In case you forgot (it has been a while) TBBYANR stands for "The Best Blog You Are Not Reading" and is was a great feature in the early days of the blogging scene. Since then communications have become more fractionalized with people on Facebook, Discord and other mediums. It is hard to know how well others know about other blogs. Plus so many blogs also have their own Facebook and/or Twitter outlets.
So in my merging of these two features or more accurately #FollowFriday assuming the role that TBBYANR once held I figure I'll post some blogs I have been enjoying and how you can interact with them on social media.
Chuck Thorin's "They Might Be Gazebos!" is a good classic OSR blog. He does some reviews and retrospectives and is usually focused on Swords & Wizardry and Dungeon Crawl Classics. He does the occasional character write-up as well.
One of my favorite features of his is his OSR Retrospective where he looks at the games of the Old-School Renaissance.
Chuck is also the author of "Gary vs. The Monsters" the cinematic, campy horror monster-fighting old-school RPG.
Again, I am not sure how many of you know about this site, but they are worth checking out.
Theodric Ælfwinesson has been running MR for a bit now. While the focus is Old School there is still new content (like Pathfinder) but viewed from an Old-School lens.
Former TSR staffer and expert on all things Mystara, Bruce Heard is still giving us great content often for just the price of a mouse click. His blog focuses on his campaign world, Calidar, but there is still a ton of great content for BECMI here as well.
Swords & Stitchery is very likely a blog you all do know about. Eric has been posting his thoughts on old-school games and his own campaigns for a long time now. At a couple of posts per day he is constantly supplying new material. I have to pause often to just catch up to his output. His OSR Commentary might be the best feature, and his coverage of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea keeps me coming back time and time again.
Recently he has been discussing NIGHT SHIFT and I am very excited to see what he does with it.
I have been playing around with a Sea Witch Tradition. The Sea Witch is a powerful archetype and one that has featured in myths and legends since humankind looked out into the sea.
Witches brewing a storm in Scottland
Among the media, mythological and literary examples are Circe from myth, Calypso from The Odyssey, Sycorax in Shakespeare's The Tempest, the Sea Hag from Popeye, Ursula from The Little Mermaid (and from the original Hans Christian Andersen), Tia Dalma in Pirates of the Caribbean, comics, and a story I recall reading as a kid that I have not been able to remember properly.
The Sea witch has power over wind, weather, waves, and various creatures of the sea and coast. This would include the obvious fish and marine mammals, but also birds associated with the sea.
Sea Witch Tradition
Witches of the Sea Witch Tradition are members of a very ancient tradition related to the Classical tradition but also the Pagan traditions and Chthonic traditions. Witches of this tradition honor the sea in both it's capacity the cradle of life and in its capacity to destroy.
Role: Witches of this tradition often serve gods, goddesses, and other ancient powerful beings as their patrons. Many will often refer to the Sea as a Goddess in and of herself and other Gods of the seas are merely Her extensions and proxies.
Joining this Tradition: Sea witches join this tradition typically very early in life. They will claim they have sea-water in their veins and the sea in their soul. They feel drawn to the sea and will typically live near the sea if they are land-dwelling, or in it. They will often grow up in families where many of the members are sailors or fisherfolk. Some even are related by blood to creatures like selkies, mermaids, or even swanmays or nymphs.
Unlike most Hags that are part of the Faerie tradition, Sea Hags are part of this Sea Witch tradition.
Leaving this Tradition: Witches rarely if ever leave this tradition. Even when they are physically distant from the sea they still "feel the call of the sea."
Occult Powers
Minor, 1st Level: Familiar. The Seas witch gains a familiar related to the sea.
Lesser, 7th Level: Breathing. The sea witch gains the ability to breathe underwater if they normally breathe air, or the ability to breathe on land if they normally breathe water. This is a persistent power.
Medial, 13th Level: Shape Change. The Sean witch may shape change as per the Druid ability Wild Shape or Polymorph Self. This may be done once per day at the 13th level. The witch may only change shape to a natural sea animal that is within one size category of her normal size. So a Medium-sized witch may only change to a Small, Medium, or Large animal.
