GM's Day Sale - Swords & Wizardry Picks

While I'm fairly disappointed with this year's DTRPG GM's Day Sale, as the bundles pretty much suck, and the majority of the titles on sale are only discounted 10%, there are a number of pics that are 40% off for the sale. The picks below are all 40% off.

Here's the link to the Swords & Wizardry picks. My highlighted picks are far from exhaustive.

Tome of Adventure Design - I can't say enough in praise of ToAD. I own multiple physical copies - The Tome of Adventure Design is organized as a series of "books," each one providing resources at every step of the way. The vast majority of the content of each book is made up of random generation tables that we created over a quarter of a century (sigh) for our own use. It should be said upfront that these are tables for deep design - in other words, most of them are too long, and contain too many unusual or contradictory entries, for use on the spot at the gaming table. There are already many excellent books of tables for use on the fly; the tables in these books are different. They work best as a tool for preparation beforehand, providing relatively vast creative resources for browsing and gathering, rather than quick-use tables designed to provide broad, fast brushstrokes. Our shorter tables tend to deliver cryptic results designed to shock the reader's creativity into filling in the gaps, whereas the longer tables are unusably vast for easy random generation, being designed to shock the reader's creativity into operation by presenting a sea of possibilities. 21.99 13.19

Dark Places & Demogorgons - Survive This!! - Core Rule Book - Stranger Things for the OSR - In Dark Places & Demogorgons, you play as high school students during the early 1980s. The town you live in has had a rash of disappearances and strange happenings. The adults seem lost as to what to do, the police are as clueless as ever and aren’t helping and Reverend Phillips is on another witch-hunt. It’s up to you and your friends to figure out what’s going on and stop it from happening again! 9.99 5.99

Operation Unfathomable - I'm dying to run this one day - OPERATION UNFATHOMABLE is a 108-page, internally-consistent, gonzo funhouse module for Swords & Wizardry that runs like a subterranean wilderness trek instead of a “down the 10-foot hall and kick in a door” affair. There are random elements aplenty to keep GMs guessing as well as players. No balanced encounters to be found here, but the clever setup allows low-level characters to drop into the dungeon “deep end” and still have a chance of making it out alive—if they’re smart and wary. 12.00 7.20

White Star: Galaxy Edition - Space opera for the OSR -Ace Pilots, dead-eyed Gunslingers, and irrepressible Star Squirrels blast off across the stars to save the galaxy from the horrors of the Void! Hellfire Mecha march across the battlefield, leaving carnage in their wake! From the galactic center of Omega Consor to the Manrash System on the edge of the universe, the galaxy needs heroes! Endless galactic adventure awaits you in White Star: Galaxy Edition! Integrated and updated to include material from White Star and the White Star Companion, White Star: Galaxy Edition integrates new rules, new options, and expands the original game. Now more than just a toolbox, White Star: Galaxy Edition offers you a universe full of thrilling adventure! 9.99 5.99

Crypts and Things Remastered - Newt did a great job with this Swords & Sorcery hack of the S&W rules - Be a wild Barbarian, a deadly Fighter, a soul-torn Sorcerer or a sword sharp canny Thief, fighting evil tyrants and foul demons in a world rapidly dying and heading towards its final nemesis. 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 entirely new art by David M. Wright. 14.42 8.65

Gathox Vertical Slum - I like the cover and the premise. Snagged! -Welcome to Gathox Vertical Slum, a far-out, gonzo science fantasy campaign setting for Swords & Wizardry White Box Edition and other classic tabletop role-playing games. Aliens, mutants, spellslingers, and hardened criminals struggle for dominance in a lawless city built upon the back of a wandering, world-hopping godling. Inside this tome, you’ll find:* A fully mapped and fleshed out Vertical Slum, stuffed to the gills with greedy factions, hook-laden NPCs, and seedy locations.* A new gangland system for running domain-level games at level 1.* 43 fully illustrated strange and inimical monsters to spring on unsuspecting players.* New classes, skills, ability checks, hirelings, and gear for players to work their will across the mean streets of the Great Spire.* A vertical dungeon introductory adventure to test the skills and resourcefulness of new and seasoned players alike. 9.99 5.99

Eldritch Tales: Lovecraftian White Box Role-Playing - There is much within that I want to put into my next S&W campaign - Eldritch Tales: Lovecraftian White Box Role-Playing in an OSR rule set with its roots in the Original version of the world's favorite RPG, but instead of exploring musty dungeons, characters in Eldritch Tales investigate Mythos horrors in the 1920s! The setting and background are based on the cosmic horror tales of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and other members of his writing circle. Within the pages of Eldritch Tales you will find four character classes representing many classic pulp archetypes, occupations, rules for insanity, spells, monsters, esoteric tomes, artifacts, a starting scenario, and setting material, as well as advice on using Eldritch Tales with other White Box games. This game is compatible with Swords & Wizardry White Box and other OSR games. 6.99 4.19

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Gangbusters B/X Edition is on Sale for 99 Cents in PDF - Grab it Now!

