Willow & Tara: Blue Rose 2nd Edition

Yesterday I posted the first part of my conversion of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe to Blue Rose.  Today I want to post the second part.  In this post, I'll look at Blue Rose versions of my two favorite witches, Willow & Tara.
I had posted some conversions for these two using the Blue Rose/True 20 system, but those were modern versions of what I call the "Dragon and the Phoenix" timeline.  They were not Aldean versions of the characters.  Honestly given their treatment in the main continuity, they will be more respected in Aldea than in Sunnydale.

Like with Bethan I am starting with what is the essence of the characters and adapting that to a Aldean/Blue Rose background.  So I am pleased to introduce Helyg (Willow) and Brynn (Tara).

Helyg & Brynn, Rose Adepts
In my games, and in much popular fan fic, Willow and Tara have been reincarnated many times and in each life they have been lovers.

Helyg, Adept of the White Rose

Helyg was born to a not-very-rich merchant and his University schooled wife.  She had expected she would join the service of the Church of Pure Light in Jarzon like so many other intelligent, but not wealthy, girls living in Jarzon.  Helyg knew though she was different. Very different.
She knew the thoughts of others, even when she didn't try. She could "see" when things were about to happen and avoid them.  As her magical power grew so did her realization that she also was caria daunen and preferred other girls. She had been in a relationship with boy who was a childhood friend because this was expected of her.  When she was with him she could avoid the questions her mother had, but only voiced in her mind.  Helyg planned to escape to Aldis where she could, at least, be away from a country that did not approve of her love or her magic.  Somehow she managed to convince her parents, and to this day she believes she used Arcana to do this, to allow her to attend University in Aldis.
Here she met the Darkfiend Slayer, Bethan and learned of her battles.
She also met Brynn.
When she met Brynn she felt a deep connection to her from the start. She thought at first it was because she had met another young adept and a potential "study buddy" and friend. It was not till they touched, physically and mentally, that she learned the truth.  Helyg and Brynn had been part of each other's Eternal Dance since the dawn of time. Always together, always finding each other. Thousands of lives and names. Names like Bodhmal and Liath, Sallie and Teamhair, Will and Tamara, Willow and Tara, flooded their minds. Sometimes the love was romantic, other times familial, but always in love. They knew they were Anamchara.
They have had no time to reflect on this though. They have encountered a new Shadowgate and more Darkfiends pour out.  Helyg and Brynn have also learned that they might be the first Rose Adepts in nearly one-hundred years.

Name:	Helyg
Race:	Human
Background:	Jarzoni (living in Aldis)

Class:	Adept	Level:	3

ABILITY	Score	Focus
ACCURACY	3 2
COMMUNICATION	2	Psychic
CONSTITUTION	2
DEXTERITY	2
FIGHTING	2
INTELLIGENCE	5 4	Historical Lore, Arcane Lore
PERCEPTION	2
STRENGTH	1
WILLPOWER	4 3

Combat
AR 0
Defense 12
Health 32
Weapon Groups: Brawling, Staves

Staff, Attack 3, Damage 1d6+1
Athame, Attack 1, Damage 1d6

POWERS, TALENTS, AND SPECIALIZATIONS
Armor Training: None
Talents: Arcane Training: Shaping (J), Psychic (N)
Mundane Talents: Lore (N), Linguistics (N)

ARCANA
Psychic: Psychic Contact*, Psychic Shield, Second Sight
Shaping: Move Object, Arcane Weapon, Wind Shaping, Wind Walking

Persona
Calling: The Adept, Mastery of the Arcane
Destiny/Fate: Seven of Chalices, Practical/Deluded
Goals: Keep Brynn safe, help Bethan, Learn the secrets of the Rose Adepts.
Corruption: None, but she thinks she might have unduly influenced her parents with Psychic Arcana. This is something she has only shared with Brynn.

Relationships
Brynn (4). She is the love of my life. My soulmate, my anamchara. I see a better version of myself in her eyes and she makes me want to be that person. I will always find her.
Bethan (2). She is my best friend. To everyone else, she is the indestructible Slayer but we have shared fears, sorrow, and happiness. I know the true Bethan.
Gwawr (2). She is my best friend's sister. I sense power from her, but she doesn't know it yet herself. She loves Brynn so much I can't help but be protective of her.

