Walpurgis *Week*

 Wednesday is Walpurgisnacht, or Walpurgis Night (technically Walpurgis Eve), and I have some treats for you all this week starting tomorrow.

By way of toady's fashion statement, a spoiler for the week.

Witchcraft Wednesday: Deborah "Elf Star" and Mistress Frost for the Left Hand Path Witch

 Last week I re-introduced two NPC Witches from my Left Hand Path Witch & Warlock book; Rhiannon and Briana Highstar.  Today I want to feature two more. Warlocks I think many of you already know. Deborah "Elf Star" and Mistress Frost.

Deborah “Elf Star”

"I used the Mind Bondage spell on my father!"

Warlock Level 8
Patron: Akelarre
Alignment: Chaos (Chaotic Evil)

STR: 10 +0
INT: 13 +1
WIS: 14 +1
DEX: 15 +2
CON: 15 +2
CHA: 16 +2 (+10% XP)

Death/Poison: 11
Petrification/Polymorph: 11
Rod, Staff, Wands, or Device: 12
Breath Weapon: 14
Spells: 13
Single Save: 13

AC: 7
HP: 30
To Hit AC 0: 18 (Descending AC)
To Hit Bonus: +2 (Ascending AC)

Weapon: Dagger
Armor: None

Invocations

Arcane Blast, Beast Speech, Bewitching Whispers, Eldritch Sight, Sign of Ill Omen

Spells

First Level: Allure, Charm Person, Hypnotism
Second Level: Blur, Dark Whispers, Mind Obscure
Third Level: Dark Omen, Fly
Fourth Level: Mind Bondage

Deborah was a young student of Mistress Frost’s school. Frost saw potential in Deborah above and beyond her classmates. She introduced Deborah, now renamed Elf Star, to her Warlock lodge, where they honored the Demon Lord Akelarre.

Akelarre has rewarded Elf Star with power, particularly power over others in the form of charms and mind control. 

Elf Star plans to grow in power and control all the people who wronged her in her young life.

Mistress Frost

"Don't be stupid, Debbie!"

Warlock Level 18
Patron: Akelarre
Alignment: Chaos (Chaotic Evil)

STR: 11 +0

INT: 16 +2

WIS: 14 +2

DEX: 15 +2

CON: 15 +2

CHA: 18 +3 (+10% XP)

Death/Poison: 11

Petrification/Polymorph: 11

Rod, Staff, Wands, or Device: 12

Breath Weapon: 14

Spells: 13

Single Save: 13

AC: 7

HP: 30

To Hit AC 0: 18 (Descending AC)

To Hit Bonus: +2 (Ascending AC)

Weapon: Dagger

Armor: None

Invocations

Arcane Blast, Beast Speech, Bewitching Whispers, Eldritch Sight, Eye of Algol, Minion of Chaos, Sign of Ill Omen, Threefold Curse, Unholy Regeneration

Spells

First Level: Allure, Charm Person, Command, Hypnotism, Make Poppet, Vigor

Second Level: Agony, Cackle, Cause Light Wounds, Dark Whispers, Mind Obscure

Third Level: Aura Sight, Cauldron of Rage, Chaotic Mind, Dark Omen, Undetectable Lie

Fourth Level: Abjure, Cause Serious Wounds, Mind Bondage, Witch's Cradle
Fifth Level: Break Enchantment, Enslave, Mind Fog, Steal Youth

Mistress Frost is in charge of recruiting new members to the worship of the Demon Lord Akelarre. To secure Deborah's involvement and attachment to the cult she had already sacrificed her friend Black Leaf to ensure Deborah had no other attachments. 

Mistress Frost's ultimate plan is to give Elf Star to Akelarre as a bride to secure even more power for herself. 

--

I am not sure old Jack would approve, but I like them!

Coming next week, Walpurgis Night.

*OGL Section 15: COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Character Clip Art & Color Customizing Studio Copyright 2002, Elmore Productions, Inc.; Authors Larry Elmore and Ken Whitman, Art and illustrations by Larry Elmore.

New Releases Tuesday: SRD 5.2

 For what it is worth, Wizards of the Coast has released version 5.2 of the D&D SRD. 

Right now it only comes in Creative Commons versions.

I don't know much about Creative Commons, but I've been using the Open Game License (OGL) since the beginning.  

