Tavern Stories is an Agon-engine game that reframes Agon's heroic epic as a long-after-the-fact reminiscence in a tavern by the heroes.
The PDF is 10 pages, with one of the strongest layouts I've seen. The game is presented as a bar menu, which is clever and works, and it's a good-looking bar menu on top of that. It radiates an energy I can only describe as "the prices are fair and the fries are perfect." I keep looking in the margins for a Wensleydale burger.
The writing has a clear, casual voice, and the game is easy to read, but it does expect you to be pretty familiar with Agon.
GMing in Tavern Stories is round robin, but otherwise follows Agon's structure. One person---in their role as one of the heroes at the tavern---tells a story of the past in which all the other players play their heroes' remembered selves.
Gameplay switches back and forth between the table at the tavern and the contents of the story being told, and the mechanics allow for interruptions, interjections, "that's not how I remember it," etc.
There's also a few neat mechanical flourishes, such as getting extra dice for making toasts or having to wash dishes if you run up too high of a tab.
There is room for some potentially hard-hitting swerves in Tavern Stories' structure. It's clear in the rules that the stories being told may not match up perfectly with the truth, so players may be able to use roleplaying in the game's present to undercut its past in interesting ways. However, this isn't strictly necessary, and the game can also be played as a perfectly cozy evening between friends.
Overall, if you're looking for a lovely-looking game with a cool framework that tells heroic stories, this should be on your list. In fact, it's kind of the perfect coda for to long campaign. Catch up with the heroes a few decades down the road, reminisce about one last adventure, maybe serve some drinks and bar food to fit the celebratory atmosphere. If you like fantasy adventure stories, I'd definitely recommend giving this a shot.
Minor Issues:
-Page 4, "In the tavern, everyone is involve" involved
-Page 8, "The retired hero always forget their wallet" forgets
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This is one of the best rpg supplements I've seen.
Ohhh thank you so much!
Tavern Stories is an Agon-engine game that reframes Agon's heroic epic as a long-after-the-fact reminiscence in a tavern by the heroes.
The PDF is 10 pages, with one of the strongest layouts I've seen. The game is presented as a bar menu, which is clever and works, and it's a good-looking bar menu on top of that. It radiates an energy I can only describe as "the prices are fair and the fries are perfect." I keep looking in the margins for a Wensleydale burger.
The writing has a clear, casual voice, and the game is easy to read, but it does expect you to be pretty familiar with Agon.
GMing in Tavern Stories is round robin, but otherwise follows Agon's structure. One person---in their role as one of the heroes at the tavern---tells a story of the past in which all the other players play their heroes' remembered selves.
Gameplay switches back and forth between the table at the tavern and the contents of the story being told, and the mechanics allow for interruptions, interjections, "that's not how I remember it," etc.
There's also a few neat mechanical flourishes, such as getting extra dice for making toasts or having to wash dishes if you run up too high of a tab.
There is room for some potentially hard-hitting swerves in Tavern Stories' structure. It's clear in the rules that the stories being told may not match up perfectly with the truth, so players may be able to use roleplaying in the game's present to undercut its past in interesting ways. However, this isn't strictly necessary, and the game can also be played as a perfectly cozy evening between friends.
Overall, if you're looking for a lovely-looking game with a cool framework that tells heroic stories, this should be on your list. In fact, it's kind of the perfect coda for to long campaign. Catch up with the heroes a few decades down the road, reminisce about one last adventure, maybe serve some drinks and bar food to fit the celebratory atmosphere. If you like fantasy adventure stories, I'd definitely recommend giving this a shot.
Minor Issues:
-Page 4, "In the tavern, everyone is involve" involved
-Page 8, "The retired hero always forget their wallet" forgets
Thank you for the great comment :) I'm very happy you seem to enjoy the game. You caught perfectly its spirit.
And thank you for pointing out the small mistakes: I'll fix them asap.
It's a really cool game! Thank you for writing it!
Layout and graphics are fantastic.
Thank you 🙏