Wasted Lands: Nymwen the Necromancer

 A while back, I posted B/X-OSE stats for the wonderful Morelia the Wood Witch. An "adoptable" NPC from the equally wonderful Ginny Di. With the release of the nonhuman species rules for The Wasted Lands, I thought I might revisit her. BUT while re-reviewing it all, I figured out two things. 1.) I really like Morelia, where I have her now.  And 2.) One of her other characters Nymwen would be much more fun to have in the Dreaming Age!

Nymwen the Necromancer, courtesy of Ginny Di

You can read all about Nymwen on Ginny's World Anvil site. You can also watch her introduction video here:

And Nymwen on her own:

She is a Necromancer and a Sage, so honestly, she would fit right into my notion of Wasted Lands as D&D.

Nonhuman species get a level in their species first and then choose to move on to a class. This gives them abilities that many here would largely expect. 

Nymwen here is a High Elf. She was born and High Elf and was raised as a High Elf, so she takes full advantage of these sorts of rules. So she gains the following.

Vitality Die: d6 (at "first level" only)
Saves: +1 to Persona, +1 to Agility, and +2 to mind-affecting spells 
Senses: Elves are Nightsighted.

She also gains a free 1st level spell.

In Ginny's D&D (Di&Di?) worlds, Nymwen is a cleric with a penchant for Necromancy but is described as a Sage. Here she can do both.  Ginny has her at level 12 and may be a potential villain/adversary. I am going to put her at level 6 and see where she goes. 

Nymwen the Necromancer

Class: Sage
Level: 6
Species: Elf (High)
Alignment: True Neutral
Background: Sage, Occultist

Abilities
Strength: 12 (+0) 
Agility: 13 (+1)  
Toughness: 14 (+1) N
Intelligence: 17 (+2) A
Wits: 16 (+1) N
Persona: 15 (+1) 

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: None 10
Vitality: 25 (d6)
Degeneracy: None (yet, outside of Alignment)
Corruption: None

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+2/+1
Melee Bonus: +2 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Saves: +1 to Persona, +1 to Agility, and +2 to mind-affecting spells (Elf), +4 to saves vs. Magical Effects (Sage)

Sage Abilities

Languages (17), Lore (75%), Mesmerize Others (60%), Suggestion, Renegade Skills, Spells, Read Languages

Renegade Skills

Hide in Shadows: 40%
Open Locks: 45%
Bypass Traps: 40%
Sleight of Hand: 50%

Necromancer Abilities (from Divine Touchstone)

Channel the Dead (30%), See Dead People, Summon the Dead (35%), Command Spirits, Protection from Spirits, Death Knell, Suggestion (Spirits)

Spells
1st Level: Mystical Senses (Elf), Protection from Evil, Read Languages, Chill Ray (DT)
2nd Level: Eternal Flame, Zone of Protection vs. Evil
3rd Level: Dispel Magic

Divine Touchstones
Level 1: 
Level 2: 1st level Spell
Level 3: Level 1 of Necromancer
Level 4: 
Level 5: Level 2 of Necromancer
Level 6: Level 3 of Necromancer

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Death, Love

Nymwen can be a figure of tragic love or one of obsession (Ayana). I'll have to see what happens with her as she grows in level. 

Notes on Wasted Lands D&D

The Divine (called here "Heroic") touchstones, allow the character a bit more flair and a bit more power. 

I have not worked out how many Heroic/Divine Archetypes would be right for a D&D style game. If it is 5e I am emulating, then maybe one every level or two every three (like above). One every other level might also be good. One every third level for older style play or even none at all.

Also, if I am going to keep the Divine/Heroic touchstones I think I will also keep the Degeneracy and Corruption rules. It help balance it all out and reinforces the idea that power has a price. 

This will al be fun to figure out.

The outstanding feature here is that with all the rules options in place in O.G.R.E.S., The Wasted Lands RPG is a Rosetta Stone of D&D and ORD games. A game system where anything can be easily added.

As always, thank you to Ginny Di for giving everyone such a great character to play with! 

Please check out and back the Wasted Lands Kickstarter.

Nymwen's Links

• World Anvil: Nymwen
• Get her mini
• See the mini painted here
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Her Pateron

Wasted Lands: Larina Nix

 If I am going to try to convert my D&D games over to Wasted Lands, then it only makes sense to try to convert my witch Larina. 

I have already converted her modern incarnation to NIGHT SHIFT, which is the one I am happiest with. But Wasted Lands has a lot to offer, and I want to see what she can do here.

In this case I want to convert her AS&D 1st Edition version to Wasted Lands, though it will not be a 1 to 1 conversion. Instead, I will convert her concept. Also, this will not be a conversion of her NIGHT SHIFT stats. They will be similar, to be sure, but I want to rebuild her from the ground up.

I always imagine that the various versions of Larina were all in some way different aspects of the same character or even past lives. One thing I have never, to date, figured out was who was the very first (game world chronology) Larina.  It makes sense then to base this build on the first Larina (real-world chronology) from AD&D 1st Edition.

This would be that very first one. Maybe not the first witch in the world (that is a bit presumptuous even for me), but certainly the first one in her line. 

Larina Nix

Class: Sorceress (Persona Aspected)
Level: 16 
XP: 2,741,986
Species: Human (Avian heritage)
Alignment: Neutral-Light
Background: Sage

Abilities
Strength: 9 (+0) 
Agility: 11 (+0)  
Toughness: 12 (+1) 
Intelligence: 17 (+2) N
Wits: 16 (+2) N
Persona: 18 (+3) A

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: 7
Vitality: 33 (d4)
Degeneracy: 14
Corruption: 3

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +7/+5/+3
Melee Bonus: +3 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +6 vs magical effect

Arcane Abilities
Arcana, Spellcasting (140% base + bonus)

Sage Abilities

Languages (17), Lore (37%), Mesmerize Others (20%), Suggestion, Renegade Skills, Spells, Read Languages

Renegade Skills

Hide in Shadows: 20%
Open Locks: 15%
Bypass Traps: 10%
Sleight of Hand: 20%

Spells
1st Level: Black Flames, Arcane Darts, Mystical Senses, Night Vision, Chill Ray, Read Languages (Sage)
2nd Level: Beguile Person, See Invisible, Locator Spell: Objects, Magic Lock, Levitate
3rd Level: Clairvoyance, Globe of Darkness, Concussive Blast, Dark Lightning
4th Level: All-seeing Invisible Eye, Befuddlement, Protection against the Deeper Dark, Hop and Skip
5th Level: Convert Stone to Mud, Passageway, Shadow Armor, Dominate Other
6th Level: Dispel Evil, Invisible Servant, Enchant Item
7th Level: Ball of Sunshine, Wave of Mutilation, Widdershins Dance
8th Level: Animosity/Affinity, Wail of the Banshee

Arcane Powers
Level 1: Telekinesis 
Level 4: Beguile 
Level 7: Empathy
Level 10: Precognition
Level 13: Psychic Power: ESP
Level 16: Shadow Walking

Divine Touchstones
Level 1: Sense Magic
Level 2: 
Level 3: Bonus to Spellcasting (+10%)
Level 4: 
Level 5: 
Level 6: Level 1 of Sage
Level 7: 
Level 8: 
Level 9: Spirit Guide (Nightbird) 
Level 10: 
Level 11: Glamour
Level 12: 
Level 13: Magical Recovery
Level 14: Level 2 of Sage
Level 15: 
Level 16: 2 Level Ones: Arcane Power: Astral Projection. Psychic Power: Bio-feedback

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Witchcraft, Occultism

Gear
Staff, dagger, ring of protection

Why this Build is Important to Me

AD&D Larina was a very special character for me. I rolled her up as a "Magic-user" with the goal of playing her as a witch. We used our new method of rolling up psionic abilities and she ended up with psychic powers. I thought this was great. Later the infamous Dragon #114 came out, and I converted her to a proper witch. She kept her level of Magic-user (Dual classing), and we said it was because, as a witch, she was pretending to be a wizard so as not to get caught being a witch.

