Oh! What a Lovely War

Picked up a new book from Troll Lords over the weekend to add to my Castles & Crusades collections. The Book of Familiars is a great book and one I have reviewed in the past.

Makes me wish I had a regular C&C game going.  I added it to a bunch of my other "witch" themed books.

Collecting all my books, games and adventures for the War of the Witch Queens and I am working out a time and a place to set it.  With the release of Dark Albion it occurs to me again that Medieval England would be the best place to start.    I was digging through some of the material I had written for the WitchCraft RPG many years ago under the project title "WitchCraft: The Burning Times" and found just a treasure trove of notes and ideas. But mostly it was essential in putting down a good time for all this.

I am going to opt for the early 17th Century.  While I certainly would have loved to have had Queen Elizabeth in the mix, King James is a better choice.

King James, 1567 - 1625
Gunpowder Plot, 1605
Death of John Dee, 1608  (though I could also stick in Ella Dee)
Pendle witches, 1612
and for reference, Salem, MA Witch Trails, 1693

Though with the inclusion of Baba Yaga and Lamia (Keats and Waterhouse can't be wrong) I will have to expand it to the rest of the world.

It is looking more and more like I am going to have to go with Castles & Crusades for War of the Witch Queens and not Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea like I originally wanted.

Demon Hunter Class for AA (and C&C)

Just in time for Halloween (but I just found it now) Jason Vey has put out a new Demon Hunter class for his SIEGE Engine Amazing Adventures RPG.

http://bit.ly/aafreeclass

While designed for the Pulp-era adventures of Amazing Adventures this class also would work fantastic with Castles and Crusades.

The class is much more "Buffy" than it is "Solomon Kane" but you could do either with it.  Mostly though it reminds me of John Gregory, the Spook, from the "Last Apprentice" book series.

It compares well to the Paladin really, except it doesn't have healing, spells or a special mount. It does have supernatural senses and a special weapon.

Just another reminder that I need to play more Castles & Crusades.

Witch Families

Want to share something I have been working on here and there.  Not all of it is ready for prime time yet.

In my world witchcraft tends to run in families, mostly along the female line, but not exclusively so.  I also have a Tradition of witchcraft known as a Family Tradition.  I thought it might be nice to detail some of the families in my games.

The hardest part about dealing with Family Tradition witches and the rest of world is alignment.  By their nature they tend to be cohesive, large units that work for their own common good.  So it would not be too far out to say they are "Lawful" or even "Good".  But they also tend to disregard laws they feel do not apply to them, so "Chaotic" or even "Evil" would work.  At best they are amoral or have a different set of morality. They are loving to their own members, but can also be cruel and even kill member that don't live up to certain standards.  What I am looking for here is a set of complicated relationships that are not easily defined on an alignment axis.  Groups that can be ally in one moment and an enemy later.

To start I have three major witch families with a fourth as a mystery.

Winters
The Winter family is very, very old. So old in fact that many people believe that the season was named for them. As their name implies their magic comes from the use and application of cold.
In this family only the women can become witches.  Once a girl in the family turns 13 her hair will turn white and this is the sign that she must travel north to train with the ancient Grandmother Winters.  The girls return to the family a year and a day later with the basic knowledge of their family witchcraft.  Once returned they will continue their training with other women in their family.  Each year they all congregate at a location determined by Grandmother Winters, usually one of the larger homes of the family.  The family gathers to begin their celebrations on the Winter Solstice, the height of their power.
The family is common in the northern, colder climes.  They own lots of land, but their homes tend to be more primitive than the local homes. Longhouses are most common. Women are almost exclusively witches, with the occasional priest or even wizard.  Men tend be barbarians, warriors or occasional bard.  They are masters of survival in the cold.   Witches gain the Chill Touch spell for free.
Dark Secrets: The Winters Clan often are associated with darker, colder gods like Chernobog.  Their men are often accused of lycanthropy, mostly as werewolves.
Clan leader: Grandmother Winters
Current PC: Tanith Winters

Mont Blanc
The Mont Blanc family is also very old.  The claim is they came down from a mountain that had been blessed (or cursed) by their gods. The Mont Blanc family on the surface is a rich, philanthropic  family.  They have married into royal families across the lands and many heads of state can claim at least partial relationship to the Mont Blancs.  Not all members have the power of witchcraft, but there is a core family of the "purest blood" that all members are powerful witches, male and female alike.
Theirs in an ancient form of witchcraft passed down through the generations.
What isn't in doubt about the family is that they are rich beyond most kings and queens and likely more powerful.  The current family patriarch is Pierce Mont Blanc, an 80-year-old witch of great power and formidable personality. Though the power is shifting to the young twins Kimbra & Kelleigh.  Their gathering time is Walpurgis Night, the eve of May.
Dark Secrets: The family is the center of dozens of rumors, each darker than the last.  They are believed to worship, even consort with demons.  It is also rumored that they also possess the largest collection of occult books and artifacts in the world.  It is claimed, in more hushed tones, that the family practices selective breeding in their own ranks. Marrying young women off to older men for their fortunes if they have no ability for the craft, or inbreeding those that do show signs to concentrate the power their blood.
Clan leader: Pierce Mont Blanc
Current PCs: Kimbra & Kelleigh, and Katherine Mont Blanc

Caliban
The Caliban family is cursed, so it is said.  They believe to have come from a near human monster that spawned a race of witches known as the Witchbreed.  Unlike the Mont Blancs and the Winters, the Caliban have no lands and no wealth to call they're own.  What they lack in wealth though they make up for in numbers.
While many of the members of the Caliban family can be monsters to look at, each is also well spoken, eloquent and highly intelligent.  They are often accused of being monsters, and some have embraced that role. Some though instead prefer to remain outside of society and away from those that would do them harm.
They appear to be leaderless, but there is a rumor of an ancient hag named Sycorax that rules over them and can call them to her. It is believed they all gather together on Mid-Summer's eve.
Clan leader: Sycorax, mother of Caliban and all his offspring.

There are other, lesser families, in my world as well.
There is a rumor of a fourth large clan, the Gwyddonod, but they were destroyed by the other three.

A Week with Venger Satanis: Liberation of the Demon Slayer

It's the month of Halloween!  Though I understand many people still call it "October".  Fine. Whatever.

