Jackson, IL: Am I Evil? NPCs of the Satanic Panic

Last week, I talked about running two different 80s-style teenage horror campaigns. My Sunny Valley, OH game with Dark Places & Demogorgons and my current Jackson, IL one with NIGHT SHIFT. 

I had such a good time talking about it that I wanted to explore these two games together some more. But the trick was finding a good pivot point for both of them. I started thinking, what do these two games have in common that I can really exploit for the 1980s? I came up with too many ideas to be honest, so I started thinking about characters. I decided my frame was going to be the Satanic Panic.

My Mother was a Witch

I recalled that the Dark Places & Demogorgons had a "Black Witch" class. In all my past witches for Sunny Valley, I used the White White class, naturally; all my witches tend to be "good." But I wanted to try something new. So I went to the Dark Places & Demogorgons Players Options & GM's Guide, and checked out their magic classes. I also looked into the Dark Places & Demogorgons Players Ultimate Edition for the Mystic Class. Both are great, really, the mystic is closer to the Mystic found in other Bloat Games products. I tried both, but to jump to the end of this, I went with the Black Witch.

On the O.G.R.E.S. side of things, I pretty much knew I wanted to try out the Sorcerer class from Wasted Lands, not that the class is all that different from the witch class; I did want to use some of the Heroic Touchstones from the Wasted Lands game. Again, long story short, I went with the witch and the sorcerer, but I could have stuck with the witch alone.  I did give them an Heroic Touchstone each, migth end up giving them some others later on. Both NPCs are more powerful than anyone character, that is by design. It also fits their backgrounds better.

I ended up with two NPCs and four character sheets. 

These two are going to be central in my Satanic Panic adventure that is going to pop up later on. How later? Well, game-wise, it is going to be Spring 1986, whenever I get to that. Currently, it is just before the 1985 Christmas break. One NPC is a central cause, the other will be a catalyst.

For these, I wanted to try and get each version as close to the other as I could so it felt like playing the same character in each game. 

Moria Elizabeth Zachary

Moria looks like a good girl. She attends the "other" school in town, St. Michael's Catholic High School. She will interact with the PCs either because she comes to take classes at Jackson Public High School (typically something like Calculus or another math class) or because one or more of the PCs have to go to her school (to take advanced Latin or Greek). This actually happened a few times in my own hometown. 

Moria is unassuming and very pleasant. She stands all of 5'1" and looks like the textbook definition of "harmless."

Trouble is, Moria Zachary is really a half-demon. Her mother was a witch from Sunny Valley, OH, and she moved here. Her father, well, he is not a local. Not to anywhere. He is a demon. Moria has moved her with her "Hellhond larva" dog and wants to stir up trouble now in Jackson. OR if you are using her in DP&D, then she is from Jackson and has moved to Jefferson Town.

Moria Zachary is a "mirror shard" of my own Moria Zami, who in my AD&D game is half-devil. Her job here is not to convince the characters to do evil, but to convince them that tools of "Good" are never going to be enough to stop what is coming, and they will need to "color outside the lines" in order to get things done. Moria doesn't care (and maybe doesn't even know) about the Hollow King. She wants the characters to commit evil acts to fight other evil creatures. In either case, Moria gets what she wants, and this is more evil. Her particular favorite is to corrupt other witches and turn them to evil. Failing that, any psychic class or sage is good. She avoids trying to convert theosophists and spirit riders if she can. Not that they are difficult, but they are no fun.

Moria Zachary (NIGHT SHIFT)
3rd Level Witch, Infernal

*Background: Infernal (half-infernal)

Base Abilities
Strength: 14 (+1) 
Agility: 15 (+1) 
Toughness: 16 (+2) N
Intelligence: 14 (+1) N
Wits: 12 (+0) 
Persona: 20 (+4) A

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 9
Vitality: 19

Degeneracy: 1
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +3/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +0 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +0 (base)
Spell Attack: +2
Saves: +3 to Spells and Magical effects (Witch) +3 to Wits saves (Infernal background).

