Larina Nix, The Witch for ShadowDark on Witchcraft Wednesday

 So, I suppose it goes without saying that when I made a witch class for the ShadowDarkRPG, I was going to try out my own witch to see how it worked. I mean, this character is my litmus test for anything witch-like.

Like many of my other books Larina is featured in the book, but no stats. Also, like many of the books, she is featured on the cover, only this time, the art I chose already existed.  Javier Charro is the artist, and his work has been sitting on my hard drive for a while, waiting for the right project.  I mean, it is rather perfect, to be honest.  Since I have given you all the stats for Esme and Amaranth, I figured Larina should also be featured.

Larina Nix

Who is this "Larina?" Is she the same one I use in D&D or is she different? Well, yes and no.

My conceit here is that the original AD&D Larina, with brown eyes (thankyouverymuchVanMorrison) died while battling a vampire. And by dead, I mean dead-DEAD. Witches in my games do not have access to Raise Dead or Resurrection, AND they can't have those spells cast on them. So when a witch dies, she is dead. BUT she can be reincarnated.  The original Larina died, but she was reincarnated. She next appears as a precocious 6-year-old witch in my AD&D 2nd Ed Complete Netbook of Witches and Warlocks" and as an adult witch in my 3rd Edition games (same character), she also appears as a witch in my WitchCraft/Buffy games. They all share some similar memories and at age 25 they can contact their other selves. There is a multi-verse of Larinas out there now, one for every game I ever play.

This Larina is high-level (for ShadowDark), and she works with Esme and Amaranth. 

Larina Nix

Ancestry: Human
Class: Witch 10th level (Witch Queen)
XP: 114
Alignment: Lawful 
Deity/Patron: Niceven and Baba Yaga
Background: Arcane Library
Familiar: Flying Cat ("Cotton Ball")

Str: 9
Dex: 11
Con: 11
Int: 17
Wis: 17
Cha: 18

Weapon: Broom staff, dagger
Gear: Crawler kit, 1 week of rations, 1 week of tea, cat treats (to supplement Cotton Ball's hunting), Book of Shadows, athamé.
Magic items: Bracers of Defense +1, Broom of Flying, Cloak of Night, Cingulum +3, Hat of Focus-Spellslinger 

HP: 36
AC: 15

Languages: Common, Elven, Diabolic, Celestial

Talents
Human: +2 to Charisma
1st level: Additional Tier 1 Spell
3rd level: + 1 to Occult Spellcasting rolls
5th level: Patron Favor, +1 to any die roll once per rest
7th level: Additional Patron
9th level: Learn additional Tier 5 Spell

Patron Boons: Learn 1 Tier 1 Wizard Spell, Learn 1 Additional Occult Spell

Spells
Tier 1 (4+1): Charm Person, Feel my Pain, Glamour, Häxen Talons, Mage Hand
Tier 2 (3): Call Lightning, Light as a Feather-Stiff as a Board, Blink (Ritual)
Tier 3 (3): Bestow Curse, Coven's Calling, Danse Macabre
Tier 4 (2+1): Ball Lightning, Fear, Witch's Cradle 
Tier 5 (2+1): Cry for the Nightbird, Phantasmagoria, Ward of Magic

Tier 1 Wizard: Burning Hands

One of ShadowDark's greatest features is its ability to generate characters quickly. I have about five or six different ShadowDark versions of Larina on my desk; each one was made to test something different. 

It is interesting (to me at least) that while I often picture her as wearing a cloak and hood, like on the cover of The Witch, the art I am using here has her in a witch's hat.

Yeah, I would play this version of her, but I am discovering that 10 levels feel a little limiting to me. Granted, those are the prime adventuring levels, but I have been pouring over characters from my past and remember how much really high-level play we used to do back then. 

I certainly have some to explore with this game.

#RPGaDay2023 Favourite CHARACTER

 I do have a few. There is the whole Werper family with Johan I as the first character I ever created and played for longer than one session. Every version of *D&D gets a new version of Johan as either a Paladin or Cleric. A (mostly) unbroken line of father and son dedicated to fighting evil, particularly the undead.

But I have to say my favorite character has to be my little witch Larina Nix/Larina Nichols.  Johan gets a new version (a son of the previous) in every version of D&D. Larina gets a version for every game I ever play.  I don't play her in every game, but I at least give her a try in the character creation rules.

I also like to get custom art of her and support artists.

I might be a little obsessed. 

Converting D&D 5 to Blue Rose 2nd Edition: Character Exploration

 Ever since the Great OGL Debacle of 2022-2023, I have been looking for something to replace D&D on my table and in my development space. I have not always been successful on either front, but I have found many great contenders, including Castles & Crusades, Pathfinder 2nd Edition, and Wasted Lands. I have another one I wish to add to that list. Blue Rose 2nd Edition.

I love Blue Rose. I love the game, the idea, the setting, the mechanics, everything. 

I spent a lot of time reviewing this game when it was released.

• Review, Part 1
• Review, Part 2
• Review, Part 3 
• Fantasy AGE

The game is an absolute joy, and I hope to continue it for a long time.

Unlike the three games I mentioned above, Blue Rose 2nd Edition's AGE system is not d20-based. It does have some d20 DNA via Blue Rose 1st Edition's True20 system. It is fairly trivial to convert D&D material over to Pathfinder, Castles & Crusades, and Wasted Lands. Blue Rose takes a little more work. However, the scaling is very similar with all of these games.

