Witchcraft Wednesdays: ShadowDark and Old-School Essentials

 Yesterday, I discussed mixing two of my current favorites from the Old-School RPG world into one gaming experience. Today, I want to discuss some specifics. Since it is Witchcraft Wednesday, I am going to talk about remixing the Old-School Essentials and ShadowDark Witches.  I am sure you can do the same with the other classes as well. 

Overlap

I mentioned yesterday there was already quite a bit of overlap between the two systems. Since today I want to focus on one class, the Witch, I am going to see where these two systems have some commonalities. 

Basics. Both systems have a witch class. Both provide an old-school gaming experience to levels 10 (SD) and 14 (OSE), so what many consider the "prime" adventuring levels.  

Both systems are built on a "Basic-era" aesthetic, and there is a lot of common ground on things like spells and monsters. 

Class-wise, Level 1 in one game is about equal to Level 1 in the other, and so on. Spellcasters get the added benefit of repeat casting in ShadowDark. Armor classes and hit points work the same ways. All characters have the same basic six abilities ranging from 3 to 18. The bonuses are different, but not enough to make it matter really. 

Humans are largely the same. Demi-humans like elves, dwarves, and halflings lose some of the things that make them special when moving from OSE to SD, i.e., loss of infravision/nightvision.

What are the differences though?

Differences

There are, in fact, a few differences between these two games that make all the differences in the world to their fanbases. I am not going to detail them all here, I am just interested in the rules that affect my interpretations of the witch classes.

Old-School Essentials

The OSE Witch is very much like my other OSR witches. She needs quite a bit of XP per level, more than the wizard at first, and she gains some powers (Occult Powers) over various levels. More than the Cleric or Magic-User, but less than the Druid. One of her powers is gaining a familiar at level 1.

ShadowDark

These witches use the same XP advancement as everyone else. She gets Talents just like the other characters do, but these are molded closer to the Occult Powers of other witches. Additionally, she gains a Patron and a Patron Boon.

Yesterday I proposed that gaining the additional powers of a class from SD in OSE would require an extra expenditure of XP. 

Since I would use OSE style leveling and XP budgets, adding the SD XP requirements is manageable. It could, in fact, be what the repeated casting and Talents would need if I were to recreate the witch XP.

Witch Level	To Next Level (OSE)	To Next Level (SD)	Total
1	2,600	10	2,610
2	5,200	20	5,220
3	10,400	30	10,430
4	20,800	40	20,840
5	40,000	50	40,050
6	80,000	60	80,060
7	160,000	70	160,070
8	320,000	80	320,080
9	440,000	90	440,090
10	560,000	100	560,100
11	680,000	110	680,110
12	800,000	120	800,120
13	920,000	130	920,130
14	NA	NA	NA

As you can see, the addition of ShadowDark XPs are barely an issue. The cells in light blue are where OSE continues after SD.

Now, OSE is a cumulative XP. So to get to level 3 you have to have all the XP from level 2 and then the extra. SD XP thresholds restart at 0 for each level.  So technically, to express SD XP levels in the same terms of OSE I would need to go with 10, 30, 60, 100, 150, 210, 280, 360, 450xp, and so on. But since I am only adding the SD material that is missing from OSE I don't think I need to do that.

Yes, the XP budgets of each game are different. An orc in OSE is not worth the same in terms of XP as one in SD, though they do represent the same sort of challenge and potential reward (i.e., Treasure and progress toward the next level). I am going to hand-wave these differences. Want math? Take my Introduction to Statistics course. 

Repeated casting for an OSE witch is a big deal. I would need to rework some spell failure ideas. Additionally, I would also say that by their very nature, a Ritual Spell can never be cast repeatedly. Spellcasting rolls in this combined system are a must. 

If it becomes too much I would add in a "repeated castings" roll like I did with Ghosts of Albion. 

Which Witch?

One of the things I always try to do with my witch books is give the buyer unique options. The Old-School Essentials witch is a "Pagan" witch while the Shadow Dark witch is very much a "Pact with a strange powerful creature" witch. But I can find overlap.

Pagans honored many gods. One could even argue that is essentially the core definition of pagan. But what sort of Pagan would choose the Patrons of ShadowDark? Well, game-wise, there is nothing stopping you from mixing as you see fit, but I'll try to make some sort of sense out of these.

The Patrons of ShadowDark have Pagan and real-world analogues, but not all. Varnavas, for example, was created especially for ShadowDark. Despite what the Christian church claimed, Pagans did not worship demons and devils. 

Larina Nix, the Pagan Witch

I am going to use my always-reliable test witch Larina. I have her stats for OSE, but I still need to share them here.  I wish I had shared them already since it would make this comparison a bit better, but in truth, these stats are about 90% the same as her Pure OSE stats. I also have her ShadowDark stats. 

Her Patron from ShadowDark is Nicnevin, the Witch Queen of Faerie from Scottish Folklore. This works well as far as I am concerned. When she hits the 7th level, she gains the additional Patron talent, so she gets Baba Yaga.

Pagan works well for her, and she certainly fits, concept-wise, into the Craft of the Wise Tradition. 

Larina Nix

Class: Witch (Pagan Tradition)
Level: 13
Species: Human

Title: Witch Queen
Alignment: Lawful (Lawful Neutral) 
Patron(s): Nicnevin & Baba Yaga
Background: Arcane Library*

Ability Scores
STR: 9
INT: 17
WIS: 17
DEX: 11
CON: 11
CHA: 18

Saving Throws
D: 8
W: 10
P: 9
B: 12
S: 11
Wisdom Mod: +2

HP: 28
AAC: 14
THAC0: 16

Init: +0
Languages: Common, Elven, Giant, Goblin

Weapon: Broom staff, dagger
Gear: Crawler kit, 1 week of rations, 1 week of tea, cat treats (to supplement Cotton Ball's hunting), Book of Shadows, athamé.
Magic items: Bracers of Defense +1, Broom of Flying, Cloak of Night, Cingulum +3, Hat of Focus-Spellslinger 

Occult Powers
Level 1: Familiar
Level 3: Herbal Healing
Level 7: Of the Land
Level 13: Visage of Another