The number of times the witch may do this per day increases with every other level. So 2 times per day at 15th, 3 times per day at 17th, and 4 times per day at 19th. The witch may opt to sacrifice one of these times to go outside of her normal range of sizes. So a 17th level Amazon witch could shift to Huge or Tiny once and her normal sizes the other two (total of 4 shapeshifts per day).
Greater, 19th Level: Raise Storm. Considered by many to be the ultimate form of the Sea Witch's power, the Sea Witch can affect the weather as per the magic-user and druids spells Control Weather and Control Winds.
Major, 25th Level: Longevity. The witch stops aging. Her appearance will continue to age but her body and mind will stay the same age she was when she reached this level. She is also no longer affected by magical aging. She can still be killed by normal means.
Superior, 31st Level: Apotheosis. The witch becomes something else. This new form and powers are dependent on the Patron she serves. For sea witches, her form becomes that of a sea creature. She becomes something akin to a Triton, a Cecelia, or even odder combinations.
Special Benefits and Restrictions: The sea witch will honor a god or goddess of the sea. The vow never to willing move further and a mile away from any body of water. Most prefer to be much closer. Seas witches with a familiar can communicate with marine life and even other creatures that leave near the sea.
Equipment: The tool of this tradition is the cauldron. Like the sea, the cauldron holds all possibilities.
Preferred/Barred Covens: Sea Witches are typically solitaries, but they will often meet up every few years with others. Sea witches also tend to be very territorial, so only one will typically be found in any one natural locale, such as a bay, cove, or other inlets.
Relationship to the Goddess/Patron: The sea witch views the Goddess as the Sea itself. "Human" manifestations of Her are but limited projections into the human understanding of what the Sea and the Goddess actually is.
This relationship with the sea also makes the Sea Witch a unique figure among sailors. Many sailors are very superstitious and among those superstitions and fears are ones regarding having women on ships. Many feel it is bad luck, others feel that a woman on a ship will cause the crew to mutiny. The witch is exempt from these notions. She is both a welcome and feared member of a crew.
Male sea witches are a welcome addition to most crews even if they are just as feared and respected.
Source/Views of Magic: Like most witches, the Sea Witch views her magic as a manifestation of the Goddess who is the Sea. The source of her magic is the endless ocean, the unfathomable depths, the irresistible urge of the sea.
Archetypes: Most Faerie Witches see little use in the Good vs. Evil axis. The sea is both and neither, so why should they choose? Most tend towards neutral if a little chaotic.
Other: Sea Witches tend not to hoard much wealth, but they do appreciate treasure. Especially treasure found in the sea or on it, such as a pirate's chest of gold, or something rare and beautiful from a faraway land. Pearls are valued over other gems and gold more so than silver or platinum.
I am going over my options for the big New Year, New Character Challenge coming up next month. Seeing where I have some gaps and what other characters I need to do.
Surprisingly the one I don't have a lot of is D&D 3rd Edition. So I thought I might dust off my 3.5 books and see if I can still do this. Plus it is conspicuous by it's absence in my write-ups of Skylla.
A recap. Skylla is an NPC "magic-user" introduced to us in the LJN Advanced Dungeons & Dragons toy line and given more background in module XL1 Quest for the Heartstone and AC1 The Shady Dragon Inn. I have adapted her as a witch for various D&D-like game settings and systems.
She has become something of a reoccurring villainess in my games. I admit to borrowing heavily from Master's of the Universe Evil-Lyn for her characterization. I figure I can do worse than that.
For this version of Skylla for D&D 3.5 I am going to use the sample custom witch class from the Dungeon Master's Guide.
The DMG witch class is a bit anemic really, it is just a reskinned Sorcerer. But the goal for it was not to develop a full-blown witch class as I have done, but rather show how the classes can be altered for your own needs. Given how 3.x did the Sorcerer class this one should be fairly close to the BECMI roots of the character.