I thought this month I would spend some quality time with products that fit the theme of Halloween.  While putting together my list I realized I had a bunch of products from Kortthalis Publishing and +Venger Satanis.  I thought, what the hell, lets make a week of it.

Venger has had an interesting time in the RPG biz.  I remember talking to him shortly after he was banned from RPG.net and we discussed our respective horror games.  He has had a nice rise recently as an OSR publisher and has a few nice titles under his belt.

Lately he has been promoting something he calls O5R, which I have to admit it very clever, or products that can be played with either old-school games and their clones or with the newest 5th edition game.  It is a solid strategy really.  I have demonstrated time and again to myself at least that you can freely mix the two in terms of adventures.  I would imagine that goes even further.

Today though I want to start with one of his first OSR books.

Liberation of the Demon Slayer
I first picked this up near when it was released.  Since then I have considered it a potential entry in my War of the Witch Queens adventure path.

The adventure is six levels and 70 pages.  VS suggests using 3 0-level characters per player and let everything work out, or a large party of 1st level characters.   Nothing is mentioned on how many players, but I am guessing 6 to 8.

There is some background given about the world this adventure lives in.  They are all optional, but it does set the mood for the rest of the book.   I found the bits about Snake-men and elves to be interesting.  The adventure is steeped in a lot of Lovecraftian tropes and we are introduced to some of the "Old Ones" here, albeit with different names.

If you, like me, love eldritch abominations and dark magic then this the adventure for you. The adventure itself "sounds" simple enough. Retrieve a demon killing sword from the caves to stop the demons attack your village. Easy peasy. Trouble is that the author grew up when dungeons-as-meat-grinders were a thing and everyone was afraid the big bad devil was going to get you. This adventure though is closer in tone and danger to the Hanging Coffins of the Vampire Queen than it is to most Lamentations of the Flame Princess products. With the right DM this could be a great and dangerous adventure where the party could live. Sure they could all easily die too. One can read this and imagine that all of the author's games are a bit like it.

Actually I have known the author for a number of years and yeah this is exactly the kind of things I expect in his games. I think the difference here with this adventure and some of his earlier material is there is a maturity here to accept the absurd. This adventure can be played straight or with a dash of dark humor. Think of it as a horror movie, even the scariest have a touch of humor to them; it sets you up for the bigger punch later down the road.

The adventure proper gets going about page 17.  We are treated to rumors, some background, wandering monsters and some maps of the first level.  The maps have been drawn by +Dyson Logos , so you know that these will be interesting.  The feel of the first 4-5 pages of the adventure is really one of pure old-school nostalgia.   The first level is a bit of meat grinder, by design, and there are a lot things going on here that would make the hard-core Gygazian adventure fan happy.  Going back a bit it becomes obvious that the "optional" information above is still rather important since it colors the actions of many of the inhabitants in this dungeon.

As you descend into the dungeon things get weirder and more deadly.  I mean really, really deadly.  Devil lords, liches, vampires, freaking lasers and a nuclear warhead.  Yeah, VS really cut his teeth on the 70s and 80s era gaming.

I want to take a moment to talk about the art. Yes there is a lot gore, nudity and phantasmagorical horror here.   It comes off though more as "Heavy Metal" than say "Hustler".  All I can really say is that it fits the aesthetic of the book.   In truth I had more of an issue with the sci-fi elements (even though there were very good reasons for them to be there) than I had with the nudity.

The demon-slaying sword Kalthalax is an interesting weapon. One that would have a good home in my regular games to be honest and one that is enough of a hook to make me want to find a way to work this adventure in.   Maybe I can make Clavenus a witch instead of a wizard.

In any case there is a lot of fun to be had with this adventure; if you don't mind the occasional casualty.  I think what helps here is while the adventure is a meat grinder, it is done just to rid the party of the weak.  They are expected to survive and tell people the tales of their great adventure.

While VS takes the care to make sure this works with nearly any old-school game (and in the future he fits 5e into that as well), I can't help but think how well this would work with Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.  The background is similar and the elves in Demon Slayer would be a nice addition to AS&SH, which does not have any elves.  Indeed, elves would seem like souless, demon-like monsters compared to humans. At least to humans that have never seen an elf before.   There is a mix of demons, devils and Lovecraftian beasts/gods that somehow feels right for that world. Mixing in AS&SH to this would give you something very, very close to playing akin to Michael Moorcock's world.

Curiously enough in my own games I do have an epic weapon for killing demons. In my current world state this sword is lost and a quest is needed to recover it. Maybe this is what I need. If so then the value of this adventure just increased ten-fold for me. I am going to have to spend some quality time with it and a pencil to see if it can be recrafted into something that fits my world a little better.

However YOU decided to use this adventure I am sure it will be fun.  Maybe deadly fun, but certainly fun.

Assembling the troops...

I'll get back to gods in a bit, but I am assembling all the pieces I need for the War of the Witch Queens.

Some OSR monster books, some rules, a bunch of different adventures. Yes that is a 4e book in the mix too.

Still working out details and having a lot of fun.  If I decide to go to a maximum of 13th level then I am sticking with Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.  If I think it will go higher than that, all the way to 20th level then I want to use Castles & Crusades.

Dark Albion, ad initium

Good weekend for gaming purchases.  I picked some finds at Half-Price books (that I may talk about later) and this was waiting for me when I got home.

I opted for the alternate cover of Dark Albion.  It looked a little cooler on my shelf I thought,

Looks great next to my copy of Fantastic Heroes & Witchery.

Class Struggles: The Dark Druid

I am have a great time here planning out my "War of the Witch Queens" adventures.  My 5th Ed game is running like a well oiled machine and there is nothing I need to plan for it for many more months (I need a high level adventure to cap it off).

This week I finally got a copy of an adventure I have been wanting forever; Dark Druids by Robert J. Kuntz.  It is a real treat and worth the wait and money I paid for it.

I had been researching Irish myths and legends and read about how Liath, Bodhmall, and Finn defeated an enemy known as the Dark Druid. It was quite a fascinating tale and I loved the idea of an evil druid.
I want to talk today about the Dark Druid class, but first a little background.
Many years ago I wrote an adventure for the Buffy RPG called The Dark Druid. Actually it was the first ever published Buffy adventure.   The adventure was a Willow and Tara focused adventure dealing with their past lives, Liath and Bodhmall, Finn MacCool and the Dark Druid "Fer Dorich".

