Deal of the Day - Defining A Galaxy (Historical look at WEG Star Wars RPG)

Holy shit! I can't believe I almost missed this Deal of the Day. Its a look at West End Games Star Wars RPG and the influence it has had on the Star Wars IP. Defining a Galaxy is on sale for 2.38, regularly 7.95 in PDF. Print is 9.99 if you want the PDF with it.

In the late 1980s, Star Wars was becoming a fading memory. The movie trilogy had concluded. The comic books and novels were winding down. The action figures had run their course. As the franchise celebrated its tenth anniversary, there was a new ride at Disneyland and … not much else. Not until a small hobby game company released Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game and The Star Wars Sourcebook. And suddenly the galaxy began to expand. 

This is the story of how a group of dedicated fans and gaming professionals helped pave the way for the Star Wars Expanded Universe — as told by one of the original architects! This book explains how material created for roleplaying games helped shape the Star Wars universe — and continues to influence it to the current day.

Yep, that is an affiliate link above. Affiliate links keep the taps flowing and the beer cold here at The Tavern.

Kickstarter - Holy Symbols Jewellery for your Fantasy RPG Campaign

I love it when a Kickstarter tells us which license they are operating under, and then when you go to the actual license, you see they are directly in violation.

Case in point - the Holy Symbols Jewellery for your Fantasy RPG Campaign Kickstarter. It uses gods directly from closed (not OGL) content from WotC.

DISCLAIMER
This KS is not sponsored by Wizards and is subject to the Fan Content Policy

So, where can one find the WotC Fan Content Policy? I'm glad you asked because here you go: https://company.wizards.com/fancontentpolicy

Let me find the relevant section:

That means we ask you follow these rules: 

• One word: F-R-E-E. You can use Wizards’ IP (except for the restrictions listed in #3) to make Fan Content that you share with the community for free. Free means FREE:

• You can’t require payments, surveys, downloads, subscriptions, or email registration to access your Fan Content;

• You can’t sell or license your Fan Content to any third parties for any type of compensation; and

• Your Fan Content must be free for others (including Wizards) to view, access, share, and use without paying you anything, obtaining your approval, or giving you credit.

But, you say, they are charging you on Kickstarter! That is correct. They are also offering a
subscription service.

But hey, it might not even fund. If it does, I'm guessing WotC will shut it down.

A fun way to close out 2019.

OSR Christmas, Day Three - Santa Opens the Rest of his Bag

I bet some of you thought I forgot about OSR Christmas Day Three. While life in The Tenkar Casa has gotten horribly busy (and I seem to have sinus issues that simply won't go away, I am here today with OSR Christmas Day Three :)

Below is the final listing of gifts. Any mistakes / omissions are mine and mine alone. Those receiving gifts have  5 days to claim their gifts (unclaimed gifts will be regifted ;) Cut off to enter the gift-giving for this post is January 3rd, 2020 at midnight. Gifts should be awarded the following day. Unclaimed gifts will be awarded on January 10th, 2020.  No, we are not wrapping up before the end of the year. Ah well, close ;)



Today's Gift Pool:

2 - Moon Wizard OSR Patchs by Thad Moore


1 - James Mishler Games "One of Everything" in PDF
       (19 titles in all)


From MonkeyBlood / Glynn Seal
 1 - The City of Great Lunden hardback plus Map Sets and Pregen
Character Cards (Print - Ships Worldwide)

 1 - HandyMaps Towns & Villages (Print - Ships World Wide)

 1 - Midderlands PDF

 1 - The City of Great Lunden PDF

Note - FOUR separate gifts from MonkeyBlood


From Genius Loci Games

1 - Pyramid of the Lost King (at cost Print on Demand)
2 - New Class Options (PDF)


From Roan Studios

Full Roan Studio (pdf) collection on Drive Thru RPG (15 titles) 
ALSO - an 8.5 x 11 (A4) custom map or character illustration (value $150 US)

1 - Far Realms and Sea of Stars (PDF) Harbinger Games

From BRW Games

1 bundle - Hard Copy & PDF of Castle of the Mad Archmage, plus the expansions; Level 3 East, Musicland, and Bitterbark's Circus. (note - ships US Only)

From Tenkar's Tavern / The Tavern Chat Podcast

2 - $10 DrivethruRPG Gift Certificates

Remember, comment before midnight, January 3rd for your chance to be gifted. You have five days to claim your gift.   Huge thanks to all who have donated.

