Witchcraft Wednesdays: The Witch Queen Advanced Class

Photo edit of "Ginger Queen by Black-Bl00d"

For all my talk about witch queens here, I have no real witch queen class. Yes, there is my D&D 3x Prestige class, but nothing really for Old School games. So my oldest and I tried this one out during our AD&D games. Not 100% there yet, and in the tradition of the Arch Druid (Unearthed Arcana), she might get her own level progression above and beyond the witch class. I just have not crunched all the numbers just yet.

This is primarily for AD&D 1st Edition, but it should work in many other games as well.

WITCH QUEEN / WITCH KING

Advanced Class for Witches

When a Witch has reached the height of mortal power, there yet remains one step further upon the Path, the ascension to the mantle of the Witch Queen (or Witch King). This being is the supreme vessel of a Patron’s will, the living nexus of a Tradition’s power, and the spiritual sovereign of all witches within her realm. Like the Grand Druid of the Old Faith, she is both pontiff and prophet, counselor and conduit, a figure whose very presence can bend the ley and alter the seasons' turning.

Whether crowned by fate, prophecy, deed, or divine lineage, this witch has ascended beyond the coven to become a legendary figure. 

Only one Witch Queen (or King) may reign for each Tradition at any given time, making them as rare as they are powerful.

Requirements

To become a Witch Queen (or Witch King), a character must:

• Be a Witch of at least 14th level
• Possess Charisma 17 or higher. Additionally, the witch needs to have an Intelligence or Wisdom of 15 or higher.
• Be a member in good standing of a coven
• Must know the Supernal Language
• Have been chosen through omen, divine sign, or a coven-wide rite as the next Queen or King

Restrictions

• Only one Witch Queen or King may exist per Tradition at a time (GM’s discretion)
• To become a Witch Queen or King, the previous sovereign must abandon or relinquish their rulership.  This is often upon the death of the previous sovereign, but not required. 
• Occult Powers are gained differently (see below)

Spellcasting

• The Witch Queen continues to cast spells as a Witch of her full level
• May forego the use of Material Components. 

Witch Queen Abilities

Awesome Presence (gained at level 16): Witches perceive the Witch Queen as a radiant beacon of power. Allies within 60 feet receive +1 to morale checks and saving throws vs. fear; enemies must save vs. spells or suffer -1 to morale. All witches instinctively recognize her status and will defer unless magically compelled otherwise.

Occult Eminence (gained at level 18): The Witch Queen gains one choosen Occult Power of her Tradition. This power is gained as if at the appropriate level, but may not exceed the “Grand” tier unless already eligible. She may choose another Occult Power from a different Tradition at level 19 if desired.

A Thousand Faces (gained at level 20): The Witch Queen may alter her appearance at will, as per the disguise self spell, though the effect is real, not illusory. This change does not affect clothing or equipment, and may be maintained indefinitely.

Timeless Body (gained at level 22): The Witch Queen ceases to age. She gains immunity to magical aging and no longer suffers ability penalties due to age. Natural bonuses to Intelligence and Wisdom still accrue. Her lifespan is extended to 120 years, and she will still die of old age unless further extended by other magical means. 

Rulership and Influence

The Witch Queen or King is not merely a title, but a mantle of magical authority. All witches of her Tradition know of her. At the GM’s discretion, she may gain the right to command covens, invoke her Patron’s will across vast distances, or declare magical edicts that affect ley lines or seasonal flows. Along with this power and influence comes the wisdom and responsibility of how to use such power. 

Optional Rule: Mantle of Sovereignty

Once per month, the Witch Queen may perform a rite, calling upon her Tradition’s power. Effects may include summoning a spirit host, causing omens to appear across the land, or sealing a region against extra-planar intrusion for 1d4 days.

Experience Progression and Saving Throws

Continues to use the Witch class tables for all purposes.

Multi-Class and Dual-Class Use

Only single-classed Witches may become Witch Queens (Archwitches and Witch-Priestess are considered single-class witches). The transformation requires undivided devotion to the Patron and Tradition. Other characters may assist or serve such a queen, but may never claim her title.

The Witch Queen is both symbol and sovereign, oracle and enforcer. Her path is not taken lightly, for once crowned, her soul is forever marked by the gaze of the gods.

--

Still have details to work out, but I like it so far. Again, this is designed to mimic the Arch Druid to Hierophant Druid of AD&D 1st Edition. Though I do think the Hierophant is a bit overpowered.  

I briefly considered the more gender neutral title of Witch Sovereign, but that doesn't have the same weight to it. My influences should be rather obvious, but even "Simon King of the Witches" is called a King and not a Sovereign. 

Likely need some more work on this one, so feedback is appreciated. 

Urban Fantasy Fridays: Mage The Ascension, 20th Anniversary Edition

 I will admit, I love Mage. I love all versions of it, to be honest.

While I never really got into the original World of Darkness when it was all the rage, I did have Vampire: The Masquerade, and I recognized why and how it was good. Still, at the time, I had also just discovered WitchCraftRPG (next week!), so that was the game I had chosen to scratch my Modern-Supernatural itches.

I remember picking up a copy of Vampire the Masquerade back in the early 90s and thinking it looked interesting, but nothing I was going to play really.  Though my thought did go to moving the whole thing over to Ravenloft.  It wasn't until I had moved to Chicago to work on my Ph.D. that I found Mage.  

The ground floor of the commuter train station had a bookstore in it.  One of the pure joys of my daily commute. I picked up a copy of Mage: The Ascension (Revised) and thought that it was fantastic.  While I would ultimately stick with WitchCraft, Mage continued to have a fascination for me. Moving back and forth between the systems, I ultimately landed on the idea that a "Mage" was an evolved form of a "Witch."  I did some refinements, mostly after Mage the Awakening was released, so eventually came to the idea of an "Imbolc Mage," the term borrowed from a friend who wrote about "Ascended witches."  IT worked for me.  Even in my D&D 3.0 days, an Imbolc Mage was a witch prestige class. Even today I have a Mystic Class Starship kitbash called "The Imbolc Mage."  

Though I did really like Mage. A lot. I really like Sorcerer's Crusade; it was a cool idea and much more interesting to me than Mage: The Ascension at first.  That led me to Sorcerer: The Hedge Wizard's Handbook, which is not part of Sorcerer's Crusade, but part of modern Mage.  But I am glad I made that mistake, since I really liked this book, and it made me look again at the World of Darkness.

While Mage: The Ascension grabbed my attention, it was Mage: The Awakening that I created more material for.  I soon figured out why: it felt very similar to WitchCraft.  I wanted to do something that took the best aspects, or more to the point my favorite aspects, of both games and use them together.  I grabbed the Mage Translation Guide with great glee, but I never really did anything with it.  With the release of Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition (and its nearly 700 pages), I just dropped all the work I was doing with Mage: The Awakening. 

Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition

The 20th Anniversary Edition of Mage: The Ascension is a massive, beautifully crafted tome that brings every prior vision of the game into focus. It’s not just a revision of the rules; it’s a celebration of what Mage has always been: the meeting of philosophy and passion, of science and sorcery, of power and the price of using it. 

It’s also the most “complete” version of Mage ever written. M20 doesn’t erase the differences between editions; it embraces them. The Traditions feel ancient and mythic again, the Technocracy has teeth and ideology, and even the Marauders and Nephandi have more depth than ever before, a LOT more depth. The lore isn’t presented as dogma but as perspective, filtered through the unreliable narrators who populate the Ascension War. This is hit home time and time again. Reality is what you make it. 

Reading it feels like walking through every era of the game’s evolution: the raw wonder of 1st Edition, the sleek paranoia of Revised (my previous favorite), the fiery metaphysics of Awakening, all of it bound together by the idea that belief shapes reality. If you’ve ever argued about whether magic is real, or what truth even means, M20 will make you feel like those questions matter again.

