Xena & Gabrielle: Blue Rose 2nd Edition

It's June and I think I'll spend a good part of this month going over the new AGE version of Blue Rose.  What better choice than a couple of characters I have done in the past and ones I think will work great under Blue Rose.  Xena and Gabrielle.

I have done Xena and Gabby for Army of Darkness and Spellcraft & Swordplay in the past.  So I am basing this on those versions.  I might have some of my stats for Blue Rose a little off, I am still figuring out this game.  But I am having a great time doing it!

Why Xena?
I make no excuses of my enjoyment of Xena: Warrior Princess.  The show was silly, irreverent and always a fun time. Frankly, with it's mix of comedy, drama, memorable characters and a mish-mash of historical and mythological events, it really was the perfect D&D TV show.

There is one thing that Xena does better than any RPG.  It attracted a huge female audience and kept them.  Granted, one could argue that "Friend in Need" might have killed that, but up until then.  I think Xena works for the same reason that other successful shows do.  Great characterizations and great characters.  You know all about Xena and Gabrielle, but they are still great to watch.  Adding them to your game might just be that spice you didn't know you were missing.

Adding Xena and Gabrielle to your Game
Given their wanderings across the world it should actually be only a matter of time before the characters would run into her.  Maybe they know of her infamy as a conqueress.  Maybe they know of her turn and desire to do good to atone.  Or maybe it is just one of those things where the PCs and Xena arrive in the same place at the same time.  Fate is funny that way.

Like with my other builds I am setting these AFTER "Friend in Need". Obviously, Xena had to come back to life for some reason and now her and Gabrielle are back to doing what they do best.

Friend in Deed
"Friend in Deed" (FinD, and it is "in Deed" and not "indeed") is my let'sts go find Xena and bring her back to life because she is the Promised One" adventure/episode. Takes place after the series finale ("Friend in Need", get it?), Gabrielle is struggling to live up to Xena's legacy and struggling to continue living without Xena. While her intentions were initially good, she has been spiraling into darkness and depression. She has forgotten what she had learned as Eli's student. She has been traveling on the Path of the Warrior, trouble is she is close to leaving that and been straying onto the Path of Vengeance.

And that was about as far as I got.

I know the plot is not only to rescue Xena (she is in an in-between spiritual plane) but to rescue Gabrielle as well. I always imagined Gabrielle trying to continue Xena's journey, but feeling like she was failing and sinking deeper into depression. That is where your characters come in and help her save the day! Or something.


Xena, Warrior Princess of Amphipolis (Kern)

Level 13 Warrior

	ABILITIES (FOCUSES)
4	Accuracy (Brawling)
2	Communication (Leadership, Persuasion)
4*	Constitution (Drinking, Stamina)
4*	Dexterity (Acrobatics, Riding, Stealth)
5*	Fighting (Bludgeons) *many are part of Warrior
1	Intelligence (Cultural lore, Heraldry)
2	Perception (Tracking)
4*	Strength (Intimidation, Might)
4	Willpower (Courage)

COMBAT RATINGS

SPEED        HEALTH       DEFENSE       ARMOR RATING

12                82                  14                           5

ATTACKS

WEAPON           ATTACK ROLL          DAMAGE

Sword                        + 7                           1D6 + 3 (slash) Chakram                    + 7                           1D6 + 2 (slash)

POWERS, TALENTS, AND SPECIALIZATIONS

Favored Stunts: Disarm, dual strike, lighting attack, mighty blow

Talents:  Quick Reflexes (J), Thrown Weapon (M), Armor Training (J), Single-weapon style (sword) (M)

Specializations: Champion Talent (M), Outrider (N)

Medium Armor: Studded leather

Calling: Atonement (Judgement)
Destiny/Fate: Compassionate/Despondent (Nine of Swords)
Corruption: 1 (might have paid off by now)
Goals: To atone for past misdeeds. To bring good into the world. To stop the machinations of cruel gods.

Relationships
Gabrielle (5), "Gabrielle is the best part of me. I do everything to be worthy in her eyes."
Ares (3), "Ares is everything that I hate about the gods, and in my former self."
Joxer (1), "Gabrielle's friend, useful but a pain. Still, his heart is good."
Autolycus (1), "Prince of Braggarts more like it. He is a good friend and helpful in a tight situation."