The Characters

For this, I will do conversions of my main witch character, Larina, and two of my Forgotten Realms characters. Why these three? I want to play around with how adepts work. Plus, these are the three characters (well, them and Johan) that are most on my mind right now. Sinéad and Nida are part of my 2nd Ed AD&D Forgotten Realms game, so exploring who they are in this Blue Rose/AGE set-up is useful for both Blue Rose and the Forgotten Realms. And Larina, well, she is never far from my mind. 

Plus, it is the Summer Solstice, one of the pagan celebration days, so witches seem appropriate. 

Also, lately, I have been comparing and contrasting Larina and Sinéad. If Larina is my go-to witch, Sinéad is becoming my go-to sorceress or wild magic wielder. Though I am noticing I am playing Sinéad a bit like Larina so I need to find ways to make her (Sinéad) her own character. 

I have already explored a lot of characters for this game. Especially a lot of adepts and how they can feel different from each other. 

• Duchess and Candella
• Seren
• Nyctasia r'n Edonaris brenn Rhostshyl and Corson brenn Torisk
• Helyg and Brynn
• Bethan Hâf
• Xena and Gabrielle

I have spent quite a bit of time with this over the years and I really love the characters you can make and play with this game.

Sinéad
Female Human/Vata'an Adept, Level 5

Accuracy: 5 (Primary) Focus: Bows
Communication: 3 Focuses: Persuasion, Performance, Deception
Constitution: 3 Focus: Swimming
Dexterity: 3 Focus: Artisan
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: (Primary) 3 Focus: Arcane Lore
Perception: 3 (Primary) 
Strength: 2
Willpower: 2 (Primary)

Speed: 13
Defense: 13
Armor: 3
Penalty: 0

Health: 56
Conviction: 5

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

Starting Talents: Lore (N), Performance (N)

Arcane Talents: Healing (J), Wild Arcane (J)
Skillful Channeling
Arcane Training: Shaping (N)

Specialization: Bard (N)

Arcana

Wild: Fire Shaping, Sense Minds, Visions
Shaping: Psychic Shield, Move Object, Second Sight
Healing: Cure, Sleep

Arms and Armor

Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Leather (Light Armor)

Persona

Calling: The Moon: Discovery and Learning Secrets
Destiny: Queen of Rods, Curious
Fate: Jaded
Corruption: 0 

Goals: To discover the secrets and source of her magic

Relationships

Taryn (3), "She is my adopted sister. We will do anything for each other."
Larina (2), "She is Taryn's mother. I am not sure what their deal is, but I will respect her."
Nida (2), "I have never had a friend like her, and so unlike everyone I have met before."

--

Nida
Female Human Expert, Level 5

Accuracy: 2 (Primary) Focus: Arcane
Communication: 4 (Primary) Focuses: Deception, Disguise
Constitution: 3 Focus: Swimming
Dexterity: 3 (Primary) 
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: 4 Focused: Arcane Lore, Shaping
Perception: 4 (Primary) Focus: Empathy
Strength: 1
Willpower: 2 (Primary) Focus: Courage

Speed: 13
Defense: 13
Armor: 3
Penalty: 0

Health: 58
Conviction: 5

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

Starting Talents: Light Armor Training, Pinpoint Attack

Arcane Potential (N), Thievery (N)
Specialization: Shaper (Fire), (N)

Arcana

Fire Shaping

Arms and Armor

Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Leather (Light Armor)

Persona

Calling: The Sun: Championing the Everyday
Destiny: Eight of Chalices, Daring
Fate: Stubborn
Corruption: 0 

Goals: To find her true path

Relationships

Sinéad (3), "Sinéad is a naive kid with her head in the clouds. And I love her for that. She reminds me of what I was."
Larina (2), "She honestly kind of scares me, but I know she has the answers I seek."

--

Larina Nix
Female Human Adept, Level 20

Accuracy: 2 (Primary) Focus: Arcane
Communication: 5 Focuses: Persuasion, Performance +2, Investigation
Constitution: 3 Focuses: Swimming, Stamina
Dexterity: 3 Focused: Artisan +2, Calligraphy +2
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: (Primary) 5 Focuses: Arcane Lore +2, Research, Sorcerery Lore, Historical Lore, Healing
Perception: 3 (Primary) Focuses: Empathy, Visionary
Strength: 1 Focus: Intimidation
Willpower: 5 (Primary) Focus: Faith

Speed: 11
Defense: 11
Armor: 5
Penalty: 0

Health: 114
Conviction: 11

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

Arcane Talents: Arcane Training (M), Healing (M), Witchcraft (M), Psychic (M)

Linguistics (M), Performance (N), Contacts (J)

Specialization: Seer (M), Shaper (Fire) (M)

Stunts: Skillful Channeling (1), Disrupt Arcana (4), Lasting Aracan
Epic Stunt: Effortless Arcana

Add Willpower to Damage, Familiarity mod -2

Arcana

Fire Shaping
Enhancement, Heart Reading, Light Shaping, Ward, Second Sight
Cure, Sleep, Draw Vitality, Flesh Shaping, Body Control, Psychic Shield
Psychic Weapon, Psychic Contact, Calm, Illusion, Mind Shaping, Mind Reading
Visions, Scrying, Object Reading, Nature Reading

Arms and Armor

Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Persona

Calling: The Priestess: Oneness with Spirit
Destiny: Queen of Rods, Curious
Fate: Jaded
Corruption: 1

Goals: To become a powerful witch

Relationships

Taryn (3), "My daughter. We lost so much time together in my service to Baba Yaga."
Sinéad (2), "Taryn's adopted 'sister.' I have watched this one from afar and subtly guided her on her path."
Nida (3), "It's...complicated."