Plus the physical book is just so damn attractive.

Magic, Philosophy, and Price

What I’ve always loved about Mage, especially the 20th Anniversary Edition, is that it treats magic as both metaphor and mechanism. Every paradigm is true, and none of them are. The more you understand, the more dangerous it becomes to believe in only one truth.

That’s why Larina fits here so naturally. In earlier games, she learned that magic has limits. In Mage, she learns that those limits are hers.

The system itself still shines. M20’s rules strike a balance between the freeform wonder of 1st Edition and the structured precision of Revised. The magic system remains one of my favorites of any RPG ever written, not because it’s powerful but because it demands creativity and consequence. Every effect has a cost, every belief has friction, and paradox is always waiting for the arrogant.

This is where Mage transcends its own mechanics. It’s not just about bending the universe; it’s about how much of yourself you’re willing to give up to make that change. Every roll feels like a wager between your vision and the world’s resistance. It’s a game of philosophy disguised as spellcraft, where your paradigm defines not only your powers but your purpose.

In that way, it’s the most dangerous kind of fantasy: the kind that makes you ask, What if I’m the one who’s asleep?

The Mature Stage of the Lifespan Campaign

If Little Fears represents childhood beliefs, Monsterhearts embodies teenage Sturm und Drang, and Chill signifies early adulthood resilience, then Mage is mid-life transcendence.

By the time a character reaches Mage, the world has stopped being mysterious because they have seen too much of it. They’ve fought the Unknown, lost friends, made mistakes, and realized that survival is only the beginning. Mage is what happens when you stop reacting to horror and start defining reality for yourself.

For Larina, this is the phase where the witch becomes the magus. She’s no longer the frightened girl with ghosts in her room or the grad student who stumbled into S.A.V.E. She’s a woman in her mid-40s who has survived every shadow the multiverse could throw at her, and learned that power without wisdom is just another kind of curse.

Her story at this stage isn’t about discovery; it’s about integration. Every past incarnation, every spell, every trauma, they all thread together into something greater. The act of Ascension isn’t about escaping mortality; it’s about embracing it as sacred.

Like the rules, I want to integrate all the disparate threads of her life here. 

Larina Nichols in Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition (2015)

By 2000 or so, Larina had returned to the States and lived quietly in Chicago. She teaches folklore and comparative mythology at a small liberal arts college, but that’s just the daylight cover. At night, she works as an independent consultant for the Traditions, specifically the Verbena, though she maintains uneasy friendships among the Dreamspeakers and Hollow Ones.

In the context of my Lifespan Campaign, this is Larina’s middle-age chapter, the reckoning after experience, when all her past choices catch up to her. The ghosts from Little Fears, the stress of Monsterhearts, the agents of S.A.V.E. from Chill, even fragments of her other lives like Lowis from Dark Ages, they all echo here.

Mage lets me weave those threads together into something coherent. Maybe those different incarnations were just past lives of the same soul, or echoes across parallel worlds. In Mage, that kind of metaphysical bleed makes sense. It’s one of the only games where her story could become mythic without losing its human edge.

At 45 (2015 in this build), Larina is a seasoned practitioner who has seen the price of awakening. She knows that every act of will leaves ripples in the world. She teaches her students that folklore endures because it speaks to something real, and when she’s alone, she can still hear the faint hum of the Tapestry, like a heartbeat under the world.

She’s part scholar, part witch, part weary survivor. The Ascension War has become quieter, now fought through memes, corporate sponsorships, and disinformation rather than fireballs and paradox spirits. Larina has learned that the Technocracy doesn’t always need to win; reality often fights their battles for them.

But she keeps the candle burning anyway.

Her focus remains rooted in belief: the Old Faith, the Goddess, the sacred cycles of life and death, but expanded now to the Universal and Multi-versal scale. She has studied Hermetic theory and understands the language of the Ethers, yet she still draws her strength from the soil, the stars, and the blood that ties them together. In M20 terms, she is a Verbena, a witch who believes in creation’s divinity but refuses to kneel to any monotheistic god.

She works minor wonders through old rites: candle flame, herbs, whispered prayers, moonlight on water, spreads of her well-worn tarot cards. Her paradigm has grown sophisticated; witchcraft, psychology, and spirit all merge into her personal practice. Where she once used spells, she now shapes Correspondences.

Her Avatar is older now, too, no longer the reckless maiden or disappointed wife, but a patient, keen-eyed woman who sometimes calls herself the Lady of Crossroads. 

Larina "Nix" Nichols

Chronicle: The New Millennium

Nature: Questing
Demeanor: Traditionalist
Essence: Visionary

Affiliation: The Traditions
Sect: Verbena
Concept: Mystic

Attributes 

Physical
Strength ••, Dexterity ••, Stamina •••

Social
Charisma •••, Manipulation ••, Appearance ••••

Mental
Perception ••••, Intelligence ••••, Wits •••

Abilities

Talents
Alertness ••, Art •, Awareness •••, Empathy ••, Expression •, Streetwise •

Skills
Crafts •, Drive ••, Etiquette •, Research •••, Survival •••, Technology •

Knowledges
Academics ••••, Cosmology ••, Enigmas ••, Esoterica •, Investigation •, Medicine •, Occult ••••, Science •

Spheres

Correspondence ••
Entropy 0
Forces •••

Life •••
Matter •
Mind ••••

Prime •
Spirit •••
Time ••

Advantages

Backgrounds
Allies ••
Avatar •••••
Dream •
Library ••••
Past Lives •••
Wonder •

Other Traits
High Ritual ••••
Seduction ••
Area Knowledge ••

Arete ••••• ••

Willpower ••••• ••

Quintessence xxxxx

Rotes
Talons (••• Life, • Prime or • Matter)
Far Speak (•• Mind, •• Spirit)
Astral Projection (••••Mind, • Spirit)
Past Life (•• Correspondence, •• Spirit)

Focus
Paradigm: Creation is Divine and Alive
Practices: Witchcraft
Instruments: Books, ritual tools, tarot

Wonder
Athame

Merits & Flaws
Languages (Celtic, Greek, Italian, Latin, Russian) 5, True Faith 2
Echoes -1

Age: 45, Apparent age: late 30s
Sex: Female
Ethnicity: White (Caucasian)
Hair: Red
Eye color: Blue
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 125 lbs
DOB: October 25, 1969

Equipment
2005 purple VW Beetle
2013 Macbook Pro (Core i7, 2.6 ghz, 13.3" screen, 256gb ssd, 8gb RAM), silver

Notes: One thing I have not decided yet is whether or not this Larina has a 3-year-old daughter "Taryn" as her WitchCraftRPG counterpart would have at this point (Taryn born Dec 21, 2012, when the Meso-American calendar ran out.) I would like to think so, but I have not played this particular character to that point.

This is obviously not a starting character. I figured she began as a Mage character when I first discovered Mage (circa 1999) and she has had 15 years of experience since then. Granted, maybe she would be more powerful, but she had a lot going on in her life that was not Mage-related. 

I have always played my Mage and WitchCraft versions as similar, but separate universes. This Larina may be the Larina that keeps the others connected to the whole cabal/coven of them all. Actually, I really like this idea. Maybe I should reach out to Phil Brucato, "That Mage Guy," and ask him how he would craft such a character. 

Final Thoughts

Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition isn’t just a rulebook. It’s a philosophy text disguised as a game manual, a challenge to imagine what reality could be if you dared to believe differently. It captures everything I love about urban fantasy, the collision of magic and modernity, of belief and disbelief, of hope against entropy.

For me, Mage represents the mature stage of the horror-fantasy journey. It’s not about surviving the darkness anymore. It’s about illuminating it, understanding it, and, if you’re brave enough, even becoming it.

