Tabletop Gaming Feeds

OSR Campaign Update - Godbound A Game of Diving Heroes & The Classic Greyhawk Boxset

Swords & Stitchery - Sun, 02/11/2024 - 07:19
 So over the last twenty four hours I've been rereading Kevin Crawford's Godbound: A Game of Divine Heroes. Because let's face it, the game is cool as Hell and it's got me thinking about rerunning a mini campaign. Recently GrimJim did a video & page through review of the Godbound rpg and that review made me fall in love with the game again. What is it that made me fall in love Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0
Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

Kickstarter - The Lair of the Bog Lich (OSR/ZineQuest)

Tenkar's Tavern - Sat, 02/10/2024 - 23:36


A boggy OSR micro-adventure Zine for 1st-level characters.

Tis the most abundant time of year for OSR - ZineQuest is here! For about 9 bucks shipped, you can snag a physical copy of The Lair of the Bog Lich Zine.

The Lair of the Bog Lich is a micro-adventure zine made for all manner of OSR and OSR-adjacent systems. It is set deep within a bubbling swamp in the hinterlands of the realm where an unseen menace is stealing villagers away in their sleep.

What's Inside?

  • The Lair, an underground heap where the bog lich goes about its sinister machinations.
  • Adventure hooks to allow for easy integration into any campaign.
  • Random encounters to spice up the journey to the Lair.
  • Hand-illustrated map of the Lair.
  • 8+ random tables to provide some suitably swampy flavour.
  • 3 mud-encrusted foes to fight, including the titular bog lich.
  • Sinister Illustrations by Simone Tammetta.

 


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Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

Ink Talk

Doomslakers! - Sat, 02/10/2024 - 12:52

I have been on a brush pen kick for months. My first experience with brush pens was back in 2000 or 2001 with the Pitt brush pen, which is not a "real" brush pen but a felt pen with a brush-shaped tip. The Pit is great, and you should try it out, but that tip wears out REAL quick*.

Sometime in the late 2000s I picked up two excellent brush pens and didn't fully appreciate them at the time because I was on the cusp of switching almost entirely to drawing digitally. I got a Sailor Profit and a Pentel Pocket.

Zip ahead to recent times and I have re-connected with traditional art in a big, big way. I've dusted off these old tools, picked up new ones, and have been experimenting and learning and growing as much as I can.

So anyway, this post is about ink. Because these types of tools are really, really picky and will gum up if you use the wrong stuff in them.

Sailor Kiwaguro ink bottle is sexy.
YouTube has been a great resource for learning and from various videos I picked up the suggestion that the ink you get with the Sailor (my personal favorite brush pen) is perhaps not the ideal ink. One I kept hearing about was Sailor Kiwaguro. So I picked up a pack of Kiwaguro disposable cartridges to try out and fell in love instantly. Now I got myself a bottle of the stuff and I plan to switch to an ink converter as soon as I burn through the rest of these dozen cartridges.

Of course there's a trick if you don't want to use a converter. You can use a blunt syringe to just squirt more ink into an empty disposable cartridge and reuse those bastards over and over and over again. But beware! Make sure you stick that syringe tip all the way past the opening and just give it a gentle, tiny push or else you'll have an ink explosion. Yeah, it happened to me.

Kiwaguro is a pigmented black ink that is pretty waterproof and dries fast. I like it.

Black as night, black as pitch...
Then there's this Noodler's black water-based ink I got thanks to many recommendations. This shit is VERY black. Whereas Kiwaguro (and most inks) have a bit of a dull finish, Noodler's finish is kind of dense and matte... almost velvety. It has a texture. You can feel the ink on the paper. But there's a problem: erasing.

If you're like me, you sketch in pencil, ink right on the pencils, then erase. When you erase over most ink, it might lift some of the pigment and dull the black just a little. Mostly not noticeable. But Noodler's loses quite a bit of opacity to the eraser (see pic). So while I do love the thick, black feel, I am not happy about the eraser situation. I will probably not use Noodler's on important drawings, though it is great for doodling.

Before erasing and after erasing, Noodler's black ink takes a beating.

*There's a super secret though. If you pull the tip out of the Pit brush pen you will discover that it can be flipped around and you've got a BRAND NEW TIP. Very cool. I had no idea back when I was burning through these things in the 2000s. 

Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

The Sphinx

Ten Foot Pole - Sat, 02/10/2024 - 12:09
By Masters of Evil Self Published OSE "Low Levels"

A Sphinx sits proudly in the sands of the desert, constructed in honour of the forgotten potentates who once ruled the lands in time immemorial. From the abandoned camp and scaffold, it would seem either graverobbers or archaeologists were recently here, but where have they gone and what lies within the bowels of the Sphinx?

This seventeen page adventure presents a small egyptian themed tomb with thirteen rooms in nine pages. Dry, with some sloppy wording and poor interactivity, but also committing no cardinal sins. 

There’s just not much here to go on. I usually try and mention a few nice things about an adventure, something I thought it did well or a concept that it had that was interesting, even if it didn’t actually pan out … and I’m having trouble doing that with this one. It’s just kind of … there. As if both the highs and lows were smoothed out. There is this concept of a Ushabti. That’s a statue like thing that moves from room to room. If you’re in the room with it then you get a glimpse in to the room in the underworld. That’s something that has been done before in myriad ways … from the underworld and fy realm and so on. There’s not really much to it though. You get maybe a secret passage revealed. Otherwise it’s just more window dressing for the room you’re in. Window dressing that you can’t control, since its governed by the status thing and its random movements. Not really puzzle tool or anything like that. And the statue dude thing is immune to all damage but fucks you up if you mess with it. So … yeah. There’s just not much going on with this feature.

And the rest of it is … meh? 

