October Horror Movie Challenge: Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

Oh, what to say about this movie. I figured it was timely with all the clown "attacks" being reported.
Of course, I saw this when it came out, but wanted to watch it again with Connor.  He honestly didn't know what to think. But we were both laughing a lot.

Things I noticed/remembered.

Royal Dano as the farmer.  That was either inspired casting or lazy casting.
Suzanne Snyder as Debbie. She also played a "Debbie" in "Weird Science" and was from nearby Park Ridge Illinois.
Christopher Titus is in this movie too.  Wearing glasses I didn't even recognize them.

Though I swear there was a scene where the Dickies were playing in a concert.

A lot of the lines are really on the nose, no pun intended. It's not a great script. The movie is still a silly one.  The Klowns are scary though, but all clowns are scary.



2016 Movie tally
Watched: 28
New: 22

Reviews: Leagues of Gothic Horror Guides (and a Kickstarter)

Yesterday I went on (and on) about my love for the Triple Ace Games' Ubiquity-powered Leagues of Gothic Horror.   Today I want to focus on a few of the supplements from the Kickstarter.

In all cases, I am reviewing the dead tree and PDF versions of the books. I purchased these via the Kickstarter they had a while back.   All links are affiliate links. No review was solicited or expected outside of me emailing the author to say "hey,  I am reviewing your books" a couple of days ago.

Leagues of Adventure - Globetrotters' Guide to London
Softcover book. Full-color cover, black & white interior art. 78 pages.
A great sourcebook for the Leagues of Adventure game this covers the City (and County) of London in the 1890s.  The bulk of the book is devoted to a "tour" around London pointing out places of interest.  There are also sections on the police force, entertainment, and transportation.  The book is largely fluff free (ie not much in the way of games stats) so it immediately has utility for a wide variety of games. Even the adventure hooks for London are game-stats free. Most of the game-related material comes in the form of detailing various NPCs and archetypes, but there is enough flavor test to still make them usable in other games too.
This is a well-researched guide and extremely useful.  If you are playing a London-based Leagues of Adventure, Leagues of Gothic Horror or Leagues of Cthulhu game then I say pick this up.

Leagues of Gothic Horror: Guide to Black Magic
(currently on sale at DriveThru RPG)
Softcover book. Full-color cover, black & white interior art. 64 pages.
Set up in a similar fashion to all of TAG's "Guide to" books, this covers Black Magic and "Wickedness".  This book is fairly setting specific, so it has more game stats than some of the other guides.  I still found it to be a fantastic read and can't wait to try some of this out in my next Ubquity game.  The book covers a brief history of "black magic" practices around the world.  Later (Chapter 2) we move into why someone might take up this sort of power.  Fiendish lairs are also discussed since in the tried and true traditions of both Gothic and Pulp fiction every bad guy needs a lair.
The next three chapters I found the most interesting, they are respectively, Power, Demons and Evil NPCs.  So much great stuff here that I really could spend dozens of sessions working through all the ideas this has given me.  In particular, I have a Ghosts of Albion adventure that would work so much better with some of the ideas here. I am going to have to re-run now under Ubiquity to see.
For a small book it packs a lot of punch.

Leagues of Gothic Horror: Guide to Apparitions
(currently on sale at DriveThru RPG)
Softcover book. Full-color cover, black & white interior art. 64 pages.
Set up in a similar fashion to all of TAG's "Guide to" books, this covers ghosts and the damned.  Again, this is fairly setting specific but a lot of the material here is drawn from myths and legends from around the world, so first of there should be something in this book that everyone recognizes. Secondly there is plenty in this book that everyone can use.
The first third of the book covers why ghosts happen and their nature. This is followed by the means of disposing of these pests and some of the powers that they have.  The last third (more like half) covers new monsters and some very specific ghosts.  Frankly it is worth the cover price for the ghost of Lady Macbeth alone.
I once said in a game at Gen Con that are more ghosts in London than living people.  This book helps prove my point rather nicely.
Another really solid buy.

Also don't forget about TAG's newest Kickstarter, Leagues of Cthulhu.  Yeah the name is awkward, but it does tell you exactly what this is about.  My youngest son, who is turning into quite a Lovecraft fan, really wants this game.
You add on any other "Leagues of..." book you like.

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Lords of Salem (2013)

I like Rob Zombie. I like Sherri Moon Zombie. I love anything to do with witches.
So yeah, I actually rather enjoyed this movie.  There is a lot about this movie that worked as far as I am concerned, though I do recognize the that there were some valid criticisms.

Unlike the Witch, which tried to play the witch stories of America with an even hand, this movie goes full on myth and fairy tale.

Not to be too much of a critic, Sherri Moon Zombie is not the best actress in the world, but she is good in this role.   The movie has a feel to it that reminds me a bit of Kubrick...or more to the point someone (Rob Zombie) trying to do Kubrick by way of Ken Russel.

The basic idea of this movie is a tried and true one; descendants of those wronged are not enacting their revenge/curse or whatever in the present day.

So far this movie has 100% more Rush than any other movie I have seen this challenge.

I am going to say this one was a good one.  Plus it had Meg Foster and Dee Wallace in it as witches, so how can that be bad?

2016 Movie tally
Watched: 27
New: 22

Review: Leagues of Gothic Horror

A while back I spent some quality time with the Ubiquity system reviewing a number of games including Leagues of Adventure one of my favorites.

Today I want to have a look at Leagues of Gothic Horror, the gothic horror (naturally) supplement to Leagues of Adventure.

Leagues of Gothic Horror (LoGH) is not an independent game but rather a "thick" campaign supplement with a lot of rule additions.  In it is designed to be used with Leagues of Adventure, but it could also be used with any Ubiquity game with a little work.  Actually with a little more work it could be used with any Victorian era game.   It is light on crunch really and full of flavor.

I am reviewing my hardcover and PDF from my Kickstarter backing.  The book is 158 pages, color covers with black and white interiors.  Again for my money black and white interiors are the way to go for both Victorian and Horror.

I am just going to come right out and say this.  This book is damn near perfect.
This really has everything I enjoy in one volume. Gothic horror, the Victorian era, black magic, science, horror, it's all here.