Earlier tonight, Glen Halstrom and I had Mark Hunt as our guest on the Dungeons, Dragons, & Discourse LiveStream. (podcast version is here)Among the many games Mark has written and published, perhaps one stands out the most.

Gangbusters B/X.

As I type this, Gangbusters B/X is on sale for 99 cents. Grab it NOW! ;)

Gangbusters B/X the Roleplaying Game is set during the Roaring Twenties and Dirty Thirties. It has all the usual trappings of the period: Prohibition, mob bosses, Tommy gun-toting thugs, speakeasies, big hats, big cars, big personalities, swanky gin joints, illicit booze and crooked people out to make a quick dime, and more, but what the game is about is rather simple. It is at its core just a good old fashion game of Cops and Robbers. This is because it is set during a time when America produced some of its most notorious and legendary figures.  John Dillinger, ‘Scarface’ Al Capone, ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd, ‘Baby Face’ Nelson, ‘Ma’ Barker, Bonnie & Clyde, Eliot Ness and the ‘Untouchables’, J. Edgar Hoover, Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, and a host of others.   Whether you join the in the crusade to stamp out lawlessness or join in on the crime spree that is gripping America is up to you.

Based on the Original Gangbusters from the ’80s created by Rick Krebs this edition is adapted to use the B/X game engine.  But instead of exploring musty dungeons, characters in Gangbusters investigate crime, run speakeasies, rob banks, expose corruption, capture murders or try to get away with it all.

Now you can relive the adventures and exploits of these daring men and women with GANGBUSTERS™ 1920s role-playing adventure game.

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Kickstarter - The One Ring Second Edition Raises OVER 2 Million USC!

Time to take a step back and simply look in awe upon The One Ring Second Edition Kickstarter, which raised $2,007,067.12 USC.

Yes. Over 2 million bucks.

16,596 backers.

I suspect we'll be hearing a lot from the Free League in the near future.

A huge congrats to all of those involved in the project, but a special shout out to our very own James Spahn, who was signed to write The One Ring Second Edition Starter Set.

Damn you all!

I may stray from strict OSR yet! ;)

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GMs Day Sale @ DTRPG - A Whole Lotta "Ehhh"

I'm surprised to find myself saying that the GMs Day Sale for 2021 is severely lackluster.

Although some titles ARE 40% off (including Swords & Wizardry Continual Light - a Gold Bestseller), the top dozen or so linked on the sale page are a mere 10% off. Barely noticeable.

Of the six GMs Day Sale bundles, fully half are bundles of "Penny Dreadful One Shots for the Electrum bestselling Through the Breach RPG." How much are the core rules for Through the Breach? Normally 40 bucks, the PDF is on sale for a mere $24. You need the core book to use these bundles of one-shots. 

Things that make one go "hmmm!"

Notice that Swords & Wizardry Continual Light is a GOLD Bestseller, a higher ranking than the RPG that has three of the six bundles for the GM Sale. Something seems off, as Electrum and even Gold aren't really that special in the grand scheme of DTRPG sales numbers.

Over the next few days, I'll try and locate some 40% of gems in this "ehhh" sale.

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Kickstarter - Dungeon Master's Little Black Book (Square Hex)

A pocket-sized booklet of random tables for Dungeon Masters. Plus a blank version of the book that they can record new ideas in.

I've been a huge fan of Peter Reagan for years. I still use his mapping kits that I backed for years ago, and this looks awesome. I've snagged multiple copies of the Dungeon Master's Little Black Book, 48 to be exact, so if this ships on time, I should have some to give out at NTRPG Con in June of this year. Yep, got badges and plane tickets for Rach and me, and Texas announced earlier today that it's opening up 100% and it's revoking its mask mandate in a week.

The aim of this project is to fund print runs of two versions of The Dungeon Master's Little Black Book. The first version will be crammed full of random tables, ideas and maps that can be used by a DM during a game without any preparation. The second version will be a blank version of the Little Black Book that a DM can add their own content to.

