Willow & Tara: NIGHT SHIFT Veterans of the Supernatural Wars

It was really only a matter of time before I got around to posting this. 

One of my personal goals with NIGHT SHIFT was to be able to create any character, any situation, I could think of.  While I have dozens of characters I have created for NIGHT SHIFT I am only posting a few to show off the capabilities of the system.  Since we are getting to the end of Witch Week, this is a must post.

Following up on my 2018 Update of my witches I had them coming out of retirement to battle a bloated orange monster.   Looking over my recent posts of both NIGHT SHIFT characters and Baba Yaga from a couple nights ago, I wonder if maybe there is something else going on.  

What if Baba Yaga was targeting the girls of the Wayward Sisters so Jodie and Donna seek out the help of Rowena (who can't help them because she is in Hell) but instead gets them in touch with Charlie, who in turn leads them to Willow and Tara.   Feels like it could be a part of my War of the Witch Queens campaign set in modern times.  It would be appropriate.  I'd just have to figure out how to also work in the Charmed Ones!  

Why go through all that effort? Well to be honest it would take something this big to pull Willow & Tara out of their comfortable retirement. I honestly have not used these characters in anything of my home games in years. Baba Yaga, especially how I am thinking of revisioning her? Yeah. That is big.
Maybe that is one of the reasons the War of the Witch Queens starts, Baba Yaga is on some other world now. 

I digress.  Here are Willow and Tara in their 2020 versions.

Tara Rosenberg-Maclay
11th level Witch, Human

Strength: 12 (0)
Dexterity: 9 (0) 
Constitution: 12 (0)
Intelligence: 16 (+2) s
Wisdom: 18 (+3) P
Charisma: 16 (+2) s

HP: 34 (11d4)
AC: 9
Fate Points: 1d10

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +5/+3/+2
Melee bonus: +2  Ranged bonus: +2
Saves: +5 to spells and magical effects

Special Abilities: Arcana, Casting 105%, Telekinesis, Arcane bond (Willow), Innate Magic (Cure), Telepathic Transfer

Skills: Dance (Dex), Literature (Int), Research (Int), Theology (Int), Beast Whisperer (Wis)

Languages: English, Latin, Greek, Gaelic, 

Spells

1: Bless, Cure Light Wounds*,  Dancing Lights, Detect Evil
2: ESP, Locate Object, Produce Flame, Protection from Evil
3: Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic, Fly, Protection from Evil 10'
4: Cure Serious Wounds*, Dimensional Anchor, Restoration
5: Heal, Contact Higher Plane
6: Enchant Item

Willow Rosenberg-Maclay
12th level Witch, Human

Strength: 9 (0)
Dexterity: 11 (0) 
Constitution: 11 (0)
Intelligence: 18 (+3) P
Wisdom: 16 (+2) s
Charisma: 17 (+2) s

HP: 32 (11d4+2)
AC: 9
Fate Points: 1d10

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +6/+4/+2
Melee bonus: +2  Ranged bonus: +2
Saves: +5 to spells and magical effects

Special Abilities: Arcana, Casting 110%, Telekinesis, Arcane Bond (Tara), Enhanced Senses, Telepathic Transfer

Skills: Computers (Int) x2, Science (Int), Research (Int), Theology/Mythology (Int)

Languages: English, Latin, Greek, Hebrew

Spells

1: Chill Ray, Detect Evil, Detect Magic, Magic Missile
2: ESP, Invisibility, Produce Flame, Protection from Evil
3: Clairvoyance, Fly, Remove Blindness/Deafness, Speak w/ Dead
4: Arcane Eye, Daylight, Produce fire
5: Commune, Dispel Evil, Raise Dead
6: anti-magic Shell, Enchant Item

Yes. I can see these versions working out great, to be honest.  In fact, these versions feel just as "right" as the WitchCraft RPG versions and the official ones in the Buffy RPG (which I worked on anyway).  Looking over them again I maybe should have given them an extra level each.  They are retired, but I am certain they still managed to stay busy.

NIGHT SHIFT Characters

• Wayward Sisters (Supernatural)
• Charlie Bradbury (Supernatural)
• Rowen MacLeod (Supernatural)
• Wynnona Earp
• The Hex Girls (Scooby-doo)
• Larina "Nix" Nichols
• Elizabeth Bathory

Baba Yaga's Hut

It has been a cornucopia of witchy goodness from Wizards of the Coast over the last month or so.

First we get a new Witch class which I have to admit I rather like and one that works well with the older material. We also got a version of Baba Yaga, and now we get her infamous hut too as a new adventure.
I'll have to print it out and see how it compares with versions from the past.

I think WotC did a good job of integrating this version of Baba Yaga and the Dancing Hut into the D&D4 Feywild.

My only gripe.  It's supposed to be chicken legs.

BTW: Still coming up with some background on Father Nyaga.  I know he was someone important in Baba Yaga's life many, many years ago.  And I have settled on the fact that he is good, or at least not-evil.

Witch & Witchcraft Reading Challenge: Pathfinder Tales: Winter Witch

"Ellasif was the only witness to her infant sister's first breath. What followed was not a newborn's wail, but merry peals of laughter." 

Pathfinder Tales: Winter Witch by Elaine Cunningham and Dave Gross.

Gamer Fiction is a bit of an odd thing for me.  I admit I enjoy it and sometimes I find something good. But there is a tinge of guilt that I am "wasting my time" and not reading something better.  I guess this makes it the very definition of "guilty pleasures".

Winter Witch is no different.  Elaine Cunningham has been writing for years and has some notable titles under belt.   It will not be confused with great literature, but it is also not supposed to be. It is a fun little romp through a frozen world with a wizard turned forger and cshieldmaiden looking for her sister.  Ellasif, the aforementioned shieldmaiden is the hero of our tale and the most interesting. She obviously loves her sister Liv, but is also not a little afraid of her.
Her beginning story was very interesting.  I could not help but feel it was nice mix of Slavic, Saxon and Celtic myths all rolled into one. The story then shifts to the tale of a wizard (we later learn) and map maker forger Declan.  Declan was not as interesting to me to be honest though the mystery around him was.  These two unlikely heroes, grim Ellasif and urbane Declan,  set off to find Liv and take her from the clutches of the Witches of Irrisen, maybe even from the clutches of Baba Yaga herself!