Gabrielle, The Battling Bard of Potidaea (Matriarchy of Lar'tya)

Level 12 Expert

	ABILITIES (FOCUSES)
4*	Accuracy (Brawling, Light blades, Staves)
2*	Communication (Investigation, Persuasion)
4	Constitution (Stamina)
4*	Dexterity (Calligraphy)
5	Fighting (Bludgeons, Heavy blades)
1	Intelligence (Historical lore, Natural lore, Writing)
2*	Perception (Empathy)
4	Strength ()
4	Willpower (Self-discipline)

COMBAT RATINGS

SPEED        HEALTH       DEFENSE       ARMOR RATING

12                74                  11                            3

ATTACKS

WEAPON           ATTACK ROLL          DAMAGE

Staff                         +5                            1D6 (bludgeon) Sai (2)                      +5                            1D6 (bludgeon) Grand Katana            +5                           1D6+3 (slashing)

POWERS, TALENTS, AND SPECIALIZATIONS

Favored Stunts: New friends

Talents:  Pin-point attack, Oratory (J), Performance (N), Linguistics (J), Inspire (N), Unarmed style (N), Take aim, Stunning attack, Lethality

Specializations: Bard (verse) (M), Martial Artist (N)

Light Armor: Soft leather

Calling: Explore and Discovery (The World)
Destiny/Fate: Curious/Jaded (Queen of Rods)
Corruption: 1 (might have paid off by now)
Goals: To aid in Xena's redemption by letting the world know of her good deeds. To recover Xena's soul.

Relationships
Xena (5), "Xena is everything I ever live or die for."
Joxer (2), "He loves me, but he can only be my very good friend."
Autolycus (1), "He is not as evil or as mercenary as he lets on. One day he also discover that."

--
Ok. THAT was a lot of fun.  Can't wait to try out some more!

A couple of things I am not sure about. Xena's nerve pinch "touch" and Gabby's anti-magic dragon tattoo from the last episode.

I think these numbers are good, but I will need to try some more to be sure.

Witch & Witchcraft Reading Challenge: The Hero and the Crown

"They call you Witch's Daughter - and so you are, and more."
- Agsded addressing Aerin, "The Hero and the Crown"

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley is a bit of an older book (1984) and one I recall from back then.  I had read the "Blue Sword" ages ago and this was it's prequel.  I actually liked this one better, though I am re-reading Blue Sword now.
The story centers on Aerin Sol, the princess and only daughter of the King of Damar.  Aerin, also known as Aerin Fire Hair and Aerin, Lady Dragon Killer (more on that) is shy, awkward and generally clumsy.  Pretty much the archetype of what would later become a trope of female characters in "Romantic Fantasy".  This story gets a huge pass because it helped establish this trope.
In Damar all those of royal blood have a "gift" or some magical power, Aerin's doesn't appear to have manifested cause some (but not her father or her cousin Tor) to suspect she is not really of royal blood. They called Witch Woman's Daughter since the suspect the queen's second wife of being a witch.
Aerin learns to move through life trying to be unnoticed, which is hard because of her fire-red hair (she claims it is orange) and the fact she is as tall as most men.  She hides away in books, where she happens on an ointment to protect one from the fire breath of dragons.  Dragons in this book are small things and are more annoyance than a threat.  So she imparts on a career of killing dragons.  A useful task but one with no honor. It also earns her no friends in court.

In her travels and quests she learns of a "Great Dragon" whom she later kills and is nearly killed in return. Hears the summons of a "not quite mortal" mage. Recovers two lost artifacts, the aforementioned Blue Sword and the Crown of Heroes.

The book, like the Blue Sword, starts out slow. But this one builds quickly.  Of course you know that Aerin will succeed since she is legendary in Blue Sword,  but that doesn't mean things will be easy for her.  I have to admit I forgot this when I was on the part where she was laying in a river with burns covering half her body.

The book is older and for a younger audience than me. But I am reminded that we still need more Aeirn Sols (and Hermoine Grangers) and fewer Bella Swans and Anastasia Steeles.

Robin McKinley can be found on the web at http://www.robinmckinley.com/

2017 Witch & Witchcraft Reading Challenge
Books Read so far: 14
Level: Mother
Witches in this book: Aerin's mother. Her uncle, Agsded and maybe Aerin is a witch too. Witches seem to have red-hair in this world.
Are they Good Witches or Bad Witches: Half and half.
Best RPG to Emulate it: This one is easy. Blue Rose is the best. In fact this is one of the books most often mentioned as an inspiration for Blue Rose.
Use in WotWQ: I love the idea of historical legends being brought to life.  I might want to have the players start out by playing the Witch Queens first.

Wonder Woman on the Big Screen

This is just a drive by post.

We saw Wonder Woman last night.  Holy shit is that a FANTASTIC movie. It is very nearly pitch-perfect.  I have been waiting so long to see Diana of Themiscyra on the big screen and I was not disappointed.   In fact, we are planning on going again.

I have said that no one could replace Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman.  I was wrong.
Gal Gaddot IS Wonder Woman. She is so good in this.
Every scene lights up with her in it. Whether she is kicking Patriarchy ass or tasting ice cream for the first time.  Fighting or cooing over a baby.  THIS IS Wonder Woman!

