Mirror, Mirror

So tomorrow I play my first Pathfinder game.
I am playing it with the kids, so it is not the same group as my 4e game.

But I am going to play the same character.

This of course will raise a cry from my GM saying "but you always play the same character".  This is true, to a degree.  Most often I am "playtesting" the same character and I hold it as my constant amid a sea of variables.  In this case I am not playtesting, but I am testing something, or somethings.

First I want to know exactly how this two versions of D&D differ from each other.  There are factions on both sides claiming that "Game X" is "Teh one true way!!"  I feel rather that they are two different interpretations of the same thing (that will get me comments).  But the only way I am going to get that is to play the same (or very similar) characters.  But which character to choose.

IF I were paying attention and planned this out I might have chosen a Paladin or Cleric.  Both have had rather large changes to them over the years and it would be a nice bit a symmetry to my first D&D character, who was a cleric and then I played his son, a paladin, as my first AD&D character.  
But in truth I wanted to play my witch.

I have written a lot about witches over the years and with me through all of that has been one character.  I use her in all my playtest and I have been using her a lot lately.  Plus both games offer, for the first time, a witchy-like character as a published choice and not something I have had to make up on my own.

In Pathfinder she is a witch, using the new witch class from their playtest.  Now I have a 3.x witch class and it is different than what Pathfinder has.    But I think it will work out well enough.

In D&D 4 she is a Fey-Pact Warlock.  Not a perfect fit mind you, but it is working out well enough too, for different reasons.

I am working making their skills similar to each other, taking similar spells, powers and feats.  Since these are all being driven from a central character concept this is really not that big of deal.  See, I can do high-level "role-playing" and the rules are only a manifestation of how my concept appears.

So if I am judging these games on how well they fit a concept I guess I could start now.
I am not ready to get into a lot of detail yet (no time today), but here are the basics.
- Pathfinder witch:  Has the mystery and background concept to fit the character well.
- D&D 4 warlock: Fey pact is a bit of a stretch really, but none of the other pacts are any better.  The powers though of the warlock are a better fit in some cases.  Maybe I need a new pact to make this work, but that violates the "rules" and making up for this (create nothing new).

So concept-wise the initial round goes to Pathfinder with only a slight lead, but D&D4 is rather close.
If I add some of the stuff from the newer books such as backgrounds then it is very, very close.  The biggest flaw in D&D4 is the Fey Pact is not what I wanted exactly.

Tomorrow is the true test.

Returning to the Keep

Playing a Pathfinder game this weekend and I am pretty psyched about it.

Even more psyched now that I know we are going to the Keep on the Borderlands!
I guess it has filled up with monsters again.

"Bree-Yark" is goblin for "I surrender" right?

Should be a blast.

Taking a new path

So. I had a plan. It was a good plan as far as these things go. That is till my regular DM decided to do something unexpected.

We have a few games going, I have one with my kids (3.x), he has one with his (4.0), we have one together with some friends (4.0) and one with both families (4.0).   I was going to finish out my game with my boys and start up a 4.0 game with them to go through all the classic modules.

That is till last night.  Turns out that my DM now wants to use Pathfinder.

Now don't get me wrong, I like Pathfinder, it is a nice book and really a good looking game.  I also happen to think that there is some life left in the D&D 3.x game too.  But this does mess up my master plan. ;)

We were talking today about what adventures he wants to do with this group (him, his three boys, me and my two) and it was very, very similar to my plan I had for 4th Ed.

Last night I was less than thrilled about "going back" to 3.x, but today I am actually quite excited about it.

I have been on Paizo's website and there is a ton of fun stuff there. And the Pathfinder stuff is compatible with all my other 3.x stuff.   Plus I am going to get to play their witch (which is not exactly like mine for 3.x, but close enough).  So this could be very fun to be honest.  I can still use all my 4.0 stuff with my boys, I just might need a new plan on adventures.

So it looks like I'll be playing D&D 4.0 AND Pathfinder/D&D 3.65 (or something like that).
Anyone else playing Pathfinder? Any tips or advice?

Wait? Is it 1982 again? More anti-D&D crap.

So the old "Dungeons and Dragons causes violence" meme has reared it's ugly head again.  This time from the particularly lazy journalism of Ms. Laurel J. Sweet and the Boston Herald.  Ms. Sweet put forth that golden chestnut that somehow playing the game Dungeons and Dragons is somehow linked to violent murder. In particular the ones Amy Bishop is accused of.

Now let me be clear here.  What ever Amy Bishop did or didn't do in her personal life is unimportant when dealing with the fact that she murdered three people, supposedly because she didn't get tenure.  We could just as easily blame the University tenure track or the pressures of a publish or perish environment.  I am sure people will blame the gun companies too.
Here is a novel idea.  Let's blame Amy Bishop.  She is the one that pulled the trigger after all.  Apparently she kept pulling till the gun jammed.

But my ire is not directed at Amy Bishop.  We have a court system, juries and a judge for her.  No mine is on the lazy, so called journalism of  Laurel J. Sweet.  Yeah I linked her name again.  Wonder why.

To make the claims or even allusions she is making are either laziness, a misguided attempt to push copy or a hidden conservative agenda.   She published not just one, but two articles on this.  At the risk of giving her exactly what she wants here are the links.  Use a browser that blocks ads if you wish to make a statement:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100215oddball_protrait_emerges_suspects_family_pals_offer_clues/srvc=home&position=0
and
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1233150

So. why do I get so worked up about these things?  Well frankly stupid people piss me off, but smart people enabling stupid people to do more stupid things is worse.

See here is how it works.  Lazy journalist looking for a good byline writes fluff piece about D&D leading to murder.  Next thing you know some shit-for-brains religious fuck-wit then quotes the article as "expert testimony", then that person gets quoted as "reading up on all the latest literature", then it is used as "evidence" in a Wikipedia article and you get a snowball of stupid rolling down hill.

Next thing you know someone is digging up old Pat Pulling again and TLN is showing "Mazes & Monsters" in heavy rotation.

Ok to be fair I have no idea if TLN has ever shown "Mazes & Monsters".

It irritates me because it is lazy, and stupid.  Obviously the Boston Herald is trying to push copy and Ms. Sweet is only too happy to help.  But it is bad journalism.

I had my run ins with the D&D Satanic Panic of the 80's.  I was lucky to have had parents that were smart enough to know better than to listen to fundies and to trust their children.  Later on I dealt with Jack Chick personally and, if I may be so bold, came out the winner in that one.

The time I now spend playing D&D with my own children has been fantastic.  I have met some of the coolest people through this game and others like it.  It is a great past time full of great people who deserve better than being painted by the sloppy brush of Laurel J. Sweet.

Agree with me?  Why not let Laurel J. Sweet know yourself.  Reasonable, intelligent emails only.  Or even just something to convey your disappointment in a polite manner.

Don't give her anything else to write about.

Gen Con 2010, Ghosts and more

So I bought my Gen Con tickets for myself and my family.  We are committed to going now.
Well I always was.

Talked to my regular GM and he also wants to run some Ghosts of Albion games.  So even more Ghosts fun this year!

Like everyone else it seems I am gaga over the new hotness that is Labyrinth Lord Advanced Edition Companion.  More on that soon.

And I am totally digging the new trailer for The Last Airbender, seen here at Hero Press.  http://www.heropress.net/2010/02/other-avatar.html

Why I still enjoy the OSR

I was going through a bunch of my OSR books the other day.  Played around with converting (again!) my Family D&D night over to some unholy version of D&D Rules Cyclopedia and Basic Fantasy Role-Playing, but dropped that idea for some good reasons (if my kids are going to play D&D in other places then I should start them out with the rules that are most popular in their school). I do really like the idea of picking up a "Basic" game sometime.  I figure using the D&DRC and starting everyone out at 5th or 6th level is close to the experience they would have with D&D 4th Ed.

Don't get me wrong. I am really enjoying D&D 4, and yes it is entirely possible to have an "old school experience" with this game.  It is less (to me) about the rules and more about what you do with them.  Yeah I know there are plenty of people out there that will tell how "wrong" that is or I am, but who cares? I am having fun.

I was also reading over my Original Edition D&D books this past weekend.  They are fun to have and one day I will play that version again.   The White Box edition of Swords & Wizardry is getting a lot of noise out in OSR land now and that is cool.  Spellcraft & Swordplay though is still my favorite OSR book and that is not just because I am friends with Jason, but because it really works for me.  I like the "garage band" feel of it.

