Sticking with my Victorian-era and moving south from Lincoln's ghost to New Orleans and her voodoo queen.
But "Wait," you say. "Marie Laveau died in 1881. Long before your 1890s game." True. That's what people believe. There is a lot of confusion about her exact date of death. There is even doubt as to where she is actually buried. So for my purpose, this works for her faking her death so she could go on do her thing. Besides there have been rumors that she survived her own death for years.
Marie Laveau is not just synonymous with Voodoo she is very much part of New Orleans herself. No New Orleans. No Marie Laveau. Also, what was she exactly? She was the self-proclaimed Voodoo queen of New Orleans sure, but what *is* that in terms of NIGHT SHIFT? A Witch? A Theosophist? Sage?
No Marie is something special and in NIGHT SHIFT terms she is something from the new Night Companion book. She is an immortal Spirit Rider.
As the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Marie Laveau is tied to the city. This includes the City of New Orleans and the combined Orelans Parish. She can leave, but her power and her immortality is threatened.
She is a Spirit Rider instead of a witch because I really wanted to try something different. Plus in voodoo, it is said that the "Loa rides you" when you are communicating with them. This is a description of her powers. Much like Nellie in London, Marie Laveau is someone the characters might have to seek out for information.
So far my dive into Dracula and then Victorian characters for NIGHT SHIFT has been a lot of fun. Also, my characters have largely been based on other people's characters or, in the case of Lincoln, real people.
Today I want to do one of my original characters (OCs for the kids online). She is also one of the characters I had in mind for the Supernatural character rules.
Briefly, she is a Street Faerie. These are members of the Fae that have chosen to live in cities. They are like pixies, complete with wings, but are more human-sized, if a bit shorter. Their wings look like those of the Peppered Moth. The obvious reason why is due to the case of the evolution of the peppered moth due to the Industrial Revolution. Just like the moth, these fae have adapted to the grim, gaslit streets of London.
Nell herself is a central figure in my Victorian games. She begins as a streetwalker but soon works her way up to running the notorious Gentleman's Club (in the Victorian sense of the term) "Mayfairs" in the late Victorian age. She is an occult information broker and nearly anyone who is anyone in the occult underworld owes her a favor. Knowledge is power and Nell knows everyone and knows what they know.
Innate Magic (Every 3 levels: Magic Missile, Charm Person, Produce Flame, Teleport), Double Damage from Iron weapons, +2 to Dexterity or Charisma, Glamour
Nell is a great character and I have loved using her in many games. By the 1890s she is quite rich, very powerful, and someone that the PCs will run into at some point.
You can't grow up in Central Illinois and not know something about Abraham Lincoln. I have been to Lincoln's tomb many times, the old Illinois State Capital, I have been to all the places he debated with Stephen Douglas, memorized many of his important speeches, and went on the Lincoln Pilgrimage a few times.
While I would categorize myself as merely an armchair Lincoln Scholar (I know two bonafide Lincoln Scholars) I would also say I am a bit more than an amateur, but certainly a fan.
Saves: +3 to supernatural attack saves, +2 to all Saves
Feed: Lincoln must destroy other supernatural creatures to sustain his existence.
Ghost Powers
Intangible. Can only be hit by magic or supernatural attacks. Unique Kill (same gun that John Wilkes Booth used). Can't leave their place of haunting, Supernatural Attack, Invisible. Supernatural Power: Manifest Weapon (Rail Splitter Axe). Drawback: Cannot Lie.
So there are no Ghosts as a playable race in NIGHT SHIFT. At least not yet. I have been playing around with some ideas. One idea is that every ghost will be able to choose a supernatural power like a Witch does. In Abe's case here he can manifest a spectral axe like the one he used in his "rail-splitter" days to fight evil supernatural creatures. This replaces the "scare" and "age 10 years" powers monster ghosts have.
Additionally, all Ghosts will have some sort of drawback relating to their life or death. Abe here can't willingly tell a lie. All those years of being called "Honest Abe" have put something akin to geas on him. For his "feed" he must defeat a supernatural creature every night. With nearby Jackson (see the Night Companion for more on that!) and ghosts from the Civil War, to ghosts dating back to the Ice Age (Ghost Mammoths!), to strange hominids and ghost panthers, there is plenty to keep Abe busy every night. (And plenty for me to think about when I used to go to the Illinois State Museum as a kid.)
