Kickstart Your Weekend: Weirdly World News (Night Shift)

What is in store for you when we hit the $5,000 stretch goal of The Night Companion for Night Shift?

A LOT!

Long-time readers might remember an idea I had for a Tabloid RPG called  "Scoop! The RPG of Muckrakers, Tabloids, and Yellow Journalism."  But there was an RPG with a similar name and purpose out there.  Granted it was never published for sale as far I know.  I still didn't want to compete with a product with the same name.

Prior to that, I had ideas for a different sort of game I was calling "The Front Page" which was also about being part of a newspaper, but more in the vein of Kolchak: The Night Stalker.  It had a more serious tone since it was about normal people, not so much as fighting against the darkness but certainly confronting it.

That game also grew out of my time of working with newspapers in high school and college. In college, I was the editor for a semester of The East Side Story, the campus newspaper for the east side of campus, and I had been the editor of our High School newspaper. This was a time when these sorts of things were still in print.  It was a lot of fun and I even very, very briefly flirted with the idea of going into journalism. 

At the $5,000 stretch goal for The Night Companion, I am going to bring you the "Weirdly World News."

In WWN you will play the part of a normal human, more or less*.  You are not the Chosen One, or some road weary hunter, or powerful witch.  You are just a reporter working for hire for the Weirdly World News the Nation's Greatest Newspaper! So your character can be anywhere in the country. You can travel to any place you like to get your story, as long as you keep your receipts and don't go over your per diem.   Your Editor (the GM) helps you find the story, you figure out what to do when you get there.

Whether you stop the threats is up to you.  The goal here is to provide a very low level, no magic, "normal humans" vs "the monsters" sort of game.  

Of course, not all monsters are more powerful than you.  Are the reports of strange nearly-human creatures (goblins) living in the sewers of Sheboygan true?  Well, that sounds like a story to me! 

And some are more powerful, but they are really human. Like poor Wilbur above, not his fault that an evil cult of an Elder God needed his body for...reasons.

*Now I say this, but one of my playtest characters was a vampire working the...huh...the Night Shift, at his local newspaper.  I based this character on Stuart Townsend who played Lestat in "Queen of the Damned," Dorian Gray in "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," and Carl Kolchak in the updated, critically panned, and short-lived, Night Stalker from 2006.

Originally I wanted to use the Fudge system for this (not FATE) but I never really got it all the way I wanted.

With Night Shift and the Night Companion, I can finally get this out to you.

You can play the Weirdly World News just like any other Night World.  You can even mix it in with any other Night World that features the Supernatural-is-Real-but-Hidden aspect.  So it works great with Ordinary World (in fact it is the opposite side of the same coin) or any of Jason's Night Worlds.

You can play it straight, say like the newer Night Stalker where the enemies are powerful, evil and you are way, way outmatched.  Or with an air of comedy. Sure the vampires, werewolves and whatever are all still dangerous, but they are NOTHING compared to dealing with accounting and that $20 you overspent!

I imagine most folks will want to play this with the harder edge.  Night Shift is the best system for this and I have tried it in a few now!  You have no magic, no powers, and everything you are against is a lot more powerful than you.  

I have also played this as independent reporters like bloggers (wonder where that idea came from) submitting stories to WWN.  At GaryCon I ran a version of this called Spector Detectors! where everyone was part of a "U-Tube" ghost hunting show. 

So, there is a lot you can do with this.  The stretch goal lets us pay for some more art.

Who knows.  Maybe YOU will hear the awful squeaking in the night of the legendary Rat Baby!

Kickstart Your Weekend: Night Companions and Avatars

A couple of REALLY GREAT Kickstarters are happing right now.

The Night Companion

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/the-night-companion?ref=theotherside

This sourcebook for Night Shift: VSW RPG blows the doors off! New classes, species, magic, monsters, core system options, and more!

Night Shift has been a labor of love for Jason Vey and I.  It has been a chance to use the rules we love (Old-school D&D) and bring it to a modern supernatural setting like the licensed products we have worked on in the past.  If you liked any of my work regardless of the system used then this is a great fit.

Here is what the book is right now:

• Four new character classes: the Divine Warrior, the Mystic Martial Artist, the Psychic Gunslinger, and the Spirit Rider
• Rules for playing supernatural species including Celestials, Driven, Ghouls, Infernals, Lycanthropes, and Vampires, expanding upon the "Supernatural Race" option in the core rulebook
• New options for generating ability scores for normal, gritty, and cinematic games
• Rules to convert your game from class-and-level to entirely point-buy
• An alternate Alignment system focused on good, evil, light, and dark
• Guidelines to convert your game to a unified mechanic: both d20-based and percentile-based options are covered
• Enhanced combat rules: variable weapon damage, range increments, weapon classes, grappling rules, jumping, drowning, suffocation, poison, disease, and more
• New Arcane Powers and spells, plus enhanced rules for ritual magic 
• A GM section that goes behind the scenes of the system, talks about keeping track of your play style options, gives guidelines for creating cults and secret societies, and discusses tropes of sub-genres of horror and how to use them in your game
• Dozens of new monsters, enemies, and NPCs for your game
• New art by industry notable Bradley K. McDevitt, commissioned just for this book. At first, it will be the new classes and species, but more may be added depending on how well the Kickstarter does (see Stretch Goals). 

And at the $5,000 stretch goal, I am going to provide a new Night World!  And I am quite excited to bring you this one.

Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magpiegames/avatar-legends-the-roleplaying-game?ref=theotherside

This one so doesn't need my help. I scored $1 Million in its first 24 hours and has been hitting $1M a day since. 

But it is Avatar and it is a lot of fun.  I am not a huge fan of Powered by the Apocalypse, but this game is just too gorgeous to pass up.  Plus those sweet stretch goals.

So spread the word!  Both of these games are going to fantastic.

Motherland: Fort Salem Season 2 and NIGHTSHIFT

Last year's big surprise hit for me was Motherland Fort Salem and Season 2 starts tonight!

And I can't wait!

The show gave us a very different sort of Army and a different sort of witches.  Now with Season 2 we have two different witch factions (the Army and the Spree) and an ancient group of Witch Hunters called The Camarilla.  I am also looking forward to learning more about the "Mother Language" that witches can speak called Méníshè.  Reminds me of what was trying to be done with Inha as a witch language. 