As the game progressed, she became less the magical powerhouse I envisioned back then and more the group's sage, occult expert, and polyglot. So when it came time to level her up I took the spells that gave her more social and mental power/aspects. If the choice was to take a power/spell/magic item that gave a blasty power OR say, learn a new language, then I always took the language.  

For me, the Wasted Lands rules had to capture what happened by happenstance in 1986. Her odd combination of magic-user, psychic, sage, and witch.

I was able to replicate the feel of that AD&D 1st Edition Character rather perfectly, I think. She even has a bit of corruption to cover her, occasionally dipping her toes (sometimes a whole foot) into dark magic. In AD&D, I covered this by having her eyes change color and would replicate in other ways in other games.

Please check out and back the Wasted Lands Kickstarter in its final week!

Wasted Lands: Melissa Belladonna

Our weekend Fifth Edition D&D games are slowly sliding over into the Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age RPG. We have been able to pivot so well because a lot of what we have been doing in D&D 5 comes from the same roots that you find in the Wasted Lands.  But there is one thing the Wasted Lands doesn't do out of the box that many of the D&D 5e players love, and that is to play non-human characters. 

That is until now.

If you are a backer, you already got the preview of nonhuman species so you can play the likes of an Elf, Dwarf or other stranger things. This is one of the key D&D experiences, and it is a welcome addition for those who want them. The rules addition from Jason includes the expected ones; elves, dwarves, gnomes and the like. But D&D 5 is full of all sorts of species to play. Can you do that in WL?

Yes.

Keep in mind one very, very important thing about the "humans" in the Wasted Lands. They are not really humans at all. They are proto-humans, proto in the sense that they very well might look like us but they were created by the Old Ones as sort of a "rough draft" of humans. So they could have ancestry from just about anything to be honest. Birds, reptiles, snakes, and yes, primates. The changes are largely cosmetic and immaterial to a group of mortals fighting evil elder things from beyond the stars. So adding an elf, dwarf or even dragonborn is really trivial.

Today I want to try a tiefling. Not just any tiefling, though. 

It dawned on me a couple weeks back that I do not have a tiefling character to call my own. I still didn't but needed an NPC to fill a certain role.  Enter Melissa Belladonna. 

Melissa is a tiefling Artificer that runs an alchemist shop. You can follow her exploits on Twitter and Twitch (links below). But I was thinking here is a good character to try out. She has a 5e class. She is a tiefling. And she serves a role I needed of an alchemist. Plus, she is fun, and NPCs should be fun.

The party got to meet up with her, and she was great. I had more planned, but they had other things to do (and tacos were done).  But she will certainly be back.  Here is how I did her for the Wasted Lands.

Part of her background is should used to pretend to be human and used a glamour. That still works here, to be honest. There are demons in the Wasted Lands, so it is possible that there is an offspring of a demon and human that is also good. 

Melissa Belladonna

Class: Sage
Level: 17
Species: Tiefling (Mammon heritage)
Alignment: Neutral Good (Twilight Good)
Background: Sage, Alchemist

Abilities
Strength: 14 (+1) 
Agility: 12 (+0)  
Toughness: 14 (+1) 
Intelligence: 18 (+3) A
Wits: 15 (+1) N
Persona: 17 (+2) N

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: None 10
Vitality: 60 (d6)
Degeneracy: None
Corruption: None

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +7/+5/+3
Melee Bonus: +5 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +5 (base)
Saves: +1 Fire-based effects, +1 to Magical-effects (Tiefling), +7 to saves vs. Magical Effects (Sage)

Sage Abilities

Languages (18), Lore (188%)*, Mesmerize Others (170%)*, Suggestion, Renegade Skills, Spells, Read Languages

Renegade Skills

Hide in Shadows: 95%
Open Locks: 90%
Bypass Traps: 100%
Sleight of Hand: 100%

Spells
1st Level: Mystical Senses (Tiefling), Beast Speech, Glamour, Read Languages, Restore/Drain Vitality, Summon Familiar (Perry, a Raven)
2nd Level: Create Water, Eternal Flame, Invisibility, Subtle Influence, Zone of Honesty
3rd Level: Anti-toxin, Dispel Magic, Remove Curse, Slow, Zone of Protection from Evil
4th Level: Befuddlement, Conjure Fire, Kiss of the Succubus

Divine Touchstones
Level 1: 
Level 2: Arcane Ability: Enhanced Senses
Level 3: 
Level 4: Luck benefit (1d6)
Level 5: 
Level 6: "Spirit Guide" Her cauldron homunculus. 
Level 7: 
Level 8: Magical Recovery
Level 9: 
Level 10: 3rd level spell: Conjure Fireworks
Level 11: 
Level 12: Glamour at will
Level 13: 
Level 14: Slow aging
Level 15: 
Level 16: Signature Item: Cauldron
Level 17:

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Sage, Occultism, Dragons

Here lore skill covers her alchemy and artificer skills. She is also widely regarded as an expert on dragons, having conducted extensive field work on studying them for years.

Thank you to Melissa Belladonna for letting me borrow such a great character to play with! Everyone loved her.

Melissa's Links

• Carrd.co links
• Twitter
• Twitter Art, #ArtMelissa
• Twitter Lewd Art, #Lewdlissa (NSFW)
• Twitch
• Discord
• Merchandise 
• Mini with homunculus servant
• Printed
• STL

Please check out and back the Wasted Lands Kickstarter.

Adopt this NPC! Doreen, the Goblin Girl

 Going to try something a little different this week and hopefully fun!

I want to introduce you all to a new character, Doreen the goblin witch and her toad familiar Toad-O!

Doreen by Daniel Brannan

What do I know about her? Not much! But here is what I have so far.

- She is a young goblin and is very curious about EVERYTHING

- She is a witch, and her magic started when she discovered she could speak to frogs and toads.

- Her goblin clan is not really evil, per se, but they are a rather chaotic neutral lot.

- She lives in "The Goblin Wood." Called that by the local humans or just "The Little Forest" by the goblins. 

- She is fascinated with (and a little scared of) Elves.

And that is the extent of what I have figured out. So I thought it might be fun to try her out as an "Adoptable NPC."