Talents
Human: +2 to Charisma
1st level: Additional Tier 1 Spell
3rd level: +1 to Occult Spellcasting rolls
5th level: Patron Favor, +1 to any die roll once per rest
7th level: Additional Patron
9th level: Learn additional Tier 4 Spell
11th level: Learn additional Tier 5 Spell
13th level: +1 to Occult Spellcasting rolls

Patron Boons: Learn 1 Tier 1 Wizard Spell, Learn 1 Additional Occult Spell

Spells
Level/Tier 1 (5+1): Call Spirits of the Land, Charm Person, Color Spray, Feel my Pain, Glamour, Cake and Tea Ritual (Ritual)
Level/Tier 2 (4): Bless, Fascinate, Inscribe Tattoo I, Pins and Needles
Level/Tier 3 (4+1): Bestow Curse, Call Lightning, Fly, Hold Person, Scry
Level/Tier 4 (3+1): Cure Serious Wounds, Instant Karma, Witch's Cradle, Drawing Down the Moon (Ritual) 
Level/Tier 5 (2+1): Cry for the Nightbird, Flood of Tears, Ward of Magic
Level/Tier 6 (2): Eye Bite, Brew Storms (Ritual)

Level/Tier 1 (Wizard): Burning Hands

I am not 100% sure how the Background "Arcane Library" works for a pagan witch. Likely, she has a store of shared knowledge. Something to play with, to be sure. Where both books have the same spell I opted for that one. I'll assume she is an odd case and is literate. 

There are no Level 11 and Level 13 Talents. So I just rerolled on other tables. 

For Spells, I would go mainly with OSE spells and choose SD spells as her bonus spells from her Talents. Seems a good plan. 

This is rough and hardly perfect, but it gives me many ideas of what I can do with future games. It appeals to me with all the extra details I can now generate for her. 

The other character classes would be easier. However, I know I would need to tweak thieves a bit to work well with both systems since their skills are handled differently.

For Old-School Essentials

• The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition (Craft of the Wise and Daughters of Aradia) 
• Monster Mash (Gothic Witch)
• Monster Mash II (Faerie Witch)

For ShadowDark

• The Witch - Book of Shadows

Larina Nix, The Witch for ShadowDark on Witchcraft Wednesday

 So, I suppose it goes without saying that when I made a witch class for the ShadowDarkRPG, I was going to try out my own witch to see how it worked. I mean, this character is my litmus test for anything witch-like.

Like many of my other books Larina is featured in the book, but no stats. Also, like many of the books, she is featured on the cover, only this time, the art I chose already existed.  Javier Charro is the artist, and his work has been sitting on my hard drive for a while, waiting for the right project.  I mean, it is rather perfect, to be honest.  Since I have given you all the stats for Esme and Amaranth, I figured Larina should also be featured.

Larina Nix

Who is this "Larina?" Is she the same one I use in D&D or is she different? Well, yes and no.

My conceit here is that the original AD&D Larina, with brown eyes (thankyouverymuchVanMorrison) died while battling a vampire. And by dead, I mean dead-DEAD. Witches in my games do not have access to Raise Dead or Resurrection, AND they can't have those spells cast on them. So when a witch dies, she is dead. BUT she can be reincarnated.  The original Larina died, but she was reincarnated. She next appears as a precocious 6-year-old witch in my AD&D 2nd Ed Complete Netbook of Witches and Warlocks" and as an adult witch in my 3rd Edition games (same character), she also appears as a witch in my WitchCraft/Buffy games. They all share some similar memories and at age 25 they can contact their other selves. There is a multi-verse of Larinas out there now, one for every game I ever play.

This Larina is high-level (for ShadowDark), and she works with Esme and Amaranth. 

Larina Nix

Ancestry: Human
Class: Witch 10th level (Witch Queen)
XP: 114
Alignment: Lawful 
Deity/Patron: Niceven and Baba Yaga
Background: Arcane Library
Familiar: Flying Cat ("Cotton Ball")

Str: 9
Dex: 11
Con: 11
Int: 17
Wis: 17
Cha: 18

Weapon: Broom staff, dagger
Gear: Crawler kit, 1 week of rations, 1 week of tea, cat treats (to supplement Cotton Ball's hunting), Book of Shadows, athamé.
Magic items: Bracers of Defense +1, Broom of Flying, Cloak of Night, Cingulum +3, Hat of Focus-Spellslinger 

HP: 36
AC: 15

Languages: Common, Elven, Diabolic, Celestial

Talents
Human: +2 to Charisma
1st level: Additional Tier 1 Spell
3rd level: + 1 to Occult Spellcasting rolls
5th level: Patron Favor, +1 to any die roll once per rest
7th level: Additional Patron
9th level: Learn additional Tier 5 Spell

Patron Boons: Learn 1 Tier 1 Wizard Spell, Learn 1 Additional Occult Spell

Spells
Tier 1 (4+1): Charm Person, Feel my Pain, Glamour, Häxen Talons, Mage Hand
Tier 2 (3): Call Lightning, Light as a Feather-Stiff as a Board, Blink (Ritual)
Tier 3 (3): Bestow Curse, Coven's Calling, Danse Macabre
Tier 4 (2+1): Ball Lightning, Fear, Witch's Cradle 
Tier 5 (2+1): Cry for the Nightbird, Phantasmagoria, Ward of Magic

Tier 1 Wizard: Burning Hands

One of ShadowDark's greatest features is its ability to generate characters quickly. I have about five or six different ShadowDark versions of Larina on my desk; each one was made to test something different. 

It is interesting (to me at least) that while I often picture her as wearing a cloak and hood, like on the cover of The Witch, the art I am using here has her in a witch's hat.

Yeah, I would play this version of her, but I am discovering that 10 levels feel a little limiting to me. Granted, those are the prime adventuring levels, but I have been pouring over characters from my past and remember how much really high-level play we used to do back then. 

I certainly have some to explore with this game.