If this all sounds like a great RPG setting, you are right! This is a fantastic setting for NIGHT SHIFT.

I am stating up the characters up to the end of Season 1, but not including the game-changing season finale.

Raelle Collar
(Taylor Hickson)

5th level Witch

Base Abilities
Strength: 12 (0)
Dexterity: 13 (+1)
Constitution: 15 (+1) s
Intelligence: 12 (0) s
Wisdom: 13 (+1) P
Charisma: 15 (+1) 

HP: 19  (5d4) +5
AC: 6 combat armor
Fate Points: 1d10

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +3/+2/+1
Melee bonus: +1  Ranged bonus: +2
Saves: +4 against spells and magical effects
Arcana: Innate Magic: Wind Shear (1d6 per level of witch)

Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue

Spells
1st level: Cure Light Wounds, Sleep, Wind Strike* (treat as an air-based magic missile)
2nd level: Continual Flame, Levitate
3rd level: Cure Disease

Raelle lived in the part of American known as the Chippewa Cession where the Indigenous Tribal Federations are.  She is a healer of great power like her mother was.  Her mother was reported dead by the Army and Raelle blames the Army and Gen. Bellweather in particular.  She doesn't want to be there and her plan was to get enlisted in the infantry and get killed as soon as possible.  Her attitude earned her the nickname "shitbird" from Abby.

Raelle attitude changed when she met and fell in love with fellow cadet Scylla Ramshorn.

Abigail Bellweather
(Ashley Williams)

5th level Witch

Base Abilities
Strength: 12 (0) s
Dexterity: 11 (0)
Constitution: 13 (+1)
Intelligence: 14 (+1) s
Wisdom: 11 (0)
Charisma: 17 (+2) P

HP: 18 (5d4) +5
AC: 6 combat armor
Fate Points: 1d10

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +3/+2/+1
Melee bonus: +1  Ranged bonus: +1
Saves: +4 against spells and magical effects
Arcana: Innate Magic: Wind Shear (1d6 per level of witch)

Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Brown

Spells
1st level: Detect Snares & Pits, Obscurement, Wind Strike* (treat as an air-based magic missile)
2nd level: Levitate, Suggestion
3rd level: Curse

Abigail "Abby" Bellweather, of the East Coast Bellweathers, is the leader of the Bellweather Unit.  She starts out in the show as an arrogant, if even spoiled, girl of privilege. By the end of the series, she is the leader she was born to be.  Even her rivalries with Raelle and fellow East Coast witch Libba Swythe become something different as she accepts the responsibility of what being a soldier-witch means.

Tally Craven
(Jessica Sutton)

5th level Witch

Base Abilities
Strength: 11 (0)
Dexterity: 13 (+1) 
Constitution: 14 (+1) 
Intelligence: 13 (+1) s
Wisdom: 14 (+1) P
Charisma: 16 (+2) s

HP: 18 (5d4) +5
AC: 6 combat armor
Fate Points: 1d10

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +3/+2/+1
Melee bonus: +1  Ranged bonus: +2
Saves: +4 against spells and magical effects
Arcana: Innate Magic: Wind Shear (1d6 per level of witch)

Hair: Red
Eyes: Brown

Spells
1st level: Detect Evil, Detect Magic, Wind Strike* (treat as an air-based magic missile)
2nd level: Knock, Levitate
3rd level: Clairvoyance

Tally comes from the depleted Craven line. All her aunts had gone to fight in the Army and they all died.  She is the last of her line. She lived in the Matrifocal Allotment near Sacramento, California. She had not even seen a male until she answered her call of duty, an action her mother strongly wished her not to do.  Her power is to "see." She can detect disguised and hidden objects or people and might be one of the most powerful seers to come up in the ranks in a long time.

Tally is a sweet girl who loves with all her heart because that is what she knows.  She is fiercely loyal to her Unit.

Scylla Ramshorn
(Amalia Holm)

6th level Witch

Base Abilities
Strength: 11 (0)
Dexterity: 13 (+1) 
Constitution: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 14 (+1) s
Wisdom: 13 (+1) s
Charisma: 18 (+3) P

HP: 27 (6d4) +12
AC: 6 combat armor
Fate Points: 1d10

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +4/+2/+1
Melee bonus: +1  Ranged bonus: +2
Saves: +4 against spells and magical effects
Arcana: Innate Magic: Wind Shear (1d6 per level of witch)

Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Blue

Spells
1st level: Deathwatch, Obscurement, Wind Strike* (treat as an air-based magic missile)
2nd level: Levitate, Phantasmal Image, Suggestion
3rd level: Animate Dead, Speak with Dead

Scylla is a "Necro" or a Necromancer.  Because their power makes others uneasy they are quartered in a different part of the base. We learn that Scylla's parents were killed when she was young.   She meets and falls in love with Raelle.  Later we find out she is part of the terrorist organization known as The Spree, responsible for hundreds of deaths across the country.  Her job was to recruit Raelle, but she actually fell in love with her.

General Sarah Alder
(Lyne Renee)

20th level Witch

Base Abilities
Strength: 13 (+1) 
Dexterity: 14 (+1) 
Constitution: 20 (+4) 
Intelligence: 17 (+2) s
Wisdom: 16 (+2) s
Charisma: 20 (+4) P

HP: 123 (10d4+18) +80
AC: 6 combat armor
Fate Points: 1d10

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +8/+5/+3
Melee bonus: +7  Ranged bonus: +7
Saves: +8 against spells and magical effects
Arcana: Innate Magic: Wind Shear (1d6 per level of witch), Telepathic Transmission, Arcane Bonds (Biddies) 

Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue

Spells
1st level: Command, Cure Light Wounds, Detect Magic, Inflict Light Wounds, Protection from Evil, Wind Strike* (treat as an air-based magic missile)
2nd level: Cause Fear, Continual Flame, Lesser Restoration, Levitate, Suggestion
3rd level: Clairvoyance, Curse, Haste, Protection from Evil 10', Unholy Blight
4th level: Arcane Eye, Confusion, Hallucinatory Terrain, Phantasmal Killer, Restoration. 
5th level: Cloudkill, Commune, Domination, Telekinesis
6th level: Control Weather, Disintegrate, Feeblemind, Slay Living
7th level: Death Aura, Veneration, Wave of Mutilation, Windershins Dance
8th level: Antipathy/Sympathy, Damning Stare, Discern Location, Wail of the Banshee
9th level: Astral Projection, Breath of the Goddess, Mystic Barrier

"Honor me, make a place for me and my kind and we will win your wars."
- General Sarah Alder to Massachusetts Bay Militia, Say the Words. 