Lincoln here is also a Chosen One. He was supposed to do more in his life and defeat more evil until he was prematurely assassinated. He continues his quest after death.
Lincoln haunts the Illinois State Capitol building and his tomb in Springfield IL. The first sighting was reported by a night guard in 1876. There are rumors he is also haunting the White House in Washington DC (hey maybe Nixon wasn't crazy!) as well.
I will be posting a lot more about Jackson, IL here as a "Blog exclusive."
Spirit of '76: Lincoln's ghost can also be used in my Spirit of '76 games.
The book "The Picture of Dorian Gray" certainly fits well with my Victorian theme. The movie, and my first experience with this tale, belongs to a later time (1945) but it still works.
I am not sure when I first saw the 1945 movie starring Hurd Hatfield and a young Angela Lansbury, but it left a mark on me. That picture! Only hinted at and eluded too through most of the film was bright and vivid in its final reveal.
Dorian Gray can be seen in the NIGHT SHIFT game as an Immortal. His unique kill would be to destroy the painting.
Strength: 10 (0)
Dexterity: 11 (0)
Constitution: 14 (+1) S
Intelligence: 15 (+1) S
Wisdom: 11 (0)
Charisma: 17 (+2) P
HP: 7
Alignment: Dark
AC: 9 Attack: +1
Fate Points: 1d6
Check Bonus (P/S/T): +2/+1/+0
Melee bonus: +0 Ranged bonus: 0
Saves: +3 Death Saves and area effects
Immortal Powers
Unique Kill: Destroy painting, Immortals regenerate 1d8 hit points every minute. +3 to Intelligence
Survivor Skills
Open Locks: 25%
Bypass Traps: 20%
Sleight of Hand: 30%
Move Silently: 30%
Hide in Shadows: 20%
Perception 45%
Danger Sense
Sneak attack +4, 2x damage
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Dorian here is a different sort of immortal. There is a tendency to make immortals all sword-wielding warriors out for each other's head (Highlander, The Old Guard) but not Dorian. He is a lover, not a fighter. Ok, he is an amoral lover and wicked man, but he is not going to go off to battle.
In some other ways, he is much like a successful lich, with his painting as his Soul Cage.
Dorian is described as a lot of things, but an RPG character is usually not one of them. He is, by all accounts, a normal human. I made him a 2nd level Survivor because I am sure he picked up a thing or two in his "adventures."
My week of doing the characters from Dracula has been an absolute blast. Can't wait to go reread the novel again. It got me thinking about others from this time period that might work out well and there are dozens. More than I will do for this challenge for sure, but enough to keep my busy.
One such character is Dr. Henry Jekyll and his evil counterpart Mr. Edward Hyde.
This also gives me a chance to try out something different with the new Lycanthrope rules.
Powers (Hyde): Danger Sense, Regenerate 1d6 hp, Natural Weapons, Rip and Tear, +3 to wisdom saves.
Feed: Must commit an act of violence every night.
Skills:
Medicine, Science, Knowledge (Chemistry), Research
Madness: On a roll of 1 or 2 on a d6 Jekyll will transform into Hyde.
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I opted to make Dr. Jekyll an Inventor rather than a sage because that seems to work out the best. His inventions are his serum and the means to deliver it. There was a great scene in the otherwise forgettable Edge of Sanity (1989) starring Anthony Perkins as both Jekyll and Hyde. Basically, Hyde is walking around London, killing prostitutes and hitting on, for all purposes, a crack pipe. The movie was not good, but Perkins was and the scene stuck with me.
Also the Jekyll/Hyde transformation can be used as a special type of Lycanthrope, or more generally, a "science" based Therianthrope. This would be the same thing we would use for the Hulk and Cú Chulainn.
There are some more tweaks I can do to this character, but this is a good place to start.
Quincey Morris is the odd man out here in the Dracula tale. He is a rich American, friends with Holmwood and Seward, and like Van Helsing he has had dealings with blood-suckers, in this case, vampire bats, before. He is also the character that gets left out of most other media more times than not.
It is Quincey, or rather his Bowie knife, that is instrumental in bringing down Dracula so Harker and Holmwood can kill him.
Had he survived the attack by Dracula he would have been a great character to become a vampire hunter. Other authors have picked up this challenge and have told stories of a survived Quincey, a vampire Quincey and even Quincey's younger brother (called "Cole" in at least one story). Quincey lives on in John and Mina's son, Quincy Harker.
