Mail Call: Black Magic Ritual Kit (1974)

 Well, I finally picked up another "Holy Grail" item. It makes me glad I didn't spend a lot at Gary Con.

This is the "companion" game (I am not sure that is what this really is) to the Witchcraft Ritual Kit (1974) I talked about back in 2020. Both are from Avalon Hill.

Let me just start off with this. Man, the '70s were weird. 

This "game" has a board that looks like an altar set up from an occult bookstore's own manual of rituals. There are a lot of pieces here with various names of demons and angels on it. There is a "Rule book" and a "Manual of Interpretation," just like the Witchcraft Ritual Kit. It is also written by the same "Dr. Brooke Hayward Jennings," whom I still have found nothing of.

What I said about the Witchcraft Kit holds true here, too. It's 1974. The biggest movie in the world right now is "The Exorcist." Time Magazine is talking about the Occult Revival and the Return of Satan. An maybe, just maybe, Avalon Hill knows about a game featuring fantasy magic and wizards coming up. Well, they do know about it; they rejected it just a bit back.  Hippies have not yet become the Yuppies and they are searching for "alternative experiences."  What is a game company known for its war games and battle simulations to do?

Knock together some vaguely occult-looking games, put them into their standard "bookcase games" box, and slap some softcore porny covers on them. Next step...profit! 

Maybe. I don't think these games ever sold very well. There are so few of them on the aftermarket and the ones I do find are really expensive. I got this one from eBay from someone who I don't think knew what they had (based on their other sales), but I was bidding against someone who did know. Thankfully, the amount I set aside for this was much less than my final bid.

I got it just over the weekend.

What treasures are to be found here?

I love it for the cover alone!

AND, as a special bonus (and one of the main reasons I like buying these used games), someone included their own spell!

It has the same production values as the Witchcraft Ritual Kit and the same head-scratching "What do I even do with this?"

"Hey babe, come back to my pad, and I'll show you some magic."

You've got to love the covers, though. It makes me wonder what Avalon Hill product 712 was. (ETA doesn't look like there was one.)

According to BoardGameGeek, quoting the company history, "Top management decided to leave the realm of games and produce a couple of do-it-yourself kits entitled BLACK MAGIC & WITCHCRAFT." These were both advertised for a short while as a "Leisure Time Game." Neither come with, or need, dice (an Avalon Hill staple) and candles and incense are not included.

Both of these "games" are very strange, and I am not sure what events led to their publication, except for the ones I have outlined in speculation above. Neither game appears in the catalog included in the box.

Long-time readers know of a condition called "Traveller Envy," where I am constantly looking for board games to supplement my D&D experience, particularly my campaign "War of the Witch Queens." This is certainly why I bought it, but I am still stumped on how to add it. 

I mean, the demons all seem to be taken from The Lesser Key of Solomon, so I have that working in my favor since so many other games do the same thing. 

Honestly, just reading through it all is fun. It also gives me some ideas for my 1976 and 1979 campaigns. Though in different ways.

In any case, it is a wonderful curiosity from the 1970s Occult Revival and is sure to confuse anyone who tries to clean out my collection after I am gone!

Mail Call: Back to Basic

 Been down with COVID-19 so most of my posts have been things I wrote a while back.

But here is something new, some of my latest mail calls. All with a Basic, as in B/X, theme.

Up first is the OSE version of Dark Places & Demogorgons.

I like the idea of an OSE version, but I am more likely to play it using its original rules.  Still nice to have and the Cryptid Manual is a great addition to any OSE game.  My only question is do I shelves these with my OSE books or my Dark Places & Demogorgons ones?

Speaking of Demogorgons.

Ryan Thompson's Demonology for OSE is now being shipped. I have already stated most of these creatures for myself (and many posted here) but it is always nice to see more and different takes on the same creatures.

This is OSE so it is compatible with B/X and DP&D OSE above. Bring in the real Demogorgon into your DP&D game!

Since it was Halloween, I treated myself to another adventure.

Witch, Grave, and Haunt from Pacesetter Games is for BX and 5e. I got the BX version.

The "Witch" portion is an updated version of The Witch of Monte Rosa. There are some changes to the adventure which is fine. The other two are not unknown to me, but this is the first time I have them in print.

This and the Demonology book will work great for my War of the Witch Queens campaign.

And finally, I have been playing a LOT of Baldur's Gate 3 so I treated myself to a little Print on Demand fun.

This is Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate II, released to support the Baldur's Gate II game back in the late 1990s. It would be nice if Wizards put out something to support the new game, given how popular it is.

Reviews: I'm Going to Hell!

