The Other Side blog

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

D&DGII The Black Forest Mythos: The Mother Goddesses Herde Oberin, Mutter Natur and Großmutter

Three more Goddesses today for my Black Forest Mythos. All are "mother" Goddesses and have quite a lot of control. Herde Oberin is the wife of Unser Vater and represents the home and hearth. She has aspects of Juno/Hera and Frigg as well as Hestia. Mutter Natur, or "Mother Nature" is the anthropomorphized Nature. The last is Großmutter or "Grandmother", who is Gaia in the Greek myths. She is the mother of the Gods but is also the mother of many of the other creatures in these myths, including the Álfar.

I am undecided whether Großmutter and Mutter Natur are not aspects of the same goddess. Often times you see gods and goddesses getting reduced as the pantheons age. BUT also you see gods and goddesses splitting off. In this case, I am keeping them separate for now but keeping in mind they might in fact be the same being. Mutter Natur could be an aspect of Großmutter that is in an easier-to-understand concept for these people.

Herde Oberin

Herde Oberin is the wife of Unser Vater and one of the trinity of Goddesses which includes Liebhaberin the Maiden and Helga the Crone. She represents the Mother aspect of the trinity and is the protector of the home and hearth and the family. She is responsible for all things that happen within the home. Unser Vater may be the chieftain of the gods, but in the home, her word is law. Spells and prayers to protect a home or children always invoke her name.

She combines aspects of Frigg/Frigga, Hera/Juno, and Hestia. She is not a jealous sort as is Hera/Juno because she is the regal queen who knows how to get what she wants/needs through her own power.

HERDE OBERIN (Queen of the Gods)
Greater Goddess

ARMOR CLASS: 1
MOVE: 12"
HIT POINTS: 350
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3d8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Magic
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Commanding Presence
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 75%

SIZE: M (5' 6")
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Good
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All (mostly Good)
SYMBOL: Distaff
PLANE: Himmel

CLERIC/DRUID: 20th level Cleric
FIGHTER: Nil
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: Nil
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: Nil
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nile
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 15 I:20 W: 23 D: 20 C: 20 CH:25

Herde Oberin is the Queen of the Gods, wife to Unser Vater, and mother to many of the younger gods. She is the rule of the home and hearth where her word is law. She provides order and calmness to the gods and their dealings. She is the peacemaker between the gods, but they all fear her wrath.

She prefers not to attack anyone, god or mortal, but when threatened, she can. She can cast any cleric spell at the 20th level of ability. She also wields a distaff that she can use to strike anyone for 3d7 hp of damage. Within her home on Himmel she also has a Commanding Presence. She can speak and any mortal who hears her will obey. Gods and other divine beings are allowed a saving throw. Undead, constructs and other creatures normally immune to the effects of mind-affecting magic are destroyed when she uses her commanding voice. Likewise, she can use any Power Word spell once per day.

Herde Oberin is part of a Trinity of Goddess who see the well-being of mortals from birth to death. Liebhaberin the Maiden sees life begin, Herde Oberin the Mother sees life grow and flourish, and Helga the Crone sees life end and takes the souls beyond. In this manner, they interact with the Fata Norne.

Animal: Dog or cat
Rainment: (Head) circlet or crown (Body) Simple garments
Color(s): White,
Holy Days: Summer and Winter Solstices
Sacrifices: A small bit of food and drink left out at night
Place of Worship: The home

Mutter Natur

The Goddess of Nature and the Earth. She is the Mother of Ôstara, and she holds the same place in these myths as Demeter/Ceres. Likewise she has a mystery cult dedicated to her as Demeter did with the Eleusinian Mysteries. From the Germanic/Norse people she takes on aspects of Frigg (like Herde Oberin) but also of Woden/Odin do to her mystery cult. As Odin knew many secrets, so too does Mutter Natur.

Mutter Natur is the goddess that druids would worship. Her mystery cult is comprised of a type of early European Celtic type of Druid adapted from the La Tène culture of Europe.