Again, one of the best portrayals was Billy Campbell in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) which was also one of the most book accurate portrayals. Another good one is Ethan Chandler in Penny Dreadful
** Skills are optional in NIGHT SHIFT, but for Seward, Holmwood, and Morris I feel they are what set the characters apart and above and beyond their class abilities.
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You can see why Arthur and Quincey are often combined in movies where they work better in a book. Here their stats are not very different, they are both even 4th level Veterans. I did that on purpose to show that with the optional skills rules you can provide more customization with the characters. They are also played quite differently.
In the book Arthur Holmwood, later the Lord Godalming, is the other suitor for the hand of Lucy and the one she ultimately chooses. One of the plot threads in the books and made more clear in the 1992 movie, was that Holmwood, Seward, and Morris were all friends and even had a few adventures together.
I recall at the time of the 1992 movie that there were rumors of a possible prequel involving the "Victorian Young Guns" and their fights with the supernatural before Dracula. Neat idea, but all three were fairly incredulous at the idea of the supernatural when Van Helsing brings up the topic.
Still, Holmwood is pretty important to the tale because not only is he Lucy's suitor, he provides the money and the title to get the heroes all the things they need. Holmwood is also the one that drives the stake into Dracula's heart in the novel.
Cary Elwes provides one of the best performances, but I am also rather partial to Michael Gough in Hammer's 1958 Dracula and Simon Ward in 1973's Dracula which questionably featured Jack Palance as Dracula.
** Skills are optional in NIGHT SHIFT, but for Seward, Holmwood, and Morris I feel they are what set the characters apart and above and beyond their class abilities.
My next three characters are the ones that get forgotten the most. While Mina and Lucy will have their names changed/swapped, the next three are either reduced to one or two characters or forgotten about altogether.
Today I want to do one close to my heart, Dr. Jack Seward. Seward was a psychiatrist and I spent a number of years as a psychologist. Plus my one and only time on stage was playing Seward in my High School version of Dracula. Yeah, I am not going to dump my academic career for a life in the limelight, but it was fun.
My favorite performance of Seward was from Bram Stoker's Dracula from 1992 played by Richard E. Grant, though Donald Pleasence also gave a great performance in 1979's Dracula.
Seward's role in the novel is to first be a suitor to Lucy, but he also brings in Van Helsing. His friends Arthur Holmwood and Quincy Morris are also instrumental in the battle against Dracula.
** Skills are optional in NIGHT SHIFT, but for Seward, Holmwood, and Morris I feel they are what set the characters apart and above and beyond their class abilities.
Yesterday I featured Mina Murray Harker, the hero of the Dracula novel. The archetypical victim though belongs to her friend Lucy Westenra. I have compared Lucy and Mina a few times. Showing where Mina is the "Modern Woman," Lucy is the "Old World Woman." She does a lot to make herself more attractive to Dracula. She is looking for a man to define her life, she is a member of the "idle rich," she has bouts of sleep-walking, her innocence, and more. Where Mina is proactive, Lucy is largely reactive.
It is hard really not to feel bad for her.
After she is turned by Dracula all of that gets inverted. The sweet, coquettish girl becomes the dangerous "bloofer lady" that preys on children.
My favorite portrayal of her comes from Sadie Frost in 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula, but I also rather liked how Jan Francis looked as the vampire Lucy (or rather "Mina" in this version) in 1979's Dracula, though she looks nothing like the "bloofer lady." Though the most accurate physical portrayal was by Katie McGrath in the short run NBC series Dracula.
Dracula, and Lucy for that matter, drains Constitution, not "Levels," which is as it should be for "Dracula." There was no way Lucy could survive three attacks of draining 2 levels when she is always described as frail and weak before Dracula even shows up. Not only that the children Lucy later preys one are certainly 2nd level, they are barely 0 level.
Longtime readers here will know of my love of Mina Murray Harker, the true hero of the Dracula novel. I have talked about her here a few times, but in short, she is the one that puts all the pieces together, she is the one that has the forethought to transcribe everyone's notes. She is the one that really has the tools to go hunting for Dracula. She is also the prototype of the "Final Girl" a trope that will only grow for the next 120+ years.