I hope the OSR does not loose any steam anytime soon.  It has been very cool watching this grow and prosper over the last year or so.  The messages boards and blog posts are still going strong so that is a good sign.  The books also keep going out and that is the best sign of all.

I Have a Plan…

It's not a great plan, or even a well thought out one, but it is a plan. I am going to be taking my two sons (and now it seems, my wife) on a massive 4^th Edition D&D campaign. Yes I know this will take years, but that is fine, I have those years. I am going to place it in my "Mystoerth" world.

Given my penchant for all things horror, I am going to set up the campaign to focus on the ascent of Orcus to godhood. Orcus is a great enemy to have. He is unrepentant evil, his minions are undead and he is full of rage, horror and violence and everything a good upstanding hero would want to stop.

I'd use some of the "new" mythology of Orcus and Raven Queen, plus a bit of my own. But not all would be railroaded plot-driven arcs. My oldest son loves to fight dragons so that would also be there. Plus I want to make this very, very relaxed. The unfolding meta-plot is my extra enjoyment, but I want to do it in such a way that we all have fun.

I am going to place it in my world's version of Glantri. Glantri is from Mystara and in that world was a Principality, now I have at as Theocratic Monarchy where the King is also the head of the Church of State. So basically, Fairy Tale England, or more to the point Fairy Tale Western Europe, since I also have influences of France and Italy here. The Princes are gone, defeated in a coup, but their lands remain ruled by nine dukes under the King. The Dukes are mostly the old family of the Princes, looking for a chance to reclaim power. So I have political intrigue if I want it, but I am going to be keeping my good and evil mostly easy to spot, at least in the beginning. The Dukes allow me to use older Glantri material, I just swap out the terms. Under the Dukes are various landed nobles, typically retired adventures, known as Barons and Counts. My thinking here is to give my boys all the full D&D experiences; so there are knights and dames, courts of intrigue and chivalry, and the way for brave adventurers to return home as heroes. Sure it is not "grim-dark" or even "points of light", but it can be part of the "oncoming darkness".

My world has a Blackmoor, a Desert, a Hyborea, not mention Greyhawk, Glantri and Kara-Tur all in one world. So, more than enough to keep me and my family busy for years to come really. Though there are only four of us, I might have to bring in some others, maybe some of their friends as well. This is one of the main reasons I am going with 4^th Edition as opposed to say an older version (the D&D Rules Cyclopedia would be so awesome for this) or another game (like Ghosts of Albion). I am more likely to find others that play 4E than some other game AND it just makes the most sense really given all the tools for 4E out now.

Here is the "Hero Tier" to borrow a phrase. These will be local and be the Mystara flavor of the epic.

• T1 The Village of Hommlet, levels 1-2. I do have the 4^th Edition update for this.
• B1 In Search of the Unknown, levels 1-3 (can run this one in my sleep)
• B2 The Keep on the Borderlands, levels 1-3
• B3 Palace of the Silver Princess, levels 1-3 (using bits from both the "Green" and "Orange" versions).
• L1 The Secret of Bone Hill, levels 2-4
• X1 The Ilse of Dread, levels 3-7
• X2 Castle Amber, levels 3-6 (place it in the Shadowfell, which is the new Ravenloft anyway)
• C2 The Ghost Tower of Inverness, levels 5-7. Though I won't run it as a tournament module and that is if I don't use it as a converted Doctor Who adventure.
• I6 Ravenloft, levels 5-7. That is if I don't use it as a convert Ghosts of Albion adventure. Use some of the Ravenloft campaign/world setting stuff here too.
• S2 White Plume Mountain, levels 5-10
• I10 Ravenloft II, House on Gryphon Hill, levels 8-10 (maybe. They might be burned out on undead by this time.)

Now begins the "Paragon Tier" and I will start with the Gygaxian canon.

• S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (with some of the info from the 3.5 update), levels 6-10
• WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, levels 5-10
• S1 Tomb of Horrors, levels 10-14 (though some of the instant kill traps changed, more skill challenges)
• S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, levels 8-12
• G123, Against the Giants, levels 8-12
• D12 Descent into the Depths of the Earth, levels 9-14
• D3 Vault of the Drow, levels 10-14
• Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits, levels 10-14
• CM2 Death's Ride, levels 15-20. This sets up the next tier, or I could even make this the start of the next tier and keep the Epic levels nothing but Gygaxian Greyhawk. I like that idea.

I can also fit Gary's "Dungeon Land" and "The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror" adventures here as well to complete the Gygaxian saga. But I need to re-read those to be sure.

Now here would also be a good spot for the DA series Blackmoor adventures for made for the Expert D&D set, but there is a lot of high tech stuff mixed in with those. I might pick and choose things, but I think I am more likely to go with the newer d20 Blackmoor stuff.

The "Epic Tier" is harder, but here some ideas.
Some of the Master level modules (M2, M3 and M5 in particular) look like they would work well. Plus they have the Mystara high fantasy feel that some of the Greyhawk modules don't have.
Of course I would do the Bloodstone series here, just make them harder, maybe even pair them up with the Orcus related adventures for 4e (the new "E" series), though old H4 and new E3 cover a lot of the same ground. I would want to add some other planes adventures here too. So to follow my rule of thumb I should try to find at least 6 more adventures for this tier.

• H1 Bloodstone Pass, levels 15+
• H2 The Mines of Bloodstone, levels 16-18
• H3 The Bloodstone Wars, levels 17-20
• H4 The Throne of Bloodstone, levels 18-100

I could also do a sub-campaign in my desert area using:

• B4 The Lost City, levels 1-3 (though I am using this one now in 3.5)
• I3 Pharaoh, levels 5-7
• I4 Oasis of the White Palm, levels 6-8
• I5 Lost Tomb of Martek, levels 7-9
• X4 Master of the Desert Nomads, levels 6-9
• X5 Temple of Death, levels 6-10
• I9 Day of Al'Akbar, level 8-10. Useful for the Cup and Talisman of Al'Akbar.

Now granted these levels are all for AD&D and Basic D&D and might not translate well into 4E. But I have a lot of tools at my disposal to help with that. I have a load of maps, a DDI subscription, monsters and even some third party stuff to make it all work. If I plan everything out correctly I can have them go up a level at the end of every adventure. I like that too. Also I can set up a titanic army of the undead using all the previous "bosses" from these adventures. So Strahd, Drenzula, Korbundar, Acerak, and more I know I am forgetting. Plus some GM PCs I'd love to try out that I know I'll never get to play in a 4^th Ed game.

To borrow a Klingon quote, "It will be glorious!"

My first new Game of 2010: BASH

Well had my regular GM and his family over the other night for New Year's Eve and I was introduced to BASH, Basic Action Super Heroes. It is a simple supers RPG that I am sure I am going to be playing more of in the near future. But what has impressed me the most are the number of conversions that the BASH fan community has already put together. I converted one of my M&M characters over to BASH fairly quickly. I have another character I am working on now that started out in BESM 3.0, re-done in M&M (as PL 5), then converted over to Marvel Super Heroes. It will be interesting to see if the BASH conversion goes over well.

The system is really simple, a good thing these days, and looks easy to learn. I also looks pretty flexible too. There are BASH Fantasy and BASH Sci-Fi games too, which I will need to check out.

Like most Supers games, well pretty much every game, I look at the magic first. So far the powers look very Champions or Mutants & Masterminds like, i.e. I choose the "Blast" power and call it "Arcane Blast". I plan to look at Fantasy BASH for more classical, ritualized spellcasting. Given my GM's preferences, I also expect we will be diving into Sci-Fi BASH at some point this year as well.
Since that seems to be the thing to do I'll post some conversions for BASH myself, after I have read it a bit more.

Other games I want to play in 2010:

• D&D 3.x (running) – I want to finish up my oldest son's campaign to defeat Tiamat. The characters in this game will the mytho-historical figures of our next, 4e game.
  
• D&D 4e (playing) – I have at least four 1^st to 2^nd level characters that I have started on various games and I want them to progress.
  
• Doctor Who (running or playing) – I am going to convert my Ghosts of Albion adventure "Obsession" over to Doctor Who. Fitting really since one of its inspirations was the 4^th Doctor's "The Talons of Weng-Chiang". I thought about doing it for Victoriana, but part of plot is somewhat contradictory in a world where everyone knows magic is real.
  
