Showing posts with label tara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tara. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Labyrinth Lord: Liath and Bodhmall

I recently picked up two books from Brian O'SullivanFionn: Defence of Ráth Bládhma and  Fionn: Traitor of Dún Baoiscne.  While the books are about Fionn MacCumhail (Finn MacCool) they feature younger versions of the druidess Bodhmal and the warrior Liath Luchara.
Like I did, he has both women as lovers.  I have not read the books yet, but a quick flip and I like what I see.  
His Liath and Bodhmal are not exactly like my versions of them and that is cool.

Like what I have been doing with Skylla I wanted to do some versions of Liath and Bodhmall to test out different systems.  I wanted to do "by the book" versions for both Labyrinth Lord:AEC (as a stand in for any OSR game) and D&D5.  Another good choice would be Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.

I made minor changes in each case to reflect what works best for that game.

Previous Versions:
Castles & Crusades
Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, Essentials

Since I am currently running a D&D5 game around 5th-7th level, I set them around that.  I did both versions of the characters around that level.

Liath Luachra
NG Female Half-elf*
Ranger 7th Level

Abilities
Strength: 13 (+1)
Dexterity: 16 (+2)
Constitution: 18 (+3)
Intelligence: 10 (0)
Wisdom: 10 (0)
Charisma: 11 (0)

Saves
Breath: 9
Poison or Death: 8
Petrify or Paralyze: 10
Wands: 9
Spells or Spell-like: 12

AC: 7
HP: 50

Base To Hit AC 0: 14

Abilities
Half-elf
Infravision 60'

Equipment
Long bow (1d8)
Spear +1 (1d6+1)
Leather Armor +1

Water skin, belt pouches, travellers gear, boots.

*I am going with half-elf since I am going with the idea that Liath has some fae or Sidhe blood in her ancestry.  I have a lot of "in-universe" reasons for this, but for me it just works out nice.


Bodhmal
N(G) Female Human
Druid 8th Level

Abilities
Strength: 10 (0)
Dexterity: 10 (0)
Constitution: 14 (+1)
Intelligence: 14 (+1)
Wisdom: 18 (+3)
Charisma: 11 (0)

Saves
Breath: 14
Poison or Death: 9
Petrify or Paralyze: 12
Wands: 10
Spells or Spell-like: 12

AC: 7
HP: 37

Base To Hit AC 0: 17

Spells
1st Level: Divine weather, detect magic, faerie fire, shillelagh
2nd Level: barkskin, cure light wounds, produce flame, charm person
3rd Level: call lightning, pyrotechnics, protection from fire
4th Level: flash fire, summon sylvan beings

Equipment
Scimitar
Leather Armor
Amulet of Protection +1

Water skin, belt pouches, travellers gear, boots.

Stating these two for LL was exactly like AD&D/D&D.  I have made scores of characters for LL but I am always surprised how quick and easy it always is.
Having already done 5e versions; they were just as fast as these.

In the past I had made Liath a barbarian.  Here I went a ranger.  I thought a fighter might also work, but a ranger to me seems closer.  I will have more thoughts on this when I post the 5th edition stats.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Summer Cleaning

So making some cosmetic changes here at the ole' Other Side.

I moved my Kickstarter applet lower on the screen so people can still see it, but make room for my social media buttons.

I also have a great summer themed banner from old friend from the Kitten Board, Willow Ehrenreich.
Yes that is Willow and Tara up there. Yes I think it's cool.  Here is her untouched copy.


I like symbolism to be honest. Tara under the tree, Willow on a rock.  Fits well with how I have been running these characters for the last 12 years.

Posting might be light this summer.  Working hard on Strange Brew and other projects.  But don't worry.  I am not going anywhere.  In fact I have something special in mind for tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Who is Your Favorite Witch?

Something I did for another site, but thought it would work well here.  I started watching "Salem" finally. Love it so far.  Has not grabbed me like American Horror Story did, but it is only a matter of time.
We also have Maleficent out this weekend so really it is a good time for witches on TV and Movies.

Or as Time Magazine said it, "Witches are the new Vampires".

My goal with Strange Brew: The Ultimate Witch and Warlock would be to allow you play ANY type of witch. Good, Bad, Wicked, whatever type of witch is YOUR favorite, that is what I want to do.

Here is a list of my Top Ten witches, in no particular order.  Who is your favorite?  Let me know in the poll below and in the comments section.

1. Cordelia Foxx (American Horror Story: Coven) - In the 13 episodes of 'American Horror Story - Coven' we saw Cordelia go from meek instructor of Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies and living in the long shadow of Jessica Lange's Supreme to be being blinded, given the Sight, finding out her husband was a witch killer, given some new eyes, blinded again and then finally displaying the Seven Wonders to become the newest Supreme.
As the Supreme she is in charge of all the world's witches.  Since going public that is a lot more girls that need training.  American Horror Story never shied away from death, gruesome dismemberment, sexual taboos and killing off main cast members.  While we might not see Supreme Cordelia again, we certainly will see Sarah Paulson in more seasons.

2. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter Books and Movies) - Harry may have been the 'Chosen One' but you know what he would have been without the "most brilliant witch of her generation"?  Easy. Dead.  Remember in the books Hermione was shy, not very attractive and an infuriating know-it-all.  By Book 3 Harry and Ron both begin to notice, but long before her magical makeover Hermione was proving she was worth more than a full Quidditch team of Chosen Ones.  She mastered spells long before any of her classmates, she brewed the Pollyjuice potions, even in Book 3 (the Prisoner of Azkaban) she is using a Time Turner to take extra classes in the same day.  Who else has done that?  Not to mention while dealing with the whole You-Know-Who thing she still manages to fight for House Elf rights.
Plus, and let us be honest here, she could have a wicked temper.  She was the one that tricked Dolores Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest to get captured by Centaurs and she keeps Rita Skeeter trapped in a jar for the last part of The Goblet of Fire.