Brynn, Adept of the White Rose

Living in the great forests of the Pavin Weald is not an easy life.  Living under the shadow of sorcery makes it much tougher.  Brynn grew up in such an environment. Her father and brother were both stern military men that took the point of view that women need to remain at home.  He wanted to rais his daughter the same way, her mother, Meghan, would have nothing to do with that. While many girls in this part of the Pavin Weald did not bother to learn to read, Brynn was taught by her mother. She also learned that she, her mother and grandmother, were all part of a great legacy of Reznan Witches. Her father, Riobard, had rescued Meghan from a Darkfiend attack many years ago.  Riobard always felt it was the trace of Vata blood in Meghan, her mother and now in Brynn that had attracted the Darkfiends.  After Meghan had died Brynn learned that a sizable sum of money had been saved for her to attend University in Aldis.
She left her home and entered the wide world for the first time.
She also met Helyg.
When she met Helyg she felt a deep connection to her from the start. She knew Helyg had power, she had felt the same around her mother and grandmother.  It was not till they touched, physically and mentally, that she learned the truth.  Helyg and Brynn had been part of each other's Eternal Dance since the dawn of time. Always together, always finding each other. Thousands of lives and names. Names like Bodhmal and Liath, Sallie and Teamhair, Will and Tamara, Willow and Tara, flooded their minds. Sometimes the love was romantic, other times familial, but always in love. They knew they were Anamchara.
They have had no time to reflect on this though. They have encountered a new Shadowgate and more Darkfiends pour out.  Helyg and Brynn have also learned that they might be the first Rose Adepts in nearly one-hundred years.

Name:	Brynn
Race:	Human (some Vata heritage)
Background:	Forrest Folk (living in Aldis)

Class:	Adept	Level:	3

ABILITY	Score	Focus
ACCURACY	3 2
COMMUNICATION	2	Psychic
CONSTITUTION	3 2
DEXTERITY	2
FIGHTING	1
INTELLIGENCE	4 3	Natural Lore, Arcane Lore
PERCEPTION	2
STRENGTH	2
WILLPOWER	5 4

Combat
AR 0
Defense 12
Health 35
Weapon Groups: Brawling, Staves

Staff, Attack 3, Damage 1d6+1
Athame, Attack 1, Damage 1d6

POWERS, TALENTS, AND SPECIALIZATIONS
Armor Training: None
Talents: Arcane Training: Psychic (J), Healing (N)
Mundane Talents: Animal Training (Horses) (N), Medicine (N)

ARCANA
Psychic: Psychic Contact*, Psychic Shield, Second Sight, Calm, Sense Minds
Healing: Cure, Sleep

Persona
Calling: The Moon, Discovery of Secrets
Destiny/Fate: Six of Rods, Confident/Apprehensive
Goals: Protect Helyg from Corruption, help Bethan and Gwawr, Learn the secrets of the Rose Adepts.
Corruption: None.

Relationships
Helyg (4). She is the love of my life. My soulmate, my anamchara. I see a better version of myself in her eyes and she makes me want to be that person. I will always find her.
Bethan (1). She is Helyg's best friend and she treats me like I am family. If I can help her in anything I will.
Gwawr (2). She is my best friend, even though she is younger. She also has powerful psychic potential, but it is untested. I will protect her as my mother protected me.

*When using Psychic Contact between each other, neither Helyg nor Brynn suffer fatigue.  Contact is made at +5 to their rolls.

WOW. I am so, so pleased with these stats. I can't wait to play these two!

Anamchara
“The only thing more frightening than meeting a Celt in battle is meeting a Celt in battle with his wife at his side.” 
- Attributed to Pliny the Elder, 1st Century CE

Anamchara (“on-um-kor-ah”), or soul-mate, is the Gaelic term used to describe a deep and powerful bound shared between two people. This goes beyond mere companionship and even beyond love; the souls of the two people are connected at a deep and fundamental level. Some occult scholars even speculate anamchara share one soul between two physical people.
The anamchara (singular and plural) are often aware of each other on a preternatural level. While this not a full blown telepathy or even empathy it is beyond what the normal senses would allow. This manifests itself in mundane ways as two lovers humming the same song at the same time with no outside influence, husband and wife completing each others sentences, separated twins living parallel lives, or even one sibling knowing her other sibling is about to walk into a room before the event happens.
Anamchara can be, and often are, lovers, but they are not limited to that alone. Some anamchara can also be very close siblings or very deeply devoted friends. Sometimes the connection can be forged in battle, giving rise to a “brothers-in-arms” effect. The Anamchara can also have a deep connection resulting from life times of being together, often both having been in the Eternal Dance together for centuries.
The only prerequisites for this are the two characters must love each other, as represented by a relationship intensity of 3 or greater.

