Ryan Dancey, the spiritual father of the OGL and in many minds the guy who saved D&D is on ENWorld speaking his mind.
http://www.enworld.org/forum/columns/299860-4-hours-w-rsd-who-am-i-2.html
and some commentary here, http://trollsmyth.blogspot.com/2011/01/ryand-on-4e.html
Now Ryan is a very knowledgeable guy but he has been accused of Dooming and Glooming in the past (see here as one example). But he does make a very good point and one WotC needs to answer a bit better.
If I were a noob getting into D&D4, where should I start? The obvious answer is "the Red Box", but the trouble is the Red Box doesn't look anything like the rest of the line.
If I were not such a noob and want to get started with D&D4 then where do I start? Essentials? PHB?
These questions are trivial to me and really anyone that reads this blog, but they are not trivial to someone with 20 bucks to spend and wants to play D&D. They could buy any game, WotC needs to be clear (and clear to whom is also a good question) what someone needs to buy.
Now I *think* that what WotC wanted to have happen is have everyone go to Essentials. Which is fine and I can see that. Can everyone?
Here is a quasi-related question that I would like to hear some thoughts on.
If D&D were discontinued what effect would that have on the RPG landscape?
Conventional wisdom says that as D&D goes, so goes the industry. The same had been said of IBM too. But is that still true today?
ETA: A similar post by Jason Vey.
http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/01/d-demise-would-be-good-for-industry.html
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Little Witches, Part 2
My little witches are being discussed over at Get Geekt on how to paint minis.
http://getgeekt.blogspot.com/2011/01/miniature-mondays.html
It also reminded me that Alisha has her own blog here, http://alishaard.blogspot.com/, though her minis have not been posted there yet.
http://getgeekt.blogspot.com/2011/01/miniature-mondays.html
It also reminded me that Alisha has her own blog here, http://alishaard.blogspot.com/, though her minis have not been posted there yet.
More thoughts on the Witch
I was thinking about the witch class/archetype over this last weekend. In particular to D&D4 vs. Old School D&D.
One thing that D&D4 (and even Pathfinder) has is a simple basic magical attack for the witch/warlock. In D&D4 it is Eldritch Blast, Pathfinder has their hexes and since you can cast 0 level spells at-will there is a great one called Daze. Stun an opponent from far away so the fighter types can take care of them.
The one thing that magic using classes in old-school games lack is a basic magic attack. Something that is magic, does a little bit of damage and can be used repeatedly.
The Magic-User/Wizard has the infamous "Magic Missile" spell, but at one use per day it isn't the kind of thing I was thinking of. D&D4 splits MM into two basically two types, one that always hits and does a small amount of damage (like the older versions) and one that does more damage, but requires a to-hit roll.
In the Buffy RPG witches get a basic TK power, which can be used as a basic attack. In WitchCraft there is a skill called Magic Bolt that is basically a magical attack.
The issue I am having is that a basic attack like this is not very "witchy". Sure it features in a lot of modern supernatural books like The Dresden Files, but I have been wracking my brain all weekend to think of a time when say a witch from fairy tale or myth used one. Curses, hexes, evil eyes yes, some sort of blast? Not really. Harry is also a Wizard, not a witch, a difference that I have quite been able to tell in the books, but it has been mentioned. Compare that to Rachel Morgan of the Hollows Books. Rachel has a lot of magical fire power, but if she wants an "attack" spell she mixes up a potion and puts it into the balls of a paint ball gun.
I think if I wanted to add witches to any old-school game an attack spell would need to be of a non-active kind, like a curse, hex or even TK. Wizards would need something similar, but I think theirs would be more damage causing, sort of like an at-will magic missile.
I suppose this is one of the reason I do like newer games, it does give the lower level magic using types more to do. Sure the idea is that fighters are your low-level fire power and wizards are the high powered ones and that is great; from a group dynamic perspective. From an individual perspective it means a lot of time "doing nothing" (not really, but you know what I mean) during combats.
So thoughts everyone?
What do you think of an at-will style magical attack for magic-using types (not clerics though)? Something like a magic missile, but say does less damage, maybe only 1 pt per level?
Not very Old-School I know, but want to see what people think.
One thing that D&D4 (and even Pathfinder) has is a simple basic magical attack for the witch/warlock. In D&D4 it is Eldritch Blast, Pathfinder has their hexes and since you can cast 0 level spells at-will there is a great one called Daze. Stun an opponent from far away so the fighter types can take care of them.
