Summer at The Iron Tavern

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Jeffrey Tadlock

Wow! It has been almost a month since the last post at The Iron Tavern. Certainly one of the longest gaps in posting since I started The Iron Tavern a couple of years ago! Let’s see what I have been up to!

Moving

Most of the past several weeks have been filled with moving to a new house. I think things are finally getting settled in freeing up a significant amount of time. As part of stocking the new house I ended up with a sweet dining room table that will easily seat 8 folks and is going to work wonderfully as a gaming table for the Thursday night group (and hopefully a kid’s game soon).

This move really has consumed the vast majority of my time for the past 4 weeks. It is good to be getting settled in at the new place.

Origins

This past weekend was Origins. Last year we seem to have started the tradition of getting the folks from the DCC Actual Play game to meetup for the con. This year we had all the players from the actual play game and another who plays in the weekly Dungeonslayers game Kelly runs.

It was great seeing the guys again. It was four days filled with gaming! We played Dungeon Crawl Classics, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, Paranoia, and Zombieslayers! We all had a really good time – be sure to check out my G+ stream for photos from the Con.

I did pick up a few things at Origins, though really – the dealer hall was a bit of a disappointment this year. I purchased another small Chessex battlemat to hopefully replace the one I bought the previous year that didn’t hold ink well at all. And I also bought the card game Boss Monster. I played Boss Monster at Gary Con with Joseph Goodman, Doug Kovacs, and Rick Hull. It was enough of an intro to warrant the purchase.

Iron Tavern Press

Iron Tavern Press is doing well, though it would be hard to tell by my lapse in release schedule! I have Zedkiel’s Chapel by Dustin Clark through its last round of revisions. I just need to drop in the two pieces of artwork Frank Turfler did for me (have I previewed any of those yet? They are awesome!) and let my proofers give it a glance. I hope for it to see the light of day within the next week or so.

I have PSE #5 written. Just a couple of tweaks and then it will go off to the editor for the first pass on it. Still artwork to be done for it as well, but should be well on track for my more normal 4 to 6 week release schedule. We did playtest this one at Origins last weekend.

A surprise author is writing another PSE adventure for me. The pitch was awesome and I am looking forward to seeing that turnover. More details to come on this as we get a little closer to release time for that one.

While at Origins we also playtested another adventure from Dustin Clark. This one is more of a full sized adventure, so it will deviate from the Pocket-Sized Encounter line’s format. There is a good chance this one will be the first release Iron Tavern Press does for Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. Should be a good one!

So there has been lots of behind the scenes work and action going on with Iron Tavern Press!

DCC Actual Play Podcast

I am behind on releasing AP podcasts! I have a bunch queued up – one just needs mixed, the others need some editing. But in either case the DCC group is going strong and plenty of shows recorded and ready to be released. Expect to see these start coming out in the next week or so as well.

Wrap Up

And that’s why it has been so quiet around here the past several weeks! I appreciate your patience while real life has distracted me. Things should start to return closer to normal over the course of the next week or two.

Chained Coffin Kickstarter

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Jeffrey Tadlock

Many of my readers have likely already seen the news about the most recent Goodman Games Kickstarter for the Chained Coffin. As some Kickstarters do, this was taken off and quickly grown to be more than just some perks for the Chained Coffin adventure and is becoming its own entity. This is important and the thing folks (DCC fans and campaign setting fans) need to take note of.

But first, for those that don’t know about the Kickstarter I will highlight a few of the initial selling points. If you already know all of these, don’t leave just yet – skip down to the Boxed Set section.

Chained Coffin Kickstarter

So – the Chained Coffin kickstarter was initially to raise some funds for a cool prop. A spinning wheel puzzle. The adventure is already written and coming out regardless of Kickstarter success. But the original $4,000 goal was to get a spinning wheel puzzle made of cardstock. A pretty cool player handout!

But then the stretch goals started.First it was some additional sourcebook material for the area, then it was more random encounter tables. Shudder Mountains where the adventure takes place is a decent sized area. Then it was some more player handouts with Doug Kovacs art.

As those stretch goals have been met, things began to transform from adventure to gazetteer style stretch goals. Digest sized pages to letter sized pages, and more to further detail the Shudder Mountains. Higher levels include an 11×17 poster and the top stretch goal is an actual full-color box set!

All of this for picking up the $30 Silver Foil limited edition version of the module.

Boxed Set Mini-Campaign Setting

Folks – this Kickstarter has turned into a boxed set mini-campaign setting. Not only that, but at a price point that is pretty darn incredible if the stretch goals are hit.