 It's October, and my thoughts turn to scary things. And honestly, what could be scarier than a trip to Hell? There are a lot of great adventures to take your characters through. I can't review them all, but here are a few.

I DO still want to do my "A Barbarian in Hell" adventure sometime. These will help me out. 

So come with me. Let's go to Hell!

666: The Number of the Beast

PDF, 20 Pages, DMsGuild. $6.66

This one is fun. It's 20 pages long, and it takes its inspiration from both Dante's Inferno and Heavy Metal music. Sounds like my kind of mix, to be honest! This one also takes cues from a few different video games. This works if you imagine that your characters are already dead and in Hell and not traveling there as a "Soujurn in Hell."

This PDF sets up seven "boss battles" for characters in Hell. It can be used as described or as a supplement to an ongoing campaign in Hell, which is what I am using it for.

This is obviously for D&D 5e via the DMsGuild.

Nine Hells Adult Coloring Book

PDF, 48 Pages. B&W art (by design). $6.95 PDF / $8.98 Print

This is overtly a coloring book, but it is also a great resource for the Pathfinder version of Hell and stat blocks for the rulers of each level. Again this could be in the form of a "boss battle" or as a resource. Buy it for the coloring book, but stay for the backgrounds, lore, and stat-blocks.

The art from Jacob E. Blackmon is excellent as well, and there are some pieces here that would be a lot of fun to color. Now, where did my kids leave their crayons?

 

Emirikol's Guide to Devils

PDF, 246 Pages. Color art. $15.00

From Sean McGovern, of The Power Score RPG blog.  So right away I knew this was going to be a well-researched product. Sean has been one of the best at deep lore D&D research in the blogging scene for years. He is meticulous and encompassing on any topic he tackles.

This is a massive volume at 246 pages and covers the Hells and its inhabitants. It takes D&D lore from as far back 1st/2nd Edition (I noticed that details from "Politics of Hell" are not really included though, but everything else is) and tries to bring them all together. It leans heavily into the 5th edition versions of Hells (naturally), and the book is presented like many of the newer 5e books, with notes from Emirikol the Chaotic and Natasha the Dark. 

The information makes for a great read, and there are some details I really enjoy. I like how the author explains the shift from Demon to Devil to Fiend for Succubi. There are plenty of stat blocks, which is good if you don't have all the devils and Archdevils. And there are plenty of new devils and backgrounds on playing characters associated with devils and the Hells.

The art is a mixed bag, as with any DMsGuild product, and I am not 100% on board with all the lore choices made here.  But there is enough text and information here to keep me busy. Plus any choice I don't like I can simply say "well, Emirikol got it wrong" or even "This was from Natasha when she was younger and not yet Iggwilv."

In any case, it is good to have multiple points of view on something as complex as the Nine Hells.

I do wish there was a printer-friendly version. This would be nice in my big red binder of devil information.

Dalor's Guide to Devils & Demons

PDF, 127 pages, Color art. PDF $19.99 / Print $34.99

Now this one was a bit of a pleasant surprise to me.  It is for 5e so I was expecting something akin to the DMsGuild products I had been reviewing. But this one reminds me of the best of the OSR in terms of look and feel, with solid 5e design and layout. Really the best of both worlds. The vibe I get from it is like the old Mayfair Demons series.

This book gives you a ton of new demons and devils and plenty of background and lore for them. There is even a fiendish language and alphabet. I am a little surprised this one doesn't have more sales because it is just a treasure trove of great stuff.

There are new demon lords, new arch-devils, cults and contracts, and even a new class. A little bit of everything really. 

--

See you in Hell!

Kickstart Your Weekend: Demons, Angels, and Serpent Queens

 A couple of new Kickstarters for this weekend.

Castles & Crusades Codex Infernum & Codex Exaltum

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ckg/castles-and-crusades-monsters-the-unclean-and-pure?ref=theotherside

Troll Lords continues their Codex Series with two books. Castles & Crusades Codex Infernum and Codex Exaltum, this time covering Demons and Angels, respectively.

I really liked their Tome of the Unclean, which featured demons and devils, and I thought it was a great book. I love their Codex series as well.  No surprise then that I am looking forward to seeing these out. 

And to add icing on the cake the Codex Exaltum is being written by none other than my frequent partner in crime, Jason Vey!  Jaso really is the perfect person for that with his academic and game-writing background. So my expectations of this one are pretty high. 

The covers look great and will fit in nicely with my current in-use copies of Castles & Crusades.

Also expect these in a future One Man's God-style post.

Trails & Tales: Temple of the Serpent Queen

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/trailsandtales/trails-and-tales-temple-of-the-serpent-queen?ref=theotherside

If you are on social media, in particular Facebook, you know that for a little bit now Danger Forge has been releasing some quality OSR-compatible PDFs for free. The production values are high and the content has been a lot of fun.  