“The air is heavy, pregnant with a thousand years of decay …” Ok, so, heavy is good. I might even be able to stomach pregnant, as a sense of anticipation. But the thousand years of decay bit? We’re bumping up against getting purple. In other places we get text that tells us that skeletons are “undying guardians animated by the power of the alter!” Ok, so, yes, that’s what a skeleton is, an undying guardian. And there’s no need to tell us that they are powered by the power of the alter, especially since there’s no indication that we can destroy or alter it in order to put them to rest. It’s just an explanation for why the skeletons are coming to life. There’s no actual gameable content in the phrasing. In another place we’re told that there is a golden sarcophagus, plated with gold plate … and no worth placed upon it. You can’t tell me the entire room is made of platinum and then not tell me how much the party gets when they scrape the metal off to sell it. And, traditionally, we also roll for wanderers when counting grains of sand on the beach.

Things that look like rea-daloud end with “the door in the west wall is stuck” so, clearly, not read-aloud. And yet that standsin opposition to the rest of the text in that (the first para in each room) section that is worded like it’s an initial room description for the players. It’s just … nothing in this is well thought out and to the effect of it on the game.

I can’t point to any one thing that makes it stand out as bad. I can say, though, that it comes off as rather boring. Using words like “large” to describe things. The lack of evocative descriptions, in spite of some lapses in to purple prose. Not really much of interest to investigate. It’s all much like the real pyramids in Giza. Once you go inside it’s super anti-climactic. “Oh, a large room of rock.” Kind of like going in to an empty  room made of cinderblock. Ok. I guess I’m here now. It’s not that they are devoid of anything, but they certainly FEEL like they are devoid of anything. Like the descriptions are all just a little plain. 

This is Pay What You Want at DriveThru with a suggested price of $1. The preview is also nineteen pages, so you get to see everything.


https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/468650/the-sphinx?1892600

Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

New Release - City Encounters for Swords & Wizardry

Tenkar's Tavern - Sat, 02/10/2024 - 02:27

In my experience, city adventures are some of the hardest to run. It's like a mini sandbox, with something potentially happening around every corner and in every storefront. There is so much that COULD happen, you seem to either over-prepare for the session or are woefully underprepared for it.

City Encounters is just what I need. I just ordered the Print plus PDF for 25 bucks. The PDF only is 10 bucks.

I'll add a review after I get my print copy.

Running a freewheeling city adventure can be hard work, but this book gives you a powerful resource for handling interactions with non-player characters — their names, objectives, abilities, and quirky activities! City Encounters provides 200 daytime encounters and 200 night-time encounters for your characters to run into while exploring the city. Plus, each of the encounters has several alternative possibilities involved, so you can adapt the encounter to your players or use the same encounter more than once with a different alternative. Encounters that can lead to adventures are cross-referenced to let you find the other NPCs who might be involved in an ongoing situation, and there are several possible “recurring” villains, heroes, and weirdos to battle, assist, and befriend.

Enter a city filled with anarchists, arsonists, sorcery, skullduggery, factional conflict, and necromancy!

This is the OSR version of City Encounters, written for Swords & Wizardry but easily usable with systems including OD&D, AD&D (1E), B/X, OSE and others!


 

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Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

A Sci-Fi Setting Idea

Sorcerer's Skull - Fri, 02/09/2024 - 12:00


My recent readings in science fiction and musings on Star Frontiers have given me an idea for a science fiction setting combining some thoughts I've had stemming from both.

The basic idea involves a future Earth controlled by benevolent AI that is something those presented in the novelization to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Stross' Accelerando and a little like Watts' Blindsight. Most people are enmeshed in digital simulations to various degrees and have little, direct human contact. They're content to let the AIs run things. More individualistic, conservative elements of human society, still interested in physical experiences and challenges, have moved to the outer Solar System.

When a wormhole gateway left by a previous intelligent culture is discovered in the Solar System, the AI guides of the human race see the perfect way to channel the more erratic humans of the outer system: they open up the Frontier.

Exactly where in the galaxy (or perhaps the universe) the Frontier is located is unclear, but it's far from Sol. In a relatively small area of space compared to Sol's local environment, it has a number of human habitable worlds--and a few technologically advanced alien species.

Megacorporations are allowed to guide settlement of the region. Both the settlers and the AI on Earth ironically agree that a new society replicating the one on Earth shouldn't be created on the Frontier. To this end, technology is limited and controlled, policed by the Institute. This gives the Frontier a somewhat retro, "cassette futurism"-tinged vibe.

Eventually, the Frontier develops away from corporate rule, but after the unexplained collapse of the wormwhole back to Sol, there is war, and then an economic depression that paves the way for a corporate bailout and a re-establishment of central government via a "special-purpose district." The megacorporations promise to re-establish full representative democratic rule in time for the bicentennial celebration of human arrival on the Frontier. 

Quick Impressions of Agents of W.R.E.T.C.H. Rpg Setting Second Edition Book By The Red Room

Swords & Stitchery - Fri, 02/09/2024 - 07:02
 " Agents of WRETCH - Second Edition RELEASED. This second edition takes the concept of the original sourcebook and transforms it into an essential Wretched setting compendium. This edition not only preserves the original content, serving as a comprehensive toolbox for orchestrating a light-hearted spy game reminiscent of TV classics like The Avengers, Danger Man, and The Saint, but it Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0
Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

Kickstarter - Gary's Appendix: Issue 5 (OSE/Zine Quest)

Tenkar's Tavern - Fri, 02/09/2024 - 02:48


Jeff Jones is the main man behind Gary's Appendix Zine. Jeff is a friend of mine, and he laid out the first two issues of Torchlight (and the only issues thus far) as well as the as-yet-unpublished Continual Light RPG - Digest Edition. Simply put, Jeff does good work.

Gary's Appendix: Issue 5 is the fifth entry in the series. It's 3 bucks in PDF, and 16 bucks - plus shipping - for print plus PDF. If you need to catch up, all five issues can be snagged for 5 bucks in PDF.

Investigation Themed Adventures, by Travis Miller

The old school play method that encourages players to engage with the diegetic elements of the game world makes games like OSE perfectly suited to investigations even though it isn’t obvious looking at the rules. This is my method of creating investigative adventures.

