Review: The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence

Continuing my week of +Venger Satanis posts here is his next big one.

The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence
Described as weird fantasy/sci-fi/gonzo, I also wondered if it was a subtle jab at "The Big Purple".
Let's start of with the easy stuff.  Yeah, some people are likely to get offended by this adventure.  That's not a bug, but a feature, as we say.  Typically anything done either to purely offend or go out of it's way to push an agenda is going to suck.  I get the feeling here that this is the sort of game he plays all the time.  The art is still more "Heavy Metal" than it is "Hustler" and there is a solid 80s vibe to reading it all.  Please keep in mind this aesthetic when reading; it is a guiding principle that fits the art and the game design.   I think in someone else's hand it would have come off as crass or even as complete shit, but VS owns this. There is an honesty here that can be respected.

This book is a campaign book/hexcrawl/sandbox.  The PDF is 110 pages and packed.  It would make for a gorgeous looking book and it would sit nicely on my shelf with my other books circa 1983.

VSd6: This is a new mechanic introduced for skill checks/ability checks.  He mentioned it has been influenced by 100s of other d6 based mechanics and you can see that here.   It is an interesting system and provides some nice dramatic elements to the game, but not something I am planning on using myself.

Darker Secrets: This book also brings over the "Dark Secrets" idea/tables from Demon Slayer.  So in some respects you can use this book as a means to "beef up" the Demon Slayer adventure, although you don't really need too.   Though adding in the changes to magic that this book does might be fun.

The Monk: This campaign guide also features a Monk class.  It is not too far from the AD&D1 standard, though not as much detail is given.

We get into the islands proper and are given some background; 20,000 years of background to be precise, but only in a couple of pages.  The interesting bits happened in the more recent past including turning the "Purple Islands" into a penal colony.  Yeah, no jabs here at all...

There is a lot going on with these islands and the worship of the Great Old ones is just a small part of it.  The wording of the monsters, settings and even location is basic or even vague enough to allow you to put this anywhere.  It feels kitchen-sinky enough to fit into places like Mystara (which has a little bit of everything anyway) but focused enough to give you hints that is part of a much larger world.   Though I do like the appearance of the Shiny Demon and a preview of "Alpha Blue".

There are pop-culture references galore here, and it is very obvious that VS pulled out every bit of fantasy, sci-fi, euro-sleaze horror and 70s metal he had at his disposal and threw it into a blender with plenty of purple dye.  It could have turned out to be a horrible mess, but it doesn't.  Instead we get a ton of options spread over three islands.

I have to point out, don't play this as a single adventure.  The purpose here really is not to clean out the island, but to explore it.  It's a great place to strand some PCs after an ocean-going adventure.

At the end of the book we are given new spells and new magic items.

In the Afterword VS mentions that this product should not be used in isolation.  I agree, again I think that this would make for a great semi-tropical island in Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. The mythos are similar enough, or at least enough to fit together.  The only thing that would make it more perfect is if this book could be printed in 7.0" x 8.5" format to fit in my AS&SH box.

Not sure where or how I want to use this yet, but I know I really want to.

October Movie Challenge: Horns (2013)

Ig Parish is having a terrible day.  His girlfriend was raped and murdered and now he has these two horns growing from his head.  Now everyone wants to tell him their deepest, darkest secrets.

Horns (2013) marks the return of both Daniel Radcliffe and Juno Temple to my horror reviews.  I have made a couple of decisions here.  First, Daniel Radcliffe is a phenomenal actor.  Second, Juno Temple is not.  Sorry. I really wanted to like her but she just was not that good in this.

The story here is interesting and Daniel Radcliffe makes Ig as about as distant from Harry Potter as you can make it.  No reason is given as to why he grows these horns and gains his powers, but none it really needed.

Game wise I think I want to redouble my reclassification of fiends and only have devils as fallen angels.  Everything else is a demon or something like that.

Stats
9 Watched / 7 New

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.

Demons Run...

Picked up the latest D&D5 adventure Out of the Abyss this weekend.  Part of their whole Rage of the Demons.

I am not planning on running this but there are a lot of cool ideas in it.  Heck it was worth it for me just for the D&D5 stats of the various demon lords.

There is a lot of similarities between this and the GDQ series, which is good for me.  Since I am still planning on running GDQ with my kids this all fits nicely.  The events of this module are what is going on in the Forgotten Realms while over in my little corner of the multiverse Lolth, Camatoz and *maybe* Orcus are doing their thing.


Time for good men and good women to go to war.

Rage...Across the Multiverse.

Wizards of the Coast is pulling out the stops for it's new Rage of the Demons campaign and I have to admit I am rather excited about it myself.


There is a lot going on here. Including the new Out of Abyss book and Rage of the Demons minis.

Though how is any of this going to affect the Order of the Platinum Dragon?  Simple. This is a multiversal event.  While all that stuff is going on in the Realms and the Sword Coast, over here in my world we are still running through what I call the "Great Greyhawk Campaign" in my campaign of the Endless Darkness.

The two campaigns are obviously linked. I'll adapt bits and pieces from the Rage of Demons to put into my campaign.

I am excited to see Demogorgon in this and the mindflayers.  Mindflayers working with Orcus, that is like custom made for my games.

Zatannurday: Raven

Today is my birthday!
So I want to post one of my favorite DC magic-using characters, Raven.

Here is a collection of some of my recent favorite images of her.




