So for the last couple of days I have been doing some world-building research for a couple of projects. All was well and good till this last round. I fell into a "Flat Earth" rabbit hole.
Now don't get me wrong. I love reading a good crazy conspiracy theory as much as next guy and I find pseudo-science to be comical. But this...this just made me weep for humanity.
Honestly. I have said "What the fuck is this?" so many times today that I think I have used up my lifetime quota.
So I need something to clear out my brain. Like a good documentary...or a horror movie. Something to get the stupid out.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Monday, May 16, 2016
Monstrous Mondays: The Piasa Bird
Welcome back to Monstrous Mondays!
Today I want to add a monster from stories of my childhood. If you grew up in Central or Southern Illinois you heard stories of the Piasa Bird. I featured this monster in one of my earliest posts here and thought I really need to bring it back.
The following text is considered Open for use under the OGL.
The Piasa Bird
AKA: The Piasa, "The Bird That Devours Men", "The Destroyer"
Frequency: Very Rare
No. Appearing: 1
Size: Large 18'
Armor Class: -2 [22]1
Movement
Basic: 90' (30') Fly: 240' (80')
Advanced: 9" Fly: 24"
3e/5e: 25 ft Fly: 60
Hit Dice: 11d8+6 (55 hp)
% in Lair: 50%
Treasure Type: None. The Piasa eats all meat an discards everything else.
Attacks: 4 (claw/claw/bite/tail swipe) + fear
Damage: 1d6+2/1d6+2/2d8/1d6
Special Attacks: Cause Fear once per day.
Special Defenses: none
Save As: Fighter 102
Magic Resistance: 0%
Morale: 93
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Level/XP: XXXX4
STR: 22 INT: 8 WIS: 8 DEX: 14 CON: 15 CHA: 4
1 Descending and [Ascending] Armor classes are given.
2 This is used for Basic games, and S&W. Also for monsters that I think need to save a little differently than others.
3 Morale is "Basic" Morale and based on a 1-12 scale. Multiply by 1.6667 for 1-20 scale.
4 Still working out an XP systems that works across all games.
According to the diary of Louis Joliet, the Piasa Bird "was as large as a calf with horns like a deer, red eyes, a beard like a tiger's, a face like a man, the body covered with green, red and black scales and a tail so long it passed around the body, over the head and between the legs."
Piasa Birds in the game are a larger and resemble a manticore or a dragon.
They do not keep treasure. They are only interested in killing for meat and sport.
Story of the Piasa Bird
The following story appeared in the Alton Telegraph (1836) by John Russel. It is claimed that this is story told to Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet by the Indian tribes of the valley.
When Marquette and Joliet came down the Mississippi river in 1673 they encountered a bluff on the east side of the river with the painting of a giant monster. When they asked the Indians what this monster was, they retold for them the story that had been handed down to them for generations. Marquette named the monster "Piasa," pronounced Pie-a-saw, which means "the Destroyer."
The Legend of the Piasa bird that was related to Marquette and Joliet went something like this. Many years ago a great bird roamed the land. Every morning the people would wake in fear to the shrill screams of the great Bird. The bird awoke hungry and would carry off dozens of boys and girls to its cave to be eaten. Chief Ouatoga [OO-wa-toe-ga] was getting old. He wanted to destroy this terrible monster before he died. He called his braves to a meeting and told them he was going to ask the Great Spirit what to do.
He went up on the highest bluff. He spoke with the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit told the Chief, "Dip your arrows deep into the poison of a copperhead snake and shoot them into the body of the Bird. They will cause its death." He returned to the camp and told his people what the Great Spirit had told him. He gathered up a small army of the strongest braves and set out to hunt the Bird. Chief Ouatoga told his braves that the plan was for someone to stand on the cliff to lure the Bird down. When the great monster swoops down they were to shoot it with their poison arrows.
The braves all begged their chief to be the one to sacrifice themselves. But the chief told them no, he would be the one, since he was older. While the braves practiced with their bows, Chief Ouatoga spoke with the Great Spirit. "Think not of my life," he said, "but the lives of the children."
The next morning the chief stood tall waiting for the great bird to come. Its screams could be heard as flew down the river looking for victims. The bird saw the old chief and swooped down on him with a terrible scream.
Just as the monster was ready to attack the braves shot their arrows and all 100 met their mark. The monster fell into the Mississippi river and died. The braves carried the broken and bruised body of their chief back to the tribe. The medicine man healed him and he awoke the next day surrounded by his grateful people. In remembrance of the act the returned to the site and painted a life-size picture of the monster. Every time an Indian went down the river after that, he fired an arrow at the bluff.