• Witch Girls Adventures (running or playing) – I have a few things I am working on for myself that look like they would be a lot of fun.
  

Otherwise here is to some good gaming in 2010!

The Hex Girls

We're the Hex Girls!

And we're gonna put a spell on you.

- The Hex Girls Hex Girl

So I had this idea. I was washing dishes and thought that we need a sequel to Scooby Doo. My boys had just watched Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost and it featured a goth girl band called The Hex Girls. They later showed up in another Scooby Doo movie, Scooby Doo and the Legend of the Vampire and again in the Whats New, Scooby Doo? series episode The Revenge of the Vampire.

So lets take the original premise of Scooby Doo, a group of kids that solve mysteries but are also in a rock band. The end of The Witch's Ghost even pay homage to this with the Scooby gang playing backup for the Hex Girls. The members are playing the instruments they were going to originally play back in '69. Scooby is even on the bongos like the original concept.

Flip the concept a bit; the supernatural is real, but no one believes in it. Throw in the Hex Girls and faster that you can say spin off I had an idea for a new series.

The Hex Girls Animated Series

The basic premise is simple. The Hex Girls (Thorn, Luna and Dusk) are a group of young musicians touring America (Series 1) and then the World (Series 2). Secretly though they are all witches. Not very powerful ones yet, but they do have the talent. Given the laws of cartoon and RPG universes, every town they have a gig in something weird is going on. So in the 22 minutes they have they need to discover what is going on, put a stop to what ever supernatural problem is happening, work together while doing it, and still be on stage for their show that night. All the while keeping their Manager Jasper Ridgeway happy and avoiding paparazzi photographer/occult conspiracy theorist Flash Cameron.

Think of it as Supernatural or Charmed for kids. Since there is a wealth of popular culture to draw from starting with the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew all the way up to Ben 10 and W.I.T.C.H. coming up with episodes ideas is easy AND it works as a good way to bring kids into roleplaying.

The trick though is to keep this from turning into a newer version of Josie and the Pussycats. Or worse. A Goth version of JEM.

History of the Band

The Hex Girls were a local goth band formed by Thorn (aka Sally McKnight) and Luna (aka Kim Moss) in their hometown of Oakhaven, MA; the same hometown as horror/mystery author Ben Ravenscroft was from (and where the Hex Girls and the Scooby Gang defeated him and the ghost of his long dead ancestor Sarah Ravenscroft). It was here when Thorn first discovered her magical abilities. Luna and drummer Dusk, later discovered their powers returning from a video shoot in Transylvania.

Sally and Kim were friends in high school, both being artsy goth chicks. Dusk (she has never given out her real name, yet) is a couple years younger and was attending the local private academy when she auditioned for the band. She showed up in her school uniform, black lipstick and fingernails, sat down at the kit and blew everyone away. When asked about her past experience on drums, she admitted she never played before in her life but had practice in beating people up.

After winning the Unsigned Bands contest at Vampire Rock in Australia, the band was signed up by Warner Bros. and picked up manager Jasper Ridgeway.

Characters

Thorn (Sally McKnight)
22 (voiced by Jennifer Hale, who was on Charmed once)

Sally is the leader of the group, she plays lead guitar and lead vocals. She was also the first to have her powers manifest themselves. She is the groups defacto Occult Scholar, having her Great-Great Grandmother's spell book and a natural curiosity of all things occult and supernatural.

Thorn writes the bands more pro-activist songs like Earth, Wind, Fire and Air. She describes her self as a Wiccan and an Eco-Goth. She is very vocal about her points of view and belongs to many Pro-Earth, Pro-Animal, anti-pollution organizations. Since discovering her magic at the end of The Witch's Ghost she has also been very interested in her own family's legacy of magic. She knows her mother did not have the gift and she is sure her grandmother didnt but she wants to know more about her great-grandmother and her great-great-grandmother. Some episodes even deal with Thorn looking into her own past. She is usually the first to want to investigate the creepy house or the haunted graveyard or schedule her concerts around her horoscope.

Name: Thorn (Unisystem)
Motivation: To discover her family's magical secrets; to make some great music
Creature Type: Human witch
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Constitution 3, Intelligence 3, Perception 3, Willpower 4
Abilities: Muscle 10, Combat 10, Brains 12
Life Points: 30
Drama Points: 20
Qualities and Drawbacks: Artist (Musician), Attractive +2, Contacts (Supernatural) +1, Magic +2, Occultism 4.

Maneuvers
Name Score Damage Notes
Dodge 10 - Defense action
Grapple 12 - Resisted by Dodge
Punch 10 6 Bash
Kick 9 7
Magic 10 By Spell

Name: Thorn (Witch Girls Adventures)
Witch Outsider/Gothique
Body: d4
Mind: d6
Senses: d6
Will: d8
Social: d8
Magic: d10

Skills
Acting +1, Art +3, Basics +1, Dancing +2, Hear +1, Instrument +5, Leader +1, Pop Culture +2, Singing +6
Casting +2, Enchantment +1, Focus +2, Magic Etiquette +2, Mysticism +2

Traits
Talents: Calm, Entertainer (+1)
Heritage: Legacy

Luna (Kim Moss)

23 (voiced by Kimberly Brooks)

Kim claims her mother was descended from African slaves as they escaped New Orleans and brought their Voodoo with them to Massachusetts and that her father is descended from a long line of members of the secret Rosicrucian Brotherhood. Her parents are actually an elementary school teacher and an orthodontist respectively, but they encourage their daughter's stage persona. Her father even made the artificial, but very real looking, fangs they wear on stage.

Luna plays keyboards, bass, rhythm guitar and writes most of the music and lyrics for the group. She is also the bands best spell writer and has been experimenting with spells that can be played on instruments and spells that are sung. She formed the Hex Girls with Thorn when they were in Art School together. She is a walking encyclopedia of musical knowledge. Everything from Rock, to Rap to Reggae to Classical to Jazz and Country.

Also, Luna has a number 1 single. She did a cover track of Almost Paradise with then-boyfriend Matt Martigan (from "Legend of the Vampire"). This causes her a bit of embarrassment in interviews since the track was never supposed to be released.
One thing she is not embarrassed about is her mixed racial heritage. In interviews she has taken some jabs for her stage make-up, some interviewers even going as far to suggest that she is trying to pretend to be white. She usually responds with I am trying to pretend to be undead! Dusk has pointed out, much to Luna's chagrin, that Luna's dad is, in fact, white and an orthodontist; the whitest job on the planet.

Name: Luna (Unisystem)
Motivation: To have a number one band.
Creature Type: Human witch
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Constitution 3, Intelligence 4, Perception 3, Willpower 5
Abilities: Muscle 10, Combat 10, Brains 14
Life Points: 30
Drama Points: 20
Qualities and Drawbacks: Artist (Musician), Attractive +2, Contacts (Supernatural) +1, Magic +1, Occultism 3.
Maneuvers
Name Score Damage Notes
Dodge 10 - Defense action
Grapple 12 - Resisted by Dodge
Punch 10 6 Bash
Kick 9 7
Magic 9 By Spell

Name: Luna (Witch Girls Adventures)
Witch Outsider/Gothique
Body: d6
Mind: d8
Senses: d8
Will: d10+1
Social: d6
Magic: d8

Skills
Acting +1, Art +3, Basics +2, Dancing +1, Hear +2, Instrument +6, Mythology +1, Pop Culture +2, Singing +5
Casting +2, Enchantment +2, Focus +3, Magic Etiquette +1, Mysticism +1

Traits
Talents: Entertainer (+1), Unshakable
Heritage: Legacy

Dusk (real name unknown)
19 (voiced by Jane Wiedlin, of the Go-Gos)

When their first drummer decided to go to college out of state the Hex Girls held an open audition at their art school for a drummer. Expecting to get other like minded college-age girls to apply they were shocked when 16 year old Dusk walked in. She was still wearing her private school uniform (she had just dropped out or was kicked out depending on who you ask), her hair was dyed three different colors and she was wearing her now trademarked cross and goth makeup. She sat down at the drums and blew everyone away. After winning the audition they asked her how long she had been playing and she said it was her first time ever at a drum kit. Dusk, and she has never given anyone any other name, has the amazing knack to play any instrument she picks up perfectly by ear. She can't read music and says counting to 4 all the time is boring, but she plays the drums because she likes to hit things.