Sarah Alder was a survivor of the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th Centuries. She rallied her fellow witches at Salem, Massachusetts and presented the new government with a deal. Save us and we will fight your wars.  The US Government and the Witches have been allies ever since.  

Sarah maintains her youth with her select group of "biddies" or women that have sacrificed their own youth so she may remain forever young.  The biddies and Alder are all connected, much in the way a witch and familiar might be.  Thus Sarah can call on greater magics than her already high level has access to.

Sergeant Anacostia Quartermain
(Demetria McKinney)

10th level Witch

Base Abilities
Strength: 16 (+2) s
Dexterity: 17 (+2) 
Constitution: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 13 (+1) 
Wisdom: 15 (+1) P
Charisma: 16 (+2) s

HP: 45 (10d4) +20
AC: 6 combat armor
Fate Points: 1d10

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +5/+3/+2
Melee bonus: +4  Ranged bonus: +4
Saves: +5 against spells and magical effects
Arcana: Innate Magic: Wind Shear (1d6 per level of witch), Telepathic Transmission

Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown

Spells
1st level: Command, Inflict Light Wounds, Sleep, Wind Strike* (treat as an air-based magic missile)
2nd level: ESP, Levitate, Phantasmal Image, Suggestion
3rd level: Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic, Protection from Evil 10'
4th level: Arcane Eye, Phantasmal Killer, Produce Fire
5th level: Harm, Telekinesis

Staff Sergeant Anacostia Quartermain serves as the sergeant for the Bellweather Unit.  She is absolutely loyal to General Alder but also cares a great deal for the girls in her unit. 

She is a highly trained combat witch.

--

Motherland: Fort Salem would be an excellent setting, aka "Night World" for NIGHT SHIFT.  I am hoping to learn more about the witch hunters in the Camarilla this season and I hope Tally will be OK, and what ever happened to Rae and Abby.

Get NIGHT SHIFT here:

• Print copy from Elf Lair Games
• PDF from DriveThruRPG

Elf Lair Games is at Gary Con!

Forwarding from Jason Vey of Elf Lair Games:

Elf Lair Games is at Gary Con!

Hey, folks, Elf Lair Games is at Ethereal Gary Con XIII, and yours truly is a convention special guest. Of course, I'm also still a Troll Lord Games guy so I'm involved with their stuff as well. Check the graphic below to see all of our events. I am involved with running 2 of our events and will be a guest on the following panels:

GM Tricks of the Trade - Thursday at 4 PM CST

Greyhawk DM's Round Table - Thursday at 7 PM CST

TLG Selling Games, Now and Then - Friday at noon CST

We're also happy to announce that all of our PDF items on DriveThruRPG and both print and PDF in our online store are now available at 50% off throughout the weekend in celebration of the con! Grab your copy of Spellcraft & Swordplay, Chutzpah!, The Witch, or our urban fantasy/horror old school hit Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars! 

Visit us online at https://www.elflair.com/products.html for more information and to grab your copy today!

Click to enlarge

--

We still have a couple of openings left in Dancing in the Ruins session 1 and session 2.

Elf Lair Games / NIGHT SHIFT at GaryCon XIII

I will admit it.  I kinda take GaryCon for granted.  It's a fun con and it usually happens around my kid's spring breaks and it is only about an hour-long drive.  We can go there, play some games and sleep in our own beds afterward.

 Well, leave it to this pandemic to let me know what got once it is gone!

This year I, along with the rest of Elf Lair Games, will be running some NIGHT SHIFT games for Ethereal Gary Con XIII. 

This year I am running NIGHT SHIFT: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars along with Elf Lair Games founder Jason Vey and Derek Stoelting (one of our long-time collaborators from our Eden Studios days).

Registration for badges is ongoing, event registration has begun for some badge holders and will open up next week.

Here are the games we are running.

Spector Detectors! is my game.  Here are some details.

You are the SPECTOR DETECTORS! The hottest ghost hunting channel on FaceTube! Or at least you will be, one day. Right now you are busy checking out every reported haunted house in the tri-county area. Your team knows that the ghosts are fake, with a little bit of technological know-how and some good-sounding esoterica. You hope your next assignment, the historic Willow Crest Manor, will be your ticket to internet fame, glory, and plenty of advertising impressions.

Let’s Get Detecting!

This introductory NIGHT SHIFT game is run by RPG co-designer Tim Brannan.

Event Number 1026
Saturday at 2:00 PM (Central Time)
Hosts Timothy S. Brannan (1749)
Room 04 - Fate of the Norns Room
Duration 3 hours

Here are all the other games running as well.

I wish I could play them all, to be honest.  It has been YEARS since Derek, Jason and I have thrown dice together at a Con.  

NIGHT SHIFT should appeal to fans of old-school games and modern supernatural/paranormal fiction fans.   Essentially if you like the work we all have done of previous games (Buffy, AFMBE, Ghosts, AA, and more) then you should enjoy this.

I'll post when the games are ready for registration.

Character Creation Challenge: NIGHT SHIFT

Welcome to 2021! Happy New Year and here's to a better year.  I am going to start this year with the Character Creation Challenge. 

A lot of people will be doing this and that is fantastic.  So if you are doing this on your blog, Twitter, YouTube, or wherever you have an open invitation to post a link to you creation in the comments section below.  I have moderation turned on to stop the spammers, but I'll approve your post.

For me, I am going to do witches. That's my thing and it is why so many people come here I think. Plus it is a challenge for me to take a game and make a witch, Rules As Written.  In every post I will give a little bit of detail about the RPG used and then the character I make and how they might fit into my world or campaigns.

Today I want to start with a game very near and dear to my heart. 

