Character Creation Challenge: Darlessa for Wasted Lands

I meant to do this character earlier and kinda forgot. Well, today is the day I fix that. When it comes right down to it, no character really represents my shift from D&D to Wasted Lands quite as well as Darlessa the Vampire Queen.

Of course, everyone here knows Darlessa. She has been featured here many times and I already did her witch stats for Swords & Wizardry and her vampire stats for Basic-era D&D. She is also the central antagonist of my Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen. She is responsible for the death of my first character, Johan, and ultimately, the cause for him to be elevated to a Saint. She even has (or had) her own Dark Domain, Arevenir.

I am using the Night Companion again for her so I can get the rules for making her a vampire. She has always been a witch, but a good case could be made for her to be a Spirit Rider, too. Maybe I'll give her a level in that later on, but today, I wanted to compare apples to apples: my OSR witches vs a NIGHT SHIFT witch.

Darlessa, the Vampire Queen

Class: Witch (Persona)
Level: 13
Species: Human Vampire
Alignment: Dark Evil
Background: Sorcerous

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) (+2 from Vampire)
Agility: 18 (+3) (+2 from Vampire)
Toughness: 18 (+3) 
Intelligence: 15 (+1) N
Wits: 14 (+1) N
Persona: 22 (+5) A

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: -5
Vitality: 75
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +2 (base) +2 (touchstones) 
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base) +1 (touchstones)
Spell Attack: +7 (witch) +1 (touchstones)
Saves: +7 to Spells and Magical effects (Sorcerer & Scholar), +3 to Wits (vampire) +1 to All (touchstones)

Witch Abilities
Arcana, Arcane Powers (5): Succubus (6d6), Shadow Walking, Telekinesis, Beguile, Subtle Influence

Sorceress Spells
First Level: Arcane Darts, Black Flames, Chill Ray, Glamour, Object Reading, Armor of Earth
Second Level: Conjure Flame, ESP, Invoke Fear, See Invisible
Third Level: Clairvoyance, Create Zombies & Skeletons, Curse, Fly
Fourth Level: All-Seeing Invisible Eye, Black Tentacles, Improved Invisibility, Kiss of the Succubus
Fifth Level: Commune with Deeper Dark, Create Undead, Shadow Armor
Sixth Level: Instant Death, Zone of Death
Seventh Level: Wave of Mutilation

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: Additional Spell: Armor of Earth
2nd Level: +1 to Melee attacks
3rd Level: Spirit Guide: Undead Raven, "Lucifer"
4th Level: Favored Enemy: Lawful (Light) Good Clerics
5th Level: +1 to all attack rolls, defense rolls, spells, and saves
6th Level: Glamour at Will

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Power

Gear
Dagger

Wasted Lands Vampires

Ok! This Darlessa is much more powerful than previous versions. This is due largely to proper rules on how to make a character a vampire and how that adds to the character's power. But also Witches in NIGHT SHIFT and the Wasted Lands are a bit more powerful. Lets not forget those divine/heroic touchstones. Those add a LOT of power to the character. This is a version of Darlessa that should properly terrify a group of characters. 

Vampires in the Wasted Lands are also more akin to Akivasha of Robert E. Howard's tale The Hour of the Dragon than they are of Stoker's Dracula. Indeed, Darlessa is cut from the same cloth as Akivasha. Well same cloth, but dyed in the same dyes as various Hammer Horror vampires. 

But in native Wasted Lands, the world envisioned by Elf Lair Games' Jason Vey, vampires are more dangerous and closely tied to the powers of the Deeper Dark. This works fine for me since I have always seen Darlessa as shedding bits of her soul for power to whatever demon would grant it to her. Now, for a pure Wasted Lands game and for the publication of the Tomb of the Vampire Queen, I might go with a different name and slightly changed background. But it will be Darlessa all the same really. 

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Mail Call: ¡Anuncio por correo! Spanish BECMI and Pacesetter Adventures

Or at least the BE part of BECMI.  So many of you know I have been learning Spanish. I mainly use Duolingo, but I also print books and audiobooks from Audible. My progress is quite slow I will admit, but the journey is half the fun really. 