The one thing that magic using classes in old-school games lack is a basic magic attack. Something that is magic, does a little bit of damage and can be used repeatedly.
The Magic-User/Wizard has the infamous "Magic Missile" spell, but at one use per day it isn't the kind of thing I was thinking of. D&D4 splits MM into two basically two types, one that always hits and does a small amount of damage (like the older versions) and one that does more damage, but requires a to-hit roll.
In the Buffy RPG witches get a basic TK power, which can be used as a basic attack. In WitchCraft there is a skill called Magic Bolt that is basically a magical attack.
The issue I am having is that a basic attack like this is not very "witchy". Sure it features in a lot of modern supernatural books like The Dresden Files, but I have been wracking my brain all weekend to think of a time when say a witch from fairy tale or myth used one. Curses, hexes, evil eyes yes, some sort of blast? Not really. Harry is also a Wizard, not a witch, a difference that I have quite been able to tell in the books, but it has been mentioned. Compare that to Rachel Morgan of the Hollows Books. Rachel has a lot of magical fire power, but if she wants an "attack" spell she mixes up a potion and puts it into the balls of a paint ball gun.
I think if I wanted to add witches to any old-school game an attack spell would need to be of a non-active kind, like a curse, hex or even TK. Wizards would need something similar, but I think theirs would be more damage causing, sort of like an at-will magic missile.
I suppose this is one of the reason I do like newer games, it does give the lower level magic using types more to do. Sure the idea is that fighters are your low-level fire power and wizards are the high powered ones and that is great; from a group dynamic perspective. From an individual perspective it means a lot of time "doing nothing" (not really, but you know what I mean) during combats.
So thoughts everyone?
What do you think of an at-will style magical attack for magic-using types (not clerics though)? Something like a magic missile, but say does less damage, maybe only 1 pt per level?
Not very Old-School I know, but want to see what people think.
Monday, January 17, 2011
State of the Hobby 2011
I wanted to share this link.
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/19151.html
According to ICv2 the hobby is on the rise. I have to say this does have some face validity to it. More people staying in and engaging in the relatively cheap hobby of rolling dice and talking in-character.
Hopefully their data is good.
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/19151.html
According to ICv2 the hobby is on the rise. I have to say this does have some face validity to it. More people staying in and engaging in the relatively cheap hobby of rolling dice and talking in-character.
Hopefully their data is good.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Season of the Witch: Episode 1
Episode 1: Semi-Charmed Life
Semi-Charmed Life
Summer 2004
Overview: Willow and Tara join forces with the Charmed Ones to stop D’hoffryn from becoming the new Source.
Synopsis: Willow and Tara are on vacation in San Francisco when they decide to stop in an auction house selling items from the Victorian Occult revival. While there they notice many demons and witches passing as normal humans. A book catches Tara’s eye and the director of the auction tells her she should buy it. The book is “The Journal of Tamara Swift”. The girls also notice another item up for a bid, a talisman believed to be owned by Madame Blavatsky, but Willow notices it as the Heart of Belial, a potent demonic artifact.
They bid on the items and win the Journal, but the Heart goes to a very attractive woman (who reminds them of Cordelia). The auction director tells the girls that the Heart has fallen into the hands of evil and they have to stop it. She says she could not do anything herself, but tells Willow and Tara that they need to find her sisters, The Charmed Ones. She tells them her name is Prue Halliwell.
At the same time at the Halliwell Manor Piper is frantic about trying to juggle new baby Chris and still dealing with P3 scheduling nightmares (she is trying to get Michelle Branch back), Phoebe is rushing off to work and Paige is reading the want ads. In the middle of all this chaos, Prue appears and tells them that the “Charmed Ones” (but not “you” or “my sisters”) are in danger. Everyone panics, and Leo says he wants to talk to the only other witch he knows that has come back from the dead.
Leo finds Willow and Tara and takes them to the Halliwell manor. Leo knew Tara when she was in Heaven and she asks him about Kara. Willow wants to know why she does not have a Whitelighter and Leo tells her it was because she was using magic for personal gain and on a tract towards evil.
Meantime the demon (Kira the Seer) who purchased the Heart of Belial shimmers into the underworld. Where she meets with D’Hoffryn. She give the Heart to him commenting that every demon from the source on down that has fought the Charmed Ones has gotten a bad case of being dead. D’hoffryn replies that is why he is not going to fight them, he has something more subtle in mind. Kira also lets him know that Willow and Tara are also in town. D’Hoffryn comments that this must mean that the Awakening is about to occur. He take the Heart and begins to chant his spell.