	ANAMCHARA STUNTS
SP	Stunt
5	I Will Always Find You. This acts like a mild form of Empathy or Awareness that extends only to their anamchara. This grants +2 to locate their anamchara via mundane, magic or psychic means. This also gives each anamchara a broad sense of the other’s health and well being.
5	I’ll Stand By You. When anamchara are together even dire situations do not seem as grim. With a soothing word or even a knowing look a character can grant her anamchara +5 on any one test. Best of all, she can do it after the player has already made this test. The granting character spends her Action explaining she is doing this to aid her beloved. This can only be done once per game session per character.

Plays Well With Others: Blue Rose and Buffy the Vampire Slayer

This June I am on a big Blue Rose kick gearing up for my review of the game.  I felt for this review I should play the game more and kick the tires a bit more.  Today, given that it is Tuesday, I want to talk about another progressive game and how well it works with Blue Rose; the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG.
I am extremely proud of the work I did on Ghosts of Albion. But I never would have gotten to do that work had it not been for the success of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Both the Show and RPG really. Without Buffy, there would have been no Ghosts on the BBC and without the RPG there never would have been a Ghosts of Albion RPG.

These two games share a lot of themes.  Blue Rose is more character-centric than other fantasy games and Buffy is more character-centric than other modern-supernatural games. Though most modern-supernatural games also tend to be more character focused.

Blue Rose and Buffy also share the +John Snead connection.  He worked on the original Blue Rose (and compiled a great list of must-read books of the genre). He and I also both worked on the Buffy Magic Box book.   Speaking of Snead's book recommendations, I reread The Blue Sword recently and I am struck how much of the heroine Harimad-sol reminded me of Buffy in ways. Also, my Queen Jaeliln was more than a little influenced by Buffy and SMG.

With Green Ronin now talking about Modern AGE (MAGE...snerk), I think the time to dust off my Buffy books is right.  As my old friend +Robert Black used to say, "I have a Buffy-shaped hole in my life."

By the Numbers
Normally when doing a Plays Well With Others of different systems I like to look how the stats convert.  I am less interested in that these days and instead more interested in how to convert concepts and ideas.   In this case, it's a "How would the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer work in Blue Rose?" Though I am not immune to the siren song of numbers.

Blue Rose/AGE has 9 Abilities.  Buffy/Unisystem has 6.  The mappings are pretty logical.
Just take the Unisystem ability and map it onto the AGE ability of the same name; Strength is Strength, Willpower is Willpower and so on.   The three remaining, Accuracy, Communication and Fighting, can be taken from various skills or qualities.  So Fighting is taken from Kung-fu; Communication can be derived from Charisma. Accuracy, depending on where it is used can come from Gun-Fun or Occultism.
Blue Rose/AGE abilities rank from -2 to 4. Buffy/Unisystem attributes go from 1 to 6, with some cases of 0.  Take your Unisystem score and -2.  Not perfect really, but it is really, really close.

Now at this point the numerical conversion stops.  In the Buffy RPG, the eponymous Slayer has Strength 8, Dexterity 9, and Constitution 8.  A straight conversion gives her 6, 7 and 6 respectively.  Not undoable really, but I'd have to bend the rules.  Instead, let's see how close I can get with Rules-As-Written.

I want to do starting characters, but to get her to the power level I want for a starting character I am going start her out at Level 4.  Blue Rose/AGE is fine with this as True20 was.

By the Concepts
What is a Slayer known for?  Killing Vampires naturally.  But in Blue Rose Vampires are not the threat that Darkfiends are.  Indeed, in the RPG and TV show the focus was less on Vampires and more on Demons. Unstable Shadowgates are roughly the same (plot wise) as a Hellmouth.  While magic is common, Sorcery is bad (Sounds like a 4th season episode, "Sorcery Bad!").