Go. See this movie now.

Plus if you are a Wonder Woman fan like me there are so many easter eggs.  No post-credits scenes, but that is fine.

Kickstart Your Weekend: Comics Edition

Only 12 and half hours to go before Wonder Woman tonight! Been looking forward to this for years and have had my tickets for weeks.

Let's look at some new comic kickstarters that feature powerful women or created by powerful women!

First up is Witches Trine: Rebirth.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1986208350/witches-trine-rebirth

Issue #0 was given out at GenCon 2016 and there are other issues out on DriveThruComics.
The story covers the lives of three immortal witches and the threats they deal.
The issues I have read so far are great and this should be a fantastic looking book.
Eva, Olivia, and Victoria are a group of witches I could really get to like. Hell, I liked Victoria from the first page I saw her on.

I can also confirm that the book is complete. So it should ship right away.


Up next is the WONDERFUL Gisèle Lagacé and Ménage à 3 Volume 8 & more!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pixietrixcomix/menage-a-3-volume-8-and-more

While you can follow the adventures of Zii, Didi and Gary online, these collected volumes have so much more to them.

While these are "adult" comics, they are more "Benny Hill" than "Fanny Hill".

There is more than just the sexcapades of a bunch of young adults in Toronto.  You also get the misadventures of Chole, the not-really-evil Succubus of Dangerously Chloe.

I say support both of these worthy Kickstarters.  This is exactly what Kickstarter was made to to do, help small publishers get the capital to start.

This Old Dragon: Issue #79

I like to post This Old Dragon on Thursdays.  Feels like a good day to do it really.  Today is June 1st which also means we have five Thursdays in June.   I should have been looking ahead since that sounds like a great time for a month of theme postings.  But since I rarely know which Dragon I am going to pull out of the box, and often know even less what's going to be in when I open it, planning ahead doesn't always work out.  Today's Dragon has no theme.  So let's head back to November 1983. I was a freshman in High school and this is Issue #79 for This Old Dragon!

I remember this issue. We used bits of it a lot in our games back in High School. My HS DM had it, but I don't think I read it till almost a year after it was published.

Well.  I am not sure about this cover. I doubt it is anyone's favorite but it is a fun one.  Feels more like an April fools issue or if it is a harvest scene then September would have been better. It also has nothing to do with anything else in the issue going by my first read.

Kim Mohan discusses some upcoming changes to Dragon, namely the change of typeface. This is the evolution of the magazine that I think many gamers my age remember the best.  There are more changes coming including the inclusion of The Forum feature (not in this issue) and the eventual demise of the Phil and Dixie comic.  In retrospect, it feels like another marker of the end of the Golden Age of D&D. That's not too bad though, some cool things are coming up.

Susan Lawson is up first with The Ecology of the Treant.  Interestingly I don't remember this one at all.  Rereading it now I see why. There is precious little information in the article.

Sage Advice covers some smaller letters sent in covering various topics from previous Dragon articles.

Coming up on the first meaty article, Magic resistance What it is, how it works. No author is given.  The article discusses the hows and some of the whys of magic resistance.  Namely, how does it nullify spell-effects and what control the creature with magic resistance has over this power.   The article tries to highlight some of the issues with the depiction of MR as presented in the AD&D rulebooks and I think creates more confusion than clarity.  The article is not bad, but it also doesn't help.  It is easy to see why MR, as presented in AD&D, was removed from later versions of the game.

We get some pictures from the Gen Con Miniatures Open '83. Some nice looking minis here too. Modern molding techniques and 3D Printing make some of these look, well, dated, you have to admire the artistry all the same.  This is an aspect of the hobby that will never go out of style I think.

Gregg Chamberlain must have enjoyed "The Twilight Zone: The Movie" from the summer of '83.  In his Blame it on the gremlins: Militaristic mischief-makers we get a bunch of the little monsters. In truth his version is closer to the old military superstitions of Gremlins than the Twilight Zone movie (or even the Gremlins movie due out in another 7 months; June 1984).
I always liked the idea of gremlins, but never the execution. Plus to me they seemed a little too 20th century to me.  If I want a mischievous creature I had loads of fae to choose from including the Brownie, Boggart, and Buchwan that also all did this sort of thing.   Though this article is very clever and has a lot of great ideas.  I could have my cake and eat it too by adopting these to "Trooping Faeries" of the more mischievous sorts. I think even Charmed did something like this. A little surprised the Supernatural hasn't yet.

