Ghosts of Albion: Sold Out!

I just heard from Eden Studios yesterday that the first print run of Ghosts of Albion has completely sold out!

Of course I am thrilled to death about this.  But then there is sad fact that it is not in stores for new people to buy.

So the great thing is DriveThruRPG and RPGNow has you covered.  Their Print-on-Demand service produces the same books you get in the stores.

• DriveThruRPG, http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=56971&affiliate_id=10748
• RPG Now, http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=56971&affiliate_id=10748

So stop by and buy!

I am hoping to take one of my Ghosts adventures from Gen Con and put it up here.  Failing that, maybe a conversion sheet on how to play Ghosts of Ablion: Ravenloft!

Ghosts of Albion: Print on Demand

Tim Knight over at "I'd Rather Be Killing Monsters" featured Ghosts of Albion on his Fleamarket Friday post.
BTW glad to see you back up Tim!

He pointed out something I have not seen yet.
Ghosts of Albion is also available as a Print on Demand book.

I will pick up a copy and see how it looks.
I'll keep you all posted.

Magical Near Talents in Ghosts of Albion

The child looked at me in obvious fear and trepidation. I tried to win the young lad over with my most winninest smile. "Its ok dear. I am not going to hurt you." I said, but he shook his head.
"Beggin' your pardons Mum, its not you I'm worried about, but that ghost lady behind you."

-From The Journal of Tamara Swift

Not everyone in the Ghosts of Albion game is a ghost, powerful Protector or vampire.  In fact the vast, vast majority of people in the world are not only ignorant of the supernatural, but so far removed from it that it has no impact on their lives whatsoever.  Generally speaking this line is easily demarcated with the possession of either the Magic quality (in humans) or the Innate Magic quality (in supernaturals).  If you have one or the other then the world of the supernatural is open to you and you to it.
There are some that have no magical talent to speak of, yet the world of the supernatural is open to them, in a limited state.  They see ghosts, hear strange creaking where others hear nothing and sometimes even are able to cast a spell.

These folk are known as Near Talents and they are have a zero (0) level of Magic.

Magic 0
3 points or Special
Prerequisite: Must be human
Characters with 0 levels of Magic have a small bit of magical talent.  They can cast a spell (typically they know only one) of PL 1 (and no higher).  They cannot quick cast any spells and will always cast their spell at the end of their round.
Characters with Magic 0 are treated as if they have Lesser Sensing, but they typically need a Perception + Notice roll in order to see any magic or magical creature.  The Director can make exceptions to this, typically making it easier to see some things like a familiar ghost.
Characters can "upgrade" to a full level of Magic with the Director's approval only.  Directors are encouraged to find an "in story" reason for this manifestation of the character's full potential and either grant them Magic 1 or allow them to buy it for 1 or 2 points (never more than 2).
Spellcasting is treated the same, except the Magic modifier is 0.  Characters with Magic 0 have no magical defenses, they need to be Magic 1 at least for that.

Uses of Near Talents
Near Talents can be used to provide a nice middle ground.  Ordinary humans with one toe in the supernatural world. The obvious choices are NPC and Guest Stars, but Cast Members can also benefit from this quality.  In particular Magic 0 also acts like a low level magic sensitivity that can be given to otherwise normal humans so they can be part of the adventuring world.  If this is the case then the director is encouraged to give these Cast Members Magic 0 for free, but not give them a spell to use.  If they later find one that can be up to the Director.

Krampus for Ghosts of Albion

Krampus is an old legend, but one I never heard of growing up.  He/It is a reminder that the Christmas legends of today are part a of a larger variety of Winter Solstice celebrations.  Krampus, though is interesting to me this year because he has come up time and time again, from completely unrelated sources.  So here he is.
Krampus for your Ghosts of Albion games.  I am taking a large number of liberties with this write up.  So please keep that in mind.

Krampus, The Christmas Demon

Long ago, long before children would know of the kindness of St. Nicholas there was a demon that tormented the long Alpine winter nights.  This demon, know locally as Krampus (from the word meaning Claw) would torment children and punish wrongdoers. Sometimes Krampus would even carry off a child that had been particularly wicked.
The trouble was that Krampus was more or less in a pact with the parents of the region that had used him as a means of controlling unruly children. Over the decades since their un-witting pact Krampus had grown in violence and deceit.
That is till the coming of St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas was able to confront the demon and was well on his way to dispatching the fiend (Santa was a bit more of a fighter in those days) when the issue of the pact was brought up.  The pact made with the demon was strong, and even though not one adult in area had made it an overt one, built up over the centuries with a little tale here, a story there, made it as strong as any pact sealed with a soul.  St. Nicholas then employed Krampus as a personal assistant, he could still torment bad children, but now under the eye of St. Nick himself.  Krampus also got more children as he traveled with St. Nick.  Since St. Nicholas was know as Sinterklass in some areas and Father Chritmas in  others, Krampus also received more names such as "Belsnickel" or even "Black Pete".
Sometimes it is even said that his travels with St. Nicholas has tempered his evil.  Or he is just bidding his time.

Krampus
Motivation: To punish wicked children
Creature Type: Demon
Life Points: 45
Drama Points: 1

Attributes
Str: 4
Dex: 3
Con: 4
Int: 3
Per: 3
Will: 5

Ability Scores
Muscle: 14 Combat: 15 Brains: 14
Qualities and Drawbacks: Acute Senses (taste, sight, smell), Adversary (St. Nicholas), Attractiveness -2, Cause Fear, Hard to Kill, Honorable (1), Innate Magic, Unique Kill


Manoeuvers
Name Score Damage Notes
Claw 15 8 tries to limit the damage he causes, dead things have no fear.
- Grab 13 - Krampus attempts to grab a child. Only a contested STR roll can let the child break free.
Deflect 17 - Magic defence action

Description
Krampus appears as a particularly nasty looking satyr or demon.  He is covered in fur, but is sometimes wearing a coat covered in soot.  He has one cloven hoof and one animal-like paw for feet.  His legs are like that of a goat and his upper body is human.  His hands are human, but end in terrible claws. His face is a twisted snarl of evil, with goat like eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth.  His long tongue lolls out of his mouth and constantly drips saliva.  Despite this he can still speak eloquently.  He uses his tongue to lick a person, typically their face, to know if they are naughty or nice.  His head supports to long curved horns.  He smells of burnt coal. He is sometimes seen carrying an old rusted chain. It is not clear if the chain is for himself or for the children he terrorizes. He also carries a satchlel of switches that he uses to beat children with.
His overall appearance is menacing and demonic. He cowers though from any stern word from St. Nicholas.
Krampus does have a weakness.  If given a piece of fruit, typically an apple or an orange, by a child, he will sit down to eat the gift, sharing it with whomever is there and engage is polite conversation.  Krampus will then leave the area, harming no one.
Krampus may be a demon, but he is fair and impartial. "Good" children have nothing to fear from him, "Bad" children are only punished in relationship to the severity of their "naughtiness".  Of course Krampus will attempt to use any trick he can to get someone onto his naughty list. For truly evil children he carries a sack to put them in. He will either drown them or take them off to Hell.
It is suspected though that he is fact feeds on the children's fear and the tales told by the parents.

