Witches and Protectors: John Dee

I am always very proud of the books I work on.  Whether it is a small amount or an entire book each one is pretty special to me.

So it is a rare treat when I can do something that covers multiple books.  It is even rarer when it happens to be these two books.

Ghosts of Albion		The Witch

I was going down my list of potential witches and I realized that one of the names stood out.  John Dee.

John Dee was a real person in Elizabethan times.

He is sort of what I had in mind when I created the Aquarian Tradition.
He also was the Protector of Albion.  That's not just me making that one up, that was part of the early conversations I had with Christopher Golden and Amber Benson about former Protectors.

I will keep his "known" background the same. His Occult background was that he was a witch/Protector that used the power of the stars, planets and other heavenly bodies to fight the enemies of Albion for his Queen.  He worked with Occult Poet William Shakespeare to protect Albion from evil witches, demonic forces and vile necromancers.  He guided Queen Elizabeth during her long and successful rule.
Most of the magical protections around Albion are a result of Dee's magic.

John Dee
20th Level Witch Aquarian Tradition
From  The Witch

Strength: 9
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 17
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 16

Saves
Death Ray or Poison: 5
Magic Wands: 6
Paralysis: 5
Dragon Breath: 8
Rods, Staffs and Spells: 7

To Hit AC 0: 14

Hit Points: 42
Alignment: Lawful
AC: 8 (talisman of protection)

Occult Powers
Familiar: Angelic Spirit
7th level:  Astromancy
13th level:  Moon Blessing
19th level: Planetary Blessing

Spells 
Cantrips: Alarm Ward, Animate Tool, Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound, Object Reading, Warm
First: Comprehend Languages, Everlasting Candle, Fey Sight, Light, Magic Circle Against Evil, Consecration Ritual (Ritual)
Second: Augury, Detect Thoughts, Guard Watch, Mind Obscure, Rite of Remote Seeing, Calling the Quarters (Ritual)
Third: Astral Sense,  Dispel Magic, Scry, Spirit of Albion (Avalon), Imbue Witch Ball (Ritual)
Fourth: Analyze Magic, Divine Power, Ethereal Projection, Remove Curse, Drawing Down the Moon (Ritual)
Fifth: Calm Weather, Dream, Greater Command, Seeming
Sixth: Anchoring Rite, Greater Scry, True Seeing, Legend Lore (Ritual)
Seventh:  Ball of Sunshine, Greater Arcane Eye, Binding Ritual (Ritual)
Eighth: Astral Projection, Discern Location, Mystic Barrier

John Dee
Protector of Albion
Very Experienced Master
From Ghosts of Albion

Life Points
Drama Points 10

Attributes
Strength 2
Dexterity 2
Constitution 3
Intelligence 6
Perception 5
Willpower 5

Qualities
Charisma
Contacts (Royal Family, Government) 4
Contacts (Supernatural) 5
Hard to Kill 2
Fast Reaction Time
Magic 10  (Protector of Albion)
Magical Family
Nerves of Steel
Occult Library (Amazing)
Resources 8
Situational Awareness
Supernatural Senses (the Sight)
Status 5

Drawbacks
Adversaries (Lots) 7
Honorable (Minimal)
Love, Romantic (Tragic) (Two wives)
Obligation (Albion, Important)
Obligation (Queen Elizabeth, Important)
Rivals 2

Useful Information
Initiative +2
Actions 1/2
Observation 1d10 + 12
Lesser Sensing +21
Fear +12

Skills
Armed Mayhem 2
Art 4
Athletics 2
Crime 1
Drive / Ride 1
Engineering 3
Fisticuffs 2
Influence 8
Knowledge 7 (Science, Mathematics, Astronomy)
Languages 7 (English, Italian, Latin, Greek, Egyptian, French, Enochian)
Marksmanship 2
Notice 6
Occultism 9
Physician 2
Wild Card

Combat

Maneuver	Bonus	Damage	Notes
Dodge / Parry	+4	-	Defense Action
Grapple	+4	-	Defense Action
Punch	+4	4	Bash
Magic	+24	per spell	Usually graphs a horoscope first
- Counterspell	+21	Special	Magic defense action; dispels spell
- Deflect	+24	Special	Deflects spell 45 degrees
- Hold	+23	Special	Magic defense action; delays spell SL turns
- Deflect	+18	Special	Magic defense action; returns spell to caster

Furious Friday!!

I have a lot going on today!  So let's get to it.

First a reminders about the MONSTROUS MONDAY Blogfest on Monday.
If you are participating you need to have your  image and link back here by Monday 12:01 AM CST.
I will be checking and sending out emails over the weekend.  You can still sign up after that time.

If you are not participating, then please stop by and see my post and visit all the sites.  If you are a gamer there will be a lot of great monsters for your use.  If you are not a gamer but are here as an author or horror fan then maybe there will be something here to influence you!

I am still in the middle of the WICKED AFTER DARK Blogfest.  Please visit these sites to win something cool.  Every site is giving away something, usually a book, but I have seen all sorts of things.

I am giving away a PDF copy of The Witch!  Go to my sign-up page for a chance to win!  I opened up some more options for you to get some entries.

