A special Urban Fantasy Fridays today. This would have been great for October, but I didn't get it in time to squeeze in a game for October. My October was already packed anyway.
I have a long history with Witch Girls Adventures.
I first reviewed the original game back in 2009 and called it one of my new favorite systems. At the time, I said it was a great mix of modern occult, anime, fantasy, and high-school drama, and that the magic system alone was worth the price of admission. I followed that up with a bunch of character conversions, including Willow and Tara, Zatanna, Elizabeth Bathory, Prince Mamuwalde, and more. I even used Witch Girls Adventures as the basis for other settings, like School Bites.
In 2014, I reviewed Witch Girls Adventures: The Director's Cut, which I more or less considered a 1.5 edition. I still liked the game, but I had two wishes. I wanted the promised second edition, and I really wanted the game to get another editing pass.
You can read those reviews here:
I am coming back to Witch Girls after a long break. I finally got my 2nd Edition in the mail recently (previously known as Witch Girls Adventures: Book of Shadows) and figured I'd give it another spin.
This new edition is still aimed primarily at new players, and girls in particular. Indeed, I would say Harris's main point is to introduce younger players to role-playing games. Witch Girls Adventures is the entry point, and then there is the rest of his Relentless Fiction line, including his Modern Mythology Supers RPG.
Honestly. It is a fine business model, and having followed him online a bit, I think he's seen some success with it. While I will very likely visit his Modern Mythology line in the future, today I want to back to Witch Girls and the Willow-Mistt School, or as one of my characters kept saying, Willow-Misty.
Witch Girls Adventures 2nd Edition
2009-2010 (Channel M), 2022 (Relentless Fiction) by Malcolm Harris.
175 pages, +12 pages for the comics (187 pages)
For this review, I am considering my print copy (Amazon) and PDF (DriveThruRPG).
The basic premise remains wonderfully simple. You play young witches growing up in a world where magic, monsters, supernatural societies, and magical schools are all real. The rest of the world might not know all that (The Mundanes, the same term used in the WitchCraft RPG), but they are there.
I want to be upfront: there aren't many substantive changes between editions of Witch Girls Adventures. This is both a positive and negative thing for me. On the plus side, all the previous books I bought and character builds I made still work with this newer edition. Getting back up to speed was pretty quick, too.
On the downside, I expected more updates and bigger changes. I guess don't mess with what works, and yeah, Witch Girls Adventures still works.
Chapter 1. The book opens with 10 pages of the Witch Girls Adventures comic to set the game's tone and mood. This is the same as previous editions. My advice here comes from my previous review: "Take it as it is, not as you want it to be, and you will have fun too."
The book continues with a typical introduction to what a roleplaying game is, written for a young or teen girl audience. The intro continues with some terms used for both the game and RPGs.
It makes an odd left turn to give us optional rules (we haven't had any rules yet for these to be optional to) about how to run a "Harry Potter" like game with this. Eh. Nice, but this should have come last, not first. I still think this would have worked better as an appendix. Rereading Willow-Mistt in the later chapters also has very, very important feature. Willow-Mistt makes more sense than Hogwarts. I once enjoyed the Harry Potter books and movies. But it begins to collapse under the weight of its own absurdity after a bit. Willow-Mistt? The "absurdity" is baked in and for that reason it feels different. Below I compare more favorably to Mutant's & Masterminds' Claremont Academy than. Punch list for the next edition: move the "Larry Spotter" stuff to an appendix or drop it altogether. That text space can be used to give us more Willow-Mistt and thats why I am here.
Chapter 2 gives us "Cliques." In another game, these would be "Factions" or "Classes" or even "Traditions" or "Associations" or "Backgrounds", but given the Middle-school/High-school this is perfect. Cliques basically give your starting dice and what skills you are likely to have. The system is very easy. The dice system (The Drama Dice system as it is called) quickly reminds one of Classic Cortex or Savage Worlds. Attributes are scored d2 to d12 for most types. The spread even looks the same as Cortex and Savage Worlds. Not surprisingly, after all, it is a logical progression. You have six attributes: Body (which combines strength, agility, and stamina), Mind (intelligence), Senses, Will, Social, and Magic. Right away, you see there is only one body type attribute but four mental ones. This is the way it should be really, WGA is not about beating people up, it is about the social aspects of the game and about magic, our last attribute. Some secondary attributes are derived. Rolls are made depending on the dice vs a difficulty table very similar to d20 or Unisystems' success levels. Cliques are detailed and they are your basic magical girl stereotypes (the Goth, the insider, the outsider…). Plenty here to work with, and if you are so inclined, create your own (which is what the "Larry Spotter" bit tries to do).