The idea was compelling enough that Irish author Brian O'Sullivan took the same characters and same myths and put his own spin on them in his books the Fionn MacCumhail series.   Like I did he has Liath and Bodhmall as lovers and he even has a Dark Druid, a "Tainted One".  I bring this up because HIS Dark Druid is much cooler than mine.  Mine is simply evil.  His is a perversion of nature.  In gamer circles we might want to describe this in terms of undeath or even Cthulhoid like nastiness.   O'Sullivan is better than that.  His Tainted One radiates a level of "wrongness" that it is noticed my Ban-drui Bodhmall from miles away and even puts fear into the legendarily fearless Liath.
(BTW get his books. They are great!)

Back to my Dark Druid for a bit. The adventure was designed to be a modern tale (thus the Buffy) system.  Part 2 took place in Victorian times as Ghosts of Albion: Blight.  The main enemy was an unnamed necromancer that is imprisoned in a faerie ring.  In publishing it was the necromancer, Lord of Dragons from Ghosts of Albion: Embers.  In my personal games it was the same Dark Druid.
Part 3 was supposed to take place back in Mythic Éire and deal with Liath, Bodhmall, and Finn defeating the Dark Druid for the first time.  Three parts separated by time.   Part 3 was going to be called "All Souls Night" (after the Loreena McKennitt song).   It would have been for *D&D-ish and included the new classes the Dark Druid and the Green Knight.  I did write bits of of it for 3.0 and the Dark Druid and Green Knight live on as Prestige Classes (but I am not going to talk about those today).
I was going to release it, but now I don't have too.
Brian Young gave us the wonderful Codex Celtarum and the adventure Night of the Spirits for Castles & Crusades.  Night of the Spirits does pretty EVERYTHING I wanted to do with All Souls Night.  It even has a Dark Druid.

Dark Druids is a similar adventure. I am not reviewing the adventure yet, but I do want to talk about the class it offers; The Dark Druid.

The class is like the Druid of AD&D source; only this time OSRIC.  It can be any evil alignment or Chaotic Neutral.  This has some logic to it.  The book includes the Dark Druid class and two different sects of Dark Druids.  Dark Druids eschew hierarchies  so there are no "high priests" but many that might claim that title. There are "Dread Hierophants", but that really can be more about power than actual religious hierarchies.   Advancement wise they are like Druids. The only thing I didn't care for was that the Dark Druids are controlled by a demon.  I would think that they are controlled by something older and more evil.  An Eodemon or Urdemon or even some other horror from beyond; something outside of reality.  The book also comes with 42 new spells.  I did not see an OGL statement with any of this.
Given all this The Dark Druid would also make for a great class in Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.

I would avoid giving the Dark Druid too many necromantic spells. Sure he can have some, but that is not their role.  Some of the vivimancer spells from the Complete Vivimancer are a good choice.  Obviously there are some good witch spells as well.

There is a lot of potential for a class concept like this.

Dark Albion meets Mythic Éire

The talk around the ole' Other Side water cooler is still Dark Albion.  No surprises really.

I love the idea of playing in England/Albion. Especially with some dark magic thrown in for good measure.  If I can tie it in with my War of the Witch Queens idea so much the better.

So I was looking over all my Castles & Crusades stuff over the weekend.  Lamenting that I don't get to play it as often as I would like.  I dearly love Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, it has such a cool vibe to it. But I also enjoy Castles & Crusades.   Rumor has it that C&C began as a campaign on Earth. Aihrde is phonetically the same as Erde which is German for Earth.  That being said I also have a couple of adventures I consider to be "must haves" for my next games, Night of the Spirits and A Druid's Lament.
Another strong selling point for C&C is the Codex Celtarum.
I reviewed it a while back and it is still one of my favorite gaming books ever.  There is so much I could use here. Plus the ties with the Faerie world is a must-have in my mind.

Which brings me in a round about way to what are these Witch Queens warring about anyway?  At first I thought maybe it was for control.  But could it be more?  I am hesitant to detail it too much.  I still have a current D&D5 game I need to finish.  Plus I want to keep it a little loose for now. Maybe even a bit "story gamey".  Yes I am that much of jerk to take one of Pundits products and make it into a story game centerpiece.   Well...not really. It's still OSR.

Éire is a idea I have been playing around with since forever I feel. A mythic Ireland, a land of adventure.  The Celtic themed games I usually enjoy tend to skew a bit to the older and colder themes found in AS&SH.

Regardless of which way it goes I do know that there will be an Éire to go with Albion and I am going to have a great time doing it.

PWWO: Dark Albion and War of the Witch Queens

I mentioned previously Dark Albion and Fantastic Heroes & Witchery by their very natures are compatible with a wide variety of games and game supplements.  So doing a "Plays Well With Others" sort of post seems a bit redundant.  But that doesn't mean I can't try something a little more different.

 

One thing I always wanted to do was run a dark age WitchCraft RPG game.  Set in the 1600s it would deal with rival factions of the Gifted fighting each other while Europe descends into the Burning Times.  It struck me how close that idea was some things I was also planning in my War of the Witch Queens adventures.

Reading over Dark Albion I kept thinking that while the Rose War is cool and all but later periods are much more fun.  Setting it in the later later ages, say the Elizabethan or even during the time of King James I, gives another backdrop. During Elizabeth England was very stable, but during James that is gone. 

Take some of the ideas from Dark Albion but advance them to 1580 or so during the reign of King James.  This is also the height of the witch craze in Europe.  This allows me to use William Shakespeare and John Dee.  I might make Dee an Occultist.  Seems right.  Plus I can take the occultist class and make it into a passable Occult Poet.

Another point of commonality is Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. I wanted to use it as a game system for both Dark Albion and my witch adventures.  I think it would work out well.  I need to find locales in "Dark" Europe for all of these adventures.

It would be one of the ultimate tests of the whole OSR ideal. Can products written for different games and different times all work together?

