Humble Bundle - RuneQuest by Chaosium

My first experience with RuneQuest was Avalon Hill's Edition, but shortly after that, I found RuneQuest 2e (along with Pavis and Big Rubble) at an obscure convention at Columbia University. Before I knew it, I was running my first sandbox campaign, which was magical. The current edition of RuneQuest harkens back to the earlier editions of RuneQuest in flavor and rules.

The RuneQuest Bundle is all it at 18 bucks, but this is one of those rare Humble Bundles where you get something VERY valuable for as little as a single buck - the RuneQuerst Starter Set. All you need to begin playing RQ for as little as a buck.

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Deal of the Day - Downtime in Zyan (OSR Adventure)

Today's Deal of the Day is Downtime in Zyan by Ben Laurance. Normally 7.50 in PDF, but until tomorrow morning Downtime in Zyan is on sale for 3 bucks.

Downtime in Zyan presents a system for downtime, the activities characters engage in between adventures. The mole rat people of Wishery will be your guides to this enchanting subject. Brought to life by the whimsical art of Evlyn Moreau, the mole rats will show you how to transform the neglected space between adventures into a site where player-driven schemes and dreams grow with delightful results. The unified but flexible system of downtime procedures presented in this zine allows players to leave a lasting mark on the campaign world beginning at the end of their very first adventure. The zine presents flavorful but simple rules for building institutions, cultivating relationships, crafting splendid items, gathering intelligence, mastering martial techniques, researching obscure topics, engaging in wild revelries, plumbing the perilous depths of spellcraft, mastering skills, and seeking enlightenment through spiritual exercises. Supercharge your sandbox campaign with this elegant and innovative supplement! 

Downtime in Zyan is system agnostic. But it is written with older editions of Dungeons & Dragons, their retro-clones (such as Old School Essentials), and other rules lite OSR systems in mind. 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

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 - Gary's Appendix: Issue 6 - Dragons!

I'm on a Kickstarter kick, but there are so many good ones funding right now its impossible not to ;)

So, a peek behind the curtain. I know Jeff personally, and he was kind enough to lay out the first two issues of Torchlight. He is a skilled layout artist and project manager, and I've been very impressed by the prior issues of Gary's Appendix.

The Gary's Appendix: Issue 6 - Dragons! Kickstarter is 3 bucks in PDF (a bargain) and 16 bucks (plus shipping) for the print plus PDF.

Hot off the heels of Issue #5 after an apocalyptic detour with Journey to the Madlands, we present a new assortment of articles to inspire your games filled with deep dungeons and horrible dragons. For Issue #6 we're doubling down on that dragon bit with a dedicated issue to wyrms of all shapes and sizes.

Inspired by the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide.

Gary wrote and collected a vast amount of information, rules, and guidance. Its haphazard nature and perplexing subjects makes it as fresh today as when he penned the work almost fifty years ago. Indeed, Gary's Appendix draws inspiration from the past works of the gaming giants. 

Gary's Appendix is about our love for the past and our excitement for the future. We do not have the audacity to believe that we can produce a work that matches the magic of the AD&D DMG. Instead, we seek the spirt of that evergreen work by presenting an array of articles that are enjoyable to read, informative to the GM, and useful at the gaming table.

Each issue contains a collection of articles written for the OSR by a variety of authors. In addition, Jeff contributes an expanded entry for a collection of monsters from the OSE collection.

 

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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

Kickstarter - Pirates of the Goblin River (DCC RPG)

Legends of Lohre folklore-based roleplay for DCC delivers its most action-packed adventure module yet with Pirates of the Goblin River.

I'm a huge fan of DCC RPG adventures, from Goodman Games and third parties, even more so than the system itself. Legends of Lohre is a DCC RPG adventure, 5 bucks in PDF and 12 bucks in print plus PDF, and the adventure path would work well for a more traditional OSR-style system.

What are you backing? An independent DCC-compatible adventure module featuring tons of art from Stefan Poag, William McAusland, Alexander Moore and Brett Hess, inspired by Beowulf, The Odyssey, Treasure Island, and the tradition of nautical adventure stories. It's the third module in a five-part adventure path that emphasizes roleplay and character development, A Tale of Two Sisters. The adventure path tells the tale of villagers rising to become folk heroes, a saga PCs are at the center of, with NPCs and the setting evolving around them. 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

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 - Massacre Grounds (Weird Frontiers/DCC)

As always, full disclosure. I met Matt (the project creator) this past June at NTRPG Con. Aside from both of us being retired LEOs, we obviously shared our passion for RPGs. Matt talked about his upcoming adventure for Weird Frontiers (Massacre Grounds) and it sounded like a blast. So, here we are :)