Chapter 1 covers new Archetypes for the LoA game.  These include some of my favorites of gothic and Victorian lore such as the mystic, the mentalist and an old favorite, the alienist.   There is even a subsection on how to play Ghost characters!  If I didn't love this book so much I might feel threatened that it was encroaching on Ghosts of Albion's territory!
There are also new talents, skills, and flaws for your character.  These are of course designed with LoA in mind so no idea how they might overlap with say, Hollow Earth (HEX) or other Ubiquity games. There are also new Leagues.  These are usable in any game.  In particular, I was thinking of Victorious the whole time.
Chapter 2 details horror and sanity mechanics.  Again this is expected. The sanity system is mostly relegated to phobias.  This is fine for me since this game deals more with heroic actions of daring-do.
This chapter also deals with more magic including black magic, pagan magic, ceremonial magic and ritual magic.  There is a great sidebar here on various Solar and Lunar eclipses during the late Victorian era.  Really handy to have.
The large section of magical texts, their translations and uses is also really great. Not just to use, but to read.  Many are based on real-world books too.  Along with that are new magics and magical/occult artifacts.
Chapter 3 is another great addition with new monsters. All the usual suspects are here; vampires, golems, werewolves, demons, even evil witches and a couple of different types of necromancers.  We get a section on major villains too, Dracula, Count Orlock, Brain in a Jar, Lord Ruthven, Varney the Vampire, even Rasputin.  Pretty much any Gothic-age or Victorian-age bad guy is here. Like the leagues presented in Chapter 1 there are some new sinister cults.
Chapter 4 takes us on tour to the Dark Places of the world. Great addition to LoA.  Reminds me a bit of the old AD&D Gazetteer to Gothic Earth.  Specific locales are given and more generic ones for use anywhere in the world.
Chapter 5 covers advice for the gamemaster and Chapter 6 has ideas for running games using this book. There is a great "Gothic History" timeline and list of "Who's Who" in the real world.  The last page has a nice list of references of Gothic literature, audio, movies and television.  I'll admit I had fun trying to guess the references from the material in the book.  I did pretty well if I say so myself.

I have already gushed over this book, doing so more will only make me look foolish, but I can't help it.  It is that much fun.  I call it a "must have" if you are playing Leagues of Adventure.

If you are playing other Victorian era games and want to add more Gothicness (as opposed to "Gothiness") then please consider this book.

This is going to be a lot of fun when Leagues of Cthulhu is released.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Horror Rises from the Tomb (1972)

Have not done a Paul Naschy film yet this year.
This one has a warlock and his witch bride coming back from the dead as something similar to a vampire.  It's not bad but less blood, gore and nudity than I expected from a Paul Naschy film to be honest.

Alaric de Marnac is the warlock from this tale and he would later go on to appear in other Naschy movies.  I kinda like the idea, even if this movie was only so-so.










2016 Movie tally
Watched: 26
New: 21

Review: WITCH Fated Souls

I supported the WITCH: Fated Souls Kickstarter back when it was coming out and have been meaning to do a review for ages.  Given that Halloween is nigh and the PDF is on sale at DriveThruRPG this might be a great time.

+Elizabeth Chaipraditkul is a new name to the RPG biz, but one that is getting out there. In addition to being the lead hamster at +Angry Hamster Publishing she is also working with +Stacy Dellorfano on a new adventure for the upcoming Swords & Wizardry Complete 3rd Printing Kickstarter.  WITCH: Fated Souls though is her masterwork.

WFS is a modern supernatural game. It has elements of horror and universe destroying, or defining, magics.  Now lets be 100% fair here.  We all have several of these sorts of games.  I have more than I can count right now and I have written or worked on a few myself.  So any game in this field has some really steep competition.  For myself I am likely to compare this game to CJ Carrella's WitchCraft and to Mage: the Ascension.  I am also likely to compare this to Ron Edwards' Sorcerer.

Liz has an impressive RPG Playing career and you can see influences of D&D, Vampire, and Mage in her game.  So WFS can be judged as a setting and for her game mechanics.

As mentioned WFS is a Modern Supernatural game with elements of horror.  Not, "you fail a SAN check" sort of horror but more along the lines of "what are you willing to do, willing to give up, for power".  The characters of WFS are witches, also known as the Fated.  These characters have sold their soul to a "demon" for power.  In some cases, this is a fire and brimstone devil or it's a nebulous concept, the Horned Beast,  the Reynard, or it is something they don't even understand themselves.

For my review I am looking over my hardcover book and PDF from my Kickstarter package.  This included a GM screen and a deck of "Devil Deck Cards".  I also got a lot of images, character sheet package PDF and some desktop wallpapers.  The book is 208 pages, standard format with full-color covers and interiors, though the color palette is predominantly blacks, blues, and violets.

WITCH is divided up into nine chapters and an introduction.

INTRODUCTION
Here we get some setting fiction and the typical "what are RPGs" section.  There is also a Chapter overview here.

CHAPTER 1: Character Creation
WFS is a character focused game.  One might even say it is a story-telling game, but it has more crunch than most storytelling games.  Regardless of what you might, or might not, call it, characters are the most important element.  What will your character do for power? What will they sacrifice and how much of their humanity is left when they are done?  In this respect, it has a lot in common with Vampire and Sorcerer.  You are expected to have a concept in mind when you begin your character creation.  To this end the various "Fate" or types of Witch you can become are presented. These include the Hecks, Druids, Djinn, Yokai, Sósyé, Liches, and Seers.  You can read about all of these and get details on who they are and what they do on AngryHamster's webiste,
http://www.angryhamsterpublishing.com/witch/.  Also detailed here are the types of demons associated with each Fate.
When creating a character the player needs to think about who this character is and what they are going to be doing in this world.  So there are prompts like "Before my Fating..." and "I was Fated because..." and "My relationship with my demon is..." Here, and throughout the book there are examples and story elements to help guide you.  There is also a step by step instruction guide.
Character creation, mechanically speaking, is a case of point-buy.  If you have played WoD, GURPS, Unisystem or other games then this will feel familiar.
Like WoD and WitchCraft we also get a couple pages, with character art, dedicated to each Fate.
The art in this game is really great.