--

Ok. Three different approaches to magic (arcana) in Blue Rose. The Wild Talent (Sinéad), the dabbler (Nida), and the Witch Queen (Larina).

Frankly, I am pleased with all three. Larina is scary powerful, and that is what I was aiming for. She has some corruption. I was also going to do Larina's daughter and Sinéad's best friend, Taryn, but I want to work some details on her first. 

I like that this world and this system allow me to bring out different aspects of these characters. 

In some ways I like to think of these as "parallel universe" versions. What these characters could be if the world they lived in was less horrible and had more light.  BUT...I don't even play Blue Rose as all "sunshine and kittens." The bright spots in this world are bright because there is still a lot of darkness out there.  I mean, even (especially) Larina has some corruption because she dabbles in Sorcery, or at least "Forbidden Knowledge." 

These characters compare very, very well to their Wasted Lands counterparts (Larina, Nida, Sinéad). They are not 100% the same, nor should they be, but I can see each (D&D, Blue Rose, Wasted Lands) are an aspect of the other. Given this I really should do Johan for Blue Rose. He would fit in rather nicely, really. 

Larina for Witchblood

Today is October 25th, the day I traditionally observe as the "birthday" of my first real witch character Larina.  Since I rolled her up in 1986 she is now 36 years old! Not too bad really.  I thought she might be a perfect character to try out for Witchblood. I reviewed this game just this past Sunday to start my last full week of #100DaysOfHalloween. 

The Game: Witchblood

This is a new game from Rose Bailey, (author of the great "Die For You" RPG), Benjamin Baugh ("The Shadow of Golgotha" with Bailey), and Jacqueline Bryk (lots of Onyx Path titles). While reviewing it I knew I wanted to build some characters right away. The only downside for me is that character building for this game is best done with all the players in Session 0 so everyone knows what they are doing and how all the characters work together.

I don't have that luxury here and now, but at least using a character I know so well makes some choices easier. So I printed out my sheets and hit Chapter II: Wanderers and went through the extremely easy Character Creation process.

I knew some things up front. Larina was a Witchblood and a Wise One. But there were still things for me to discover about a character I have known for 36 years.

The Character: Larina Nix

In Witchblood you start with your name, your Birthright, and your Calling. You Birthrighe sets your points for the Identity pairs of Patience-Cunning (Mental Identities), Vigor-Grace (Active Identities), and Understanding-Persuasion Spiritual Identities).  

Your Calling sets your points for dual Quality pairs of Generosity-Selfishness and Demonstration-Observation, Courage-Wrath and Endurance-Defiance, and Trust-Faith and Honesty-Deceit.  These points can change in the course of the game. Sometimes rapidly and often. Always due to the nature of what is going on around them (these changes are called Slides).

For Larina here, these were easy choices for me. Her Birthright is Witchblood and her Calling is Wise One. For her Profile, I went back to her early incarnations as a lone solitary witch so the Stranger seemed like a good one.

Next, I added her bonus dots/points. I get to raise my Birthright or Calling by +1, I picked Calling since the earliest versions of Larina always had her hearing the "Call of the Goddess" at an early age.  I get +3 points for Identities but none can be raised over 3. All my pairs had one 3 in them, so that meant just adding to the ones with only one in them. I kept her Patience at 1 and moved Understanding to 3.  Lastly, for points, I get +5 points for Qualities. These were distributed across all six pairs. Finally I calculate my Violence Potential, which is a 9. This is mostly used in combat situations. 

What does this give me?  Well, I am actually rather pleased with it.

Larina y Diamynedd, art by me 

Larina Nix

"The Witch of the Wood," "y Diamynedd (The Impatient)"

Birthright 3
Calling 2
Profile: The Stranger

Patience 1 / Cunning 3

Generosity 3 / Selfishness 1

Demonstration 1 / Observation 2

Vigor 2 / Grace 3

Courage 2 / Wrath 2

Endurance 2 / Defiance 3

Understanding 3 / Persuasion 3

Trust 1 / Faith 2

Honesty 3 / Deceit 1

Violence Potential: 9

Traits

She knows,

• the speech of the higher animals, though they owe you no fealty.
• the best paths through the wilds your witch dwells in, such as the forests, glaciers, or deserts.
• appropriate gifts to attract the attention of most supernatural beings.

• the difference between illness, poison, and curses.
• how long a wounded or injured person has to live.
• herbal or other remedies for common illnesses, poisons, and curses.

Liar’s Magic
Awaken the Wilds
Fulfill Fate

Predict Weather
Treat Wounds
Ward Curse

Stranger Prompts

What do they call you?
  Larina y Diamynedd (The Impatient one)

What do you do?
  I travel to learn more about the nature of magic

Why do you stand out?
   People can tell there is something off about me. Even when they can't see my witchmark on my left wrist.

Why can’t you go home?
   My home burned. I have nothing and no one left.

What have you picked up on your travels?
   Knowledge of the world and friends. 

Why do you travel with companions?
   They are my found family. People who accept me for who and what I am.

Why are you dangerous to your companions?
   There is a darkness that follows me. Whatever gave me my magic is jealous of my attention.

Why do you interfere?
   Because I must. Not everyone in this world has my gifts and the world is not just.

--

OK! I like this. In fact, I like it so much these sheets might get stapled to my D&D version of her as a role-playing guide. 

Now to find a group to play with!

Oh. And Happy Birthday Larina. 36 looks good on you!