The Game: NIGHT SHIFT Veterans of the Supernatural Wars

NIGHT SHIFT Veterans of the Supernatural Wars is a modern supernatural monster hunting game written by Jason Vey and myself.  We took all of the work we have collectively done with Old-School RPGs along with all the experiences we had while working on Buffy, Angel, Army of Darkness, Ghosts of Albion, and All Flesh Must Be Eaten and poured it into this new game.  My personal goals here were to make a game that I could play any type of witch I wanted and to fill the Buffy-shaped hole in my life.  I feel I succeeded in both.  

NIGHT SHIFT is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).

The Character: Sabrina Spellman

Last night the fourth (and sadly the last) season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina was released. I am only up to episode 5 so far, but I have all day today.  Plus Sabrina gives me the chance to see how well NIGHT SHIFT holds up to my design goals.

Sabrina Spellman
4th level Female Witch (Supernatual)* 
(In Sabrina's world a witch is a different species of human and different than a "mortal."  Sabrina is also the daughter of Lucifer Morningstar.)

Strength: 10
Dexterity: 15 
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 17

HP: 8
Alignment: Neutral (Good Tendencies)
AC: 9 [10]

Check Bonus: +3 (Primary) +2 (Secondary) +0 (Tertiary)

Familiar: Salem (Cat)

Arcane Powers

Supernatural: Astral Travel (to Hell only)

Witch: Innate Magic (Glamour), Telepathic Transmission

Spells 
First: (3) Command, Mind Obscure, Obscurement
Second: (2) ESP, Produce Flame

It's hard to nail down her spells really. She has shown she can cast teleport, exorcism, astral projection and more.  Some of this is plot-focused, others are one-shot abilities.  All I can explain with the use of my ritual magic rules from my Basic-era books.

This version stacks up well with the Swords & Wizardry version and the Cinematic Unisystem version I posted a while back.

I think this is a pretty good build for her to be honest. NIGHT SHIFT really works well for both of my design goals, and a great start to this challenge.

NIGHT SHIFT: New Releases

We have a few new releases for fans of NIGHT SHIFT: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars.

A Faustian Dilemma is a new "Night Trip" from my co-author Jason Vey.  It is a new scenario for NIGHT SHIFT and also includes a new Night World, City of the Twilight Queen, a base setting that will serve as a common basis for adventures moving forward, but which can also easily be removed for those who wish to run in their own worlds. 

NIGHT SHIFT Game Master's Screens can be downloaded and printed out or purchased as high-quality inserts on card stock with their deluxe black vinyl screen. 

I printed mine at home since I had a vinyl screen handy.

We have more plans for NIGHT SHIFT so keep an eye on this space!

• A Faustian Dilemma - A Night Trip for Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars
• Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars GM Screen Inserts
• Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars, Core Rules
• Night Shift: VSW Errata and Frequently Asked Questions
• Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars Quick Start Kit (PWYW)

Supernatural, Del Segno al Fine

Last Thursday was the Supernatural Series Finale.  15 years, the longest-running genre show on American television.  A little show that started with two brothers, some 80s mixtapes, and a black 1967 Chevy Impala. Driving the back roads of the US hunting monsters and saving people.

It was every Chill or Call of Cthulhu game I ever played.  It is exactly what I would do in NIGHT SHIFT.

It was also the one show that everyone in my family watched.  We didn't start in 2005, the pilot freaked my wife out.  But we came to it later and binged watched all the past seasons one Christmas break. We all sat together and watched the adventures of Sam, Dean, and eventually Cass, Crowley, and later Jack.  It was wonderful really.

Updating Sam

Last week I posted stats for Sam Winchester. I chatted a bit with my co-author Jason Vey and he suggested that I instead make a Sam a "Supernatural" race.  This would work well with his background as a "Special Child."  In fact, it works much better, given his ill-defined and ever-changing powers.  I would drop the level in Psychic and give it back in Veteran or more likely Sage.  

This works a lot better and ties in a little better to some other thoughts I had while watching the finale.

That Finale

Ok, Finale Spoilers follow. You have been warned.

In the mean-time here is sister group Neoni covering Wayward Son that appeared in the finale.

The last episode pretty much played out as I expected it would.  The Winchesters settling into their new routine. To me, it looks like something that would have gone on every day for months without change. Until they get notice of some kidnappings.  They consult their dad's journal (nice call back to the beginning of the series) they find some vampires, make short work of them, but in the process, Dean was mortally wounded.  Doesn't matter that they fought demons, monsters, the devil, and even God himself, they are still men and Dean gets impaled on a bit of rebar.

Dean dies and Sam has to move on.  He does. Gets married (maybe it's to Eileen, I certainly hope so), has a son (Dean Jr.), he grows old and dies.   He reunites with Dean in Heaven. 

#TheySilencedThem

Let's also talk about the finale and the things unsaid. 

The Destiel fans are upset that not only did they not get the closure they wanted, but it also seems some scenes were later edited after filming.   I get their complaints. I really, really do.  I was in the same place about 20 years ago with Tara.  Everything they are complaining about is 100% legitimate. 

I do wonder if Covid-19 had not kept Misha Collins out of the filming if things would have been different.  Evidence sadly suggests otherwise. 

Again, I am left where I was in 2002, I am just going to have to continue the story I want in my NIGHT SHIFT games.

Rowena MacLeod

Did Rowena get slighted in the end? No. I don't think so. Yes, there was confirmation that she was bi and then she ended up in Hell.  But she wasn't killed for that and let's be honest, Rowena isn't *in* Hell, Rowena is *ruling* Hell.   Being in Heaven would have been a punishment to her.  She even says if she knew it was going to be this good she would have done it years ago.   

No, Rowena in Hell as its Queen gives her character new horizons. 

Charlie Bradbury

Charlie is easily one of my favorite characters, behind Donna and Jodie, while it is never mentioned (and it could have been) we assume that Jack brought back her and Stevie along with everyone else.  While I'd love to see more stories with her I think her best story would be to retire.

The Wayward Sisters

My favorite series that never was.  Like Charlie, Jack brought the Wayward Sisters back. This we know because Sam gets a call from someone who got his number from Donna.   We can assume then that this means Kaia and Claire are also alive.  Whether they stay together or not is something to be played out.  I know I am not with the same girl I was with at 18 or 19. 