So not only can you win some cool prizes and visit some site outside the normal OSR Blog Realms, but you can win a copy of the Witch for your self!

If you don't want to enter you can still purchase a copy of the Witch on your own.  It is on sale now for $5.00 at DriveThruRPG / RPGNow.  A little bit later today or this weekend I am going to go into some of the history of this project.

DriveThru is in the Halloween mood as well, so don't forget their Halloween sales. Look for the pumpkin to get your own Halloween treat!

Finally I am still participating in the October Challenge.  I have seen a bunch of horror films at will be talking about them every night.

October Challenge: Crush (2009)

Crush (2009)

Crush was a bit of a random one.  Promising a supernatural twist and obsessions.  We got all of that.  To bad the beginning of the movie was so slow.

Julian is an American living in Australia and going to school.  He takes a job house sitting against his girlfriend's wishes and soon he can't tell what is going on anymore.  He is visited by Anna, who he assumes is the owner's niece. They have sex and things go downhill here from there.
It is a rule in horror, never have sex with someone you are not supposed too.  Julian spends the movie forgetting he is in a horror movie and makes all sorts of mistake that readers of the this blog never would.

Anyway Anna isn't what she appears (of course) and now Julian is really in trouble.

I don't want to give away the end since that really is the best part.

Not a bad little flick really.

Tally: Watched 27, New 21

What are you watching?

Review

My first review for the Witch is up.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/107132/The-Witch%3A-A-sourcebook-for-Basic-Edition-fantasy-games?affiliate_id=10748

I got a 4/5, which I think is fantastic.  The reviewer did mention a couple things that they would have liked to see, but I think all in all the review is quite fair.

If you grabbed this, let me know! A review is great way to share the love.

Halloween Sales

It is that time of year.

DriveThruRPG is offering a Halloween Sale.

The one that caught my attention was the sale Troll Lord is having on Castles and Crusades.

If you ever wanted to try out the C&C system, this is a great time.

October Challenge: Blood and Roses (1960)

Blood and Roses (1960)

Blood and Roses, or Et mourir de plaisir, is one of those movies I have know about for years and I have always wanted to see.  Well I found it on Amazon Instant Video and thought this was a good of time as any.

After dealing with The Twins of Evil earlier in this challenge I have to admit my hopes for this one were low.
Well this one certainly has it's moments, even if it is a touch slow.  I was thinking if it were redone today the narration would have been dropped.

This movie takes place in the modern day and plays a little like a sequel to the Vampire Lovers, with Twins of Evil as a prequel.  This one though introduces a male lover for Carmilla/Millarca which will have any long time reader to this blog scratching their head like me.

The movie though is good.  The lesbianism is as underplayed as the vampirism.  This easily could be about a girl going crazy because the man she loves is marrying someone else.  It is only at the end is their a supernatural (maybe) twist.

I now think I have seen all the film adaptations of Carmilla, but it is possible that one is still out there.



Tally: Watched 26, New 20

What are you watching?

Slasher Flick: Jenny Two-Bags

I am a fan of Shon Richard's Erotiterrorist site.

If eroticism or even mostly R and X rated stories bug you, then don't go.  But among many other things Shon has a great imagination and can write a good tale.

His Halloween feature this month have been tales from the Succubus, Sukubeth.  Today's tale was about this serial killer that comes back from the dead.  It is a great mash-up of Carrie, Friday the 13th and any nameless college-age porno.  Of course in my twisted mind I think it would make a a great Slasher Flick bad guy.

I reviewed Slasher Flick a couple of weeks back (here) and even posted some characters.  What I never posted was a Killer to go along with the story.

So, presented here, is the horrific, but ultimately sad, tale of of a Girl known as Jenny Two Bags.
You can read her story here, http://erotiterrorist.blogspot.com/2012/10/fiction-jenny-two-bags.html
I will not attempt to retell it.


Appearance: Jenny appears as young women, roughly college age.  Her body would be the envy of most supermodels and she usually does not spend much time covering up.  Her face though is completely hidden by a sexy red devil mask.  If you were to remove her mask (which is a suicidal idea) you would see her face.  While Jenny was not attractive in life, death has done nothing to improve her.  In fact she bares the marks of every kill and every time she has been killed on her horrific face.

Components: Fearful Visage, Feeds on Fear, Hard to Kill, Linked Location (the cemetery where her body was dumped and the nearby colleges), Punish the Promiscuous (this is her Raison d'être), Superhuman Strength

Plot Hooks:
• Jenny Two Bags only shows up on Halloween.  If there is a high school or college party with alcohol (which means EVERY party) then expect Jenny to show up.
• Don't call her that! If a character calls Jenny by her name "Jenny Two-Bags" then she will go into a mindless killing frenzy.
• Last Boy.  If one of the last characters is a somewhat average male (the Nerd Archetype works best here) and he tries to be nice to Jenny she will forget why she is there.  This is treated as an attack.

Jenny can be killed by normal weapons and has been killed many times.  But she is always back by next Halloween!

Read about Jenny Two-Bags here: http://erotiterrorist.blogspot.com/2012/10/fiction-jenny-two-bags.html
Get Slasher Flick here: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/82728/Slasher-Flick%3A-The-Director%27s-Cut?affiliate_id=10748