October Horror Movie Challenge: The Initiation of Sarah (1978, 2006)

Ok. This one didn't post either.

The 70s were weird.  Today I might draw a very distinct line between "witches" and "psychics" and even online they are considered different things depending on who you ask. 
The 70s, not so much. 

Case in point, one of my favorite 70s guilty pleasures, The Initiation of Sarah from 1978.
I think for the longest time I associated sororities with witchcraft. 

The story follows two girls, Sarah and Patty Goodwin, raised as sisters as they go college and pledge in different, competing, sororities. 

Patty, the overtly pretty one, is accepted to Alpha Nu Sigma (ΑΝΣ) and Sarah, the other one, accepted to the weird Phi Epsilon Delta (ΦΕΔ).  Patty has to deal with Alpha bitch Morgan Fairchild played in only the way Morgan Fairchild can while Sarah has to deal with likely drunk (in the story and real life) Shelly Winters.

It seems to me that both houses are in truth witch covens and have been at war with each other since, well, who knows how long.

The film is pure ABC Made for Television cheese really and not a lot to redeem it.  But I love it to this day.  So many untapped ideas here.

The movie was remade in 2006 as a, you guessed it, a made for TV movie.

This time Sarah is played by the far more attractive Mika Boorem and her sister Lindsay, played by Summer Glau (who gets on my nerves).  Morgan Fairchild is back and still look great and playing the alpha bitch. This time she is the girls mother, but you will be forgiven if you think she is playing the same character.  Jennifer Tilly replaces Shelly Winters.

There are differences in the plot, mostly to bring it upto date, and others that actually make sense.  Are you a virgin and about to be sacrificed? Yeah, there is a way to fix that. And they do.

Different people die, different people live.  It is cut from the same block of cheese as the original and despite some better acting (not Summer Glau, she is horrible) it doesn't fare as well.  Must be the nostalgia.

In 10 years I want another remake, this time with Morgan Fairchild in the Shelly Winters role.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Alien Covenant (2017)

Another new one.  Plus I am running out of tape material.

Note: Spoilers ahead.

Alien Covenant attempts correct some of the mistakes from Prometheus.  Not sure how well it succeeds. For starters, this is a proper Alien movie, with xenomorphs, spaceships, a crazy android. Everything that made the first one a sci-fi and horror classic.

This one doesn't quite work as well.

It's a good sci-fi flick and has some good moments, but otherwise, it is only ok.

I am not exactly sure why that is.

I talked to my wife and son about this.  They pointed out that the alien was not really the enemy. They were only a tool. The real bad guy was the android, David.

Well, I had hoped for more.

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Mummy (2017)

A bit of a change of pace for this Challenge.
This is a first time view. It's a Tom Cruise movie (whom I can't stand). And the movie is not as bad as I was lead to believe.

The idea is an interesting one, but it is the same as many of the Mummy movies since Boris Karlof. Though Sofia Boutella is better to look at it.
There are some neat ideas and personally, I wanted to see more of Russel Crow's Jekyll and Hyde.

Connor enjoyed it but thought they did some stupid things.
I tend to agree.

Into the Nentir Vale, 5e Style

Vacation day today.  So the boys and I are starting our "Halloween" adventures of Into the Nentir Vale.  Yes, I am converting the 4e the adventures to 5e.  I started these adventures back when 4e came out and they really had an impact on what I am doing now with Come Endless Darkness.

So today we start H1, Keep on the Shadowfell.

I have done the conversions to 5e and they look good.

We are going to stick with this one for a bit and pick up Vault of the Drow when we go to Gen Con in 2018.  That would be a good time to do that!

October Horror Movie Challenge: Dracula 2000 (2000)

Not one of my favorite Draculas to be sure, but it is satisfying that I also got to finish a tape.

It's an interesting tale. Bringing Dracula into the modern age, trouble is that we have seen this story many times and many times it has been better.  The twist here is that "Dracula" is actually Judas.
The movie starts out ok, I like the idea of a quasi-immortal Van Helsing dealing in ancient arms.

Somewhere along the way through the movie falls apart for me.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Gothic (1986)

Gothic is another one of those films that you either love or hate.  I enjoyed the hell out of it. The story of how Frankenstein and the Vampyre came to be? Ken Russell as the director? Gabriel Byrne as Lord Byron, Julian Sands as Percy Bysshe Shelley, and an absolutely lovely Natasha Richardson as Mary Shelley (in her film debut)?  Music by Thomas Dolby? What's not to love?
Well plenty it seems.  The movie was a commercial bomb, though it did make good money on the home video market.

Connor hated it. Though he did recognize Timothy Spall who played Dr. John William Polidori here and later Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew.

I watched this a few Challenges back but for the life of me I can't find the write up.  My wife hated it then too. It does feel dated and the music is very much mid-80s synth.  But it is still a lot of fun.

Zatannurday: Interview with MYSTIK U's Alisa Kwitney

A few of weeks ago I mentioned the news of the new Zatanna centric comic MYSTIK U, about Zatanna's days at university.
As you can imagine I did a very unmanly squeal of delight and immediately set out to finding out as much as I could.

Well, my obsessions are your gain!  I got the chance to interview Alisa Kwitney.

Tim/The Other Side: Hello, my name is Tim Brannan and this is my blog The Other Side.  Today I am talking with author Alisa Kwitney. Alisa has been given the reigns on a new Zatanna comic for DC; Mystik U.  Our favorite fishnet-wearing magician is headed back to school to learn magic. She meets some now-familiar names and encounters a bunch of new adventures.