CHAPTER 2: Vital Statistics
This deals with the stats of your character; attributes (nearly fixed qualities like Charisma, Dexterity, and Intelligence), skills (who good are you at driving, etiquette, social empathy), pursuits (things you own or are), and talents (akin to magical skills or qualities).
This is set up similar to many games so navigating what this is and how to use it are not difficult.  There is a LOT of room for customization so the number of potential characters is really great.  So there is no reason for every Sósyé or Djinn to be the same as the others.

CHAPTER 3: Magic
Now this is a fun chapter. An overview of the game mechanics of magic is given including the important "botch" roll.  Magic here has a bit of different feel than otehr games. The closest for me is WitchCraft, but with plenty of Mage added in.  Magic spells are grouped by Fate.  So the Djinn have different magic than the Hecks and so on.
All the fated also have access to Rituals, these are "longer" spells that take time and sometimes multiple casters.  Others are simple spells that are more rote.
In a similar cancept we are also given potions.  This is a true gem of these rules since it represents one of the best potion creation, use and mixing rules outside of the 1st Ed Dungeon Masters Guide.
It also has some of the most attractive art too.

The magic alteration section is great.

CHAPTER 4: Higher Spell Levels
This chapter is a treat since "higher level spells" are treated as something qualitatively different than the lower, more common magic.  The only thing I can compare this to is as if there was a new D&D book that covered 10th level spells.  This spells, known as Deireadh spells, can significanly alter the world and the character including, but not limited too, casting off their own demon.
Even if I never get a chance to use this chapter in a WFS game, it has given me plenty of ideas.

CHAPTER 5: Mechanics
The mechanics of WFS is pretty simple.  2d10 add the necessary mods and roll higher than a 13 (or 11 in some cases).  This makes many of the rule mechanics easy to abstract.  Sure if you roll higher (with mods) than a 25 then you get an Outstanding Success and a natural 20 is still good.  Botching is getting two "1"s.  So again, the feel here is very much like WitchCraft. Picking up these rules are a simple matter.  The rules have some special cases of course. Combat versus non-combat and using Talents. But nothing here will cause any experienced gamer any concerns.
There are plenty of weapons here too. Don't go into this looking for differences between various types of guns, the rules are simplified to "light revolver" and "heavy revolver".  But that is really all the game details you need.

CHAPTER 6: Expanded Mechanics
This chpater covers some specifics like wishes (we have Djinn afterall), Familiars, Artefacts, and using the Devil's Deck.  The Devil's Deck was part of the Kickstarter and it looks fantastic.  I think you can order one from AngryHamster, but a "Witches" Tarot deck would work out well too.

CHAPTER 7: Setting
This covers the setting and the history of the WFS world.  This is what helps set this apart from other games of it's genre. I say "world" but I also mean areas and places from beyond this world.

CHAPTER 8: Animals, Entities, and Foes
Pretty much what is says on the tin. Though there is a section up front on the various demons you can serve and what they are all about.
A lot of creatures are present here (and many more an be added).  There is also a good section of NPCs.

CHAPTER 9: GM Guide
Covers running the game and how to set the tone for this game.

I have been picking at this book for months and maybe it because it is close to Halloween I now get what I want to do with it.  This is a great game and with the right group, it will be a ton of fun.
I'd love to try it at a con sometime, but this is a game of many sessions and developing plots and layers of story.  This is a game of investment.

I will be spending some more time with it.
Will it replace WitchCraft in my life?  No. But it will make a for a nice addition.

I really, really like this game and want it do well.  The potential here is great.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Carmilla (1989) & Styria (2014)

With the somewhat disappointing nature of The Unwanted, I went looking for some more Carmilla based movies.  Finding them wasn't the issue. Finding ones I have not seen was.

First up was Carmilla (1989) with Meg Tilly and Ione Skye.  This moves the tale to post-Civil War Georgia. The story is largely unchanged with Ione Skye and Laura and Meg Tilly as Carmilla.  There were some neat scenes but it was a Showtime Nightmare Classics episode, so there isn't the investment you see in a big movie production. Still though it was fun.  There isn't much chemistry between Skye and Tilly, which struck me as odd to be honest.  Plus you get the feeling in the end that Laura became a vampire after Carmilla was killed.

Styria (2014) or "Angels of Darkness" as it is known in the US, is also a retelling of the classic tale.  This time moved to 1986 and Styria, Slovenia.  This time Laura and Carmilla are played by Eleanor Tomlinson and Julia Pietrucha.  These actresses had more on-screen chemistry and the tale has a bit more terror.  Moving it to Communist-controlled Eastern Europe was an interesting twist and I liked it. Plus it gave them a good excuse to use music from Joy Division and The Jesus and Mary Chain.
Unlike the 1989 version or Unwanted, Carmilla is much more of a predator here and more of a classic vampire OR Laura is insane.  Could go either way. Of the three "Carmilla" movies I have seen this challenge so far, this is the best.

2016 Movie tally
Watched: 25
New: 20

Review: Pathfinder Occult & Horror Adventures

I don't review a lot of Pathfinder material here.  Mostly because I have been writing a lot of Pathfinder material and I don't want to read much of it so as not to unduly influence myself.  Well, those manuscripts are off (more or less) so I picked these up for a review.  

The Pathfinder Occult Adventures and Pathfinder Horror Adventures are the two most recent books I have picked up.  Like all Pathfinder books these books are compatible with D&D 3.5 and still fairly compatible with D&D 5 and other OSR games.  How compatible depends on how much work you want to put into it.

Given that most people reading this are likely not Pathfinder gamers, I am also going to talk about how to port these over to your own games.

