Witches of Appendix N: John Bellairs

There is only one entry for John Bellairs in Gygax's Appendix N; 1969's The Face in the Frost. I decided to read this to see what other titles he had prior to the 1977-1979 publication of AD&D. But I learned a couple of things. First his biggest publication before the AD&D generation age was "The House with a Clock in Its Walls" series for children, which is by all accounts a good book. Secondly, while it is in the Appendix N, it didn't really influence AD&D.  According to The Dragon issue #22. 

As I have not read the book until recently, there is likewise no question of it influencing the game. Nonetheless, THE FACE IN THE FROST could have been a prime mover of the underlying spirit of D&D.

So. With this in hand, I still opted to read this one based on Gary's recommendation. 

This slim novel follows two wizards, Prospero (no relation to Shakespeare’s) and his friend Roger Bacon (the real Roger Bacon), as they stumble into a creeping darkness spreading across their half-real world, a place somewhere between fairy tale and nightmare, where mirrors whisper, shadows move, and even the geometry of time bends. Bellairs’ world feels like a dream the Brothers Grimm might’ve had after reading The Necronomicon.

Prospero and Bacon go all over their world, which is and is not England, in search of an ancient, hard-to-translate book (I kept thinking of the Voynich manuscript, and the wizard who is close to unraveling its secrets.

It's a travling magical adventure that takes place in dream-like, and nightmare-like

That is great, but does it hit my central thesis? In other words, are there witches?

Well. No. There are rumors of witches and a couple of really eccentric wizards. But no proper witches.

If you like the idea of a wizards-only adventure (and who doesn't!) then this is a good choice.

Updates

Ok, I have been doing this for a bit, time to check in on who I have read so far. Well, I have read most, I have talked about all of them yet.

Anderson, Poul. Three Hearts and Three Lions; The High Crusade; The Broken Sword
Bellairs, John. The Face in the Frost
Brackett, Leigh.
Brown, Fredric.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice, Pellucidar series; Mars series; Venus series
Carter, Lin. "World's End" series
de Camp, L. Sprague. Lest Darkness Fall; Fallible Fiend; et al.
de Camp & Pratt. "Harold Shea" series; Carnelian Cube
Derleth, August.
Dunsany, Lord.
Farmer, P. J. "The World of the Tiers" series; et al.
Fox, Gardner. "Kothar" series; "Kyrik" series; et al.
Howard, R. E. "Conan" series [Part 2] [Part 3]
Lanier, Sterling. Hiero’s Journey
Leiber, Fritz. "Fafhrd & Gray Mouser" series; et al.
Lovecraft, H. P. (The Dreams in the Witch House)
Merritt, A. Creep, Shadow, Creep; Moon Pool; Dwellers in the Mirage; et al. (Burn, Witch, Burn!)
Moorcock, Michael. Stormbringer; Stealer of Souls; "Hawkmoon" series (esp. the first three books)
Norton, Andre. (Witch World)
Offutt, Andrew J., editor. Swords Against Darkness III.
Pratt, Fletcher. Blue Star; et al.
St. Clair, Margaret. The Shadow People; Sign of the Labrys
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit; "Ring Trilogy"
Vance, Jack. The Eyes of the Overworld; The Dying Earth; et al.
Weinbaum, Stanley.
Wellman, Manly Wade. (The Desrick on Yandro)
Williamson, Jack.
Zelazny, Roger. Jack of Shadows; "Amber" series; et al.

--

There's still a way to go! I have read many of these in the past. Some, like Lovecraft and Moorcock, I am ready to do now, I just want to reread some stories in particular. Others, like Vance and Zelazny, it has been so long I don't recall everything. 

I put some tales in parentheses because those are ones I want to pay particular attention to. I am sure I am missing some tales, so if you know of one, please let me know!

October Horror Movie Challenge: Witchcraft (1988)

This October Horror Movie Challenge, I am going "themeless." Well, not entirely themeless, I am going to hit some movies I have been wanting to see for a while. I am going to hit some movies with a strong occult themes to help with my Occult D&D ideas. And a lot of movies that are random picks. 

So, lets get in a Witchcraft Wednesday special!

Some horror movies become classics because they’re great. Others become classics because they’re terrible. And then there are the ones like Witchcraft (1988)—movies that sit in that odd middle space where you can’t really call them good, but you also can’t quite look away. This was the beginning of what would inexplicably become the longest-running horror franchise of all time, with over a dozen sequels. Yep, this little direct-to-video oddity outlasted Friday the 13th.

Witchcraft has always been out there, taunting me. The later direct-to-video offerings are essentially cheesy, low-grade horror with soft-core porn. There is a time and place for that, but not often in the Horror Movie Challenge. Still, I am not going to rule out more of these for the simple reasons that A.) this one wasn't so bad (ok it is, but) and B.) maybe there is something to extract here.

The setup is Gothic in all the right ways. The film opens with a young woman, Grace Churchill, giving birth to a child in a spooky old mansion, watched over by ominous figures who may or may not be part of a Satanic coven. The baby, William, grows up haunted by strange powers and a dark inheritance. That’s about as coherent as the plot gets. The rest is a mix of supernatural brooding, awkward family drama, softcore sex, and a finale where witchcraft and devil-worship clash in melodramatic fashion.

It’s the kind of movie that promises “occult terror” on the box but delivers more soap opera than sorcery. The budget clearly wasn’t there, and it shows—cheap sets, stilted acting, and special effects that would’ve been laughed off Tales from the Darkside. But there’s something about the sheer earnestness of it that makes it oddly watchable. You get the sense that everyone involved thought they were making something serious, maybe even artistic. Instead, they accidentally launched the trashiest franchise in horror history.

What stands out, though, is the vibe. Witchcraft is soaked in late-80s VHS energy, grainy lighting, synth score, and a sleazy Gothic tone that feels like it belongs in a tattered paperback you’d find in a used bookstore. It’s not scary, not really, but it is atmospheric in that “midnight cable TV/Cinemax” way.

Witchcraft (1988) isn’t good. But it’s important. It’s the seed from which a whole weird forest of bargain-bin horror would grow, a franchise that leaned more and more into sleaze and supernatural soap opera. I can't help but think that this series promises a better movie. 

Maybe I'll watch them all one day. But not this month. 

Occult D&D and NIGHT SHIFT

Yeah, there is a NIGHT SHIFT campaign here, but it is likely a silly one.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
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Witches of Appendix N: Poul Anderson

 It is the start of October and time for another foundational author for D&D from Gary's Appendix N. As always with this feature I am focusing on the witches presented in these tales.

Poul Anderson (1926-2001) is much better known for his Science Fiction tales, but he does have three (well, 2.5) fantasy stories on the Appendix N list, and two of these feature witches rather prominently: "Three Hearts and Three Lions" and "The Broken Sword."

I will take each in turn and also expand a little from "just witches" with these.

Three Hearts and Three Lions (1953)

Anderson’s Three Hearts and Three Lions is already famous in D&D circles for giving us Law vs Chaos, the Swanmay, regenerating trolls, and even the proto-paladin in Holger Carlsen. But nestled amid the elves, trolls, and Moorcock-before-Moorcock cosmology is one of the first proper "witches" of Appendix N.

The unnamed witch of the forest hut is classic fairy-tale witchcraft: ugly, corrupt, but wielding real power. She brews potions, dabbles in deviltry, and represents the Chaos side of Anderson’s moral spectrum. Anderson clearly has one foot in the folkloric hag tradition; this witch could have walked right out of the Brothers Grimm, but her function in the story is thematic as much as narrative. She exists as a living symbol of the Chaos that Holger is pitted against, an incarnation of superstition and malice. While her interactions with Holger are not long, she is his first clue that magic, chaos, and evil are real, tangible things in the world/time.

Then there is Morgan Le Fey. She is Holger's former lover in a past life, and she is the main antagonist. She is a representative of the "Old Ways," the paganism of Europe, dying out in the face of rising Christianity. She is also representative of chaos, evil, and magic. Where the old hag is evil and ugly, Morgan Le Fey is evil and beautiful. Representing that evil does come in many guises and our hero needs to recognize that.