Yes, there are affiliate links above. Affiliate links keep the taps flowing and the lights on at The Tavern. As always, I thank you.

Yes, I will address emails received and not yet answered tomorrow :)

Humble RPG Book Bundle: Pathfinder Lost Omens Lore Archive by Paizo.

Yes, another Humble Bundle RPG Book Bundle (yesterday was Adventures in Middle Earth for 5e). This bundle, Humble RPG Book Bundle: Pathfinder Lost Omens Lore Archive by Paizo has less than 48 hours left in it and it has a HUGE amount of fluff in it. Yes, Paizo is defined by Pathfinder 1e (which is the system for all of these) but they are also well known for their setting - Golartian - which is thought of as one of the better fantasy settings in the Post Old School gaming era.

Besides, if you are an Old School Gamer, converting from Pathfinder to Old School simply means ignoring a bunch of stat blocks anyway ;)

For a buck do you even need to think?

Again, less than 48 hours left to pick up this Humble RPG Book Bundle. Yes, that's an affiliate link above. Affiliate links keep the taps flowing and the beer cold here at The Tavern.

OSR Christmas Day 3 will be up later tonight or tomorrow. Sorry for the delay. Life has gotten busy and some of these recent posts are time-sensitive.

Humble RPG Book Bundle: Lord of the Rings 5E by Cubicle 7

As I've mentioned earlier, Cubicle 7 has lost the Lord of the Rings RPG license. There is a limited window to get in on the Humble RPG Book Bundle: Lord of the Rings 5E. I will advise out of an abundance of caution that you download any purchases immediately as I do not know if access will remain after the license lapses.

Kinda a no brainer at a buck ;)

I need to block out two weeks just to read all of my Middle Earth gaming material.

15 bucks, 13 books. Time to get my iPad loaded up!

Yes, that's an affiliate link above. Affiliate links keep the lights on at The Tavern.

OSR Christmas - Day Two - Time to Receive Gifts!

Alright, it is time to gift those who are receiving random gifts from Day Two of OSR Christmas
Randomizers in hand, its time to roll some dice!

Today's Gift Pool:

2 - Moon Wizard OSR Patchs by Thad Moore - Starglow & LukeTheGoon


1 - James Mishler Games "One of Everything" in PDF
       (19 titles in all) - dogrodeo


From MonkeyBlood / Glynn Seal
 1 - The City of Great Lunden hardback plus Map Sets and Pregen
Character Cards (Print - Ships Worldwide) - imredave

 1 - HandyMaps Towns & Villages (Print - Ships World Wide) - Brian S

 1 - Midderlands PDF - Darcy Perry

 1 - The City of Great Lunden PDF - Mathew

Note - FOUR separate gifts from MonkeyBlood


From Genius Loci Games

1 - Pyramid of the Lost King (at cost Print on Demand) - 123
1 - New Class Options (PDF) - DM Misha


From Roan Studios

Full Roan Studio (pdf) collection on Drive Thru RPG (15 titles) - Mike Bauer


From Tenkar's Tavern / The Tavern Chat Podcast

2 - $10 DrivethruRPG Gift Certificates Colin Chapman NZ & GJ

There you have it. If you gift is a PDF / digital / Gift Certificate, we'll need the email you use with DriveThruRPG. If the gift is physical, we need you snail mail / shipping address.

Please email tenkarsDOTtavernATgmailDOTcom by December 31st, 2019 to claim your gift. Put OSR Christmas Gifted in the subject of the email.

There are affiliate links above. Affiliate links keep the lights on and the taps flowing here at The Tavern.

New gift list posted will be posted.tomorrow.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and a general Happy Holidays to All!

Its been a busy two days at the Tenkar Family enclave ;) I'm ready to pass out quietly in a corner. I'm tired, but its a good tired :)

I really do appreciate all of the Christmas wishes via social media, email, Discord and the Tavern Chat voicemail.

