New Release - The Lair of the Leopard Empresses (M!M!/T&T Powered RPG)

Yep, I'll say it. Monsters! Monsters! is essentially Tunnels & Trolls with the serial numbers removed from it. If you are a fan of Tunnels & Trolls, Monsters! Monsters! will scratch your itch.

The Lair of the Leopard Empresses is a stand-alone swords & sorcery RPG powered by Monsters! Monsters! It is a thing of beauty. I'm not sure if I'd ever thought of swords & sorcery being a good fit for Tunnels & Trolls, er, I mean Monsters! Monsters!, but damn if it isn't a perfect fit.

Now, to be fair, Sarah Newton, writer/publisher, did send me The Lair of the Leopard Empresses PDF a few days before release, so I had an early and free peek. The first thing I did after it went live for sale on DTRPG was order a print copy. It quite simply is that good.

Clocking in at 400 pages, I haven't finished reading through all of The Lair of the Leopard Empresses, but I'm knee-deep in doing so. I get an Astonishing Sorcerors & Swordsmen of Hyperboria vibe along with the familiarity of a well-worn glove like Tunnels & Trolls (I mean Monsters! Monsters! Old habits die hard). Very much a "you got your peanut butter in my chocolate" moment. Somehow I feel this was written to perfectly emulate Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. Then again, Conan also makes a good fit and so many others.

While I am mind blown by the number of spell lists within these pages, its also been eye-opening to me. While I have been struggling to make a supers game using the M!M! ruleset, Sarah Newton has revealed the path to take is both old and new. To say The Lair of the Leopard Empresses is inspirational doesn't do it justice. I'm looking forward to future releases in the series as well as the opportunity to inflict some d6-based swords & sorcery on my regular gaming group.

Being both a setting and a complete ruleset, The Lair of the Leopard Empresses does a fine job of keeping everything presentable and well-organized. My old eyes aren't getting any younger and this was perfectly readable ;)

You can snag The Lair of the Leopard Empresses for $25 in PDF or $60 in HC print plus PDF.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

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 

Kickstarter - OSE Quest for the Ruby Heart Adventure Path #1

Old-School Essentials introductory module and comic book, Palace of the Golden Princess

It's interesting to watch the success of OSR Kickstarters after the OGL fiasco by WotC earlier this year. Wizards practically gave steroids to their competition, at all levels, by instilling a 5e backlash in the general gaming environment. 

The Quest for the Ruby Heart Kickstarter for OSE is one of those Kickstarters set to ride the anti-WotC wave. Funded and then some within hours after launch, Preston has a history of putting out professional comic book releases. Quest for the Ruby Heart is his first OSE release, and it includes the first two issues of Palace of the Golden Princess. Oh, and STL files for 3D-printed miniatures. You get all this in PDF for 10 bucks or 29 bucks for print plus PDF.

This Kickstarter offers...

...a 28 page full color adventure written for the Old School Essentials system. If you are interested in seeing that 5e version of it, click here for a free copy. 

I took the spirit of the original B3 adventure to create a femdom town next to a dungeon to explore. I went a bit further and created a world for this adventure, behold!

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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 

Bundle of Holding - Dungeon Age (Adventure Modules for 5e and B/X)

I hadn't heard of Joseph R. Lewis, the author of these adventure modules before seeing this bundle, but I have to say, at a buck and a half an adventure, I'm in.

Adventurer! This all-new Dungeon Age Adventures Quick Deal presents ten short tabletop fantasy roleplaying modules in the Dungeon Age series by writer and game designer Joseph R. Lewis. Set on Joseph's ancient world of Harth (inspired by classic fantasy authors like Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, and Fritz Leiber), and presented in dual versions for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition and for Old School Revival-style retroclones, these ready-to-run Dungeon Age scenarios fit easily into any ongoing fantasy campaign. Explore a toxic city (Acid Metal Howl) – ride a flying merchant ship across the Great Sand Sea (Desert Angel Fiasco) – try to escape a cursed village (Witches of Frostwyck) – and two of these modules are titled, accurately, Kraken Corpse Delve and Orbital Vampire Tower.

For just US$14.95 you get all ten modules in our Dungeon Age Collection (retail value $66) as DRM-free ebooks, each presented in versions for both D&D Fifth Edition and for old-school B/X-style retroclones such as Old-School Essentials.

 The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

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  

Kickstarter - Tome of Essential Horrors (OSE)

The Tome of Essential Horrors contains more than 100 monsters, as well as an OSE stat block, B&W art, and an encounter description.

I love monsters in my RPG games. It's why, when I first decided I was going to play around with self-publishing, I kicked it off with what was essentially, two mini monster zines. I've also designed and published many monsters under the OGL right here at The Tavern.

The Tome of Essential Horrors Kickstarter is simply more monsters for my old-school RPGs and that rocks. Written for OSE but easily usable with any of the retro-clones with little if any effort, it brings over 100 monsters from prior Swords & Wizardry (and likely Pathfinder) versions of the monsters up to OSE standards, with new art and layout.

It has been more than 20 years since Necromancer Games first unleashed the Tome of Horrors, and our philosophy has not changed: Everybody needs more monsters! Necromancer Games has always been known for its monsters, and with the Tome of Essential Horrors, we would like to introduce those unique and mysterious creatures to your Old-School Essentials' table.