Dusk is the sarcastic party girl of the group. Despite being younger she has had more boyfriends than the other two girls combined. She has a temper and has threatened to quit the band more than once. She is also the most musically talented of the group, she just doesn't care about writing music. As she says "I'm not a musician, I'm a Rock-star."

Dusk does take over as lead singer for the only song she wrote, We Do Voodoo.


Name: Dusk (Unisystem)
Motivation: To have a great time
Creature Type: Human witch
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Constitution 4, Intelligence 3, Perception 3, Willpower 4
Abilities: Muscle 12, Combat 14, Brains 10
Life Points: 38
Drama Points: 20
Qualities and Drawbacks: Artist (Musician), Attractive +1, Magic +1 Occultism 3.
Maneuvers
Name Score Damage Notes
Dodge 12 - Defense action
Grapple 14 - Resisted by Dodge
Punch 12 9 Bash
Kick 11 10
Magic 8 By Spell

Name: Dusk (Witch Girls Adventures)
Witch Outsider/Gothique
Body: d8
Mind: d6
Senses: d6
Will: d6
Social: d10
Magic: d8

Skills
Acting +1, Art +2, Basics +2, Fighting +1, Hear +3, Instrument +6, Plucky +2, Pop Culture +1, Singing +3, Urchin +2
Casting +2, Enchantment +2, Focus +3, Magic Etiquette +1, Mysticism +1

Traits
Talents: Entertainer (+1), Temper
Heritage: Legacy

Jasper Ridgeway, 63 (voiced by Jeff Bennett)

Jasper has nearly managed every great band there is. Nearly. He had a chance to manage the Beatles after the death of Brian Epstein. He nearly managed the Rolling Stones before Allan Klein took over. He passed on David Bowie saying that once Bowie dropped the Ziggy Stardust image his career would be over. Instead Jasper managed mediocre bands or great bands that just disappeared; His best band "Wildyinds" faked their own death while he was managing them and his other band "Bad Omens" just disappeared. So the fact Jasper landed the Hex Girls pretty much goes against more than 40 years of his previous behavior in the music business. Now Jasper has discovered what having a successful band really means. Work. He is their manager, bus driver, roadie, sound tech, and all around gopher for everything. Now that the girls are investigating the occult every week he also needs to come up with ways to help them there too.

Plus Jasper is a coward, though he would never admit it. Instead Jasper always has some medical reason why he cant help. Werewolves bother his allergies, haunted houses are too dusty and irritate his sensitive eyes, he can't crawl around in grave yards or sewers due to his sensitive skin. Whatever the situation, Jasper has a reason why he cant help them out. Of course Jasper also a thousand stories about other great bands. None of them involve him though, they were all told to him by other managers. They usually happened though while Jasper was nearby. For example he will talk about the time that he was at Montreux Casino the night it burned to the ground. He was not there with Frank Zappa or even Deep Purple, but rather demanding to get paid for his band that was supposed to be there the night before but had failed to show up.

Name: Jasper Ridgeway (Unisystem)
Motivation: To finally manage a great Rock and Roll band
Creature Type: Human
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 1, Constitution 2, Intelligence 4, Perception 5, Willpower 4
Abilities: Muscle 10, Combat 8, Brains 14
Life Points: 26
Drama Points: 20
Qualities and Drawbacks: Contacts (Music Business) +3, Emotional Problems (Coward).

Maneuvers
Name Score Damage Notes
Dodge 8 - Defense action
Grapple 10 - Resisted by Dodge
Punch 8 6 Bash

Name: Jasper Ridgeway (Witch Girls Adventures)
Mundane Human
Body: d4
Mind: d6
Senses: d8
Will: d8
Social: d10
Magic: d4 (no magical talents)

Skills
Basics +3, Drive +3, Fix-Mechanical +3, Gossip +2, Hear +4, Instrument +2, Mundane Etiquette +3, Plucky +1, Pop Culture +4, Streetwise +3

Traits
Talents: Entertainer (+1)

Flash Cameron,
26 (voiced by Jeremy Piven)
Flash is a notorious paparazzi photographer that normally sells his pictures to the highest bidder. He has no shame and no picture is too forbidden to him. He happily claims he was there for the fall of Brittney and Lindsey and he was carrying pictures of Baby Suri in his wallet long before anyone even knew the babys sex. Now Flash has his telescopic lens focused on the Hex Girls. Normally an up and coming band wouldn't get his attention, but Flash has seen the Hex Girls perform real magic and he is set on exposing them and the world of the supernatural. Used to a standard of living where one or two pictures would net him a few hundred thousand dollars a day, Flash is now reduced to living in cheap hotels while following the girls. He knows though that if he gets the pictures he knows he can get it will all be worth it.

The strain of the road and living alone is getting to him and now he keeps referring to himself in the third person.

Note: Flash is original though he is based on "Rock Rivers" from "Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy?" and "Cameron Flick" from "Scooby-Doo and the Stone Dragon"

Name: Flash (Unisystem)
Motivation: To get photographic proof of magic and the supernatural and make a ton of money for it.
Creature Type: Human
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Constitution 3, Intelligence 3, Perception 5, Willpower 4
Abilities: Muscle 12, Combat 14, Brains 13
Life Points: 38
Drama Points: 15
Qualities and Drawbacks: Attractive +1, Contacts (Media) +3

Maneuvers
Name Score Damage Notes
Dodge 14 - Defense action
Grapple 16 - Resisted by Dodge
Punch 14 12 Bash

Name: Flash (Witch Girls Adventures)
Mundane Human
Body: d6
Mind: d6
Senses: d10
Will: d8
Social: d8
Magic: d4 (no magical talents)

Skills
Art +4, Basics +2, Drive +4, Fix-Mechanical +3, Gossip +4, Mundane Etiquette +3, Plucky +2, Pop Culture +4, Streetwise +4

Traits
Talents: Brave

Episode Ideas

Typically the episodes will follow the same basic structure. The girls arrive in town, hear of some sort of supernatural disturbance, investigate, solve the mystery, be back in time for the concert. All the while avoiding various problems. The supernatural mysteries can include all the stock and trade ones: Zombies, Vampires, Ghosts, Werewolves, rival Witches, Mummies from a museum, and so on. Take a Scooby Doo episode and work from the premise that the monster in not a fake but real.

Problems can include the following:
Thorn wanting to find out more about her family.
The girls lose their magic.
Wildwind shows up to a battle of the bands and they are using magic too.
Flash gets a picture of the girls using magic.
Dusks parents show up at a show! And they are stinking rich!
Of course, there are some standbys that were not used in Scooby Doo, but in other shows.
One of the girls falls in love with another musician who is a ghost by night!

Mix and match. The idea here is be simple and focus not so much on the plot or meta-plots or para-plots or whatever but on simple roleplaying fun. And a chance to become magical, monster fighting, ass-kicking, rock stars!

Episode Guide

Here are the first season of "Hex Girls" episodes!

Episode 1.1 “Our Lips Are Sealed”
Luna and Thorn express concern and a little bit of anger after a concert when once again they fail to learn anything about Dusk. Including her real name. When Dusk’s parents show up at a concert they learn that not only is her real name “Muffy” (“What kind of stupid name it that anyway?”) but her parents are stinking rich yuppies. The girls argue about what other secrets they are hiding from each other when a Sprite decides to use his magic to make them reveal all their secrets to each other. Can they stop the Sprite before he causes more havoc? Can they do it before they tell Dusk’s parents and Flash Cameron the whole truth about everything?
Monster of the Week: Pip the mischievous Sprite.
Musical number: “Our Lips are Sealed” – The GoGos.
Location: Boston, MA

Episode 1.2 “Girls on Film”
The girls dispatch a pesky ghost with a fairly routine spell but catch the attention of “extreme photojournalist” Flash Cameron. When the ghost’s bigger, and more dangerous brother comes looking for the girls for his revenge can they stop it and still not expose themselves to Flash?
Monsters of the Week: Two ghosts (maybe a riff on the Scooby Doo ‘Boo Brothers’)
Musical Number: “Somebody’s Watching Me” – Rockwell
Location: New York, NY

Episode 1.3 “American Witch”
Activists are making claims that Rock music turns kids into brainless zombies. But when REAL zombies show up can the girls use their magic and music to stop the horde?
Special Guest Star: Rob Zombie! (he is a big fan of the Hex Girls!)
Monster of the Week: Zombies and Fundamentalists
Musical Number: “American Witch” Rob Zombie
Location: Salem, MA

Episode 1.4 “The Voodoo You Do”

The ghost of the “Voodoo Queen” Marie Laveau needs a new body to continue her reign over New Orleans and she has chosen Luna!