3.  Piper Halliwell (Charmed) - For eight seasons of Charmed Piper went from the quiet middle sister of the Halliwell witches to the ass-kicking, demon killing leader of the Charmed Ones, the most powerful witches in the world.   She helped kill the leader of the demon-world, The Source of All Evil, twice. Three times if you count the near attempts in the later seasons.   She married a Guardian Angel (a "White Lighter" in the show), gave birth to two sons that were half-witch and half-lighter and destined to be the future protectors of the innocents of the world.  But more importantly she did all of this while keeping her family and friends safe. Well...mostly safe.

4.  Willow Rosenberg & Tara Maclay (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) - Willow was the shy Scooby. The one that didn't want cause problems, but she helped her new friend Buffy Summers, another chosen one, because if nothing else Willow does what it right.  She got a little taste of magical power in Season 2 and the rest. Well Willow became the most powerful witch in the series.  She re-ensouled Angel, she went toe to toe with demons of all sorts, and when a god destroyed her girlfriend Tara's mind then Willow did something that the Slayer herself had not done. She made a god scream.  Willow though struggled with her power and when a stray bullet killed Tara, Willow (and the Willow and Tara fans) went crazy and nearly destroyed the world. She was talked back down, but she never seemed the same after that.
Tara was and is my favorite Buffy character. For me she is a quiet, but deep well of power. Spend anytime on this site to see what I mean.

5.  Samantha Stephens (Bewitched) - You know what real power is?  Not strangling the annoying people around you! At least that is what I think Samantha's real power was.  Married to a muggl-sorry, mortal, Darren, Samantha still managed to use her powers, stay out of the spotlight (or at least the prying eyes of neighbor Mrs. Kravitz), solve the problems and still look fantastic all in 25 minutes.  A lot of Samantha's problems came from trying to please her husband Darren or from her relatives and later daughter.  With a twitch of her nose and nary a "hocus pocus" heard she still managed it all.

6. Joanna Beauchamp (Witches of East End) - Joanna Beauchamp has managed to do something so magical it makes the other witches seem like First Years at Hogwarts.  She made me really like Julia Ormond!  I am being slightly snarky with that I fear.  I like Julia Ormond, I just never cared for her characters till now.  Joanna is a fierce witch. She is the protective mother (and ALL that entails) of Freya and Ingrid and loving sister of Wendy (who I thought was going to be my favorite Beauchamp witch). She has proven to be strong, determined and despite all that, she still doesn’t know all the answers.  I like that in my witches; knowing that magic can’t solve all her problems.  Joanna and Julia keep me coming back for more Witches of East End.

7. Lafayette Reynolds (True Blood) - Lafayette may have died in the books early on, but in the TV series he is a series regular and one of the most popular characters.  Later on he learns he is witch when his boyfriend Jesus reveals to him that he is a Brujo.  Lafayette can channel the spirits of the dead and possibly even a demon.

8. Mary Sibley (Salem) - I have only just started watching this series but so far I love what I see. Mary is an interesting, conflicted character.  It is hard not to sympathize with her, but she is certainly not on the side of angels here.  Special recognition has to go out to Tituba, one of the historical Salem “witches” and the bridge point between this series and American Horror Story Coven.

9. Katrina (Sleepy Hollow) - We have only seen glimpses of Katrina and her power. But one thing is for sure she is firmly in the camp of the “Good Witches”.  Also given her birth she would be one of the first women to truly be called an “American Witch”.  I am looking forward to seeing so much more of her next season of what turned out to be one of my favorite shows of 2013.

10. Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent) - She is either a fairy or a witch, maybe both, but there is no doubt that she is powerful. She put a princess to sleep for 100 years and raised and entire forest of thorns.

Honorable Mention: Cassie (Hex), Wicked Witch of the West (Oz, Wicked), Angelique (Dark Shadows), Robin (Witch Hunter Robin), Sabrina (Sabrina the Teen Aged Witch), Luna and Tonks (Harry Potter), Witchiepoo (H.R. Puffinstuff), Jadis (The Lion, The Witch and Wardrobe), Rachel Morgan (The Hollows Series) and Kiki (Kiki’s Delivery Service)

Who is your favorite?


Favorite Witches
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
pollcode.com free polls 

Friday, September 20, 2013

Willow & Tara: Superbabes

Of course I had to do this.

Witches and magic using types are always a good test of any supers system.  Either they break them or they get broken and don't work quite as well.  In Superbabes it takes a lot of XP and levels to do anything super-like with magic.  The Magic Spells are twice the cost of the powers, but you gain a lot of flexibility.   In Superbabes though you are are also limited by the powers listed.

I am keeping with my conceit that the characters here are aging real time so I can experiment with how they might grow.  Though in truth I have not really played either character in a number of years now, so they are semi-retired.

In both cases their primary stats are not really high. I really wanted to keep them to human norms.  The unfortunate side effect to this is this also means a low number of Power Points.  So I would maybe create a Power called Power Well that characters can dump CPs into to get PP out.  But that might bend the rules a bit.

