Long Weekend

Just getting off of a long holiday weekend.  Lots of blog posts to read, picked up some games too.

More soon.

Zatannurday: Russel Platt

I have recently discovered the art of Russel Platt.
Here is his rendition of the Other Side's favorite Sorceress Supreme, Zatanna.

And one not safe for work, http://rplatt.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=144#/d14qp56
This one is a bit too busty for my tastes, but I love the facial expressions on this first one.

Happy Birthday Christopher Lee

Happy 89th Birthday to Christopher Lee.

I hope I am half as awesome as you are when I am 89.

You can leave your hat on: Magic Hats in FRPGs

“We’re up to our pointy little hats in demonic problems here.” 

- Piper Halliwell, Charmed: A Knight to Remember

Few things stir up the image of a witch or wizard more than the conical hat.  Even some of the earliest art for the D&D game shows wizards and witches in the classical pointy hat.  The trouble is that for an item so tied to a magic using class, there is nearly nothing in any of the books about a magical hat.  Heck even the D&D cartoon had a magic hat.

Well let's change that.

Magical Hats come in a variety of sizes and colors, but all share some commonalities. First the hat needs to be conical.  The cone is symbolic of raising one's consciousness higher and wizards have discovered that other shaped hats do not hold the enchantments as well.  (Modern wizards though have discovered that the Top Hat works very well, this may have something to do with the popular impression of magicians and top hats).
Magical hats do have two basic varieties. A "wizard's hat" is a simple cone with no brim.  A "witch's hat" is also a cone, but has a wider brim.  There is a 50% chance of either and they are other-wise identical.  Wizards though tend to prefer their namesake hat and witches opt for the one most associated with them.
These hats provide no extra protection to the head, unless charmed to do so, and weigh less than 1 lbs.



Magical Hat (Holding)
This hat appears as a crumpled old wizards or witches hat.  The inside though is an extra-dimensional space similar to that of a Bag of Holding.  The user may store up to 10 lbs of mundane (non-magical) material inside.  Regardless of the contents, the hat will only weigh 10-12 ozs.  Typical uses are a place to store spell components and other minor items. The witch cannot pull the hat down over her head to protect it since the entire item must be enclosed.   Any animal placed in the hat will suffocate within 5 mins much as a bag of holding.  Magical Hats react the same to portable holes as do bags of holding.
This hat, despite it's name, can be used by any class.

Magical Hat (Holding, Greater)
This hat appears as anyother Magical Hat and represents 15% of their number.  This hat can hold 25 lbs of materials as well as magical ones.

Hat of Focus
This hat aids the wizard or witch when they are performing spell research, learning new spells or otherwise engaged in any work requiring their focus.
This hat when worn will treat the wearer as if they had an Intelligence* score as one greater than they currently have. This does not change the number of spells they can learn or memorize based on their ability scores, but it does aid them with learning or creating the new spell.

*This can be substituted for Wisdom or Charisma as needed.
d20: This hat will add to the appropriate Concentration, Knowledge (arcana) or Spellcraft roll.

Hat of Focus, Spellslinger
This hat is similar to the Hat of Focus save that it adds +1 or +5% (where appropriate) to any one spellcasting roll.  So this hat could add +1 per die in a Fireball's damage or -1 in a Saving Throw, but not both.

Hat of Focus, Dunce
This cursed hat looks exactly like the Hat of Focus and any detect magic will reveal that it is in fact a Hat of Focus.  This hat though has the opposite effect and lowers the appropriate spellcasting ability score by 3 points.

Hat of the Archmage
This artifact is quite rare and very powerfull.  Created by an ancient archmage that used to joke that he always had another idea under his hat, the hat allows the wizard (and only a wizard) to store a number of extra spells.  It is rumored that this hat can hold 100 levels of spells that can be cast when the hat is opened and the proper spell is commanded to come out.  The wizard can then cast spells into the hat to be used at a later time.
Another, similar item, is known as the Hat of the Queen of Witches and is only usable by a witch.

OGL Section
Section 15
"Magical Hats" Copyright 2011, Timothy S. Branann

Test Review

Pale Demon by Kim Harrison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Rachel is finally getting smarter, too bad so are her enemies.