Krampus is most often seen during the first two weeks of December.  All other times he is bound to his cave somewhere in the Alps.  There is no known way to dispatch of Krampus permanently.  Like many of the supernatural creatures associated with Christmas, as long as one child believes then he will return next year.

Edited to Add:

More Krampus at

• http://nevermetpress.com/merry-krampus-let-the-carnival-begin
• http://www.colinfbarnes.com/2011/my-fiction/a-christmas-krampus-conundrum
• http://www.stargazersworld.com/2011/12/19/krampusnacht/
• http://trollitc.com/2011/12/its-an-rpg-holiday-blog-carnival-with-special-guest-krampus-the-npc/
• Art above,  http://www.stevenaustinart.com/

Déjà vu: Scaring the Dickens out of Your Players: Ghosts of Albion

Here is my post for the Déjà Vu Blogfest.

This post was originally posted on December 19th 2009 and was viewed by what I could tell as many as 9 people since.  I felt it deserved another look due to the timing (it is close to the Anniversary of A Christmas Carol's publication) and now Ghosts of Albion is out in stores, so it is all a good fit.

Scaring the Dickens out of Your Players: Ghosts of Albion

On this day in 1843 Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, also known more simply as A Christmas Carol.

The story of Scrooge, Tiny Tim and the Ghosts is now a timeless Christmas classic retold in prose, stage, film (the 1951 version with Alistair Sim is my personal favorite), even animation and various parodies, homage and pastiches.

Such is the timelessness of this tale that it is perfect fodder for a Christmas themed episode. Even it is good enough for Doctor Who it is good enough for us right. Given that is a quintessential English tale of ghosts in the early Victorian age then it is perfect for Ghosts of Albion.

Jacob Marley
Motivation: To walk the Earth for his sin of greed, warn Scrooge of his fate.
Creature Type: Restless Spectre
Life Points: 30
Drama Points: 1

Attributes
Str: (2)
Dex: (2)
Con: (2)
Int: 4
Per: 3
Will: 4

Ability Scores
Muscle: (10) Combat: (0) Brains: 16
Qualities and Drawbacks: Attractiveness -1, Cursed, Ghost, Telekinesis, Unique Kill

Manoeuvers
Name Score Damage Notes
Deflect 19 - Magic defence action
Telekinesis 17 varies Effectiveness Str 5

Jacob Marley is the former business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge. He had died seven years before on Christmas Eve and is now confined to Earth to pay for his sins of greed and not helping his fellow man. He wears the shackles of his sins in form of heavy chains attached to ledger books, money boxes and heavy keys.

Marley cannot be killed or dispatched by normal means. He is similar to a Poltergeist, but even the means to remove those troublesome spirits are not effective on him. Marley consequently will not attack, nor even reveal himself to others but Scrooge. Though anyone with Magic or Innate Magic will be able to see him and interact with him.

Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist is a German word meaning the Spirit of the Times, used to describe the general feeling or atmosphere of a particular period in time. In the Ghosts of Albion game Zeitgeist is quite literal. Each time can manifest as a spirit or ghost. This is not a ghost of someone that has passed as most spirits, but more of a collective consciousness given magical form. A Zeitgeist can have any power, quality or drawback that a ghost may have. Since they are more of reflection of a particular time a Zeitgeist also can't be destroyed, though many exist only under very specific conditions.

Ghost of Christmas Past
Creature Type: Zeitgeist
Life Points: NA
Drama Points: 5

Attributes
Str: -
Dex: -
Con: -
Int: 5
Per: 6
Will: 5

Ability Scores
Muscle: NA Combat: NA Brains: 18

Qualities and Drawbacks: Archaic, Ghost, Manifest, Telekinesis, Unique Kill

The Ghost of Christmas Past appears to be both young and old at the same time. His hair is long and white, but his face is smooth. He speaks in a somewhat archaic manner.

This spirit shows their charge their memories of the past. A bitter old man like Scrooge is shown times when he was young and denied love from his abusive father and the loss of his sister. There are wonderful scenes in the 1951 movie with Scrooge and Marley that typify what this spirit does.

Ghost of Christmas Present
Quote: Come! You have never beheld the likes of me!
Creature Type: Zeitgeist
Life Points: NA
Drama Points: 5

Attributes
Str: (4)
Dex: (2)
Con: (5)
Int: 5
Per: 6
Will: 5

Ability Scores
Muscle: NA Combat: NA Brains: 20

Qualities and Drawbacks: Ghost, Manifest, Telekinesis, Unique Kill

This spirit is the most living of the lot. He appears as large man wearing green robes. His image invokes comparisons to Father Christmas or even the Pagan Green Man or Winter King. Though his appearance can vary greatly from year to year. He tells Scrooge that he has over 800 brothers, implying that he will no longer exist after midnight on Christmas and next year there will be a new Ghost of Christmas.

His task is to show Scrooge what he is missing and what his own greed has wroght.

The Ghost of Christmas Present has two horrible companions with him. They represent the greatest sources of suffering in the world. A boy, Ignorance and a girl Want. The spirit warns Scrooge to beware them both but especially of the girl.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Creature Type: Zeitgeist
Life Points: NA
Drama Points: 5

Attributes
Str: -
Dex: -
Con: -
Int: 4
Per: 4
Will: 7

Ability Scores
Muscle: NA Combat: NA Brains: 14

Qualities and Drawbacks: Chill of the Grave, Ghost, Manifest, Telekinesis, Unique Kill

This spectre is more horrifying than all the others. He is a grim Death-like figure shrouded in a robe and hood that never speaks but shows Scrooge visions of his future; the death of Tiny Tim, his own lonely death and callousness in which people view his passing.

Using the Ghosts in Your Story

Dickens used A Christmas Carol not only to pay some bills, but to address some serious social issues. The same set up can be used as a special Christmas episode in your on going game. The set up may seem a bit clichéd now nearly 170 years later, but they still work. The trick is not adding the Ghosts to your game, but figuring out the proper character or plot hook.

