Fantasy Fridays: King Arthur Pendragon

When it comes to legendary role-playing games, few carry the mythic weight of King Arthur Pendragon. Originally created by Greg Stafford in 1985 and in 2016 published in its 5.2 edition. Chaosium owns it again and there is a new (2024) edition out.  I have not picked that one up, so I am sticking with 5.2 for now. Pendragon has always stood apart from its fantasy cousins. Where Dungeons & Dragons gave us dungeons, monsters, and treasure, Pendragon asks us to sit at the Round Table, wrestle with honor and passion, and live out the great romances and tragedies of Arthurian legend. Still, it is an epic RPG and one worth looking into.

King Arthur Pendragon (5.2)

2016. Greg Stafford.

Greg Stafford often called Pendragon his “masterpiece,” and for good reason. He poured decades of study into Arthurian myth, Malory, Chretien, the Welsh triads and built a system designed not just to simulate combat but to embody the ideals and contradictions of chivalry. Over the years, the rules have been polished but never really overhauled. The 5.2 edition (2016) is a refinement of the earlier 5th, cleaning up layout, clarifying rules, and giving new players the most accessible entry point into the game’s deep traditions. I picked up my old 2nd Edition version and it is remarkable how compatible they are with each other. 

The system is similar to Chaosium's Basic Role-playing system. So it has always been sorta-kinda compatible with Call of Cthulhu and RuneQuest, though the years and system assumptions have pushed them all away from the BRP standard. You won't be seeing Yog-Sothoth showing up in Wales anytime soon with this game. No Pendragon is for people who want to play an Arthurian game and respect the scholarship that went into this game. That is not to say there isn't magic in this game; Morgan le Fey is here after all as is Merlin, but it is not a central theme. 

The game itself is a fantasy realized epic Britain of the 5th and 6th centuries, with the style of the High Medieval Periods of the 10th to 15th centuries. You can play it as a strict Dark Ages game or a high-fantastical one, as seen in the popular King Arthur culture. You can do "Excalibur" or even the TV show "Merlin."

I am using the 5.2 version of the rules, which if you asked me, I could not tell you the difference between it and the 5.1 version save for new color art in 5.2, some reorganization, and different cover art. While I think the 5.1 art is more evocative of the game, I can't deny that the 5.2 version is extremely attractive. I have not updated to the full 2024 edition at all, but it looks attractive as well. I do have the Starter Set in PDF, though. Maybe I'll pick it up someday.

Character Creation

Instead of rolling up wandering adventurers, you take up the mantle of knights (and occasionally others) tied to lineage, land, and loyalty. The core stats are familiar, Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Size, but where Pendragon shines are the Traits and Passions. Traits are moral-ethical pairs (Chaste/Lustful, Merciful/Cruel, etc.) that don’t just describe your knight, they drive play. Roll Merciful in the wrong moment, and your knight may act against your intentions, because that’s what stories do. Passions, like Loyalty (Lord) or Love (Family), give bonuses when invoked, but can also shatter a knight’s will if betrayed.

Character creation is as much about heritage as numbers. You’re asked: Who was your father? What did he earn? What land do you hold? Your knight isn’t a blank slate, but part of a saga. And unlike most RPGs, Pendragon expects you to play not just one knight, but their descendants across generations, carrying your family name into the twilight of Camelot. Something that obviously appeals to me.

It is assumed that players will be creating characters together to form some sort of cohesive narrative. There is a lot of freedom here and role-playing is stressed over "roll-playing."

The chapter assumes you are going to be a starting Knight, well, Squire. I am taking a different approach for my characters. 

Chapter Three: Family and Fatherland is notable since it details the experiences of your father and grandfather. If you are so inclined, it can be adapted to any Feudal Fantasy RPG. Just change the years to whatever makes sense in your game. 

The Pendragon Campaign

No review of Pendragon is complete without mentioning The Pendragon Campaign. First published in 1985, and then later as The Great Pendragon Campaign in 2006, this massive tome lays out a year-by-year chronicle of Arthur’s Britain, from the final days of Uther through the rise, glory, and eventual fall of Camelot. That’s over 80 years of history, adventures, and story hooks, meticulously tied to the mechanics of the game.

The brilliance of the Pendragon Campaign isn’t just its scope, but its structure. Each year has events, rumors, and opportunities for your knights (or their descendants) to shape the story. Early sessions might be about Saxon raids and border skirmishes, while later ones touch on the Grail Quest, courtly romance, and the heartbreaking dissolution of the Round Table. Players get to live through the entire legend, sometimes gloriously, sometimes tragically, but always with a sense of being part of something larger than their character sheet.