As a host of Spellburn we get a lot of email asking about campaign settings. Is there anything out there for people? What campaign setting do I use for my actual play? The questions pop up on forums and social media networks all the time.

Here is your chance to show Goodman Games a mini-campaign setting is what you want. Because if this Kickstarter hits the goal of $36,000 that is pretty much what you’ll be getting.

Current players of DCC know the game has a regional feel to it. It doesn’t work under the assumption of needing a continent spanning area, a region can be the start to a very long running game. The Shudder Mountains is this regional setting.

More Kickstarter Info

Goodman Games has provided several ways to help them meet this goal. $30 gets you the silver foil limited edition. There is also a limited edition gold foil for $60. They are also selling print modules at a discount, so increase your pledge and help fill out your DCC adventure collection while helping to get us to that $36,000 stretch goal.

Now some links in case you want more info.

The Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1409961192/dungeon-crawl-classics-the-chained-coffin

Spellburn Talks to Michael Curtis About The Kickstarter and The Chained Coffin

http://spellburn.com/2014/05/12/episode-22-kickstarting-a-chained-coffin/

Michael Curtis’ Blog – Your Fantasy Appalachia Campaign in a Box

http://poleandrope.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-chained-coffin-kickstarter-or-your.html

In Defense of Roll20

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Jeffrey Tadlock

Earlier this week a blogger posted Five Ways Roll20 is a PITA. A rather inflammatory title and one that certainly caught my eye. I’ve been using Roll20 since about August of 2012 I believe. I run a weekly Dungeon Crawl Classics game on it with folks from a variety of geographical locations. I’ve also played in several semi-regular games during the same time period.

Roll20 has been nothing but excellent to my group and I. Unlike other VTTs I have used in the past we rarely have technical issues that prevent us from gaming. I can think of one instance where Roll20 didn’t work (it was right after one of their larger upgrades), but we played that session anyways. Beyond that one instance technical issues have been minimal.

I do run Roll20 integrated to a Google Hangout though. So audio and video relies on Google, my experience with Roll20’s audio and video is non-existent. Google Hangouts has that covered for us and has some cool low bandwidth options for one of our players or when someone’s cable connection is poor. I’ve played with Roll20 on slower 1.54Mbps connections all the way up 15Mbps connections.

Either case – I did want to address each of the five points in the Five Ways Roll20 is a PITA blog post. I do realize just because I don’t have issues, doesn’t mean others don’t. But if one person can paint their experiences with a broad brush, I can do the same. Of all the VTTs I have played on, Roll20 has been the best and it just sort of gets out of my way when we play.

5 – Really, I work in IT

I am always wary when things start out declaring credentials. But overlooking that, this sound more like computer issues than something to do with Roll20. The post says most of the issues are on the author’s side. He then says he only got in an hour of game time.

My sessions are two hours in length. We’ve never had a technical issue consume more than 5 minutes of time on anyone’s side. There was the one occurrence after the Roll20 upgrade, but we still managed to get 1h45m in of playing that night with ease.

With that said – for my weekly game, I do get logged in about 5 to 10 minutes ahead of time and make sure my headphones and sound work on the computer in general (largely because I switch headsets from the set the kids use to my nice set).

4 – Where is that setting again?

This looks to have been fog of war being enabled. And mention of the author’s kid messing with settings.

I just checked – fog of war isn’t enabled by default on a new map. So the setting must have been changed. I surely hope someone spoke up pretty quickly that they couldn’t see things. There are only a handful of spots to check settings in Roll20 (the map and the general settings). We could usually sort things out pretty quick in our early Roll20 days.

As for the audio settings. As I noted above, I run from a computer my kids use and swap headphones. I usually check things out about 5-10 minute before the game to be sure all is well. Sometimes I need to replug in the headphones.

3 – It’s not me, it’s you

I can’t comment on this one as we use Roll20 integrated with G+ for audio and video. My best advice here is to do the same. Frankly I think Roll20 should drop the audio and video option and focus on the VTT. Between G+ Integration which works great, Skype, Ventrilo, Mumble, etc, etc, there really isn’t a need to try handling that piece on their own. Of course as soon as they dropped it, I am sure folks would complain.

Either way – my suggestion for this is to use it integrated with G+ Hangouts. We’ve had good experience that way. (Just listen to the actual play recordings to hear it).