Much in the same spirit as Jenny Everywhere, you take little Doreen here and remix her or do what you like. I am really curious to see what is everyone can do with her.

So make art, make stats, make whatever you like and your details are still 100% your own to use. I am giving her away and hope she finds some good homes. After all she is not a bad little goblin girl. 

I am planning on having something up for her on Wednesday.

So show me what you got!

Wasted Lands Playtest: Superheroes in the Dreaming Age, Part 6 The Mistress of Magic

Do you know what today is? Well, yes, it is the last of my superheroes for Wasted Lands, but is it also a Zatannurday! Have not done one of these in a very long time. So lets end this exploration right with someone really powerful.

Today I cover the Mistress of Magic. She is a scion of a magical lineage and has worked out ways to do magic with little corruption. It makes her spellcasting more difficult but keeps her from going mad. Or evil. Or both.

The Mistress of Magic

Class: Sorceress
Level: 20
Species: Human
Alignment: Light Good
Background: Magical student and adept

Abilities
Strength: 13 (+1) 
Agility: 13 (+1) 
Toughness: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 20 (+4) A
Wits: 16 (+2) N
Persona: 18 (+3) N

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: None 10
Vitality: 52 (d4)
Degeneracy: 
Corruption: 

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +8/+6/+4
Melee Bonus: +6 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +6 (base)
Saves: +7 vs. Spells and Magical Effects

Sorcerer Abilities
Spells, Arcana, Arcane Powers

Arcane Powers: Astral Projection, Beguile, Enhanced Senses, Polymath (Sage Lore), Precognition, Telekinesis, Psychic Ability: Domination

Spells
1st Level: Arcane Darts, Chill Ray, Command, Create Light, Glamour, Read Languages
2nd Level: Beguile Person, Conjure Flame, Invisibility, Levitate, Magic Lock
3rd Level: Blinding Speed, Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic, Protection from Normal Missiles, Zone of Protection against Evil
4th Level: All-seeing Invisible Eye, Conjure Fire, Globe of Daylight, Illusory Landscape, Protection against the Deeper Dark
5th Level: Commune with Deeper Dark, Elemental Wall, Passage Way, Teleport
6th Level: Destroy Undead, Dispel Evil, Invisible Servant, Shadow Duplicate
7th Level: Ball of Sunshine, Create Catatonia, Precognition, Wave of Mutilation
8th Level: Animosity/Affinity, Mind Shield, Wail of the Banshee
9th Level: Astral Projection, Breath of the Goddess, Feedback Barrier

Divine Touchstones
Level 1: Sense Magic
Level 2:  
Level 3: Psychic Ability: ESP
Level 4: 
Level 5: Fly
Level 6: 
Level 7: Magical Recovery
Level 8: 
Level 9: Ability Increase: Intelligence
Level 10:
Level 11: Spell Resistance: 20%
Level 12:
Level 13: Reroll Saves: Poison or Disease
Level 14:
Level 15: Persistent Luck
Level 16:
Level 17: Heal Corruption
Level 18:
Level 19: Time Slip
Level 20:

Superhero (Divine) Archetype: Magic

The Divine Touchstones are really what separated the normal people from the heroes and the heroes from the legends. 

And there is my Justice League of the Dreaming Age!

Please check out and back the Wasted Lands Kickstarter.

Wasted Lands Playtest: Superheroes in the Dreaming Age, Part 5 The Occult Detective

 The Dreaming Age is an age filled with magic. Dangerous to both the wielder and those around them, the magic is the leftovers of the Deeper Dark; an aberration of a time when the Old Ones walked this Earth. Magic is dangerous, seriously deadly, and ultimately corrupting. It should only be handled by the most serious and dedicated of practitioners. 

And then there is this arsehole.

The Occult Detective is the guy who has a little bit of knowledge, a little bit of magic, a little bit of luck, and a whole lot of bad choices.

He is obviously modeled after John Constantine, but his type ends up in all sorts of horror-related media. It makes him perfect for the world of the Wasted Lands.

The Occult Detective

Class: Sage
Level: 9
Species: Human
Alignment: Twilight Neutral
Background: Con-man, Occultist

Abilities
Strength: 12 (+0) 
Agility: 13 (+1) 
Toughness: 14 (+1) 
Intelligence: 16 (+2) A
Wits: 15 (+1) N
Persona: 16 (+2) N

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: None 10
Vitality: 36 (d6)
Degeneracy: Uncomfortable Aura
Corruption: 5

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +3 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +5 vs. Spells and Magical Effects

Sage Abilities

Languages (16), Lore, Mesmerize Others, Suggestion, Renegade Skills, Spells, Read Languages

Renegade Skills

Open Locks: 55%
Bypass Traps: 50%
Sleight of Hand: 60%
Sneak: 60%

Spells
1st Level: Chill Ray, Command, Obfuscation, Protection from Evil
2nd Level: Conjure Flame, Invisibility, Subtle Influence
3rd Level: Clairvoyance, Globe of Darkness, Zone of Protection from Undead
4th Level: Conjure Fire

Divine Touchstones
Level 1: Arcane Power: Mystical Senses
Level 2:  Level 1 Sorcerer: (Arcane Power Attack Supernatural)
Level 3: Hedge Mage
Level 4: 
Level 5: Psychic Power: Photokinetics
Level 6: Psychic Power: Telekinetics
Level 7: Arcane Power: Exorcist
Level 8: 
Level 9: Astral Projection

Superhero (Divine) Archetype: Occult

The Divine Touchstones are really what separated the normal people from the heroes and the heroes from the legends. 

Damn. Now I want this character moved over to NIGHT SHIFT.

Please check out and back the Wasted Lands Kickstarter.

Wasted Lands Playtest: Superheroes in the Dreaming Age, Part 4 The Demon's Daughter

Okay, let us scale things down a bit and see what we can do with some mystical characters and some that are not super-powerful. At least not yet.

Another concept that comes up is the Demon Spawn that tries to do good. These characters often appear in comics with magic as a theme and they are a great choice for a Wasted Lands game since there is likely to be a lot more interaction with demons. 

This character could be a lot of different things, and "demon" might even be an alien, say in the case of Karolina Dean from Marvel's Runaways. But my example here will be borrowing heavily from DC's Teen Titan, Raven.

Now there are a lot of ways to do Raven. We have Psychics, Sorcerers, and even Necromancers. But Raven's primary powers come from her empathic abilities and astral projection with some spells. So I am going with Psychic for her here.

The Demon's Daughter

Class: Psychic (Persona Aspect)
Level: 6
Species: Human-Demon
Alignment: Twilight Good
Background: Student

Abilities
Strength: 12 (+0) 
Agility: 13 (+1) 
Toughness: 14 (+1) 
Intelligence: 15 (+1) N
Wits: 15 (+1) N
Persona: 17 (+2) A

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: None 10
Vitality: 30 (d6)
Degeneracy: 
Corruption: Unnatural Parlor

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+2/+0
Melee Bonus: +2 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Saves: +3 to Persona based saves

Psychic Powers

Supernatural Attacks, Sixth Sense, Empathy, Psychokinesis (Telekinesis, 2d6+1), Temporal Sense, Shadow Walking, Astral Projection

Superhero (Divine) Archetype: Rebilous Child of older God/Demon

Divine Touchstones
Level 1: Mystical Senses (as Sorcerer spell)
Level 2:  
Level 3: Additional Movement: Fly
Level 4: 
Level 5: First-level Sorcerer
Level 6: 

Spells
1st Level: Protection from Evil

The Divine Touchstones are really what separated the normal people from the heroes and the heroes from the legends. You likely will not use all of these on one character. I'll have some less-super examples coming up.