At the Halliwell Manor the five witches discuss what this all must mean. They look up the Heart in the both The Book of Shadows and in the Journal of Tamara Swift. They discover that it is the actual heart of the demon Belial and it had been in the possession of the former Protector of Albion, John Dee and assumed to be destroyed by later Protector Tamara Swift. The Heart allows it’s possessor to manipulate time. The Halliwells immediately trust Tara and Willow when they go to the Book of Shadows and can open it.
Suddenly Phoebe and Willow disappear and are replaced by Paradox Sisters. Everyone believes that everything is completely normal, including the fact that Paradox Phoebe and Paradox Willow do not have magic (and thus no Charmed Ones power of three or Willow and Tara’s combined Anamchara magic). Tara attempts to hold Willow’s hand and going in a kiss, which causes Willow to pull back in shock. Paradox Willow is straight. At the same time the Book of Shadows refuses to be around Phoebe. Leo orbs out to consult with the underworld (he still does not trust the other Elders). The witches have no time to figure out why though, they are attacked by the warlocks Hannah and Rex.
Taking advantage of Leo's absence the warlocks attack. As in Season 1 of Charmed they try to steal the Charmed Ones powers. The battle goes badly given the depowered nature of the cast and it looks like they are about to gain their quarry, Wyatt’s vast untapped power, when Hannah is hit by an arc of Elder lighting. Thinking is it Leo the Cast is surprised (as are the Players) when it is revealed to be Prue. A wounded Hannah and Rex shimmer out.
In the Underworld Leo find real Willow and real Phoebe, but they are in a temporal bubble and their powers are being drained. Once he sees them Leo remembers who they are. He attacks D’Hoffryn who tosses him around like a rag doll. He hits him with lighting of his own and he disappears. D’Hoffryn tells Phoebe that he was removed from all time. Rex and Hannah shimmer in and D’Hoffryn kills them by tossing them across the room. Willow and Phoebe tell D’Hoffryn it is only a matter of time before they are found by their loved ones. D’Hoffryn tells them that they are not even looking.
At the manor everyone knows there something wrong. Tara feels a loss she can’t explain and is getting very concerned and Paradox Willow is depressed. Paradox Phoebe is angry because she is only here because her flight back to New York was delayed and she hates being involve in all this “magic stuff”. But everyone is more concerned with Prue returning. Thinking that the Heart of Belial must be at the root of this, the witches try to scry for it, but no success.
Phoebe, an empath, combines her magic with Willow to try to get a message out. Phoebe tries to get it Piper, but Willow’s thoughts are too strong on Tara. Tara, also an empath, gets the message.
The three witches and the paradox sisters are orbed to the underworld by Prue. D’Hoffryn is in the middle of some spells surrounded by demons in robes. Everyone sees real Phoebe and real Willow in the bubble, but can’t reach them. The Charmed Ones and Prue attack the demons, Tara tries to get to Willow and Phoebe. Paradox Willow and Paradox Phoebe remain in the background, mostly forgotten.
The Demons are fought and killed and Tara and Phoebe figure out a way to break the time bubble. Once that is done the Charmed Ones power back up, as do Willow and Tara. The remaining priest demons are then easily vanquished. Paige hurls a vanquishing potion at D’Hoffryn but it has no effect. He has become the new Source of All Evil. He throws a fireball at Prue but Paradox Phoebe pushes her out of the way and takes the full blast, exploding into ashes. Prue attacks D’Hoffryn with her lighting. This leaves the cast (and the players) to figure out what to do next. They decide to try a modified version of the Power of Three spell, only this one is a Power of Five. All five witches link hands, even Paradox Willow puts her hands on top of Tara’s and Willow’s linked hands, and they summon the power of the witches in their family line. The spell takes hold and strikes down D’Hoffryn, destroying him and the Heart of Belial. Leo reappears, but Paradox Willow remains.
At the end of the episode the cast, with Prue and Paradox Willow, are at P3. Michelle Branch is back.