A Case for Using Wandering Monsters, by John Kaniecki

In the good old days, the DM rolled the die six every three turns, and when a one came up, he smiled as it indicated wandering monsters. The Dungeon Master's Guide had a collection of monsters that were potential candidates for running into. The selection of these monsters and the number appearing were all determined by random. Over time the game improved. It is more fun-oriented as well as complex. In light of this, let us turn our thoughts to wandering monsters. What is the purpose of wandering monsters?

Legends of the Supernatural Pt. 2, by Dave Semark

We return to the supernatural history of Britain and Ireland, with another look at myths and legends that have fascinated me and have often been the source of role-playing hooks and scenario ideas. As with the first installment, these legends are all based on an established history, myth, or legend—or combination of all three—and I have taken a big pinch of artistic license to add to the role- playing game feel.

Hiring a Spy, by John Kaniecki

Spying is a murky world of shadows, or so we are led to believe. In a fantasy role-playing game, it opens the door to intrigue and adventure. How are we to handle spies? 

Governments: Part 1, by Hannah Wolfram

Since the dawn of time, humans have created social structures in order to survive. While these small societies likely started as family groups, they continually evolved and expanded as humanity’s needs changed, eventually developing laws and moral codes under which members were expected to live. To enforce these standards, humans created governments.

What is in a Cube?, by Zac Goins

As go-to dungeon and sewer sweepers, gelatinous cubes spend their days, nights, and weekends picking the bones of an area clean. Since dungeons and sewers are also the favorite haunts of the worst ne'er do wells and the adventurers who stalk them, there’s bound to be a bevy of bodies and gear in near constant supply. Fortunately for adventurers, ne’er do wells and other adventuring parties just so happen to often carry the best sorts of loot. 

The Bestiary, by Jeff Jones

Each issue, Jeff works his way through another section of the OSE bestiary and expands the information and GM toolkit for each entry. For this issue, the following creatures are covered:

* Centipede, Giant  *  Dryad  *  Crocodile  *  Driver Ant  *  Gelatinous Cube  *  Gnoll  *  Harpy  *  Hydra

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Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

What's on TV

Sorcerer's Skull - Thu, 02/08/2024 - 12:49

Here's your periodic reminder that if you have an interest in old TV shows, Jason "Operation Unfathomable" Sholtis and I are watching one a week, pulled from the forgotten corners of streaming and the moldering pages of old TV Guides, in our "Classic TV Flashback" over on the Flashback Universe Blog.
We've been on a British TV kick lately, sampling Star Cops (1987) and Jason King (1971).

Assassin Attack! - Warriors of the Red Planet/ Hyperborea rpg Session Report Six

Swords & Stitchery - Thu, 02/08/2024 - 06:50
 Tonight's game was a major incident at the trade post with us fighting the assassin Jal Hardos & his hirelings. This assassin destroyed our vehicle with a couple of well placed grenades timed to go off by remote detonation killing our cleric. And tonight's game picks right up from this session on the blog. His 5 hirelings were of at least 3rd level and he gave radiation Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0
Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

New Release - DragonSlayer (OSR RPG)

Tenkar's Tavern - Thu, 02/08/2024 - 03:21

DragonSlayer is Greg Gillespie's new OSR ruleset. It's a bit of Basic D&D, mixed with some AD&D, flavored with pure Gillespie. Greg had been kind enough to give me a pre-release copy of the rules to review in December, and I was floored. 

Dragonslayer is the OSR ruleset that I want to run OVER my own Swords & Wizardry Light. I want to run it AND I want to play it :)

Now to await my hardcover from the DragonSlayer Kickstarter.

Hearken back to the Golden Age of Role-playing Games!

Journey into a realm of myth and magic, where ancient legends and terrifying monsters come to life, and adventure awaits...

Inspired by the timeless role-playing tradition of the 1980s, this ruleset seamlessly integrates the simplicity of B/X with the chrome of First Edition. The book includes every you need: races, classes spell, monsters, and treasure, combined in a single volume. 

The book includes cover art by Jeff Easley and interior art by Darlene, Diesel, Kennon James, Peter Pagano, and many others.

Welcome to Dragonslayer!

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Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

Another Sketchbook

Doomslakers! - Wed, 02/07/2024 - 23:34

Another little sketchbook filled with some fanart doodles and other nonsense. 









Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

The Rusted Tomb

Ten Foot Pole - Wed, 02/07/2024 - 12:17
By WR Beatty Rosethrone Publishing S&W Levels 1-...7?

A short adventure location – a shrine and a tomb for a nearly forgotten godling.  Rumors suggest this is the resting place of He Who Forged Heaven and Hell. Craftsmen and Smiths pay their respects at the Rusted Tomb, but few others care, though some say there’s ancient magic behind those rust-streaked walls.

This twelve page adventure presents a small temple with seventeen rooms … that houses a dead god. It’s less adventure and more place where you could have an adventure, being somewhat … statically described? And then presenting some adventure ideas in the rear. Meh.

Beatty does a great job with one of the rumors/hooks in this adventure. Here’s the entry: “There’s this old guy who comes to town once in a while, Demos or something like that. He leads those blacksmith worshippers up on the North Road on the way to Tiresh Village. They call that the Rusted Tomb. Anyway, he’s an odd lot. Always loads up on vegetables and smoked meats and tobacco and the like… Nothing odd there, but he always asks about old nails.” It’s in voice, which bring out a little bit of character, giving the DM an idea of how to introduce and run it. And, as we all know, I’m all for helping the DM out without spoon feeding them. The goal is to provide information that enables the DM to greatness. And that rumour/hook does it. Also, it’s very human. We’re talking about the tomb of a god here, or, at least, an angel. But the temple is in decline and this is most like the last generation of priests … once these four go then there will be no one left. The world has moved on. And all of that comes out in that text. Those blacksmith worshippers. Buy vegetables and smoked meats. It’s very mundane and very real with how things became mundane over time. People acting like people, or, at least, hyper realistic versions of people, brings so much more to D&D. 