But first, let's meet the author herself.  Hello Alisa, why don’t you introduce yourself and give us a little bit a background on who you are?

Alisa: I was on staff at DC for about 7 years, working in the Vertigo imprint on SANDMAN and SHADE THE CHANGING MAN and other books in Karen Berger’s group. At the same time as I joined DC, my first novel, Till the Fat Lady Sings, was a comedy of manners about the first year of college, published by HarperCollins. My 10th novel, a YA called Cadaver & Queen, is now coming out from HarlequinTeen which is part of HarperCollins, so it’s kind of full circle. And now that I think about it, it’s also a novel about a school--a Victorian medical school that reanimates corpses to produce Bio-Mechanicals.

Tim: Excellent. The big one now, how did you get into writing comics?

Alisa: I actually said I wanted to write and edit during my first interview. These days, you have to choose between writing or drawing and being on staff, but at that time, lots of editors wrote or drew or inked or colored. Dick Giordano, the Vice President, once worked as inker for me on Sandman. I had already had a novel published, so people knew I could write--at least, in theory. In practice, I was still learning how to write comics. My first comic was a Phantom Stranger special, and whenever we got pages back from penciller Guy Davis, I would check to see where he had changed my pacing. Basically, he was giving me a master class in how to tell a better visual story.

Tim: So, if I can, you are something of Sci-Fi Royalty! Your father is the late Robert Sheckley. Did he give you good advice about writing? Do/Did you take inspiration from his works?
BTW, Immortality, Inc. is still one of my favorites and Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming was a lot of fun to read.

Alisa:  When I was 19, I asked my father if he thought I had it. I wanted him to anoint me and say, in effect, Yes, my child, you have the magic spark of writerly brilliance. Instead, he said in this very dismissive tone, “Yeah, you got talent, I suppose. Whatever that’s worth.” At the time, I was disappointed in his response, but over the years I’ve come to realize that he was absolutely right. Talent counts for very little. Applying yourself to your stories is everything. And in a sense, that’s what I’m writing about in Mystik U. These 18-year-olds come to college, wanting validation of their special powers, and instead they discover their limitations.

Tim: You are no stranger to the DC Universe.  Your run on Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold was up for an Eisner Award.  How did you get that job and did it help when pitching Mystik U?

Alisa: I pitched Destiny when I was pregnant and obsessed with plagues. I kept imagining these awful horror scenarios and I had to get it out of my system. I also wanted to do something sweeping and epic, like the big Frank Yerby historicals I read when I was a kid. (My favorite was The Odor of Sanctity.) Neil told me about The Secret History of Procopius, which is a history of the early Byzantine empire written by a scholar who was convinced that the emperor had been possessed by a demon.

I’m not sure how much Destiny helped in my pitching Mystik U. In general, I find that if you’ve written a historical horror story, people tend to think it means you can write historical horror stories. If you write a contemporary YA, (which I did for Shelly Bond’s Minx line at DC), then people might say, Oh, I see, you can write contemporary YA. Mystik U is sort of a hybrid of superhero and horror and YA, so it seems a logical next step to me--but I’m not sure it seemed logical to anyone else at first.

Tim: Now tell us about Young Zatanna and Mystik U.  Was this your idea?

Alisa: Yes. I wanted to do a book about college, because that first year of being off on your own and finally learning things you choose for yourself is really rich with story possibilities. People keep comparing the concept of Mystik U to Hogwarts, which is fine--I own not one but two Harry Potter wands, and consider myself a Ravenpuff--but I could never write a book about boarding school. At age eleven, I would have hated Hogwarts, because I was basically Neville Longbottom. I also really enjoyed Lev Grossman’s books about magical college, but his take is also different from mine. For me, college is a stage where people go to improvise themselves. It’s a place where you get to try on new ideas, new philosophies and new identities. And it’s a place where the bathrooms contain some unpleasant surprises.

Tim: Stories about schools and young heroes are very popular. You don’t need to look much farther than Harry Potter or Buffy to see that.  On the comics front we have the classic Chris Claremont run on X-Men and the George Pérez run on Teen Titans.  What do you want to do with Zatanna as a character that covers this same sort of time in her life and the storytelling opportunities?

Alisa: Zatanna comes to school thinking that she has a great power and that she needs training--and then finds herself unable to access her power when she wants it. There are other people there, on her hall, who seem a lot better at magic than she is--like Enchantress, and Davit Sargon, and her roommate Pia and the broody Sebastian Faust. She’s like a lot of people, who were amazing at something in high school, and then get to college and find they aren’t the top of the heap anymore. In an earlier version of Mystik U, I thought this character was going to be Tim Hunter, and I’m so much happier exploring the theme with Zatanna. There are fewer stories of female ambition and drive that aren’t posed as cautionary tales. There’s a parallel story about Rose Psychic, the dean of the school, and her relationship with Dr. Occult, who shares her body. (I wanted Rose to look like Ming Doyle, by the way. I met her when I first pitched Mystik U, and she remains the model for Rose in my mind’s eye.)

Tim: I am a huge fan of Paul Dini’s run on Zatanna, but I love the old Gardner Fox stories as well. What are some of your favorite Zatanna stories?

