Swords & Wizardry Light - Forum

Saturday, July 13, 2024

Deal of the Day - When Sea Is Calling: A Guide for Nautical Adventures (OSR)


Today's Deal of the Day is When Sea Is Calling: A Guide for Nautical Adventures. Normally 8 bucks in PDF, but until tomorrow morning When Sea Is Calling: A Guide for Nautical Adventures is on sale for 4.80.

In truth, I've always avoided waterborne adventures as a GM, as I never felt comfortable with a nautical setting. This may be a useful resource for those willing to take the plunge ;)

When Sea Is Calling is a system-neutral OSR-oriented guide for (non-historical) nautical adventures. It is intended for both DMs and solo players. With it, explore the surface and the dark depths of the sea, meet its strange inhabitants, lift terrible curses and get your hands on fabulous treasures!

The purpose of this book is not to generate a sea map. Instead, it is meant to be used with a pre-existing one (and is compatible with Sandbox Generator). The aim of this supplement is rather to generate encounters during sea voyages.


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.

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

Friday, July 12, 2024

New Release - ShadowRim (ShadowDark Setting)

 


ShadowRim is a new release from Chubby Funster Games for ShadowDark. Already Copper at DTRPG 10 days after release, ShadowRim is currently on sale for 9 bucks in PDF.

Enter the frozen northern province of an Empire in turmoil, inspired by the greatest CRPG of all time.

  • Create an enduring ShadowDark campaign as you traverse a massive map with over 200 keyed locations and 450 encounters.
  • Play as Catfolk, Dark Elf, High Elf, Imperial, Lizardfolk, Nord, Orc, or Wood Elf.
  • Choose one of the Nine Divine Signs to guide you; the Blade, Coin, Dragon, Eye, Falcon, Horn, Fist, Ring, or Skull.
  • Build alchemical knowledge through play using ingredients with up to 4 different interacting effects that change every time you play.
  • Enchant your own magic items using the captured souls of your enemies.
  • Fight classic monsters that you know and love, such as Dwarven automatons, tyrannical High Elven Dominionists, Sabretooths, Spriggans, and more.
  • Choose to support the Empire, one of two different rebel factions, or your own goals as the province slides towards Civil War.


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.

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

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Humble Bundle - HUGE Classic Pathfinder Bundle

Earlier today a HUGE Classic Pathfinder Bundle hit Humble Bundle. If you play ANY of the earlier versions of D&D or its clones, it's easy enough to convert Pathfinder 1e on the fly. 

74 PDFs for 25 bucks - (and 69 more PDFs for 50 bucks total) - more gaming than you can shake a stick at.



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.

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

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Bundle of Holding - Spirit of '77

I grew up in the 70s, and TV was my babysitter. Spirit of '77 is me reliving the 70s as I experienced it via TV - Starsky & Hutch, Mission Impossible, Columbo, and all the rest. THIS is a game I want to own, if only for the source material. For 9.95 you can grab the Funky Collection of Spirit of '77. For less than 19 bucks, you can snag the Funkier Collection ;)

Hey there, bopper! Get good vibes with this new Spirit of '77 Bundle featuring Spirit of '77, the high-octane 1970s pop-culture tabletop roleplaying game from Monkeyfun Studios. In a world where Nixon made a deal with aliens to win the Vietnam War and remains in power behind the scenes, your characters – kung-fu tough guys, red hot mommas, starry-eyed rockers, hardboiled sleuths on an expense account, maverick agents, motorcycle daredevils, you name it – might investigate government conspiracies, fight drug-dealing luchadores, ride shotgun in a Disco Ambulance, or confront angry spirits at 77,000 feet. You solve problems, shoot troubles, and stick it to The Man in funkadelic adventures that use an open-ended player-driven rules system Powered by the Apocalypse.

For just US$9.95 you get all four titles in our Funky Collection (retail value $57) as DRM-free ebooks, including the complete Spirit of '77 core rulebook (previously in the Sept 2017 Apocalypse Engine 2 Bundle), the rules expansion Wide World of '77, and two scenario compilations, Greatest Hits 1 and Greatest Hits 2.

And if you pay more than the threshold price of $18.43, you'll level up and also get our entire Even Funkier Collection with ten more titles worth an additional $50, including three "Very Special Episode" one-shots – Masterpiece '77, Return to the Cruise Ship of the Damned, and Wrath of Cons – and two "Pilots" (campaign starters): Rad Planet: Big Trouble in Little Jupiter and Spirit of the Seventh Realm: The Once, Twice, and Future King.


 

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.


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

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Kickstarter - Tome of Essential Horrors 2 (OSE)


Frog God Games and Necromancer Games are back with a new book for Old-School Essentials containing over 100 new monsters.

