Some good things in my mail this week!
Up first the new Swords & Wizardry books from their most recent Kickstarter.
Even the GM's Screen is good.
Also got my Glow in the Dark Sorceress from ReAction / Super 7.
Pretty cool, really.
Maybe I should stat her up as a S&W Warlock sometime. There is no S&W Sorcerer. Or maybe I should make one.
Ah. Two of my favorite topics. Let's see what this weekend has in store for us on the Kickstarter front.
The Witches of Oz #1 - A Mature Magical Queer Romance
The next comic in Kat Calamia and Phil Falco's "Ever After Verse" features two of my all-time favorite witches. The Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch. I love this "Wicked" inspired cover too. The story should be fun and I am always here for a retelling of the Wizard of Oz story.
If it is half as good as their other entries into this shared universe then it should be a blast.
Can't wait to see it really.
Swords & Wizardry: Expansions, Monsters, and More!
Swords & Wizardry is back with a brand new edition...wait, I almost Vanilla Iced this. Starting over.
Swords & Wizard had a great Kickstarter a while back a produced some really attractive books. This expansion set looks every bit as good and hopefully will be a viable option for folks wanting to try new games, other than D&D.
This is the best version of Swords & Wizardry I have seen so far. I wish the game a lot of success.
I think this one was funding mere seconds after going live.
Swords & Wizardry Complete Revised Rulebook
What can I say here? If you read this blog you likely know what this is all about.
It looks great and the Kickstarter is doing well. The BIG thing for me is to see what license it is released under and how that might change some of the rules. I am expecting little impact, but it will be interesting all the same.
The covers are attractive as all hell, so I might get pulled in on that alone.
Will this rival the ShadowDarkRPG in terms of sales? Hard to say, really. But it is a good time for all sorts of games out there.
Running a bit late on this one. Today I am going to show how to use NIGHT SHIFT with one of my often-forgotten witches, the Hedge Witch for Hero's Journey RPG, First Edition.
The Hero's Journey is a great RPG from James M. Spahn. Designed to capture the feel of a bygone time when people would go on adventures for the sake of adventure. The rules are close enough to Swords & Wizardry to be, oh, 95%-97% compatible. In truth, it is my favorite presentation of the Swords & Wizardry rules.
The class I designed for it is the Hedge Witch. Someone that dabbles in magic but was not a full-on wizard.
The Hedge Witch
These are lower-powered witches and are thus perfect for dabblers or supernatural species that also gain other abilities.
The Hedge Witch has the following powers.
Level 1: Supernatural Awareness. This acts as a Detect Evil spell, and the Hedge can determine if someone is a supernatural creature in disguise or not.
Level 4: Craft Potions. The stock and trade of the Hedge witch are her potions. Guidelines are the same as in the Witch for the Hero's Journey book. Essentially she can replicate any spell she knows.
Level 7: Evil Eye. She can cast the Evil Eye spell once per day at any target.
Level 10: Curse. The hedge witch can curse one target per day.
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I did Ethyl Critchlow a while back as an Urban Hag, but I always wanted to give her some levels in witch.
Strength: 17 (+2)
Dexterity: 17 (+2)
Constitution: 18 (+3) s
Intelligence: 16 (+2) P
Wisdom: 16 (+2) S
Charisma: 8 (-1)
HP: 78
Alignment: Dark / Chaos
AC: 2
Attack: +1
Fate Points: 1d10
Check Bonus (P/S/T): +5/+3/+1
Melee bonus: +2 Ranged bonus: +2
Saves: +3 against spells and magical effects
Witch Abilities
Arcana, Supernatural Senses, Spells, Arcane Powers
Arcane (Occult) Powers
Supernatural Awareness, Craft potions, Evil Eye
Skills
Knowledge (supernatural), Knowledge (occultism), survival
Background
400 year-old hag
Spells
First Level(4): Bad Luck, Far Sight, Glamour, Minor Curse
Second Level(3): ESP, Evil Eye, Night's Companion
Third Level(3): Clairvoyance, Mind Shield, Scry
Fourth Level(2): Discern Lies, Remove Curse
Fifth Level(1): Primal Scream
Note Ethyl uses Intelligence as her prime for spell casting.