A lot of the same themes can be explored as well; family, relationships, sex, sexual identity, friendships and a group coming together.

Mr. (Robert) Maclay: This is insane. You people have no right to interfere with Tara's affairs. We are her blood kin! Who the hell are you?
Buffy: We're family.

So. Who is Buffy Summers in the World of Aldea?  Well, she is the Slayer. The Chosen One. She lives with her mother and sister in a suburban area of Aldis. Here she discovers a Shadowgate linked to the realm of the Darkfiends.  She has been chosen by Maurenna to destroy the darkfiends.

For my own Blue Rose games I have chosen Welsh as the language that represents Aldea, so all the names of my characters will be Welsh or Welsh-inspired.  Buffy Summers becomes Bethan Hâf, she lives with her sister Gwawr.

Bethan Hâf, the Darkfiend Slayer

Name:	Bethan Hâf
Race:	Human (Slayer)
Background:	Aldin

Class:	Warrior	Level:	4

ABILITY	Score	Focus
ACCURACY	3 2
COMMUNICATION	1	Persuasion
CONSTITUTION	3 2
DEXTERITY	3 2
FIGHTING	4 3
INTELLIGENCE	2
PERCEPTION	2
STRENGTH	4 3	Might
WILLPOWER	3

Combat
AR 1
Health 65
Weapon Groups: Brawling, Bludgeoning, Heavy Blades, Light Blades

POWERS, TALENTS, AND SPECIALIZATIONS
Armor Training: Novice
Talents: Quick Reflexes (N), Single Weapon Style (N), Arcane Potential, Visions (N)
Specialization: Slayer of Darkfiends

Persona
Calling: The Sun, Championing the Everyday
Destiny/Fate: Six of Swords, Optimistic/Pessimistic
Goals: To Destroy the Darkfiends invading our home

Relationships
Gwawr (3). She is my little sister and maybe the only one that truly understands me. I will protect her. My wrath on anyone that means her harm.
Helyg (2). She is my best friend, the only one that has shown me kindness. I will save the world only because I have her help.
Brynn (1). She is the love of Helyg and that makes her family.

I like it.  This is a build I could work with.  Note I have not given her a significant other yet. Not sure how I want to work that in just yet. Would like to see where I would take this character first.

Next time lets spend some time with Helyg and Brynn.

Blue Rose Accessories

Had to stop by my FLGS tonight to grab some D&D books for a gift and saw they had the new Blue Rose GM's Screen and Dice in.  Well...you know I had to get that!

My collection so far.  Printed PDF, with extra material from Fantasy AGE, my core book, the GM Screen, Dice and my Shadowscapes Tarot deck.

Opening up the GM Screen gave me a surprise. Laminated cards. Two with stunts, two with moves, and a combat tracker. I tried a dry erase overhead marker on them and they wipe right off.

The booklet has some ready to run character or NPCs. Plus a lot of easy to access information.

The screen is heavy duty and loaded with useful information.

The dice are nice too. They are d6s from Q-Workshop.  I note with some amusement they are the same color as the first set of D&D dice I ever owned.

Now I need some great adventures.  Maybe I'll have to write some.

How about it +Green Ronin Publishing! Can I write some adventures for you all?

Blue Rose: Witchcraft Specialization

Blue Rose is the new game on my table these days.  I am planning a full on review, but before I do that I want to actually try something out. Push the system a little and see what makes it tick, what makes it break.

This is something I toyed around with under the True20 version of Blue Rose.  I think I like this version much better.


WITCHCRAFT

---

You have been initiated into the secret arts of Witchcraft and are now considered a "Witch".  Witchcraft is very much misunderstood in many parts of Aldea and many confuse it with Sorcery, though it is a separate practice.  Witches are most common among the Rezean people. It has been known in Lar'tya, Roamer and Aldean lands, though not as common.  Witches are hunted in both Kern and Jarzon and for similar reasons; they threaten those in power.

Witches do not typically announce their membership to others, save for maybe in Rezea, but witches seem to instinctively know each other.

WITCHCRAFT TALENT
CLASS: Adept (or Mage in Fantasy AGE) REQUIREMENTS: You must have Willpower 2 or higher, the Inteligence (Healing) focus, and the two of the three talents at Novice or higher: Animism, Healing, or Psychic. Visionary is also a welcome talent, but not required.