One thing I have never cared for though was the whole reincarnated lover of Dracula. Mina is interesting enough without needing to add anything else to her character. That being said, I did not mind Alan Moore making her into a vampire. But that is not what I am going with her. This is Mina from the book and most of the movies.
Harker is the first character we meet in the novel Dracula. You would think this would make him the most important character, but that role will be discussed tomorrow. Harker is a means to end, both to the novel Dracula and the character Dracula. He provides the Victorian England point of view of the story.
He is not a particularly useful character, either in the novels or many of the movies. Though he gets more limelight in the 1979 John Badham, Frank Langella staring Dracula and in the 1992 Bram Stoker's Dracula from Francis Ford Coppola. I do remember at the time really ripping into Keanu Reeves' portrayal, but looking back over others and re-reading the book, Harker is kinda weak.
One of the more interesting characters in the Dracula novel and movies is "zoophagous maniac" R. M. Renfield. He is one of Dracula's first victims, though we never see the attack, we know that he is under Dracula's thrall.
We first meet Renfield in Dr. Seward's sanitorium where we learn he is very excitable and very strong. His defining features are his diet of bugs (though he hopes for a cat) and his deference to his "Master."
Given all of this, I thought with the new NIGHT SHIFT Night Companion going out to backers today, I'd give Renfield a try as a Ghoul.
A few things here. First I think this works great as Renfield. He works great as a Survivor, especially with his sneak attacks and his ability to escape. He also works great as a Ghoul. His bug-eating is covered well by his "Feed", a new rule feature in the Night Companion for Supernatural characters.
Additionally, his alignment is listed as "Dark" another new feature of the Night Companion. He is evil, but not irredeemable. Though in truth he never gets the chance.
In many ways, it was Van Helsing who was my true gateway to D&D.
While I will wax poetically about the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, it was really Hammer Horror that fueled my desire for adventure games. And while Christopher Lee's Dracula was the unchallenged star of many of the films of my youth it was Peter Cushing's portrayal of "doctor, professor, and meta-physician" Abraham Van Helsing that was the obvious model my first character took.
Professor Abraham Van Helsing 5th level Theosophist/5th level Sage (Human) Archetype: Vampire Hunter
Strength: 11 (0)
Dexterity: 13 (+1)
Constitution: 13 (+1)
Intelligence: 18 (+3) P
Wisdom: 18 (+3) S
Charisma: 15 (+1) S
HP: 45
Alignment: Lawful Good
AC: 8 Attack: +2
Fate Points: 1d10
Check Bonus (P/S/T): +5/+3/+2
Melee bonus: +0 Ranged bonus: +1
Saves: +3 (+6 total) to Spells and magical effects, +3 to all saves
Powers
See dead people, Turn Undead, Summon the Dead, Channel the Dead, Protection from the Dead, Sage abilities, Survivor skills, Lore, Read Languages, Suggestion
Spells First Level: Bless, Detect Evil Second Level: Find Traps, Knock
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Van Helsing, MD, D.Ph., D.Litt., etc., combines the powers of a sage and a theosophist. The sage is easy to see, but the theosophist is a little different. His powers are not those of a "necromancer" but rather own that studies the undead and wants to fight them.
The balance of powers each class gives is important to give the character the right feel. The Sage gives him his languages and survivor skills. The theosophist gives him some undead fighting ability. Though you never see him casting spells, save for rituals that would help him fight Dracula.
Been working a lot on NIGHT SHIFT lately so I see everything through this lens. So when one of my friends on Facebook posted this idea, you know I had to run with it.
Not too far-fetched, as the images of Santa and Father Christmas come to us from the legends of Odin wandering the land in disguise, giving gifts to children.
So for NIGHT SHIFT imagine this. It is December 13, but it is also Friday the 13th (the next time this happens is December 2024). A group of kids are back from college and getting ready for Christmas. They all get together and talk about how they all nearly died at Camp Crystal Lake one summer. The memories and the date summon Jason Voorhees to start killing again.
I imagine a sad and angry Santa Claus (I mean if Jason is real, why not Santa).
"I knew those children Freya!" he tells Mrs. Claus. "Billy. Susie. Ann. They were on the Nice List most of the time. They were all good kids!"
Mrs. Claus watched him for a moment, she then reached into her dress and pulls out a large iron key on a silver chain. Santa stands, takes the offered key. He goes and unlocks a cabinet. Inside is a large golden spear. "Ah, Gungnir old friend. It is time again." He removes his jolly red coat to reveal his muscled frame donned in fine mail.