Best wishes to all of the readers of The Tavern. I really do appreciate all of you. Catch up from these two days of running around starts tomorrow with the return of OSR Christmas.

New PWYW - The Trials of a Young Wizard (OSRIC)

Its been a while since I highlighted a PWYW release here at The Tavern. It being Christmas Eve (and only a few minutes until Christmas here on the East Coast) I figured I'd highlight a PWYW OSR release, sort of as an early Christmas gift.

The Trials of a Young Wizard is an exciting entry-level set of three scenarios:  

Fresh-faced and more than a little hung-over our newly graduated mage of the great Dunromin College of Magic and his friends step into the tea-room next to the Porter’s Lodge and ask for something for a headache. Within minutes they find themselves accosted by the smiling figure of Malcolm Darkstar, Bursar of the College and owner of the tea-rooms, keen to ask them a favour… 

This is a first level set of scenarios designed to take a starting-level party on their first exciting adventures in the Land of the Young; The Lost Son; The Return of the Cauldron of Millent and the Murder at the Red Barn. 

You can run this set of scenarios in your own game-world or use it as a gateway and taster for the wider gameworld setting of Barnaynia - the banana-shaped world, starting in Dunromin, the most amazing city in the Land of the Young, probably the world.  This highly detailed and quality set of game resources is both thought provoking andf enjoyable.  It is detailed yet flexible, complex yet easy to use.  The ideal gameworld for any sort of player and Game Master. 

SM12 The Trials of a Young Wizard was designed with AD&D in mind but set in the OSRIC ruleset.  This is the latest dungeon designed as excellent value for money and an easy fit to any fantasy role-playing campaign.  However,  The Trials of a Young Wizard is primarily aimed at the game setting the Free City of Dunromin and the Land of the Young on the astonishing World of Barnaynia.

Enjoy the adventures or strip out the maps and make them your own. Tip the publisher of you like the adventures included.

Yep, that's an affiliate link above. Affiliate links keep the lights on and the taps flowing here at The Tavern

Kickstarter - Creature Feature Quarterly Vol. 6 (5e compatible)

A 6th volume of Creature Feature Quarterly (5e). A monster manual zine for 5e DnD with Paper Mini Designs, VTT Tokens, and ample Fluff

Simply put I really enjoy Jeremy Hart's artwork (which is available as stock art on DriveThruRPG and will be featured in the upcoming Torchlight Zine). It has a classic, old school feel while having a modern flair. Or something like that. It's old school art that is new.

Somehow I missed the first five volumes of Creature Feature Quarterly (easily rectified with the current Creature Feature Quarterly Vol. 6 Kickstarter - I can snag all six for 20 bucks)

From the Kickstarter page:

This is my sixth "quarterly" collection of monsters. I start them over on Patreon and compile them here before they go to DriveThruRPG. My Patreons get early access to all kinds of stuff and get to take part in guiding the direction of these books to some degree. 

I have had a few successful Kickstarters converting earlier volumes into smaller A5 zines for The Black Hack and the OSR. This time around, I'm applying some of those design ideas to the 5e version. I think you'll like it as much as I have. The A5 format achieves some of the design goals I had back in volume 1 for tabletop usage like flashing the art to your players, etc. in a cheap, DIY-printable format. 

I am also including a separate folder of full-page art now. So, that even if you are just running from your PC/tablet or the DIY-printable zine, you can easily show your players the monster art.

Issue #6 alone is 6 bucks.

Kickstarter - Mythic Mugs - 3D Printable Fantasy Can Holders

"STL-files of accessories designed for the tabletop RPG community and anyone who loves nerdy decoration."

It seems like every couple of weeks there's another Kickstarter telling me why I need a 3d printer. The Mythic Mugs Kickstarter is simply another Kickstarter to add to the long list. Well. that and your bartender already collects beer steins - how far off is s=this Kickstarter? Not very ;)

The Mythic Mugs is a series of 14 highly detailed can holders, taking classic fantasy elements and putting them into mug form. They come as 3d-printable, hi-res and supportless stl-files.  