Up next is an article we used a lot in our games.  Setting saintly standards by Scott Bennie details a divine class of ascending mortals, aka Saints.  Not being Catholic (or religious at all for that matter) this article had no connotations for me outside of D&D.  I really liked the character of St. Kargoth, king of the Death Knights and immediately figure that he had to be the "13th" Death Knight.  I used him a lot in my games.  At this point, my first generation (Basic D&D) of characters had retired and the next generation (AD&D) was going strong.  I worked with my DM (whose issue this was) to make my first character into a Saint according to these rules.  I figured if there is a "Saint" of the Death Knights then my character, Father Johan Werper, would be the patron saint of those that battle undead.  I have detailed his history here and his Sainthood is covered in the Guidebook to the Duchy of Valnwall Special Edition. So yes, not only did I make him a Saint, I made him an officially published OSR Saint!  It all started with this article.  It was also not the last time I used an "Ascended Human" in my games.  The whole plot of my Buffy Game "The Dragon and the Phoenix" revolves around an ascended witch.

The centerpiece of this issue is an adventure for Top Secret.  Wacko World by Al Taylor.  I never played Top Secret. Spy games were never my thing.  I have no means to judge this one to be honest.
If you played this adventure then let me know you think of it!

Page Advice II: Getting started covers writing for your favorite RPG.
The genesis of this article is stated in the first few lines, "However, it is apparent from those responses that the vast majority of readers who sent for the TSR submissions packet have had no experience with freelance design"
Well. Off course they don't! Your readers are fans. If they were like me at the time the most they ever wrote was a term paper.  The article though does go into some helpful tips.
Their advice, "Pick up a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White - an invaluable book." is spot on and I think I picked up a copy soon after.  I still have it.  A bunch of other books are also mentioned and selection of *D&D modules, but the best advice they give is practice. You can't get better at anything without practice.  The article looks like it is setting up for a Part III, delievering what the publisher wants.  I'll have to look into that (or if I have an issue 80).

The fights of fantasy: Good generalship from a non-medieval viewpoint by industry leader Lew Pulsipher discusses the differences between a historical medieval battle and a fantasy one. Certainly this draws on the uniwque history of our hobby having grown out of historical miniature battles to fantasy battles.  Putting content of this article aside for a moment I want to address an meta-issue around this article.  As the first Generations of Grognards move on to the sandbox in the hereafter (not being a dick, it's sadly just true) the remaining generations, myself included, are moving further and further from these roots.  This is neither good nor bad, like old age, it simplly is.  Sometime though I feel the need to honor the grogs that came before me and do a real huge fantasy battle.  I have done some in the past, but I mean something truly epic.  World War II meets Crisis of Infinite Earths meets the Battle of the Pelennor Fields meets the battle of Endor/Death Star II.
Lew's article is getting saved for that day.

Lew is back in a double header this issue with Be aware and take care: Basic principles of successful adventuring.  Lew's article read a lot like his lecture series on YouTube.  You get the feeling of hearing a learned sage, but all along the answer you sought were with you all the time.  More or less. Reminds me of some lectures on Socrates I had some years later in college.
Both articles are good but also really long.  I wonder if they were light on page count for this issue and needed these.  The lack of a lot of art in this issue and the editorial about change leads me to think this.

We come to some ads next.

The On the Shelf feature deals with new books from Ray Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip K. Dick, Peter Straub, and Alan Dean Foster. A "whos who" of sci-fi/fantasy literature.
At this time I was huge into my Tolkien and then Moorcock kick.

We end with Wormy and What's New.

80 pages.

Certainly some memorable articles and some I didn't remember at all.

Want to know what I was saying about White Dwarf magazine during the same month? Check out my White Dwarf Wednesday for issue #47.

Blue Rose now in Print!

SSStopped by my FLGS tonight for a nice surprise.   Blue Rose in print!

This is a great looking book! I mean seriously.
+Green Ronin Publishing makes some great looking books, always have, but this is above and beyond anything they have done before.

At nearly 400 pages this book is huge. It's bigger than the True20 books, combined.

The game is so fantastic too. I'll get into the game here in a bit.
Kudos to +Chris Pramas and all the Green Ronin staff on this.

Going to Your First Con

It's just about Summer and that means Cons are in full swing.   One question that comes up from readers is "what do I do at my first Con?" or even "how do I prepare?"

I have talked about these ideas in the past and was recently inspired to share some of these ideas in honor of the Amazing Las Vegas ComicCon coming up at the end of June. If you're trying to plan your travels for your first ComicCon there are awesome Las Vegas package deals to suit anyone's needs.

I would say I have not been to a lot of cons, but so far this year I guess I have already been to three! So as always, your mileage may vary.

What Should I Bring With Me?
Many Cons are now limiting what you can bring in with you. Some don't want you to bring in fake weapons anymore, others might allow real swords, but have zip-tie on them.  If you are cosplaying be sure to check the rules first!
At many cons, the lines for food, drinks, and everything else are long. Sometimes really long. If you can bring in a bag, pack some snacks.  I still hear horror stories about the year that Gen Con ran out of bacon! So plan accordingly.
No one loves caffeine more than me, but skip loading up on sodas and energy drinks and instead opt for water.  IF you are walking a lot (and you do at most big cons) you will need it.