While I am not going to be doing a lot with D&D 5.5 (or are we calling it 5.2 to match the SRD?) on the sales front, I am very interested in trying my hand at doing some Creative Commons releases.

Many interesting games have been released under Creative Commons, which will soon be joined by the new OSRIC 3rd edition.

The 5.1 SRD under the Creative Commons and Open Gaming Licenses are all still available. 

These are not the only choices. The TTRPG Resources List keeps a massive list of all sorts of things, including SRDs for your games.

This is a good step forward, but WotC has a lot of ground to make up for what they pissed away in the last few years.

Monstrous Monday: Left Hand Path Monsters

 Still at it...

Layout continues on The Left Hand Path. Working on the monsters.

Hope to be done here soon and get it out to you all.

Witchcraft Wednesday: The "Return" of Rhiannon and Briana Highstar

 A special Witchcraft Wednesday today. But really, aren't they all special in their own way?

Working on the final layout of my Left Hand Path book AND prepping my Weekly Forgotten Realms games with my oldest; I figure I'd do them both in one posting today.

All my Basic-era witch books have similar features. The Witch and/or Warlock classes, new Traditions, new spells, new monsters, new magic items, and new NPCs to drop into your games. I was thinking about the NPCs I have now ready to go; Babylon, Debbie "Elf Star", and her coven leader, Ms. Frost. 

But I needed one or two more. While playing last week, I figured I would start to introduce some of Grenda's NPCs to my Forgotten Realms game. That thought led right to Briana, and then that lead right to including her in the Left Hand Path book since she was already a witch of Mephistopheles. She just didn't fit, she belongs in this book. If I am going to include Briana, I might as well include Rhiannon as well.

I am using AD&D 1st Ed stats for them in my games, but will include their Diabolic Witch Basic-era Stats in my book.

So, here they are. Briana Highstar and Rhiannon. I am not sure how they interact with each other (even if they will) but I am going to have a good time finding out. 

Briana Highstar
Human Female

Witch Level 4
Diabolic Tradition
Patron: Mephistopheles
Alignment: Chaos (Lawful Evil)

STR: 12 +0
INT: 15 +1
WIS: 17 +2
DEX: 16 +2
CON: 13 +1
CHA: 17 +2 (+10% XP)

Death/Poison: 13
Petrification/Polymorph: 13
Rod, Staff, Wands, or Device: 14
Breath Weapon: 16
Spells: 15
Single Save: 15

AC: 7
HP: 19
To Hit AC 0: 20 (Descending AC)
To Hit Bonus: +0 (Ascending AC)

Weapon: Dagger
Armor: None

Occult Powers
Familiar: Cat 

Spells
First Level: Charm Person, Spirit Dart
Second Level: Burning Gaze, Grasp of the Endless War

Hair: Black
Eyes: Grey
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 136 lbs

Rhiannon
Human Female

Witch Level 8
Malefic Tradition
Patron: Ereshkigal
Alignment: Chaos (Neutral Evil)

STR: 11 +0
INT: 17 +2
WIS: 17 +2
DEX: 16 +2
CON: 15 +2
CHA: 16 +2 (+10% XP)

Death/Poison: 11
Petrification/Polymorph: 11
Rod, Staff, Wands, or Device: 12
Breath Weapon: 14
Spells: 13
Single Save: 13

AC: 5
HP: 36
To Hit AC 0: 18 (Descending AC)
To Hit Bonus: +2 (Ascending AC)

Weapon: Dagger of Venom
Armor: Leather

Occult Powers
Familiar: Mourning Dove
Minor: Impure Touch

Spells
First Level: Charm Person, Chill of Death, Touch of Suggestion
Second Level: Beastform, Disfiguring Touch, Protective Penumbra
Third Level: Bestow Curse, Bleed for Your Master
Fourth Level: Fangs of the Strix

Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'1"
Weight: 114 lbs

--

I am happy with these two. I am looking forward to seeing how they progress in the adventures and their life in my Left Hand Path Book.

I don't know yet if these two know each other. But I do know that Rhiannon knows Larina. They began in the same coven, but they went their separate ways. Rhiannon will be my excuse to do an "evil Larina" which will be kinda fun, really.

OGL Section 15: COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Character Clip Art & Color Customizing Studio Copyright 2002, Elmore Productions, Inc.; Authors Larry Elmore and Ken Whitman, Art and illustrations by Larry Elmore.