For Pendragon, the Pendragon Campaign is more than a campaign guide or adventure path, it’s the framework that shows the system’s true purpose. This isn’t a game about “beating the dungeon” or “killing the dragon.” It’s about legacy, dynasties, and the arc of myth. And its influence has quietly rippled into other games. Long campaigns like The Enemy Within for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (1986) or Masks of Nyarlathotep for Call of Cthulhu (1984) were the rage at this time and the Pendragon Campaign shines even among these other memorable campaigns.  Even modern campaign design in games like Pathfinder’s Adventure Paths or D&D’s hardcover campaigns can be seen as walking in the shadow of what Pendragon pioneered.

For me, the Pendragon Campaign is a reminder of what tabletop RPGs can do at their very best: give us not just a night of fun, but a saga, a shared legend that lingers long after the dice are put away.

Johan Werper and Larina Nix for Pendragon

The best way to explore a game is through the characters. Thankfully, I have two that are ready to go! Typically, Johan and Larina were never in the same games. I'd play one or the other. I mixed this up a bit with Pathfinder and had them known to each other. I figured it was an alternate universe.  

I am going to do the same here, but with the intrigue of courtly politics I might consider them as clandestine lovers. Honestly I am basing it on Liam Neeson's and Helen Mirren's roles in Excalibur. 

How does a Roman Catholic Knight from the Continent meet up with a Pagan Welsh girl? Easy, I'll just adapt their meeting in Pathfinder where Larina found the wounded Johan and healed him. He feels indebted to her, he gives her access to a world she would not have normally been allowed in. Everyone thinks she has bewitched him. 

Johan Werper

I can't pick up a game like this and NOT wonder how my Knight-in-Shining-Armor Johan would work out. I had decided way back in High School that if Johan had a culture from Medieval Europe, it would be French, but living in England. Pendragon makes this easy for me since the language of the High Court would be French. I will say that he is from Brittany and traces his lineage back to Saxon invaders. 

Johan Werper II

Age: 22
Son Number: 1
Homeland: Brittany
Religion: Roman Catholic
Lord: Johan I

SIZ: 11
DEX: 14
STR: 16
CON: 11
APP: 12

Damage: 4d6
Healing Rate: 2.7
Movement: 3
Total Hit Points: 27
Unconscious: 7

Personality Traits
Chivalry Bonus: 0
Religious Bonus: 0

Chase/Lustful: 13/7
Energetic/Lazy: 12/8
Forgiving/Vengeful: 13/7
Generous/Selfish: 10/10
Honest/Deceitful: 12/8
Just/Arbitrary: 11/9
Merciful/Cruel: 13/7
Modest/Proud: 13/7
Prudent/Reckless: 10/10
Spiritual/Worldly: 10/10
Temperate/Indulgent: 13/7
Trusting/Suspicious: 10/10
Valorous/Cowardly: 15/5

Passions
Loyalty (Lord): 16
Love (Family): 17
Hospitality: 15
Honor: 15
Hate (Saxons): 10

Skills
Awareness: 5
Boating: 1
Compose: 1 
Courtesy: 4 
Dancing: 2
Faerie Lore: 1
Falconry: 3
First Aid: 10
Flirting: 3
Folklore: 3
Gaming: 3
Heraldry: 4
Hunting: 10
Intrigue: 3
Orate: 3
Play (Lute): 3
Read (Latin): 10
Recognize: 3
Religion (Roman Catholic): 10
Romance: 3
Singing: 2
Stewardship: 2
Swimming: 2
Tourney: 2

Combat Skills
Battle: 10
Horsemanship: 10

Sword: 17
Lance: 10
Spear: 6
Dagger: 5
Bow: 5

Distinctive Features
Long Blonde Hair

Glory: 1,500

Chainmail and shield
Silver arm band

Johan is a good fit for this game. I would do him as an alternate reality version and really dig deep into family events to help define who he is in this game. It would really be a lot of fun to be honest. I could even explore the family's past as part of Pagan Europe. That would have been 350+ years before this game though. Still something to think about.

Larina Nix

Of course, I had to try translating Larina into this framework. She doesn’t sit easily in Arthur’s world, but that’s half the fun. Larina as a mystical advisor? A Welsh witch standing at the edge of history? She’d never pass as a proper knight, but as an enchantress, wise woman, or secret Pagan counselor to Arthur’s court, she fits perfectly into the tension between the Christian and Pagan worlds that Pendragon thrives on. Plus, it is a theme I love to come back to time and time again: Pagans vs the rising tide of Christian conquest.

When working on Larina one of the first things I run into is how women characters are treated differently than men. Now is 100% it is emulating Arthurian legends and tales, so just like Call of Cthulhu has a Sanity system, this has different rules more men and women characters. Grated you can grab something like Pagan Shore for older versions to even things out, but I want to try this with the version in front of me. Now there is nothing in the rules saying I can't female knight, and there are examples given, but they are exceptional examples. Fine, Larina is a Pagan anyway and wouldn't be a knight. There is a "witch" detailed (such as it is) on page 179. "Witch" is only mentioned four times in the whole book. I mean I know I can grab something from say Basic Roleplaying or Advanced Sorcery, but that is not the point of Pendragon is it? Plus there is no POW score for these characters. 