The battle is a parallel of the one Holger left in his time, World War II.

Both witches represent the two types of witches most often seen: the old Satanic Hag and the beautiful Pagan. Both, however, represent evil and mostly Chaos. 

The notion of Paganism/Old Ways versus Christianity is a recurring theme in Anderson's other significant Appendix N book.

The Broken Sword (1954/1971)

The Broken Sword gives us a much darker, more primal vision of witchcraft. 

Here we get another hag-witch who is close enough to the elves and trolls to have dealings with them, but is also very explicitly Satanic. She lives in a run-down cottage/hut, deals with the dark forces of evil, and has a talking rat familiar. Honestly, she could even be the same witch if so many years were not between them.

She also tempts our main antagonist, the Changeling Valgard, by glamouring herself into a beautiful woman. It is her desire for vengeance that sets the plot into motion. 

Like Three Hearts, the Witch, and she never is given a proper name, is a force of evil and chaos. Also like Three Hearts, the story centers around the battle between Pagans and Christianity, which Anderson casts here as Evil/Chaos vs Good/Law, respectively.

The elves and trolls of The Broken Sword are more similar to each other; both are forces of Chaos, for example, and an elf/troll child is a Changeling. Their magic is also described as akin to witchcraft ("witchsight" allows humans to see the world of faerie) and to the witchcraft the old hag employs. Many elves and trolls have "Warlocks" in their ranks.

Here, also, the big Pagans vs. Christians war takes a back seat to two warring factions of Pagans, the Elves/Faerie and the Trolls/Giants. The interaction our protagonist Valgard has with the displaced Faun is very telling. This area of England/British Isles is one of the last holdouts of the Pagan ways. 

The mixing of the various mythologies, Norse, Irish, Welsh, British, and Greek, is very D&D. 

That Last Half

I joked above, 2.5 books in Appendix N. The ".5" is "The High Crusade" which is more appropriately a Science Fiction or Science Fantasy novel. I didn't include it here because, simply, I have not read it. 

A Note About Trolls

Three Hearts and Three Lions is notable for giving us the "D&D Troll," but the ones in The Broken Sword are much more interesting. Yes, they are ugly and brutish, but they are also smarter, and while they have enough similarities to elves to produce offspring (with the help of magic), they are explicitly related to the Jotun of Norse myth. 

Closing Thoughts

Anderson gives us some compelling stories. While not explicitly set in the same world, they are also not not the same world. His epic war of Good vs. Evil, Law vs. Chaos, is something that rings loudly even today in all editions of D&D. His wars of Christians vs. Pagans ring loudly to me.

His witches are less characters and more caricatures at times, but this fits into the world view these books have: the witches are just pawns and tools. Even when they have agency, their fate is already predetermined.

The entire time I was reading The Broken Sword, I could not help but wonder why witches didn't play a more prominent role in the game. Of course, the reason is simple. I was reading this looking for witches and not the larger themes. Gary, I assume, read these and saw the cosmic battle of Law vs. Chaos.  

None of the witches in these two tales would make for good Player Characters. They would, however, make for great NPCs using the Dragon Magazine witch class. 

In the AD&D Player's Handbook, it is mentioned that the Druid class is the same as the pre-Christian (not Gary's words) druid that has survived to Medieval times. If this is the case then certainly other "pagans" have survived. The witches of Poul Anderson certainly could be among those numbers.  

Witchcraft Wednesdays: Expanding the War of the Witch Queens

 I mentioned a bit back that I need want to revise my War of the Witch Queens. The first idea was to redo it all for Wasted Lands. Good so far.  Plus I found some other adventures I want to add, namely The Folio Black Label #3 White Witch and Black Stone from Art of the Genre.

I also found this resource online that details all the adventures from Dungeon Magazine issues #1 to #100. These are all AD&D 1st ed, 2nd ed, and BECMI adventures with some 3rd edition. So, I went looking for all the "witch" adventures.

Here is what I found.

• Added: "Monsterquest" by Vince Garcia, Issue #10, Levels 1-3, AD&D 1st Ed.
• "The Wards of Witching Ways" Issue #11, Levels 3-5, AD&D 1st Ed.
• "Things That Go Bump in the Night" Issue #38, Levels 3-6, AD&D 2nd Ed.
• "The Price of Revenge" Issue #42, Levels 4-6, AD&D 2nd Ed. Ravenloft
• "The Witch of Windcrag" Issue #51, Levels 2-3, BECMI
• "The Witch's Fiddle" Issue #54, Levels 2-5, AD&D 2nd Ed.
• "Witches' Brew" Issue #67, Levels 3-5, AD&D 2nd Ed Forgotten Realms
• "Visiting Tylwith" Issue #77, Level 1, AD&D 2nd Ed.
• "The Witch of Serpent's Bridge" Issue #95, Level 3, D&D 3rd Edition

Now I just need to find these issues! Thankfully, I have a game auction coming up, and old Dungeon magazines always come up. Yeah, I know they are probably somewhere online, but I don't want those; I would rather have physical copies.

Once I review these (when I get them), I'll need to see how to integrate these into the large adventures.

I also just found out about this one, La arboleda de la Bruja Muerta (The Dead Witch's Grove). A new witch adventure AND a chance to practice more Spanish! It is not out yet.

But this one was just released!

Witch and Stone from Pacesetter Games. Grabbed it this morning. 

Looks like War of the Witch Queens will be back on!

Witchcraft Wednesdays: More Occult D&D, the Supernal Tongue

Still working through my ideas on "Occult D&D." 

I have scads of notes on Enoch and Enochian and the connection he has to the occult via figures like John Dee and Edward Kelley. I have always wanted to explore the concept of Enochian as a magical language, but I have not used it. Why? Well, for starters, Enochian works well here due to its ties to history (Dee, Kelley) and myth (Enoch), as well as the gravitas of the Abrahamic religions. That all works wonderfully in a NIGHT SHIFT game, but not for a D&D-like game.

I also have a bunch of notes and ideas scribbled out on Proto-Indo-European languages. My thinking was to use PIE as a sort of root language of the world and one taught to witches, much like the ideas of my first "witch language" posts. 

There is no way I am going to build my own constructed language no matter how cool that sounds. I am no David Peterson. Though I do like to think his Inha language would be fun to explore. Great for Primordial. His Verbis Diablo is also great for Infernal, and I loved the idea of his Méníshè from Motehrland: Fort Salem.  What do all three of these languages have in common other than being constructed by Peterson? They are all explicitly languages learned by witches.

I am not ready yet to put a stake down in a specific witch language. I mean, I assume most Pagan witches are likely illiterate, and many of my other traditions are separated by time and space (Classical and Gothic, for example). So what language would they have in common? Well, nothing witch-specific, but something very occult.

SUPERNAL (Lost Tongue of Creation)

This language is the primordial root-speech from which all alignment tongues are said to descend. It is believed to have been spoken in the earliest ages, before the division of law and chaos, good and evil. Angels and devils alike once uttered its syllables, but even the eldest celestials and the most ancient fiends no longer command it in full.

Supernal is not a common language of conversation but a metaphysical system of sound and sign, wherein words themselves shape reality, bind spirits, and mark the planes. Only a fragment survives. Fewer than two hundred words are known with proper pronunciation, and even these must be taught with precision, for error can render meaning void or bring peril to the speaker.

There are many written forms, the most notable being Supernal-A, a draconic-seeming script often mistaken for true Draconic, and Supernal-B, a flowing elven hand that appears beautiful but yields nonsense when translated as Elvish or Sylvan. Supernal texts (grimoires, tablets, or fragments) are commonly interpolated with Celestial, Draconic, or Elven words to replace what has been lost.

Those Who May Learn It: Supernal is reserved for scholars of the occult, such as high witches, ceremonial warlocks, magi, and certain esoteric clerics or wizards. Ordinary characters cannot select it. Even among such classes, mastery is partial; no individual is known to possess more than a handful of true phrases.

