Edition Neutral? Curiouser and curiouser...

There is another new product that appeared on Amazon's list of upcoming products for D&D.
Called "Storm Over Baldur's Gate" it is being touted by some as "Edition Neutral".
http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Over-Baldurs-Gate-Sundering/dp/0786964634/

I don't see it in the list of upcoming products over at WotC's site, http://www.wizards.com/dnd/catalog.aspx?sort=date-desc, so it is hard to know what it is just yet.

If so this is another interesting shift in the future of WotC's handling of the D&D brand.

Dragonfolk for the Advanced Era

Like his dad, my oldest son enjoys all versions of D&D.  He plays a 3e game with me and his brother, a 4e game with some friends and a Pathfinder game with some other friends.   He has also had the chance to play Castles & Crusades, ACKS and Basic Era D&D.  But so far his favorite has to be 1st Ed AD&D.

He also loves dragons.  Always has.  So it was a natural then that he would want to make his own dragon book and have some going back and forth we decided that an OSRIC or Labyrinth Lord Advanced compatible book would be the best.

Of course in what can only be called a bit of Generational Rebellion, according to my son there are no know Dragonfolk witches. 

So for your enjoyment here is a new player character race he has been working on for some time. 

The Dragonfolk.

All text below is considered OPEN for the Open Gaming License. It is copyright 2012 Liam and Timothy Brannan.

Dragonfolk

It is well known that dragons can often take the guise of humans, elves or other humanoid species.  It has been through this magic that the dragons have come into direct contact and congress with these younger species.  For years these various dragon-blooded and half-dragons roamed the world often ignorant of their own heritages.  It was not till the great hero Marduk, himself rumored to be the spawn of a human mother and Ea the Dawn Dragon, gathered all the dragon blooded to one one land now known as the Dragon Isles. He then became their first King.

Thousands of years later the Dragon Empires have waned, but the Dragonfolk have survived as a species in their own right.  They rarely leave their Dragon Isles and are thus rare or even legend in other parts of the world.

There are two type of Dragonfolk recognized, Imperial and non-Imperial.  Imperial Dragonfolk hale from the Isles of the Dragon Empire.  The Empire has waned in the 700+ generations since Marduk first united the Dragonfolk into a single people, but the Imperial Dragonfolk are still just as proud as they ever were.

Non-Imperial Dragonfolk are born from the union of a humanoid (typically human, elf or dwarf) and a dragon.  They are of the same general sort of their humanoid parent with the scales, coloration and temperament of their dragon parent.  Non-Imperial Dragonfolk are often shunned in human committees. Any non-Imperial Dragonfolk can claim to be an Imperial Dragonfolk only if they make a pilgrimage to the Temple of Dragons on the Dragon Isle and there renounce their ties to their humanoid relatives.

Description
Dragonfolk appear as dragonlike humanoids.  They share qualities with both of their parent stock.  They stand taller than humans typically 6 to 7 feet in height with males and females being roughly the same height.  They are warm blooded despite their reptilian appearance, though they are not as comfortable in extreme climates as are humans.   Dragonfolk lay eggs like dragons, but also produce milk like a mammal.  Typically only 1 to 2 eggs are laid in a clutch.  The eggs develop partially inside the female and then are kept warm by the male and female once laid.  Twins resulting from one egg is considered an ill omen.

Imperial Dragonfolk can claim human, elf, dwarf as well as a variety of draconic parentage.  Imperial Dragonfolk are only fertile with other Dragonfolk. Non-Imperial are fertile with other Dragon-folk and their members of their humanoid parent's race (and races cross fertile with them such as orcs, trolls, goblins).

Dragonfolk can come from any combination of dragon and humanoid parentage.  For Imperial Dragonfolk, ones that live or come from the Dragon Isles, this is not determination of potential alignment or powers. For non-Imperial Dragonfolk parentage can have an affect on coloration, powers and potential alignment.  