Keep in mind that as Directors you are not likely to get the same change of heart Scrooge had out of your characters, so instead focus on using the Ghosts to tell an important tale or show the characters a brief glimpse into their (possible) future.

A good example for a modern Cinematic game would be a demon hunter who is dedicated only to her mission ignoring family, friends and loved ones, in a sense becoming like the monsters she hunts. The Ghosts then in order show her what her life has been like in the past before her calling, what her friends and family are doing without her around, and then her grim and dark future. Too easy? Yeah, the future is likely to dark and grim regardless, but this where the twist comes in. Our demon hunter is still alive, but everyone she loves is either dead or lost to her. She finds that she is becoming less human (metaphorically speaking) and have more in common than the monsters she kills. Maybe she breaks into nest of vampires and they have set up a small Christmas tree and are giving each other presents. Sure the presents might be live kittens, but it is the thought that counts.

The purpose is to show our chosen demon hunter that without family, friends and even love, none of what she does matters. You can kill a 1,000 monsters, there is another 10,000 right behind him. Loved ones are often all you really have.

Merry Christmas!

Who else is doing this do over day?  See all the participants here: http://dlcruisingaltitude.blogspot.com/2011/11/deja-vu-blogfest.html

Ghosts of Albion - Haunted Illinois

I was visiting my parents home this past weekend and of course picked up on of the many "Haunted Illinois" books that are ubiquitous in the Central Illinois region.  I thought maybe I'd repost something  I had done for Ravenloft's "Gothic Earth".  This was for a netbook called the "Crossroads of Gothic Earth" done by the Kargatane many years ago.

While this was designed to be used with AD&D2nd ed, it was mostly a fluff piece and can really be used with any Victorian Era horror RPG.

Enjoy!

HAUNTED ILLINOIS:
A GUIDE TO STRANGE HAPPENINGS IN THE HEART OF THE GOTHIC MIDWEST

Local Correspondent:
Timothy S. Brannan

When people say “heartland of America” often one thinks of Illinois.  Founded as a state in 1818, but inhabited long before that, Illinois is rich in history and in ghosts.  Former presidents walk the halls of their home or tombs.  It has been rumored that Lincoln haunts the his tomb in Springfield, the capital building in Springfield, and the old State Capital in Vandalia, a place where he had worked as a young lawmaker.  All of this has led to a popular, but  grim saying among Illinoisans, “Abraham Lincoln walks at Midnight.”
Iroquois, Fox and Sioux Indians walk ancient plains, and dead confederate soldiers march to an uncertain doom.  Illinois is a starting point for many in their westward expansion, and a final resting place for others.

Illinois
Illinois is located in the heart of the “Heartland,” bordered by the mighty Mississippi River on the west and the Ohio on the south.  This, combined with rich, flat land and warm, humid summers, produces some the nation’s best farmland.  Since the 1850’s no other state has grown as quickly and as prosperously as Illinois.  Currently (1890) the population is over 4,500,000.

History
The area was first seen by Europeans in 1673, by two Frenchmen: Louis Joliet, a fur trader, and Jacques Marquette, a Catholic missionary.  Marquette later set up a mission along the Mississippi river (present day Kaskaskia) for the native peoples.  The first permanent settlement built by Europeans was a mission on the Mississippi river in the town of Cahokia in 1699.
Up to 1763 the area had been controlled by the French.  After the French-Indian wars, France gave this part of North America to the British, who soon made it part of Quebec.  This action was one of the causes of the American Revolutionary War.  During the war both Cahokia and Kaskaskia were sites of pivotal battles.  In 1783, Britain surrendered the Northwest Territory, which included Illinois.  In 1809 Illinois became a separate territory.  About this time the settlement of northern Illinois began, centered around Ft. Dearborn on Lake Michigan.
In 1818 Illinois was admitted as the 21st state of the Union.  Kaskaskia was named as its first state capital. This later moved to Vandalia in 1820 to encourage growth in Illinois’ interior.  The capital was later (1837) moved to its present day location of Springfield.  The city of Chicago was incorporated in March, 1837 on the site of  Ft. Dearborn.  By 1850 it was Illinois’ largest city with a population above 5,000.  Chicago became the leading industrial center of the former Northwest Territories.
The Civil War began in 1861 with most of the state supporting the Union.  Illinois sent more than a quarter of a million young men to serve with the Union army.  Among those were General Ulysses S. Grant.  In 1865, after the war’s end, Illinois became the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment to outlaw slavery.
In the years of the Reclamation, Illinois has seen many immigrants from other countries.  Most notable are the Irish, Italians and Poles.  Many ethnic neighborhoods have sprouted up all over Chicago and in some of the down-state areas as well.
The effects of  the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 can still be seen to this day, more that twenty years later.  The fire killed 250 people and left nearly 90,000 homeless.  The city was quick to rebuild and surpass its previous size.
Illinois is set, here at the turn of the 19th Century, to become one of the leading industrial and agricultural areas of the Untied States.

