Here There Be Dragons...update

Working with my son right now on his dragon book.  He has a lot of cool ideas and I like how the book is shaping up.

After going around a couple times on the system we wanted to use, we decided today that the book will be stated up for 1st Edition Advanced rules.

We felt there are a ton of books out there for 3e.  We were not really interested in doing it for 4e though either.  Basic was my original choice since it can be translated well.  We even very, very briefly considered Savage Worlds (his new favorite).

I need to read over the OSRIC license IF I want to indicate compatibility with OSRIC (no idea if I want too or not yet).  Of course there is the Labyrinth Lord "Advanced Edition Companion" and that is also a good candidate.  They both represent the same era of play and are largely compatible with each other.

I think this is a good way to go to be honest.  His ideas are very much n the mindset of the earliest days of the hobby; when everything was permitted and no one said you couldn't have a blue dragon that had ice cold fire as a breath weapon.  HTBD will be a new point of view on these creatures, something I think we could all use after nearly 40 years.

Not sure on the deadline or when it will be out.  But the author is working on it when it is his turn to use the homework computer.

Zatannurday: Cedric Poulat

I discovered Cedric Poulat in a Deviant Art search for pictures of Ice for the first day of winter.  Turns out he is just about as crazy about Zee as I am.  So I figured I'd start out the New Year's Zatannurday with the artist I ended the old year with.

His Deviant Art page is here, http://j-estacado.deviantart.com/
And his Zatanna gallery is here, http://j-estacado.deviantart.com/gallery/11873463  here are some of my favorites.



Z by *J-Estacado on deviantART


Z A T A N N A - markers by *J-Estacado on deviantART


Zatanna 2 by *J-Estacado on deviantART


Zatanna- A R T N O U V E A U by *J-Estacado on deviantART


Z A T A N N A - burlesque by *J-Estacado on deviantART

So, go to his page and check out all his cool art.

La Befana The Christmas Witch

La Befana at Disney World

Every year I try to remember to say something about La Befana, the Italian Christmas witch.
This year I remembered, but had set the date wrong.  Oh well.

You can read more about her here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Befana

The most common tale is she directed the Three Wise Men to the new baby Jesus, but declined to go with them till her housework was done.

Like St. Nick/Santa, she gives out gifts to Children on Epiphany Eve.  Befana, like many other Christianized myths has her origin in an older story of the Goddess Strenua.  So she is seen a protector figure in myth.

Given that she is such a complex character it would be difficult to do her justice in a write-up.

But I can talk about her broom.
Her Broom seems to be perfect as a powerful witch artifact that you can drop into your games.

The following is released as Open per the OGL.

La Befana’s Broom
La Befana was a great and powerful witch. Legend says that she once helped three great and powerful Magic-Users find their way when they were lost, search for a young king. They had asked La Befana to go with them, but she declined telling them she had cleaning to do. In reality she did not want to go because she had lost her own baby and seeing this new one would have made her sad.
 The Magic-Users on their return brought La Befana a gift, a magical broom that would clean her home for her if she uttered the proper word. It would also render her invisible and allow her to enter the home of anyone unnoticed as long as her intentions were good and pure. La Befana used this magic to go into people’s homes on the eve of the Magic-Users' return to her each year to clean the homes of the good people in her village and leave a small present, usually a bit of candy for the good children or a bit coal for the bad ones.
She has let the broom go now so it may continue to do good in the world where she can’t go.
In the hands of a Good witch this broom will manifest the following powers:

• Act as a Broom of Flying 
• Act as a Broom of Protection, Threshold 
• When held it will render the witch Invisible 
• When used to knock on a door the door will open as if a Knock spell was cast on it. Inhabitants will not be able to hear the knock.

Neutral witches can also use these powers, but only if their intent is pure and good. If they attempt to do anything that is considered harmful or against those pure intentions then the Broom treats them as if they were Evil.
Evil witches cannot use the Broom at all. Once they touch it it becomes a Broom of Animated Attack. The broom will attack for 1 round (it gets the initiative due to surprise) then it disappears.
Typically the Broom will remain with any given witch only for one year then it will disappear to find another worthy witch.

Blogging A to Z?

Last year I proudly participated in the Blogging A to Z challenge in April.

I felt it was not only a good way to stretch my creative abilities but work on my writing and do a bit a cross blog-genre promotion.  My hits went up, and stayed up, drastically during and after April and I got my greatest surge of followers.

Well they are doing it again this year.

http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/2012/01/blogging-from-to-z-april-challenge-2012.html

Though I am not sure I am going to do it this year yet or not.

Last year it worked out on many levels for me.  I recall thinking about the posts I had queued up and how they would fit the challenge.  When "Z" fell on a Saturday it clinched it for me.

Part of the purpose of the blogfest is to post every day.  I do that now anyway.

Keep in mind I am NOT saying participation is a bad idea, far from it in fact.

I actually suggest that we get MORE OSR/RPG bloggers participating to get our message out there.

The one thing we all talk about is getting more people involved in our hobby, we can't do that if the only people we talk to are already in our hobby.