Dragonfolk only recognize the difference between Imperial and non-Imperial Dragonfolk, with Imperial Dragonfolk claiming superiority to the non-Imperial individuals.  Non-Imperial Dragonfolk can produce offspring with strong Dragonfolk traits. These straits remain strong even through many generations.

There is some questionable scholarly work claiming that Kobolds are non-Imperial crosses with gnomes or halflings.  While is this largely dismissed even the most conservative scholars do believe that Kobolds may be the result of non-Imperial pairings of dragons and goblins.

Dragonfolk develop from egg to hatchling in 6 months and are weaned after 6 months. They reach maturity at 13 years.  Imperial Dragonfolk are considered Citizens at 21 years of age.  Their average lifespan is 250 years.  A mated pair will usually mate first between 14 and 21 years old and they will stay together for life, though they may not not necessarily live with each other.

Honor and Caste
Dargonfolk have a strict code of honor. This and the Dragonfolk caste system will be detailed in the future.

Requirements: CON 9

Ability Modifiers: STR +1, CHA +1, DEX -1

Ability Min/Max: STR 4/19, DEX 2/17, CON 9/18, INT 3/18, WIS 3/18, CHA 4/19

Languages: Dragonfolk learn Draconic as their primary Language and can learn the common tongue and alignment language.  They may learn additional languages to these based on their Intelligence score. If Kobolds have a unique language then Dragonfolk will also know this language. 

Infravision: 30 ft

Low-light vision: 120ft

Naturally Dragonfolk are a highly magical race. They gain a +2 to all saves from Spells and Spell like devices.  The gain a +4 vs Dragon Breath saves.  

They can see Invisible creatures and items on a 1 on a 1d6.  They can find secret doors on a 1-2 on a 1d6 as well. 

Dragonfolk are naturally resistant to weapons due to their tough, scaly hides. They gain an additional -1 to their Armor Class. 

Permitted class options: Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Magic-User*, Thief, Cleric/Fighter, Cleric/Paladin,  Fighter/Magic-User, Fighter/Thief.

Level Limits

Cleric: 9th 

Fighter: Unlimited

Paladin: 17th

Magic-User*: 11th

Thief: 8th

Dragonfolk have their own type of magic-user known as Dragon Mages.  These will detailed later.

Dragonfolk Thief Skill Adjustments

Pick Locks -5%

Find and Remove Traps +5%

Climb Walls -15%

Movement Rate: 120 ft

Breath Weapon

A holdover from their draconic heritage, Dragonfolk have a limited breath weapon.  Regardless of their coloration or alignment the individual Dragonfolk can choose among Acid, Cold, Gas, Electricity,  or Fire.  

Once per day a Dragonfolk can emit a powerful breath weapon attack.  This attack does 1d6 + 1hp/level damage. The damage type is chosen at character creation and can't be changed short of a Wish spell.

Dragonfolk and Kobolds

Dragonfolk and Kobolds share a relationship similar to that of Humans and Halflings or Dwarves and Gnomes. In areas where Dragonfolk are more common Kobolds will live on the outskirts of the Dragonfolk communities.  Kobolds will adjust their normal behaviors and alignments to suit that of their Dragonfolk cousins.  Indeed small communities of kobolds near good aligned Dragonfolk areas have been known to be good aligned as well.  

Religion
Dragonfolk follow a form of Ancestor worship where they honor the spirits of fallen warriors, kings and dragons.  They claim that many of the dragon "gods" that cultures around the world worship were in fact personages in their history.  Many times these gods were non-Imperial Dragonfolk that rose to great power and honor.   Such dragons and Dragonfolk are Aži Dahāka (The Destroyer), Druk (thunder dragon), Ea (Dawn Dragon), Jawzahr (Moon Dragon), Karkeu (Diamond Dragon), Marduk (Dragonfolk Hero and Emperor), Quetzalcoatl (Dragonfolk Lord of the Sky), Tiamat (Mother of Monsters), Yam (Son of Ea and Tiamat, dragon god of the Sea), Zirnitra (Dragon God of Sorcerery), and Zmey Gorynych (Darkness).

Section 15.