Forbidden Lore As America of the 1890’s expands ever westward, the forces of the Red Death follow.  Minions that are common in Illinois are most types of non-corporeal undead (Ghosts, Spectres, Haunts).  It is known that there is at least one Banshee on Chicago’s south side and two more down-state.  Many graveyards are prone to have ghouls and ghasts lurking around.  Zombies and skeletons, created by powerful necromantic magic, are usually rare.  No vampires or Liches have been recorded. Lycanthropes, in particular werewolves and foxwomen, are more common down-state.  Other common minions are Will o’wisps. Ghost March of Southern Illinois The Civil War pitted brother against brother.  Nowhere was that more strongly felt than in Southern Illinois.  While Illinois was technically a “free” state, many farmers south of Springfield sided more with the sensibilities of the Confederate states.  These farmers’ fields became the sites of some of the bloodiest skirmishes of the war. At certain times, sometime after midnight, a ghostly army arises from the mists hugging the ground.  This ragged army of undead are all that remains of a Confederate Army troop sent into Illinois at the height of the war.  The ghostly horde appears exactly as can be imagined; skeletal remains, with tatters of rotting flesh and gray uniforms.  Their weapons, long since spent of ammunition, hang in their hands useless, but serve as constant reminders of what has lead them to this fate.  Occasionally one can find a soldier that faired better than his brothers in arms.  He is not as damaged or decayed, but his young innocent face is no less of a horror than the phantasms that surround him. It is unknown what prompts this ghastly march or what motivates it. Haunted Cemeteries Illinois seems to have more than its fair share of haunted cemeteries.  Often these cemeteries are the source of faint apparitions or ghost lights, as in Barrington Cemetery in Barrington, home of the white ghost lights.  Sometimes the activity is more sinister.  Pagan rituals have been seen in cemeteries along the Des Plaines river, northwest of Chicago.  Similar events have happened in cemeteries in Jacksonville, 200 miles to the south. Hickory Grove in Wrights, south of Springfield, is the final resting place for one unsavory character.  Lying in a small unmarked grave southeast of the cemetery proper lies the body of man who was a doctor and a murderer, hung for the shooting death of a love rival.  It is said that if you stand on his grave you can hear the sounds of a hanging rope swinging in the wind. In 1841 an unknown man was found hanging in Clement’s Cemetery east of Champaign.  Whether he was the victim of a lynching or a suicide is unknown.  The people removed his body and gave him a proper burial.  Soon after reports came back of the “Blue Man,” a thin wispy ghost of blue that can only be seen in the light of the full moon. Old Union Cemetery in Dewitt county is considered to be one of the more haunted cemeteries in Illinois.  Its first burial was in 1831.  Located on the stagecoach route between Bloomington and Springfield, Union has become a “favorite” stopping place for the dead.  Like many cemeteries in Illinois reports of ghostly lights abound.  This place also has areas of extreme cold, even in Illinois’ normally humid summers.  Others have reported feeling sick at certain points. Also located on a former stagecoach route is Williamsburg Hill, or “Cold Hill,” Cemetery.  When the railroad came, Williamsburg became a ghost town; or rather a town of ghosts.  The cemetery itself is placed on a large, uncharacteristic hill among completely flat farmland.  Among the hundreds of mostly unmarked graves it is said a being wanders.  This spectre is vaguely human in appearance.  It seems to be an electrical field of some sort.  Electricity can be heard crackling in the air around it.  Whether it is a proper ghost or even if was at one time human is unknown. Haunted Schoolhouse Bloody Island School in Lime-Kill Hollow was a small one-room school house.  Like hundreds of other schools that dotted the countryside children young and old were sent with pail and slate in hand to learn the “three R’s” from a school marm, but what the children learned here was a lesson in horror.  Two teenage boys, long rivals, stabbed each other to death in front of a dozen screaming children.  Town officials and the kindly young teacher, Miss Daniels, did what they could to clean up the blood of the two dead boys, but try as they might the blood continues to seep up through the floorboards and into the classroom.  The floorboards have been cleaned over and over, and finally replaced, but the blood continues to flow.  Plans are now to close down the school and build a new one. The Watseka Wonder Just south of Chicago and west of Indiana lies the sleepy town of Watseka.  Unremarkable, save for what happened one summer of 1877.  Lurancy Vennum fell into a deep coma-like sleep.  When she awoke the 13 year old claimed she could speak with the spirits of the dead.  These episodes began to happen with more frequency and lasted many hours.  During these times Lurancy would speak in different voices and say things that she otherwise would not know of.  When she would awaken she would have no memory of the events.  Her family took Lurancy to best doctors in the state; finally they decided that she was insane and were going to have her committed. In January of 1878 a man named Asa Roff approached the Vennum family.  He had a story of his daughter, Mary, who had suffered a similar affliction, but had died in Peoria’s State Insane Asylum.  However, Asa believed in his daughter and wanted to save Lurancy from the same fate.  During mesmerism, Lurancy spoke in the voice of Asa’s daughter Mary. Lurancy then proceeded to speak to Asa about details that only the Roff family would know.  Lurancy (as Mary) lived with the Roffs, with the Vennum’s permission, for three months.  She was able to identify family members and favorite things that only would have been known to the family. In May, Mary left Lurancy and she asked to be returned home.  She left, bidding everyone in the family goodbye.  She never again experienced any contacts with the spirits, but she would return to see the Roff family on occasion and allow Mary to speak through her. Haunted Theaters Murphysboro in Southern Illinois is a quiet town located just a few miles east of the mighty Mississippi River.  This town, known more for its apples and its close proximity to the Shawnee Forest, also has a darker secret: The Ghost of the Liberty Theater.  The Liberty was built at the turn of the century and Emil McCarthy was there.  He started working there as a young boy; cleaning, running the spotlights and other odd jobs.  Sixty years later, Emil was still working odd jobs at the Liberty.  He had developed a drinking problem and a poor attitude over the years, but since he lived in the theater and had such an attachment to the place none of his supervisors had ever fired him.  Any that tried usually met with fatal accidents.  Emil was never suspected; he was usually in a bar or passed out in the city square when the deaths occurred. When the town decided to tear down the Liberty to put a new theater across town, Emil panicked and seemed to die of a broken heart.  Plans are still underway for the new theater, but people now claim the new site is cursed.  Tools disappear.  Workmen get into accidents.  None have been fatal, but they are increasing in number and magnitude.  All is not quiet at the Liberty either.  Patrons complain of noises, and cold areas.  Management has reported that the curtains will open and close silently on their own.  As the day of the Liberty’s demolition approaches, more incidents are reported.

Ghosts of Albion - In my Hands!

Got back home today from visiting family and found a nice big box waiting for me.
Inside...

A box of Ghosts of Albion books!

Coming soon to a Game Store near you!

Delays

Hey everyone.

I know. I am late with a few projects.
Not to get into too deeply, but have had some illnesses and surgeries at home (everyone is fine, except for me and I have a bad cold) and work has been really, really busy.

So without further ado here is the status of various projects.

Eldritch Witchery
Done.  In the hands of the editor now.  There might be rewrites.

The Witch
85-90% done.
I am working on some of the spells and had to redo how I do ritual magic in Basic Eras games.
This one I am going to hold off on till Dec. 22.  The release will include blog posting on Befana, The Christmas Witch.

Vampire Queen Adventure
Done.  Need to get it typed up and sent off.

Here There Be Dragons...
Slower progress here.  But we have a lot of ideas and have been working on it a lot.
Bought some more art yesterday for it too.
We are hoping to release it on April 23, 2012; St. George's Day.

In the meantime Ghosts of Albion should be out in stores by the end of this month!

Ghosts of Albion. In print!!

Posted by Eden's Zombie Lord, George Vasilakos.

Ghosts of Albion. In Print!!!

To say I am excited is a major understatement!!

No idea when it will hit your shelves, but it is coming!

Tarot Witch of the Black Rose for Unisystem

In celebration of Holly G.'s birthday today here is a Tarot post!

I'll admit it.  I like Tarot. Yes, yes there are some gratuitous images that puts most fan-service to shame, there is also a story here that I like.  That battle between the mundane and magical worlds and those that try to protect both sides.    In a way, Tarot is a bit like Tamara Swift or Buffy Summers, except that while Tamara and Buffy are more explicitly protecting humans and the mundane world, Tarot has the more difficult job of protecting mundanes and magicals from each other.