Knowing that they are all back though is great for my games, but sadly does nothing for the fandom wanting more.

I will say one of the first things I wanted to do was rewatch the series again from the start.  With 327 episodes that would take a little bit; 6.3 years if I watch 1 a week.   If I do I should do something with it. 

Supernatural: Carry On, Sam and Dean Winchester for NIGHT SHIFT

Wow.  

Here we are.  I know last week seemed like the "season finale" but tonight is the big "Series Finale".

Let's do this!

I have talked a bit about Supernatural here.  Certainly not as much as my fandom might indicate.  Supernatural is the one show that everyone in my family all watches together. My wife and kids all sit down to watch it. Doesn't matter what else we watch or what we do, this is the one show we always watch.

Supernatual then was also the test bd for NIGHT SHIFT.  

I have been pretty open about what my personal design goals for NIGHT SHIFT have been.  I wanted to be able to play ANY modern supernatural urban-fantasy I know.  I want a game where I can create any sort of witch I want and have access to magic, demons, and the like.  NIGHT SHIFT does all of this.

So when I was playtesting this with my kids there were two characters that were absolutely perfect. Sam and Dean Winchester.

Dean Winchester
15th level Veteran, Human

Strength: 16 (+2) s
Dexterity: 18 (+3) P
Constitution: 18 (+3) s
Intelligence: 14 (+1) 
Wisdom: 14 (+1)
Charisma: 18 (+3)

HP: 120 (15d8+45)
AC: 6 (varies)
Fate Points: 1d12

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +7/+4/+3
Melee bonus: +8 (+12)  Ranged bonus: +9 (+16)
Saves: +5 to all saves

Special Abilities: Combat expertise, Melee combat bonus, Increased damage, improved defense, ranged combat bonus, Supernatural Attacks, Tracking

Skills: Hand to hand combat, Steady hands (Dex), Resistance (Con), Insight (Wis), Charm/Intimidate (Cha)

Languages: English

Equipment: Leather jacket, handguns, cell phones, hunter's equipment, "Baby" 1967 Chevrolet Impala.

Dean is the archetypical hunter and Veteran.  He has been described as "the perfect killer" by many including God (aka Chuck).

Sam Winchester
9th level Veteran, 1st level Psychic, 5th level Sage, Human

Strength: 15 (+1) 
Dexterity: 15 (+1) 
Constitution: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 18 (+3) P
Wisdom: 16 (+2) s
Charisma: 18 (+3) s

HP: 95 (9d8+18 + 1d6+2 + 5d6+10)
AC: 7 (varies)
Fate Points: 1d12

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +7/+4/+3
Melee bonus: +5 (+8)  Ranged bonus: +5 (+8)
Saves: +5 to all saves

Special Abilities: Combat expertise, Melee combat bonus, Increased damage, improved defense, ranged combat bonus, Supernatural Attacks, Tracking, Psychic: TK (Cha based), Sage: Survivor skills at level 2, Read Languages, Spells

Skills: Research (Int), Steady hands (Dex), Computers (Int), Insight (Wis), Charm (Cha)

Languages: English, Latin, Greek, Enochian, Sumerian

Equipment: Thick jacket, handgun, cell phones, hunter's equipment, laptop

Sam has had an interesting arc.  He starts out as a veteran at a very young age. Because he also has/had some demon blood in him he was telekinetic for a while, but that only manifests when he drinks demon blood. He is also a Sage and has played that role well in the 15 seasons of the show.   

It was also stated a few times that he was Rowena's "student" so a couple levels of Witch might have been appropriate, but I think Sage covers it well. I could also see Sammy with a couple of levels of Survivor, but again, the Sage abilities cover that. 

Both brothers have high Charisma. They need to be able to talk their way in and out of situations a lot. Plus they have been on the air for 15 years.

Likewise, Dean could have also had a level or two of Sage, due to his Men of Letters status, but really Veteran covers it all.

Regardless where tonight's LAST episode takes us (and it was looking a little dicey two weeks ago!) I know that if I want to continue the story I have these write-ups and NIGHT SHIFT.

Other Supernatural Characters for NIGHT SHIFT

• Wayward Sisters
• Charlie Bradbury (both versions)
• Rowena MacLeod
• and my "special guest stars" Willow & Tara.

Gonna miss these guys.  Ok Kansas, play us out.

NIGHT SHIFT: Game Design, GM's Screens and Amazon

Quick one today.  My NIGHT SHIFT Co-designer and the main author, Jason Vey, has been posting about some of the game design choices we made in NIGHT SHIFT and why we wanted to stick with an old-school feel instead of creating a new system.

You can read his thought over on his blog for Elf Lair Games.

• What Does Night Shift: VSW Bring to the Old School Table?
• Why Re-Use Old Mechanics? Why Not Create a New System?

For my part, I agree with Jason.  I have played around with dozens of systems for my two Night Worlds; "Generation HEX" and "Ordinary World." 

Long time readers here will recall a time when Generation HEX was part of my magic-school project which had a lot of homes and even spent some time as a "D&D" world.  The great thing with these rules I can STILL do that.

Ordinary World began as a Cinematic Unisystem idea, morphed over to Mutants & Masterminds, and even spent some time as a BESM 3.0 idea.  I enjoyed all these forms of the setting, but none gave me what I wanted.  So one night during a huge snowstorm where I was stuck in traffic for over 2 and a half hours I came up with a new system for OW.  I thought it was great. I half-jokingly referred to as the Power of Three System since it only had three attributes.  But as I worked on it it became obvious to me at least all I was doing was creating the bastard child of BESM/Tri-Stat and Unisystem.

The points Jason makes in his posts are salient here.  Going back to a well-known system at least for me has solved a number of problems. 

New GMs Screen & Amazon

Jason just released the new GM screen on DriveThruRPG.  Grab these for your Portrait style screens.

Also, you can now get hardcover versions of NIGHT SHIFT from Amazon.

You can still get your hardcover and the special edition, numbered, hardcover from the Elf Lair Games store.

Can't wait to share more with you!