Larina has learned that the Ascension War was never about gods or Technocrats. It was always about the soul’s struggle to stay awake.

And after all these years, she’s still standing at the crossroads, candle in hand, whispering to the night: "So mote it be."

Links

• Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition, DriveThruRPG
• Mage: The Ascension (Wikipedia)
• Mage: The Ascendion (White Wolf Wiki)
• Mage: The Ascension (RPG.net)
• Mage: The Awakening

Urban Fantasy Fridays: Chill

The depth of my love for Chill knows no bounds.  

I am continuing to focus my Fantasy Fridays on Urban Fantasy and Horror. These will be more about accenting and supplementing your games with horror, and less on these games being a “D&D Replacement.”

And for me, no game sits more firmly in that sweet spot of horror and urban fantasy than Chill.

Chill was my first RPG after D&D, and it has stayed with me ever since. I still remember flipping through the Pacesetter box and realizing this game wasn’t about dungeons or dragons, it was about the dark places just outside your door. It’s a game about the things you whisper about, the shadows you hope never notice you, and the brave (or foolish) people who stand up to fight them.

The Core of Chill

Across its three editions, the spirit of the game has remained intact. The secret society of SAVE, the Societas Argenti Viae Eternitata, provides players with an immediate reason to join the fight against the supernatural. The Unknown itself is the real adversary, a collection of folklore and fear that resists easy definition. Unlike Call of Cthulhu, Chill does not end with despair. Unlike World of Darkness, it does not try to make the monsters alluring. Most importantly, it doesn’t require the “epic heroics” of D&D or Pathfinder. The Unknown is terrifying and often lethal, but it can be fought.

The tone of play always reminded me more of Kolchak: The Night Stalker than Lovecraft. Later, when shows like X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Supernatural came along, they felt like they could have been written as Chill campaigns. It is a game about mysteries and folklore, about investigating hauntings and cryptids, and about facing the terrors that slip into our world when no one else will. The monsters are not just stat blocks to be defeated; they are creatures that feel like they have stepped out of legend and into your story. More importantly, each monster was special. Even when it was just a "monster of the week" it still meant something. From vampires and Wendigos to Elizabeth Bathory herself, the creatures of Chill are more than just stat blocks. They feel like they crawled out of real-world legends and onto your gaming table. 

What You Can Do With Chill

Chill is wonderfully adaptable. I have used it to run Buffy-style adventures before there was a Buffy RPG, Kolchak investigations, and even material that began in Ghosts of Albion. It thrives in the modern day, but it also works in Victorian gaslight, or the occult revival of the 1970s with its bell-bottoms and Ouija boards. The mechanics are approachable and lean toward story, so it is a natural fit for short Halloween one-shots as well as longer campaigns.

One of the joys of Chill for me has been bringing recurring characters into it. I have created versions of many of my characters for many systems, but Chill has always felt like one of the most natural homes for them. Characters in Chill are ordinary people thrust into extraordinary danger, and that is exactly the kind of story I have always enjoyed doing.

Why Chill Stands Out

What makes Chill endure is the way it carves out its own place among horror RPGs. Call of Cthulhu leans into inevitability and madness. World of Darkness often leans into seduction and corruption. Dungeons & Dragons calls for epic heroics and high fantasy. Chill stands apart. It is a game about people who could be your neighbors, co-workers, or friends, suddenly forced to confront the shadows that lurk behind familiar walls. Victories are rare, but when they come, they feel earned. That balance of fear and fight is what keeps me coming back. 

It gives you ordinary people with extraordinary courage, standing in the dark with nothing but a flashlight, some folklore, and the hope they can survive until dawn.

Chill is available in both the 2nd Edition and 3rd Edition rules.  The mechanical differences are minor. Chill 3rd Edition is a bit better organized and presented. 

The Early-Middle Years Campaign

If Little Fears is a childhood belief made into rules, then Chill feels like the story of what happens when those childhood terrors never really go away. It is a game for the middle years of life, when you are old enough to understand that monsters should not be real, yet still young enough to feel the raw shock when you discover they are.

In this sense, Chill is the perfect start to a “middle chapter” of a larger horror Lifespan Campaign. Dark Places & Demogorgons can cover the later childhood and early teen years. Monsterhearts or Buffy can cover the chaos of all the teenage years, but Chill is where the players step into early adulthood. Bills need paying, jobs need doing, but there are still nights when something crawls out of the dark, and it is up to you to stop it. Adulthood in Chill is defined not by power or responsibility, but by resilience.

Characters are rarely specialists or superheroes; they are people in over their heads who choose to fight back anyway. That resilience is what makes victories against the Unknown so satisfying. Chill is about holding on to courage, even when everything around you insists you should not. 

A starting Chill character is a fragile thing, but it is assumed they have what it takes to survive. 

Larina Macalister, nee Nichols, for Chill

So we have been moving through the years. In this, I am opting for the Chill 2nd Edition timeline, circa 1992. Larina is 22 years old. She has been living in Scotland for a couple of years now. She was an exchange student from the University of Chicago to St. Andrews University. She graduated with a degree in library sciences and early medieval history. She is currently a GA at St. Andrews. While here, she met, fell in love with, and married Eric Macalister. An Irish ex-pat living in Scotland. She later learns he is on the run because he is a former IRA sharphooter. I had watched Patriot Games when I came up with all of this in the late 1990s. In fact, this setup is all based on a WitchCraftRPG game I played with her. At the time, I worked out conversions in Excel for Chill, WitchCraft, and AD&D. These Chill stats are some of the oldest I have shared.

While I am basing all this background on Chill 2nd Ed, I am going to present her newer Chill 3rd Edition stats below. 

This Larina is fresh out of her undergrad days and working on her MA. She married, but life is not all marital bliss (she will be divorced and back in America by the time she is 25). She works with her friend Prof. Scot Elders and his wife, and her best friend Heather.  At some point, Larina learns that Elders worked for S.A.V.E. She is brought in, but she isn't trusted since her training in "The Art" has been haphazard and largely self-taught since she was 13. 

S.A.V.E. wants to evaluate her, but they had their own troubles in the early 1990s. 

Larina Macalister
22 years old, American citizen (married to an Irish citizen) living in Scotland on a student visa.

Larina in 1992.

Attributes

Agility AGL: 60
Strength STR: 50  (Injury: __)
Stamina STA: 55

Focus FOC: 80
Personality PSY: 70
Willpower WRP: 75   (Trauma: __)

Dexterity DEX:  60
Perception PCN: 80
Reflexes REF: 70

Sensing the Unknown STU: 40

Skills (Specializations)

Movement 30
Prowess 25
Close Quarters Combat 25

Research 40, Academics (E+30), Occult (E+30)
Communication Empathy (E+30), Deception (B+15)
Interview 38 Academic (E+30), Counselor (B+15)

Fieldcraft 30
Investigation 40 Relics (B+15)
Ranged Weapons 35

The Art

Communicative (PSY)
  Attunement: Follow the Strings
  - Telepathic Empathy (B)

Incorporeal
  Attunement: Eyes of the Dead

Kinetic (DEX)
  Attunement: Schematic
  - Hidden Hand (E)

Protective (FOC)
  Attunement: Disrupt
  - Blessing (B)
  - Line of Defense (B)

Sensing
  Attunement: Third Eye
  - Clairvoyant (B)

Edges and Drawbacks

Attractive 1, Highly Attuned 1, Pet (cat) 2
Hunted (Shadow Girl) -2, Marked -1, Reluctant to Harm -2

Drive To understand The Art and The Unknown

History

1975: Visited by ghosts and other spirits (gains Incorporeal ART)
1983: Develops Kinetic and Sensing Arts
1989: Travels to Scotland
1990: Recruited by S.A.V.E., same year married Eric Macalister
1991: Begins MA program at St. Andrews.