What should you wear? 
Comfort is the key.  If you are going to a large con then again you will be walking a lot, so comfortable shoes are a must.  This is also your time to let your freak-flag fly. I have an entire collection of t-shirts I can only wear in public around cons! Nothing offensive, but certainly ones that only my Geek brothers and sisters would enjoy.

If you are Cosplaying, again comfort is key.  Granted you might not be walking as much since you could be posing for pictures more, but consider it.  I have a great Victorian outfit I wear. But the trouble is it is also all black wool.  Great, as long as I can stay in some AC all day.

Whatever you decide, make sure you have everything.  Like any trip make sure you have extra clothes too.   I also make sure I have room for the t-shirts I'll buy at the con too.

What are some important dos and don'ts?
Please, PLEASE, check with your con's website to see if they have any special rules long before you go.
Many/all cons have a website FAQ of things you can and can't do.  Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con, for example, has a FAQ here: https://www.amazingcomiccon.com/about

DOs
- Pace yourself! You have a lot to see and do, no sense wearing yourself out Day One.
- Eat well! Plan your meals. Cons are great times, but eating sometimes gets pushed aside.
- Wash Your Hands!  Ever hear of "Con Crud"? You will! Exposure to so many different people leads to new viruses. Add bad eating habits, less sleep and different levels of exercise you have a nice mix that leads to Con Crud.
- Bring cash.  Not every place takes credit/debit card and some autograph lines only take cash.
- Budget yourself! Don't spend all your money day one.
- Have a great time! This is great experience and you should enjoy every moment you can.
- Looks for hidden treasures! Every town that hosts a con hopes you enjoy yourself.  See what they have to offer. I have found great places to eat and some I get just as excited about as the con itself.

Make sure you have your hotel and travel plans set and ready to go.

But there are also a few DON'Ts
- Don't be a jerk. Other people are coming to the con too. Some it might be the only one they go to this year or for many years. Don't be a jerk and ruin their con.  That goes for people working the cons, people working at the hotels, restaurants.
- Don't forget you are there to have fun!

I have to add that when it comes to Cosplay.  Cosplay is NOT Consent. Come on, don't be a jerk.
I don't care if you know every line of every Deadpool issue there is, that girl wearing the Gwenpool outfit that she spent hours (maybe days or weeks) working on is just as welcome here as you are.  She (or he) doesn't need Geek Gatekeeping from you, harassed or touched.  Tell her "hey, that's an awesome Gwenpool!" Ask her if you take her picture and then move on.

Remember the rule: "Butt on the floor, pictures no more."

Cons are becoming more and more family welcoming. So remember that this is also a lot of little kids' first cons too.  Give them a reason to want to come back every year!

Ready?  Let's go!


--
Don't forget that the big OSR Sale is going on over at DriveThruRPG.  Just a little over 10 days left. Lots of great titles on sale including some from The Other Side.  Check them out.

Methyn Sarr, Witch Queen of the Fire Coast

I spent some time over the long weekend reading through Barbarians of Lemuria: Mythic Edition. I have the previous editions and this one captures the same feel of the pulp-era adventures.  It is a fun game in it's own right but in truth, I am not at a point anymore where I want to learn a bunch of systems.
I am very, very happy with my world of OSR and B/X so I set out to convert BoL over to B/X D&D.   I also quickly discovered that a one-to-one conversion is not always the best idea.

Barbarians of Lemuria: Mythic Edition is a low-magic, and dare I even say low-powered game.  Even the main antagonist would not really convert to a very high level given most of the advice I have seen online.

I went into Barbarians of Lemuria with two goals.  First, I want to get some more information on Lemuria for my own games and add this feel to my current "Second Campaign" game.   Secondly, I want to convert the main antagonist, Methyn Sarr, into something I can use for my "War of the Witch Queens" game.   I'll detail the first as it happens, but I can talk about the second now.

Barbarians of Lemuria, along with Crypts & Things, share an ethos and a feel with another favorite game of mine, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.  In my mind, all three can be combined to make a Pulp-fantastic, old-school D&D like-game worthy of any mighty thewed barbarian or crafty sorcerer. Mix in a little DCC or Lamentations of the Flame Princess and you have a heady brew.   There is a lot to love here, I just wish I had the time to do all of these games the justice they deserve.