Alisa: I love Paul Dini’s storytelling. I also love a lot of the stories where she meets up with John Constantine. I figured she was always drawn to bad boys, which you get to see in her relationship with Sebastian Faust.

Tim:  What sort of older elements might we see in your version of Zee? (I already saw Zatara is still around).

Alisa: Mike Norton, the artist, has done an amazing job creating a Zatanna who feels like the bright, upbeat, pragmatic character we know, but also seems like a college freshman. I really wanted all of the characters to feel like real people. For example, Davit Sargon performs a small feat of magic when Zatanna first meets him, and says, “that’s just a little cantrip I picked up.” Zatanna doesn’t know what a cantrip is, and her roommate, Pia explains that it’s a clue that Sargon plays D&D.

Tim: And finally where can we find you on the internet?

Alisa: https://www.facebook.com/alisa.kwitney.sheckley/. Twittter @akwitney. My website is www.alisakwitney.com

Tim: Ok last question and this is one I always ask here at the Other Side. Who is your favorite wizard, witch or magic-user?

Alisa: I loved Witch Hazel, from the old Bugs Bunny cartoon.  She loved being green and hideous and hated being seen as a conventional beauty--which is kind of badass and punk, in retrospect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzEYxGc2RmMI

I also totally understood Endora’s point of view in Bewtiched. Why was her powerful witch daughter wasting time on a dull mortal? In my dreams, Endora and Snape are sitting together in a pub, making caustic remarks about everyone sitting around them.

Tim: Love that visual!  Alisa thank you so much!

Zatanna and MYSTIK U will be out in Novemember.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Lair of the White Worm (1988)

On to my vampire tapes now.  I am not going to review all of these since I had done so many of these in past Challenges. But there are few that stand out.

Lair of the White Worm (1988) is one of those movies.  Rather infamous at the time and a lot of the same visuals from director Ken Russell that made Tommy (1975) so good.

The star of this is a deliciously sexy-evil Amanda Donohoe as the snake-vampire thing Lady Sylvia Marsh.  I read that the role had been offered to Tilda Swinton. Could you have imagined that? I think it would have been awesome. Of course watching it now it is a very young looking Peter Capaldi with a thick northern accent as archaeology student Angus Flint.

I know this is based on a Bram Stoker novella, but it's not a very good novella really.  I read it, gods, back in my university days.  Connor wanted to know why worms, dragons, snakes, and vampires were all getting blended together in this.  It's a good question really.

Kickstart Your Weekend: Jacob Blackmon style!

If you have been here for any period of time of bought any of my Pathfinder books then you will have seen the fantastic art of +Jacob Blackmon.

We are at a point where there are three Kickstarters out now featuring the art of Jacob and you can get in on all of them (if you hurry).

Super Powered Legends Sourcebook for M&M

A collection of supers for M&M that Jacob has been creating over the last couple of years. I have seen many of them and they are a lot of fun.  It features what I have come to think of his "cover girl" Pendragon.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1768030821/super-powered-legends-sourcebook-for-mandm

The Orcish Beefcake Calendar 2018

In what gets the prize as one of the silliest things I have seen is a pinup calendar of orcs.
Sure. Let's do it!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zombieorpheus/orcish-beefcake-calendar-2018

And ending in just a couple of hours is +Mark Taormino's

Dark Wizard Games: Double Mayhem Adventures

Jacob has had art in Mark's modules before, not sure if any will be in this one but I think so.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marktaormino/dark-wizard-games-double-mayhem-adventures

There you go!

Jacob has a Pateron and can also be found on RPGNow with a TON of art and books you can buy.

He forever gets credit for really bringing my iconic witch Larina to life.

Not an easy task to draw a character that has been in my head for nearly 30 years and get her exactly right!

October Horror Movie Challenge: Dark City (1998)

This must be my Alex Proyas tape.  Dark City was one of those movies that came up a lot on the old Kult RPG list I was on.

Connor thought it was cool, but had a lot of his own theories and questions.

As much as I talk about the Occult Revival 70s, there is also the Paranoid 90s.  Everything is a conspiracy and THEY are always out to get you or keep you from the truth.  You can see this in the X-files and movies like The Matrix and They Live.

Games like Kult (1991), Conspiracy X (1996), Beyond the Supernatural (1987), Chill 2nd Edition (1990), even to a degree Alternity's Dark Matter, all captured different aspects of this feeling.

I was involved in many online debates on what system would do Dark City justice.  I had always put my chips in a Conspiracy X/WitchCraft hybrid.

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.

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Crow (1994)

No movie captures the "Noir of the Nineties" more than "The Crow".

It has been said that the only difference between a slasher flick and an action flick is if the "Last Girl" is a woman or a big action star.  The Crow does this in reverse.
The "Last Girl" is Brandon Lee's Eric Draven. Who is not a big hulking action star, but a man engulfed in sadness.   The plot, minus the supernatural elements, is not much different than Steven Seagal's "Hard to Kill".  The difference, of course, is that Eric Draven is an undead champion of vengeance.  He is not a zombie though and he still feels, well, everything.

This leaves us the question. Is The Crow a horror movie?
I still say yes.  The horrors visited on Eric and his fiancé Shelly are enough to merit a "Horror" tag.  Eric himself, an undead force of vengeance is akin to Freddy and Jason; he just kills bad guys.

