Tavern Chat

The deepest mysteries in old-school gaming were never meant to stay hidden. From the real Castle Greyhawk to the unfinished levels of Dwimmermount, Blackmoor’s strangest experiments, and the megadungeon projects that vanished into notebooks and half-mapped ideas — these worlds shaped how we play today, even if we never saw them completed. In this episode, we dig into the roots of the megadungeon,...

Bring your encounters to life with the Three-Layer Encounter Method—a simple OSR prep tool that turns static dungeon rooms into living, reactive situations your players will never forget. In this episode of DM’s Toolbox, we break down how to build encounters that feel alive:• What the players think is happening• What’s actually going on under the surface• And what happens when everything goes side...

Jeffro - What is the #BrOSR? The #BrOSR is real D&D. It is AD&D played as intended. It is successful fantasy campaigns that just won’t quit. It is a fundamentally different type of play that is distinct from the conventional approaches to roleplaying that have dominated hobby gaming over the past forty years

Some of us were introduced to the world of gaming by friends, others by siblings, parents, or teachers. How were you introduced to the world of gaming? Call The Tavern's Voicemail at 347-509-5168 and tell us how you were introduced to the magic of gaming. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIdpAASpAI7vu-bZx6pP_mQ/join

Greg Tito and Dan Dillon have some choice words for their former employer. Looking to support The Tavern? Use our affiliate links and help yourself to some good stuff while helping The Tavern! DTRPG: tenkars-tavern.games/DTRPG Humble Bundle: tenkars-tavern.games/Humble Amazon: tenkars-tavern.games/Amazon Acorns makes it easy to save and invest. Join me and you'll get a free $5 investment! As a...

AD&D PHB (1977, p. 76): Any creature at the edge (1’) of such a pit uses its dexterity score as a saving throw to avoid falling into the hole, with a score equal to or less than the dexterity meaning that a fall was avoided. Looking to support The Tavern? Use our affiliate links and help yourself to some good stuff while helping The Tavern! DTRPG: tenkars-tavern.games/DTRPG Humble Bundle: tenk...

WotC's new VTT, Codename: Project Sigil, sure looks pretty. I'm not surprised that WotC firmly has the Baldu's Gate 3 Community solidly in their sights, but I was surprised to find them pitch Project Sigil for use with OTHER (unnamed) RPGs. Project Sigil begins around 12:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3RqehN6hS0 Looking to support The Tavern? Use our affiliate links and help yours...

Members of the DnD Beyond community, and 2014 5e community, in particular, were heard by the powers that be at WotC. Late on a Sunday Nignt WotC announced a course change, and it is huge: "Players who only have access to the 2014 Player’s Handbook will maintain their character options, spells, and magical items in their character sheets. Players with access to the 2024 and 2014 digital Player...

What is a sign of corporate greed? https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/game-designer-d-d-at-wizards-of-the-coast-4007920428/ Looking to support The Tavern? Use our affiliate links and help yourself to some good stuff while helping The Tavern! DTRPG: tenkars-tavern.games/DTRPG Humble Bundle: tenkars-tavern.games/Humble Amazon: tenkars-tavern.games/Amazon Acorns makes it easy to save and invest. Join...

When you play in a corporation's sandbox, they control the sand. https://www.wargamer.com/dnd/beyond-deleting-content-spells-magic-items

I run games at various conventions, and writing an adventure for convention play is greatly different than for your home campaign or for publishing. Use our affiliate links and help yourself to some good stuff while helping The Tavern! DTRPG: tenkars-tavern.games/DTRPG Humble Bundle: tenkars-tavern.games/HumbleAmazon: tenkars-tavern.games/Amazon Acorns makes it easy to save and invest. Join me and...

I found an excellent article at Rascal.news that offered some insights into WotC's new VTT, codename Project Sigil. Most of the article is behind a paywall, but I think it was well worth the buck I paid ;) Follow on X @tenkar https://www.rascal.news/d-d-cant-properly-market-project-sigils-not-quite-video-game-features/ https://tenkars-tavern.games/StarTrek Looking to support The Tavern? Use ou...

Join Ol' Man Grognard and Tenkar for a special Sunday Night Triple D Livestream. Use our affiliate links and help yourself to some good stuff while helping The Tavern! DTRPG: tenkars-tavern.games/DTRPG Humble Bundle: tenkars-tavern.games/Humble Amazon: tenkars-tavern.games/Amazon Acorns makes it easy to save and invest. Join me and you'll get a free $5 investment! As a perk of referring us...

No special guests. No preordained topics. Just Crit Talking! Watch every Wednesday Live on YouTube, Rumble, and X (Marking our return to Anchor/Spotify)

Frank is raising money to pay for medical bills incurred due to kidney failure.

There is a discussion on ENWorld where it is asked "Is D&D for Everyone?" I think the answer is YES, but not every group or every campaign is for everyone.⁠ tenkars-tavern.games/cRPG ⁠ (Affiliate link)

Ah, sweet, sweet TSR3. Sometimes you just need to stop and smell the bullshit, because it is heavy in these three letters. And boy, oh boy! Justin decided to troll the Gamers' Health video I did with my niece Shannon on Christmas Day.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHju_pmM80M&t=787s Let's Go, Justin!

Niece Shannon joins Tenkar for a special Christmas Day Gamers’ Health.

Yesterday, Rach and I talked a bit about consent at the gaming table. The conversation that has popped up about that cast has been amazing, both on YouTube and on Facebook, and thanks to that ongoing conversation, I think I missed something yesterday. Communication at the gaming table has to occur before consent can even be an issue, and part of that communication is being honest with your GM befo...

Strangely enough, I find myself inching closer to X-Cards at the gaming table for organized play / convention games over completely removing themes that some may find triggering. Rach joins me for this one, as I figured we needed the opinion of one that was NOT a grognard ;) https://owenkcstephens.com/2021/12/13/from-a-freelancer-an-open-letter-to-erik-mona/

Digging back into the Arduin Trilogy, we take a look at Dave's view of alignment.

It's the tale of two Kickstarters. Both very late. Both announcing the time for release is finally near. Why do I believe one, and not the other?

It's all over the interwebs. WotC has been making stealth changes to the lore of many of its releases, to correct language that it sees as possibly problematic. This is both the advantage and curse of digital content. But has this made earlier 5e printing more valuable and collectible? https://www.wargamer.com/dnd/races-alignments-lore-removed https://boundingintocomics.com/2021/12/16/wizards-of-t...

Ah, you've gotta love the internet trolls. On yesterday's video, a troll spammed the comments section with my "real" last name (not a secret, it's been public for years on Swords & Wizardry Light and Swords & Wizardry Continual Light). I figured it was time to explain where the name came from, why I used it, why I continue to use it, and more.

As it says on the tin, TSR3 has voluntarily withdrawn its legal action against WotC without prejudice.