Every child, whether human or witch-born, knows to stay away from the house on the corner of Taylor and Bell. Here sits an old run-down house that everyone thought would either fall in on itself or the city would have condemned.
But it is not the house that frightens the children, though it is frightening. Nor is it the small angry dog everyone remembers from their childhoods, making it at least 25 years old or older. Rumor in the neighborhood is that once the dog got out and bit the fingers off of a boy who could not run fast enough.
It is not the dog or the house. It is the owner of both that keeps people away.
Ethyl Critchlow looks like a stereotypical old witch, but this is just a glamour, her true form is that of an ancient and hideous old hag. She is an Urban Hag and has been living in West Haven for nearly as long as there has been a West Haven. She hates all children and takes glee in terrorizing them, but a pact made with the City Council keeps her from doing any actual harm to them. Though if their toys land in her yard she will keep them and if any child climbs her fence to get these toys then she will send her "dog" (in actuality a glamoured Hell Hound) Maximillian after them.
Ethyl would also admit that at her age (almost 400), eating children, especially modern ones, gives her terrible heartburn. Though she did eat a couple of missionaries from East Haven back in the 1960s, but no one came looking for them.
She stays in West Haven because she has nowhere else to go. The city tolerates her and is just waiting for her to finally die of old age or a magical mishap. She is also a great source of magical knowledge and history. She can be bribed with 18-year-old single malt scotch. Ethyl is a heavy drinker, so bring more than one bottle if you plan to use this for information. Also, fair warning, as Ethyl drinks, her glamour begins to fade. Her glamour will be gone when she has worked through two bottles.
Urban Hags are hoarders. Her home is a falling apart pit of junk she has collected over her nearly four centuries of life. Amongst the filth, garbage, and debris of decades, there are also some magical treasures. In particular, Ethyl has several magical scrolls with spells that can be used by any witch or scholar. There is also a magical pipe that can lure the undead to sleep. Though one is advised not to go looking for such treasures.
You can get NIGHT SHIFT in print and pdf. You can get my the Witch for Hero's Journey RPG here.
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Want to see more of the #CharacterCreationChallenge? Stop by Tardis Captain's Blog and the #CharacterCreationChallenge on Twitter for more!
Moving on to one of my older witches, one of the first I did for Swords & Wizardry.
While they are not 100% living up to their potential in Swords & Wizardry, they could shine in NIGHT SHIFT. Especially in the "Nocturnumverse" and "Ordinary World" Night World settings.
The Aiséiligh
These witches also have a strong connection to NIGHT SHIFT. When I worked for Eden Studios and worked on the WitchCraftRPG line, I had a group of Wicce known as the Daughters of the Flame. I am sure if you are a long-time reader, you have seen them here before. The Daughters of the Flame were a coven dedicated to the Goddess Brigit. They started in my old AD&D 2nd Ed Witch netbook and were modernized for WitchCraft.
Well, when Eden opted not to produce more Unisystem books, I took those notes and let them stew on my hard drives.
The Daughters of the Flame were brought back as part of a new Tradition, the Aiséiligh. You can still be a member of the Daughters coven, but now there were other covens too.
The same notes would later go on become NIGHT SHIFT and my two Night Worlds, "Generation HEX" and "Ordinary World."
There was a quote I scribbled down in my notes back then. It was for the Daughters, but it now applies to the Aiséiligh and explains what they do well.
"The world is in peril. The forces of evil in the guise of law and weal threaten all lands.
The people of good conscience scream out for champions.
The Witches of the Aiséiligh Tradition hear those cries and are charged by the Goddess to be Her hands and Her mortal representatives on this plane.
And the Goddess is angry."
