Tenkar's Tavern: 2024-07-21

Saturday, July 27, 2024

Christmas in July Sale - New Doorbusters!

Yep, I almost missed this. The DTRPG Christmas in July Sale has a new assortment of deep discount titles. Here's the other assortment.

Warhammer FRP, Wraith the Oblivion, Shadowrun Sixth World, Dragon Age, Capers, and Alice is Missing are the current "door busters". Of course, I own the first four in print and/or PDF ;)

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

Friday, July 26, 2024

Kickstarter - D6 System: Second Edition

The classic West End Games ruleset returns in an updated and licensed new multi-genre rulebook!

Somewhere, packed away, is my WEG Star Wars rulebook. I don't think I ever ran it. Not because it was a bad system, but because my gaming group didn't have any major Star Wars fans, so the draw just wasn't there.

Fast forward a few decades and Open D6 hits the market (essentially the Star Wars RPG with the serial numbers scratched off and multi genre) , with the PDFs available for free and the print core books fairly inexpensive. I won them all, and have played a small amount of Open d6 at conventions, but I still haven't run the system.

The D6 System: Second Edition Kickstarter is 20 bucks in PDF and 50 bucks in Print plus PDF.

Thursday, July 25, 2024

Kickstarter - Perilous Pamphlet Pack, a Box for RPG Brochure Adventures (Phil Reed)

Keep your tri-fold 8.5" x 11" RPG brochure adventures safe in this custom storage box! Also includes two new brochure adventures.

I'm a huge fan of Phil Reed. Phil understands the OSR better than many in the OSR do.

The Perilous Pamphlet Pack, a Box for RPG Brochure Adventures Kickstarter has multiple backer levels, but I'm backing it for 25 bucks plus shipping. So, the actual box and some print material.

Tri-fold brochure adventures are popular with the indie and OSR game scenes, and our new box is designed to hold those pamphlets! Designed for 8.5" x 11" tri-fold brochures, this box holds 20+ adventures. (The exact count depends on the weight of paper used for each.)
Roughly 20+ brochures (printed on cover stock) will fit neatly inside this custom storage box. It is designed specifically for tri-fold, 8.5" by 11" adventures. The exact count depends entirely on the paper weight of the brochures. (The exact count varies; you can pack more inside if they're printed on lighter papers than you can if they're printed on heavy cardstock.)
This is an easy way to organize your collection of brochure adventures. And it's rather fetching to look at (if we do say so ourselves).

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Kickstarter - Creature Feature Quarterly Vol. 13 -for use with- OSE+LotFP

16 monsters for use with Old School Essentials. Lots of lore+Adventure seeds. Paper minis. VTT tokens. #LotFP #OSE #OSR #B/XDnD

I'm a fan of zines in general and have always enjoyed JH Illos various works and illustrations. At some point, I failed to realize that Creature Feature Quarterly had reached Volume 13.

You can grab the Creature Feature Quarterly Volume 13 Kickstarter in PDF for 5 bucks, which is likely a steal, especially if you play or GM via one of the various VTTs. 30 bucks gives you all 13 volumes in PDF. I'll need to see which ones I'm missing, and if its cheaper to grab all 13 or grab single issues on DTRPG.

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Kickstarter - Massacre Grounds (Weird Frontiers/DCC RPG)

I don't usually do a second post covering the same Kickstarter, but I think this is an important one to highlight as I'd like to see it fund on Kickstarter (and I believe it deserves to fund, as I've read it already thanks to the author and it presents the myths and legends and history with respect).

Massacre Grounds is a funnel and setting material for Weird Frontiers, the DCC RPG engine weird west RPG. Grab your EXTRA funky dice and dive into a setting based on real-world myths and legends of Arizona history.

You can snag the Massacre Grounds Kickstarter in PDF for 10 bucks, print plus PDF for 15 bucks (plus the actual cost of the POD, approximately 4 bucks).

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.
The premise of the adventure starts with a group making the journey from Phoenix (on foot) to Fort Righteous, in the Arizona Desert. They are responding to an ad in the local paper advertising jobs and possible land opportunities. The PCs quickly learn that the desert is a dangerous place. Fort Righteous introduces the group to a whole community that follows the Righteous path. After the fort, the group is further introduced to the dangers of the Arizona Desert, as well as some of its beauty and wonder. The characters are given a chance to tame a wild part of Arizona history, a mustang.

As the story develops, they are introduced to many new personalities. The group will investigate the murder of two local miners and be exposed to the supernatural. The investigation will lead the group to the first run-in with the evil band called the Coyoteros, and the ensuing battle will lead the characters to their first interaction with the Yavapai Apaches and the new chpáya rider class. After interacting with the Apache warriors, the group will have an option for further interactions with the supernatural or to head to the Colossus Outpost. Once they arrive at the outpost, the characters are introduced to a local mining operation and several new personalities. The group is asked to join the Arizona Volunteers to fight against evil forces that are threatening the area. The story climaxes on their first mission and introduces the group to a new villain—a hermit who has been consumed by evil and controls the dead. The characters will have to confront and battle Roscoe the Recluse.