You become part of the larger community of witches. You will gain mastery of the Witchcraft Arcana: Animism, Healing, and Psychic arcana.

Novice: You gain a Familiar (p. 148).  Arcana that list a range or target of Self may instead use the familiar as the source. The witch can target a line of sight effect through the eyes of her familiar. The Scrying Arcana can be taken as a Psychic talent instead of Visionary.

Journeyman: You gain a +2 bonus to fatigue tests when using Animism, Healing, or Psychic arcana. Also, pick one arcane stunt. You may use it with arcana from those three for –1 SP.

Master: You add 2 to the Outcome of any successful use of the "Witchcraft Arcana". You may also pick another arcane stunt to use at –1 SP with these arcana.

A witch who learns Sorcerous Arcana is known as a "Warlock".
Many witches worship Selene, whom they believe taught the first witches.

I'll have to give this a try.  It needs something to make it feel "witchier", but not sure what that is just yet.  Sure there are plenty of role-playing ways to do this, but I am still messing around with the mechanics of the game.
Something with potions maybe.

Xena & Gabrielle: Blue Rose 2nd Edition

It's June and I think I'll spend a good part of this month going over the new AGE version of Blue Rose.  What better choice than a couple of characters I have done in the past and ones I think will work great under Blue Rose.  Xena and Gabrielle.

I have done Xena and Gabby for Army of Darkness and Spellcraft & Swordplay in the past.  So I am basing this on those versions.  I might have some of my stats for Blue Rose a little off, I am still figuring out this game.  But I am having a great time doing it!

Why Xena?
I make no excuses of my enjoyment of Xena: Warrior Princess.  The show was silly, irreverent and always a fun time. Frankly, with it's mix of comedy, drama, memorable characters and a mish-mash of historical and mythological events, it really was the perfect D&D TV show.

There is one thing that Xena does better than any RPG.  It attracted a huge female audience and kept them.  Granted, one could argue that "Friend in Need" might have killed that, but up until then.  I think Xena works for the same reason that other successful shows do.  Great characterizations and great characters.  You know all about Xena and Gabrielle, but they are still great to watch.  Adding them to your game might just be that spice you didn't know you were missing.

Adding Xena and Gabrielle to your Game
Given their wanderings across the world it should actually be only a matter of time before the characters would run into her.  Maybe they know of her infamy as a conqueress.  Maybe they know of her turn and desire to do good to atone.  Or maybe it is just one of those things where the PCs and Xena arrive in the same place at the same time.  Fate is funny that way.

Like with my other builds I am setting these AFTER "Friend in Need". Obviously, Xena had to come back to life for some reason and now her and Gabrielle are back to doing what they do best.

Friend in Deed
"Friend in Deed" (FinD, and it is "in Deed" and not "indeed") is my let'sts go find Xena and bring her back to life because she is the Promised One" adventure/episode. Takes place after the series finale ("Friend in Need", get it?), Gabrielle is struggling to live up to Xena's legacy and struggling to continue living without Xena. While her intentions were initially good, she has been spiraling into darkness and depression. She has forgotten what she had learned as Eli's student. She has been traveling on the Path of the Warrior, trouble is she is close to leaving that and been straying onto the Path of Vengeance.

And that was about as far as I got.

I know the plot is not only to rescue Xena (she is in an in-between spiritual plane) but to rescue Gabrielle as well. I always imagined Gabrielle trying to continue Xena's journey, but feeling like she was failing and sinking deeper into depression. That is where your characters come in and help her save the day! Or something.