There are a couple of other interesting things here. SOme gold trimmed white cloths as magic items. Worn over the head as a kind of crude veil, they filter out poisons giving a bonus to saves. Kind of hard to use in a combat, also, right? Very nice. And, at one point the party finds a twenty ton anvil bolted to the ground. “How to unbolt and move the 20 ton anvil is left up to the parties ingenuity.” Absolutely! 

But the rest of this …? No. 

The thing is kind of generically described. And I don’t mean that in the usual way. Rather it’s more of a MERP adventure way. It’s as if we took everyones presence, their life and sense of it, out of the adventure. There are rooms with objects in them, but not people. There is no sense of worshippers being here. Or even priests except for maybe two rooms … and even those seem devoid of the life of living. As if they were laid down for people to use but never had. It’s sterile. Devoid of life. Literally, since there are no encounters on the main tomb level. 

And this is on purpose. It’s related to that level range of one through seven. The back page has four separate adventure ideas. One for 1-3, one for 4-7, one for 8-10, and one for high levels. There are a couple of guidelines, and outline really, in a quarter page, for each of them, in what the adventure may look like. One mentions that they high priest might hire some guards. But, bringing the thing to life, personalizing it, putting people and worshippers and all of that in to it, is all up to the DM. 

A linear map. Items worth stealing that don’t have values. This is made for the DM to set an adventure in. As if someone published a village of sixteen pages and then said that you could have some adventures here. As such its more window dressing FOR an adventure. It is a place for situations to occur, rather than the actual situations that occur. And, thus, isn’t really an adventure. More of a regional setting where the region is “seventeen rooms.” 

And, I don’t review regional settings.

This is $2 at DriveThru. The preview is five pages

https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/265610/the-rusted-tomb?1892600

Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

Wednesday Comics: May, 1982 (week 2)

Sorcerer's Skull - Wed, 02/07/2024 - 12:00
I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! Today, I've got the comics at newsstands the week of February 10, 1983. 

Batman #359:  Conway and Jurgens continue Croc's rise in the Underworld as he murders Boss Falco in prison and proclaims himself "King Croc" in this issue. (Interestingly, Batman and Gordon call him "Killer Croc" but that's not a name Croc himself ever uses.) The cover is misleading as no costumed villains show up. It's all part of Conway building the pre-fab menace.
We get Croc's origin this issue (he's from Tampa FL and apparently born in 1948), some digs at the criminal justice system in the South, and a view of a more reactionary asshole Batman emerging after years of the nice that will take inner city kids out to clean up a park. He's dismissive of Croc's trauma-filled childhood (or at least Gordon's mild empathy over it), and chews Robin out when he suggests maybe having the Todds investigate these murderous criminals isn't a good idea. He says he's tired of "citizens" waiting for someone else to save them, and that the Todds made a commitment, and they should stick to it. Some of this may be Conway signaling Bruce is stinging from getting beaten (again) in this issue by Croc, but it's still a shift--and will have in-story consequences.
Against Robin's instructions, Joe and Trina Todd follow Croc's minion extorting money from the circus. At the Gotham Zoo, they walk into a trap.

Flash #321: Infantino's art comes off different this issue, likely due to the mysterious inker credited as "Taurus S." Anyway, Sabre Tooth, the assassin from previous issues, escapes from jail and is going to kill Barry Allen. He almost does so as Barry and Fiona visit Creed's grave. Barry's Flash abilities save him, but Sabre Tooth gets away. Meanwhile, Tomar Re has pancakes with a family, and the Reverse Flash makes a last page escape from whatever extradimensional realm he was stuck in. Even beyond, the new inker, Infantino seems to stretch himself on the depiction of that place.
The Creeper backup trudges along with Gafford joined by a new art team: Patton and DeCarlo. Patton took over last issue, but I think I forgot to comment. Anyway, the Creeper traces the source of the tainted cocaine that seems to be turning users into monsters. 
G.I. Combat #253: After D-Day, the Haunted Tank and crew are on their way to Paris. When their captain is killed before they reach the city and Notre Dame, which he had dreamed of seeing, Jeb vows to take his body there, despite orders from Eisenhower that they are to hang back and give General Leclerc and his French 1st Armored Division the honor of retaking the capital. Racing ahead, Jeb and his win find the city still very much in German hands and have to evade death until help arrives.
The second Haunted Tank story is one of those with a mildly humorous premise Kanigher does from time to time. Rick sees a little French girl eyeing a doll in a shop window and vows to buy it for her, but he and the rest of the crew are pulled out of the pay line to be sent on a mission to recover a fortune in stolen gold. Their way back is made more difficult by country folk constantly demanding payment from the "rich Americans" to help them, but the crew has no money except the gold they are carrying and can't spend. In the end, the girl gets her doll, but only after the crew has a shoot out with Germans on a bridge with stacks of gold bars as cover.
Kanigher and Catan have the Mercenaries in the Middle East tangling with an Arab leader whose men executed some Western missionaries.   The other tales are by Boltinoff/Trinidad and Kashdan with Talaoc and Ayers and are (mostly more serious). A kid dreams of firing a machine gun, and gets put on a crew, but dies in the bitter cold on a frozen river before ever firing a shot. His lifeless fingers, frozen to the trigger, manage to kill some Germans, though. A French dog saves a G.I. from a German soldier, and a G.I. is saved from the Japanese by Truk Islanders and tries to return the favor by rushing to warn them so they can escape a U.S. bombing. 

