Tenkar's Tavern is the home for honest, unfiltered OSR and B/X D&D news, reviews, and investigation — no corporate spin.
Hosted by Tenkar, a retired NYPD investigative sergeant and gamer since 1980. Since 2009 we've covered Old School Essentials, B/X mechanics, and the tabletop industry straight — surviving the dungeon, not selling you a 400-page solution to a problem solved in 1981.
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Tenkar's Tavern
Today is the 25th anniversary of 9-11. For those who don't know, I was a cop then, working out of the 41st Precinct (Fort Apache) in the South Bronx.
I was watching the TV in my C.O.'s office when the second tower was hit. I knew immediately what was happening. I told my Sergeant we needed to suit up, as this wasn't an accident.
We were ready with a squad of cops: 8 POs and 1 Sgt, within 10 minutes. Sgt. handed me the keys and gave me one instruction: get us to the WTC safely and quickly.
Getting into Manhattan was a breeze. Getting through Midtown was not. I drove on sidewalks. I drove on the wrong side of the road. I did what needed to be done.
The full gravity of the situation struck me when we got to Houston Street. First, I spotted the shopping cart with a briefcase in it, just off to the side but very visible. Then I noticed two individuals directing traffic so emergency vehicles could respond to the WTC.
One was a homeless man. One of New York's invisible residents, and likely the owner of the shopping cart. The other? A businessman in his suit. Directing traffic like it was in their blood.
This is what 9-11 means to me. 25 years ago, diametric opposites who wouldn't have noticed the other passing within 5 feet of them on a NYC street, working together because that was what the moment called for. A higher purpose created a bond despite their differences.
We've lost that over the last 25 years. Tribalism and agendas have replaced the love of America, the pride in your city, and faith in your fellow man and woman.
I fear that if there is an event that hits as hard as 9-11 in our future, we, as a nation, will fail to step up to the challenge. United we stand, divided we fall.
We were united on 9-11 and in the days, weeks, and months afterward. I feel we've lost that edge.
We've forgotten how to be one nation.
God bless those we lost on 9-11, those we continued to lose over the last 25 years, and those we will lose in the future.
Never forget.
5 days ago | [YT] | 468
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Tenkar's Tavern
Thank you all! This summer has been a hell of a ride!
1 week ago | [YT] | 132
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Tenkar's Tavern
Apparently, a YouTube update unflagged this channel for accepting HYPES. HYPES let viewers tell YouTube they like a video and that it should be seen by more viewers. It's only available on mobile. It DOES help. Thankfully, a viewer noticed they couldn't hype this channel, and I fixed it. You can now hype away :)
Tenkar
Here's the Google summary for the Hype feature:
How YouTube Hype Works
For Creators: Eligible channels must be in the YouTube Partner Program, have between 500 and 500,000 subscribers, and the video must be uploaded within the last 7 days. Live streams and Shorts are excluded. Channels are auto-enrolled by default, but creators can opt out via YouTube Studio.
For Viewers: Viewers receive 3 free hypes per week to spend on eligible videos. The button is accessible on mobile via the video interface or comment section.
Point System: Smaller channels receive a higher point multiplier value per hype to give emerging creators a stronger algorithmic boost.
1 week ago | [YT] | 119
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Tenkar's Tavern
A day's march is 24 miles. That number isn't made up — it's base movement rate divided by five, straight out of the 1981 D&D Expert Set. If your capital and your outpost don't fit that math, they're either too far apart to trade or too close together to feel like two different places. Set the number before you draw another hex.
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 158
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Tenkar's Tavern
A viewer wrote in convinced 180 goblins that close to "civilization" broke the game. So I checked it against the actual 1981 Expert rulebook.
Patrols hold 18 miles from a stronghold on normal terrain. In jungle, swamp, or mountain? A garrison every 6 miles just to keep the ground clear. Six miles is one hex. There's no patrol margin in swamp at all — none.
That's not a house rule. That's the book, forty-five years ago, already telling you swamp doesn't play fair.
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 164
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Tenkar's Tavern
Your monsters have been fighting to the death by accident. Most tables never roll the one check that tells them when to run.
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 90
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