They are able to hold a wide variety of can sizes by using a unique can holding system that comes with the mugs. The Mythic Mugs can inserts allows the following cans to be used: 25cl, 12oz sleek, 33cl, 12oz, 16oz and 50cl. OR, scale the mug up by 10,625% and it will be able to hold 23oz, 23.5oz and 25oz (73mm diameter cans). The Mythic Mugs have been designed as can holders and you should not drink from them directly. We have listed alternative usages and ways to drink from them in the bottom of the page. 

Fuck me. I need o buy a new home of I want a 3d printer. Le sigh.

New Third Party Titles Released for The Fantasy Trip (Gaming Ballistic)

Imagine my surprise when I opened up the DriveThruRPG page to find that Gaming Ballistic had released some The Fantasy Trip adventures.

I knew that Douglas Cole, the man behind Gaming Ballistic had intentions to do so, but I had no idea they were being released so soon. The titles are:

Curse of the Pirate King (by Christopher R. Rice and J. Edward Tremlett) 3.99

The expedition seems simple: travel to the former capitol of a vast pirate nation, and find the fabled Blade of Dawn. This “straight-forward” mission is complicated by several factors: 

• A long-ago betrayal brought a centuries-long curse upon the realm of the Pirate King and his island fortress.
• The island is far from uninhabited . . . though few walking its lands are properly described as living
• The players must discover how death has found a way to bring strange “life” to the isle of the pirate king

All the party has to do is go to the lifeless rock, and loot the treasure of a thousand dead buccaneers. What could go wrong? This quest follows the events of Crown of Eternity with that powerful organization now working against the players. 

The last page of the adventure contains 42 print-them-yourself tokens for monsters and NPCs that appear in the adventure (in black-and-white).

 Crown of Eternity (by Christopher R. Rice and J. Edward Tremlett) 3.99

The party is tasked with finding a lost researcher for an exclusive league of magical explorers. The lost eldritch archaeologist was in search of the fabled Crown of Eternity. 

This is a quest adventure, with the following goals:

• Bring back the explorer . . . dead, alive, maybe a bit of both
• Cross a vast ocean, a treacherous desert, and a poisoned sea, beset from ahead and behind by competing factions and dire threats
• The party must succeed where a rival daredevil failed: find the Crown of Eternity, snatching it from his grasp if necessary

This is a patronage quest, and introduces the Indhyna League, a mysterious and well-funded group of treasure-seeking mages and scholars. They very much have their own agenda. 

The last page of the adventure contains 42 print-them-yourself tokens for monsters and NPCs that appear in the adventure (in black-and-white). 

 Vampire Hunter Belladonna - Double-sized Programmed Adventure - 5.49

You are Belladonna, the young maid and cook at Castle Ironskull—moonlighting as a

vampire slayer! 

Years ago, the sinister Lord Adrik Blackbird turned your best friend into a vampire. For their own good, you had to stake them both! Somehow, you succeeded—but while those vampires perished, they had already infected others. The bloodsuckers will spread like a plague through the local countryside—unless you hunt them down! 

Play as the lethal maid Belladonna (wielder of silver stakes and deadly poisons), or as your own vampire slaying hero or wizard. Travel through the villages and wilderness near Ironskull Castle, hunting vampires (and possibly other monsters). During your quest, you may uncover disturbing rumors of the rise of a new and terrifying master vampire, and the arcane relic they seek. Can you find it first? 

Vampire Hunter Belladonna is a programmed adventure for The Fantasy Trip. You won't need a Game Master—instead a system of branching paragraphs directs you from encounter to encounter as you make your own choice. You resolve combat or other encounters using the TFT rules. 

In this double-sized 32-page adventure, you will find: 

Over 200 paragraphs detailing wilderness and village encounters.

• Multiple new monsters (not just vampires!) and magic items.
• A "sandbox" wilderness setting that can reward multiple plays.
• A choice of using the included pre-generated characters or your existing PC.
• 42 "print your own" 1" square counters for use on tactical maps for the adventure

VAMPIRE HUNTER BELLADONNA is an independent adventure, but it has ties to IRONSKULL CASTLE, so you can use both together in a campaign if you wish. If you think of it as "Vampire Hunter B," we won't mind that either. 