The book was a fun, really quick read. Though I will admit there are parts of the ending I was not satisfied with. Unlike some game-related fiction, where you can practically hear the dice rolling in the background, this read much more like a novel.  I read this one soon after a few Forgotten Realm novels so the competing descriptions of some the same spells (for example Fireball) were very interesting.  I guess the question I ask myself is would I read another book by Elaine Cunningham? Yes, absolutely!  Would I read another book with these characters? Maybe, depends on what the book was about.

I was hoping that Feiya would make a cameo, but no such luck really. Maybe the iconics don't appear in books.

This was another Audiobook find and the reader, Daniel Thomas May, did a great job.

Elaine Cunningham can be found on the web here:
https://www.facebook.com/elaine.cunningham
and
http://www.elainecunningham.com/

2017 Witch & Witchcraft Reading Challenge
Books Read so far: 12
Level: Mother
Witches in this book: Many. All of Irrisen, Baba Yaga, Liv and Mareshka.
Are they Good Witches or Bad Witches: All the above. THough mostly they are Bad.
Best RPG to Emulate it: Well. It is a Pathfinder book. Pathfinder is the obvious choice here.
Use in WotWQ: Absolutely!  I can't say for sure what or who will appear, but Irrisen will absolutely feature into the War of the Witch Queens.  Expect to see Baba Yaga there too.

Don't forget. Today is Beltane!
Pick up a copy of the Warlock for Swords & Wizardry.

The Witch Game

Jonathan Becker of the excellent B/X Blackrazor posted this to my Class Struggles post yesterday:

Have you considered (or run) a game where witches simply replaced magic-users?

Reading this post and your earlier ones, I'm struck by the idea that the "witch" (which I've written several times myself) may need to be something setting-specific, rather than an archetypal class. So much of the witch...and version (folkloric, historical, literary)...is intimately tied to its particular setting, mainly with regard to culture. Sure, they do magic...but that magic varies from source to source (I know you're an expert on the subject, so you can draw references from tons of sources). Real witchcraft is extremely personal to its practitioners, and in a way that parallels the media depiction of witches: each filmmaker or TV producer or book writer has their own personal interpretation of the abilities of a witch. There's a shit-ton of differences between Bewitched and the film Warlock and those Harry Potter books...and a galaxy of difference between any of those and Baba Yaga!

The real defining thing about witches is their (sub)culture, not their powers. They are outsiders from normal society. They are close-knit (have shared ties) with each other. They're feared and often persecuted (or shunned if too powerful...see Baba Yaga). Even so, they can be helpful to non-witches. They seem to have an appreciation for the natural world, especially animals and plants. Their "natural world" also includes forces that mundane folks see as "supernatural" (whether you're talking about spirits, sympathetic magic, or whatever).

The default setting of most editions of D&D don't really leave room for this culture of the witch. People don't shun and persecute magic-users. Magic-users are prone to secrecy and isolation in order both to guard their power and to prevent every Tom, Dick, and Jenny from banging on their door asking for help with some quest or village plight. The evil ones go crazy and live in dungeons and command legions of orcs and monsters. The helpful ones are out on adventures, fattening their purses, getting in knife fights, and acting as magical artillery. I don't know...for me, there's just nothing "witchy" there (culturally speaking).

To really do witches, you need a specific campaign setting that works with their culture. After that, most any spells or abilities will work (and there's plenty of inspiration to draw from). But without the right setting? I don't see a real place for witches in the D&D game.

Jonathan knows his stuff. He also did a very excellent witch in his Complete B/X Adventurer. He makes a lot of excellent points.

Let me dive in, in detail.
>>Have you considered (or run) a game where witches simply replaced magic-users?

I am currently in one now and have played some in the past. In general the witch is less powerful than a same-level wizard, but has some advantages the wizard doesn't have, such as healing.

>>There's a shit-ton of differences between Bewitched and the film Warlock and those Harry Potter books...and a galaxy of difference between any of those and Baba Yaga!

Oh yes. That is part of the problem, and part of the fun.  I  could find some similar differences in say a thief. Like Robin Hood vs. The Grey Mouser vs. The Stainless Steel Rat and others.  D&D only models a particular type of reality.  I have often said I'd kill to do a Harry Potter game, but damn if I know how I would build Hogwarts in D&D yet.

>>The real defining thing about witches is their (sub)culture, not their powers. They are outsiders from normal society.

There is a ton of good in these two sentences. It also concurs with things I have said in the past, repeating what Tom Moldvay has also said.   One thing to consider is that one man's cleric is another man's cultist.  So often a "witch" really could just be a wizard, cleric or some off-the-wall druid.
It really does give weight to the idea of a "magic-user" class.

>>I don't know...for me, there's just nothing "witchy" there (culturally speaking).

Which I think is why the witch has traditionally been an NPC class.

>>To really do witches, you need a specific campaign setting that works with their culture. After that, most any spells or abilities will work (and there's plenty of inspiration to draw from). But without the right setting? I don't see a real place for witches in the D&D game.

For me though I think this can be handled in right role-playing environment.
Pathfinder does a good job makeing their witch very different from their wizard.  D&D4 had a different take on their witch, but it was still fun.  In both cases there is a lot of "background" to help seperate them from the other spell casters.  I tried to do this with the Traditions.

I see your point that the differences between a witch and wizard are largely cosmetic (my words) or cultural (your words); but even the "wizard" as an archetype has a lot of variety. I mean is Hermoinie a D&D wizard or witch? She is called a "Witch" but her magic seems more "Wizard" to me.

Heck. In some ways your B/X Witch is more "witchy" than mine!

In any case I like that these points are made.  
I do like the idea of a specific campaign setting that supports a witch.  I suppose in many ways that is my "default" game setting.  But "my D&D" tends to have healthy doses of horror in it as well, so the witch, potentially a person that deals with these elements from beyond, is more of an outsider.

But you have given me some material to consider and I appreciate that.

DriveThru Reviews

These are more like "Drive By" reviews since I am posting rather fast today.  Also a mixed bag of stuff.