Larina Nix for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Dragon #114 version)

 I meant to do this one earlier, but I got busy writing something else. Honestly, I am a little surprised I haven't done this before now.

"Larina" by Djinn and "Spirit of the Night" by David Martin

Larina Nix

I first rolled Larina up in July of 1986. At first, she was a "magic-user," and I would play her like a witch. She had a few adventures that year, but that was also when my then DM was heading out of town, and I was getting ready for my senior year at high school. 

Then Dragon Magazine #114 came out in October. 

I read it all over and wondered how I should convert her. The answer became obvious to me right away. She was a witch, only pretending to be a wizard so she could go to Glantri's School of Magic. I kept her magic-user levels and then went on to advance her as a Dragon #114 witch. In the game, I said she ran out of money to keep going, so instead, she got a job at the library in hopes of paying her tuition. 

I updated her sheet and declared her birthday was October 25, but she tells everyone it is October 31st.

As the game progressed, she became less the magical powerhouse I envisioned and became more the group's sage, occult expert, and polyglot. So when it came time to level her up, I took the spells that gave her more social and mental power/aspects. If the choice was to take a power/spell/magic item that gave a blasty power OR say, learn a new language, then I always took the language.  This was also the origin of the "From the Journals of Larina Nix." 

I kept playing her over the years. In college, I kept notes on her and how she played, including her witch spells and powers vs. her magic-user/wizard ones.  I combined these notes with notes I had started back in 1983 on a witch class, and eventually, they became my first Witch class. Since she was so focal in those experiments, I also re-did her as one of my new witches and featured her in a bit of fiction when she was six years old and discovering that she was a witch.

But in the meantime, here is Larina circa 1987-88.

Larina by Gabe Fua

Larina Nix
10th level witch / 1st level Magic-user (Dual classed)

Strength: 9
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 18 
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 18
Comeliness: 21

Hit Points:  
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
AC: 2 (Bracers of Protection AC 2)

Saving Throws (base)

Paralyze/Poison: 10

Petrify/Polymorph: 13

Rod, Staff, or Wand: 14

Breath Weapon: 16

Spells: 15

Languages: Common, Alignment, Drow, Undercommon, Elf, Infernal, Dragon

Powers
1st level: none
2nd level: none
3rd level: Brew poisons & narcotics
4th level: Brew truth drug
5th level: Brew love potion
6th level: Manufacture potions & scrolls
7th level: Candle magic

9th Level: Use all-magical items

10th Level: Aquire Familiar (cat, Cotton)

Spells 
First: (5+3+1) Charm Man I, Cure Wounds, Darkness, Give Wounds, Light, Magic Disk, Mending, Read Languages, Sleep (MU)
Second: (5+1) Bless, ESP, Identify, Locate Object, Seduction II, Speak with Animals

Third: (4+1) Calm, Clairvoyance, Lightning bolt, Phantasmal force, Remove Curse

Fourth: (3+1) Cure Serious Wounds, Infravision, Levitate, Shock

Fifth: (1) Oracle

HSO: (1) Prismatic Spray

Magic Items
Dagger +2, Staff of Enchantment, Broom of Flying, Crystal ball w/ ESP.

Jenny, Larina and Valerie for the Doctor Who RPG Second Edition

So it is June, and historically June has been D&D month around here. Though I have to admit I have not been in a D&D mood all year.  I do have some things that fill that space certainly and will get to them.

Today though feels more like May 32nd. So I am going to do a little bit more with my Doctor Who posts and move on to other things.  And a good place to do that is to compare the three characters that I have been using for all my Doctor Who posts; Larina, Jenny Everywhere, and Valerie. 

The biggest difference between the 1st Edition and 2nd Edition Doctor Who RPGs is predominantly in character creation. Since I have three characters here that are a bit outside of the norm they make good test subjects for the new Distinctions.

Who Are You?

So I have a public domain "shifter," an immortal from the 16th Century, and a witch vaguely aware of all her past lives. How do these three get together in a bar in Soho?

Thankfully I already have good ideas about who these characters are in the Doctor Who universe. I just need to get them to jell together.  Using the Shared Background Experiences table on p. 33 helps. 

• Jenny has met other versions of Larina but sees that, unlike her, Larina is only vaguely aware of them. Larina wants to know what Jenny knows.
• Jenny has come across Valerie in the past. Val thought Jenny was immortal, Jenny (never Jen) thought Val was another shifter. 
• Val and Larina have known each other for years. Val has also interacted with Larina's past lives.
• Jenny goes to Larina for a Tarot reading, and despite all the shuffling, all the cards when flipped over are blank. The same thing happens again with Valerie. 
• This is the big one. All three try to avoid each other. Larina says they have strange auras, and not the same sort of strange. Jenny says the other two "buzz" and it gives her a headache. Val says that when they are together weirder than average shit happens. When it is all three the wierdness increases.

So when a chance meeting in a bar in Westminster one cold November night, things got weird.

Going back to the characters now and build them by the new rules. 

Jenny Everywhere

I have mentioned Jenny a lot. She is a great character for the Doctor Who game and maybe even a better character for this newer version.

As always, I must include her license:

"The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed."

Concept: Shifter in time and space.

What does that mean? Well she can sense changes in time flow, she can move about realities, she knows things that she otherwise would not know or not be capable of knowing. This new edition is explicit on the fact that the Time War changed history and the future and what we thought happened didn't or happened differently. Jenny can sense that.

