October Movie Challenge: 30 Days of Night (2007) and Dark Days (2010)

Here we are, the last day of the Horror Movie Challenge! I figure I'll work in some vampire movies.  Special note: You lose something when watching movies with night and darkness as major plot points during the daylight hours.

30 Days of Night (2007) 

Few horror films capture isolation and predation like 30 Days of Night. Barrow, Alaska, already cut off from the world by a month of darkness, becomes a perfect hunting ground when a pack of feral, ancient vampires descends. These aren’t tragic romantics; they’re apex predators, clicking and shrieking in a dead language, as elegant and pitiless as sharks beneath ice.

The concept alone feels built for NIGHT SHIFT or Occult D&D: a frontier town swallowed by night, a handful of survivors fighting with dwindling light and sanity. It’s brutal, but beautiful too, snow turned red, the silence between screams, the steady unraveling of faith and logic. Josh Hartnett’s Eben becomes the archetypal reluctant hero, giving himself to the darkness just long enough to kill it.

If I ever needed a model for my Valhalla, Alaska, this is it. Swap Barrow for Valhala, add a few protective runestones, a psychic waitress, and maybe a were-bear or two, and you’ve got an entire campaign arc: “The Long Night.”

This one is quite good, and if Danny Huston is in it then I know I am in for some fun. 

30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010)

Ok. This one is not as good, but it had one thing going for it; Mia Kirshner as Vampire Queen Lilith. I just wish she had more screen time.

The sequel trades arctic survival horror for urban vampire noir. Stella (played by a different actress) still haunted by Barrow becomes a reluctant vampire hunter in Los Angeles, trying to expose the coven that orchestrated the slaughter. It’s grittier, smaller, and not nearly as haunting, but it expands the mythology nicely. The idea that the Barrow massacre was just one act in a long, secret war fits perfectly in a world where monsters stalk the forgotten edges of modern life.

The implied mythology here reminds me of the Blade movies, except that Dracula is replaced by Lilith. Which Lilith? No idea, she could have been any one of a hundred different interpretations, or just a powerful Vampire Queen who took her name as her own.

It is not as bad as the reviews online have led you to believe; it just falls very, very short of the first movie.

NIGHT SHIFT & Occult D&D Ideas

This is another great example for my Valhalla, AK setting for NIGHT SHIFT.

Less for Occult D&D, unless you work in a ritual the vampires are going to perform to blot out the sun. I did that as the main premise behind my "Come Endless Darkness" campaign. 

October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
Viewed: 38
First Time Views: 27

Urban Fantasy Fridays: WitchCraft RPG & Unisystem

 It is Halloween! The best day of the year. For that, I want to share one of my all-time favorite Urban Fantasy Horror RPGs.

C. J. Carella's WitchCraft RPG

WitchCraft is, hands down, my favorite game.  Period.  Picking up a copy of this book back in 1999 was just like picking up a copy of the Monster Manual in 1979.  Everything I ever wanted in a game was right there. Everything.

WitchCraft had such a profound effect on my gaming that I can draw a rather clean line between what came before and what came after it.  Granted, a lot was going on in 1999/2000, both gaming-wise and personally, that may have added to this effect; it was an effect all the same.

Back in 1999, I was really burned out on AD&D. I was working on my own Witch netbook and reading various games when someone, I forget where, must have been the old RAVENLOFT-L that TSR/WotC used to run, told me I really needed to check out WitchCraft.  At first, I balked.  I had tried Vampire a couple of years ago and found I didn't like it (and I was very much out of my vampire phase then), but I was coming home from work and my FLGS was on the way, so I popped in and picked up a copy.  This must have been the early spring of 2000.

I can recall sitting in my office reading this book over and over. Everything was so new again, so different.  This was the world I had been trying, in vain, to create for D&D, but never could.  The characters in this book were also all witches, something that pleased me to no end; it was more than just that.  Plus, look at that fantastic cover art by George Vasilakos. That is one of my favorite, if not my most favorite, covers for a game book. I have it hanging in my game room now.

WitchCraft uses what is now called the "Classic" Unisystem system.  So there are 6 basic attributes, some secondary attributes (derived), skills, qualities, and drawbacks.  Skills and attributes can be mixed and matched to suit a particular need.

WitchCraft uses a Point-Buy Metaphysics magic system, unlike Ghosts of Albion's levels of magic and spells system. Think of each magical effect as a skill that must be learned, and you have to learn easier skills before the harder ones first. In D&D, for example, it is possible to learn Fireball without having previously learned Produce Flame.  In WitchCraft, you could not do that.  WitchCraft, though, is not about throwing around "vulgar magics".  WitchCraft is a survival game where the Gifted protect humanity from all sorts of nasty things, from forgotten Pagan gods, to demons, fallen angels, and the Mad Gods; Cthulhoid-like horrors from beyond.  WitchCraft takes nearly everything from horror and puts it all together, and makes it work.

The Eden Studios version was the Second Edition, I was later to find out.  The first one was from Myrmidon Press. I manged to find a copy of that one too and it was like reading the same book, from an alternate universe.  I prefer the Eden Edition far more for a number of reasons, but I am still happy to have both editions.

The first edition (from Myrmidon Press) is like an alternate-universe echo of the later Eden Studios release. I own both, but Eden’s version is definitive. It’s cleaner, more playable, and it feels like the book C. J. Carella meant to write.