Character: Willow Rosenberg
Age: 32   Apparent Age: early 30s
Origin: Supernatural Pupil (50cp)
50 CPs

Primary Stats
Muscles: 10  Max Press: 200 (seems a bit high)
Health: 14   Regen, Combat: - Regen, At rest: 1pp/5rds  HTK/Day: 2d6
Moves: 14 ("Agile")  Bonus to hit: - Movement: 5" Hittability: 5 Initiative Bonus: 1
Brains: 24  Mental Attack Bonus: +2 Mental Hittability: 7
Will: 26  Regen Rate: 2pp/1rds HTK Regen/Day: 2d6
Personality: 20
Looks: 17
250 CPs

Secondary Stats
PP: 125
HTK: 55
Fame: 6/16 (normal/supernatural world)
Bimbo Points: 1
XP:
Level: 10
CPs: 2 more to spend

Powers
Magic Spells
- Blast 6d6 (72cp)
- Flight 2 (16cp)
- Force Field 10 (60cp)
- Misc spells (100cp)
Move things Without Touching Them 200cp
Suck it Up (Magical) 100cp
Super Senses
- See Magic 20 cp
Read Minds (listen & talk) Tara only 20cp
588 CPs

Gizmos
Doll's Eye Crystal, Magical Focus 100pp
20 CPs

Skills
Occultist 50 cp
Scientist 50cp
Computer Ops 20cp
Electronics 20cp
Contacts (Supernatural) 20cp
Languages (English, Hebrew, Greek, Latin) 30cp
190 CPs

Character Description
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 120 lbs
Hair: Red
Eyes: Green
Skin: Caucasian


Character: Tara Maclay
Age: 33   Apparent Age: early 30s
Origin: Supernatural Pupil (50cp)
50 CPs

Primary Stats
Muscles: 10  Max Press: 200 
Health: 15   Regen, Combat: - Regen, At rest: 1pp/4rds  HTK/Day: 1d20
Moves: 15 ("Dancer")  Bonus to hit: - Movement: 6Hittability: 6 Initiative Bonus: 1
Brains: 17  Mental Attack Bonus: +1 Mental Hittability: 5
Will: 22  Regen Rate: 1pp/1rds HTK Regen/Day: 1d6+4
Personality: 24
Looks: 16
238 CPs

Secondary Stats
PP: 119
HTK: 58
Fame: 4/14 (normal/supernatural world)
Bimbo Points: 2
XP:
Level: 10
CPs: 0 more to spend

Powers
Healing II 100cp
Magic Spells
- Blast 6d6 (72cp)
- Force Field 20 (120cp)
- Misc spells (90cp)
Move things Without Touching Them 200cp
Super Senses
- See Magic 20 cp
- Sensitive touch 10 cp
Read Minds (listen & talk) Willow only 20cp
672 CPs

Gizmos
Miss Kitty Fantastico II (Familiar, 200pp)
40 CPs

Skills
Occultist 50 cp
Equestrian 20cp (maybe the only time this skill was used in Superbabes!)
First Aid 20cp
Contacts (Supernatural) 20cp
Languages (English, Latin, Russian, Irish Gaelic, Japanese (free)) 30cp
Animal Handler 20cp
160 CPs

Character Description
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 130 lbs
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Blue
Skin: Caucasian

So both girls ended up around 10th level.  They have quite a bit of power, but are not as powerful as other characters around the same levels.  Batwoman or Red Sonja could best them in a purely physical fight.
I would have to work up a few spells and even some rituals. Rituals in this case would be spells that do not take CPs but do burn PP.  Usually only a one time deal.
I cheated and gave them Gizmos that store PP. Well, its not a cheat, but it is bending the rules a bit.
Again. Pretty happy with what I have here.  

Friday, June 7, 2013

Willow & Tara: Villains & Vigilantes

I want to continue talking about Villains & Vigilantes today.

It seems like years ago that Tim Knight of Hero Press asked me to do V&V write-ups of Willow & Tara.  I actually remember it being almost exactly 2 years ago because I was sitting in the DMV getting my licensed renewed. I had my copy of V&V 2.1 on my tablet and jotting down some notes on powers.

The biggest issue with any supers game is magic. It really is the "break all the powers" power.  Especially in systems where you can take Magic and then take all the other powers as spells.

Here are the girls in their post Dragon and the Phoenix versions.





Friday, May 24, 2013

Castles and Crusades: Liath and Bodhmall

I want to wrap-up my week on Castles & Crusades with a post of two of my favorite characters of Irish Myth.  Liath Luachra & Bodhmall the Druidess.

One of my favorite stories is that of Fionn mac Cumhail.  I used him as character in the very first Buffy RPG adventure The Dark Druid. The back ground of the adventure had Fionn coming to the 21st century and that the characters in the game were the new incarnations of people from his past.  My conceit was that his foster mothers Bodhmall and Liath were Willow and Tara respectively.   I expanded on this in my Willow and Tara based Buffy/Ghosts of Albion games. Episode 5 of The Dragon and the Phoenix expands on this and makes the connection well known to the characters.  Episode 11 of Season of the Witch establishes that in the game world Liath and Bodhmall were also the founders of the Daughters of the Flame coven.   So these are some characters with game history for me.

So whenever I need a "D&D Version" of Willow and Tara I turn to Liath and Bodhmall.  This way I can direct their fates in new and different directions and not mess with my "modern age" versions.
I have stated them up for D&D4 here before. In fact I spent a lot of time on it since the D&D4 druid couldn't do what I wanted till Essentials.

Bodhmall as expected makes a better druid under the Castles & Crusades rules than she did under D&D4.
Liath though needs some tweaking. Ranger in C&C is a little different and not really what my mental image of what she is.  It is very, very close, but missing the key ingredient.  I have this mental image of the first time Bodhmall meets Liath.  Bodhmall needs a protector/body guard while she is taking a babe to be fostered to the north.  She sees Liath standing on a raised log. On either side of her on the log are her brothers. They are fighting with long staves and the men are trying to knock her off the log.  She is more than holding her own. Her hair is long and braided and despite her young age is already graying; thus her name "The Gray of Luachair".