In alternate versions of the story the youngest brave stands on the cliff instead of the Chief. When he is healed the next day he becomes the new Chief.
Section 15: "The Piasa Bird". Copyright 2016 Timothy S. Brannan.
Don't forget to include the hashtag #MonsterMonday on Twitter or #MonsterMonday on Google+ when you post your own monsters!
Today I want to add a monster from stories of my childhood. If you grew up in Central or Southern Illinois you heard stories of the Piasa Bird. I featured this monster in one of my earliest posts here and thought I really need to bring it back.
The following text is considered Open for use under the OGL.
AKA: The Piasa, "The Bird That Devours Men", "The Destroyer"
Frequency: Very Rare
No. Appearing: 1
Size: Large 18'
Armor Class: -2 [22]1
Movement
Basic: 90' (30') Fly: 240' (80')
Advanced: 9" Fly: 24"
3e/5e: 25 ft Fly: 60
Hit Dice: 11d8+6 (55 hp)
% in Lair: 50%
Treasure Type: None. The Piasa eats all meat an discards everything else.
Attacks: 4 (claw/claw/bite/tail swipe) + fear
Damage: 1d6+2/1d6+2/2d8/1d6
Special Attacks: Cause Fear once per day.
Special Defenses: none
Save As: Fighter 102
Magic Resistance: 0%
Morale: 93
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Level/XP: XXXX4
STR: 22 INT: 8 WIS: 8 DEX: 14 CON: 15 CHA: 4
1 Descending and [Ascending] Armor classes are given.
2 This is used for Basic games, and S&W. Also for monsters that I think need to save a little differently than others.
3 Morale is "Basic" Morale and based on a 1-12 scale. Multiply by 1.6667 for 1-20 scale.
4 Still working out an XP systems that works across all games.
According to the diary of Louis Joliet, the Piasa Bird "was as large as a calf with horns like a deer, red eyes, a beard like a tiger's, a face like a man, the body covered with green, red and black scales and a tail so long it passed around the body, over the head and between the legs."
Piasa Birds in the game are a larger and resemble a manticore or a dragon.
They do not keep treasure. They are only interested in killing for meat and sport.
Story of the Piasa Bird
The following story appeared in the Alton Telegraph (1836) by John Russel. It is claimed that this is story told to Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet by the Indian tribes of the valley.
When Marquette and Joliet came down the Mississippi river in 1673 they encountered a bluff on the east side of the river with the painting of a giant monster. When they asked the Indians what this monster was, they retold for them the story that had been handed down to them for generations. Marquette named the monster "Piasa," pronounced Pie-a-saw, which means "the Destroyer."
The Legend of the Piasa bird that was related to Marquette and Joliet went something like this. Many years ago a great bird roamed the land. Every morning the people would wake in fear to the shrill screams of the great Bird. The bird awoke hungry and would carry off dozens of boys and girls to its cave to be eaten. Chief Ouatoga [OO-wa-toe-ga] was getting old. He wanted to destroy this terrible monster before he died. He called his braves to a meeting and told them he was going to ask the Great Spirit what to do.
He went up on the highest bluff. He spoke with the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit told the Chief, "Dip your arrows deep into the poison of a copperhead snake and shoot them into the body of the Bird. They will cause its death." He returned to the camp and told his people what the Great Spirit had told him. He gathered up a small army of the strongest braves and set out to hunt the Bird. Chief Ouatoga told his braves that the plan was for someone to stand on the cliff to lure the Bird down. When the great monster swoops down they were to shoot it with their poison arrows.
The braves all begged their chief to be the one to sacrifice themselves. But the chief told them no, he would be the one, since he was older. While the braves practiced with their bows, Chief Ouatoga spoke with the Great Spirit. "Think not of my life," he said, "but the lives of the children."
The next morning the chief stood tall waiting for the great bird to come. Its screams could be heard as flew down the river looking for victims. The bird saw the old chief and swooped down on him with a terrible scream.
Just as the monster was ready to attack the braves shot their arrows and all 100 met their mark. The monster fell into the Mississippi river and died. The braves carried the broken and bruised body of their chief back to the tribe. The medicine man healed him and he awoke the next day surrounded by his grateful people. In remembrance of the act the returned to the site and painted a life-size picture of the monster. Every time an Indian went down the river after that, he fired an arrow at the bluff.