Power Pics Heroes 1 -Female Speedster
Great concept really. Provide the art and a paper mini for the games and let the imagination flow. You don't even really need or want stats with this since the purpose is fit the character to your game. I found that most of these can be used in every supers game and even some pure sci-fi ones. Well worth the price.
5 out of 5 stars

OSRIC Book of Assassins
What you get: A 26-page book on Assassins and subclasses for OSRIC and compatible games. The sub classes are interesting enough to keep my attention (I liked the Ninja and the Bounty Hunter).
What struck me as odd though was how it was written. I am not 100% sure English was the first language of the author. There were some very awkward word choices and sentences through out. It also uses a 3rd party skill system that I didn't have. With the OGL the best to do would be include it.
The layout is clean but uninspired (a single column of text) and there is no art at all.
The concept is good, the execution of it though is poor.
2 out of 5 stars

Baba Yaga: Queen of the Wicked Fens
Good little Baba Yaga workup for any level/tier of play. Lots of attention to the myths of Baba Yaga were paid attention to, but their could have been more. The art is only ok, and I would have liked to have seen more of the magic items and stories surrounding her.
This plus a quick web search though will produce a lot of any game.
3 out of 5 stars

Mutants & Masterminds Threat Report #39: Eris
My favorite Threat Report so far for M&M3.
All of these Threat Reports present a fully detailed NPC for your use in your game and all the stats you need. PLUS a .POR file if you are using Hero Lab. Import the file in and alter as needed.
At 99 cents this is a steal.
5 out of 5 stars.

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Wizards of the Coast just announced their next book for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition and I could not more excited.

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything is set for release on November 17, 2020.  I already pre-ordered the standard and alternate cover from my FLGS so I should be getting it on Nov. 7.

What is this book about?  Well, that is Tasha, aka Natasha the Dark, aka Iggwilv the Witch Queen on the cover.  Honestly, that is all I need to know.

But...I can see why others might want to know more. 

It is going to be set up similar to Xanathar's Guide to Everything with new rules.  What do I know is in it so far?

• New subclasses for every class.
• The Artificer class.
• Some psionic classes such as the Aberrant Mind.
• A new lineage system that adds on to and supplants the D&D racial system. Rather looking forward to that.
• Group Patrons and sidekicks. Add a little more organization to your adventuring group. 
• New spells, artifacts and magical tattoos.  That chicken foot tattoo on Tasha's face is a huge clue as to what you are likely to get. (more on that later)
• Puzzles and more puzzles!

So yeah a lot to offer.  And a lot of it looks like it would translate well into other versions of D&D; which was one of the early design goals of D&D5e/Next.  

I am sure I will find out more, but that chicken foot tattoo on Tasha/Iggwilv gives me a LOT of ideas.  It also might help me figure out some details of my own Pact of Baba Yaga that I talked about a bit ago.  Though now I might call it "The Mark of Baba Yaga" and it is how the Daughters of Baba Yaga can recognize each other.  I can expand on the magical tattoos I presented in The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition. 

The art for this also looks fantastic as to be expected.

There is nothing I don't love about that picture.   The color palette, moon, and satyr remind me of the cover of Dragon #114.

And that is Graz'zt on the Alternate limited edition cover too.

Wizards is hosting a D&D Celebration on September 18-20 and will be revealing more.  I am going to try to make it.

Too bad it won't be out for Halloween!

Of course let's not forget the art Jacob Blackmon created for me of the Witch Queens, Larina, Feiya, and Iggwilv!

A to Z of Adventure! S is for Special Series.

S is for Special Series.

Ah! The "S" modules.  No series of modules have been as divisive, controversial or as fun (to me) as these.  Originally just four adventures, it has one "honorary" member in my mind and two more unnumbered members.  I have played in these and run them; some (like S4) many times over. These are some of my favorite adventures of all time.

Where to begin?

Well here are the modules/adventures I want to discuss.

• S1 Tomb of Horrors  (Ranked #3 greatest adventure of all time)
• S2 White Plume Mountain (Ranked #9 greatest adventure of all time)
• S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
  (Ranked #5 greatest adventure of all time)
• S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (Ranked #22 greatest adventure of all time)
• These first four are published now as part of S1-4: Dungeons of Dread.
• (S5) The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga
• (S6) Labyrinth of Madness
• and special addition WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun.

These adventures have all been featured here many, many times.
Also, the first four have been collected into a single volume not once, but twice.  Many of the adventures have also been updated for other versions of D&D.

S1: Tomb of Horrors
Depending on who you ask, this is either one of the best adventures for D&D or the worst.  I enjoy this module, but it is not one I plan on running again. I ran it for my kids and they survived, but I think there are better adventures out there.  It is one of those adventures that everyone talks about; often about how horribly they or someone else died in it.   In the picture above, the book on the right with devil with his mouth open?  Yeah. More than one idiotcharacter put their hand in there only to loose said hand.  The big bad is that jeweled skull on the cover of the middle book.
Tomb of Horrors is often described as a meat grinder.  This is true, but it is also a fun challenge and if I can be so bold, a rite of passage of the D&D gamer.  You can't really call yourself a D&D gamer until you go through this.
Love it or hate it, it's place in history is solid and unmoving.

S2: White Plume Mountain
In many ways White Plume Mountain is one of my favorite adventures.  It's a crazy dungeon filled with traps, monsters a few legendary weapons of vast power, all dropped into a semi-active volcano.   I ran it for my kids a while back.  Back then I ran it under 3rd Edition, using a 1st Edition rule base, Basic Edition characters, and some 4th edition add-ons.  It was such a classic though that it all worked.  My kids loved it.

S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
This was one of the first adventures I ever bought for myself.  The characters (in a quasi-medieval Europe) find an ancient crashed star-ship and all the crazy alien life forms still trapped inside.  Based a bit on the game Metamorphosis Alpha.   I ran this for my kids a while back.  My youngest LOVED it, but my oldest didn't. Which is a bit odd I thought, because he began playing with the Star Wars d20 RPG.
Still though, I personally think this is a great module.

S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth 
The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth and it's near sequel WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun are two of my favorite modules ever.  I bought S4 my freshman year in high school and read it cover to cover.  One of my favorite bits was the "sneak peak" at some of the monsters that would later appear in the Monster Manual II hardcover.  It was also a rather deadly adventure. The nearby Forgotten Temple of Tharizidun then opens up a new threat of the ancient imprisoned god Tharizdun.  This ties it in to the T1-4 Supermodule The Temple of Elemental Evil.  But I think what I liked about it was the information on Greyhawk.  We are introduced to the witch Iggwilv here. She would later become an important figure in the history of Greyhawk and D&D.
The boys loved this adventure.  Combining it with WG4 and some additional material from the web it took us about 6 months to complete.  Still, it was a great time.

Two other modules were later added to the "Special" Series but never had, to my knowledge, an "S" designation.

