A to Z Challenge 2015 Reflections Post

I survived another A to Z blogging challenge.

I was so unprepared this year.  I know what vampire I was going to talk about each day, but often not much more than that.
By the numbers Vampires are much more popular than Witches or Demons.

Despite there being fewer participants in the challenge this year I did not get a chance to visit everyone.  That is too bad really, visiting new and interesting blogs is one of the highlights.
Though with the fewer blogs there were more that seemed in it to really enjoy it.

I actually had a lot more fun this year than last.  So that is something.
I did miss not participating in a mini-hop like I did last year.

This challenge would not be possible without our hosts:
Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
Nicole Ayers @ The Madlab Post
Author Stephen Tremp
Heather M. Gardner
AJ Lauer
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Matthew MacNish @ The QQQE
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
S. L. Hennessy @ Pensuasion
C. Lee McKenzie @ The Write Game
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
Susan Gourley @ Susan Says
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing

I'd also like to thank the Ambassador's Team that I worked with this year:
Arlee Bird, Rob Z Tobor, J Lenni Dorner, Jenny Pearson, and Jeffrey Bushman.
You are all a great bunch!

Anyway in case you are curious here are the vampires and their country or myth or origin.

Letter	Vampire	Country / Myths
A	Aswang	Philippines
B	Berbalang	Philippines
C	Camazotz	Central America
D	Dearg-Due	Ireland
E	Estrie	Jewish Folklore
F	Farkaskoldus	Hungary
G	Gierach	Eastern Prussia / Poland
H	Hsi-Hsue-Kue	China
I	Impundulu	South Africa (Zulu & Xhosa)
J	Jigarkhwar	India
K	Kyuuketsuki	Japan
L	Lilith	Ancient Mesopotamia
M	Moroi	Rumania
N	Nosferatu	Germany
O	Ovegua	Guinea, Africa
P	Pĕnanggalan	Malaysian
Q	Vampire Queen	Modern
R	Rolang	Tibet
S	Soucouyant	Trinidad
T	Tenatz	Eastern Europe
U	Upierczi	Poland
V	Vrykolakas	Greece
W	Wurdalak	Russia
X	Xiāng-shī (殭屍)	China
Y	Yara-ma-yha-who	Australia
Z	Zburător	Rumania

Other Vampire Posts

Vampire	Country / Myths
Baobhan Sìth	Ireland
Dracula	Novel
Elizabeth Bathory	History / myth
Lilith, as a demon	Ancient Mesopotamia
Lilith, as a witch	Ancient Mesopotamia
Strigoi	Eastern Europe

I have NO idea what to do for next year! Any requets?

May the Fourth be With You

It's "Star Wars day".

I suppose you will be seeing this in a lot of places today, but I also want to increase the volume on this.  James Spahn has released his old-school Space Opera epic, White Star.
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/148169/White-Star-White-Box-Science-Fiction-Roleplaying-Swords--Wizardry

James and BRG has come a long way since putting out LL compatible classes for a buck.
This should be a hit for him.  It is already #1 at RPGNow.com

Zatannurday: Scarlet Witch Edition

So I guess there is some Marvel movie out this weekend.
All I know is it isn't the Justice League!

All snark aside, I was never a big Avengers fan.  To me they spent as much time fighting each other as they did the threats attacking from outside.   Not that the JL was perfect mind you, but I still liked them better.

That all being said, I can't not post today and not at least mention the Scarlet Witch.
So for today here is a special Scarlet Witch edition of Zatannurday!



Scarlet Witch by IanJMiller on DeviantArt


Zatanna vs Scarlet Witch by FEVG620 on DeviantArt


Zatanna vs Witch Scarlet by rafabruno0 on DeviantArt


This Magic Moment by EthereaS on DeviantArt


Last Words by ShinyRaven on DeviantArt


Zatanna From Dc Vs Scarlet Witch from Marvel by newsuperdannyzx on DeviantArt

And a few White Witches


Wanda Zatara by AerianR on DeviantArt


White Witch by FYeahSTZ on DeviantArt


Previous Scarlet Witch Zatannurdays
http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2012/01/zatannurday-special-guests-white-witch.html
http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2012/01/zatannurday-more-scarlet-witch.html
http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2014/05/zatannurday-zatanna-and-scarlet-witch.html

Friday Night Videos: Supers Edition

Welcome back to Friday Night Videos! Supers Edition.

I have been thinking a lot about supers this last week or so. I have a big "deep dive" I want to do this summer with supers and of course the Summer movie season starts tonight with The Avengers.

This got me thinking about 2003-2005 (well that and a post at Age of Ravens that I will get too later) when I was working on a big Supers/Supernatural crossover.  Not Supernatural the show, but rather a world, or two worlds, that were "light" and "dark".  The dark world was my regular WitchCraft/Buffy/Ghosts of Albion game.  The light world was a world populated by Super Heroes.  Characters in one world had a counterpart in the other.