In NIGHT SHIFT these are your activist witches. They are part of the movements for social justice. They are the ones volunteering at the Sanctuary houses to help others. These are the ones fighting for more LGBTQI+ representation. They are the ones making noise. That is not everyone's cup of tea, but for some it is exactly what they want.
Arcane Powers from Occult Powers
The Aiséiligh are somewhat unique among my witches since they do not receive familiars by default. Instead, they are said to hear the voice of their Goddess directly. In the case of the Daughters of the Flame they look into the flames to get their insight and learn spells. This has given them the somewhat joking nickname of "Campfire Girls."
Level 1: Healing Touch. The Aiséiligh witch can heal by touch. Once per day she can heal a 1d4+Level+Cha mod in HP. She can parse this out to multiple uses, but not exceed that maximum.
Level 4: Protection. Once per day, the witch can invoke Protection from Evil, 10'. This lasts for rounds equal to half her level.
Level 7: Immune to Fear. The Aiséiligh witch is so focused in purpose she becomes immune to the effects of fear, either mundane or magical.
Level 10: Psychic Power. The witch can choose a psychic power.
Level 13: Mantle of the Goddess. Greater protection as described in the Aiséiligh tradition book.
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Strength: 14 (+1)
Dexterity: 13 (+1)
Constitution: 13 (+1)
Intelligence: 16 (+1) S
Wisdom: 14 (+1) S
Charisma: 17 (+2) P
HP: 38
Alignment: Light
AC: 9
Attack: +
Fate Points: 1d10
Check Bonus (P/S/T): +5/+3/+2
Melee bonus: +1 Ranged bonus: +1
Saves: +3 against spells and magical effects
Witch Abilities
Arcana, Supernatural Senses, Spells, Arcane Powers
Arcane (Occult) Powers
Healing Touch, Protection, Immune to Fear, Psychic Power (Bio-Feedback)
Skills
Knowledge (medicine), Insight
Background
Trust-fund rebel
Spells
First Level(4): Burning Hands, Feel My Pain, Sanctuary, Sleep
Second Level(4): Augury, Calm Emotions, Evil Eye, Mind Obscure
Third Level(3): Clairvoyance, Remove Disease, Witch Wail
Fourth Level(3): Discern Lies, Instant Karma, Remove Curse
Fifth Level(2): Dispel Evil, Primal Scream
Katherine "Kat" Montblanc is one of the more notorious rebels in the Montblanc family. She wants nothing to do with her family at all except for when she can rub their nose in her defiance. An aspect of her personality she admits is a character flaw. She works as a social worker in her family's hospital but only accepts the salary paid to her by The Sanctuary, where she also does volunteer work. She specializes in trauma inflicted by other supernatural types, though she will go on to say that some of the worst monsters out there are humans.
Kat does not get along with, nor trust, Katia Crane. The feelings are mutual.
You can get NIGHT SHIFT in print and pdf. You can get my Aiséiligh Witch book pdf here.
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Want to see more of the #CharacterCreationChallenge? Stop by Tardis Captain's Blog and the #CharacterCreationChallenge on Twitter for more!
Today I want to discuss Warlocks in NIGHT SHIFT.
Warlocks are a different class from witches in my Old-School games. Warlocks get more powers but far fewer spells to cast. Witches and warlocks cast spells from the same group, Occult Spells, and there are even a few power overlaps. Both have patrons, but these patrons demand more of the warlock than the witch.
In NIGHT SHIFT, they are interchangeable in terms of mechanics. The differences largely lie in roleplaying.
I have two different warlock books, each covering a different OSR system (Swords & Wizardry and OSE) and different types of warlocks. I have discussed the differences between the two books before, but for today I want to talk about what each offers NIGHT SHIFT.
The Warlock
In the case of both books, if you choose to play a warlock in NIGHT SHIFT use the Witch class from the Core. Could you use the S&W or OSE Warlocks as is? Sure, but I have to point out I have never play-tested the warlock under the NIGHT SHIFT rules. It *should* work, but I can't promise that there isn't some odd little system things that might come up.