The Fearless Five vs Bargle: Basic Characters for ShadowDark

 My foray into the ShadowDark RPG did not begin or end with The Witch. Last week, I was chatting online with someone about my idea for a time travel adventure called "The Keep Killing Aleena," where the premise is a bunch of high-level adventurers go back in time to try to save her life, and the results of that interference. It is not an adventure I have ever finished since few ideas in it have never jelled right for me. BUT in my research I did uncover the 3.5 Edition adventure from Dungeon Magazine #150 (2007, Paizo era) called "Kill Bargle" from Pathfinder's own Jason Bulmahn.  The idea has stuck with me for years. It would make for a great convention game. It is a low-level dungeon crawl where you need to, well, what it says on the tin, Kill Bargle.

When I ran T1 Village of Hommlet, I included Aleena, Morgan Ironwolf, Rufus, Burne, and yes, Bargle. I did their stats in 4e Essentials, but ended up running it in 5e. In that adventure, Bargle still kills Aleena and gets away. 

I could not help but think revenge would be nice and maybe someone gathered everyone up to go get him.  

Enter the Fearless Five!

Given the "Women in Refrigerators" treatment of Aleena, I thought it might be fun to grab all the "Basic-era" heroines and send them on a quest to kill Bargle. 

Premise: Skylla, wanting something from Bargle's trove of magic (likely his spellbooks) decides that the only way to get it is to assemble a group of adventures who have a personal grudge against him. Knowing they will never follow her or do what she asks, she gets the one person she knows they will follow. It's just too bad that person, Aleena, is dead.

So Skylla gets Aleena resurrected (she still has contacts in the cult underworld). She gets Morgan Ironwolf to find her, and then she gathers the Sorceress, Duchess, and Candella together to go after Bargle. Five heroines to kill one villain. Easy peasy.

While I could run an adventure like this in nearly any system, it seems fitting to me to run it with ShadowDark.

Aleena

Ancestry: Human
Class: Cleric, 2nd level
XP: 20 
Alignment: Lawful
Deity/Patron: Madeera
Background: Noble

Str: 11
Dex: 14
Con: 10
Int: 10
Wis: 16
Cha: 16

HP: 9
AC: 15

Weapon: Mace
Gear: Chainmail, holy symbol, backpack, torches, 1 week of rations, wolf'sbane

Languages: Common, Elvish

Talents
Human: +1 to melee attacks
1st level: +1 to Cleric spellcasting checks

Spells
Tier 1 (3): Cure wounds, Light, Shield of faith

Aleena is a cleric. She was brought back to life by Skylla's intervention but has no memory of the time between then and when Bargle killed her. 

She feels Bargle is a threat to all that is good and lawful, and he must be stopped.

Morgan Ironwolf

Ancestry: Human
Class: Fighter, level 3
XP: 34
Alignment: Neutral 
Deity/Patron: None
Background: Soldier

Str: 16
Dex: 13
Con: 14
Int: 7
Wis: 9
Cha: 8

HP: 21
AC: 14

Weapon: Longsword
Gear: Chainmail, bow and arrows, quiver, 5 silver arrows, 50' rope, 10' pole, 6 torches, 1 week rations, 1 qt wine, large sack

Languages: Common, Goblin

Talents
Human: +2 to Strength
1st level: +2 to Constitution
3rd level: +1 to melee and ranged attacks

Morgan thinks of Aleena as a little sister who needs protecting; as such, she blames herself for Aleena getting killed. She would go after Bargle for free just to have the pleasure of killing him herself. 

The Sorceress

Ancestry: Human
Class: Wizard 3rd level
XP: 35
Alignment: Lawful
Deity/Patron: Ord
Background: Wizard's Apprentice

Str: 10
Dex: 14
Con: 12
Int: 18
Wis: 10
Cha: 13

HP: 10
AC: 13

Weapon: Staff
Gear: 6 torches, 1 week rations, large sack, spellbook, bag of spell components

Languages: Common, Elvish

Talents
Human: +2 to Intelligence
1st level: Advantage on one Spell: Magic Missile
3rd level: Advantage on one Spell: Burning Hands

Spells
Tier 1 (4): Magic missile, Mage armor, Light, Burning hands
Tier 2 (2): Detect thoughts, Invisible

The Sorceress knows the group is getting played by Skylla. She is friends with Morgan and wants to make sure everyone comes out of this alive. The chance to rummage through Bargle's collection of magic is an added bonus. 

Duchess

Ancestry: Human
Class: Thief, 5th level 
XP: 55
Alignment: Neutral 
Deity/Patron: None
Background: Thieves Guild

Str: 11
Dex: 16
Con: 18
Int: 12
Wis: 15
Cha: 15

HP: 17
AC: 14

Weapon: Longsword
Gear: Leather armor, short bow and arrows, quiver, thieves tools, 50' rope, 10' pole, 6 torches, 1 week rations, 5 qts wine, large sack

Languages: Common, Dwarvish

Talents
Human: +2 Charisma
1st level: +1 to melee and ranged attacks
3rd level: +2 to dexterity
5th level: +1 (+2 total) to melee and ranged attacks

And her partner in crime:

Candella

Ancestry: Human
Class: Thief, 5th level
XP: 56
Alignment: Neutral 
Deity/Patron: None
Background: Urchin

Str: 12
Dex: 17
Con: 15
Int: 15
Wis: 13
Cha: 14

HP: 14
AC: 14

Weapon: Short sword
Gear: Leather armor, short bow and arrows, quiver, thieves tools, 25' rope, 7 torches, 1 week rations, 3 qts wine, large sack

Languages: Common, Goblin

Talents
Human: +2 to Dexterity
1st level: +2 to Strength
3rd level: +1 to melee and ranged attacks
5th level: Backstab +1 dice of damage

Bargle hired Duchess and Candella to retrieve an item for him. He meant for them to get killed, but they ended up in jail instead. Worse, he never paid them for the item. They are in it for the money and revenge—but mainly for the money.

