Humble Bundle - The Neil Gaiman Dark Horse Collection

I've been a huge fan of Neil Gaiman since the first issue of Sandman. Even when I stopped collecting comic books, I still bought every monthly issue of Sandman. He's one of the top storytellers of this generation, whether traditional novels or graphic novels.

The opportunity to snag 19 Neil Gaiman graphic novels for 18 bucks in digital format at Humble Bundle is something I personally can't pass up. 

Lose yourself in realms of myth and mystery in these Dark Horse graphic novels featuring the stories of New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman! Discover gorgeous adaptations of celebrated novels like American Gods and Norse Mythology. Explore twists on fairy tales (Snow, Glass, Apples) and legends from classic literature (A Study in Emerald). Add a treasury of timeless tales to your digital collection, and help support USA for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, with your purchase.

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Preorder - Heart of St. Bathus (Frog God Games / OSE)

So, Frog God Games is currently Kickstarting the 5e version of Heart of St. Bathus. They are not Kickstarting the OSE version of Heart of Bathus, but instead are taking preorders, which will only be processed and charged if "there are 125 (orders) placed by Saturday, December 17, 2022. All of the extras from the KS, including Encounters in the Under Realms, will be available for purchase in the OSE version when the pre-order versions of the main book are released to pre-order customers. The OSE version will be an A5 hardcover. The add-on softcovers will be A5 and made available when the Heart of St. Bathus OSE Hardcover fulfillment occurs in one shipment."

I placed my preorder the moment I saw this on the Frog God website.

Frog God Games presents another adventure in The Lost Lands! A spiritual sequel to The Lost City of Barakus has arisen from the imagination of its author, W.D.B. Kenower. Long ago, a bold paladin sought the same glory as his celebrated ancestors, but in a moment of weakness he gave up his own soul in exchange for success in battle. He now lies suspended between life and death, and his soul is lost. It’s up to the adventurers to find it and redeem a fallen paladin while facing the wrath of a powerful demon lord in the process.

Heart of St. Bathus is a sandbox-style campaign for the Old-School Essentials Retro Adventure Game, designed to take a party of characters from Level 3 to Level 12. Answering an appeal for aid from the monks of Goodheart Abbey, the adventurers set off in search of a famed paladin’s lost soul, venturing first to a cursed fortress and then into the labyrinthine depths beneath. But it’s far from a simple mission: The soul — and the heart-shaped jewel to which it is bound — have been stolen by a cunning devil who has taken it to her citadel far below within the twisting passages of the Cyclopean Deeps. And the Heart’s true master, an imprisoned demon lord, lurks in the darkest corners of the realm, hoping to use the unwitting adventurers to aid in his escape. The soul of a brave paladin hangs in the balance as the adventurers delve into dark and unknown regions!

Purchasing this product is a pre-order of the Heart of St. Bathus adventure for the Old-School Essentials Retro Adventure Game. After the Pre-Order campaign ends, customers will receive a code allowing the purchase of the book at cost at DriveThruRPG.com. The printing of each book is currently estimated to be $27.00. Preorder customers will be paying the same or less than the book’s retail price after the Pre-Order campaign ends.

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Christmas Gifting - D&D Classic Collection: Monsters A-C (Painted Minis)

As we await the release of One D&D, WotC and its licensees need to find a source of income for the inevitable "dead time" between editions. Lo and behold and to the surprise of no one, we have the release of the D&D Classic Collection: Monsters A-C from Wizkids.

Now, is it really a "complete" collection of monsters from"A-C"? Obviously not. It is, however, a collection of iconic creatures from the letters of the alphabet covered, and certainly hits some notes for a grognard like me. I'm not so sure I'd buy it for myself, but if Rach needs some ideas for a Christmas gift or two for me, I don't think she could go wrong with D&D Classic Collection: Monsters A-C.

I must say, I really do like the cover art ;)

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DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar  

Humble Bundle - Introduction to Battletech (Includes Physical Boxed Set)

I remember when Battletech was originally called BattleDroids. If memory serves correctly, Lucas Film threatened legal action, and FASA was promptly renamed Battletech.

Battletech is now published by Catalyst Game Labs and the bundle of Battletech being offered on Humble Bundle is extensive. They are offering the Battletech: Beginner Box at the $30 Bundle Level with 27 digital products. (25 bucks on its own at Amazon). You can get the 27 digital products without the physical box for 18 bucks.