Plus if you are selling a product you should participate just to more attention to you and your book.

If I do it this year then I need to do a theme or something, make it more challenging than last year.

Are you going to participate?  Why or why not?

Skylanders Hex for Pathfinder

So we have been playing Skylanders a lot recently.  My little witch Hex is now 5th level.  Not to bad really.
To celebrate here she is in her Pathfinder Witch version.

You can read the background and see my 4e stats of her here.

I don't have my books with me, so I took some artistic license with how she is presented here.  So instead of the floating skull familiar I gave her a bat.  I am just going to say it is a skull with wings.


HEX    CR 4
Female Drow Witch 5
CN Medium Humanoid (Elf)
Init -1; Senses Darkvision (120 feet), Low-Light Vision; Perception +7

---

DEFENSE

---

AC 9, touch 9, flat-footed 9   (-1 Dex)
hp 23 (5d6)
Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +5
Immune sleep; Resist Elven Immunities; SR 11
Weakness Light Blindness

---

OFFENSE

---

Spd 30 ft.
Melee Unarmed Strike +2 (1d3/20/x2)
Special Attacks Blight (DC 16), Misfortune (DC 16)
Spell-Like Abilities Dancing Lights (1/day), Darkness (1/day), Faerie Fire (1/day)
Witch Spells Known (CL 5, 2 melee touch, 1 ranged touch):
3 (2/day) Bestow Curse (DC 17), Pain Strike (DC 17)
2 (3/day) Scare (DC 16), Death Knell (DC 16), Glide (DC 16)
1 (4/day) Chill Touch (DC 15), Cause Fear (DC 15), Mage Armor (DC 15), Ray of Enfeeblement (DC 15)
0 (at will) Touch of Fatigue (DC 14), Dancing Lights, Daze (DC 14), Bleed (DC 14)

---

STATISTICS

---

Str 10, Dex 9, Con 10, Int 19, Wis 13, Cha 12
Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 11
Feats Alertness, Arcane Talent: Daze (3/day), Ectoplasmic Spell
Traits Focused Mind, Scholar of the Great Beyond: Knowledge (History)
Skills Bluff +2, Diplomacy +2, Fly +3, Heal +6, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (Arcana) +12, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +9, Knowledge (History) +11, Perception +7, Sense Motive +4, Spellcraft +12, Stealth +1, Survival +2
Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Drow Sign Language, Elven, Undercommon
SQ +3 to Fly checks, Deliver Touch Spells Through Familiar (Su), Empathic Link with Familiar (Su), Poison Use (Ex), Share Spells with Familiar, Speak With Familiar (Ex), Ward +2 (Su)
Other Gear Staff of Necromancy

---

SPECIAL ABILITIES

---

+3 to Fly checks You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach.
Arcane Talent: Daze (3/day) You gain a chosen spell as a spell-like ability, 3/day.
Blight (DC 16) (Su) Curse animals, plants, or land
Dancing Lights (1/day) (Sp) Cast Dancing Lights once per day.
Darkness (1/day) (Sp) Cast Darkness once per day.
Darkvision (120 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Deliver Touch Spells Through Familiar (Su) Your familiar can deliver touch spells for you.
Drow Immunities - Sleep You are immune to Sleep effects.
Ectoplasmic Spell You can cast a spell that has full effect against incorporeal or ethereal creatures.
Elven Immunities +2 save bonus vs Enchantments.
Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar.
Faerie Fire (1/day) (Sp) Cast Faerie Fire once per day.
Focused Mind +2 to Concentration checks
Light Blindness (Ex) Blinded for 1r in bright light, dazzled as long as they remain in it.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Misfortune (1 round(s)) (DC 16) (Su) Target must take the lower of 2d20 for rolls.
Poison Use (Ex) You do not risk poisoning yourself accidentally while poisoning a weapon.
Share Spells with Familiar The wizard may cast a spell with a target of "You" on his familiar (as a touch spell) instead of on himself. A wizard may cast spells on his familiar even if the spells do not normally affect creatures of the familiar's type (magical beast).
Speak With Familiar (Ex) You can communicate verbally with your familiar.
Spell Resistance (11) You have Spell Resistance.
Ward +2 (Su) Target receives +2 AC and save bonus until they are hit or fail a saving throw.

Hero Lab® and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC®, and are used under license.

White Dwarf Wednesday Issue 1

Welcome to my first White Dwarf Wednesday!
Today we are going to look into Issue 1 published in June of 1977.
But first lets talk about what White Dwarf meant to me and why it later captured my attention in the OSR days.