Feed (Infernal): Must get witches to cast "evil" rituals

Witch Abilities
Arcana, Arcane Powers (1): Innate Magic: Glamour

Witch Spells
First Level: Black Flames, Magic Missile
Second Level: Defile

Heroic Touchstones
2nd Level: Mystic Senses (Sense Witches)

Archetype: The Half Demon, false friend, witch rival
Quote: "I’m not trying to make you like me. I’m trying to make you stop hating the part of yourself that already does."
Quirks: Looks harmless, sweet, and innocent.
Theme song: "Am I Evil?" - Metallica

Familiar: "Mephisto Fleas"

---

Moria Zachary (Dark Places & Demogorgons)

Class: Black Witch
Level: 3
Alignment: Evil 
Languages: English, Latin, Greek, Infernal
Age: 15

Attributes
STR: 14 +1
INT: 14 +1
WIS: 12 +0
DEX: 15 +1
CON: 16 +2
CHA: 20 +4
SUR: 18 +3

AC: 10     HP: 23    Attack Bonus +1

Courage: 4
Critical: 3
Death: 5
Mental: 5
Poison: 3

Background
Parents are cultists

Class Abilities
+1 to saves involving magic

Skills
Art +3, Math +4, Science +4, Knowledge (Magic) +5, Paranormal +4, Botany +3

Possessions
Rosary with inverted pentagram, Hellhound Larva "Mephisto Fleas."

Money: $50

Spells
Minor (3), Major (1)
Glammerd Appearance, Magical Insight, Burning Ash hands,

Darren "The Sorcerer" Vale

Darren is different. He is a second cousin to one of my witch NPCs, Stephanie Vale. His family has money, but not as much as Stephanie's. Darren is also a little creep. I'll admit I wanted to make him out every negative stereotype of an 80s gamer I could. Because, let's be honest, we all knew/know someone like Darren growing up. That guy who would say something so profoundly stupid, sexist, or racist that you couldn't believe he was at the same table as you. 

Darren is also interested in witches, but not like Moria is. Darren will say stupid shit like "you know, witches are supposed to love guys named 'Darren'" and then laugh at his own cleverness. 

So in the world of Jackson, IL, "Dungeons & Dragons" was not the Greatest Fantasy RPG in the world. No, everyone plays Spellcraft & Swordplay. That is, except for Darren now. He has just been kicked out of the Jackson Public High School S&S Club for making other players uncomfortable, especially group members Paul, Amy Jo, and Kevin. All four used to get together to play on Friday nights, where discussions would drift into typical gamer talk of "Excalibur" the movie vs "Mists of Avalon" the novel, and how they could replicate the feel in a game. Paul, Amy Jo, and Kevin would want to have a fun but serious discussion; Darren always made it weird. 

Darren is one of those guys who got moved up a grade early on and never really caught up emotionally with his peers. He also became one of those kids who felt intelligence equaled superiority, and because he was a little smarter, he thought that made him better than everyone else. He is jealous of everyone in his school. It is not until he notices the supernatural (or maybe the Supernatural notices him as easy prey) that his jealousy really flares. In particular, why does his cousin Stephanie have power? Or why does a loner like Faye? Or fellow "gifted kid" Larina? He has something in common with all three of them, but he has no power of his own. He dismisses them as flukes and makes excuses for his own lack of power by saying he could have it if he tried. Well, something in the dark answers him.

Darren goes from a 0-level human to a 4th-level Sorcerer/Black Witch almost overnight. Something is granting him power. 

Yeah, maybe I should have called him "The Warlock" but the Stevie Nicks song "Sorcerer" was a big enfluence on this character, and *my* nickname was "Web Warlock" for a long time. And to quote that great hunter of the supernatural, "I'm not with this asshole."

Darren Vale (NIGHT SHIFT)
4th Level Witch, human

Background: Nerd

Base Abilities
Strength: 9 (+0) 
Agility: 9 (+0) 
Toughness: 10 (+0) 
Intelligence: 18 (+3) A
Wits: 12 (+0) N
Persona: 11 (+0) N

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 9
Vitality: 15

Degeneracy: 3
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +3/+2/+0
Melee Bonus: +0 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +0 (base)
Spell Attack: +3
Saves: +4 to Spells and Magical effects (Witch) +2 to Int saves (Nerd background).

Witch Abilities
Arcana, Arcane Powers (2): Innate Magic: Glamour, Innate Magic: ESP

Witch Spells
First Level: Magic Missile, Protection From Good, Chill Ray
Second Level: Invoke Fear, Beguile Person

Heroic Touchstones
2nd Level: Mystic Senses (Sense Witches)

Archetype: The Misanthrope
Quote: "You can't begin to comprehend my power!"
Quirks: Dresses in nice, expensive clothes but is ill-kempt and generally unhygienic.
Theme song: "Sorcerer" - Stevie Nicks

---

Darren Vale (Dark Places & Demogorgons)

Class: Black Witch
Level: 4
Alignment: Evil 
Languages: English, Latin, Greek
Age: 16

Attributes
STR: 9 +0
INT: 18 +3
WIS: 12 +0
DEX: 9 +0
CON: 10 +0
CHA: 11 +0
SUR: 15 +1

AC: 10     HP: 20    Attack Bonus +0

Courage: 3
Critical: 4
Death: 4
Mental: 6
Poison: 4

Background
Obsessed with Magic and the Occult

Class Abilities
+1 to saves involving magic

Skills
Computers +3, Art +1, Math +4, Science +4, Knowledge (Magic) +4, Paranormal +4, Electronics +2

Possessions
Well-thumbed copy of The Necronomicon with notes and penciled-in "corrections."