Monstrous Mondays: Monsters of the Left Hand Path

"It is an oft spoken truth that were you find witches you will also find demons."

 Late post today. Doing taxes. Yeah last minute, the Government will get my money when I am ready, not before.

Still doing the layout for The Left Hand Path Witch. I love how it is all coming together. I thought I would share the list of all the demons, devils, and other creatures you will find in this book. My goal here was to have the demons and other creatures I enjoyed from my Advanced books, but play them in Basic games.

While I want to cleave close to the classic roots of the game, I also want to make my own changes. These are changes based on the readings I have done and the way my own games have evolved over the years.

I have used OGC creatures to smooth out the translations, even if the execution ends up a little different (look at you, one-headed Demogorgon).

So here are the creatures to look forward to.

"The Usual Suspects" Demon Line-up JE Shields art

Dæmon

Apollyon, the Oinodæmon
Cacodæmon
Derghodæmon
Guardian Dæmon
Hydrodæmon
Messodæmon
Nyctodæmon
Piscodæmon
Tarwani (Malzeth, etc.)

Demon

Abraxas
Achaierai
Akelarre
Aš
Babau
Balor
Baphomet
Camazotz
Cambion
Demogorgon
Dretch
Fly Demon
Fraz-Urb'luu
Gargantua
Glabrezu
Gog and Magog
Hellephant
Herzrou
Incubus
Juiblex
Kostchtchie
Manes
Marilith
Mezzalorn (Wasp Demon)
Nabassu
Nabassu, Mature
Nalfeshnee
Orcus
Ördög
Quasit
Rekhet A'at Khetepu
Reshkanu
Shadow Demon
Shaniezak
Spider, Demonic
Trickster (Imposter Demon)
Vanth
Vrock
Zsusr

Devil

Aamon
Aeshma (Pit Fiend)
Asmodeus
Astaroth
Baalzebul
Barbed
Bartzabel
Belial
Bone
Buer
Cimeris
Dīs Pater
Erinyes
Geryon
Hellcat
Hellhound
Horned
Ice Devil
Imp
Kôkabîêl
Lemure
Malarea
Mammpn
Mephistopheles
Nupperibo
Paimon
Titivilus

Eodemon

Ammit
Apep
Dagon
Drauga
Gallû
Girtablullû
Leviathan
Pazuzu
Tiâmat
Tsathogga
Umu
Utukku

Independent Fiends

Ahriman (Angra Mainyu)
Sons of Ahriman
Iblīs
Nightmare
Rakshasa

Lilim

Batibat
Empusa
Lamashtu
Lamiae (Lamia)
Lilith
Lilitu
Mara (Night Hag)
Mazziqin
Mormo
Succubus

Mephit

Brimstone
Fire
Lava
Smoke
Steam
Water

Tarterian (Demodand)

Shaggy
Slime
Tarry

Yaoguai

Hóu Yaoguai (Monkey)
Hǔ Yaoguai (Tiger)
Niú Yaoguai (Ox)
Shé Yaoguai (Serpent)
Shǔ Yaoguai (Rat)

Fantasy Fridays: Tales of the Valiant

 A newer entry today and a potential good replacement for D&D 5e on your table. But is it just a new coat of paint on a familiar rule-set?

Tales of the Valiant

Tales of the Valiant began as the Black Flag system/project from Kobold Press, already a big name in 5e-compatible products. The genesis was, of course, the massive OGL fallout from January 2023. Kobold, among so many of us, saw a threat to our product lines and opted to "pull a Pathfinder" and release their own rules only this time under their own license. They can sell core rule books (which is always a good source of money) and still create their own supporting products (their bread and butter as it were) and have them support both game lines.  It is a good idea.

They have published the "common core" of three books:

• Tales of the Valiant Player's Guide
• Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault
• Tales of the Valiant Game Master's Guide

The books are attractive and is well laid out. There is a lot great art. But the question is, do they provide me anything above and beyond D&D 5 (2014)? Well, all three books are 1,081 pages, so it is hard to dig through all of this to find specific differences. It looks like 5e and plays like 5e. I guess that is what is important, really. Now, the classes do have additions; each class features a subclass taken from the SRD and often an additional new one. There is the new Mechanist class, which is similar in concept to the Artificer class. So, for current 5e (again, 2014) players, there is something new. 