Back in the early days of my gaming I was well aware of Dragon Magazine.  My first issue was Dragon #80 and it was awesome to see that this new game I enjoyed so much was enjoyed by others.  Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered that there was not just one, but TWO magazines dedicated to this hobby.
Back in the 80s I was in love with all thing British.  My favorite shows were "Doctor Who", "Monty Python" and "Benny Hill". My favorite bands were "The Who", "Led Zeppelin" and "The Police".   To my teenaged mind there was nothing better than something from the UK.  White Dwarf did not prove that wrong to me.
The writing style was different than what I saw in Dragon.  It was grittier, it was more dangerous.  I reminded me a lot of Heavy Metal magazine to be honest.  Plus the ads in White Dwarf were not "edited" or dare I say, "censored" as they were in Dragon. And really who could forget those early Gamma World ads?
My first issue of White Dwarf was issue 44.  I picked up some here and there over the years, and about 4-5 years ago I was able to buy issues 1 through 89.  I worked on getting all the way 100, but only have a few between 89 and 96.

I used White Dwarf in the Great D&D Article Purge on Wikipedia a few years back.  Since WD was a 3rd party publication it could support many of the D&D articles that needed extra references.  In the process I got to read through all of them many times over and it was a great blast from the past.  I am now in my 3rd wave of White Dwarf affection thanks to the OSR.  You can't get much more Old School than this.

So without further ado, lets jump right on in.

White Dwarf #1
June/July 1977

The magazine contains the sub-title of "The Science Fiction and Fantasy Games Magazine", certainly that was true enough.  Counting covers we have a mere 24 pages worth of content.
The editorial from Ian Livingstone discussed the emergence of just 2 short years of a new kind of wargaming brought over by two Americans, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.   He mentions how there are now over 50 games in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre and over 10 companies providing these games and how White Dwarf hopes to cater to them.
We have a two and a half page review/pre-view of the newest Sci-Fi game, Metamorphisis Alpha.
We are treated to a few ads about a local game store and the British Fantasy Society.
Next up is something very unique and very interesting for a number of reasons.  It is Don Turnbull's Monstermark System.  The Monstermark system was used by White Dwarf to assign a "level of malignity" to every monster.  An early attempt at what would be the Challenge Rating.  The Monstermark is based on the number of rounds it would take to defeat a monster and the aggressiveness of a monster.
The explanation is full of wonderful equations; enough to make your high school math teacher happy and there are tables with examples.  What else could be more old school really?  I am bit suprised no one has tried to revive this and republish it for the OSR (or something like it).  What struck me as interesting too was that this was based on something the author had published previously in Owl & Weasel. How often did you see something like that?  The Monstermark system would be used in White Dwarf for many issues to rate the various monsters they created including some of the future Fiend Folio ones.
The Open Box feature column reviewed games.  Games were ranked 1-10 on Complexity, Skill, Atmosphere, Originality, Presentation and an Overall score. This issue SPI's Sorcerer (overall score 7) and Avaon Hill's Starship Troopers (Overall, 9).
A piece on competitive D&D. Part 1 of Lewis Pulsipher's D&D Campaign breakdown. IS D&D a war game or something else? An article on the wargame "The Warlord" by Steve Jackson (the English one)
Near the end we are introduced to a section called "Treasure Chest", which is basically a way for readers to send their contributions to the D&D rules.  We have a magic item, the Helm of Vision, and a bit talking about how D&D combat and magic is all wrong and a proposed fix (and it's only Issue #1!).  We have a new class (The Pervert) and some information about Poison.
We end up with some classified ads, and a "caption this" style cartoon.

All in a good start. It does not compete with Dragon from the same time yet, but it will get there soon.

New Year, New Look

I am going to be working on the look of the Other Side here for a bit.  New Year and all.

If you are reading this in a reader, can you please stop by and let me know what you think.
This gives me readability feedback AND helps me check to make sure I put the Google Analytics codes in right.

Thanks!

Magical Near Talents in Ghosts of Albion

The child looked at me in obvious fear and trepidation. I tried to win the young lad over with my most winninest smile. "Its ok dear. I am not going to hurt you." I said, but he shook his head.
"Beggin' your pardons Mum, its not you I'm worried about, but that ghost lady behind you."

-From The Journal of Tamara Swift

Not everyone in the Ghosts of Albion game is a ghost, powerful Protector or vampire.  In fact the vast, vast majority of people in the world are not only ignorant of the supernatural, but so far removed from it that it has no impact on their lives whatsoever.  Generally speaking this line is easily demarcated with the possession of either the Magic quality (in humans) or the Innate Magic quality (in supernaturals).  If you have one or the other then the world of the supernatural is open to you and you to it.
There are some that have no magical talent to speak of, yet the world of the supernatural is open to them, in a limited state.  They see ghosts, hear strange creaking where others hear nothing and sometimes even are able to cast a spell.

These folk are known as Near Talents and they are have a zero (0) level of Magic.

Magic 0
3 points or Special
Prerequisite: Must be human
Characters with 0 levels of Magic have a small bit of magical talent.  They can cast a spell (typically they know only one) of PL 1 (and no higher).  They cannot quick cast any spells and will always cast their spell at the end of their round.
Characters with Magic 0 are treated as if they have Lesser Sensing, but they typically need a Perception + Notice roll in order to see any magic or magical creature.  The Director can make exceptions to this, typically making it easier to see some things like a familiar ghost.
Characters can "upgrade" to a full level of Magic with the Director's approval only.  Directors are encouraged to find an "in story" reason for this manifestation of the character's full potential and either grant them Magic 1 or allow them to buy it for 1 or 2 points (never more than 2).
Spellcasting is treated the same, except the Magic modifier is 0.  Characters with Magic 0 have no magical defenses, they need to be Magic 1 at least for that.