Xena, Warrior Princess of Amphipolis (Kern)

Level 13 Warrior

	ABILITIES (FOCUSES)
4	Accuracy (Brawling)
2	Communication (Leadership, Persuasion)
4*	Constitution (Drinking, Stamina)
4*	Dexterity (Acrobatics, Riding, Stealth)
5*	Fighting (Bludgeons) *many are part of Warrior
1	Intelligence (Cultural lore, Heraldry)
2	Perception (Tracking)
4*	Strength (Intimidation, Might)
4	Willpower (Courage)

COMBAT RATINGS

SPEED        HEALTH       DEFENSE       ARMOR RATING

12                82                  14                           5

ATTACKS

WEAPON           ATTACK ROLL          DAMAGE

Sword                        + 7                           1D6 + 3 (slash) Chakram                    + 7                           1D6 + 2 (slash)

POWERS, TALENTS, AND SPECIALIZATIONS

Favored Stunts: Disarm, dual strike, lighting attack, mighty blow

Talents:  Quick Reflexes (J), Thrown Weapon (M), Armor Training (J), Single-weapon style (sword) (M)

Specializations: Champion Talent (M), Outrider (N)

Medium Armor: Studded leather

Calling: Atonement (Judgement)
Destiny/Fate: Compassionate/Despondent (Nine of Swords)
Corruption: 1 (might have paid off by now)
Goals: To atone for past misdeeds. To bring good into the world. To stop the machinations of cruel gods.

Relationships
Gabrielle (5), "Gabrielle is the best part of me. I do everything to be worthy in her eyes."
Ares (3), "Ares is everything that I hate about the gods, and in my former self."
Joxer (1), "Gabrielle's friend, useful but a pain. Still, his heart is good."
Autolycus (1), "Prince of Braggarts more like it. He is a good friend and helpful in a tight situation."

Gabrielle, The Battling Bard of Potidaea (Matriarchy of Lar'tya)

Level 12 Expert

	ABILITIES (FOCUSES)
4*	Accuracy (Brawling, Light blades, Staves)
2*	Communication (Investigation, Persuasion)
4	Constitution (Stamina)
4*	Dexterity (Calligraphy)
5	Fighting (Bludgeons, Heavy blades)
1	Intelligence (Historical lore, Natural lore, Writing)
2*	Perception (Empathy)
4	Strength ()
4	Willpower (Self-discipline)

COMBAT RATINGS

SPEED        HEALTH       DEFENSE       ARMOR RATING

12                74                  11                            3

ATTACKS

WEAPON           ATTACK ROLL          DAMAGE

Staff                         +5                            1D6 (bludgeon) Sai (2)                      +5                            1D6 (bludgeon) Grand Katana            +5                           1D6+3 (slashing)

POWERS, TALENTS, AND SPECIALIZATIONS

Favored Stunts: New friends

Talents:  Pin-point attack, Oratory (J), Performance (N), Linguistics (J), Inspire (N), Unarmed style (N), Take aim, Stunning attack, Lethality

Specializations: Bard (verse) (M), Martial Artist (N)

Light Armor: Soft leather

Calling: Explore and Discovery (The World)
Destiny/Fate: Curious/Jaded (Queen of Rods)
Corruption: 1 (might have paid off by now)
Goals: To aid in Xena's redemption by letting the world know of her good deeds. To recover Xena's soul.

Relationships
Xena (5), "Xena is everything I ever live or die for."
Joxer (2), "He loves me, but he can only be my very good friend."
Autolycus (1), "He is not as evil or as mercenary as he lets on. One day he also discover that."

--
Ok. THAT was a lot of fun.  Can't wait to try out some more!

A couple of things I am not sure about. Xena's nerve pinch "touch" and Gabby's anti-magic dragon tattoo from the last episode.

I think these numbers are good, but I will need to try some more to be sure.

Witch & Witchcraft Reading Challenge: The Hero and the Crown

"They call you Witch's Daughter - and so you are, and more."
- Agsded addressing Aerin, "The Hero and the Crown"

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley is a bit of an older book (1984) and one I recall from back then.  I had read the "Blue Sword" ages ago and this was it's prequel.  I actually liked this one better, though I am re-reading Blue Sword now.
The story centers on Aerin Sol, the princess and only daughter of the King of Damar.  Aerin, also known as Aerin Fire Hair and Aerin, Lady Dragon Killer (more on that) is shy, awkward and generally clumsy.  Pretty much the archetype of what would later become a trope of female characters in "Romantic Fantasy".  This story gets a huge pass because it helped establish this trope.
In Damar all those of royal blood have a "gift" or some magical power, Aerin's doesn't appear to have manifested cause some (but not her father or her cousin Tor) to suspect she is not really of royal blood. They called Witch Woman's Daughter since the suspect the queen's second wife of being a witch.
Aerin learns to move through life trying to be unnoticed, which is hard because of her fire-red hair (she claims it is orange) and the fact she is as tall as most men.  She hides away in books, where she happens on an ointment to protect one from the fire breath of dragons.  Dragons in this book are small things and are more annoyance than a threat.  So she imparts on a career of killing dragons.  A useful task but one with no honor. It also earns her no friends in court.