Raven DC by MeganCoffey on DeviantArt


Raven I by MeganCoffey on DeviantArt


Nightwing and Raven by MeganCoffey on DeviantArt


A Greeting looking up by ChelzorTheDestroyer on DeviantArt


Raven Exposed Preview by ChelzorTheDestroyer on DeviantArt


Raven by JayEmEl on DeviantArt


Azarath Metrion... ZINTHOS! by DiegoAGM on DeviantArt


Raven Upper Profile by JayEmEl on DeviantArt


Raven by JayEmEl on DeviantArt


Raven by CeruleanRaven on DeviantArt


Raven by Peachykiki on DeviantArt


Raven - DC comics by Neferet-Cosplay on DeviantArt


Raven and white Raven Teen Titans Cosplay by AverageCosplays on DeviantArt


Comikaze 2014 Raven Titans Abby Normal Cosplay by wbmstr on DeviantArt


Raven by DarkKitteh on DeviantArt


Demon's Daughter by raymundlee on DeviantArt

A to Z of Vampires: Zburător

Here we are at the end of our blogging challenge for another year.
Today let's return to the "home" of vampire legends and myths, Romania and pay a visit to the Zburător.

Max Ernst's Une Semaine de Bonté 1934 collage.

This creature is somewhat similar to an incubus, a male demon, but it is a vampiric spirit inhabiting a male body.  It preys on young girls (particularly virgins) and widows. They always appear as stunningly handsome young men with dark eyes and black hair. It will find a woman and prey on her nightly till she is dead.  It will typically charm the woman before hand and then gain an invitation to her home.  Once there he will come to the woman's bed and drain her blood while having sex. This results in the loss of 3 Constitution points per night.  Typically no one survives more than three encounters with a zburător.  Women killed become vampires under the zburător's complete control.

Despite being very fast and very strong the zburător is a stereotypical "lover and not a fighter" they will flee if faced with violence or great numbers. If forced to attack the creature will use a weapon or attempt to charm his way out.

The zburător is a shape shifter. It can become dust, mist, or flame to escape capture. It can also fly.
Though different than other vampires, the zburător has large bat-like wings that grow out of his back that he can hide when needed.  These wings are strong and can carry the vampire and his victim. This creature can also teleport (as per the spell) back to his lair once per night. Additional spell like powers include the ability to charm person, hypnotize, cause fear and phantasmagoria.

Like many vampires the zburător is destroyed by sunlight, is repelled by garlic and holy items, casts no reflection or shadow and can only be harmed by silver (or magic) weapons.  Additionally garlic or wolfsbane can be spread on windows or made into garlands or wreaths to hang on windows to keep it out.

Zburător
AKA: Zemu, Zmeu
Frequency: Very Rare
No. Apperring: 1
Size: Man-sized (M)
Armor Class: 3 [17]₁
Movement
 Basic: 180' (60') / Fly: 210' (70')
 Advanced: 18" // Fly: 21"
Hit Dice: 9+4 (45 hp)
% in Lair: 50% (coffin by day)
Treasure Type: Weapon + Blood Drain
Damage: Weapon + Blood Drain
Special Attacks: Per Vampire; Blood Drain
Special Defenses: Only killed by silver or magic weapons or sunlight
Save As: Magic-user 9₂
Magic Resistance: 25%
Morale: 5₃
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Level/XP: 9/4,250 + 12/hp

STR: 21 INT: 10 WIS: 10 DEX: 21 CON: __(13)₄  CHA: 23₅

1 Descending and [Ascending] Armor classes are given.
2 This is used for Basic games, and S&W. Also for monsters that I think need to save a little differently than others.
3 Morale is "Basic" Morale and based on a 1-12 scale.
4 Have not decided yet if I want to use 3.x style undead Constitutions or not. (15) Reflects what their Con would be if I do use it.  I might just put a number in () like I do for Ghosts of Albion.
5 obviously more reflective of personality and character than looks.

The zburător is the prototype of the "suave, sexy" vampire.
I have seen these type of vampires in other mediums, sometimes called "Dark Angels".  While they are better looking than other vampires and typically do not fight, they do prey on weaknesses; young girls looking for a 'dream lover' and widows longing for a companions touch. They still leave a trail of bodies where ever they go.

They are still popular enough to have a recent film made about one.  "Ultimul Zburător" or "The Last Incubus" focuses more on the "Dark Angel" aspect of this creature.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3031914/

A to Z of Vampires: Lilith

Lilith by Isra2007

Let's head to ancient Mesopotamia and talk about Lilith.

Er...wait. Haven't I done this before?

Actually I have, I talked about Lilith last year on the A to Z of Witches and the year before that on the A to Z of Demons.   She is just one of those subjects I never grow tired of talking about.
Obviously since I made her the cover of my Eldritch Witchery book.

Back in my WitchCraft RPG game I actually wanted to do three different Liliths that were also all connected.

Following the Maiden, Mother Crone archetype she would have been a Witch, Vampire and Demon.  In my Buffy/Ghosts of Albion games she was a more central figure. A faction all her own in the constant wars between the forces of good and evil.

While that was a fun idea and it worked well for the WitchCraft RPG, for something like D&D I prefer one Goddess. A complicated Goddess to be sure.

So here she is. In Petty Gods format. Though she is by no means a Petty God. She is actually something more than a demon, witch or goddess.  She is Lilith.