She has fewer to reflect that she is still just a teen or young adult. This also more likely the speed in which people will want to hand out the Divine Touchstones. 

Please check out and back the Wasted Lands Kickstarter.

Wasted Lands Playtest: Superheroes in the Dreaming Age, Part 3 The Paragon

 We are working our way up the power scale to tackle the Paragon. Now this guy (or gal) has Power, with a capital P. They are also a favorite of late for deconstruction or alternate attempts (The Boys, Brightburn) but I am not interested in that right now. I am interested in the one that has power, great power even, and wants to use it for the right things. But this is also the Dreaming Age, and life is pretty rough and dangerous. The Paragon of this world and time will also need to be a little rougher around the edges.

In D&D, they would be a paladin or some other knight in shining armor. They are the bright reflection of the Dark Avenger. Thankfully they both have the Amazon Warrior Princess to help balance them out.  One of many reasons why this unlikely trio works so well together.

The Paragon

Class: Warrior
Level: 14
Species: Human
Alignment: Light Good
Background: 

Abilities
Strength: 22 (+5) A
Agility: 17 (+3) 
Toughness: 17 (+2) N
Intelligence: 15 (+1) 
Wits: 15 (+1)
Persona: 16 (+2) N

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: Plate (7)
Vitality: 75 (d8)
Degeneracy: None
Corruption: None

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +5 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +5 to all saves

Warrior Skills

Combat Expertise, Improved Defense, Increased Damage, Melee Combat, Master of Battle (90%), Ranged Combat, Spell Resistance (36%), Supernatural Attacks (Melee), Tracking, Extra Attack (x4)

Improve Defense: -4

Superhero (Divine) Archetype: Justice, Hope

Divine Touchstones
Level 1: Mystical Senses (as Sorcerer spell)
Level 2: +1 to combat rolls
Level 3: Additional Movement: Fly
Level 4: Increased Ability Score (Strength +2)
Level 5: Divine Smite 
Level 6: Gout of Flame (as Sorcerer spell), as Heat Vision (unique mode of attack)
Level 7: Divine Aura
Level 8: Damage Immunity from missile fire
Level 9:  Increased Ability Score (Strength +2)
Level 10: Half Damage from Mundane slashing
Level 11: Chill Breath (as Ray of Frost Sorcerer spell)
Level 12: Unique Attack, Heat Vision 60' line
Level 13: Down But Not Out
Level 14: Divine Recovery

The Divine Touchstones are really what separated the normal people from the heroes and the heroes from the legends. You likely will not use all of these on one character. I'll have some less-super examples coming up.

This one looks great. And don't tug on his cape.

Please check out and back the Wasted Lands Kickstarter.

Wasted Lands Playtest: Superheroes in the Dreaming Age, Part 2 The Amazon Princess

I am continuing my exploration of various superhero archetypes in the Wasted Lands.  Today's topic is the Amazon Princess. While this could be Wonder Woman or someone like Starfire, it can also be a character like Xena Warrior Princess. In truth, Xena would fit in quite well in the Dreaming Age.

This character's drive is not Vengeance (like the Dark Avenger) or even Justice (like the upcoming Paragon) but rather the most good possible.  In a lot of ways she is also an emissary of a more enlightened, but still warrior, culture.

In both the cases of Wonder Woman and Xena they have a relationship to the Gods, the Greek Gods in particular. In the Wasted Lands then she would come the same culture that the warriors Zeus and Ares come from. But godhood is not her goal.

The Amazon Princess

Class: Warrior
Level: 12
Species: Human
Alignment: Light Good
Background: Nobility

Abilities
Strength: 20 (+4) A
Agility: 18 (+3) N
Toughness: 17 (+2) N
Intelligence: 16 (+2) 
Wits: 16 (+2)
Persona: 16 (+2)

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: Studded Leather (7)
Vitality: 60 (d8)
Degeneracy: None
Corruption: None

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +4 to all saves

Warrior Skills

Combat Expertise, Improved Defense, Increased Damage, Melee Combat, Master of Battle (90%), Ranged Combat, Spell Resistance (36%), Supernatural Attacks (Melee), Tracking, Extra Attack (x4)

Improve Defense: -4

Stealth Skills

• Open Locks: 15%
• Bypass Traps: 10%
• Sleight of Hand: 20%
• Sneak: 20%
• Climbing: 70%

Danger Sense 1-3 (d6)
Perception: 40%
Vital Stike: x2 damage +4 to attack

Superhero (Divine) Archetype: Justice, Truth

Divine Touchstones
Level 1: Unique mode of Defence, -1 vs. Missile attacks
Level 2: +1 to combat rolls
Level 3: Charm humans
Level 4: Increased Ability Score (agility +2)
Level 5: Level 1 of Renegade
Level 6: Unique mode of Attack (lasso) +1 and Detect Lie
Level 7: Ceases to Age (Natural)
Level 8: Divine Aura
Level 9: Signature Item, Lasso.
Level 10: Half Damage from Mundane slashing
Level 11: Transporation mode: Fly
Level 12: Restore Corruption

The Divine Touchstones are really what separated the normal people from the heroes and the heroes from the legends.

This one works out quite nicely, I think!

Please check out and back the Wasted Lands Kickstarter.

Wasted Lands Playtest: Superheroes in the Dreaming Age, Part 1 The Dark Avenger

The Dreaming Age is both very dark and very hopeful. 

Humanity (well...proto-Humanity) has cast off the yoke of the Old Ones and now lives in a time of unimaginable horrors. There are monsters, there are forces of evil, and their are even evil humans that are all too willing to take over where the Old Ones left off. It is post-apocalyptic in a very real sense. But also, humanity has the chance in the form of our (your) heroes to make a better world.

The characters will one day be remembered as the Gods and Heroes of yore. 

But not all of them are bright, happy people.

Making "superhero" characters for the Wasted Lands RPG really only takes a change of reference or point of view. If Superheroes are modern myths, then the Wasted Lands RPG can also make those. Though your character's origin story is not going to be one of being a young adult, and then BAM, your character is powerful. Legends are built over time, and legendary characters even more so.

The Archetype of the Dark Avenger is a great example. This character had a really bad day once and now spends a lifetime fighting against the forces of Darkness and Evil (yes capitalized) by donning the guise of evil.  In comics, these characters are usually just normal humans but have something special about them. They are unnaturally dedicated to their cause for example, or maybe even they have a bit of an edge. It should also be noted that many take on the guise of an animal or creature that strikes fear into others; the bat, the wolverine, and even devils.