Skylla

Ancestry: Human
Class: Witch, 6th level
XP: 64
Alignment: Chaotic
Deity/Patron: Baba Yaga
Background: Cultist

Str: 9
Dex: 11
Con: 10
Int: 12
Wis: 11
Cha: 15

HP: 16
AC: 11

Weapon: Staff
Gear: 3 torches, 1-week rations, large sack, bag of spell components

Languages: Common, Diabolic

Familiars: Raven, Owl (+1 to Wisdom checks)

Talents
Human: +1 to occult spellcasting checks
1st level: +2 to Charisma
3rd level: one additional witch spell (T2)
5th level: additional familiar (special)

Patron Boon: Learn 1 Tier 1 Wizard Spell: Magic Missile 

Spells
Tier 1 (3): Charm person, Disguise self, Mage hand, 
Tier 2 (3): Call lightning, Light as feather-stiff as a board, Turn Undead (Ritual)
Tier 3 (2): Hag's Illusion (Baba Yaga), Bestow curse

Our "sixth" member of the Fearless Five is the mastermind behind all of this. Well...sort of, she is discovered rather quickly, but her intuition that these women would all do this to get back at Bargle is spot on. Have to figure out who gets the best magical loot between her and The Sorceress. 

--

I love the idea of a distaff "Usual Suspects" or "Reservoir Dogs." I really want to run this sometime. I would love to see how a witch (Skylla) and a wizard (The Sorceress) work together in an adventuring party run by someone other than me. 

And more to the point, I just want to see Bargle get curb-stomped by a bunch of women.

New Release: The Witch - Book of Shadows for ShadowDark

 New release Tuesday. Earlier this year, I started a ShadowDark Witch book, and now today it is available to buy.

The Witch - Book of Shadows

https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/502244/The-Witch--Book-of-Shadows

The Witch Book of Shadows

Witches have long been a part of Fantasy, from fairy tales to fiction to RPGs. Now, you can bring the witch class to your ShadowDark games. 

Included here is the Witch Class.

• Six new ancestries
• New occult backgrounds
• Basic, Expert, and Advanced witch talents that grow as you level up.
• Thirteen Witch Patrons, from Baba Yaga to Xthluhu the Horror of the Deep! Each with boons and spells.
• 160+ new occult spells for ShadowDark, including special Patron Spells and Ritual Magic spells.
• 60+ Witch-related monsters for your ShadowDark adventures
• 40 new magic items.
• 124 pages

Compatible with ShadowDark and other ShadowDark products.

Art by Javier Charro, Tamas Baranya, Joe J. Calkins, Luigi Castellani, Dean Spencer, and James Thompson.

--

This is my first big project using Affinity Publisher 2, and I am very pleased with how it turned out. I am sure some improvements could be made in my process, but all in all I am very happy with it.

I bought that cover art from Javier Charro a while back, and I have been dying to use it somewhere. This seemed like a perfect fit for me.

Order your Print on Demand copy now to get it in time for Christmas.

Witchcraft Wednesday: The Witch Book of Shadows for the ShadowDark RPG

 What have I been doing? Well this last Gary Con (back in April) I was talking with my Elf Lair Game co-conspirators about future projects. Of course our plans revolved mostly around the recently released Thirteen Parsecs. But I also began flipping through the "new to me" physical copy of the ShadowDark RPG. I had picked up the Quickstart and the Curse Scroll #1 zine at a previous Gary Con, so it seemed right to grab it then too. Originally my plan was only to use it as a supplement for my Old School Essentials games. But others encouraged me to try it out on it's own merits. 

It finally clicked with me one evening this past summer while making dinner what ShadowDark actually is and not what I thought it was. Granted, it is exactly what the video creator Kelsey Dionne has been saying for two years. So I sat down that night during my writing time and put together an outline. I gave myself one week. Well...that week went on, and on, as I really grew to like this project. So now I am ready to reveal the fruits of those efforts. Or at least reveal that I am revealing it.

Coming soon (next month or so), The Witch Book of Shadows for the ShadowDark RPG!

From the upcoming DriveThruRPG page:

Included here is the Witch Class.

- Six new ancestries
- New occult backgrounds
- Basic, Expert, and Advanced witch talents that grow as you level up.
- Thirteen Witch Patrons, from Baba Yaga to Xthluhu the Horror of the Deep! Each with boons and spells.
- 160+ new occult spells for ShadowDark, including special Patron Spells and Ritual Magic spells.
- 60+ Witch-related monsters for your ShadowDark adventures
- 40 new magic items. 
-124 pages A5 size to fit with your current ShadowDark RPG books

Compatible with ShadowDark and other ShadowDark products.

The biggest selling point for this book are all the new spells. Plus every witch takes a patron which opens new and unique spells to them. Add ritual spells and no two witches are ever the same.  There are thirteen new witch patrons as well.

For the monsters, well, many of these came from my recent Horror movie marathon. Going back to the roots of AD&D monsters and then rebuilding them from the ground up, or at least getting a head start from horror movies, gave me plenty of new ideas—so many that a few didn't make the cut and will be featured on a few Monstrous Mondays. 

Right now I am just waiting on the print proofs. Once I have those in hand (expected by Dec 1) then I will figure out what needs to happen next. 

As always, I had a blast working on this one, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did putting it together. 

Special thanks to Kelsey Dionne for not just making such a fun game, but building a great community and a sense of community involvement with this game. That might be her best achievement yet.

Secret Journey: Walking the Witches' Road

I am finally caught up on the new Disney+ series "Agatha All Along," and frankly, I love it.  Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza are so great in this, and Aubrey Plaza already has "witch cred" with her books "The Legend of the Christmas Witch" and "The Return of the Christmas Witch." It is a lot fun and I am enjoying watching Agatha Harkness come to life after reading her exploits for so long. 

I have a lot of people asking me how I would implement the "Witches' Road" in my games. Well, obviously, I can't use the Witches' Road as it appears here, Disney being so understanding and forgiving. BUT thankfully, I do have something, and the advantage here is that it shares a genesis with my first witch class.

Upon a Secret Journey

Back in the early 80s I was building a bunch of new classes. I have talked about them here before, but briefly there was the Witch, the Sun Priest, the Healer and the Necromancer. The witch you have seen, the Sun Priest, though has yet to see a lot of text here. You can find the complete AD&D 2nd Edition kit here and on my downloads section. 

There was a notion that the Sun Priest would need to complete a pilgrimage ever so many levels to prove their faith. While it was based on the pilgrimages made by Medieval faithful, the idea here was one of greater spiritual understanding. It was inspired by the Police song "Secret Journey." For me it added a bit more mysticism to the idea. 