Some might balk at me taking two established mythological figures (however obscure) and making them same-sex lovers.  In truth I wondered about this too.  But I was doing research and I picked up a copy of Morgan Llywelyn's  Finn MacCool and there was an interesting typo on the character pages.  It listed Liath as being Bodhmal's wife.  That clenched it for me.

Character Creation
If you ever made a character for 1st Ed AD&D then you can make for C&C in about the same time.  If you have familiarity with 3e, then it might go even faster.
(Honestly I am wondering at this point if C&C should just be the AD&D game I play.)

I like the way the powers for the classes work out for the characters.  I made the right choices.
Since I am using this with the Codex Celtarum, the characters both get a Fey power at 1st level, plus something special

Bodhmall
1st level Human Druid, Female, Neutral Good

STR: 10 (0)
DEX: 10 (0)
CON: 14 (+1)
INT: 14 (+1) P
WIS: 18 (+3) P
CHA: 11 (0) P

AC: 13, Leather Armor
HP: 7 (d8)

Staff +0, 1d6
Scimitar +0, 1d6

Nature Lore
Druid Spells
- First Aid, Light, Purify Food & Drink
- Entangle, Magic Stones
Second Sight (1), p. 93 CC
Anamchara*

Liath Luchara
1st level Human Barbarian, Female, Chaotic Good


STR: 13 (+1) P
DEX: 10 (0)
CON: 18 (+3) P
INT: 10 (0)
WIS: 16 (+2) P
CHA: 11 (0)

AC: 12, Leather Armor
HP: 13 (d12)

Spear +1, 1d6
Short Sword +1, 1d6

Combat Sense
Deerstalker
Intimidate
Primeval Instincts
Shapeshifting (Salmon), p. 94 CC (based on Morgan Llywelyn's work)
Anamchara*

All in all I am happy with those write-ups.

Of course I can't introduce Liath and Bodhmal and not have their Anamchara quality.  It is what helps define them.

So here it is for use with the Codex Celtarum.

Anamchara
Level 6 Druid, 6 Witch

CT na D 10 rounds R self + one other
SV none SR none Comp n/a


“The only thing more frightening than meeting a Celt in battle is meeting a Celt in battle with his wife at his side.” 
- Attributed to Pliny the Elder, 1st Century CE

Anamchara (“on-um-kor-ah”), or soul-mate, is the Gaelic term used to describe a deep and powerful bound shared between two people. This goes beyond mere companionship and even beyond love; the souls of the two people are connected at a deep and fundamental level. Some occult scholars even speculate anamchara share one soul between two physical people.

The anamchara (singular and plural) are often aware of each other on a preternatural level. While this not a full blown telepathy or even empathy it is beyond what the normal senses would allow. This manifests itself in mundane ways as two lovers humming the same song at the same time with no outside influence, husband and wife completing each others sentences, separated twins living parallel lives, or even one sibling knowing her other sibling is about to walk into a room before the event happens.

Anamchara can be, and often are, lovers, but they are not limited to that alone. Some anamchara can also be very close siblings or very deeply devoted friends. Sometimes the connection can be forged in battle, giving rise to a “brothers-in-arms” effect. The Anamchara can also have a deep connection resulting from life times of being together.


Extension of the senses (“I Will Always Find You”). This acts like a mild form of Empathy or a lesser Situational Awareness that extends only to their anamchara. This grants +2 to locate their anamchara via mundane, magic or psychic means. This also gives each anamchara a broad sense of the other’s health and well being.

Boost Morale (“I’ll Stand By You”). When anamchara are together even dire situations do not seem as grim. With a soothing word or even a knowing look a character can grant her anamchara +5 on any one test or roll. Best of all, she can do it after the player has already made this test. The granting character spends her round or turn explaining she is doing this to aid her beloved. This can only be done once per game session per character.

Combat Effects 
The benefits detailed above have some application in combat as well. The extension of the senses translate into making the anamchara a particularly effective fighting team. In order to gain this benefit the anamchara actually need to train together in a fighting style. Players should decide which style (martial arts, medieval weapons or even magic) they will train together in. This training offers a +2 bonus to all attacks of that type and damage for each. Both can also effectively fight against one opponent with out penalty due to room. Anamchara naturally avoid each others weapons. 



I am curious to see what the Castles & Crusades players think of this power.

I am also posting this as part of my giveaway for the Bloghop Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
Win a copy of the Witch and help me support the Trevor Project!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Willow & Tara: BASH! (and Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia)

Today is the first day of the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia
http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/2013/03/hop-against-homophobia-and-transphobia_15.html



As I mentioned earlier in the week that for the time period between May 17 to May 27 I will donate all the money I make from The Witch and from my DriveThruRPG Affiliate money to The Trevor Project.

I signed up for this hop to talk about characters. Honestly, who better to talk about than Willow and Tara. Plus Tara herself is a big fan of the Trevor Project.

Here is something that has been hanging out in my "drafts" for a long time. I think today is a GREAT day to finish it.

Willow & Tara: BASH!

Willow & Tara by Foxfire141

BASH! or as it was known, Basic Action Super Heroes is a great, fun game.

I have talked about it before with my super heroine "Justice", and of course I have done Willow & Tara as superheroes and as animated/cartoon/comic characters.  Bash is sort of the ultimate combination of all of that. While some supers games are "comics" games and others "supers in a real world" games, BASH is certainly a "supers by way of cartoons" game to me.  Trust me, this not a bad thing.