Back in 2023, I got copies of the Spanish Language D&D 5th edition books for my birthday and Father's Day.  But something I have wanted since 2020 are copies of BECMI in another language. I thought I might grab one in German (a language I can still -somewhat- speak) but they are always quite expensive.

So imagine my surprise when, after posting my search for Spanish language ones, actually came through!

They look great, even if I can only sort of read them at the moment. But I know what is in these quite well, so that helps.

It is also fun to compare them to the Spanish D&D 5e books I got last year.

I am NO WHERE near ready to run a game in Spanish D&D. But maybe I could play one later this year.

I might just stick with Basic and Expert. I have not seen a Companion edition out for a very long time. If the price of the German one I was looking at is any indication then it is way outside of my price range.

I also got copies of some adventures (in English) from Pacesetter Games.

I gave Venger's Final Wish to my oldest. He is working on taking his group through all the editions of D&D.  More on that later.

Of course, I am a sucker for anything about the Vampire Queen. So this is a nice addition to my collection.  Since the Vampire Queen adventure is for B/X then maybe a "Castillo de la Reina Vampiro" is in order. 

Character Creation Challenge: Boudica for Wasted Lands

 Last week I heard of the passing of James Herbert "Herbie" Brennan, the prolific author of fiction and non-fiction as well as the RPG "Man, Myth & Magic." I don't have a lot to say on the matter. I have not read any of his books and my knowledge of him comes solely through my interaction with MM&M. But I did not want his death to go unremarked here.

While I have done other MM&M characters for myself, I thought for today I might revisit one I did a while back and fit both his game and Wasted Lands: Boudica, Queen of the Icini Celts.

I have a long relationship with Boudica. She was a figure I always found fascinating, especially during my time of reading an absolute ton of Celtic history, myth, and legends. Then I wrote the Ghosts of Albion RPG, and she was a central character of that franchise, though by then, she was a ghost.  So, given Herbie Brennan's fix of history and fantasy of his Man, Myth & Magic game, doing stats for Boudica was a no-brainer.  That is also true today.

Boudica for the Wasted Lands could have gone a number of different ways. Obviously, Warrior is a great choice (and what I went with in MM&M), but she didn't start out as one; she was forced into it by the Romans, who murdered her husband and raped her daughters. From NIGHT SHIFT, I could also say Survivor is good, but then again, so is Chosen One. In the end, though, the only real choice for me was to make her a Spirit Rider from the NIGHT SHIFT Night Companion and adapt that to Wasted Lands. Something the O.G.R.E.S. makes very, very easy. Trivial even.

The Spirit Rider is a person charged with the power of a particular place. Our archetype of this is Marie Laveau who is given magic by the "Spirit of New Orleans." Cú Chulainn is the Spirit Rider of mytho-historical Ulster as Fionn Mac Cumhail is the Spirit Rider of Éire. We have debated whether Merlin or King Arthur is the Spirit Rider of ancient Britain. 

Note: As an aside it never dawned on me until this moment that I *could* have Boudica as one of my Witch Queens. I mean she is not really a witch, but her Wasted Lands and Ghosts of Albion versions both have some magic.  Thoughts for another day.

Queen Boudica

Class: Spirit Rider (Briton) (from NIGHT SHIFT's Night Companion)
Level: 10
Species: Human
Alignment: Light* (*while she killed people and burned villages to the ground she was doing what she felt was right and correct. Removing an invading force from her home.)
Background: Barbarian

Abilities
Strength: 16 (+2) 
Agility: 13 (+1) 
Toughness: 18 (+3) N 
Intelligence: 12 (+0) 
Wits: 17 (+2) A
Persona: 17 (+2) N 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 5
Vitality: 70
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +2 (base)  +1 (Heroic Touchstone)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base) 
Saves: +4 to Wits and Persona saves (class), +2 to Toughness saves (barbarian).