In truth, this movie influenced a lot of what we think of as the Modern Supernatural out now.  This struck the same chords in people (and often the same people) that "Lost Boys" did.  While Lost Boys was very much a product of the late 80s, The Crow is a product of the mid 90s and it's influences reached far and wide.  Watch the scene where Eric confronts Top Dollar and his gang and then watch Heath Ledger's Joker confront the criminal underworld in The Dark Knight.

Ultimately the movie is sad.
Sad not just for the subject matter, but sad for the real-world death of Brandon Lee.

The Temples of Elemental Evil in the Multiverse

I have been thinking a lot about my interconnected D&D 5 campaigns.

• There is the Mystara/Oerth combination on my wold of Mystoerth I have been running for The Order of the Platinum Dragon. Which cover all the classic "Greyhawk" modules.  Big bad is Lolth.
• There is the one I have been calling The Second Campaign which I have started in the Forgotten Realms (2017 is my year to be introduced to the Realms).  I am running other classic 1st modules here too.  Big Bad here is Asmodeus.  I am including some elements of Dark Sun here too. 
• There is a third campaign I have not started completely just yet. It is a resurrection of my old 4e game and deals with the rise of Orcus.  Originally I wanted this one to be the Realms but I am likely to set it in the Nentir Vale.  Have not decided yet. If I do then I need a better home for the Second Campaign.  I'd love to play a little with Krynn, to be honest. 

I still have some details to work out. But all of these fall under the larger umbrella of Come Endless Darkness. Tharizdûn is returning to the multiverse and the PCs of the three campaigns need to stop him.

But I need to know my end game. I know all three are coming together at the very end.  In the "main" Order of the Platinum Dragon game, the PCs have already been to Hommlett. They know about the Temple of Elemental Evil, so they have a pretty good idea that they are headed back there.

I know that I am planning that have the big bads, or at least their proxies, in the final battle too. But how do I get the characters of three universes together?

Then it dawned on me. There is a Temple of Elemental Evil in every game world.

Let's look at it from this point of view.  Nearly every game world (notable exception Mystara) got its genesis from First Edition AD&D.  The first level First Edition adventure was T1 The Village of Hommlett.   So if you played regularly in any game world there is a good chance that that world had a Hommlett and accordingly a Temple of Elemental Evil.

I thought at first I wanted a Tanelorn-style temple that flitted from world to world.  But that is unsatisfactory to me and I already had something like that in Halfway. I thought about having it as a place that exists on all worlds at the same time,  but I also have that in West Haven.
So instead I am thinking of something more along the lines of the Altgeld Castles here in Illinois.

On five different campuses here in Illinois there are five gothic-style castles all (except one) called Altgeld Hall. Named after Gov. Altgeld.   The rumor was that all these buildings can be combined, Voltron-style, to make one complete castle.  There is no facts to back this up, but it is much more fun than the rumors that usually surround campuses in Illinois.

So I propose the following:

Every game world has a Temple of Elemental Evil.  Some are decrepit and decayed, others are active and strong, and others still are only just starting.  The main feature of these is that all are connected.  They can be combined together across time and space to form a giant Temple and Cathedral of Elemental Evil.

For locations, I went to the experts online.

• Forgotten Realms, https://www.facebook.com/groups/335373333286538/permalink/894888417335024/
• Mystara, https://www.facebook.com/groups/2349484166/permalink/10156696389579167/
• Krynn, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1485418471778860/permalink/1910566742597362/

They have given me some good ideas. I didn't go to Eberron or Dark Sun since I know very little about either world other than the most basic basics.  I figure they have them as well.

For maps, it will be easy.  I can grab one from the T1-4 Supermodule for each world. I can also grab an absolute ton of material from the Princes of the Apocalypse.  Appendix C of PotA gives me plenty of ideas of different loacations and backgrounds for the Temple in various game worlds too.

Heroes of the Three Worlds will have to come together to defeat evil and face the ultimate evil in Tharizdûn.

It's gonna be epic!

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Shinning (1980)

This might not be the best Stephen King book made into a film, but it is certainly a great one.  This is a Stanely Kubrick masterpiece of insanity, murder, and supernatural happenings that few movies can compare too.

This is Kubrick at his best, Nicholson at his most manic, and Stephen King at his most...well, Stephen King.

Connor loved this one. He had known about the movie and many of the scenes for a long time, I mean how could you not?  So the movie lived up to the hype in his mind.

Rewatching this now, many years later, I am struck by how much I really enjoyed Kubrick's direction here.  His vision may not have been the same as King's, but it is a good vision, even a great one.

This isn't just one of my favorite horror movies it is one of my favorite movies of all time.  It's not perfect of course, but it is great.

Watched: 3

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Car (1977)

Ah. This little piece of cinematic trash made to it TV sometime in the late 70s. I am sure I recorded it back in the 80s at one point, and then transferred to another tape in the 90s.  I WISH I had kept the commercials in this, but I edited them out to make more room on the tape.   That's a lot of work to spend on this movie.

Rewatching this now, 40 years later, I am again taken with the 70s obsession with the Devil.  Plus I will never get that horn out of my mind.
The movie is lack luster really.  Killer car.  People find some really dumb ways to put themselves in the path of this thing.

I remember thinking at the time it was cool concept, but poorly executed.

Connor, predictably, was bored. So was I to be honest.

My memory of this movie is much better than the movie itself.  The final scene where the car is blown up and "the devil" is released was also much cooler in my memory than on this tape.
I remember my brothers and sisters watching this and then laughing many years later when a still of the explosion was later used in a supermarket gossip rag as the "face of the devil" in a storm.