As always I am going with the "Dragon and the Phoenix/Season of the Witch" versions of the girls.  Though if I had stuck with my games this would have been part of Season 3.
The versions I am using are part of a game I never got to run; the Season 3 of my Willow and Tara game.  Basically they are attached to some school for magical/powerful students.  Tara is one of the teachers there so they appeared as NPCs/GMPCs only.  OR they would have been played if I had found someone to play them.  You can see more details of that game in their Cartoon Action Hour, M&M2, M&M3 and Icons write-ups.

Normally I'd do BASH! heroes about 40 points for a starting supers game.  That is what I did with Justice.  Here though the girls don't have any flashy powers.  They have magic and lot of it, but that is different.  Plus they are certainly more "Street Level" or 25 points.  I think I'll split the difference at put them at 30 or 35 points with 10-15 points for stats (like the 25 point level) and the rest for powers.  Plus the "Buffy" like character in the book is aimed at 20 points.  Depending on how I do magic they will end up in the 30 to 40 point range.

Willow Rosenberg
Name: Willow D. Rosenberg
DOB: August 1, 1981
Identity: Public, but unknown as a witch
Occupation: Part time computer instructor; Private Computer Security Systems Analyst.

Brawn: 1
Agility: 1
Mind: 5 (she is considered to be one of the smartest people in the game)

Soak: 1
Defense: 1
Mental Defense: 5

Powers
Super Senses (magical sensing, vision, hearing)  2
Clairvoyance 1
Telekinesis 5
Magic* (limitation: casting) 5 (use any power at 5)
- Force field
- Arcane blast
- Mind Control
Telepath (restricted to Tara only) 3

Skills
(1 physical, 5 mental +1)
Athletics (running)
Computers (hacking), Humanities (Religion), Investigation (Analysis), Occultism (Monsters), Science (Chemistry), Technology (Repair)

Advantages
Headquarters, Quick-thinking, Security Clearance

Disadvantages
In a Relationship (Tara), Minority (out married gay, jewish, witch), Susceptibility (anger issues)

Mental Malfunction: To right wrongs, punish the guilty.


Tara Maclay
Real Name: Tara A. Maclay
DOB: 11/07/1980
Identity: Public, but unknown as a witch
Occupation: Youth Counselor and Art instructor at <> Academy

Brawn: 1
Agility: 2
Mind: 4 (Tara is lot smarter than given credit for)

Soak: 1
Defense: 2
Mental Defense: 4

Powers

Super Senses (magical sensing, vision, hearing)  2
Clairvoyance 1
Telekinesis 4
Healing 3
Magic* (limitation: casting) 5 (use any power at 5)
- Force Field
- Arcane blast

Telepath (restricted to Willow only) 3

Skills
(2 physical, 4 mental)
Perform (Dancing), Riding (Gallop)
Humanities (Art), Medicine (first aid), Occultism (Rituals), Social Science (History)

Advantages
Grimoire (The Journal of Tamara Swift), Headquarters,

Disadvantages
In a Relationship (Willow), Minority (out married gay, witch)

Mental Malfunction: To protect the innocent

All in all similar to their Icons counter-parts.   Obviously this is a better choice of system for supers and not supernaturals.  But I expected that and wanted to try it out anyway.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

TBBYANR: Author Friends

The next two blogs belong to two people I consider friends. Both were huge help to me when I was working  on Ghosts of Albion.

Bobert the Hoosier expatriate

http://bbovenguy.livejournal.com/
Robert Black is someone I have known for more than 10 years.  We were both deeply involved involved in Willow & Tara fandom over at the Kitten Board. It was in my discussions with him that helped me formulate a lot of the ideas I had for the Dragon and the Phoenix and Season of the Witch.  Bob also came up with the original idea for the Sisters of Paradox.  Tara's father Robert in Season of the Witch is named after him. So I owe the guy a debt of gratitude for all the work we did back on the Kitten.
Bob is a YA author. Something he learned well as a writer on the classic "You Can't Do That on Television" back on Nick.  He is the only writer of that show to have dumped green slime on Alanis Morissette.

Dave Chapman's Autocratik
http://autocratik.blogspot.com/
Dave Chapman was working on Conspiracy X 2.0 the same time I was working on Ghosts of Albion.  I used to comment that only Eden hires a guy from Chicago to write a game about Victorian England and an Brit to write an American Conspiracy game.  We helped each other out a lot and then he had come in and do some playtests on Doctor Who.
Dave talks about a number of topics, but mostly related to games he likes.

I say pop on over and check them both out. If you like what you read there pick up one of their books and tell them I sent you.


This week I am running my irregular feature "The Best Blog You Are Not Reading" every day.  If you can instead of replying here, go to the blogs I am featuring and reply there.  I think the owners would like that.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Willow and Tara: Amazing Adventures

Amazing Adventures is a fun game.  When I first got my hands on the playtest copy the first thing I noticed (granted I was looking for it) was the Arcanist class.  What I enjoy about it is how flexible it is in concept.  It's not just a wizard, cleric or witch.  It is one class that can do all of that.

So of course I wanted to test it out.  I grabbed my binder of witches and thought about who would be good for a Pulp Age witch.  Or more to the point, which three since I wanted to try this out using the three types of "builds" the Arcanist can use, INT, WIS and CHA based.  My choices really though were made for me.

The great thing about using Willow and Tara is it does give me the chance to try out the INT and WIS based Arcanists.  Also they are characters I know quite well so stating them up usually is only as slow as my familiarity or unfamiliarity with the system.
Plus I have stated them up for d20 before, so I had a base idea of what they needed to look like.  For these builds I used my base Modern d20 and little bit of my Macho Women with Guns d20 one.