Game Use: Treat Supernal as a secret, universal occult tongue. It may be used to decipher ancient inscriptions, recite certain rituals, or command extraplanar beings when the proper words are known. It is never learned by chance; knowledge of Supernal must come through initiation, tutelage, or the study of rare and perilous texts. Characters cannot learn Supernal unless they meet the following requirements. 

• Must be a witch, warlock, cleric, magic-user, or one of their subclasses. Druids cannot learn this language.
• Intelligence score of 16 or higher.
• Have a free language to learn.
• Find a teacher who knows Supernal.

Costs for this can vary greatly depending on the demand and location. It takes one year for the character to even learn the basics and a decade to learn enough to be able to read any text. For game purposes, treat one year of learning as one level of experience.

Magic-users, as part of their normal education, learn a few words of Supernal along with magical words of Draconic and Elvish. They can be assumed to have had one year (one level) of instruction already.

Phygor

The Ascended Master, Scribe of the Gods, Walker Between Worlds

In the chronicles of magic, few names are so widely spoken and so little understood as Phygor. Born into a wealthy family, he was initially a promising but unremarkable student at the Great School of Magic. Then, as the tale is told, one day he simply stood up from his bench, leaving behind his books, his belongings, and even his half-eaten meal, and began to walk. He walked out of the School, out of city, and out of the world that others knew.

Phygor wandered for years beyond counting, traveling among hermits, witches, shamans, astrologers, monks, and warlocks. He learned a fragment here, a secret there, piecing together what none before him had dared: a greater vision of magic, gathered from every corner of the earth. Some say he spoke with dragons in their dreams, others that the spirits of the land taught him great mysteries. A few whisper that he was shown hidden truths by beings of heaven and hell, who recognized in him a mind vast enough to hold the Supernal syllables themselves.

When Phygor returned, he was transformed. His magics were strange and terrible, alien even to the archmages of the Great School. With these, he crushed a rebellion of wizards not with slaughter, but with dazzling displays of artifice and spells they could not comprehend, forcing them to surrender in awe. Though a man of Law and Good, he did not hoard his knowledge. He broke with all tradition, declaring that magic was not the possession of a cabal or a guild, but a birthright of the wise. He published his findings, opened his grimoires, and gave freely of his lore. Even those of wicked heart who opposed his ideals respected his power and grudgingly acknowledged his genius.

Phygor’s end is disputed. In some tales, he simply walked again, leaving the world behind as he had once left the School, and was never seen thereafter. In others, he ascended bodily into the higher planes, taking a place among the immortals. A few claim he became something greater still: the Scribe of the Gods, known to angels as a shining scribe and to demons as a voice of thunder, recording the hidden laws by which all spells are written.

Among witches, magi, and warlocks alike, Phygor is a luminary sage of study, initiation, and the pursuit of hidden knowledge. To invoke his name is to claim the lineage of the wandering master, the one who saw further than all others and gave what he found to the world. To some, he is a hero, a true master teacher. To others, a dangerous radical bent on upsetting the balance of magic. To all who wield magic, he is a name spoken with respect.

All of the known words of Supernal come from his writings. 

Witches of Appendix N: Robert E. Howard, Part 3: Kull, Kane and "Accidental Feminism"

 Today I conclude this "mini-series" on the pivotal works of Robert E. Howard, one of the most influential authors in Appendix N, shaping the Dungeons & Dragons experience. 

I have already covered Conan in Part 1, and his horror stories in Part 2. Today I am going to talk two of his other characters, King Kull of Atlantis and Solomon Kane.

Kull of Atlantis: Silence Where a Witch (or even Women) Might Be

Kull’s stories are dreamlike, almost mythic, often more about philosophy than plot. Women of any kind are scarce, and witches are entirely absent. When sorcery intrudes, it comes from male figures: Thulsa Doom, the snake-men, necromancers, shadowy priests.

Is Kull even interested in women? Howard never shows him with lovers, nor does he pit him against the temptations or sorceries of an enchantress. Kull broods on law, on identity, on the shifting unreality of his throne, but not on witches, or even women for that matter. Their absence says much: the philosopher-king is concerned with metaphysical threats, not the seductions or mysteries that witches (and sorcerers) often embody in Howard’s other tales. 

Kull's most significant interaction with a woman comes from one of his earliest tales. A girl in his village is being burned at the stake for taking a lover from the wrong tribe. Kull, not seeing the justice in this, uses his own flint dagger to give her a merciful, quick death. For which he is hunted. 

Speaking of flint daggers. Kull is supposed to be taking place around 100,000 BCE. So really pre-history, but it feels more like 100 BCE in terms of "technology." Granted it is "lost age" the same sort you see working in Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age. Credit where it is due, Howard does do a great job of making it feel like Kull predates Conan by centuries. 

If Kull, and Conan, are covered well by Wasted Lands and other Fantasy RPGs, then Kane is dipping right into horror.

Solomon Kane: A Puritan Without Witches

If Kull’s Atlantean dreamtime excludes witches entirely, Solomon Kane’s early modern setting seems tailor-made for them. The 16th and 17th centuries were rife with witch trials and burnings, and Kane is a zealous Puritan avenger. You’d expect him to clash with witches by the dozen. But he never does.

Instead, Kane’s foes are vampires, demons, revenants, and African sorcerers. Women in his stories are usually victims or innocents caught in evil’s path, never witches themselves. Was this deliberate on Howard’s part? Perhaps he didn’t want women as Kane’s outright antagonists, preferring instead to cast him against inhuman horrors or exotic magics.

One exception worth noting is Nakari from The Moon of Skulls. She is cruel, manipulative, and queenly, with many of the trappings of a witch, save for actual sorcery. She does have a coven of sorts, her "Starmaidens" and she knows some Atlantean rituals.  She rules through charisma and cruelty, not spells. And despite her names she is neither demon nor vampire. Kane’s crusade against her feels witch-hunter-like, yet Howard stops short of giving her magic. Again, we see the absence: Kane fights monsters, not witches.

Kane is adventure fiction, but it dips into horror and horror themes more often than not. 

Kull, Conan, and Kane make up an interesting trinity of Howard protagonists. All are cut from the same cloth and each could be a reincarnation of the previous.

Accidental Feminism?

Now, I do want to say upfront that Howard considered himself a feminist. He had some very progressive views for his time, but also some fairly typical ones. People are complicated. 

If Conan’s world has some witches and Kane’s and Kull’s are completely barren of them, what does that say about Howard? His female characters are sometimes villains (Salome, Tascela, Nakari), but they are also commanding presences, equal to or greater than the men who face them. When Howard leaves witches out, women almost vanish. But that absence makes it striking when he does put women at the forefront, because when he does, they are unforgettable.

Think of Bêlit, the Queen of the Black Coast, who is as fierce and ambitious as Conan himself. Or Valeria of the Red Brotherhood, a woman who makes her own choices and follows her own path. Red Sonya of Rogatino and Dark Agnes de Chastillon are not sorceresses at all, but warrior women who seize the agency the world denies them. These characters aren’t “witches” in the pulpy sense, but they are Howard’s women: strong, willful, larger than life, and often overshadowing the men around them. Red Sonya appears in one tale, yet "Red Sonja" has hundreds, including comics, novels, and a new movie out. Bêlit & Valeria have also appeared in plenty of comics together, often sans Conan, to prove they are interesting enough characters in their own right. Even if I am getting a bit of a Betty & Veronica vibe from them sometimes. Though Red Sonja has teamed up with Betty & Veronica in the past.

Bêlit, Red Sonja, (and Conan) and Valeria by Geof Isherwood

That duality shows up outside the stories too. In a famous letter to Harold Preece, Howard rattled off a litany of great women, from Sappho and Aspasia to Joan of Arc, Emma Goldman, and Edna St. Vincent Millay, defending their genius, passion, and rightful place in history. “Women have always been the inspiration for men,” he wrote, “and… there have been countless women whose names have never been blazoned across the stars, but who have inspired men on to glory.”  