Maybe it is time to remake this one.  Maybe now with a killer drone.

Watched: 2

Rosaleen Norton: The Witch of Kings Cross at a 100

Rosaleen Norton would have been 100 years old today.

She was an occultist, artist, nude model, bi-sexual, and self-proclaimed witch all in a time when women barely had the same civil rights as men.

I first discovered her art back, like many things with me and witches, in the 70s at my local public library.
I am not sure what book it was.  I was convinced that she had done a lot of drugs to get these images onto canvas, but I certainly underestimated her.

Recently I had read a bio about her, not a very long one, and how she seemed to have been born to create the life she really wanted. She had numerous obstacles thrown at her, but none of those kept her from being who she was.
You have to respect that.

Even if you do not know her name it is likely you know her art.  She had painted a number of images over the years including one of my favorite pictures of Lilith (below). 

She had even been charged with obscenity in Austrailia.

Does this remind anyone of Orcus?

You can find out more about her here:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/the-witch-of-kings-cross.aspx

Fohat
One of Rosaleen Norton's most controversial images was that of a demon she called Fohat.  Representing male sexual power the demon has a goat's head, a man's upper body and a snake for a phallus.  Describing this work, she stated that "The goat is the symbol of energy and creativity: the serpent of elemental force and eternity."  Needless to say, it got her into some trouble.

In the writings of Theosophy Fohat is a force of male sexual potency. Norton obviously knew this background.  The question for us though is Fohat a unique demon or a species?  He is likely an incubus, but given the proper name, I am going with "the Lord of Incubi". 

Here is for use with my Swords & Wizardry Warlock book.

Fohat
Hit Dice: 13
Armor Class: -1 [20]
Attacks: 2 claws (1d6+3) or 1 weapon (1d10+3)
Saving Throw: 3
Special: Magic resistance (35%), immune to fire, Lilim Abilities, dual forms, Wisdom  drain, blood drain, magical abilities, +2 magic weapons to hit, charming voice
Move: 12
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 24/5,300

Fohat is the Lord of Incubi. They revere him, not due to his ability in combat, but by the number of warlocks he has at his command.  There are others though that do challenge his title, but none that are willing to go to war over it.
Fohat appears as a lare man with a goat's head, a man's upper body and the lower portion of a goat. His phallus is a large snake.
While evil, Fohat is the epitome of a "Lover, not a fighter" and he would rather charm his way out of a situation than fight his way out.  His voice acts as if hee had a constant Charm Person spell cast and anyone listening to it must save vs. Charm at a -3 or be unable to physically attack him.  Even races immune to charming magic can be affected.
His numerous offspring are all Tieflings of a demonic sort.

Fohat is difficult to classify. He shows all the same abilities of one of the Lilim races, but also appears to be part of the Shedim race of demons.  He is old, but none (so far) have postulated that he is an Eodemon.

Pacts with Fohat
Fohat takes on young warlocks willingly.  Some even say enthusiastically.  While he prefers female warlocks, he will take on the odd male warlock with high charisma.  The initiate must summon Fohat into a circle. Typically other warlocks of Fohat will summon him with the initiate warlock placed in the circle.  The pact is sealed with an act of sexual intercourse with the demon.  Warlocks and Witches may form a Grand Coven dedicated to Fohat and they are expected to partake in a Bacchanal on every new moon.
The pact with Fohat is a demonic pact and has all the features of a demonic pact as described on page 7.  Additionally, Fohat's warlocks may impose a -2 penalty to anyone attempting to make a saving throw against their charm spells.   Warlocks of the Lord of Incubi may also cast the "Bewitch" spells normally available only to witches.

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Exorcist (1973)

Let's start this off right with a movie I consider one of the scariest ever made. 1973's The Exorcist.

By today's standard, this movie is slow. In fact my son kept asking for when it was going to get going.  But one it get's going, man does it keep going. It is almost relentless, to be honest.

The cast delivers a top notch performance but obviously, the big nod goes to Linda Blair.  She ended up nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe and People's Choice award for her role as possessed girl Regan.

There is a lot going on this movie and there is now, of course, an entire "expanded universe", but this is the first, this is the where it started.  Directed by William Friedkin and produced and written (book and screenplay) by William Peter Blatty this movie takes everything I remember about the 70s Occult resurgence and boils it down in a crucible over hell fire.

My son, who has grown up on a steady diet of monster hunting shows like Supernatural, did not see the horror.   He had at least a dozen ways in his mind that the demon could have been gotten rid of.

In the end, though he still enjoyed it.

Still, scares the shit out of me.

Watched: 1

Zatannurday: Sabrina the Teenage Witch Returns to TV

Sorta-kinda-Zatanna related.


The CW is looking to bringing back Sabrina the Teenage Witch!

http://archiecomics.com/sabrinatv/
http://uproxx.com/tv/chilling-adventures-of-sabrina-tv-series-teenage-witch-riverdale-companion/

I never watched the Melissa Joan Hart series, but I knew all about it.

This new series is based on The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina comic.  No idea if it will be part of the Riverdale universe or not, but it should be fun.

This Old Dragon: Issue #132

Dragon magazine for April 1988 is quite a memorable issue.  First, it's an April Fools issue, and it's one I actually kinda liked. Secondly, I LOVE that cover. I mean, Elmore, Snarf. What's not to love?  I am still a Freshman in University still and living the life.  I think I bought this issue when it came out, which is something because most of my money was going to drugs, beer, books. Yeah, books.  It's April 1988 and this is issue #132 of This Old Dragon!

