Witchcraft Wednesday: Introducing Moria Zami, Part 2

 Late post? Yeah, I was playing AD&D with my son until the wee hours of the morning! I have not done that in a bit. We are playing again tonight (this morning) when he gets home from work. We are going to finish up his first (playing) Forgotten Realms adventure.

Moria went over GREAT! I already love this character and I am playing her like Sabrina Morningstar (not Spellman, yes there is a difference) from the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.  Her mother is a witch, that I know, her father is a devil and a pretty powerful one, but I don't know who he is yet.

I am looking forward to finding out.

The Sabrina Spellman/Morningstar analogy is good here. Little Moria here will turn quite evil, maybe even the "Big Bad" of the series. Given who I thought the Big Bad was (Orcus), I have some ideas on who her father might be. But...I am going to hold this a little closer to my chest while I figure out how that might work out. I will say this, he is a Duke if not an Archduke. But Moria doesn't know this yet either. 

I have put a mark on certain spells on her sheet that cause her to dip a little closer to evil. She speaks infernal, and her eyes go all black. The characters know something is up with her, but the paladin of the group says she is not evil.  Liam told me I should build her in BG3, not knowing yet who she is. I told him "yeah, I oughta do that."

Since this is a one-on-one game, he is playing a lot of characters, and it is very likely that they won't all make it. I am looking forward to that as well. 

She has a familiar, a hellhound disguised as a Pug/Chihuahua mix (a "Chug?" a "Pihuahua?"). It is a lame excuse for me to finally use "Mephisto Fleas" for a familiar name.  And he is an odd looking mutt.

 

No idea if he will go full Hellhound yet. But I am sure he has it in him. In the meantime, he is just a rat-mutt. 

More Forgotten Realms: Introducing Moria Zami

 I have been out of town for a few days; it was my Father-in-law's 90th birthday. But right before we left, my oldest son and I were talking about our AD&D 2nd Ed Forgotten Realms game that he is running for me. He is having fun, but what he REALLY wants is to play. And AD&D 1st Ed at that. Yeah, he got a taste at Gary Con, and now he really wants to play AD&D more. Plus, we are both a little fed up with Wizards of the Coast, especially with their recent antics. 

Since we are both huge fans of Baldur's Gate 3, we wanted to add in some things from the video game. We have more connection to that than, say, Drizzt or Elminster. Trouble is, BG3 takes place in DR 1492, and we want our 1st ed game to take place in DR 1357, a year before the Time of Troubles. While in my 2nd ed game, I have a minor connection with Arnell Hallowleaf, but I also wanted something for this game. We are assuming that while my characters are exploring the Sword Coast, his characters will be exploring the Sea of Fallen Stars. This opens up a lot to us. But there are more than 130 years between our games and the events in BG3. So, there are not a lot of characters that are around for both times. Even Jaheira would only be about 10 years old at this point. Maybe they can rescue her and her family at some point. Set her on her path to become a Harper.

As it turns out, I have wanted to explore some of the past of the Cambion, Mizora. She is a rather entertaining character in her own right and deserves some further development. She is the servant of Zariel, but the trouble is there was no Zariel in AD&D 1st ed. Well, we are already ret-conning some details, and truthfully, I was never a fan of Tiamat as the ruler of Avernus. I might use Bel, the former ruler. I'll check Descent into Avernus for ideas later on.  But for now, I need to figure out who Mizora is, and more to the point, who is she in AD&D 1st Ed.

In BG3/5e she is a sorcerer, but this is AD&D, so I am going to make her a magic-user. I am also going to say she spent a lot of time in Avernus prior to BG3, so this is the time before that. 

I am not sure how long cambions live. I do think her mother was human, maybe even a witch. Now that would be fun.

---

A few hours later...

Ok, change of plans, sort of.

I AM sticking with Mizora, but not the Mizora he (and everyone) else knows. I am going with Mizora as a teenager. She knows there is something different about her, but she doesn't yet know what.

Moria Zami ("I am Mizora") is just a 16-year-old witch caught in the same pirate raid on the Sea of Fallen Stars that grabbed the characters. She is going to stay with them for a while. Until something bad happens. This also gives me the chance to try out some new things for my Left Hand Path book and something new I am starting later this summer.

Moria Zami
Witch 1st Level (Diabolic Tradition)
Lawful Neutral

S: 14            
I: 14             
W: 12           
D: 15           
C: 16           
Ch: 20

Paralyzation/Poison: 13
Petrification/Polymorph: 13
Rod, Staff, Wand: 14
Breath Weapon: 16
Spells: 15

HP: 5 (d4)
AC: 10
Weapon: Dagger

Occult Powers
Familiar: Dog "Mephisto Fleas"

Spells
First Level: Back Fire, Fey Sight, Sleep

So far, she is a good girl, but that is going to change.

Kickstart Your Weekend: More Witches! More Adventures!

 These people want to keep making a liar out of me.

Both of these have already funded and blown past their funding goals. 

Sickest Witch RPG - Core Rulebook

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/justinsirois/sickest-witch-core-rulebook-rpg?ref=theotherside

Ok this one looks like a lot of fun really. Love the concept, love the art. I am going to have to grab this one.

Sword of the Wyrm’s Bane & Vigilante Subway + 32 FREE PDFS

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marktaormino/sword-of-the-wyrms-bane-and-vigilante-subway-32-free-pdfs?ref=theotherside

Mad genius Mark Taormino is back with more Maximum Mayhem! This one looks like fun and it comes with 32 free PDFs. That's a crazy deal.

Yeah...take my money.

Witchcraft Wednesday: The Left Hand Path

 It's been a bit since I last did this. So, let's get it going. I have a NEW Witch book coming out!