Omega Men #1: Slifer, Giffen, and DeCarlo pick up from last issue with the team in trouble. After the nuclear attack, Primus is badly injured, and their "bio-systems" are nearly depleted. Tigorr disobeys Primus to go get supplies and barely makes it back. We get more of Broot's tragic backstory and discover that while most Changralynians blame him for the destruction, there is a cultish group that idolize his resistance.
Meanwhile on the Omega Men's ship, Kalista forces a captured Citadelian to send false reports to his commander. Treacherous Demonia begins sowing seeds of mistrust within rank and file, scaring some with a tale of Primus' apparent mind-control capabilities. 
Saga of the Swamp Thing #12: This storyline comes to an end, and I am sorry to say, Pasko and Yeates do not stick the landing, which honestly is a result telegraphed for a few issues now. I lot of things happen at the last minute and the ending seems sort of arbitrary. In the Fortress of the Beast, Swamp Thing, Liz, Dennis, and Dr. Kripptmann are each tricked by hallucinations of their most painful memories that disguise death traps. Once they make it through, it is revealed that Grasp has been the Anti-Christ all along. Or maybe he's just the Herald of the Beast? Is there a difference? Anyway, the Golem's back, and there's stuff with the locket, and then Swampie gets powered up enough to defeat Karen and Grasp.
Swamp Thing with the help of Liz, Dennis and Kripptmann, returns to his home swamp in Louisiana to restore and heal himself from his infection. General Sunderland still has plans to get Swamp Thing, though.
In the Cuti/Carrillo Phantom Stranger backup, Yehudi Jones has the knack for never being seen and makes a living pilfering from people. The Phantom Stranger forces him start living in the world and be somebody to save a beautiful girl from corruption by the hands of the drug pusher, Dan D. Candy.

New Teen Titans #30: After their defeat last issue, the Titans aren't in a good place when they get back to the Tower. Kid Flash is still convinced Raven is evil and frustrated the other Titans aren't listening to him. Cyborg is still ruminating over finding out the girl he is into has a fiancé, and Robin is still being distant from Starfire for reasons. Oh, and Raven's been kidnapped. But hey, Donna show's up and tells them Terry proposed. None of this goes anywhere, but it's simmering in the background as they head to Zandia to get Raven back.
In Zandia, we learn the Brotherhood is after Brother Blood's secrets. The Brain has deduced that Raven likely discovered these unconsciously. When all of his teammates attempt at coercion and torture fail, Brain tries a gentler approach, and Raven agrees to help. Trailing the bad guys to the site of Brother Blood's secret "Regeneration Chamber," the Titans come on strong, but the Brain is able to turn the tide against them. Believing her teammates have been killed, Raven goes berserk and almost kills the Brotherhood before Wonder Girl manages to bring her to her senses.

Superman #383: Bates and Swan/Hunt give us another one of those "puzzle stories" so common to Superman comics of the Bronze Age. First off, Bates lays out a lot of character business in the Daily Planet, presumably to pay off in later issues, including the big one of Lois questioning her relationship with Superman given that he won't commit--and perhaps realistically can't. 
In the main storyline, an ancient robot is unearthed, and it immediately attacks Superman. All is not as it seems, however! It turns out that Robrox, the ancient alien robot, is here to prevent some catastrophe foreseen by his makers that would destroy life on Earth. They catastrophe will be triggered by Superman's heat vision thanks to the machinations of the Superman Revenge Squad. Robrox prevents Superman from unleashing his heat-vision on Earth, then explains everything to him once Superman has safely deployed it on the lifeless Moon.

Kickstarter - Wizard Van (James Spahn)

Tenkar's Tavern - Wed, 02/07/2024 - 02:37

I've known James Spahn for over a decade. He is one of the most prolific, talented, imaginative creators in the RPG industry. He's worked on IPs including Star Wars, Star Trek, The One Ring, Swords & Wizardry (and variations thereof), Labyrinth Lord, Pathfinder, 5e... the list goes on. James co-wrote Swords and Wizardry Continual Light with me and I am forever in his debt. Just so you know where I stand with James ;)

Wizard Van is James' first Kickstarter. Seriously, unheard of these days for someone that self-publishes NOT but it's true. Wizard Van is a psychedelic rockin' RPG. Print plus PDF is 10 plus shipping, PDF only is 5 bucks.

Wizard Van is a 22 page 'zine and a complete roleplaying game. Character creation can be done in seconds, whether you scrawl it down on a bar napkin or use the Liner Notes in the back of the book.

You will choose your Band, the music group or solo artist that is your guiding star. Their music will be your inspiration as you play the game and when the right song is playing, your dice rolls will get bonuses. 

Your love of Rock n' Roll impacts how the game is played. If you, the player, are wearing a shirt featuring your Band, have a ticket stub from an old show, or even a tattoo, you get bonuses in play!

Got a t-shirt with The Band on it? Wear it for bonuses in game! Got some rad ink etched on your flesh to commemorate your love of The Band? Well, that counts for a helluva lot in the world of Wizard Van. Got some ticket stubs or a guitar pick you got at one of their concerts? That talisman of rock will be your guiding star as you play!

Designed for one-on-one play and traditional group play. 

Sound Both Inspired and Original

In addition to the zine, whether you back for a PDF or a physical copy of Wizard Van you will get a digital download of the latest single from prolific rockers and gaming devotees Loot the Body. This original song (aptly titled "Wizard Van") was specially commissioned for the game and will get you rocking whether you're at the table or simply headbanging to your favorite mix tape.

Wizard Van also includes a list of bands that inspired the game. You can choose one as The Band that inspires your Rock n' Roll Hero, or simply expand your musical horizons with some amazing tunes that you've unearthed like an alien aural treasure.

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on YouTube - Tenkar 

Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

Black Pudding 8 Print Edition Out Now!