Uses of Near Talents
Near Talents can be used to provide a nice middle ground.  Ordinary humans with one toe in the supernatural world. The obvious choices are NPC and Guest Stars, but Cast Members can also benefit from this quality.  In particular Magic 0 also acts like a low level magic sensitivity that can be given to otherwise normal humans so they can be part of the adventuring world.  If this is the case then the director is encouraged to give these Cast Members Magic 0 for free, but not give them a spell to use.  If they later find one that can be up to the Director.

My new game Sky..(mumble)...

So I got a new game over Christmas.  It is very popular and has may RPG elements in it and you get to fight monsters and explore an expanding world and I am already 3rd level and addicted to it.  It is called Skylanders.

Were you expecting a different "Sky" named game?

Well Skylanders is cool all the same.  We have been playing it on the Wii and there are all these little figures you can collect and use in the game in addition to magic items, new lands and all sorts of things.

My boys have had the game for a while, but since they know I love witches they got me the figure Hex for Christmas. She is Drow Dark Sorceress whose "element" is "undead".  The game play is fast and really fun.  Simple enough for the young kids to figure it out, yet enough detail to keep me entertained.  In fact I was killed at one point because I was paying too much attention to the details of the game.

Here is my character, Hex, done up as a 3rd level D&D4 Witch.
I decided she is a Drow. Not the best choice for a witch, but it works well for the story.  She has lower than average Dexterity to reflect her lower than average Agility.  She has a floating skull familiar (like in the pictures) and I figured she was cultist. Her Charisma is lower than one would expect for a Drow due to all the evil undead stuff about her.


====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======

Hex (witch), level 3
Drow, Wizard (Witch)
Moon Coven Option: Dark Moon Coven
Dark Apprenticeship (+2 to Bluff)
Theme: Cultist

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
STR 10
CON 10
DEX 9
INT 18
WIS 13
CHA 12

AC: 16 Fort: 12 Ref: 16 Will: 16
HP: 28 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 7

TRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +12, Dungeoneering +8, Insight +8, Intimidate +11, Religion +10

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +1, Athletics +1, Bluff +4, Diplomacy +2, Endurance +1, Heal +3, History +5, Nature +3, Perception +3, Stealth +3, Streetwise +2, Thievery +1

POWERS
Basic Attack: Melee Basic Attack
Basic Attack: Ranged Basic Attack
Cultist Attack: Master's Eye
Drow Racial Power: Cloud of Darkness
Wizard Utility: Augury
Wizard Utility: Ghost Sound
Wizard Utility: Spook
Wizard Utility: Mage Hand
Wizard Attack 1: Dread Presence
Wizard Attack 1: Phantasmal Assault
Wizard Attack 1: Witch Bolt
Wizard Attack 1: Ray of Fatigue
Wizard Utility 2: Shield
Wizard Attack 3: Grim Shadow

FEATS
Arcane Familiar (Floating Skull)
Level 1: Shield of Shadows
Level 2: Disciple of Death

ITEMS
Battle Staff +1 x1
Delver's Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing) +1 x1
Cloak of Resistance +1 x1
Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing)
Adventurer's Kit
Staff Implement x1
====== End ======

Pretty good fit I think.  I might have her show up as an NPC sometime.  My boys would get a kick out of that.



Oh. And we got Skyrim too.  Just what I need, more distractions.

2011 by the Numbers

In my corner of the world it is now 2012.  Which means it is 2012 where you are too. But before I move on to 2012 and the all things new, here is a run down of the numbers here at the Other Side.

511 total posts in 2011.

According to Google Analytics here are some visitor stats.
92,225 people visited this site
127,168 Visits
92,225 Unique Visitors
191,473 Pageviews
1.51 Pages/Visit
00:01:07 Avg. Time on Site
71.16% Bounce Rate
71.65% % New Visits

The top 5 countries were
USA 67,909 visits
UK 9,104 visits
Canada 7,760 visits
Australia 3,538 visits
Germany 3,506

Not counting my root page, my most visited pages in 2011 were:
Xena and Gabrielle  31,114 views
Elzabeth Bathory 10,756 views
Zatnnurday, Adam Hughes 2,845 views
Hex Girls, 2,839 views
T is for Trogdor, 2,797 views
Willow & Tara, Macho Women with Guns, 2,198 views
More races of Mystoerth Goblins, 2,135 views
New Hex Girls, 1,827 views
Willow and Tara Page, 1,642 views
Demons Run, when chased by Madame Vastra and Jenny, 1,571 views

Top 10 search words to get to my site:
Xena
Trogdor
Dracula
Hex Girls
Elizabeth Bathory
Zatanna Young Justice
Adam Hughes
Goblins
Witch Hunter Robin
Wikipwdia (note the typo.  That stupid typo gave me 317 extra hits last year)

Top 10 Sources of page hits (not counting search engines)
RPGBloggers
The Underdark Gazette (may it rest in peace. forget that, just update the link)
Risus Monkey
Hero Press/I'd Rather Be Killing Monsters
RPG.Net Forums
The Hex Girls coven
Our Valued Customers (make one pot joke and the hits go through the roof)
Eternal Keep
Grognardia
Destination Unknown

My most visited period was between July 24 and October 31 where I was averaging 200 unique visitors a day. Lately, I have dropped to about 100. Don't know why yet.