In her travels and quests she learns of a "Great Dragon" whom she later kills and is nearly killed in return. Hears the summons of a "not quite mortal" mage. Recovers two lost artifacts, the aforementioned Blue Sword and the Crown of Heroes.

The book, like the Blue Sword, starts out slow. But this one builds quickly.  Of course you know that Aerin will succeed since she is legendary in Blue Sword,  but that doesn't mean things will be easy for her.  I have to admit I forgot this when I was on the part where she was laying in a river with burns covering half her body.

The book is older and for a younger audience than me. But I am reminded that we still need more Aeirn Sols (and Hermoine Grangers) and fewer Bella Swans and Anastasia Steeles.

Robin McKinley can be found on the web at http://www.robinmckinley.com/

2017 Witch & Witchcraft Reading Challenge
Books Read so far: 14
Level: Mother
Witches in this book: Aerin's mother. Her uncle, Agsded and maybe Aerin is a witch too. Witches seem to have red-hair in this world.
Are they Good Witches or Bad Witches: Half and half.
Best RPG to Emulate it: This one is easy. Blue Rose is the best. In fact this is one of the books most often mentioned as an inspiration for Blue Rose.
Use in WotWQ: I love the idea of historical legends being brought to life.  I might want to have the players start out by playing the Witch Queens first.

Blue Rose now in Print!

SSStopped by my FLGS tonight for a nice surprise.   Blue Rose in print!

This is a great looking book! I mean seriously.
+Green Ronin Publishing makes some great looking books, always have, but this is above and beyond anything they have done before.

At nearly 400 pages this book is huge. It's bigger than the True20 books, combined.

The game is so fantastic too. I'll get into the game here in a bit.
Kudos to +Chris Pramas and all the Green Ronin staff on this.

New Releases Tuesday: Blue Rose AGE Edition

I always pictured her as a blonde

It's Tuesday. That means new releases all over the place.  Today at DriveThruRPG we have the new release of Blue Rose: AGE Edition.
I scooped this up before I even got to my second pot of coffee!

There will be a full review later, but right now I want to say this book is gorgeous! The art is fantastic and all 384 pages are in full color. It just looks so good.
But this is not a coffee table book, it is an RPG book.  Well for that it will take more detailed reading, but I love what I see so far.

Some highlights

• The World of Aldea has moved forward in time. Some NPCs are gone, some are now married (!), and there are plenty of new and interesting NPCs to be had.
• Blue Rose maps onto the AGE system so well that I might actually drop the True20 version.  In fact it seems (from my readings so far) it works BETTER.
• A lot of the material from the True20 Blue Rose line made it to this book.  At 384 pages it is packed.
• There are no True20 to AGE conversion rules that I have seen yet.  Personally I am taking the "Forgotten Realms" approach and having a particular event in the new book signal a shift in paradigm. Classes and levels though do convert on a one to one basis and so do many of the "powers".
• The book is divided into a Player's Section, a World of Aldea Section and a Narrator's (GM) Section. 
• The Narrator's section is the most expanded and updated.  Benefits of having 10+ years of game play.
• The PDF is fully bookmarked (I know, that should be a given now-a-days, but you would be surprised how many I run into that are not).
• Did I mention how gorgeous the art is?

Sea-folk, Human, Vata, Rhy-cat, Night Person, Rhy-wolf

Chances are if you liked the True20 Blue Rose you will enjoy this one even more.

I have both Fantasy AGE and DragonAge and there is a lot of material that would work well between all three books.  

The tone of this book is more swashbuckling adventure and acts of derring-do now. Not that it has moved away from Romantic Fantasy (far from it).  In fact the feeling is that Aldea is entering into a new age.  I would liken it to the reigns of Queens Elizabeth I and Victoria. The True20 version was the cusp of Queen Jaellin's reign and now this is a new Golden Age of opportunity and adventure. 

I can't wait to get into this book!