Special Abilities - Familiar Familiar - Raven (level 1, 11 HP, 18 AC Attack +5) +3 to Appraise Checks while Familiar is within 1 mile Deliver Touch spells through familiar Empathic Link (Su) Speak with Animals (Ex) Speak with Familiar (Ex)
Spells Spell DC 12 + Spell level Cantrips: Arcane Mark, Daze, Detect Magic, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Read Magic 1st level: Charm Person, Floating Disk, Hold Portal, Identify, Magic Missle 2nd level: Alter Self, Detect Thoughts, Invisibility 3rd level: Hold Person, Magic Circle Against Good
Not a bad build really. She compares well to her base stats and to the Pathfinder 1st Edition version. I will have to try a Pathfinder 2nd Edition version sometime.
I also pleased with how her ePic Character came out.
I have been working on a set of game boards to depict Lolth's lair in the Abyss. They are not done yet and hope to show them off soon. I have been taking my family through the Classic Greyhawk Campaign starting with T1 (AND B1) and working all the way to Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits.
While running I have added other material to the campaign to flesh it out more. This includes such classics as Bone Hill, Ravenloft, and Castle Amber but other details like a Stone Giant fortress Cloud Giant castle in the sky (for G4 and G5 respectively) as well as more details for the Drow City of Erelhei-Cinlu and a revamp of Lolth's lair.
While it is too late in the game for me to use it, Joesph Bloch, the Greyhawk Grognard, has released his own D4 to expand the Drown of Erelhei-Cinlu. You can find it on his blog.
It looks fantastic really, and let's be honest, Bloch knows his Greyhawk. So I am certain that it would have been a nice addition to my campaign. Plus it ties the GDQ series a little closer to the Temple of Elemental Evil, which is the ultimate goal of my campaign as well. I understand he is doing a Q2 or something akin to that. I have also wanted a good Q2. Though I am adapting the Monte cook adventure "Queen of Lies" for it.
But until then, I have a few more "spiderweb" monsters I need to weed out the uninspired choices in Q1.
Ghost Spiders appear as semi-transparent, glowing ghosts of huge spiders. They are not spiders, nor are they exactly undead, but rather they are the demonic projections of fears powered by necromantic forces.
A ghost spider is found anywhere where the influence of demons is strong and where mortal creatures can interact. The fears of spiders are magnified till a ghost spider is created. As such it radiates a fear aura that mimics the spell Cause Fear. Anyone under 5 HD/Levels must make a saving throw vs Spells or fall under the influence of the spell-like effect. Creatures higher than 5HD/Levels gain a +2 to their save. Creatures 9HD/levels or higher are immune to these fear effects. Those affected will be frozen in fear and unable to move, run, or attack. The ghost spider will then attack with webs (as per a giant spider) to immobilize other potential victims. Then will then use their bite to kill others. Ghost Spiders are not living and therefore do not require to feed on victims. They instead feed on the fear they cause and the pain from deaths.
Ghost spiders are treated as undead and can be turned as a 5HD creature or as a Spectre. Like all undead they are immune to charm, hold and sleep spells. They can only be struck by magical weapons. Once destroyed the ghost spider will not reform, but other ghost spiders may be created in their place at a future date. The only way to destroy them forever is to remove the demonic forces that create them.
No. I am not talking about one of the most fantastic albums ever released (though I should probably spill some virtual ink on that someday). I am talking about the number of options afforded to us in streaming entertainment.
In this time of Covid-19 we are supposed to stay at home and avoid interaction with others. That is fine, but it means we are spending a lot more time at home. So I have been enjoying a lot of what streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon, HBO, and CBS All Access are really trying to get our attention with more programming. Since I am also saving a small fortune by not having to drive into work anymore I am enjoying all of them.
Since I have been spending my week categorizing over 350 different demons for my demon book I don't have much RPG content to share right now. So what's good on streaming?