MUTTER NATUR (Goddess of Earth and Nature)
Greater Goddess

ARMOR CLASS: 1
MOVE: 18" / 24"
HIT POINTS: 300
NO. OF ATTACKS: See below
DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Blight/Bless
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Blight/Bless
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 60%

SIZE: M (6' 1")
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All (Farmers, Druids, Mystery Cultists)
SYMBOL: A circle
PLANE: Prime Material

CLERIC/DRUID: 25th level Druid
FIGHTER: Nil
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: Nil
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: Nil
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 11 I:20 W: 24 D: 25 C: 20 CH:20

Mutter Natur is the Goddess of the Earth, Nature, and all growing things. If Herde Oberin is the Goddess of Domestic life then Mutter Natur is the Goddess of all things wild. She is the daughter of Großmutter and the mother of Ôstara. She waxes and wanes with the seasons.

She does not attack, but she can summon any weather of her choosing to hinder or even destroy anyone that would cause her harm. This can include spells like Gust of Wind or Lightning Bolt. She can also cast spells as a Druid of the 25th level. At her choosing, she can also have a continuous Blight or Bless aura about her that extends to 60'.

Mutter Natur has a mystery cult. This cult resembles the practice of Druids and Shamans. Here, great secrets are revealed to the members and only the members. To divulge these secrets results in a loss of all status and power. Some even say that the Earth itself will open up and swallow anyone before they can reveal these secrets. To date no one knows what these secrets are outside of her cult and none within will risk her wrath.

Animal: All
Rainment: (Head) circlet of flowers in the spring, leaves in the fall (Body) Simple garments
Color(s): Green
Holy Days: Equinoxes
Sacrifices: Animal sacrifice at the Equinoxes. Animals are then eaten by congregants.
Place of Worship: Any open space

Großmutter

While she is called Grandmother, she is more appropriately the mother of the Gods, Die Hüne, and many of the other creatures in this myth. She is equal to the Greek Gaia and the ancient Tiamat. Her brother/husband/lover Großvater is destroyed by their son Vater Hüne to make the night sky. Großvater is equal to Uranus/Ouranos in Greek and Roman myth and Ymir in Norse.

GROẞMUTTER (Goddess of Creation)

Intermediate Goddess

ARMOR CLASS: NA
MOVE: NA
HIT POINTS: Infinite
NO. OF ATTACKS: NA
DAMAGE/ATTACK: NA
SPECIAL ATTACKS: NA
SPECIAL DEFENSES: NA
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 100%

SIZE: Varies
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: None
SYMBOL: Infinity sign
PLANE: All

CLERIC/DRUID: Nil
FIGHTER: Nil
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: Nil
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: Nil
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
S: - I: - W: - D: - C: - CH: -

Großmutter is the creatrix goddess and has no physical form save for all the Earth people walk on. She can communicate to others via dreams or other sending. It is said she can talk directly to gods, but her voice would destroy any others that hear it.

It is believed that Mutter Natur may be her aspect in an anthropomorphic form, and this is one of the many secrets learned in her secret Mystery cult.

Links

This is another post for my RPG Blog Carnival Horrors, Gods, and Monsters.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 10, Room 11

Getting past the bronze doors the party will see a long corridor with doors to either side. Magical torches light up.

There is a 1 in 6 chance that a wandering monster will appear. The monsters will be taken from the Undead table. Any result of "Vampire" or "Mummy" should be rerolled or use a unique undead under 10 HD.

Mummies and Vampires should be reserved for specific encounters.

The corridor is 100 feet long. There are 10 doors, 2 on either side, 5 deep, about 20 feet apart.

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)

Another one that has been on my list for a bit is 2016's The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Also, because of its director, this time André Øvredal, who gave us the wonderfully fun Trollhunter (2010). This movie is often classified with other Body Horror movies, and I see why, but it is more of a supernatural horror movie.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)

The nude body of an unidentified woman is found in the basement of a grisly crime scene and Sheriff Burke (Michael McElhatton of 'Game of Thrones') wants some answers. The body is taken to the father and son medical examiners Tommy (Brian Cox) and Austin Tilden. They are to discover the cause of death by morning.

The woman, Jane Doe (played with exceptional skill by Olwen Kelly, more on her in a bit) has no outward physical signs of death. Her body is slightly cooler than room temperature, her waist is usually small for her frame, and her limbs are still pliable. On close examinations though, things begin to make less and less sense. Her wrists and ankles are fractured, her eyes are milky white, her tongue has been cut out and she is missing a tooth. Again, with no outward signs like bruising.

As they proceed, the local radio station tells us about a huge storm coming (like last night's movie!), and the power goes on an off. Austin cancels his date with his girlfriend to help his dad, and things start getting really creepy. He thinks he can see "Jane" in mirrors but turns, and she is not there. He hears things, and his dad's cat is found dead.