The women toast to their new friends and family and promise to always help each other in the future. Paradox Willow wonders why she is still here and all they can think of is there must be some magic left over from the Heart. Willow discovers that Paradox Phoebe has an apartment still in New York so Paradox Willows figure she will go there since she has always wanted to sing on stage. They raise a toast to their “lost sister” Phoebe Bennet and Prue gets ready to leave. Prue does tell Willow that her case was “reviewed” again by the other Elders and they have decided to give her and Tara a Whitelighter on a “probationary” basis. Prue orbs out and Cordelia Chase orbs in with a “You have got to be kidding me!”
Tara, laughing, opens up the Journal of Tamara Swift and a letter falls out. It is address to “Misses Tara Maclay and Willow Rosenberg”. It was written by Tamara in 1889.
Epiloge
Kira is on her knees picking through the dust that was D’Hoffryn till she finds a small rock. Saying “that will do” she holds it and concentrates. Cole half shimmers in. She hands him the rock, all that is left of the Heart of Belial, and tells him she kept up her side of the deal now he was going to tell her how she can come back from the wasteland after Zankou kills her in a few months.
Notes and Comments
Well as the first official episode I had a lot of setup I wanted to do here, but not beat people over the head with it. I mention the Awakening only once and we learn that Tara’s mother was named Megan and her Grandmother Deidre.
I wanted a “witchier” feel to this season than Buffy, so there are lots of elements from various witch shows to guide the players in; Buffy, Charmed, Hex, Ghosts of Albion even little bits of Practical Magic. Then there is the letter to the girls from Tamara, big stuff is in store. Plus I also touch on the theme of nothing is more important than the people you love.
In many ways Charmed is seen as the antithesis of Buffy. So what better way to seperate "Willow & Tara the Series" from Buffy than to have a Charmed crossover. And not just a crossover, but show Buffy characters aspiring to becoming more Charmed-like. D'Hoffryn becoming The Source, Willow wanting a Whitelighter, Cordy becoming a Whitelighter.
I used Andrew Pergine’s Charmed netbook for the Girls stats, even if I am not 100% sold on his point breakdowns for Whitelighters.
I brought in some Charmed bad guys, Rex and Hannah, and Buffy bad guy D’Hoffryn making a claim to Source. In truth D’Hoffryn would make a bad ass Source, too bad he did the one thing you should never, ever do in my games; piss of a witch. Here is D'Hoffryn's entry in the Halliwell Book of Shadows. It mentions that there is no known vanquishing potion for him (Willow would have been able to figure one out back in the old series) but that does not stop the cast from trying one.
Charisma Carpenter gets double duty here both as Cordy the new Whitelighter and as Kira the Seer. I wanted to bring back Cordy because I felt her character got shafted in the show. Not as bad as Tara, but still. Plus she also makes a good foil for Willow, I bring in Tara’s foil later. And let’s be totally honest here, Charima Carpenter is hot.
Of course Paradox Phoebe and Paradox Willow are from my Sisters of Paradox post. They were developed for this adventure. http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2009/11/sisters-of-paradox.html
Paradox Willow living at the end was homage by us to our friend and fellow Kitten Bob Black who came up with the idea originally and he had Paradox Willow live. Paradox Phoebe dies to save Prue which I felt was good because it should that even though that Paradox Phoebe hated Prue they were still sisters and you do anything to help a family member or loved one.
Plus it also became something of an in-joke in my group. If you are playing the Buffy RPG and your Willow is straight then it obviously means you are using the "Riff Reagan" version.
The playable characters were Phoebe (and Paradox Phobe, same player), Piper, Paige, Willow (and Paradox Willow, same player) and Tara. Originally Prue was also going to be a playable character, but it never really worked out. I also had a sub-plot with Andy returning, but it was too much.
This was also the only episode where I made a "cover" image. You will note that the "Buffy RPG" logo is dropped and a "Willow & Tara RPG" logo is in it's place. I figure that if you run a modern supernatural game using Ghosts of Albion as the source and the Buffy books as the splats, then what you have is the "Willow & Tara Roleplaying Game". Made sense to me.
Here is the back cover:
Kara was of course Tara's "Sister" from the Dragon and the Phoenix, Megan was her mother and Deidre her Grandmother. Originally it was the other way around, but Lisa had Megan as Tara's mother in all her work, so I switched them. Pru was not a Player-Character at the time, so I felt it was not right to have her there to defeat the bad guy.
The rest of this season was not as finished as "The Dragon and the Phoenix", often times all I had were some rough notes. Plus my regular group of players was getting less regular. I was also moving to a new group and running more Ghosts of Albion. Some of these adventures then had their origin as something that could be run under Buffy or Ghosts.