Here is what I said back then.  

At 3rd level and every three level thereafter (6, 9, 12,...), the Sun Priest must go on a "secret journey." This journey is one of faith and must be accomplished alone, in secret. It might be nothing more than a dedicated study of church tomes (a journey of understanding), of deep contemplation (a journey of enlightenment), of destroying some foe (a journey of vengeance), or anything else the player and DM agree upon. The journey will last as long as necessary, and during this time, the Sun Priest will receive no experience points, nor can he partake in an ongoing adventure. The journey can be played out, or the priest may simply rejoin the adventures at a later date. The journey must be performed, or the Priest can not advance to the next level.

Again, remember this was for AD&D 2nd Edition. And while it is certainly geared towards a clerical class, there is no reason I can't adopt it, and adapt it, to the Witch.

In fact, I kinda have been doing that now anyway. When I was moving out of 3e over to 4e I was trying to decide if I was going to continue Larina under the new rules. I go my answer when I saw the Feywild get more emphasis. Very long story short, Larina went to the feywild, had a daughter with Fey Lord, but had to leave her behind to complete a quest at the behest of Baba Yaga. When she returned 13 years had passed. This quest was a Secret Journey in all but name.

You Will See Light In The Darkness

The Secret Journey for witches (The Witches' Journey maybe) is one a witch must complete at some point in her life before she can receive greater understanding about her magic, her craft and her place in it. For many it is an essential part of their lives as a witch. 

Given this I am tempted to have it related to the steps of the Hero's Journey and include some of the elements of modern witch traditions of a symbolic Life-Death-Rebirth. The Witches' Journey is a symbolic death and rebirth.

In AAA, the "Witches' Road" is taken on by a coven, but a Secret Journey is a solo affair; a witch must complete it on her own. Since it is a symbolic death and rebirth, this is not supposed to be easy. The witch will emerge from this fundamentally changed.

The Witches' Journey (Rough Draft)

It is now a few hours later.

I pulled up a copy of the Hero's Journey, Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, and of course, Jung's Man and his Symbols. I like the idea of witches having to embrace their own shadow-self in their journey of self-realization. I also added in some ideas from my NIGHT SHIFT notes. 

Part 1: The Call to the Journey (Life)

    1. Ordinary World: The witch lives in a mundane environment, feeling a sense of disconnection from nature and the spiritual world, unaware of their inner potential.

    2. Call to Adventure: The witch experiences an awakening—perhaps through a sign, dream, or encounter—that ignites their curiosity about magic and the self.

    3. Refusal of the Call: Doubts and fears surface as the witch grapples with societal expectations, personal insecurities, and the weight of tradition, resisting the call to explore their true nature.

    4. Meeting the Mentor: An experienced witch or wise figure appears, offering guidance, wisdom, and tools to navigate the inner and outer worlds, encouraging exploration of the self.

Part 2: The Descent into the Underworld (Death)

    5. Crossing the Threshold: The witch consciously steps into the realm of magic and the unknown, leaving behind their old life and beginning to confront their inner landscape.

    6. Trials and Allies: The witch faces external challenges and meets allies, but also begins to encounter aspects of their Shadow Self—unacknowledged fears, desires, and insecurities that surface during their journey.

    7. The Abyss: A significant challenge forces the witch to confront their Shadow Self directly, facing their deepest fears, regrets, and repressed emotions. This moment represents a metaphorical death, where the old self must be faced.

    8. Rebirth through Initiation: The witch undergoes a transformative ritual or initiation, symbolizing acceptance of their Shadow Self. They emerge with greater self-awareness and empowerment, integrating both light and shadow aspects of their identity.

Part 3: The Return with Wisdom (Rebirth)

    9. The Road Back: With newfound knowledge and power, the witch begins the journey back to their ordinary world, now equipped with a deeper understanding of their whole self.

    10. Resurrection: The witch faces a final test or confrontation that challenges their integration of the Shadow Self, solidifying their transformation and understanding of the life-death-rebirth cycle.

    11. Return with Wisdom: The witch returns to their community, sharing the wisdom gained from their journey, including insights on the importance of acknowledging and embracing one’s own shadow.

    12. The New Ordinary World: The witch finds a place in their community, living in harmony with both the magical and mundane worlds, embodying a balance of light and shadow, contributing to a holistic understanding of existence.

Last Step: The Eternal Cycle

    13. The Wheel of the Year: The witch embraces the cyclical nature of existence, celebrating seasonal festivals and the ongoing journey of life, death, and rebirth. They recognize that integrating the Shadow Self is an ongoing process, each cycle presenting new opportunities for growth and transformation.

Again, this is a draft, and I need to find some solid game applications for this. I want to add up the horror elements a bit. This journey needs to be a terrifying experience for the witch, but ultimately, a rewarding one where the witch emerges reborn.

I like what I have here, to be honest. 

RPG Blog Carnival

This post is for my October RPG Blog Carnival: Horror and Fantasy.

Converting D&D 5 to Blue Rose 2nd Edition: Character Exploration

 Ever since the Great OGL Debacle of 2022-2023, I have been looking for something to replace D&D on my table and in my development space. I have not always been successful on either front, but I have found many great contenders, including Castles & Crusades, Pathfinder 2nd Edition, and Wasted Lands. I have another one I wish to add to that list. Blue Rose 2nd Edition.

I love Blue Rose. I love the game, the idea, the setting, the mechanics, everything. 

I spent a lot of time reviewing this game when it was released.

• Review, Part 1
• Review, Part 2
• Review, Part 3 
• Fantasy AGE

The game is an absolute joy, and I hope to continue it for a long time.

Unlike the three games I mentioned above, Blue Rose 2nd Edition's AGE system is not d20-based. It does have some d20 DNA via Blue Rose 1st Edition's True20 system. It is fairly trivial to convert D&D material over to Pathfinder, Castles & Crusades, and Wasted Lands. Blue Rose takes a little more work. However, the scaling is very similar with all of these games.

