October Movie Challenge: The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

Last week's Class Struggles I detailed many (but not all) of the Witch Hunter classes.  This last weekend I got a chance to see the movie.

Ok. So this movie is not going to win any awards. But it was still a lot of fun.  I have been a Vin Diesel fan since Iron Giant. In this one, he gets to punch things, stab things and generally have a good time.

Vin Diesel is good as the eponymous witch hunter Kaulder. I guess "Melkior" was out of the question.  Kaulder is the "no spells" type of Witch Hunter.

Rose Leslie is a lot of fun as "Dream walker" witch Chole and of course Micheal Caine is great in whatever he does.  Elijah Wood was also fun to see in a role that goes against type.

Don't go into this movie with high expectations. Go into it know it is a Vin Diesel flick.  Though from a gamer's point of view it is geek-worthy to know that he is basically playing his D&D character on screen.

Ok. What else did I like. The Witch Queen was really cool looking and I am happy they kept her "monstrous" rather than turning on the sexual charm.

The "witch bar" was really cool. A place where witches try out different potions and magical concoctions.  That is something I could totally steal for my own games (but obviously not of publication).

I also liked the mirror-ish, flashy, "Witch eyes" from the movie.  Basically this was so the audience could tell who was really a witch.  In my games witches can always tell who is who.  Some witch hunters can also learn this. There is the tacit assumption that witches in this world are a different species, much in the same manner as in Kim Harrison's "Hollows" books, Harry Potter and a lot of other media. Interestingly the movie contends that the Black Plauge was cooked up by witches to purge the Earth of humans. So like the Hollows, human diseases do not effect witches. There has to be diseases then that can infect witches that do not harm humans.

There is no doubt that this is a "D&D" movie. The opening scene, which takes place in the past, features a group of hunters. My kids pointed out that the group contained a fighter, a cleric, rangers, even one that could be a thief.

Even Kaulder's sword can be easily stated up.  Here it is with some liberties taken.

"Hexenbane"
+1 Sword, +3 Flaming vs. Witches*
Hexenbane is normally a +1 magical sword but in the presence of witches, warlock or evil-aligned spell casters it becomes a +3 Flaming sword.  Witches know this sword on sight and any witch below 5th level must save vs. Petrification (or Will or Wisdom) or act as if a fear spell has been cast on them.

I think I want to detail the Dream Walkers in another post.

Stats
21 Watched / 16 New

October Movie Challenge: Dracula (2006)

We have a saying in our house. "If it is on the BBC then it is going to be good."  Well...this movie is really testing that theory.

Edited to add: Turns out this was on ITV.  So my theory is still good!

This was part of Masterpiece Theatre and BBC so I really expected a lot more than what I got.

He had some interesting ideas. Secret Society dedicated to the undead. Certain have a use for that.  Linking vampirism, blood diseases and syphilis; always fun.  Plus another retelling of the Dracula story.  I liked the actors that played Seward, Mina and Lucy. Sophia Myles as Lucy was exceptional.   But Harker and Van Helsing were a waste.

But I also had a lot of problems with this one.
First of the actor playing Dracula, Marc Warren, was just too young look really. Secondly casting Arthur Holmwood as a villain was a mistake.  Killing Harker early, while not original, is still a bad idea. Also there was no Reinfield. That I can't abide by.

I don't have an issue with people tinkering with the Dracula story as long as it is a good story.  NBC's Dracula series was a good example.  But this one was not.

I had hoped for better to be honest.


Stats
20 Watched / 15 New

Friday Night Videos: Spooky Songs

Very loose theme tonight. A bunch of "Spooky" songs and songs that remind of an old friend who has a birthday coming up this weekend.


So without further ado....

When I think "Spooky" I think Classics IV.
I used to have this on a 45 rpm.





Is it spooky? Not really, but it has a cool vibe to it and it is the Season of the Witch. Plus Donovan is cool.




Raven hair and ruby lips, sparks fly from her finger tips...What is not to love about that?




Cream are pretty much rock and roll royalty.  This is one is one my favorite songs of all time.




For the previously mentioned spooky friend here is some of her favorite band.



Find some wings.



She's come undun.