Larina ferch Lars

Age: 19
Daughter Number: 1
Father: Lars Nicholson 
Homeland: Cymru
Religion: Pagan
Lord: Johan I

SIZ: 9
DEX: 10
STR: 10
CON: 16
APP: 18

Damage: 3d6
Healing Rate: 2.5
Movement: 2.5
Total Hit Points: 19
Unconscious: 4

Personality Traits
Chivalry Bonus: 0
Religious Bonus: 0

Chase/Lustful: 5/15
Energetic/Lazy: 13/7
Forgiving/Vengeful: 10/10
Generous/Selfish: 13/10
Honest/Deceitful: 13/7
Just/Arbitrary: 10/10
Merciful/Cruel: 10/10
Modest/Proud: 7/13
Prudent/Reckless: 10/10
Spiritual/Worldly: 12/8
Temperate/Indulgent: 10/10
Trusting/Suspicious: 10/10
Valorous/Cowardly: 10/10

Passions
Loyalty (Lord): 15
Love (Family): 16
Hospitality: 15
Honor: 15
Loyalty (Old Faith): 13

Skills
Awareness: 3
Chirurgery: 10
Compose: 1 
Courtesy: 5 
Dancing: 3
Faerie Lore: 10
Falconry: 2
Fashion: 2
First Aid: 15
Flirting: 11
Folklore: 4
Gaming: 3
Heraldry: 1
Industry: 5
Intrigue: 2
Orate: 3
Play (Flute): 3
Read (Ogham): 10
Recognize: 2
Religion (Pagan): 10
Romance: 2
Singing: 3
Stewardship: 5
Swimming: 1
Tourney: 1

Combat Skills
Battle: 1
Horsemanship: 3

Dagger: 5
Staff: 5

Woman's Gift
Natural Healer

Enchantments
Enchantment
Magical Healing
Glamour

Distinctive Features
Long red hair
Bright, piercing blue eyes
Larger than average nose

Glory: 1,140

There is no INT or POW stat in this flavor of BRP. So there are not really any rules to cover her proficiency with languages. Plus as Welsh pagan girl she would not really have much of chance to learn languages save via exposure. But I did roll Natural Healer for her gift, so that is her "in" to the courts, or at least how she gets noticed.

For magic, the rules are thin. I mean, with a game that has Merlin as a character an appendix on magic would be nice. I gave her "subtle" magic. So, an enchantment here, magical healing, and glamour. All things that can be explained away with deft skill. She has a knack for healing, so she augments it every now and then with some pagan magic, OR is it just her knowledge of herbs and plants? Hard to say. Likely to get her burned at the stake if it were about 1000 years later. 

I love the idea that these versions of Johan and Larina are clandestine lovers. It would add the proper tragedy to the narrative and game. Plus, it is that nice push and pull between the Pagans and Christians I love to explore.

Why Play This Instead of D&D 5e?

D&D 5e is about heroes exploring dungeons, defeating monsters, and gaining power. Pendragon is about knights struggling with ideals, navigating dynastic politics, and finding their place in the grand sweep of legend. It’s a game of story rather than loot.

• If you want to explore chivalry, honor, and tragedy rather than XP and levels, this is your game.
  
  
• If you’re drawn to the romantic, mythic sweep of Arthurian legend, no other RPG captures it as faithfully.
  
  
• If you want to play not just a character, but a family across generations, Pendragon offers something unique.

In short: D&D tells us what it’s like to be an adventurer. Pendragon tells us what it’s like to live and die as part of the great legend of Arthur. 

That is not to say one game doesn't have something to offer the other. As D&D has grown, it has left its feudal medieval roots behind, if it really had any to start with. Yeah, Greyhawk cosplays as feudal lands, but really the place where D&D was always the best is in its name: Dungeons. 

The game is great. It's attention to historical detail is its strongest feature, but also its weakest one for me since I do like to have a bit of magic in my fantasy. No worries, I have a LOT of FRPGs with magic. 

25 Years Dungeons & Dragons 3.0

It was Monday, September 11, 2000.

I actually remember it pretty well. I went to my Favorite Local Game Store and I picked up the new Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition. I grabbed the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Creature Collection, the first OGL monster book released. I had to wait a bit longer for the official Monster Manual.

That was 25 years ago this week.

 When D&D 3.0 hit the game stores in 2000, I was ready for it. I had been away from D&D for several years and was eager to get back into it. So, D&D 3.0 was the right game for me at the right time. In truth, there is still a lot I love about D&D 3.x, and significant advances were made in terms of game design and lore.  

This edition was new. So new that, unlike the past editions, this one was not very backward compatible. This was fine since Wizards of the Coast (now dropping the TSR logo) had provided a conversion guide. The books were solid. All full color and the rules had expanded to fix some of the issues of previous versions of D&D. Armor class numbers got larger as the armor got stronger, as opposed to lower numbers being better. Charts for combat were largely eliminated, the number on the sheet was what you had to roll against. Everyone could multiclass, all the species (races) could be any class without restrictions, though some were better at it than others, and everyone had skills. 