This is their first Kickstarter. 

Personally, I can think of about three or four campaigns I could use this in, one of which is my Castles & Crusades conversion of my "Second Campaign."

September Updates

September is here, and every year at this time, I say, "how in the hell did that happen???"

I have a snowblower to fix, veggies to harvest, and family to visit this month, so posting might be light.

I also want to get in some Old-School game reviews and discussions, plus I have some other things I want to clear off my plate before October hits.

This year I am joining in the 31 Days of Halloween Movie Challenge from Pun Issac over at Hall of the Nephilim. 

Here is the text version:

Daily Prompt

1. First Time Watch
2. Reanimated
3. Mother Nature Strikes Back
4. Foreign Language
5. What A Twist
6. Anthology
7. Teen Angst
8. Horror Comedy
9. Slow Burn
10. Body Horror
11. For The Kiddos
12. Black and White
13. Inspired By True Events
14. We Are the Weirdos Mister
15. Pretty Blood Suckers
16. Something Fishy
17. Underrated
18. Clown(s)
19. Folk Horror
20. Monstrous Blood Suckers
21. Summer Camp
22. Howl at the Moon
23. Best Soundtrack
24. Slasher
25. Found Footage
26. New Movie
27. Favorite Horror Director
28. Sci-Fi Horror
29. Man is the Real Monster
30. Remake Is Better Than the Original
31. All Hallows Eve

 Alternates

• Torture Porn
• Blaxploitation
• Video Game Movie
• Cults
• Best Gratuitous Nudity 

A few of these might end up being re-watches.  I wanted to do all Spanish language horror this year, but I might not get to that. I am not as far along in my Spanish as I would have hoped, to be honest.

Speaking of October, Horror and Halloween.

Here is some new art for my next book, I need to get a move on it to get it done.

https://www.billyblueart.com/

Best get back to writing.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 20

 Going back to Room #18 and taking the door behind Brog'lar the party is met with a similar corridor and ending in a similar room.  Though the contents are very different.

In this room there is a glowing orb of light around where the pentagram and magic circle would have been (inspection will see the powder has been blow away).

Voices can be heard coming from the light, sibilant whispers promising all sorts of treasures and power.

If any character touches the light with a bare hand (not a weapon, pole, or even gloved) will be sucked into the light never to be seen again. They are trapped the demonic realms.  

Game Masters can give a character a Save vs. Death to avoid being taken.

There are five gems embedded in floor. Each is a large diamond at the points of the former pentagram. Each is worth 1,000 GP.  Removing them causes the light (and portal) to fade.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 19

 Going through the door with the portrait of Xorxith, the party finds themselves in a dark room, there is a small child lying on the floor inside a magic circle. The powder glows faintly.

The child is a demon of course, the room has been sealed up for centuries and the demon has been stuck here. It's been so long that the demon barely remembers who or what they are. So it is not very convincing as a demon or as a child. 

If the child ruse does not work (it is not likely to work), it will shift to a demonic form of a child (thinking it might be better) where it will try to convince the characters to free it so it can reap vengeance on those who imprisoned it. Those mages are dead, but the demon will not let the characters know it knows that. 

The demon will attack once free. It is a demon, after all, and it really wants to kill something.

Ördög

AC 4 [15], HD 6+6* (33hp), Att 2 × claws (2d6), 1 × bite (1d4), THAC0 14 [+5], MV 180’ (60’) / 240’ (80’) flying, SV D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (6), ML 10, AL Chaotic, XP 500, NA 0 (1), TT None

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 18

 Going back to Room #15 and taking the corridor on the left leads to a large obsidian-paneled room.

This room is a scene from a horror movie. 

The five walls are covered with paintings of demons by various artists. There are notes under each painting detailing when each demon was summoned and subjugated by the Vampire Queen. There are dozens here, and many of the names are unknown to the characters.

There are secret doors behind the three largest paintings. The demons are:

• Xorxith - This demon is known as the Destroyer in the Darkness. It is a powerful and destructive demon who is feared for its ability to tear through its enemies. He appears as a giant demon (60 ft high) with his head obscured by darkness.
• Brog'lar - This thin, sexless demon has long delicate fingers and a mouth filled with needle-like teeth. It sits on a pile of skulls.  It is a cunning and manipulative demon who is known for its ability to control others.
• Gzor'nak - The Hunger. This demon appears to be a huge demonic monster with a giant mouth with thousands of teeth, a large belly, and huge legs. It is a voracious and insatiable demon who is always hungry for more power and destruction.

