AD&D 1e Players Handbook on DriveThruRPG

That's right.  The book that started it out for so many of us is now on DriveThruRPG.
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17003/Players-Handbook-1e

This is a big deal really.
Prior to this the wisdom was that the reprints would not be released on PDF.
So I supposed there is hope that some PDFs might get reprinted.  Maybe.

But in any case the Gary's Magnum Opus, AD&D, will now be available as PDF.

Also if you are playing the newest edition of the game, Unearthed Arcana has Psionics for the price of a click.
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/awakened-mystic

The days of complaining about Wizards not giving us what we want are over.

Review: Hollow Earth Expedition

The Hollow Earth has always been one of those fringe theories that always sounded like a lot of fun in a game.   I loved the Jules Verne tale "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and the movie based on it.  My exposure to the idea for a game came originally from the old Mystara campaign set, The Hollow World.  Later I discovered the "Shaver Mystery" and the Pellucidar series.
While I know there is no basis whatsoever in scientific fact for a Hollow Earth, it is a lot of fun.  I have even contributed to a Hollow Earth book myself.

So it was with much excitement that I picked up Hollow Earth Expedition.
Full Disclosure: I did write a Hollow Earth book for a different publisher.  I avoided looking at or reading this book till long after my own ms was sent in.
Full Disclosure 2: I am reviewing both the Hardcover and PDF versions of this game.

Let's begin.  What is Hollow Earth Expedition?
HEX, as it is known, is the first Ubiquity powered game on the market (as far as I know).  The setting is "Pulp-era" which I have always roughly translated as the time between the two world wars.  Others might have a more nuanced view on this, but this has served me well enough.  If gumshoes walk the streets, Indiana Jones is still working at the University and fighting Nazis and cults then this is the time.
HEX is two things to me.  It is a new game system (Ubiquity) and a new game setting (Hollow Earth).  I will deal with each in turn.

The HEX hardcover is a gorgeous book. It is 260 pages, mostly black & white (which I want to address) and some color inserts.  The PDF is set up in similar fashion.  Ok, so the interior is black & white.  You know what else is? King Kong, Bela Lugosi's Dracula, Tod Browning's Freaks.  All the movies I associate with this era are in black & white as well.  Save for Journey to the Center of the Earth and Raiders of the Lost Ark. To me, along with the fantastic art, it  really sets the stage for the story I want to tell.   So giving the book "the flip test" ie just flipping through it, it has passed well.

Chapter 1: Setting sets us up for the rest of the book.  We learn a bit about the Pulp Era, the time; it;s 1936, the obligatory "what is Role-playing" section and a brief overview on the book.  Then we get right into it with the setting.  We start off with an overview of the last 25 years or so from the character point of view.  In particular I rather like the section on what characters would know and the speed of information in 1936.  Case in point, one of the films mentioned in the game, Becky Sharp, was considered one of the highest tech films made at the time. I can look it up and learn it was a landmark of cinema. I can even watch it at my leisure.  But not everyone in 1936 saw it, and not everyone or indeed most people knew what a landmark it was.  A lot of people knew it was special. It was color after all, but that was it.
The chapter continues with some great overviews of the world post WWI with WWII looming large and frightening on the horizon.  There is enough here for a game it's own right and indeed there are many games, good games, out there that never go beyond this.  But for HEX this is stage dressing.  The real setting is yet to come.

Chapter 2: Characters covers what you expect. Character creation.  This is where we are introduced to the Ubiquity system for the first time.  Character creation is a point-buy affair like many games.  In this though they recommend you begin with an archetype in mind.   Not a bad place to start really.  To me Pulp is about two fisted action.  So, and I mean this in the best possible way there is, the characters are often well...stereotypes.  "Big Game Hunter", "Gumshoe", "Silver Screen Starlet" and so on.  This is Pulp and here it works.  Not to sound to cliched, but the difference between a character and caricature is the player.  So choose that archetype and embrace it.  We are doing more next.  Next step is choose your motivation.  This is your character's reason for adventure. Quite literally their raison d'être.  Next are your Primary Attributes.  There are the customary six and you have 15 points to spread between them.  These are very similar attributes you find in Unisystem. They are even on a similar scale. The names are different for a few, but the translation is one to one.  Ok, to be fair, there is not of a lot things you would call these and it could be said that they are the same as D&D too.  So it gets a pass, but I am watching you Ubiquity!   Secondary attributes, which are derived.  Skills, which are bought with another 15 points. The max is 5 skill levels at character creation.  Like d20 (but unlike Unisystem) skills are tied to a particular attribute. You can then choose a Talent or a Resource and then a Flaw. A Flaw gives you a Style point.  You are then given another 15 points to spend on Attributes, Skills, Talents or Resources.
I don't mean to do this much, but "point wise" this puts a starting Ubiquity character right around the same level as a starting Unisystem character.  This is good if you like to move from system to system like I do.  (NOTE: I ran a Ghosts of Albion adventure using Ubiquity characters and system and it worked great.)
What follows are archetypes and motivations.  There is a lot here really and it works well.
Attributes are next.  Attributes are scored 0-6 with 1-5 as the range of normal humans, 2 being average.
Skills are discussed at length.  Ubiquity has 30 skills with some having many specialities.
Talents are something special about your character, so aptitude in a particular skill, or a natural ability.  Resources are something you have.
The section ends with the color pages of various archetypes.  If you are short on time you can grab one of these as a your new character.  There are plenty of great choices to be honest.