But the most amazing thing about 3rd Edition D&D was that, aside from a few protected monsters and names, Wizards of the Coast gave the whole thing away for free! Yes, the books with art cost money. But the rules, just a text dump, were free for everyone to download. It was called the System Reference Document or SRD. It was all the rules so that 3rd-party publishers could produce their own D&D compatible material. With these rules, you could play D&D without the books. There was no art and no "fluff" text, but everything was there.

D&D 3rd edition had an good run from 2000 to about 2008. 

I played it quite a bit to be honest and there is a lot about it I still love. It was the game system I used to teach my kids how to play and one I still enjoy going back to. It is also one of the few editions of D&D I never really played much. I was always a DM. So other than a version of Larina and Johan Werper IV, I don't have a lot of characters for 3e. The only time I ever got to play it was at conventions, mostly Gen Con.

I loved the 3rd Edition's multiclassing and, honestly, I loved Prestige Classes. But things got ridiculous at high levels. Ever try stating up a high level character from scratch? But I would still play it if given the chance. 

So here is to 25 years of D&D 3.0. You were not the perfect game, but your were perfect for me at the time.

#RPGaDay2025 Day 31 Reward

What is reward, really?

Is it gold? XP? Magic items? The thrill of leveling up and unlocking that next power, that new spell, that coveted domain?

Sure. It can be all of that.

But if you’ve been playing for a while, really playing, you know the real rewards aren't measured in coin or mechanics.

The real reward is the story you still remember fifteen years later.

It’s the time your witch stood alone in the haunted chapel, torch flickering, casting Augury with a deck of real tarot cards, trying to divine whether the village elder was possessed, or worse.

It’s the argument your players had, in character, about whether or not to open the sarcophagus sealed with silver nails, or follow that perfectly innocent-looking elf into the dark alley.

It was a battle so tense that you all jumped to your feet when the last die finally landed. 

My oldest’s Sunday D&D sessions will often get quite loud. I’ll turn to my wife and say “oh I wonder what happened this time!” Especially with his recent “It’s Always Sunny in Waterdeep” campaign. I know it will be something crazy.

You don’t tell stories about how many XP you got. You tell stories about the time the halfling bard tricked the lich into believing he was its long-lost apprentice, and somehow, it worked.

You tell stories about that game, the one that went off the rails in the best possible way. The one that ended at 2 a.m. with laughter and a hastily scribbled map and a blood pact to absolutely pick this up again next weekend.

The reward is connection. It’s the friendships forged in dungeons and dark forests. It’s the notes passed between players when they think the DM isn’t watching. It’s the memes, the inside jokes, the long-running gags about cursed dice or that one player who always rolls a natural 1 during stealth checks.

And yeah, sometimes it’s the bragging rights. The tale you tell at the next Gary Con or your local game store. The story you pull out at dinner when someone says, “Wait, you play D&D?”

The reward is knowing you built something together, something weird and magical and fleeting. A tale that never existed before you sat down to roll the dice.

And maybe, if you’re like me, the reward is watching your players squirm when the signs and portents line up just right, and they realize they’ve been dancing on the edge of something much older and darker than they imagined. 

Or when they finally connect all the dots and realize that they, and they alone, are the ones to save the whole freaking world.  When Willow & Tara held hands and jumped into the maw of Leviathan. When my son’s paladin used the Sun Sword from Ravenloft to split the Chaos Stone Lolth was using to cover the world in Darkness. And so many more that have meaning to me and my players.

So yes. Reward is treasure, sometimes.

But more often?

It’s the echoes of shared imagination, still lingering long after the dice are packed away.

It’s the memory of that witch, that warlock, that paladin who fell but didn’t break.

It’s the experience of creating together.

And that?

That’s priceless.

Questions

What. Nostalgic. Character. What Character am I nostalgic for? I have to admit I LOVED playing Johan, my AD&D 1st Paladin. I have played a version of him in every edition of D&D and many other fantasy games. I have even tried a couple of versions of him in Baldur's Gate 3 and other video games. But nothing really compares to that goldenrod sheet and those old sky-blue dice from my Expert set.

--

And that’s a wrap on another #RPGaDAY! Huge thanks to David F. Chapman (Autocratik) and Casting Shadows Blog for keeping this tradition going year after year. It’s been a great excuse to reflect, reconnect, and rediscover why I love this hobby so much. Whether you joined in with every prompt or just caught a few along the way, I hope you found something that inspired you.