The adventure is also available as an offset-print, saddle-stitched softcover printed on 85#/128gsm paper through the Gaming Ballistic website.

I may just be inspired to run some TFT in the New Year. :)

Yes, those are affiliate links above. Affiliate links keep the taps flowing and the heat on at The Tavern. I thank you in advance. 

Kickstarter - Dragon Themed Polyhedral RPG Dice Set

After numerous requests, the Dragon RPG Set is here! New colors and great exclusives! THE DRAGONS ARE BACK!

Have I mentioned my dice addiction? heh

Here I am, backing another dice Kickstarter. Go figure. Let me present the Dragon Themed Polyhedral RPG Dice Set Kickstarter. 

In a sea of competitors, we'd like to list out what makes these dice unique and why we believe they will hold a place of honor in your dice bag! 

• Dragon Breath Swirl We're very proud of the coloration of our swirled dice. They feature a blend of two colors with an iridescent glimmer that came out fantastic! We think they are super cool and the blending method perfectly captures the billowing dragon breath attack! Glitterwing Dragons These glimmering dragons are infused with glitter and shine in the light. These new dragons rely on the same glitter effects from our Oblit-O-Tron and Black Death dice that have been well received with our customers. The glitter is incredibly fine and creates a lustrous shimmer.
• Larger Size Like all the dice we produce, these dice are larger and stand out on your game table. They tower over lesser dice and are easier to read.
• Draconic Design The thematic design on the maximum face of each die captures the power of the dragons!
• Choices Once funded, you will have the choice of any of the two base colors! As we unlock additional dragons, this will only add to the available options.
• Dragon Hoard Along the way through the project we will be unlocking several bonus stretch goals. If you select one of the Dragon Hoard reward levels, you can expect to receive one of each of these with your rewards shipment!
• Project Exclusives We have several items exclusive to this project. They are unique and fun and, of course, dragon themed!
• Dragons Awesome in their own right. Death from above!!

You can get a set and a pin for 14 bucks. I'm in for 70, as I want the 6 1/2" die.

OSR Christmas 2019 - Day Two of Gifting

I bet some of you thought I forgot about OSR Christmas this year. While my plate is currently very full, a tradition such as OSR Christmas must live on. There will be THREE actual days of gift-giving (this is Day Two). If you are interested in the chance of being gifted, you will need to comment on that post. It is as simple as that.

The plan, on the blogside at least, is to do the gifting on December 13th, December 19th and December 24th, with 5 days after the announcing of gifts to name those receiving and 5 days for folks to claim their gifts (unclaimed gifts will be regifted ;), so December 18th, December 24th, and December 29th will be the respective cut off dates. Gifts will be randomly awarded on the following day. Unclaimed gifts will be awarded on January 6th, 2020.  Hopefully, it will all wrap up by the end of the year. That would be a first :)

There will be some gifts gifted on the Tavern Chat Podcast side. You'll have to listen ;)

Today's Gift Pool:

2 - Moon Wizard OSR Patchs by Thad Moore


1 - James Mishler Games "One of Everything" in PDF
       (19 titles in all)


From MonkeyBlood / Glynn Seal
 1 - The City of Great Lunden hardback plus Map Sets and Pregen
Character Cards (Print - Ships Worldwide)

 1 - HandyMaps Towns & Villages (Print - Ships World Wide)

 1 - Midderlands PDF

 1 - The City of Great Lunden PDF

Note - FOUR separate gifts from MonkeyBlood


From Genius Loci Games

1 - Pyramid of the Lost King (at cost Print on Demand)
1 - New Class Options (PDF)


From Roan Studios

Full Roan Studio (pdf) collection on Drive Thru RPG (15 titles) 


From Tenkar's Tavern / The Tavern Chat Podcast

2 - $10 DrivethruRPG Gift Certificates

Remember, comment before midnight, December 24th for your chance to be gifted. You have five days to claim your gift. Want to add more gifts to the gift pool? Email tenkars.tavernATgmailDOTcom with "OSR Christmas Gifting" in the subject. Huge thanks to all who have donated.

Yes, there are affiliate links above. Affiliate links keep the taps flowing and the lights on at The Tavern. As always, I thank you.