not quite sure what it is. A sample page would go far, but there isnt one.

Here's what it says it is:

Dice Roll Dungeons is a collection of 20 different encounter scenarios, designed to work with D&D, Pathfinder, or any other fantasy-based RPG! Dice Roll Dungeons turns the act of detailing your encounters into a game of dice; it provides a fun and easy framework for your encounters, so you can generate ideas instantly and pick and choose from all of your favourite results!

You start by gathering your favourite set of dice and rolling your trusty d20! The result of your twenty-sided dice roll will give you your DUNGEON SETTING, corresponding to what you rolled. From there, you flip to the chapter of the book that coincides with your result, and you will be given an overview of the location, lore about the dungeon itself, and other interesting sidenotes about potential hazards and inhabitants. After that, you can further customize the dungeon by rolling other dice on ADVENTURE HOOKS, the BOSS FIGHT of the dungeon, a variety of ENEMIES and DANGERS, and, of course, totally customized TREASURE! 

So, I know what it says but it doesn't really says what it is. Eh, maybe I'm overthinking it.

Buy in is 8 bucks American. I'll see where it goes. Print options are forthcoming. Its funded with nearly 500 backers. 

Kickstarter - Dungeon Delve #1: Tower of the Black Sorcerers (OSR Adventure)

I'm pretty big on backing OSR themed Kickstarters. I like to back the community I'm a part of and want to see creators, new and old succeed. The Dungeon Delve #1: Tower of the Black Sorcerers looks to be an excellent OSR Kickstarter, with a bunch of pluses and a huge potential warning sign.

Let me explain.

Plusses:

• The art team is amazing: Bradley K. McDevitt, Ryan Jack Allred, Matthew Ray, and Russ Nicholson
• Removable cardstock cover printed in color.
• A cut-away map of the tower, a map of the tower levels, and a dungeon map printed in classic dungeon blue in the inside cover.
• Its written for 1e
• Its written, edited, laid out and all art is accounted for.

Minus:

• Shipping for the physical copy is apparently included in the $20 price. Looks to ship anywhere. Enough international backers can make this a monetary loss. 

Its funded and I'm currently in for 20 bucks.

Edit: "Tower of the Black Sorcerers" is an adventure for 5 to 7 characters of intermediate levels 5 to 8. "

Tavern Chat Tonight - 9 PM Eastern - How Should we Celebrate Swords & Wizardry Continual Light going Silver? :)

Today is Wednesday and that means Tonight is Tavern Chat at 9 PM Eastern. Voice Chat. Text Chat. Chat chat :)

As a side note, I noticed earlier today that Swords & Wizardry Continual Light (currently on sale for $1.88 in PDF) hit Silver status on RPGNow. My God, but this is both amazing and humbling. Hopefully we can continue the success with later releases. What shall we do to celebrate?

Here's the link for tonight's Tavern Chat:

https://discord.gg/fReGmuD

New Year, New Game Sale at RPGNow

I've been remiss in mentioning there is a New Year, New Game Sale running at RPGNow. Its 25 % off thousands of titles in PDF, including Swords & Wizardry Continual Light ($1.88 for the next 4 days)

There is a surprising amount of OSR related releases on sale and I'll try and cover a few in the next day or so.

Personally, I find the NYNG Call of Cthulhu 7E Bundle a very tempting pick, and I already have the core books in print. Quite simply a shit-ton of horror gaming for your 40 bucks (not cheap at all, but still tempting). The Conan bundle is tempting, but I backed the Kickstarter, so I think I have (or should have) all included.

Yep, those are affiliate links. Keep the lights on and the beers cold at The Tavern with your Patronage.

10 Copies of the 2018 Baby Bestiary up for Grabs

Enter to win a copy of the 2018 Baby Bestiary Calendar with artwork by Travis Hanson. 10 copies in the mix.

edit

use the following links


Twitter announcement link
https://twitter.com/MetalWeaveGames/status/951078013495644160

Link to Giveaway
https://gleam.io/competitions/4dZHL-baby-bestiary-calendar-giveaway

Facebook Link
https://www.facebook.com/BabyBestiary/posts/2027032270874

0Your Entries

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Prize

10 people will win a Baby Bestiary Calendar,
2 of which will also win the Baby Bestiary Collectors Edition (containing Volumes 1 & 2 of the Baby Bestiary)

6 Ways to Enter

Login with:

+2Retweet @MetalWeaveGames on Twitter

+2Subscribe to Roleplay Cafe

+1Follow @MetalWeaveGames on Twitter

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use these links:

#ConManKen - Kenny Takes the Show to Facebook Live - Hilarity Ensues followed by Threats of Indictment

Because I didn't have an easy way to replace him with a pile of shit

Ah, sweet #ConManKen. Never at a loss to make folks laugh. See, Kenny took to Facebook Live for a live sale yesterday and my, the laughs were flying. And yes Kenny, folks were laughing AT you.