Focus: Adventure

Jenny is nothing if not about adventure. She doesn't bemoan her abilities or lot in life, she embraces them.

Distinction: Shifter

This is what she is. It defines her. Since this is a major one her Story Points are reduced per page 47.

Valerie Beaumont

To paraphrase the Doctor, she is not my character but I have put a lot of work into her. Valerie is an immortal and she is always search for others like her, somewhat out of companionship and kinship but mostly to discover why she is the way she is. 

Concept: Immortal seeker of knowledge

Everything about Val revolves around her desire to learn more about who she is and her place in this cosmos. 

Focus: Discovery

Val is cautious not to let people know who she is until she knows who they are first. But when it comes to a mystery or discovering something new she jumps in feet first and then figures out how she will land on the way down.

Distinctions: Immortal, striking appearance

This one was easy, and the examples are given in the book. She also takes a minor reduction in Story Points.

Larina Nichols

Ah. Now this girl. We go way back. 

She is a witch. Regardless what that means in any given world that is who she is. If anything she lives by the quote "A witch is not what you do it is who you are." Sounds like a Concept to me.

Concept: Modern Witch

She believes in magic, in the power of crystals and more. She does not view these as "paranormal" just "extra normal." Certainly in the universe of Doctor Who she can be justified.

Focus: Curiosity

Larina wants to know things just for the sake of knowing them. Her curiosity is insatiable and it gets her into trouble. A lot.

Distinctions: Psychic, striking appearance

Ah, now here is where the Distinctions work better than traits. In the First Edition, I had to buy a lot of traits to get her the powers I wanted, even if in a small bit. Here she takes a Major Distinction, Psychic and I work out with my GM (well...me) and figure out what she has when. So she is telepathic and empathic and can have visions of the future (precognitive) when needed.  There are plenty of examples of these sorts of humans in Doctor Who, well traveling with this bunch has turned her abilities up. Turned up so much that they might even become dangerous. 

The balance here is do I reduce her Story Points OR as the GM use her as a plot device?  Both sound appealing. 

I have to admit. I rather love these. I knew with the new 2nd Edition system, things like my group of weirdos here would work so much better.

Right now the only thing keeping me in the First Edition game is inertia, but if I had too I could switch over to the Second Edition with no looking back.

I'll reiterate this with more clarity.

If you are new to RPGs and/or new to Doctor Who, then this is the version of the game to get.  Get to your FLGS (preferably) or Amazon (if you must) and grab a copy. Or if you are a Save the Trees type (good for you!) then head over to DriveThruRPG and grab a copy in PDF. It has everything you need except dice.

Wasted Lands: Larina Nix

 If I am going to try to convert my D&D games over to Wasted Lands, then it only makes sense to try to convert my witch Larina. 

I have already converted her modern incarnation to NIGHT SHIFT, which is the one I am happiest with. But Wasted Lands has a lot to offer, and I want to see what she can do here.

In this case I want to convert her AS&D 1st Edition version to Wasted Lands, though it will not be a 1 to 1 conversion. Instead, I will convert her concept. Also, this will not be a conversion of her NIGHT SHIFT stats. They will be similar, to be sure, but I want to rebuild her from the ground up.

I always imagine that the various versions of Larina were all in some way different aspects of the same character or even past lives. One thing I have never, to date, figured out was who was the very first (game world chronology) Larina.  It makes sense then to base this build on the first Larina (real-world chronology) from AD&D 1st Edition.

This would be that very first one. Maybe not the first witch in the world (that is a bit presumptuous even for me), but certainly the first one in her line. 

Larina Nix

Class: Sorceress (Persona Aspected)
Level: 16 
XP: 2,741,986
Species: Human (Avian heritage)
Alignment: Neutral-Light
Background: Sage

Abilities
Strength: 9 (+0) 
Agility: 11 (+0)  
Toughness: 12 (+1) 
Intelligence: 17 (+2) N
Wits: 16 (+2) N
Persona: 18 (+3) A

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: 7
Vitality: 33 (d4)
Degeneracy: 14
Corruption: 3

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +7/+5/+3
Melee Bonus: +3 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +6 vs magical effect

Arcane Abilities
Arcana, Spellcasting (140% base + bonus)

Sage Abilities

Languages (17), Lore (37%), Mesmerize Others (20%), Suggestion, Renegade Skills, Spells, Read Languages

Renegade Skills

Hide in Shadows: 20%
Open Locks: 15%
Bypass Traps: 10%
Sleight of Hand: 20%

Spells
1st Level: Black Flames, Arcane Darts, Mystical Senses, Night Vision, Chill Ray, Read Languages (Sage)
2nd Level: Beguile Person, See Invisible, Locator Spell: Objects, Magic Lock, Levitate
3rd Level: Clairvoyance, Globe of Darkness, Concussive Blast, Dark Lightning
4th Level: All-seeing Invisible Eye, Befuddlement, Protection against the Deeper Dark, Hop and Skip
5th Level: Convert Stone to Mud, Passageway, Shadow Armor, Dominate Other
6th Level: Dispel Evil, Invisible Servant, Enchant Item
7th Level: Ball of Sunshine, Wave of Mutilation, Widdershins Dance
8th Level: Animosity/Affinity, Wail of the Banshee

Arcane Powers
Level 1: Telekinesis 
Level 4: Beguile 
Level 7: Empathy
Level 10: Precognition
Level 13: Psychic Power: ESP
Level 16: Shadow Walking