My most commented pages were:
All Fun and Games, 31 comments
More OSRIC Player's Guide woes, 28 comments
But, shouldn't we aspire to be the  Hero?, 27 comments
There goes my last shred of OSR-ness, 18 comments
Worst Movies Ever, 17 comments
Should WotC support ALL D&D?, 17 comments
Question for my Readers, 16 comments
Skills in D&D, 15 comments
Product Changes at WotC: no more Minis, 14 comments
My collection is now complete, 12 comments

What did 2011 give us?
Well, we saw more OSR products than ever and finally something more than just another retro-clone.
Back in Gen Con 2010 people kept telling me about the death of 4e in 2011, it never happened, but it also didn't sell enough compared to Pathfinder.
Ghosts of Albion saw print! I also got paid for my first official D&D writing gig.  Though I didn't get "The Witch" out when I wanted.
My Zatannurday posts were a huge success in my mind (and according to the stats) so I am hoping for more this year.
My number of followers nearly doubled, most of them were from outside of the RPG and OSR circles, so that is nice.
I joined a bunch of blogfests which was fun and got me a bunch of hits and new followers and exposed the Other Side to a much wider audience.  I would suggest that other OSR blogs do the same, we tend to get into a rut to be honest.

Now. On to 2012!!

Zatannurday: Happy New Year!

Time to say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012!

So how about Zatanna and Cedric Poulat show us the way.



zatanna -new year card by *J-Estacado on deviantART

Here is to a great new 2012!!

Looking Forward to 2012: Willow and Tara

I have been missing my Friday Willow and Tara posts.

I have been reading and re-reading a ton of my old supers games (and new ones) and I have been thinking that maybe I need to revive Generation HEX.  I think it would be a good time and frankly, I miss the girls.

Expect to see some supers related posts in 2012.

Looking Forward to 2012: Other Features

I'd love to get some more games and useful crunch out to you all.

Books I am working still are "Here There Be Dragons..." and a couple of books for Elf Lair Games.
I might have more material coming out from Eden, too soon to tell right now.

I am also working on a first for me, a Sci-Fi game that I hope is a twist on many sci-fi games.

Here's hoping I get some good writing in.

Looking Forward to 2012: White Dwarf

This week I am going to continue some posts of things I want to do in 2012.

I have a stack of White Dwarf magazines sitting here at home.  They cam in handy to stop the purge of many D&D related articles on Wikipedia a while back and I generally get a big kick out of them.  There is something so British about them to me.

So in 2012 I am going to try to do "White Dwarf Wednesdays".  I am going to go through issues #1 to #100 each Wednesday and pull out what is good.  Less of a review or a "Where I Read..." type post.  But we will see.

Looking Forward to 2012: Reviews

In 2011 I wanted to get 400 new reviews done and up at DriveThru RPG.
The trouble is that 400 products take a long time to do.  I did get about 200 in all said and told.

So this year I'd like to get some more reviews up.  I want to share what I like with you all and hope that you return the favor and tell me what you like, or don't like.  Sometimes this is the best way to learn of a new product.

Most of my reviews, the vast majority really, will be on DriveThruRPG / RPGNow.  Though I'll continue doing longer reviews for RPG Net and Amazon.

Looking Forward to 2012

This week I am going to be posting a series of posts on what my plans are for 2012.

2011 and 2010 were big years here at the Other Side and I want to keep that up.  So stayed tuned all week and post your thoughts!

You can expect to see more Zantannurdays and of course my take on what is going on in the OSR and other areas of the hobby.

Of course we have have some great movies coming up that go to the very heart of our hobby, "John Carter of Mars" (now just John Carter) and the first part of "The Hobbit" (not to mention the new Dark Knight movie too).

Here are my new year's resolutions for this blog and gaming in general:
1. Play more with my kids.
2. Try more new games.
3. Get more reviews done.
4. Get more of my works in progress done.

Merry Hexmas!

Great Christmas day!

My boys got me the Dresden Files RPG!  Yeah!
My wife picked up "Hammer Glamour" for me.
This was a great gift.  While the rest of my friends growing up were lusting after women with names like Farrah and Cheryl, my first serious lusts were Ingrid Pitt, Pippa Steele, Caroline Munro, and Madeline Smith.

Hope your holiday was equally as good.

Zatannurday: yrreM samtsirhC!

Holiday treats from Dean Juliette.

And another from Cedric Poulat,

And a special X-mas pic from Chris Shields.