Let's admire this cover for a bit.  I don't care, I love Elmore's art.  Though I have to admit I thought Aveeare was silver and not gold.

So this is an April Fools issue, but the content is limited really.  The first entry has the infamous "Chainsword" in Bazaar of the Bizarre by Stewart Wieck.

Role-playing Reviews which is ©1988 by Jim Bambra.  We cover some now-classic games; Paranoia, Ghostbusters, and Teenagers from Outer Space.

Up next is the first big article of the issue is Beyond the Gate of Dreams by John Nephew.  This deals with the "semiclass" of the Dreamer.  Now there is a lot of REALLY cool things for this class. I don't think the class actually works as written, to be honest.  I like the idea really and there are a lot interesting spell ideas.   There is the option to play this as a single class or as part of a dual class.

Resourceful Sorcery which is also ©1988 by Michael DeWolfe and it covers some helpful hints for RuneQuest game sorcerers.  It's a cool article really, makes me want to get a RuneQuest game going sometime.

With All the Trappings by Gregg Sharp deals with trap construction and using some psychology to draw victims in.  I'll be honest, I never had the trap fetish that so many gamers seem to have.  Sure they can be fun occasionally, but all the time? I got my fill in the early 80s to last me a lifetime.

Skip Williams and Sage Advice cover a variety of topics.

Page 37 gives us an ad for New Infinities' Cyborg Commando!  The fate of the world is in metal hands^TM. I should not give Gygax shit for this.  We now know his world was crumbling down and the new heads of TSR were being colossal dicks to him.    Anyone play Cyborg Commando at all?

Scott David Gray is up with Let the Good Dice Roll. This is a collection of individual and cumulative frequency tables for the various methods of rolling a given ability score in AD&D.
A nice brief article that is informative, but also a relic of its age.  While the numbers are still good and even still apply to any version of *D&D,  these can be generated on the fly with the tools we all have at our disposal now.  Not just with Excel, but with Google Sheets which is free and nearly as powerful.

Out of Hand by Nina Kiriki Hoffman is the fiction piece of this issue.

Mark Feil gives us a rare non-Ed Greenwood (at least for the last few issues) Ecology Of article. The Ecology of the Aurumvorax covers the MMII monster also known as the "Golden Gorger".  Not a lot of information, but I did learn do not eat one of these things if you kill it. It gives you metal poisoning!

The big feature of this issue is +Bruce Heard's Orcwars game. Set in the Known World you get to play in the Great Orc Wars. It looks like it would be fun for a rainy afternoon. Set it in your own world.   Each player (2-4) gets to play one of the tribal coalitions of orcs.  I like it to be honest.  It is not exactly taking D&D back to it's wargame roots, but it is honoring those roots. Given the campaign I am currently running I could see using this as part of a flashback to an ancient battle.  Something to add more depth and color to the history of my game world.  Much like Traveller always did with their RPG and tie-in board games set in the Imperium.

Arcane Lore is up after all of that with some spells based on traits of animals. Like Oxen Strength and Lion's Courage.  Naturally (ugh) for druids. There are some goods here too.

Keith Polster has a bit on Gen Con and what to expect in 88 with The King of Conventions.  I certainly get the feeling here that Gen Con was growing more at this point.  This article covers the combined Gen Con/Origins Game Fair.  Robert M. Bigelow follows up on the next page with how miniatures events will be run at the combine con.  Now an aside.  I consider myself knowledgeable about the history of our hobby, but I also fully admit I am far from knowing everything.  I had no idea this happened! And I have some vivid memories of reading this issue.  How long did Origins and Gen Con stay together? When did they split up again?  Checking the internet I see this was done in 1988 and 1992. And yes Gen Con was seeing a lot of growth during this time.

Cash & Carry, Gamma Style covers the economic structure of Gamma World or least a small part of it.

Some small ads.
TSR Previews gives us a look ahead at some new releases.  This includes two of the biggest disappointments, for me at least, in adventures.  First is WG7 Castle Greyhawk.  While I do appreciate the humor in some of the levels and I respect how deadly this module actually is, it does not make up for the fact that it is also not very good. It was also not the Castle Greyhawk we have heard about for years and years.  I ran Castle Greyhawk once.  Not likely to run it again. Next is OP1 Tales of the Outer Planes.  If Castle Greyhawk was bad, this one was just lackluster.   The Outer Planes would get a huge boost in a few years with the advent of Planescape.

Jon Slobins is next with variable hero creation for the DC Heroes game. This produces heroes a little less super. Ah yes, we are moving to the 90s and the age of the gritty "street-level" hero.

Mike Lane has new ships for Star Frontiers.

And in a move that would surprise new readers of today, Jeff Grub gives us a Marvel-Phile of "joke" (or no joke depending on your read) hero; Rocket Raccoon.

The Role of Computers has expanded to 6 pages now including a huge review of Beyond Zork.

We have a couple of pages of Dragonmirth. Some ads. 5 pages of the Con Calendar.

We end with SnarfQuest on his prospecting mission.  About this time I began to loose interest in Snarf. I think a lot of people did. If had completed its big arc and now seemed to be a little lost.   OR what is more likely I could not keep up with it like I used to because I was not buying Dragons regularly anymore.