Great road-trip style story and the ending is not what I had expected at all. I was just about ready to give up on the Hollows and now I can't wait for the next book.



View all my reviews

RPG Blog Alliance

So I am a joiner.

I joined the new RPG Blog Alliance.


In addition to the RSS aggregator there is a forum and a wiki.
Looking forward to seeing more on this site.

Post 666

I have reached a momentous milestone here at the Other Side.  This is my 666th post.  I feel compelled (by the Power of Satan!) to post about something devilish.

I have talked about Hell before and some of it's inhabitants and some potential inhabitants.  If I follow this logic then devils would be the ultimate foe for the elves.  Not that I don't mind this idea at all. But I think I might focus it a bit more.   Combine the story of Dante's Inferno, Milton's Paradise Lost and Lolth's shunning/betrayal and I can paint a pretty detailed idea of what Hell is in my world.

Hell is the ultimate prison for the fallen.  Gods, Angels and other powers are cast out and into hell.

Let's start with a couple of Goddess that give me some problems.

Tiamat is a Goddess and Queen of all evil dragons.  She has always been listed as having a domain on the first level of Hell.  I have never really liked that to be honest.  Tiamat is in Babylonian myth primal Chaos.  If anything she should be in the Abyss.  Using the new 4e cosmology that would place her in the Elemental Chaos, which is really the perfect place for her.  In Dragonlance her home was always called "the Abyss".  In my games I always called her realm Tehom, which means Abyss in Hebrew and is associated with the mythical Tiamat.  So she really has no place in Hell.  Who should replace her?

Lolth on the other hand is better fit.  Her story is more in line with the casting out of the Angels into Hell.  Though I am not sure I want her in Hell proper, maybe more of the Ante-chamber to Hell, near the Underdark. This would be similar to the first level of Hell that Dante claimed the Pagans went too.  So I am trading a giant dragon for a giant spider.   For a bit of tongue in cheek continuity I would make Tiamat and Lolth allies.  They have different goals and motivations, but I see them as felling they have a common history so if it benefits them to share an alliance, then they would. Lolth's realm is still called the Demonweb and she still has a number of demons in her employ.

Devils in my Game
Demons are easy.  They are evil, chaotic outsiders bent on destruction of everything.  Devils are much more complicated.  I say in my game Devils are only Fallen Angels.  That means there are a finite number of them and once they are gone, that is it.  There are a lot of creatures that are called devils, but most of them are demons pressed into service.  Since they have been forced into service by the Devils they have changed, they can evolve into greater forms.  Pit Fiends are those fiends that have reason up in ranks.  The True Devils still look down on them.

Since I started this post, Dreams of the Lich House posted a bit about using Satan/The Tempter in your games.  It is a good read.  It also ties in nicely with the Milton/Dante-ish cosmology I want to use for Hell.  I would keep the 9 layers.  The top most being the "Ante-Chamber of Hell" and the rest each ruled by an Arch Duke.  Also each Arch Duke is responsible for one of the Seven Deadly sins.

Layer	Name	Arch-Duke	Deadly Sin
1	Avernus	none	na
2	Dis	Dispater	Envy
3	Minauros	Mammon	Greed
4	Phlegethos	Belial	Sloth
5	Stygia	Geryon	Wrath
6	Malbolge	Glayssa	Lust
7	Maladomini	Baalzebul/Beelzebub	Gluttony
8	Cania	Mephistopheles	Pride
9	Nessus	Asmodeus	*

Glayssa was given Lust, Asmodeus' old sin since he is now in charge.  His though is the sin of betrayal.
In the 4e cosmology Asmodeus was the angel guarding the prison that Tharizdun was held in.  Tharizdûn corrupted him and Asmodues and his angels all fell.  I have decided that Tharizdun is still chained, but the greatest deceit is that he is not where all the gods think he is.  He is in fact buried deep in Hell where Asmodeus taps his power. This is how he has been elevated to near Godhood.  Of course this might be Tharizdun plan to to trap Asmodeus in his thrall even more.

Chances are good that the Dragonslayers will run into the cult of Tharizdun sometime soon.  I just need something to do with them.

I am not planning on the Dragonslayers going to Hell anytime soon, so this all might be for nothing.