System: Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea and Fantastic Heroes & Witchery (to smooth out the rough edges)

Setting: Dark Albion
Adventures:
A3 Wicked Cauldron (C&C)
B7 - Rahasia (Basic D&D)
Fane of the Witch King (3.0/d20)
Night of the Spirits (C&C)
No Salvation for Witches (LotFP)
Saga of the Witch Queen (DCC)
The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga (AD&D_2e)
The Ruins of Ramat (S&W)
The Stealer of Children (LL)
The Witch Queen's Revenge (Pathfinder)
The Witchwar Legacy (Pathfinder)
The Manor Issue 6 (OSR)
Witch of the Tarriswoods (OSR)
Witches Court Marshes (AD&D_ish)

I might thin this list a bit since I am only dealing with levels 1-13 or so.

The Witches of the Witches' Nest

I get a lot of spam from people telling me about "real magic" and people that can cast spells for me.

Since I have been working on a group of evil/non-good witches I figured make the best of the resources handed to me. These characters have pretty much begged themselves into existence.

The names come from these posts:

• http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2014/06/i-get-best-spam.html
• http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2013/11/spamming-hyperborea.html
• Plus some other unpublished spam that I get fairly frequently

And the idea of the Witches' Nest from this post:

• http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2015/06/more-content-theft-they-stole-my-content.html

They are going to be part of my "War of the Witch Queens" adventure path/campagin.

• http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2015/06/witch-adventures.html
• http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2015/06/saga-of-witch-queen.html

I haven't quite decided on the rule system, so here is a stab at using most of them.

Now I am generally very fond of all the other "OSR" witches, so I would like to present each one below in the most positive light possible. Designing the characters to take advantage of each of the class features in turn.
In each case their prime ability for being a witch or spellcasting is indicated with an asterisk*.

The Witches' Nest

The Witches' Nest, or more simply, The Nest, is a collection evil witches that operate outside of normal lawful society.
They are not above a little thieving of arcane literature, but mostly they will pass off others ideas as their own.  They are con artists, but each one it a powerful witch it their own right.  Their leader is a self-styled "doctor" Logan Zabaza.  Ozigididon is his second in command and in charge of "spiritual" aspects of their cult.    Each witch comes from a different tradition, but all serve the same goals and patron; they are all followers of Mammon.
A typical ruse will be to offer the party help, say magical or healing, to determine what they have and then steal anything that they can.  The prefer magical books over magic items, and magical items over gold. They will still steal gold if that is all that the party has.

Dr. Logan Zabaza
Male Witch, Malefic Tradition 13th level (The Witch)
Chaotic
Logan Zabaza is the defacto leader of the Nest only because he keeps the others in line with fear and intimidation.  He appears as a middle aged man with long black hair and olive complexion.  He prides himself on his looks and always dresses in the highest fashion for the occasion.  He carries a cane that contains his boline knife. He also uses this cane as his focusing implement.

Abilities
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 15*

Hit Points: 30
AC: 6 (talisman of protection)

Occult Powers
Familiar: Raven
7th level:  Evil's Touch
13th level: Devil's Tongue

Spells
Cantrips: Chill, Daze, Detect Curse, Object Reading, Open, Palm
First: Cause Fear, Fey Sight, Ghostly Slashing, Increase Sex Appeal , Sleep
Second: Agony, Blast Shield, Death Armor, Evil Eye
Third: Feral Spirit,Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Tongues
Fourth: Dance Macabre, Intangible Cloak of Shadows, Very goodPhantom Lacerations
Fifth: Death Curse, Dreadful Bloodletting
Sixth: Death Blade, Mass Agony
Seventh:  Wave of Mutilation


High Priestess Ozigididon
Female Witch, Gypsy Tradition, 13th level (Spellcraft & Swordplay: Eldritch Witchery)
Chaotic Evil
Ozigididon was a gypsy priestess until she threw in with Zabaza.  She had been thrown out of her own family due to the darker aspects of magic she prefered and is now making an living as the "spiritual leader" of the Nest.

Abilities
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 15*
Charisma: 11

Hit Points:  35
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
AC: 5 (Ring of Protection +1)

Occult Powers
Familiar: Ancestral Spirit (follower of Mammon)
7th level: Prophesy
13th level: Evil Eye

Spells
First: Bless Growth, Charm Person, Light, Minor Curse, Read Magic, Silver Tongue, Spirit Dart
Second: Augury, Detect Invisible, Discord, Knock, Levitate, Magic Broom
Third: Bestow Curse, Bewitch III, Liar's Curse, Mind Rash, Slow, Wizard Lock
Fourth: Cloudburst, Elemental Armor, Instant Karma, Masque
Fifth: Break Enchantment, Death Curse, Endless Sleep
Coven: Death Blade, Greater Scry

Magic Items
Ring of Protection +1, Dagger +1, Staff of Enchantment


Drodinaka
Female Witch 11th level, Chthonic Tradition (ACKS Players Companion, +Alexander Macris & +Tavis Allison)
Chaotic
Template: Dark Oracle

Drodinaka is a young, attractive woman with long blond hair.  She and Drodu pretend to be sisters since they have similar features.  She often pretends she is an acolyte of some benevolent but unnamed faith.  She often acts as Ozigididon's second in command.

Abilities
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 15*
Charisma: 12*

Hit Points:  28
AC: 4 (Ring of Protection AC 4)
Attack: 7+

Proficiencies: Seduction, Black Lore of Zahar, Prophecy, Performance (Storytelling)

Powers
1st level: Divine spellcasting
3rd level: Brew Potions
5th level: Magic Aura proficiency, Spell research
7th level: Charm Person (1/day), Scribe scrolls
9th level: Create magic items
11th level: craft magical constructs

Spells
First: Detect Undead, Cause fear, cure light wounds, detect magic, light, protection from good, read languages
Second: Spiritual Weapon, augury, bane, choking grip, enthrall, hold person, sleep
Third: Necromantic potence, Alter self, Bestow curse, cause disease, charm person, ESP, Mirror Image
Fourth: animate dead, clairvoyance, chimerical force, dispel magic, fly, nondetection
Fifth: command person, magic carpet, polymorph other, scry, true seeing

Magic Items
Ring of Protection AC 4, Dagger +1


Drogu Dudu
Female Warlock 9th level (Death Lady) (Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, +Jeff Talanian)
Chaotic Evil
Drogu is a little older than her "sister" Drodinaka, but like her she is attractive and has long blonde hair. She dresses the part of a warrior woman from the north but is in reality a stone cold spellcasting killer.  Drogu is the Nest's muscle.