Pathfinder Occult Adventures
Hardcover 272 pages, full color cover and interior.
This book is essentially the psychic powers book for Pathfinder.  It uses the same 3.x spell system that Pathfinder has always used only now there is Divine, Arcane, and Psychic magic.  This makes porting over to other systems a lot easier, but it certainly lacks some of the flavor of some other psychic books.
Chapter 1: covers Occult Classes.  The classes are the elemental Kineticist (which has powers and not spells), the Medium (powers and spells), the Mesmerist, the Occultist (which is a rather cool class), the Psychic (the star of the book really), and the Spiritualist.  Some racial options are also given for the classes.  Of all these, the psychic could be ported over the easiest. They are, essentially, magic-users with a unique spell list.
Chapter 2: Archetypes give an "occult" or psychic bend to the Pathfinder classes (of which I think there are about 135 by now).  We start out with the classes in the book, lots of different ideas to swap out powers and feats for other types of characters.  The more interesting one is the Tome Eater Occultist; this archetype actually eats books and scrolls to gain their magical powers.   We get to archetypes for the previously published classes.   Cavalier + Spiritualist, for example, gives us a Ghost Rider.  Which is actually really cool.  Occult Witches are known as Ley Line Guardians.  There is a lot if interesting ideas here.
Chapter 3 Feats details all the new feats.  Now either you love feats or you hate them.  I am hitting a little bit of feat fatigue myself.
Chapter 4 is all about the Psychic Spells. Now the advantage of using the existing spell system for a new class is that other class spells can be used for the new classes and the new spells can be used for the older classes.  So everyone gets something new. At 46 pages this is one of the larger sections in the book.
Chapter 4 covers Occult Rules. This covers a wide variety of rules and rulings for an occult game.  In particular rituals, possessions, and auras.
Chapter 5 gives advice for running an Occult game. This includes planes of existence and other locales for adventuring.
Finally, Chapter 6 covers Occult Rewards or magic items.
The book is a lot of fun and has a lot of material that I have seen elsewhere in different games over the last 35+ years, this just has them all in one place with the same system.

Pathfinder Horror Adventures
Hardcover 260 pages, full color cover and interior.
Playing a good horror game is not easy. It takes work on the part of the DM and the players. But for me I find it one of the more rewarding types of games.  Playing "Horror in D&D", even if that D&D is Pathfinder, is a bit trickier.  Horror relies on a certain sense of powerless and unknown.  D&D characters are largely powerful.  The difference is the same as a horror movie versus and action movie.
Chapter 1 covers some horror rules.  The usual suspects are here; Fear, Corruption, and Sanity.   I am as a rule pretty particular about using Sanity in my games.  I spent years as a Qualified Mental Health professional only see some game rules that were beyond embarrassing.  These rules work well enough due to their simplicity. Though I question the actual use of sanity in heroic fantasy.  In gothic fantasy, sure. But here it feels, well, perfunctory.  Corruption is interesting since your character can now slowly become the monster they hunt.
Chapter 2 covers the various archetypes for all the Pathfinder classes (453 at last count).  There are some neat ones here too. Alchemist + Horror gives you a Mad Scientist. Cleric + Horror gives us a Elder Mythos Cultist.  Various types of hunters, slayers, killers, and collectors are also given.
Chapter 3 is Feats.
Chapter 4 gives us horror themed Spells and Rituals. The rituals use the same rules as does the Occult Adventures book.
Chapter 5 details various Horror Rules. This chapter also has a section on curses and diseases and how to use them in a horror game. Different environments and their effects on the characters are also detailed.  One of these changes includes Madness.  Again, I am generally very critical here but nothing jumped out at me save that I am not sure I need another set of sanity rules at this point.  There is also a great section on horror domains. So yes you can add some Ravenloft-like areas to Pathfinder, but also Dreamlands, Far Realms and more.
Next we get the main focus of this book, Chapter 6 Running Horror Adventures.
There is some good stuff here. In particular ideas on running a D&D-style horror game. Now there is a section on "Consent".  Sorry Paizo, but I have been running horror games for decades.  So have others.  Consent is given by sitting down at the table.  I hate to sound like a jerk here, but seriously. Pick up a copy Vampire the Masquerade, Call of Cthulhu or Chill to see how this can be done.
The various horror sub-genres are covered here.  Not all of them, but enough and some ideas on how to run a game using those sub-genres.
Chapter 7 lists our Horror Gear and Magic Items.  Yes, there is something similar to the Lament Configuration.
Chapter 8 Bestiary, was an unexpected surprise. There are not a lot of creatures here but there are some interesting ones.
The book ends with a list of horror inspirations in print and film.

Both books are fun, but they are viewed through the lens, naturally, of the Pathfinder game.
Either book has something to offer the Pathfinder GM/DM but also the D&D/OSR DM willing to do a little work and little tweaking.  Classes and Archetypes can be converted as can spells and magic items.  Advice on running the games is good for any sort of game system really.
They are good guides, not the best, but still pretty good.

Witches Trine and Witch: Fated Souls

Witches Trine #2 is out!

I have been following this comic since I first saw it at Gen Con and I am really enjoying the story and where it might be going.  It is the tale of three immortal (or at least long lived) witches.  Though that is being tested since one of the witches was killed in the preview (that's not a spoiler).

Now things seem to be moving against them and the plot is really kicking into high gear.
Kris Lippert and all the folks at +Movierockets Entertainment is really building an interesting world here and one I am having a lot of fun with.

I can't but help to think how well I could model this world with +Elizabeth Chaipraditkul's WITCH: Fated Souls RPG.   Given what I have read so far I think Olivia would make a good Lich (though she doesn't look like one); Eva would make for a great Druid with healing ability; and Victoria is practically a "textbook" (or core book) Djinn.

I need to spend some more time with both worlds and truly appreciate them for what they are.  Both are so much fun.

Witches Trine #2 is out now. Witches Trine #1 and Preview Edition are also still available.
WITCH: Fated Souls is out AND on sale now thanks to DriveThruRPG's Halloween Sale.

For less than 10 bucks you can have a new RPG and three comics full of ideas. Not a bad Halloween gift for yourself I say!

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Blood on Satan's Claw (1970)

A deformed skull sends a small 18th century English town into a Satanic Panic as children begin to murder each other and others.

The movie, has a lot of style, but not a lot of substance.   While it is cut from the same general cloth as The Devil Rides Out and other folk-horror films it's not as good.  It does pick up a bit, but never enough to really get going.

I like folk horror and pagan horror, but one has to ask why the Devil is wasting his time in tiny little English village full of superstitious villagers.








2016 Movie tally
Watched: 23
New: 18

Weekend Gaming: Return to the Land of Ice and Snow

This weekend had a massive amount of gaming.  The Order of the Platinum Dragon continued their foray into the lands of the Frost Giants to discover more of their plans.

Long the way they had to fight ice trolls, yetis, winter wolves the size of elephants and white dragons.