OSRIC. Copyright 2008 Stuart Marshall.

Advanced Edition Companion, Copyright 2009-2010, Daniel Proctor. Author Daniel Proctor.

"Dragonfolk for the Advanced Era" Copyright 2012, Timothy & Liam Brannan.

Second Chance Weekend

Thanksgiving at my parents was great.  Got a chance to talk to the guy who was my fist AD&D DM.    I knew I was going to run into him so I took a copy of my Witch book.

I also grabbed my copies of Sword & Wizardry and Lamentations of the Flame Princess.
These are two games I gave passes on.  S&W because I was into Labyrinth Lord and Spell craft &Swordplay, and LotFP because, well frankly, I didn't see the point of it.

I am rereading them both now and getting slightly different points of view than before.

I'll keep you all posted.

Zatannuday: More Cosplay

In this Thanksgiving week I want to give thanks to the Cosplayers.

Thank you once again for raising the over social standing and average good looks of all comic book fan! ;)



Zatanna DC comics by ~KaitoEinsam on deviantART


Shine bright Zee by ~tommyish on deviantART


Dloc dniw wolb! by ~tommyish on deviantART


Go Go Homo Magi by ~tommyish on deviantART


Zatanna Cosplay 2 by *HoodedWoman on deviantART


Zatanna Mistress of Magic by *The-Cosplay-Scion on deviantART


Zatanna 1 by *neko-tin on deviantART


Zatanna by ~Itill-Sennen-Joo on deviantART


Zatanna Cosplay 3 by *HoodedWoman on deviantART


Zatanna by ~nadyasonika on deviantART


My name is Zatanna Zatara by *The-Cosplay-Scion on deviantART


Zatanna Cosplay by ~Panda-Valentine on deviantART


Zatanna Zatara 5 by *Insane-Pencil on deviantART


DC band by *Ryoko-demon on deviantART

The Witch Appendix N

I have used many books in researching this class and all of it's related topics. Here are some of those books that I have found most helpful. I have used these books to get more at the witch of myth and history, rather than the modern witch of today.

Keep in mind that these books have nothing to do with RPGs, they are books of belief. Witchcraft is a real religion and people take their religious beliefs seriously and personally.


These books have been helpful for a variety of reasons. If for nothing else to get me to think about witches differently than other game authors have.

Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology by Russell Hope Robbins 
This book has been long out of print, and I got mine at a used book store, but it is the indespensible work on witches, the witch craze and demonology. The book takes a very pro-witch point of view as it frankly discusses the murder of women, children and even men in the name of god. Not to be missed, this book has been THE source for most of my writings. Several editions are out there, mine is the 1959 edition. I have seen them on Ebay as well.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0517362457/

The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft by Rosemary Ellen Guiley
It would be unfair to compare this book to the work above it, because this book is very good. More a modern spin, it still deals with a variety of topics that are of interest to the witch or occult scholar. I used this book a lot when writing Eldritch Witchery. This book also has the advantage of being much newer and still available. All around a good mix of topics, witch myth is mixed in with modern Wicca, making difficult for the unlearned to know what is what. But for those who know a bosom from a common broom, then you will enjoy this book. If you have your own Bosom, then you might even find this book a little simple, but I found things there I did not know about, so I enjoyed it!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/081603849X/

The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca, and Neo-paganism by Raymond Buckland
Another encyclopedia  This one though covers less but goes deeper on it's topics.  I like Buckland's writing style more than some of the others listed here.  Gave me a lot of insight on various witch traditions.
http://www.amazon.com/Witch-Book-Encyclopedia-Witchcraft-Neo-paganism/dp/1578591147/

Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft by Raven Grimassi
Another encyclopedia of all things witchy. This one focuses on more modern practices, has a very large list of contacts, email and websites. Some overlap with Guiley's book. If you are interested in the nature of the religion of witches today, then this is your book. Or at least it is a good place to start.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567182577/