Race: Hyperborean
Secondary Skill: Hunter

Abilities
Strength: 13*
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 15*
Wisdom: 12**
Charisma: 11

Casting Ability: 9
Fighting Ability: 9+1,  Attacks 3/2

Hit Points:  28
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
AC: 5 (leather armor)

Powers
1st level: Read Magic,
Mastery: Sword
4th level: Mastery: Morning Star
8th level: Mastery: Crossbow
9th level: Stronghold (2 apprentice warlocks)

Spells 
First: Black hand, Chill touch, shocking grasp
Second: Danse Macabre, Forest of bones, scythe of the reaper
Third: Exploding skull, infrared vision

Magic Items
Ring of Protection +1, Leather Armor +3, Sword +1/+3 vs. Paladins


Dr.  Ewan Brave
Male Witch 8th level "Secret Keeper" (Complete B/X Adventurer, +Jonathan Becker)
Chaotic
"Dr. Ewan Brave" is the newest member of the Nest.  He has been responsible for finding new and valuable occult tomes.  He keeps back the most powerful for himself.

Abilities
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 16*
Wisdom: 13*
Charisma: 11

Hit Points:  24 (d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
AC: 4 (Ring of Protection +1)

Languages: Common, Elven, Dragon

Special Abilities
1st: Book of Shadows, bind wounds (heal 1d4)
6th: Brew Potions

Spells
Maximum Spell Level: 3rd
Number of Spells known: 24
1st Level (6):  Detect Magic, Foretell, Hex, Read Languages, Speak with Animals, Witch Scribe
2nd Level (9): Cause Fear, Disguise, Eldritch Flame, ESP, Familiar Spirit, Hold Person, Levitate, Locate Object, Remove Fear
3rd Level (9):  Bestow Curse, Confusion, Haste, Hoodoo, Object Read, Speak with Dead, Spectral Knowledge, Wizard Lock


Lord Wakaman 
Male Half-orc Witch 7th level/Thief 7th level  (Adventures Dark & Deep, The Witch, +Joseph Bloch) 
Chaotic Evil

"Lord" Wakaman as he is known to most began life living on the streets of the city, a bastard child of an orc thief and an  underage unwed mother.  His cunning and wits kept him alive when other children would have died.

Abilities
Strength: 12
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 16*
Dexterity: 16 (-1 initiative adj.  -2 to AC)
Constitution: 13
Charisma: (12)

Special Abilities (witch class)
Magic bonus
Spell casting
Create Magic Items
Affect Undead
Bell, Book & Candle
Brew Poison
Call Familiar: Crow
Charisma degradation

Special Abilities (thief class)
Back Stab
Pick Pockets: 55%
Open Locks: 62%
Find and Remove Traps: 55%
Move Silently: 55%
Hide in Shadows: 43%
Listening at Doors: 30%
Climb Walls: 99%
Read Languages: 25%
Thieves' Cant

Special Abilities (race)
Infravision 60'
Languages: Common, Orc, Gnome, Elven

HP: 26
AC: 6 (Bracers)

Spells
First: Affect normal fires, charm person or mammal, control face, direct gaze, push, witch shot
Second: Change self, command, fascinate, misfortune, trip
Third: Bestow curse, fear, hand of glory
Fourth: fiery breath, ill luck
Fifth: improved pass without a trace

The Witch Queen of Summer

Note: I am also submitting this as my entry to the RPG Blog Carnival.  Since the topic of June is Summer, this is a perfect post for me.

I have been reading a lot of adventures of late.  Having a lot of fun even if I don't get a chance to play these (but it is looking more and more like I will!).  So here is what I have so far.

A3 Wicked Cauldron (C&C)
B7 - Rahasia (Basic D&D)
Drmg083 (AD&D_1e)
Fane of the Witch King (3.0/d20)
Irrisen - Land of Eternal Winter (Pathfinder)
Night of the Spirits (C&C)
No Salvation for Witches (LotFP)
Reign of Winter Players Guide (Pathfinder)
Saga of the Witch Queen (DCC)
The Baleful Coven (Pathfinder)
The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga (AD&D_2e)
The Ruins of Ramat (S&W)
The Stealer of Children (LL)
The Witch Queen's Revenge (Pathfinder)
The Witchwar Legacy (Pathfinder)
The_Manor_Issue_6 (OSR)
Witch of the Tarriswoods (OSR)
Witches Court Marshes (AD&D_ish)

So a lot really to work with.

One of the things I noticed right away that there are LOT of Witch Queens associated with winter.   I have talked about Witch Queens many times before.  I even have a Pathfinder/d20/3.x Prestige Class and converted one over from another game.
But the one thing I don't have and what no one seems to have is a Witch Queen of Summer.

Well with Summer coming up this weekend I thought why not cover the Witch Queen of Summer.
Given the adventures above I wanted someone with a bit history, a bit of gravitas and if I can manage it, someone that is a "daughter" of Baba Yaga.

Thankfully everything I need is in Dragon Magazine #83.
This issue featured one of the early versions of Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut as an adventure.   Among other things it also featured two daughters.  Natasha, the evil one, who was also "Tasha" of "Tasha's Hideous Uncontrollable Laughter" fame and "Elena the Fair" a Lawful Good wizard.
If Natasha can become Iggwilv, the Witch Queen of Perrenland then Elena the Fair can become Elena the Witch Queen of Summer.

Of course there are tales of Elena the Fair from Russian folk tales.  I see no reason why those tales can't be true and she still became the Witch Queen of Summer.