Merry Christmas!

Return of the Dragonslayers

I got home early from work today and my boys wanted to play some D&D.  Like a good Daddy I agreed.

We continued going through the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, the Lesser Caverns, and they got to the stairs to the Greater Caverns.  I pulled out my 3.0 version of the Book of Vile Darkness to up the "demonic" content a bit.  I figure that caverns are a stopper for the forces of the Abyss, so the boys are bound to run into the worst types of demonic scum.

The original adventure had the Greater Caverns were protected by a gorgimera.  Today it was the largest abyssal chimera ever seen (well by them).

It was a great time today.  Looking forward to the Greater Caverns and the search for Iggwilv's greatest treasure.

What are you getting this year?

To all the good little boys and girls (and to the bad ones too!) what are you getting for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Solstice/Yule/Festivus this year?

I am hoping for The Dresden Files RPG in print and maybe some fudge dice to go with it.
I'd also like one of then Kim Harrison books.
But mostly I am hoping for some time to do some gaming with my kids.  That would be best of all.

What are you all hoping for?

First Day of Winter, celebrate with Ice

Since today is the first day of Winter I'd thought I'd celebrate with something for my oldest son. Here is one of his favorite super-heroes, Ice.

I have always liked Ice.  Like Tara I felt she was totally shafted; killed just make a point that was soon forgotten.  I am glad she is back in the comics now.



Ice Wallpaper by ~Ziggyman on deviantART


Cool as Ice by *SebbyWhite on deviantART


Riddle1 Ice by *AmericanNinjaX on deviantART


Cold as Ice by *eisu on deviantART


Ice by *olivernome on deviantART


Ice by ~Dani-V on deviantART


Ice by ~ArtNerdEm on deviantART

Updated pages

I am going to be making some mostly cosmetic changes to the old Other Side here for the new year.
Not changing scope or posts or anything like that.

I am though working on how information is organized and how things look.

So yesterday I started with the Pages.  Those are the links above, just under the banner.

I added a new Mystoerth page which details my *D&D campaign world. There are a lot of internal links to material I have written here and links to outside sources that I also like to use.  If you know of a blog or website that should be linked here, let me know.

I combined the "About Me" and "My Books" page into one About Me page.

My Links Page is still the same, I might add the awards I have gotten though since those are to be linked back to other blogs.

I have added a few new builds to my Willow & Tara page and my Characters page.

Ghosts of Albion still gets it's own page.  As does my OGL declaration.

Let the Adventure Begin

If you are like me then it all started here, with an Unexpected Party.




December 2012 feels like a long way away.

I asked, you repsonded!

Earlier today I asked a simple question. "Using only Mundane means how can you kill a ghost?" here are the responses I got!

 Trey said...

Destroying the item/location it's tethered to?

December 20, 2011 9:58 AM

Great post. I guess I was thinking more of attack the ghost itself. But that is a tried and true way to do it.

 farawayeyes said...

A ghost is already dead. You can't necessarily kill them. Best to just send them on.

December 20, 2011 10:03 AM

I think I was thinking more of the attacking kind of Ghost.  So yours and Trey's would be to figure out why it is here and use that.

 Simon Forster said...

Reciting the ghost's history, up to its death, reminding it that it has lived and died, thus sending it to whatever afterlife awaits it.

December 20, 2011 10:18 AM

Neat idea.  Something that would be perfect for an Occult Poet in Ghosts of Albion to do!

 The Happy Whisk said...

I'm going to agree with Trey. Destroying them by removing whatever is holding them here.

Then maybe they can move on.

I've heard salt before though, but never tried it so I can't tell you if it really works.

December 20, 2011 10:18 AM

Salt has a long standing connection to the supernatural.  It is also simple to get and use.  I am sure there is a connection there.

 seaofstarsrpg said...

If ghosts are ectoplasm and ectoplasm has a physical existence, fire.

If the ghost believes, an exorcism should send it away.

December 20, 2011 10:23 AM

Kill it with fire! Always a good choice.

 keithboyle said...

Depends on the type of ghost being killed... er, dispensed with, I guess. Working from a ghosts-as-electromagnetic-fields perspective:

Death echoes could be dispersed by setting up a counter-noise generator - like the ones in noise-cancelling headphones, but on a room- or house-sized scale. Remember those multiroom speakers that transmitted sound through the house wiring? this would be the lo-fi DIY way of implementing this.

Intelligent/Interactive ghosts would be best handled through negotiation. The trick would be to get them to stay still long enough to have a meaningful chat. So I'm thinking EM Pump combined with Carnacki's electric pantacle with Spirit Box as vocal translator. Then have the conversation - what you want, what they want, how to find agreement, that sort of thing...

Poltergeists as rogue PK in children/teens also fits this model, so ground them via conductive jewelry, cutting their hair shorter, and good old patience as they grow out of this phase should work as well.

You said no supernatural, so I'm going to call the "demonic hauntings" of current TV ghost hunting fashion "anomalous idiopathic EM fields" and recommend Faraday cages around the sensitive spots. It doesn't destroy it, but it does contain it...