S5: The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga is one of those characters that we keep coming back to in D&D.  There are at least 3 or 4 versions of The Dancing Hut adventure out there now and even for the Pathfinder game (a game very much like D&D) has her as the main bad guy for a whole series of adventures.
I am going to feature her and this adventure in my own "War of the Witch Queens" campaign that I run next.

S6: Labyrinth of Madness
Of all the "S" modules, this is the only one I know nothing about.
From what I can tell it is sort of a tribute to the kinds of dungeons we saw in the S-series.  It looks like a lot of fun though.

Iggwilv, The Witch Queen of Perrenland

I have been doing some research on Iggwilv for my War of the Witch Queens adventure and as part of my prep for my kids finishing up "The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga" (more on that tomorrow).

While working on these it occurred to me that what I really wanted was a "Power Score -like" treatise on Iggwilv as she has appeared in all editions of *D&D.  So I went to the source and to see what +Sean McG  had written on the subject.  The more I read and the more I thought about it the more it seemed like a good idea to collaborate with Sean and see what his touch would bring.  Sure enough, he did a bang up job.  You can read his post on Iggwilv today.

For my efforts, I want to do something I have wanted to do forever.  Convert Iggwilv to a Basic-Era style witch.   We know a lot about her and I am basing these stats mostly on her 3.x edition version from Dungeon Magazine #149.   In that she is a Chaotic Evil human Wizard 26 / Arch-mage 4 (30 total levels).  That grants her a lot of spells and powers.
For my version, I toning down her abilities (Int 38, Cha 28...fine for D&D 3.x, not Basic) but granting her the top level of witches I have, 36th level.  Truthfully I would have been happy with anything from 30 to 36, but I have not done a witch this high of level before here.

Iggwilv also has a number of unique spells.  These can be handled by adding them as Witch Rituals.  Which is really appropriate since is was the descriptions of the magic circles in the Demonomicon of Iggwilv from S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth that got me really thinking about doing a witch class.

Iggwilv, Witch Queen of Perrenland
36th level Witch, Daughter of Baba Yaga Tradition*
Female, Chaotic (Evil)

Strength 10
Intelligence 20
Wisdom 17
Dexterity 21
Constitution 19
Charisma 22

Saving Throws
Death Ray/Poison 2
Magic Wands 2
Paralysis, Polymorph 2
Dragon Breath 2
Rods, Staffs, Spells 2
+2 to all saves via Tastchti's Mark
+5 to all saves via Ring of Protection
+2 for Wisdom

Hit Points: 66
AC: -10
(leather armor +5, Bracers of Defense +3, Ring of Protection +5, Dex 21 -4, Tastchti's Mark -2)

THAC0: 6
(I know, THAC0 was not used in Basic D&D. You know what this means)

Occult Powers

Lesser: Familiar (Quasit, "Black Comet")
Minor: Kitchen Witchery
Medial: Detect Bloodline
Greater: Curse
Major: Shape Change
Superior: Longevity

Other Powers
Arcane Diversity: As a Daughter of Baba Yaga, Iggwilv may learn other arcane spells (Wizard, Necromancer, Illusionist). She can replace 1 Ritual spell per spell level with an arcane spell she has learned.  These spells must be learned like other magic-users and recorded in her Book of Shadows ("Iggwilv's Nethertome").
This also help's explain why she was hanging out with the Circle of Eight.  She wanted to steal their spells.

Tastchti's Mark:  This magical tattoo on Iggwilv's was inscribed by the Lilitu Tastchti.  Provides a continuous +2 bonus to her saves and armor class as per the Bless spell.

Spells
Cantrips (7): Alarm Ward, Arcane Mark, Chill, Daze, Ghost Sound, Inflict Minor Wounds, Summon Vermin
1st (9+3): Bad Luck, Black Fire, Cause Fear, Charm Person, Darkness, Endure Elements, Fey Sight, Ghostly Slashing, Glamour, Minor Fighting Prowess, Protection from Spirits, Silver Tongue
2nd (9+3): Agony, Biting Blade, Discord, Enthrall, Evil Eye, Ghost Touch, Hold Person, Invisibility, Mind Obscure, Phantasmal Spirit, Spell Missile, Tasha's Hideous Laughter (Ritual)
3rd (9+3): Astral Sense, Bestow Curse, Circle of Respite, Dispel Magic, Feral Spirit, Ghost Ward, Lethe's Curse, Lifeblood, Magic Circle Against Undead, Toad Mind, Witch Wail, Witch Writing
4th (9+3): Abomination, Analyze Magic, Arcane Eye, Charm Monster, Divination, Ethereal Projection, Intangible Cloak of Shadows, Phantom Lacerations, Spiritual Dagger, Tears of the Banshee, Undead Enslavement, Withering Touch
5th (9+2): Baleful Polymorph, Blade Dance, Death Curse, Dreadful Bloodletting, Endless Sleep, Greater Command, Hold Monster, Magic Jar, Nightmare, Teleport, Waves of Fatigue
6th (9+1): Anchoring Rite, Anti-magic Shell, Break the Spirit, Death Blade, Eye Bite, Ethereal Banishment, Mass Agony, Mislead, True Seeing, Dismissal (Ritual)
7th (9): Death Aura, Draw Forth the Soul, Greater Arcane Eye, Greater Blindness, Insanity, Wave of Mutilation, Binding (Ritual), Exaction (Ritual), Gate (Ritual)
8th (9): Astral Projection, Destroy Life, Greater Mislead, Mystic Barrier, Pit, Trap the Soul, Ensnarement (Ritual), Iggwilv's Lightning Cage (Ritual), Imprisonment (Ritual)

New Ritual Spells
These ritual spells often require the use of the appropriate magical circle and often the witch's familiar, which acts as a conduit to the magical energies summoned.

Some of these spells appear in the "Demonomicon of Iggwilv". Others in her Book of Shadows "Iggwilv's Nethertome".

Dismissal
Level: Witch Ritual 6
Ritual Requirement: see below
Range: One creature
Duration: Special
This spell forces an extraplanar creature back to its proper plane if it fails a Spells save. If the spell is successful, the creature is instantly whisked away, but there is a 20% chance of actually sending the subject to a plane other than its own.
The witch needs her ritual items and a proper magical circle drawn around herself.  She much also cut herself since blood powers the ritual.

