Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge: February Reviews

Here are the reviews for February for the Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge.

First up this month is a continuation of last month.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
I am REALLY enjoying rereading all of these.  I read this book soon after it first came out and I have seen the movie dozens of times. What I am enjoying are the differences between the book and the movie that I had forgotten. I don't fault the movies for the changes they made, but the books are obviously much more enjoyable.
Honestly I could not help but smile like an idiot the entire time I was listening to this.
Witch Count: Hundreds if not thousands.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
"Expecto Patronum!"

I followed Chamber of Secrets directly with Prisoner of Azkaban.  One of the things I love about these books is how well JKR shows how much the characters grow and change through out the books.  What I also enjoyed was that this book was not overtly about Lord Voldemort.  Oh, his presence is felt, but he doesn't need to be there in person to make his evil known.
Reading this book again I am struck by how great it was to get Alfonso Cuarón to direct the movie.  The first two are very much "boys adventures" and thus perfect for Spielberg protégé, Chris Columbus who wrote such movies like The Goonies and directed Home Alone. These are now young adults, teens, and much closer to Y Tu Mamá También than The Goonies.
Witch Count: Hundreds if not thousands.

While reading I figured out there has to be about 1000 students at Hogwarts. So about 250 per house (with Slytherin and Gryffindor having the fewest) and the class sizes tapering off.  I bet there are some drop outs after 1st year, some more after the OWLs, and some more when students turn 17.

I am of course going to read all the books.

Harry Potter and the Adventures in Role-Playing
In many of my other gaming circles a constant topic of discussion is who would we get to write a Harry Potter RPG and what system would we use.

I think the biggest issue with a Harry Potter RPG is you have 11 year-olds that know more spells than most 2nd level Wizards.   Here is a quick list of some Harry Potter spells and their D&D equivalents.

Harry Potter Spell	D&D Spell*
Accio (Summoning)	Summon Object
Aguamenti	Create Water
Alohomora	Knock
Anapneo	Telekinesis
Avada Kedavra	Power Word, Kill / Death Spell
Avis	Summon Nature's Ally (Birds)
Colloportus	Wizard Lock
Confringo	Summon Flame
Confundo	Feeblemind /False Memory
Densaugeo	Growth
Diffindo	Ghostly Slashing
Engorgio	Growth
Episkey	Cure Light Wounds
Evanesco	Disintegrate
Expecto Patronum	Shield, Dispel Evil
Expelliarmus	Disarm
Expulso	Move Object
Ferula	Mend Light Wounds
Flagrate	Witch Writing
Furnunculus	Curse
Geminio	Duplicate
Glisseo	Trap
Imperio	Charm Person
Incarcerous	Bind / Web
Incendio	Produce Flame
Legilimens	ESP
Locomotor	Tenser's Floating Disk
Locomotor Mortis	Power Word, Stun
Lumos	Light
Meteolojinx Recanto	Control Weather
Mobiliarbus	Levitate
Muffliato	Silence 15' Radius
Nox	Darkness
Obliviate	Feeblemind / Erase Memory
Obscuro	Blindness
Petrificus Totalus	Petrify
Piertotum Locomotor	Animate Object
Protego	Shield / Protection from Magic
Protego Totalum	Circle of Protection
Reducto	Explode
Rennervate	Quick Waking
Reparo	Mend Objects
Repello Muggletum	Protection (from Muggles)
Riddikulus	Protection from Evil (Boggarts)
Salvio Hexia	Protection from Magic
Sectumsempra	Ghostly Slashing / Bloodletting
Serpensortia	Summon Snakes / Snake Staff
Silencio	Silence
Specialis Revelio	Identify
Stupefy	Daze
Tarantallegra	Otto's Irresistible Dance
Wingardium Leviosa	Levitation

They very on level by edition, but the thing to remember is that some wizards can cast most of these spells by the time they leave Hogwarts at 18.

D&D is the worlds biggest RPG, but it might not be the best fit for Harry Potter.  I am going to spend some time looking at other games as well.


Books read: 5
Current Level: Initiate (Read 1 – 5 Witchy Books)