2 – If you just look right here

I don’t really get this one. Back to fog of war and comparison to meatspace. The handouts option in Roll20 is a great way to show props, bits of text, etc. Just click Show to Players and you are all set. For the Barrowmaze game I had a whole series of handouts lined up for the start of the session – a handout map, the scene of descending into Barrowmaze and some of the interesting structures inside. Roll20 facilitated handouts wonderfully.

1 – It’s all just a setup

There are lots of features to Roll20. Some complex, some not. But yes, it could be overwhelming if you feel like you need to use them all right out of the gate. Shoot – even now we don’t use all of the features. So start small! Fire up Roll20, and toss a map down. Skip tokens for now – or use them just to represent movement. Character journals and character sheets aren’t required, use them later if you want.

At this point my online group uses the map feature, fog of war, minimal token use, the integrated die roller, chat, handouts, and some of the drawing tools. That’s about it. It works great and if you don’t want to get hung up in too much technology the way to go.

Some might think what we use is too much. Use Roll20 only for its die roller if you want. Or die roller and a map. Roll20 can be very, very simple to use or become more complex. But your group makes that decision. Roll20 can facilitate either style of play.

Wrap Up

Either way – Roll20 has been great for my group. I’ve made lots of great friends online and had a great time gaming. I hope the author of the original post sticks with it and after getting used to the tool has an equally rewarding experience. I think Roll20 is an excellent tool for folks with busy schedules trying to game!

Wisconsin Death Trip

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Iron Tavern Guest Blogger

This is based on truth. I am not talking about the way Fargo or Texas Chainsaw Massacre is either. As far as I have seen the pictures are authentic and the newspaper articles accurate. That makes this book disturbing and a little like a car wreck that one can’t help but stare at.

Wisconsin Death Trip is a nonfiction book published in 1973. The author found a collection of black and white photos all from the same small Wisconsin area dating back to the 1890’s. He then researched newspaper articles from that time and found a place haunted by death and destruction. I don’t know if this was common at the time, and it seems unusual because I don’t have knowledge of what life was like in the 1890’s in a small Wisconsin town. Or this could be the outlier, the one place that had unusual deaths and events going on. Either way a creative GM can take this book and make it into an awesome prop for an adventure or campaign.

“George Kanuck, a laborer, is alleged to have sold his seven year old boy to Italian peddlers who have been working at Manitowoc. The sale is said to have taken place at Kanuck’s house during a drunken orgy that all participated. The Italians, two women and a man, left the town the next day with the boy.”

That is one example of what one will find within the pages of this book. The book just presents the stories. It does not answer any questions. That is what makes this the perfect prop. Are you wanting to run a Cthulhu by Gaslights campaign? There can easily be cultists and something dark and mysterious going on here. Perhaps you want something modern and want the events from the past to be repeating themselves. This would be a great book to present news stories to the players that their characters find in research. Granted, not a lot of written RPGs work well in rural Wisconsin of the 1890’s. That is why I only mention the one so far.

“Eight of the Kaukauna public schools have been closed by order of the district board on account of further spread of diphtheria epidemic. Five or 6 families are now quarantined, and in one of these, 8 of its members have the disease.”

It would be more difficult but this could also serve for a good adventure or arc for a time travel game. There is something odd going on here, there has to be. So of course the TARDIS would show up here. Or perhaps the agents of Timewatch are sent here for a darker type of adventure. I think this approach would be a challenge as the feel of those games is a bit lighter than the events the book describes.

“At Stevens Point an incendiary fire destroyed sale stables and 13 fine draft horses the property of the green brothers….This is the ninth incendiary fire in the city in a week.”

I think it would work well as a historical Hunter the Vigil game. Something wicked is happening in the area so it is up to a small cell of townsfolk to investigate and try to stop something. Not everything has to link together either. Perhaps the fire was just an accident but that doesn’t mean the other eight were. Some of the stories though are much darker. There is an article of a ten year who commits suicide. There are stories of people killing their families and children. There are stories of people being committed into insane asylums. There are stories of wild men living in caves, and bands of hooligans that terrorize towns. Some of the stories are just weird like the owner of a lumber company that started yelling crazy things and then his one thousand employees started to mimic what he was doing.

“A wild man is terrorizing the people north of Grantsburg. He appears to be 35 years of age, has long black whiskers, is barefooted, has scarcely any clothes on him, and he carries a hatchet. He appeared at several farm houses and asked for something to eat. He eats ravenously, and when asked where he came from, points to the east. He secretes himself in the woods during the day and has the most bloodcurdling yells that have ever been heard in the neighborhood.”