2016 A Look Back

It is already 2017 in some parts of the world, but here 2016 is staying around like that last guest that just won't leave.  So let's look back on 2016 on The Other Side.

D&D 5
Without a doubt D&D 5th Edition was the biggest game this year and D&D5 posts here got the most traffic. D&D got a big push in the media this year and D&D 5 benefited from all of that.  Closer to home I played a lot of 5th edition this past year. I ran games for my kids and various cousins and my oldest son ran three different campaigns. Ok, they were all roughly the same adventures, but with three different groups.
Not everything was all 5e all the time. I managed to work in some Basic (B/X) D&D as well and even a little AD&D 1st Ed. Back in October, I reignited a Blue Rose game too and even worked in a little Castles and Crusades.
I have caught some rumors of some very interesting 5e related news I can't share yet.  But 5e is going to have just as much of a good 2017 as it did 2016.

Geek Culture
This is a wonderful time to be alive if you are geek. Really. In 2016 we got more superhero movies than I can recall (ok Civil War was a bit of a let down compared to comic), Star Trek AND Star Wars in the theatres in the same year. Doctor Strange came out, a movie I wanted since the 70s, new Ghostbusters, new Jason Bourne, a new movie in the Harry Potter universe!  And that is just the movies.
On TV we have super heroes, scratch that, DC Super Heroes every night of the week! Luke Cage on Netflix. STRANGER THINGS! So much great content that I can't even keep up.  We have an embarrassment of riches here.
Speaking of DC. The rebooted, reboot of DC's Rebirth in comics is doing fantastic. Not just in sales, but also in terms of story. While the DC movies are hit and miss (I am a fan, but I am also realistic here) and the TV shows are nailing it night after night (still a fan) the comics, especially the "New52" had been iffy. Not anymore.

Bloggin'
My output decreased this year and it is likely to decrease more next year. More on that later, but mostly it is due to me needing more time for work, family and other projects.  I had a lot of fun with my deep dives into Victorian RPGs and Blue Rose. The stats show you liked them as well. I said goodbye to some regular features like Zatannurday and Friday Night Videos.  I have mostly retired Class Struggles and "The Best Blog You Are Not Reading", but I retain the right to post something with them in 2017.
I was nominated again for "Best Blog Ennie" for 2016. I didn't win, but I had a lot of fun going to awards show.

Personal
Things are good here at home. Family is healthy and good. My wife and I launched into a new exercise plan where I run every day and exercise in the evening.  I am healthier now in my later 40s than I was in my 30s. My weight is way down and my blood pressure (something I have had issues with since I was a teen) is also down. In fact, save for a minor respiratory bug last week 2016 has been one of my healthiest years on record.
Work is going fine. In 2017 I have a new graduate program whose curriculum I am redoing, so that will keep me busy for the next couple of years. I got a promotion (of sorts) and a raise (of sorts) and a new boss.

The Other Side Publishing
2016 saw the launch of my personal imprint The Other Side Publishing.  I am not trying to take the RPG world by storm here, I just want to put out a few books of things I want to play.  My biggest success so far has been Sisters of the Aquarian Order (currently a Copper best seller!) for White Star.
I am making enough here to keep going and I can keep myself in other people's books too.  That is a success in my mind. Actually, people buying my stuff and getting enjoyment out of it is much more of a success than the actual money, but the money does buy more art.

And Then There Was That Other Thing...
Yeah 2016 had it's fair share of suck too. More than it's fair share to be honest. The election was shit-show and the outcome was pretty much to worst of all possible outcomes.  I have mentioned before I am less of a "Social Justice Warrior" as I am a "Social Justice Veteran" or, more to the point "Social Justice Terrorist".  I was in the trenches before Facebook, before Twitter and back when letters and phone calls to Congressmen, Senators, and Judges were a common thing for me. I got back on the phone this year to my Representatives and other elected officials. 2017 might be the year that pulls me back into social activism.  In fact, I have already started to put my money where my mouth is, so I am also going to put in my time.

We had a lot of our icons die this past year. Not much I can say about that really. I am going to miss Bowie the most I think. I just liked the idea of being in a world that also had him in it.

So here is to 2016. The good, the bad and the ugly. And there was a lot of bad and ugly!
Here is to a much better 2017! Though it is really 2020 I am looking forward to the most! ;)