Covencraft : Witchcraft for Three or More by Amber K
A nice a well written book for witches and lay-people (cowans) to understand what a coven is and does. This is not a primer to witches, witchcraft or wicca, this book assumes you know what you need to know and works on what you may not know. It is concise and intelligent and a good read, even for non-witches. Maybe especially for non-witches, so that others can finally learn what witches do. From Llewellyn Publications.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567180183/

Witchcraft, Sorcery and Superstition by Jules Michelet, A. R. Allinson (Translator)
A good book that deals with the wicth craze of the middle ages. Discussion range from early "faerie stories" to pagan religions, to the church sanctioned murder of thousands. Sometime muddled, the book has a few rare gems. Plus it delves into the socilogy of fear, why these people did what they did. Gets as far as the Salem witch trials. Very little to do with modern witchcraft.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0806516860/


Cassell Dictionary of Witchcraft by David Pickering
Another in a series of encyclopedia/dictionaries about witchcraft. A very good beginners guide.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0304350982/

Witches by Erica Jong
More of a coffee table book than an indepth treatsie on witches or witchcraft. Heavy on the feminist side, but not man-bashing (it is an Eric "Fear of Flying" Jong book) it is visually stunning. An oversized book, so if you look for it in the library you might have to check the oversized selves. My local library cut out some of the more risque pages. So I bought my own copy.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0810981572/

The Modern Witch's Spellbook, Book II by Sarah Lyddon Morrison
I read this, along with Book I, years ago, towards the first drafts of my witch class. It has spells that can supposedly really cast. Never tried. But it is a good insight on how some witches view or can view magic. A picture of me reading this over the top of my glasses (Thomas Dolby style, there THAT's long ago it was!) made my High School newspaper!.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0806510153/

Man and His Symbols by Carl Gustav Jung
I alway's liked Jung. His psychoanalytic theory always sat better with me than Freud's. This book deals with many of the archetypes we deal thing at an uncounscious level, the witch is one of many type of female, or anima, archetypes. Jung is one of the greatest thinkers of the modern era, and this is one of his masterpieces (along with Synchronicity).
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0440351839/

Drawing Down the Moon : Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshipers, and Other Pagans in America Today by Margot Adler
This is the book on modern pagan practices. Since it deals with a real world religion i only used it as inspiration to the Witches Netbook I wrote. But if you want to know what is going on in the world of paganism today, then this is your first stop. It is very telling for the foresightedness of this book when you consider that it was first published in 1979!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/014019536X/

To Ride a Silver Broomstick : New Generation Witchcraft by Silver Ravenwolf
Similar in nature to Adler's book above, this book deal with modern wicca and witchcraft. Ravenwolf is very much a witchcraft supporter and her point of view shows through in this book, for good and ill. A good place to start and then return to when you know a little more.  Generally speaking I am not a huge fan of Silver Ravenwolf, but at the same time I am not really her target audience, so my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt.
She has similar fare in her other books, To Stir a Magick Cauldron and To Light a Sacred Flame.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087542791X/

The Penguin Book of Witches & Warlocks : Tales of Black Magic, Old & New editied by Marvin Kaye

I have enjoyed the anthologies of Marvin Kaye for years. Ghosts, Vampires, Demons & Devils, and now witches. I found this in the library and had to get a copy from Ebay. It is a collection of short stories about witches, warlocks and witchcraft. The quality varies, but gems are true gems.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140149910/

I will post more soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

To all my American readers, Happy Thanksgiving!

And to the rest of the world, Happy Thursday!

White Dwarf Wednesday #40

Around Issue 40 is where I really began to get into White Dwarf.  At this point, I was the only one in my gaming circle reading it regularly and I felt it gave me an edge on those "just reading Dragon".  Of course I had not experienced Imagine yet (though this issue had a big ad for Issue #1)  and it would still be a couple more years before I got my hands on Dungeoneer mag.

Let's get into Issue 40, April 1983. First off I consider this one of the more iconic covers of WD.  These odd aliens screamed SciFi/Fantasy Book Club to me, but I was 100% cool with that.  Still am.  I have no idea who these guys are, but my next SciFi game will have them as a race.  The cover artist is listed as "Emmanuel".