Divine Touchstones
Level 1: Sense Magic
Level 2: 
Level 3: Bonus to Spellcasting (+10%)
Level 4: 
Level 5: 
Level 6: Level 1 of Sage
Level 7: 
Level 8: 
Level 9: Spirit Guide (Nightbird) 
Level 10: 
Level 11: Glamour
Level 12: 
Level 13: Magical Recovery
Level 14: Level 2 of Sage
Level 15: 
Level 16: 2 Level Ones: Arcane Power: Astral Projection. Psychic Power: Bio-feedback

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Witchcraft, Occultism

Gear
Staff, dagger, ring of protection

Why this Build is Important to Me

AD&D Larina was a very special character for me. I rolled her up as a "Magic-user" with the goal of playing her as a witch. We used our new method of rolling up psionic abilities and she ended up with psychic powers. I thought this was great. Later the infamous Dragon #114 came out, and I converted her to a proper witch. She kept her level of Magic-user (Dual classing), and we said it was because, as a witch, she was pretending to be a wizard so as not to get caught being a witch.

As the game progressed, she became less the magical powerhouse I envisioned back then and more the group's sage, occult expert, and polyglot. So when it came time to level her up I took the spells that gave her more social and mental power/aspects. If the choice was to take a power/spell/magic item that gave a blasty power OR say, learn a new language, then I always took the language.  

For me, the Wasted Lands rules had to capture what happened by happenstance in 1986. Her odd combination of magic-user, psychic, sage, and witch.

I was able to replicate the feel of that AD&D 1st Edition Character rather perfectly, I think. She even has a bit of corruption to cover her, occasionally dipping her toes (sometimes a whole foot) into dark magic. In AD&D, I covered this by having her eyes change color and would replicate in other ways in other games.

Please check out and back the Wasted Lands Kickstarter in its final week!

Larina Nichols, Agent of A.R.T.E.M.I.S. for DC Heroes (Kickstart Your Weekend)

 A special Kickstart Your Weekend this week. Last week, I mentioned a new DC Heroes Kickstarter on the way. Well, it launched on Monday, and it has already blown through all its stretch goals, and now they are making new ones. 

So, this Kickstarter doesn't really need my help. 

But anyone who spends any time here at all knows about my deep love for all things DC Comics. So they might not need my help, but I am giving it anyway!  And what better way to do it than to dust off some characters! Well. Not so much dust off, as in recreate. I will get my old V&V character up soon, but I have been thinking a lot about my occult investigative agency A.R.T.E.M.I.S. and how it might exist in other game settings. So you know what I am going to do here. 

For this one, I pulled out my Batman Role-Playing Game, which is DC Heroes 1.5 or something like that. I have (or had, I think I loaned it out) the 1st Ed boxed set, and I was trying to decide if I want the 1st or 2nd ed boxed set from the Kickstarter. I think I am going with 2nd Ed.  I had 3rd Ed for a while, but I know I sold that at my local game auction.

So who is this Larina? 

The game is dated from 1989, back when Bat-Mania was at its height. So I am making this a 19-year old Larina (1989). The obvious comparisons are her Chill stats (still need to post them) and my recent R.I.P. Horror Role-playing project. This Larina is a little different from her R.I.P. counterpart though they are about the same age (19 vs 22). Is that a Crisis On Infinite Earths potential adventure I hear? 

For DC Heroes, new heroes always start out with 450 APs. I bump it up to 500 because I like a little more power. This is magic rich world, so my magic characters need a boost.

Larina Nix AKA Nix the Witch

Dexterity:	2	Strength:	1	Body:	2
Intelligence:	6	Will:	5	Mind:	4
Influence:	3	Aura:	5	Spirit:	7

Initiative: 11
Hero Points: 50

Current Body: 2
Current Mind: 4
Current Spirit: 7

Alter Ego: Larina Nichols
Occupation: Student/Research Librarian, Gotham University
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Stephani Nichols (Mother), Lars Nichols (Father)
Group Affiliations: A.R.T.E.M.I.S.
Base of Operations: Gotham City
Motivation: Responsibility of Power
Wealth: 5
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 124 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red

Skills
Artist (Music) 2 [13]
Charisma 2 [32]
Medicine 2 [17]
Occultist 9 [101]

Powers
Flight (Broom) 5 [25]
Force Shield [10]
Magic Blast [20]

Advantages
Area Knowledge (Gotham) [20], Attractive [15]. Connection (Occult Underworld) [10], Gadget/Artifact (Broom) [25], Luck [15], Scholar [10]

Drawbacks
Arch Enemy (Mordru) [15], Secret Identity [10]

Equipment
Broom (Body 1, Fly 5 [10]) [25] (can fly at about 50 mph)

--

Ok, so who is this?

This Larina is still young. Honestly, this version would work better as a Teen Titan, which would work well with the 1st Edition boxed set.

I might adjust her wealth down to 4. I also need to remember how to give her some more languages. I also decided against the edgy notion of having her parents dead. Been there, done that, no need to go back. 

I put her in Gotham as a nod to my copy of the Batman RPG and my undying love for the Caped Crusader. In D&D, her alignment is Lawful Neutral, so she would be an agent of Law here. Not civil law, but Universal and Magic Law. This would make her the natural target of the likes of Mordru. Also, Mordru scared the shit out of me when I got one of my first DC comics. I must have been 5 or 6. So yeah, he is a great Arch Enemy for my witch here. While his modern look is likely the better one, I tend to go with his classic crazy-looking wizard look from his first appearance. Plus, I am rereading all of Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion books, so the battle of Law vs Chaos is very much on my mind right now.

