I have often said that Heavy Metal (the music, the magazine, and the movie) was/were as much of an influence on my early 80s gaming style as were the likes of Dragon magazine, White Dwarf, and really, far more than most of the Appendix N books.
While I have not read HM in a long time, it was part of my D&D experience as much as anything. I even rank Taarna among the celebrated heroes of fantasy, right along with Conan, Elric, Frodo, Fafhrd, and the Gray Mouser.
This is not an age that is kind to the printed word, less kind even to the printed word on paper. I don't hold out any hope that HM will return in a new form any more than I hope that Dragon will.
A few times in my life are clearly defined as "Before" and "After."
Graduations. Marriage. Kids. But one that has left a significant mark on me (and my wife Natalie) was Before and After hearing "The Lion and the Cobra" by Sinéad O’Connor. Seeing her in concert remains one of the best shows I have ever been to in my life.
I do not believe in any sort of afterlife at all. But I hope she finally found some sort of peace.
The effect her music, especially her first few albums, had on me is quite frankly immeasurable. Not surprisingly, she also inspired some of my favorite RPG moments.
I am not going to say there would have been no "The Dragon and the Phoenix," my epic Buffy RPG campaign without Sinéad's "The Lion and the Cobra," but it and everything that came after it (my work on the Buffy RPG, Ghosts of Albion) would have looked very different.
Back in 1988, listening to "The Lion & the Cobra" (for like the 1000th time likely), I had an idea of a character that loved someone so much that they breached the walls of death and came back to that person. It was a powerful image and something I wanted to do ever since. Eventually, that image from so long ago became a central theme of "The Dragon & the Phoenix." The song was "Troy" (as in Trojans) and the final adventure was named "No Other Troy." Both for the Sinéad O'Connor song and the Yeats poem.
The build-up for this adventure, an interlude, was set to "Drink Before the War," also from "The Lion and the Cobra."
While "The Lion and the Cobra" had a HUGE impact on my life, it was not her only album. Another contributing factor to both my Ravenloft games of the 1990s and "The Dragon and the Phoenix" was "I am Stretched on Your Grave" from her wildly successful "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got."
Another element added to the soundtrack of my early 2000s games was her 1994 album "Universal Mother," with "Fire On Babylon" being the main choice.
Sinéad also appeared on many other albums. One song of hers really help me find the tone I was looking for for my The Dragon and the Phoenix game. It is "Empire" off of Bomb the Bass's album "Clear."
Other Games
Though back in the late 80s / early 90s the Buffy RPG was not even an idea yet. What was an idea were my ideas for a Star Trek TNG game after picking up some FASA Trek material for TNG. Back then the idea of a Ghost Ship and the song was "Jackie" also from "The Lion and the Cobra."
This was, no doubt, inspired by what I was doing back then. A lot of horror role-playing.
Another song, which while by itself did not lead to any RPG ideas, it lead me to Enya which more or less was my soundtrack for writing Ghosts of Albion. The song was "Never Get Old" also from "The Lion and the Cobra."
Other Videos
I can't have a proper tribute without mentioning "Nothing Compares 2 U." I was at a party one night back in college. People were drinking and generally doing what you do at an underage college keg party. The TV was on MTV as background noise. Sinéad came on with "Nothing Compares 2 U" and I swear the whole place ground to a halt so people could watch her. Ok, maybe not to a halt, but it was early enough in the release of the song that not many had seen the video yet. I already had heard the song many times, I bought the album on the day it was released, so I knew it. I think I may have even seen the video. But now everyone else was discovering something I already knew. Just how fantastic she was.
Her critics (and there are so many of them) are all quick to point out that Prince wrote this song. Yes. Yes he did and Prince is amazing. He has written so many songs for so many artists. But when Prince wrote this he was singing about a lover. Sinéad was singing about her abusive mother and how she really just wanted to be loved by her the same way she loved her.
Tell me that doesn't make it hit harder.
Speaking of critics.