The party took more damage in the last two days than they did in the last adventure total.  They have taken to sniping at their foes using the rogues to sneak attack and assassinate where they can.  The recently discovered Hammer of Thunderbolts has proved to be an excellent aid in fighting the giants from afar.

They also have rescued a Storm Giant princess (daughter of the "Storm King") that has given me an "in" to add a rogue band of evil cloud giants.

The G series lives up to my memories and to the hype as one of the best adventures printed in the classic era.  We are having a blast.  Can't wait to see what happens next!

October Horror Movie Challenge: Witchtrap (1989)

Kathleen Bailey and Linnea Quigley are the only actresses here I recognize.

The rest are pretty terrible. In fact the entire movie is really bad.  The premise is interesting enough.  An occultist turns up dead and is supposedly haunting his own home.  The new owner wants the haunting confirmed and taken care of so he can turn it into a "haunted bed and breakfast".

We get a pscyhologist, her medium husband, another medium (Bailey), a videographer (Quigley), and three private detectives. Basically a big crew of people to get killed by the ghost...which is what happens.

Quigley was a staple in late 80s early 90s horror/splatter flicks and she doesn't disappoint here.  Which is the ONLY thing in this movie that isn't a disappointment. Oh there are some marginally interesting ideas that made me think of some things for the Pathfinder Occult adventures book...but that is about it.


2016 Movie tally
Watched: 22
New: 17

October Horror Movie Challenge: Devil's Plaything (1973)

The Devil's Plaything, or "Der Fluch der schwarzen Schwestern", is one of those notorious movies I have always heard about but never seen.  I got ahold of a copy, but only the R rated version.  There is one that is 18 mins longer that contains more graphic sex, many of the actresses were Swedish porn actresses, but sadly that won't help the plot of this one.

The plot, such as it is,deals with bringing back to life a dead vampire baroness, her lesbian lover and to kill the descendants of those that killed her.  She has her own cult with high-priestess and acolytes that I guess have to dance around in the nude all the time.

The actors and actresses are speaking English, but it is obvious that this is not their first language.  Add that to a terrible script makes this almost a yawner.

I think it must have the fairly graphic scenes of nudity, sex and implied incest that put this on the notorious list.  I have seen DVD copies at Half-Price Books go for a $100.  Don't waste your money.

If you are really curious the scenes that were cut are here.

Edited to Add: I have picked this one up on DVD and there is almost no similarity to the movie I saw here and what I now have. Yes the same movie, but the edit of this one was terrible.  I will review it for a new Horror Movie Challenge.


2016 Movie tally
Watched: 21
New: 16

Kickstart Your Weekend: Old-School Style!

Have some great Old-School influenced Kickstarters today so get to it!

First up is +Stacy Dellorfano's Swords & Wizardry 3rd Printing

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/froggodgames/swords-and-wizardry-complete-rulebook-3rd-printing

Now. I have been on record before about not liking this cover.  I have over the last two weeks had a change of heart.  But the bottom line is I am NOT the target audience for this.
Besides I love the idea of this book, I really want it to succeed.  The team that Stacy is rock solid and I am just dying to see what +Elizabeth Chaipraditkul will be doing for this. She is great.
So yeah, they might not need my support at this point, but they have it.

In more old-new-Old School news we are also are getting a new edition of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1806106772/astonishing-swordsmen-and-sorcerers-of-hyperborea-0

I really, really love this game.  Just such an awesome vibe about it.  +Jeff Talanian did a fantastic job with the first edition boxed set and this new 2nd Ed hardcover is something I have been wanting for years.

I mentioned this one earlier in the week, but it can be repeated.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playattentiongames/monsters-a-sourcebook-for-chill-third-edition-horr

Chill 3rd Edition Monsters.  This should also be a great book.

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Unwanted (2014)

The Unwanted came up in my search for different sorts of vampire movies.  This one is a retelling of Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla".  In this one Carmilla is the daughter of Millarca and it takes place in Georgia and not Austria.

Of course given that I should have guessed the ultimate fates of both Carmilla and Millarca, but no such luck. True it is closer to the original story this way but would it kill us to make something a little different once in a while?

William Katt plays the father in this with much creepiness.
Christen Orr and Hannah Fierman are both rather good as Carmilla and Laura respectively.

I was hoping for much better to be honest.





2016 Movie tally
Watched: 20
New: 15

Reviews: The Children of Chill

For years now Goblinoid games has been rolling out Pacesetter branded products thanks to their acquisition of the Pacesetter rights.  In fact, they have been publishing Time Master longer than Pacesetter did.  Time Master was fun, but the Pacesetter game that I enjoyed the most was Chill.  But you all knew that.

Goblinoid Games has faithfully recreated the horror feel of Chill in three different and compatible games.  I am actually going to talk about these with the newest one, Cryptworld first.

Ethics in reviews statement: I purchased the PDFs and softcover versions of these books myself.  Though I was given special thanks in Cryptworld for some advice I gave on some early drafts of the game.  All links are affiliate links which allows me to buy more games.

Cryptworld
90 pages, black & white interior, color cover.
Authors: Daniel Proctor (+Dan P) and +Tim Snider.
Cryptworld is the spiritual and brand successor to the first edition Chill game.  In many ways it represents what Chill could have become if it had not gone down the path of 2nd Edition and Mayfair games.  The Jim Holloway cover is very much in line with the original Chill boxed set.  In truth it is less "iconic" but I like it better.
The rules for the game are distilled down to their very essence.  This is for all purposes a "retro-clone" of Chill.  But it is more than that too.  Where Chill 2 was about fighting all sorts of creatures organized into the Unknown and Chill 3 is a modern monster hunting tale of SAVE; Cryptworld takes it back to basics of humankind versus the monsters.  This Kolchak the Night Stalker, Tales from the Crypt, Friday the 13th (TV Series), and all the wonderful tales of monsters and horror from the 80s.
Character creation is faster than I recall it being in Chill 1 or 2.  There are still plenty of options to create anytime of character you might want.  Like all versions of Chill you are not going to make Harry Dresden style characters (that's for Majus), but making the Winchesters is easy.
Goblinoid Games did not get the rights to SAVE, but that is fine really.  There is a section in the book covering other organizations that characters can belong too and all are worthy replacements for SAVE.  In particular, I want to run a game where all the characters are reporters for the Weekly Inquisitor.  That would be a blast really.
There are plenty of monsters, especially all the old favorites. There is also not a lot of duplication of monsters from other products so that is a nice value add.
There is also a great section on running games for the "Crypt Master" or CM. One of my favorite names for a Game Master ever.
Crypt Master is not just a spiritual successor to Chill, it is a worthy one.  If you have any materials from 1st or 2nd edition of Chill you will find them largely compatible with this game.