Kickstart Your Weekend: Aquelarre

I have not heard about the Spanish language RPG Aquelarre till before today.
But a quick look online tells me a lot of people are excited by it.

There is a new English language version on the way by none other than White Wolf's own Stewart Wieck.  So that should mean it will look good and be fun.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1861515217/aquelarre-the-dark-and-mature-medieval-rpg-now-in

The text says this is a dark and mature game.  So YMMV.
I enjoy the art made to look like old woodcuts, so I ight back it just because of that alone.

Check it out. It looks like a lot of fun.

Plays Well With Others: Ghosts and the Witch

This is completely self-serving, BUT it is coming from a place of sharing.  I just grabbed +James Mishler's newest product Ghosts -- The Incorporeal Undead.  If you want to get an idea of what you can do with his new book check out his blog at http://jamesmishlergames.blogspot.com/.
In particular The Pesky Poltergeist, The Ghost of the Haunted Keep and the Friendly Ghost.  Check them out if you recognize them!

To make the claim that this book "Plays Well With Others" is actually weak on my part.  Weak because the book is really designed to "Play Well With Everyone".  It is Labyrinth Lord compatible (says so on the cover!) but beyond that it is really compatible with just about anything I can think of.  In particular I was thinking how well this would work with Castles & Crusades, or even one of my favorites Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea and D&D5.  His book is written in some sort of Ur-D&D that pretty much works with anything.

So my claims really are not really needed.  But I want to make them anyway.

What I am really excited about is how well it works with my own witch book (that's the self-serving part), but I am excited all the same.

Witches and Ghosts have always had a nice relationship.
Within James' book there is the "Ghost Net" which is mentioned as being created by witches (well and by others too).  According to rules in The Witch a Ghost Net is created as a Talisman.  It can be hung over the threshhold of a doorway to keep ghosts away.  Usually a Protection from Evil or Ghost Ward spell is all that is needed.

From my book here some spells that would work well with James' Ghost book.  Either for or against ghosts.  If you are using James' Hercynian Grimoire #1 then these are Charisma based-spell casters.

Level 1
Ghostly Hands
Ghostly Slashing

Level 2
Death Armor
Ghost Touch

Level 3
Danse Macabre
Ghost Ward
Magic Circle Against Undead

Level 4
Animate Shadows
Dance Macabre
Phantom Lacerations
Spiritual Dagger
Undead Destruction
Undead Enslavement
Withering Touch

Level 5
Death Candle
Death Curse
Wall of Bones
Wave of Mutilation

Level 6
Break the Spirit
Death Blade
Ethereal Banishment

Level 7
Call the Restless Soul*  (in this case it would be an actual Restless Soul)
Death Aura
Etherealness

Level 8
Mystic Barrier
Wail of the Banshee

So what is the intersection of these two books?  Well that is easy! The Bell Witch.

Bell Witch
No. Enc.: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic (Evil)
Movement: N/A
   Fly: 240’ (80’)
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 3****
Hit Points: 14 hp
Attacks: 1 Touch or TK or Spell
Damage: 1d4 plus Fear
Save: Witch 3
Morale: 12
Intelligence: 14
Hoard Class: NA
XP: 150

The legend of the Bell Witch has been a part of American folklore since the 19th century.

You can read more about the Bell Witch here, http://www.bellwitch.org/ and here http://www.bellwitchcave.com/.

For your game here are the pertinent details.  Katie Batts was an old witch that died on the Bell Farm sometime in the early 1800s.  She haunts the farm and in particular Betsy Bell to gain her revenge on John Bell, whom she believes is responsible for her death.

Katie Batts was a 3rd level witch in life. She had a small dog as her familiar who died when she did.

Treasure: The Bell Witch has no treasure.

Ghost Witch:  The Bell Witch was a witch when she was alive. She can still cast spells as a 3rd level witch.  This is the same as Ghost Magician ability.

Poltergeist: The Bell Witch is a type of powerful Poltergeist.  She can manipulate up to 150 lbs at a time.

Bell Witch Ectoplasm: This ectoplasm will allow the imbiber to use witch witch spells of up to the 2nd level.   The imbiber must make percentile roll against the total number of ounces imbiber has had their entire lifetime. Rolling under this amount results in the loss of 1 life level (or Constitution point).