Mrs. Claus hands him his shield saying "Remind him who you were, GrÃmnir. Who you are."
He walks out of his workshop in the driving snow (in slow motion no less) as two ravens fly into the scene to fly in front of him.
Santa Claus 20th Level Chosen One Supernatural
Strength: 20 (+4) s Dexterity: 17 (+2) Constitution: 14 (+1) Intelligence: 16 (+2) Wisdom: 18 (+3) P Charisma: 20 (+4) s
HP: 110 (20d8+20) AC: 2 Fate Points: 1d10
Check Bonus (P/S/T): +8/+6/+4 Melee bonus: +10 Ranged bonus: +6 Saves: +6 to all
For a game I would have the PCs being hunted by Jason and the only one that can save them is Santa. That is of course if they can remind him that he had once been Odin.
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Joe and Becky were running for their lives.
The monster in the hockey mask had killed Gary and it was now after them. Becky was hurt and limping. Joe was trying to hold her up while they ran. Both were terrified. Joe was looking behind and he no longer saw the monster and he didn't notice the limb and he tripped, bringing him and Becky down. They looked up and saw the monster. The monster raised his machete to bring down on the teens. Joe heard a scream that he thought was Becky's, but he soon realized it was his own. Instead of the sound of metal on flesh, the sound was metal on metal.
Joe looked up and to his complete astonishment, he saw.
"Santa?" Joe asked, surprised.
"Ho. Ho. Ho." Santa said, but there was no mirth in it. His spear held back the machete. "Now, foul draugr. Not these children." Santa knocked the undead slasher back with his spear. "Not during MY season!"
It is the first of the month, so that means a new character. I went through the effort of creating a new character for Man, Myth & Magic. Well, I say "new" because it is a new character for this game, but it is someone I have used a lot in the past.
The Game: Man, Myth & Magic
I spent the day reviewingMan, Myth & Magic and it was rather fun. But not a game I am likely to play. So in these cases I use the game to help inform characters that I might be using in other games. In this case I am doing the human, still living version of a character that has so far only appeared in my games as a ghost.
The Character: Queen Boudica
Fans of the Ghosts of Albion RPG will recognize this name. Boudica is the Queen of the Iceni Celts living in western Briton at the time of the Roman occupation. So the time period is really perfect. I set this at 61 CE. If I am going to play a game in Roman Briton then I want to join the Queen as she burns down Londinium.
Boudica, or Boadicea, was a central figure in the Ghosts of Albion animations on the BBC and in the books by Christopher Golden and Amber Benson. She became one of my personal favorite characters in the RPG as well. While she is great fun as a ghost, getting the chance to play her as a still living and breathing human is too much of a temptation to pass up.
I am going to include a scan of the sheet with page numbers appended to it. This was one of the bigger (but by no means unique) issues with this game. You have to flip all over the place to get the information you need to create a character, let alone to play.
Note: Windows updated and now can't find my scanner. So here is an image from my phone.
In Ghosts of Albion lore, Boadicea had some magic. She was in the middle of casting a spell when she was murdered in fact.
For Boudica here I did not include any spells, though I could have. I didn't find any that fit well with the concept of her in this game. Plus she is technically not a spell caster here.
In any case, she is a fascinating character and I could stat her up in several systems and not grow tired of her.
For this build, I went with the Soulknife Rogue from Tasha's and the Dhampir from Van Richten's. Yes. I had something in mind already.
The Character: BloodRayne
One of the best ways for me to test out a character in a new system is to take a character I already know well. If I am going to test out the Dhampir rules in D&D then I am going to need a dhampir I know well, and that means Rayne.
I have done stats for Rayne, the titular character of the BloodRayne video game series (and movie series from Uwe Boll), for both Unisystem and Superbabes. She does have a D&D 5e connection with Laura "Jester" Bailey voicing the character in the video games long before she rose to geek fame in Critical Role.
Rebuilding Rayne with the new features in both Tasha's and Van Richten's was actually rather easy. I had a concept in mind and the rules allowed me to re-create her with no issues. Mind you this is a "D&D Rayne" not the BloodRayne from the video games. Despite the grief D&D 5 gets for being "superheroic" I could not emulate all her moves or powers. I suppose I could have gone with a little bit of warlock and in particular a Hexblade (and I still might). But I wanted something that would fit in well enough with a D&D party.