Moving on to the internal exam, they find her lungs are blackened like she had been burned, her tongue had been cut out, she has lacerations on her heart, poison flowers in her stomach, writing on the inside of her skin, and tearing inside her vagina; not trauma, but tearing. Someone had tortured this woman. They also find a bit of rolled parchment with "ritual" symbols on it and her missing tooth. Later on, they also discover that her brain is still alive.

The power goes out due to the storm, and when they get it going again, they discover the other corpses are gone, and something is inside with them. Thinking it was one of the corpses reanimated they kill it with an axe (same as last night!) only to discover it was actually Emma, Austin's girlfriend.

We discover by piecing together the clues that the ritual symbols and Roman numerals are a reference to Leviticus 20:27, and the "1693" is a reference to the Salem Witch trials. They figure she was tortured as a witch and left undying as a means to punish witches. Now she gets people around her to suffer the same pain as she does. So Tommy, to save his son, asks Jane to take him. His wrists and ankles break, he can't talk, and is breathing smoke. Tommy tries to cut out his own tongue but Austin kills him in a mercy. Soon after, he sees his dad's corpse behind him, and he falls to death.

In the morning, the Sheriff returns to three more bodies killed in a similar way as the ones from yesterday. He wants the body of Jane, now whole again, transferred out of his county. We also learn there have been no storms at all.

We see the medical transport taking her away and as the film ends, her toe twitches.

This movie shares a number of common elements with last nights The Lighthouse. Both are from directors whose previous movies I enjoyed. Both feature minimal casts where the claustrophobia of the setting is as key as any of the supernatural elements. Both deal with death.

Both also feature minimal, performances from their female costars with no dialog. Olwen Kelly as Jane Doe spends the entire movie laid out on an autopsy table nude and never says a word. She can't even emote, but there is a sense of both vulnerability in her performance and in the end, malice. She might have had the hardest job in the whole cast.

I am not 100% happy with the ending. The witch angle is fun (and I can do a lot with it) it doesn't explain how or why all of these things were done to her.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2023
Viewed: 11
First Time Views: 5

Mail Call: The Wasted Lands

Got a nice surprise in my mailbox this weekend.

Jason Vey's The Wasted Lands has begun shipping. And the books are fantastic!

I feel this game has a good chance of replacing D&D 5e for the games I run. I have been doing playtests on it for months (longer if you count NIGHT SHIFT which uses the same rules) and have been using it to help detail some my gods in my Deities & Demigods II project. Though I am thinking of pulling together some threads and starting a new campaign (or, rather, making one I have been doing here and there official) and calling it "The War at the Gates of Dawn."

You can get your copies, including the nice leather ones, at Elf Lair Games' website. If you backed the Kickstarter, then your games are on the way. I got mine early because I was a "test subject" for their new mailing system. I grabbed extra copies for our Sunday group since they helped play-test it.

You can also get your Wasted Lands books as PDF if you like.

This is a great game and I really want everyone to give it a try.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 10, Room 10

Entering this grand mausoleum, torches are magically lit. Ahead there is a solid brass door there are two statues of dwarven lords nearly 15' tall. As you approach the door the statues stand at attention and dar your way with their axes.

The statues are Brass Golems.

They will not let anyone in unless they know proper password, which is the Dwarven word for "mourning."

If there is a dwarf in the party give them a chance based on Intelligence or Wisdom to know this. They get three tries.

The dwarves will attack on the last failure. The key to open the doors is in the hand of the statue to the party's left.

Monday, October 9, 2023

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Lighthouse (2019)

This one has been on my "to-watch" list for a while now. Figure with today being "Slow Burn," this would be a great night for it. Plus Robert Eggers (who gave us the amazing "The Witch") does this sort of tale well.

The Lighthouse (2019)

Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) is sent to work as a "Wickie" on a remote lighthouse on the New England coast with Thomas Wake (William Dafoe). The movie starts out moody and even a little claustrophobic in Black & White and 4:3 aspect ratio. Plus, there is no talking until we are 7 mins into the film.

It is obvious from the start that Winslow and Wake will not get along. Wake has Winslow doing all the menial tasks while he saves the prestigious task of manning the light (often completely naked) for himself.