The exploits of Tarot are also the perfect kind of story you could tell with any Cinematic Unisystem game.  Though the attention paid to real world pagan beliefs and world view make it closer in tone really to WitchCraft RPG, a game I still love.

It is easy to see Tarot (Rowan) as a Buffy-style witch (using Magic) or even a WitchCraft Gifted.  My general rule of thumb is WitchCraft for books and some movies and Cinematic Unisystem for everything else.

Given some of the comic book action, I think Cinematic Unisystem (Buffy and Ghosts of Albion) is the way to go.

Again, Tarot really amounts to what is a Witch Guardian in my games.  A little magic, some combat ability and a desire to protect others.  Everything else aside that is what Tarot (the character) is all about.

So here is the Tarot for Unisystem. And happy birthday Holly!

Tarot, Witch of the Black Rose (Rowan)

Witch
Str: 3 Dex: 3 Con: 3 Int: 4 Per: 4 Wil: 5

Life Points: 46 Drama Points: 10

Qualities
Attractive 3, Contacts 3 (supernatural), Fast Reaction Time, Hard to Kill 4, Heightened Senses 1, Magic 4, Magical Philosophy (Witchcraft), Natural Toughness, Nerves of Steel, Occult Library 4, Witch Guardian, Visions

Drawbacks
Adversary 3 (her sister, dragon witches,other evil supernaturals), Honorable 2, Love 4 (Jon "Skeleton Man" Webb (romantic), Boo Cat (romantic), Mother (platonic)), Obligation 3 (her coven), Reputation 3, Tradition Bound

Skills
Acrobatics 4, Computer 1, Crime 1, Doctor 4, Driving 1, Engineering 1, Getting Medieval 6, Gun Fu 2, Influence 4, Knowledge 4, Kung Fu 4, Languages 2 (English, Latin), Notice 4, Occultism 6, Science 1, Sports 2

Combat
Maneuver Bonus Base Damage Notes
Sword of the Goddess* +11 16/20 (two handed) Slash/stab
Punch +8 Bash
Dodge +10 Defense action
Parry +10 Defense action

Spell +15, special
 - Deflect +15
 - Hold +14
 - Dispel +12
 - Lesser Sensing +12

The Sword of the Goddess is a unique weapon, but not an uncommon concept. Using Tarot's own magic the weapon gains a +1 bonus in combat and adds to her strength by +1.

I have not detailed the Witchcraft magical philosophy yet, though i have a good intuitive idea of what I want and need for it.  Witches get a +1 to their Doctor/Physician skills for herbal healing,  and +1 to their Occult Library.

Dinosauria Character Illustrations

My last game at Gen Con was Dinosauria!
This was a new one I had started on a while back designed to be an intro adventure for Ghosts of Albion.

I have mentioned here a few times and even posted the characters.  One of my players that night decided to do illustrations (with anime style "chibis") of the new characters.  I was floored!  I loved them.  I asked her permission to post them here and she agreed.  So without further ado, here are the stars of Ghosts of Albion: Dinosauria!

Lady Valerie Beaumont

Chief Constable Walter Edwards

Lady Fionna

and Xian “Jane”

and our cowboy, John Mulgrew

I thought these were awesome and I very happy to have them in my Dinosauria! collection.
Click to make bigger.  Sorry about the quality of the scans, was playing around to see if I could make her light pencil sketches show up a little better.

And thank you Audrey for being in my game and doing these great character portraits!

Dinosauria! Characters: Lady Valerie Beaumont

Another character for Dinosauria.  The immortal Lady Beaumont.
Valerie has the distinction of being the first character ever created for Obsession.  Looking forward to seeing how she gets played in the new game.

Lady Valerie Beaumont

Life Points 47
Drama Points 10

Attributes
Strength 3
Dexterity 5
Constitution 4
Intelligence 6
Perception 4
Willpower 5

Gender Female
Height 5’7”
Weight 130 lb
Hair Auburn
Eyes Light-Green
Actions, 2 mental, 2 physical

Qualities
Age 2
Attractiveness +3
Fast Reaction Time
Hard to Kill 3
Immortal
Magic 2
Nerves of Steel
Occult Library (Impressive)
Resources, Gentry
Status

Drawbacks
Adversary: (Various) +4 (from Age)
Love: Tragic +4
Minority: Woman +2
Secret (immortal)

Skills
Armed Mayhem: 5
Art 1
Athletics: 2
Crime: 2
Drive/Ride: 2
Engineering:
Fisticuffs: 2
Influence: 4
Knowledge: 5
Languages: 5 (English, French, Latin, Greek, Algonquin)
Marksmanship: 1
Notice: 4
Occultism: 4
Physician: 1
Science: 1
Wild Card (American History) 6 (she remembers most of it)

Combat
Manoeuvre Bonus Base Damage Notes
Sword +10 12 Slash/stab
Parry (sword) +10 — Defence action

Punch +7 6 Bash
Dodge +10 — Defence action
Grapple +9 — Resisted by Dodge

Magic +11 — By Spell

Defensive Magics Bonus = Willpower+Occultism+Magic+Mod
- Deflect (0) +11 Deflects spells 45º

Known History:
Widow from Lord Charles Beaumont who died some 5 years previous, she has spent the last year becomming familiar with society again. Her husband was a known traveler and adventurer who had a nose for the strange and unusual, and some even say that this may have rubbed off on her.

Lady Beaumont will be making her first appearance in a beautiful blue dress, that is at the height of fashion with a delicate white/pearl colored shawl. Her evening hat is the same color of her dress, with just a bit of mesh weave along the front.

She does carry a small cane to help her walk, she seems to lean on it more for support than actually needing it to walk.

Lady Beaumont is just over five feet tall and she has the most alluring green eyes.

Secret History:
Lady Beaumont 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 Americans.

She has since returned to England but now considers herself an American.

She is acquainted with the Protectors of Albion and has worked with Walter Edwards before.  She is also very good friends with the American Statesmen Benjamin Franklin and considers him a dear friend.  All of these people do know her secret.

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 approaching 300.
She walks with a cane, but that is a mere affectation.  The cane houses a sword of fae steel (very rare indeed as the faerie are loathed to work steel).  She is quite adept at its use (having practiced for centuries) and in her hands, it becomes a deadly, formidable weapon.

Valerie is given more freedoms in Victorian society than would normally be due to a woman.  She has status, money and is widowed, all which contribute to her status, and she is an American so society often looks the other way for her.

Ghosts of Albion at Cyphan Con

I am at the Cyphan Con here in Chicago (ok, at Rosemont).


I am in the Gatwick Room of the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont.