Lilith
Goddess of Witches, Mother of Vampires and Demons
Also known as: Ardat Lili, Lili, Lillitu
Symbol: Image of the Goddess
Alignment: Chaotic Evil*
Movement: 40' (Fly 160)
Armor Class: 4 (15)
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 140 hp (25 HD)
Attacks: Special, see below
Damage: Special, see below
Save: Witch 25
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: XV
XP: 16,660

Lilith is the mother of monsters.  She is the mother of demon, having spawned so many, but she is also the mother of vampires and many say witches.

Lilith was the first human woman. She rebelled against the gods that created her and now controls armies of demons.  The gods won't work against her or strike her down because she knows all their True Names.

Lilith has no true friends because most fear her.  She is known to ally herself with the Goddess Ereshkigal since both have similar portfolios and areas of concern.  Some even claim that Lilith spent some time as Ereshkigal's handmaiden.  Others claim she served Astártē or Ishtar.

Appearance and Emissaries
Lilith always appears as a young very attractive woman.  Most often with long flaming red hair.  It is claimed her true form is that of a ancient hag with long, but sparse wild black hair, talons, fangs and the feet of a predatory bird.  Either or neither could be her true form.

Servants

Naamah - Known as the Daughter of Lilith Naamah is either a demon, a human or something else.  She is honored in her right as either the Patroness of Whores or the Patroness of Those Who Hunt the Night (slayers of the undead).  Her title as The Daughter of Lilith, as opposed to just a daughter of Lilith, is significant.  She may be her first true daughter or she may be her first human daughter.

Abyzou - Another daughter of Lilith. She is a powerful Lilitu Demon. She takes pleasure in possessing others and destroying them from the inside out.

Nox - The Petty Goddess of the Dusk is also believed to be a daughter of Lilith.  Possiblly the offspring of Lilith and a Sun god.

Camazotz - a Son of Lilith and the bloodthirsty god of Vampires.  Some claim that his father may have been Orcus.

Combat
Lilith never openly attacks.   She considers combat beneath Her and will not partake in it.  Her arena is intrigue, guile and deception.  Why fight when a cup laced with poison or a dagger in the night are much quicker.  If forced into combat she can summon pretty much any demon she likes save for the Baalor. If it comes down to it, Lilith can cast spells as 25th level Witch of the Demonic Tradition.

*Lilith's alignment is listed as Chaotic Evil.  The Chaos part should be obvious, she has rebelled against the entire universe.  While many of her actions are evil, she still kills babies, she is also a lot more complicated than that.  Lilith has a high personal morality. She honors and keeps her friends and associates.  You can trust that she will always do what is best for herself., but she also cares for her own "children" so she will protect them.

Other posts about Lilith here:
Every Angel is Terrifying: The Secret and True Origins of the Slayer
- Pseudo Slayers
Going Up to Hell: Cosmology
Sympathy for the Succubus
- Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Let's Talk About Sex(y)
E is for Eodemon
The Dragon and the Phoenix: Episode 7
Season of the Witch: Episode 2

A to Z of Vampires: Impundulu

Something a little different today.  A vampiric spirit that takes the form of a bird when summoned by a witch.  This is a creature in the folklore of the tribes of South Africa including the Pondo, the Zulu and the Xhosa.

Impundulu
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 6d8+3** (30 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws, 1 bite
Damage: 1d6+2 / 1d8+1
Special: Blood drain 1-3 points of Constitution per bite, Charm, Demonic abilities
Movement: 30’ Fly 60’
No. Appearing: 1
Saves As: Monster 6
Morale: 12
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil)*
XP: 2,400

The Impundulu, or Lightning Bird, is a type of vampiric servant used by evil witches. The bird is born when lightning strikes the ground.  To all others it appears as a lighting strike, but to the witch it has chosen it appears as a bird.  Once so chosen the bird will manifest to all as an Impundulu.
The bird can also assume the form of an attractive man to lie with the witch each night.
The Impundulu may also attempt to seduce other women, and feeds on them as a vampire, but it is not an undead creature, but rather one of the Calabim, or Demons of destruction.
The Impundulu must charm his victim to gain access to her home and bed, once there he will drain 1-3 (1d6/2) points of Constitution in blood each night. After three nights he will cease his attacks.  The victim could well be close to dead at this point. Any victim lowered to 0 Con dies. Victims killed by the Impundulu will come back as weak ghost (1 hit die).
The Impundulu is immortal and is often passed down from mother to daughter.  The Impundulu is incapable of fathering children.
The feathers of the Impundulu are considered to be a great source of magic for a gris gris or other talisman.

Impundulu have all the same immunities as do other Calabim; Half damage to Cold, Fire, Gas, and Lightning.  They take full damage from magic and silvered weapon. They are fully immune to the effects of sleep spells and toxins.

The bird can be turned by a Good Cleric as if it were a vampire.  To destroy it a hunter must find the feather binding it to this world and burn it.  Usually this is with the witch that controls it.

A to Z of Vampires, Estrie

For E lets take a look into Jewish folklore.  Today I present you with the Estrie, which is something like a vampire + demon + witch.

Like a vampire the Estrie is a corpse that crawls out of her grave (Estries are always female) to drink the blood of the living.  They are possessed by a demonic spirit, but may have been witches when they were alive.   The name Estrie comes from the French Strix or night owl. A word that also is related to Strega, Stirge and a host of related creatures.