The Characters

For this, I will do conversions of my main witch character, Larina, and two of my Forgotten Realms characters. Why these three? I want to play around with how adepts work. Plus, these are the three characters (well, them and Johan) that are most on my mind right now. Sinéad and Nida are part of my 2nd Ed AD&D Forgotten Realms game, so exploring who they are in this Blue Rose/AGE set-up is useful for both Blue Rose and the Forgotten Realms. And Larina, well, she is never far from my mind. 

Plus, it is the Summer Solstice, one of the pagan celebration days, so witches seem appropriate. 

Also, lately, I have been comparing and contrasting Larina and Sinéad. If Larina is my go-to witch, Sinéad is becoming my go-to sorceress or wild magic wielder. Though I am noticing I am playing Sinéad a bit like Larina so I need to find ways to make her (Sinéad) her own character. 

I have already explored a lot of characters for this game. Especially a lot of adepts and how they can feel different from each other. 

• Duchess and Candella
• Seren
• Nyctasia r'n Edonaris brenn Rhostshyl and Corson brenn Torisk
• Helyg and Brynn
• Bethan Hâf
• Xena and Gabrielle

I have spent quite a bit of time with this over the years and I really love the characters you can make and play with this game.

Sinéad
Female Human/Vata'an Adept, Level 5

Accuracy: 5 (Primary) Focus: Bows
Communication: 3 Focuses: Persuasion, Performance, Deception
Constitution: 3 Focus: Swimming
Dexterity: 3 Focus: Artisan
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: (Primary) 3 Focus: Arcane Lore
Perception: 3 (Primary) 
Strength: 2
Willpower: 2 (Primary)

Speed: 13
Defense: 13
Armor: 3
Penalty: 0

Health: 56
Conviction: 5

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

Starting Talents: Lore (N), Performance (N)

Arcane Talents: Healing (J), Wild Arcane (J)
Skillful Channeling
Arcane Training: Shaping (N)

Specialization: Bard (N)

Arcana

Wild: Fire Shaping, Sense Minds, Visions
Shaping: Psychic Shield, Move Object, Second Sight
Healing: Cure, Sleep

Arms and Armor

Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Leather (Light Armor)

Persona

Calling: The Moon: Discovery and Learning Secrets
Destiny: Queen of Rods, Curious
Fate: Jaded
Corruption: 0 

Goals: To discover the secrets and source of her magic

Relationships

Taryn (3), "She is my adopted sister. We will do anything for each other."
Larina (2), "She is Taryn's mother. I am not sure what their deal is, but I will respect her."
Nida (2), "I have never had a friend like her, and so unlike everyone I have met before."

--

Nida
Female Human Expert, Level 5

Accuracy: 2 (Primary) Focus: Arcane
Communication: 4 (Primary) Focuses: Deception, Disguise
Constitution: 3 Focus: Swimming
Dexterity: 3 (Primary) 
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: 4 Focused: Arcane Lore, Shaping
Perception: 4 (Primary) Focus: Empathy
Strength: 1
Willpower: 2 (Primary) Focus: Courage

Speed: 13
Defense: 13
Armor: 3
Penalty: 0

Health: 58
Conviction: 5

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

Starting Talents: Light Armor Training, Pinpoint Attack

Arcane Potential (N), Thievery (N)
Specialization: Shaper (Fire), (N)

Arcana

Fire Shaping

Arms and Armor

Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Leather (Light Armor)

Persona

Calling: The Sun: Championing the Everyday
Destiny: Eight of Chalices, Daring
Fate: Stubborn
Corruption: 0 

Goals: To find her true path

Relationships

Sinéad (3), "Sinéad is a naive kid with her head in the clouds. And I love her for that. She reminds me of what I was."
Larina (2), "She honestly kind of scares me, but I know she has the answers I seek."

--

Larina Nix
Female Human Adept, Level 20

Accuracy: 2 (Primary) Focus: Arcane
Communication: 5 Focuses: Persuasion, Performance +2, Investigation
Constitution: 3 Focuses: Swimming, Stamina
Dexterity: 3 Focused: Artisan +2, Calligraphy +2
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: (Primary) 5 Focuses: Arcane Lore +2, Research, Sorcerery Lore, Historical Lore, Healing
Perception: 3 (Primary) Focuses: Empathy, Visionary
Strength: 1 Focus: Intimidation
Willpower: 5 (Primary) Focus: Faith

Speed: 11
Defense: 11
Armor: 5
Penalty: 0

Health: 114
Conviction: 11

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

Arcane Talents: Arcane Training (M), Healing (M), Witchcraft (M), Psychic (M)

Linguistics (M), Performance (N), Contacts (J)

Specialization: Seer (M), Shaper (Fire) (M)

Stunts: Skillful Channeling (1), Disrupt Arcana (4), Lasting Aracan
Epic Stunt: Effortless Arcana

Add Willpower to Damage, Familiarity mod -2

Arcana

Fire Shaping
Enhancement, Heart Reading, Light Shaping, Ward, Second Sight
Cure, Sleep, Draw Vitality, Flesh Shaping, Body Control, Psychic Shield
Psychic Weapon, Psychic Contact, Calm, Illusion, Mind Shaping, Mind Reading
Visions, Scrying, Object Reading, Nature Reading

Arms and Armor

Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Persona

Calling: The Priestess: Oneness with Spirit
Destiny: Queen of Rods, Curious
Fate: Jaded
Corruption: 1

Goals: To become a powerful witch

Relationships

Taryn (3), "My daughter. We lost so much time together in my service to Baba Yaga."
Sinéad (2), "Taryn's adopted 'sister.' I have watched this one from afar and subtly guided her on her path."
Nida (3), "It's...complicated."

--

Ok. Three different approaches to magic (arcana) in Blue Rose. The Wild Talent (Sinéad), the dabbler (Nida), and the Witch Queen (Larina).

Frankly, I am pleased with all three. Larina is scary powerful, and that is what I was aiming for. She has some corruption. I was also going to do Larina's daughter and Sinéad's best friend, Taryn, but I want to work some details on her first. 

I like that this world and this system allow me to bring out different aspects of these characters. 