Reading over these paintings and notes provides characters the following XP.

Magic-users and witches: 100 xp
Clerics: 75 xp
Fighters and thieves: 50 xp 

Xorxith

Brog'lar

Gzor'nak

Monstrous Mondays: Shayṭān and Ifrit

 Been spending a lot of time with Gods and monsters over the last few weeks. Today I wanted to continue that idea with some of the creatures in between. Also, I want to talk more about using monsters like these in the WASTED LANDS and NIGHT SHIFT RPGs.

Your humble author surrounded by Shayṭān and Ifrit

Shayṭān and Ifrit

The wonderful thing about O.G.R.E.S. as presented in the WASTED LANDS and NIGHT SHIFT rules is how flexible it can be. Many monsters are simplified down to basic concepts.  A demon for example is give some basic power levels and then a number of powers that can be added or swapped out for nearly infinite variety. Even the name "demon" is flexible.

Here I think old-school players (and Game Masters) will recognize the foundations of many monsters and fans of modern horror RPGs will recognize the flexibility baked into the system.

While this means there is no great need for multiple Bestiaries, there is still utility in spelling some details out for players that need something quick.

Enter the Shayṭān.

I have been spending a lot of time going over the myths and legends of the world. They are all quite fascinating really, and while my love for the original AD&D Monster Manual knows no equal, one thing is clear, that the monsters depicted within pale in comparison to the monsters of myth. This is not really a slight. Space in the MM was limited, and there had to be a game focus.

Take the Effriti from the Monster Manual and to a lesser degree, the one from the D&D Expert Set. I mention the Expert set specifically because it's entry for Effriti was similar, but different enough, from the Monster Manual to make look into the creature more. The tantalizing and (in my mind) poorly explained "Lesser" also sent me out to explore more. 

These creatures are interesting, something of a cross between a devil and a fire elemental. Interesting enough to be featured as the cover of the AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide. ut the Ifrit of myth are more interesting still.  

There is also no way I can do them justice here, but I would love to take a start at it.

Shayṭān

The Shayṭān are a class of spirits corrupted by the Deeper Dark. They are, or were, predominantly elemental spirits like the Ifrit, Jinn, and Marid, but some are lesser spirits like the Qareen, and others still are greater spirits like Iblis.

In their corruption, they have become similar to demons, and many scholars will conflate the two. Indeed their methods and their purposes are also very similar.

Like the wind, Shayṭān will most often be invisible and intangible but can appear as various mundane creatures. The greatest power of the Shayṭān is to form bodies out of the base elements (fire, air, earth, water) to interact with humans, whom they tempt away from goodness.  For example, the Ifrit are the Shayṭān of fire. 

The typical Ifrit is a "Rank III demon," according to scholars. It has the following differences, it can only gate in lesser Shayṭān, not other demons. They are harmed by celestials, supernatural attacks, and Chosen Ones (NIGHT SHIFT). 

Iblis

Iblis appears as an Ifrit of the largest size, but he can also appear as an angel/celestial or as a normal human. He is the ruler of all Shayṭān. 

No. Appearing: Unique
DV: 0
Move: 30ft. Fly: 60ft.
Vitality Dice: 22 (180 Vitality Points)
Special: 4 attacks (2 claws, bite, 1 great sword), Shayṭān abilities, Summon Rank I shayṭān 100%, Summon Rank II shayṭān 85%, Summon Rank III shayṭān 75%, Summon Rank IV shayṭān 60%, Fear gaze, spells, +3 or better weapon to hit, regeneration (4 vitality/round), see in darkness, telepathy 200 ft.

Iblis, sometimes referred to as the Great Duke, the Enemy, or even just The Shayṭān, is the ruler of all shayṭān. His preferred form is that of a normal man, sometimes in the guise of a priest, pilgrim or other holy man. He can also appear as an 18' ifrit surrounded by flames. He has a third form, that of an angelic being that some claim is his original form before he was corrupted. 

Ilis enjoys corrupting other mortals as he himself had been. He shares no love for the other denizens of the Deeper Dark and sees other shayṭān as his to control. He claims no kinship to any other group and maintains that he alone is the source of evil in the world (a dubious claim at best).

Iblis is very knowledgeable about magic and there is no spell that he does not know or have access to. Sorcerers often seek him out to learn secret lore, but the summoning of Iblis is a secret itself and to do so incorrectly invites his wrath.

Use in the Wasted Lands

In this game, Iblis and the Shayṭān are new to the world and are seeking out ways to control the minds, and souls, of the humans left here after the Old Ones have departed. 