Howard’s pulp tales are not feminist manifestos, but they carry a paradox I’d call his “accidental feminism.” In his fiction, women may be cast as temptresses, pirates, or witches, but they are never weak. And in his private words, he saw women as philosophers, poets, and warriors equal to any man. It may be accidental, but it left us with heroines and enchantresses who still burn as brightly on the page today as they did nearly a century ago.

Conclusion

There are more Robert E. Howard tales. Lots more, and many that could be fundamental to what the D&D experience was going to become. But here is where I part ways with the author. I found his sword & sorcery tales to be captivating, his horror stories fascinating, and his heroes equally as wonderful in their own imperfect ways. There is a reason why we all know of Conan and Kane, and to a lesser degree, Kull. Even his forgotten "step-daughter," Red Sonja.

When it comes to witches, Howard doesn't give me enough, though what he does give is wonderful. Salome and Tascela are fantastic characters who I would have loved to see more of, or more to the point, more like them. Too bad that they died in their respective tales; they would have made great antagonists for Bêlit, Red Sonja, and Valeria.

#RPGaDay2025 Day 6 Motive

Witchcraft Wednesday Edition

In most games, when the party gathers for the first time, there's a fairly straightforward motive: treasure, fame, glory, revenge. Maybe they’re trying to save their village. Maybe they just need to pay off a bar tab. Whatever the case, the classic adventurer is easy to motivate. Dangle gold or justice in front of them, and they’ll go down into the dungeon willingly.

But witches and warlocks?

Their motives tend to be… different.

“She didn’t go into the ruins for gold. She went looking for the name she saw in her dreams.”

 - page, recovered from the bog near Meirath’s Hollow

Witches often aren’t chasing wealth. They might live in crumbling cottages or vine-covered towers filled with tea, bones, and books. They have what they need. Their magic doesn’t come from loot, it comes from knowing. From power earned through pacts, practices, and pain.

When a witch goes on a journey, it’s usually because something has shifted in the world:

• The stars have changed their alignment.
• A long-forgotten spirit has begun to whisper again.
• A charm buried under a tree has broken.
• A name has been spoken that should not have been known.

Their motive isn’t external. It’s internal, symbolic, spiritual. Sometimes it’s not even clear to them at first. But they feel it. A pull. A path. The wind shifts through the birches in a different way, and suddenly she knows it’s time to move.

Warlocks, too, have unique motives, but theirs are often tied to obligation.

 Their power comes at a cost, after all. And sometimes that cost is paid in quests, souls, or favors. Maybe they heard their patron whisper something in their sleep. Maybe they found a rune etched into the frost on their window and knew they had to follow it. Or maybe they have no choice. Maybe the pact has come due.

That’s the thing about occult characters in fantasy RPGs: their motives aren’t lesser or greater than the standard adventurer’s, they’re just deeper. More tangled in the weird threads of fate and prophecy and intuition. Sometimes they’ll ride alongside the party for gold and steel and good company, but eventually, something will pull them off the path. And that’s when the story really begins.

So next time a witch joins your adventuring party, ask her why she’s there.

 If she tells you it’s for gold, she’s lying.

 She already knows something’s coming.

 She just doesn’t want to be the only one standing when it arrives.

Questions

How. Optimistic. Accessory.

Hmm. How does a particular accessory keep you optimistic? 

As I mentioned yesterday, I often take the point of view of the characters. A while back, I got some art done of Larina. I don't remember which one it was, but around her waist she wore chain and it was threaded with dragon teeth. I had asked for a dragon tooth charm, and that is what I got back. I like to trust the artists with their vision, and this was a good choice. In my games from that point, it was a "charm" she wore to provide protection. While mechanically it added to her saving throws, I said it was something that gave her hope. She could collect all these dragon teeth and know she helped defeat those monsters, so whatever challenge was next, she could handle. 

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Witches of Appendix N: Robert E. Howard, Part 2: Horror Stories

 I am continuing on my journey through the titles of Appendix N, looking for the Witches that haunted those pages. This week, I have Part 2 of my overview of the Witches of Robert E. Howard, this time focusing on his horror tales.  As I covered in Part 1 of Howard, his DNA is deeply woven into the core of D&D. This is easy to see in Conan, the wandering mercenary (in many tales) having adventure after adventure. what I didn't expect was see so much, maybe even more, from his tales of horror.

Howard's horror runs all over the place.  He was obviously significantly influenced by Celtic history, especially with his Bran Mak Morn character, and a lot of these feed into his horror tales. There is a Conan-like character in his "The House of Arabu" doing battle with none other than Lilith herself and other demons. He even dips into Lovecraftian tales. Now, some people have called these "pastiches," but to me, they are nothing of the sort; they are original contributions to the mythos that are every bit as valid as Lovecraft's own and on par with Clark Ashton Smith. Where Howard shined, though, was "Southern Gothic"; he was to the south and south-west (esp. Texas) what Lovecraft was to New England. Many of tales are interlinked and there is some good opportunities for deep scholarship on how his tales link to each other and to his contemporaries (like Lovecraft) and even how his stories influenced others. I can't say for certainty, but his tale "The Haunter of the Ring" (already steeped in his own mythos connected to Conan) feels like it could have influenced Fritz Leiber's "Conjure Wife."  

What really surprised me was not that Howard was a good writer; he is full stop. But how great his horror stories are. Lovecraft himself sang Howard's praises, and he was worthy of them.

So who are the witches of Howard's Horror tales? Let's take a look.  Instead of going by witch, I am going to go by tale. Each witch is very much situated in each tale.

"Sea Curse" (1928)

Moll Farrell is an archetypical "Sea Witch." She lives in an old hut near the sea, where the tide almost comes to her doorstep, with her daughter. She collects shells and mussels and everyone thinks she is a witch. She proves it by laying a deadly curse on the two men who raped and killed her daughter. The men die, more or less, at each other's hands.

The tale drips with old-world superstition, the inevitability of doom, and the slow, creeping vengeance of the sea. Moll is an agent of vengeance and could have been found on a different coast on the Atlantic in some Celtic dream-hidden past.

The best part of the tale is the Ghost Ship filled with sailors who have committed foul crimes coming up from Hell to take the souls of the men. The image is fantastic. 

"Rattle of Bones" (1929)

A short Solomon Kane tale involving a haunted inn, a skeleton that rises from its resting place, and hints of ancient sorcery. Our "witch" here is an ancient necromancer from Russia who comes back from the dead for his vengeance. Not explicitly a witch, but the tale feels like it was ripped right out of a D&D adventure. 

"The Hills of the Dead" (1930)

Another pivotal Solomon Kane story where Kane teams up with N’Longa, a powerful African shaman and necromancer. N’Longa gifts Kane the magical Staff of Solomon, a potent artifact used to destroy vampires. N’Longa’s magic includes spirit possession and resurrection.

N'Longa's magic is called "voodoo" but that word wasn't used in Kane's time. The religious practices that went into voodoo (Vodún) did exist. 

Again, no explicit witch, though N'Longa is a great character, this tale is great for the abandoned city of vampires.

"Dig Me No Grave" (1937)

What would you get if Howard decided to write about the death Aleister Crowley 10 years before he died? You might get something very much like "Dig Me No Grave."

This tale deals with the temptation of forbidden knowledge. A scholar inherits an occult tome linked to a demon-worshipping cult. The story is Lovecraftian in tone, but the ritual magic and descent into damnation echo the witch-pact trope.

"The Children of the Night" (1931)

This tale is filled with ideas that Howard would come back to many times. 

First, there is the dream/reincarnation story that ties modern characters to ancient, savage rites. In later tales he even he explicitly links Conan and Bran Mak Morn to modern day people. 

Secondly, it features the Serpent People and hints at sorcerous cults and blood sacrifice. The Serpent People are the literary creature from whence a lot of D&D monsters spring. The Yuan-ti and Ophidians are the obvious ones, but in truth, these creatures bear more than a little resemblance to the class D&D Troglodytes. It might be that these were the root of those creatures. 