It is from this effort that I began working up a number of different versions of Willow and Tara and it gave birth to Justice.  Of course I had a soundtrack.

"Heroes" was not just the centerpiece of this time period, it became the name of the first adventure.  Honestly, there is very, very little about David Bowie's singing and song writing that doesn't inspire me.




Heroes always reminds me of the 1977 movie "Heroes" that starred Henry Winkler, Sally Field and Harrison Ford.  The movie was not about supers, but about a soldier from Vietnam and the loss of his dream.  I remember seeing this movie dozens of times.  But what always, always got me in the end was when the credits closed in on a broken Henry Winkler (he came to the reality that his friend was dead) and a crying Sally Field was "Carry on Wayward Son" by Kansas from their prog-rock classic Leftoverture.   I put this in my top 20 of all time favorite songs.   Like the movie I always felt that this song was what the characters and situations I were working on were about; Noble, but deeply flawed heroes.  The fact that it is use every year for Supernatural only cements it's credibility for my games.




What I wanted to say about my next song was "Fuck you P!nk is my jam!" but you all deserve much better and more than that.  P!nk is freaking fantastic.  I bought Missundaztood for my wife and I promptly left it in my car where I listened to it everyday.  "Just Like A Pill" is not about supers. But it did give me an idea on an old comic/cartoon trope, the drug-addiction episode.  Plus if I am going to mix supernaturals with supers then drugs seem like a no brainer.




What became something of a theme song to my later Buffy games, this also captured something I wanted to capture in my own games.  These characters, these supers are as removed from humanity as the monsters they fight.  I wanted to capture what is was to be human.
Rob Zombie may not have the answer, but in "More Human than Human" from White Zombie's Astro-Creep: 2000 he knows what question to ask.




It's a wicked world we live in. It's cruel and unforgiving. No one raps it better than The Transplants in "Diamonds and Guns".



If you need a theme song for an end of the world Armageddon event then you can do worse than Disturbed and their cover of Genesis' "Land of Confusion" from Ten Thousand Fists.  The video was animated by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, so it also has "street cred".   If I need to write an adventure about destroying the world I put Disturbed on first.




Mixing Supers and Supernaturals is the Reese's Peanut Buttercup of campaigns for me; mixing two different things together to get something that is better than either on their own. Or at least something new and exciting.
EXACTLY like "Bring the Noise" by Public Enemy and Anthrax.  Rap meets speed metal.  This gets me pumped.  Just like Chuck D says "these lines are dope".



In truth I could do an entire night of rock/rap crossovers and talk about how they influenced my horror writing.

Kickstart Your Weekend: Valnwall UPDATE

I want to update you all on a Kickstarter I shared last week.

Guidebook to the Duchy of Valnwall is set in the same Duchy as the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/665143704/guidebook-to-the-duchy-of-valnwall

This project will detail the Duchy of Valnwall and the surrounding areas.

It is the stretch goals that are really the interesting features of this book.

Each stretch goal will include an adventure or content by some of the best in the OSR.
Check these names out.

Stretch Goal #1: ($1250)  MET
A mini-adventure by James M. Spahn of Barrel Rider Games.

Stretch Goal #2: ($1,500)  MET
A mini-adventure by Jason Paul McCartan of Infinibadger Press and OSRToday.

Stretch Goal #3: ($1,750)  MET
A mini-adventure by Tim Shorts of Gothridge Manor.

Stretch Goal #4: ($2,000)  SOOO CLOSE
A mini-adventure by Joe Johnston of Taskboy Games.

Stretch Goal #5: ($2,250)
A mini-adventure by Tim Brannan of The Other Side Blog.

Stretch Goal #6: ($2,500)
A mini-adventure by author Paul "greyarea" Go.

Stretch Goal #7: ($2,750)
A mini-adventure by cartographer Matt Jackson.

Stretch Goal #8: ($3,000)
A mini-adventure by Jeff Sparks of Faster Monkey Games.

Stretch Goal #9: ($3,250)
A mini-adventure by Erik Tenkar of Tenkar's Tavern.

Stretch Goal #10: ($3,500)
A mini-adventure by Pete Spahn of Small Niche Games.

Not a bad crowd to be included with!

I promise I have something special planned for this, but only if the stretch goal is made.

Like this? Share with others!

Other Vampires

I have been talking about vampires all the month of April, but I was not alone.
Here are some other posts dealing with the creatures of the night.