Of course, the antagonist, Methyn Sarr, caught my eye.  She is described as "the Witch Queen of the Fire Coast" and the devoted agent of Zaggath, Lord of Fire.  She is fierce, cruel, beautiful and deadly. Everything I love about an evil witch.  A direct conversion didn't feel right.  No one is afraid of a 3rd level witch*.  (*the suggestion that 1 HD = 5 LB has been thrown out on the internet.  So her 12 LB would be 2.4 HD).

Instead, I looked at her Arcane Power (16) and her careers.   She can cast Third Magnitude spells which I figure are about 6th-8th level for witches.  Since I was looking at AS&SH that puts her 11th level (or 12th).  I wanted something a little more impressive, so I also looked at my own Witch stats for 13th level.

Methyn Sarr, Witch Queen of the Fire Coast

Methyn Sarr, Witch Queen of the Fire Coast
Female Witch 11th level (Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, +Jeff Talanian)
Chaotic Evil

Race: Human
Secondary Skill: Torturer

Abilities
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 17

Casting Ability: 11
Fighting Ability: 5

Hit Points:  24
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
AC: 5 (battle harness)

Powers
1st level: Brew Potions, Familiar
3rd level: Brew Philtre
5th level: Dance of Beguilement, Effigy
7th level: Animate Broom
9th level: Witch's Apprentice

Spells (due to her connection to Zaggath she may also cast Pyromancer spells)
First: (5) Burning Hands, Charm Person, Influence Normal Fires, Shocking Grasp, Sleep
Second: (5) Cause Blindness, Flame Blade, Flaming Sphere, Infernal Tongues, Ray of Enfeeblement
Third: (4) Black Cloud, Explosive Runes, Fireball, Witch Fire
Fourth: (3) Fire Shield, Mirror Mirror, Transfer Wounds
Fifth: (2) Magic Jar, Produce Bonfire
Sixth: (1) Disintegrate

Magic Items
Battle Harness (provides AC 5)
Blood Dagger of Zaggath (adds +1d6 damage due to dripping fire blood)

Methyn Sarr, Witch Queen of the Fire Coast
Female Witch, Malefic Tradition 13th level (The Witch)
Chaotic

Abilities
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 17
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 18

Hit Points: 29
AC: 5 (battle harness)

Occult Powers
Familiar: Raven
7th level:  Evil's Touch
13th level: Devil's Tongue

Spells 
Cantrips: Black Flame, Daze, Detect Curse, Object Reading, Open, Palm
First: Cause Fear, Fey Sight, Ghostly Slashing, Increase Sex Appeal, Sleep
Second: Agony, Blast Shield, Death Armor, Evil Eye
Third: Feral Spirit, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Tongues
Fourth: Dance Macabre, Intangible Cloak of Shadows, Phantom Lacerations
Fifth: Death Curse, Dreadful Bloodletting
Sixth: Death Blade, Mass Agony
Seventh:  Wave of Mutilation

Magic Items
Battle Harness (provides AC 5)
Blood Dagger of Zaggath (adds +1d6 damage due to dripping fire blood)

So not exact conversions by any stretch, but certainly workable ones.

This Old Dragon: Issue #123

Welcome back to This Old Dragon!  Today's issue, #123, is in such terrible shape with missing pages and mildew I am going to need to resort to the PDF more than once.  Let's go back to July 1987. I am working two jobs to make money for college and saving some time for my first "World Ending" campaign. A campaign that will see plot points and characters many, many years later in "The Dragon and the Phoenix" and "The Dragon Slayer's" games.  Let's get to it!

I grabbed this cover from the web, my copy does not have a cover anymore.  It is cool, but it doesn't rank in my favorite covers by any means. 

The first page I have is an ad for Gen Con 20 which is next month (August 20-23, 1987).  At this time Gen Con (they are using a space there) is in Milwaukee.

The special feature of this issue is "The Arcane Arts", so a lot on magic.  I do remember this section quite well.  I am sure I incorporated some of this into my 2nd Edition game, but I'll remember once I get back into it. 

On to the Letters. More calls for reprints of covers. A letter asking for more coverage of the D&D game, as opposed to the AD&D game.  The Rule Cyclopedia is still a couple of years away.  Another letter voices the first concerns about the Forgotten Realms taking over from Oerth and Krynn.  Sorry kid, but you haven't seen the worse of it yet! Thankfully things even out a few years later.

Ad for the Science Fiction Book Club. I had joined it by this point and I see many books I owned or would later own. A few I still own in fact!  Funny looking at them now through the haze of time and nostalgia I can't recall if they were all good books and I forgot OR were they great books and I can't remember OR were they bad books and my wistfulness for 1987 colors my memories. 

Ed Greenwood is up for the first article of the issue. Music of the Forgotten Realms. I am not sure how far off we are from the publication of the "Grey Box" campaign rules, but it can't be that far off.  I have been following the tone of these articles with interest since I have started to re-review this Dragons.  The tone of this one is the Realms are a thing now. Earlier articles the Realms seemed to be a long lost, dare I say it, forgotten place and time and the articles are Ed/Elminster's rememberings.  I know the actual verbs used in the articles do not support this claim but it is a feel. This one reads like something going on right now in this country you could visit right now. IF that is you choose to.