Third, and this one is big, it contributes to the Lovecraftian mythos by introducing the "Unaussprechlichen Kulten" of von Junzt. This is it's first appearance in print. This is one of the reasons why I say that Howard is not an imitator of the Lovecraftian mythos, he is a bona fide contributor. 

Lastly, the infamous "Black Stone," which will feature in many of his tales in one form or another.

"The Black Stone" (1931)

Speaking of which. This tale also features the Black Stone and "Unaussprechlichen Kulten." 

Arguably Howard’s most Lovecraftian tale. A monolithic stone and the rites performed there by a degenerate cult speak to primal, prehistoric sorcery. There’s an implied witch-queen who led the rites.  The monolith is now located in a village in Hungary called "Stregoicavar," meaning something like "Witch Town."  

Howard gives us a lot of history with ancient rites and even connects this to Margaret Murray's work on the Witch Cult of Europe. The toad-god the witches are worshiping is likely CAS;s Tsathoggua, a creature who would appear again in "The Thing on the Roof."

The Necronomicon gets name checked here as well.

"The Thing on the Roof" (1932)

This tale features forbidden books (Unaussprechlichen Kulten) , temple ruins, and an occultist who ignores all warnings. 

There is even a pre-Aztec Lich worshiping evil gods (likely Tsathoggua, but only described as a toad-like thing), and evil rituals.

I included this tale and the previous two not so much for their witches, but for their cults and their connection to the Mythos. 

"People of the Dark" (1932)

A man relives a past life where he was involved in betrayal and murder. This tale our narrator, John O'Brien, is the reincarnated Conan, and he enters Dagon's Cave to kill a rival for the hand of a woman. This one features almost everything. Conan, Lovecraftian connections, and even the Little People/Children of the Night. 

"Worms of the Earth" (1932)

Bran Mak Morn allies with a banished witch named Atla to awaken the Worms, ancient subterranean horrors, to take vengeance on the Romans. The story is primal, grim, and unrelenting. 

The worms appear to be another name for the quasi-human Children of the Night. The more and more I read about them the more I am convinced this where the D&D interpretation of the Troglodytes came from. 

Alta, the witch-woman of Dagon-moor, is one of our very few named witches. She is half-human and "half-worm" or Children of the Night. The implication here is that the Children were human or at least akin to humans.  She is human enough that her price to help Bran is that he must spend the night with her. Likely meaning there is some new half-human descendant of Bran out there now. 

This also features the Black Stone. Are these pieces all part of the monolith of ancient times? Hard to say. The piece that Bran uses is small enough for him to carry. 

Dagon's Moor, Dagon's Meer, and Dagon's Barrow are all mentioned here as further connections to the Mythos.

"The House of Arabu" (1952)

This tale was also published as "Witch From Hell’s Kitchen" though that title doesn't do it any justice. 

This tale features Pyrrhas, who is Conan in all but name really. Our main antagonist (well...) is Lilitu (really summoned by one of Conan's, I mean Pyrrhas's enemies), she appears very much as does the Lilitu of ancient myth with her mate Ardat-Lili. Of course Ardat-lilî is also a female demon (like the same sources as Lilitu) so imagine my humor when Howard describes Ardat-Lili as male. I guess somethings were still a bridge to far when he wrote this.

There are spells and the most interesting thing to me is the Lilith - Tiamat connection. Something I have explored more on these pages. 

"Black Canaan" (1936)

Southern gothic horror meets voodoo-style witchcraft. The antagonist is Zekura, a beautiful and deadly sorceress who wields spiritual power and commands zombies. She’s both feared and revered.

Normally I don't comment on the racism of some of these tales, but this one seem a bit much even for the time. Or maybe I just know how bad it actually was. Apropos of nothing, Lovecraft thought this was one of Howard's best tales. 

"The Haunter of the Ring" (1934)

A ghostly avenger stalks the land after being wronged in life. The haunting is linked to curses and violated oaths. No witches, but damn, this feels like it could have influenced "Conjure Wife."

It does feature the Ring of Thoth-Amon, a magical artifact possessed by a spirit that can possess its wearer. A form of sympathetic magic, where the curse leaps through the ages. This ring has appeared in Conan tales before. 

"Pigeons from Hell" (1938)

Howard’s most famous horror story. Southern gothic with heavy voodoo and ghost-witch elements. A woman in the Blassenville family turned to witchcraft and exacts revenge from beyond the grave as a zuvembie. Features zombified servants and spectral appearances.

Stephen King called this Howard's finest tale.

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So there is a lot to dig into here. Howard obviously had heard of or read Murray's Witch Cult Hypothesis, since so many of tales embrace the central themes. Where Murray saw a continuous line of ancient fertility cults in a positive light, Howard saw an ancient pre-Christian and degenerate religion honoring dark, forgotten gods. In reality both points of view are as real as the other, and both suit my purposes well.

Moll Farrell and Atla are his main "named" witches, and each serves her role well. Moll feels like a solid Sea Witch, whereas Atla is something else. I have been exploring the concept of "Dragon Witches" within a tradition I've coined the Scaled Sisterhood. I could include ideas from ancient serpent cults too. 

Again, no "Conclusion." I want to venture deeper into the tales of Kull, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn for Part 3.

Witchcraft Wednesday: Fane-born (Occult D&D)

 Got some game time in my oldest last night. Instead of actual playing we rolled up a bunch of characters we might try out and discussed our various takes on the Forgotten Realms. My campaign, "Into the Forgotten Realms" vs. his "It's Always Sunny in Waterdeep." There are more differences than just tone, we talked about the assumptions underlying my AD&D 1st Ed, "Into" vs his D&D 5th Ed, "Sunny."

We also talked about my ideas for "Occult D&D" a little and how we can use it for either game. 

One of the characters I worked on combined a lot of these ideas. Her name is Tarjä and she is a multi-classed witch/assassin. She is not ready for posting yet, but her species is. Tarjä is a Fane-born Witch.

The Fane-born are an idea I have been playing with, off and on, for a long time. A species similar to humans, but separate. In the DC universe, they might be called Homo magi. They are a race deeply immersed in magic. 

Fane-born

Also known as: Changelings, Hag-born, Witch-kin, Hollow-Eyed

“There are children born under broken moons, with too-wide eyes and whispers in their sleep. We call them changelings. But they call themselves Fane-born, and they remember things we were never meant to know.”

- From the Journal of Larina Nix

The Fane-born are a mysterious and eerie race of humanoids born from the tangled roots of old magic, faerie mischief, and witchcraft. Some are said to be the offspring of witches and dark spirits; others are left in mortal homes as changelings or molded from magic in long-forgotten rituals. Their presence unsettles the common folk, and they are often driven away or feared as portents of ill fortune.

Yet among witches, they are honored, or at least tolerated, as strange siblings in the arcane bloodline. They possess a natural affinity for the occult, a strong spiritual presence, and an uncanny ability to see beyond the veils of the world.

Game Statistics (AD&D 1st Edition)

Level Limits

• Witch: Unlimited
• Warlock: Unlimited
• Thief: Unlimited
• Magic-User: Based on Intelligence
• Int 13 = Level 9
• Int 14 = Level 10
• Int 15 = Level 11
• Illusionist: Based on Intelligence
• Int 14 = Level 8
• Int 15 = Level 9
• Int 16 = Level 10
• Fighter: 6
• Druid: Based on Wisdom
• Wis 12 = Level 8
• Wis 13 = Level 9
• Wis 14 = Level 10
• Wis 15 = Level 11
• Wis 16 = Level 12
• Wis 17 = Level 13
• Wis 18 = Level 14

 (Cannot be Clerics, Paladins, Rangers, or Monks)

Ability Adjustments: +1 Wisdom, +1 Charisma, -1 Constitution

 Minimum Scores: Wis 13, Cha 13

 Maximum Constitution: 17

 Alignment Tendencies: Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, or Chaotic Good

 Height/Weight: 5’2" to 5’10", 90–140 lbs.