In some ways I like to think of these as "parallel universe" versions. What these characters could be if the world they lived in was less horrible and had more light.  BUT...I don't even play Blue Rose as all "sunshine and kittens." The bright spots in this world are bright because there is still a lot of darkness out there.  I mean, even (especially) Larina has some corruption because she dabbles in Sorcery, or at least "Forbidden Knowledge." 

These characters compare very, very well to their Wasted Lands counterparts (Larina, Nida, Sinéad). They are not 100% the same, nor should they be, but I can see each (D&D, Blue Rose, Wasted Lands) are an aspect of the other. Given this I really should do Johan for Blue Rose. He would fit in rather nicely, really. 

#AtoZChallenge2024: Q is for Queens

 I have an inordinate amount of Queens in my games. I am going to talk about two groups in particular, the Vampire Queens and the Witch Queens.

Tea with the Witch Queens by Brian Brinlee

Both groups are near and dear to my heart and make up a lot of my game worlds' backgrounds.

The Vampire Queens

The vampire queens have a special connection to my early days of gaming. They are:

• There is the (unnamed) Vampire Queen of "Palace of the Vampire Queen," one of the earliest published D&D adventures.
• Lady Neeblack of "The Hanging Coffins of the Vampire Queen." 
• Queen Xaltana of The Lost Caverns of Acheron.
• Darlessa, the vampire Queen who killed my first character and antagonist of my #Dungeon23 adventure.
• Human witch stats
• Vampire stats (Labyrinth Lord)
• Vampire stats (Old-school Essentials)
• Vampire stats (Wasted Lands)
  
• As a Ravenloft Darklord

I have been using vampire queens in my adventures for as long as I can remember. I recall reading lurid tales of Erzsébet Báthory and watching movies like "Daughters of Darkness" and "Countess Dracula." I had worked on a very early vampire queen, who was going to be called "Miriam" thanks to "The Hunger" for my Ravenloft games (see tomorrow), but I kept coming up with so many ideas. Miriam is still out there, even if many of her aspects are now part of Darlessa. The non-vampire parts of Miriam survived as my Witch Queen Miriam. 

In truth I kind of use them all interchangeably, with some emphasis on Darlessa. As they have all evolved in my games, I am slowly sifting out which traits belong to which queen. 

Interestingly enough, both Darlessa and Xaltana are also both Witch Queens. Xaltana combines Iggwilv (a witch queen) and Drelzna her vampire daughter.  

The Witch Queens

While the Vampire Queens are here to challenge the characters as adversaries, the Witch Queens play a much different and far more wide-reaching role. 

This began as an idea of me finding and then stating up every witch ever mentioned in the pages of a D&D or related game. The premise here was that every 13 years the witches of these worlds would meet in one place to discuss what they are up to in their worlds and plan to generally stay out of each other's way. The gathering, known as the Tredecim, became a big part of my games. At the Tredecim, the 13 ruling witches then choose a new High Witch Queen to serve over the next 13 years.  In my campaign, War of the Witch Queens, the then-current High Witch Queen is murdered before a new one can be chosen. This sends the witches into war against each other, but due to their pacts with Baba Yaga, they can't outright fight each other. So, all their worlds get dragged into the conflict.  This includes the characters.

The characters learn first that a once-in-a-century storm has destroyed their home, and they are refugees helping move their fellow town folk to a new home in East Haven. While their first obvious goal is to stop all the weird happenings going on in their own world, they discover these events are playing out across the worlds. To stop it, they need to stop the all-powerful Witch Queens, but to do that, they will need to discover who murdered the High Queen, how, and why.

Since I started working on this and developing it more and more, I have gone over 13 Witch Queens and my planned 13 Adventures. I am using Basic B/X D&D as my rules of choice here, which limits the levels characters can achieve to 14. 

I am running it with my family now, but I'd also like to run it for a dedicated group someday.  I think for that I would take all the adventures I am using for it and edit them all a bit. 

If I keep the levels 1-14 then the obvious choice is D&D Basic B/X.  If I expand it all to level 20 then my choice will be Castles & Crusades.

Either way, I have a lot to look forward to!

Tomorrow is R Day, and I am going with the campaign setting I ran for all of the AD&D 2nd Edition era, Ravenloft.

OH? Like the art of my Witch Queens up there? The artist is Brian Brinlee and he has a Kickstarter of his new art book going on now! Check it out.

The Enchanted World: Wizards and Witches

 Let's start this series with the book that has the most meaning to me and the first one in the series: Wizards and Witches. Fitting for Imbolc on Thursday really.

Overview of the Series

The Enchanted World books from Time-LIFE were a series of high-quality, hardcover books sent to you via mail from Time-LIFE subscription. The first one you got for free was Wizards and Witches. This also makes it the most common one and the one you can find in most secondary markets. Fortunately for me, it was also my favorite.  

Imagine, if you can, a time when one of the world's largest publishers decided to invest in a series of books (21 in total) filled with full-color art, cloth-bound covers, and access to some of the world's greatest libraries and scholars. Libraries like the Bodleian Library at Oxford, Cambridge Library, and the London Library. Scholars like Prof. Tristram Potter Coffin (Chief Series Consultant),  Ellen Phillips (Series Director and Editor), and Prog. Brendan Lehane (author of this volume).

Well, that time was 40 years ago, and the Enchanted World series sought to capitalize on the growing fascination with all things fantasy, not in a small part due to the popularity of Dungeons & Dragons.

Over the years, I have seen a lot of collections of other folks' RPG books. It is no surprise when you see one or more of these books stuck in their mix of FRPGs.

Many of the books follow a similar pattern. Usually, 3-4 chapters of the book detail different aspects of the myths and folklore being covered. These are usually interspersed with some of the stories themselves or excerpts, as well as art. The art is often from classical sources or paintings depicting the stories or characters involved. There are also new pieces of art throughout. There are margin notes or marginalia with some other related tidbit of information. Each chapter ends with a longer story.

There is a bibliography, art credits, and some publication notes in the back.

These books were published around the world. Some of the European publications also had dust covers.

Wizards and Witches

by Brendan Lehane, 1984 (144 pages)
ISBN 0809452049, 0809452057 (US Editions)

This book is divided into three sections covering ancient wizards, wizards of the Middle Ages, and witches. There is quite a lot of art from Arthur Rackham here. 