• Friday 7/29, 1:00 to 5:00 for Ghosts of Ablion: Obsession
• Saturday 7/30, Noon to 4:00 for Ghosts of Albion: Dinosauria!

Gaming info here: http://www.cyphan.com/cyphan/GAMING.html

Come by and see me!

If you tell me you saw it on my blog then I'll give you something special.  No idea what that will be to be honest, but I'll find something!!

Dinosauria! Characters: Walter Edwards

Players of "Obsession" will see a familiar face here.

Chief Constable Walter Edwards
Life Points 43
Drama Points 20

Attributes
Strength 3 (+1 Peeler)
Dexterity 3
Constitution 3
Intelligence 2
Perception 3
Willpower 2

Qualities
Acute Sense (Vision) (2)
Contacts (supernatural)
Hard to Kill 3 (3)
Peeler (5)
Nerves of Steel (3)
Situational Awareness (2)

Drawbacks
Obligation (Important) (Peeler)
Recurring Nightmares (1)

Skills
Armed Mayhem 4 (+1 Peeler)
Art 0
Athletics 4
Crime 3 (+1 Peeler)
Driving/Riding 1 (+1 Peeler)
Engineering 0
Fisticuffs 4
Influence 2
Knowledge 3
Languages 1 (English)
Marksmanship 2
Notice 5
Occultism 2
Physician 1
Science 2
Wild Card 0

Useful Information
Observation: 1d10 +8
Initiative: +4
Armor: 0
Fear:
Actions: 1 Mental /1 Physical

Combat
Manoeuvre Bonus Base Damage Notes
Dodge +6 — Defence
Grapple +8 — Resisted by Dodge
Punch +7 6 Bash
Pistol, small +6 9 Bullet
Truncheon +7 9 Bash

Chief Constable Walter Edwards is no stranger to the occult nature of his city. While he was a regular Peeler he saw something that very humans ever witnessed. He saw a large man trying to rough up a working girl. Edwards, believing he was stopping a potential beating of a dolly-mop rushed in, truncheon ready. What he saw when he got there was not to be believed. The “man” was over 7ft tall and had horns growing from his head and had fire for eyes. The creature laughed a horrible, inhuman laugh, and it ran and jumped over a 12ft. wall. The papers were soon calling the creature the “Spring Heeled Jack”, but you know he was something like the Devil.
He met up with others then, some who had similar stories, other who seemed as strange as the creature, but he learned of a new world that day.
Edwards was given a gift, a special pair of glasses that allow him to see the supernatural world. Ghosts, lines of power, faerie creatures and worse walked the streets of London.
Edwards has starred into the Abyss and it starred back at him. Though unlike so many others he had the courage to take the next step, and the next and the next. Monsters or humans, he represents law and order in this city and law and order he will have!

More Dinosauria Characters

Lady Fionna
Faerie Lady
Drama Points 10
Life Points 38

Attributes
Strength 3
Dexterity 4
Constitution 4
Intelligence 5
Perception 4
Willpower 5

Qualities
Age (+100 years) (2)
Attractiveness +4 (Court Faerie)
Artist (Court Faerie)
Contact (Supernatural—Seelie Court) 2 (Court Faerie)
Court Faerie (Unseelie Court)
Glamour (Court Faerie)
Innate Magic (Court Faerie)
Regeneration (4 Life Points per hour) (Court Faerie)
Resources (Gentry)
Mesmerise (Hear Me) (Court Faerie)
Seeming (Court Faerie)

Drawbacks
Adversary (Seelie Court) 1 (Age)
Archaic (Primitive) (Court Faerie)
Mental Problems (Deranged Faerie Arrogance) (Court Faerie)
Mental Problems (Severe Intolerance) (Court Faerie)
Mental Problem (Severe Obsession—Defend her territory) (2)
Minority (Woman) (2)
Natural Barrier (Cannot enter a church or church yard) (3)
Obligation (Total—Unseelie Court) (Court Faerie)
Vulnerability (Minor—Iron) (Court Faerie)

Skills
Armed Mayhem 6
Art 2 (+1 Artist)
Athletics 3
Crime 0
Driving/Riding 2
Engineering 0
Fisticuffs 3
Influence 3
Knowledge 4
Languages 3 (English, Faerie, Latin)
Marksmanship 3
Notice 1
Occultism 4 (+2 Court Faerie)
Physician 0
Science 0
Wild Card 0

Useful Information
Observation: 1d10 +5
Initiative: +4
Armor: +1 (Glamoured Armor)
Fear: +5
Actions: 2 Mental /1 Physical

Combat
Manoeuvre Bonus Base Damage Notes
Rapier +10 12 Slash/stab (Faerie steel)
Dodge +10 — Defence
Grapple +10 — Resisted by dodge

Deflect +12 — Deflects spells 45º
Lesser Sensing +8 — Active magical perception
Mending +12 — Healing or repair
Mesmerise (Hear Me) +8 — Resisted by Willpower (doubled)


Xian “Jane”
House Girl / Tong Assassin
Drama Points 20
Life Points 36

Attributes
Strength 2
Dexterity 3
Constitution 3
Intelligence 3
Perception 4
Willpower 3

Qualities
Athlete
Attractiveness +2
Charisma 1
Contact (Supernatural) 2
Hard to Kill 2
Nerves of Steel

Drawbacks
Honourable (Serious) (2)
Minority (Chinese Woman) (2)
Secret (Former Tong Assassin) (3)

Skills
Armed Mayhem 5
Art 1
Athletics 4 (+2 Athlete)
Crime 1
Driving/Riding 0
Engineering 0
Fisticuffs 5
Influence 0
Knowledge 2
Languages 2 (Chinese, English)
Marksmanship 0
Notice 3
Occultism 2
Physician 1
Science 0
Wild Card (Housekeeping) 1

Useful Information
Observation: 1d10 +7
Initiative: +4
Armor: +1 (leather waistcoat worn under clothes)
Fear:
Actions: 1 Mental /1 Physical

Combat
Manoeuvre Bonus Base Damage Notes
Sword +8 6 Slash/Stab
Dodge +8 — Defence
Grapple +6 — Resisted by dodge
Punch (kung-fu) +4 4 Bash
Kick +6 6
- Flying Spin +5 8
- Roundhouse +6 6

If there is an odder pair found on the streets of Victorian London, then this chronicler does not know about them. Lady Fiona Seelis comes from old, old money though most do not know how old. Her guise is that of a wealthy widow whose family owns many lands in Wales and north of London. She has a bit of an accent that she claims she got due living in France for a number of years after her husband’s death. No one seems to recall ever meeting her husband, but after a few moments with the lovely Lady they know they must have met the poor devil before his untimely death. Accident it was, at least that is what you heard someone say.