I want to get my V&V version of Johan ported over, and I have a few others in mind. I am thinking of something like Justice League Dark but with my band of characters here. I guess that means I will need versions of Dracula and the Refrigerator, too.  I'd love to find a copy of "Blood of Heroes" from Pulsar Games. It was the same system with more magic. If I do, then I need to update her stats. Maybe Larina as a 30-year-old, really powerful witch. 

She has an alter ego, but I have never had a great "Superhero" name for her. Later, she is known as "Witch Queen," but at this point, she is still figuring things out.

I am backing the Kickstarter. Great to see a "new" DC game out there. 

Fantasy Fridays: Atlantis The Second Age

 Today's game is not something I am proposing as a D&D replacement, which is interesting given the game and the history of the games that led up to it. I was thinking about it after going through the Barbarians of Lemuria RPG a bit ago. These two games, though, are a good addition to your current Fantasy games. And maybe, for the right table, it is the game they need.

Atlantis: The Second Age

Morrigan Press Edition, 2005, 411 pages
Khepera Publishing Edition, 2014, 368 pages

Atlantis: The Second Age, both versions, is the spiritual successor of the classic Atlantean Trilogy and Talislanta by Bard Games, which, of course, were developed after the Complete Adventurer, Spellcaster, and Alchemist books.  Those books were written to be used with "any fantasy role-playing game," but the obvious choice was AD&D 1st Edition. 

The book is titled “Atlantis, the Second Age,” so it is Atlantis, after the Flood. A bit odd, but I’ll go with it. Plenty of information on the world, and despite the name, you could run it as a pre-flood/pre-sinking Atlantean empire. Tons of new races, spells, and magic, all pulled from the old Bard Games books and a variant of Talislanta’s rules. If you've played Talislanta before, you'll feel right at home especially since this is a spiritual descendant. 

The game uses the Omni System for the 2005 edition and the Omega System for the 2014 edition. I'll get to the Omni System after a bit, but both are very similar to each other. The systems are similar to True20, and can be used in conjunction with True20 with some adjustments. Well. Some radical adjustments, but it can be done. For a bit in 2005 I tried a short Atlantis based game using True20, it worked out well. 

The 2005 edition was originally published by Morrigan Press and is the one I was most familiar with. Though here on out I'll focus mostly on the 2005 Morrigan Press version, with bits from the Khepera Edition as they come up. Khepera Publishing, which is Jerry D. Grayson, published the revised and updated edition in 2014. Both editions are now published by Khepera Publishing. 

Atlantis

Let’s start with the world, because that’s the real star here. This is mythic prehistory, a time before the oceans swallowed everything, when man fought serpent-men and sorcerers whispered to gods that had no names.  These are set in the Atlantean Age world, which is similar to the Hyborian Age, but maybe a bit before it. It has a solid Conan-esque feel to it. Except there are a lot of non-human species here. 

Think Conan, but written by Clark Ashton Smith and Michael Moorcock and published in Heavy Metal.

What I like about this game is the Greco-Egyptian feel to this world. Obviously, this is due to the stories and tales of Atlantis. It also feels like a world out of mythology. If you never play this game, the background is something I keep coming back to time and again. I recall reading the Morrigan Press edition while holding my oldest son when he was a baby.  The Khepera edition is an improvement over the Morrigan Press edition, but both are great. There are enough differences between the games to warrant discussing them as different games, but enough similarities that I am keeping them together. The setting remains the same, and the basics of the rules are sufficiently similar.

Background

The game begins with a background familiar to many who have played D&D or read any of the Appendix N books. It is a Mythic Age before recorded history in a world that looks like ours. As I mentioned above it has a solid Conan/Pulp feel to it. Ophidians are the bad guys at the start of this and can be an ongoing threat. I also can't help but get a little Edgar Rice Burroughs / Mars feel from this. Lots of different species/races all living on the same planet. It feels like a Conan game, only with more Greco-Egyptian elements.

The 2005 Morrigan Press version has more background on the geography of the world, a little more than half the book to be honest. For this reason, it makes it a good buy if you want to play in this Atlantean world. The 2014 Khepera version has more historical background and a good timeline of events. 

The games are set up in similar fashions. Choose your background, race/species, and then select either a profession with some skills (Morrigan) or a set of skills with a profession (Khepera). Both get you the same places in the end. If you are familiar with the old Arcanum books, then you know what sorts of "classes" and species you have choices of.  While there are professions/classes of sorts, it is skills that really define what your character can do. 

The species, in particular the Andaman, are particularly fun. The Ahl-At-Rab make for a very playable Lizard Man species and this might even be the origins of my Saurian-Ophidian war in my current games. Feels right even if I can't fully recall it.  An aside: This is one of the main reasons I enjoy revisiting these older games; it's the memories they stir up in me. 

Of note. The 2005 Morrigan Press edition does have Elves and Dwarves. The 2014 Khepera Publishing one drops them in favor of focusing more on the unique species of the lines and adding the "First Born" the Djinn. All of these can be ported over to your favorite D&D-like with little effort. 

The Khepera Publishing version has their "Walk Life Paths," which help define who your character is since you are already starting out as a hero among normal humans. It is quite interesting to be honest, and easily adaptable to pretty much any game. 

Magic

While there are magical professions, there are also magical traditions. Witchcraft is one, as are shamans and practitioners of the Dark Arts. Both games have you build your spells based on the different Modes of spellcraft, and some traditions are better and worse at some modes than others. It this sounds a little like Mage and their spheres then you have the right idea, though it is not as complicated as that. 