The central idea behind WitchCraft is the same as most other Modern Supernatural Horror games.  The world is like ours, but there are dark secrets, magic is real, and monsters are real. You know the drill.  But WitchCraft is different.  There is a Reckoning coming, everyone feels it, but no one knows what it is.  Characters then assume the roles of various magic-using humans, supernatural beings, or even mundane individuals, and they fight against the threats.  Another conceit of the game (and one I use a lot) is that supernatural occurrences are greater now than ever before.  Something's coming...  (dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria).

It is most often compared to World of Darkness, but there are aspects of WitchCraft that I prefer.  Unlike (old) Mage there is no war between the (good) Mages and the (evil) Technocracy.  There is a war certainly, but nothing so cut and dry.  Unlike the new Mage, there are rarely clean divisions between the factions.  Yes, yes Mage players, I am being overly simple, but that is the point, on the simple levels new Mage dives everything into 5 because that is how the designers want it.  There are factions (Associations) and different metaphysics for each, but they also overlap, and sometimes no clear and defined lines are to be found or established.  It feels very organic.

In my opinion, C. J. Carella may be one of the best game designers out there.  WitchCraft is a magnum opus that few achieve.  I took that game and I ran with it.  For 2000 - 2003, it was my game of choice above and beyond anything.  The Buffy RPG, built on the Cinematic Unisystem, took over till I wrote Ghosts of Albion, which also uses the Cinematic Unisystem.  I mix and match the systems as I need, but WitchCraft is still my favorite.

WitchCraft, in fact, is what got me into professional game design.

Back in the Spring/Summer of 2001, I started up a new game.  I had just purchased the WitchCraft RPG book about 16 months prior, and I was looking for something new.  That something came to me in the guise of Willow and Tara.  I had been watching Buffy for a bit, and I really enjoyed the character of Willow.  When she got together with fellow witch Tara, I thought they were perfect.  I had become very involved in the online Willow/Tara fandom, so I created a game, focusing on just them.

The game would focus on just these two, no one else from the show (which I would soon become an ex-fan of, but that is a different story).  Plus it gave me something to try out in a modern setting, something I have not done since my early days with the Chill RPG.

The trickiest part of developing game stats of any fictional character that belongs to someone else is knowing how to strike a balance between the game's rules and the fictional portrayal. A lot of "artisitc" license needs to be used in order to get a good fit. For example, how do you determine what some one's strength is when there is little to no on screen evidence? What spells would the girls have?

In the end, I decided to play it a little loose, but I love where their stats ended up.  In many ways, this is who Willow and Tara are to me, not the characters on TV or in comics, but the ones who were my characters since that day back in May 2001, when I decided they needed their own chance to shine.

After this, I worked on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG.  It should be no surprise then that the Willow and Tara stats that appear there are not that much different than my own.  I can be pretty vocal in play tests.  That got me the chance to write the Ghosts of Albion RPG. This also allowed me to meet, work with and remain friends with Christopher Golden and Amber Benson.

WitchCraft paved the way for so many other games for me, not just in terms of playing but in writing.  If it were not for WitchCraft, then we would not have had Buffy, Angel, or Army of Darkness. Conspiracy X would have remained in its original system. There would be no Terra Primate or All Flesh Must Be Eaten, and certainly there would be no Ghosts of Albion.  This game means that much to me.

But you don't have to take my word for it, Eden Studios will let you have it, sans some art, for free.

Download it.  If you have never played anything else other than D&D then you OWE it yourself to try this game out.

My thing is I wish it was more popular than it is.  I love the game. If I was told I could only play one game for the rest of my life then WitchCraft would be in my top 3 or 2 choices.

Larina Nichols for WitchCraftRPG

Like Willow and Tara, I consider the WitchCraft version of Larina to be the "main" or even "true" one. Not a shock. I was reading the WitchCraftRPG after completing my first publication, "Complete Netbook of Witches & Warlocks," which featured a six-year-old Larina learning she would become a witch.  

Later on, I played her in an online game where she went to Scotland, got married, got divorced, and moved back. In fact, it was her "return to America" stage of her life that I tried to capture with the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG. It was here that her "modern age" counterpart had made contact with her "fantasy age", aka D&D counterpart. 

Larina "Nix" Nichols

Wicce Seeker of Knowledge Gifted
Age: 30 (circa 2000/2001), Ht: 5'4", Hair: Red, Eyes: Blue

Attributes: Str 2 Dex 3 Con 3 Int 5 Per 5 Wil 6*

Life Points:  33
Endurance: 29 (27)
Speed: 12/6

Essence Pool: 76
Channeling Level: 10

Survival: 10
Lifting Capacity: 100 lbs

Qualities & Drawbacks

Gifted (+5), Attractive (+2), Essence Channeling (+5),  Hard to Kill (+1), Increased Essence Pool (+8), Nerves of Steel, Old Soul* (+3), Resources (+1), Emotional Dependency: Fear of Rejection (-1), Honorable (-2), Recurring Nightmares (-1), Obsession Magic (-2)

Skills

Cooking (1), Craft, Simple Crafts (2), Driving, Car (2), Humanities, History (2), Humanities, Religion (2), Humanities, Wicce Theology (2), Humanities, Psychology (1), Language, Latin (4), Language, Greek (3), Language Italian (3), Language, Gaelic (2), Magic Bolt (3), Magic Theory (3), Myth and Legend, Celtic (2), Myth and Legend, Greek (2), Folk Magic (4), Occult Knowledge (2), Play Instrument, Clarinet (2), Research (3), Rituals, Wicce (2), Singing (1), Survival, Urban (3), Trance (2)

Metaphysics/Powers

Affect the Psyche (Influence Emotion, 2), Blessing (Good Luck, 2; Protection, 2), Create Ward (2), Flame (2), Insight, One with the Land (1), Perceive True Nature (2), Protection vs. Magic (3), Soul Projection (4), Soul Fire (3), Sending (1)

Weapons

Knife d4x2
Baseball bat d8x2 / d8x3 (two handed)

Possessions: Books on magic, spell components, crystal ball, laptop computer (Mac PowerBook G3 "Lombard"), 1998 Volkswagen Beetle. 

