Tenkar's Tavern: 2023-09-10

Friday, September 15, 2023

Kickstarter - Macuahuitl - Whitebox Roleplaying in the Aztec Empire

Old-School Whitebox Roleplaying in the Ancient Aztec Empire

When you mix White Box gaming with my love of history, from any and all eras and locals, you likely have a winner in my eyes. The Macuahuitl - Whitebox Roleplaying in the Aztec Empire Kickstarter scratches an itch I never knew I had, roleplaying in the era of the Aztecs.

The Macuahuitl is 10 bucks in PDF, 12 bucks for POD plus PDF, and 32 bucks for offset print plus PDF.

It is the age of the 5th sun. The Mexica (Me-Shee-Ka) people settled and conquered the valley of Mexico. The grand city of Tenochtitlan is feared throughout the valley. The Tlaxcala Confederacy and other kingdoms and cities resist the might of the Aztecs, but for how long?
Macuahuitl is an old-school game using modified Whitebox rules to allow for gritty sword and sorcery adventuring in the age of the Aztec Empire (prior to the Spanish conquest) during the rise of the Triple City Alliance. Players will roll up characters and select a class from iconic warrior societies from within the empire. As a group, they must survive not just the human foes of the Mexica, but the supernatural forces hailing from the 13 heavens that lurk in the wilderness as well.

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Free OSR Material - City of Shiran - Harn

I've been a fan of Harn since I first found the original World release of Harn back in the 80s. So detailed, so realistic. Almost too much so for my players, LOL. Now, you can sample some Harn for free.

City of Shiran is a full-sized Harn release detailing a small city. You can use it as it is, or pull out elements that you want for your own urban environment. Besides, the price is right - it's free!

Shiran is Hârn’s smallest city. Located on the north bank of the Thard River near Lake Benath, it is the second-largest settlement in the Thardic Republic and capital of Shiran Province, one of six in the Republic. Shiran is one of the Republic’s economic and cultural centers. The city has a reputation for corruption and hedonism and is known throughout Hârn as the “City of Sins.”
Shiran offers game masters many opportunities as the site of urban intrigue and adventure.
The Shiran article contains an overview of the city's history, economics, religion, government, and military forces. In addition to a full-page color player map, color GM maps are provided for each district of the city and more than 125 locations are described. Color floor plans and detailed descriptions are included for the Pamesani Arena, site of gladiatorial games and depraved spectacles; the Crimson Palace, Hârn's most famous house of courtesans; and the Temple of Halea, the Empress of Opulence and Queen of Pleasures.
Some material in this article was originally published in Cities of Hârn (1983) and Son of Cities (1987). The article has been greatly expanded and organized to allow for future expansion of new plans and sites within the city.
This article now includes a 2-page expansion of the Bull Ring Tavern, located in the cellar of a nondescript warehouse in the Kobar District, home to many of Shiran's poorer residents. Although most popular with ordinary folk, the Bull Ring is also frequented by members of wealthy land-owning clans seeking a taste of the forbidden. Some patrons appreciate the poor illumination and the lack of questions as long as one’s coin is good. Some activities demand privacy and discretion. The tavern features a fighting pit, where men and animals fight for the entertainment of the crowd. The Bull Ring is a nasty, merciless place, and is owned by Goril of Ardair, the head of the local Lia-Kavair (Thieves' Guild).
This location expansion describes the establishment, its proprietor, and the sordid events that take place. Full-color plans of the building are included, along with several adventure hooks the GM can use to bring the location into play.

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Kickstarter - Fantasy Sidequest & NPC Decks (Inkwell Designs)

I've been a fan of Inkwell Designs since the early days of Kickstarter when I backed the stock art project he had organized. Later, I found his Dungeonmorph Dice, and before I knew it I was grabbing every deck he put on the market.

Joe's latest Kickstarter is Fantasy Sidequest & NPC Decks. Another useful resource for the DM who likes to improv or run their sessions with minimal prep. More decks, I'm collecting them like dice at this point ;)

How Do These Decks Help GMs?
Improvise: Did a player take an off-hand NPC comment as a real plot hook? Tell your group to take a snack break, skim a few Sidequests cards that have summaries at the top, pick one, read the short outline, and play! Or do the players want to chat with some NPCs you don't have prepared? Glance at a few NPC cards, pick one, and be ready to go!
Create an Adventure: Read some of the Sidequest card summaries and find one that fits the current situation, start with the given outline and flesh it out (add and detail your campaign's locations and NPCs), and you're ready for your next session or two. Don't have enough NPCs in your campaign? Pick an NPC Portraits Deck and you've got 50+ more characters ready to go complete with portraits, personalities, backgrounds, quirks and more!
Plan a Campaign: Pick the Sidequest deck that best fits your campaign's genre and setting, then skim the summaries of many of the cards. Choose several cards that will be possible adventures for your party. Set their locations in your campaign's starting area. Then brainstorm a rumor or two for each to feed your player characters. See which they are most interested in and play! Use the matching NPC Portraits Deck for well-developed NPCs with personalities, secrets, needs, and histories.
More About Sidequest Decks
Whether you're a seasoned GM or just starting out, Sidequest Decks are a tremendous resource helping you guide your players through captivating mini-adventures that add depth, excitement, and surprise to your campaigns.
Each deck has 54+ poker-sized cards. Each card has a map on one side and a system neutral mini-adventure outline on the other side. The outline starts with a short overview for the GM. (Skim these to find an adventure that fits the circumstances.) Choose between a couple of story hooks to get the adventure started. Next several encounter ideas move the game along. Customize them depending on what your players do (drop some, change them to fit the circumstances). Finally most cards wrap up with one or two follow-up adventure ideas. The sample card above is from our Mini-Lairs deck, which has more detail in the Encounter Key, but no follow-up ideas.
More About NPC Portraits Decks
Each NPC Portraits Deck also has 54+ poker sized cards. Each card is a character, with a portrait on one side and suggestions for playing the NPC on the other. The portrait on the front of the card can inspire the GM and spark the imagination of the players. Top-notch writing on the back details the character's personality and background with story hooks sprinkled throughout.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Bundle of Holding - KotDT Trouble 5

I'm a huge fan of Knights of the Dinner Table, going back to the days of Shadis Magazine. There's always something that reminds me of my own group from back in the 80s and 90s within those pages.