Chapter 3: Rules does exactly what it says on the tin. Covers the rules.  This is where we are introduced to the Ubiquity dice.  Now normally I shy away from games that require me to buy a another set of special dice.  But these dice are the most part just d8s.  Some are numbered a little differently since they mimic the rolling of 2d8 or 3d8 on one die.  The mechanic is simple.  Roll a given number of dice (dice pool) and then each even number is a success.  So in this respect you can roll anything, d6s, d12s, flipping a coin.  The number of sides needs to be even.  The successes are added up and compare to a difficulty level.  "Easy" would be 1 success, "Average" is 2 and so on.  Impossible is anything higher than 9 successes.
How many dice do you roll?  The number of points in your Skill or Attributes + Skill.  So if I want to check the authenticity of a scroll I could use Academics.  I'll say I have a 5 in that. Let's say I am a nerdy academic type (yeah real stretch I know) and I have specialization in this, I add +1 so I can roll 6 dice.  But say my GM has set the difficulty at 4.  I would need to roll 4 or more successes in order to pass it.  If I didn't have this skill then I base it on my Intelligence and then -2.  There are other modifications to my dice pool. It's sounds difficult but it plays fast.  There are also situations where I can "Take the average"; if a situation will result in a success 50% of the time the character can take the average and succeed. There is no style or flair in this, but not everything is a deed of derring do.
Like many simple mechanic systems it does fade into the background with play.
There are also degrees of Success and Failure. So if you gain 3 successes over what is needed then that is a "Major Success".  These extra successes or failures are typically role-played.
Style Points are also gained and spent here.  Style Points can be added to pools. You gain style points in various ways.  My favorite is "bringing the treats".  Hey. Every little bit helps.

Chapter 4: Combat covers a very specific sort of ruling of the rules presented in Chapter 3.  The basic mechanic is the same, but there are other situations.   This chapter could have been folded into Chapter 3, but I see why it is seperate.

We take a brief intermission for an Example of Play.  This is rather handy to be honest to see how everything comes together.

Chapter 5: Equipment covers all the gear and weapons your character needs.  This is a pretty robust chapter to be honest.  If you never play HEX but play other Pulp games then it is worth having a look at this chapter anyway.  The costs of weapons alone is very helpful.

Chapter 6: Gamemastering details the setting.  Ah if the previous chapters were the meat then this is the...well...other meat with more gravy. Ubiquity is a fine, but a system without a setting is an experiment or an SRD.  This setting is what makes the system shine.  They could have cleanly split the book in half at this place.

Chapter 7: The Hollow Earth covers the setting in detail.  There is a great mix of all the myths, legends and stories of the Hollow Earth here.  Regardless of your familiarity with those myths there is enough here to get you going and get you playing.  Let's be honest, you have always want to hunt T-Rexes while running through the jungle with a shotgun. Suspend your logical 2015 mind and take on an adventurous 1936 mind and load up.

Chapter 8: Friends and Enemies details what is going on on the Surface World and the Hollow World.  This covers the world and presents some important NPCs and their organizations.  Yes. You get to kill evil Nazi cultists and Interior Sea pirates.  If you are lucky in the same adventure.

Chapter 9: Bestiary is our manual of monsters. We have dinosaurs (and a proper Brontosaurus, no Apatosaurus), Ice age mammals, giant versions of nearly everything, sea monsters, and killer plants.  There are no "magical" animals or monsters; no dragons, no centaurs and the like.   This is 1936 and magic has given away to reason and to science.