As with Chill, this is not a starting character. I have said it already, but I consider this to be the "Prime" modern Larina, that is, until I wrote NIGHT SHIFT. I use the Old Soul quality not only to have her connect to past lives, but also to her "alternate lives." This would include her D&D and Mage versions. This is what allows her to exceed the human limit of 5 in Willpower. 

Larina's Timeline

Since this is the last post in this particular series, I decided to look back on the lifespan development campaign idea. 

• Childhood
• Tween
• Teenager
• Young Adult
• Adult
• Later Adult

There are certainly more games I could use to fill in some more. Even if I never play all these games, using them is a better solution than a huge backstory. It gives you the chance to build that backstory. 

WitchCraft as a D&D Replacement

I have talked about this one as much this month, even if it is a central feature of my Fantasy Fridays. But the WitchCraftRPG can be used as a replacement for D&D. Eden even published a book for it, Dungeons & Zombies. Overtly for the All Flesh Must Be Eaten RPG.

It is no surprise then that Dungeons & Zombies comes from Jason Vey. Vey and I would later take all that we knew from WitchCraft, AFMBE, and Buffy and Ghosts, and design NIGHT SHIFT.

I even ran the Ravenloft I6 adventure using WitchCraft. It was fantastic.

Final Thoughts

Revisiting WitchCraft after Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition feels like returning to the root system after tracing the branches. Mage is about transcendence, belief shaping reality. WitchCraft is about endurance, belief surviving reality.

In Mage, Larina questions the structure of the cosmos; in WitchCraft, she defends it. Both games explore the same axis of power and consequence, but WitchCraft speaks to something older and more intimate: the soul’s stubborn refusal to go quietly.

Twenty-five years later, WitchCraft still reads like a love letter to the people who look at the dark and light a candle anyway. It’s hopeful without being naïve, mystical without losing its humanity.

When I flip through those pages now, I can still feel that same spark from 1999. The moment I realized that “urban fantasy” wasn’t just a genre; it was a worldview, and it was where I wanted to spend my gaming days and nights.

And Larina’s still there, at her desk, cup of tea beside a stack of grimoires, scrolling through student papers by day and summoning protective circles by night. The Reckoning may come, or it may not, but she’ll be ready either way.

Links

• C. J. Carella’s WitchCraft RPG – Eden Studios (DriveThruRPG)
• Ghosts of Albion
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel
• Eden Studios
• WitchCraft
• Ghosts of Albion
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel

October Movie Challenge: Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

I also love catching a Godzilla each Challenge. Tonight I picked one of the few I have never seen. 

Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

Like many of Godzilla movies of the Heisei era, this one has high-tech government agencies, weapons that we still don't have, and psychic girls who can communicate with the Kaiju. And like many of the movies of this era it starts off with a Godzilla attack, gets really slow in the middle and then picks up for the final battle.

This monster in this one, Biollante, is a hybrid of some sort of plant, bacteria, Godzilla cells, and a human. The message here is the dangers of genetic manipulation. 

The setup begins in the aftermath of The Return of Godzilla (1984). Scientists recover Godzilla’s cells, “G-Cells,” of course, and everyone wants a piece of them. These cells can regenerate, adapt, maybe even save humanity… or destroy it. Likely destroy it. Enter Dr. Shiragami, a geneticist mourning his daughter Erika, who died in a terrorist bombing. In a moment of heartbreak and hubris, he fuses her DNA with that of a rose, and, later, with Godzilla’s. Because in classic mad-scientist logic, that’s the only way to preserve her soul.

What grows from that grief is Biollante, a massive, vine-choked, glowing-pollen monstrosity that’s part plant, part kaiju, and maybe part human spirit. When Godzilla awakens, drawn by psychic resonance and nuclear energy, the two meet, and the result is one of the strangest, most melancholy battles in the franchise.

Biollante isn’t a villain. She’s a tragedy.  Her screams sound like wind through broken reeds, and when she blooms into her second, more monstrous form, it’s both horrifying and gorgeous, a radioactive Triffid/Venus flytrap. This isn’t just a monster fight; it’s Frankenstein by way of environmental horror.

There’s an undercurrent of the occult here, too, whether intentional or not. The merging of human, plant, and kaiju DNA echoes alchemical transmutation, the philosopher’s dream of uniting matter and spirit. Maybe I have been reading too much occult theory lately. Erika’s soul literally becomes immanent in nature. If that isn’t animism bordering on witchcraft, I don’t know what is. In a way, Biollante is Gaia’s vengeance, the blood-rose born of man’s arrogance and nuclear sin.

The psychic subplot, with Miki Saegusa’s debut as a telepathic young woman attuned to both monsters, only deepens the theme. She’s the first true occult scientist of the Heisei era: part medium, part empath, part early warning system for apocalypse. 

Visually, the film is stunning. The Biollante effects still hold up: the massive puppet dripping with sap and smoke, the way her vines coil like serpents, the glowing spores that drift into the night sky at the end. The music swells with mournful choirs and synthetic dread. 