CBS All Access
Or the all Star Trek all the Time Channel. Star Trek Discovery Season 3 has been fantastic this year. The crew jumped 900+ years into the future (3188 to be exact) to save a sentient AI from falling into the wrong hands. It doesn't quite have the emotional connection that Season 2 (the search for..well...Spock) did BUT for a Trek fan like me it has been great on the fan service and easter eggs. This is essentially Season 1 of the new 32nd Century Star Trek. This gives the creative team so much more freedom to do the special effects they obviously wanted to do anyway but also gives them some good storytelling freedom away from the established Trek canon. This is amusing because this season has had the most callbacks to previous versions of Trek outside of Season 2's TOS homages.
Additionally, we are getting new episodes of Picard, Lower Decks (maybe and second season is coming I have not heard), and new shows like Strange New Worlds (Pike's Enterprise) and Section 31, Starfleet's Gray Ops group. For a Trek fan this is fantastic!
Amazon Prime
My October Horror Movie Challenge would not have been possible without Prime. We have been watching a lot of Vikings lately. Don't confuse it for actual history (even though it was on the History Channel) it has been fun and has given me some ideas.
The Second Age Middle Earth series is underway. Casting has been announced, but I don't think filming has started yet.
Hulu
Have not taken as much advantage of this one as I should. But the really fun Helstrom was here (and not Disney+ for some reason) and it shows that when Marvel does Horror, it can do a great job of it.
In many ways, Helstrom and Satana (Ana in the series) was Marvel's answer to DC's Constantine even though Hellstrom (2 "L"s) premiered a decade before. Hellstrom, Satana, Doctor Strange, Blade and Dracula were all part of the Marvel Horror universe that I loved as a kid. The changes from the comic to series were needed and very welcome to me really. It is still full of Marvel AngstTM, but it is also a lot of fun.
HBO Max (or + or Go or whatever it is called now)
HBO has been around forever. It and Showtime were two of the very, very first "movie channels" out there. But today HBO is better known for its series. True Blood (which for some reason is getting a reboot) and Game of Thrones are two notable ones. This past year I have been watching Lovecraft Country (which is fantastic!) and His Dark Materials, which is getting better in Season 2. We also got the DC shows, Harley Quinn, Titans, Doom Patrol, and soon we will be able to see Wonder Woman 84 and the Synder Cut of Justice League.
I don't care. I am such a DC fanboy that I am excited about this.
Netflix
The Champion of the Streaming Channels, but it has had some serious competition from Disney+. Let's see what they have been offering me. Netflix will be forever fixed in Geek Heaven for Stranger Things. We will be getting the 4th season of that soon; filming is underway. Enola Holmes, based on the YA books was also a hit, even if it didn't exactly conform to the established Holmes canon. We also got The Witcher based on the video game and now R. Talsorian Games RPG of the same name.
Speaking of Season 4, we are getting the LAST installment of the Chilling Adventure of Sabrina near the end of the month. It looks like they are taking it where the comic also went, into dealing with Cthulhu and other Lovecraftian horrors. It looks like it should be great.
I was a little disappointed in ChAoS when they killed off Dorcas played by the lovely Abigail Cowen. while it may have been part of the plot, she was quickly scooped up it seems by another Netflix production, Fate. I saw the trailer for it today and thought it looked cool, THEN I saw what it was at the end.
Fate: A Winx Saga. Whaaat? Winx Club as a comic and then a kids Nickelodeon animated series. I thought it was a poor rip-off of Disney's W.I.T.C.H. so did Disney in fact. Turns out Winx Club was published and in production a full year before the W.I.T.C.H. comics came out. This is by the same people and is supposed to be darker and more adult. I happy to see Abby Cowen is something where she is the star, I thought she had great potential on ChAoS and this should be fun too.
Oh. If you have not seen The Queen's Gambit it is fantastic.
Disney+
What can you say about Disney+? I mean even before they acquired Lucasfilm and Marvel they had one of the deepest wells of titles and characters. Honestly just between the Disney, Pixar, and ABC material they own they could have been fine as a streaming service. But let's be honest, as great as Pixar is no one dropped the cash for Disney+ for that alone. Disney+ has been moving along famously in the last year or so thanks to The Baby Yoda ShowThe Mandalorian. It has been a fantastic show and Season 2 has been delivering an action-packed episode all season long AND with great storytelling AND with characters I never thought in 40 years I'd see on TV. While I am a Star Trek fan deep in my DNA, I do love Star Wars. The adventures of Not Boba Fett and Space Pikachu has been some of the best Star Wars I have seen. Disney+ could honestly do a victory lap now, but that was until yesterday when they made their 2021 announcements.