Both booklets will be A6-sized (148mm x 105mm) and be 16 pages plus 4 page card covers. The content of the prefilled booklet will be printed 150gsm silk art paper. the content of the blank version will be printed on uncoated 120gsm paper so it will be easy to write on with any pen or pencil. The covers will be sturdy 300 or 350gsm silk art card.

Version 1 with content provisionally includes:

• D12 WHAT'S ON THE END OF THE STICK? table
• D6/D8 COINS ON A CORPSE table
• D6/D8 COINS IN A COFFER table
• D12 THE KOBOLDS ARE SELLING table
• D8 POTIONS SIDE EFFECTS table
• 2D8 THE DOOR OPENS BUT table
• D10 THE DOOR'S STUCK BECAUSE IT'S table
• D12 THE MAGIC MOUTH SAYS table
• D8 WHAT'S IN THE PIT? table
• D30 HIRELINGS & HENCHFOLK table
• DUNGEON GEOMORPHS TOOLKIT
• WHEEL OF FORTUNE

Version 2 without content provisionally includes:

• D8 Blank table x2
• D10 Blank table x2
• D12 Blank table x2
• 3D6 or D16 Blank table x2
• D8+D6 Blank matrix x1
• D30 Blank table x1
• Dot grid mapping pages x5
• Wheel of Fortune (back cover)

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Zak Smith Sues Gen Con / Peter Adkison for Defamation, Interference with Business Expectancy, Violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, and More

Let me say straight off the bat, my personal opinion of Zak Smith, based on my interactions with him online over the years, is that he is a wannabe bully. He is also extremely talented as an adventure writer and when he is on target he has few that can match him. I still think he's a POS.

All that being said, I suspect that Gen Con / Peter Adkison will be paying out on this lawsuit. As was pointed out to me, the filing was likely timed as the statute of limitations to file such a suit is 2 years from the date of the incident, and it's likely there were attempts to negotiate a settlement prior. Now, it's all public and NOT the kind of publicity Gen Con needs less than six months prior to - hopefully - going back to an in-person convention this year.

I personally think the major allegation is Interference with a Business Expectancy, as my understanding is that the bar that needs to be met to prove such is relatively lower in the State of Washington than other jursidictions.

I shared this news on the podcast last night, for those that aren't excited about reading a 13-page lawsuit:

https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/Zak-Smith-is-Suing-GenCon-for-Defamation-and-More-er8e7c

https://youtu.be/k-3HX1-wrlQ

Still Trying to Get That Intro Game Going

 

I'm not sure I've mentioned that I'm currently unemployed....long dumb story, but in the end I'm just killing time waiting for my old job to re-hire me under a new employer. The end result is I have way too much time on my hands.

I don't do that great with a lot of time on my hands. I'm one of those people that are more productive when I'm already busy doing other stuff. If I have a week with nothing to do (or should I note, a week where I don't have anything I *have* to do) then nothing will get done. Oh I have a work project bleeding into my time at home? I'll probably work out some time to hit the gym and maybe even start some writing. While I'm at it, let's start panting those minis.....

.....ok, that's a stretch. We all have minis that aren't getting painted! Kind of a gaming maxim.....

One of my only true goals during this expected two-month "staycation" in between employers was to get some dice rolling for one of my buddy's daughters who "wanted to learn to game". I've written about that here before so I'll not delve into the fine details.

I'm thinking I should have dropped off physical copies of my game books for her to read and some dice. Now I did drop off PDFs of rulebooks and have since acquired dice. Thanks to Erik's post I found out about that Dollar Tree RPG dice set and I scooped up enough for a full group. I put a couple sets into an OG Dice Bag (Crown Royal bag), along with some cheap d6's.....I like to have dedicated d6's for character creation, but I'm odd that way.

I'm thinking I'll make a second pass at this and drop off my physical books (lending!) and the dice, along with some PC sheets. If they want to throw down while I'm there we'll make PCs and I can easily run an intro adventure off the top of my head...'cause I wrote one for HackMaster which will work for other systems. If you follow that link.....it is PWYW, but please put in $0.

I have been working on some modular terrain as well. I figure if I use some terrain instead of "theater of the mind" or a basic battlemap it might go over better.

Of course, I know I can only do so much and in the end, it doesn't matter. If she wants to game, it'll happen, and if not......well then I have some more dice and terrain. Win/Win for me either way!

Special Note:

I wrote all this stuff yesterday (Saturday) and went over today for brinner and no dice (pun intended). Will have to circle back around later in the week and see if there is still any interest.