Oubliette - Tue, 02/06/2024 - 18:19

The print edition of Black Pudding Issue 8 is now available to order from the Squarehex site using the following link:

https://www.squarehex.co.uk/collections/black-pudding/products/black-pudding-issue-8

You can also get a bundle of the first 8 issues at a special price:

https://www.squarehex.co.uk/collections/black-pudding/products/black-pudding-issues-1-8-bundle



Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

Night's Dark Terror 4: Siege of Sukiskyn

Roles & Rules - Tue, 02/06/2024 - 08:51

This is part of a series of posts with a scene-by-scene critique, appreciation, and improvement of the 1986 TSR module B10, Night's Dark Terror

Wargames and roleplaying have the kind of grudging closeness that's only seen in families. Roleplaying is the younger sibling, having grown out of the wargaming scene in the Midwestern States 50 years ago. To this day D&D, the market leader, bears the combat emphasis and even specific rules mechanics of tabletop wargames. The authors of Night's Dark Terror, as we've seen, helped originate the roleplaying line in the predominantly wargame portfolio of Games Workshop.  Still, it must have been surprising, unprecedented, and for many, very welcome to open up a fresh copy of this module and see a sheet of die-cut counters and fold-out battlemap with which to play out the siege of Sukiskyn. The secondary market value of a paper copy shoots up by an order of magnitude if it includes an unpunched copy of the counter sheet. While the rules stay D&D, the counters and map evoke the glory days of board wargaming in the 60's through 80's.



Perhaps it's the wargame mindset that explains why the players have to be guided on strict and shiny rails toward the exact setup scenario of the Siege, where they enter board left, fight their way through a couple of goblin squads, with a strong incentive to hurry into the fort where they meet the Sukiskyn family and take part in the all-night defense. The usual procedure in wargames is to have an inflexible setup, the fight being self-contained. All the same, both miniature and counter wargame rules occasionally set up sequential campaigns of battles, where outcomes have consequences down the line. It was into such a Napoleonic miniatures campaign that Dave Wesely, in 1969, inserted the free character-driven kriegspiel of Braunstein. Diplomatic play as characters in that fictitious town could influence the forces and setup of later army-scale battles.

So why not let free play influence the setup of this battle? Before going into the two most likely alternate scenarios, we must first review what's going with the forces already at or near the scene. In doing this, I will mix my own interpretations with the scenario as written.

The human settlements near the Volaga river have been targeted by a multi-level mayhem operation: three goblin tribes, each with their king, who answer to the hobgoblin captain Vlack, who answers to evil wizard Golthar, who answers to the Iron Ring organization. We can imagine that, since the main business of the Ring is slaving, Golthar presented the operation to his superior as a way to get sturdy civilians into chains. But he also has an obsession he keeps from them - an object learned of through ancient lore, that he believes to be in one of the settlements, and that actually is in Sukiskyn.

It's easy to believe that the settlers by the Volaga have not seen the goblins as a threat before; the settlements that fall offscreen do so quickly, and there's no system of mutual warning or reinforcement among them. A likely reason is that for years now, the goblin tribes have preferred to fight each other, making no moves northwards in fear of attack from behind. Now, Vlack's diplomacy has united them. The combined force has taken down four homesteads and camps in the preceding days. The next-to-most recent involved the Wolfskulls and Vipers, so the Redblades must have been brought in only recently.

If the combined force attacked all at once, they would easily slay the defenders of Sukiskyn, PCs and all. They number over a hundred goblins, their leader corps, the Wolfskulls' riding wolves (easily the biggest threat in the roster using Basic rules, and very strong even in 5th), and Vlack's entourage of hobgoblins, giant bats, and a terrifying ice wolf. But despite their successes, the goblins are not used to team play, and suspicious of the other tribes. The siege of Sukiskyn is winnable for the defense because the Vipers have defected from the alliance, seeing their chance to rustle that herd of 41 white horses for themselves, and decamping just before sundown after killing two homesteaders.

Thus, we might imagine at sunset the besieging forces in disarray. The goblins set to ambush the party were not expecting anyone, but alertly awaiting orders. A frantic conference ensues between the two remaining kings and Vlack. Gnahss of the Redblade wants Kloss of the Wolfskulls to send the riders after the Vipers and the horses, which they would catch easily owing to the number of Vipers who must be on foot. Kloss doesn't want to quit the field and have Gnhass steal the glory and treasure of what they think is another pushover civilian settlement. Vlack, a sound tactician, urges a united assault, but now the kings are suspicious of each other, neither willing to commit to attack until they're sure of the other's motive. After several hours, at Vlack's urging, the kings commit a section of their forces to a probing assault (SE3 on p. 8). It's likely to be less successful than expected owing to the presence of the PCs, and will lead to recriminations that Gnhass did not put his forces in danger the way Kloss did. The recriminations lead to delay, delay, delay, until the night is about to lift and the goblins, who can't stand light, need to make a move. At that point Kloss finally quits the field to chase down the Vipers, and Gnhass, as we read, seeks to purge the shame of failure with a goblin-wave assault.

With this in mind, what can we expect if the players' characters arrive early?

After establishing their bona fides by referring to Stephan, they'll be greeted warmly and treated to dinner just around sunset - Stephan himself is expected the next day. Shouts, screams, and the neighing of horses alert the diners to trouble near the pen. Because the area of grass around Sukiskyn is too small to graze a herd of 40 day-in and day-out, we can assume that Novannes was just bringing them back from pastures a few miles away on the plains, but he and Hakos were ambushed by the Vipers just outside the pens and killed. Before the shocked and angry homesteaders can mount up and ride after them, it becomes clear that the woods are crawling with goblin eyes and goblin fires, and they hastily retreat and secure the gate. Just then, they find the roof of the barn ablaze and eight intact Redblades in the courtyard. The rest of the siege continues from episode SE1.

What if they arrive late?

Assume that the same goblin ambush and wolf reinforcements greet them, but that the barn and gatehouse have burned down and it will be harder to get to the barred-up house where the family holed up. The Redblade goblin raiders who set the fire are all dead in the courtyard and the clerics have used a couple of cure spells already.

If they are more than three hours late, the foray (SE3) has been repelled but at grievous cost. The main fighters, Pyotr, Daria and Taras, have taken 25 hits between them, which the clerics will likely have spent all their healing on. Worse, old Stelios has died to a sling-stone. A Wolfskull bodyguard, five Wolfskull goblins, and five Redblade slingers add to the dead in the courtyard.