Originally these were to follow right after "Dragon" but there was a lot of time inbetween, so there is a break of one year game time between the last episode of Dragon ("No Other Troy") and "Semi-Charmed Life".
Next up the girls go to London to confront their past and future. Plus one more guest star makes a surprising appearance.
Semi-Charmed Life
Summer 2004
Overview: Willow and Tara join forces with the Charmed Ones to stop D’hoffryn from becoming the new Source.
Synopsis: Willow and Tara are on vacation in San Francisco when they decide to stop in an auction house selling items from the Victorian Occult revival. While there they notice many demons and witches passing as normal humans. A book catches Tara’s eye and the director of the auction tells her she should buy it. The book is “The Journal of Tamara Swift”. The girls also notice another item up for a bid, a talisman believed to be owned by Madame Blavatsky, but Willow notices it as the Heart of Belial, a potent demonic artifact.
They bid on the items and win the Journal, but the Heart goes to a very attractive woman (who reminds them of Cordelia). The auction director tells the girls that the Heart has fallen into the hands of evil and they have to stop it. She says she could not do anything herself, but tells Willow and Tara that they need to find her sisters, The Charmed Ones. She tells them her name is Prue Halliwell.
At the same time at the Halliwell Manor Piper is frantic about trying to juggle new baby Chris and still dealing with P3 scheduling nightmares (she is trying to get Michelle Branch back), Phoebe is rushing off to work and Paige is reading the want ads. In the middle of all this chaos, Prue appears and tells them that the “Charmed Ones” (but not “you” or “my sisters”) are in danger. Everyone panics, and Leo says he wants to talk to the only other witch he knows that has come back from the dead.
Leo finds Willow and Tara and takes them to the Halliwell manor. Leo knew Tara when she was in Heaven and she asks him about Kara. Willow wants to know why she does not have a Whitelighter and Leo tells her it was because she was using magic for personal gain and on a tract towards evil.
Meantime the demon (Kira the Seer) who purchased the Heart of Belial shimmers into the underworld. Where she meets with D’Hoffryn. She give the Heart to him commenting that every demon from the source on down that has fought the Charmed Ones has gotten a bad case of being dead. D’hoffryn replies that is why he is not going to fight them, he has something more subtle in mind. Kira also lets him know that Willow and Tara are also in town. D’Hoffryn comments that this must mean that the Awakening is about to occur. He take the Heart and begins to chant his spell.
At the Halliwell Manor the five witches discuss what this all must mean. They look up the Heart in the both The Book of Shadows and in the Journal of Tamara Swift. They discover that it is the actual heart of the demon Belial and it had been in the possession of the former Protector of Albion, John Dee and assumed to be destroyed by later Protector Tamara Swift. The Heart allows it’s possessor to manipulate time. The Halliwells immediately trust Tara and Willow when they go to the Book of Shadows and can open it.
Suddenly Phoebe and Willow disappear and are replaced by Paradox Sisters. Everyone believes that everything is completely normal, including the fact that Paradox Phoebe and Paradox Willow do not have magic (and thus no Charmed Ones power of three or Willow and Tara’s combined Anamchara magic). Tara attempts to hold Willow’s hand and going in a kiss, which causes Willow to pull back in shock. Paradox Willow is straight. At the same time the Book of Shadows refuses to be around Phoebe. Leo orbs out to consult with the underworld (he still does not trust the other Elders). The witches have no time to figure out why though, they are attacked by the warlocks Hannah and Rex.
Taking advantage of Leo's absence the warlocks attack. As in Season 1 of Charmed they try to steal the Charmed Ones powers. The battle goes badly given the depowered nature of the cast and it looks like they are about to gain their quarry, Wyatt’s vast untapped power, when Hannah is hit by an arc of Elder lighting. Thinking is it Leo the Cast is surprised (as are the Players) when it is revealed to be Prue. A wounded Hannah and Rex shimmer out.
In the Underworld Leo find real Willow and real Phoebe, but they are in a temporal bubble and their powers are being drained. Once he sees them Leo remembers who they are. He attacks D’Hoffryn who tosses him around like a rag doll. He hits him with lighting of his own and he disappears. D’Hoffryn tells Phoebe that he was removed from all time. Rex and Hannah shimmer in and D’Hoffryn kills them by tossing them across the room. Willow and Phoebe tell D’Hoffryn it is only a matter of time before they are found by their loved ones. D’Hoffryn tells them that they are not even looking.