See you next year! 

https://www.autocratik.com/ • https://www.castingshadowsblog.com/

Fantasy Fridays: Barbarians of Lemuria and Sword & Sorcery Codex

 Returning to Fantasy Fridays this week with a twofer today. I was reading through my list of potential fantasy RPGs to talk about and landed on an old favorite, Barbarians of Lemuria. I had some fun with this game in the past, having covered both the Legendary and Mythic editions.  I wanted to cover the Mythic Edition in more detail today, but when I went back to DriveThruRPG I noticed it was gone! I am not 100% sure why, it was a fun system. The Legendary Edition is still available as are the German and Spanish editions. Since I can read both languages (well, I used to be better at German, and I am learning Spanish), I grabbed both. The Spanish language one looks like the Mythic Edition, but the German language one has some excellent-looking art. 

I did find it with a new cover (more like the German one) over at Studio2Publishing's website.

While reading through these, I also stumbled on the Sword & Sorcery Codex RPG, which uses the same rules, slightly modified, and is based on the Everwhen RPG, which is based on Barbarians of Lemuria. So between all of these games, I am pretty set.

Barbarians of Lemuria

The "first" edition of this game was originally designed to be a game of Lin Carter's "Thongor." The designer, Simon Washburn, even had the game up on his Geocities site and encouraged people to copy it and give it to others for free. This evolved to the "Legendary" Edition, which is still available, stripped of the Thongor references and heavily rewritten. The cover above is for the Mythic Edition. 

The game is what I expected from a fantasy game of mighty barbarians, evil warlocks, sly thieves, and semi-naked women. Very much the stereotype of the Pulp Age of fantasy, I expected it to be.  Except it plays it with an honesty and earnestness that I really want to play a big, dumb barbarian with mighty thews and a giant axe. 

The game is full of sorts of great backgrounds that I could adapt it to any old-school fantasy game with no issues and run with it.  I mean, honestly, look at the cover of the Legendary Edition.  Barbarian standing in a pit surrounded by vaguely eldritch horrors as a tribal shaman gorilla prepares to sacrifice a slave girl.  If you think the next scene is the girl's spilled blood and horrors unleashed over the land, then go play a horror game.  If you think the next scene is that sword cleaving through the bodies of the horrors and the barbarian killing the shaman and saving the girl. Then this is the game you want. The Mythic Edition cover (above) is just as cool only this time the girl looks more capable. Get her out of those chains and she is going to make some wish they had kidnapped something safer, like a tiger.

The system I have to admit took me aback, in a good way.

I had been expecting another OGL-based or D&D-clone, but instead we get a very nice, very simple system.  Character creation is all point-buy, and not dozens of points, but 4.  The real joy here is being able to create a character in minutes and get going. I created several in one go. 

The underlying mechanic is a simple 2d6+mods vs target number of 9.  This makes it very, very similar to Unisystem and also to Spellcraft & Swordplay.  I suppose that if you wanted a more flat game then you could use a d12.  But d6s are great and they give us boons and flaws.  Boons and Flaws are a neat mechanic. In either case you roll 3d6 instead of 2d6.  If you have a boon, drop the lowest d6. If you have a flaw, drop the highest.  Each character gets a boon or two boons and a flaw. As you advance you can add more.

There is plenty for everyone to do in combat since fighting styles can vary.  I appreciate that the emphasis here is on everyone having a chance to be the hero.  Sure, you might be a lowly thief or slave, but you still have something to contribute.

The careers are a nice touch and help give your character some background on what they were or did, or what they can do now.  Frankly, I enjoy how it is all put together.

The art is good, not up to the level one expects from, say, Pathfinder, D&D, or Daggerhaert, but perfect for the tone and the feel of this game.  And I liked it, so that is great for me.

The magic system is very open and reminds me a lot of magic from the time period.  These are sorcerers who gained their power through evil pacts or forbidden knowledge. Or magicians who spent long years with musty tomes. Magic isn't blasty cantrips or wish spells.

Sword & Sorcery Codex

Barbarians of Lemuria influenced the Everywhen RPG, which in turn influenced Sword & Sorcery Codex. The idea behind Sword & Sorcery Codex was to be able to play at the same table where someone was using a BoL book and another was using Everywhen, and still everyone speak the same language. And honestly I think they succeeded in that.

There is not a lot of difference between the two games. There are some character creation tweaks, and there are some different professions, most notably a witch. But by in large they are same rules wise. where Barbarians of Lemuria has their Lemuria setting, Sword & Sorcery Codex keeps it setting light even to the point of just using humans. This also works well. They do have plenty of optional rules and options like non-human characters and even firearms. 

Both game have good monster lists and there are enough in one game and not the other that you are rewarded for buying both. 

Sword & Sorcery Codex also has the advantage of having a good print-on-demand option. 

The cover for this one is a little "modern." No scantily clad slave girl here. Our mightily thewed barbarian is joined by an equally mighty warrior woman.

The publisher of S&SC, Garnett Elliott, is the same as Everwhen. They have a lot of adventures compatible with both and, by extension, BoL.

German and Spanish Versions

I was bummed that the Mythic Edition was gone from DriveThru, but pleased to see the German and Spanish editions.