Monster of the Week: The Ghost of Marie Laveau
Musical Number: “We Do Voodoo” – The Hex Girls
Location: New Orleans, LA

Episode 1.5 “Home Sweet Home”
Luna uncovers some information on her great-grandmother. Turns out that only was she a witch too, but her and Thorn’s great-grandmother were bitter enemies. Will the possession of Luna’s ancestors’ Book of Shadows, and Thorn and Luna being possessed by their great-grandmothers’, be the end of the Hex Girls? Will Jasper and Dusk be able to save them?
Monster of the Week: Luna and Thorn attacking each other.
Musical Number: “Sweet Home Alabama” – Lynyrd Skynyrd (sung at the beginning of the ep)
Location: Birmingham, AL

Episode 1.6 “Wild Wynd Blowin’”
The Hex Girls come to a gig only to discover that the guys from Wildwynds have stolen their spot. Bigger problems ensue when Wildwynds also start using magic! Bigger still Flash is back in town.
Monster of the Week: Wildwynds and Flash
Musical Number: “Shout it Out Loud” by KISS, performed by Wildwynds
Location: Dallas, Texas

Episode 1.7 “If Anyone Falls”
Having a relationship on the road is hard, harder if you are hiding the fact that you are a witch to your boyfriend. Thorn has decided to tell her new boyfriend the truth. The other girls don’t agree, but let it be her choice. But before she can tell him, something drains all of their powers!
Monster of the Week: Thorn’s boyfriend, a warlock.
Musical Number: “If Anyone Falls” by Stevie Nicks
Location: Wichita, KS

Episodes 1.8 & 1.9 “Ragnarök and Roll” (parts I and II)
“And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.” – Revelation 8:2

“Never underestimate the power of a full horn section.” – Jake Blues, The Blues Brothers

It’s apocalypse time again, you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. The girls enter a battle of the bands' contest and the prize is the entire world! The Devil has assembled a band of all the souls he has taken over the years; Robert Johnson (guitar); John Bonham (drums); Stevie Ray Vaughan (guitar), Cliff Buton (bass) and Janis Joplin (vocals).
The Hex Girls need the help of the only musician to ever cheat the Devil out of his due and still be alive; Jim “Mr. Mojo Rising” Morrison. Trouble is Jim is in hiding and going outside will clue the Devil to his whereabouts and he doesn’t want that to happen.
Monster of the Week: The Devil's Band
Musical Number: Hells Bells (part 1), God Gave Rock and Roll to You (part 2)
Location: LA, CA

Guest Stars and Guest Band
Jim Morrison – Went into something like an Occult Witness Protection Program (called "The Sanctuary") with the aid of his ex-wife and powerful witch Patricia Kennealy-Morrison.
Jimi Hendrix – Vampyre. Has more soul and more funk than most other show's vampires combined.
Elvis Pressley – living.  His battles with zombies, aliens, and Bigfoot are the stuff of legends.  You DO NOT +&!@ with The King!
Eric “Eggs, Eggman” Burdon – occult poet, one of only five people that know of all the most powerful psychic locations in the USA. Friends with Hendrix.
Jim “Big Jim” Martin of Faith No More  – occult investigator (left Faith No More to battle the occult), had an epic battle with a creature known as the Pumpkin King.
Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz of The J. Geils Band.  – Uses his harmonica to focus his magical attacks to defeat evil spirits.
Stevie "the White Witch" Nicks - what can I possibly say her that you could not guess?  Still my first rock-girl crush. The "4th Hex Girl".

A Few Updates

Here are bunch of updates all at once as I am getting ready for Gen Con.

Hybrid Class Playtest and Character Concept IVb

Tried out Bodhmall as a straight Druid out of PHBII. HATED it. Didn't fit her at all. I also tried the shaman by itself, hated that one too. So in this case the hybrid Shaman/Druid is greater than the sum of it's (half) parts. I still will try this with Expeditious Retreat's "Nature Priest", which I think will make a much better fit in terms of her concept. Oddly enough I find myself once a again moving towards a Bard/Warlock or Bard/Sorcerer hybrid to do this. Hmm. Lots of choices really.

The Old School Renaissance Will Eat Itself, Part 2

I was not expecting the amount of discussion this one would bring me. In particular very useful insights from posters D7 and Thasmodious. I am still certain that the biggest hurdle that the OSR faces is not new editions of the game (those are hurdles we should not even try to go over) but rather the in-fighting and exclusionist nature. I am still very interested in what people have to say on this subject, I just don't always expect to agree with what they say.

Quest for the Dragon Part 4

This one is totally new and an update only in the broadest sense. Today my son and I did Part 4 of his great quest in D&D 3.0. His characters (I am letting him run a couple) and his hirelings (a bard to record their deeds and three goblins hired to carry their stuff) were in the deserts today searching for the fourth item they need to be able to summon Tiamat so they may defeat her. Today it was the scale of a green dragon located in a desert. We decided that there are five relics of Tiamat's greatest consorts, but they betrayed her so she killed them all and disperse their bodies amongst her cultists. Each relic was found in a place where that dragon type is never found. So a white dragon claw was found in a volcano range, the blue dragon skull on a tropical island, the green dragon scale in the dessert and a black dragon wing in a dungeon full of undead. He needs a red dragon tooth, found deep in the arctic, to complete the ritual, summon Tiamat and defeat her once and for all. After this he is retiring all of those characters and we will begin a new game where his heroes are the stuff of legends. I give the little guy credit, yeah I normally would not let a player detail the game so much, but this has been a lot of fun.

After this who knows? A retro clone or D&D RC? Maybe 4^th Ed? I am sure whatever it will be it will be fun.

Gen Con

Getting ready. Blight is done and ready to go. Obsession has a few more props I need to print out, but looking good! I am running more games this year than ever before and playing in less. I want to stop by and see the guys at Starkweather Studios and check out their Shadow Girls project. I want to stop by and say hi to Jamie Chambers and Malcolm Harris, and hopefully get a game in with all of them. And yes of course, stop by and see the guys at Eden Studios!

Hybrid Class Playtest and Character Concept IV

Player's Handbook 2 gave us all a bunch of new classes, some cool (like the Bard), some interesting (like the Shaman and Avenger) and the Druid.

I didn't like the Druid really. It focused on one subset of powers (the wild shape ability) and none of the things I associate with Druids. I am not even talking Celtic Druids, but even just AD&D 1^st Ed ones. I wanted someone that was more of an elemental manipulating nature dude. Sure turning into a rampaging animal is fun, but not in my Druids.

I liked about half of what the Druid had to offer and about half of the Shaman. In a perfect world I'd cut these classes up and rebuild them for to my suit. Shamans have all the animal spirits and wild shape and druids get all the elemental fun. But I know that is just me.

But that doesn't solve my issues with the Druid and more to the point not my issues with my Druid Character Bodhmall. What I wanted was more of an Earthy Druid like priestess with some power over fire, a gift she believes is from Brigit. So I attempted to try her as a hybrid Druid/Shaman. The results are…interesting. Since it was just a test, I can't judge yet whether or not this will be Bodhmall or not. I want to see if I can do this with just a Druid first. But the character is playable and she has access to the Keeper of the Hidden Flame paragon path, which is what I wanted. I have also always seen Bodhmall as having an animal companion or spirit animal companion of a small wolf. This would work in either regular druid or even hybrid versions.

For her companion Liath, I might multi-class her into Druid, but keep her core Barbarian or Ranger.
One thing I did like was Expeditious Retreat Press' Nature Priest Druid variant. That is more of what I was looking for than WotC's Druid.

All in all, Hybrid Druid/Shaman is a working class and not a bad one. It improves my thoughts on the druid certainly, but I feel I am still not quite there yet.

Hybrid Class Playtest and Character Concept III

My DM hates gnomes.