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Indiegogo - Beware the Yule Cat (OSE, C&C, and 5e)

I do enjoy a good holiday-themed adventure to read and even occasionally play ;) Frog God Games has had a strong run of amazing Christmas-themed adventures, and Beware the Yule Cat looks like it will hit a similar high water mark as its predecessors. 

Beware the Yule Cat is 12 bucks in PDF or 24 bucks (plus shipping) for print plus PDF. There is a Print on Demand option for those overseas looking to potentially save a bit on overseas shipping.

You all know the cat of Christmas

— that cat was huge and fat.

No one knew where he came from

nor where he was at.

Night is falling across the frozen plains of the Northlands. It's Yule Eve, but you're tired, hungry, and footsore. Ahead lies the village of Köldhorn — Cold Corners in the Common tongue — where you are sure to find warmth, food, and shelter, especially on this festive night. But upon arrival you find the streets deserted, and the villagers hidden behind locked doors. Soon, you realize that you've inadvertently found yourselves in the middle of a generations-long struggle between the people of Cold Corners and the evil fae troll Grýla, her husband Leppalúði, their sons the mischievous Jólasveinar — or Yule Lads — and worst of all her favorite pet, the fierce Jólakötturinn, better known as the Yule Cat.

 

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DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar  

Humble Bundle - Digital Board Games (Ticket to Ride, Small World, Carcassonne and more)

If you just want the core of each board game, then the $6 price point is your sweet spot for the Digital Board Game Bundle. You get the core game for each of the following: Small World, Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Blood Rage, Mysterium, and Splendor. For 12 bucks you add in a shit ton of digital expansion packs. At 15 bucks, you add Game of Thrones to the mix.

I'm going in at 6 bucks myself. OSX and Windows formats.

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Support Your Local Game Convention

Here I am, sitting at home instead of attending a "local" game convention: LongCon. Unfortunately I had to be in wonderful Fayetteville NC, home or Fort Bragg and the XVIII Airborne Corps and I wouldn't get back in time to attend.

Work does come before play after all, which sucks 'cause I could've gotten a free room and maybe even a free badge. On the plus side I was able to do a little back-door support by picking up an unsold copy of the convention module.....well it might have been reserved instead of unsold stock. Not sure, don't care 'cause I get to donate AND get a module, so...win/win?

I like it when a small convention puts out a module. Even better if they do a two-part printing. 1st is a limited run & numbered version for the collectors and/or "deep pockets" that want to toss a few extra bucks to the convention. 2nd is a larger run that is more affordable and still supports the convention. Now if I can afford it I'll get one of both, but that's largely due to the "influence" of an old gamer buddy of mine who passed away a few years ago.

Steve "Stevil"  Johansson, one of the D-Team for KenzerCo was a hoot to play with or under. He'd go off of these tangents, almost rants, that were just EPIC. One time I was on vacation and spending the day at the KenzerCo warehouse/office when Stevil launched into this slightly heated "discussion" regarding printed adventures. I really wish I had recorded this for posterity as ...it.....was...AWESOME. The gist of it was that there should be absolutely no such thing as a pristine copy of a published adventure. Adventures should be dog-eared, marked up, and generally abused by the GM....as they are used at the table. In short, an archived adventure is an unloved, and failed, adventure.

With two copies you can collect one, and play one. I don't run enough these days to really play one and when I do run some games I tend to not use printed adventures as-is, but often rather close to as-is. A few tweaks here & there go a long, long way.

I know I've always been a fan of the local game convention, and even some of the "Big Cons"....but not GenCon. Too expensive and way...way too crowded for me. I'm getting a few heebie-jeebies thinking about the crowds. The Origins Game Fair can be crowded, but not nearly at the same level for most of the event. Anyway, a big problem with these smaller game conventions is just the opposite: they are, pretty much by definition, small.

Just finding out about conventions in the first place is probably the largest hurdle. Small conventions have small budgets and commensurate small outreach. Hell, there is a small comic convention in my town this weekend, and I only found out about it this morning...... So what to do? For the real small cons....tiny even, you might find out from your FLGS, but you generally have to be very active in looking for these events. Don't expect their marketing to jump out at you.....

Now for the smaller, regional conventions, a better source might be TableTop Events, assuming they're using this popular service. You can search by location and try to be a bit generic. Search for "TX" or "Texas" instead of "Dallas", but don't expect to always find events on the 1st try. Here's a quick search for "Texas":

You'll note that Long Con is listed on there, but you know what isn't listed? North Texas RPG 2023....and I've already registered for this event....through this website!

If you're lucky, there might be a "local/regional" website. Here in Oklahoma we have OKGamers.com, but you'll probably have to look around a bit to find your state/regions alternative.