Estrie by Feline Zegers

Estrie
Armor Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 6d8+6** (38 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws, 1 bite (monster form) OR 1 (human form)
Damage: 1d6+2 / 1d8+1 OR by weapon type.
Special: Blood drain, cause fear (as per spell), witch spells, shapeshift
Movement: 30’ (90' fly)
No. Appearing: 1
Saves As: Fighter 7
Morale: 10
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil)*
XP: 1,750

The Estrie is a type of vampire that can pass for a normal human during the daylight hours.  Indeed she can appear to be living, have good alignment (if detected) and even walk onto holy soil and wear holy symbols.  However at dusk she will revert to her vampiric form which appears to be a rotting corpse.  She can shapechange after that, but it takes a full turn for her to do so. The estrie must kill anyone witnessing this transformation or she will loose her powers (fear, spells) over them.
As a vampire the estrie can also shapeshift into large night owl, a large black cat or into smoke if she is reduced to 0 or fewer hp.  Unlike a vampire the estrie can be hit with normal, non magical, items.
The estrie can cause fear but she lacks the charm power of many other vampire types.  She can though cast spells as if she were a 3rd level witch; specifically of the Mara tradition.
Estrie's are strong (18 strength) in their "Vampire" form, but seem to be normal humans in their "human" form.
The estrie attacks with a claw/claw/bite routine.  A successful bite inflicts 1d8+1 damage.  A critical hit bite (a roll of 20) does damage and drains the victim of 1 point of Constitution.
If someone offers her bread in any form she is powerless against that person until after the next sunset.  In her vampire form she cannot enter a dwelling without permission.
In order to fly the estrie must have her hair unbound and allowed to to blow in the wind.  Some scholars believe she needs her hair to fly or at least to navigate.
Her favored prey are young men, ones that would be enchanted by a young woman without the need of arcane inducements.  She will attack these men as they sleep, not wanting to enter into combat. The estrie must feed every night.  In this form of attack she drains either 2 points of Constitution or 2 points of Strength each night. If only attacked once or twice the victim can regain lost points with bed rest at the rate of 1 per week.  If the victim has been attacked three times then the rate is 1 point per 2 weeks.   Any victim drained to 0 in either Constitution or Strength will die.  Male victims, the most common, will return from the dead as a shadow.  The rare female victim will return as an estrie herself.
An estrie must return to her grave before dawn.  She must remain in her grave till "noon". By this it is when the sun has passed it's mid-day point.  After this she may rise and appear human.
To destroy an estrie one must first force her back into her grave.  Then the body must be exhumed.  The mouth of the creature, which is always open, must be filled with dirt from her own grave and then sewn shut.  The head is then removed.

A to Z of Vampires, Camazotz

Now let's go to Central America where their vampires are gods and still straight up killing machines.

Please allow me to introduce Camazotz the vampire "death-bat" and god.

Camazotz was first made known to me from the pages of AD&D 1st Ed hardcover Deities  & Demigods.   His write up includes the standard stat-block and two thin paragraphs.  None of which help show how awesome this vampire/demon/god/creature is.  No picture either.

So for my games Camazozt is an ancient vampire. So powerful that over the epochs he has become more and more demon like and is now worshipped as a god. Well humans worship him, other vampires fear him and honor him as their king.  In a way like the Red Court Vampire King from the Dresden Files books.  Here he is in Petty Gods format.

Camazotz

God of Vampires
Also known as: The Death Bat, Bat God, Sudden Bloodletter, Slaughter Lord 
Symbol: a bat in flight
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Movement: 120' (Flight is infinite at night)

Armor Class: -2
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 120 hp (24 HD)
Attacks: Special, see below
Damage: Special, see below
Save: F20
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: XV
XP: 8,600
--
Armor Class: -2
Hit Points (HD): 120 (24 HD)
Save: F20
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Q
XP: 13,600

Camazotz is the demon god of bats and vampires. But he is not truly a god or a demon but rather a vampire that is thousands of years old.  Vampires pay him homage more out of fear than actual piety. Humans on the other hand worship and hope that he will reward them with the gift of immortality (vampirism).  He requires blood sacrifices every new moon.  Camazotz himself goes through periods of extreme torpor and frenzied blood lust.

Camazotz dreams of one day destroying the god of the sun.

Camazotz attacks as a vampire with a claw/claw/bite routine of 1d8/1d18/1d12.  His bite (any natural roll of 18, 19 or 20) will drain 3 points of Constitution per round.  Anyone reduced to 0 becomes a vampire under his control. As a god-like being Camazotz can attack 4 times per round.

He lives in a dark cave like plane know as Xibalba on the Abyss where he serves as a vassal to Orcus. Again this is not out of fidelity but out of fear of the Demon Prince of Undead.  The cave is dark and the floors are stained with blood.  In this cave Camazotz can summon up to 1000 bats to do his will.

He considers the Goddess Nox his "Sister" but whether that is an actual familial relation or merely an affectation is unknown.

Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camazotz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xibalba
http://tashasthinkings.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/atoz2014c.html
http://demonhunterscompendium.blogspot.com/2012/12/camazotz-death-bat.html
http://www.blueroadrunner.com/camazotz.htm
https://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/camazotz-the-death-bat/

Gog and Magog for Advanced Era Games

Don't you love it when you are doing a bit of research on a couple of different things and suddenly you read one thing and all these disparate threads come together as a nice whole?  Jung used to call it Synchronicity.  I say that if you bury your head in something for long enough your research numbed brain will see connections everywhere.  In either case this is some thing that clicked for me the other day.