When Biollante dissolves into glittering spores and ascends to the heavens, we glimpse Erika’s face in the light. The effects are not great and maybe a little sappy, but they are par for the course.

NIGHT SHIFT & Occult D&D Ideas

Maybe not for either idea, but I do love Kaiju.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
Viewed: 36
First Time Views: 25

Forgotten Realms: Heroes and Adventures in Faerûn

 Went to my Favorite Local Game Store yesterday. They were doing downtown business trick or treating, oh, and I picked up the new D&D 5.5 Forgotten Realms books.

I have actually been looking forward to getting these.  I'll save a long and detailed review for a later date when they come up in my regular explorations into the Realms. 

The Shadow of Baldur's Gate

If you were new to the Forgotten Realms and this was your first exposure, you would be excused in thinking that Karlach Cliffgate, the tiefling barbarian with a heart of gold (well, really a heart of infernal machinery), was the most important character in the Realms. 

And she is. Full Stop.

But seriously. Karlach is all over these two books. There is one picture of Elminster, maybe one or two of Drizzt, one of The Simbul, a few of the D&D cartoon kids, and a ton of Karlach, with some more of Shadowheart, Astarion, and even Enver Gortash. Even Duke Ravengard gets a couple more than his son Wyl, anyway.

Everybody Loves Karlach

The Baldur's Gate III video game looms large here.

Honestly, this is a good thing.

The tone of the book is, "this is a big old world and there have been heroes before you, but now is your time to be the epic hero." This is exactly what they should do. Drizzt even is taking a lesser role so his daughter Briennelle can do more. And really, who better than Karlach to lead that charge?

The Books and their Contents

The two books, Heroes of Faerûn and Adventures in Faerûn are what you expect. Full color, plenty of art and new rules. Both books have expansive indexes. 

I feel that these two books are the way D&D 5.5 (and this is really a continuation of D&D 5) should move forward with their Campaign settings.

Both books cover the lands and people. The Heroes of Faerûn book for Players is an overview of everything, the Adventures in Faerûn book for Dungeon Masters covers some areas in more detail. 

Again, just very briefly. The lands seem brighter (as one should now expect from D&D 5.5) but that should never mean "safe." There is less emphasis on "this type of monster is a threat" and more on "this faction is a threat." Which is honestly much better. And there are plenty of factions to keep good characters busy fighting and evil characters, well also fighting them or even joining their ranks.

Though there are still monsters. 

There are changes, and really, I am the *least* qualified person to find these given how "new" my Realms education is, but a couple stick out.

Baldur's Gate, as expected, has eclipsed Waterdeep as the "city of choice" in this era. I think "in game" I'll say the Baldur's Gate has had an in-rush of tourism. Everyone wants to catch a glimpse of "The Hero of the Gate" Karlach. 

The Moonshae Isles have gone from the quasi-Celtic meets quasi-Vikings to a combined people living in an area where the Feywild bleeds through. And I like that.  

The Heroes of Faerûn book has expansions to the subclasses, including a College of the Moon Bard and a Spellfire Sorcerer. I want to try out both. Lots of new backgrounds, lots of new feats. Not as many spells as I would have expected. Adventures in Faerûn has lots of 1-page encounters and mini-adventures. Enough to get anyone going. The first ones can be used anywhere, and then there are location-specific ones. 

Of course, some of this covers the same ground as previous books, and they encourage people to check out these other sources too.

Inside cover maps

Venger and Presto still at it all these years later

Enver Gortash from Baldur's Gate III

Hank is now a King

I'll dig into these books more in the future. I still to finish my 2nd Ed AD&D exploration of the Realms.

The Player's book comes with a nice map. It reminds me of the map that came with the 3rd Edition D&D book.

on the backside is a Calendar of Harptos.

In my first pass these books fit well with my other Realms books and continue the saga of the Realms.

Of note. Ed Greenwood is not listed as a contributor in these volumes, but he is given a special thanks. Jeff Grubb is given a special thanks as well.

I am looking forward to delving deeper into these books. 

October Movie Challenge: Jinn (2014)

This 2014 indie film from writer-director Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad wants to be an American horror story with Islamic roots, and that alone makes it worth watching. We’ve seen vampires, werewolves, and demons a thousand times, but the Jinn, beings of smokeless fire from pre-Islamic and Qur’anic lore, rarely get their cinematic due. I was hoping for something a little more here. It has Serinda Swan (who I like) and Ray Park (who is also a lot of fun).

Jinn (2014)

The film opens with a bit of apocryphal myth-building: God created three intelligent races, angels from light, humans from clay, and jinn from smokeless fire. Some jinn sided with Iblis when he fell, others remained neutral, and ever since, they’ve lived hidden among us. So far, so mythic. Then we jump to present-day Michigan, where automotive designer Shawn (Dominic Rains) starts experiencing visions and supernatural attacks. Soon, he’s told that his family is cursed by the evil jinn and that he’s the last of a bloodline chosen to end it.

It's not bad, really. It's a neat way to try to square all the Abrahamic religions into a single narrative. 

The acting is earnest but uneven, even Serinda Swan as his wife, the pacing awkward, and the CGI creature effects are… well, let’s just say they’d fit right into a 2000s Syfy Channel movie. But, and this is a big but, there’s a sincerity to it. Ahmad isn’t mocking his subject matter or cashing in on the latest horror trend. He’s telling a story about faith, legacy, and unseen forces that most Western horror simply ignores. You really feel that he has a story he wants to tell, but I am not 100% sure he knows *how* to tell it. 