As I type this, KotDT Trouble 5 Bundle is live on Bundle of Holding for 24.95.

This Bundle includes KoDT Bundles of Trouble V41-50, which in turn includes content from KoDT issues #139-178 (2008-2011). Maybe it's just me, but I greatly prefer reading my comic books on my iPad these days. It is simply easier on my eyes ;)

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Supers on Sale at DTRPG - As Much as 80% Certain Titles

Truth in advertising - I am NOT a huge Supers fan when it comes to RPGs. Love the movies and the series, enjoyed the comics back in the day. It's just that the Supers Bug in RPGs never quite bit me.

Well, this week there is a Supers Sales at DTRPG, (titles above are 80% off) and if you ARE bitten by the bug, I'm quite sure you'll find a title or three that is right up your alley.

Monday, September 11, 2023

Bundle of Holding - Hostile (Cepheus Engine/Traveller Horror RPG)

If you are going to push a horror RPG, September is the month to do it as we ramp up to celebrating Halloween at the end of October. Humble Bundle has Trail of Cthulhu and Bundle of Holding already has a bundle or two up for Delta Green. So, we have 1930-era horror and modern-day espionage horror, but where is the sci-fi horror? Well, Bundle of Holding has it with Hostile, a stand-alone sci-fi horror RPG built on the Cepheus Engine (itself built off the Mongoose Traveller SRD).

You can get the Starter Bundle of Hostile for 9.95, or for a hair over 20 bucks, you can get it all in the Bonus Collection.

Adventurer! Name notwithstanding, this Hostile Bundle, resurrected from April 2022, is a friendly offer of the tabletop science-fiction roleplaying game of deep-space alien horror, HOSTILE from Zozer Games. Based on the Cepheus Engine rules (closely modeled on Classic Traveller), HOSTILE is a gritty retro-future setting inspired by movies like Outland, Blade Runner, and Alien – a universe of harsh planets and toxic atmospheres – claustrophobic space freighters and brutal industrial colonies – ancient horrors entombed on icy moons – killer ETs, perfectly evolved to survive at any cost. Whether you're a combat-weary veteran or a miner on a grungy corporate star tug deep in the Extraction Zones, HOSTILE pits you against deadly hazards in an unforgiving void where no one can hear you scream.
This revived April 2022 offer gives you a new chance to get much of the HOSTILE line for an unbeatable bargain price – an obviously generous and well-meaning gesture. For just US$9.95 you get all five titles in this revived offer's Starter Collection (retail value $48) as DRM-free ebooks, including the complete standalone HOSTILE Rules and Setting core books, the Gunlocker weapons guide (it'll come in handy, trust us), the Cepheus Handouts, and the Referee's Screen.
And if you pay more than the threshold price of $20.04, you'll level up and also get this revival's entire Bonus Collection with eight supplements worth an additional $56 that let you build out your pitiless universe:
Three guides to survival on bad worlds that don't want you: Explorers, Dirtside, and Colony Builder
Two bestiaries about entities that really, really do want you: Alien Breeds and Synthetics
Two hardware and vehicle guides: Gunboats & Shuttles and Marine Corps Handbook 2215
A campaign framework well described by its title: Crew Expendable

Sunday, September 10, 2023

New FLGS: TableTop Game and Hobby in Overland Park (Kansas City)

Today I really feel like phoning it in.....

....I had a bunch of use-or-lose vacation that expired on the 8th. I went to the family farm in Iowa to do mostly nothing. I've got some health issues that make the 12 hour drive problematic, but 6 hours is very doable (actually I can do 12, if I take a good 16 hours to do it!). Luckily for me, Kansas City is s little over halfway to the farm and that's potentially good for my gaming.

Kansas City has a Micro Center and this time around I got a whole slew of new computer parts to do a massive upgrade to my file server. It is long overdue and since I store my RPG files on there, along with my 3D printing files, having that work...better, is always good. Among my upgrades though is a 8GB video card (I was getting along fine with an old 2GB card...) so now that same computer can also run my old computer game emulators.

When I'm not able to sling dice, playing some old-school MAME or PC games.....well, at least it's a game.

I'm not conceited enough to think any readers here at the Tavern could care that much about my vacation or the potential (some assembly required) new computer, except Steve (Shout to Steve...Hi Steve!). Something that might be of interest though, especially if you get the chance to stop in Kansas City, is the most excellent TableTop Game and Hobby. It's a large, eat-off-the-floor clean place with a wide selection of board games, RPGs, and war gaming. It's connected to the Cardboard Corner Cafe which is a cool coffee shop where you can game.

Honestly it is one of the nicest game stores I've ever seen. I travel a lot for work (past & present) and I've seen a metric butt-ton of game stores and TableTop Game and Hobby is the nicest I've seen. There have been some other pretty good ones, but nothing comes so close as this shop. If you're passing through I suggest scheduling a break/stop to check it out.

Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 52, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

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