December 20, 2011 10:26 AM

Well thought out. So a Spirit Zapper or Spirit Trap in a way.

 keithboyle said...

The lore on salt goes something like this: it's the only rock that's pure enough that we can eat. That purity is incompatible with the "uncleanness" of the spirits, Thus, ghosts can't cross it. Getting shot with it would just be forcing them to not cross themselves and causes dispersal.

Not a huge fan of calling that sort of thinking"mundane only," but salt's about as mundane as you can get.

The Kripke Trinity - salt, iron, burn the bones - works really well as weapons for adventure stories like SPN, though their meaning and uses in traditional ghost stories is quite different...

December 20, 2011 10:36 AM

Cool. I like this approach.  I always figured that it was something that you can bring into your home, salt is something that is like life.

 Woodclaw said...

Given the "no supernatural" rule I think that the main methods are already covered by the previous posts.
Either destroying the links of the ghost to the mundane world (if possible) or destroy its mortal remains might work.
The whole reminds him/her that he/she is already dead is tricky because I'm not sure a ghost is willing to listen.
Keithboyle pretty much covered the scientific/technobabble angle.

Another option is running water. According to the Celtic tradition large bodies of water (especially rivers and lakes) are doors into the afterlife, for this reason a ghost can't cross running water. If someone can force a ghost close enough to a river or a stream the proximity might do the trick.

December 20, 2011 11:12 AM

So if I am facing a ghost, then a fire hose.  I like it!

 tarotgames said...

@Technobabble: EM Pumps and Spirit Boxes are considered legitimate tools for ghost hunters/paranormal investigators, in the same way EVP is. Granted, it's a pretty biased piece of reasoning to go from unexplained phenomenon to explainable and exploitable technology, but truly critical thinking isn't normally a well-used tool in a ghost hunter's bag. It's akin to forgetting what the U in UFO stands for and saying that the odd lights in the sky are aliens here to rule the world...

I threw out the Carnacki reference because, frankly, it's Tim who's asking the question. The real-life analog to what Hodgson described is a Faraday cage - aka the shielding & grounding frame inside the computer that you're using to read these words.

Mongo avoids the [tech] like the plague: even if the terms aren't that familiar, they're not entirely meaningless or made-up if I can help it...

December 20, 2011 12:16 PM

I think I was going with "things I have laying around the house or garage".  Granted that also rules out fire and the fire hose.  I have a garden hose though and a sprinkler that looks like a turtle for my lawn.  I am so screwed.

 JWRouseIII said...

Blow it apart with a leaf blower.

December 20, 2011 12:40 PM

That's only good for guys dress in sheets going "boooooo". ;)

 Laura said...

Using a lot of moxy and deduction, I'd reveal that it's only Old Man Grimley, the owner of the abandoned amusement park, out to scare off the current owners so he can collect his money. He'll call me a meddling kid, but a good day's work is worth it.

December 20, 2011 1:06 PM

Haha!! Scooby Doo for the win!

 Jensan said...

Treat it like a hiccup: scare it away!

December 20, 2011 2:20 PM

Be scarier than the Ghosts.  Of course!  The Doctor Who Offensive.


Thanks all!

Question for my Readers

So I have a great collection of readers and followers here.

I have RPG types, Horror fans and para-normal/supernatural authors and fans.  A great group really.

So here is a question for you all that I have been pondering the last couple of days.

Given you have only "mundane" means, how do you kill a ghost?

I was thinking something like a shotgun full of rock salt or something.  Silver buckshot?  Something else.

What do you all think?

Krampus for Ghosts of Albion

Krampus is an old legend, but one I never heard of growing up.  He/It is a reminder that the Christmas legends of today are part a of a larger variety of Winter Solstice celebrations.  Krampus, though is interesting to me this year because he has come up time and time again, from completely unrelated sources.  So here he is.
Krampus for your Ghosts of Albion games.  I am taking a large number of liberties with this write up.  So please keep that in mind.

Krampus, The Christmas Demon

Long ago, long before children would know of the kindness of St. Nicholas there was a demon that tormented the long Alpine winter nights.  This demon, know locally as Krampus (from the word meaning Claw) would torment children and punish wrongdoers. Sometimes Krampus would even carry off a child that had been particularly wicked.
The trouble was that Krampus was more or less in a pact with the parents of the region that had used him as a means of controlling unruly children. Over the decades since their un-witting pact Krampus had grown in violence and deceit.
That is till the coming of St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas was able to confront the demon and was well on his way to dispatching the fiend (Santa was a bit more of a fighter in those days) when the issue of the pact was brought up.  The pact made with the demon was strong, and even though not one adult in area had made it an overt one, built up over the centuries with a little tale here, a story there, made it as strong as any pact sealed with a soul.  St. Nicholas then employed Krampus as a personal assistant, he could still torment bad children, but now under the eye of St. Nick himself.  Krampus also got more children as he traveled with St. Nick.  Since St. Nicholas was know as Sinterklass in some areas and Father Chritmas in  others, Krampus also received more names such as "Belsnickel" or even "Black Pete".
Sometimes it is even said that his travels with St. Nicholas has tempered his evil.  Or he is just bidding his time.