I was doing research on the the original Balor/Type VI demons in 1st Ed AD&D and how there are only six of them.  The DMG lists them as Balor (their leader and the largest), Errtu, Ndulu, Ter-Soth, Alzoll, and Wendonai.  Wendonai.  Doesn't exactly fill you with fear does it.  Since I am using the OGC Balor as the basis of my own Baalor in my games I wanted to expand them a bit.  So these names are purely off limits (save for Balor).

That tied in with all the myths I have been reading (well, since forever) of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales (er Walesland?).  There was a Balor there too.  Only he was a giant with one eye on his forehead and another on the back of his head. I was reading about all these giants when I came across Gogmagog.

I had been familiar with Gog and Magog and Gogmagog because of an off-hand reference on Doctor Who years and years before.  I had scribbled down that Gog and Magog were akin to Ogres, but divine.  I choose ogres because of something the Doctor said "Gog, Magog and Ogre",  pronounced 'O-gree'.  In the book of Revelations Gog and Magog were the ultimate enemies of God's people.  Though to be fair Gog and Magog hopscotch all over the Bible and one is never really sure if they are individuals, peoples, or lands.  Gog and Magog also appear in the Qur'an as a monster (the monster of Gog and Magog) or again as a land.

Recently I reread the Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.  The chief of the Balrogs was a being known as Gothmog.  I knew I was on to something.  Obviously Tolkien, a professor of English literature and languages (especially Old English) knew of Gogmagog. In some early versions of Tolkien's work Gothmog is even described as a "son of Melkor and the ogress Fuithluin",  Later a "Gothmog" was also the orc in charge of Mordor's army in the Return of the King.  Obviously named after the Balrog (and less confusing than Glorfindel of Rivendell vs. Glorfindel of Gondolin).

All of this though has given me some ideas.

Here they are using OSRIC and  LL Advanced  Edition Companion.  All text below is considered Open for use under the OGL.

Section 15: OSRIC Chapter V copyright 2007-08 by Stuart Marshall, Chris Hopkins, James Boney, Robert Ross, Jeremy Goehring, Mike Davison, Daniel Proctor, B. Scot Hoover, Chris Cain, Bill Silvey, Floyd Canaday, Vincent Frugé and Matthew James Stanham.
Advanced Edition Companion, Copyright 2009-2010, Daniel Proctor. Author Daniel Proctor.
Adventures Dark and Deep^TM Bestiary, Copyright 2011-2013 BRW Games, LLC.
Gog and Magog for Advanced Era Games, Copyright 2015 Timothy S. Brannan.

Gog and Magog
Class F Standard Order (true) Demons
Frequency:  Very Rare (Unique Demons)
No. Encountered:  2
Size: Large, 13' (Gog), 13' 5" (Magog)
Move: 60 ft; 150 ft flying (AA:III)
Armor Class:  -3 (Gog) / -4 (Magog)
Hit Dice*: 10d8+10 (Gog), 10d8+21 (Magog)
Attacks: 1 bite or by special attack
Damage: 1d12+4
Special Attacks: Flaming great sword (2d8) (Gog) or Flaming great axe (2d8) (Magog) + 3d6 fire
Special Defenses: +2 or better magic weapon to hit
Magic Resistance: 75%
Lair Probability: 0%
Intelligence: High
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Level/XP: 9/3,750 + 13/hp**

Gog and Magog are two unique demons of the same sort of Balor.  While they are larger and more aggressive than their kin, their natures preclude them from ruling large numbers of lower demons as their brethren might.   Gog and Magog are described as "brothers" and this has never been proven by any occult scholar.  They share a physical similarity to each other.  Gog is large, predominantly red in color with black hair and beard. He wields a large flaming sword in battle.  Magog is larger, predominantly black in color with red hair and beard.  He wields a large flaming great axe.  Either causes an extra 3d6 points of fire damage per hit.
Gog and Magog can also use the following powers at will: detect invisibility, detect magic, dispel magic, fear (as the wand), pyrotechnics, read languages, read magic, suggestion, telekinesis (600 lbs.), and symbol (despair, fear, sleep, and stunning).   A +2 or better magical weapon to hit.
Unlike other demons, Gog and Magog cannot gate in lesser true demons.  Instead they may summon 2d6 demonic Ogres each.  These creatures appear as normal ogres save that their skin is red and they are immune to fire, poison, sleep and charm spells.  They also need a +1 or better magical weapon to hit.  Demonic ogres always have the maximum hitpoints for ogres.
Much like other demons, these two will bicker and fight and even plot against each other.  However when confronted with a common foe the will work together to defeat them.  They are completely loyal only to each other. They are often found in each other's company.
They are most often found on the Material Plane, the summoning ritual for one will also summon the other and only rarely in the Abyss.
They are violent, aggressive and constantly angry.  Neither is much for planning, but when pressed they are good strategists and have been used as generals by stronger Demon Lords and Princes.  They have even been known to serve the Baalseraph Ahriman, also known as Angra Mainyu.  A common tactic among the Demon Lords that engage their services are to choose a location and let the brothers go.

*Many "Advanced Era Games" use a d8 for monster HD. I prefer to use a d10 myself.
** Adjust according to your preferred system.

Ghosts of Albion: Shaniezak demon

Been going through a lot of my Ghosts of Albion materials.  Seeing if I would like to run anything for Gen Con.  One adventure I have ran in the past and would love to try under different systems is "Obsession".
I could run it under a different system each night...