This is not a big deal normally, I have never played a gnome in my 30 years of playing xD&D in all it's forms. But during the 3.0 days I made a gnome character to take advantage of the new multi-classing rules. This was a gnome that started out in life as a bard, but eventually became a witch using my d20 book of Witches and Warlocks. He was a hopeless romantic and dashing rake that had a story for every adventure, usually featuring himself as the star, and a lover in town. His name was Jassic Winterhaven. Part Don Juan, part Cyrano de Bergerac, a little bit of Captain Jack Harkness and some of that rabbit in School House Rock "Lucky Seven". But Jassic had another side to him. He was a "Benandanti" or a Gnome Witch (yes I know it means "Good Walker"), he traveled the lands, walking stick in hand, and believed this was his way of serving his Goddess, Cardea (opener or ways, Goddess of the Portals). Jassic was very much a snapshot of what I was doing at the time in my writing.

I never got to play Jassic though.

Now enter the 4^th Edition rules and Jassic has returned, and this is even better fit for him. In 4E Jassic is a hybrid Bard/Warlock. Unlike my experiment with Heather, Jassic's concept in my mind fit SO well with the hybrid rules that I have to consider his 3.0 counterpart as nothing more than a rough draft. In this case my character concept and the rules merged so well together that I would be hard pressed to think of him any other way. My multi classed Bard/Witch became a Hybrid Bard/Warlock. Which does bring up a point I want to deal with latter; are 4^th Ed Warlocks supposed to be Witches? I suppose I should try him out in say AD&D 2^nd Ed as well, but that would be some work and won't really tell me much. What is cool here is that Bards in later versions of D&D became less and less like Bards, and more like some sort of fantasy pastiche of rogues, scoundrels with magic added in. Terrible, if I want to make a classic Bard (like Amergin), but perfect for a "D&D Bard" like Jassic and Heather.

Here are my 4^th Ed version using the Hybrid rules and using the DDI character builder. I am sure there are some good Paragon paths for him to take, either Gnome, Bard or Warlock. Fey Beguiler, Entrancing Mystic or Cunning Prevaricator would all be good choices (based on concept alone), but like Jassic himself, I am not going to make up my mind till I am there to see the forks in the road.
BTW I want to add. The DDI character builder is awesome.

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======

"Come now, we have miles to go and the sun is only our friend for a few more hours. Have I ever told you about the time I charmed a dragon into giving me a magical wand? It is a wonderful tale for the road mostly because it features me…" - Jassic Winterhaven

Jassic Winterhaven, level 4

Gnome, Bard|Warlock

Hybrid Bard: Hybrid Bard Reflex

Eldritch Pact (Hybrid): Fey Pact (Hybrid)

Eldritch Blast: Eldritch Blast Charisma

Hybrid Warlock: Hybrid Warlock Will

Hybrid Talent: Words of Friendship

Background: Occupation - Entertainer (+2 to Bluff)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES

Str 12, Con 12, Dex 12, Int 15, Wis 13, Cha 19.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES

Str 12, Con 12, Dex 12, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 16.

AC: 16 Fort: 13 Reflex: 15 Will: 17

HP: 39 Surges: 7 Surge Value: 9

TRAINED SKILLS

Arcana +11, Bluff +13, Diplomacy +11, Nature +8

UNTRAINED SKILLS

Acrobatics +4, Dungeoneering +4, Endurance +4, Heal +4, History +5, Insight +4, Intimidate +7, Perception +4, Religion +5, Stealth +6, Streetwise +7, Thievery +4, Athletics +4

FEATS

Level 1: Fey Trickster

Level 2: Magic of the Mists

Level 4: Hybrid Talent

POWERS

Hybrid Bard at-will 1: Vicious Mockery

Hybrid Warlock at-will 1: Eldritch Blast

Hybrid encounter 1: Witchfire

Hybrid daily 1: Slayer's Song

Hybrid utility 2: Beguiling Tongue

Hybrid encounter 3: Recitation of Foreknowledge

ITEMS

Adventurer's Kit, Leather Armor, Short sword (2), Implement, Rod, Meal, Common, Rope, hempen (50 ft.) (2), Torch (2), Traveling papers, Woodwind, Bedroll

====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======

I am not going to get to play him, cause, you know, my DM and gnomes, plus he is also not allowing Hybrids in his game. I still have Family D&D Night however, so there is a chance.
In the end, Jassic here looks fun. Chalk up a win for 4e.

 

Fast one today. I am out of town.

My review of Witch Grils Adventures is on RPG Net.

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14342.phtml

Witch Girls Adventures: Review

Review: Witch Girls Adventures

Written and Designed by Malcolm Harris

http://www.witchgirlsadventures.com/

Witch Girls Adventures is a new "Drama Diaries" game, using the "Drama Dice" system from Malcolm Harris. It is aimed at new players predominantly and girls in particular. Now despite be WAY out of the target demographic for this I was pre-inclined to like this game. I do, but I am not cutting it any slack here. In fact I might be a little TOO critical in places because my expectations are high. How high? Well I bought the book online and while waiting for it to be shipped I got impatient and ordered the PDF as well. So I can review this book from the point of view of both the physical book and the digital file and the "Nice" and "Wicked" versions.


The book begins with 10 pages of the Witch Girls Adventures comic, which one you get depends on whether or not you have the regular edition or the "Wicked" edition. This, plus the cover art, is all the differences between the two. The PDF download on DriverThru or RPGNow is the normal "Nice" edition.


It goes on to your typical introduction into what is a roleplaying game and is written for a young or teen girl audience ("just tell the geek (trust me; they are used to being called geeks) behind counter you need... ") cute. But too much of this would ruin the presentation of the game for me. Thankfully this is the only time, but it does establish one thing right away; this game is going for a different audience. The intro stuff continues with some terms both for the game and for RPGs.


It makes an odd left turn to give us optional rules (we haven't had any rules yet for these to be optional to) about how to run a "Harry Potter" like game with this. Eh. Nice, but this should have come last, not first.


Chapter 2 gives us "Cliques" . So perfect. In another game these would be "Factions" or "Classes" or even "Traditions" or "Associations" or "Backgrounds", but given the Middle-school/High-school this is great. Cliques basically give your starting dice and what skills you are likely to have. The system is very easy. The dice system (The Drama Dice system as it is called) quickly reminds one of Cortex or Savage Worlds. Attributes are scored d2 to d12 for most types. The spread even looks the same as Cortex and Savage Worlds. Not surprisingly, afterall it is a logical progression. You have six attributes Body (which combines Strength, Agility and stamina), Mind (intelligence), Senses, Will, Social and Magic. Right away you see there is only one body type attribute but four mental ones. This is the way it should be really, WGA is not about beating people up, it is about the social aspects of the game and about magic, our last attribute. There are some secondary attributes that are derived. Rolls are made depending on the dice vs a difficulty table very similar to d20 or Unisystems' success levels. Cliques are detailed and they are your basic magical girl stereotypes (the Goth, the insider, the outsider…) . Plenty here to work with and if you are so inclined create your own (which is what the "Harry Potter" bit tries to do).


Chapter 3 moves onto skills. Each chapter has some fiction to introduce you to the Witch Girls world. It seems to be a cross between Charmed, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Buffy and the Craft mixed in with anime magical girls. Skills. Unlike Cortex or Savage Worlds, skills are given a + score like Unisystem or d20. Roll the die associated with the attribute (each skill is connected to an attribute like d20) add the bonus the skill provides, check your success, or roll greater. There are 34 mundane skills and 10 magical skills. A little too much in my book, but I am willing to see how it works out here.


Chapter 4 Traits details traits, which are like Edges or Qualities. They are broken up into Talents (which you can get later in life) and Heritages (which are inborn and never change). Heritages have both a positive and negative aspect to them. Typical ones are there like "Beautiful" and others which have to be unique to this game like "Drama Queen".


Chapters 2, 3 and 4 are all well detailed and very straight forward.