Reading through this book is an experience. I am not going to say it was a good one as there are many sad entries in here as well. This is not a book for everyone and is definitely a Cult Classic of literature. There is also a movie made about it and it has influenced other novels and even music.

Chris Gath. I’ve been gaming since 1980 playing all kinds of games since then. In the past year I’ve run Pathfinder, Dungeon Crawl Classic, Paranoia, and Mini d6. My current campaign is mini d6 and we are using that for a modern supernatural conspiracy investigative game. On some forums I’m known as Crothian and I’ve written a few hundred reviews though I took a sabbatical from reviewing for a few years as it burnt me out. I was also an judge for the Gen Con awards (ENnies) six times. Jeff, the owner of this blog, is one of my players and a good friend.

Delving Into Barrowmaze

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Jeffrey Tadlock

A week or so ago I posted about prepping for the two week run into Barrowmaze I was going to be running. These sessions happened during a two week break from the normal Dungeon Crawl Classics game due to a few scheduling difficulties.

I ran the game “open table” style, meaning I wanted people to be able to play for one session or the other without much difficulty. The biggest stipulation I made for the game was that when the session was ending for the night, the characters had to head back to town. This made it easier to bring new folks in the next session.

Barrowmaze in Two Sessions

Barrowmaze is a massive and sprawling dungeon. How in the world does one approach running Barrowmaze in two sessions? I mean the place is way more than a party could ever hope to explore in two sessions. How does one make it a little more than just delving into the dungeon in search of treasure? Which doesn’t mean as much if the characters are only going to be used for two sessions.

Easy – I came up with a reason the party needed to head into the dungeon. A more attainable goal than just gaining treasure or learning the mysteries of the place which would take more than two sessions.

I concocted a story of a noble youth rebelling and taking off on his own with some friends to find their fortunes. They ended up in the town of Helix and were last known to have entered the Barrowmaze, but they never returned.

The noble family learned of this and sent an agent to offer a reward to any who would aid them in learning the fate of the noble individual. The agent had a map and regal emblem that helped guide them into the Barrowmaze and allow the party to identify the noble individual should they find them.

This gave the party a reasonably obtainable goal and a reason that folks playing for two sessions might want to venture into the Barrowmaze.

How Did It Work Out?

I think it went pretty well. The first session the group lost a party member on the first encounter. This made them very cautious that first session. They explored a bit, found some clues that gave them a hint about where the person they were looking for went. Their cautious exploration pretty much wrapped up the night.

The second session had several of the same folks playing, though we did bring in two new folks. Because the main group was back in town, it was easy to work them into the game.

The group has pretty good success this time. Lilith the magic-user went down to some giant fire beetles very quickly, but smart play got the group well on to the right track. Exploring a few rooms, finding the friends of the noble they were seeking dead, the group finally found the lost noble boy, turned into a zombie with a handful of minions.

A tough fight ensued, a fighter was lost to the cause, but in the end the group learned the fate of Myron the noble boy and returned to Helix to claim the reward.

Barrowmaze Impressions

I’ve run Barrowmaze before in a family Swords & Wizardry game. This was my first time running it for my normal group and others in the G+ community. I really like Barrowmaze as a megadungeon. By coming up with a quest or goal for the party to obtain while in the Barrowmaze I felt it worked well for these shorter sessions.

I debated once prepping a megadungeon for con games. After running Barrowmaze for this two session stretch I think this could actually work. The key would be to come up with short, obtainable goals – probably several of them and then be prepared to run each one of those. They could use different entrances or even the same entrance with different hooks.

Barrowmaze has re-stocking rules, so the place could actually evolve over time and be run for the same group of players with a different goal and still be a little different from one session to the next.

I definitely feel the Barrowmaze mini-delve was a great success!

A New Kind of Pathfinder Character

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Iron Tavern Guest Blogger

When I DM I always like to try something a little bit different. Perhaps a different take on the campaign or the way the characters are built. Some of the ideas work and others do not. I liked it when I started having the players choose the ability scores for their own character. When I tried to have the players describe their character and then have the other players choose the attributes based on the descriptions did not work out as well. I do some different things behind the screen but I don’t keep track of them as thoroughly. I see the more important aspect of the game as player interaction with the rules. It is also very possible I am finding a complex solution to problems that do not exist.