Well I am not likely to run it under Ghosts of Albion anymore and it would not really work under the OSR rules.  Since I running to a meeting here in a bit, here is a demon for you that would work for any game.

I am not embarrassed to say that this was one my influences on this adventure and demon.  I thought Astrid Plane was hot.

Shaniezak Demon

“This creature at first reminds you of a fetal human.  Its wrinkled pinched face, bald head and fat features bring to mind a cherub, only this no angelic child.  Its eyes are a black with orange irises, set in a head that seems too heavy for its unseen neck.  Two fat arms extend for it like normal, but its own obesity has made the thick digits of its hand all but useless.  Its skin around its upper body is a sickly yellowish hue, like it had been soaking in bromide wash, tuning dun brown as moves down.  Its entire body is covered in a sheen of foul looking slime.  Where its legs would have been has fused into a single thick fluke that noisily slaps against its host.  Tufts of black hair appear hear and there on its body. Most disturbing though is its maw.  Starting from it’s sternum down to its malformed waist is a gapping maw. Slime issues forth from it as it suckles against the body of its host.  Its head has turned nearly 180 degrees around in order to peer at you though it’s damned hellfire orange eyes.

The entire creature brings to mind the working of an insane artist asked to make a portrait of a child.  Instead of a mother and babe we get this abomination and its host that is no more than a bag of skin over bones.  It starves while the Shaniezak gets fat.”

- From the Journal of Tamara Swift

Long ago the Shaiezak demons were banished to lowest parts of the Nether Realms where they fed on the waste and offal of other demons. There they were to be forgotten, but sometimes these disgusting parasites are summoned to the Earthly realms to cause havoc.

Shaniezak (demon enhanced human)
Ghosts of Albion
Type: Possessed human
Attributes (numbers in parentheses are original values): Strength 7 (3), Dexterity 3, Constitution 7 (2), Intelligence 2, Perception 3, Willpower 7 (2)
Ability Scores: Muscle 20, Combat , Brains 12 (9)
Life Points: 69 (30)
Drama Points: 2
Special Abilities:  Emotional Problems (Cruel), Emotional Problems (Obsessed with someone), Hard to Kill, Increased Life Points, Magic Immunity, Unattractive (1)

Shaniezak (demon enhanced human)
Basic OSR
Armor Class:  5 [14] (aura of protection)
Hit Dice: 6d8+12* (39 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 fists
Damage: 1d4+2 (x2)
Special: Makes saves vs. Magical attacks as Wizard 10
Movement: Twice base creature
No. Appearing: 1
Saves As: Wizard 6 (10 vs. magic and spells)
Morale: 12
Treasure: Special: The Shaniezak possessed human will collect trinkets from their victims or the focus of their obsessions.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
XP: 450

The Shaniezak appears at a demonic parasite attached to a host body.  It gives the host certain powers, strength, increased health and magic immunity but feeds the darker emotions of the host; fear, envy, hate and obsessions.  The demon prompts its host into greater acts of violence and depravity to feed off of fear of the victims and the frustrations of its host.

An Exorcism spell will remove the demon, but kill the host in the process.  Since the removal of the demon always kills the host many opt just kill both.

Krampus, The Christmas Demon

Today (December 5) is the eve of Saint Nicholas Day. It is also the time when the pagan demon Krampus walks the earth in search of bad girls and boys.

I had done Krampus a few years back for Ghosts of Albion.  Though today I'd like give him a try is old-school/retro-clone stats.  As before I am taking a large number of liberties with this write up.  So please keep that in mind.

Krampus, The Christmas Demon

Long ago, long before children would know of the kindness of St. Nicholas there was a demon that tormented the long Alpine winter nights.  This demon, know locally as Krampus (from the word meaning Claw) would torment children and punish wrongdoers. Sometimes Krampus would even carry off a child that had been particularly wicked.
The trouble was that Krampus was more or less in a pact with the parents of the region that had used him as a means of controlling unruly children. Over the decades since their un-witting pact Krampus had grown in violence and deceit.
That is till the coming of St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas was able to confront the demon and was well on his way to dispatching the fiend (Santa was a bit more of a fighter in those days) when the issue of the pact was brought up.  The pact made with the demon was strong, and even though not one adult in area had made it an overt one, built up over the centuries with a little tale here, a story there, made it as strong as any pact sealed with a soul.  St. Nicholas then employed Krampus as a personal assistant, he could still torment bad children, but now under the eye of St. Nick himself.  Krampus also got more children as he traveled with St. Nick. Since St. Nicholas was know as Sinterklass in some areas and Father Chritmas in  others, Krampus also received more names such as "Belsnickel" or even "Black Pete".
Sometimes it is even said that his travels with St. Nicholas has tempered his evil.
Or maybe he is just bidding his time.

Krampus
Armor Class:  2 [17] (hide)
Hit Dice: 6d8+5* (32 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws /  bite / birch switches
Damage: 1d4+2 (x2) / 1d6  (bite) / 1 (birch switch)
Special: Acute Senses (taste, sight, smell), Cause Fear (Cha: 2), Unique Kill
Movement: 60’
No. Appearing: 1 (rumored to be unique)
Saves As: Fighter 6
Morale: 12
Treasure: None, Krampus carries a bundle of birch switches to hit bad children with
Alignment: Chaotic (Evil)
XP: 500

Combat
Krampus will only attack bad children and typically only with a single whack with a birch switch.  If attacked though Krampus reveals that he is in fact a demon with claws and bite.