--

New to 3rd Edition are Focus and Reflexes. Also, Luck is now gone.

Her stats are pretty high for a starting character, but not high if you consider the Lifespan Campaign. She was seeing ghosts at 5 or 6, had control of various Arts by age 13. Because of this, she is largely self-taught. Her magical aptitude is a mile wide, but only inches deep at this point. 

I am bringing back the Shadow Girl, who, she had forgotten, from Little Fears. Maybe this creature is Larina's Never Was? And something happened in either DP&D or Monsterhearts that has caused her to decide she can use her Art to harm anyone. She hurt someone and has not gotten over it. 

Herein lies the most significant issue surrounding the Lifespan Campaign: moving characters and their abilities/powers from one game to the next. It can be done, but it is a challenge. Or, more to the point, a challenge to do it and not break some of the fundamental tenets of the game. Larina above should almost be a threat to S.A.V.E., not a consultant. Part of this balance also influences the narrative structure. What is real for that game world? You have to strip all that out and build your own world where the games fit.

Final Thoughts

Chill is not just another horror RPG for me. It was my first real step beyond D&D, my second RPG ever, and the one that showed me roleplaying games could be more than fantasy adventures. They could be mysteries, ghost stories, and urban legends made real.

Whether I’m reading the battered Pacesetter books, the sleek Mayfair volumes, or the modern 3rd edition, the heart of Chill never changes: ordinary people, extraordinary courage, and the eternal struggle against the Unknown.

For all the years and all the editions, that is why Chill remains one of my all-time favorites.

Links

• Chill,
• Cryptworld, 1st Edition clone
• 2nd Edition
• 3rd Edition
• My Chill Reviews,
• 1st Edition Pacesetter
• 2nd Edition, Mayfair Games
• 3rd Edition, Growling Door/Martin Carron
• Frightshow Classics Adventures
• My adventures, Golem and The Nightmare
• Other Reviews,
• The Children of Chill (Cryptworld, Majus, RotWorld)
• Chill 3rd Ed Quickstart - Good Fences Make Good Neighbors
• Characters
• Megan O'Kelly (Spirit of '76)
• Wayward Sisters (Supernatural)
• Fran & Miriam, the Vampyres
• First Edition
• Third Edition
• Willow & Tara

Urban Fantasy Fridays: Monsterhearts

Last week, with Little Fears, we explored childhood monsters. Now this week I want to explore the most horrifying years of all. High School.

Granted I have a lot of games that do this and do this well. Perhaps one of the best urban fantasy / Horror games about high school is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG. BUT I want to cover Buffy when I do Unisystem later on this month. 

Of course, another fantastic example is Dark Places & Demogorgons, a game I have covered often. The biggest reason not to cover it today is that I have said so much about it. 

This leaves one game that fits as well as those two AND it takes such a different approach that I have to try it out. Monsterhearts.

Monsterhearts

Monsterhearts 2 by Avery Alder is one of those games that doesn’t just sit on your shelf, it stares at you. It dares you to pick it up and think about all the messy, complicated, horny, terrifying stuff that made adolescence such a fever dream. Avery Alder’s game is firmly within the Powered by the Apocalypse family, utilizing those mechanics to push hard on narrative, relationships, and the dark hunger lurking within every teenager. I would go as far to say it is one of the best examples of a Powered by the Apocalypse game. Now, normally, I am not a huge fan of the Apocalypse system, but here it works so very well. 

The pitch is simple: you play teenage monsters, or maybe monstrous teenagers, or just regular teenagers. Vampires, witches, werewolves, fae, the usual suspects, but this isn’t about killing things in the night. It’s about identity, sexuality, and the strange alchemy of desire and fear. The “Skins” (playbooks) are equal parts archetype and pressure cooker, designed to push your character into bad decisions that feel achingly real. You’re going to lash out, you’re going to want someone you shouldn’t, and you’re going to hurt the people closest to you. That’s the point. 

Monsters as metaphors for teenage life and feeling a little outside the norm. Not to lay it on too thick, but the monsters are metaphors, but...you actually are a monster. I think it is something everyone can relate to, I think. 

Mechanically, it is lean and mean. Strings (the currency of influence and emotional leverage) do a lot of the heavy lifting, ensuring every interaction has bite. Conditions, labels you can slap on characters, make the social world as dangerous as any dungeon. And the sex moves? Well, they’re here to remind you that intimacy is never neutral. It changes the fiction in a big way, sometimes empowering, sometimes wrecking you.

The base mechanic is simple: 2d6 + whatever mods (depending on the game), get higher than 10 for a success, or a 7-9 for something weird.

I did write-ups for Monsterhearts before, and I always wanted to do more. I just got around to it for various reasons. I played it at Gen Con many years ago and had a great time. It is not a game I get to play often, but each time is memorable. 

Larina in 1986 and her experiment with bangs

Larina "Creepy" Nichols for Monsterhearts

Larina has gone from the strange little girl who sees ghosts in Little Fears, to the odd girl everyone nicknamed "Creepy" in Dark Places & Demogorgons, to the goth chick people are actually afraid of in Monsterhearts.  Gone are the ripped jeans and Misfits concert t-shirts, she is now in her full young Stevie Nicks meets Elvira stage. Heavy make-up, lots of rings, black everything. 

While there is no time period set for Monsterhearts in the rules, but I am going to set this one in 1986. This means I am going to not use the whole section on "Texting." Sure it is fun, but passing notes is better. 

The underlying tone of Monsterhearts is the queer experience (which I know practically nothing about); I do know the "outsider" experience, and the Satanic Panic helped that. Don't worry, I am not going to "straight-wash" this at all; that would go counter to the game's intended ethos and, honestly, just would not work as well. 

Skin: The Witch (obviously)

Look: Edgy but Attractive
Eyes: Are the brown? Are they blue? No one is sure.
Origin: Heard the call of the Goddess at six and taught by the ghost of her grandmother.

Backstory: Larina began seeing ghosts and other things when she was little. Now she can command some magic, but keeps it hidden because the more she uses it, the more she is also seen by those things.

Stats

Hot 1, Cold -1, Volatile -1, Dark 2 (seductive and spooky)

Sympathetic Tokens: 2 (Mortal and Fae) Tokens count as Strings.
Strings: 2  (Mortal and Fae), Infernal has a string on her.

Darkest Self

The time for subtlety and patience is over. You’re too powerful to put up with their garbage any longer. You hex anyone who slights you. All of your hexes have unexpected side effects, and are more effective than you are comfortable with. To escape your Darkest Self, you must offer peace to the one you have hurt the most.

Sex Move

After sex, you can take a Sympathetic Token from them. They know about it, and it’s cool.

Witch Moves

• Hex Casting: Binding, Illusions (demonic visages)
  
  
• Sanctuary

So, it's 1986. The Satanic Panic has come to her sleepy little midwestern college town and all eyes are on the girl everyone already suspects is out in the woods sacrificing animals and calling up demons for sex. When in truth she is typically at home in her attic room (she moved up there years ago) and listens to her dad's Yes albums. 

At 16, Larina is very confused about her sexuality. She has heard the joke a few too many times that college Wiccan groups are just lonely heart clubs for new lesbians and bisexuals, but she feels the need to conform somehow.  There is an older metalhead guy she has a crush on (The Mortal), and there is a girl with blonde hair she has been fantasizing about (The Fae); both seem to be mutual.  At the moment, she is still too scared to do anything with either of them, except for a couple of make-out sessions each. 