I like the Cliques. I have been using "Cliques" (the more generic 1980s version) in my own games for years. An Insider moves comfortably between magical and mundane society. An Outsider has only recently discovered the magical world. A Rustic comes from an isolated place and often has connections to nature or spirits. A Gothique has embraced the popular image of witchcraft, whether or not that image has much to do with actual Witch culture.
Selling point for this as an introductory game: You get to roll different kinds of dice for anything that is attribute-based. Rolling a d6 for everything is dull. But rolling a d6 for one thing and a d10 or d8 for another? That kind of engagement keeps D&D popular. It works well for Savage Worlds, and honestly it works better here.
Chapter 3 moves on to skills. Each chapter has some fiction to introduce you to the Witch Girls world. It seems like a mix of Charmed, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Buffy, and The Craft, blended with anime magical girls. Skills. Unlike Classic Cortex or Savage Worlds, skills have a + score, like Unisystem or d20. Roll the die associated with the attribute (each skill is connected to an attribute like d20) add the bonus the skill provides, check your success, or roll greater. There are 34 mundane skills and 10 magical skills. They cover most areas you would expect. I don't need a lot here. Skills work exactly as you expect. This is another selling point for this as an introductory game. The math is easy and, more importantly, it is fast and makes sense.
Chapter 4 covers Traits, which are like Edges or Qualities. They are broken up into Talents (which you can get later in life) and Heritages (which are inborn and never change). Heritages have both positive and negative aspects. Typical ones include "Beautiful," and others are unique to this game, like "Drama Queen" and "Hags Syndrome."
Chapters 2, 3, and 4 are all well detailed and very straightforward.
Chapter 5 is Magic. Magic was my favorite part of the original game. It still is.
This chapter explains a lot more about what magic is and what it means to a witch. You can spend points on different types of magic (Alteration, Conjuration, Curse, Cybermancy, Divination, Elementalism, Healing, Illusion, Mentalism, Necromancy, Offense, Protection, and Time and Space) to improve your rank. This can provide a lot of variance between witches. Think of it as somewhere between Harry Potter's classes and Mage's spheres. As GM (a Director in WGA), I might limit some of these to NPCs (Guest Stars), not PCs (Stars). Spellcasting is broken down into a lot of detail. More than a seasoned gamer might need, but for the audience, it might be about right. Effects are broken out into Magic Type Rank (MTR), and the overall feel is like a table you might see in Mage or Mutants & Masterminds with what MTR (read as Power level) you need to achieve a certain effect. Want to cast that spell across the world? Better have an MTR of 9.
Spellcasting uses the Casting skill against a difficulty or the target's Resist Magic. Spells cost Zap, with more powerful magic requiring more energy. Wands can reduce that cost, and every Witch can choose a Signature Spell that is easier and cheaper for her to cast. That is, take less Zap (read: Mana, Essence), choose only one, and from the "School" with your highest MTR (which makes sense, really).
This is followed by 20+ pages of spells, and these are by no means all of them. Since your cast member (Star, remember) isn't going to buy swords, guns, or anything else characters spend money or points on, this is a good thing.
Chapter 6. Your Star gets an allowance, letting her buy things like magical computers, flying Vespas, and more brooms than Home Depot has. There are familiars, clothes, wings, and all sorts of magical equipment here, too. You could build an adventure around just shopping for these things, because I am sure getting them isn't as easy as going to the mall. Lots of neat wands, and I have to say the books for young witches are pretty funny ("Samantha's Guide to Merry Mortals," yeah, that made me laugh). And a bunch of mundane stuff like DVD players and skateboards. The allowance system is nice; I like it better than the Modern d20 purchase DCs, and it's easier than tracking cash.
Chapter 7 is a bit of odds and ends. It includes a character questionnaire (nice) and a filled-out character sheet (also nice). It explains what things mean, and if you are new to RPGs, it is good to read over.