Description
Krampus appears as a particularly nasty looking satyr or demon.  He is covered in fur, but is sometimes wearing a coat covered in soot.  He has one cloven hoof and one animal-like paw for feet.  His legs are like that of a goat and his upper body is humanish.  His hands are human, but end in terrible claws. His face is a twisted snarl of evil, with goat like eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth.  His long tongue lolls out of his mouth and constantly drips saliva.  Despite this he can still speak eloquently.  He uses his tongue to lick a person, typically their face, to know if they are naughty or nice.  His head supports to long curved horns.  He smells of burnt coal. He is sometimes seen carrying an old rusted chain. It is not clear if the chain is for himself or for the children he terrorizes. He also carries a satchel of switches that he uses to beat children with.
His overall appearance is menacing and demonic. He cowers though from any stern word from St. Nicholas.
Krampus does have a weakness.  If given a piece of fruit, typically an apple or an orange, by a child, he will sit down to eat the gift, sharing it with whomever is there and engage is polite conversation.  Krampus will then leave the area, harming no one.

Krampus may be a demon, but he is fair and impartial. "Good" children have nothing to fear from him, "Bad" children are only punished in relationship to the severity of their "naughtiness".  Of course Krampus will attempt to use any trick he can to get someone onto his naughty list. For truly evil children he carries a sack to put them in. He will either drown them or take them off to Hell.
It is suspected though that he in fact feeds on the children's fear and the tales told by the parents.

Krampus is most often seen during the first two weeks of December.  All other times he is bound to his cave somewhere in the Alps.  There is no known way to dispatch of Krampus permanently.

Like many of the supernatural creatures associated with Christmas, as long as one child believes then he will return next year. He can be killed but will return next year.

Krampus is kinda like the Grinch really.  Except a Grinch that eats bad children.
Though given how Cindy Lou Who turned out the Grinch might reconsider.

October Movie: Dark Angel: The Ascent (1994)

You have to love October!  Horror movies are everywhere.  I got this one cheap at Half-price books along with the all the Subspecies movies.  It was not on my list of movies to watch this October, but hey sometimes you have to strike when the iron is hot.

So. Dark Angel: The Ascent.  Well.  I have seen worse movies that is for sure.
It features Angela Featherstone, who is not the worst actress I have ever seen. Her only credits are Friends and the girl in the S-Mart at the end of Army of Darkness.
The movie isn't terrible.  Featherstone plays Veronica who plays a teenage (or so) demon that wants to know if there is more to life in Hell other than torture and damnation.  No she doesn't break into Up There, but she does leave hell and finds herself a new boyfriend (easy to do when you show up naked) and she starts killing evil doers.
There are some interesting bits. Hell looks pretty good. The demons are religious interestingly enough.
I didn't go into this one with any expectations and none were meant. Still it was sorta fun.

Tally: Watched 4,  New 4

What are you watching?

hosted by Krell Laboratories

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 19: Favorite Monster (Elemental/Plant)

Day 19: Favorite Monster (Elemental/Plant)

The classifications here show a really strong 3.x bias.  Elementals orplants never really impressed me much.  But I do rather like Effrit. I talked about them a bit in April with my A to Z of demons.  I touched on them under Iblis and Jann.  Though this is really a cheat since I treat them like a type of demon.  Truthfully if I were rebuilding the D&D cosmos I'd make all the elementals closer to demons.  At least very, very chaotic.

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 18: Favorite Monster (Immortal/Outsider)

Day 18: Favorite Monster (Immortal/Outsider)

This one should be another obvious one.  Demons.  I have always been fascinated with them both as a subject and as a monster in *D&D.  Unrepentant engines of destruction or vile schemers and tempters.  What's not to love?  When I am playing a Paladin then I love nothing more than to fight against them. When playing a witch I love summoning them and binding them to gain infernal knowledge and boons.
Plus, as they say, they are legion I will never run out of ideas or uses for them.

There is the argument that sometimes they are played like nothing more than high-level goblins with magic, I think there is room for those kinds and other kinds of demons as well.

Orcus and Vanth

We all know who this guy is:

But who is this?

 

Her name is Vanth and she is another Etruscan chthonic god depicted as a demon and she adorns funerary art.
What is their relationship other than the obvious historical one?

Well I also read a lot of science blogs and this picture of the largest trans-Neptunian objects came up (in a discussion of the Oort cloud.)

Vanth is the moon of Orcus.

I can't even begin to tell you how many ideas came flooding in on that one!

Vanth orbits Orcus in a tight precise circle and they are tidal locked.  Vanth is never far from Orcus then and she always keeps her face toward her master.

Mythological Vanth shares a role similar to that of Charon.  She brings the souls of departed to the underworld. She has a torch to light her way, a key to unlock the gates of the underworld, a scroll with the information on the deceased and a sword. According to myth Vanth appears as woman, much like an Erinyes and described as young and vibrant.

There is a Pathfinder creature called a Vanth, but it lacks some of the charm of this demon.

No I think I prefer Vanth to be a vassal of Orcus. Responsible for bringing him the choicest souls to be corrupted into foul undead.  In truth that picture of Orcus above should be reversed, Vanth (the woman) should be the one presenting the skeleton to her lord.

It could be that this unique Vanth has many of the lesser vanths at her disposal.  Maybe the souls her lord rejects become part of her own army.