Ian Livingstone's Editorial discusses a very good question.  Why are Fantasy and Sci-Fi lumped together?  This is a question that a younger, 12-year-old, Otherworlds Card-carrying self would have asked. Ian mentions he prefers SciFi films over fantasy, but fantasy games over Sci-fi ones.  That fitted me to a tee. I loved Star Trek, Star Wars, and Doctor Who (83 was a HUGE year for me and the good Doctor) and I played AD&D far more than Traveller or Star Frontiers.

Dave Morris is up first with Zen and the Art of Gaming for RuneQuest.  It is some setting material for a feudal Japan-like country for RuneQuest.  Anything Japanese was all the rage in time period 82  to 85 or so. I recall reading this and thinking how cool it would be to try this out in AD&D, but never got around to it.

Alan E. Paul has an article on large scale massive battles for D&D, "Dungeon Master General".   It is three pages long and I never read it back in the day.  I never did massive battles till about 1987 and even then we used the "BattleSystem" rules.  These rules seem easy to use, but still more complicated than I like.  I would be a terrible Wargamer.

Critical Mass reviews some interesting books.  First we have everyone knows about, White Gold Wielder by Stephen Donaldson. I am one of those people that put down the Thomas Covenant book after the rape scene.  I saw no point to reading the rest.  Only occasionally I regret that, but reading this review sets me more at easy.  I am a fan of Lovecraft and of Moorcock so I like dark fantasy.  That rape scene frankly left a bad taste in my mouth for the entire series.   There is another book, Chekhov's Journey which is sci-fi but not about the Star Trek character.  No this book is really best described as an early cyberpunk book.  I will check it out based on that alone.  They also cover Robert Lynn Asprin's Myth Directions, which I loved and they didn't.

Open Box is up with some more classics from TSR.  Jim Bambra reviews C1, C2, S2, and I1.  Giving them 8/10, 8/10. 8/10 and 5/10 respectively.  He says that I1, Dwellers of the Forbidden City is rather mundane, though his own scores on the module should really put it more in the 6/10 or 7/10 region.  Phil Masters reviews Steve Jackson Game's classic Illuminati.  He praises the skill needed and the tone of the game. He says in the same breathe that the game "lacks elegance" and "Should do well in America".  I will try not to take that personally. ;)  It gets 7/10.  We also get reviews for Starstone: A Mediaeval FRP Campaign by Northern Sages (9/10) and Soloquest 2: Scorpion Hall for RuneQuest by Chaosium (8/10).   I am completely unfamiliar with those two.

Letters covers some Traveller, D&D and RuneQuest issues.  No fighting this time.  Some light critism on the Moria article a few issues back.

Marcus Rowland is back with an AD&D adventure for 1st to 3rd level characters, The Eagle Hunt. At 6-pages it is one of the larger of the adventures that WD has published to date.

RuneRites deals with Trading as a skill in RuneQuest.

Andy Slack has a new Explorer class scout ship for Traveller.

Fiend Factory is up and Phil Masters has more Inhuman Gods.  We get the gods of the Firenewts, Flymen, Flinds (sorta) and Frogfolk. Also mentioned are Dire Raiders and Dire Corbies.

In what was always pure gold for me back then was Microview.  This time we have a BASIC program for RuneQuest. Despite the fact I never played RuneQuest I typed this up.  I made some tweaks to it and then would later write my own AD&D program for characters.

Treasure Chest is looking more and more "professional"  The layout is sharp and clean and the magic items are also really good.  The items are, Arrow of the Inner Planes, Druid's Flask, Cloth of the Wind Horse, Shaft of the Spider, Wand of Locking, and Wizard's Wand.  I never used any of these to my knowledge.

We end with the Classifieds and some ads.

While there is nothing in this issue that stands out as stellar to me, the whole issue has the feel of more professionalism than previous issues.  For me this is when White Dwarf came into it's own.  The next 50-60 issues were great times.