Spirit Rider Abilities
Innate Magic (10), Arcane Powers (5), Commune with Spirit of the Land, Limited Power (outside of Briton), Magic Battery

Barbarian Background Skills
Perception, Danger Sense, Scale surfaces, Nature Lore, Any Weapons

Arcane Powers (used like powers)
Beguile, Shadow Walk, Detect Thoughts, Enhanced Senses, Subtle Influence

Innate Magic (used like spells)
First Level: Armor of Earth, Mystical Senses, Command, Sense Death
Second Level: Animal Summoning (usually large war dogs), Invoke Fear
Third Level: Curse, Impassible Thicket
Fourth Level: Forest Metamorphosis
Fifth Level: Shadow Armor

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: +1 Melee Combat: Spear
2nd Level: Luck Benefit
3rd Level: Powerful Defence
4th Level: Favored Enemy: Rome
5th Level: Divine Smite

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Vengence

Gear
Spear, armor, sword

Wasted Lands Spirit Riders

Spirit Riders might not fit well thematically with Wasted Lands RAW, but in Wasted Lands as D&D, it works great. I might tweak it a bit working with Boudica here for slightly less magic and more options for combat prowess. Given that I am saying that Cú Chulainn was also one then something like his Ríastrad or Battle Frenzy would be an option. Maybe call it something like "Caomhnóir" or Guardian.

It would be fun to try out that is for sure. 

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Character Creation Challenge: Keller the Silent for Wasted Lands

 Working on moving to my Forgotten Realms characters for my upcoming deep-dive into all editions of the Forgotten Realms. I decided to try a few more of those this week. I have already done Sinéad, who will be my eyes and ears in the Realms, plus others that are likely to appear in my games, like Nida, Jassic, Kelek, and Skylla. 

Today, though, is something a little different. I wanted to do a monk character (or mystic if I was using the D&D Rules Cyclopedia), but I don't really have any I want to try! There was Kurtzen, the monk I made for AD&D 1st Ed way back when, but he isn't really all that interesting. Spoiler: I was trying for a Night Crawler (from X-Men)-like character, but I never got it to where I wanted. So instead today I will take on a character I "adopted" rather than rolled up. Keller the Silent.

I detailed Keller's story a bit back. She is a wood-elf monk (I said she was a Siswa from the adventure B7 Rahasia), and she joined my party in Baldur's Gate 3.

Now, I could do her sheets for a post-2000 game (3e, 4e, or 5e) where elves can be monks, but for now, I will stick to Wasted Lands and see what I get.

Keller the Silent

Class: Mystic Martial Artist (from NIGHT SHIFT's Night Companion)
Level: 4
Species: Elf
Alignment: Light
Background: Elf (Wood Elf)

Abilities
Strength: 16 (+2) N
Agility: 18 (+3) A
Toughness: 15 (+1) N 
Intelligence: 10 (+0) 
Wits: 10 (+0) 
Persona: 9 (+0) 

Fate Points: 1d8
Defense Value: 5
Vitality: 30
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +3/+2/+1
Melee Bonus: +2 (base) +3 (Agility) +1 (Heroic Touchstone)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base) +3 (Agility)
Saves: +1 to magic and spells (elf), +2 to Toughness and Agility saves.

Mystic Martial Artist Abilities
Martial Arts, Agile (+3 to Agility), Melee and Ranged Combat, Lightning Fast (+1 to Initiative), Powers: Danger Sense, Supernatural Attacks

Stealth Skills
Climb, Hide, and Move Silent as 1st level Survivor/Renegade

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: +1 to Defence
2nd Level: +1 to bare-handed melee attacks.

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Combat

Gear
Staff, Leather Armor, thieves tools

Wasted Lands Mystic Martial Artists

Now, this is a version of Keller I would have fun playing. The Mystic Martial Artist, while having its origin in Wuxa or Wire-fu cinema, makes for a great addition to my Wasted-Lands-as-D&D game. I admit I wish I could run my upcoming Forgotten Realms games using the Wasted Lands rules. It would be easier than moving through the various editions. 

I really had not considered using Keller in this at all, but this makes me want to. I have to figure out where she is from now and when she joins my little party of explorers. Also, I need to figure out how a character who has taken a vow of silence would work in my games.