The hard part isn't that, but it is deciding on how it is they could be in a Pulp World, 50 years before they were born.  For this I go back to the Uber concept.  Last month I posted the Call of Cthulhu versions of the girls.  In many ways the AA versions are the same as the CoC versions, but these AA versions cleave a little closer to my own Dragon and the Phoenix canon.

I have to admit the idea of a Pulp-ish Willow and Tara came to me from the strangest of places.  I was watching "If These Walls Could Talk 2" and there was an older lesbian couple in the first sequence.  While older in 1961, they could have been the adventuresses of the early Pulp Era.  In the 1920s and early 30s they would have been in their late 20, early 30s.  So why not.
I guess think of these stats as the continuation of the CoC ones from the early 1920s.

Willow and Tara in Amazing Adventures
Willow and Tara in the 1930s are just out of college.  They discovered each other from their shared use of magic and now they much adventure across the world search for more arcane secrets, stopping the forces of evil in both human and nonhuman form all while being perused by cultist and Nazis.

Willow Daniel Rosenberg
Gagdeteer 1/ Arcanist(INT) 12
Human Female, Lawful Neutral (Good),
hp: 45
MEP: 114
AC: 12 (locket of protection)/ 15 (when in physical contact with Tara)
Move: 30'

STR: 9 (0)
DEX: 11 (0)
CON: 11 (0)
INT: 18 (+3)
WIS: 16 (+2)
CHA: 17 (+2)

Languages: English, Latin, Hebrew, French* (extra language)
Background: Scientist +4 (+2 initial, improved at 5th, 10th level), Mathematician +2
Traits: Spellgifted (offensive), Reckless
Skill: Knowledge (Arcana)


Spells per Level

9/6/6/5/3/2/1
0: Arcane Mark, Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Message, Open/Close, Prestidigitation
1: Arcane Bolt, Burning Hands, Identify, read Magic, shocking Grasp, Sleep
2: Bullet Proof, Darkness, Enhance Attribute, Invisibility Scare, Shatter
3: Blink, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Fly, Lightning Bolt, Magic Circle
4: Confusion, Locate Creature, Scrying,
5: Telekinesis, Telepathic Bond
6: Chain Lightning


Tara Ann Maclay


Arcanist (WIS) 11
Human Female, Lawful Good
hp: 42
MEP: 100
AC: 12 (locket of protection)/ 15 (when in physical contact with Willow)
Move: 30'

STR: 12 (0)
DEX: 9 (0)
CON: 12 (0)
INT: 16 (+2)
WIS: 18 (+3)
CHA: 16 (+2)

Languages: English, Latin, Greek* (picked this one up along the way)
Background: Historian +4 (+2 initial, improved at 5th, 10th level), Artist +2
Traits: Spellgifted (defensive), Polite
Skill: Knowledge (myth and legend)

Spells per Level

9/6/6/5/3/2
0: Blinding Flash, Detect evil, Detect magic, First Aid, Know Direction, Light, Purify Food & Drink, Message, Prestidigitation
1: Animal Friendship, Command, cure Light Wounds, Protection from Evil, Remove Fear, Shield of Faith
2: Aid, Darkness, Delay Poison, Hold Person, Lesser Restoration, Speak with Animals
3: Cure Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic, Magic Circle against Evil, Remove curse, Spiritual Weapon
4: Dismissal, Restoration, Wall of Force
5: Dispel Evil, Scrying

I like how they turned out and am looking forward to trying out some of this flexibility.

Links for Amazing Adventures

http://www.trolllord.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=211
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/106153/Amazing-Adventures%21?affiliate_id=10748

Friday, November 9, 2012

Willow and Tara: Call of Cthulhu

I was talking with my good friend Dr. Lloyd from my days on the Kittenboard.  He was interested in my old RPG sessions of The Dragon and the Phoenix.  I updated him and he was thrilled.  He shared with me this idea he has had to run his own "Call of Cthulhu" game with Willow and Tara.
We talked back and forth for a while and this is what he came up with.

He came up with this "Uber" campaign. What is Uber you ask? Uber has it's roots in Xena fandom.
You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uberfic

Well where Xena and Gabriel go, Willow and Tara often follow.  This is some I have used in my games many times. It was a central feature in The Dark Druid, Heaven Bleeds, and This Blessed Plot.

And of course I am not the only the only one who does this.  There is an entire subsection of fandom that is dedicated to this.  You can see some of them on the "Uber Willow & Tara" site "Through the Looking Class".

Below is an "uber" version of Willow & Tara for the Call of Cthulhu RPG.  This one is set in the 1920s.  These would be the prior incarnations of the girls prior to their appearance in the 1980s (birth) to the present day.

The following was all created by Dr. Lloyd & Rebecca Ashling, enjoy!

When Buffy met Lovecraft

 This is a character build out for a BTVS campaign centering on Willow and Tara that is set in the 1920's world of HP Lovecraft.
There are two build outs for these characters.  One is the "Canon" one, where Buffy is the slayer abet 75 years earlier and everything is the same otherwise.  The other is the "Uber" campaign where Buffy is merely far too inquisitive young woman investigating the super natural.