 Age Ranges: Same as human.

Racial Abilities

Innate Spellcasting: Choose one at character creation: Detect Magic, Read Magic, or Charm Person 1/day

Uncanny Presence: +2 bonus on saving throws vs. charm, fear, or possession

Occult Intuition: Can attempt to identify magical items on a roll of 1–2 on 1d6 after 10 minutes of focused examination

Ghost Sight: Can perceive into the Ethereal Plane or overlapping Faerie realms. Allows them to see invisible or ethereal creatures to 60'.

 Languages: Gains Faerie/Sylvan/Elvish as a free language. 

Cultural Notes

Origins: Some are born to mortal witches under eclipses; others are swapped at birth by fae creatures or raised by covens. Others still can be born to human parents exposed to powerful witchcraft. 

Society: Rarely form settlements of their own. Most travel between witch circles, shrines, and isolated steads.

Appearance: Unnerving beauty or eerie awkwardness; heterochromia, white hair at birth, overly long fingers, or no reflection. Some have small horns (can be hidden with hair styles), oddly proportioned limbs, or other odd appearances that can't quite be quantified at first, but lead to an unsettled feeling. 

Reputation: Seen as cursed, unholy, or dangerous. Even when doing good, their motives are questioned.

They have a bonus to Charisma and Wisdom to reflect their personal willpower and personality, but they are treated as having a Charisma score of 2 less (-2) for the purposes of reaction roles among humans and hiring human retainers.

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Might tweak this some more as we play. Going to also convert them to 5e for my son's game. 

Witchcraft Wednesday: The (Second) Return of Rhiannon and Briana Highstar

 I was doing some cleaning in my office yesterday. Partially cleaning, partially avoiding work, but also gathering up everything I had been working on for the last few years (spoiler, it has been 5 years of solid work and 12 total of "picking at it") for this new project I playing around with. I have been thinking I need some good examples of an Archwitch and a Witch Priestess. When in a stack of characters, I found my versions of Grenda's, witches Briana Highstar and Rhiannon. 

They are both featured in my new The Left Hand Path - The Diabolic & Demonic Witchcraft Traditions, as "Basic-era" Witches of the Diabolic and Malefic traditions, respectively. Both are listed as 8th-level Witches. But I was thinking, what if I "advanced" them? And by that, I mean move them over to Advanced D&D and have them take my new Advanced classes. I mentioned a while back that they did not know each other, but in my AD&D game, I am thinking they met up and decided to form a coven. 

While covens are typically made up of the same traditions, they don't have to be. I have even talked about a "Grand Coven" that includes witches, warlocks, and other members. This marks the beginning of their Grand Coven, dedicated to evil. Since I have already decided that they are in my Forgotten Realms game there is no reason why they can't meet up with my other witches Moria and Amaranth. Though neither of them are exactly evil, they are different kinds of "hellspawn."

This will give me more chances to pleytest these new classes. I think one change I am making, if these Advanced Classes are taken after 7th level, the witch still gets their 6th level Occult Power.  It didn't dawn on my until last night while working up their new sheets that an Advanced class is a good way to bring a "Basic" character over to AD&D. For example, with this idea I could make a Paladin or Ranger an Advanced class, starting off as a fighter first. I'll have to play around with this idea. 

In the meantime, here are Briana Highstar and Rhiannon again, with their new classes in place.

Briana Highstar
Human Female

Archwitch 8th level
Diabolic Tradition
Patron: Mephistopheles
Alignment: Lawful Evil

STR: 12 
INT: 17 
WIS: 15
DEX: 16
CON: 13
CHA: 17

Paralyze/Poison: 11
Petrification/Polymorph: 11
Rod, Staff, or Wands: 12
Breath Weapon: 14
Spells: 13

AC: 5 (Leather +2)
HP: 24
To Hit AC 0: 18

Weapon: Whip
Armor: Leather +2

Occult Powers
Familiar: Cat 
Minor: Evil's Touch

Spells
First Level: Burning Hands, Charm Person, Far Sight, Sonic Blast, Spirit Dart
Second Level: Burning Gaze, ESP, Grasp of the Endless War, Invisibility, Suggestion
Third Level: Bestow Curse, Dispel Magic, Scry
Fourth Level: Arcane Eye, Divination, Phantom Lacerations

Hair: Black
Eyes: Grey
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 136 lbs

Languages: Common, LE, Elvish, Goblin, Diabolic, Abyssal, Giant, Orc

Rhiannon
Human Female

Witch Priestess 8th Level
Malefic Tradition (Previously Craft of the Wise)
Patron: Ereshkigal
Alignment: Neutral Evil

STR: 11
INT: 17 
WIS: 17
DEX: 16
CON: 15
CHA: 16

Paralyze/Poison: 11
Petrification/Polymorph: 11
Rod, Staff, or Wands: 12
Breath Weapon: 14
Spells: 13

AC: 5
HP: 32
To Hit AC 0: 18

Weapon: Dagger of Venom
Armor: Leather

Occult Powers
Familiar: Mourning Dove
Minor: Impure Touch

Spells
First Level: Blight Growth, Charm Person, Chill of Death, Sleep, Touch of Suggestion
Second Level: Agony, Beastform, Disfiguring Touch, Evil Eye, Protective Penumbra
Third Level: Bestow Curse, Bleed for Your Master, Scry
Fourth Level: Fangs of the Strix, Spirtual Dagger 

Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'1"
Weight: 114 lbs

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OGL Section 15: COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Character Clip Art & Color Customizing Studio Copyright 2002, Elmore Productions, Inc.; Authors Larry Elmore and Ken Whitman, Art and illustrations by Larry Elmore.

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So obviously Rhiannon forms this coven and become the high priestess of it. Briana provides the "great work" they all must do. What is that? No idea yet. 

I would love to include Amaranth in this, but I tend to refer to her as a "cotton candy Tiefling" that is she is light, fluffy and sweet. At least that is how I have presented her in The Witch - Book of Shadows for ShadowDark. Still, the prospect of her joining this coven is a fun one. Maybe something happens to make her choose to embrace her evil side? I wonder what it will be?

I also need to figure out what sort of Grand Coven would have both Ereshkigal and Mephistopheles (and maybe even Lilith) as patrons? The intersection of these two (three), witchcraft mythology-wise is Astaroth (by way of Sumeria to Astarte), which I do like as an option. And their coven needs a name. I have wanted to use Astaroth more. Maybe I can bring in Babylon into this too!

Witchcraft Wednesdays: The Witch-Priestess

Photo by Paola  Koenig

Continuing in my Occult D&D related threads I have another "Advanced" Class to share. This is one I have played around with many times for various editions. I like each one, and they bring something new to the table for me each time.

This is a witch dedicated to more priestess-craft and worship aspects of the witch. A true "Priestess of the Old Ways." More so than the generic cleric or shape-shifting druid. 

Like the Archwitch, a Witch-Priestess (or Witch-Priest) begins as a witch, but then transitions to more priestly and religious duties. While the Archwitch leans more into the Arcane side of witchcraft, the Witch-Priestess focuses on the divine. Again my model for this class is the Bard (PHB), Thief-Acrobat, the Archdruid (UA), and the Wizards of High Sorcery from the Dragonlance Adventures book. I am just codifying something that was already there.  (An aside. I'd love to see other "Advanced Classes" anyone else come up with these?)

In my current 1st Edition AD&D game, I have two witches, I am hoping to get each one to choose one of these other paths.  

WITCH-PRIESTESS

Advanced Class for Witches

The Witch-Priestess is the spiritual and ritual leader of the Old Faith, bridging the gap between arcane witchcraft and divine mystery. Where the ordinary witch communes privately with her Patron, the Witch-Priestess embodies that relationship in public rites, seasonal festivals, and sacred duties. She does not merely cast spells; she invokes the will of the gods and spirits of nature, channeling divine energy through her well-honed arcane focus.