On another note, I think I have settled on a Heroic/Divine Touchstone on every other level. It feels really powerful, but it also is a great way to customize characters. Maybe every three levels is also good.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Character Creation Challenge: Liath Luchara for Wasted Lands

 Yesterday I had the pleasure to introduce you to what I am now considering the Gold Standard version of Bodhmal. Today I want to introduce you to the what I think is the best version of Liath Luchara I have ever done. If I was happy yesterday, then I am ecstatic today. 

Briefly, Liath and Bodhmal are part of the Fenian Cycle of Irish myth and legend. They are foster mothers to a young Fion MacCumhail (Finn MacCool). They were a featured set of characters in my Dark Druid adventure.  

Liath is a warrior woman, but she also has a bit of magic about her. Capturing her properly in D&D-like games has been a challenge. I have tried various mixes of warriors, rangers, and barbarians. Nothing has been a great fit. Barbarians have no magic (even the 5e Wild magic one), and Rangers really have too much or not the right kind. So what am I to do? Well, once again, Wasted Lands to the rescue.

Liath starts out simple enough. She is a warrior. That is her calling, and that is how she is always described in the myths and legends, so who am I to argue. But she does have a bit more going on. So I am going with Wasted Land's secret weapons, Backgrounds and the Divine Touchstones.

Again this post is for my late friend Rebecca Joanne Ashling. She would have loved this.

Liath Luchara

Class: Warrior
Level: 10
Species: Human
Alignment: Light
Background: Barbarian

Abilities
Strength: 16 (+2) A
Agility: 14 (+1) 
Toughness: 14 (+1) 
Intelligence: 10 (+0) 
Wits: 16 (+2) N
Persona: 14 (+1) N

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 5
Vitality: 72
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base) +2 +1 (divine touchstone)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base) +1 +1 (divine touchstone)
Spell Attack: +1
Saves: +3 to all saves (Warrior) +2 to toughness (Barbarian)

Warrior Abilities
Combat Expertise, Improved Defence, Melee Combat, Master of Battle, Supernatural Attacks, Spell Resistance, Tracking, Masters of Weapons, Extra Attacks (x3)

Sorceress Spells
First Level: Mystical Senses

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: Arcane Power: Wild Shape (Liath was always becoming a salmon in the myths)
2nd Level: Additional +1 to combat
3rd Level: Sorceress level 1: Arcane Power: Arcane Bond (Liath)
4th Level: Divine Smite
5th Level: Great Smite

Barbarian Abilities
+2 to toughness saves, 

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Protection

Gear
Gáe Assail (great spear), Dagger

Wasted Lands Liath & Bodhmal

Ok. This is rather perfect. Again, Ranger had too much magic, and Barbarians too little. But this gives me a nice balance really. She has a barbarian background, but her divine touchstones have given her a bit more magical ability and ones she "earned" on her own. Game-wise, this feels like she was discovering more and more secrets. I have considered trying out an Archer or Divine Warrior, but those concepts, while great, were not a great fit for her.  She is not a "Chosen One" by any stretch even if there are some cool things going on in that class. Save that one for Fionn himself I think.

Getting Liath and Bodhmal together, they are far more than the sum of their parts. Their Arcane Bond is focused on each other, allowing them to boost each other's magic when needed and replacing the Anamchara quality as it is supposed to.  

It is one thing to design this all in mind, it is another to see it working and working far better than you imagined. Seriously, with Wasted Lands, I might never need "D&D" again.  Putting them in Wasted Lands also just feel right.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

If you want to read more tales of Bodhmal and especially Liath then I highly and enthusiastically recommend Irish Imbas Books.

Character Creation Challenge: Bodhmal for Wasted Lands

 As Casey Kasem used to say, "The hits keep coming."  Though when I say it, I usually mean something bad. And I do today as well. Lost another friend this past week, Rebecca Joanne Ashling. She had some health problems, but her death is still a bit of a shock.  Rebecca and I had known each other for about 22+ years. We talked a lot online and she was a huge fan of my witches and modern horror stuff. In particular, she loved my takes on Willow and Tara. She often provided me some critiques on various builds and let me know about new games that she thought I would like. It still feels a bit unreal since I still half expect to get a text from her when this post goes live.  So today's and tomorrow's characters are for her.