Ray Park is fun; he is given more of a chance to act here and even show off some of his martial arts moves as "Good Jinn" Gabriel. 

I *like* the concept of the jinn as older than humanity, as beings with free will, capable of love, hate, and religion, gives them a complexity that your average “fallen angel” lacks. They aren’t just demons; they’re the others, the neighbors just beyond the veil. In folklore, a jinn might bless your child or burn down your house, depending on how you treated their territory. That ambiguity is missing in Hollywood, and Jinn at least tries to reclaim it.

This is not a particularily good film, but it was a fun one. The highlight for me? William Atherton as Father Westhoff. First he is a likable character who you feel has a history and not always as a priest. Plus he is playing a good guy you are supposed to like. Very different from the "Asshole" he usually played.  The acting might uneven, but he was great.

The scares are few and predictable, but still not bad. 

NIGHT SHIFT & Occult D&D Ideas

This movie feels like someone's WitchCraftRPG game. It could also be a great NIGHT SHIFT game as well. As I said above, Jinn can be really interesting and something other than just another demon type.

For Occult D&D the potential is even greater. Djinn and their kin are reduced to Elemental "gennie" types and nearly everything that makes them interesting in myth is gone. 

So not a great movie, but certainly one I might have to revisit someday.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
Viewed: 35
First Time Views: 26

Witchcraft Wednesdays: The Witch Queen Advanced Class

Photo edit of "Ginger Queen by Black-Bl00d"

For all my talk about witch queens here, I have no real witch queen class. Yes, there is my D&D 3x Prestige class, but nothing really for Old School games. So my oldest and I tried this one out during our AD&D games. Not 100% there yet, and in the tradition of the Arch Druid (Unearthed Arcana), she might get her own level progression above and beyond the witch class. I just have not crunched all the numbers just yet.

This is primarily for AD&D 1st Edition, but it should work in many other games as well.

WITCH QUEEN / WITCH KING

Advanced Class for Witches

When a Witch has reached the height of mortal power, there yet remains one step further upon the Path, the ascension to the mantle of the Witch Queen (or Witch King). This being is the supreme vessel of a Patron’s will, the living nexus of a Tradition’s power, and the spiritual sovereign of all witches within her realm. Like the Grand Druid of the Old Faith, she is both pontiff and prophet, counselor and conduit, a figure whose very presence can bend the ley and alter the seasons' turning.

Whether crowned by fate, prophecy, deed, or divine lineage, this witch has ascended beyond the coven to become a legendary figure. 

Only one Witch Queen (or King) may reign for each Tradition at any given time, making them as rare as they are powerful.

Requirements

To become a Witch Queen (or Witch King), a character must:

• Be a Witch of at least 14th level
• Possess Charisma 17 or higher. Additionally, the witch needs to have an Intelligence or Wisdom of 15 or higher.
• Be a member in good standing of a coven
• Must know the Supernal Language
• Have been chosen through omen, divine sign, or a coven-wide rite as the next Queen or King

Restrictions

• Only one Witch Queen or King may exist per Tradition at a time (GM’s discretion)
• To become a Witch Queen or King, the previous sovereign must abandon or relinquish their rulership.  This is often upon the death of the previous sovereign, but not required. 
• Occult Powers are gained differently (see below)

Spellcasting

• The Witch Queen continues to cast spells as a Witch of her full level
• May forego the use of Material Components. 

Witch Queen Abilities

Awesome Presence (gained at level 16): Witches perceive the Witch Queen as a radiant beacon of power. Allies within 60 feet receive +1 to morale checks and saving throws vs. fear; enemies must save vs. spells or suffer -1 to morale. All witches instinctively recognize her status and will defer unless magically compelled otherwise.

Occult Eminence (gained at level 18): The Witch Queen gains one choosen Occult Power of her Tradition. This power is gained as if at the appropriate level, but may not exceed the “Grand” tier unless already eligible. She may choose another Occult Power from a different Tradition at level 19 if desired.

A Thousand Faces (gained at level 20): The Witch Queen may alter her appearance at will, as per the disguise self spell, though the effect is real, not illusory. This change does not affect clothing or equipment, and may be maintained indefinitely.

Timeless Body (gained at level 22): The Witch Queen ceases to age. She gains immunity to magical aging and no longer suffers ability penalties due to age. Natural bonuses to Intelligence and Wisdom still accrue. Her lifespan is extended to 120 years, and she will still die of old age unless further extended by other magical means. 

Rulership and Influence

The Witch Queen or King is not merely a title, but a mantle of magical authority. All witches of her Tradition know of her. At the GM’s discretion, she may gain the right to command covens, invoke her Patron’s will across vast distances, or declare magical edicts that affect ley lines or seasonal flows. Along with this power and influence comes the wisdom and responsibility of how to use such power. 

Optional Rule: Mantle of Sovereignty

Once per month, the Witch Queen may perform a rite, calling upon her Tradition’s power. Effects may include summoning a spirit host, causing omens to appear across the land, or sealing a region against extra-planar intrusion for 1d4 days.

Experience Progression and Saving Throws

Continues to use the Witch class tables for all purposes.

Multi-Class and Dual-Class Use

Only single-classed Witches may become Witch Queens (Archwitches and Witch-Priestess are considered single-class witches). The transformation requires undivided devotion to the Patron and Tradition. Other characters may assist or serve such a queen, but may never claim her title.

The Witch Queen is both symbol and sovereign, oracle and enforcer. Her path is not taken lightly, for once crowned, her soul is forever marked by the gaze of the gods.