Monsters Macabre
64 pages, black & white interior, color cover.
This is a monster book. For use with Cryptworld, but also compatible with Majus, Rotworld and yes even Timemaster and 1st ed Chill.
There are so many good and new monsters here that it is worth it just for this alone. Really, there are such great things as the Mongolian Death Worm, the Batsquatch and plenty of old favorites.
The book is more than just monsters. There are plenty of great ideas on how to play and use these monsters in your game.  These sections are great for nearly any modern horror or urban fantasy game.
I rank it right up there with "Chill Things" in terms of utility for my games.

Majus
100 pages, black & white interior, color cover.
Author: Michael Curtis
Majus came out before Cryptworld and after Rotworld.  It uses the same Pacesetter system that all three games share with Time Master and 1st Edition Chill.  Majus though takes a different path and gives us a world of mages, magicians and high magic.  So in sense, everything I have always wanted in my own Chill games.  Like Cryptworld and Rotworld, the Pacesetter system is revised here to be quite easy to use.
What seperates Majus from the Cryptworld is not just the magic the characaters can now wield, but also the tone.  This is described as "Magic Noir" so think hardboilded detective stories mixed with a global magic conspiracy.  Whether you want to use this or not is upto the individual CM (in this case "Cabal Master") but I think you would be missing out on a really great feature of the game.
This game can also provide new background, magic and ideas for your Cryptworld games as well.
The monsters in this game are largely a different sort that what is found in Cryptworld, so buying both games will give you extra monsters and features.  There is some overlap, but that is mostly system related material.

Rotworld
64 pages, black & white interior, color cover.
Author: Daniel Proctor
Rotworld is one of the first of the modern horror games using the Pacesetter system from Goblinoid Games.  It is very much of the vien of humans vs. zombies found in All Flesh Must Be Eaten and shows like the Walking Dead.
Rotworld uses the old Time Master system that Proctor bought from Pacesetter. He did not however buy Chill, so he can't say it is compatible with Chill 1st Edition. But with some work it is and that is why I picked it up. I love Chill and plan to see what sort of goodness Rotworld could add to a Chill game. OR the other way around. Either way this small game (65 pages) packs a punch and shows that "Old School Gaming" is more than just making the next retro-clone of Holmes Basic or AD&D 1st ed.
There are not a lot of monsters in this book, outside of zombies, but there is plenty of text on character creation, combat and skills. There is a good Game Master section (Corpse Master, CM again) about how to setup and run a game. Rotworld is a fine game. It won't unseat AFMBE as the premiere Zombie survival game out there, but it is a lot of fun and great for an evening's distraction or even gathering up a bunch of friends with fond memories of gaming in the early 80s. For the price it really can't be beat. Actually it would still be a steal at twice the price.

I have the softcovers of these books but I am thinking of printing out the PDFs to put into a binder so I have everything I need in one place.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Full Circle / The Haunting of Julia (1977/1981)

So with a book by Peter Straub and starring Mia Farrow you would think this would have been a hit.  It actually did quite poorly in the UK as "Full Circle" in 1977 and equally poorly in the US as "The Haunting of Julia" in 1981.

I remember this movie and thought I had seen it, but I didn't.  It came up while I was doing a serach about the ghosts of children for the Chill RPG.

Mia Farrow was, well, Mia Farrow in this.  The story is spooky, but could have been a lot more scary.  Though if it were made today there would have been more victims of the child ghost, Oliva.

In an interesting bit of trivia, Samantha Gates who plays Olivia is the same girl that appears on the cover of Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy" album.

The daughter of Mia Farrow's character was played by a young Sophie Ward who later went on to be in "Young Sherlock Holmes".

This might a good one to read one day, but the movie is a little slow by today's standards.


2016 Movie tally
Watched: 19
New: 14

Vampyres: Chill 3rd Edition

Back in the earliest days of this blog I did a week-long deep dive into the characters of Fran and Miriam from the 1974 version of Vampyres.  I worked them for a number of games, including Chill 1st Edition.

Well 2015 gave us not only a new edition of Chill but a new version of the Vampyres.  I thought it might be fun to update them.

For starters, we see some more "classic" vampire abilities from both women.  No fangs, but they can't be photographed. Fran also shows that she is very strong, stronger than humans, and can jump or fall from very high distances.  Both women are also really fast.  We see them avoiding sunlight and mirrors, but not sure if these cause them harm or not.
These vampires also do not seem to have a supernatural form, but one could argue that they can shift into a black mist.  Also, there is a sequence at the end where Miriam's eyes glow and Fran looks like she has wings, but this could also be part of a dream that Harriet has.

Fran

EWS: 105 (Deadly)
REF: 70
STA: 80
Injury: Superficial, Minor –10, Serious –20, Major –30, Critical –50, Lethal
Disciplines: Change Form (fog), Confuse, Dreamsend, Influence, Time Stop (Unique - Chill Core)
Aspects: Bane (mirrors), Parasitic, Special Weakness (sunlight, wood), Supernatural Speed, Sustenance, Unkillable, Unliving

Fran must rest eight hours to regain Stamina. Fran prefers to be underground when resting. She appears to be dead when resting; she does not breathe, has not heartbeat and her body is cold.

Fran needs to feed on least 2 quarts of fresh blood a week. She does not have to kill to get this blood, but she often does.

In combat, Fran uses a straight knife. She can attack once per round.


Miriam

EWS: 100 (Deadly)
REF: 75
STA: 80
Injury: Superficial, Minor –10, Serious –20, Major –30, Critical –50, Lethal
Disciplines: Change Form (fog), Confuse, Influence, Time Stop (Unique - Chill Core)
Aspects: Bane (mirrors), Parasitic, Special Weakness (sunlight, wood), Supernatural Speed, Sustenance, Unkillable, Unliving

Miriam must rest eight hours to regain Stamina. Like Fran, she prefers to be underground when resting. She appears to be dead when resting; she does not breathe, has not heartbeat and her body is cold. Miriam is a light sleeper and can wake herself at the slightest noise.