At the concert to celebrate Bob Dylan's birthday right after the Pope thing, she came on stage and was booed by the crowd. Singer Kris Kristofferson came out, gave her a hug, and told her, "Don't let the bastards get you down." She did her song and fled the stage, where Kristofferson was there to give her a hug. My admiration of him went up several notches after that. In 2009 he recorded an acoustic song, "Sister Sinead."
I'm singing this song for my sister Sinead Concerning the god awful mess that she made She told them her truth just as hard as she could Her message profoundly was misunderstood
There's humans entrusted with guarding our gold And humans in charge of the saving of souls And humans responded all over the world Condemning that bald headed brave little girl
And maybe she's crazy and maybe she ain't But so was Picasso and so were the saints And she's never been partial to shackles or chains She's too old for breaking and too young to tame
It's askin' for trouble to stick out your neck In terms of a target a big silhouette But some candles flicker and some candles fade And some burn as true as my sister Sinead
Nothing gets me in the mood for working on a campaign or writing new material quite like a good playlist.
My memories of old-school gaming are inexorably linked to old-school rock and metal. In fact back in the 1980s we would stop our games if a particular video, mostly Iron Maiden or Judas Priest, came on MTV.
I have to say Laura was an absolute sweetheart to work with! I knew I wanted to get a Cameo of someone to mark the occasion this year and she popped up in my searches and I knew she was the one.
I rather enjoy The Burning Witches and have featured them here before on a Friday Night Videos segment.
So with that. Welcome again "where all witches love the Other Side!"
It's been a bit since I did a Friday Night Videos, but maybe it's the dark of winter that has my mood looking to some new music from some of my favorite women-fronted bands. And while we are at it let's make this a #FollowFriday too! Follow them all and don't forget to buy their songs, albums, or whatever they have. People have been saying "we don't need artists during this quarantine" and to that I say bullshit! Artists have kept me living in all of this. We need them more than ever.
Let's get into it!
Up first is a favorite of The Other Side, Arden Leigh.
Arden fronted the band Arden and the Wolves. Now she has a new project she is doing Prospertine. Which consists of her and Jeremy Bastard. Their first single is Home.
You can follow her, The Wolves, and Prospertine on the web at:
Another favorite here is the sister group Neoni. Their newest song Notorious is now out. It has a serious Lorde vibe and I mean that is the best possible way.
Neoni also gave Fandom the gift of covering "Carry On (Wayward Son)" for the Supernatural Series Finale. For this alone they have earned a solid place in geekdom.
Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless has been putting out some great music for while now. Their newest album, Death by Rock and Roll has a lot of great songs on it. Personal, Taylor is getting better with each album and I have to admit I am pleased she quit acting to do this full time.
Witches Burn grabbed my attention right away.
It's going to be interesting to see where she is in a few years because I think she is just getting better with each album.
Confession time. When they first came out I really didn't care for Evanescence. I mean I recognized that Amy Lee had a powerful voice, but they never connected with me really. Fast forward a few years and I am listening to her doing duets and singing background on other artists' songs and I am just impressed with her. I think she is a better singer now than she was 20 years ago. Here is Evanescence's most recent one and as a bonus Lzzy Hale is singing backup.
It's Friday! It's October! Let's start some Friday Night Videos!
Since I am also doing my October Horror Movie Marathon posts I am writing these posts early to autopost.
So let's get started.
Last week I did the Hex Girls, a fake all-girl band. Tonight lets do a real all-girl, witch-themed band. And these women have more in common with the Ostrogoths than they do with eco-goths.
This is the first video of the Witches I ever saw and features their former lead singer Seraina Telli (now of Dead Venus) and former guitarist Sonja "Anubis" Nusselder.
After this Lead singer Laura Guldemond took over and oh does she has some energy!
And just released two weeks ago, The Circle of Five! With new Witch Larissa.
I am looking forward to seeing some more new material with Larissa!
Tonight is the premiere of the FINAL season of Supernatural. I can't believe it.
With the Supernatural RPG out of print, NIGHT SHIFT is the best choice for playing a Supernatural-style game, where the PCs are largely normal people fighting against something far beyond their own power levels.