Another break for a Sample Adventure.

We spend the last few pages with an Appendix on Pulp Resources and Inspiration.
Lots of great resources here including books on the Pulp Adventure Era. Yes, Lovecraft is present here, but there is not much in this game that is "Lovecraftian" as it typically defined.  This is a good thing in my mind.   Books get the most treatment.  Comic Books, Movies and TV series get lists.

There is also a rather good Glossary and Index.  There is a character sheet for your use as well.

All in all a great game.  I have played it a few times and it is really, really fun.
The setting is gonzo but without the crazy.  I could have a lot of fun with this.

The game sits nicely between Unisystem and Savage Worlds in terms of playability for me.  Though I will say that HEX does everything I wanted from Savage Worlds, it just does it better in my mind.

Tomorrow I'll talk more about Ubiquity and Unisystem and how I convert between the two.

2,000,000 Page views! And Ennies.

Sometime around dinner time yesterday I hit 2,000,000 page views.

I took me about 5 years to reach 1,000,000 and less than half that to reach the next million.
Pretty humbling really.  That after all this time you all are still interested in what I have to day.   I want to thank you all.

Nothing really special planned this time, except a special themed edition of "Friday Night Videos".

Don't forget the voting is now live for the ENnies.
http://www.ennie-awards.com/vote/2015/

I did not self-nominate my self this year mostly because I didn't feel like I posted anything above and beyond what I had done last year.  Maybe next year.

For support I am throwing my votes at +Lowell Francis' and his Age of Ravens, http://ageofravens.blogspot.com/ for best website (though it should really be nominated for best blog).

I am also showing my support for +Zak Smith's "Red and Pleasant Land".  We need more strange and weird in our hobby and it is nice that something that is nominally part of our little subset of the hobby get a nod.

My Ubiquity post will be later today.

July is Ubiquity Month

This July I want to spend some quality time with the Ubiquity system.  This is a "generic" system that goes after the same sort of games and crowd that Savage Worlds and Unisystem target.
I tend to like Ubiquity a bit more than Savage Worlds, but a little less than Unisystem.

The Ubiquity System was created by Exile Game Studios for their Hollow Earth Expedition game.  It has since been used in other games by other companies.

These are the games I am going to be looking at in detail:
Hollow Earth Expedition RPG (Exile Game Studios)
Hollow Earth Expedition: Secrets of the Surface World (Exile Game Studios)
Leagues of Adventure (Triple Ace Games)
Space: 1889 (Clockwork Publishing)
Revelations of Mars (Exile Game Studios)

I am also working on a couple of NPCs to help feature some of the game rules.  A few I really want to do are Dracula and Sherlock Holmes.

When I first was getting into Ubiquity I started with Leagues of Adventure, which is like an alternate universe "Ghosts of Albion".  While in GoA magic is supreme, in LoA it is weird science and steampunk.   I like to think that every character in GoA has an LoA counterpart and visa versa.
In fact I ran my Ghosts of Albion: Dinosauria adventure under Leagues of Adventure with no problems.  I had to fudge the magic a little, but now I think I could a much better job.

I will talk more about Leagues later in this week, but suffice to say I am rather fond of it.

Hollow Earth Expedition is a game I knew I was going to love, but one I did not buy till very recently.  I was working on a Hollow Earth book for Battlefield Press and I didn't want it to enfluence me.  I am happy to say that the HEX book I picked up was both similar and very different than what I did.  It was obvious we drew from the same sources but went in different ways.

Space 1889 and Revelations of Mars were both Kickstarters I gladly backed.  I am not getting the PDFs buy am missing the hardcover of Mars at the moment.

All of these games together have given me a lot of ideas on various games.  One is one I have mentioned before, "1901: An Æther Space Odyssey".  HEX is firmly Pulp Era but LoA and Space 1889 are Victorian science fantasy.  I am going to take the median here and go with the dawn of the Edwardian Age as one of Space Exploration.  Despite the implied settings in Space 1889 and Revelations of Mars, I am likely to go more Barsoom with my my Mars; though I am leaving War of the Worlds open.

Looking forward to it! Hope you are too.

Friday Night Videos: Guest VJ Paul "Wiggy" Wade-Williams

Welcome back to Friday Night Videos!

It is my pleasure to bring you another Guest VJ.   Tonight we are honored to have Paul "Wiggy" Wade-Williams.  He will be playing videos that relate to his newest RPG book "Leagues of Gothic Horror".