Review: Ghosts -- The Incorporeal Undead

+James Mishler  has been producing quality material for the "Basic" era games for a number of years.  I have followed him online and have always enjoyed his posts in various forums and on his own blog.
James has been in the business of releasing his own material for a couple of years now and they are always fun.  Well this Halloween he has really, really outdone himself.

I grabbed his and his wife's latest product Ghosts -- The Incorporeal Undead, pretty much without reading the details. It was James. It was Ghosts. How could I loose?  Well let me tell you. I was in for a sweet surprise!  I will be honest here.  Pretty much EVERY other games can deal with ghosts better than D&D used too.  This little book has a lot of work to do.

First off this "little" PDF is 64 pages.  I printed it out and it would make a great supplement to my collection of various "Basic Era" books.  Put on a nice cover and it would be right at home next to Labyrinth Lord, The Witch and many, many other books on my shelf.  Let me step back for a moment and comment on this.  James really "gets" Basic D&D.  He knows why people choose it over Advanced or other games.  His rules are very much in the vein of Basic/Expert and BECMI style D&D (More B/X than BECMI) but he also gives people options who like more Advanced-feeling games.

We begin with an overview of what ghosts are. I was pleased to see that this book treats ghosts as all being unique.  A brief description of common powers to all ghosts is also given. Detail is paid to two of these powers, Fear and Level/Life Drain.  In keeping with the Basic roots, the Fear effects table is simple and effective.  If you are playing a horror game then you might want more, but in truth this is plenty.   Level Drain is also discussed and how to regain those levels.
Now for me, I am still more inclined to use Constitution drain instead of level drain.  Thankfully the rules as written here will allow that.

Next we get into people and animals with the Sixth Sense and Sensitives.  No detailed rules here, just a nice simple approach that I really like.  There is also a discussion on Mediums and Séances.  Now THESE are much needed rules.  This helps move ghosts from a monster with X amount XP to something that can be worked into a plot.   We end with some information on ghost-sensitive animals.  I love what he has done with cats and am thinking of using it for all witch familiars.

Next is the meat of the book.  Ghosts Lesser and Greater.  This is the "monster listing" of all the ghost types with their powers, weaknesses and alternate types.  Included are some old favorites like Apparitions, Haunts, Spectres and Wraiths next to new one like Lost Souls and Geists.   Following this is a list and description of all the special abilities (And ectoplasms) of the ghosts.  You can mix and match to make anytype of Ghost you want.   Following this is uses for uncanny ectoplasm.

There is a section on magic items.  Some spells usable by or on or about ghosts.
(*The Spawn Ghost spell is really nice.  If you are playing a witch then the spell level is 5.)

Finally is a Creepy Appendix N. There are a lot great resources on this page for ghosts of every type "inspired by anything from Hanna-Barbera and H.R. Pufnstuf to H.P. Lovecraft and H.R. Giger"!

There is no art. BUT I also want to add that ghosts are either invisible or look like anything. So this is not a downmark for this book.

If you play any old-school game, original or OSR, and you use ghosts, then you need this book.  It isn't revolutionary, but it does feel a much needed gap in the rules and (if for no other reason) it will get game masters and players thinking about ghosts a different way.
Combine this with his Vampires of the Olden Lands for some serious Halloween fun.

October Movie Challenge: Wicked Lake (2008)

I am not sure if I have ever said "everything is better when you add witches."  It certainly sounds like something I might say. Wicked Lake tests that assumption...and I am not sure it got it right.

Ok I knew I was getting into a third or fourth rate "I Spit On Your Grave" here.  But it is no where near as brutal as that movie.  There are four women in this one and two different groups of men.  Really it is confusing mess.
Here is the basic gist.  Women get attacked, the moon rises and they turn the tables on the men and slaughter them all.
The sun comes up and they all swim in the lake naked and have a happy ending.

It amused me in the sense that it was so cheesy and it the formula was so obviously "hey lets add witches and plenty of naked girls to this".  There is almost a sincerity in it.

I wonder what other movies could be improved if the women in the film were in fact witches?
Thelma and Louise? Silence of the Lambs? A League of Their Own?

Well the thought amuses me at least.

Stats
19 Watched / 14 New