Zee is obviously very powerful in DC Comics, or to quote Felix Faust, "You're the only one here that's really a threat." Bear in mind the others in the room were John Constantine, Etrigan the Demon, Deadman, and Batman.
How would she fare in Night Shift? For starters, I am going to shift her prime from Wisdom (for witches) to Intelligence. In fact, I borrow a rule from my co-author's, Jason Vey, other game Amazing Adventures, and allow my witches to take whichever mental stat they need for their Primary/Spellcasting.
In the comics, we Zee practicing, sometimes with flashcards even, how to say words backward. It takes her practice to learn and do. That is more aligned with the old-school D&D magic-user really than a witch and that means Intelligence.
Today's character comes to you all via the Night Companion rules and a challenge from my friend Greg to rebuild his Ghosts of Albion playtest character using the NIGHT SHIFT rules.
The Game: NIGHT SHIFT, Night Companion Rules
The Night Companion has a number of alternate rules for character creations including a point-buy system and new character types. I figure I will show off the Immortal rules here and how they work with NIGHT SHIFT RAW. I am also using the point-buy rules to "check my math."
The Character: Valerie Beaumont, the Immortal
Lady Valerie Beaumont has "haunted" my games for years. She was a playtest character created for Ghosts of Albion by my friend Greg Littlejohn. We have run games for each other off and on over the last 20+ years. He is a great person to give a test game to and tell him "to break it." There was an alternate combat system that almost went into to Ghosts but did not thanks to him!
Valerie was also later used when we were playtesting the first round of Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space. Little known fact. A lot of the Ghosts of Albion playtesters were also playtesters for Doctor Who.
Saves: +3 Death Saves and area effects. +5 to saves vs. spells and magical effects. She gains an additional +5 to all saving throws against magic, poison, disease, and death-based attacks due to her immortality.
Immortal Powers Unique Kill: Virginia Dare (See Below) Immortals regenerate 1d8 hit points every minute. +3 to Intelligence
Survivor Skills Open Locks: 115% Bypass Traps: 110% Sleight of Hand: 120% Move Silently: 120% Hide in Shadows: 110%
Immortal Arcana Innate Magic: Suggestion (x3 per day) Enhanced Senses
Valerie was born in 1569 and is immortal. She was a young English girl that made her way to the new world in the year 1585. She came to the new world and settled in the Roanoke Colony where she lived for a couple of years. Then something happened. She was caring for the young Virginia Dare and then woke up several days later and several miles from home. When she had managed to return to the colony, everyone was gone. She also discovered that she was immortal and was certain that the two were somehow linked.
Valerie spent the next few years roaming the new world. She learned magic from some of the few true witches in Salem and more from the indigenous Native Americans.
She has a ring on her right little finger that manages a glamour that "ages" her. A gift from a former lover. Currently, she appears to be in her mid-40s. Without the glamour, she appears as she did when she discovered her immortality, a young woman of 18. Her mind though is as someone just over 450.
Shadow Steel Sword
She also carries a long thin blade made of "shadow steel" a rare form of steel that the Fae can use. It can attack any supernatural creature, even ones that are incorporeal or shifted out of phase.
Virginia Dare
When Valerie was brought to the American colonies her primary employment was with the Dare family to act as a caretaker to the newborn Virginia Dare. When Valerie was separated from the colony all the other people living in the Roanoke Colony were gone, including Virginia Dare. For years and even centuries, people claimed to have seen Dare, now grown into young adulthood and called the White Doe. Many believed the sitings of Dare were nothing more than a myth.
That is, everyone except for Valerie.
At some point around 1622 Valerie encountered Virginia living with the Powhatan in the forests of Virginia. At first, Valerie was elated to find Virginia, but this soon turned when Virginia blamed Valerie for the disappearance of the colony. The two fought and discovered quickly that they could harm, even likely kill, each other. Likely they would have if they had not been interrupted by British forces. Over the next few centuries they would encounter each other and it would lead to fighting.
Both Valerie and Virginia are immortals. The only thing that can kill them is each other.
Looking forward to doing some more with these two.
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I have her start as a Survivor. She was displaced from her colony and spent many years wandering the unknown wilds of the North American continent. Eventually, she picked up knowledge here and there about various occult matters in including some magic.
I like this since it really shows off how flexible the multi-classing system for NIGHT SHIFT can be.