Lady Fiona though has never been married, indeed she is no human either. She is in fact a lesser noble of the Unseelie Court. Her Mistress, Queen Mab herself, has sent Fiona into exile to study the humans. She is supposed to report back on them in a number of years.

The girl known only as “Jane” (Xian in her own country) is a young girl from China. At first she was like any number of the thousands of immigrants to England’s shores till the night she tried to kill Lady Fiona. To be fair Lady Fiona had been stalking the streets of London looking trouble of her own. Her Faerie nature driving her to defend her territory from intruding monsters, not out of altruism or care for the humans, but because this territory was hers.

Jane had secrets of her own. She was a young Tong assassin in training. Her job was supposed to be a simple one of killing a rival. But the rival gang learned of this and kill all in Jane’s group. All, including Jane were suspected dead. Her Tong never search for her since she was only a girl. Fiona saved her that night and the two now hunt the streets of London together.

Neither woman is what you call “good”, they are very apt at playing the roles they have created for themselves. Fiona will appear as the rich widow with more money than sense and Jane will play the role of the quiet maid servant of the east. Fiona, due to her wealth, beauty and more than a little faerie magic is given unprecedented access to places where no other woman is allowed. Jane is constantly near her and Fiona will claim that Jane must always be there to attend to her. In reality Jane is on constant vigil for Lady Fiona’s enemies and she carries her mistress and her own swords.

Fiona has been invited to the New Year’s Eve party in thanks for her generous financial contributions over the years.

Dinosauria! Characters

I have been promising to get some characters up for Dinosauria.  Here is the first.  John is not just the first one to be posted but he was the first character to be created for Dinosauria proper.  He is actually the idea of my good friend Steven Todd and this character is actually registered with the Screen Writers Guild in Hollywood since he was to appear in one of the movies Steven worked on.  So it is a really treat that I am getting to work on him here and use him in my adventure.

John Mulgrew
Frmr. U.S. Marshall
Drama Points: 10
Life Points: 47

Attributes (20)
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 5
Constitution: 4
Intelligence: 3
Perception: 3
Willpower: 2

Qualities (20)
Acute Sense (Vision) (2)
Hard to Kill 3 (3)
Ex-Soldier (5) (Ex-Marshall)
Nerves of Steel (3)
Renown/Reputation (Known/Good) (3)
Resources Moderate (2)
Special: Magical Sight (2)

Drawbacks (up to 10)
Addiction (minor, smoking, drinking) (1)
Honourable (1)
Mental Problems (Severe Obsession – Avenge Dead Family) (2)
Obligation (1)
Recurring Nightmares (1)
Secret (deals with supernatural) (2)

Skills (25) (+8 from Drawbacks)
Armed Mayhem 4
Art 1
Athletics 2
Crime 2
Drive / Ride 3
Engineering 0
Fisticuffs 4
Influence 1
Knowledge 2
Languages 1
Marksmanship 5
Notice 5
Occultism 2
Physician
Science 1
Wild Card

Useful Information
Observation: 1d10 +8
Initiative: +5
Armor: +1 (leather duster)
Fear: +5
Actions: 1 Mental /2 Physical

Combat
Name Bonus Damage Notes
Punch +9 6 Bash
Rifle +10 20 Bullet
Pistols +10 12 Bullet* John has two Colts, one with regular rounds, the other with his special gold rounds. Once empty a Pistol needs 1 round to reload.

John Mulgrew is a former U.S. Marshall. Back in the days when was a Marshall he and his family lived in the new state of Texas where his job was to make sure that the local population was “controlled”. This meant he hunted down American Indians that had broken the law.

After a particularly long a bloody battle, John came home to find his wife and two children killed. Not just murdered, but ripped apart. Insane with grief he ran off to find out who did this. He was discharged from the Marshalls, but he didn’t care he only wanted to find who killed his family. He was convinced it was an Indian and had tracked the culprit to the Dakotas.

One night he made his camp near a cross roads only to be awoken by a strange man dressed as a gentleman cooking a foul smelling diner over his campfire. John raised his gun to the man, but the man only asked John to give him his gun. John, without thinking, handed it him. The man unloaded John’s revolver, a .44 Colt Dragoon, and reloaded it with cartridges made of pure gold. He loaded in six and handed John a seventh. He then told John that he knew what he was hunting and this gun will give him the ability to kill it. If he didn’t want the gun, just leave on the ground, but if he took it up then he only had seven shots to kill seven monsters and then John’s soul would be his.

John woke up the next morning with no sight that the man had been there, but his gun was still loaded with the gold bullets. Tucking it deep in his saddle bag, John rode on.

John had followed a trail of destruction all the way to the Dakotas. There he found an Indian. The two men tried to kill each other till they were stopped by a beast with long claws and blood stained white fur. It stood as a man, but thin and nearly 9 feet tall. The creature attacked them both. The Indian seemed to be using some sort of magic to attack the creature which harmed it, even while John’s shots from his normal gun were ignored. John recalled the gun with the gold bullets and he shot the creature which killed it instantly.

John and Indian, who he learned was named Husun, tended their wounds. Husun told John that the creature was a Wendigo and it had killed everyone in his camp. It was also the creature that had killed John’s family and all the families between here and Texas. He told John his gun was an evil thing, but now that he had used it he could not be rid of it.

John and Husun, whom the locals called “Blackfoot”, traveled together for a while investigating the paranormal. John tends to drink a little too much, but it is the only way he can sleep at night without the nightmares of the Wendigo killing his family.

John and Husun have come to England as Guests of the wealthy Lord Dyus Paton. Lord Paton has been unable to attend tonight’s diner at the Crystal Palace due to illness, but has sent along John and Husun in his stead, knowing the august crowd would enjoy seeing a real live American Cowboy and Indian.

Pipes of the Susurrus: Sleeping not yet dead...

"I watched as the faerie woman produced a long flute that appeared to be carved from the leg bone of some animal.  At least I hoped it was animal.  She began to play the horrific looking instrument and despite her effort the music, if indeed it could be called that, never rose above the level of a whisper.  The small army of undead soldiers chasing us suddenly stopped and began to sway to her phantasmagorical playing.  She paused briefly and took the flute from her lips.
'Come now.' She said, winded from her playing. 'The dead do not sleep long under the susurrus.'"

- From the Journal of Larina Nix

In many role-playing games that feature vampires, zombies, and other forms of the walking dead, one feature is fairly constant.  The Undead are immune to sleep, charm, and other mind-affecting magic.  In Ghosts of Albion for example the dead do not sleep, in most fantasy RPGs you also can't charm them or use some form of mind-affecting magic to get them to do your bidding unless you are the necromancer that summoned them.