Today, I want to start with the druidess Bodhmal.

I am choosing her for all the reasons Rebecca would have liked. Bodhmal has a long history in my games, and her character helped drive my vision of NIGHT SHIFT and thus influenced The Wasted Lands. This version is a "conversion" of sorts of D&D 4th Edition, a game we both enjoyed and continue to enjoy. Plus, and maybe most importantly, Bodhmal, while a mythological figure from Irish myth, was also my "Willow" stand-in. Since I did her main antagonist (and grandfather), the Dark Druid, yesterday, she would be good for today. 

Bodhmal for the Wasted Lands

Bodhmal is not a goddess. Nor will become one. She is, though, a very important figure of the Fenian Cycle of Irish myth and legend. Because of this she fits rather well with the central conceits of the Wasted Lands.  I also wanted to try out another Druid, but one with a bit more mysticism about them. Or to be blunt, a druid that is becoming something akin to a witch.  She is the "last common ancestor" of Druids and Witches.

Like Fear Dorich, Bodhmal has been worked up for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, D&D 5e, Castles & Crusades, Blue Rose 2nd Edition, my Pagan Witch class, and today's experiment, D&D 4e.

D&D 4e had some nice quirks that allowed me to get to the version of Bodhmal I liked. I have to admit, Wasted Lands works even better.

Bodhmal nic Tadgh

Class: Sorceress (Druid, Witch or Ban Drui)
Level: 10
Species: Human
Alignment: Light
Background: Scholar

Abilities
Strength: 10 (+0) 
Agility: 10 (+0) 
Toughness: 14 (+1) 
Intelligence: 14 (+1) N
Wits: 18 (+3) A
Persona: 11 (+0) N

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 8
Vitality: 42
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +2 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Spell Attack: +5
Saves: +7 to Spells and Magical effects (Sorcerer & Scholar)

Sorceress Abilities
Arcana, Arcane Powers (4): Enhanced Senses, Arcane Bond (Liath), Wild Form, Telepathic Transmission

Sorceress Spells
First Level: Armor of Earth, Glamour, Mystical Senses, Sleep
Second Level: Animal Summoning, Conjure Flame, Invisibility, Subtle Influence
Third Level: Cure Disease, Dark Lightning, Staves to Snakes
Fourth Level: Befuddlement, Forest Walk, Plant Speech
Fifth Level: Miasma of Creeping Death, Telekinesis

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: Psychic Power: Supernatural Senses 
2nd Level: Additional Spell: Bless
3rd Level: Spirit Guide: Cait Sith
4th Level: Magical Recovery
5th Level: Grant Spellcasting

Scholar Abilities
1st Level Spell: Create Light

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Knowledge

Gear
Staff, Dagger

Wasted Lands Druids & Witches

I like this version of Bodhmal. She has her druid side and can take on a wild shape, but that is not the most important part of her character. She also sees everything. Mystical, Supernatural, and more. She can talk to animals and plants. She even has some offensive spells when she needs them.

More to the point, her connection to Liath is there via the Arcane Bond. 

I can see this Bodhmal as a druid who began a line of pagan witches. Liath is even there as her Cowan or witch guardian. This is perfect in my mind. I wish you all could feel this; how perfect of a fit she is for my concept of her. This is much better than any other system I have done. 

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Kickstart Your Weekend: Maximum Mayhem Dungeons #8: Funhouse of the Puppet Jester

 Mad genius Mark Taormino is back with another Maximum Mayhem Dungeon!

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons #8: Funhouse of the Puppet Jester

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marktaormino/maximum-mayhem-dungeons-8-funhouse-of-the-puppet-jester?ref=theotherside

What can I say here? Mark does great work, and these adventures are always fun.

Click, check it out and pledge!

Mark: I am going to need a bigger box for the adventures now!