Yesterday I reviewed the 3rd Edition of the Bunnies & Burrows RPG. So given my desire to stick with cute and fluffy bunnies, I thought a character was in order.
The Game: Bunnie & Burrows
I detailed this game yesterday, so no need to go into a lot of details here and now.
The Character: Simon
Simon is a dwarf Jersey Wooley rabbit. He is a good bunny and a bit of a rascal.
Let's take a quick break from Ravenloft to talk about something that will send many DM's screaming for the hills in horror.
Character backstories
Now, most old-school players will argue that 1st level characters don't need a backstory. That would be fine and all, but I remember playing in the 80s. I have lost count of how many "disgraced princes," "lost royalty," or "tragic orphans" I ran into in games. I get it, it was fantasy and a way to play out various ideas, concepts, whatever. D&D was cheaper than therapy. I get it. I do. And it is fine you don't want to do them now.
But don't pretend it didn't happen.
I have no issues with backstories. In most of the RPGs I play a backstory is an excuse for the GM (me) to torture your character some more. Have the Love quality/drawback in the Buffy RPG? Yeah. Might want to rethink that one. But I don't always have to do that.
Our two primary modern examples of "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joesph Campbell are Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter. By all accounts, they are 1st level characters. Luke is a farm kid. Harry is an abused 11-year-old. BOTH have great backstories. "Yer a wizard Harry!" "My name is Luke." "Yer a Jedi Luke!" But, yes, both are tragic backstories. Take Campbell's own example of the Monomyth, Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is already the King when the story starts. That's a backstory no one would accept!
Let's just say that there is going to be some sort of backstory. How should you do it?
Well once again let's turn to Ginny Di.
She might be new at D&D but her enthusiasm is greater and more infectious than a room full of Grogs blogging about it. Your humble author included.
Her recent video is overtly about one topic, but she actually makes two very good points here that pretty much everyone should agree with.
So her two major points are:
Backstories don't need to be tragic or even dark
Leave it open enough for your DM to work it into the campaign
That's solid advice. One I would like to hope that most Old-Schoolers follow already.
My oldest son has already instituted a "maximum" limit on what a backstory in his games are. Right now I think it is a page, but he has talked about a paragraph. Me? I don't care, make as long as you like just keep it in reason.
Ginny points out that characters, and this is true for every version of the game, are not normal people. A level 1 character is still better than a 0 level Normal Human. They have more hp, are better at fighting or even have magic. Even in Van Righten's Guide to Ravenloft, the Survivors are slightly better than normal humans. Luke already was Force-sensitive, Harry could still do some minor magic and talk to snakes.
Also, no normal person is going to live a life to go out adventuring. So find those reasons. Even if that reason is "I just want a pile of treasure."
Taking Ginny's Advice
At the end of the video, she asks us two questions.
Have you ever had a character with a happy backstory? What kind of problems do you run into when writing character backstories?
These are good questions to ask.
Happy Backstory?
Yes. My wizard Phygora, like his namesake and idol Phygor, came from a well to do, happy prosperous family in Glantri. He was well-liked, no issues with school, loves, or friends. Just one day he decided, like Phygor before, him to travel the world to learn all the magic he could. While this could have been tragic, it was symbolic of my own desires to learn all sorts of things.
I have had fighters and thieves that have "only it for the money" or as the kids say "the lolz."
Backstory Problems?
Sadly I do find the tragic backstory easier to write. Larina's family died in their apothecary shop while she was away studying. Though I recently brought her mother and father back. Johan's twin brother was killed by ghouls, then he died to become another's character's back story. I have the usual suspects of orphans, outcasts and other murder hobos. They far outweigh the happy stories.
Over the years though I have been looking at other ways to generate characters and backstories.
It occurred to me years (ok. decades) ago when sitting in my History of Psychology course. We were going over Freud's theories of self and were contrasting them with later theorists. Now I have always preferred Jung over Freud. I guess I am just Jung at heart! (sorry. That joke is mandated by my university, if I don't use it they take away my degrees.)
I am planning to expand on this, but I came to see many of my characters as representations of various Freudian and Jungian concepts.
The easiest one to show is Larina, she is a manifestation of my Jungian Anima/Shadow Self. Phygora is my Freudian Super-Ego, Johan is my Ego and my assassin character represents my Id.
I have always been curious if others have done this.