Chapter One: Singers at the World's Dawn

Here, we begin with a tale of the old Finish wizard Väinämöinen and the young upstart Joukahainen in what could be considered a magical sing-off. The line between Bard and Wizard was very thin in ancient Finland. Thus it was when the world was young and youth could aspire to wizardry. We learn of other powerful names like Volga Vseslavich, Cathbad, Manannan Mac Lir, Taliesin, and, most well-known of all, Merlin. Not all were old men. Ceridwen, Circe, and Louhi were there too.

The thesis here is that in those olden days magic was something people could aspire too, but few could truly master. We get snippets of stories of all these wizards and sorceresses, each playing into the next. It is somewhere between a bedtime story and an undergraduate survey of various wizards. In between we get longer stories, like the "Wizard of Kiev" and "The Welsh Enchanter's Fosterling."  All cover magic in a semi-forgotten age that seems to have one foot in history and another in mythology.

Chapter Two: Masters of Forbidden Arts

If the last chapter dealt with magical using men and women as heroes as often as villains, then this chapter leaves no ambiguity on where it sees (or rather history sees) the wizard of the Middle Ages. Here the singing battles of Bard-Wizards are given way to the academic study of magic in dusty tomes of forgotten lore and those who sell their very soul for power. We encounter the likes of Roger Bacon (1219-1292), Oxford Scholar, Empirical Philosopher, Franciscan friar, and dabbler in magic. There is even a bit on Michel de Nostredame (1503-1566) aka Nostradamus. But for the most part we see magic going from a force of nature in a world where the rules are not yet set in stone, to men (for the most part) partaking in deals with demonic or devilish figures for power. All it takes is their soul.

We spend quite a bit of time on the legend of Faust and his deal with Mephistopheles. In fact, this one is so set into our vernacular that a "Faustian Deal" hardly needs any explanations. 

Given the time period, there is also a wonderful overview of the Tarot and its origins with some rather fantastic art. 

But most of all I loved the "Legions of the Night" section with its coverage of Demons. The descriptions of just the few here and the art by Louis Le Breton from the Dictionnaire Infernal by Collin de Plancy were enough to make me want even more strange demons in my game. More so since it featured Astaroth. A demon that already fascinated me from when I first saw him in Best of Dragon II.

Harry Clarke's illustrations of Mephistopheles should be how the devil appears all the time. 

Along with the Tarot, there is some coverage on astrology. This predates the Middle Ages by, well, thousands of years really, but there was new keen importance on it at this time. 

Chapter Three: The Shadowy Sisterhood

Ah. Here are my witches. We get some cover on what could be called Folk Magic or Hedge Witchery, on how these natural healers were initially an important part of everyday life. The magic was simpler and more in tune with nature.

Throughout this chapter, the "helpers" of witches are mentioned. We call them Familiars. Up first is the hare, which they claim (and back up) was closer to the witch than the black cat we associate with today. This reminds me that rabbits and hares should really feature more in my games. The others include spiders, ravens and crows, cats, snakes, and toads, which they claim as one of the first animals to be associated with witches. I have read that before as well.

As the chapter professes the old Black Magic vs. White Magic trope appears. While less in favor today among Real Witches^TM (remember the ads with Litney Burns?) it is an important distinction of the time. It is almost the same divide as the "Natural" vs. "Academic" wizards of the first two chapters, really. 

There are various stories, mostly about how someone was suspected of witchcraft and what happened. But also the machinations of witches in general. 

There is a section flight and witches and how brooms were not used at first, but rather things like butter churns and distaffs. I even added distaffs to my games in part because of this connection. 

Our story at the end of this chapter is a classic tale of Baba Yaga and Vasilsa the Fair. Again featuring amazing artwork, this time right from Vasilisa the Beautiful by Ivan Bilibin.

Use in FRPGs

With so many books out there, there is no end to the ideas they can generate. Upfront, it should be noted there is nothing "new" here. The stories, the folklore, and even a lot of the art are things we have all seen before. The stories of wizards like Väinämöinen, Merlin, Faust, and Circe should all be known to anyone who has a passing interest in fantasy and, indeed, to anyone who has played FRPGs. But that is not where their value lies. These books do have tidbits that the causal pursuer of these tales would not know, and maybe even some for the more advanced students.

To be sure, while there is academic rigor here, these are not textbooks. But they are educational.

Reading these tales one could use them as the basis for other characters. There is more than just a little bit of Taliesin in my own Phygora, for example. These tales, often set right on top of each other, can give the reader and player plenty of means of comparison. 

This book also makes good arguments for the separation between, say, Wizards, Warlocks, and Witches (as represented by the three chapters) but less of an argument on where bards fit in. Are Taliesin and Väinämöinen wizards or bards, for example? It is not up to this book to decide but rather the reader.

If you are playing a game like D&D that lives in a different world, then ideas abound. I mean we know Gygax, Arneson and the early designers of the game were very much into folklore and mythology. Those elements are the hook for more of these, beyond the Greek, Roman, and Norse myths we were all raised on.  Like any good synthesis, it should make you want to check out the primary stories these are all from.  If you are playing a Medieval game, say Chivalry & Sorcery or Pendragon, then this is practically a sourcebook for you. I would even say it is a must-have for a Mage: Dark Ages or Mage: Sorcerers Crusade game.

Witches

I can't let it go unsaid, even if it is obvious, but this book profoundly affected me when it was out. While I did not own my own copy until much later on, I had friends that had it. Since this was the first of the series, many people had it. The art in this book set the feel for how I wanted my Witch class books to look. I have since included the art of Arthur Rackham and the Pre-Raphelites in many of my books. This was one of the books that made me want a witch book for D&D. When none showed in the stores I took it on myself to make it. I do know that my first encounter with the "Black School" of the Scholomance was from this book.

While I can't say with any certainty other than the timeline, this book was likely a contributing factor to one of my favorite themes in games; Pagans vs. Christians and how magic would later be demonized by the Church.

This series is lovely, and each book, while filled with things I already knew, also has many things I did not. 

My only real complaint? At 12.25" x 9", they just don't fit nicely into a standard bookcase.

Next Time: What is love?