Chapter 5 is Magic. Really this is what we came here for. There is a lot more here on what magic is and what it means to a witch. There are different types of magic (necromancy, mentalism, cybermancy…) which you can spend points on to improve your rank. This can provide a lot of variance between witches. Think of it as somewhere between Harry Potter's classes and Mage's spheres. As GM (a Director in WGA) I might limit some of these to NPCs (Guest Stars) and not to PCs (Stars). Spell casting is broken down into a lot of detail. More than maybe the seasoned gamer needs, but given the audience it might be about right. Effects are broken out into Magic Type Rank (MTR) and the overall feel is like a table you might see in Mage or Mutants & Masterminds with what MTR (read as Power level) you need to achieve a certain effect. Want to cast that spell across the world? Better have an MTR of 9.
There are rules for Signature Spells, which take less Zap (read: Mana, Essence), choose only one and from the "School" with your highest MTR (which makes sense really). I like the idea of the signature spell and might try it in my other games too.
This is all followed by 20 pages of spells and these by no means seem to be all of them. Since your cast member (Star, remember) isn't going to be buying swords, guns or anything else that characters spend money or points on then this is a good thing.


Chapter 6. Your Star gets an allowance allowing her to buy things like magical computers, flying Vespas, and more brooms than found in Home Depot. There are familiars, clothes, wings and all sorts of magical equipment here as well. You could build an adventure on just shopping for these things cause I am sure getting them is not as easy as going to the mall. Lots of neat wands and I have to say the books for young witches are pretty funny ("Samantha's Guide to Merry Mortals" yeah that made me laugh). And a bunch of mundane stuff like DVD players and skateboards. The allowance system is nice, I like it better than the Modern d20 purchase DCs and easier than keeping track of cash.


Chapter 7 is some odds and ends. A character questionnaire (nice) and a filled out character sheet (also nice). Good detail on what things mean and if you are new to games a certain boon.


Chapter 8 is for Directors, so all the rules of the game. The system, some combat rules (yes this is the FIRST game I have seen where the rules for shopping are longer than the rules for combat. ;) )
Some nice background fluff and some ideas for different types of stories, basically you can do Buffy, Good vs. Evil, Charmed, and Magic School. The experience system is "interesting" (Voodollars), but it looks like it works.


Chapter 9 is the world background. Now this one is kind of neat. I details the various races (witches are a different race) and they are not alone. Some history, some magical places (Santa's Workshop, No joke and it looks cool!) The ruling council of Witches (I am yoinking this for my Unisystem games), Spelling Bees, groups and other schools. Even how the mundane world reacts to all of this.


Chapter 10 presents some creatures. But if the art is any indication most of these are not for combat purposes, but potential dates (well there is only one witch kissing a vampire…) Nearly every kind of creature is covered from fairies to Cthulhu like horrors. But no demons. Seems a bit odd, given it all. Some NPCs (Guest Stars) of note.


Chapter 11 details the Willow Mistt School. Lands, buildings, faculty, everything you would expect to find is here. Willow Mistt is not Hogwarts, but it is easy to make the comparisons. I actually found it closer to Claremont Academy from Mutants & Masterminds.


We close with a sample Episode, some plot ideas, a lexicon, and a list of Witch names (see how many you recognize!), and very important, a sample class schedule.


The Good:
Harris obviously has a love for this genre and it shows. The rules are well crafted and while there is nothing earth shaking here, they are familiar mechanics done up in a very nice way. The point of view of the work is nice. This is anti-Grim-Dark. It's not all unicorns, princesses and kittens (though it does have all that), it's a fun game. The art is not D&D 4e, but it is good and more to the point very appropriate for this game.
For new players this is a great little game. More experienced players may want more, but that is not due to the game itself, but rather expectations. Do not expect this to be "WitchCraft: The Junior High Years" (though you can do that).


The Bad:
I know Harris is basically a one man operation so I am willing to cut him some slack here. But there are a number of typos that should be fixed and some terms that might have either been mistakes or from earlier versions (the Magic attribute is called "Zap" in one spot.) I am willing to overlook those IF they are corrected in say, 2^nd Edition.
There are some issues in my printed version with some of the pages being so dark thee art is hard to see (ex: one of the teachers is so dark her face is obscured) this is not the case of the PDF.
Lastly I would have done the skills a different way myself, but I am not willing to second guess the design until I have plated it a few more times.


The Ugly? (not really)
A book like this REALLY should have full color art inside, but costs may have prevented that.
The optional rules should have come in an appendix.


So. Who is Witch Girls Adventures for?
Well , that sort of depends but here is what I see.

• New players and Game Master get a lot with this book. I see them having a great time.
  
• People that enjoy the more social aspects of a game (and of gaming) rather than a bunch of combats.
  
• Anyone that is a fan of Magical Girl Anime, Witches or even high school based games.
  
• Anyone that has ever wished for a Harry Potter RPG.
  
• Anyone that looks at the setting and resists the urge to make it "darker". WGA is not about being dark. You can be evil sure, and as a witch the entire world is after you, but the setting does not need the WoD feel at all.
  

AND
Anyone playing Cortex or Savage Worlds that craves a more granular, customizable magic system.
This is a big one really. For a list price of under 20 bucks, use this book's magic system in place of the system you have now. Make "Magic" an Edge (SW) or a Trait (Cortex) and then buy spells like skills. You don't have to convert much and it will work fine. Plus it is much better than the built in magic system in the Cortex Core book (Sorry Jaime!) and an improvement over the Savage Worlds core.


Last WordsThis is a fun game. Take it as it is, not as you want it to be, and you will have fun too. If you are an old pro, use this game to introduce younger people to the hobby. I hope that Malcolm Harris is successful and ends up getting a lot of new people, boys and girls, to our hobby.


In RPG.Net style:
Style: 5/5 (this game oozes style)
Substance: 4/5 (I wanted more, but was happy still)

Witch Girls Adventures

http://www.witchgirlsadventures.com/

180 pages, + Comic, character sheet and a page of ads. (190 pages total)

Print and PDF reviewed.

Hybrid Class Playtest and Character Concept II

Yesterday I posted my brief idea on a using the new hybrid rules in order to get a particular character concept. The idea I think was sound, but as it turns out I didn't need to go through that much effort.

The character in question is "Heather" a character from 1^st Edition that was a multiclassed Bard/Wizard with some Ranger thrown in for good measure. Her magic I imagined was always due to her voice, she sang her spells in other words. Not such a new idea now, but back in the 1^st Ed days that was new stuff! So today I took break and worked her up as a 4^th level, 4^th Edition Bard. I used "Arcane Power" and gave her the Virtue of Prescience. This fits since I always viewed her as mildly psionic as well. Fourth Edition Bards have spells, even their basic attacks are called spells. The Arcane Power book provides a lot of new ranged attacks, so that sort of covers the Ranger-like abilities I wanted get. The Bard skills allow me to give her some of the skills like her 1^st counter-part had. The Ritual Caster feat from the Bard is really nice and helps fill in some holes in concept and the Half-elf dilettante power allowed to take Eldritch Blast from the Warlock as an Encounter Power. Comparing her two sheets, the 4^th Ed one from today and the 1^st Ed one from 1986 I can draw parallels between the two. To me they do look like the same character, just different ways of expressing her.

 

I think I am going to save my hybrid Bard/Warlock for my gnome, Jassic Winterhaven. This might be better since I wanted to do up a gnome bard and a gnome warlock and my regular DM won't allow hybrids yet and he hates gnomes. Heather on the other hand is ready to go!

So in the end a Bard, with the Euphonic Bow Paragon Path, was all I needed. It will be interesting to see how she plays compared to her orginal version.

Hybrid Class Playtest and Character Concept

One of the things I have been doing in 4e is re-stating up older, 1^st Ed, characters of mine to see how well they translate into the new system.
Among the first was one of my first ever characters, a human paladin. There are differences between the 1^st Ed version and the 4^th Ed version, but all in all I can see far more similarities than differences. Plus since my concept of him was more cleric than paladin it is possible that the 4e version is a much better fit. My witch on the other hand was a different story. I still don't quite have her right. I have generated half-a-dozen characters of her for 4E in the last year or so and none are really close.

Normally I would create a witch class like I did for 2^nd Edition and 3^rd Edition, but I really didn't want to do that this time. I have mostly settled on a Fey Pact Warlock with some add-ons from Arcane Power. She is not perfect yet, but really, really close. Again, to me it has been more about character concept than anything else. The Warlock seems to work the best, so far. Now before you think "well 4e just can't do it" I will point out that at this point in 3.0 Ed the same character had been a Sorcerer and that was not a good fit at all. At least with 4E I have sorta found an out-of-the-box solution.

But I still have one other character that I have wanted to re-build. Heather.