Willow Rosenberg

Investigator Name: Willow Rosenberg
Occupation: Student/Witch
Colleges, Degrees: Sunnydale
Birthplace: Sunnydale, CA
Mental Disorders: Insecurity, Monomania, also Homosexuality was treated as one
Sex: Age: 20
STR: 8 DEX: 11 INT: 18 Idea: 90
CON: 11 APP: 14 POW: 22 Luck: 110
SIZ: 8 SAN: 110 EDU: 20 Know: 100
99-Cthulhu Mythos: 74 Damage Bonus: -1D4

Accounting 10% Anthropology 11% Archaeology 11%
Astronomy 46% Bargain 5% Biology 41%
Chemistry 46% Climb 40% Conceal 25%
Credit Rating 30% Cthulhu Mythos 25% Dodge 22%
Drive Auto 20% Electrical Repair 30% Fast Talk 25%
First Aid 40% Geology 21% Handgun 20%
Hide 10% History 50% Jump 25%
Law 20% Library Use 60% Listen 25%
Locksmith 1% Machine Gun 15% Martial Arts 1%
Mechanical Repair 20% Medicine 35% Natural History 30%
Navigate 10% Occult 40% Operate Hvy. Machine 1%
Other Language: Hebrew 36% Other Language: Latin 36% Persuade 25%
Pharmacy 26% Photography 10% Physics 56%
Psychoanalysis 16% Psychology 25% Ride 5%
Rifle 25% Shotgun 30% Sneak 30%
Spot Hidden 25% Submachine Gun 15% Swim 25%
Throw 25% Track 10% Fist/Punch 50%
Head Butt 10% Kick 25% Grapple 25%

Willow Rosenberg is a Jewish, Lesbian, Wiccan, and well educated young woman, which in 1920s America *any*of those qualifiers will drawn unwanted attention.  Her father ,Ira, is an investor in the shipping business, and her mother Shelia has a Masters degree in Sociology and is very active in local philanthropic and charitable women’s groups as well as supporting her husband in any business functions. Her father travels a good deal, and her mother is frequently involved in social work. As such this means Willow is almost always left to her own devices.

Her closest friend and companion growing up was the son of the housekeeper, Xander Harris.  They went to school together and while Shelia isn't too happy about their friendship, it makes her feel progressive that her Daughters best friend is a working class child.   Xander's father died of Influenza years before.  In many ways Xander is her "beard" to deflect unwanted questions about marriage.

Willow met Buffy in school in a similar way to "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and worked under the mentor ship of local antiquarian and librarian  Rupert Giles.   She met Tara and fell in love with her as a Freshman in college.  While their closest friends know about their relationship, almost no one outside that circle do and would be hostile if they did.

Having said this, two single women living together for the entirety of their lives itself would not raise any eyebrows even if it led to them both being termed spinsters.
In the uber campaign she and Tara have limited access to magic, and almost all of it is complex ritual magic.  However, because of the emotional, romantic, and spiritual connection between the girls, they are able to work as a Coven of 2.

 This means for the purposes of spells they can combine their POW and Magic points, and loose 50% less sanity from ritual magic when together.

In the "Canon" campaign they have a wider list of spells, and when holding hands use 50% less MP for a spell.

Tara Maclay

Investigator Name: Tara Maclay
Occupation: Student/Shop girl
Colleges, Degrees: Student in California college
Birthplace: Birmingham, Ala
Mental Disorders: Shy, beleaves she may be evil
Sex: F Age: 21
STR: 8 DEX: 12 INT: 15 Idea: 75
CON: 13 APP: 14 POW: 18 Luck: 90
SIZ: 9 SAN: 90 EDU: 19 Know: 95
99-Cthulhu Mythos: 99 Damage Bonus: none

Accounting 10% Anthropology 21% Archaeology 1%
Astronomy 26% Bargain 25% Biology 1%
Chemistry 41% Climb 40% Conceal 40%
Credit Rating 15% Cthulhu Mythos 0% Dodge 24%
Drive Auto 20% Electrical Repair 10% Fast Talk 5%
First Aid 50% Geology 1% Handgun 20%
Hide 50% History 35% Jump 25%
Law 5% Library Use 55% Listen 50%
Locksmith 1% Machine Gun 15% Martial Arts 1%
Mechanical Repair 20% Medicine 5% Natural History 20%
Navigate 10% Occult 50% Operate Hvy. Machine 1%
Persuade 15% Pharmacy 21% Photography 10%
Physics 1% Pilot: Read Latin 55% Psychoanalysis 1%
Psychology 40% Ride 5% Rifle 25%
Shotgun 30% Sneak 50% Spot Hidden 60%
Submachine Gun 15% Swim 25% Throw 25%
Track 10% Fist/Punch 50% Head Butt 10%
Kick 25% Grapple 25%

Tara Maclay is an independent young woman who is a student as well.  She lives far from her estranged family in Alabama, and lives on meager resources.  She works as a shop girl in a local book store and has a small inheritance from her dead mother that was ostensibly for her Hope chest.  Her stutter is more pronounced in this world, and her knowledge of occult even great that Willow's because of her family traditions.   She formerly was sure she was damned for her Witch tendencies, but has learned from Willow and Buffy that this is not the case.

To help set the structure of the campaign, here is a description of Buffy.