If they arrive after dawn for some reason, all the family's fighters are dead amid a carpet of goblin bodies. The pillaged homestead is burning. The fateful object of Golthar's search as well as the captive civilian family members are on the way to the lair of the Redblades, who suffered 15 dead in prevailing. Eventually Vlack will pay a visit to them demanding the MacGuffin, once Golthar fills him in on its significance.

Some further notes on the siege:

* The scenario starts oddly, I think. The Redblade raiders have apparently punched a hole in the palisade, but if that's so, why don't the wolf riders follow through? Maybe the wolves hate the flames, but it also strains realism that the goblins could chop down a stout palisade wall in a few minutes. It's more plausible that this was a party of skilled climbers with incendiaries that let themselves over the palisade to cause chaos. The burning barn, over several minutes, then creates a gap in the wooden palisade which the later waves of attackers can exploit. Just note that in fifth edition, some spellcasters have access to utility cantrips -- regrettably, in my view -- that make the job of dousing the fires child's play.

* When adapting to 5th edition, it's only the Vipers and possibly the Wolfskull infantry who are described as using typical goblin tactics - hide, shoot or stab, and run. Keith Ammann has written a definitive guide to using the goblins' abilities, assembling their strength out of a poorly organized Players' Handbook which scatters the rules for hiding, spotting, and surprise into three separate sections. The warg (worg?) riders in any edition will be far outmatched by their steeds; in 5th consider doubling their hit points, and giving them the Mounted Combatant feat instead of Nimble Escape. The Redblades can be run as is -- Amman states that goblins sometimes do charge straight on, but only when ordered to, and this can be extended to whatever weird death-cult belief motivates their final charge. Or, for a tougher challenge in fifth edition, you might give Redblade melee squads Reckless or the orcish Aggressive instead of Nimble Escape.

* The theme of trauma in the survivors of violence continues. Masha, a young mother who has just lost her husband, is a grim presence of pathos among the defenders. I played her as swinging between desperate grief and doom-laden fatalism.

* Continuing to keep commanders in the shadows, the scenario has Vlack and his small but powerful unit lurking in the woods. He sends his pet bats to attack, probably first targeting anyone keeping watch in the stone tower. Their voices might also be heard having an argument with the goblin kings at various points of the night. When they're gone, they leave only hobnailed footprints, and a mysterious token whose meaning won't be clear for two more chapters of the adventure.

* How balanced is this fight? As before, second-level characters in Basic/Expert are at heavy risk unless the party is exceptionally large, especially if following the unkind natural healing rules. The Sukiskyn defenders have something like 15 character levels between them, so to match that force, I think 4-5 characters at 3rd or 4th level are right. Fifth edition characters will have a far easier time and it's very possible that 2nd level parties could prevail. Crucially, there is just enough time for a long rest in between episode SE3 and Just Before Dawn. Rest economy is a big issue in adapting old school adventures to Fifth edition, but the difference here is not as huge as it might be - Basic characters will also make good use of a rest to recover spells, including healing spells.

* Amid all this critique of details, I'll join other reviewers in saying this is a very well written and memorable scenario, with a variety of action - defense, fleeing, deception, skirmishing - and clues that let players put together, even if only partly, what is going on behind the scenes.

Next: Aftermath of the battle and tracking the herd.

Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

Bundle of Holding - Early Champions

Tenkar's Tavern - Tue, 02/06/2024 - 02:44

The first Supers RPG I picked up back in the 80s was Champions. Sure my friends owned V&V and Marvel Super Heroes. In truth, we could never settle on a Supers ruleset, not even once I picked up Mayfair's DC Heroes. So many rulesets and we never played more than a session of any single ruleset.

One of the bundles on Bundle of Holding is Early Champions for $14.95. It includes all first three editions of rulesets, adventures, GM screens, and more. 

Be a Hero! This revived November 2018 Early Champions Bundle once again presents nearly three dozen tabletop roleplaying game .PDF ebooks featuring the groundbreaking early rules, supplements, and adventures for Champions, The Super Roleplaying Game from Hero Games. This giant revival (one of two now in progress) presents every book for the First (1981), Second (1982), and Third (1984) Editions of Champions.

For just US$14.95 you get all thirteen titles in this revived offer's phenomenal Core Collection (retail value $73.50) as DRM-free ebooks, including the Champions core rulebook in its First (1981), Second (1982), and Third (1984) Editions (plus the introductory adventure "Viper's Nest" and the original "Rose's" combat map); the jam-packed rules expansions Champions II First Edition, Champions II Second Edition, and Champions III; no less than five collections in the popular Enemies series (Enemies First Edition, Enemies Revised for Second Edition, Enemies II, Enemies III, Enemies: Villainy Unbound, and Enemies: The International File); the Gadgets! book of weaponry and equipment; and the Gamemaster Screens for First Edition and Third Edition, the latter including the insert booklet with the Third Edition version of the famous Champions scenario "The Island of Doctor Destroyer."

And if you pay more than the threshold price of $28.35, you'll level up and also get this revival's entire Bonus Collection with fourteen more titles worth an additional $110:

  • Three famous genre sourcebooks: Strike Force and Super-Agents by Aaron Allston and The Golden Age of Champions (the version for Champions Third Edition) by Chris Cloutier
  • Five Organization Books: PRIMUS and Demon, The Blood & Dr. McQuark, The Circle and M.E.T.E., CLOWN, and Red Doom
  • Early adventures for First and Second Edition: Deathstroke, Escape From Stronghold, and The Great Super-Villain Contest
  • Adventures for Third Edition: Atlas Unleashed, The Coriolis Effect, Neutral Ground, Scourge From the Deep, Target: Hero To Serve and Protect, VOICE of Doom, and Wrath of the Seven Horsemen
  • Autoduel Champions, the licensed supplement from Steve Jackson Games that combined Champions and Car Wars.


 

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on YouTube - Tenkar 

Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

The Most Secret Conspiracy

Ten Foot Pole - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 12:11
By Maksim Kotelnikov Monthly Adventures Generic/Universal

A small group of adventurers through the fault of chance are caught up in the investigation of a mysterious conspiracy: someone is turning the entire city into a strange magical rune.