Chapter 8 is for Directors, so it covers all the game rules. The system, some combat rules (yes this is the FIRST game I have seen where the rules for shopping are longer than the rules for combat. ;) )
Some nice background fluff and some ideas for different types of stories; basically, you can do Buffy, Good vs. Evil, Charmed, and Magic School. The experience system is "interesting" (Voodollars), but it looks like it works.
Chapter 9 is the world background. Now this one is kind of neat. It details the various races (witches are a different race), and they are not alone.
We get Witch history, culture, magical government, the Witches' World Council, laws governing how Witches interact with Mundanes, supernatural organizations, magical schools, creatures, NPCs, adventure ideas, and quite a bit more. Even how the mundane world reacts to all of this.
I particularly like the other schools section. I had hoped to see more about these in later books, but it hasn't really happened.
Chapter 10 presents some creatures. But if the art is any indication, most of these are not for combat purposes, but potential dates (well, there is only one witch kissing a vampire…). Nearly every kind of creature is covered, from fairies to Cthulhu-like horrors. But no demons. Seems a bit odd, given it all. Some notable NPCs (Guest Stars) are also mentioned.
Chapter 11 details the Willow-Mistt School. Willow-Mistt School of Magic is located in Willow-Brook, Maine. It has only forty-five students, which makes it feel more like a strange magical boarding school where everyone knows everyone else than some enormous fantasy academy. The school has its own rules, dormitories, classes, grounds, teachers, students, magical secrets, and nearby town. It is an immediately usable campaign setting.
Willow Mistt is not Hogwarts, but it is easy to make the comparisons. I actually found it closer to Claremont Academy from Mutants & Masterminds, a lot easier to get a grasp on what student life is really like.
We close with a sample Episode, some plot ideas, a lexicon, and a list of Witch names; see how many you recognize!
Ok. Here we are a decade later with a new version, and what do we have?
Well. Harris obviously has a love for this genre, and it shows. The rules are well crafted, and while nothing here is earth-shaking, they are familiar mechanics done up in a very nice way. The point of view works well. This is anti-Grim-Dark. It's not all unicorns, princesses and kittens (though it does have all that), it's a fun game. The art is not Modern D&D, but it is good and more to the point very appropriate for this game.
For new players, this is a great little game. More experienced players may want more, but that is not due to the game itself, but rather expectations. Do not expect this to be "WitchCraft: The Junior High Years" (though you can do that).
I mention this because it needs to be addressed. But Malcolm. Please. Hire an editor and someone to help with layout. There is a comprehensive index, which is great, but it doesn't always have the right page numbers. Spend the money.
The introductory terminology, for example, lists the basic attributes as Body, Mind, Senses, Social, and Zap. The actual rules correctly use Body, Mind, Senses, Will, Social, and Magic. This is likely a holdover from a previous draft or a simple typo. But this is the third printing/edition of the game.
The Oracle Heritage says that increasing a d6 Mind by one die type raises it to d4, which is obviously going in the wrong direction.
The optional rules for teenage Interns say to "Raise Will and either Will or Social Die by one." I can interpret that literally as one Will increase followed by another increase to either Will or Social, but the wording leaves room for doubt. Can I raise Will twice? Or Will and something else?
Even the Magic Types list leaves out Illusion, despite the book containing an entire Illusion spell section and NPCs with ranks in Illusion.
None of these problems make the game unplayable. But they matter. I can gloss over them in character gen or play.
They matter especially because Witch Girls Adventures presents itself as a game that can introduce new players to roleplaying. Experienced gamers can look at the Oracle entry and immediately recognize what it was meant to be. A twelve-year-old making her first RPG character should not have to reverse-engineer the rules.
Hell. I have made characters for "The World of Synnibarr"; a stray typo isn't going to phase me. But a new player might be frustrated, and that is worse than someone hating on the game because they don't like witches. A frustrated player never plays again.
I write a lot. I make spelling mistakes. I make grammar mistakes. I occasionally write a sentence that makes perfect sense to me because I know what I meant, only to discover later that nobody else could possibly have known what I meant. I do this far more often that I care to admit or like.
So I use tools.
Some of those tools are free. Some I pay professional licensing fees for. I use them because they catch what I miss, and because the finished product is better after going through another set of eyes, even if some of those "eyes" happen to be software.