Given that undead are frequently encountered (even outside of horror games) and used as adversaries then it should stand to reason that someone would have found a way around this.  Well in my games it is the fae or maybe the elves in yours.

The following text is released as Open Text under the OGL.  No other part of this post or art is released under the OGL.

Pipes of the Susurrus

Pipes of the Susurrus or Susurrus Pipes appear as a variety of different woodwind instruments.  The most common is that of a flute, but pan pipes are also common enough.  Rumor persists of a greater Pipes of the Susurrus in the form of a set of bagpipes and created by the Queen of the Seelie Court herself.

In all cases, the pipes are made of bone.

In order to use the pipes, the wielder must have the appropriate skill (Perform, Music, Instruments, or what is acceptable in your system) and spend time practicing the unique music that comes from the pipes.
Once done then they may use the pipes to induce a sleep-like state in all undead that can hear the music.  The stupor remains with them for the duration of the playing and for half that time again.  If the undead are attacked then the spell is broken.

Alternately a spellcaster can spend some time with the pipes and use it as a new material component when casting spells that would normally be ineffectual against the undead.  This extends to sleep, charm, and hold spells, but not to ESP or other mind-reading spells.

Pipes of the Susurrus are very rare. The secret of their manufacture are not known to many and the ones that have been made are often destroyed. Intelligent undead (Vampires, Liches, Ghosts) know them on sight and will make all attempts to destroy them.  The undead fears the pipes since they induce not a sleep-like state for them, but a death-like state, and most undead fear death more than mortals do.

Section 15
"Pipes of the Sururrus" Copyright 2011, Timothy S. Brannan

Conventions and other maddness

Been a slow blogging week here at the Other Side.  
I am really busy at work and I have been re-working both Ghosts of Albion adventures I'll be running.

Speaking of which, I will be at a local Convention, Cyphan, at the end of July.
http://www.cyphan.com/cyphan/CYPHAN_HOME.html

I will be running both of the same adventures I'll be running at Gen Con, "Obsession" and "Dinosauria!" on Friday and Saturday respectively.
You can see the schedule here: http://www.cyphan.com/cyphan/GAMING.html
Cyphan has a more Steampunk feel to it than Gen Con, so maybe I'll make a mad-scientist like character to fit into that mix.  He/She would be perfect for "Dinosauria!" really.

I have also been active in paying some more attention to my other (co-owned) blogs, Red Sonja: She Devil with a Sword and Amazon Princess.

Ghosts of Albion: Dinosauria!

This Gen Con I am going to introduce a new adventure for Ghosts of Albion.  The first I have written in a while and I am quite excited.

The adventure is centered around the New Year's Eve 1853 party at the Crystal Palace.  The characters are all invited to a most unique party inside one of the first ever models of a dinosuar!

You are invited by Mr. Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins,

and Prof. Richard Owens,

I'll be presenting some details for players here and the characters they can play.

Currently I have an immortal sorceress, a cowboy with golden bullets that he may have gotten from the devil, an Algonquin shaman, a faerie lady, and an American occult scholar.

Stay tuned.

Writing Slumps and Research Surplus

In the last two weeks I have done nothing.


Well that is not totally true, I mean I have been working at my job, still reading with the kids, playing D&D with my kids and Pathfinder with the big kids.   Still doing things that I need to do around the house.

But I  have not done any writing at all.
And this is a big problem.

Not so much for "The Witch", although that is also affected, but I am supposed to have a new adventure for Ghosts of Albion ready to go for Gen Con and I am not done with it, nor have I playtested it yet.

For the Witch, I have been going back to my stacks of research.  I am re-reading Margaret Murray's "The Witch Cult in Western Europe" for inspiration.  Yeah, yeah I know, every credible anthropologist on the planet has derided her work, that would be an issue if I was writing am anthropological textbook.   Instead I am looking at it different this time.  Murray posits that "witches" are an unbroken line from pre-history to now.  What if I went in the opposite direction?  What if I took the neo-pagan tropes and reverse engineered a pre-historic ancestor using the fairy tales of the ages AND placed this recipe in a D&D-ish style world to stew for a few thousand years.  What sort of witch would that be?

Also thanks to the magic that is my new Father's day gift I have been downloading a ton of ebooks.
So far here is my research list:

• The Witch-Cult in Western Europe - Margaret Alice Murray
• Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft - Sir Walter Scott
• Salem Witchcraft and Cotton Mather A Reply - Charles W. Upham
• Brood of the Witch-Queen - Sax Rohmer (fiction)
• Grimm's Fairy Tales (the originals) - Jacob Grimm
• The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft & Demonology - Russel Hope Robbins (one of my faves)

I am also re-reading the "Malleus Maleficarum", but frankly there is not much here for a game.
The book is laughably bad in most places when it is not sadistic, misogynistic, and overly focused on the curses a witch will put on men's genitalia (for a group of people that are supposedly celibate the writers of this book are very preoccupied with sex).

Frankly it has the mentality of a 14 year old, and a very puerile 14 year old at that.  

And lets not forget that real people were actually tortured and murdered because of this book.  While it might not be the "Witches' Holocaust" of later writers, 1 innocent person murdered is 1 more than I would like.
While I might glean some tidbits out of it, all I got out of it the last time I read it was the Malefic Witch I wrote from my 2nd Ed Netbook back in 1999.  I want to write something people want to play, not torture.

Not that I want only good witches, I like evil ones too. Grimm is a great source for that especially if you read the original versions.  Evil, child eating hags that live in the woods? Oh yeah there is room for you in my book, right next to so-beautiful-it-is-frightening faerie witches and the domestic goddesses and potion makers.

I have the traditions defined, the class, some magic items, some monsters and about 500 spells.  That will be trimmed down, but still expect a lot of spells from me.  I have art.   And it may go against some "old school" credo but I have some art from Larry Elmore to put in it.  I have always wanted to have a book of witches with Elmore art in it and now I can do so.

For my Ghosts of Albion adventure I am re-reading Sherlock Holmes and I now have a copy of  Jess Nevin's WONDERFUL The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana.  And let me tell you this. It is worth every penny I paid for it. I bought it before the prices sky rocketed but it still was not cheap.

Act 1 is done.  Act 2 and Act 3 are mostly done.  I have the characters.  I have my monsters.  What I don't have is a good way yet for the players (not the characters) to figure out how to stop the monsters before they break out and eat London on New Years' Eve.  Whatever clues I need to move the plot forward need to be in Act 1, so I might need to tweak that a bit.

Hopefully I'll get some writing in soon.