At the manor everyone knows there something wrong. Tara feels a loss she can’t explain and is getting very concerned and Paradox Willow is depressed. Paradox Phoebe is angry because she is only here because her flight back to New York was delayed and she hates being involve in all this “magic stuff”. But everyone is more concerned with Prue returning. Thinking that the Heart of Belial must be at the root of this, the witches try to scry for it, but no success.
Phoebe, an empath, combines her magic with Willow to try to get a message out. Phoebe tries to get it Piper, but Willow’s thoughts are too strong on Tara. Tara, also an empath, gets the message.
The three witches and the paradox sisters are orbed to the underworld by Prue. D’Hoffryn is in the middle of some spells surrounded by demons in robes. Everyone sees real Phoebe and real Willow in the bubble, but can’t reach them. The Charmed Ones and Prue attack the demons, Tara tries to get to Willow and Phoebe. Paradox Willow and Paradox Phoebe remain in the background, mostly forgotten.
The Demons are fought and killed and Tara and Phoebe figure out a way to break the time bubble. Once that is done the Charmed Ones power back up, as do Willow and Tara. The remaining priest demons are then easily vanquished. Paige hurls a vanquishing potion at D’Hoffryn but it has no effect. He has become the new Source of All Evil. He throws a fireball at Prue but Paradox Phoebe pushes her out of the way and takes the full blast, exploding into ashes. Prue attacks D’Hoffryn with her lighting. This leaves the cast (and the players) to figure out what to do next. They decide to try a modified version of the Power of Three spell, only this one is a Power of Five. All five witches link hands, even Paradox Willow puts her hands on top of Tara’s and Willow’s linked hands, and they summon the power of the witches in their family line. The spell takes hold and strikes down D’Hoffryn, destroying him and the Heart of Belial. Leo reappears, but Paradox Willow remains.
At the end of the episode the cast, with Prue and Paradox Willow, are at P3. Michelle Branch is back.
The women toast to their new friends and family and promise to always help each other in the future. Paradox Willow wonders why she is still here and all they can think of is there must be some magic left over from the Heart. Willow discovers that Paradox Phoebe has an apartment still in New York so Paradox Willows figure she will go there since she has always wanted to sing on stage. They raise a toast to their “lost sister” Phoebe Bennet and Prue gets ready to leave. Prue does tell Willow that her case was “reviewed” again by the other Elders and they have decided to give her and Tara a Whitelighter on a “probationary” basis. Prue orbs out and Cordelia Chase orbs in with a “You have got to be kidding me!”
Tara, laughing, opens up the Journal of Tamara Swift and a letter falls out. It is address to “Misses Tara Maclay and Willow Rosenberg”. It was written by Tamara in 1889.
Epiloge
Kira is on her knees picking through the dust that was D’Hoffryn till she finds a small rock. Saying “that will do” she holds it and concentrates. Cole half shimmers in. She hands him the rock, all that is left of the Heart of Belial, and tells him she kept up her side of the deal now he was going to tell her how she can come back from the wasteland after Zankou kills her in a few months.
Notes and Comments
Well as the first official episode I had a lot of setup I wanted to do here, but not beat people over the head with it. I mention the Awakening only once and we learn that Tara’s mother was named Megan and her Grandmother Deidre.
I wanted a “witchier” feel to this season than Buffy, so there are lots of elements from various witch shows to guide the players in; Buffy, Charmed, Hex, Ghosts of Albion even little bits of Practical Magic. Then there is the letter to the girls from Tamara, big stuff is in store. Plus I also touch on the theme of nothing is more important than the people you love.
In many ways Charmed is seen as the antithesis of Buffy. So what better way to seperate "Willow & Tara the Series" from Buffy than to have a Charmed crossover. And not just a crossover, but show Buffy characters aspiring to becoming more Charmed-like. D'Hoffryn becoming The Source, Willow wanting a Whitelighter, Cordy becoming a Whitelighter.
I used Andrew Pergine’s Charmed netbook for the Girls stats, even if I am not 100% sold on his point breakdowns for Whitelighters.
I brought in some Charmed bad guys, Rex and Hannah, and Buffy bad guy D’Hoffryn making a claim to Source. In truth D’Hoffryn would make a bad ass Source, too bad he did the one thing you should never, ever do in my games; piss of a witch. Here is D'Hoffryn's entry in the Halliwell Book of Shadows. It mentions that there is no known vanquishing potion for him (Willow would have been able to figure one out back in the old series) but that does not stop the cast from trying one.