Wormy is also here.  About this time Tramp would disappear.  Little did I know at the time he moved to the same town I was living in.  I could have passed him in the grocery store and never knew.

Really a pretty solid issue.  AD&D 1 was showing its age at this point and the world outside was changing.  Soon word would come down that AD&D 2 was on the way and the 90s would start.  But until that time there was plenty to do.  The Dragon was more and more focused on TSR-only games, but still, a few others snuck in every so often. They were more inclusive than say White Dwarf was at this time.  In fact, April 1988's White Dwarf #100 would be the last White Dwarf I ever owned.

We are certainly on the verge of something in this issue. That might be my retrospective on it, but some big changes had already happened here and more are coming.

New Ritual: Reunification of Life

It's almost October and naturally, my thoughts turn to vampires.

A while back, many years now, I had a player who played a ranger (back in 2nd ed).  This ranger was later killed and turned into a vampire by no less than Strahd von Zarovich himself.  I thought that was the end of the character (the player had left school by then).   Years later I brought the character in as an NPC vampire. I wanted a vampire that had a backstory and some history as a human first.
At some point though near the end of my 3rd Edition game, I thought about bringing back this character as a recurring NPC.  Then something interesting happened. I got in contact with the original player via the then new thing called Facebook and I changed my mind.  I want to bring her back as a human now.

This got me started on an idea for a MacGuffin to bring a vampire back to full life.  We have seen things like this before in media. I know it happened on "Angel" and I am pretty sure it happened on "True Blood" and in other shows.  The one thing though they have all had in common is that to make it happen requires something really, really special.  Yes at this point someone will say "but what about 'Near Dark'?" well, I liked Near Dark, but that was the biggest problem I had with the movie.  It turned vampirism into a blood disease, and not even a very powerful one.  Plus don't you think if a blood transfusion could have fixed it then others would have done it already?

Also at this point, someone might bring up the spells "Raise Dead" or "True Resurrection".  We always ruled that these spells would kill any undead creature.  Clerics are known for two things in most editions of D&D; healing and turning undead.  Both are power investitures by divine agents.  So the ultimate expression of that power, the ability to bring the dead back to life, would follow the same logic and cause harm to the undead.   Plus in my games, we house ruled that it could not bring the dead back from undeath.  Vampirism is also a curse.

Now depending on your point of view the victim of vampirism has either lost their soul (the "Buffy" vampires) or their soul is trapped in their vampire bodies (the "Dracula" or "White Wolf" vampires).  Either way, the soul of the person is in peril.   (Consequently, this is also why I don't let Elves become vampires in my game; they have spirits, but not souls. Dark elves have connections to demons that allow them to become vampires.)

For this spell, I knew I wanted it to be difficult. So only the highest level spellcasters could cast it. I wanted it to be the magical equivalent of brain surgery.  So like surgery, it is not performed alone.

I also knew I wanted "three" to be a part of it.  Three is a magic number. Mind, Body, and Soul. Three types of magic; Arcane, Divine, and Occult/Witchcraft. And in many of my games three principal types of spellcasters.

Also known as "The Glorious Ritual of Reunification of Life, Soul, and Body by means Divine, Arcane, and Occult", but more commonly known as "Reunification of Life".

Reunification of Life
Level: Witch Ritual 8 (Magic-User 9, Cleric 7)
Ritual Requirements: At least 3 spellcasters; A witch, wizard, and cleric.
Range: One Vampire
Duration: Permanent
This ritual is a rare one, not just in terms of its availability, but also in its nature. The ritual is known to be part of the Malificus Necrologium (aka "The Book of Dead Witches ('dead witch names')").  Included in the ritual are the invocations needed to be made a witch, the evocations needed by a wizard and the prayers required of the cleric.  The ritual only details the means to restore a willing vampire to life, not an unwilling one.
As part of the ritual, the vampire must not partake in blood for three days prior to the ritual. This begins during the last nights of the new moon. In many cases, this will make the vampire difficult to control.  On the first night of the waxing crescent, the vampire must take a ritual bath in purified (but not sanctified) water.  Preferably this is from a natural spring. If the water is warmed from the earth, this is better.
On that night at Midnight, the ritual begins.

The vampire, wearing only a simple white linen robe lays on a simple wooden altar within a Thaumaturgic Triangle.  The points of the triangle face east, south and west in a deosil or sunwise orientation.  The cleric must stand at the East and begin their prayer.  The wizard must stand at the south and begin their casting. The witch stands at the west and begins her spell.
During the course of the night (6 hours of constant casting) the casters will respectively summon up Air to represent the Soul, Fire to represent the Life, and Earth to represent the renewal of Body.

During the night agents of evil will attempt to stop the ritual as the loss of a vampire is a great blow to the forces of the night.  For this reason, the ritual also suggests an outer circle of non-casters (referred to as "Cowans") to keep the evil at bay so the casting can continue uninterrupted.

If all goes well the spell end right before dawn as the light of a new day shines on the former vampire for the first time.

Many witches have noted that the optimal time for this spell is during the Summer solstice.

Alterations to ritual have been recorded.
At least one attempt was made on a mummy, but the spell failed. It was speculated that this was due to lack of internal organs, or due to the different relationship, the mummy has with the negative material plane or even the age of the mummy.
A spectre was successfully returned to life, but only after a Remove Curse had been cast on it.
The spell has not been tried on a lich since no lich has volunteered to be returned to life of their own free will.