Buffy Summers

Investigator Name: Buffy Summers
Occupation: Slayer
Colleges, Degrees: Sunnydale HS
Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA
Mental Disorders: None, but suspected
Sex: F&nbspAge: 20
STR: 21 DEX: 21 INT: 13 Idea: 65
CON: 20 APP: 15 POW: 16 Luck: 80
SIZ: 18 SAN: 80 EDU: 12 Know: 60
99-Cthulhu Mythos: 79 Damage Bonus: +1D6

Accounting 10% Anthropology 1% Archaeology 16%
Astronomy 1% Bargain 25% Biology 11%
Chemistry 1% Climb 65% Conceal 55%
Credit Rating 35% Cthulhu Mythos 20% Dodge 42%
Drive Auto 20% Electrical Repair 10% Fast Talk 50%
First Aid 40% Geology 1% Handgun 20%
Hide 45% History 20% Jump 55%
Law 15% Library Use 35% Listen 55%
Locksmith 1% Machine Gun 15% Martial Arts 66%
Mechanical Repair 20% Medicine 10% Natural History 10%
Navigate 10% Occult 35% Operate Hvy. Machine 1%
Persuade 35% Pharmacy 1% Photography 10%
Physics 1% Pilot: Detect Vampires 70% Psychoanalysis 1%
Psychology 35% Ride 15% Rifle 25%
Shotgun 30% Sneak 50% Spot Hidden 65%
Submachine Gun 15% Swim 50% Throw 65%
Track 60% Detect Undead 65% Fist/Punch 50%
Head Butt 10% Kick 25% Grapple 25%
Stake 65% Sword 55% Axe 55%

Buffy is the daughter of the  well off and often wooed widow Joyce Summers.  Her father was a well off Military officer  but died in the great war.  Her mother took the loss hard, and turned to spiritualism and mediums to deal with the loss.

In the "Uber" campaign Buffy tried to use the numerous magical paraphernalia her mother had to divine her future, and accidentally got a tiny glimpse of the horrors about us.
Her strength,  speed, and fighting skills are all within normal human parameters but are very high.  She was close to her father and he taught her some martial arts he learned in Philippines during the rebellion, and now she is determined to make the best of it.

In the "Canon" campaign the above is still true, but the trigger to her adventuring  was her watcher contacting her as in the show.

The Buffy in both of these worlds is far more fatalistic than the one in the show, she is aware that the cosmic deck is stacked against her and is not optimistic of her having a normal life.   There would be a feeling from her and the other Irregulars that the horrors of the Great War were part of a larger scheme to end the world by unknown forces.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Binders full of Women?

Yeah have that too.




And men, elves, dwarves, halflings, superheroes....but still mostly witches.



Friday, October 12, 2012

Willow & Tara: Slasher Flick

Willow & Tara for Slasher Flick

It's been a been a while since I stated up my favorite witches for a game.  While reading through Slasher Flick yesterday I could not help but think how well these two would work in a slasher flick like movie or game.

So I am going outside of the the Dragon and the Phoenix canon here and going back to when the girls where young.  Given the universe they don't have a lot of magic.  So this is a geekier, computer expert Willow and a quiet, but has a scary power Tara.  They end up being the Last Girls because our slasher is out cutting up all the male/female couples having sex, but doesn't know what to do about these two.   If Buffy is a slasher flick turned on it's head, then I am turning Buffy on it's head.

Or something like that.

Anyway here are my girls.  Just in time for Halloween. And look it's Friday the 12th. So, not at all like Friday the 13th.

Willow
Primary Character
Stereotype: Geek Girl/Computer Nerd

Brawn: Poor
Learned Fighter: Positive

Finesse: Normal

Brains: Good
Analyze Info: Positive
Computers: Positive
Occultism: Positive
Science: Positive

Spirit: Good
Attractive: Positive
Brave: Positive
Impatient: Negative
Prone to Anger: Negative

Special Ability: Versatile (Computers, Science)
Tidbits: In love with Tara
Items: Flashlight, Laptop


Tara
Primary Character
Stereotype: Quiet-Shy Girl/Psychic

Brawn: Normal

Finesse: Poor
Learned Fighter: Horse Riding

Brains: Good
Occultism: Positive
Perceptive: Positive
Psychology: Positive

Telekinesis: Positive

Spirit: Good
Attractive: Positive
Socially Awkward: Negative
Willpower: Positive

Special Ability: Psychic Power
Tidbits: In love with Willow
Items: book of magic lore

So they are last ones to survive the film.  They build some sort of trap with Willow's skill and they try to lead our killer into it. Of course he comes in the wrong way and it looks like he has the girls cornered, till Tara pushes him into the trap with her TK.  He dies a horrible death.....or does he!!?!?

My numbers are a little high in the above builds, but that is ok really.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Zatannurday: MachSabre Superwomen

One of my favorite artists is MachSabre, aka David Reynolds.

Long time readers here might recognize the name or at least his art.  David was one of the two Davids of the ShadowGirls fame and I have featured his art here many times.  I am doing that again today. Mostly because I like his art and Dave loves Supergirls.

So to celebrate the announcement that David is part of a new comic, Shadow of the Black Banshee, here are some of my favorite pieces, featuring of course Zatanna.


Zatanna by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Raven by ~MachSabre on deviantART


The Scarlet Witch by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Ms. Marvel vs. Power Girl by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Hawkgirl by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Kim Possible 02 by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Last Daughter of Atlantis by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Starfire by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Wonder Woman by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Wonder Spin by ~MachSabre on deviantART

This one of all the Batgirls was my desktop bitmap forever.

Chiropteras by ~MachSabre on deviantART

And of course you have all seen this one,


Commission - Tara and Willow by ~MachSabre on deviantART

But imagine my surprise when I found this one!


Willow and Tara Cuddling by =AstronSoul on deviantART

AstronSoul is just another fan like me that had D Rey make this.  I think it is cool.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

So Long City of Heroes

It has been announced that City of Heroes, the Supers MMORPG is closing up shop.

http://na.cityofheroes.com/en/news/news_archive/thank_you.php

I never played CoH, but I did playtest the RPG version that Eden was working on back in the day.
Of course I stated up some characters.


What can I say? This was at the height of my involvement with The Dragon and the Phoenix.
I have to admit I liked how these turned out.