Only witches who belong to a coven and who have demonstrated piety, wisdom, and leadership are called to walk this sacred path. The calling is not common, and the burden is great, but the rewards are divine.

Requirements

To become a Witch-Priestess, a character must:

• Be a Witch of at least 7th level
• Have a Wisdom of 16 or higher
• Be a member of a coven
• Have performed a significant religious service to the Old Faith, such as leading a solstice rite, sacrificing personal power for the good of the land, or invoking a successful blessing that saved a community

Restrictions

• The character ceases to gain new Witch Occult Powers after 6th level (or if not yet acquired, forfeits future access)
• Must maintain a leadership role within her faith. Either with respect to her tradition or coven.

Spellcasting

The Witch-Priestess continues to cast Witch spells as normal

In addition, she gains access to Divine spells drawn from the Cleric and Druid lists (Old Faith Spells list).

Occult and divine spellcasting remain separate; she prepares them independently

Divine Favor (Channeling Powers)

At 7th level and again at 9th and 11th levels, the Witch-Priestess may select a Divine Favor. Each may be used once per day unless otherwise noted.

Sample Divine Favors:

• Blessing of the Grove: Allies within 30' gain +1 to attack rolls and saving throws for 1 turn
• Turn Spirits and Undead: Functions as Cleric turning Undead but also affects spirits and fey as a cleric of the same level.
• Healing Hands: Cure 1d8+level hp with a touch (one creature)
• Nature’s Wrath: As Call Lightning or Earthquake (minor effect), save for half
• Invoke the Ancients: Ask a yes/no question (as Augury or Commune, once per day)
• Occult Insight: The Witch-Priestess may select one Occult Power from her tradition.

Sacred Coven

At level 9 or later, she may form her own coven. She attracts 1d6+Charisma modifier witches of 1st–5th level, with total levels equal to her own Witch-Priestess level. These followers are loyal but not fanatical, and expect guidance and regular rituals.

Charge of the Goddess

Once per day, the Witch-Priestess may enter a trance to regain spell energy lost. After 1 full round of ritual casting, she regains a number of spell levels equal to half her combined level (rounded down). She may not exceed her usual spell limits.

Drawing Down the Moon

At the 11th level, she may invoke the divine power of her Patron in full. For a number of rounds equal to her Wisdom score modifier:

• Radiates a 15' aura of fear to enemies (as Fear)
• Gains +2 to all saving throws and Armor Class
• Gains +3 to all attack rolls and damage rolls
• Usable once per day, requires a full round to activate

Experience Progression and Saving Throws

The Witch-Priestess continues to use the Witch experience table, attack matrix, and saving throws.

(unless I change my minder later on)

Multi-Class and Dual-Class Use

This path is open only to single-classed Witches. Dual-classed characters must fulfill all entry requirements. A typical dual-class would be a character who begins as a cleric but does not go past 6th level, then becomes a witch till 7th level, and then switches over to Witch-Priestess. Divine abilities from cleric do not stack with divine abilities from Witch-Priestess

Elves and other non-human multi-class witch characters must seek DM approval for entry.

Optional Rule - Ritual Dedication

To fully embrace this path, the character must undergo a Ritual Dedication during a solstice, eclipse, or conjunction. The rite must be overseen by another Witch-Priestess or a powerful druid, or by divine vision if none are present.

The Witch-Priestess is the living bridge between mortal and divine, arcane and natural. She is the last light of the Old Ways, a candle in the night when the stars fade.

The Old Faith Spell List

A Witch-Priestess may choose the following spells as if they were part of her normal, Witch (Occult) spell lists. These spells are Divine in nature and come from the witch’s patron. 

1st Level

• Command
• Faerie Fire
• Portent
• Purify Food and Drink 
• Sanctuary
• Speak with Animals

2nd Level

• Augury
• Chant
• Charm Person or Mammal
• Obscurement
• Slow Poison
• Spiritual Hammer

3rd Level

• Call Lightning
• Continual Light
• Meld into Stone
• Remove Curse
• Prayer
• Speak with the Dead

4th Level

• Call Woodland Beings
• Divination
• Neutralize Poison
• Protection from Evil, 10' Radius
• Speak with Plants
• Spell Immunity

5th Level

• Animal Growth
• Commune with Nature
• Dispel Evil
• Flame Strike
• Insect Plague
• Moonbeam

6th Level

• Aerial Servant
• Heal
• Forbiddance
• Part Water
• Word of Recall
• Weather Summoning

7th Level

• Control Weather
• Earthquake
• Fire Storm
• Gate
• Holy Word
• Regenerate

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Ok. I like this. I am going to have to try it out. There will likely be some tweaks to it later on.

Witchcraft Wednesdays: Unearthing Arcana, 1985

 I am working on a new witch project. Shocking, I know. But this one is largely more of an experiment of sorts. It's a big one—or at least I am making it a big one. I have no idea when it will be released, but I have some plans for it that I'm pretty excited about. I should really refer to it as a project and not a book, I feel this will grow into something akin to my recent The Left Hand Path - The Diabolic & Demonic Witchcraft Traditions project that also spawned The Witch Finder, Monstrous Maleficarum #4 - Lilith & the Lilim, and Myths & Monsters Vol. 3 - Lilith & Lilim; a whole series of related releases. 

As per my usual practice, I always go back to my research notes to ensure that I haven't missed anything or overlooked something that I really wanted to do but didn't fit in with the other books. When it comes to my research notes, I'm a bit of a packrat. I lost materials on failed floppies, dying hard drives, and just plain dumb luck, so I keep multiple copies of everything. Trust me, cheap storage has been the biggest quality of life improvement in my research since I first bought a computer for myself (in 1985) or got a library card (1977). 

As it turns out, 1985 keeps coming up for me. Part of my research involves re-reading, this time with a little more critical scrutiny, the first edition of Unearthed Arcana. I have re-read that, digging through this huge pile of notes and handwritten materials about games I played in 1985 (some of which will be headed into this new project). There are lots of forgotten treasures here. 

Memory is a funny thing.

I am a psychologist by training. My Master's Thesis was on memory, and my Ph.D. dissertation was on information processing systems. Pardon me while I turn introspective for a moment here, but it is jarring to see something you know you did or had some sort of effect on you, and you don't recall it. A lot of these notes are doing that to me now. 

Case in point. 

In another 1985 flashback, I stumbled on something I am not entirely sure how to quantify. Let me see if you, my loyal readers, have the same reaction that my oldest just had a few seconds ago. Who does this "Masters of the Universe" character remind you of? Not the Sorceress, her younger reflection. 

Red hair. Wrist guards. Magical powers. Wears a lot of purple. Blue eyes. Yeah, that looks like a younger version of my witch Larina. 

Needless to say, I was a bit stunned by this. I had totally forgotten about this episode, "Origin of the Sorceress," until I saw the picture, and then it all came back. I mean, the timing is right. This episode aired on September 23, 1985. I rolled up Larina in July 1986. 

Now, I wasn't a huge fan of Masters of the Universe, but my younger brother was, and I *know* I saw this episode. After seeing this image, I remembered it. I even borrowed the evil wizard Morgoth from this and combined him with the DC evil wizard Modru as a villain in my own games. "Morgru" can still be found in my notes.

There is no way this didn't influence me. Additionally, the Sorceress was the only character on the show, besides Evil-Lyn , that I liked. Yeah, I have a type. 

I didn’t create Larina so much as channel her. Looking back now, it’s like she stepped fully formed out of 1985, the red hair, the bracers, the purple, the attitude. Maybe she’s not of that year, but certainly from it. Keeping in mind that by this point, I had already worn out a copy of "The Wild Heart."

Teela Na or Larina? Lari Na?

Honestly, looking at this image is just so odd for me, jarring even. I feel neuron activation going on, but it's getting lost in the translation of the last four decades, like trying to remember where you got a scar. The evidence is there, but the details are fuzzy.