Before I go on to this idea I must stress it is not something for every group. It might not even be a good idea for my own group as this will be the first time it has been brought up to them. For it to even have a chance of working one needs a DM that has a solid understanding of the rules and system mastery. It has to have players that will not abuse the system. The players also have to trust the DM in being fair with his rulings and trust the other players that no one is abusing the system. It does not require system mastery for the players and would probably be better for players who do not have it.

The Pathfinder system stays intact. Characters still have hit points, AC, base attack bonus, saves, etc. The way we get there is going to change though. Before one picks a race, a class, feats, and spells. Depending on what they were it would govern what the numbers were and the options the player had to select from for the character. What a player would do is come up for the concept for their character. It could be as simple as Knight to something very specific like Street Rat raised by a Fire Wizard. A player could have a short concept like that or flesh it out with a few paragraphs of backstory. Then the player would work with the DM to assign all the aspects that a class normally does. It will take a little more work but I think it will get a player more involved in his character and help create a character exactly like they want. Many times in Pathfinder and other similar systems I see players make compromises because they can’t find exactly what they want.

It doesn’t end there, this is just the beginning. I would throw out the skill list and come up with player created skills. A player would just name what they want the character to be able to do again with the DM overseeing everything to make sure it comes out ok. It would help keep the number of skills down and allow for broader skills to exist like Acrobatics. That could cover climb, jump, tumble and similar skills. Or a player could have a skill called Parkour which has some similarities to acrobatics but some specific differences as well. By using the language to pick out these different skills one can add a fine nuance to the game and what the character is able to do.

Each character would get feats, but once again they don’t have to pick off the insane list of all feats in existence. Feats now can also cover things like class abilities. Weapon and armor training would be included here. A character concept of weapons master might know how to use any weapon he picks up. But a concept like Spearman would have a more limited selection of weapons known but would have greater ability and bonuses when using a spear. If the player has trouble thinking up ideas then he can peruse the books and find thousands of different examples in all the classes, archetypes, and feats that are in existence.

Spells is where we really get crazy. Like feats there are just too many spells in the game so we do the same thing and just have the player name his own spells. Or maybe the DM playing the NPC Wizard who the PC is apprenticed to creates the spell. We might have one called Fire. It can be used to create light, spark dried tinder to make a fire, be used as a fire projection like burning hands, or even an explosion like a fireball. Damage would all be minimal since the caster is only first level. But anyway the character can think to use fire the spell can potentially do. As a limit I would probably introduce a spell casting skill or have a spells per day like the standard game.

It will take more work by the players but it allows them to be creative instead of ordering off the menu so to speak. If the player does not like it or is not feeling creative enough to do it then they can use an existing class, feats, and spells. There will be differences between a character done the old way and this way but if the DM is doing his job correctly they should coexist just fine. This system is very abusable and I like that it is. I trust my players with that kind of power and it has yet to blow up in my face. I don’t feel like this is an original idea and I am sure other games approach character creation more like this.

Would a Pathfinder player actually want to do this? I don’t know. It could bethe catalogs of options is what drives players to Pathfinder. I know I might be solving a problem that doesn’t exist but something in thinking on gaming this is what happens.

What do you think, Sirs?

Barrowmaze and Labyrinth Lord

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Jeffrey Tadlock

Tuesday nights are normally my Dungeon Crawl Classics game night with my online group. Between a vacation for one member of the group and school/finals for another it seemed best to take a two week break from the DCC game. But for the rest of us, we decided to step into the early depths of Barrowmaze for a two week break.

I’ve posted a bit about Barrowmaze here at The Iron Tavern before. Last summer I ran parts of it with the Swords & Wizardry ruleset. Regular readers know I am a big fan of Swords & Wizardry and post about it semi-frequently here. Iron Tavern Press even uses the S&W ruleset as its default rules assumption.

But for this Barrowmaze Delve we will be using Labyrinth Lord. The biggest reason is that a lot of the folks playing already use the Labyrinth Lord ruleset in other games. Their familiarity will let me focus more on the game than on the rules.

Others will notice I released a Labyrinth Lord conversion sheet for Kajak’s Kave. So I thought a little more time with the ruleset could be beneficial if I decide to convert some of the other Iron Tavern Press products to LL as well.

Preparation Steps

So what does one do when they decide to run Barrowmaze about 5 days before game time? Since I’ve read and run it before, a lot of the heavy lifting was done. I just needed to be sure my resources were close at hand and I would have the information at my fingertips. I typically don’t prep a whole lot for games, but I do like to have what notes and resources I do need easily accessible.