For these Superhero Archetypes, I will present them at higher levels to get a feel for what their legends will be like. I will also add the various Divine Touchstones to make the character a bit more "super."

The Dark Avenger

Class: Renegade
Level: 10
Species: Human
Alignment: Dark Good
Background: Nobility

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 20 (+4) A
Toughness: 17 (+2)
Intelligence: 16 (+2) N
Wits: 16 (+2)
Persona: 16 (+2)

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: Studded Leather (7) (See below for mods)
Vitality: 36 (d4)
Degeneracy:
Corruption:

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +3 (see below)
Ranged Bonus: +9 (+4, +5)
Saves: +5 to Death attacks and area effects

Improved Defense: -6 to attackers

Stealth Skills

• Open Locks: 110%
• Bypass Traps: 115%
• Sleight of Hand: 125%
• Sneak: 125%
• Climbing: 100%

Danger Sense 1-5 (d6)
Perception: 95%
Vital Stike: x4 damage
Read Languages: 85%

Superhero (Divine) Archetype: Vengeance, Justice

Divine Touchstones
Level 1: +1 to Melee Combat
Level 2: Additional Vitality Points
Level 3: Level 1 of Warrior
Level 4: Level Two Spell: Invoke Fear
Level 5: Auto Success (once per session)
Level 6: Gains +1 to all attacks and +5% to all skills
Level 7: Servant: Ward of Vengeance
Level 8: Signature Item: Batarang (+5 to hit, +5 to damage, -3 DV, 1 fate point)
Level 9: Down but Not Out
Level 10: Hop and Skip

This is not a guy you want to meet in a dark alleyway.

The Divine Touchstones are really what separated the normal people from the heroes and the heroes from the legends.

Please check out and back the Wasted Lands Kickstarter.

Wasted Lands Playtest: Raven, Swordsmistress of Chaos

Getting back to some Wasted Lands playtesting, I wanted to try a different character and a character whose ultimate goal doesn't end as becoming one of the Gods we know but rather a legendary figure.

Let's take the example of Raven, the Swordsmistress of Chaos.

I talked a bit about Raven in the past, but here is a summary/recap.

Back in 1987, I was a freshman in college. My then Favorite Local Game Store was also my Favorite Local Used Book Store.  They sold new books, used books as well as new and old gamebooks.  I got a copy of the first printing Deities & Demigods here along with scores of old copies of Dragon and White Dwarf. One book they always prominently displayed was the American versions of Raven Swordsmistress of Chaos.

I never grabbed the book but as an 18-year-old guy, I always was attracted to the covers. I even had a character named Raven, who like the cover, was blonde and had a pet raven.  I was vaguely aware there were more books in the series but never knew how many. 

Over the last couple of years, I have been on a quest to find and read all the Raven books by "Richard Kirk" who was, in reality, the pen name of authors Angus Wells and Robert Holdstock.  Both wrote Book 1, and then they alternated with Wells on Books 3 and 5 and Holdstock on Books 2 and 4.

Well, I succeeded in my quest and I found them all and read them.

While they are not...good...they are fun little romps in late 70s Swords and Sorcery (and Sex, but not as much as the Corgi covers hint at). Sometimes described as a mildly ribald Red Sonja or a less ribald Ghita Of Alizar. The books, however perfect for game fodder. 

Raven as a Legendary Figure

While Raven is the cover girl and the eponymous main character, the warlock Spellbinder narrates and tells the events many years after the fact. Even the scenes where he was not present.

The story Raven begins with that of a runaway slave girl named Su'ann. She is rescued by a mysterious warlock-like character named Spellbinder, who recognizes that she is "the pivot on which the world turns" partially because she is also protected by giant raven, and he senses something in her. 

Spellbinder and Su'ann, now calling herself "Raven," hook up with a band of outlaws and pirates.  They go from adventure to adventure, but all the time, Raven is training with swords, spears, and what would become her "trademark," a set of throwing stars.  It was the 70s, man.  Raven, though is not training out of boredom, nor even for the higher purpose fate seems to have, but is very vague about, for her.  She wants to kill her former slave owner, the Swordsmaster Karl Ir Donwayne.  

The story is a simple one, but close to many FRP gamers. Raven wants to kill Karl Ir Donwayne. How is it going to do that? Well, they need to Skull of Quez to appease this ruler to get to Donwayne. But they have to find the mysterious island first and then kill some beastmen. And there are shadowy loners, men with mysterious pasts. Raven jumps in and out of bed with Spellbinder, Gondar the Pirate captain, and even Krya M'ystral, the Queen and sister of the ruler they were trying to go see.  This is all in the first book.  There is a nice gory battle with Karl Ir Donwayne too, but he comes back in future books to bother Raven some more.

It is very much a pastiche of Swords & Sorcery (& Sex) in a world lost to time. So perfectly set up for the Dreaming Age of the Wasted Lands.

Raven as a Character

Raven is a "pivot point" of Fate, an agent of chaos. She is, however, not "evil," so the traditional D&D Basic/BECMI alignment system doesn't work for her very well. She has no supernatural powers to speak of, but she is able to complete some feats of skill and combat that go beyond what is expected. Her raven guide is one example, her ability to master a number of weapons quickly is another.  For a while, I thought she was akin to a NIGHT SHIFT "Chosen One" (and the similarities she shares with Buffy are pretty strong).  I was reading over author/designer Jason Vey's posts about Class Abilities and customization that got me thinking that a Divine instrument character is also a good fit for the Would-Be/Could-Be gods that I have discussed already.

I have a concept. I have some good ideas. What Class in Raven?

The natural choice is "Warrior"; she is obviously that. But "Renegade" is also a great choice.

I could multi-class her, starting out in Renegade and advancing as Warrior. I could use some very limited Divine Touchstones to give her some flavor of the other classes. 

I could even bring in the "Chosen One" class from NIGHT SHIFT. Since they are 100% rules compatible. 

In the Wasted Lands RPG, there is an Appendix for character point buy building. Essentially you pick and choose the ability you want your "class" to have and build it up that way. Except there is no class and no class level, every ability has a level.  

Raven has aspects of Warrior, aspects of Renegade, and even some Chosen One and Survivor (both from Night Shift).

So, what can Raven do?  Going through the list of abilities, I see Raven is very close to the Night Shift Chosen One and the Wasted Lands Warrior, minus a few abilities and adding a few more. Her abilities are:

Brutal Warrior (Leveled) (10 xp per scaled)
Melee Combat (5 xp)
Stunning Blow (10 xp)
Killing Blow (15 xp)
Supernatural Attacks (5 xp)
Sixth Sense (5 xp)
Improved Defense (5 xp)
Ranged Combat (5 xp)
Extra Attack (2) (15 xp per)
Vitality Dice 1d8 (Leveled) (5 xp)

Plus, the following from Renegade and Survivor:

Stealth Skills (Leveled) (10 xp per scaled)
Climbing (10 xp per)
Sneak Attack x3 (5 xp per)

Each one of these abilities has an XP value attached to it and some are "leveled." I *could*, in theory, keep all of these leveled ones at the same levels and build an XP advancement for her custom "class," but keeping them all on separate "levels" allows even greater customization. She has some stealth skills, but despite being a pirate at times, being a "thief" is not part of her history. Sure, she does do it, but her prowess with a sword (Brutal Warrior) and throwing stars (Ranged Combat) is more important.