Money: $150

Spells
Minor (5)
Blind, Charm, Dark Blast, Pain Touch, Read Minds

Darren is not supposed to be a nice guy; in fact, he is dangerous. He will use his "blind" magic on Amy Jo, and likely his "pain touch" on Kevin or Paul.  BUT I am not sure if the characters should kill him. So, in any case, his demonic (or whatever it is) will abandon him in the end, leaving him dead or insane.

His parents never really paid him any attention before, but after this, his mother will go on a crusade against the evils of RPGs, creating the group P.A.S.S. or Parents Against Spellcraft & Swordplay.

The Satanic Panic

Both of these characters will stir up trouble in my upcoming Satanic Panic adventure. At some point, Moria will go missing, and the students will blame the occult (which is kind of true, in a way). Darren will end up either dead or insane, and his mom will blame Spellcraft & Swordplay (sorry, Jason!). Things will escalate when Darren's mom confronts Sylvia Velasco at El Espejo Oscuro. Sylvia refuses to stay silent. "I sell candles to fools every day. I do not sell knives to children. And I sure as hell did not sell real magic to that pendejo. Your son wanted girls without their consent and power without discipline. That did not come from my shop." Because of this, the mob ends up burning down El Espejo Oscuro.

I haven't worked out all the details for that adventure yet, except that Sylvia will be the obvious target and it will take place after the Hollow King arc. There's still time. I wanted to introduce these two now so both the players and their characters get to know them early. That way, it won't feel like a random new NPC shows up and is automatically innocent.

I want to make it clear that Moria and Darren aren't supposed to be surprise villains who suddenly appear out of nowhere. I want my players to meet Moria ahead of time, maybe seeing her smiling in the hallway at St. Michael's. Darren might be seen hanging around El Espejo Oscuro, making people uncomfortable and acting like it's just a coincidence.

To put it simply, Darren helps me show what NIGHT SHIFT characters are like in Jackson. In RPG terms, it might be easy to just label Darren as 'Evil' and move on. But that wouldn't create the atmosphere I'm aiming for. Darren is dangerous, not because he plays fantasy games or is interested in the occult or magic. Paul, Amy Jo, and Kevin do those things too, and they're good kids. Darren is different because he wants power over others, and he thinks magic will help him get it. At least, that's his plan.

This difference is at the heart of my Satanic Panic adventure.

Even though the Satanic Panic is always driven by hysteria, my adventure will have some real reasons behind the chaos. Something bad will happen and people will get hurt. Maybe Darren will die, or maybe he'll survive but end up in the State Hospital. Moria's disappearance could set off a chain reaction, spreading trouble through the neighborhood. The main point is that scared adults will look for easy answers, blaming games, books, music, occult shops, and any teenagers who seem different. This will eventually lead to the real fire at El Espejo Oscuro.

I don't have everything figured out just yet, but it is going to be a blast. Moria and Darren are going to help me out.

Crossover?

I am considering a crossover between my Jackson, IL, game and my Sunny Valley, OH, game, but I have not figured out how that will work just yet. They are about 420 miles apart. I DO have a pivot point, my witch Larina is an NPC in both games, she could use magic IF I think these games are in parallel universes. But that feels a little like cheating if I am being honest. 

Night Shift Larina "Nix" meets Dark Places & Demogorgons Larina "Creepy."

Witchcraft Wednesdays: New Witches, Daggerheart & Tales of the Valiant

 I got both Tales of the Valiant and Daggerheart for my birthday. And now both have Witch classes on the way.

I've already discussed the Tales of the Valiant Witch, which is part of their current Kickstarter. 

There is a great overview of this new witch class from Nerd Immersion. I am more excited about it now than before. Give him a watch.

I like how the Witch powers are basically "Bell, Book, and Candle."

I am really looking forward to it. Sucks I have to wait till 2026 for it. 

Of course, Daggerheart has me covered right now!

Over at The Void, there is a new Witch Class. I also really like this one. I am going to have to give them all a try, of course. It's what I do.  I really like that the Witch and Warlock share the "Dread" domain. Really works well for me.