There is an Infernal foreign exchange student who keeps pursuing her, and Larina isn't sure how much longer she will be able to resist her charms, nor is she sure she really even wants to. The Infernal is based on a character my wife played in a game a while back. A girl named Sasha, who was really a Succubus.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed what Little Fears brought to the childhood experiences of characters, and I LOVE what Monsterhearts brings to the teen experiences. 

In reality, you could dual-stat every character you are playing in a teen/high school game. Say Buffy or DP&D and Monsterhearts. Use the more crunchy stats for things like fighting vampires and Monsterhearts for...doing other things with them. It would take a very experienced Game Master (Director and MC) with a very deft hand to do this, but it would be fun. 

Monsterhearts 2 isn’t for everyone. But for the right group, it’s raw and cathartic in a way few RPGs even attempt. It captures the horror of being young and not knowing who you are, except maybe something terrible. And that’s a story worth telling at the table.

Witchcraft Wednesday: Psychic Powers

 I have been going through my notes for my "Occult D&D" project and my list of potential movies to watch this October and they crossover at an interesting point.

Troubled Psychic Kids. 

I love the AD&D psionic system. Yes, I really do. But it is not without its problems. Ok. It has a lot of problems. I want a system that would allow me to do "Carrie" or "The Fury" or even "Scanners." Well. I don't have that yet. But I have started pencilling down ideas. Here is where I am at right now.

The Six Disciplines of the Mind

"The vulgar eye perceives magic where there is none. The vulgar mind dismisses the psychic because it is not magic. Yet to the trained investigator, these disciplines are neither miracle nor madness. They are the natural sciences of the unseen, awaiting only the patience to be catalogued."

 - Research Notes, Book I, Prof. Scott Elders

When I started sketching my ideas for Occult D&D, I wanted to treat psychic powers the same way I approached witches: something that feels like it could have sat on a hobby store shelf in 1986. These aren’t just mechanics; they’re the “folk science” of the strange, drawing from parapsychology, pulp fiction, and the endless debates of game tables where psionics were talked about but rarely used.

After sorting through decades of parapsychology claims, RPG precedents, and a few eldritch debates between Larina and Prof. Elders (yeah, characters argue in my head. It is worse than the tinnitus I have), I’ve settled on six core disciplines of the psychic arts… with a seventh, optional frontier discipline for those who dare.

Telepathy

The ability to communicate mind-to-mind, read surface thoughts, and in its higher expressions, dominate another’s will. Telepaths are the most feared of psychics, for no secret is safe.

Sub-powers: Empathy, Mind Link, Mental Domination.

Clairvoyance

The “second sight” of lore: perceiving hidden things, distant places, or future events. Often confused with prophecy, but rooted in the psychic’s own perception rather than divine revelation.

Sub-powers: ESP, Remote Viewing, Precognition.

Psychokinesis

The raw power of the mind over matter. From small acts of levitation to hurling objects across a battlefield, this is the most spectacular and physically demanding of disciplines.

Sub-powers: Telekinesis, Pyrokinesis, Kinetic Barriers.

Biopsionics

The mysterious link between mind and body. Practitioners can heal, alter their own form, or endure conditions no mortal should. It is whispered some can change shape entirely by thought alone.

Sub-powers: Psychic Healing, Trance, Body Control, Shape Alteration.

Mediumship

The spirit-bridge: channeling entities, communing with the dead, or casting one’s soul into the astral plane. In AD&D terms, this is where the occult and the psychic most clearly overlap.

Sub-powers: Astral Projection, Spirit Communication, Possession.

Precognition

Visions of things yet to come, sometimes crystal clear, more often symbolic and frustrating. True precogs are rare, and their gift is as much curse as blessing.

Sub-powers: Danger Sense, Probability Manipulation, Visionary Trance.

The Optional Seventh: Metapsionics

Where the others act upon mind, matter, or spirit, metapsionics acts upon psionics themselves. These rare gifts allow a psychic to alter the use of powers, dampen another’s talents, or amplify their own. Some say it is a discipline that shouldn’t exist at all, it is a loophole in reality’s design.

Sub-powers: Psionic Dampening, Psychic Harmonization, Probability Twisting.

--

None of this is written in stone, just in the pixels you see before you.

I also still need to figure out how psychic powers co-exist with witchcraft. 

Urban Fantasy Fridays: Little Fears

It is October! You know what that means around here. For all of October, I am going to focus my "Fantasy Fridays" on Urban Fantasy and Horror. These will be more about accenting and supplementing your games with horror and less on these games being a "D&D Replacement."

Little Fears: Nightmare Edition

When was the last time you were really, really afraid? Most people would say childhood.  Little Fears is exactly about that.  Little Fears is a game of childhood fears.  The monsters are real; they hide in your closet and under your bed. The scary old lady down the street really is a hag. But don’t worry. You are protected by Belief, and items that seem mundane or meaningless to grown-ups can help you.   Little Fears is based on a simple system, as befitting its nature of school children fighting monsters that adults can’t see. 

Little Fears also has the notoriety of being one of three RPGs that one of my FLGS will not sell openly.  You can order it, but they don’t stock it.  I disagree, but I respect their choice.

Little Fears is a game of Childhood Horrors.  Simple enough.  As a father, I have been up many nights, sleepily fighting one bogeyman or another.  Thankfully, most bogeymen are terrified of my "huh? go back to sleep" speech cause I have never seen them.  But maybe once upon a time I did.  I am reminded of a Charmed episode where a little girl was being attacked by little bogey-like creatures, and the Charmed Ones, being adults, could not see them.  They had to cast a spell to be more childlike (with accompanying wackiness) to see the threat.  That was the hook I was going to use to get my group to play Little Fears one day.  Turn their characters into kids, and to keep them off guard, I was going to take their Unisystem sheets and give them Little Fears sheets instead, and then not tell them all the rules.  The Little Fears book makes a big issue about kids living in an adult world and not knowing or understanding the rules.  Frankly, I thought it was brilliant, but it never happened.

Little Fears plays like that.  Only more so.  Monsters are defined by the character's fear but also by their belief.  In some ways, playing LF with adults is a bit like playing D&D with really young kids.  They want to be the player AND the DM.  In LF the characters and players can change the nature of the game in overt or subtle ways.

The rules are very simple, really.  The system is a d6 dice pool based on abilities or qualities.  Monsters are built similarly to characters, though they are tougher, generally speaking.  The damage system reminds me of Mutants and Masterminds a bit and is also pretty simple.   Emphasis, though, in this game is not how many monsters you can kill, but how well you role-play the monster you nearly escaped from and lived to tell your friends about (because they have seen the same monster, but have been too afraid to tell you).  Little Fears is one of the most role-play-heavy games I have read in a very long time.  If you only like to hit things with pointy metal sticks or throw fireballs, then this might not be your game.  If the idea of playing something that is akin to "Kult Jr." or "C.J. Carella's WitchCraft Babies," then this is the game for you.

There is an overarching malaise, though, over Little Fears.  I get depressed reading it, I have to admit.  Maybe it is because I am a father and I know how those little kids feel to be afraid, alone, and powerless.  I guess the counterargument is that they are not powerless or alone, really.

The Lifespan Campaign

One idea I’ve toyed with is the Lifespan Campaign: taking characters from childhood through adolescence, young adulthood, and into older years across different horror systems. Each stage of life would utilize a different RPG: Little Fears for childhood, perhaps Dark Places & Demogorgons, Monsterhearts or Buffy for the teenage years, WitchCraft for adulthood, and Kult or Call of Cthulhu for the endgame. I love this approach because each game has a distinct “rule set” that reflects how life feels at different ages. 

Childhood is governed by Belief. Adolescence by Drama. Adulthood by Responsibility. Old age by Fragility. Or something like that. I reserve the right to tweak these ideas.

It’s a long campaign dream, but Little Fears is the perfect opening chapter.