I wanted to ensure she gets Supernatural Attacks since she fights zombies/the undead and even a "God." Though this god is more akin to the servants of the Old Ones or an Old One himself.

Other Abilities

These are great, and I love how it is all working out together. But what about her other abilities? Such as the part about being an agent of Fate, or her raven companion?  In other words, what makes her a Wasted Lands character and not just a generic D&D fighter?

Simple. This is exactly what the Divine Touchstones are for.

Raven has not overt magic. She doesn't even have supernatural abilities other than what is stated above. But there is something...extra about her.  The Divine Touchstones allow me to codify these.  For this I am sticking with the ones in the Core Rules.  I can see her getting a +1 to melee combat (to cover how she was already a capable fighter), a Favored Weapon benefit for her throwing stars, and of course a "Spirit Guide" in the form of her raven.

Putting it all Together

Putting this together, I get a great customized character that perfectly fits the concept of what I want.

Raven, Swordsmistress of Chaos

Class: Custom (XP buy)
Level: 6
Species: Human (Primate)

Alignment: Light Neutral (Twilight leaning)

Abilities
Strength: 16 (+2) A
Agility: 17 (+2) N
Toughness: 15 (+1) N
Intelligence: 12 (+0)
Wits: 13 (+1)
Persona: 17 (+2)

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: 5
Vitality: 30 (6d8 +6)
Degeneracy: 
Corruption:

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+2/+1
Melee Bonus: +7 (see below)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (Throwing Stars +5) (see below)
Saves: +2 to all

Abilities

Brutal Warrior (Level 6) (10 xp per scaled)
Melee Combat (5 xp)
Stunning Blow (10 xp)
Killing Blow (15 xp)
Supernatural Attacks (5 xp)
Sixth Sense (5 xp)
Improved Defense (5 xp)
Ranged Combat (Level 2) (5 xp per)
Extra Attack (2) (15 xp per)
Vitality Dice 1d8 (Level 6) (5 xp per)
Stealth Skills (Leveled) (10 xp per scaled)
Climbing (10 xp per)
Sneak Attack x3 (5 xp per)

Divine Touchstones
1st: +1 Melee Combat
2nd: Favored Weapon (Throwing Stars)
3rd: Spirit Guide (Raven)

Divine Notes: Agent of Fate
Background: Former Slave

Gear
Sword, leather armor, buckler, daggers, throwing stars, net

Ok! I like how she worked here. These are superior to her BECMI stats I did a while back. While she made for an interesting Dungeons & Dragons character, her nature and her world are much more similar to the Wasted Lands than they say to Mystara, the Forgotten Realms, or Krynn.

This also shows off how powerful the customization is in the Wasted Lands RPG. Any character concept is possible. This sort of customization is more "expensive" than, say a by-the-book character, but I am fine with that, to be honest, to get the character I want.

Time Lord: Larina & Jenny

The rules for the Time Lord game are lite on character creation, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. The Appendices in the Print and PDF versions give some guidelines but with 7 Doctors, 29 companions and more NPCs, putting together a new character is not very difficult.  Let's see how this game fares in recreating two characters we have already seen; Jenny Everywhere and my witch Larina.

Jenny Everywhere

Again, I am having Jenny stand in for our Time Lord character. The Time Lord RPG is thin on character creation and even thinner on creating new Time Lords and Gallifreyians.  Jenny makes a good stand-in. Again I am making the claim here that this Jenny is Gallifreyian/Human, raised mostly as a human. I am also going to speculate that there are other Gallifreyian/Humans out there, this may explain Henry DeTamble of "The Time Traveler's Wife" (It can't be a coincidence that Henry was born in 1963.)

As always, I must include her license:

"The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed."

Jenny Everywhere

JENNY EVERYWHERE

Apparent age: Mid-20s
Species: Gallifreyan/Human
Equipment: Scarf, Cool Goggles, bike messenger bag

Strength: 3, Cheat Death 2, Iron Constitution 2, Regenerative Powers 3
Control: 4, Escapology 1,  Blunt Weapons 2, Brawling 2, Edged Weapons 2, Marksmanship 2, Sleight of Hand 2, Stealth 1
Size: 3
Weight: 3
Move: 3, Running 1
Knowledge: 5, Computing 1, First Aid 1, MacGuffin 2, Pseudoscience 3, Science  3, TARDIS 1,  Temporal Science 2
Determination: 5
Awareness: 4, Bureaucracy 1, Resourceful Pockets 2, Serendipity 1, Striking Appearance 1

Attack: 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
Basic Defense: 3

I am unsure if this is the same Jenny from the FASA game. This one feels a little different, but I can't explain why. I mean they could be different and yet aware of each other all the same. 

Larina "Nix" Nichols

As with the FASA game (and every game I try her out in), I go outside the strict rules for character creation. Based on what I did for the FASA game, this is Larina after she had been in contact with one of the blue crystals from Metebelis 3. This was the start of her adventures. The Larina for the FASA Who game was a Welsh girl. Since this game takes place in 1991, I will use a version of her that I was using in back in the 1990s, an American foreign exchange student living in Scotland at the time. 

Edited to add: OR if this takes place in 1996 this is an older (25 years old) Larina back in the US. In my timeline for her, this would be right after her divorce. 

Larina "Nix" Nichols

LARINA NICHOLS

Apparent age: Early/Mid-20s
Species: Human
Equipment: Small knife, tarot cards,

Strength: 3, Cheat Death 1, 
Control: 3, Edged Weapons 1, Stealth 2
Size: 3
Weight: 3
Move: 3, Running 1
Knowledge: 4, First Aid 2, History 2, Occultism 4, Science 1
Determination: 5, Independent Spirit 1, Psychic Shield 2, Telekinesis 1, Telepathy 1
Awareness: 4, Striking Appearance 2

Attack: 3, 4
Basic Defense: 3

Ok. I do like these builds much more than I thought I would when I picked this one back up. Jenny is a very flexible character and any differences between this version of her and others is honestly part of her character design. That is, there are supposed to be differences. 

For Larina, well, her job is to stick as close to the Rules-As-Written as I can and yet still get the character I want. My concept of her is a "witch", writ large, and maybe even stereotypically. How can I make that work in a game where so far everything has a scientific explanation.  Though I will point out that this game has an "Occultism" ability and it says this:

Occultism [Knowledge]

A character with Occultism knows about the white and black magic practices of witches, druids and the like. The ability also implies a familiarity with superstitions and old sayings.

So there is a solid hook here, AND I will point out that no other characters (companions, NPCs, or monsters) have this skill on their sheets. 

The real question now becomes, are these two traveling together? I like the idea of the Doctor being involved, particularly Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor.  That is if I go with 1991, when the rules were in print. I could very easily go with 1996, the year that the game was released on the Internet, AND when the Paul McGann Doctor Who movie came out. That is also the same year that "The Craft" came out so using the logic of the TV series, the Eight Doctor is traveling with a young American witch. I don't hate the idea, certainly. 