So here is Wiggy.
--

Hi! My name’s Wiggy (also known as Paul Wade-Williams) and I’m the creative director and a partner at Triple Ace Games. Tim has invited me to guest VJ and talk a little about the music I listened to while designing and writing LEAGUES OF GOTHIC HORROR, which launched on Kickstarter this week.

Truth be told, I’ve mainly been watching movies and listening to Gothic audio dramas while pounding away at the keyboard and watching the shadows for werewolves and vampires, but there is always time for music in the creative process. Maybe I’m a little anal, but I often create a playlist to match the product I’m working on, rather than accept whatever random tune my player throws up. Here are some of the tracks in that list.

Blue Oyster Cult — Magna of Illusion



This track is from my all-time favourite album—Imaginos. The lyrics are laden with layers of hidden meaning and weird significance—ancient prophecies, magic mirrors, alchemy, astrology, witches, magical ships! I’ve always had an interest in the occult(not to be confused with Satanism) and the entire album was essential listening—I never tire of listening to it! I love it so much there are references to it scattered throughout LEAGUES OF GOTHIC HORROR.


Sheelanigig — Lost in Transitvania



My music tastes are quite eclectic. Most of my playlist is heavy metal or rock, but nestled among the albums are 80s pop, folk, movie soundtracks, and Mongolian throat-singing. I came across this band at the Shetland Folk Festival only a few months ago and immediately fell in love with their stuff. Writing can be a boring process, even if you love what you write, and this song gave me an excuse to chair dance while absorbing the Eastern European folk vibe that transported me at least part way to Transylvania.


Ozzy Osbourne — Bark at the Moon



It’s Ozzy, the Prince of Darkness himself! This song met all the criteria when writing a book on Gothic Horror—the heavy metal I love and an atmospheric (if occasionally camp) video replete with elements of the genre. I’ve listened to Ozzy for many years, and regardless of my mood there’s always a song to suit.


The Unguided — Deathwalker



Remember I said my tastes were eclectic? Well, here’s some Swedish melodic death metal for you! I admit I am not without bias in choosing this track—the band based it on my Hellfrost fantasy setting and I was lucky enough to collaborate on the lyrics. Despite its fantasy origin, the track concerns the rising of a powerful lich and his gathering support from the undead, an apt enough topic for Gothic Horror.


Iron Maiden — The Number of the Beast



Iron Maiden, the first heavy metal I ever listened to. This track, from their third album, always reminds me of one of my favorite horror film—The Devil Rides Out. The beat is fast, hardly fitting for the creeping terror of Gothic Horror, but the content, Satanism, was perfect for writing the magic section. The track also reminds me of school (I was 12 when it came out), especially since 1982 was the date The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was published, the book that got me into gaming.


Dalibor Krigovský — Moriens Spiritum



Conveying mood to the reader is an essential part of writing. Gothic Horror isn’t slash and gore. It’s dark and moody. It reeks of decadence and decay. Capturing that unique flavour so GMs can convey it to their players in words was essential. Often I can get into the right mood without much thought—it is part of the job being a full-time author working on varied projects—but there are times when I need a boost. This track is heavy and brooding, perfect for immersing myself in Gothic atmosphere.


J. S. Bach — Toccata and Fugue in D Minor



More mood music! I’ve always loved this piece of music. Maybe I’m odd, but it immediately conjures up images of the lonely figure of Dracula (or Strahd von Zarovich) seated in front of an organ in his desolate castle or the Phantom of the Opera. It’s a very powerful and emotive piece that ebbs and flows, never failing to drag my mood along as it does so.

(ETA: This is one of my favorites as well! - Tim)

If you like the playlist and you’re interested in our Kickstarter for LEAGUES OF GOTHIC HORROR, please check it out here:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1588759266/leagues-of-gothic-horror

--

Thanks so much Wiggy!

Kickstart Your Weekend: Leagues of Gothic Horror

Oh I am quite excited about this one!

Paul Wade-Williams is giving us a followup to his fantastic Leagues of Adventure with Leagues of Gothic Horror!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1588759266/leagues-of-gothic-horror/description

Already it has blown past it's initial goal and moving on into stretch goals.

It is for the Ubiquity system, which I'll be talking more about next week.

Frankly I think it looks fantastic and I can't wait to add it to my table.  I am planning on using it with some Ubiquity games I own AND I want to see how it works with Ghosts of Albion.

The Witches of the Witches' Nest

I get a lot of spam from people telling me about "real magic" and people that can cast spells for me.