Use in NIGHT SHIFT

Is this the same Iblis as the one from The Dreaming Age? Iblis himself seems to think so but plenty of scholars and occult philosophers point out that we know when he began to appear in myth and texts and say it is unlikely, save that this Iblis occupies the same concept as the Iblis before. Or they are indeed one and the same 

Use in Old-School Games (OSR, Dungeons & Dragons)

Iblis is on par with the powerful Arch-Dukes of Hell. In fact he is their rival in many things. Iblis considers the Arch Dukes to be "lesser copies" of himself and the Lords of Hell feel Iblis should be brought to heel as a renegade member of their ranks. Their multitude of similarities only heighten the minor differences they have.

--

Please don't forget to sign up for the WASTED LANDS Kickstarter beginning tomorrow!

Monstrous Monday: Monsters and XP

Not the art I will use for Lilith, but it is cool.

The work continues on my Basic Bestiaries. I spent some time over the weekend working on various Demon Lords, and working on revisions to my stat block that work well for me and any potential readers.  This has lead me to an issue I need to resolve.

One of the goals for all my Basic Bestaries is to provide players of whatever version of the Great Game they are playing (pre-2000) and their clones a useful and complete stat block for their games.  Another goal was to add what I felt were the best options for new school (post-2000) play. Generally speaking this has worked out well enough with a few extra notes added. But I have come to place where things have gotten messy. That is, how should I denote XP gained.

There are minor differences between all the various clones and even in the versions of D&D itself on how XP should be calculated and/or displayed for defeating a monster.

Let's take an example, the Aglæca from a previous Monstrous Mondays.

Here is the stat block.

Aglæca
Large Humanoid

Frequency: Very Rare
Number Appearing: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic [Chaotic Evil]
Movement: 180' (60') [18"]
Armor Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 8d8**+16 (52 hp)
  HD (Large): 8d10**+16 (60 hp)
Attacks: claw, claw, bite
Damage: 1d6+4 x2, 1d8+4
Special: Cause fear, magic required to hit, regenerate 1 hp per round, infravision, sunlight sensitivity. 
Size: Large
Save: Monster 8
Morale: 12 (12)
Treasure Hoard Class: XIX [D] x2
XP: 1,750 (OSE) 1,840 (LL)

Ok, a few things first. Items in RED are AD&D/OSRIC and some Swords & Wizardry add-ons to what would be a Basic D&D stat block. Items in GREEN are "new school" add-ons like ascending AC and the XP values for OSE and Labyrinth Lord.  I also want to point out one other item I have discussed in the past using different die types for size categories.  This is something from D&D 5 (and in the SRD). Not only does it make sense, it also replicates something I was doing in AD&D 1 anyway (though I only used d6, d8, and d10).  It helps solve a lot of issues with hp spread and size. 

But...there is a consequence of this. 

So my issue recently has been one of XP calculation. I want a book that can be used by players of AD&D and Basic D&D, as well as OSE, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, OSRIC, and Basic Fantasy.  The trouble is they don't all line up with XP point calculations.  And more to the point even something like my Aglæca here is a Large creature, so it's hp, and thus it's XP value, will be greater in AD&D and OSRIC than they would by the book.

What should I do about this?

Solution 1: List Them All

I did this above with just OSE and LL above.  It is comprehensive but unwieldy. 

S&W CL: 10 / XP: 1400
OSE: 1750
LL: 1840
BF: 1015
B/X: 1250
OSRIC: 1150
Advanced: 1150

The OSRIC and Advanced could be collapsed into one (and should).  My d10-based hp calculations do make some of these a little different. 

This works, but like I said, it is unwieldy.

Solution 2: The Point Spread

In truth DMs/GMs always tweak their numbers. So why not a point spread?  Something like this:

Min: 1015
Mean: 1365
Median: 1250
Max: 1840

Smaller. And provides a nice spread without going into details for each system (though the calculations are from all the systems).

Of course, when I publish, the B/X and Advanced numbers have to be removed.

I am also considering a median value or even a weighted mean.  And despite my desire to do so, I doubt I'll add anything like a standard deviation.  (ETA: I added the Median)

Solution 3: The Big Table

I could provide a huge table in the end with all the monster and all their XP calcs.

It wouldn't be that difficult since that is already what I have.

It will likely be some combination of "all the above."

Next task. Reorganize the stat-block for easier reading.

This Old Dragon: Issue #91

I thought I would turn back to pages of one of my musty old Dragons. Today's topic comes to us from October of 1984. Gygax is still at TSR. Prince and the Revolution still dominate the airwaves with "Let's Go Crazy" hitting number 1 following the success of "When Doves Cry" and preceding the success of the single "Purple Rain."  Nick Nolte and JoBeth Williams star in the number #1 box office "Teachers." All I remember from that movie was Crispin Glover was really insane in it. On the shelves in the local Waldenbooks is Issue #91 of This Old Dragon.