Charisma Carpenter gets double duty here both as Cordy the new Whitelighter and as Kira the Seer. I wanted to bring back Cordy because I felt her character got shafted in the show. Not as bad as Tara, but still. Plus she also makes a good foil for Willow, I bring in Tara’s foil later. And let’s be totally honest here, Charima Carpenter is hot.
Of course Paradox Phoebe and Paradox Willow are from my Sisters of Paradox post. They were developed for this adventure. http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2009/11/sisters-of-paradox.html
Paradox Willow living at the end was homage by us to our friend and fellow Kitten Bob Black who came up with the idea originally and he had Paradox Willow live. Paradox Phoebe dies to save Prue which I felt was good because it should that even though that Paradox Phoebe hated Prue they were still sisters and you do anything to help a family member or loved one.
Plus it also became something of an in-joke in my group. If you are playing the Buffy RPG and your Willow is straight then it obviously means you are using the "Riff Reagan" version.
The playable characters were Phoebe (and Paradox Phobe, same player), Piper, Paige, Willow (and Paradox Willow, same player) and Tara. Originally Prue was also going to be a playable character, but it never really worked out. I also had a sub-plot with Andy returning, but it was too much.
This was also the only episode where I made a "cover" image. You will note that the "Buffy RPG" logo is dropped and a "Willow & Tara RPG" logo is in it's place. I figure that if you run a modern supernatural game using Ghosts of Albion as the source and the Buffy books as the splats, then what you have is the "Willow & Tara Roleplaying Game". Made sense to me.
Here is the back cover:
Kara was of course Tara's "Sister" from the Dragon and the Phoenix, Megan was her mother and Deidre her Grandmother. Originally it was the other way around, but Lisa had Megan as Tara's mother in all her work, so I switched them. Pru was not a Player-Character at the time, so I felt it was not right to have her there to defeat the bad guy.
The rest of this season was not as finished as "The Dragon and the Phoenix", often times all I had were some rough notes. Plus my regular group of players was getting less regular. I was also moving to a new group and running more Ghosts of Albion. Some of these adventures then had their origin as something that could be run under Buffy or Ghosts.
Originally these were to follow right after "Dragon" but there was a lot of time inbetween, so there is a break of one year game time between the last episode of Dragon ("No Other Troy") and "Semi-Charmed Life".
Next up the girls go to London to confront their past and future. Plus one more guest star makes a surprising appearance.
Reviews at DriveThru
One thing I want to do this year is post more of my reviews. So here is a first batch. Hope you enjoy.
Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space
FANTASTIC!
A great and worthy game to bear the name of the highly acclaimed "restart" of the Doctor Who series. While the focus of the game is on the 10th Doctor (David Tennet) years, the game is great for all time periods and Doctors.
Using a simple 2d6 + stat, roll over target number system, DW:AiTaS though goes beyond what is typically since in RPGs. Talking and Running are preferable to fighting, just like in the show and there many ways to measure success.
The system is similar to Unisystem and even GURPs, but not as "crunchy". This is a game of normal humans and the occasional alien battling foes that out match them, out gun them and out "tech" them. You are going to need to be very clever or lucky (or both!). While this could have fell into the Call of Cthulhu end of the spectrum on hero survival, heroes are expected to survive and even win.
This is one of the best games to come out in the last couple years and one of C7's best.
5 stars
Zelart 035
Yawning or screaming succubus. You can see the preview. The art is good, and if you have a project using succubi then it is a good buy. Not very useful for player-character art though.
4 stars
Gaslight Calender Pack
Very useful resource for Gaslight or any other Victorian era game. Important dates and moon phases. Wish it had some more detail, not looking for a full almanac here, but just a touch more.
4 stars
Gaslight OGL Character Sheet
Quick and easy OGL sheet for Gaslight. Nothing fancy but gets the job done well.
4 stars
Gaslight Savage Worlds Character Sheet
Savage Worlds sheet for Gaslight. Very functional, and despite it's plainness I like it better than the Rippers sheet.
4 stars
The Traveller Book
This was my first ever sci-fi RPG. I bought the book years ago and now I am very pleased to have the PDF. Everything is here to play what is many consider to be the best sci-fi RPG around. Some of the "tech" seems outdated to our newer eyes of course (computers that weigh tons and only run 6 or so programs) and you can still die in character creation. But this is the "Red Box" of Traveller and it is still great fun. A great game of our Futures Past.