The good people at Relentless Fiction should do the same.
What makes this frustrating is that the underlying material deserves better.
The mechanics are fun. The setting has personality. Oh, there is so much personality here! The magic system remains one of my favorite parts of the game. The characters are memorable. Willow-Mistt is immediately usable.
Another serious editing pass would not change what Witch Girls Adventures is.
It would make it much easier to see how good it already is.
Summer Enrichment Program at Willow-Mistt
In the Summer of 1981, I went on what was called a "Summer Enrichment Program" at MacMurray College. This will become important for future posts, but the spoiler is I had a chance to buy a copy of the Holmes Basic D&D set then, and I didn't because I already had a battered photocopied copy. Instead, I bought some Smurfs toys. In my defense, I was 10.
But that program for kids entering Jr. High introduced us to college courses. I had my first real chemistry course there, my first real computer course, and it gave me free access to all of MacMurray College's Campus. If I write anything at all about MacAlister College, chances are good it has a root in the early summer of 1981.
I figure my Jackson girls should have the same experience.
Now I am not taking them back to 1981. Stephanie and Faye are friends, yeah, but they are about to have a big falling out. Stephanie and Vera HATE each other. Faye has her own problems with her abusive aunts. And Larina? Well, she is 200 miles away at this point. So 1981 won't work. But 1986 does! The girls all get invited to travel to Willow-Mistt (or Willow-Misty, Vera assures everyone) for what looks like "College Prep," but the truth is they have garnered the attention of the Witch Ruling Council (I'll get to that works...or not), and they are being offered two weeks of instruction in magic and to be observed.
They, along with their faculty sponser/chaperone Valerie Beaumont (who works AMAZING under WGA's Immortal rules), head to Willow-Misty, sorry, Willow-Mistt, for the two weeks from Monday, June 2, to Friday, June 13, 1986. Poor Stephanie has to spend her 17th birthday on the plane home.
Why Do This?
The first reason is that it is fun. And honestly, that is all the reason I need. But I was looking back over all my notes on Witch Girls Adventures, and the very, very beginning of what would become my Sunny Valley, OH campaign began in those notes.
Plus, I wanted to see how modeling MY witch girls in this system would work.
Jackson, though, is 1980s modern hometown horror. Witch Girls is more urban fantasy meets Magic Girls meets supernatural fantasy. They share the same elements, but baked at different temperatures and with different results.
Also. I am still exploring game systems for Carbon Vale and need to find its identity other than "not Jackson."
And honestly, I don't get tired of exploring who these characters are. So, like my Jackson kids, let's get on a plane, fly out to Maine, and spend two weeks in June learning magic, Witch Girls Style.
For me, the best part of this exercise is picking out what Cliques and Magical Heritages they all have. NIGHT SHIFT has one witch class; Witch Girls Adventures provides a lot of customization.
Stephanie Wren Vale
Age: 16 (turns 17 on June 14!)
DOB: June 14, 1969
Rank: Intern
Clique: Insider
Concept: Cheerleader, social bridge, naturally gifted witch
Attributes
Body D8+1
Mind D6
Senses D4
Will D8
Social D10
Magic D10
Secondary Attributes
Life Points 16
Reflex 10
Resist Magic 14
Zap Points 25
Talents: Friendly, Jock
Heritage: Attuned
Mundane Skills
Acrobatics +4
Athletics +4
Dancing +3
Drive +2
Leader +2
Mundane Etiquette +2
Bargain +1
Singing +1, Insider bonus
Magic Skills
Casting +5
Magical Etiquette +3, Insider bonus
Broom Riding +3
Focus +2
Mysticism +2
Enchantment +2
Potions +1
Magic
Mentalism 4
Protection 3
Offense 3
Divination 2
Alteration 2
Signature Spell: Telepathy
Faye Rose "Thornie" Thorne
Age: 17
DOB: Septemeber 1, 1969
Rank: Intern
Clique: Gothique
Concept: Occult rebel, practical dark witch
Attributes
Body D6
Mind D8
Senses D8
Will D10
Social D4
Magic D10