Larina Nichols for Little Fears

Let's try out this idea. I have already established that Larina began to hear The Call of the Goddess when she was six years old. Around the same time, children have imaginary friends. In this universe, that would be the same time a Little Fears game would begin.

Little Larina and a ghost.

My name is Larina Nichols
I am a 6-year-old girl.
My birthday is October 25.

Concept: Outsider/Quiet kid

Abilities

Move: ØØOOOO 2

Fight: ØOOOOO 1

Think: ØØØOOO 3

Speak: ØØOOOO 2

Care: ØØØOOO 3

Traits

Good: I can Fight well when I am angry.

Bad: It’s hard for me to Think when I'm scared.

Virtues

Belief 7

Wits: scared ØØØØØ|ØØØOO calm

Spirit: dark ØØØØØ|ØØØØØ light (whole)

Qualities

I am the smart girl  +2
- I know words the teacher hasn't taught yet. +1
- I love books. +1

I am Curious +1

I am Brave +1

I see Scary Things -2

I don't fit in -1

I feel (Care)

fine ØØØØØØØ|OOO
sore ØØØØØØØ|OOO (-2)
bad ØØØØØØØ|OOO (-4)
cold ØØØØØØØ|OOO (-6)

My Stuff

My "Book of Monsters" +3
- "Names" monsters so they can't hurt me +1 to Armor
- Gives me advice on how to beat them +1 to Fight
- lets me talk to Monsters +1 to Speak

Pendant +2
- Glows when danger is near
- Protects me +1 to Wits

"Dragon tooth" (really some baked clay) +2
- Lucky +1
- Protects me +1 to Care

Questionnaire

My best friend is...Aurora. She is a year older.
The One Grown-up I can Trust is...Mrs. Jess, my 1st grade teacher. I think she used to be a witch.
Once I Lost...my stuffed bunny Jackson. 
He was special because...he would protect me from ghosts.

The One Place Monsters can't get me is...Dad's library. They are afraid of his books and music.
The One Thing Monsters can't touch is...my star pendant. 
I Don't Go near...basement.
Beacuse...the Shadow-girl lives there and she is not like other ghosts.

My biggest fear is...fire. 

A Little About Me
The Thing I like Least about Myself is...kids make fun of my hair and nose.
The Thing that always gets me into trouble is...when the ghosts bother me and I yell at them to stop.
When I get scared I...bite my nails. My mom hates that.

Family
I live in a one-story house with an attic and a basement that's a bit scary. With my mom (Stephanie) and my dad (Lars). I have a kitten named Cottonball who is small, white, and super fuzzy. The ghost of an old woman lives in the attic, but she is not mean and keeps the other ghosts away.

The Shadow-girl lives in the basement. She looks like a ghost, but isn't. She tells me she is going to take me and live as me. Shadow-girl will sometimes do bad things around the house, and I get blamed for it.

Goals

Short-term: I want to be braver around the older kids.

Long-term: I want to get rid of the Shadow-Girl

Secret

Knows her friend Aurora is being abused. She told a teacher, and then Aurora was gone for a long time. 

-

This is quite a good system for figuring out who your character is, or rather, was back then. There are things here I have thought about for Larina that I have never actually explored in other games; her fear of fire yes, but also how she sees ghosts all the time, and her interactions with "The Shadow-girl" a demonic presence in her early life. 

Going through this, I also decided that in a modern game, she would have been advanced a grade due to her intelligence, but was she emotionally ready? AND how does all of this affect the character I would play in Buffy, Chill, or Kult?

As a reminder that it is a weighty game with some weighty issues, I went ahead and put in Larina's secret about Aurora. Larina feels like it is her fault that Aurora was gone for so long. As mentioned above, this game challenges you to confront a range of childhood fears.

Final Thoughts

Little Fears: Nightmare Edition isn’t just “kids fight monsters.” It’s about capturing that liminal space between innocence and terror, where imagination and fear are indistinguishable. It’s a heavy game, sometimes even depressing, but it’s also brilliant in its design and focus.

While it is a game about children, it is not a game for children.  The subject matter of abuse and death can be a bit much for some adults, let alone kids.  So consider this your warning about the issues covered here. 

Little Fears might also be one of the most effective horror games I have ever played. Chill, Kult, WoD, CoC, WitchCraft are all great and I love them all, but Little Fears is different and the power structure between what you can do and what you need to do is such that it is a scary, scary game.

If you want a horror RPG that digs deeper than gore and jump scares, one that makes you feel vulnerable again, this is it. Buy it. Play it. Even if it unsettles you. Because once you’ve cracked open Little Fears, you’ll never look at butterflies (or teddy bears, or shadows) quite the same way again.

Monstrous Mondays: Archangels

 I was looking for an idea to post today and saw that it was Michaelmas. Now I am not Catholic (I am not even a Christian, or a believer) but I thought this was a good excuse to round out my hierarchies of angels both for my Occult D&D project and for my Basic Bestiary.

A Word About My Basic Bestiary

This one is taking a bit. I am climbing the dual mountains of editing close to 400 monsters AND finding good art for them. I am funding the art myself, as I don't want to rely on crowdfunding for this. 

Angels

I have talked about the various angels and related creatures in my games before. 

• Monstrous Mondays: Angels
• Monstrous Mondays: The Agathós (and other Angels)
• Monstrous Mondays: Starchild (Occult D&D)

What I want to do is create groupings of various good-aligned outsiders (Celestials) and assign them hierarchies similar to those found in the lower planes. Angels, then, are the Lawful Good-aligned Celestials. 

The trick has been finding the right way to group them all, figure out the hierarchies as the Medieval scholars would have classified them, AND (and maybe the most important) find something that works well for the games I play.

The Archangels

The generals of Heaven's armies are the seven Archangels. While some scholars equate an archangel to a particular layer of the Seven Heavens, this is not really the case.  Of these seven, St. Michael is considered to be their leader and the most powerful. 

ARCHANGEL MICHAEL
General of the Heavenly Hosts

FREQUENCY: Unique
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: –6
MOVE: 24”/36” (flying)
HIT DICE: 22 (231 hp)
% IN LAIR: Nil
TREASURE TYPE: Special (holy relics only)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 (flaming Holy Avenger sword +6)
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d12 + 12 (STR and magic bonuses) + 1d8 fire per hit +6d6 damage to the "unholy."
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Holy Word at will; spell-like abilities as a 22nd-level cleric; Voice of Authority (as Command on all evil within 60’, no save vs. 6 HD or less); Haste 3/day; may summon 2–20 angels once per day.
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +2 or better weapon to hit; immune to fire, lightning, charm, petrification, poison, death magic; regenerates 3 hp/round; 90% magic resistance.
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 90%
INTELLIGENCE: Supra-genius (25)
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Good
SIZE: Huge (9’–10’ tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 350
— Attack/Defense Modes: All/All

“I have seen demons in their true forms, nightmare creatures born in dreams of madmen, and even sat in the galleries of a diabolic auction to bid back a mortal soul from the clutches of a Duke of Hell. I have faced things that should have unmade me, yet I walked away with laughter still on my lips.

But when Michael appeared, when the sky split as if dawn had come at midnight, my laughter died. I had thought devils horrific, but they are at least comprehensible: greedy, ambitious, vile. The Archangel is none of these things, and that is what made him terrifying. His presence was like a storm that judged the worth of every breath I had ever drawn. His eyes pierced every spell, every secret and lie I had cloaked myself in, and for a moment, I was naked in truth before the heavens. And he saw all. 

I confess, the most dreadful creature I have ever faced was not a demon or a devil or some abomination from beyond the veils of reality, but the Archangel himself. Not because he is cruel, but because he is absolute and just.”