NIGHT SHIFT Links

• Elf Lair Games Store
• DriveThruRPG Links
• Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars, Core Rules
• Quick Start Kit
• Errata and Frequently Asked Questions
• GM Screen Inserts

Plays Well With Others: Kids Games, Dark Places & Demogorgons

Last week I talked about an Other Side perennial favorite, Dark Places & Demogorgons and using it as a central feature of a generational game. Today I want expand on that idea a little more.  While this is a "Plays Well With Others" and I normally use that to talk about how the subject be used in conjunction with a lot of other, maybe unrelated, games.  Today I am going to focus exclusively on Dark Places & Demogorgons and NIGHT SHIFT: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars, but there is no reason why the same logic could not apply to say Kids on Bikes/Brooms and other modern supernatural games like Dark Streets & Darker Secrets.

Reminder: Dark Places & Demogorgons 5e is having a Kickstarter RIGHT NOW to update DP&D to the 5th edition of D&D.  Go. Pledge now and come back here. 

Playing Kids' Games

Dark Places & Demogorgns (DP&D) is fantastic. Full Stop. But, I should say a little more than that, and I have and I will. I have even dedicated other PWWO to their Cryptid Manual.

DP&D is a "Stranger Things" like game of playing kids in the 80s, early and mid-80s in particular, when the audience for this game was the age at the time their characters would be.  It is a great game that captures a time that many remember as simpler (though I also remember trying to get "online" with a 300 baud (bps) modem...nothing simple about that!) time. 

That is the main focus of the game, playing kids and 80s kids in particular.  But that is not all it can do.  It is a great game of "mild" supernatural terror.  A lot less than Call of Cthulhu, or even Chill, but greater than say Scooby-doo or Ghostbusters. For me, it is exactly the sort of shenanigans I wish I could have gotten in to.  You know, but minus all the death. 

But let's say for example you don't play DP&D (and why not?) you play something like NIGHT SHIFT that deals with more adult matters? Not R or X rated mind you or even bills and jobs, just people over 18.  What can a game like DP&D do for you?

DP&D is such a delight. It really is. I am very fond of this game and I still enjoy playing it.  On the surface it looks like DP&D and NIGHT SHIFT could be used to tell the same sorts of stories, and that is true to a degree, but that really underplays what makes both games special.  

NIGHT SHIFT covers adults in a very dangerous supernatural modern world.

Dark Places & Demogorgons covers kids in a very dangerous supernatural world of the 1980s.

Getting the Characters to Play Well With Others

It seems to be an unpopular topic among old-schoolers, but new gamers love this stuff. They want to know about their character's backstory, what they did when they were younger.  Even down to things like what their favorite foods are, who was their childhood crush, and more.  Personally, I think it is fun as hell and I love that these newer players have so much excitement for their characters and games.

But how can an old guy like me do that and still stay true to my own roots?

Easy.  Take my characters and play them as kids.  There are a few ways to make this work.

The Flashback

This is the technique used in the Stephen King movie "It" and a couple of times on Supernatural. 

Take your NIGHT SHIFT characters and re-do them as DP&D characters.  Something I mentioned before, and it is true here as well, do not try to make a one to one correspondence between the classes. Think about yourself, what you were, and what you were doing when you were 13 vs. now.  I would not be the same "class" at all.  In fact, this is part of the fun.  What was your character back then that made them who they are now?  Were the actions of the DP&D game what made your character into who they are now?  OR, and I will admit this is a favorite, was the event so traumatic that your adult character forgot it so you have to replay it as a kid.

The forgotten flashback is a good way to build some background and then they can get XP or perk once they remember.  So in a NIGHT SHIFT based game, I'd give a character some perk from DP&D related to their "kid" class.  Nothing to unbalance the game, but certainly something to add to each character. Making them something a little "more" than they were before.

Lifespan Development

Another great option is to start as a kid in DP&D and progress to the logical end (18) and then pick up as an adult, maybe a couple of years later even, in NIGHT SHIFT.

Again, there is not a good one to one class correspondence between the games and nor would I want there to be.  A Jock (DP&D) might end up as a Veteran (NS) or even as a Chosen One (NS).  In truth, I would give any DP&D kid character some "free" levels in Survivor but allow them to keep some of the perks of their original DP&D class.  So Goths still see ghosts, Karate Kids still kick ass, and so on.  

This is the option for people that want a rich backstory for their characters, but don't want to write it, they want to live it.

Age Regression

There are also a few ways to do this one. In Star Trek: The Next Generation there was a great episode "Rascals" where Picard, Ensing Ro, Keiko O'Brein, and Guinan were transformed into pre-teens due to a "transporter accident".  Their bodies were de-aged, but their minds were the same. 

In the third season of Charmed the episode "Once Upon a Time" did it the other way around; the cast stayed in their own adult bodies but their minds were like children.  They needed to do this because only children can see fairies.   In this case, it was a spell and this also makes it more useful for your NIGHT SHIFT game.  Your character stays the same, but not your mental attributes are DP&D.

Alternate Reality

Finally, one I have been using a lot lately is an alternate reality/timeline.  In this one the characters are children.  It's not necessarily the same character, but certainly the same character in a different situation. 

Case in point I run a "Sunny Valley, OH" game is an alternate version of my Buffy RPG.  Same characters (mostly) but the differences are the characters are all younger than they were in the show/RPG, they are set in the ironically names Sunny Valley, Ohio instead of Sunnydale, CA, and it is set in DP&D's proper 1980s instead of the late 1990s/early 2000s.

Pulling it Together: The Characters

One of my better examples and I have a few, would be my versions of Willow and Tara for both NIGHT SHIFT (my "The Dragon and the Phoenix" timeline) and DP&D (my "Sunny Valley, OH" timeline).

This split allows me to different things, have different sorts of adventures, tell different sorts of stories. 

Can I do this all in one system? Of course. Especially for a game like NIGHT SHIFT.  BUT changing the system allows me to do two things. It allows me to give the different times/ages a different feel via the system.  Do I feel the same way now as I did in the 1980s? No. Do I do things the same way? No.  The mechanics are a good way to reflect it. 