Miriam needs to feed on least 2 quarts of fresh blood a week. She does not have to kill to get this blood, but she prefers to do so.

In combat, Miriam uses a straight knife. She can attack once per round.

Figuring out their stats is difficult since they don't do much to separate themselves into proper characters.  As the nominal "leader" I gave Fran the Dreamsend EWD since she is more often the lure for their victims. Both get the unique (uhh...ok) power of Time Stop, but I am going to rule that they can only use it together.

They avoid sunlight and sleep in a wine cellar, but I am unsure if sunlight harms them. I will say they can not use any of their of EWD while in sunlight.  They are still fast and strong, but can't use any other disciplines.

Given the upped level of violence in the new film I am not sure if my "Mayfairs" concept would work for them.  BTW a lot of people online are saying the newer movie has "upped the eroticism" over the 1974 version. I disagree. I think those people have only seen the edited version of the 1974 film.  

In the 1974 version, Fran and Miriam are more than just two women with a shared goal, they very much were partners.  In the 2015 version, I am not getting that vibe at all.

I am certain we will get more Evil Way Disciplines in the upcoming Chill Monster book.

October Horror Challenge: Vampyres (2015)

It is not often I get to watch a horror movie when they first come out. Let alone on the day they are released.  But this is my day today (tonight).  The remake of the notorious 1974  José Ramón Larraz cult classic Vampyres was released on video today.  To my knowledge, this never was released in the US in the theaters, just in Spain.  The movie was also filmed in Spain, though it is supposed to be set in England.

Marta Flich and Almudena León take on the roles of Fran and Miriam respectively. Now maybe it is just my nostalgia speaking, but I find the original actresses, Marianne Morris and Anulka Dziubinska, more attractive.

The movie starts out in a similar fashion to the original.  Our heroes (Fran and Miriam are the heroes right?)  Our new Harriet is a photographer and not a painter as in the original.

Also at nearly 70 Caroline Munro still looks good and having her in movie gives it an air of authenticity, it is too bad that her talents are wasted here.  She is a better actor than most of this cast.  Though to be 100% fair I am pretty sure that English is not their first language save for Munro.

The movie doesn't really get going in terms of our Vampyres till about 20 minutes in.  The dialog is very similar to the original as well. Sadly though many of the plot problems have also been retained. Not to say it is a scene by scene remake, there are some differences and some improvement.  The shower scene from the first movie has been replaced with a bath-tub and a Bathory-esque shower.

This Fran and Miriam are much crueler than in the original.  In the original film you got the feeling that two innocent women had been killed and cursed to come back as vampires.  These two new ones are just killers.  Plus Marianne Morris and Anulka Dziubinska had more on-screen chemistry than these two actresses.

One could almost, almost, see this as a sequel of sorts to the first.  The fact that history is repeating itself some 40 years later is just one of those things that happen when you have a lot of vampires around.

In the end, I didn't like it as much as the original, but again it is more to do I think with nostalgia for me and maybe giving the edge out to the 1974 version only because I first saw it at a very impressionable age.

On it's own merits the movie is still fun.  Plus when was the last time we had a good female vampire movie?  Feels like forever.  If you are a fan of the original then see this one too.

I could not help but notice that one of the production companies for this film is "The Other Side Films".
http://theothersidefilms.com/portfolio-items/vampyres

2016 Movie tally
Watched: 18
New: 13

Review: Chill 3rd Edition

Readers here will know of my love for Chill.  It was one of the first non-D&D games I ever played  and to this day I have a soft spot in my art for it.  So it was with great pleasure that I purchased the 3rd edition of Chill last year.
Chill may not be the grand-daddy of horror games (that really is Call of Cthulhu) but it is certainly early in the parentage of all horror games.  Chill was doing things with monsters in the 80s that White Wolf would later get so much credit for in the 90s. Unlike CoC, the characters of  Chill had reasons to believe that they could defeat the monster.  There was more hope in Chill.

So what can we say about this new edition?

Let's start with the basics. I am reviewing both the PDF and the Hardcover book.
The books are 288 pages with full-color covers and full-color interior art.  The art is great mixing in photographs with art for full creepy effect. This is the "real-world" only beset by monsters. The art has always been a central feature of Chill and this edition really has some great art.  Even my wife, who is not really a gamer, was looking at and said it looked cool.
The hardcover is a nice hefty tome that would also look good on the coffee table, but the real fun is when it is on the game table.
(Note: This is another book where I would have liked a cheaper "spiral-bound" copy to lay flat on table)
The PDF is fully bookmarked and comes with a printer-friendly character sheet.  Though I prefer the heavy art sheet because they look so good.

The Forward details a little history of Chill. Nothing new to longtime readers of my blog. This is followed by a comic.  This gives an example of the Chill world. It's not bad, but I usually skip over these sorts of things.  Besides, Chill and I are old friends.

Introduction is the obligatory "this is a roleplaying game" bit, but it also gives you a brief overview of the game system.

If you are familiar at all with Chill then the system here is very familiar.  Percentage dice roll, roll under a target number. This number is usually a function of attributes, skills, and edges or drawbacks. Rolling doubles "33" or "55" is a really good or a really bad thing, depending on whether or not it was under the score you needed. The more you roll under the better.  This gives the game a different feel than most. There feels like there is more randomness (even though there isn't) and more drama (and there is).  This is a crunchy "cinematic" game. IF there can be such a thing.
There are simple, pass/fail tests, and tests that have levels of success.
There are also Tokens that can be used that represent tempory states. These are used in a similar fashion to other games "drama points" but have a more game-mechanical focus here.

I like that this information is right upfront and read first. It sets the tone for the game to come.

Chapter 1 deals with Character Creation. This is important because Chill is a character focused game.  In some games you fight monsters because they have the treasure and XP.  In Chill you fight the monsters because ever since you were a child you saw ghosts. You thought they were harmless till one of them killed your older brother...
There three character creation options. First pick a pre-made character, many are provided. Secondly you could pick a template such as "Anthropologist", "Detective" or "Thief" and modify them.  I expect to see more templates in future books.  Third, is of course, roll up your own character.  Roll up your attributes, skills and pick any Edges or Drawbacks you want.
Note to players of the 1st and 2nd editions. There are some changes here.  Among other things the Luck attribute is gone.