Rules

First, I needed to re-read the LL rules. Now I started on Moldvay, so LL is an easy fit for me. But I gave the rulebook another read so I had the rules more clearly in my mind and so I could look up rules if I needed to.

Part of this phase also involved started a Barrowmaze Delve info sheet to help my players know which optional rules we’d be using and which we wouldn’t. Nothing major here – no AEC, just the main LL book. Max hit points at 1st level, group initiative, variable weapon damage, and morale checks when I remember them!

Some of the key things regarding surprise and such were jotted down as notes on the folder I will be using to hold some of my printed reference sheets.

Speaking of which – I did grab a Labyrinth Lord screen. It was for the AEC rules, but a few small tweaks and it was good to go. The biggest thing I wanted on hand as the Attack tables and Saving Throw charts. We are using descending AC as written. It has been a long time since I’ve run something with descending AC!

Index Cards

I tend to use index cards a lot when running a game. They make great name displays for face-to-face games, handy for not passing, NPC characteristics, and even session notes. The prep on this front was primarily gathering up my spare index card holder, making sure I had my different colored cards, and pre-labeling one for rooms explored, so I know which rooms need re-stocked. I still need to make up a few initiative cards, but that will likely happen as the hangout launches.

The Module

I had already read most of Barrowmaze and run some of the early portions of it. I re-read the unique characteristics of Barrowmaze. A few of these items made it to my notes on the folder to remind me of them when I run.

Then of course I read the early sections of it, where they are most likely to go first just to have those sections fresh in my head.

Maps

I will be using G+ Hangouts and Roll20. While I don’t use minis when I run online, I do like to have a map for some form of context (though I am tempted to have them map it out, but that takes so much time). So I bought the map pack and then loaded up Gimp to make a Player version of the map to use in Roll20. Now I have a version where the secret doors and trap indicators have been removed. I also split the into two sections to keep things snappy in Roll20.

In addition, since this is only a two week session, I modified a map the party of adventurers will have that help guide them to the main entrance of Barrowmaze. In a longer campaign I wouldn’t do this, but I want to see them get to things quickly – so this modified map they will find in character will help facilitate that.

Background

In the info document I shared with the players already, I also included a map of the starting town, Helix, and listed a couple of places in town. Some of this is so their characters can have a bit of relevant background. And also so we can jump right into the game.

Wrap-up

And that is how I prepped for a Barrowmaze Delve. We shall see how it works out, but I think I have things positioned well for a great two weeks of gaming before we return to our DCC campaign!

Bards: Style and Substance

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Iron Tavern Guest Blogger

The Pathfinder Bard class is one I am well familiar with. The makers of the Adventure Paths love themselves a good bard NPC and in my earlier 2nd edition game days I used to play the odd bard here and there. The one problem with the bard is they get a little stereotyped most of the time. They pull the lute out or burst into song to support the rest of the party by giving them that +1 edge in combat. The good old morale bonus. but is the Bard truly just a utility class? Let us scratch the surface and find out more.

First, to break the bard “one size fits all” image, let us look at how they deliver their powers. Most of them are done through the Perform skill. The atypical bard plays stringed instruments or is a singer. Well let us branch out a bit from there. Breaking the stereotype is as easy as choosing different focused skills. For example, under perform you could have acting, mime, dancing, tumbling, comedy, magic shows, and the like. Imagine how that works in combat? Let me give you an example.

I once had a halfling bard (actually he was a duo act with another halfling bard played by another player) and we performed a tumbling act and were known as the “Zucchini Brothers”! I had specialized in a lasso and our performance in the midst of combat was to raise the famed morale bonus as well as provide a distraction to opponents. We did this by tumbling past opponents, lassoing weapons and ducking under legs. It turned our pure utility into a fun event that was colorful in description and purpose. Mind you, our GM did ban those characters as they made a fool of one too many of his NPC’s from memory. Plus they lassoed a +3 battleaxe artifact and made away with it causing some serious problems in game (this was before GM’s were meant to be fans of the players!)

Bards are not one trick ponies. Sure, most players understand the value of a bard in combat but look at all their other abilities. Bards are receptacles of knowledge. They can make Knowledge checks untrained! I am not sure about your games but in mine a lot of the information of the plot can be ferreted out utilizing various Knowledge skills. it makes the game plot a lot more robust and a robust plot is a memorable game in the players’ eyes. Having a bard and finding this information regularly allows for you to be in the hot seat for being able to lead a team of adventurers. it is not really about the strongest, but what and who you know which is all about knowledges.