--

Still have details to work out, but I like it so far. Again, this is designed to mimic the Arch Druid to Hierophant Druid of AD&D 1st Edition. Though I do think the Hierophant is a bit overpowered.  

I briefly considered the more gender neutral title of Witch Sovereign, but that doesn't have the same weight to it. My influences should be rather obvious, but even "Simon King of the Witches" is called a King and not a Sovereign. 

Likely need some more work on this one, so feedback is appreciated. 

October Movie Challenge: The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit (2006)

 Every October Challenge I like to do a Doctor Who episode. It has to be at least two full episodes of new Who or a complete series of old Who. And it has to "hide behind the sofa" scary. Since it is my kid's birthday, we let him choose. 

The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit (2006)

Ok this is one of the all time great Doctor Who stories.

The 10th Doctor and Rose land on a planet (later they learn it's called "Krop Tor" the bitter pill). There is writing that the TARDIS can't translate (bad sign #1), there are odd creatures (the Ood), oh the planet is orbiting a giant black hole (bad sign #2), and the TARDIS is lost in a quake (bad sign #3).

The Ood start acting strange, talking about the Beast Rising from the Pit and people start hearing voices. Interestingly the voice of "The Beast" is Gabriel Woolf, who was also the voice of Sutekh for the 4th Doctor and the 15th Doctor.

The astronauts are drilling into this Impossible Planet to see why is it still here, not falling into the black hole, and sending out a signal. 

Then the really weird stuff really starts. Toby Zed, the archeologist, becomes possessed.  He lures another out on the planet to kill her. The drilling stops and the Doctor goes down. The Ood begin attacking everyone and speaking of the Beast.

On the planet, the Ood are attacking everyone with Toby Zed as their secret master. In the pit the Doctor and scientist Ida find an even deeper pit with a seal. Down in that Pit the Doctor finds The Beast, a giant Devil creature chained to a wall. It reminds you of one of the Daemons.

Not to spoil the ending, but it is nearly 20 years old, The Beast is trapped and he has sent his mind into Toby. Toby is escaping and the body of the Beast is stuck in the Pit with the Doctor. The Doctor springs the trap (on purpose) and the planet, the Beast, his mind, and Toby with Rose the other survivors falling into the black hole.  The Doctor escapes, finds the TARDIS, and rescues Rose. The Beast, along with Toby, gets sucked into the black hole.

I am not doing this episode any sort of justice. It is late and I am still over-stuffed with birthday Indian food. 

NIGHT SHIFT & Occult D&D Ideas

The Devil as a great cosmic monster is just too good to pass up really. Especially if you consider this beast is the source of all of them. Sorta like how "God" was supposed to be the source in Star Trek: The Final Frontier. This Doctor Who answers the question "What does the Devil need with a Starship?"

I have talked about this episode here before as well. So I'll end this here before I fall asleep. 

This obviously is a rewatch and only counts as 1.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
Viewed: 34
First Time Views: 25

Mail Call: Aquelarre

 Treated myself to a game I have been wanting for some time now. The Spanish RPG Aquelarre.

This is the English version, but it is still a great RPG.

And it is massive. Can't wait to dig into it.

October Movie Challenge: Deadly Blessing (1981)

 Another attack of opportunity tonight and another American Horrors pick. Of course I had to chat with my siblings about it.

Deadly Blessing (1981)

Here is my original review from 2018.

A young Sharon Stone forced to eat a spider by an Incubus? Hell yeah! That's nightmare fuel for decades.   And a real spider was dropped into her mouth for this scene.  How's that for dedication?

Ok, where to start on this movie?  Well, it features a young Sharon Stone in one of her very first roles.  It also features Battlestar Galactica's Mara Jensen in her very last role before disappearing from public life.  Also appearing is 80s horror mainstay Michael Berryman, TV star Lisa Hartman, and the last film for Susan Buckner before she left public life as well.

The movie features a group of people called the "Hittites" (no relation to the ancient Mesopotamians) who are supposed to be some sort of ultra-Amish.
Our demon-de-hour is an Incubus, but one that decides to possess women.  I guess "incubus" sounds cooler than "succubus" in this case.

Anyway. Lots of creepy stuff. Murders happen. Mara Jensen takes a famous bath with a snake. And it a fashion that predicts A Nightmare on Elm Street, we think we have the murderer and everyone goes back home.  Except for Martha (Mara Jensen), who pulled into hell by the Incubus in his full demon form.

Ok. Let's be honest. The movie doesn't hold up.  In truth, it wasn't that good to start with, but my memories of it are tied up in watching it with my family.

Sharon Stone is great really.  You get a feeling for the sort of actress she will become later.  Maren Jensen is fine, but I think had she not be diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Syndrome she would have naturally left acting.  She was good, but didn't have a lot of range.

Update: Mara Jensen seemed better to me this time around.  

NIGHT SHIFT & Occult D&D Ideas

Dragging now. What will I do with this? Likely to drop some spiders in my player's mouths. I mean characters. Yeah. Characters.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
Viewed: 33
First Time Views: 25

October Movie Challenge: The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)

It has been YEARS since I have seen this one. It came up on the Roku Channel, American Horrors, so I thought I would catch it again. I had forgotten that this was Dario Argento's first movie as a director.

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)

aka L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo

This is the one that started it all. Before Suspiria, before the neon nightmares and supernatural witches, Dario Argento gave us a razor-sharp modern fairy tale dressed as a murder mystery. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage isn’t just a giallo, it’s the giallo that kicked open the doors for everything that followed. You can't be a fan of Italian Horror and not see this one at least once.