I did not own this one back in the day. My High School DM and I had an agreement to pick up every other issue. This was the one he got.  I found the cover to be really cool and thought that it would make for a great concept. Something we would try about four years later. 

I did finally get an issue. The one I have is beat up and missing a cover and some pages.  This image is from my Dragon Magazine CD-ROM.

We are introduced to the new Table of Contents page. It is easier to read than the older one with the gray background and will be the standard for a while.  

Letters praise the recent Katherine Kerr articles and have a few helpful suggestions. The recent Rust Monster ecology didn't fare as well. 

Nice ad for Milton Bradley's Broadsides & Boarding Pirates. Back when gaming magazines would run ads for their competitors. The ships from that game would make great props in a sea-faring adventure. 

The Forum is less praise-filled on Katherine Kerr's stance on playing evil characters. while I have played evil characters in the past I find playing them these days a bit tedious. Playing a good character was always more fun for me. 

Gary is up with From the Sorcerer's Scroll.  This one deals with some of the new demon information (and one demon) we will see in the upcoming Monster Manual II.

Long-time contributor Stephen Inniss is back with Realistic Vital Statistics. This is a new guide and system for how much a particular humanoid-like creature, from pixie size to titans, should weigh based on height.  The system certainly works and has a lot of internal consistency which is what you need in a game system. He points out some inconsistencies with the data provided in DMG and attempts to make it better. He does give practical and magical adaptations to the Square-Cube Law (though he does call his observations this, that is what it is) and it plainly sets out why giants could never have existed like described in D&D. I do like his notion there is some sort of magic at work here, maybe a low-level sort of levitation spell going on.  It is a very useful article.

Dragon Magazine MVP (certainly of this issue) Ed Greenwood is up with The Ecology of the Leucrotta. I will fully admit when I first saw this my first thought was "Why? There are so many other interesting creatures out there." Which I think is the whole point. This article and the one on the Slithering Tracker (the first Ecology of article I ever read) pointed out that even so-called "pointless" or even "useless" monsters can be interesting. It also helped shift my focus of D&D/AD&D as "character-centric" to "normal human-centric" and realizing that even a "pointless" monster can be a huge threat. This also reminds me I should do a retrospective at one point on all of these Ecology of articles. 

More Devils. More Hell. And more Ed Greenwood! Nine Hells Revisited gives us some details about the devils and hells they live in. We get some new devils, some of which I have not seen repeated since. There are even a couple that share their names with others like the Greater Devil Dagon (formerly Jaqon), the Greater Devil Azazel, and the Arch Devil Gargoth (formerly Astaroth).  This is every bit as useful as the series from Dragons #75 and #76. 

Ed follows this up with Eight Devilish Questions. This is the article than also originally clued me it to how to figure out the HD of various higher level demons and devils. I say clued me, but in reality it was more along the line of "duh, why didn't I think of that!" 

Nice ad for White Dwarf.  Bigger ad for the 10th Anniversary set of D&D books. Really, really wish I had grabbed those then. Of course, if I had they would have gotten lost with all my other AD&D books from that time.

A big overview slash big advertisement is next the first Dragonlance novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight in Chronicles: A Novel Idea. I know a lot of gamers around my age and older complain about Dragonlance, but frankly I don't get it. It did change the game, but in all ways for the better. 

Ad for Bard Games' The Compleat Fantasy Series and The Atlantean Trilogy follows.

My entire middle section is gone here. It was The Treasure Trove. I am not sure if I took this out or if it was like that when I bought this box of old Dragons.  While by the rules I invented for myself saying I could not review what I don't have, I do want to make one minor breach of that.

As I mentioned, this particular issue was bought by my DM at the time. He took all the magic items here, and a few more of his own, that rewrote all the magic item tables in the DMG. Impressive or ADHD? You decide. Anyway, we were running a small side quest for my paladin, Johan Werper II, and decided that he was on a quest (something that I later would call a "Secret Journey" that all member of his holy order had to do.  On this quest, to make a long story short, he found the sword Demonbane. It fit so well with his quest that I made it and even the Citadel of Conjurers a part of my world mythos. MY Demonbane and Citadel of Conjurers took on a different life than the ones that eventually were published in the Forgotten Realms but history was made on that cold rainy afternoon in October.

Penny Perricord is up with Spies' Advice, some questions and answers for Top Secret. Normally this particular column was written by Top Secret Head Administrator Merle Rasmussen. Not sure why he wasn't here. Maybe out watching the Top Secret! movie?