In alternate versions of the story the youngest brave stands on the cliff instead of the Chief. When he is healed the next day he becomes the new Chief.
 |
| The rare female Piasa Bird. |
Don't forget to include the hashtag #MonsterMonday on Twitter or #MonsterMonday on Google+ when you post your own monsters!
Friday, May 13, 2016
Kickstart Your Weekend: Gamer Badges Set 2
I know I featured this Kickstarter last week, but I wanted to do so again.
Gamer Badges by JBM Press has released Set 2 of their badges
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1705440407/gamer-badges
They are a little more than halfway there. So lets help them the rest of the way.
Gamer Badges by JBM Press has released Set 2 of their badges
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1705440407/gamer-badges
They are a little more than halfway there. So lets help them the rest of the way.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
New Big Dragon B/X Screen Sheets
So a while back I backed the Classic Edition GM's Screen from New Big Dragon and +Richard LeBlanc.
Well, the files went out this week and they look great. If the physical product is this cool (and it should be) then this was a great project to back.
As an added bonus (well to me because I forgot about it) were files for character sheets.
They also look fantastic. Since I have been printing out sheets for various versions of D&D for my summer games I thought I should give these a go too.
The sheets look great if you ask me. I love the class-specific ones and there is even a generic one.
Really looking forward to this one in the mail.
Well, the files went out this week and they look great. If the physical product is this cool (and it should be) then this was a great project to back.
As an added bonus (well to me because I forgot about it) were files for character sheets.
They also look fantastic. Since I have been printing out sheets for various versions of D&D for my summer games I thought I should give these a go too.
The sheets look great if you ask me. I love the class-specific ones and there is even a generic one.
Really looking forward to this one in the mail.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
"Much Maligned"? I don't think so.
So I got this email from RPG.Net the other day and there is a section near the bottom.
RPG.net is blocked at work, so I can't get into the thread itself.
I know there is a certain segment of the RPG population who disliked D&D5 based on (what it seems to me) the involvement of +Kasimir Urbanski (RPGPundit) and +Zak Sabbath and wished it would fail. Well, that never happened and now almost 2 more years in I notice some of those (vocal) one are now playing 5e.
Then there are also these articles. Not exhaustive, or even 100% representative but they do make a point. Read them, but for the purposes of this illustration, the titles will suffice.
I could go on but hardly needed.
No I think this is much, much more a reflection of the point of view of the editor of this newsletter, "Iustum". (I admittedly have no idea who that is.) Also trying to push a particular narrative.
RPG.net lately has been more a place of cliques and overly draconian rules on what can and cannot be posted. Granted that is their right. They pay the bills they can say what they want there and control what others say. But that doesn't really make it true.
Sorry RPG.net. but D&D5 is not much maligned. Not even by die hard Grognards.
Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition has been much maligned in RPG circles (including by yr. humble editor, to be fair), but the game does have its undeniable good points. For some positive discussion of the latest edition of the grandaddy of RPGs, check out "Why 5e Is Good."Much Maligned? By who? Where?
RPG.net is blocked at work, so I can't get into the thread itself.
I know there is a certain segment of the RPG population who disliked D&D5 based on (what it seems to me) the involvement of +Kasimir Urbanski (RPGPundit) and +Zak Sabbath and wished it would fail. Well, that never happened and now almost 2 more years in I notice some of those (vocal) one are now playing 5e.
Then there are also these articles. Not exhaustive, or even 100% representative but they do make a point. Read them, but for the purposes of this illustration, the titles will suffice.
- 'Dungeons & Dragons' makes a resurgence
- 'Dungeons & Dragons' Good For Writers, Says 'New York Times'
- Female-only Dungeons & Dragons club vanquishing sexism in fantasy gaming
- ‘D&D’ Fifth Edition: One Year in, Beyond the Game
- The awesome glory that is Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition
- Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition gives freedom back to the dungeon
- Reviewed: Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition: Streamlining, self-publishing, annual stories—if you left, it's time to unretire for 5E
- Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition gets it mostly right
- It's The Perfect Time To Play Dungeons & Dragons
- Five More Things I Love About Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition
I could go on but hardly needed.
No I think this is much, much more a reflection of the point of view of the editor of this newsletter, "Iustum". (I admittedly have no idea who that is.) Also trying to push a particular narrative.
RPG.net lately has been more a place of cliques and overly draconian rules on what can and cannot be posted. Granted that is their right. They pay the bills they can say what they want there and control what others say. But that doesn't really make it true.