This 29 page adventure details a “plot” from … eons ago? To destroy … humans? Weird shit happens in a city, you’re led around by the nose, things happen to you rather than you doing things, and it’s all presented in a very story-game driven way while giving the trappings of the party having agency. Not something to do, in spite of a decent premise.

What attracted me to this adventure was this statement by the designer: “There is no main villain or his minions, nor are there any necromancers, cultists, or thugs. There is no opposing evil here to antagonize the heroes. This is an adventure in which they face their own incredulity and paranoia as they unravel the mystery of a weapon designed for a long-forgotten war.” Which is pretty intriguing, except for the long-forgotten war part. 

Long ago the elves lived and loved and were happy. And then the humans showed up and cut down trees, etc. You know the drill by now. Anyway, the elves have this mage dude who does this spell that Makes The Land Itself protect itself. It goes off, but takes a few millennia to get to power and work. Meanwhile, someone builds a city on the ancient burial ground, err, I mean elf lands. Twenty years ago weird shit starts happening in the city. Mayor Dickcheese and Wizard McWizardson figure it out and start building and demolishing streets and buildings to turn the layout of the city in t a giant anti-magic rune, to protect everyone. And they don’t tell anyone about it. This is the extent of the the whole “no evil cultists” thing. The party shows up, see some weird shit, investigates, and then goes and gets a magic item to complete a ritual to save the city. 

I don’t know. Good premise, with a couple of good elements going on in the adventure. At one point you look in to two weird deaths. One of them has a dude who has choked on a moth. The other has a woman who has hung herself from a tree branch .. that she could not reach. Kinda nifty. A little frustrating since there is no way for the party to arrive at an answer, until the very end of the adventure, so it’s just window dressing to fill up time. But, still, nice ideas.

The entire adventure is, though, a hunk of junk. On page one we’re told that this is a “Script for a tabletop RPG” Ought oh! Script. Tabletop RPG. And, sire enough, the adventure is arranged in Acts, under the heading of The Story. Sure, you can do this and have it not be a shit show. But that rarely happens. 

The first half or so of the pages are devoted to locations in the city, a kind  of overview. The mayor, the museum (which is more of a Believe it or Not attraction, so I’ll not bitch much about it existing), a tavern, and so on. And then the mayor, the only mage in town, Timmy te Weasel (a mary sue) and the leader of the smugglers, wh o is a lycanthrope. But while the designer acknowledges that all lycanthropes are evil … not these lycanthropes. Okey doke. The locations, such as the hucker and the bar, are not too bad. They are overly described, but at least they are not the standard fantasy fair. Also, they don’t really matter AT ALL to the adventure. As a general town feature, sure. And the NPC”s are also overly described. Paragraphs of information that don’t really mean anything or have an impact on the game. 

On to the adventure proper!

It doesn’t really exist. It’s just an outline. Act One is a page and half of Let The Party Get To Know The City, finishing with them fucking some elf bard chick in the tavern. Act two are just a couple of vignettes … rats come out of the bakers shop, from a hole in the ground, that guards wont let you investigate. And, of course, the two dead bodies I mentioned before. These are both handled in a paragraph, with nothing more to them. The first is, in its entirety “The first of them was named Radomir, and he was a rather plump burly man who had recently worked as a glassblower in the weavers’ quarter. All the evidence suggests that Radomir simply suffocated while he was taking a leak. A careful examination of the body reveals no marks on the neck or any signs of poisoning. However, a common night moth was strangely lodged in the poor man’s windpipe.” Fill in the rest. And, I note, this is one of the more detailed things to happen. 

And this happens over and over again. A sentence about what could happen and then another explaining what really is going on and how the party can’t really do anything. No real encounters. No real challenges. Eventually you make it to the sewers, near the end of the seven acts, and get attacked by the weres, who were driven insane by the spell. Thats all you’re getting for detail though. Make up everything else yourself. 

It’s all very abstracted. An outline in First This Happens And Then This Happens paragraph form. There’s no real agency here. You’re told to interfere with the party doing things, by using the guards, etc. This is a story game, but, it doesn’t lean in to that. It’s trying to be a traditional game, but it doesnt lean in to that either. He licked the one. He chased the other. And then he ended up dead. It’s what you got.

This is $3 at DriveThru. The preview is eight pages and shows you a bit of the town locations, which are moderately interesting, but not so much so to take up the space they do and, ultimately, are just window dressing.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/456491/The-Most-Secret-Conspiracy?1892600

Categories: Tabletop Gaming Blogs

Talking with Gob

Sorcerer's Skull - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 12:00


Our Land of Azurth 5e game continued last night. The party was still dealing with the bifurcated black and white adepts from last session. They tried to make sense of each adept's claim that the other was the villain, but ultimately, they just decided to try and seize the magic sabaton and be done with it.

A fight broke out as one kept blasting them with glowing orbs, while the other triplicated himself and attacked. The party triumphed, but only after depleting poor Dagmar's healing magic keeping them from going down. They wore forced to take a long rest in the barricaded room and wind up having to bluff a Phanfasm and his goblin troops once and them stay quite when some other (unseen) wandering monsters came sniffing around.

The next room contained the crystalline Gob, himself--or more precisely, Gob's self-image. He was at work on some sort of geometric equations and fretting over the elementary particles responsible for good and evil. The party got to ask him some questions about the origins of the world, discovering that Azurth was a sort of "terrarium" and outside it's "event horizon" was the rest of the universe. Whatever any of that meant!

After that, they had to backtrack to the domain of the Snooty Elves to go another direction. They found a room with a red crytal altar that held another piece of armor, a greave, floating in the middle of the room. When Waylon tried to grab it, he was frozen in some sort of stasis field. The party tried dispelling it (didn't work), then moving things with mage hand (didn't work in the duration of the spell), but finally Erekose was able to drag Waylon out. They then used mage hand to put a noose around the greave and they took turns slooowly dragging it out of the field.

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