So this seems like a perfect time to bring back my favorite show that never was, Wayward Sisters!
Note: If Jody is the mom, then Donna is the fun aunt.
Annie Jones
3rd Level Survivor/1st level Sage, Human
Strength: 12 (0)
Dexterity: 12 (0)
Constitution: 15 (+1)
Intelligence: 15 (+1) s
Wisdom: 16 (+2) s
Charisma: 15 (+1) P
HP: 19 (3d4+1d6)
AC: 9
Fate Points: 1d6
Check Bonus (P/S/T): +3/+2/0
Melee bonus: +0 (+1) Ranged bonus: +0 (+1)
Saves: +3 to death saves
Special Abilities: Open locks 35%, Bypass traps 30%, Sleight of Hand 40%, Move Silently 40%, Hide in Shadows 30%, Climb 75%, Danger Sense 50%, Perceptive 50%, Sneak Attack x2, Read Languages 80%, Lore 25% (special bouns +5% for vampire lore)
Skills: Medicine (Int), Science (Int), Notice (Wis), Deceive (Cha)
Languages: English, Spanish
Notes: Use to be "bait" for a vampire family and was a vampire once. Now she is a nurse. Of all the Wayward Sisters Annie/Anne/Alex wants to have a "normal" life the most.
Claire Novak
1st Level Theosophist/3rd Level Survivor, Human
Strength: 12 (0) s
Dexterity: 13 (+1) P
Constitution: 15 (+1) s
Intelligence: 15 (1)
Wisdom: 14 (+1)
Charisma: 14 (+1)
HP: 22 (1d6+3d4)
AC: 8
Fate Points: 1d6
Check Bonus (P/S/T): +3/+2/0 Melee bonus: +0 (+1) Ranged bonus: +0 (+1)
Saves: +3 to all wisdom saves
Special Abilities: See Dead People, Turn Undead, Protection from Undead, Open locks 35%, Bypass traps 30%, Sleight of Hand 40%, Move Silently 40%, Hide in Shadows 30%, Climb 75%, Danger Sense 50%, Perceptive 50%, Sneak Attack x2, Read Languages 80%, Lore 25% (special bouns +5% for angelic lore)
Notes: She Began as a theosophist due to her religious background and her ability to be a perfect angelic vessel for Castiel. Was a werewolf once. She is in love with Kaia. She is the one Wayward Sister that is most like the Winchesters.
Patience Turner
3rd Level Psychic, Human
Strength: 12 (0)
Dexterity: 14 (+1)
Constitution: 14 (+1)
Intelligence: 18 (+3) P
Wisdom: 16 (+2) s
Charisma: 17 (+2) s
Notes: Kaia is a Dream Walker which can be covered by the Psychic class. Her stint in the "Bad Place" gave her a level of Survivor. Kaia is also a former drug user to keep herself from dreaming. She is in love with Claire. #dreamhunter.
Episodes/Adventures would have to be named after rocks songs by women-fronted bands; like Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Halestorm (naturally), The Pretty Reckless, Doro, Garbage, and Lacuna Coil. Taking a page from Supernatural music would have to play an important role. Come to think of it, you could just use my Daughters of Darkness playlist. At 39 songs, that's 3 "seasons" of 13 "episodes" each. I love it when a plan comes together.
This was a fun one. It reminds me a bit of "The Mephisto Waltz" and a little bit of the "Music of Erich Zahn", only in reverse.
Rose Fisher (Freya Tingley) is a world-class violinist and she learns that her estranged father, and brilliant strange composer, Richard Marlowe (Rutger Hauer) is dead.
She inherits his home and all his belongings including a very strange violin sonata. Her agent Simon Abkarian(Charles Vernais) investigates and learns that the sonata was part of a work linking it to a cult of Satan worshipers in France and it appears to have been written just for Rose.
The movie is more of a thriller, but there is the summoning of the antichrist and the ghosts of the children sacrificed by Marlow in the process of composing his masterpiece sonata.