I have no idea how many new shows and movies are coming out for Marvel and Star Wars now. Lots. More than I ever thought one studio would try to do. Instead of trying to recap them all (lots of other sites are doing that) let me just focus on the ones that interest me.
WandaVison
I have a love/hate relationship with Scarlet Witch in Marvel. First, she was never really a witch so I often felt "lied" too, except the times she was a witch. And a mutant. She was a villain, she was a hero, she was depowered, she was overpowered. As a character, she was all over the place. And sometimes she was just that, all over the place. She suffered from bouts of insanity, deep depression, and loss.
I will give the movies credit on a couple of things. Divorced from her "mutant" background it gave her character more definition. Also for the first time, I bought into her's and Vision's love for each other.
The new series WandaVision looks like it takes the background of the comic's characters and really makes a good series out of it.
Seriously, this could be Wanda going mad and her powers acting out creating new realities or something else. Or both. Given the character, it is likely both. Elizabeth Olsen is also a great actress and she can pull this off. Frankly, the riffs on "Bewitched" are enough to get me to watch it.
Watching this new trailer really puts a different spin on the first trailer released.
There certainly something else going on here. I am looking forward to it.
Marvel: What If...?
One of my favorite Marvel Titles was "What If...?" The comic would break off into different sorts of stories all under the "What If" question. What if Spider-man joined the Fantastic Four? Was the first one. "What if Gwen Stacy had lived? was an interesting one as well. The best may have been the introduction of May "Mayday" Parker as "Spider-Girl" and the Gwen Stacy arc eventually planted the seeds to give us "Spider Gwen". If Barry Allen/The Flash is the center point of DC's multiverse, then certainly Spider-man is the center of Marvel's. It seems a little odd to me then that Spider-man doesn't feature at all in the trailer of Disney+'s "Marvel: What If...?" series.
I am sure it is more shenanigans with Sony. Though the rumor is now that Alfred Molina will return as Doctor Octopus in the third Spider-man movie. Additionally, we could get past Peter Parkers as well now that Disney owns what was 20th Century Fox and Into the Spider-verse was a huge success.
Here we are. Our geek cups run over and there is more to fill even more cups.
Never would I have suspected that we would have so much genre entertainment at our fingertips. Which is good since we really should not be going anywhere.
Margaret Brundage is another artist you may not know by name but certainly by her art. I will go out on a limb and say she was one of the most recognizable artists of the Pulp Era.
Margaret Brundage, born Margaret Hedda Johnson was born December 9, 1900, in Chicago, a place she would call home till her death in 1976.
She was looking for work when she found Farnsworth Wright editor of "Oriental Tales" and then "Weird Tales" Brundage would paint covers for both magazines and sign them "M. Brundage" so no one knew it was a woman doing all this art of scantily clad or nude women in peril.
Her artwork became part of the image of Weird Tales in the 1930s with some authors, Seabury Quinn notably, not only requesting her work but working in scenes of her art into the story. Others like Clark Ashton Smith and H.P. Lovecraft were less pleased with her work. But there is no doubt that her covers sold magazines.
Often her covers also had to be toned down for publication. Her other works were even more risque.
She would go on to do 66 covers for Wierd Tales. Some have gone on to become classics.
If you enjoyed the previous adventures in this series, like I have, then you know what to expect here.
If you love the old-school style modules but want something that is just "a little more" then I highly recommend these.
One day my plan is to run these all with some flavor of B/X since the adventures top out at 14th level. Though the adventures are very much in the 1st Ed D&D vein and not really "Basic", it's what I want to do with them.
Maybe when the Advanced books for Old-School Essentials come in I'll revisit this idea.