 

The German edition cover seems closer to D&D, but it is still great and has some fantastic interior art. This is also the cover of the new Mythic Edition. When I saw the art, I was hoping to see a new piece of my ex-girlfriend Methyn Sarr, but not this time. Though the magician art is really cool.

 The Spanish edition is the same as the Mythic edition, I am happy to say. Save for, of course, it is in Spanish. The cover is nearly identical, but has more of an old pulpy paperback. The interior art of the Spanish edition is the same as the English language Mythic edition. 

It is cool to have Methyn Sarr, die Hexenkönigin and la Reina Bruja.

Larina Nix for Barbarians of Lemuria and Sword & Sorcery Codex

These are solid fantasy games and nearly any concept will work in them. But not all. I don't think my "righteous knight in shining armor," Johan, will do well here, nor will my "not at all righteous, but also not really evil" goblin, Nik-Nak, work here either.  No. These games demand a witch.

The stats between the two are very similar and yes you can play a character from one using the rules of the other with no issues. 

Larina Nix (Barbarians of Lemuria)

Attributes
Strength 0
Agility 1
Mind 5
Appeal 4

Combat Abilities
Initiative 2
Melee 0
Ranged 1
Defense 1

Careers
Magician 5
Alchemist 2
Scribe 1
Temptress 1

Advance 2
Arcane 17
Hero 4
Lifeblood 12
Fate 0

Boons
Artistic, Attractive, Beast Friend, Excellent Library, Hard to Kill, Magic of the Sorcerer Kings

Flaws
City Dweller, Distinctive Appearance, Lustful, Missing an Eye, Obsession (Magic)

Weapons
Dagger d6
Staff of the Archwitch d6

Armor
Leather Armor d6-3

Larina Nix (Sword & Sorcery Codex)

Attributes
Strength 0
Agility 1
Mind 5
Appeal 4

Combat Abilities
Initiative 1
Melee 0
Ranged 1
Defense 1

Careers
Witch 6
Scholar 2
Temptress 1

Advance 0
Arcane 16/17
Hero 4
Lifeblood 10
Fate 0

Boons
Attractive, Familiar, Magical Affinity: Autumnal (p. 114), Second Sight

Flaws
Amorous, Haunted, Infamous, Witchmark

Weapons
Dagger d6
Staff d6

Armor
Leather Armor d6-3

In Barbarians of Lemuria, she is a Magician with some levels in Alchemist and Scribe. In Sword & Sorcery Codex, she is a proper witch. Witches in S&SC have some alchemist abilities, so no need to double up there since they don't stack. In both cases, she has a level of Temptress. It is a Pulp Sword & Sorcery world, and have you ever seen a chaste witch in those?

S&SC has fewer Boons/Flaws than BoL, but in a real game, I'd combine both lists. I also had her take more Boons and Flaws in BoL to reflect her growing levels. 

I am happy with her stats in both cases, but a perfect one would be a blend of the two. 

Who Should Play These Games?

With all these varieties and editions of this system out there there is a flavor for every taste. That is, of course, as long as your main meal idea is Pulp Fantasy of the type written about by the likes of Lin Carter, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Robert E. Howard. These are not the races of the world on a fellowship to stop a great evil. These games are action-packed tales at the dawn of time, where one day you are an adventurer warrior, or thief, or pirate, and the next day you are king, and the next day you are back to being a warrior or something else.

These games are all great fun. The grittiness might not appeal to some of Fantasy RPG's newest fans, but who is to say?

Personally, I enjoy these games and would play them more. But I am also happy taking ideas from these games to use elsewhere too. These games cover a lot of the same ground as Hyperborea, so if you like one you will like the other as well. 

The system is fast and intuitive, allowing you to learn and get up to speed quickly. 

Links

• Barbarians of Lemuria
• Legendary Edition
• Mythic Edition
• German Edition
• Spanish Edition
• Sword and Sorcery Codex
• Methyn Sarr, The Witch Queen of the Fire Coast
• Miriam, The Witch-Queen of Yithorium
• Red Sonja, Barbarians of Lemuria

Fantasy Fridays: Daggerheart, Part 1

 I had a plan for today, but I want to put that off till later. Mostly because I was not ready since I was too busy with today's new topic. The new game from Critical Role, Daggerheart, was released just a couple of days ago and I have been doing a deep dive into that.

I picked it up from DriveThruRPG a couple of days ago (Wednesday night) and wanted to run out and get the physical copy from my FLGS, but I was informed that, since it's close to my birthday, I am not allowed to. Fine with me, I also picked up the Demiplane Nexus Corebook so I can use the character builder. 

The core book is gorgeous. I like the art more than the art in the new D&D 5.5 core book. This book/game is certainly going after the New Schoolers who love D&D 5, but wish it had more options. 