It also allows me to force the players to feel the experience as being different.  ESPECIALLY if it is a game that is similar but slightly different. Like NIGHT SHIFT and DP&D are.  Combat is largely the same for example, but saves are different. Skills are different.  This difference helps mimic the feel of being younger and not always knowing what to do or how to do it. 

I have always said a "rising tide raises all ships."  Other designers/games are not my competitors, they are my colleagues. Playing games from other designers gives me new insights into my own games. 

For more details and examples I am providing some links below to other posts.

And don't forget the Kickstarter!

Dark Places & Demogorgons

• All DP&D Posts
• Plays Well With Others: DP&D Cryptid Manual
• Plays Wells With Others: Dark Places & Demogorgons and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Review: Survive This! Dark Places & Demogorgons Companions
• Review: Survive This! Dark Places & Demogorgons

Sunny Valley, OH

• Welcome to Sunny Valley, OH
• Willow & Tara: Survive This! Dark Places & Demogorgons
• Survive This! Dark Places and Demogorgons - Supernatural / Buffy Crossover
• Dark Places & Demogorgons: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed; How Soon is Now?
• Dark Places & Demogorgons: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Hex Girls; Bizzare Love Triangle
• Survive This! Dark Places and Demogorgons - Carmilla / Buffy Crossover

NIGHT SHIFT Veterans of the Supernatural Wars

• All NIGHT SHIFT Posts
• Plays Well With Others, Generation HEX, and my Traveller Envy
• Plays Well With Others: Night Shift and Modern Supernatural Games
• Willow & Tara: NIGHT SHIFT Veterans of the Supernatural Wars

Space Age Slap Jack and the Lords of Faerie

A few months back I was digging through a bunch of old notes.  We were cleaning up my game room and as typical of me, I took the opportunity to reorganize my accumulated notes. 

One of the things I found was some hand-written notes on various personages from my games.  A couple that had a very strange genesis and how I worked around to get them to where I have them now.  Vague? Yeah. But let me start at the beginning and work my way back up.

Let's go back to Christmas 1982.  I was full-on in my Star Wars fandom.  I had seen Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back a couple of times. I had read everything I could my hands on about Star Wars and I was hungry for more.  Also at this time, I was really getting into D&D. My introduction three years prior and my gift of the Basic and Expert Sets had kept me going for a long, long time.  Anyway Christmas. We would always go to my mom's sister's house for Christmas eve or close to that. Here we would get small gifts.  Nothing huge, my mom had a big family, and getting something for everyone was expensive.

This year (and I don't remember many other gifts we got to be honest) I got something that was very strange to me.  I got a deck of Slap Jack cards.  I thought it was an odd gift really, I was 13 and this was a game for little kids. But this set was different.  At least my Aunt or whoever bought it knew of my love of Star Wars and this was a "Space Age Slap Jack."

While I might have played it as RAW once or twice that Christmas, that is not why I grew to enjoy this set. It was the art and the overall concept.

Jack, The Lord of Aggression was an obvious Dollar Store Darth Vader.  He may have been the "star" but he was also the least interesting.  There were cards named "Interstellar Demon" and "Guardian of the Oathbreakers" and "Orbital Guardians."  The art is not fantastic, but it is very compelling.

But it was the Queen of Goodness that captured my attention.

She was a Queen. She had a glowing sword. Not a "lightsaber" a glowing sword. And she looked profoundly sad to me. I wanted to know more about this deck, the story it was trying to tell me. But what was it? It was 1982, there was no Internet, BitNet was still new and no one had access to it. So I did what I always do.  I made a story up.

In a way, these cards became an ersatz tarot deck.  I would deal out the cards and whatever came up I created a narrative in my mind.   Jack was what I'd call today a Warlock. He was the great traitor of the Galactic Peace. The Queen was the young ruler of the Galaxy, now in charge after the untimely death of her father the old King.  She ruled, but Jack strove to take it away from her.  In this tale, my Galaxy had both high tech and old magic. If this sounds familiar, then yes I have adopted some of these broad strokes for my BlackStar game.

I don't think I ever wrote any of this down. The material I found was recycling some years later. 

Fast-forward a couple of years. Now I am in my hardcore AD&D phase.  While I had been listening to music my whole life I was actually "listening" to the music instead of just "hearing" it as my late brother Mike would tell me.  One of the albums (tapes really) that also captured my imagination was Led Zeppelin's Four, or IV.   The song "Battle of Evermore" on side A, right before "Stairway to Heaven" grabbed a hold of my imagination with its epic Tolkienesqe imagery. But what really grabbed me more than anything were the haunting vocals of Sandy Denny.  I found the voice of my Queen.

But by this time I had moved my sci-fi fandom and my fantasy fandom further apart. Another little tidbit. While listening to the Battle of Evermore for the first time I misheard the lyrics (as we often did in the 80s).  The lyrics go:

Queen of Light took her bow
And then she turned to go,
The Prince of Peace embraced the gloom
And walked the night alone.

But I heard: Queen of Lies and Prince of Beasts.  These names took over the meta-story of the Queen of Goodness and the Lord of Aggression, but of course, they had changed a little.  The Queen of Lies was the Queen not because of lying, but because of the only lie she ever told, a lie that caused the death of her father (remember she was sad).  The Prince of Beasts, the former Lord of Aggression was also changed into a character that was aggressive, but not due to evil, but because he was protecting the wild spaces he lived. He became more of a Beorn-like character. Their stories are linked. And don't get me started on the Angels of Avalon or the Dragon of Darkness. Though my Orange Dragon from the Pumpkin Spice Witch certainly fits that.

The Queen of Lies and the Pince of Beasts eventually became something akin to faerie lords in my games. Both are sad figures and represent the melancholia of certain heroes in various tales.

The Tale of the Queen of Lies and Prince of Beasts

A long time ago a Faerie King had a beautiful daughter. Her mother had been human and died in childbirth.  The King, being a wise King, did not blame the girl as other monarchs might have, and instead of bemoaning the lack of a son he raise his beautiful, but sad daughter to be ready to rule in his place one day.