Sorry RPG.net. but D&D5 is not much maligned. Not even by die hard Grognards.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
What are RPGs Worth?
http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?3410-Why-We-Need-To-Pay-What-Games-Are-Worth-Not-What-We-Think-They-Should-Cost#.VzH7TnErKVM
http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2016/05/what-are-games-worth-follow-up-to-chris.html
https://plus.google.com/+GregChristopher /posts/4ScbaXYPFnv
http://trollsmyth.blogspot.com/2016/05/whats-it-worth-to-ya.html (edited to add)
http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/2016/05/incompetent-game-writers-demanding-we.html
Some advocating more expensive books and/or better pay for the work they do. Others saying let the market decide what something needs to be charged and/or paid.
I guess to me the issue is really what is an RPG worth to me.
I am very fortunate. I get to write RPGs, the stuff I want and I get to be choosy about it. I have a day job that I am really good at and pays me well. I can afford to buy the things I want and even get the occasional luxury item. So my personal calculus for what I will pay is different than yours or someone doing much better than me.
The questions are "What should RPGs cost?" and "What are RPGs worth?". The logical extension of these questions are what should a professional game designer be paid?
These are two VERY different questions.
Let's look at the breakdown of price (money), cost (money and time among other things) and value or worth.
I bought the AD&D 1st edition hardcovers back in the 1980s. Money was tight for me then. Even a $15 or $20 book represented a significant number of hours of me working at the time. So their value started out as higher than their price might indicate. The worth of those books to me is incalculable. Not just the time I spent with friends playing, or reading them over and over, but the things I do now with my own kids.
I bought the 3rd Edition hardcovers when they first came out. I keep the receipts as bookmarks so I know when I got them and how much I paid; 9/11/2000 (interesting date) and I spent $18.00 plus tax (in Cook County Ill that is about 9%). These books cost far more to produce. The cost was a bout the same to me, but the amount of work this total represented 20 years later to buy them was far less. Also, their worth to me is still great since this was the system I taught my kids how to play.
So value and worth is not something I can easily quantify. Does Skip Williams deserve to be paid more or less than Gary Gygax did?
I have had the pleasure to work on some truly wonderful games. I spent hundreds of hours doing research for Ghosts of Albion. Not just on the primary material, but on the Victorian time, names, economics, how long it took to load a gun, world leaders, countries, disputes. Hell I spent an entire day doing nothing but looking up the most popular names of 1838 and 1839! Should it have been more expensive to make than say Army of Darkness? A game with the same rule system?
I am going to say no.
Why? Well lots of reasons really. Army of Darkness, the movie, is more popular than the Ghosts of Albion books. There is a certain gamer-cool vibe to Army of Darkness too. Plus Victorian games, as popular as they are, are still a small niche inside the RPG community.
I spent that time in research because it was what I chose to do. I wanted to give you a better game. I wanted to give you the best Victorian game I make and the best Cinematic Unisystem game I could make. In both cases I feel like I did my best. Hey it's 8+ years since publication and I still get people telling me how much they love Ghosts.
To someone else the value of Ghosts vs. Army is the same. The cost certainly is for the consumer. I am privy to many of the behind the scenes costs for both books, so I am not going to get into the issue of which one was more expensive to make.
I also spent hundreds of hours working on The Witch. The typing, the layout and the research alone goes back decades. I also bought a bunch of art for it and bought advertising on my own dime. I sell it for $5.00. I bet I could have charged $10, but 5 felt better to me. If I were to be paid let's say minimum wage on the work I did, well...I'd likely never see that money based on sales alone.
But that is not why I do it.
There is a quote that is often attributed to Kevin Siembieda's ex-wife Maryann, "If you want to make a small fortune in the gaming industry you need to start with a large fortune and work your way down."
There is a sad truth in that.
I am not saying we couldn't or even shouldn't pay game designers more.
But they will be paid what the market allows for.
There is a price that a book will sell at, but my knowledge of micro- and macro-economics is not MBA level so I have no idea what that is. We have thousands of games, hundreds of professional and amateur designers out there, and unfettered access to all. This new golden age of access to RPGs has a price.
We just don't know what that price should be.
Monday, May 9, 2016
The Return of Monstrous Mondays: The Cailleach Bheur
For a while now I have been contemplating returning to an old feature here, Monstrous Mondays.
A few other bloggers I met in the A to Z Challenge also do it, tailored to their respective audiences. The last one I did was just over a year ago (Yog, Monster from Space) but I never kept going.