With the warlock, it is much less about one-to-one conversions as it is a role-playing one.
Start with the NIGHT SHIFT witch class and add invocations and spells as appropriate to whichever warlock pact and/or lodge you want to play.
Pacts
Warlocks have pacts. This is pretty much a given in FRPGs today, but it bears repeating. These pacts are almost like subclasses, in a sense.
The Warlock for Swords & Wizardry has: Cthonic, Demonic, Diabolic, and Fey pacts.
The Warlock for Old-School Essentials has: Chaos, Cosmic, Death, and Dragon pacts.
Each of these gives us a slightly different warlock. Sure to the outsider Chaos and Demon pact warlocks act the same and the differences between Demonic and Diabolic might be purely academic, but to the warlocks in question they are all the differences they need.
Lodges
Witches have covens, and warlocks have Lodges. These are groups of like-minded warlocks (and sometimes others) to achieve a specific Earthly goal. Often they have members of the same pacts, but not always so. Characters will typically not deal with "Demon Pact Warlocks" but more often "The Lodge of a Particular Demon Lord."
Like the pacts, each book offers different lodges.
The Warlock for Swords & Wizardry has: Ascension Lodges, The Dark School of the Scholomance, Goetic Lodges, The Grand Coven, The Hermetic Lodge, the Lodge of Pure Thought, and the Masters of the Invisible College.
The Warlock for Old-School Essentials has: The Academy of Noble Stargazers, Chaos Cults, The Dragon Cult, and The Lords of the Undying.
All of these would be right at home in a NIGHT SHIFT game. The Scholomance would be a great rival school in Generation HEX. Most, if not all, these lodges would find a home in Jason's "Veterans of the Supernatural Wars" Night World setting. Indeed many of the groups would work with my Hermetic Lodges. In his "Nocturumverse" his Esoteric Order of Gnostics would follow my lodge rules, as would his Rosicrucians.
My "Ordinary World" setting also has a lot of room for warlocks. Angels and demons battle each other and seek mortal aid in their wars. Fey lords and ladies plot and scheme, and who knows what else is out there hiding and waiting.
Strength: 10 (0)
Dexterity: 17 (+2) S
Constitution: 14 (+1)
Intelligence: 15 (+1) S
Wisdom: 12 (+0)
Charisma: 16 (+2) P
HP: 13
Alignment: Light
AC: 9
Attack: +0
Fate Points: 1d6
Check Bonus (P/S/T): +3/+1/+0
Melee bonus: 0 Ranged bonus: +2
Saves: +3 against spells and magical effects
Witch Abilities
Arcana, Supernatural Senses, Spells, Arcane Powers
Arcane (Occult) Powers
Familiar, Talk to Animals
Skills
Knowledge (Egyptian History)
Gear
Cellphone, Cat-ear Bluetooth headphones.
Spells
First Level(2): Detect Magic, Sleep
Second Level(1): Animal Summoning
Erika Lenard always knew she was different. Very different. Even at a very young age, she could understand animals, particularly cats. It was a school field trip to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago that she heard the voice of Sekhmet. She passed out and the next thing she knew, she was surrounded by her classmates, and she could see the Goddess Sekhmet.
Sekhmet has given her the spells she knows and has instructed her via her cat-familiar Isis.
She has so far, used her ability to summon cats as a means to help find a missing child and even attack a would-be burglar. Though Sekhmet has mentioned that she has greater plans for Erika.
Erika is currently being watched by several groups, including the OTO, the Rosicrucians, and the One True Way. Each with their own plans for her.
You can get NIGHT SHIFT in print and pdf. You can get The Warlock for Old-School Essentials and The Warlock for Swords & Wizardry in print and pdf.
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Want to see more of the #CharacterCreationChallenge? Stop by Tardis Captain's Blog and the #CharacterCreationChallenge on Twitter for more!
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