Since my kid and I spent the night last night playing around with Daggerheart instead of our Forgotten Realms game, I figured I'll convert one of our characters.  So here is Moria Zami. 

I have not typed up a Daggerheart character before. This could be fun.

Moria Zami

Level 1
Class & Subclass: Witch (Hedge)
Ancestry & Heritage: Slyborne Human/Infernis
Pronouns: She/Her

Agility: 0
Strength: 0
Finesse: -1
Instinct*: +2
Presence: +1
Knowledge: +1

Evasion: 10
Armor: 3

HP: 6
Minor Damage: 7 Major Damage: 14

Weapons: Dagger. Finesse, Melee, d8+1 phy

Armor: Leather 6/13 +3

Experience
Not so Innocent (Cult) +2 (knows things that an innocent would not know)
Don't Make me Angry +2 (add when angry after taking damage)

Class Features
Hex
Commune

Spells
Blightning Strike, Level 1 Dread
Umbral Veil,  Level 1 Dread

Moria is a young witch. Her mother is a witch, and her father is some sort of devil (Infernis). She doesn't know this yet. All she knows is that she has some magic, which allowed her to kill a goblin who attacked her, and (and maybe more disturbing) she liked killing it. 

Daggerheart is very flexible, so I am saying that when she uses her "Don't Make me Angry" experience, her Umbral Veil becomes black flames. 

I like this build. She doesn't have her little dog, "Mephisto Fleas," as her familiar. She can choose a familiar like power at level 2, so I'll say she has the dog at first level, but no-one else can see it yet. Maybe he is real, maybe he isn't. We won't know till level 2.

I'll see if my son wants to convert his other Forgotten Realms characters to Daggerheart. He ordered the game, so we will see.  In any case, this has been a good time.

Witchcraft Wednesday: Left Hand Path work and more Moria

 The Left Hand Path is moving on a good pace, not as far as I wanted to be right now, but I can live with that. I did want to show off another bit of new art for the book.

That's how it appears in the book. I'll add the artists names when I am doing laying out. I might tweak the page a bit, but you get the right idea. 

Here is a closeup.

The artist is Bill Blue, and you can see more of his art on his site.

Last night I wrapped up the first adventure for my 1357 DR Forgotten Realms campaign. As a GMPC, Moria only gets a fraction of the XP earned, so she has not leveled up yet. My oldest bought some HeroForge minis for some of his characters. I joked with him about it asking are you sure you want to spend money on minis, the characters could be dead before they get here! He said it was fine since a couple of characters in the group are based on characters he has going in other games, so they will get use. Wonder where he got that from?

Of course, I had to make a mini of Moria and Mesphito Fleas. Shout out to Pun Isaac for sending me suggestions for her mini!

 I am not going to buy a mini of her for the same reasons I told my son not buy his minis, she might be dead before they come in the mail! Maybe I'll just buy the STL and print here at home.

Yeah, she still only had 4hp and three spells (using my Advanced rules), but Fleas did kill a goblin last night by biting it. So maybe her chances are not so bad after all. 

We started adventure C3 The Lost Islands of Castanamir last night. I decided that Castanamir was a Red Wizard of Thay, but broke away from them to continue his own esoteric research.  This is one of the adventures I got from the Grenda Collection, so it is fun to use. 

There is a room with two thieves, Doblin and Joblo (really??). Well, I misread the entry and thought those were the names of the Leprechauns. When Liam got to the room where the thieves were, I didn't have names for them. That's OK, it was Duchess & Candella to the rescue! They were looting investigating a wizard's tower in Glantri when they got pulled in here. Obviously Castanmir was seeking advice from the wizards in Glantri with help for his tower. 

I am going to certainly be bringing them back as comic relief. I said they don't really fit in the Realms, but who am I kidding? They fit everywhere!

Speaking of reoccurring characters. I am certainly going to be using Grenda's Briana Highstar as an antagonist. They are not ready to meet her yet. I know she is an enemy to "balance," but she also serves Mephistopheles. She could even start out as ally. I don't know yet. I will see how it plays out.

I already have a mini for her!

This one is labeled as "Black Robed Mage of High Sorcery" so that works great for me. She also looks she is wearing a feathered cloak of some sort. 

This will be fun!

Witchcraft Wednesday: Introducing Moria Zami, Part 2

 Late post? Yeah, I was playing AD&D with my son until the wee hours of the morning! I have not done that in a bit. We are playing again tonight (this morning) when he gets home from work. We are going to finish up his first (playing) Forgotten Realms adventure.

