Bloggish Hall Of Fame #1: Tenkar's Tavern

There's no two ways about it. This month has been a quiet month of blogging on my part. Especially when you compare it to the somewhat staggering post count that I clocked up in the previous month.

This doesn't mean I've been resting on my laurels though. I still have plenty of projects on the go including the several I have already launched here (The Dungeon Masters Series, Converting Diablo II for fast play, The Seven Gates Elder Sign campaign, Fluxx Ups) and, a few more running in the background besides.

On top of all this prep and planning work however I have also found myself spending a lot more time reading. In particular, some of the wonderful blogs that I have come to find through my own endeavors here that I might otherwise not have known about.

Which is why I have decided to create the Bloggish Hall Of Fame feature. My chance to cast a light on some of the blogs in my feed and, give a little explanation as to why they're there. Sort of my way of saying thanks to all the guys who inspire me and, who's feed I really enjoy following.

First up on my roll of honor has to be Tenkar's Tavern.

If you are looking for a balanced and entertaining view point across a wide range of roleplaying products, I can think of few blogs that do a better job. Also, on top of the quality content there is a very personal touch that I feel pushes this blogger above and beyond many of the other folks out there writing in the same field and, personally I find great appeal in following the works of someone that is so down to earth.

This doesn't mean that the blog doesn't favor certain product groupings over others (Erik sure does love his OSR style games) but, the way I look at it is that if a blogger doesn't have a focus or a preference their writing often comes across as disingenuous.

For example, I like Tunnels and Trolls, i'm not shy about it, it's my focus but, I write about other stuff too. As it is with Erik. He really enjoys playing and writing about a whole range of OSR products but, it's not all he does and, it's not all he writes.

So if you have 5 minutes to spare and are looking for a good new read, why not go and check his blog out, you won't be disappointed.

Arkham Yahtzee: The Seven Gates

Arkham Yahtzee?

Arkham Yahtzee is my pet name for Elder Sign, the dice game from Fantasy Flight Games that shares a setting with the Arkham Horror board game and mechanics, with, well, Yahtzee.

Don't get me wrong though, this isn't a criticism, just an observation.

Having sat down to a game of Arkham Horror once for what became a drawn out and frankly tedious exercise in losing but, not understanding how or why, I was more than happy to trade in my copy of the board game for a copy of Elder Sign.

All-in-all, I probably ended up £10 down on the deal but, I have to say that I have had far more fun with this game than I could ever imagine having with its predecessor.

But what are "The Seven Gates" you may ask?

That's a reference to material contained with the Necronomicon by Simon, where by a person must pass through seven gates in the stars in order to obtain a higher state of being. Not dissimilar to the premise of The Ninth Gate, just more Lovecraftian.

In this instance however, I just thought that it would make for a catchy title for campaign play within this simple dice game and, that's about as deep as it goes in this one.

So, with 16 Investigators and, 8 Elder Gods straight out of the box what I have in mind is a simple serious of two on one matches with, all of the victors going into either a pool to re-drawn or maybe a Slobber Knocker style match up at the end until either all of Elder Gods or, all of the Investigators are defeated (unless of course at any point Azathoth is victorious and the world is devoured, which I think pretty much constitutes an Elder God overall win).

So a quick shuffle and draw later and our match ups look like this:

Michael McGlen, The Gangster & Mandy Thompson, The Researcher

V.S

Hastur

Carolyn Fern, The Psychologist & Kate Winthrop, The Scientist

V.S

Shub-Niggurath

"Ashcan" Pete, The Drifter & Amanda Sharpe, The Student

V.S

Yig

Bob Jenkins, The Salesman & Harvey Walters, The Professor

V.S

Azathoth

Jenny Barnes, The Dilettante & Joe Diamond, The Private Eye

V.S

Nyarlathotep

Monterey Jack, The Archaeologist & Sister Mary, The Nun

V.S

Yog-Sothoth

Vincent Lee, The Doctor & Darrell Simmons, The Photographer

V.S

Ithaqua

Dexter Drake, The Magician & Gloria Goldberg, The Author

V.S

Cthulhu