Secondary Attributes
Life Points 12
Reflex 9
Resist Magic 13
Zap Points 20
Talents: Creepy, Mysterious
Heritage: Hexer
Mundane Skills
Basics +3
Hear +3
Look +3
Pop Culture +3 (Music +4)
Streetwise +3
Mythology +2
Scare +1
Magic Skills
Casting +5
Mysticism +4
Focus +3
Herbalism +2
Cryptozoology +2
Spell Breaker +2
Magic
Curse 4
Necromancy 3
Mentalism 3
Offense 3
Divination 2
Protection 2
Signature Spell: Jinx
Larina Stephanie "Nix" Nichols
Age: 16
DOB: 10/25/1969
Rank: Intern
Clique: Rustic
Concept: Occult scholar, small-town witch, compulsive investigator
Attributes
Body D4
Mind D10+1
Senses D8
Will D8
Social D4
Magic D8
Secondary Attributes
Life Points 8
Reflex 7
Resist Magic 11
Zap Points 16
Talents: Brainiac, Geek
Heritage: Oracle
Mundane Skills
Basics +4
Mythology +3
Look +2
Hear +1
Science +1
Games +1 (Chess +2)
Magic Skills
Casting +4
Mysticism +4
Herbalism +2
Focus +1
Spell Breaker +1
Magic
Divination 4
Conjuration 2
Elementalism 2
Offense 2
Protection 2
Alteration 1
Signature Spell: Find
Common Spell: Zap
Vera Diane "Raven" Rook
Age: 17
DOB: 11/13/1968 (missed the school cut-off age, but never fails to remind everyone she is the oldest).
Rank: Intern
Clique: Outsider (she is a member of a magic family that has turned its back on magic)
Concept: Reluctant ally who discovers she enjoys all of this far too much
Attributes
Body D6
Mind D8
Senses D8+1
Will D8
Social D8
Magic D10
Secondary Attributes
Life Points 12
Reflex 10
Resist Magic 13
Zap Points 20
Talents: Busy Body, Brave
Heritage: The Sight
Mundane Skills
Basics +3
Drive +3
Hear +3
Look +3
Gossip +2
Mythology +2
Plucky +2
Scare +2
Mundane Etiquette +1, Outsider free skill
Streetwise +1, Outsider free skill
Magic Skills
Casting +5
Mysticism +4
Cryptozoology +3
Focus +2
Spell Breaker +2
Magic
Divination 4 (free rank due to Sight)
Mentalism 3
Protection 3
Curse 2
Time and Space 2
Illusion 2
Signature Spell: Scry
Common Spell: Glamour
Some of these are so good it makes me laugh. Vera the busybody always poked her nose in until finally Steph, Faye, and Larina just gave up trying to exclude her. Larina is not the most magically potent one here, but she is the smartest; this has always been her role.
This also helped me solidify some of their birthdays.
So I really don't know what will happen at Willow-Mistt for the girls. I also don't know if the "Stars" are there. It would be a shame NOT to have them there. Besides, the chance for Stephanie and Princess Lucinda to draw swords, magically speaking, at each other? I mean, how can I say no?
Stephanie: "You might be a Princess, but I'm the fucking Queen!"
Vera: "Uh...Vale, do you know what that sounds like?"
Stephanie: "Don't start with me, Rook!"
So the rules support them very well. Very, very well in fact. And I can see having the same sorts of adventures with them in WGA as I do in NIGHT SHIFT. But Witch Girls Adventures is a very different sort of game than the world I have built. They are similar, to be sure; Malcolm and I read the same books, watch the same TV shows and movies, and I think we are about the same age. So this is all natural. But while a Summer Enrichment Program is nice, none of my characters are moving to Willow-Brook, Maine, anytime soon.
I love the council of Witches, and let me tell you, I have IDEAS. But they are not something that works in my world. The world Jackson is in. Maybe my girls not only went to Maine, but a slightly different universe? I mean I can see this council wanting to look at these girls after the events of the Hollow King. Great for Witch Girls Adventures, less so for NIGHT SHIFT.
Given that this is the first big trip away from home on their own for the four of them (I mean Valerie as a chaperone?? "Ok, if you need it, I know 57 ways to get blood out of clothes. First one, 'always wear black.'"). Here is the song I can see all four of them singing together in their dorm.
They graduate and go off in different directions in just a year.
But if I went into this looking to understand these characters better, then it was a huge success.
Still. I am reminded of how much fun this game really is.
I am looking forward to checking Modern Mythology now.