Natasha Duncan-Drake
Part Time Monster
MindweaverRPG
Dispatches from Kickassistan,
For this blog, I would feature monsters that would likely appear in my games. I would likely focus on OSR stats. Also, I am likely to release them all as "Open" via the OGl. Art is excluded from that of course. Wish to join me? Let me know each Monday and post with the hashtag #MonsterMonday (Twitter) or #MonsterMonday on Google+.
So let's get going!
I think for my "OSR" stated monsters I am going to start using the format/stat block I used for some of the vampires I did last year.
The following text is considered Open for use under the OGL.
The Cailleach Bheur
AKA: The Blue Hag, The Crow of Winter
Frequency: Very Rare
No. Appearing: 1 (believed unique)
Size: Large 8" (L)
Armor Class: 2 [17]1
Movement
Basic: 120' (40')
Advanced: 12"/18"
3e: 30ft
Hit Dice: 10d8+5 (50 hp)
% in Lair: 50% (roaming countryside in winter, dormant in summer)
Treasure Type: None
Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite) + cold, fear
Damage: 1d6+4/1d6+4/1d4
Special Attacks: Cold 6d6 (breath), once per day. Cause Fear once per day.
Special Defenses: Immune to cold based attacks
Save As: Witch 102
Magic Resistance: 25%
Morale: 103
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Level/XP: 10/5,530 + 15/hp
STR: 19 INT: 10 WIS: 17 DEX: 16 CON: 204 CHA: 75
1 Descending and [Ascending] Armor classes are given.
2 This is used for Basic games, and S&W. Also for monsters that I think need to save a little differently than others.
3 Morale is "Basic" Morale and based on a 1-12 scale. Multiply by 1.6667 for 1-20 scale.
4 Have not decided yet if I want to use 3.x style undead Constitutions or not. (15) Reflects what their Con would be if I do use it. I might just put a number in () like I do for Ghosts of Albion.
5 monster witches can use an "absolute value" for Charisma. So a really bad CHA is just as good as a really good one.
Known as the Crow of Winter, The Cailleach Bheur is a very deadly hag. She appears only after Samhain/All Hallow’s Eve and stays till Beltane eve. While as evil as other hags, Cailleach Bheur is more interested in eating sheep and deer than children. In Ireland and Scotland, she is the personification of Winter. During the summer months, Cailleach Bheur turns to stone and is indistinguishable from the other standing stones of the area.
The Cailleach Bheur was cursed into her existence back in a time before writing came to Scotland. One tale, disturbing as it sounds, describes the Cailleach as the ancient Protector of Alba, maybe even a faerie queen or goddess.
In her previous life, the Cailleach Bheur was a lone protector of animals (a Ranger) and a follower of the Great Goddess. One night he fell asleep by a well. The well overflowed with the thaw and she nearly drown. She invoked powerful magics to move the water away, but in the process created Loch Awe (in Scotland) and drowning several villagers and cattle. As repentance, she is to walk the snowy earth till she can feel the mid-summer sun on her face, something that can’t ever happen since she is cursed to be stone from Beltane to Samhain.
The Cailleach Bheur still protects her lands as she did before, ignoring humans unless they tread on her domain, then she kills them with glee by freezing them solid. She blames humans for her current state.
The Cailleach Bheur is believed to be at least 400 years old.
Staff of Winter: Possibly a remnant of her former life the Cailleach Bheur carries a magical staff. The Staff of Winter is made up of holly and gorse branches intertwined to form a 7’ long staff of solid wood. It acts as a magical focus tool providing the Cailleach Bheur +2 magic to all magic related rolls, attacks, saves and checks.
Anyone in possession of this staff can command Cailleach Bheur to leave the area by holding the staff and saying “Bì falbh buitseach!” (begone (get out) witch!). Both Cailleach Bheur and her staff will disappear after the command is uttered. This would require research into Cailleach Bheur specifically or local lore.
Section 15: "The Cailleach Bheur". Copyright 2016 Timothy S. Brannan.
A few other bloggers I met in the A to Z Challenge also do it, tailored to their respective audiences. The last one I did was just over a year ago (Yog, Monster from Space) but I never kept going.
Natasha Duncan-Drake
Part Time Monster
MindweaverRPG
Dispatches from Kickassistan,
For this blog, I would feature monsters that would likely appear in my games. I would likely focus on OSR stats. Also, I am likely to release them all as "Open" via the OGl. Art is excluded from that of course. Wish to join me? Let me know each Monday and post with the hashtag #MonsterMonday (Twitter) or #MonsterMonday on Google+.