Ensnarement
Level: Witch Ritual 8
Ritual Requirement: see below
Range: One creature
Duration: Special
This ritual works much like a Gate spell, save the creature gated in is trapped in a magical circle.  The creature gets a saving throw vs. Spells to avoid the ensnarement.
The witch can then demand a service from the creature for it's release.  When the service is somplete the creature will return to their own plane.
The spell ends when the witch has struck a bargin with the creature or if sunlight touches the magical circle. In both cases the creature will return to their home plane.  If the creature is held indefinitely they will get a new save vs. spells at Midnight.

Exaction
Level: Witch Ritual 7
Ritual Requirement: see below
Range: One creature
Duration: Special
A witch using this spell confronts a creature from another plane and requires of it some duty or quest.
The spell will not affect creatures with alignments greatly opposed to the witch's i.e. good vs. evil, law vs. chaos. Note that a true (absolute) neutral witch is greatly opposed to all other alignments, for the purposes of this spell. A creature which can be affected receives no saving throw, nor will magic resistance protect it. However, this spell does not affect deities or divine beings.
If the creature has received a great favor in the past from a person of the witch's alignment, the witch can name this as a reason for service. This requires that the witch know the personal history of the creature. If no past service is known to the witch, he or she must pledge a valuable gift or favor to the creature in return for its service.
In all cases, the reward promised by the witch must be equivalent to the service required from the creature. The spell then forces the creature to perform the service agreed upon. If the creature fails to perform the mission, it will suffer the penalties of the spells geas and quest simultaneously, until the mission is completed. Creatures cannot be compelled to obey self-destructive or suicidal commands.
When the service demanded from the creature is performed, it is instantly teleported to the witch's location. The witch must then perform the service or grant the reward agreed upon. When the creature's reward is granted, it is immediately sent back to its own plane.
If the witch reneges on the agreement, the creature has two options to choose from. Each is a part of the original spell and does not require magical ability or spell casting from the creature. Should the agreement be broken, the creature can place the witch under exaction. The witch receives no saving throw against this effect.  Otherwise, the creature can attack the witch. Should it choose to do  this, it will be totally unaffected by any spells cast by the witch.
The material components of this spell are, the witch's ritual tools, matter from the home plane of the creature from whom an exaction is required, and knowledge of the creature's nature or past actions; written on a page of parchment which is burned to seal the bargain.

Iggwilv's Lightning Cage
Level: Witch Ritual 8
Ritual Requirement: see below
Range: 25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels
Duration: 1 Hour + 1 turn per level
This spell is a variant of the 7th-level wizard spell forcecage, and it is identical to that spell except as follows:
First, the “bars” of force energy which form the cage are electrified. Any creature, whether inside or outside, who makes contact with the electrified bars or touches them with an object composed of metal or other conductive material, must save vs. spells or suffer 10d6+10 hp damage. A successful save reduces this damage by half, but the lightning cage is not dispelled, nor are its electrical effects.
Second, the floor of the lightning cage is composed of a solid “sheet” of force energy equal to a wall of force, but it is charged only on its outside surface.
Third, unlike a forcecage, Iggwilv’s lightning cage cannot be altered to form a solid cube of electrified walls of force.
Finally, the lightning cage does not require the ritual drawing of a square with powdered diamond as is necessary with a forcecage, but it does require a material component. This material component consists of a “wand” of amber (worth 100 gp), tipped with a transparent  gemstone worth at least 1,000 gp.

Baba Yaga and the young Natasha/Iggwilv by Vania Zouravliov

Tasha's Hideous Laughter
Level: Witch Ritual 2
Ritual Requirement: see below
Range: 25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels
Duration: 1 round per level
This spell afflicts the subject with uncontrollable laughter. It collapses into gales of manic laughter, falling prone. The subject can take no actions while laughing, but is not considered helpless. After the spell ends, it can act normally.
A creature with an Intelligence score of 2 or lower is not affected. A creature whose type is different from the caster’s receives a +4 bonus on its saving throw, because humor doesn’t “translate” well.
Ritual Component: Tiny tarts that are thrown at the target and a feather that is waved in the air.

I am pretty pleased with this to be honest. Certainly not someone I would mess with.

* I considered making her a part of the Malefic Tradition, but wanted her to have the Arcane Diversity.

#RPGaDAY 2020: Day 20 Investigate

I have made some off-handed comments here, and on Facebook and other social media platforms, but nothin solid or concrete yet.  So now is that time. I am pulling together several loose ideas and a couple more developed ones into a single narrative.  

All summer long I have been fairly focused on some "Basic-era" games.  In particular OSE, BXRPG, and BECMI.  I knew I was going to get a game together using one or more of these rules.  I also have a big campaign I want to do, War of the Witch Queens, which I have been going back and forth on; should it be Basic-Era (BECMI in particular) or Castles & Crusades.

The premise is simple really, deceptively so.
While our intrepid adventurers are doing their normal adventuring thing they notice that there are an awful lot of powerful, but low level, witches causing troubles.  Making power grabs and largely being a problem.  The adventurers discover, but some means not fully developed yet, that the problem is the witch hierarchy is in shambles.  Someone has murdered the High Queen of Witches.

I said this bit before, but every 13 years the witches gather to choose a new High Queen of Witches. While all the Witch Queens, leaders of their respective traditions, have a say in truth it is the current High Queen that chooses the new High Queen.  This year the witches have gathered and the High Queen has been killed.  Every Witch Queen suspects the others and the entire power structure is in shambles. 

That is the goal.  The characters have to investigate the murder and find out who did it.

Simple, right?  Well...the trouble is that for the most part I don't know who did it. At least not yet.

Here are the details.

Who was murdered? The High Queen of Witches.
How was she killed? It looks like a mundane dagger. But that can't be it right??
Why was she killed? Unknow, it is suspected that one of the out-of-favor Queens did it.
Are we sure? No. Witches are not allowed to harm each other.  This taboo gets more powerful as the witch increases in level.  The powerful the witch, the less able she is to harm another witch.  I call this the Pact of Baba Yaga. She demanded that no witch harms another or SHE will come in and do the harming. 
Ok, why was she really killed? To destabilize the power base of the witches.  The Witch Queens keep the lower level witches in line.  They can't harm them directly...but you can be surprised what they can do.