In many ways Daggerheart takes the best ideas from a lot of games, including D&D 5.x and even D&D 4 (I'll get into that later) and combines it into a very effective whole. I have not read enough of it to notice differences from the playtest, except for some presentation differences, which I think are an improvement. Oh, and how HP are used. 

The game has shot to Gold status in a matter of 28+ hours, and that is taking into consideration that it is effectively divided between two different versions: PDF only and PDF with Demiplane Nexus access, which has gone to Silver. Not too bad really. 

The PDF comes with the Core book and the cards you use with your character. The cards are a nice gimmick, but to have the PDF is great if your group ends up with say, multiple sorcerers. I can print as many as I need and just slot them into one of my kids' old Pokémon folders. It feels like the old cards we had with D&D 4, but more useful.

The core book is huge, but complete at 415 pages. I already see lots of options for expansions for characters, so that is nice. 

It also features six "Campaign Frames" which are like mini-campaigns, or campaign set-ups to play in. All of them sound fun. Each one has a "pitch," a complexity rating, and some keywords to help describe it. 

• The Witherwild. A nature deity is attacked and then attacks back with all the power of nature.
• Five Banners Burning. Rival kingdoms on the brink of all out war.
• Beast Feast. The Monster Defense System is down and now the characters need to go in and fix it.
• Age of Umbra. A dying world in shadows. 
• Motherboard. High tech as magic in a post-apocalyptic world. 
• Colossus of the Drylands. Giant creatures versus gunslingers in the deserts. (think Attack on Titan or Godzilla meets Boot Hill).

Not all of these are for everyone, but they do all look pretty cool. Of course you can play in a D&D-like world. It does lean more toward High Fantasy and High Magic.

For amusement's sake I converted, or more aptly, translated some characters from various games that are D&D or D&D adjacent to Daggerheart to see how they might work.

Not everything had a great translation, but honestly, that could also be due more to my inexperience with the system as much as anything.  So let's see some translations.

Larina Nix. My human witch in Basic-era D&D becomes a Loreborne (culture) Human who is a Sorcerer (Primal Origin) with Wizard (School of Knowledge) multiclass. In D&D 3, multiclassing Wizard and Sorcerer doesn't get you much, but here it is a fun approach. I rather like this version, but I would have to play her more.

Johan. My human paladin, all editions, becomes Highborne Human Seraph (Divine Wielder). I actually like this one a lot and if I get a chance to play Daggerheart this might be the character I choose. There is a lot of potential here for play. 

Amaranth. A newer character, she is a Tiefling Warlock. Here is she is Wanderborne Infernis Wizard (School of War). Now it is possible that Sorcerer is a better choice for her, but I had not done a wizard full class yet. 

Roan. This guy is new, he was an NPC satyr bard (who plays the bag-pipes) from the feywild. Here he takes on his "true form" I think and Wildborne Faun Bard (Wordsmith). The wordsmith is more like an occult poet (from Ghosts of Albion) so I really excited to try this guy out as a PC.

Sinéad. My Forgotten Realms half-elf Sorcerer/Bard doesn't drift too far from her origins. In Daggerheart, she is a Seaborne Elf (to reflect her growing up in the Moonshae Isles). She is a Sorcerer (Elemental) with a Bard (Troubadour) multiclass. She feels the same to be honest.

Nik Nak. My goblin warlock (who talks in rhyme) for Pathfinder 2nd edition has the most changes. Here he is still a goblin (wildborne) but now he is a druid (Warden of Renewal). I like the Daggerheart goblin species, but I am not really happy with this class choice. Though I am happy with the druid. 

These are all just based on my readings of the open Beta and just a little over two days of the final rules. I am sure I'll make some tweaks to all these characters. Well, maybe not Johan and Sinéad. I am pretty happy with how they turned out. 

With Critical Role Campaign 3 now over I am pretty certain that Campaign 4, when it kicks off, will be using these rules. I can't imagine they would want to miss the chance to sell the house system. 

I'll continue to read the PDF and play around on Demiplane Nexus. When I get the physical game (it's the only thing I asked for, I don't really need much), I'll revisit this for Part 2. 

Fantasy Fridays: Tales of the Valiant

 A newer entry today and a potential good replacement for D&D 5e on your table. But is it just a new coat of paint on a familiar rule-set?

Tales of the Valiant

Tales of the Valiant began as the Black Flag system/project from Kobold Press, already a big name in 5e-compatible products. The genesis was, of course, the massive OGL fallout from January 2023. Kobold, among so many of us, saw a threat to our product lines and opted to "pull a Pathfinder" and release their own rules only this time under their own license. They can sell core rule books (which is always a good source of money) and still create their own supporting products (their bread and butter as it were) and have them support both game lines.  It is a good idea.