So let's get going!
I think for my "OSR" stated monsters I am going to start using the format/stat block I used for some of the vampires I did last year.
The following text is considered Open for use under the OGL.
It was her eyes that still haunt me.
She was abnormally tall, at least 8 ft., though that is normal if you consider her species. She was ghastly thin, weighing maybe 12 or 13 stone at the most. Her skin was a dark blue, like that of a bruise. It left the impression of having been dyed in woad for countless nights. She appeared as many of her kind; hideous countenance, with her face and body a little too sharp and too many angles. Her hair was a chaotic nest of wiry and frozen strands. Her clothing, what little remained, was a tattered rag reminiscent of a peasant’s garb of a bygone age. She stood her ground holding her staff. If she were affected by the cold then we could certainly not see it. She spoke with a voice of ice-cracking tree limbs.
“Begone Witch. These are my lands to vanguard.”
She glared at us with those bright blue, all too human, eyes.
- From the Journal of Larina Nix
 |
| The Cailleach Bheur by Andrew Paciorek used with permission |
AKA: The Blue Hag, The Crow of Winter
Frequency: Very Rare
No. Appearing: 1 (believed unique)
Size: Large 8" (L)
Armor Class: 2 [17]1
Movement
Basic: 120' (40')
Advanced: 12"/18"
3e: 30ft
Hit Dice: 10d8+5 (50 hp)
% in Lair: 50% (roaming countryside in winter, dormant in summer)
Treasure Type: None
Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite) + cold, fear
Damage: 1d6+4/1d6+4/1d4
Special Attacks: Cold 6d6 (breath), once per day. Cause Fear once per day.
Special Defenses: Immune to cold based attacks
Save As: Witch 102
Magic Resistance: 25%
Morale: 103
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Level/XP: 10/5,530 + 15/hp
STR: 19 INT: 10 WIS: 17 DEX: 16 CON: 204 CHA: 75
1 Descending and [Ascending] Armor classes are given.
2 This is used for Basic games, and S&W. Also for monsters that I think need to save a little differently than others.
3 Morale is "Basic" Morale and based on a 1-12 scale. Multiply by 1.6667 for 1-20 scale.
4 Have not decided yet if I want to use 3.x style undead Constitutions or not. (15) Reflects what their Con would be if I do use it. I might just put a number in () like I do for Ghosts of Albion.
5 monster witches can use an "absolute value" for Charisma. So a really bad CHA is just as good as a really good one.
Known as the Crow of Winter, The Cailleach Bheur is a very deadly hag. She appears only after Samhain/All Hallow’s Eve and stays till Beltane eve. While as evil as other hags, Cailleach Bheur is more interested in eating sheep and deer than children. In Ireland and Scotland, she is the personification of Winter. During the summer months, Cailleach Bheur turns to stone and is indistinguishable from the other standing stones of the area.
The Cailleach Bheur was cursed into her existence back in a time before writing came to Scotland. One tale, disturbing as it sounds, describes the Cailleach as the ancient Protector of Alba, maybe even a faerie queen or goddess.
In her previous life, the Cailleach Bheur was a lone protector of animals (a Ranger) and a follower of the Great Goddess. One night he fell asleep by a well. The well overflowed with the thaw and she nearly drown. She invoked powerful magics to move the water away, but in the process created Loch Awe (in Scotland) and drowning several villagers and cattle. As repentance, she is to walk the snowy earth till she can feel the mid-summer sun on her face, something that can’t ever happen since she is cursed to be stone from Beltane to Samhain.
The Cailleach Bheur still protects her lands as she did before, ignoring humans unless they tread on her domain, then she kills them with glee by freezing them solid. She blames humans for her current state.
The Cailleach Bheur is believed to be at least 400 years old.
Staff of Winter: Possibly a remnant of her former life the Cailleach Bheur carries a magical staff. The Staff of Winter is made up of holly and gorse branches intertwined to form a 7’ long staff of solid wood. It acts as a magical focus tool providing the Cailleach Bheur +2 magic to all magic related rolls, attacks, saves and checks.
Anyone in possession of this staff can command Cailleach Bheur to leave the area by holding the staff and saying “Bì falbh buitseach!” (begone (get out) witch!). Both Cailleach Bheur and her staff will disappear after the command is uttered. This would require research into Cailleach Bheur specifically or local lore.
Section 15: "The Cailleach Bheur". Copyright 2016 Timothy S. Brannan.
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