Since I have been working on a group of evil/non-good witches I figured make the best of the resources handed to me. These characters have pretty much begged themselves into existence.

The names come from these posts:

• http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2014/06/i-get-best-spam.html
• http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2013/11/spamming-hyperborea.html
• Plus some other unpublished spam that I get fairly frequently

And the idea of the Witches' Nest from this post:

• http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2015/06/more-content-theft-they-stole-my-content.html

They are going to be part of my "War of the Witch Queens" adventure path/campagin.

• http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2015/06/witch-adventures.html
• http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2015/06/saga-of-witch-queen.html

I haven't quite decided on the rule system, so here is a stab at using most of them.

Now I am generally very fond of all the other "OSR" witches, so I would like to present each one below in the most positive light possible. Designing the characters to take advantage of each of the class features in turn.
In each case their prime ability for being a witch or spellcasting is indicated with an asterisk*.

The Witches' Nest

The Witches' Nest, or more simply, The Nest, is a collection evil witches that operate outside of normal lawful society.
They are not above a little thieving of arcane literature, but mostly they will pass off others ideas as their own.  They are con artists, but each one it a powerful witch it their own right.  Their leader is a self-styled "doctor" Logan Zabaza.  Ozigididon is his second in command and in charge of "spiritual" aspects of their cult.    Each witch comes from a different tradition, but all serve the same goals and patron; they are all followers of Mammon.
A typical ruse will be to offer the party help, say magical or healing, to determine what they have and then steal anything that they can.  The prefer magical books over magic items, and magical items over gold. They will still steal gold if that is all that the party has.

Dr. Logan Zabaza
Male Witch, Malefic Tradition 13th level (The Witch)
Chaotic
Logan Zabaza is the defacto leader of the Nest only because he keeps the others in line with fear and intimidation.  He appears as a middle aged man with long black hair and olive complexion.  He prides himself on his looks and always dresses in the highest fashion for the occasion.  He carries a cane that contains his boline knife. He also uses this cane as his focusing implement.

Abilities
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 15*

Hit Points: 30
AC: 6 (talisman of protection)

Occult Powers
Familiar: Raven
7th level:  Evil's Touch
13th level: Devil's Tongue

Spells
Cantrips: Chill, Daze, Detect Curse, Object Reading, Open, Palm
First: Cause Fear, Fey Sight, Ghostly Slashing, Increase Sex Appeal , Sleep
Second: Agony, Blast Shield, Death Armor, Evil Eye
Third: Feral Spirit,Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Tongues
Fourth: Dance Macabre, Intangible Cloak of Shadows, Very goodPhantom Lacerations
Fifth: Death Curse, Dreadful Bloodletting
Sixth: Death Blade, Mass Agony
Seventh:  Wave of Mutilation


High Priestess Ozigididon
Female Witch, Gypsy Tradition, 13th level (Spellcraft & Swordplay: Eldritch Witchery)
Chaotic Evil
Ozigididon was a gypsy priestess until she threw in with Zabaza.  She had been thrown out of her own family due to the darker aspects of magic she prefered and is now making an living as the "spiritual leader" of the Nest.

Abilities
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 15*
Charisma: 11

Hit Points:  35
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
AC: 5 (Ring of Protection +1)

Occult Powers
Familiar: Ancestral Spirit (follower of Mammon)
7th level: Prophesy
13th level: Evil Eye

Spells
First: Bless Growth, Charm Person, Light, Minor Curse, Read Magic, Silver Tongue, Spirit Dart
Second: Augury, Detect Invisible, Discord, Knock, Levitate, Magic Broom
Third: Bestow Curse, Bewitch III, Liar's Curse, Mind Rash, Slow, Wizard Lock
Fourth: Cloudburst, Elemental Armor, Instant Karma, Masque
Fifth: Break Enchantment, Death Curse, Endless Sleep
Coven: Death Blade, Greater Scry

Magic Items
Ring of Protection +1, Dagger +1, Staff of Enchantment


Drodinaka
Female Witch 11th level, Chthonic Tradition (ACKS Players Companion, +Alexander Macris & +Tavis Allison)
Chaotic
Template: Dark Oracle

Drodinaka is a young, attractive woman with long blond hair.  She and Drodu pretend to be sisters since they have similar features.  She often pretends she is an acolyte of some benevolent but unnamed faith.  She often acts as Ozigididon's second in command.