Yeah...I don't hate this idea at all really. Maybe the bike messenger bag that Jenny has in my build above she gives to the Eighth Doctor for his Big Finish audio dramas. The Eighth Doctor's time is ripe for all sorts of shenanigans to be honest.

I'll have to consider this one more, but I like these builds and would use them to give the Time Lord rules a go. 

Larina Nichols for FASA Doctor Who RPG

You didn't think I would go through all this effort and not at least see how my own Drosophila melanogaster would work. I least wanted to try out a witch. 

In truth, my little witch Larina has a lot to do with Doctor Who, especially the Doctor Who I was watching in the 80s.  My original version of her had bits of Sarah Jane Smith and Jo Grant, but not as "screamy" as they were. And more than a little of Romana II. And many of my favorite episodes had a more horror feel, especially "The Brain of Morbius" and The Sisterhood of Karn.

SO...how does a witch fit into Doctor Who? We have the Sisterhood of Karn in the classic episodes and even the Carrionites in the later "The Shakespeare Code" (2007).  The episode "The Daemons" gave us a White Witch, and "The Stones of Blood" gave us druids. So there is at least some fertile ground here. Humans in rare cases have been shown to develop mental powers like telepathy and tk ("Planet of the Spiders") 

Given my love for the occult 70s revival and British folk horror, I am tempted to set her as a companion to the Doctor (or one of the other PC Time Lords) in 1974 (Tom Baker era). Have her a "white witch" from Wales (because why not) who is trying to figure out what to do with her parents' old spice shop. That is when a Time Lord comes into her life.

Larina Nichols
aka, "Nix"

Human Female
Profession: Spice shop owner, neo-pagan
Approximate Space/Time Coordinates: TNP Earth, 1974

Apparent Age: 20s
Actual Age: 25
Regog. Handle: Bright red hair, blue eyes, thick Welsh accent
Height: 5'4"
Build: Slim/Average
Looks: Striking 

STR: III
END: IV
DEX: IV
CHA: V
MNT: VI
INT: V

Max Op END: 20    Wound Heal: 4
Curr Op END: 10    Fatigue Heal: 4
Inact Save Lvl III: 12
Unc Thresh Lvl II: 6

Special Abilities:  Telekinesis (11), Telepathy (11)

AP: 7

Skills:
Artistic Expression II
Gaming II
Life Sciences II
General Medicine II
General Medicine, Herbal Cures III
Physical Sciences II
Public Performance I
Social Sciences II
Streetwise I
Trivia, Occultism III
Unarmed Combat, Brawling II
Verbal Interaction III

I can see her traveling with her Time Lord roughly parallel to Sarah Jane Smith and the Fourth Doctor's adventures. Maybe in this alternate reality, she got her mental powers from one of the blue crystals from Metebelis 3, turning her eyes from brown to blue, somewhat like they did with Leela.

Travel with her Time Lord until she decides to stay on Karn and join the Sisterhood? No idea, really yet.

As it turns out, I did, in fact, have a character sheet for her. It wasn't complete, but enough to get me going. 

FASA Doctor Who RPG: Part 5 Jenny Everywhere

Jenny Everywhere by Diana Nock

To wrap up my exploration of the FASA Doctor Who RPG I wanted to create a character for it. I wanted a Time Lord or something like that. So I could really test the system out. But in truth, nothing was coming to mind. I wanted a fun character, not a Doctor clone, and someone that fit with the spirit of not just this game but my blog.

After a lot of going back and forth on various ideas and going back to an old idea. I felt it was time to revisit my old friend Jenny Everywhere!

We last saw Jenny on these pages back in Victorian England for the Ghosts of Albion RPG, where, among other things, she was lamenting that there would be no decent cell phone reception here for another 170 years.  But honestly, Jenny is a great character, and according to many of the articles I have read on her she owes at least a little bit of her existence to Doctor Who.  She is perfect for this since I can stat her up for all versions of the Doctor Who RPGs out there and compare them.  

A bit of background from my original post 13 years ago! (ACK!)

Jenny Everywhere is a shifter; that is she can shift between the realities and interact with who knows who.  Whether there is one Jenny Everywhere that is very mobile or multiple Jenny's that have a vague awareness of each other is left to the individual authors.  I personally am fond of the Multiple Jennys idea.

Jenny Everywhere is also a public domain character.  Meaning anyone can use her in whatever project they have. You just need to include her license as below:

"The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed."

It is such a cool concept, not just the open-source of it (that is cool also) but a character that exists in every single reality and can shift between them.

Regular readers should by now know of my love for the multi-verse.  It is a very cool concept I enjoy on principle and how it has been employed in various sci-fi and fantasy publications.  My favorite might be the great Micheal Moorcock stories of Elric, Corum, and the other Incarnations of the Eternal Champion.  Jenny would be different.  While the Eternal Champion feels the combined weight of all his incarnations as it were, Jenny is freed by hers.  Reality is hers to roam because that is what it is there for.  In one of the comics I saw, she fights against a force known as Chaos, but that doesn't make her an agent of Law as we would have seen in the Corum books. 

Of course, the openness of Jenny is very appealing.  Something everyone can use and share and just a promise not to break her.

In the various Doctor RPGs I am going to say she is Galifreyian, or half-Galifreyian, human on her mother's side.  This gives her some temporal sense and makes her long-lived. She also has the ability to shift in Time and Space. 

Jenny Everywhere
aka, The Shifter

STR: IV
END: V
DEX: V
CHA: VI
MNT: V
INT: IV

Max Op END: 30    Wound Heal: 5
Curr Op END: 15    Fatigue Heal: 5
Inact Save Lvl III: 12
Unc Thresh Lvl II: 6

Special Abilities: Luck, Shifting

AP: 7

Skills:
Armed Combat, Contact Weapons II
Armed Combat, Ranged Weapons II
Artistic Expression III
Carousing III
Engineering III
Engineering, Temporal IV
Gaming II
Leadership III
Life Sciences II
General Medicine III
Physical Sciences VI
Public Performance I
Social Sciences II
Space Sciences II
Streetwise IV
TARDIS Systems III
Trivia, Time Shifting V
Unarmed Combat, Brawling III
Unarmed Combat, Grappling III
Temporal Vehicle III
Verbal Interaction III
Verbal Interaction, Fast Talking IV

In my mind, Jenny Shifts about time and space more or less at will. She can also move between universes. A bit like Jobu Tupaki (Everything Everywhere All at Once) and America Chavez (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Likely she has met both of those 'verse jumpers as well.

She has run into the Doctor and even hung out with Clara and Ashildr on The American Roadside Diner in Space. 

I have to admit I also want to stat up her companion. Her older, but very normal if a lot sexier, half-sister Donna Everywhere. 

Links

• The Shifter Archive
• Jenny Everywhere Day
• Wikipedia
• Jenny's entry on her Fandom Wiki
• The Doctor on her Fandom Wiki

Converting D&D 5 to Castles & Crusades: Character Conversion

Like my last conversion, this is not going to be a full conversion but rather a character with a high concept. While the OGL kerfuffle has more or less died down into a steady state of noise, the issues brought up then are still good now.  There are more games out there than just D&D5.