Heather owns the distinction of being the last 1^st Ed character I ever made. Well, the last while I was playing 1^st Ed and the last before 2^nd Ed came out. She is a half-elf Bard/Wizard/Ranger house ruled to all hell. He character concept is that of a wandering bard that uses magic and song to defeat evil. The 2^nd Ed Bard, while easier to use, lost all of what made the Bard cool. The 3^rd Ed Bard came close again and with 3^rd Ed's multitasking it was really easy to make her IF I figured that she had all the powers I wanted her to start with at 11^th level or something. Now 4^th Ed originally disappointed me here with the multiclassing rules. Great for most of my multiclassing needs, completely horrible with regards to how I wanted to do Heather. That is till I got the new Hybrid Class Playtest rules from my DM.

The Hybrid rules allow me to do something I used to do all the time in my D&D games, have a character start out as one thing but then later become something else. The Hybrid rules do allow that. So I know Heather is going to be a Bard/Something, but what? Well in 1^st ed she was mixed with a Ranger and Wizard. In D&D4 I can get the things I liked about the 1^st Ed Ranger in feats and skills (tracking, preferred enemy) so I think my Hybrid here will be Bard and something Arcane. Going to concept Heather originally learned her magic from her mother and the rest on her own. So Wizard, Warlock or Sorcerer. Sorcerer and Warlock complement the Bard's spells much nicer than the Wizard does, though Sorcerer still takes a hit. I am not enamored with the Sorcerer. It has some neat tricks, but nothing in the way of concept I like. The Cosmic and Dragon ones are cool, but if I build those it will be as something/someone else.

Hybrid classes in a sense split the classes in two and then allow you to combine them. Simple enough. Most often you get something that is not quite equal to a dedicated role character, but for a concept I am totally willing to take a performance hit. A Hybrid Bard/Warlock is a combination Arcane Leader/Striker. Since Heather in concept always had a high Charisma (and will here too) this makes her good for being the party face. Both classes have the same key and secondary abilities: CHA, CON and INT. She takes a hit on armor for her warlock half and weapons. Both classes use wands as an implement and both have similar saves. HP at 1^st are the same, per level is the same and there are similar skills. The full Bard has more healing surges than that of the Warlock, so they are rounded down. I now need to take a feat to get a class-specific Hybrid talents options. So, in the end, I have a Warlock basically, with Skill Versatility and a per Encounter Majestic Word. On balance not a bad trade. Now for the Hybrid Talent feat, I make take it to gain the Warlock's Fey Pact Boon, it fits the concept well enough, but that seems so little for a feat. Plus I like to think of her as a Bard with some warlock training. So Words of Friendship or Majestic Word are worth the price of the feat. So put all her points into CHA followed by INT, and then either DEX or STR, if I am staying true to the concept then DEX for her bow. Make her Half-Elf and take an At-Will Wizard power as her Dilettante power, most likely Magic Missile, though there is not much to set it apart, fluff wise, from Eldritch Blast. Thunderwave might be better.

Now hybrid characters are verboten in my regular 4E game, so I am going to have to run her in one of my Family Game night games. I'll have to see how she fares. The great thing is that a lot of what I took Ranger for in earlier rules I can get with Warlock now. But only time and gaming will tell me if this is a better way than to do a Bard Multiclassed Warlock. But concept-wise it fits.

Family D&D Night II

Well we did a second round of Family D&D night last night to coincide with World D&D Day. We got to another room and found the two kidnapped boys we needed to rescue. We tried to get them out, but triggered the magical trap instead. We fought some living suits of armor and in the end defeated them and rescued the boys. Not your thrilling blow-by-blow D&D adventure recap I know, but that is not the point. The point is that here in the second game I felt everyone was doing much better.

My oldest was more into his character and was trying to move him around where he would be most effective (a Dragonborn Paladin). How effective? Well he managed to move in just in time to keep my Fey Pact Warlock from getting killed. To me that is a good game. And he rolled another natural 20 to do it. He had no complaints about not getting double damage tonight, and it killed the animated armor. My youngest had more of an attention span with this one too. He is only 6, but he was remembering which dice to use when and that was really cool. My wife still is having a good time. But I think she enjoys watching all of us.

All in all it has changed what I think needs to be a minimum age for D&D. I knew my 9 year-old would do fine, but my 6-year old is having a blast too, and he is getting it. He knew he needed to stay back and do his thing with the bow. Plus I also feel they are getting into the role-playing aspects well, which should not be a huge surprise really. Kids are good and playing pretend. I also think everyone worked off of everyone else's strengths well. While last time I was getting my butt kicked by Kobolds (with a high Reflex save) this week I did better with animated armor with low Reflex saves. So everyone did get a chance to shine. I think that is the sign of a good DM and a sign of well put together rules.

So now where we are at is my wife would like to play a game with just the four of us. I am thinking of keeping with D&D4, but BFRPG and/or LL are also sounding like good ideas. I would make their characters 4^th or 5^th level so they would survive a bit better. I can also ignore feats and skills really and focus on what they enjoy most; exploring and combat. This could be fun really. Get my old-school D&D fix in and still have a game that doesn't interfere with my other D&D night.

ONE HOUR LATER:

Well I talked with my wife and my boys. She wants LESS choices in her game about classes and attacks. The youngest want to play an archer/ranger and my oldest wants to keep with his Dragonborn Paladin. So. I think I will use the D&D Rules Cyclopedia as a base, with ideas from Basic Fantasy and Labyrinth Lord. I think a Basic D&D Dragonborn will end up looking a bit like a Dwarf in terms of mechanics, but I am not worried about that right now. OR I might stick with D&D 4 and just reduce some of the options. Haven't quite figured that out yet. Skills are not important to me in this game; we can just do ability checks, so that is a mark against D&D4; though in general I prefer D&D4's skill system over the past incarnations. I prefer the simpler saves/defenses of D&D4 and the single advancement rules. And I certainly prefer the AC as DC style check.

This will be interesting to figure out.

Family D&D Night

The board game companies have been trying to sell us "Family Game Night" for a while. Generally speaking I am ok with this. You get to spend a nice evening at home with people you love and have fun. Not to mention the merits of it being much cheaper. Star Trek + Popcorn for 4 = A lot more than my RPG budget for the month. Plus I can have popcorn at FGN and not have it covered in palm or coconut oils.

So recently we tried out Family D&D Night last weekend and it was a huge success.

We got together with another family we do a lot of thing with. Their boys are the same ages as ours so that is always nice and Greg, the father, is my regular DM (and I am his regular Ghosts of Albion Director). So we had 4 adults, him, I and our wives, plus all of our kids, three boys age 9 and two boys age 6. We got together in my new game room for a night of D&D 4. It was a lot of fun. My youngest didn't like the character he had, so Greg had a back up (was supposed to be my character I think) that he liked better. He played an archer build Ranger, I was playing an-alternate reality version of the warlock I play in the "big guys game", my oldest had his dragonborn paladin he has been asking me to play since we went and got the 4e books at midnight last year together. And my wife got to play a fighter, her first real character and real game. We had elves, tielflings, a sneaky little halfling and a bunch of humans.

We explored some old ruins were we suspected that two boys got lost. Morality tale for our little ones? Maybe. But it did bother the youngest in the crowd. But what was really fun was see what everyone else would do. My youngest and Greg's youngest hated it if any kobolds attacked their moms. To the point of they wanted to attack the very ones that did it. My oldest, who I have been playing 3.x with for a while, REALLY got into it. He was disappointed that his natural 20 was not double damage (as it is in our games) but got over it when he figured out it meant max damage. Plus once a kobold next to him got bloodied he shouted with excitement "I can use my Dragon rage on him now!!". My wife REALLY had fun, it also helps that I had a really cool looking mini for her to use, and yes I am letting her keep it. She was glad her character was so effective in the battle. I had decided to remain understated in this adventure to allow others to shine. That was a good choice cause I seriously doubt I rolled higher than a "3" all night long.

Everyone had so much fun that my wife and two kids had to go to my favorite local game store the very next day so they could have their own dice. My oldest had his own, but I could tell him no while my wife picked out three new sets. They got dice bags too, something I never even got for myself till I had been playing for years.

I bought a new d20. No more "3"s for me.

 

To all my gamer friends out there with families. Have you done Family D&D (RPG) night? How did it go for you?