The episode was written by J. Michael Straczynski, the same as Babylon 5. It's not a great episode, but it was a cartoon for kids and an extended toy commercial at that. I remembered the Sorceress as having more power, but that says a lot more about me than it does about my clarity of memory.

What else was going on in 1985?

Keep in mind I didn't choose this date out of the blue. Ok, a little, but there was a lot going on in 1985 that I consider peak for my AD&D 1st Edition experiences.

Movies & TV

"Legend" hit the big screens with one of the best devil make-up effects to date; Tim Curry's Darkness. Not to mention Meg Mucklebones, who was very much like the Jenny Greenteeth that my mom used to scare all of us with when we were younger. 

"Return to Oz" was not a great movie, but it gave us Fairuza Balk as Dorothy and the recently departed Jean Marsh as Madame Mombi, one of the scariest witches in film. Marsh would later go on to give me, ok, us, Queen Bavmorda in Willow, and Morgaine/Morgan Le Fey in Doctor Who (one of three characters she played in Doctor Who over the decades). Ten years later, Fairuza Balk would enter witch royalty as Nancy Downs in "The Craft" and later open her own pagan-themed online store. With a small stop along the way as Mildred Hubble in "The Worst Witch." 

On TV "The Midnight Hour" ran. Not a great horror movie by any stretch, but damn... Shari Belafonte? Yeah, that was a good reason to tune in. I remember the soundtrack being pretty good. I think I should re-watch it. 

"The Third Eye" was on TV, I sorta remember it, but while I know it filtered into my consciousness, it didn't quite have the same impact as the young Teela Na from Masters of the Universe. 

If 1986 gave me Larina, my enduring witch, then 1985 set the stage. A stage already filled with adventures from Ravenloft, to exploring the multi-versal strangeness of Killian's Towers (that...is for another day) and more. My notes have entries for Healers, Necromancers, and Sun Priests. Now I can also add more notes on Riddle Masters and Star Adepts. It was a time great productivity. 

This project should feel like it could have sat on the shelf alongside Unearthed Arcana and other AD&D books circa 1985-6. I think I owe that to myself. 

Witches of Appendix N: Lin Carter

 In today's Witches of Appendix N, I want to dive into an author I have not read since my early college days. Back in 1987, I stumbled on a rare (for me at the time) treasure, a used bookstore! I began to hunt down all the books I had wanted to read that my home library did not have. I had not yet discovered that my new university library was the most extensive open-shelf library in the state of Illinois. So armed with my handwritten Appendix N list, and some others, I went on my first adventure. 

I found a Thongor book by Lin Carter and another one edited by him, Flashing Swords #4. I paid something like $2 for both. I read the Thongor book and I wasn't exactly impressed. Ok sure it was pulpy fun, but I think after nearly a decade of hype, I expected more. I don't know what happened to that book, but Flashing Swords #4 I kept and still have. It featured an introduction by Carter, which I found more interesting than his prose, as well as stories by Jack Vance, Poul Anderson, Katherine Kurtz, and Michael Moorcock.

The experience soured me on Carter for a long time. Which is too bad, really, because I was always a fan of Lemuria and tales about it. 

I recently decided to revisit Lin Carter and Lemuria (among other places) to see if his worlds feature any witches. I knew he had evil wizards galore, but I could remember any witches per se.

I am not going to focus on all his works; there is too much, and some of it falls outside of the "Appendix N" definition. So, for me, this means no sci-fi and only fantasy published before 1977. With one notable exception. Well...that and the cover above. But that is the only Lin Carter book I still have. 

Thongor and Lemurian Magic

When we turn to Lin Carter’s Thongor of Lemuria novels, we find a world absolutely steeped in magic, though, interestingly, witches themselves are mostly absent.

The lost continent of Lemuria is filled with sorcerers, necromancers, and cults devoted to dark gods. We have cities like Zaar, ruled by black magicians; the Priests of Yamath, calling upon the Dark Gods with forbidden rites; and the ancient Dragon Kings, reptilian overlords who wield both sorcery and advanced science. There are even the evil druids of Lemuria. Black Druids who try to emulate the Dragon Kings, Yellow Druids, the magician-priests who worship Yamath, and the Red Druids, magician-priests of the God, Slidith.

What’s striking, however, is that named witches or sorceresses are virtually nonexistent in Carter’s original Thongor novels. While plenty of pulp sorcerers fill the landscape, female magic-users are conspicuously rare. The closest we get comes much later, in Thongor and the Witch-Queen of Lemuria by Robert M. Price, written after Carter’s death. My notable exception.

Most of the wizards and other magic-users are evil. One exception is Sharajsha the Great. A mighty wizard of Lemuria and a friend of Thongor. His exploits with Thongor could be where I got the idea for my own "Starsword." 

In short, Lemuria is rich in dark sorcery, but witches, as we think of them, never truly walk its jungles and haunted cities.

Gondwane and Magic

When we move from Lemuria to the last continent of Gondwane, Lin Carter’s World's End series, we enter a far richer landscape for magic and witchcraft. The Thongor books were light on witches, but Gondwane is filled with decadent magicians, ancient traditions, and powerful sorcerers.

In The Enchantress of World's End (1975), we meet Zelmarine, Queen of Red Magic. While Carter never calls her a witch outright, she fully embodies the pulp sorceress archetype: beautiful, dangerous, and wielding real magical power. Zelmarine easily fits the "witch-equivalent" role I’ve seen in many other Appendix N works.

Zelmarine is not just a sorceress; she is also a temptress. So fairly typical of the genre. I do find her interesting in the sense that she is entirely red, skin, hair, eyes, teeth, the lot. She would make for a great witch. But, sadly, that is about all she has to offer us. Like many of Carter's characters, she is not much more than this. 

Gondwane itself teems with magicians, enchanters, and warlocks, far more than Thongor’s Lemuria ever did. Even some that are not 100% evil in nature, our Red Enchantress here. Carter blends elements of Jack Vance’s Dying Earth and Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique with his own brand of pulp world-building, creating a setting where elaborate magical schools and rivalries dominate a decaying world.

It's also worth noting that Carter introduces The Illusionist of Narelon, in The Warrior of World's End (1974), one book earlier. The Illusionist's presence may have contributed to Gygax's inclusion of the Illusionist class in the AD&D Player’s Handbook. At the very least, he reflects the kind of specialist magician that AD&D codifies soon after. Illusion magic was rarely featured in the pulps before this.

The Warrior of World's End (1974) also gave us the Vorpal Blade's use in an Appendix N source, obviously from its previous introduction in  Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky. This is not the only thing Carter borrows from Carroll. Some of the names of lands and people seem to come right out of same font of nonsense words as does Jabberwocky. 

The Gondwane books are light and never seem to take themselves very seriously. The characters are less characters and more caricatures. Plus, after a bit, I grew tired of the exceptionally silly names. But hey, kudos to Carter for making his end-of-time world sound alien. 

I *can* see a lot of what is in these books making its way into AD&D and other writings. It could be the recency effect in his reading and writing. 

A good example is Deirdre, the cavalier of "Artifact of Evil," is more or less a grown-up version of Xarda, the "knightrix" of Jemmerdy. Deirdre is likely Gygax's homage to Xarda, either consciously or not. Or maybe both are homages to Red Sonja.

According the experts, Hoi and Jeff at the Appendix N Book Club, Lin Carter was a friend of Gygax's and it is very, very likely there was a lot of cross-pollination between his tales and D&D. 

Conclusion

Revisiting Lin Carter has been a mixed bag, a blend of nostalgia and reevaluation. While I came in search of witches, I found instead a patchwork of pulp sorcery, weird magic, and the unmistakable fingerprints of an author who, despite his flaws, helped shape the genre that shaped my youth. There may not be witches by name in Lemuria or Gondwane, not in the way I hoped, but Carter’s worlds still crackle with the kind of raw, chaotic magic that feels just a few pages away from something I’d drop into a campaign. In the end, it’s not always about what’s printed on the page; sometimes it’s about what might have been, or what could still be, with a little creative license.