Elena the Fair
Witch Queen of Summer
Witch (Daughter of Baba Yaga Tradition) 24th level

Strength:	11		Death Ray, Poison	5
Dexterity:	16		Magic Wands	6
Constitution:	10		Paralysis, Polymorph or Turn to Stone	5
Intelligence:	17		Dragon Breath	8
Wisdom:	17		Rods, Staffs, Spells	7
Charisma:	18

Hit Points: 50
Alignment: Lawful (good)
AC: 1 (Ring of Protection, Garter of Defence)

Occult Powers (Daughter of Baba Yaga Tradition)
Familiar: Mouse
7th level: Kitchen Witchery
13th level: Detect Bloodline
19th level: Boon (instead of Curse)

Spells
Cantrips (7): Alarm Ward, Daze, Detect Curse, Object Reading, Open, Spark, Warm
First (7+2): Bewitch I, Burning Hands, Command, Drowsy, Faerie Fire, Far Sight, Minor Fighting Prowess, Sleep, Handfasting (Ritual)
Second (7+2): Alter Self, Biting Blade, Blast Shield, Ecstasy, Enthrall, Fever, Hold Person, Phantasmal Spirit, Rose Garden
Third (6+2): Astral Sense, Bestow Curse, Cleanse Air, Continual Fire, Feral Spirit, Fly, Mind Rash, Imbue Witch Ball (Ritual)
Fourth (6+1): Air Walk, Betwitch IV, Elemental Armor, Grandmother's Shawl, Moonlit Way, Neutralize Poison, Spiritual Dagger
Fifth (5): Anti-Magic Candle, Bull of Heaven, Dream, Primal Scream, Song of Discord
Sixth (5): Control Weather, Find the Path, Heroes' Feast, Moonbow, True Seeing
Seventh (4):  Ball of Sunshine, Breath of the Goddess, Etherealness, Serpent Garden
Eighth (4): Astral Projection, Creeping Doom, Greater Mislead, Mystic Barrier

As the Queen of Summer one of Elena's duties is to guard the gates of the Summerlands.  This is the afterlife of the Witches and where their spirits go for rest prior to being reincarnated to their next life.

She is also the Protector of Midsummer and sees to it that all witches are protected on the night of Mid-Summers' Eve.

Baba Yaga and the Reign of Winter

I know we are mere days before the start of Summer, but I find my thoughts turning to Winter...
The Reign of Winter to be precise.

Backing up.

I have been doing searches for a couple of adventures or adventure ideas for a couple of different purposes. They have been, for the most part, independent searches. But lately they have grown together and lead me to the same outcome.

Search 1 was/is for a very high level adventure for the Dragonslayers. I wanted something published by TSR. I wanted it to be "old school" but didn't have to be from the 70s or early 80s.  Something like "Throne of Bloodstone" but very specifically NOT that.  I wanted it to be an older module for my own reasons.

Search 2 was/is primarily for more adventures in my so-called "War of the Witch Queens" adventure path/campaign.  The idea was to play through all these witch queen themed adventures to some goal.
These two search lead me to the same end point.  The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga.
It's old. It is part of the "S" series of modules in theory (it is supposed to be S5). It has history.
Plus it deals with the biggest, baddest Witch Queen of them all; Baba Yaga.

Satisfied, I bought the PDF printed it out and put it in a binder with the old Dragon magazine version of the The Dancing Hut and a 4th edition version I bought a while back.  It works perfect as an adventure for the Dragonslayers.

I like the idea that Baba Yaga is in it. I'd also like to work in Iggwilv and maybe Louhi too.

But it got me thinking.  Wasn't there a Pathfinder adventure with Baba Yaga too?
I knew of the Reign of Winter and I thought that maybe the last adventure, The Witch Queen’s Revenge might be a good one to use too.  In the process I also discovered a stand alone (but maybe related) adventure The Witchwar Legacy.

I picked up those three books, but not the first 5 of the Reign of Winter.

Does anyone know if they are any good?  Has anyone played them?

I like the idea behind the adventures, but they are not really something I am looking for.

Plus I would like to fit in all these other adventures too.  I also like the idea that each adventure is from a different game.

Recent purchases

Saga of the Witch Queen

I did not get to go to North Texas RPG con this year.  It is a shame really since there is always something really cool happening.   In the past I have been able to pick up copies of things that were sold there after the fact; Palace of the Vampire Queen comes to mind.  But this year had something really special.  This year +Goodman Games was reprinting +Harley Stroh's "Saga of the Witch Queen" and I had to have a copy.

Thankfully, a good friend and co-worker of 10 years was going.  And look what he brought back for me!

He even got it signed by +Jon Hershberger!

Yeah...that is the kind of friend I have!
Still though, thanks Scot! This is great.

You can read my review of the PDF here,  http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2015/06/witch-adventures.html or here, http://www.rpgnow.com/product_reviews_info.php?affiliate_id=10748&reviews_id=126425&products_id=50480

Now I want to talk about the physical book.

The book is 80 pages and printed on very heavy paper.  It is softcover, but the binding looks good. With the heavy paper and glossy cover I expect this to hold up to wear and tear.  The cover is bound on, so no taking it off to use as a GM screen with maps.  I am glad I have this as a PDF too to print out the maps and the handouts.  I am really, really happy with this module.

NOTE:  I can't get to http://goodman-games.com/ while I am at work (we have a lot of sites blocked) but I bet there are some things that you can download for free for this adventure.

But for my own use, here is a conversion of Kyleth, the Witch Queen using the "Advanced Options" from The Witch.

Lady Kyleth, The Witch Queen
"A slender half-elf with sharp features, midnight hair and icy blue eyes." - Saga of the Witch Queen, p. 19

8th Level Witch (Malefic Tradition)
Female Half-elf, Chaotic Evil

AC Base: 3* (will typically have Death Armor, Elemental Armor and Intangible Cloak of Shadows cast)
Movement 12”
HD 8d6, HP 35
No. of Attacks 1
Damage per Attack 1-6+1/1-8+1 (+1 spear)
Special Attacks spell use,
Special Defenses Infravision, MR 30% resistance to charm and sleep, Regenerate 1 hp extra per day.

STR 7, DEX 16, CON 13, INT 17, WIS 10, CHA 17,

Possessions: bracers of defense AC 5, ring of protection +1, spear +1, nigh hag’s heartstone, Crown
of Sett (see p. 65), Ars Maleficus (her Book of Shadows) (see p. 71).

Occult Powers: 
1st Level: Familiar ("Loki", Imp)
7th Level: Evil's Touch

Witch Spells Known (spells per day: 5/5/3/3 [includes CHA spell bonuses equivalent to
WIS spell bonuses]):
Cantrips: Alarm Ward, Black Flame, Blur, Flare, Inflict Minor Wounds
1st Level: Charm Person, Darkness, Detect Magic, Blindness, Magical Circle Against Evil
2nd Level: Burning Gaze, Death Armor, Identify, Minor Image, Scare
3rd Level: Arctic Grasp, Dispel Magic, Fly
4th Level: Elemental Armor, Emotion, Intangible Cloak of Shadows

Not quite as powerful as her magic-user counterpart in terms of spells.  But that is easily fixed with some scrolls or raise her to 9th level.   In any case this will be fun.