- From the Journal of Larina Nix

Michael is one of the seven archangels and the greatest warrior among them. He appears as a towering, armored figure of radiant fire, bearing a great Holy Avenger that burns with divine light. His voice alone can turn entire legions of fiends.

When encountered, Michael is always on a mission of cosmic import, never idly wandering the planes. He may be summoned only by direct decree of the highest divine power. In battle, Michael is the equal and opposite of the greatest demon princes and arch-devils, such as Demogorgon or Asmodeus.

Michael is the war-leader of Heaven, the one who cast down Lucifer in the First Rebellion, and who wields the flaming sword at the threshold of Paradise. He is invoked in exorcisms, called upon as protector of the dying, and hailed as the angel of judgment. In many myths, Michael weighs the souls of the dead upon golden scales, determining whether they ascend or fall.

Unlike other celestials who guide, heal, or inspire, Michael exists to fight. His presence is a living reminder that the heavens themselves are not pacifistic, but hold a sword against the darkness. He embodies both the mercy of the divine and the implacable wrath of cosmic law.

The sword borne by Michael is no ordinary weapon, but a Holy Avenger of such potency that it channels his immense strength and divine fire together. Each strike inflicts 1d12 damage, to which both his +6 Strength bonus and +6 enchantment bonus are added, followed by an additional 1d8 points of searing flame. Against demons, devils, undead, and those faerie creatures which are inimical to Law and Good, the sword delivers an additional 6d6 points of radiant destruction. Few beings can withstand even a single blow.

Michael’s arsenal of powers extends beyond his martial prowess. He may utter a Holy Word at will, casting down evil beings as if by the decree of heaven itself. His Voice of Authority compels obedience in all creatures of non-good alignment within 60 feet, with no saving throw allowed for those of 6 hit dice or less. In battle, he moves with preternatural swiftness, able to Haste himself and his allies thrice per day, and once per day, he may summon an entire host of angels (2–20, of any order) to his side.

In defense, Michael is nearly unassailable. Only enchanted weapons of +2 or better may harm him. He is wholly immune to fire, lightning, charm, petrification, poison, and all death-dealing magics. His body regenerates 3 hit points per round even if dismembered or disintegrated, so long as a spark of his divine essence remains. In addition, he possesses a 90% magic resistance, rendering most spells against him useless.

To mortals, the sight of Michael is awe beyond bearing. His radiance is said to blind the unworthy, and even those of good heart find their voices stolen in his presence. Against him, demon princes falter, and arch-devils bow in bitter hatred.

Michael as a Patron of Celestial Warlocks

Unlike the dark bargains made with demons and devils, pacts with Archangel Michael are covenants rather than contracts. The warlock does not “steal” or “bind” power from him; instead, Michael bestows divine might upon the worthy as part of their service to the Cause of Law and Good. Such warlocks are sometimes called Knights of the Flame or Champions of the Dawn.

The requirements and duties of the Warlock of St. Michael are so strict that few can adhere to them. 

Requirements

Alignment: Lawful Good. Any deviation severs the pact.

Vows: The warlock must swear oaths of courage, protection of the innocent, and resistance to evil in all its forms. They may never knowingly ally with demons, devils, or the unseelie fae.

Service: At least once per year, the warlock must undertake a holy quest of Michael’s choosing (via vision, angelic messenger, or dream).

Gifts of Michael

Warlocks in covenant with Michael receive invocations suited to battle and the banishment of evil:

(Minimum level in parentheses.)

Radiant Smite (1st): Once per day per level, the warlock’s weapon shines with holy fire, dealing +1d6 radiant damage to undead, demons, devils, or evil faerie creatures.

Shield of the Host (3rd): The warlock may call upon angelic warding, granting them protection from evil 10’ radius for 1 turn once per day.

Voice of Command (5th): Once per day, the warlock may issue a single-word command (as the spell Command), affecting all evil creatures of 6 HD or less within 30’.

Flame of Michael (7th): The warlock may invoke Michael’s light, striking a foe with 3d6 holy fire (save vs. spells for half). Usable once per week.

Summon the Dawn (9th+): Once per month, the warlock may summon a single Agathós (Aurora, Astral, or Lunar) to aid them for 1 turn per caster level.

Drawbacks

Michael is implacable in judgment. Warlocks who deviate from his vows may find their powers withdrawn instantly. Should they betray their covenant or consort with the unholy, Michael himself may appear, not as a teacher, but as an executioner.

Urban Fantasy Fridays: Supernatural (Special Edition)

 This year I have been celebrating various Fantasy RPGs and judging them on their ability to replace D&D. For October I am going to focus instead on Urban Fantasy games with Horror elements to them; something I rather love. 

This past week, instead of gaming, my son and I worked on characters. I was working on characters for my Urban Fantasy Fridays and he was doing Call of Cthulhu 7th ed. We got to talking while listening to his "D&D Classic Rock mix" when the subject came around to the Supernatural series. We both commented on how this September was the 20th anniversary of the show's premiere (September 13, 2005). We all agreed we had a lot of fun watching it. It was the last show we all watched together as a family, you know, before the kids got their own lives. Liam lamented that there was no Supernatural RPG. To which I corrected him and pulled it out.  He was pretty excited about it, to be honest. 

So we dropped the games we were working on (him CoC7, me Chill 3rd Edition) to recreate the same characters in Supernatural.

Supernatural RPG

2009. by Jamie Chambers. Published by Margaret Weiss Productions.

Supernatural: The Role Playing Game came out in 2009 from Margaret Weis Productions, back when they were adapting a lot of TV properties into RPG form. Like Smallville and Battlestar Galactica, this one used the Cortex System (the pre-Cortex Plus version). That alone puts it in a particular place in RPG history, when licensed games were less about “crunch” and more about catching the mood of the show.

I am somewhat hesitant to review this one. The big reason is that it is long out of print. You can find it on eBay for some really insane prices. The other reason is it only covers Supernatural up to Season 3; so about 20% of the show. There is a lot in the show that is not covered by these rules. Lastly, and this one is hard, it doesn't really *do* anything that other games can also do. The system itself, Cortex, is like a bastard child of Unisystem and Savage Worlds. 

The book is great looking and there is a lot here in terms of use and layout that will later be seen in the Dresden Files RPG. 

So I am taking this one out of my "Urban Fantasy Fridays" proper, but still giving it its own due by placing it in Supernatural's premiere month. 

As you’d expect, this game built for monster hunting, salt, shotguns, and a healthy dose of bad family drama. The book does a good job of introducing newcomers to the Supernatural world, but if you were watching the show back then, it was a nice way to immerse yourself in that universe at home. Characters are hunters, of course, though not necessarily Sam and Dean. You can make your own, or play with archetypes drawn right from the show. Sam, Dean, John (their dad), and Bobby (their other dad) are the only featured NPCs.

Mechanically, it’s pure Cortex: roll a couple of dice based on your traits and hope for the best, with plot points to keep the action flowing. It’s not a heavy system and fits the episodic structure of Supernatural really well, you can knock out a “case of the week” in a session or two. The downside is that it doesn’t dig too deep into campaign longevity; it’s really tuned for one-shots and short arcs rather than sprawling epics. Which is ironic given the show's eventual 15-year-long life. 

Looking back, the game is a time capsule. The series was still early in its run (season three), so it reflects Supernatural before it got truly cosmic. So no Crowley, no Castiel, and sadly no Rowena. That makes it more urban horror and road-trip mystery than angels, Leviathans, and end-of-the-world plots. In a way, that’s a strength, it captures the weird Americana vibe that made those early seasons fun.

It’s out of print now, and not easy to find at a reasonable price. Still, as a piece of the Cortex lineage and a reflection of Supernatural’s monster-of-the-week roots, it’s worth a look for fans. For me, it sits on the shelf next to Chill, NIGHT SHIFT, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, a reminder of when urban horror TV and RPGs crossed streams in fun and exciting ways.