5 stars
There will be more in the future and I am thinking about a regularly scheduled posting of reviews. Just thinking about when is a good time and how many per post.
Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space
FANTASTIC!
A great and worthy game to bear the name of the highly acclaimed "restart" of the Doctor Who series. While the focus of the game is on the 10th Doctor (David Tennet) years, the game is great for all time periods and Doctors.
Using a simple 2d6 + stat, roll over target number system, DW:AiTaS though goes beyond what is typically since in RPGs. Talking and Running are preferable to fighting, just like in the show and there many ways to measure success.
The system is similar to Unisystem and even GURPs, but not as "crunchy". This is a game of normal humans and the occasional alien battling foes that out match them, out gun them and out "tech" them. You are going to need to be very clever or lucky (or both!). While this could have fell into the Call of Cthulhu end of the spectrum on hero survival, heroes are expected to survive and even win.
This is one of the best games to come out in the last couple years and one of C7's best.
5 stars
Zelart 035
Yawning or screaming succubus. You can see the preview. The art is good, and if you have a project using succubi then it is a good buy. Not very useful for player-character art though.
4 stars
Gaslight Calender Pack
Very useful resource for Gaslight or any other Victorian era game. Important dates and moon phases. Wish it had some more detail, not looking for a full almanac here, but just a touch more.
4 stars
Gaslight OGL Character Sheet
Quick and easy OGL sheet for Gaslight. Nothing fancy but gets the job done well.
4 stars
Gaslight Savage Worlds Character Sheet
Savage Worlds sheet for Gaslight. Very functional, and despite it's plainness I like it better than the Rippers sheet.
4 stars
The Traveller Book
This was my first ever sci-fi RPG. I bought the book years ago and now I am very pleased to have the PDF. Everything is here to play what is many consider to be the best sci-fi RPG around. Some of the "tech" seems outdated to our newer eyes of course (computers that weigh tons and only run 6 or so programs) and you can still die in character creation. But this is the "Red Box" of Traveller and it is still great fun. A great game of our Futures Past.
5 stars
There will be more in the future and I am thinking about a regularly scheduled posting of reviews. Just thinking about when is a good time and how many per post.
Little Witches
So a while back I mentioned I needed some minis painted.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/11/need-some-minis-painted.html
Alisha Ard emailed me some pics of her work and I took her up on her offer, and I am so glad I did. Here are the witches she painted for me.
First up the Dark Sword Halloween 2009 Witch. This is my newest Hexblade character.
For the 3.x game I am in with my boys this witch is mother of the one above, I have a few different versions of her since she is also my play-test character for any new magic rules I am working on.
The Laurana Sorceres mini from Reaper,
I think she did a fantastic job on these! The detail is amazing. If you look at the Laurana one above you can see her spellbook in her bag and see pages. The reflected glow of my hexblade's magical sword is just too cool.
Here are all three together on my game table.
Even though done by two different painters, I am pleased with how well they look together. You can't see it here, but there is a streak of grey in the hair of the last mini. I guess I have them in Maiden, Mother and Crone alignment here.
I want to thank Alisha Ard for painting these. They look so awesome that I can't wait to play some this weekend.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/11/need-some-minis-painted.html
Alisha Ard emailed me some pics of her work and I took her up on her offer, and I am so glad I did. Here are the witches she painted for me.
First up the Dark Sword Halloween 2009 Witch. This is my newest Hexblade character.
For the 3.x game I am in with my boys this witch is mother of the one above, I have a few different versions of her since she is also my play-test character for any new magic rules I am working on.
The Laurana Sorceres mini from Reaper,
and my personal favorite, the Larry Elmore Early Snow from Dark Sword,
I think she did a fantastic job on these! The detail is amazing. If you look at the Laurana one above you can see her spellbook in her bag and see pages. The reflected glow of my hexblade's magical sword is just too cool.
Here are all three together on my game table.
And here are three of the same character (plus my older Elmore Dark Sword mini).
Even though done by two different painters, I am pleased with how well they look together. You can't see it here, but there is a streak of grey in the hair of the last mini. I guess I have them in Maiden, Mother and Crone alignment here.
I want to thank Alisha Ard for painting these. They look so awesome that I can't wait to play some this weekend.
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