What can I say about this one?

Well, I think this will be my last "Basic-era" witch book. Yeah, I have said that before. 

You can see on the cover that the "banner" is for "Basic-Era Compatible," so not specifically Labyrinth Lord, Blueholme, Old-School Essentials, or ShadowDark. But rather a Basic system that can support them all (most of all) including a BECMI game I have been playing off and on for a bit.

All my witch books have a ruleset focus, as well as what I call a playstyle focus. This one is for all Basic rules, and the playstyle is how I was playing in 1985-86.  A time when the games I ran still had a bit of Basic & Expert in them, but I using AD&D.  This one is written from a point of view that we got that B/X Companion rules we had been promised. In the 1980s I wasn't playing BECMI yet.

I am also writing this from the perspective of the two major outbreaks of the Satanic Panic. The First was obviously the Witch Craze in Europe from the 15th century to the 18th. Witches in this book engage in activities that people believed witches did back then. I am also using notions from the 20th century Satanic Panic. D&D and Witches have always had a lot in common. 

And this one is huge. Here is a breakdown of the monsters and spells.

One of the reasons this has so many monsters in it is the notion that where there are witches, there are demons and devils. Additionally, I have many demons that I've posted here on The Other Side; this was an opportunity to collect them. Yes, I still want to complete my Basic Bestiaries; I just lack enough artwork.

As far as demons and devils go, I'll say I have the Usual Suspects here and lots of my own.

"The Usual Suspects" Demon Line-up JE Shields art

I am certainly going to be talking about this one a bit over the next month.

My target release date in Walpurgis Night, April 30, which is five weeks from right now. Yikes!

All the writing is done. I am in heavy edit mode now.

I am on "pink" pages now

Did I mention that this thing is huge? No idea on total page count yet. That will change a lot between now and then, but this is crazy. 

I really hope you enjoy this one. I have had a blast working on it. 

The Satanic Panic: 1969 - 1999

 A little project I am working on. This is an overview/timeline of the Satanic Panic in the last 30 years of the 20th Century and how our little hobby is connected.

Click to access my H5P site and interact with this timeline (technically an "accordion.")

Enjoy a little (emphasis on little) history lesson.

Gary Con XVII Afterword

 Back from Gary Con 17! I had an absolute blast. Got to see so many great people. Old friends, fans of the blog and my games, so many great gamers with great stories.  Sales wise, we did really great this year, Thirteen Parsecs was our big hit of course, but we also sold a lot of Wasted Lands. I think word of mouth is finally catching on!

I bought a lot less this year, only picking up the Cthulhu by Gaslight Investigator's book. But there was a lot of great stuff here.

Discovered there are editions of Dungeon! I do not own, Spanish and German. So now I am on a hunt for those.

I do speak both Spanish and German. Just not very well.

I worked on my old-school autograph collection.

I learned the hard way a while back if you want to talk to these guys you need to do it now. None of us are getting any younger.

Talking with Tim Kask is always great. I discovered there is a bit of early D&D lore connected to our Alma Mater, Southern Illinois University, that I plan to explore in depth soon. Talking with Jeff Grubb is always great, this is the first year I thought to get his autograph! So much for following my own advice. 

Jeff Easly and Darlene were there, and they were fantastic as always. I didn't get anything signed from them this year since I do every year. Let someone else in.

I did get a chance to talk to Kelsey Dionne a couple of times and she is every bit as nice and approachable as everyone has said she is. She even knew about my witch book! So I had to give her a copy. They had a great con, I fully expect they sold out of their stock as well.  It is hard not to wish them all the success in the world, really. 

As I said, we did good, but Jason did better with Troll Lords Games. His new Wasted Lands sold out of its first printing and was the star of Troll Lords this year. So expect to see him to be writing for them for a long time to come. 

My oldest went with me and did not but play AD&D 1st Ed. We had a BECMI game one night but we were both so tired we opted to drive home instead. Yeah, I still drive into Gary Con every day. My youngest with with us the last day, but didnot stay, they were picked up by their girlfriend and they spent the day in downtown Lake Geneva while we did the con.

So yeah, we all had a complete blast!

My wife was in England that whole time, lucky (for her) when she booked her trip she flew out of London City Airport and not Heathrow. So she was not affected by the fire at Heathrow, save for her flight being delayed a little.

Looking forward to Gary Con XXVIII next year!

Kickstart Your Weekend: Castles, ShadowDark, Witches and More Witches

 Still at Gary Con, having a great time. A few more Kickstarters from some good souls. They honestly don't need my help, but here they are all the same.

Castle Zagyg Galleries of the Arch Mage

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/troll-lord-games/castle-zagyg-galleries-of-the-arch-mage

Long story short, this is the real Castle Greyhawk brought to us from Gary Gygax via Troll Lord Games. You know you want this. 

Shadowdark RPG: The Western Reaches Setting

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/western-reaches

At the time of writing this is at $1.6 Million. Not too shabby, and they are crazy popular here at Gary Con. 

25th Anniversary of Tarot, Witch of the Black Rose Issue!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jimbalent/25th-anniversary-of-tarot-witch-of-the-black-rose-issue

Jim and Holly are good friends of the Other Side. This is the 25th anniversary of their little comic that could, Tarot Witch of the Black Rose. This Kickstarter is doing well already, but I would love to see it do even better.

SPELL BOUND vintage witchcraft occult 1960s 1970s art

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/centuryguild/spell-bound-vintage-witchcraft-occult-hardcover-art-book

Okay, how could I not love this? Witchcraft covers from the 1960s and 1970s? It's like it was custom-made for me. How could I not love this?

So lots of great choices here. Spend wisely!