Other performance abilities include countering sound based spells, inspiring competence in others, fascinating a crowd as well as giving them suggestions. There are also great performances that can be learned (using the expanded core books) that allow for even greater effects from the bard. It seems that the ones the player companions really get hooked on are the ones that give them a bonus in combat. While this is important at times, it is often more important to counter the spell that is about to destroy the party, or have the constabulary of the town suddenly become fascinated with why their horse is infected with ticks while you make away with the town treasury.

There are also the benefits to skill use as you progress in the class. You gain the ability to take 10 on Knowledge checks as well as taking 20 once a day representing your superior all-round knowledge. Then at tenth level you also gain the ability to use any skill untrained, even if training is required! This is a super ability but seems to be often overlooked by many that play a bard.

Of course there is the ability to use spells too, much in the same way as a sorcerer. That is a spontaneous caster. You know only a handful of spells per level but can cast any of them without the need to have them prepared. The spells the Bard gets tend to be a utility nature but they enhance the class features well. Apt attention to the spells you learn are a must as they will greatly enhance your character and their usefulness in every situation.

Bard’s are charismatic and knowledgeable. You may not expect to find one leading men into battle but you should not be surprised to find one acting as a tactician, general or spymaster. They have a perfect blend of social and functional skills that give them the ability to lead people. Followers always want to follow someone that knows what they are talking about and can present that information in a suitable manner. That is the bard through and through.

When you think of the bard, try to ignore that minds image of the fop in the big flouncy hat who strums his lute and sings of brave Sir Robin. Sure they exist but they are performers, not bards. Bards are inquisitive and skilled. They know how to work a crowd and do so to further their own ends. Most Inn’s have performers to draw in a crowd but most of these performers are not bards. They are musicians and singers, not bards. A bard may want to perform for money every now and again, and it is these performances that become truly legendary and memorable in the common persons mind.

Looking at the variant archetypes you can see how ranged the Bard can truly be. There is the Arcane Duelist, the Sandman, the Savage Skald, the Detective and many others throughout the books. These truly show the versatility of this class. it is a class that should not be overlooked in character generation and one that offers a true role-playing experience for the seasoned player. It also offers up a load of fun to a new player who is not yet sure what they want to play. Push them toward the bard because they are so malleable and can suit a style of play once the new player finds it.

Give the Bard a run. I promise you will not be disappointed! Keep rolling 🙂

Mark Knights is 40 year old guy living in a small rural town called Elliott in Tasmania, Australia. I have been role playing since I was 11 years old playing the original versions of Dungeons and Dragons, MERP, Elric, Dragon Warriors and the like amongst other genre games. I played D&D 2nd Edition through the 90′s but I ran Earthdawn for my fantasy setting and loved it as a GM. When 3rd Edition came out for D&D I tried it but found it too heavy on rules. I ignored the 3.5 edition of DnD in favour of Earthdawn (big mistake) as I thought it was just a money spinner. When 4th Edition DnD came on my players and I gave it a red hot go but hated what it had dumbed the game down to be. On a trip to Melbourne to buy some 4E stuff from a hobby store an old mate of mine pointed me at Pathfinder and in a Fantasy setting I have never looked back.

Happenings at The Iron Tavern

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Jeffrey Tadlock

Whew! I have not managed to post much here since my return from Gary Con VI! Thanks to Mark for helping carry the load with his Monday posts! It is definitely exciting times at The Iron Tavern and with associated projects. Today’s post just sort of covers what I have been up to over the past couple of weeks.

Gary Con VI

Gary Con VI was a wonderful time. It was my first time attending and the size of the con was a welcome change compared to the larger cons I tend to attend (Gen Con and Origins). I was able to hangout with some great people and put real faces to a lot of virtual ones while I was out there.

I played in several Dungeon Crawl Classics games run by Michael Curtis and Doug Kovacs (though some say the latter are Kovacs Crawl Classic games). I also got in a little bit of board gaming in the evening either before the next round of RPGs started up or shortly after.

I definitely hope to attend again next year. The size of the con is big enough to meet some new folks, but small enough to find the folks you already know. My only regret is not getting in on one of the Dungeon games while I was out there.

Spellburn

While at Gary Con all three hosts of Spellburn were in the same geographic location for the first time. Though all that exists of that is one picture that someone managed to snap for the brief time we were actually in the same vicinity!

Jobe managed to post some audio from the Goodman Games seminar while we were there. After several retakes of recording the intro as we played Red Dragon Inn with others!