Tony Musante stars as Sam, an American writer living in Rome who witnesses what he thinks is an attempted murder inside a modern art gallery. He’s trapped between two glass doors, helplessly watching as a woman struggles against a black-gloved assailant. It’s a haunting image, clinical, voyeuristic, and painfully symbolic of how Argento would frame horror as both spectacle and paralysis.

From there, Sam becomes obsessed. He’s convinced he saw something that doesn’t quite fit, a visual clue just out of reach. It’s classic Hitchcock territory filtered through late-'60s/early-'70s Italian cool; bright mod interiors, bizarre suspects, and Ennio Morricone’s unnerving, almost childlike score whispering through every frame.

What makes this film fascinating, especially looking back from Suspiria or Inferno, is how mundane its horror initially seems. There are no witches here, no covens, no occult conspiracies, just art, memory, and madness. But that’s where Argento’s dark alchemy comes in. He takes the language of realism and bends it into nightmare logic. The killer’s psychology is grotesque and tragic, a fractured reflection of trauma and repression, a kind of proto–Lucifer Rising through the lens of pop modernism.

And that title! The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. I have to admit it always made me think of the movie as a half-remembered dream. A play maybe you had heard someone refer too or maybe a book. You half-expect a witch’s curse or a magic talisman, but instead, it’s just one more symbol of distortion and misdirection, an exotic bird whose song contains the clue to everything. Argento always did love his twisted fairy tales.

Visually, it’s pure 1970: glass, chrome, and blood. The camera lingers like an artist obsessed with his own canvas, and even now, you can see the DNA of future horror. De Palma, Carpenter, and even Fincher ("se7en") all owe something to this.

Watching it today feels like finding the first sigil in Argento’s cinematic grimoire. It doesn’t yet glow with the supernatural madness of his later works, but the geometry of fear is already here: art as ritual, obsession as invocation, and violence as creation. And of course Argento's near trademark of blood, screams, and sexploitation.

NIGHT SHIFT & Occult D&D Ideas

Looking back over Argento's career, this one can feel like an aberration. A remarkably mundane killer, even one you might pity. 

For NIGHT SHIFT I have thrown this idea out before. The killer can seem like a supernatural creature, but instead the PCs discover it is only a normal, if troubled, human.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
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First Time Views: 25

Monstrous Mondays: Dragon, Purple (Arcane Dragon)

Not all purple dragons are found near apple trees.
This one, though, is. 

 Tomorrow is my oldest kid's birthday. Over the weekend, he had his annual D&D birthday bash. Seems fitting then that I do a dragon today since they are his favorite (and he got like three of them for his birthday from his D&D group).

This is a repost, updated to better fit my "Occult D&D" project.

Dragon, Purple
aka Draco Arcanis Occultis, Arcane Dragon

FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1 (rarely 2)
ARMOR CLASS: 0
MOVE: 9” / 24”
HIT DICE: 9–11
% IN LAIR: 55%
TREASURE TYPE: H, S, U, Z
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1–8 / 1–8 / 3–28
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Breath weapon, spell use
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Resistance to magic (see below)
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard + bonus vs. arcane magic
INTELLIGENCE: Supra-Genius
ALIGNMENT: Neutral (Evil)
SIZE: L (45’ long)

CHANCE OF:

• Speaking: 90%
• Magic Use: 90%
• Sleeping: 25%

The Purple Dragon, also called the Arcane Dragon, is a rare and dangerous creature whose origins are cloaked in myth. Its scales shimmer in deep violet, often pulsing faintly with unseen magical energy. It is most frequently found in ancient ruins, planar nexuses, or near ley line convergences. Some scholars claim that Purple Dragons were once guardians of the primeval flows of magic itself.

Arcane Dragons are solitary and philosophical by nature, prone to periods of deep contemplation and magical experimentation. Their mastery of eldritch forces and unpredictable moods make them dangerous when provoked. Don’t however mistake this attitude for benevolence. Their contemplation of these eldritch and occult forces put them above the concerns of most mortals.

The Purple Dragon may employ the standard claw/claw/bite attack or its breath weapon, a beam of raw magical force:

• Breath Weapon: A beam of pure arcane energy, ½” wide and 12” long, affecting all in its path. This energy deals damage equal to the dragon’s current hit points, half with a successful saving throw vs. breath weapon. Victims struck must also save vs. spells or be stunned for 1–4 rounds due to arcane backlash.

Spell Use: All speaking Purple Dragons with magic ability cast spells as Magic-Users of 9th level, improving to 11th level at ancient age.

• 1st–2nd age categories: 2 × 1st-level spells
• 3rd–4th: +2 × 2nd-level spells
• 5th–6th: +2 × 3rd-level spells
• 7th–8th: +1 × 4th-level spell
• Ancient: 3 spells per level from 1st to 4th

Purple Dragons gain a +1 bonus on all saving throws vs. arcane magic, and a +3 bonus on saves vs. Illusion or Enchantment/Charm spells. They are also immune to magical effects that alter time, space, or probability (e.g., time stop, maze, wish, limited wish, temporal stasis).

Arcane Dragons are usually encountered alone, though some ancient tomes speak of mated pairs guarding planar gates or hidden vaults of magical lore. They construct elaborate lairs filled with wards, illusions, and enchanted guardians. Their hoards often contain rare magical scrolls, potions, and tomes in addition to treasure.

They may form tenuous alliances with powerful witches, warlocks, or archmages, often in exchange for secrets or artifacts. 