This beast of a book contains more than 100 monsters and brings classic monsters from Frog God Games and Necromancer Games to OSE referees and players. Each entry includes a full OSE stat block, classic black-and-white art, and an interesting encounter that highlights the creature. The Tome has been designed with Advanced Fantasy Old-School Essentials in mind but is compatible with both Classic Fantasy and Advanced Fantasy OSE.

Personally, I love the encounters. Many of the encounters can be likely be fleshed out into full mini-adventures, so there's lots of gaming material within the pages. Frog God is offering a sneak peek at the contents, with the Naga section of the book available for free download at DTRPG.

Here's how the Print versions line up (note: PDF starts at $15)

Print Formats

The Tome of Essential Horrors has two formats available. The interior pages and trim sizes are identical (A5, approximately 5.8" x 8.3"). These will be printed via DriveThruRPG’s Print-on-Demand Service*.

1. Softcover: Tome of Essential Horrors Softcover ($28) and Tome of Essential Horrors SC + VTT ($43)

Full-color laminated cover pages and paperback covers are glued together at the spine.

2. Hardcover: Tome of Essential Horrors Hardcover ($48) and Tome of Essential Horrors HC + VTT ($63)

Hardcover (Case Laminate). Pages are glued to hardcover at the ends.

*A traditional, offset printed book is not planned, but if we exceed 750 physical hardcover book orders before project completion, we will assess and re-evaluate the offset printing option.

 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

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 

Sale - Creality Ender 3 V2 3D Printer for 99 Bucks at Microcenter

One of our loyal Taverners sent me the link for the exceptional sale price I've seen for a quality 3d Printer.

The Creality Ender 3 V2 3D Printer is on sale for 99 bucks (over 200 at the Creality website), thru June 2nd (or when supplies last) at Microcenter. I believe this sale is in-store only. You need to be a NEW Microcenter Customer, so make sure you use a NEW email when you sign up.

• Carborundum Glass Platform

• UL Certified Meanwell Power Supply

• Print Resume Function

• 220 x 220 x 250mm Print Size

 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

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 

Bundle of Holding - Arc Dream Mythos

I will certainly say I don't play enough Call of Cthulhu. By not enough, I don't play it at all these days and haven't in years, but I gladly devour support material for CoC when I come across it. The Unspeakable Oath is an amazing zine dedicated to all things CoC.

The Arc Dream Mythos Bundle includes the content of eight issues of The Unspeakable Oath as well as a 200+ page Dreamlands campaign for 12.95.  Simply an amazing deal for Call of Cthulhu fans.

Investigator! This Arc Dream Mythos Bundle presents Cthulhu Mythos tabletop roleplaying supplements and magazines from Arc Dream Publishing. Best known for its Delta Green RPG line, Arc Dream has also published the extraordinary Dreamlands campaign The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man and many issues of The Unspeakable Oath, a digest of arcane lore supporting Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu and other Mythos RPGs. Each issue of the Oath presents Arcane Artifacts, Mysterious Manuscripts, Tales of Terror, Messages in a Bottle, Unconventional Firearms, and full-length scenarios. Contributors include some of the hobby's best and most knowledgeable Lovecraftian gaming writers.

For just US$12.95 you get all six titles in our Unspeakable Collection (retail value $64) as DRM-free ebooks, including the 294-page Call of Cthulhu Dreamlands campaign The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man; the Old Ones Rising compilation that gathers The Unspeakable Oath issues #18-21; and four more individual Oath issues: The Unspeakable Oath issue #22, issue #23, issue #24, and issue #25.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

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 

Acquired an "Emergency" Game

1st off, Happy Mother's Day to all the Patrons here at the Tavern, I hope you've been able to celebrate appropriately......

Today I'm supposed to be busy prepping for NTRPG 2023, but I was asked to go on a last-minute business trip to a far-away location in place of a coworker who had a loved one admitted to the ER. Now normally I enjoy travelling, but this trip.....well I'm having a less-than-stellar time in my hotel. I'm not mentioning this to complain here, 'cause 1) why would you care, 2) how would you benefit from that info, and 3) I don't think venting would do me any good.

No, I'm mentioning this because I have learned what I think is a valuable lesson and I'm kind of surprised that I haven't (obviously) learned this lesson before: one should bring some "emergency" gaming supplies while travelling.

Now I did bring a set of dice and a reprint of the D&D B/X rules with me so technically I did bring some gaming supplies, but we weren't having an online game while I was travelling and even if we did, the bandwidth here at this hotel would preclude me from taking part in the game if we did have one. Ugh.....

Luckily for me there is one decent FLGS here in this city and I was able to pickup a copy of EPIC Zombies.....which is odd, because I think I have a copy of EPIC Dungeons at home that I definitely should have picked, and probably definitely will in the future. This boring Sunday morning I'm fixing to open up this game and I'm kind of stoked because it seems like an ideal, even better than the EPIC Dungeons I already had (and mentioned a year or so ago). Small footprint (for packing) game, 1-5 players? So I can run this solo or with a small group.....

....but there's ALSO like five different game modes? Wait...what?

Fortunately there is an EPIC Zombies entry in the Dized app and there is even a YouTube video showing how to play the basic Humans vs. Zombies cooperative mode.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some mothers to call and some zombies to kill.....