The truth is there are a lot of new things, but you need to dig for them. There is the "Beastkin" Lineage for example that looks like fun. As do the new "Sydereans" which combine Aasimar and Tieflings and "Small Folk" which combine halflings and gnomes. Ok, I am cool with that. Orcs and Kobolds (natch) are core lineages. I think every clone or RPG should have at least one unique core lineages. Yes, this book uses "lineage" and not race. I like this better. Heritages are how your character was raised. More or less. 

There does seem to be some more monsters, but the monster book is populated by "the Usual Suspects."

Again. It is hard to fault Kobold on this. These books have two purposes, and both require it to cleave close to 5e (2014). First it *is* a D&D 5e replacement. I have not tried, but you could in theory use this books with minor tweaks in a 5e game. I call this the Pathfinder solution. The other purpose is to provide Kobold (and third parties) a means to write "5e" compatible material but not require people use, or even buy, 5e core books from Wizards. I call this the OSRIC solution. 

I suspect the real value of these books and this game will come from future products. For example, the upcoming, just Kickstarted, Monster Vault 2, will be the true test of this system. Yes, they state outright this is for TotV and 5e, but I think this will be the case that makes or breaks this game. So far things are looking rather promising for Tales of the Valiant. 

Honestly, this book looks really good, and if I picked up the physical edition, I would be tempted to get the Core Three because of how good they all look together. But I don't play 5e all that much anymore.

Who Should Play This Game?

Honestly, this game will not replace 5e (2014) on anyone's table. It might supplement it, but it won't replace it. It could, however, replace 5.5e (2024).  My oldest and I have been talking about the various issues with 5.5, and he is sticking with 5.0 for now. But if you are one of those people who have felt especially burned by WotC's actions over the last 2.5 years, then maybe this is the game for you.

Johan Werper for Tales of the Valiant

I don't know. Something about this game makes me want to play a knight in shinning armor and perform actions of Epic Good. Not that I wouldn't play Larina in it, but the classes are not a perfect fit. The closest thing is not the Warlock, but rather the Leaf Druid. Now, the Chaos Sorcerer is interesting as well. Maybe I could try it for Sinéad.

I want to try out Johan, or at least some sort of version of him, because the Paladin in 5.5 seems so nerfed. I have been wanting to compare the various paladins just to see if this is true. 

This will be Johan VII, the son of Johan VI and Lana (my wife's character) for 5e. He has a twin sister, not uncommon for the Werpers. She will be a 5.5 character so I can compare properly. Their background is they were exposed to cosmic forces before birth, so they have something a little "extra."  In Johan VII this means his "Anointed" Heritage.

Johan Werper VII
Human (Anointed) Paladin (Devotion) 3rd level

Strength: +2
Dexterity: +1
Constitution: -1
Intelligence: +0
Wisdom: +2 (saves +4)
Charisma: +3 (saves +5)

Proficiency Bonus: +2
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30ft

AC: 17 (chain mail and shield)

Weapons
Longsword +4 1d8/1d10 (versatile)
Crossbow, Hand +2 1d6 30/120 

Passive Insight: 14
Passive Investigation: 12
Passive Perception: 12

Skills
History, Insight, Relgion

Proficiencies, Languages, & Talents
Advantage on Death Saves, Thaumaturgy Cantrip
Languages: Common, Elven, Draconic, Giant
Navigator's Tools
Talent: Combat Conditioning +2 to hp each level
All armor and shields, simple and martial weapons

Class Features & Traits
Divine Sense
Lay on Hands
Divine Smite
Martial Action - Guard
Spellcasting (Divine)
Sacred Weapon
Sanctifying Light

Spells
Cantrips: Thaumaturgy
First Level: Bless, Cure Wounds, Sanctuary

I like this version. 

Given his family history, his twin sister would be named Celeste or Celine. She will be stated up with D&D 5.5 as a Celestial Warlock, or whatever the warlock is called in that. 

The Player's Book includes Greek, Egyptian, and Norse gods as examples. I am half tempted to continue using my "Black Forest" mythos, maybe making them avatars of Jäger and Jägerin. They would not be real avatars, but that is how they would be perceived. 

I like this idea since my wife based her character Lana on Lagertha from Vikings. It also explains why Johan VII can also speak Giant. 

He compares well to his dad. So that is cool, with enough differences to feel like a new character.

I think I am going to need a bigger binder for Johan.