Monday, July 22, 2024

Kickstarter - Immortals White Box (OSR)

I'm a huge fan of OSR games as if you couldn't guess. Sure, the core mechanics are shared across the genre, but it is the implementation, presentation, and tweaks that make a ruleset stand out from the rest. I borrow and steal from various rulesets for my home games, but try to stick to a more or less by-the-book ruleset for convention gameplay.

The Immortals White Box Kickstarter looks to be a ruleset I could liberally lift from for my home game, and at 50 bucks for the boxed set (plus shipping) it certainly appears to offer bang for your buck (especially when you consider the boxed set consists of 3 digest-sized hardcover books).

The Immortals White Box contains 3 digest-sized hardcover books, 4 pre-generated character sheets, and a pad used for tracking initiative, combat rounds, and downtime.
Book 1 - This book contains general rules on how to play Immortals RPG, including: character creation, playable races, classes, paths, professions, weapons, armor, equipment, rules for combat, spell casting, and over 100 spells. In this tome you will find everything necessary to play Immortals RPG and bring characters to level to 10th level.
Book 2 - This book contains over 100 monsters to use with the Immortals RPG setting. This list will include classic monsters you know and love, along with new monsters and horrors to challenge players all the way to 10th level. The book also contains treasure tables, a guide for creating your own monsters, and immortal patrons.
Book 3 - This book contains an adventure taking characters from 1st to 2nd level. The adventure is designed to help people learn how to play Immortals RPG. It is also designed to be easily adapted to other game systems and to ensure that each play through is different and from the last.

Sunday, July 21, 2024

Christmas in July - Top OSR Picks at 40% Discounts

The Christmas in July Sale is live on DTRPG. The other day I highlighted the best picks of the Christmas in July sale that are 80% off. Today I showcase some of the top OSR picks that are 40% off. Note, these are all PDFs.

Worlds Without Number - from Sine Nomine/Kevin Crawford. Perhaps the best

choice for purse sandbox play, Kevin hits a home run as always. Worlds Without Number isn't just a savage game of steel and sorcery. It's packed solid with system-neutral GM tools and worldbuilding support, with hundreds of pages of useful tools, tags, tables, and practical advice usable by any GM, regardless of their favorite setting or system. The well-loved sci-fi tools of Stars Without Number are reworked here to support fantasy gaming, whether in the provided setting of the Latter Earth or in your own carefully-crafted homebrew world. Even GMs who don't prefer the OSR-compatible game system of WWN will find more than half the book dedicated to tools they can use in the systems they like best. Normally 19.99, On Sale for 11.99

The One Ring™ Core Rules - who doesn't love Lord of the Rings/Middle Earth? A

Mithral Best Seller at DTRPG, you can't go wrong. Enter the world of Middle-earth with The One Ring™, the official tabletop roleplaying game based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Designed specifically to evoke the atmosphere of The Hobbit™ and The Lord of the Rings™, the game contains rules for creating heroes and sending them off on adventures in a land threatened by the growing Shadow. This beautifully illustrated, full-colour hardcover manual presents Middle-earth as it was twenty years after Bilbo Baggins’ remarkable disappearance and unexpected return. The great events narrated in The Lord of the Rings™ are still fifty years away, leaving plenty of room to narrate stories worthy of an epic. Now in its second edition, The One Ring™ comes with updated and revised rules, a new visual style, and a focus on the land of Eriador — the lone-lands west of the Misty Mountains. Normally 24.99, On Sale for 14.99

Fallout: The Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook - I really enjoyed the first season of Fallout on demand, and placed the first version of the game back in 1997. Its an

awesome setting for post apoc play. This DIGITAL COPY of our 438-page rulebook contains rules and lore for roleplaying in the Fallout world, as well as concept art from the Fallout videogames. Utilizing Modiphius’ celebrated 2d20 cinematic role-playing system, the Fallout RPG will take players on an exciting journey into the post-apocalypse! Create your own survivors, super mutants, ghouls, and even Mister Handy robots. Immerse yourselves in the iconic post-nuclear apocalyptic world of Fallout, while gamemasters guide their group through unique stories and encounters. The 2d20 edition of Fallout is as close to the bottlecap bartering, wasteland wandering, Brotherhood battling excitement as you can get. Normally 20.00, On Sale for 12.00

The Halls of Arden Vul Complete - This must be the largest adventure ever

published, coming in at over 1100 pages. It is a thing of beauty. Arden Vul is the most ambitious megadungeon ever created, with over 1,100 Pages of Incredible Adventure. This First Edition compatible fully-bookmarked PDF product features: 2,162 Encounter Descriptions, 14 NPC Factions, 10 Massive Levels, 15 Extensive Sub-levels, 7 Dangerous Exterior locations, 149 New Monsters, 332 New Magic Items, 69 New Technological Items, 44 New Spells, 189 New Books through which PCs can gain a deep understanding of the dungeon, A full NPC appendix with 10 competing parties at 3 levels of power, Over 140 original pieces of art, including 28 full-page illustrations! Normally 109, On Sale for 65.40

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 ;)

Swords & Wizardry Light - Forum

RPGNow