So, this puts me on an investigation of my own.  Essentially I have to go through the mystery myself and see where it leads me. But this isn't just a murder mystery.  This is a power grab.  Someone wanted the High Witch Queen dead to destabilize the witch power structure on purpose. Who would want to do that?  The other Witch Queens?  No. Can't be one of them. They can't actually harm each other due to the Pact of Baba Yaga.  Plus, why would they want too? Without that High Queen the witches will start warring, start causing trouble and basically doing all the things that got them all sent to the gallows and the stake the first time around.  Plus any new High Queen is going to spend most of her 13 years ruling just cleaning up the mess of the last 13 months.  No.  This is someone outside the hierarchy looking to weaken the witches.

But who?

Enter Kelek the Cruel.

Kelek has the notable distinction of being the first AD&D Toy Line product I ever bought. I thought he would be great as an antagonist, but in the end, I never used him.  In my investigations of Skylla, I also ran into more details about Kelek.  I learned that like Skylla, Kelek was changed to evil by the Heartstone. He also was a friend to Ringlerun, the good wizard. Skylla had been Ringlerun's apprentice, but now she works with Kelek.  Kelek seems more than happy to use her to his own ends.

Then I discovered two details that really sold it for me.  

First. Kelek was in the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, Episode "Valley of the Unicorns", where he unwillingly served Venger.  That is not the important bit.  The important bit is who wrote the episode.

Yes. Paul Dini. The same Paul Dini that invented Harley Quinn, wrote SO MUCH material about Zatanna and gave us the definitive Evil-Lyn episode of the Masters of the Universe, "The Witch and the Warrior."

I don't know about you, but for me, that is a pedigree.

Second, and this happened while doing my investigations of both Kelek and Skylla and BECMI related merchandise, I found that Kelek was featured a lot in the AD&D coloring books and in the D&D story books for kids.

In one, The Treasure of Time, Kelek is creeping on Charmay (the good magic-user, and subject of a crazy idea of mine) where he discovers a map to the "Treasure of Time".  Long story (ok it is not that long) short, he finds the treasure and becomes young again, but loses all his knowledge of magic. 

He is humiliated by Charmay who laughs at him while he cries.

The thought occurred to me. Here is a guy that obviously already has issues. Bullied by Venger, humiliated by Charmay, and wants nothing more than to be the Master of all Evil Magic according to his bio in the Shady Dragon Inn and has no problem destroying Skylla once he gets what he wants.

I have been watching a lot of the new Harley Quinn animated series lately where they have Doctor Psycho as a full-on misogynistic asshole.  Further strengthens that Paul Dini connection (I know. He has nothing to do with that show, but there would have never been that show had it not been for Dini) and make Kelek the same.  It's not a stretch really.  Plus it also allows me to play with current politics in my game.  Taking an old misogynistic white dude (and likely aging incel. he had to lure those unicorns in some way) and make him the bad guy in a situation were witches/women hold more power than he does and he wants. 

I have not decided though if Skylla is working with him on this.  Either he has promised her the High Witch Queen crown OR if he is manipulating her as well.

After his defeat at the hands of Charmay, a bitter Kelek had no choice but to go back to magic school and relearn everything.  Only this time instead of a bright young man who had a friend (Ringlerun) with him, he is a bitter old-man in a young man's body.  That also makes him extremely focused. He doesn't go for the types of fun that a young magic-school student might get into. Instead he is bitter, focuses 100% of time on his studies and plots of revenge.  In the process, he sees "enemies" everywhere.  Everyone is trying to stop him or mock him and he is SOOOO much smarter than these fools around him.  It is easy to think of someone like this in real life. He hates his fellow students because they are so stupid in his mind. He hates his teachers because in his mind he has already done far more than they have. Every day that they have to teach him something he already knew long ago, but can't quite remember, is a stinging reminder of his defeat.

Why is Kelek going after the witches? Well he hates women and his old friend and enemy Ringlerun died of natural causes, robbing Kelek of the chance to kill him. 

Sometimes I like to make villains that you can relate too. It's my Lex Luthor philosophy.  Lex never thinks he is the villain, he is the Hero, and that flying abomination is the villain. 

Kelek is just an asshole whose thoughts are so twisted in on themselves that he doesn't care if he is the villain or the hero, he is just going make everyone that laughed at him pay.  No one will stop him because he is so much smarter than everyone around him.

And those types of villains are really fun to defeat.

This Old Dragon: Issue #90

Ok. I will admit this. I am totally cheating.  Normally I grab an issue off the top and review it as is.  But this is October and that's a big deal here at The Other Side.  So I went through my stacks and pulled out the remaining October issues I had and put them on top.  So let's go back to the scary 80s.  Reagan is in office. We have two Germanys. And the USSR is still biggest big bad on the planet. Nukes will fly at any moment, especially if there is some "glitch" in a computer (or a kid with a modem wanting to play a game). It's October 1984 and this is issue #90 of This Old Dragon!

The cover. I always liked this cover a lot.  I always felt that harpies were an under-used monster and they needed to be scarier. When I first saw this though I thought the harpy and human were on a DESK not a deck and that for some reason they were shrunk down to a smaller size.  It was such profound first impression that I have to look hard at it NOT to see that.  Strange how memory works.

Ok for an October issue there is not much in the way of a horror theme here.  There are some horror elements to be certain, but nothing that explicitly ties them all together.

Out on a Limb covers the seemingly impossible relationship between chaotic to the core Norebo and hard-line lawful Wee Jas.  Kim Mohan makes two suggestions. First, opposites attract and Norebo has a big mouth.  Second, they goofed.   I like the idea of them being together, to be honest.  Gods need to be complicated.   There are some letters of praise of Baba Yaga's Hut adventure but pointing out how Baba Yaga does not match earlier versions in Dragon or the Hut matching up with the one in the DMG.  In these cases that was all done on purpose; which I get.

The Forum begins (or continues) the long debate on physics and falling damage.

Our first proper article is from Ed Greenwood.  We are introduced to the Incantatrix NPC class.  This is issue 90, we are still 2 years away from the witch class so, for now, this is the current AD&D attempt at a witch.  Incantatrix means a woman that makes incantations, or a female spell caster.  This class has seen a lot of love and hate online and it was a little controversial in our groups as well.  The article is six pages and has some great ideas and some really neat spells.  I have a lot of issues with this class, but I want to focus on only a couple.  First, it is much weaker than a similar level magic-user. I guess this is why it is an NPC class afterall.  Also, the class has something of a split personality. It is a spell-thief AND a class that fights other spellcasters and outsiders.  I think splitting it up into two separate concepts would fit much better.   Let's talk about the spell-thief bit for a second.  Here is a quote from the article:

But how could a mere wizard defeat the Archmage with a spell so beyond her powers? asked the sage skeptically.