Now, it WAS authentic Kenny as you will see from the following shots taken by one of The Taverners" of the scroll at the bottom of the feed:

Some folks went s far as commenting about Ken's Kickstarters that he's failed to deliver, failed to update - fuck it, he's basically a failure.

Then Kenny complained about the Trolls - he started deleting posts and blocking people:

This is the post that got James banned: "Will unsold product be available as a Stretch Goal reward in future Kickstarter projects?"

He also made the statement that those trolling were in violation of Kentucky Law for causing a loss of business and it was a Class D Felony. I couldnt find the relevant law.

The following does, however, seem potentially relevant:

KRS 517.120 Operating a sham or front company

Kenny, can you quote us the law you are threatening folks with in the above format? It may help.

Because folks want to know which law you are threatening them with via PMs:

Turn you over and pour you out...

Kenny, where's my FBI Agents? I've had tea and coffee cake ready for them for 15 months and they never came. What was the federal law that I was violating again?

#ConManKen , if he wasn't so full of shit, he wouldnt be Ken...

Kickstarter - For Coin & Blood: Grimdark Old-School Fantasy Roleplaying

There's just about 12 hours left in the funding period of For Coin & Blood: Grimdark Old-School Fantasy Roleplaying. It bills itself as a "grimdark" OSR styled game. While I suspect the game itself will not be something I'd want to play or run as is, I'm sure for 5 bucks for the PDF I'll find enough to rip for Swords & Wizardry that I'll get my 5 bucks back in gameable value.

For Coin & Blood is an old-school inspired roleplaying fantasy roleplaying game, which takes the direction of playing the scum and villains in most fantasy campaigns! 

Playing assassins, cult leaders, blackguards and more, For Coin & Blood is a different look at the otherside 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 fantasy roleplaying about antiheroes, thieves and assassins, rooted in the darkest recess of mankind’s depredations. 

While most roleplaying games hide their murderers under the mantle of “hero” (I mean, what “hero” invades underground complexes in search of treasure and murders the denizens because their whole species is “evil?”), 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.

Wayward Kickstarter - Artisan Dice Does Handcrafted Polyhedrals - an Artful Fiasco?

I get it. Kickstarters run late. Kickstarters blow up (9k goal and raised over 291k) Equipment breaks down. Shit happens.

I do get that.

Over 4 years late, no update since July on the Artisan Dice Does Handcrafted Polyhedrals Kickstarter and its selling product to retailers when some Kickstarter backers are still waiting over 4 years?

That shit is like Gareth Junior type of Kickstarter running.

It sees like someone has a bad business plan.

Now, I know Artisan Dice takes a long time to fulfill their KS orders. I backed their earlier wooden dice set and that too forever. I don't remember accusations that they were filling retail orders at the time. They just seemed to be overwhelmed.

Here's the online store for Artisan Dice

The thing is, their BBB ranking is in the tank:

Apparently they are deleting negative comments from their Facebook page too (see comments on the KS page)

Are you still waiting on your dice?

Free Download - Engineering Castles (Troll Lord Games)

The Trolls have priced Engineering Castles down to the price of FREE.

32 pages of mostly charts to stock out those castles your party of adventurers may stumble into. The price is certainly right ;)

Bastions of Timber & Stone  

Adventure does not limit itself to dungeons of earth and stone, but calls the seeker to plunder the halls of war and worship; from the spires of looming towers, to castles set in forbidden glades deep in ancient heartwood and to the sunken and abandoned places lost in time. Not all are hidden – some are welcoming bastions for the wayward traveler, and others are the holdings of creatures most foul; still more bear foreboding edifices, casting a mocking shadow – be they castle, ruin or manor, each beckons a promise of loot, a glimpse of chance, and portends fate.  

Castles  

An aspiring Castle Keeper will often have many floor-plans of places through which unsuspecting player characters dare to venture, generally taking the forms of underground complexes or even wilderness or urban areas, but many likely do not have much stock for the "other" locales such as bastions, keeps, temples, and castles. This tome will remedy that situation and provide the Castle Keeper the tools and templates to design such from nothing or, if desired, to modify an existing structure with new and unknown which may be otherwise familiar traits. 

Giveaway - Dust 1947 Miniature - Gamers on Games Channel

The Gamers on Games Youtube Channel is giving away a Dust 1947 miniature. I'm not much of a war-gamer these days but I do know a significant portion of The Tavern's readership is, so here's you chance to win a free mini. Heck, even if you don't play Dust 1947, its a free mini and that's damn cool.

Watch the video, pick a winning side for the upcoming battle (and add it as a comment to the Youtube video linked above) and if you pick right, you'll be in the pool from which the winner is picked. Pretty cool.

You can enter until Feb 15, 2018.