Tavern Watch Podcast

Welcome to Brindlewood Bay, a peaceful New England village on the sea with picturesque views, cozy bookshops, and quaint B&Bs. It also has an unusually high murder rate, and that's where today's adventure comes in to play, as our party of sleuths attempt to untangle a mysterious death. And, of course, our adventurers are all little old ladies. Let me introduce them: Joan as Louisa, resident ga...

We're entering the winter doldrums of game scheduling, and many of our TTRPG adventures have been coming to a halt (or at least a slow) for the winter due to the difficulty of getting this many adults in a room, even a virtual one, for the holidays. But the snowier season here in the Northern Hemisphere doesn't mean a lack of new tabletop game material, especially if you like  D&D.  ...

It's time to take to the stars in search of interplanetary adventure as Tavern Watch plays Starfinder's newly-released second edition. This system blends the crunchy, high player choice character building of Pathfinder  with a wholly original science fantasy setting, and there's really nothing like it. If you've ever wanted your space wizard to cast  doom scroll  (and yes, it d...

It's time to take to the stars in search of interplanetary adventure as Tavern Watch plays  Starfinder 's newly-released second edition. This system blends the crunchy, high player choice character building of  Pathfinder  with a wholly original science fantasy setting, and there's really nothing like it. If you've ever wanted your space wizard to cast  doom scroll  (and y...

It's time to take to the stars in search of interplanetary adventure as Tavern Watch plays  Starfinder 's newly-released second edition. This system blends the crunchy, high player choice character building of  Pathfinder  with a wholly original science fantasy setting, and there's really nothing like it. If you've ever wanted your space wizard to cast  doom scroll  (and y...

On the Tavern Watch Podcast, a mention of a  crowdfunding campaign for  Lodestar  leads us to discussing areas where the community has picked up for Wizards of the Coast's slack on the Tavern Watch Podcast. While  D&D 's modern stewards often seem content to take a one-and-done approach to campaign settings (as opposed to multiple lines of products like in the past), the ev...

It’s spooky season here on Tavern Watch, so we’re playing something appropriately spooky —  Shadowdark!  But a spooky old-school-esque system isn’t enough on its own, so we’re diving back into one of the most classic horror tabletop game modules of all time — the original  I6: Ravenloft  for  Advanced Dungeons & Dragons  1E. When new spooky rules meet old haunts,...

It's spooky season here on Tavern Watch, so we're playing something appropriately spooky --  Shadowdark!  But a spooky old-school-esque system isn't enough on its own, so we're diving back into one of the most classic horror tabletop game modules of all time -- the original  I6: Ravenloft  for  Advanced Dungeons & Dragons  1E. When new spooky rules meet old haunts...

It's spooky season here on Tavern Watch, so we're playing something appropriately spooky --  Shadowdark!  But a spooky old-school-esque system isn't enough on its own, so we're diving back into one of the most classic horror tabletop game modules of all time -- the original  I6: Ravenloft  for  Advanced Dungeons & Dragons  1E. When new spooky rules meet old haunts...

There are a lot of games we're excited to play — and excited to watch! — on this week's Tavern Watch Podcast. A  Thundercats  game by Dynamite Entertainment  will be launching Kickstarter soon  (you can join us in watching for the campaign by clicking "notify me" on the Kickstarter campaign). It's a 5e game, which could make it an easy sell to play with friends since 5e is so w...

You know that feeling when you're exploring a viking ship suspended in the rocks over a volcanic chasm, and some poorly planned acrobatics cause it to slip and turn upside down? Well, I didn't either until this game of  Outgunned Adventure , in which our party is attempting to survive this extremely unlikely situation... and frankly, it's only going to get worse from here. Join us for ep...

Are we heading towards death or  certain  death? So far in our game of  Outgunned Adventure,  our crew of daring explorers has survived a fall into the hidden grotto that concealed the lost tomb of Erik the Red. (Possibly the reason they're so daring is that they don't know how close they were to death along the way.) But what will they find hidden inside as they hunt for treas...