Ok. First point. How did you know that the incantatrix was a "mere wizard"?  Now granted, many worlds have classifications of wizards. Look at Krynn and I know that "Archmage" is actually a big deal.  But at the same time to a casual observer, do you know how powerful someone is?
Now that is not to say that this class doesn't have a lot of potential. It does. In fact, it came back as a 3.0 Edition Prestige Class in Magic of Faerûn. This version focused on her "meta-magic" feats.
An OSR or 5th Edition Incantatrix is needed I think.

Nice big ad for Chill.

Gary is up next with Hold that person! The definitive list of charm-able humanoids.  This is the list of anything affected by Charm or Hold Person spells. I had kept this list in with my notes on what would become the Witch.  It's a good list.  Gary shares other news like the huge GenCon 17 turnout and how they sold out of the D&D Companion set.  He is also working on T2 The Temple of Elemental Evil, or rather handing it to Frank Mentzer who is also busy with the Masters Set of D&D rules.  There is no more movement on AD&D 2nd Edition at this point, but there is speculations that the Monster book will be two books.  The D&D cartoon is renewed and the D&D movie script is moving ahead.  It does make me wonder if some of the items for AD&D 2 ended up in next year's Unearthed Arcana.

Ed is back again with Bats that do more than bite: Six species from Elminster's latest lecture. Or six types of bats unique to the Realms.

The next installment of Gods of the Suel pantheon is up. Len Lakofka gives us Phyton, Xerbo, and Osprem.   Our two sea gods Xerbo and Osprem both have tridents.  I guess there is a rule that sea gods must have one.

Mike Beeman has some advice on Playing the political game: A change of pace for AD&D game adventuring.  This article covers how to play a game of political intrigue.  I nice companion piece I think to the rules from the Companion Set and the upcoming Master Set.  Also one I think that would be well received today with the popularity of Game of Thrones.

Plane facts on Gladsheim: What it's like in the land of the Norse gods covers the planes of Gladsheim by Roger E. Moore.  It is a nice companion piece to the adventure coming up. I liked this article because at this time I was really beginning to move away from Greek myth and into more Norse and eventually Celtic myths.  This is a good starting point. Most of the article is devoted to spell changes.

This is followed up with Aesirhamar, a high-level adventure taking place in Gladsheim also by Roger E. Moore.

Jerry Epperson contributes to the Halloween feel and gives us a review of the first edition of Chill.  The review, while only a page an half long, is very positive and covers all the basics of what you can do with Chill.

Lots of ads.

We get to the Ares section now.

Up first is Skills for the Super Agent: Agent skill packages in the CHAMPIONS game by Gregg Sharp.  This is for making proper "Super" Spies in a Supers game.
Steve Perrin has some more powers for the Superworld game.

The big one, and one I had cut out of my original copy and stuck in my Star Frontiers box, is The Mega-Corporations for Star Frontiers by Kim Eastland.   This article shifted my SF playing from a Star Wars/Star Trek kitbash to a proto-ShadowRun game.  Though we took a lot from Blade Runner too.   I swear I had created some mega-corps myself but for the life of me, I can't recall any.

Riddle of the Ring has a big full-page ad.  They have sold the rights to their "unique" game to Iron Crown Enterprises.

Another Gen Con 17 report, this time from Roger Moore and focusing on the sci-fi elements of the con.

Big for Bard games.
Convention Calendar.
Lots of small ads.

Wormy's trolls go fishing and Aveeare encounters magic in Snarf Quest.

Very memorable issue.  Lots of nostalgia.  I was a big fan of I.C.E.'s Middle Earth back in the day and seeing the ads for it and the "Riddle of the Ring" always make me smile.  If you want to learn more about I.C.E.'s Middle Earth in White Dwarf #58 from the same month and year as this Dragon.

Did anyone play an Incantatrix? I am curious to hear your experiences.

Mythic Russia

There are tons and tons of great mythic stories in the world.  One of the ones I have always found to be interesting, though I know very little about them, are the Russian myths and fairy tales.  In particular Baba Yaga and Koschei the Immortal.  I found these pictures online from Amok Amokov.
https://www.instagram.com/amokrus/
https://www.facebook.com/amokanet

These pictures really capture what I think the Russian fairy tales should look like, or at least how they should be in my world.

Baba Yaga

Vasilisa the Beautiful

Vasilisa the Wise

Koschei the Immortal

Ilya Muromets

Alyonushka and Ivanushka

Elena the Fair

I certainly like this version of Elena the Fair, certainly worthy of the title Queen of Summer.

Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge: June Reviews

Here are the reviews for May for the Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge.

Lots of books this month!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
All things must end...I started my reread of the Harry Potter series with much enthusiasm and I was rewarded every step of the way. But I was dreading this one.  Not because of the deaths or the loss, but because this was the end, no more Harry, no more Hogwarts, no more of the world that enchanted me and millions of others.
J.K. Rolwing is a genius. Pure and simple. While I thought some of her later books could have had a deft hand at editing I find in the end I would not want one line changed.  The best thing about this book, and the last one, is you really, really get a feeling of how and why Ron and Hermione got together and why Harry and Ginny are together.  The movies, as fantastic as they are, glossed over this subtle storytelling.
Every fan of fantasy needs to read these books.
Witch Count: Hundreds

Witches with the Enemy: A Novel of the Mist-Torn Witches by Barb Hendee
Book 3 of the Mist-Torn Witches series sees Céline and Amelie Fawe heading back into the land of their birth, Shetâna, to do a job for Prince Damek who once tried to have them killed.
Like the previous two books this one involves a mysterious murder, but the murders keep happening and it is soon obvious that no one is what they appear to be at all.  This one grabs you from the beginning.
Hendee is great at character development and it was nice to see Céline get some much needed growth and the spotlight for a while.  The previous book featured a lot of growth for Amelie.   I also like that the witches may have made a terrible new enemy by the end of the book.
The potential for this series really is unlimited. I would like to see some new powers or new nuances to their powers for the sisters, but I also see no end of their troubles.
I think what I like the most about this series is that both the two main female characters and the two main male characters are allowed to be strong when they can.  That is, one character or gender does not show strength at the expense of the others. They all have the potential to work as a greater team but finding their roles is the trick.  In any case there is plenty of more room for future character growth and that is exactly what I want in my series reading.
While these books are set in a fantasy realm of magic, witches, ghosts and even vampires these are solidly murder mysteries.  Can't wait for Book 4!
Witch Count: 3-5 (including hedge witches)

Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
The classical Russian tale of Baba Yaga and the brave young girl Vasilisa.  I actually read a couple of different versions of this tale over the month, but since they only differed by a detail here or there I am counting this as one.
Witch Count: 1

The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston
This one has all the elements I like. Welsh countryside, ancient witchcraft, new you witch coming into her power.  It just didn't grab me like I thought it would.  Now by the end of the book things had gotten better.  I liked the character Morgana and I liked how her magic worked.  The author is quite good really, I just found the pace a bit slow for my liking.  I think if I had not just come down from my Harry Potter fueled high I might have enjoyed this one a lot more.
Witch Count: 3

Books read: 18
Current Level: Crone,  Read 16 – 20 Witchy Books

Skylla: Pathfinder 2nd Edition

I thought it might be nice to break up the reviews here and see if I can build one of my favorite characters for Pathfinder Second Edition.  And that means I am building a witch.

My girl Skylla here has gotten a lot more popular since I started this series almost 10 years ago. Since then she has gotten new official D&D 5 stats, a mini, and a new action figure release. All of that in the last year alone.  I'd love to take credit for it, but it is really just part of the same thing I was doing 10 years ago; discovering a cool, but under-used character.

What is great about this is I can compare and contrast the official D&D5 Warlock Skylla to a possible Pathfinder 2e Skylla.  I can also compare and contrast her with the Pathfinder 1st edition witch I did years ago.   

In this case, I cleaved a little closer to her Base stats found in module XL1 Quest for the Heartstone and her warlock stats found in The Wild Beyond The Witchlight.

For this build I kept her at 6th level to correspond base stats and the D&D5 stats and not the 7th level I have typically been using.  I have not seen a lot of Pathfinder 2e statblocks online, so I am going with my own format here.

Skylla
6th level Witch, Human (Wintertouched)
CE Medium Humanoid

Background:  Student of Magic

Ability Scores
Strength: -1 (8)
Dexterity: 0 (10)
Constitution: +2 (14)
Intellignece: +4 (19)
Wisdom: +3 (16)
Charisma: +3 (16) 

AC: 18 (+8 prof)
HP: 62
Perception: +11

Saving Throws
Fortitude: +12
Reflex: +8
Will: +13

Resistances and Immunities: Cold 3

Speed: 25

Melee Strikes
Staff +7, 1d4 (1d8 two-handed) +1d6 electricity

Skills
Acrobatics +0, Arcana +12, Athletics -1, Crafting +4, Deception +13, Diplomacy +11, Intimidation +13, Lore (Academia +12), Medicine +3, Nature +11, Occultism +12, Performance +3, Religion +11, Society +4, Stealth +8, Survival +11, Thivery +0

Feats

Ancestry Feats and Abilities
Wintertouched Human, Adapted Cantrip, Adaptive Adept

Skill Feats
Recognize Spell, Arcane Sense, Charming Liar, Intimidating Glare

General Feats
Toughness

Class (Witch) Feats and Abilities
Hexes, Familiar, Basic Lesson, Rites of Convocation, Magical Fortitude, Steady Spellcasting

Spells

Spell Attack Roll: +12
Spell DC: 22
Traditions: Occult
Focus Points: 2

Inante Spells: Detect Magic
Focus Spells: Blood Ward, Phase Familiar, Spirit Object

Cantrips: Chill Touch, Daze, Detect Magic, Light, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Protect Companion
1st Level: Charm, Chilling Spray, Floating Disk, Mage Armor, Magic Missile
2nd Level: Dispel Magic, Invisibility, Knock
3rd Level: Enthrall, Lightning Bolt

--

I like this. She compares well to her D&D5 counterpart. Lots of spells all over the place and LOTS of feats, but that's Pathfinder Second Edition.  

In both cases her Patron is Baba Yaga. So that's really nice. I thought about taking a magical tatoo to cover her mark from Baba Yaga, but I am still reading through the Secrets of Magic book so I am not sure that works just yet.

I feel she might have more magical might than her D&D5 counterpart. I thought this would happen which is why I wanted to set her at the same level (6th level) for a better comparison.

The Witch Queens of the Basic Bestiary

 On Monday, I mentioned some plans for Basic Bestiary, namely to include many of my various Witch Queens with stat blocks.  I wanted to talk about it today.

As my Basic Bestiary project has grown (and grown, and grown) it has also morphed. I originally planned this to be a collection of monsters from my various witch books and monsters from my notes that never had a proper home. Later it morphed as a nod to not just the Monster Manual, the book that got me into D&D, and two of my favorite books the Fiend Folio and Deities & Demigods. What I liked about both was the variety of creatures and beings they included.

Tea with the Witch Queens by Brian Brinlee

While I have a lot of Witch Queens, I can only include some of them. Many belong to other people and IPs. Great for a game here in my home, bad for a publication. Others would not work for the scope and design for Basic Bestiary.  

The idea started when I was trying to figure out what to do with Baba Yaga. Was she Faerie Lord? Some sort of Outsider? Something else? No. She was a Witch Queen, and in my worlds, that is something special.

Here are the ones I am thinking about so far. Linking to stats when I have them, but all will need to tweak all of them at some level.

• Baba Yaga
• Circe
• Darlessa
• Elena the Fair (change the name to Vasilisa)
• Marissia (but strip out some of her histories)
• Morgan Le Fey
• Nicnevin / Nic an Neachneohain

I would like to include Ceridwen, Louhi, Lilith, and Sycorax. While I am at it, I would like to also include others like Bloody Mary, Grimhild, Mother Carey, Prättäkitti, and Sebile.

Others I have good substitutes for. For example, much of what I have been doing with Kersy of Mystara is close enough to the witch Urganda to work as a stand-in, much like Vasilisa works for Elena the Fair.

So far, my plan is to put them all in an appendix at the end of the book. They are not really monsters, even if myth and history have portrayed them as such.  I also don't think a major heading like Witch Queens (like how many books do with Demons or Devils or Elementals) will work because other than being witches and immortal, they are not allied and don't have a lot of powers in common.  Still, I might change my mind about that. 

Something fun to look forward to.

I also have to get art for all of them too. And...there is still the question of the cover art for all four books.