Moria went over GREAT! I already love this character and I am playing her like Sabrina Morningstar (not Spellman, yes there is a difference) from the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.  Her mother is a witch, that I know, her father is a devil and a pretty powerful one, but I don't know who he is yet.

I am looking forward to finding out.

The Sabrina Spellman/Morningstar analogy is good here. Little Moria here will turn quite evil, maybe even the "Big Bad" of the series. Given who I thought the Big Bad was (Orcus), I have some ideas on who her father might be. But...I am going to hold this a little closer to my chest while I figure out how that might work out. I will say this, he is a Duke if not an Archduke. But Moria doesn't know this yet either. 

I have put a mark on certain spells on her sheet that cause her to dip a little closer to evil. She speaks infernal, and her eyes go all black. The characters know something is up with her, but the paladin of the group says she is not evil.  Liam told me I should build her in BG3, not knowing yet who she is. I told him "yeah, I oughta do that."

Since this is a one-on-one game, he is playing a lot of characters, and it is very likely that they won't all make it. I am looking forward to that as well. 

She has a familiar, a hellhound disguised as a Pug/Chihuahua mix (a "Chug?" a "Pihuahua?"). It is a lame excuse for me to finally use "Mephisto Fleas" for a familiar name.  And he is an odd looking mutt.

 

No idea if he will go full Hellhound yet. But I am sure he has it in him. In the meantime, he is just a rat-mutt. 

More Forgotten Realms: Introducing Moria Zami

 I have been out of town for a few days; it was my Father-in-law's 90th birthday. But right before we left, my oldest son and I were talking about our AD&D 2nd Ed Forgotten Realms game that he is running for me. He is having fun, but what he REALLY wants is to play. And AD&D 1st Ed at that. Yeah, he got a taste at Gary Con, and now he really wants to play AD&D more. Plus, we are both a little fed up with Wizards of the Coast, especially with their recent antics. 

Since we are both huge fans of Baldur's Gate 3, we wanted to add in some things from the video game. We have more connection to that than, say, Drizzt or Elminster. Trouble is, BG3 takes place in DR 1492, and we want our 1st ed game to take place in DR 1357, a year before the Time of Troubles. While in my 2nd ed game, I have a minor connection with Arnell Hallowleaf, but I also wanted something for this game. We are assuming that while my characters are exploring the Sword Coast, his characters will be exploring the Sea of Fallen Stars. This opens up a lot to us. But there are more than 130 years between our games and the events in BG3. So, there are not a lot of characters that are around for both times. Even Jaheira would only be about 10 years old at this point. Maybe they can rescue her and her family at some point. Set her on her path to become a Harper.

As it turns out, I have wanted to explore some of the past of the Cambion, Mizora. She is a rather entertaining character in her own right and deserves some further development. She is the servant of Zariel, but the trouble is there was no Zariel in AD&D 1st ed. Well, we are already ret-conning some details, and truthfully, I was never a fan of Tiamat as the ruler of Avernus. I might use Bel, the former ruler. I'll check Descent into Avernus for ideas later on.  But for now, I need to figure out who Mizora is, and more to the point, who is she in AD&D 1st Ed.

In BG3/5e she is a sorcerer, but this is AD&D, so I am going to make her a magic-user. I am also going to say she spent a lot of time in Avernus prior to BG3, so this is the time before that. 

I am not sure how long cambions live. I do think her mother was human, maybe even a witch. Now that would be fun.

---

A few hours later...

Ok, change of plans, sort of.

I AM sticking with Mizora, but not the Mizora he (and everyone) else knows. I am going with Mizora as a teenager. She knows there is something different about her, but she doesn't yet know what.

Moria Zami ("I am Mizora") is just a 16-year-old witch caught in the same pirate raid on the Sea of Fallen Stars that grabbed the characters. She is going to stay with them for a while. Until something bad happens. This also gives me the chance to try out some new things for my Left Hand Path book and something new I am starting later this summer.

Moria Zami
Witch 1st Level (Diabolic Tradition)
Lawful Neutral

S: 14            
I: 14             
W: 12           
D: 15           
C: 16           
Ch: 20

Paralyzation/Poison: 13
Petrification/Polymorph: 13
Rod, Staff, Wand: 14
Breath Weapon: 16
Spells: 15

HP: 5 (d4)
AC: 10
Weapon: Dagger

Occult Powers
Familiar: Dog "Mephisto Fleas"

Spells
First Level: Back Fire, Fey Sight, Sleep

So far, she is a good girl, but that is going to change.