Witch Adventures

I have been looking for some published adventures to use with my Witch class book.  Surprisingly most of the adventures I have been working on don't really feature my witch class.  So here are some I have bought over the years.
Note: I wrote these reviews while watching "Blood Sabbath" from 1972, featuring a really young Anthony Geary prior to his "Luke and Laura" days.  Maybe I can use Alotta, Queen of Witches, from this.

No Salvation for Witches
I picked up this Lamentations of the Flame Princess adventure based partly on the name, how could I refuse? I also bought it because I am a fan of +Rafael Chandler and his Teratic Tome.  While this adventure uses the LotFP rules, it can be easily adapted to just about any OSR/Old School game. It is also set in +James Raggi's pseudo European setting which also makes it easy to convert to just about anything if you don't mind ignoring some of the history presented.
As the title implies, NSFW is not for everyone.  It is no worse or no better in terms of art than anything else in the Lamentations catalog or TT.  I will give Raggi credit, he springs for some quality art.
The adventure itself is weird, bloody and full of body horror.  It is also a race against the clock.  IF you go with the idea that Woolcott is a witch (and not a LotFP magic-user) and evil then the PCs have something to work for.  Otherwise I can't see how the world they create in the end is all that bad?  I am kidding, a little.  For me I think it would be interesting that if in their goodwill to recreate a better world they made it more horrible.
The adventure is a combination of Eurotrash occult horror, Lovecraftian style outsiders and creepy history.  There is also a splash of 80s slasher flick in this.  It is a heady brew of horror tropes in the guise of an adventure. The Tract of Teratology featured in this adventure is almost worth the cover price.   The listed monsters are also really cool and unique.  There is just so much I could do with this.
It can be hard to judge power level of this adventure.  But I am going to say high level at least.
The book is 68 pages with covers, maps and OGL.  It is also full color.
Does it work with The Witch? Yes, but some changes have to be made.  Woolcott is obviously a witch, but is she a Witch?  I think I would have to think about it in terms of how I want to run it and who or what the Primogenitor really is.

Dungeon Crawl Classics: Saga of the Witch Queen

This is a meaty module.  84 pages, covers, maps and OGL still leave a lot of pages for material.
First off, if you are not familiar with Dungeon Crawl Classics modules they are meant to emulate a certain feel of early 80s play.  They went on to create the game Dungeon Crawl Classics, but the adventures are still largely OSR compatible. Actually I didn't see a single thing in this adventure screamed is should be used for one system or the other.
This adventure is actually 3 adventures in one.  Legacy of the Savage Kings, The Lost Passage of the Drow, and War of the Witch Queen.  Each one is a different part of the Witch Queen's plan.
Reading through this adventure is one part excitement for the new and one part excitement for the nostalgia.  For the new, I wanted to learn more about Kyleth (the eponymous Witch Queen) and the tome Ars Maleficus.  The nostalgia comes from many little easter eggs through out the pages that call back to adventures of the TSR-days.  I am convinced the Mad Hermit here is the same as the one in the Keep on the Borderland for example.  There are also hints of influences from Vault of the Drow, Ravenloft, and even the rest of the GDQ series.  In fact the second adventure, "The Lost Passage of the Drow" could be slotted into the D series and no one would be the wiser.   Replace Baba Yazoth with the proper Baba Yaga and have one of the many adventures she features in as a side trek.
There are a number of named characters that would work well as witches, Maeve, Baba Yazoth and of course Kyleth herself.   While using the title of "Witch Queen" Kyleth is only an 8th level Magic-user.  Make her a 9th or 10th level witch and then you have something really scary.
Does it work with The Witch? Yes, absolutely.  There are number of great items and story points in this adventure for any witch character.  In fact I would say that any good witch would want to see Kyleth taken out on general principle.  Plus there are a number of encounters and NPCs that would benefit from the rules in the Witch.  Night Hags get more spell casting powers for example and the medusa can also have some levels of witch.
Of course there is the one issue of Kyleth being one of The Thirteen. The Thirteen most evil wizards, witches and necromancers in the world.  She was the newest member, who are the other 12 and what are their plans?  Anyone up for an adventure against the Legion of Doom?  I might have to come back to this idea. I can see witches, vivamancers, blood mages, evil wizards, and necromancers part of this evil cabal. Each providing something different.
Seriously, there is so much fun stuff here I can't wait to try it out.

The Evil of Witches Fen
This adventure is really more of hex-sandbox.  It is two pages and the central conceit is the characters are stranded here till the next boat arrives so they might as well figure out why the place is dying.  There are some suggested quests and some points of interest.  There are a couple of witches mentioned.  The Gray Lady is the spectre of an old witch. She is also a quest. Dispatch her to help bring the area back from extinction.   There is also the remains of a witch cult.  They are not described in any detail.
This is a pay what you want product, then by all mean plop down a buck for it.  At two pages (no title page or ogl) there is a still a lot here.  You can find out more at the author's website: http://games.taskboy.com/#tbg-b
Does it work with The Witch? Yes. Only in teh respect that the adventure has so little detail that it works with anything.  Now for some people this is perfect. Indeed I can see a number of sessions based on these two pages alone.  You can drop it into any game as a break from the regular campaign.  But if you want more meat to your module then this might not be for you.

The Witch of the Tarriswoods
A 24 page OSR adventure (2 covers, toc, ogl, 3 maps).  It's a good adventure of the "there is something strange going on in the woods, let's investigate!" type.  The hazards make this more of a challenge for 3-7 level characters instead of say 1-3.  That is fine really. I would use this to lull seasoned players into a false sense of security and then show them there are still dangers to be had in simple settings.  This is the perfect adventure for say a lazy afternoon. You can drop it nearly anywhere in your world.  Our main bad guygal is Llorona, Witch of the Tarriswoods.  She is a 5th level magic-user.
There are also some new monsters in this that are a lot of fun.
Does it work with The Witch? Yes. I say change Llorona to a 5th or 6th level witch and give her some more spells. Given her name, dress her in blue and white gowns and focus on water-based spells.  change the "wizard staff" to a trident or tined fork.  This would make her much more of a threat.