There is a discipline known as "the Art" that gives some characters a magical edge, but don't expect to play someone of Harry Dresden's ability here.  This is more Sam & Dean Winchester levels.  Which is perfect in my mind.

Chapter 2 covers SAVE.  SAVE or the Societas Albae Viae Eternitata, or The Eternal Society of
the White Way, named for their dedication to the good “white” force and opposition to the evil “dark” force.  SAVE is a central focus of Chill and all characters are considered to belong to it.  There is a lot of history here, both in the game world and in the real world.  There are even subtle nods to the history of the game itself here. "1990: Going Dark" is as much about SAVE as it is the Chill game itself.  "1998: The Renaissance of the Art" reflects also the growing popularity again of modern paranormal fiction in books, TV and movies.  For me I'd also add in some failed attempts at getting SAVE up an running again to parallel the failed attempt of Chill 3.0.  I love how the communications SAVE sends out adapt to the times. Hand written letters give way to typewriters to early emails to modern texting and chat software.  While the system maybe the heart of Chill, this is the soul.

Chapter 3 is dedicated to The Art, or is simple language Magic.  Given here are the different schools of the art and their disciplines.  While Chill 3rd Ed has more Player Character magic than the previous versions, the characters are still not going to be at the levels of say "Mage" or "WitchCraft" RPGs.  But this is fine really. These are supposed to be normal humans for the most part.  Also unlike CoC the Art here is mostly harmless. Note I say mostly, there are still dangers and magic always has a price.

Chapter 4 covers the Game System.  This details the material from the Introduction.  If you have played Chill before you will find a lot here that is familiar and somethings that are completely new.  There are plenty of good working examples.  This is the clearest version of the Chill rules to date.

Chapter 5 is for the Chill Master. This covers how to run the game, setting the mood and tone of the games.  If you have played any horror game before there is a lot here that is familiar, but there is also plenty that is new.  My own 2 cents here: Don't run Chill like you would run D&D or even Call of Cthulhu.  This game has it's own feel to it. Yes the stories you tell and the adventures you run can be done under a variety of systems and ways. To get the most out of Chill, play it like Chill.

Chapter 6 is a favorite of mine, Creatures of the Unknown. I will admit that when I picked up my copy at Gen Con last year I turned right to this chapter first to see if all my old favorites made the cut for the new edition.  Not all of them did, but there are plenty of old faves and new monsters here to keep any CM busy. The "Mean Old Neighbor Lady" is now properly a Hag, but most of the Vampires made it over including the "North American Vampire" and it's representative Jackson Jammer.
This chapter also includes the monster version of the Art, the Evil Way.

Finally, we end with Kickstarter backers.

Chill 3rd Edition is a great game and an improvement in pretty much every way over it's predecessors.  The book is great to look at, great to read and easier to play.  While parts of Chill still feel like they are stuck in the 80s or 90s in terms of tone and game design, there is enough new material here and enough refinements to bring this game into the 21st century.   Will it repalce Chill 1st Ed and 2nd ed in my heart?  No, I don't think it will.  Will it replace Chill 1st Ed and 2nd Ed on my game table?  Absolutely!  I'll use these rules from now on and supplement older material until Growling Door gets around to replacing them.  Though I have my doubts they will replace Chill Vampires in my heart!

Time I think to dust off my "Spirit of '76" game.

Full disclosure:  All links are affiliate links. I bought both the PDF and Hardcopies of this game.  No free copies were given and no reviews were solicited.

Kick Start Your WEEK: Monstrous Monday Edition

Today let's Kickstart Your Week and have out Monstrous Monday all in one.

Up on Kickstarter is Monsters - A Sourcebook for Chill Third Edition Horror RPG.

Spend any time here and you know there are two things I REALLY love.  The Chill RPG and Monster books.
This gives me both in one great book.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playattentiongames/monsters-a-sourcebook-for-chill-third-edition-horr

The new Chill is a joy to read and it is visually stunning.  I am expecting no less from this book.  A quick look at the art also assures me this will be the case.

Chill Vampires remains one of my most favorite sourcebooks to this day.  If this book is half as good as that, then it is well worth the price.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Under the Skin (2013)

Under the Skin is a 2013 art film with sci-fi and horror overtones.  The film is notable for starring Scarlett Johansson. She spends the first few scenes completely nude and most of the movie with little to no lines.

The movie deals with an alien (ScarJo) who seduces men and lures them to her home in Scotland. Here she strips while walking, having them do same where they slowing disappear into the floor.  Later we see what happens to them.  Their organs are sucked out of their skin leaving only their still living skin.

As the movie (slowly) progresses ScarJo (none of the characters have names) begins to act more and more human.

The movie is very arty and there are some very obvious nods to 2001: A Space Oddeysey.  Of course, there is another movie people have been comparing it too; Lifeforce.  Like Lifeforce this movie features an alien woman walking around, mostly nude, and killing men.  Though the aliens of Lifeforce are mostly vampires (based on Colin Wilson's "The Space Vampires") this alien, as far as I can tell is something different.

There are some genuinely scary moments but not as many as I thought there should be.  


2016 Movie tally
Watched: 17
New: 12

October Horror Movie Challenge: Victor Frankenstein (2015)

Every year it seems I get to watch a new Daniel Radcliffe horror movie.  This year it was Victor Frankenstein.  It's not a bad flick either.
It's a retelling of the Frankenstein story.  Well, not the book really, but the movies.

It has lots of call outs and Easter-eggs to other Frankenstein movies.
Daniel Radcliffe's makeup at the beginning of this reminded me a lot of the very first Frankenstein movie ever made.
"People will never remember the man, only the monster."
Loved the little Frankenstine-Frankenstein nod.
"It's alive?" "It's alive!"
Flat head. Bolts in the neck.
Victor shouting "You are not alive" instead of the expected "It's alive!" when the monster is walking.

Much better than I thought it would be.


2016 Movie tally
Watched: 16
New: 11