Abilities
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 15*
Charisma: 12*

Hit Points:  28
AC: 4 (Ring of Protection AC 4)
Attack: 7+

Proficiencies: Seduction, Black Lore of Zahar, Prophecy, Performance (Storytelling)

Powers
1st level: Divine spellcasting
3rd level: Brew Potions
5th level: Magic Aura proficiency, Spell research
7th level: Charm Person (1/day), Scribe scrolls
9th level: Create magic items
11th level: craft magical constructs

Spells
First: Detect Undead, Cause fear, cure light wounds, detect magic, light, protection from good, read languages
Second: Spiritual Weapon, augury, bane, choking grip, enthrall, hold person, sleep
Third: Necromantic potence, Alter self, Bestow curse, cause disease, charm person, ESP, Mirror Image
Fourth: animate dead, clairvoyance, chimerical force, dispel magic, fly, nondetection
Fifth: command person, magic carpet, polymorph other, scry, true seeing

Magic Items
Ring of Protection AC 4, Dagger +1


Drogu Dudu
Female Warlock 9th level (Death Lady) (Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, +Jeff Talanian)
Chaotic Evil
Drogu is a little older than her "sister" Drodinaka, but like her she is attractive and has long blonde hair. She dresses the part of a warrior woman from the north but is in reality a stone cold spellcasting killer.  Drogu is the Nest's muscle.

Race: Hyperborean
Secondary Skill: Hunter

Abilities
Strength: 13*
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 15*
Wisdom: 12**
Charisma: 11

Casting Ability: 9
Fighting Ability: 9+1,  Attacks 3/2

Hit Points:  28
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
AC: 5 (leather armor)

Powers
1st level: Read Magic,
Mastery: Sword
4th level: Mastery: Morning Star
8th level: Mastery: Crossbow
9th level: Stronghold (2 apprentice warlocks)

Spells 
First: Black hand, Chill touch, shocking grasp
Second: Danse Macabre, Forest of bones, scythe of the reaper
Third: Exploding skull, infrared vision

Magic Items
Ring of Protection +1, Leather Armor +3, Sword +1/+3 vs. Paladins


Dr.  Ewan Brave
Male Witch 8th level "Secret Keeper" (Complete B/X Adventurer, +Jonathan Becker)
Chaotic
"Dr. Ewan Brave" is the newest member of the Nest.  He has been responsible for finding new and valuable occult tomes.  He keeps back the most powerful for himself.

Abilities
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 16*
Wisdom: 13*
Charisma: 11

Hit Points:  24 (d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
AC: 4 (Ring of Protection +1)

Languages: Common, Elven, Dragon

Special Abilities
1st: Book of Shadows, bind wounds (heal 1d4)
6th: Brew Potions

Spells
Maximum Spell Level: 3rd
Number of Spells known: 24
1st Level (6):  Detect Magic, Foretell, Hex, Read Languages, Speak with Animals, Witch Scribe
2nd Level (9): Cause Fear, Disguise, Eldritch Flame, ESP, Familiar Spirit, Hold Person, Levitate, Locate Object, Remove Fear
3rd Level (9):  Bestow Curse, Confusion, Haste, Hoodoo, Object Read, Speak with Dead, Spectral Knowledge, Wizard Lock


Lord Wakaman 
Male Half-orc Witch 7th level/Thief 7th level  (Adventures Dark & Deep, The Witch, +Joseph Bloch) 
Chaotic Evil

"Lord" Wakaman as he is known to most began life living on the streets of the city, a bastard child of an orc thief and an  underage unwed mother.  His cunning and wits kept him alive when other children would have died.

Abilities
Strength: 12
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 16*
Dexterity: 16 (-1 initiative adj.  -2 to AC)
Constitution: 13
Charisma: (12)

Special Abilities (witch class)
Magic bonus
Spell casting
Create Magic Items
Affect Undead
Bell, Book & Candle
Brew Poison
Call Familiar: Crow
Charisma degradation

Special Abilities (thief class)
Back Stab
Pick Pockets: 55%
Open Locks: 62%
Find and Remove Traps: 55%
Move Silently: 55%
Hide in Shadows: 43%
Listening at Doors: 30%
Climb Walls: 99%
Read Languages: 25%
Thieves' Cant

Special Abilities (race)
Infravision 60'
Languages: Common, Orc, Gnome, Elven

HP: 26
AC: 6 (Bracers)

Spells
First: Affect normal fires, charm person or mammal, control face, direct gaze, push, witch shot
Second: Change self, command, fascinate, misfortune, trip
Third: Bestow curse, fear, hand of glory
Fourth: fiery breath, ill luck
Fifth: improved pass without a trace