Matt's Kickstarter is Massacred Grounds for Weird Frontiers (for those that don't know, Weird Frontiers is a Weird West Genre RPG power by the DCC RPG engine). Massacre Grounds is a funnel (God, I love DCC funnels way more than I should) for about a dozen zero-level PCs, so essentially 3 to 6 players if you do the math ;)

The Pitch: The story is a combination of local Arizona history and campfire stories from my own life experiences. In the cowboy way, I have added my own tall tales and a healthy amount of new content for the Weird Frontiers Core Rulebook. Players will interact with NPCs that are some of the colorful characters from my life and characters that are based on the history surrounding the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. PCs will also visit historical locations that surround the mountains.

In the new class, PCs will ride bears, mountain lions, or wolves. Each animal has its own characteristics. The chapáya rider class is compatible with other Weird Frontiers adventures. It can easily be converted for use with DCC (Dungeon Crawl Classics) and MCC (Mutant Crawl Classics) adventures.

The new monsters are based on the effect the Seven Days of Night had on the Arizona Territory. Cholla cactuses are dangerous in the Arizona Desert, but the new rattlesnake cholla is flat out deadly. I added a lot of normal critters that are found locally. Since you are playing Weird Frontiers, I added the un-dead versions of many animals as well.

PDFs for Massacre Grounds are 10 bucks, PDF + Print is 15 (plus 4 for the POPD on the DTRPG side) and 50 bucks gets you all the above and an online game with the author. Limited slots for the last, so if it interests you, don't wait too long!

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

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 - Arduin Fantasy Map Art Collection

First, it's time to get the disclaimers out of the way. I've known George & Dave at Emperors Choice for a few years. I talk with George on the phone about once a month on average (Dave slightly less). These guys are passionate about Arduin and the legacy that they are stewards of. If only the D&D IP had such individuals steering that ship, it wouldn't be as off-course as it is. But I digress.

Last week Emperors Choice sent me copies of everything in the Kickstarter (except for the new mailing tube - it wasn't in stock yet). Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING was packed with precision and care. I need to find time to take some photos of it all - hopefully in time for this week's Talking Crit Live! on Wednesday Night, when George & Dave will be joining us for the live stream.

New Arduin Mailing Tube

So, what can I say about the Arduin Fantasy Map Art Collection Kickstarter? This is high-quality stuff. No slight intended to DriveThru's POD maps as they do their job as intended, but the quality of the paper (parchment-like) of the Arduin maps is second to none. You WILL be tempted to get these professionally framed. As for the art prints? They literally scream Arduin, and also are worthy of framing. The map index makes me want to sit on the floor with the map and check the hexes, but my back won't allow that, and tables apparently need to be used for meals and such. Trust me, I'm working on it :)

Everything exists and is completed and printed. This isn't a Kickstarter on a wish and a prayer. These are high-quality maps and prints that will look amazing framed - but the maps probably want to get used at the table. You know, you might actually want two sets...

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

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

Awesome to See one Convention Actively Supporting Another!

I'm regularly amazed at just how awesome our RPG community can be. We have some great people, some of which actively try to come off as assholes, but that's a discussion for another day. I can think of one guy who kind of is an asshole, but also a good guy....just don't be a fanboy grognard or a psuedo-intellectual rules-lawyer....

...anyway, again something for another day or for shit-talking at the bar after-hours at a con.

Speaking of cons, (and this wasn't an intentional bad attempt at a transition) I've stopped going to the big cons (Origins & GenCon) and made North Texas RPG Con my "home" convention. Already stocking up for next year's event (more than halfway there as far as whiskey aquisition) but I decided to branch out a bit and attend Long Con again. We're 129 days out from that convention and I did go once, but it was a bit of a drive. It's only five hours, but the one time I went it felt a LOT longer. Not something I'm looking forward to, but will just have to suck it up....

....unless I decide to get on the NTRPG party bus! Wait, what? Yep, NTRPG is helping support Long Con by making it easier for people to attend. How cool is that?!

From Facebook: "NTRPGCON will be sponsoring the NTX Express from Dallas to Longview for LongCon this year. We are leasing a 60 passenger bus with WiFi and BYOB party favors. Anyone flying into Dallas is welcome aboard. We will be departing from the Westin Hotel in Irving. The Westin has also agreed to let anyone who wants to park there, from our group, park for free. More details to come as we have them."

I have to assume this bus won't work out for me because of timing, or if I need/have to stay at a Marriott to maintain my status (it's important to me), but I have at least few days out of the 129 remaining to get that figured out.