Ah, the main attraction. The Arcane Arts.

David Yates is up first with The Mystic College. Or in the modern parlance, Hogwarts for AD&D.  Drawing a lot on Dragonlance and not enough on Glantri this article covers how an AD&D Magic-user can create a school of wizardry.  There are some good ideas here too. Magic-users can start a school at 9th level.  Some rules are given on experience bonuses and some improved chances on learning new spells. The article itself is a long one, 10 pages of text, a covers a lot of ground. I read this article just when I was heading to college. Now I have spent nearly all my adult life in academics, reading this now has more excited that before. Though now I am interested in different details.  I have often felt that the "adventuring" wizard was one that not just sought out new or lost forms of magic, but needed to adventure to pay the high costs of wizard school!

Fire for Effect! is from Richard W. Emerich and details magical fires.  The Fred Saberhagen "Swords" books were very popular at this time, so I think I detect a note from those. At least in terms of what magical fire might be.  The various melting points of metals are also given. The article is kinda worth it just for these alone. 

Arcane Lore is a new column to feature new spells sent in by the readers.  First up is a bunch of spells from Avissar Fire-Eye, or known in this world as Harold Dolan.  I always like articles like these and spell names like this.  "Magic Missle" is fine as far as spell names go, but really it should be named after the mage that created or made it famous/infamous.  So "Bargle's Missle of Magic" is a better name.  We get some of that here.  Truthfully it is something I have gotten away from but really should go back to it.  There are some decent spells here too.  All are fire based.

Another new column is Lords & Legends which covers some NPCs for use in the any of the TSR worlds. Up first is Matt Iden with Yoshitsune, 13th level kensai/6th level monk, Benkei an 8th level shohei, and Hsu Hsun, an 23rd-level wu jen, 9th-level shukenja.  The "star" though is Miyamoto Musashi who is depicted as a 15th-level kensai.  I have no problem admitting that this is where I first heard of Musashi and A Book of Five Rings.  I picked up a copy from the SF/F Book Club and I still have it. 

Heather Gemmen is up next with Gamers Around the World: Putting the World Gamers Guide to use. Yes this is how we connected back then.  Well. One of the ways. In five years the usenet group rec.games.frp.dnd will form. 

The Ecology of the Giant Leech is next.  Sadly pages 51 and 52 are stuck to pages 53 and 54 so bad the reading them is difficult.  

Page 54 does have a an article about keeping time from Lisa Cabala called Time Flies. Helpful when you forget how long an AD&D turn, round and segment are.   Lots of nice time keeping charts.

Roger E.  Moore throws these careful charts out the window with his Just Making Time. In this he talks about making calendars for your own worlds.  Forgotten Realms took this to heart, and it is mentioned here. 

Moving past the part where the short story was, we come up to a Star Frontiers article. The Whole-Earth Ecology by Danny Kretzer discusses how to create the flora and fauna of a world.

The Marvel-Phile had other heralds of Galactus, but they are gone from this magazine. 

The Role of Books covers the then new books. Of note is a review for Mercedes Lackey's Arrow of the Queen. A book that will inspire a generation of gamers and some of those will go one to make Blue Rose.

Operation:Zondraker for Top Secret continues the "Moon for various RPGs" feature of Dragon/Ares.

Another ad. I know I spend a lot of time on these but they are much more of a time-capsule of what was happening in hobby even more so than reviews.  Case in point this one.

Obviously not the boxed set we all remember. It isn't even the ad I remember. The ad I recall was a semi-shadowed man (a game designer presumably) that looked nothing at all like Ed Greenwood, relaxing with his hands behind his head.  In truth, I can't even find that ad now.  Mandela Effect anyone?  I remember the ads being very pretentious.  This one does not seem that way. I do remember this picture and my thoughts were of Glorfindel riding to Rivendell with the Ringwraiths on his heels. I might have even asked people in my gaming group that the time if this was related to Tolkien.  Interesting really.

The Forgotten Realms feature prominently in the Previews section as well.  There are other reminders that for reasons best left undiscussed TSR was producing items for the Lazer Tag license.

We end with the comics.

The arcane stuff in this issue was great and worthy of a third look from me again.  The Realms material has got me thinking more and more about a Realms campaign.  We are after all hitting the 30 year publication anniversary.

Want to know what I was saying about White Dwarf magazine during the same month? Check out my White Dwarf Wednesday for issue #91.