Today I am converting a major NPC of my Second Campaign to Castles & Crusades. 

I have often said that Castles & Crusades is the spiritual descendent of AD&D, so let's see how that works out.

So in truth this one is likely to be very easy in terms of game system. The Second Campaign is made up of a lot of AD&D 1st ed and BECMI D&D adventures. Ones I enjoyed but were not part of the Gygaxian-cannon. Other adventures for it to help fill in some gaps are all solid OSR ones.  So converting the actual adventures was something I had to do anyway to make them work for D&D 5e. Now I am converting them to Castles & Crusades and that conversion is so much easier. 

The Second Campaign began, much like the Order of the Platinum Dragon/Come Endless Darkness, as an AD&D 1st Ed/OSRIC game and, for a brief moment, as a BECMI game. Over the years, it morphed into other things until it settled as a 5th Edition game. 

The next adventures for this campaign have been fairly well decided:

The Desert of Desolation series:

• I3 Pharoah (levels 5-7) (maps)
• I4 Oasis of the White Palm (levels 6-8) (maps)
• I5 Lost Tomb of Martek (levels 7-9) (maps)

With the Desert Nomads/Temple of Death series:

• X4 Master of the Desert Nomads (levels 6-9) 
• X5 Temple of Death (levels 6-10)

And then the two stand-alone adventures:

• I9 Day of Al'Akbar (8-10)
• Gary Gygax's Necropolis d20 / Swords & Wizardry / 5e (starting levels 7-9)

My NPC going along with the group then is a traveling scholar. I wanted her to be something of a magical dabbler, an occultist, and lore expert. Given the desert theme here I was thinking of someone like Rachel Weisz's character Evelyn Carnahan from the 1999 movie The Mummy. I

The Character: Celeste Holmes

Celeste is a character concept that has seen a few iterations over the years. This current Celeste is as much Charlie Bradbury from Supernatural as she is Evelyn Carnahan.  There is also a bit of Poppy Kline in her from the Magicians series. Both characters, Charlie and Poppy, were played by Felicia Day, so it makes sense that she looks like her.  Given the Basic-era roots of the character giving her the last name of Holmes seemed to be the right thing to do. Very recently I also remembered that Celeste, as she is presented in D&D 5 for me, is also a nod to "Lady Nyctasia Selesqe Rhaicime brenn Rhostshyl ar'n Edonaris" of the Silverglass series, a witch and noble who pretends to be a student and bard. I always pronounced her "middle" name, Selesqe, as "Celeste."

Also, Celeste is not the firepower of this group. She is the translator and the one who sets up the shield spells and figures out what monsters will attack or talk.  

In D&D 5e Celeste is a Wizard/Bard multiclass. This gave her a lot of skills and some magic, but not as much as her level might suggest. She is not a combat character, so feats largely went to improving how many languages she knew. 

She has 5 levels in Wizard (Order of Scribes from Unearthed Arcana then Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything) and 1 in Bard (College of Lore). Again to get a few more cantrips and 1st level spells, but mostly for the skills. I see her Bardic inspiration as being able to urge the team on with her pep talks. 

What would she be like in Castles & Crusades?

Castles & Crusades has a lot of "multiclass" options, and they would all work for her. But there is one I think is suited to her concept the best.  Celeste is a "Class and a Half."

I mean, it fits her concept well, and it is a uniquely Castles & Crusades option. She is a 5th-level Wizard/1st-level Bard, so in C&C Class-and-a-half, that will make her a 5th-level Wizard, giving her 2nd level in Bard (main class divided by 2 and rounded down).

She would need more experience points than a Wizard alone. So Wizard plus 1/2 of Bard per level.  

She gets all the same powers, spells, and abilities of a Wizard here, plus some bard. The C&C Bard is not a spellcasting one, but they get some powers. The half-class bard does not get the Fascinate or the Exhort Greatness powers.  Exhort Greatness is a 9th-level power, so it would not be an issue until she is 18th level anyway, and by then, I am sure she will have plenty of spells. The Fascinate one is a loss, but one I can deal with, to be honest. I really wanted the Legend Lore, Dechpire Scripts, and Exhalt powers. This also gives her slightly better HD and hp; d10 for the bard and d4 for the wizard gives us a d6 and +2 after "name" level. 

Wizard pretty much stays the same. Spells and some other cool stuff at higher levels.

Honestly, the concept is so much fun I do want to try other class and half combinations. But that is for another time. I have to look for a way for her to be able to speak all the languages I want her to be able to speak. In D&D 5e she can speak Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Elvish, Infernal, and Primordial, thanks to Linguist Feat.  Her Intelligence is 19 so that is +3 languages in addition to "common." Thankfully the C&C rules are pretty open here. There are options from Amazing Adventures I could borrow from. For example, sacrifice a level for the ability to speak a lot of languages. I am not sure how to do it yet, but I know there is a way. Actually, there are a few ways I can think of. She could be Powered 1 (for the languages) and then the Wizard 5/Bard 2 which would give her the 6 total levels she has in D&D5. Hmm.  I think I will try that combination at a future date. Today I want to concentrate on the Class and a Half today.

Moving over to C&C from D&D5 is simple. So simple I went back to my C&C PHB just to ensure I did it all right. Yup. Everything looked good.

Celeste Holmes
Human Wizard (Bard) 5/2 LG

STR: 12 (+0)
DEX: 13 (+1)
CON: 16 (+2)
INT: 19 (+3) *P (wizard)
WIS: 15 (+1) *P (choice)
CHA: 16 (+2) *P (bard)

AC: 11 (no armor)
HP: 23 (HD d6)
BtH: +1

Weapons: Dagger, Staff

Class Abilities
Wizard (5th): Spells and spellcasting, bonus spells
Bard (2nd): Decipher Script (Int), Exalt (Int), Legend Lore (Cha)

Spells
Cantrips (5): Arcane Mark, Detect Magic, Light, Mage Hand, Message
1st level (4+1): Burning Hands, Charm Person, Comprehend Languages, Identify, Magic Missile 
2nd level (2+1): Locate Object, Ray of Enfeeblement, Shatter
3rd level (1+1): Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Tongues

Details
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 129 lbs
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Hair: Red
Eyes: Brown

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Saves are largely the same in D&D5, and C&C. Primes help cover that. The spells are also very much the same drawing from the same sources. Weapons, armor, and the like are all virtually identical. Alignment and classes have the same names and work largely the same.

So yes, I am quite pleased with this build, and I am eager to try other class-and-a-half combinations. With just the Players Handbook alone, I can see about 150 possible combinations. Less when you remove ones that don't actually work out, but still, that is a lot to try.

To extend my Felicia Day/Charlie Bradbury reference a step further, the D&D 5 version of Celeste is Charlie in the "normal" world and the C&C version of her is Charlie from the Apocalypse World. 

Edited to add: I was reminded that there is an official D&D 5 to C&C conversion document.  Get is here for free.

https://trolllord.com/bag-of-holding/