The tension between the two builds throughout Winslow's two-week stay. It builds to head when after two weeks of abuse (and maybe some hallucinations) Winslow finally has a drink with Wake. There is a storm coming and things get worse between the two men. Winslow keeps seeing a mermaid (Valeriia Karaman), getting attacked by seagulls, and even seeing a large tentacle in the light room.

They also continue to drink and when the alcohol runs out, and the secret stash as well, they switch to drinking turpentine and honey. The last few days become a strange mix of paranoia and hallucination. We learn that Winslow's real name is Thomas Howard and that he let his former boss the real Ephraim Winslow, die.

The weather and their attitudes worsen. Winslow/Howard finds the head of his predecessor in the lobster trap. He reads Wake's logbook and discovers that Wake has be saying it is Winslow who is abusive and wants to not pay him for the last two weeks. They run out of food.

Eventually, it all comes to a boiling point. Wake tries to kill Winslow/Howard with an axe, but he manages to kill Wake. He goes up to the light and opens the lens only scream in horror and fall down the steps.

We end with nearly dead Winslow/Howard lying on the rocks as seagulls pick at his insides.

It was certainly a slow burn with more happening in the last few hours of the story than the first two weeks. Eggers does a great job on building tension and suspense. Plus you are never exactly sure what is going on which is also quite effective.

Glad I finally took the time to watch it.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2023
Viewed: 10
First Time Views: 4

Monstrous Mondays: D&DGII Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar

One of the main features of the Black Forest Mythos is the ever-present forest. Things and things live there, and they are not meant for human eyes. Something we forget in our age of Google Maps and GPS is how frightening the unknown is to people. Still is, but there was so much more of it then. The forest was the home to goblins, witches, and even the Devil himself. So, reading over the myths and fairy tales of the time it behooves me to include some of the inhabitants.

Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar

These are the "dark" elves and "light" elves (respectively) of the Norse and Germanic myths. I kept their names intact because they felt different enough for, yet close to, "Dark Elf" and "Light Elf." I have discussed the Dökkálfar before, and they are worth revisiting. For this, I wanted to return to an idea I had in the late 1980s of a "Progenitor Species" of all the elves and faerie creatures. It's something similar to what the Sidhe and the Eladrin have done in my games after and especially in the 2000s. This is returning to that idea shed of the connotations connected to the Sidhe.

This is also something I am developing for my Wasted Lands campaign, which I'll be talking about more and more.

For these myths, I am also combining bits of the Greek nymphs and Roman Genius loci into a single idea. Thus these people are very specific to their environment, so the Light vs. Dark bifurcation. I am purposely trying to avoid distinctions like Seelie vs Unseelie courts. That is another part of the world (though close by) and centuries away.

The Álfar

The Álfar were a race of immortal, nearly divine people that some claim existed before the gods. Their origins vary, but almost all agree they are the children of the Earth (Großmutter). One group lives above ground and cherishes the light (Ljósálfar) and another lives underground and loves the dark (Dökkálfar).

It is believed that these creatures are the progenitors of all nature spirits (elves, nymphs, dryads) and other earth creatures (kobolds, dwarves, gnomes). Like their forebears the have no souls but are not immortal.

ÁLFAR
FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-2
ARMOR CLASS: 1
MOVE: 18"
HIT DICE: 10+10 (55 hp)
% IN LAIR: 90%
TREASURE TYPE: Q (x10)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Sword (1d8+3) or by spell
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spell
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +1 or better weapon to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 45%
INTELLIGENCE: High
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good (50%) or Chaotic Evil (50%)
SIZE: M (6')
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

The Álfar are the progenitor race of all elves and other faerie races. Some also claim that dwarves and gnomes can trace their ancestry to these people. They are divided into the Ljósálfar (Light) and Dökkálfar (Dark) depending on where they live: above or under the ground, respectively.

Regardless of their Light vs. Dark viewpoints, they are still the same species.

Álfar can attack with a sword twice per round or cast spells as a 10th-level magic-user. They have access to all magic-user spells and many unique ones as well.

Courtesy is tantamount to the álfar. They will not attack someone honoring the rules of hospitality, but these rules must be adhered to strictly. They have been known to curse mortals that displease them for even the smallest of slights, and reward them with powerful magic for those that treat them with courtesy and respect.

The Dökkálfar live underground and are often considered to be evil. The Ljósálfar live above ground in a "land beyond the forest" and are most often thought to be good but no less dangerous to deal with.

Links

This is another post for my RPG Blog Carnival Horrors, Gods, and Monsters.