The Judges Guild Psychic Witch

A few weeks ago I was made aware of the Judges Guild Journal. A newsprint 'zine made by JG back in the 70s "dedicated to Swords and Sorcery fantasy gaming".  In particular, I was made aware of issue 7 (p) and their witch class.

Issue 7 was published in December 1977.   For some perspective, the first Dragon Magazine witch was published in March 1977, though they claim to have received the manuscript for it 15 months prior.  OD&D Supplement III, Eldritch Wizardry was published in 1976.

I mention Eldritch Wizardry because the Judges Guild witch, like my own, was very much inspired by it.

The article is on one broadsheet or about two typed pages.  Titled "Witchcraft in Dungeons and Dragons" and Phil Benz as it's byline.

I have to give this article a lot of credit.  It really went outside the box with this class.  Seventeen levels are presented with roughly the same XP values as the Magic-User and has a d4 for hit point determination.  The 17th level is something called "Emelkartha".  I can only guess this has to do with the Demon Goddess from Gardner Fox's short stories about Niall of the Far Travels.  Which curiously enough appear for the first time in Dragon #5.  Should we call Shenanigans?

What makes this witch different is that she gains psionic powers instead of spells.
Her progression is very much like that found in later 2nd edition supplements on Psioincs and similar to the Basic Psionics book released by +Richard LeBlanc.
Indeed the author claims right away that a better name for the class is "Psionic Woman".   He also makes a good point about the Magic-User being unsatisfactory for a witch class.

The class then goes off into non-psionic and more spell-like areas, with the creation of potions and drugs.   I am also pleased to see the inclusion of talismans, something I also added to my witch class.  There are a lot of witchcraft trapping with this class, but I am not sure how well they mix with the D&D Psionics.

It certainly looks like a fun playable class.
There is a bit here about how males can only become witches under a special contract from Satan!

This article is much smaller than the one found in The Dragon issue #5, but is some ways is a lot more interesting.  I think that the Judges Guild article has the benefit of reading the Dragon magazine one first.  While I have no proof that the Dragon magazine article influenced this one I do find it difficult to believe that someone writing for a 'zine at this time had not read Dragon. Plus the inclusion of Emelkartha, which had only shown up in this one spot prior to this, is kind of a give-away.

Class Struggles: The Problem of the Psychic-Witch
While this might be the first Psychic Witch class published it is not the first one I have seen.  The first one I remember reading was the one from the Mayfair Role-Aids book Witches.  That witch was a "Deyrini" witch and while I was familiar with the stories I thought it was an odd inclusion.  First, the powers were less psychic and still more spell-like.  Also, I never got a witch or a psychic feel from that particular class.
I later made my own "Natural Witch" that was also a Psychic Witch, but again, something about it never quite jelled with me. This is one of the reasons you don't see a psychic witch in my books now. I could never get it to work right for me.

The closest thing I have been able to get to a psychic witch I really like are my Sisters of the Aquarian Order.

I think the issue is that like D&D, I grew up in the 70s and 80s.  The 70s saw the Occult Revival and the 80s saw the Satanic Panic.  This has forever locked witches, occultism, and psychic abilities together in my mind. If you read anything published in the 70s about witches they often talk about enhancing their psychic powers.  I could see a witch, instead of mixing potions or collecting herbs, empowering crystals or infusing talismans' with her own psychic power.

Maybe her familiar is not a spirit but a psychic construct of her own "Shadow Self" from Jung.  Her Patron then is a manifestation of her Mana or Higher Self as part of the Collective Unconsciousness (again, Jung).  So the Jungian archetypes of Self-Anima-Mana could map on to Maiden-Mother-Crone representations.
Jung is, and always has been, a huge influence on how I detail the witch archetype for myself. I spent a lot of time in the 80s reading Jung and it is one of the reasons I worked on a Ph.D. in psychology.

Maybe there is something here after all. Maybe it just takes 40 years to get it right!

I'll have to think about this much more.

I am also presenting this as another addition to the RPG Blog Carnival on Occult Mysteries and Magic.

New Releases Tuesday: Covencraft

It's Tuesday and that means new releases!

Out today the next book in the Strange Brew series for Pathfinder, Covencraft!

Strange Brew: Covencraft for the Pathfinder RPG

Witches can be--and often are--portrayed and represented as solitary individuals, practicing their craft alone in a cabin (gingerbread or otherwise) in the wilderness or in the scary house on the hill that children avoid. But what if they gathered in groups, forming a coven? What then, would be different about them, and how would those groups look and act? What tools would they craft and use in their rituals?

Strange Brew: Covencraft answers those questions for you, taking you inside covens and detailing how they work and how to integrate them into your character’s story and your campaign. Sample covens are provided, along with discussions of the benefits of a coven, types of covens and roles for characters within them, example ritual tools, ceremonies, and more.

Magic items to follow!