Expanding the Supernatural RPG Universe

I mentioned above Cortex in this version feels like the bastard child of Unisystem (Buffy, WitchCraft) and Savage Worlds (Rippers, etc.) so expanding the RPG options of Supernatural are fairly easy.

I even have a few posts about it already, back when this game first came out.

• Supernatural RPG
• Cortex and Unisystem
• Magic in Cortex, Savage Worlds and Witch Girls Adventures
• Supernatural & Smallville
• Cortex, Part 1

I have used these ideas at varying degrees to make some new characters, espeically expanding the Supernatural universe to include witches and even succubi. 

• Wayward Sisters for the Supernatural RPG
• Cortex: The Hex Girls
• Willow & Tara: Cortex

Each one uses a slightly different type of witchcraft/magic system, and that works fine with me. None is "perfect" as far as I am concerned, but I am sure I could craft one.

In truth if I was going to play Supernatural these days, I would just use NIGHT SHIFT. 

But, I'll give magic/witchcraft one last try for Supernatural/Cotrtex.

Larina "Nix" Nichols for Supernatural

Would my witch be in the Supernatural universe? I have to say honestly, not likely. Witches are generally evil or at least up to no good in Supernatural. And anything she would do in the game can already be done by the witch and future Queen of Hell, Rowena MacLeod. But hey, this is my universe.

Larina Nichols

Concept: Witch (Seasoned)

Attributes
Agility: d6
Strength: d4
Vitality: d6
Alertness: d12
Intelligence: d12
Willpower: d12+d2

Derived Attributes
Initiative: d6+d12
Endurance: d6+d12+d2
Life Points: 20
Resistance: d6+d6

Weapons
Knife d2
Arcane Blast d8, Range: 40 Ammo 6 (Vitality)

Skills
Animals d6, Artistry d4, Craft d6, Discipline d4 (Concentration d6), Influence d10, Knowledge d8 (Linguistics d10, Occult d10), Lore d6 (Demons d8), Perception d6 (Empathy d8, Intuition d8), Performance d4, Ranged Weapons d4, Science d6 (Social Sciences d8), Unarmed Combat d4

Traits
Allure d6
Witch d8 (Telekinesis, Arcane Blast, ESP)
Obsessed (Magic) -d2
Dark Secret (Witch) -d4

Honestly, I like this build. I need to refine the magic system further, but this will certainly suffice. I don't think she would show up on the main Supernatural series. Witches end up in a bad way when Sam and Dead are around. No, if she is going to be a "guest star," then it has to be on Wayward Sisters. Avoids her and Rowena from sharing the same scenes. The group would seek her out for occult advice, not knowing she is a witch. And in proper Supernatural fashion, she even has her own soundtrack to choose from!

I should post Rowena, but she is basically similar to this, only more powerful (as she should be). 

Doing this does make me nostalgic for the show. 

Saturday Morning Cartoon Action Hour!

 This one came about in a weird way. 

So my oldest and I have been playing AD&D 1st ed. Forgotten Realms at night when he gets off work. He is a chef and works till midnight. Recently though, we have also dipped our toes into the Fantasy Flight Games/EDGE Star Wars, which caused me to pull out a bunch of my original Star Wars figures.  These have been sitting on my desk for a while. Much to my wife's chagrin.  Anyway that is the background.

I have all these Star Wars figures on my desk along with some of the ReAction figures, including a Sorceress I repainted to look like Larina (I am dedicated to my obsessions). I also have a collection of various witches and the Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon characters decorating my desk. We were talking about how much I still prefer d20 Star Wars because of the D&D connections. Liam dislikes it for that reason. He wanted to know if there was a system out there that could do both. So, I told him about Cartoon Action Hour.

I spent some time with Cartoon Action Hour Season 3 a while back and even detailed Zatanna for Super Friends.

We pulled it out and thought about making a silly game with his Mandalorian Bounty hunter (using my Boba Fett from 1979, sent in my Proofs-of-Purchase!), Larina, and my repainted astromech droid KE11-N3R, or "Kenny". Cause why not, anytime we pull out a new game we try something familiar. And there may have been some beers involved. 

It was fun and silly, and we had a great time, really. 

While I was hungover the next Thursday (and Liam was not) I was thinking that this game might make for a good system for the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. Cartoon Action hour specifically calls out D&D as a great example of the Saturday Morning Cartoon they loved. So, I started to think about what would work.

A while back, I had talked about the new D&D cartoon minis and how Shelia was missing from set. I said this at the time:

 I did not watch the D&D cartoon much, but I was aware of it. I can't help but wonder if the red-headed girl with a penchant for wearing purple and hoods in 1983-85 didn't somehow influence my red-headed witch with a penchant for purple dresses and black hoods in 1986?  I honestly can't say.

In fact, I didn't even think about it until I scored this D&D Cartoon "kids" book at my local game auction.  It is called "The Witch's Spell Book."

That is the image above. 

The basic plot of this  Choose Your Own Adventure is that you have the Golden Wood by finding Agnes the Witch's Spell Book. The spell causes Tiamat's heads to argue among themselves. For reasons, only Shelia can read the spell. You would think Presto, but no, it is Shelia. Each of these books featured a different character, and they tend to go for a lot of money now on eBay. See the books for Bobby (written by Margaret Weis!), Shelia, Hank, and Eric. No idea if Presto or Diana got one, but someone was Book 2. Glad I got mine a lot cheaper than that. 

Now, not to go out on a limb too far, but does this make Shelia an initiate witch?  It would in my games. She is 13 in the show, the age witches often "hear the Call of the Goddess" in my game worlds. (BTW this is what makes Larina special, she heard the Call at age 6.) There is a witch in this book, Agnes. So I guess it is possible. 

I am not 100% out in left field here. Sheila is called "La ilusionista" (The Illusionist) in the Latin American dubbing of the cartoon. And in at least one of the Spanish intros Presto and Sheila are called, "Los Magos," or "The Wizards." Same for the German dub. In the German dub, Diana is "The Princess of Acrobats."

Why not try to make an adventure of this book? I speculated that Shelia was not going to be part of my War of the Witch Queens, but maybe this could be a side-quest. Anyway, I worked up some details for Cartoon Action Hour. I mean, a spell to get Tiamat's heads to argue with each other? That is some profound cartoon logic. don't know if I'll run it yet, but I have everything I need, really.

Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon, 1986 Season

The Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon did not make it to 1986, which is too bad, really. While I did not watch it a lot when it was on, I did watch it a ton with my kids.  I can imagine a continuation of the series (many have) where we finally get to see Skylla show up. Also, since it is my 1986, my witch would show up as well. Plus, I already did stats for her.

So here is my premise. Sheila, having realized she has a knack for witchcraft due to the events of The Witch's Spell Book, seeks out some answers. She finds two witches, one good and one evil, in Larina and Skylla, but which is which? Great cartoon logic, and a chance for me to use some of the ideas originally planned for Skylla in the Cartoon. Plus the title "Which Witch" kinda writes itself. In a perfect world, it would have been written by Paul Dini.

Here is our star, Sheila the Thief. I am posting the sheets instead of text because these sheets are just to damn fun NOT to post. I gave her Cloak of Invisibility a score of 6 because it is supposed to be an artifact. 

Skylla belongs here. She is a great evil character and always up to no good. Besides, what are heroes without their villains? 

Here is Larina, for her as a GMC I would tone her down a bit to the same level as Skylla.

I fully expect some of my numbers to be off. Please remember, we were drinking while doing this. Well, I am sure Sheila's stats are good.

I also just noticed that the Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon premiered on Sept. 17, 1983. So 42 years ago!

We will have to come back to this game more often.