The day after we all got back from Gary Con we had a brief conference call and should be back on track with recording Spellburn this coming up weekend. We know it has been awhile since we’ve posted an episode, but we should have this thing back on track quite soon!

Iron Tavern Press

I missed the March release! My goal had been to release a new product every month. I even had the product through its first editing phase and just needed to get it into layout and then off for its second editing pass. Other projects kept that from happening (and these freelance projects help foot the start-up costs of Iron Tavern Press while it gets going).

This month I have the next release, Skull Cave in layout. The text is all in there and I started the art selection earlier this week. I hope to make a big push and finish the layout this weekend and get it off to the editor for its final editing pass. Make a few revisions and get it out the door! More announcements to come on that closer to release date.

Freelance Project #1

I had a big turn-over for some conversion stuff I was doing for someone (hush, hush for the moment, but I don’t think it will be a secret much longer) prior to Gary Con. I polished up that turn-over and met the deadline. Feedback has been quite favorable and I expect to see some of the results this weekend if all goes well.

Definitely happy to have been a part of this one. The person running it has a high quality product and puts a lot of time into doing it right. I’ll post more about it as the covers are lifted.

Freelance Project #2

The other big project I have been working on is mapping related. Again, not sure how much I can disclose, but it is part of successful Kickstarter that funded a little bit back. I’ve been busy mapping and such for that. This project is coming along well and I think we’ve finally synced as the more recent map turnovers (and there are a lot of them!) have required much fewer revisions and tweaks. This project has been a lot of fun as well – lots more mapping to do on this one though.

Freelance Project #3

HHHhmmm, see the theme here? I am lousy at seeing how public some of the projects I work on should be. So I default to treat as if under an NDA until it is released. I should start asking more so I can publicize some of this! But this was a smaller mapping project that I squeezed in after Project #1 turnover. I am really happy with how the maps turned out on this one and can’t wait until this product is released as well. This one is all wrapped up now though.

DCC RPG Actual Play Podcast

I released an episode of this just before I left for Gary Con. Finished editing Episode 15 earlier this week. This weekend I will mix the audio together and folks should see it hit their feeds on Tuesday. The “heroes” are facing the most recent challenge of actually facing off with Leotah. Can they run the gauntlet? Or will Leotah live to fight another day?

Wrap Up

So that is what I have been up to! Lots of exciting stuff from Iron Tavern Press and other projects I have been involved with coming soon!

Blending Genres

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Iron Tavern Guest Blogger

How do you feel about blended fantasy? I mean taking the ideal of fantasy and moving it into another genre and playing a hybrid. I must admit that I never thought too much about genres until I began learning and developing game systems (mainly computer ones) and how much they have an effect on the audience.

I heard over the weekend that one of my old gaming friends (it feels like he is an old gaming friend but I met him last year on G+) will not play games like Shadowrun as he does not like blended genres. The Fantasy/Cyberpunk blend grates him the wrong way. Play Cyberpunk with him or Dungeon World and he is fine, but not Shadowrun.

My favourite system is really a blended genre game (sort of). Earthdawn is Fantasy Horror, but I like to think of that as Fantasy with a tone, perhaps not a genre. It is unlikely that I will have Jason from the Friday the 13th leap out on my broadsword wielding players. So I am curious as to how these mixed genres affect players.

When you play a game do you want it to fit into one category? Do you want Cthulhu or a World of Darkness game for your horror? Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) for your fantasy? A lot of these systems have done crossovers into other genres in their time. There is Ravenloft and Spelljammer for D&D covering sci-fi and horror. Even Cthulhu is beginning to bring out many different variant settings that could be considered cross genre.

I am running the Reign of Winter Adventure Path for Paizo at the moment and little do they know (though I am sure the cat is out of the bag now) the players will soon find themselves on an alien planet or two! The first is definitely a continuation of a fantasy scene but they will be a little bit in shock when they hit the planet after that. It will be a genre mash up they will not see coming!

The world of Golarion (which is Paizo’s in house world for Pathfinder) has a lot of these mash-ups built right on the one planet. They seek to give as many styles of game as they can so that it appeals to as many people as possible. It is a clever tactic, but is it isolating for you?

Let us start a conversation. Do these cross genre games annoy you or enthrall you? What would you like to see in a system if you could dictate its genre? Would you like to see a Fantasy/Sports game? How about a Fantasy/Robot-Sci Fi? Or would these ideas simply make you throw away your dice forever? Let me know what you think in the comments and keep rolling!