Coming Attractions lets us know what is getting published soon by TSR. An Indiana Jones adventure  Crystal Death. Some Dragonlance metal minis. The second Conan adventure. The odd one, 2001: A Space Odyssey for Star Frontiers. I never grabbed this, but I wondered with a universe like Star Frontiers with lasers and robots and faster-than-light travel, we would get one about a ship that only made it to Jupiter.  Well that is the nature of licenses boys and girls. Indian Jones, Conan, and Dave Bowman here were all part of TSR's big license push. I am pretty sure they lost money on these.

Speaking of Sci-Fi the Ares section is up next.

"Does Anyone Here Speak Aslan?" from Joseph Benedetto, Jr. covers language skills in Traveller.  It is a pretty good guide and one I would adopt for other sci-fi games like Star Frontiers. 

Sadly I am missing the next pages of Day of the Juggernaut a Star Frontiers scenario by William Tracy. I am also missing the Marvel Phile of Cloak and Dagger, two of my favorite Marvel characters to be honest.

Alex Curylo is up with Careers in Star Law. This is a follow-up to Kim Eastland's article in Dragon #87. Not about lawyers, but law enforcement. 

Not to be forgotten but we do get some new Gamma World material in Don't Leave Home Without 'em! from Scott Hutcheon. This covers new gear for Gamma World.

Our short fiction piece, The Rune and the Dragon, is by Lawernce Watt-Evans.

Paul Smith reviews the Shōgun card game. Ken Rolston is back with full reviews of Mercenaries, Spies, & Private Eyes, Death at Dunwich from Theatre of the Mind Enterprises for Call of Cthulhu (I always like the cover of this one), and The Vanishing Investigator for Gangbusters. He has capsule reviews of Dragons of Despair (he didn't care for it), Marvel Super Heroes, and Bree and the Barrow Downs from ICE for MERP.

Gamers' Guide covers all the small ads. Including an ad for Texas Instruments TI-99 programs to create characters. So yeah computer character generators are at least 40 years old. The rather infamous "Who sez dragons don't fly" t-shirt is featured twice. Lots of other t-shirts too. 

Ad for the Indian Jones RPG.  Wormy, Dragon Mirth, and Snarf Quest wrap up this issue.

All in all a really great issue. Lots of great articles, including many that can still be used today. Did Malarea ever see her diabolic plans come to light? I must know!

Kickstart Your Weekend: Demons! Classes! Adventure! and Mice!

Lots for you this week. All worth your time to look into.

Demonology For Old-School Essentials - Zinequest 5

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gamersandgrognards/demonology-for-old-school-essentials-zinequest-5?ref=theotherside

We always need more demons.  While I do have my own I have been using for a while now this will be a welcome addition to my OSE library.

Kibbles' Compendium of Legends and Legacies

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kibblestasty/kibbles-compendium-of-legends-and-legacies?ref=theotherside

I am still supporting third-party 5e folk. I am sure they panicked when the OGL fiasco broke, so I am here to boost their signal.  Still looks like a lot of fun.

After Winter Dark: Aihrde A Fantasy Campaign Setting

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ckg/after-winter-dark-aihrde-a-fantasy-campaign-setting?ref=theotherside

How do I love thee Castles & Crusades? Let me count the ways. Wait, that will take too long. Instead I'll just back this new book!

I mean this just looks so cool, and I have been dying to do something that I have been calling "endless Winter" in my mind.  Maybe this is it? 

Escape from Undergarden - RPG Adventure for 5e D&D

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jvcparry/escape-from-undergarden-rpg-adventure-for-5e?ref=theotherside

Another adventure and it looks like a lot of fun. I will admit a certain level of dissatisfaction with some of the D&D 5 adventures of late. This one looks like it could turn that trend around.  Of course I would run it under Castles & Crusades now.

Feathertail Falls

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peterelroy/feathertail-falls?ref=theotherside

Ok now this one looks like a lot of fun.  From the creator:

This adventure collection is a mouse-fantasy tabletop role playing game that builds on the free Mausritter rules, a deceptively simple system perfectly suited for mouse-sized expeditions. The collection’s adventurous yet melancholy tone is inspired by Over the Garden Wall, Hilda and Studio Ghibli’s Arrietty, as well as the art of Júlia Sardà.

The adventures take place in Feathertail Forest, a place little mice pups may know from bedtime stories, about mice that dream to fly. When you start to explore it, you will find that the unwelcoming forest has been petrified in time. It is up to you to decide if and how to reawaken it, and how to deal with the consequences as you discover more of the forest's secrets.

This would be great for the right group!