The movie was rather good. Frey Tingley is great as Rose and I wanted more Rutger Hauer.
The end was a nice little twist so I enjoyed that.
I am a sucker for any story that mixes music with magic.
Frankly, I would lift this plot wholesale to use as a NIGHT SHIFT adventure. Investigate the scary mansion of a composer that commits suicide. Horrible tapes found in the basement. All sorts of great things here. Though stopping it would require an active antagonist.
It's Friday! It's October! Let's start some Friday Night Videos!
Since I am also doing my October Horror Movie Marathon posts I am writing these posts early to autopost.
So let's get started.
Tonight I have the music of my favorite all-girl, eco-goth band of witches, the Hex Girls! Not just the songs from their Scooby-Doo episodes but some clever coplayers and cover bands.
The Dead Milkmen are releasing a D&D adventure about a "Bitchin Chimera." Do I really need to tell you more than that? No idea if Tony Orlando and Dawn, Beelze-bubba, Mojo Nixon, or a Punk Rock Girl will appear.
Ok, first and foremost this Kickstarter will not benefit any of the current racist owners of the Judges Guild. This collects some of the best material of the early days of JG and all written by Jennell Jaquays. Some very, very solid stuff here, and Goodman Games puts out a solid product.
and finally one more look at this one now that it has made it's funding goal.
There is always one day in these month-long posting sessions that I have nothing.
Today is that day. I mean I can come with stuff for "Push" don't get me wrong, just nothing I feel inclined to write about in a meaningful way. I usually allow my self a pass on any given day. Today I am taking it.
So here is something "push" related.
I guess Garbage is from the same area as D&D, so there is that.
Copies of NIGHT SHIFT: VETERANS OF THE SUPERNATURAL WARS have ALL been delivered to the Kickstarter backers and people are also getting the Kickstarter special Player's Guide.
So continuing with the music of the time when the BECMI sets were new here is some music from 1985!
I created this playlist last year to celebrate the start of Stranger Things Season 3. Which, truth be told, has done a lot to get people back into D&D.
So June is BECMI Month and I am going to be doing some BECMI-flavored versions of regular features.
Since the Basic Set of BECMI came out in 1983 I thought it might be fun to pull out a play-list from 83.
But not just any play-list.
No, this one follows the line up of a cassette tape I bought back in 83, likely at the K-Mart. I remember getting it because it was the only tape I could find with my then favorite song "Shock the Monkey" by Peter Gabriel.
Of course, I can only mean K-Tel's "Chart Action '83!"
Does it have anything at all to do with D&D or BECMI?
Not at all! But it is what I was listening to then.
I mean seriously? Dolly and Elvira in a TV show playing sister witches?? It's like someone on the internet was reading my secret stash of fan-fic...that I totally don't have.
I can't do a TV show. And seriously Hallmark, you can do 3,000 Christmas movies, would a Halloween one like this kill ya'? But I can do RPG stuff.
And I know the PERFECT RPG book for this.
Background
Ok, I am going to add this to my War of the Witch Queens somehow. Dolly's and Elvira's mother, a very powerful witch, has just died. I don't think she is one that sets off the war, but it is a precursor. Their mother was the founder of the Home, Heart, and Hearth shops and both her daughters worked there. Dolly went more for the "lighter" side of things focusing on the front side of the stores where minor magics are sold. Elvira was naturally attracted to the darker, backroom side of the business that dealt in "gray market" magic items.
Just to make life easy for all of us, I am just going with "Dolly" and "Elvira" for their names. No need to create new-weird character names. Just pretend they are twin sisters and it all works out fine.
Of course, given this, only one woman could be their mother. Angela Lansbury.
This is another good example of mixing and matching my various Basic-era witch books to suit your own needs.