In other cases, a druid was used instead of a cleric and a necromancer instead of a wizard.  Both times met with success, though some sages doubt these are accurate claims.
Most of these claims are difficult to ascertain due to most copies of this ritual are currently missing.

This ritual should not be something that the PCs have easy access to. Nor should it be something they hear a rumor about and then pop over to a forgotten library to get.  There should be an epic quest to retrive the book (or books! maybe it was split into three by the forces of evil). This needs to be epic quest, "season finale" stuff.

The Witch's Tea Ritual

"You can find a witch just by figuring out who is drinking the most tea in the village."  
- Halfling saying

I read a lot of books on witches. An inordinate amount really.  The one thing that has seemed to have entered into the cultural zeitgeist of most modern witch authors is that witches, in general, are addicted to tea.   Good, bad, or somewhere in between these seems to be the brew of choice for many witches.

Any witch with the ability to Brew Potions (either as a class ability or feat) can also Brew Tea.

Often the materials needed for brewing tea are much less expensive than what a witch might need for a full alchemical workshop.  Even witches with no interests in alchemy as a science can and will brew tea.

Equipment
The tea brewing witch needs the following to brew any sort of tea; magical or mundane.
Full Tea set.  This includes
- Teapot, porcelain or silver, never copper.
- Pot, kettle, or small cauldron to boil water, this should be copper
- silver tea infuser
- cups, saucers, plates, spoons for 4-6
- urn for sugar
- small pitcher for cream or milk
- serving plate for cakes or cookies
- silver tea service tray
- Tea leaves of the appropriate type
This will typically run 100-150 gp for a quality set.

Many witches also prefer a small portable tripod to suspend their copper cauldron over a flame.
Depending on the tea the boiling water is either taken to the pot or the pot taken to the boiling water.

Types of Tea
The ingredients can vary from traditions, covens and even individual witches but all teas begin with tea and intent.  The teas vary also between black, green, white, herbal  or more exotic choices. Aromatics such a rose hips may also be added.  The make the tea the witch brews the tea as she would mundane tea, but adds her intent and her magic to change the tea to the direction she wishes. Once complete the tea must be drunk to get the intended results.

Awareness
Almost always a black or ginger tea. This tea will provide a +1 to any Wisdom-based roll (saves, skills or checks) for 1 hour after drinking.  Higher level witches can brew stronger brews adding 10 mins per their own level for others that drink it.  The witch herself builds up a tolerance to the brew effects and only gains 1 hour regardless of level.  This tea may only be drank once per two days.

Calming
Made with an herbal tea, this tea will remove the effects of a fear spell or similar condition. It will also contract the effects of a haste spell or potion and that of an Energizing or Envigorating tea.

Contemplative
Made with a green tea this brew will remove the effects of a charm spell or other similar magic.
Note: the Witch must be 5th level to brew this tea.

Energizing
Almost always a black tea. This tea will provide a +1 to any Strength-based roll (saves, skills or checks) for 1 hour after drinking.  Higher level witches can brew stronger brews adding 10 mins per their own level for others that drink it.  The witch herself builds up a tolerance to the brew effects and only gains 1 hour regardless of level.  This tea may only be drank once per two days.

Envigorating
Almost always a black tea. This tea will provide a +1 to any Constitution-based roll (saves, skills or checks) for 1 hour after drinking.  Higher level witches can brew stronger brews adding 10 mins per their own level for others that drink it.  The witch herself builds up a tolerance to the brew effects and only gains 1 hour regardless of level.  This tea may only be drank once per two days.

Fortune Telling
This is one of the more common tea rituals performed.  Once the rea is drunk the witch looks into the cup to see what message the tea leaves can give her.  This will function as a Divination spell where one question is asked, "What does the future hold?"
Note: A witch needs to be 5th level of higher to complete this ritual.

Friendship
This tea makes the participants more inclined towards each other.  Not a charm, but a sense of companionship and friendship.  Everyone is treated as if they had a +1 to Charisma rolls with respect to each other.

Healing
This tea usually begins as a simple black or green tea.  The recipient is healed of 1d4 hp of damage.

Kitchen Witchery
Sometimes called "utility tea" this helps the witch in preparation of other potions or crafting magics.  The witch may add +1 or +5% to her rolls for success.

Quiet 
This tea relaxes the witch so she is not disturbed by outside noises. She has great concentration and can get a full 8 hours of sleep in 6 hours (or 6 hours in 4.5) but will always be surprised if attacked in this period (8 or 6 hours).

Third Eye Tea
This opens the witch's third eye and allows her to be better at scrying.  Giving her a +1 or +5% to any roll she needs.

Witch's Tea
No special powers. It just tastes really, really good.

Teas can be combined with incense and other potions for added effects.  Mixing teas though will result in an inert, and even worse, a foul-tasting liquid.

Cake and Tea Ritual
Level: Witch Ritual 1
Ritual Requirement: At least 2 witches, full tea set, cakes and tea
Range: All Participants
Duration: 24 Hours
This ritual is often performed at the end of the proper worship ceremonies of a coven, but it can also be performed as a means of two unfamiliar witches to break the ground towards friendship.  Once complete the witches in the ritual will gain a +1 to all rolls for the next hour and will act as if they had a +1 to Charisma-based roll for the next 24.  The witches also may not harm each other in any fashion or loose all benefits from this ritual.
Material Components: Cakes or cookies and the tea to be served.