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So much great stuff and so little time and money.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Demon Night

My wife, who never watches horror, has expressed a desire to see some demon movies. "Something like the Exorcist, but not as scary." Not a problem, most movies are not as scary as the Exorcist.  "But good." Damn. She got me there. Well, we found some for an afternoon and evening of watching movies.

Hellraiser (2022)

This is the new one and was much easier to get her to watch. Every year there is a movie that everyone in the October Challenge watches. This was one of those (the other so far appears to be Halloween Ends).

This is a reboot, revision, of the Hellbound Heart novella from Clive Barker.  This one stars Goran Visnjic as rich hedonist Voight, the current owner of the Lament Configuration or the puzzle box.  Odessa A’zion stars as Riley, a recovering drug addict who finds the box and starts to open it. And we get Jamie Clayton who is taking a turn as the Hell Priest, more commonly known as Pinhead. Clayton was given a lot of grief online a little because she is not Doug Bradley, the friend of Clive Barker who played Pinhead in all but 2 of the original 10 Hellraiser movies. But mostly it was due to the fact she was a trans woman I feel. 

Watching her in this she was an AMAZING Hell Preist. Going by Barker's own words in the Hellbound Heart.

Its voice, unlike that of its companion, was light and breathy-the voice of an excited girl. Every inch of its head had been tattooed with an intricate grid, and at every intersection of horizontal and vertical axes a jeweled pin driven through to the bone. Its tongue was similarly decorated.

— The Hellbound Heart, Clive Barker, ch. 1

This fits with Clayton's portrayal. The story, if the plot, is familiar. People mess with the box, Cenobites are summoned, and people die. Often in horrible ways. 

Riley manages to escape with her brother's boyfriend, but Voight is given a new "reward" in the end.

The movie is quite good really, and a sequel seems likely.

Errementari (2017)

This movie is based on an ancient European folk tale of a blacksmith and the devil.  The one I remember was about a tinkerer and the devil and was an Irish tale. This one deals with a blacksmith who has captured a demon. The villagers avoid his home, except for the orphaned Usue (played by the amazing Uma Bracaglia) who is unafraid. The local children call her "witch child" and tease her.  She goes to the blacksmith's home where she is trying to find her doll; a local boy tossed the head onto to property. 

Here she discovers the blacksmith has captured a demon, Sartael, and keeps it chained up.  Meanwhile, a local magistrate is investigating the blacksmith claiming he was an army deserter who turns out to be a demon lord, Alastor, and the lord of the chained-up demon.  

To stop the unleashed mayhem of two demos, Usue asks Alastor to be taken to her mother. They disappear and go to Hell.  The blacksmith is being hounded by the villagers but manages to get free. He convinces Sartael to take him to Hell to save the girl. He goes, sending the girl back with Sartael (who tells the scared villagers that "this girl is a Saint and Hell rejected her. You better treat her well or I will eat your thumbs!" 

The final scenes are of the blacksmith swinging his giant hammer, and fighting devils.

The movie has a real fairy tale quality to it. There is comedy, some scares and good story.

Jennifer's Body (2009)

Believe it or not, I have never seen this one. Jennifer (Megan Fox) and Anita "Needy" (Amanda Seyfried) are unlikely best friends. They do everything together including going to see this indie band Jennifer has "been stalking on MySpace."  They go see them and the bar catches on fire killing a lot of people.  In shock Jennifer goes with the band, much to complaining of Needy. They ask Jennifer if she is a virgin (spoiler, she isn't and hasn't been since Jr. High), but she tells them yes. So they decide to sacrifice her to Satan so they can be as big as Maroon 5. 

Next thing we know Jennifer is back at Needy's home where she is acting very strange. Like coughing up a bucket of black blood.

While everyone is sad about the deaths at the bar, Jennifer is elated. She has never looked and felt better. Though Needy knows something is wrong.

Jennifer is not only acting strange, she is eating high school boys.  Needy soon discovers this and hears Jennifer's story. She did die in the sacrifice, but because she was not pure the demon took over her body making her a succubus. 

Needy tries to get her to stop, or finally trying to stop her, and Jennifer just continues to eat boys including Needy's own boyfriend.

Needy and Jenifer fight, Jen bites Needy and Needy manages to kill Jen. Jen's mom sees this and now we see why Needy is in prison.  But we also learn that Needy has gained some of Jen's demon powers so she is strong and can levitate.

The movie's credits roll as we learn that Needy has killed the members of the band that had sacrificed Jennifer to start with.

It was a fun movie and honestly, I totally bought into Needy's nad Jennifer's friendship. They did seem like they need each other.

Ok getting tired tonight. I had one more, but that might need to go tomorrow night.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2022
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