It can be a dynamic system, and there are some example spells to get you going.

Omni & Omega Systems

The system for each is similar. Close enough that broad strokes will suffice. Both are d20-based systems. Roll a d20 add modifiers from abilities and skills, look for a target number. I mentioned they are both very similar to True20 in this respect since all you need really is a single d20. 

The Omega system has characters that are slightly more powerful than a standard normal person. So more powerful than say a 1st level AD&D character, but maybe not as powerful as a 1st level D&D 5e character. The Omega system also features a lifepath system that helps to flesh out a character's background, providing them with a history and motivations from the outset. This also informs how your character moves forward, or maybe a better phrasing is how they could possibly move forward since the options are still up to the player.

Both systems, though, are easy to pick up. Morrigan Press still sells the Omni System as a separate generic system. 

Larina Nix for Atlantis: The Second Age

A dedicated witch tradition and a funky magic system? You know I am going to try that out. Though stating up Larina for an Atlantean game is really not a stretch. Back in college, in the last days of AD&D 1st ed, I ran an off-and-on "Atlantean" campaign. I would later supplement the lore with bits from the Talislanta RPG that was released later (90s). It was largely divorced from my high school game, except at two points. First, my necromancer "Big Bad" Magnus was there before he turned completely evil.  It was in a sense his big origin story. Additionally, the "very first" incarnation of Larina was also there. While her first version was my AD&D 1st ed version, I was coming up with the idea that she was reincarnated many times, and her first incarnation was a priestess or witch who died when Atlantis sank below the waves. I do not recall if I ever had Magnus and Larina meet in Atlantis. Nor even if I ever had planned them to meet. Magnus was always more an enemy of the Werpers and the occasional ally of my assassin. Magnus and Larina knew of each other in AD&D and beyond, but she avoided him. 

So yeah, I really just took a lot of late 70s Atlantic Lore about psychic powers, energy crystals, an episode of In Search Of, a cheesy documentary I had watched in the early 80s, and the Doctor Who episode The Time Monster. A heady brew to be sure.  The point is, if there was questionable scholarship about any sort of occult topic, I was going to try and add it to my games and somehow, somewhere, one of my witches was going to be there. 

Working through the character creation was a lot of fun and really shows where the  2014 Khepera edition grew. It also highlighted the similarities and the differences of the two systems. To be fair the differences are subtle and you could play either system and switch to the other with only a few problems. The differences are akin to Basic D&D and Advanced D&D 1st ed. My opinion that both games would work well together still stands. Each has something to offer the other. 

I don't remember everything about Atlantean Larina. I knew she was not an Atlantean native. I was using my own experience of going away to college to say she had also left her home to study magic at Atlantis. So I kept that bit and said she comes from Alba (England/Scotland). As I was generating her stats I opted to have her at age 25 for the 2014 Khepera edition and 35 for the 2005 Morrigan Press edition. I used 35 because that is how old I was when I originally created her stats for the Morrigan Press edition. I do remember she was in Atlantis when it finally sank beneath the sea, and she died with everyone else. Hey, death is a part of the life-death-rebirth cycle, and no one knows that better in my worlds than witches. 

I am taking scans of her sheets to show what they look like. I particularly like the 2014 Khepera version. It is colorful and there are page numbers on the sheet to help find where the rules for that section are. That is a rather nice touch. Click to see larger.

Khepera Publishing (2014), Larina age 25

Morrigan Press (2005), Larina age 35

I am rather happy with these. I have filled out everything, but you certainly can get the idea. She would be a good witch in this game. I am going to say in the 10 years she has been in Atlantis, she has picked up more skills and the Astrology and High Sorcery traditions of magic work. This is a subtle nod to the crazy 70s and 80s "documentaries" I watch on Atlantis, the Bermuda Triangle, and related topics. 

Given the image I created (thank you, Hero Forge!) I think that the Orichalcum pentagram she is carrying must be important. Maybe a quest for a different incarnation of Larina.

Who Should Play This Game?

There is not much here that can't be found in other games, really. Nearly every Conan game does something similar, and Wasted Lands does the best job of all. BUT that is not a reason for you not to play. Some fun things are going on in this game. The 210+ pages of geography in the Morrigan Press edition are engaging, and the history and backstory in the Khepera Publishing edition are also great. Together, they create a compelling world. 

The system is easy to learn and flexible enough for most gamers. 

Essentially, I have been using them both, along with my Bard Games Atlantis books and The Arcanum as another campaign world for D&D. This was my campaign world in the last years of the 1980s when I first went off to college. Both Larina and Magnus were prominent NPCs in that campaign. 

No one will leave D&D 5e for this system. But I can see people coming from 3e or even 1st ed to give it a try. 

Khepera Publishing has quite a few products for their version and the Morrigan Press one. I am still a fan of the Atlantis: Bestiary, even if it is full of creatures I have seen many times over. 

Both games are excellent Sword & Sorcery games of the old cloth. They were criminally underrated when they were new, and that is more true now. 

The Morrigan Press edition is largely a Fantasy Heartbreaker, albeit one with a good history and an interesting idea. The Khepera Publishing one elevates into something else above a heartbreaker.

It has been a decade since the last edition of this game came out, and from what I can tell, it is still supported. 

This one would be fun to see an update for, especially if Jerry D. Grayson continues the evolution of the game. In fact, I think we are overdue for an update.

Links

Khepera Publishing

• Main website
• Atlantis section
• DriveThruRPG
• Facebook
• Twitter/X