Before The Year That Shall Not Be Named, I often worked at the Frog God Games table at various conventions. Frog God also published my Swords & Wizardry Light Rules. There was a period when The Tenkar's Tavern Discord hosted Frog God Games' Official Discord presence. I'm also friends with many of the owners at Frog God. So yes, there are some connections ;)

Tome of Essential Horrors 2 for OSE is Frog God Games/Necromancer Games' latest Kickstarter. Tome of Essential Horrors 2 is 15 bucks in PDF and 48 bucks in print plus PDF (POD for International Backers or Standard Hardcover: Offset printed A5 hardcover version that will be printed on an offset printer overseas, meaning it is traditionally printed). Both of these come with PDF stretch goals. Shipping is not included with the print versions. If you want the stretch goals in print, you need to back for the foil cover Deluxe Edition. Damn, very tempting...

Tome of Essential Horrors 2 is a 150-plus-page hardcover book containing monsters (most in gorgeous black-and-white art) with fully designed stat blocks for you to pluck out and use in your own OSE game. Each entry is designed with Advanced Fantasy Old-School Essentials in mind, but totally compatible with both Classic Fantasy and Advanced Fantasy OSE, plus any and all classic “BX” versions of the world’s most popular roleplaying game.


 


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.

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


Monday, July 8, 2024

Announcement - EGG Con is Seeking Donations to Fund the E. Gary Gygax Memorial Scholarship



I shared this on YouTube and am now posting it on the blog. It's a good cause, so look in your gaming collection and see if there is anything you can spare - Tenkar

Please consider donating an item to benefit the E Gary Gygax Memorial Scholarship Auction to be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, July 27th at American Legion Hall, during the first annual EGG Con in Lake Geneva. Items can be sent to EGG Con, C/O GAXLAND, Box 216, Lake Geneva, WI 53147 or dropped off at the GAXLAND/EGG Con Information booth by 11:00, Saturday, July 27th. If you have questions, contact heidiATgaxlandDOTcom.  

What is the E. Gary Gygax Memorial Scholarship, you ask? Erik and Heidi Gygax Garland recently set up this new annual scholarship award through the Badger High School Scholarship Committee, with the first scholarship to be awarded to a high school junior or senior in May 2025. To be eligible, the student must be in good standing and desire to pursue higher education leading to a career as an author and/or game designer. The applicants will submit a short story in the genre of fantasy or science fiction with the awardee being chosen by a committee of three (or more) published authors. 

All proceeds, less payment processing fees (usually about 3%-5%) realized from the auction will go to the scholarship fund. Erik Garland

 

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.

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

Sunday, July 7, 2024

I Don't Think Gamerant Gets D&D Treasure

I Don't Think Gamerant Gets D&D Treasure
I haven't picked up Baldur's Gate 3 (yet) but  came across this Gamerant article regarding the distribution of loot in the game vs. TTRP D&D. The title was total clickbait (well, at least clickbait to the likes of me): Baldur's Gate 3's Approach to Treasure is a Great Lesson for D&D DMs

Now I read the article and I don't think the author gets it. The core of the article, and coincidentally my problems with it can be summed up in just these two sentences from the article: "Crates, buried chests, and specialized loot containers are at every turn in the slice of Faerun players can access, something that greatly encourages exploration and thorough investigation. This is in contrast to the way many DMs approach loot, reserving piles of gold, consumables, equipment, and magic items for the post-boss treasure hoard."

Even in video games, and especially in TTRPGs, I don't think players should be rewarded with loot simply for walking around. Sure....walking around might lead to opportunities to adventure and acquire loot, but you shouldn't be picking up loot simply because you wandered around and tripped over some boxes. Sounds more like smashing every pot & crate in The Legend of Zelda.

I think that some of the best loot should be reserved for a post-boss treasure hoard. I mean, think about it.....the BBG (Big Bad Guy) is generally large & in charge, right? If he/she/it wasn't then there's nothing for the party to contend with. As the BBG, a good percentage of the available loot is going to be taken up to be hoarded or used. Sure, some items may be farmed out for minions to use, but the good stuff should be hoarded from and used against the party.

WTF would the BBG take all of the good stuff and box it up and store "at every turn....of Faerun"? If that was the case, wouldn't somebody else....hell, everybody else, be rooting around smashing & grabbing what they can?

I mean I kind of get wanting to have the players explore everything that the GM (or in the case of BG3, game designers) has created, but you know....that's not what being a GM/DM is. I do not feel it is the GM's job to get the players to explore every nook & cranny. The GM can dangle some threads for the players to pull on, but they should be running the show...making the actual decisions. Sure, there is some expected back & forth, but when the GM starts pushing the players to basically show off....that's not the name of the game here.





Personal Note: This is going to be my last regular post here at Tenkar's Tavern. I'm not even sure how many years I've been posting on Sundays, but I feel like the reasons I started doing so aren't relevant anymore and posting here has become a bit much for me. I'd like to get back to my own blog and doing reviews, free GM resources, and whatnot and honestly after posting on Sundays I'm not feeling like doing more over at my own space...

No worries. Erik & I are good and I'm grateful for the opportunity he gave me to share my thoughts here.