The Ruins of Ramat (S&W)
This one is for Swords & Wizardry, but can be played in any OSR game really.
14 pages, 2 mapes, cover, ogl.  This is the S&W conversion of the Castles & Crusades adventure.
The adventure is a good introductory adventure for players and low level characters.  It is a simple two level dungeon that used to be the home of an evil cult. So there are a lot of undead and some demonic powers here.  The catacombs are supposed to be filled with treasure according to legends.
Given that this all takes place on "Witch Hill" I would want to expand its history a bit to say more about the cults that were there.  I would make the cult a coven of witches.
What I think works best about this module is not only can it be located anywhere, but it can even be located under anything in another adventure.  A little tinkering and suddenly I have "The Ruins on Witch Hill".
Does it work with The Witch? Well. There are no witches in this.  So unless I want to make an active cult there (and that is really a good idea) then there is not much to add from my book.  Save for some magic items and scrolls with ancient spells.

Witches Court Marshes (1982)
When I first got this years ago, but long after I had moved away from AD&D 2nd ed, I was not that impressed. Now looking back at it, it has a certain charm and it does better than my memory of it. The Witch class is a sub-class of Magic-User, but the experience for each level is much lower that I have seen for other witches. There are plenty of new spells and in true old-school fashion some classes and monsters are completely immune to the witch's power/spells.
In addition to all of this there is a marsh that is the home to many evil witches. Given how JG used to write the adventures it can be converted to a lot of systems with ease.
Does it work with The Witch? For the most part yes. While this book was not an influence on my writing of the witch class it does have similar DNA.  That is to say the feel of this book and the time it was published was something I sought to emulate in my own witch.  The classes themselves are not really compatible save that the witch in most cases is compatible with a wizard.
The adventure is certainly usable by today's OSR games.

The Manor, Issue #6
Ah.  Now this one is an interesting case. It does have an adventure and specifically designed to use my witch.  "Witches of the Dark Moon" is a great little one-shot written by +Tim Shorts himself using a lot of elements he had at his disposal. This includes using my own Witch Class for the witches. You don't need my book to play this, but it does add a little extra to the mix.
Does it work with The Witch? Completely.

Adventure Path/Campaign: War of the Witch Queens?
I wonder if I have enough here to make an adventure path/campaign to go after the evil witches in the world, while at the same time protecting the good witches? (hey, I have my biases).  Plus there are an inordinate number of marsh and swamp related locales here.

• Witches of the Dark Moon (The Manor #6): Low level
• Ruins of Remat: Low level
• The Evil in Witches Fen: 4th to 7th
• Dungeon Crawl Classics: Saga of the Witch Queen
• Legacy of the Savage Kings: 4th to 6th
• The Lost Passage of the Drow: 6th to 8th
• War of the Witch Queen: 7th to 9th
• Witches Court Marshes: High Level
• No Salvation for Witches: Finale

I am thinking that running these under B/X D&D, Adventurer Conqueror King or Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea and capping the levels at 13.

Could be a lot of fun.

Castles & Crusades: Into the Woods...of sorts

So this past weekend I ran a quick version of Castles & Crusades using some ideas from the Codex Celtarum.  The idea was that the characters are on the edge of the Faerie lands/Fae/Feywilds.

It occurs to me that I have been building up to this game for years really.


Allies and Enemies

• Elvyra Queen of Witches, a potential high level NPC
• Skylla, a good enemy for the PCs.
• Castles and Crusades: Liath and Bodhmall, allies.
• Maleficent, just cause.

Races

• Goblins
• Gypsy Elves

Ans of course, Witches

• Castles & Crusades Witch
• Heroes of the Feywild: The Witch
• Nothing Like The Sun...

I am sure there are some good adventures I could adapt and I have plenty of my own too.  It would be nice to run "All Souls Night" for a new group; heck I could even re-purpose The Dark Druid for this.

This could be a lot of fun.

A to Z of Witches. Q

Q is for Queen of Witches

I have talked about and around the Queen of Witches many times here.  It is one concept that you will see in almost all my games.  I have talked about it for Basic D&D, Ghosts of Albion/Buffy and even 3rd Ed/Pathfinder.  I even began this challenge with Aradia, the first Queen of Witches.

But what is a Witch Queen or a Queen of Witches?

In my games the Witch Queen is the most powerful witch of any given tradition. She would control many covens and their leaders, the high priestesses, report to the Queen and her Court.

The last season of American Horror Story: Coven gave us an idea of what Queen of the Witches would be like.  We had a Witch Queen, called a Supreme, and a Voodoo Queen.  It certainly gave me some ideas of what could happen when rival queens interact.

One point I have made in my books, but never really elaborated on was the fact that there is only one Queen of Witches per Tradition.  With magics like longevity and Timeless Body a powerful Witch Queen can reign forever...or at least a really long time.

I would say in traditions that are closer to nature, Craft of the Wise and Classical, the Witch Queen steps down after a number of years in favor of younger sharper minds.  In evil traditions, like the Demonic, Mara or Malefic I would say the Witch Queen is usually killed.  Other traditions might vary. I can see a Family or Gypsy Tradition doing either, depends on what they need.

I came up with the idea of a Queen of Witches from a lot of different places.  Most obvious was the well trod ground (for me) of the Sisterhood of Karn.  They were Gallifreyians! They were witches! Perfect really.

A member of the witch court and her Queen

I also thought Witch Queen had a nice sound to it.  Clerics had already laid claim to High Priest/ess so I felt something different was needed.  Plus there were already Faerie Queens and courts and Vampire Queens, it made sense.
Plus I was doing most of this writing in the 80s so this had some influence as well:

This was the hot stuff back in 81!

I have a few Witch Queens detailed out.  Interestingly enough my Witch Queen for the Voodoo witches is a Witch King, a character I have been using for years, Bone Man.  He is not a particularly nice guy, but as a character I really like him.
Another character familiar to Greyhawk fans is Iggwilv she is the Queen of the Demonic Witches and maybe one of the more powerful Queens in my game.  I think as a nod of respect to Vince Garcia and his Quest of the Ancients I might name my Queen of the Faerie Witches, Elvyra.




Supernatural AtoZ