The OSR Library
D6 Horror: 1970's Marvel Comics Monster Hunters
http://theosrlibrary.blogspot.com/2015/04/d6-horror-1970s-marvel-comics-monster.html

D6 Horror: 1970's Marvel Comics Monsters
http://theosrlibrary.blogspot.com/2015/04/d6-horror-1970s-marvel-comics-monsters.html

Cross Planes
Dhampir Heritages: Dhampir Race for D&D 5th Edition
http://crossplanes.blogspot.com/2015/04/dhampir-heritages-dhampir-race-for-d.html

J.H. Moncrrieff Tales of Terror and Suspense
Q is for Quiang Shi
http://www.jhmoncrieff.com/q-is-for-quiang-shi/

Daily DCU
Vampire Batman
http://dailydcu.com/post/117135345530/francavillarts-vampire-batman-justice-league

A Life Full of Adventure
V is for Vampire
http://alifefullofadventure.blogspot.com/2015/04/v-is-for-vampire.html

Mind Rambling
Vampires
https://geeklife101.wordpress.com/2015/04/25/vampires/

The Madlab Post
Viktor the Vampire: What Bill Nighy said about Filming Underworld
http://www.madlabpost.com/blog/2015/4/27/viktor-the-vampire-what-bill-nighy-said-about-filming-underw.html

Mina Burrows
A-Z: U is for The Union Jack & V is for Varney the Vampire
http://minaburrows.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-z-u-is-for-union-jack-v-is-for-varney.html

On The Edge of Enlightenment
L is for Lilith
https://novasaber.wordpress.com/2015/04/14/l-is-for-lilith/

Talking to Myself
Month of Blogging Challenge: V is for Vampire Tarot
http://xanthalanari.livejournal.com/227236.html

LDB Taylor
Feeling Sad About Vampires
http://www.neebeep.com/2015/04/feeling-sad-about-vampires-atozchallenge-writing-life.html

Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge: April Reviews The Mist-Torn Witches

Here are the reviews for April for the Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge.

This month I only got a couple of books in.  Been very busy with work and the A to Z Bloghop.  But I got two quality books!

The Mist-Torn Witches Series by Barb Hendee
I took on the first two book of Barb Hendee's Mist-Torn Witches. I had heard a lot of good about this series and the author so they had been on my TBR pile forever.  I am glad I finally grabbed them and got into them.

The books deal with sisters Céline and Amelie Fawe.  Céline can see visions of the future and is a knowledgeable apothecary.   Amelie is the younger sister and sees images of the past and is just as hand with a sword or dagger.

The Mist-Torn Witches (Book 1)

We are introduced to the Fawe sisters in their small home and shop.  They have been orphaned but have been making well on their own.  Tragedy strikes and sends them on the run.  At the same time their emerging powers places them in deeper harm.  They now are working for a prince that they don't know if they can trust and his lieutenant at arms (who has a shady past) to solve a supernatural murder.
I will admit this book grabbed me from the very, very start. I immediately liked Céline but Amelie might end up becoming my favorite before too long.  There is some world building in this, but only enough to keep the plot moving.  The characters are instantly compelling and Hendee gives you plenty of reasons to like them.  The sisters are just coming into their powers, but even so there is an investigation here. Strip away the magic and the fantasy elements you have a compelling murder mystery here. I would LOVE to say I figured it out early, but I didn't.  Oh the clues were there, but the mystery is very well crafted and you, like our main characters, will just have to figure it out as you go.
I also liked that while the girls are powerful, they can make mistakes and they have very human failings.  There is a hint of romance here, but no awkward hook ups and no bending the rules of logic to get characters together.  I will not spoil the end but if this were a movie it would pass both Bechdel test AND the Mako Mori test.
This is a great start to a series.
I am reviewing both the Kindle ebook and the Audible audio-book.
Witch Count: 2 (maybe 4)

Witches in Red (Book 2)

This book takes place soon after the events in book 1.  Céline and Amelie are settling into their new lives when they are summoned to the castle by their Prince.  A series of murders has been going on at his father's silver mine. Murders committed by men that become giant wolf-like beasts.
This is another supernatural-based murder mystery, but in addition to learning the who we need to learn the how.  In this book in particular we see Hendee's deft skill and weaving a mystery plot, but also doing so with wry sense of humor.  While this could have ended up as a fairly unimaginative pastiche of werewolf lore and "Little Red Riding Hood", it didn't.  Not so much that it didn't do it is how well it didn't do it.  Again we see some great character development here. Unlike the last book where the sisters were in survival mode, here they have a feeling of belonging that makes them want to help the Prince. It is a maturity.  We learn more about the Prince's Lieutenant, Jaromir and he turns out to be just as interesting as I hoped.
As before the girls use their extraordinary sight to find the who is behind the killing, but that only gets them so far. Detective work and intelligence has to get them to their goal.
There is more world building here as well. We learn more about the world-travelling Móndyalítko, the gypsy-like "children of the world" and Céline and Amelie's bloodline.
I am reviewing both the Kindle ebook and the Audible audio-book.
Witch Count: 4

I should point out that Book 3 Witches With The Enemy will be out next week.  Preorder if you can because this is a fun series.

Hopefully I will have a review of Book 3 up next month.

Books read: 10
Current Level: Maiden: Read 6 – 10 Witchy Books