Connections to the Scaled Sisterhood

Though the Scaled Sisterhood reveres the great dragon Patrons, Tiâmat, Bahamūt, Vritraxion, Lóngzihua, and Anantanatha, there are outlier dragons, revered by certain covens, that operate on the mystical rather than the primordial axis. Chief among these is the Arcane Dragon, Draco Arcanis.

Mystic Patron of Knowledge and Spellcraft

The first Arcane Dragon is honored by a coven of the Scaled Sisterhood known as the Order of the Violet Flame. These witches believe that while the elemental dragons represent the forces of the world, the Arcane Dragon embodies magic itself; pure, ineffable, and transcendent.

Witches of the Violet Flame often act as archivists, seers, and ritual specialists within the Sisterhood.

Their robes are trimmed in violet and silver, and their focus items are often made of crystalline dragon-scale or polished amethyst.

Their magical circles often incorporate symbols of sacred geometry, representing ley lines, runes, and arcane currents.

Dragon of the Nexus

The Arcane Dragon is drawn to leyline confluences and interplanar gates, making them ideal Patrons for witches who serve as gatekeepers, wardens, or planar navigators. The Scaled Sisterhood refers to such sites as Dracogates, where the breath of the Arcane Dragon is said to thin the veil between worlds.

Some believe the first Arcane Dragon was a child of Lóngzihua and Bahamūt, combining order and mysticism into a unique being beyond the elemental hierarchy, but was cast down or out for some long forgotten crime. This is the reason Purple Dragons in general are never recorded in official histories and bestiaries. 

Others claim the first Arcane Dragon is a former consort of Tiamat, who was cast out for refusing to align with chaos or tyranny, choosing instead the neutral perfection of the arcane.

All other purple dragons are the offspring of this first Arcane Dragon. 

October Movie Challenge: Vampire Weekend

 Hit a few Vampire movies this weekend. 

Fright Night (2011)

The remake of the classic 1985 Fright Night.  This time staring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell and David Tennant. I watched this one way back in 2014. My wife was looking for movies to watch and this came up. She had not seen it, and she LOVES David Tennant. So I watched it again. Maybe it was the rewatch, but I actually liked it better this time around. Imogen Poots was also much better than I remembered her.

The music for this one was done by Ramin Djawadi of later Game of Thrones fame. 

Fright Night (1985)

We watched this one right after the remake. My wife never saw this one either, but she didn't like it. I thought it was still fun. Chris Sarandon made for a great vampire. Loved his cameo in the 2011 version. 

Amanda Bearse as Vamped out Amy was not the first time I ever said "going evil makes you hotter," but it was an archetypal example for me.  

I am not afraid to admit it, but this movie shaped how I ran vampires in my AD&D games for a while, at least until Lost Boys came out two years later.

We also snuck in the 2nd season of "An Interview with a Vampire" on Netflix. It doesn't follow the book directly but damn is it really good. I don't think I can really count it though. 

NIGHT SHIFT & Occult D&D Ideas

Fright Night (any version) is practically a NIGHT SHIFT adventure as is. It takes place in suburbia, the vampire hunters get their ideas from watching a fake vampire hunter on TV. Craziness ensues. 

Come to think of it, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie (1992) owes a lot to the original Fright Night and Lost Boys.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
Viewed: 31
First Time Views: 25

October Horror Movie Challenge: Akelarre (2020)

 Another rewatch tonight, but I have been wanting to rewatch it for some time.

Akelarre (2020)

I watched this one back in 2022. Tonight I rewatched it in the original Spanish.  I learned two things. First, this is a great movie and a lot is going on here. Secondly, my Spanish is still rather terrible.

Here is my original review; it still stands.

Also known as Akelarre and Coven of Sisters it is not to be confused with the 2019 movie Coven.

This one just sneaks in with the theme. Maybe Great-Great Grandmothers of the Craft is a better descriptor for this one. 

This one is horror, but not for the reasons the first two are. 

In 1609 in the Basque Country of Spain five girls are all arrested and charged with witchcraft.  One of their friends tries to rescue them and she is captured too. At first, the girls are afraid but then they begin to joke about it, not believing that this is happening to them.  Then the torture begins.    

It's all rather horrible to be honest.  Worse, because you knew this sort of thing happened all the time.  

Amaia Aberasturi stars as Ana and she is the real stand-out here. She keeps stringing along her accusers to drag out the proceedings to help save the other girls. Ana easily strings along the horny men till the full moon. 

The girls decide that in order to delay their execution longer they tell the judge they will re-enact the Black Mass, or the Sabbath, for his records. They do so and get him all involved as Lucifer.  Once they had frightened the men, or turned them on, enough they run into the woods. They are chased by the men and soldiers till they get to the edge of a cliff over the ocean.  The other women, the ones not accused of witchcraft, sing a song about the full moon and the high tide.  Ana, realizing the message, tells the other girls they can jump. 

They jump over the side, not knowing if they lived or died.  

I thought this movie was great honestly. Not the typical sort of horror, but also not exactly what I thought it was going to be either.  

Occult D&D and NIGHT SHIFT

The Occult D&D influences are obvious: witch cults, witch hunters, and scared townsfolk. The biggest issue here of course in D&D magic and demons are real, and in movies like Akelarre they are not. 

While it might not work so well as a "witch trial" idea, I love the idea of exploring more about Spanish and Basque witches.  This would be a good way to add in my demon Akelarre. 

October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
Viewed: 29
First Time Views: 25