Krampus
Motivation: To punish wicked children
Creature Type: Demon
Life Points: 45
Drama Points: 1

Attributes
Str: 4
Dex: 3
Con: 4
Int: 3
Per: 3
Will: 5

Ability Scores
Muscle: 14 Combat: 15 Brains: 14
Qualities and Drawbacks: Acute Senses (taste, sight, smell), Adversary (St. Nicholas), Attractiveness -2, Cause Fear, Hard to Kill, Honorable (1), Innate Magic, Unique Kill


Manoeuvers
Name Score Damage Notes
Claw 15 8 tries to limit the damage he causes, dead things have no fear.
- Grab 13 - Krampus attempts to grab a child. Only a contested STR roll can let the child break free.
Deflect 17 - Magic defence action

Description
Krampus appears as a particularly nasty looking satyr or demon.  He is covered in fur, but is sometimes wearing a coat covered in soot.  He has one cloven hoof and one animal-like paw for feet.  His legs are like that of a goat and his upper body is human.  His hands are human, but end in terrible claws. His face is a twisted snarl of evil, with goat like eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth.  His long tongue lolls out of his mouth and constantly drips saliva.  Despite this he can still speak eloquently.  He uses his tongue to lick a person, typically their face, to know if they are naughty or nice.  His head supports to long curved horns.  He smells of burnt coal. He is sometimes seen carrying an old rusted chain. It is not clear if the chain is for himself or for the children he terrorizes. He also carries a satchlel of switches that he uses to beat children with.
His overall appearance is menacing and demonic. He cowers though from any stern word from St. Nicholas.
Krampus does have a weakness.  If given a piece of fruit, typically an apple or an orange, by a child, he will sit down to eat the gift, sharing it with whomever is there and engage is polite conversation.  Krampus will then leave the area, harming no one.
Krampus may be a demon, but he is fair and impartial. "Good" children have nothing to fear from him, "Bad" children are only punished in relationship to the severity of their "naughtiness".  Of course Krampus will attempt to use any trick he can to get someone onto his naughty list. For truly evil children he carries a sack to put them in. He will either drown them or take them off to Hell.
It is suspected though that he is fact feeds on the children's fear and the tales told by the parents.

Krampus is most often seen during the first two weeks of December.  All other times he is bound to his cave somewhere in the Alps.  There is no known way to dispatch of Krampus permanently.  Like many of the supernatural creatures associated with Christmas, as long as one child believes then he will return next year.

Edited to Add:

More Krampus at

• http://nevermetpress.com/merry-krampus-let-the-carnival-begin
• http://www.colinfbarnes.com/2011/my-fiction/a-christmas-krampus-conundrum
• http://www.stargazersworld.com/2011/12/19/krampusnacht/
• http://trollitc.com/2011/12/its-an-rpg-holiday-blog-carnival-with-special-guest-krampus-the-npc/
• Art above,  http://www.stevenaustinart.com/

Half a millon hits

Sometime, maybe about an hour ago I reached 500,000 page views.

Not too bad really.

Thanks everyone for the interest!

Zatannurday: RPG DC Heroes (Mayfair)

Given my love for Chill and DC, it should be no surprise then that I also liked the DC Heroes RPG from Mayfair.  I did, but it was never a "love" of mine.  It was a cool game, just not something I got to play a lot of.

DC Heroes used Mayfair's MEGS system, Mayfair's Exponential Gaming System who's DNA I can still see in Mutants and Masterminds.

Now I did love the Magic supplement that later came around and thought it was one of the better magic books for an RPG I had seen in a very long time.
I was flipping through them all recently and thought I'd post some stats for Zee for anyone still playing this game.

And given when this book came out let's use her costume from about that time.
These are not the same stats that appear in the books...mostly.

Zatanna (DC Heroes, 1st Edition, Boxed set)

DEX: 6	STR: 2	BODY: 5
INT: 7	WILL: 4	MIND: 5
INFL: 12	AURA: 14	SPIRIT: 14
Initiative: 19	Hero Points: 80

Powers:
Mystic Link: 
Air Control: 12, Earth Control: 12, Flame Control: 12, Flame Projection: 6, Fog: 12, Ice Control: 12, Lightning: 12, Plant Control: 12, Water Control: 12, Weather Control: 12

Limitations:
Power Limitation: All spells must be spoken backwards.


Skills: Artist (stage magic) 6, Gadgetry 4, Occultist 10, Scholar (Magic) 7


Connections:
Justice League, Supernatural, United Nations (high level)

Motivation: Responsibility of Power

Wealth: Affluent

Job: Stage Magician, Adventurer

Race: Human (Homo Magi)

Origin: Mystical Heritage (Major)

Alter Ego/Aliases: (none) Zatanna Zatara, The Witch

Base of Operations: Shadowcrest; San Francisco, CA


I think I should give Raven a try next.