It's time for a new adventure with our Tavern Watch crew as we dive into  Outgunned Adventure  (and, yes, we're going to be using the word  adventure  a whole lot here). Our story opens with our daring explorers climbing to the top of a mountain in the middle of the ocean near Greenland in search of the tomb of the viking king Eric the Red, and whatever treasure he has left beh...

On the latest Tavern Watch Podcast, we're excited about  Draw Steel , a new game from MCDM that strikes us as spiritual successor to  D&D  4e. The game features crunchy combat where all of your attacks hit (but may not hit very well) and you're encouraged to push your luck to rack up more victories before resting — but it also includes rules that encourage roleplay, like detaile...

This week we’re wrapping up our game of  Rebel   Scum , a game of anti-fascist space opera that seems a lot like  Star Wars  — so of course we just used it to play in the  Star Wars  universe! When an overwhelmingly powerful fascist Empire threatens those who want to see a better future for those around them and for the rest of the galaxy, what do you do? You fight ba...

This week we're continuing our game of  Rebel   Scum , a game of anti-fascist space opera that seems a lot like  Star Wars  -- so of course we just used it to play in the  Star Wars  universe! When an overwhelmingly powerful fascist Empire threatens those who want to see a better future for those around them and for the rest of the galaxy, what do you do? You fight ba...

This week we're playing a game of  Rebel   Scum , a game of anti-fascist space opera that seems a lot like  Star Wars  -- so of course we just used it to play in the  Star Wars  universe! When an overwhelmingly powerful fascist Empire threatens those who want to see a better future for those around them and for the rest of the galaxy, what do you do? You fight back, y...

In this week's Tavern Watch Podcast, we dig into the disaster of Diamond Comic Distributors, which filed for bankruptcy in January and is now trying to claim books in its inventory are its property, to be sold to pay off creditors. This includes comics and books it was holding on consignment, to distribute for companies that aren't paid until the books are sold in retail stores — and the loss coul...

This week we continue our adventure of  Daggerheart , as our crew becomes the first to enter the towering spire that is the Motherboard. While it's forbidden by the church, delving into these untouched halls may be the only way to save the Motherboard — and perhaps the entire Echo Vale. Let's see how it goes, shall we? Join GM Liz Harper as I attempt to guide a motley crew of adventurers thro...

This week we continue our adventure of  Daggerheart , as our crew walks away from the settlement surrounding the Motherboard and into a not entirely unexpected ambush. Or maybe it's a reverse ambush? Well, you'll have to listen to see all of that works out, as our party searches for a way into the hidden heart of the Motherboard herself. Join GM Liz Harper as I attempt to guide a motley crew...

This week we're playing a game of  Daggerheart , largely because I was enchanted by the Motherboard setting in the book — a funny turn of phrase, since the setting has no magic! In the Echo Vale, civilization has been reborn in the ruins of the old world, repurposing the technology of people long gone. But the robotic creatures roaming the valley have been stirred into a wild fury, and the Pr...

It's a new week of drama in the TTRPG community, and we're here to dig into the latest news. We talk about the controversy surrounding the game  Rebel Scum , a  Star Wars -alike that was recently removed from DriveThruRPG after complaints about the game's political messaging. Surprise:  Star Wars  itself is pretty political, and the game takes it from there in what it calls an...

This week on  Masks , with the tip from Perseus Pyrite, the Mavericks are hot on the tail of -- presumably -- Silver Age villain Mirror Master, back and probably up to no good. But why did Mirror Master want Pyrite's shield, rumored to be able to open portals in time and space? Is he truly operating on his own? Is the past ever truly buried and behind us? Our teenage powerhouses are about to...

This week on  Masks , our new superhero team comes together to defeat a new threat: paralyzing hero worship as they meet famed Silver Age hero Perseus Pyrite. Could the team be on the trail of a Silver Age villain come back to haunt the city? It's time to make plans (and maybe make friends). If you like  Young Justice ,  Young Avengers,  and  Teen Titans,  you'll...

It's time for some superhero action as the team dives into  Masks , where we find out just how tough it is to pull a superhero team together. (The name. You've gotta have a  name .) If you like  Young Justice ,  Young Avengers,  and  Teen Titans,  you'll probably like this game. (And I happen to think we came up with a pretty good superhero group.) GM Phil Ulrich...