The King's lands were beset by all sorts of beasts so much so that his Kingdom and the surrounding lands became known as the Wild.  While the King loved his daughter, his people did not. In their minds, she was the cause of her mother's death and the reason the King would not remarry to have sons.  Over time the King's advisors suggested he marry her to the local Lord who had control over all the wild beasts.  The King saw the wisdom of this and prepared the marriage.  His daughter however did not want to marry the Prince, whom she felt was an uncouth savage, even if he was a Faerie Lord.

On the night before the wedding, there was a great feast. The daughter though, not being able to stand it any longer, broke hospitality and claimed she was already betrothed to another.  When it was discovered that the girl had done something no other fey in the kingdom could do. She had lied, but no one knew this or suspected it. 

The Prince, insulted waged war on the Kingdom. The war lasted for what felt like forever. Until a fateful day when the Prince was ready to kill the defeated King did his daughter admit her wrongdoing. 

The Prince, realizing his war was built on a falsehood, left the Kingdom and was never seen by it's inhabitants again, though he could be seen roaming the wilder places of the lands.  The princess, shamed, sat by her father's side. He forgave her and within a few nights had died from his wounds.  The girl, being the only one of royal blood, became the Queen.  She has been ajust, if unloved Queen, but her subjects still refer to her as The Queen of Lies.  Her lands are now known as the Kingdom of Rain.

Queen of Lies
Faerie Lady
Frequency: Unique
Number Appearing: 1 (1)
Alignment: Neutral [Lawful Neutral]
Movement: 120' (40') [12"]
Armor Class: -1 [20]
Hit Dice: 14d8+28** (91 hp)
Attacks: Sword or by spell
Damage: 1d8+4 or by spell
Special: Witch spells (13th level), damaged by magic weapons
Size: Medium
Save: Witch 14
Morale: 10
Treasure Hoard Class: NA
XP: 3,250
The Queen of Lies rules the lands known as the Kingdom of Rain. Named so for rain that always seems to be falling or threatening to fall at any moment.   She called the Queen of Lie because it was a lie that put her on the throne when her father died. 

The Queen is a beautiful, but sad and lonely Faerie ruler. She is a fair and just ruler and her people thrive, despite the weather, but they openly dislike her. She has gained the enmity of the Prince of Beasts, lord of the neighboring kingdom, an enmity that has earned her the attention of both the Erlking and the King of Goblins. While she has no interest in either suitor she knows she must choose one faithfully or the curse of rain her kingdom is under will not be lifted.

The Queen possesses her father's great Sword of Light, which provides her protection as well as magical fighting prowess. However, she prefers to use her magic when needed.  The Queen turned to sorcery and witchcraft to be able to lift her Kingdom's curse. She has not but can cast spells as a 13th level Faerie Witch.

Despite her name, the Queen never lies. She is half-human and can lie, but now she chooses not to.

Prince of Beasts
Faerie Lord
Frequency: Unique
Number Appearing: 1 (1)
Alignment: Neutral [Chaotic Neutral]
Movement: 240' (80') [24"]
Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 11d8+33** (83 hp)
Attacks: Fists or by animal type
Damage: 1d8+4 x2 or by animal type
Special: Beast form, damaged only by magic weapons, summon beasts
Size: Large
Save: Monster 11
Morale: 10
Treasure Hoard Class: NA
XP: 3,500

The Prince of Beasts is an odd fey lord in he does not like the company of other faerie lords and ladies, or faeries of any status. Instead, he prefers to spend his time in the wild running with the animals and communing with them.  

The Prince appears as a huge elf lord, standing 8' tall. He is broad and muscular. He is often mistaken for a large human or even a smaller hill giant. He wears simple animal skins though nothing can hide his regal bearing. 

Like all faerie lords he has a personal weapon, a sword, he can use. But the Prince prefers to fight with his bare hands or by transforming into any natural animal.  He can shape-shift into an animal and back 3/per day in the daylight hours.  At night he chooses a shape and sticks with it till the dawn.

He can summon any animal as per the Druid spells, Animal Summoning, they will obey his calls till the death.

The Prince of Beasts is on good terms with the various Animal Lords, but doesn't belong to their numbers. He ignores most of the Faerie Lords when he can.  He has a special enmity with theQueen of Lies, though he would rather avoid her at all costs.  He is also the enemy of the Erlking.  The Goblin King fancies himself as a rival, but the Prince does not take the Goblin King seriously.

NIGHT SHIFT Content

In NIGHT SHIFT the Lords of the Faerie continue into the modern-day.  The Queen of Lies is a real estate developer living in Seatle.  She has plans for the wild areas surrounding the Pacific Northwest.  The Prince of Beasts is a Wildlife conservationist.  Their battles are less about sword and claw and more about permits and lawsuits.  Both though are still powerful in their respective realms.

Halloween Hangover: October by the Numbers (and pictures)

Another Halloween is now part of the history books.  I am sad to see it go, but now it is time to sit back and see what I did here.

October saw a whopping 92 new posts here at The Other Side!  That beat my previous record of 72 in October of 2013.

In that time I watched 60 horror movies, with 41 one of them being first-time views.

You can see all my movies from the October Horror Movie marathon on my Pinterest board.

Follow Timothy's board October Horror Movie Challenge on Pinterest.

This translated into 74,587 hits for the month.

The Pumpkin Spice Witch was offered for free as part of DriveThruRPG's Halloween Sales. 

You can find it by going to your Wishlist (you need to be logged in),

Scrolling down and clicking on the Pumpkin,

Then it will be added to your cart for the price of a few clicks!

The promotion went so well that as of right now 1,213 were downloaded!  I also got a few sales and few dead tree versions too.  Not bad for a year-old niche product in a niche market.

In fact, it was so popular that Aubrey Spivey from the Old-School Essentials group on Facebook dressed up as a Pumpkin Spice Witch for Halloween!

I have gotten a lot of nice accolades and nice words about my books over the years. But Aubrey Spivey 's cosplay of my Pumpkin Spice Witch cover has REALLY made my Halloween 🎃! Thank you!

Posted by Timothy S. Brannan on Saturday, October 31, 2020

I mean really. How cool is that?

NIGHT SHIFT also did remarkably well.  I don't have the final numbers yet, but my payment for the month was great.

Stated up 12 new characters here for Night Shift and a few new monsters. 

I have a few "loose ends" and other ideas I didn't get around to posting. But don't expect this level of posting in November or December!