Armor Class: 6 (witch gown, +3)
Hit Dice/Level: 14d4+14 (50 hp)
Attacks: 1 (weapon) or spell
Damage: 1d6 or witch Spells
Movement: 90’ (30’)
Special Attacks & Defenses: witch powers
No. Appearing: 1 (Unique)
Save As: Witch 14
Morale: 11
Alignment: Lawful
Str: 12 Int: 15 Wis: 16 Dex: 12 Con: 14 Cha: 18
Dolly has the following witch spells and Occult Powers. She casts as a 14th level witch.
Occult Powers Familiar: Dog "Popeye" Lesser: Things That Man Was Not Meant to Know are Fine For Women Minor: Resting Witch Face
Patron: Cardea, the Opener or Ways
Spells by Level
1st (5): Blessed, Forget Me Knot, Glamour, Speak with Animals, Cake and Tea (Ritual)
2nd (4): Heal Affliction, Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board, Witch Slap, Sage Burning (Ritual)
3rd (4): Bewitch III, Live Laugh Love, Ward of the Season, Merry Meetings (Ritual)
4th (3): Age Resistance (Lesser), Cleanse, Mirror Talk
5th (3): Calm Weather, Private Sanctum, Tripping the Light Fantastic (Ritual)
6th (2): Cloak of Dreams, Summon Higher Power
7th (2): Peace Aura, Hell Hath No Fury (Ritual)
Spells by Level
1st (4): Bewitched I, Feel My Pain, Protection from Spirits, Vigor
2nd (4): Choking Grip, Ghoulish Hands, Hypnotize, Summon Witches (Ritual)
3rd (3): Bestow Curse, Edge of Blackness, Summon and Bind Imp of the Perverse (Ritual)
4th (3): Grave Sanctuary, Intangible Cloak of Shadows, Ardour Flame (Ritual)
5th (2): Cry for the Night Bird, Summon Shadow
6th (2): Aspect of the Crone, Summon Nightmare Steed
7th (1): Enchant Item
And just for fun, let's say that Angela is actually alive but faked her death to get her two daughters working together again to save the family business! Hey Hallmark! Where's my job offer now?
Over on the old Facebooks I have been challenged or tagged in various top five lists. Five favorite books, favorite albums, things like that. So I thought I'd end my year here with my Top Five favorite Top Fives!
For the next five days I'll post a top-five list. These will be presented in no particular order and at least according to the rules of a couple of the challenges, with no explanations.
Again I am going with a different version of the word because this made me think of Pink Floyd's "Obscured by Clouds". A very, very underrated album and one semi-central to my D&D playing years.
Obscured by Clouds was released in 1972, a year before their landmark album Dark Side of the Moon. Now I could write a dissertation on Dark Side, and many have. But that is not today's post.
ObC was a softer album, but in it are the seeds of what the "new" Pink Floyd became planted in the very fertile ground of the older psychedelic Pink Floyd.
My first DM, the guy that ran me through so many adventures of D&D Expert combined with AD&D, turned me on to this album. We were both huge Pink Floyd fans and Dark Side was my favorite album. I would go over to his house to play D&D but before we would play, like so many kids in the 80s, we went out on our bikes first.
He lived near the Capitol Records plant so we would rummage around the loading doc and always find a cassette or two that never made it on to the trucks. Mostly things like Kenny Rogers, but every so often a gem like Iron Maiden or Kraftwerk (Capitol was EMI's American counterpart). If we were REALLY lucky we would score a Pink Floyd cassette. Especially since Floyd had left Capitol/EMI for Columbia/CBS Records in the mid 70s.
Obscured by Clouds was a soundtrack of sorts to the film La Vallée (The Valley). But to my young and unsophisticated ears, it was the soundtrack of an older adventurer. Someone that had adventured, loved, lost and now lay dying only with his regrets.
Nothing characterized that better for me than the song Free Four. Sure it is about the recording industry and Roger Waters singing (again) about his dead dad. But in the early 80s it was more than that to me.
Floyd would continue to be an inspiration to me when playing although I can't draw a direct line from them to anything I have created like I can with Stevie Nicks or the Police or Led Zeppelin.
Still. To this day, listening to Floyd makes me think of D&D games gone by.