I also saw this picture of Stephanie vanRijn that had me thinking of the relationship between Thanatos and Eros. Maybe this what Vanth looks like to humans.

Vanth
Hit Dice: 11+15** (70 hp)
Armor Class: 1 [19]
Attacks: 1 sword (1d10+4)
Special: Flight, Magic resistance (55%), regenerate (3 hp/round),  +2 or better weapons to hit.
Move: 24' / 60'
Save: F12 (Basic) 12 (S&W)
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Challenge/XP: 11/3,000

I will have to develop here more later.

Vanth by *ThaliaTook on deviantART

http://amusedgrace.blogspot.com/2013/08/this-is-other-piecei-did-earlier.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanth
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/psychopomp/psychopomp-vanth

Monsters: Demon vs. Dæmon and Daimôn

In many RPGs the words "demon" and "dæmon" often lumped together into the same group or groups of creatures.  This reflects a Judeo-Christian bias in popular thought that a "demon" has to be an evil, malign creature.  This was not always the case with dæmon.  in the ancient Greek tradition these creatures were something more along the lines of creative, benevolent spirits.

The dæmon is most famous to AD&D players as being the Neutral Evil race found between the Abyss, home of the Demons and Hell, home of the devils from Monster Manual II.  I liked the idea of more variety to the fiends but thought about these guys in terms of what a normal human would think of them.  That is how does one say "demon" vs. "dæmon"?  That was the start of my disappointment in them as a D&D monster type.  They would later change the name Yugoloth, the only time I felt the 2nd ed name changes were an improvement.

Other games have taken the concept the other direction and made the "demon" more like the classical "dæmon" and had the name mean anything that came from somewhere else.  Also not preferable really.

I had forgotten about all of this until recently when I started working on demons for Eldritch Witchery.

Dæmons seem to be much creative, if chaotic types.  Somewhat like what Deborah Harkness has in her books, A Discovery of Witches.  But in truth her Dæmons feel more like Fae or Changelings to me.  Moving mine more to the "outsider" type I get a race that is very chaotic, but not really evil.  In a sense what Jim Butcher has done with the Fae  in the Dresden Files and maybe a little of what Kim Harrison has done (or is doing) with Demons (the ancient enemy of the fae) in her Rachel Morgan books.
More to the point I have a race I can swap with Slaadi.

Slaad began their life in the pages of the Fiend Folio as inhabitants of the Chaotic Limbo.  Trouble with the Slaad were that know one played them Chaotic Neutral. They always ended up as Chaotic Evil.  Plus Slaad are not open and are not found in the SRD.  Dæmon's though are chaotic, can be good or evil and somehow in my mind fit the idea of a creature living between the Chaotic Good fae (and planes of Olympus in the old D&D cosmology) and the chaotic evil demons living in the Abyss.

I have not detailed many dæmons yet except for a Personal Dæmon, which is a bit like a familiar dialed up to 11.  Given that they need more conceptual work I am not expecting dæmons to appear in Eldritch Witchery.  But do expect the monsters-formerly-known-as-daemons-or-yugoloths to appear as a demon type.  Too bad I can't use Slaad, but hey.

And just to make matters more confusing I think the ruling class of dæmons are known as daimôns.

Enjoy? Please check out the other monster posts today!

Zatanna: Hellish Elementals

A couple of weeks back I put up a post about Zatanna vs Demons.

I wanted to come back to these monsters for the May Monster Madness.

In truth Zee doesn't fight a lot of monsters.  Bad guys, demons and arch fiends sure, but not your garden variety monsters.

The closest were a trio of demonic elementals that she fights in issues #4 and #5 of the recent Paul Dini run of Zatanna.

These creatures took the shape of old women, but underneath were hellish fire elementals in the shape of young women.

Zatanna wa able to defeat them by redirecting a swimming pool that had been blessed into holy water into her hotel room.

Hellions
Basic Era D&D / The Witch (because I can)

Armor Class:  3 [16]
Hit Dice: 6d8+4* (30 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws /  breath weapon
Damage: 1d4+2 / 1d4+2 / 1d8 (fire)
Special: fear, flame body, ignite. Double Damage from Holy Water
Movement: 90’
No. Appearing: 1-3
Saves As: Fighter 6
Morale: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Evil
XP: 300

Hellions cause fear as per the spell (Save vs. Paralysis to negate).  They also breathe out a lick of flame while attacking, save vs Breath Weapon for half-damge.
Their bodies are made of flame, but they are not fire elementals in the strictest since. They are demonic spirits and thus unlike elemental they are intelligent and have individuality.  They can disguise themselves as human by finding a human and burning them from the inside out.  They then can crawl into their skin and use that as a suit.


Hellion
Ghosts of Albion, Unisystem

Creature Type: Demon
Life Points: 30
Drama Points: 1

Attributes
Str: 3
Dex: 3
Con: 4
Int: 3
Per: 4
Will: 5

Ability Scores
Muscle: 12, Combat: 12, Brains: 10
Special Abilities: Demon, Fear, Hard to Kill, Lesser Sensing, Water Vulnerability, Breathe Fire, Resistance (Fire).

Anyone seeing a Hellion for the first time must make a Fear check (Willpower x2).
Hellions do not take damage from fire but take double damage from water based attacks (treat water splash as acid).

Manoeuvres
Name Score Damage Notes
Claw x2 +12 6 bash + fire*
Fire Breath +12 12 fire* (extra fire damage based on SL)
Deflect +11 - Magic defence action; deflects spell 45˚