They have published the "common core" of three books:

• Tales of the Valiant Player's Guide
• Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault
• Tales of the Valiant Game Master's Guide

The books are attractive and is well laid out. There is a lot great art. But the question is, do they provide me anything above and beyond D&D 5 (2014)? Well, all three books are 1,081 pages, so it is hard to dig through all of this to find specific differences. It looks like 5e and plays like 5e. I guess that is what is important, really. Now, the classes do have additions; each class features a subclass taken from the SRD and often an additional new one. There is the new Mechanist class, which is similar in concept to the Artificer class. So, for current 5e (again, 2014) players, there is something new. 

The truth is there are a lot of new things, but you need to dig for them. There is the "Beastkin" Lineage for example that looks like fun. As do the new "Sydereans" which combine Aasimar and Tieflings and "Small Folk" which combine halflings and gnomes. Ok, I am cool with that. Orcs and Kobolds (natch) are core lineages. I think every clone or RPG should have at least one unique core lineages. Yes, this book uses "lineage" and not race. I like this better. Heritages are how your character was raised. More or less. 

There does seem to be some more monsters, but the monster book is populated by "the Usual Suspects."

Again. It is hard to fault Kobold on this. These books have two purposes, and both require it to cleave close to 5e (2014). First it *is* a D&D 5e replacement. I have not tried, but you could in theory use this books with minor tweaks in a 5e game. I call this the Pathfinder solution. The other purpose is to provide Kobold (and third parties) a means to write "5e" compatible material but not require people use, or even buy, 5e core books from Wizards. I call this the OSRIC solution. 

I suspect the real value of these books and this game will come from future products. For example, the upcoming, just Kickstarted, Monster Vault 2, will be the true test of this system. Yes, they state outright this is for TotV and 5e, but I think this will be the case that makes or breaks this game. So far things are looking rather promising for Tales of the Valiant. 

Honestly, this book looks really good, and if I picked up the physical edition, I would be tempted to get the Core Three because of how good they all look together. But I don't play 5e all that much anymore.

Who Should Play This Game?

Honestly, this game will not replace 5e (2014) on anyone's table. It might supplement it, but it won't replace it. It could, however, replace 5.5e (2024).  My oldest and I have been talking about the various issues with 5.5, and he is sticking with 5.0 for now. But if you are one of those people who have felt especially burned by WotC's actions over the last 2.5 years, then maybe this is the game for you.

Johan Werper for Tales of the Valiant

I don't know. Something about this game makes me want to play a knight in shinning armor and perform actions of Epic Good. Not that I wouldn't play Larina in it, but the classes are not a perfect fit. The closest thing is not the Warlock, but rather the Leaf Druid. Now, the Chaos Sorcerer is interesting as well. Maybe I could try it for Sinéad.

I want to try out Johan, or at least some sort of version of him, because the Paladin in 5.5 seems so nerfed. I have been wanting to compare the various paladins just to see if this is true. 

This will be Johan VII, the son of Johan VI and Lana (my wife's character) for 5e. He has a twin sister, not uncommon for the Werpers. She will be a 5.5 character so I can compare properly. Their background is they were exposed to cosmic forces before birth, so they have something a little "extra."  In Johan VII this means his "Anointed" Heritage.

Johan Werper VII
Human (Anointed) Paladin (Devotion) 3rd level

Strength: +2
Dexterity: +1
Constitution: -1
Intelligence: +0
Wisdom: +2 (saves +4)
Charisma: +3 (saves +5)

Proficiency Bonus: +2
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30ft

AC: 17 (chain mail and shield)

Weapons
Longsword +4 1d8/1d10 (versatile)
Crossbow, Hand +2 1d6 30/120 

Passive Insight: 14
Passive Investigation: 12
Passive Perception: 12

Skills
History, Insight, Relgion

Proficiencies, Languages, & Talents
Advantage on Death Saves, Thaumaturgy Cantrip
Languages: Common, Elven, Draconic, Giant
Navigator's Tools
Talent: Combat Conditioning +2 to hp each level
All armor and shields, simple and martial weapons

Class Features & Traits
Divine Sense
Lay on Hands
Divine Smite
Martial Action - Guard
Spellcasting (Divine)
Sacred Weapon
Sanctifying Light

Spells
Cantrips: Thaumaturgy
First Level: Bless, Cure Wounds, Sanctuary

I like this version. 

Given his family history, his twin sister would be named Celeste or Celine. She will be stated up with D&D 5.5 as a Celestial Warlock, or whatever the warlock is called in that. 

The Player's Book includes Greek, Egyptian, and Norse gods as examples. I am half tempted to continue using my "Black Forest" mythos, maybe making them avatars of Jäger and Jägerin. They would not be real avatars, but that is how they would be perceived. 

I like this idea since my wife based her character Lana on Lagertha from Vikings. It also explains why Johan VII can also speak Giant. 

He compares well to his dad. So that is cool, with enough differences to feel like a new character.

I think I am going to need a bigger binder for Johan.

Year of Fantasy RPGS: Cd8 Fantasy

 I want to spend some time focusing on other fantasy table top RPGs this year. I still love my D&D and likely always will, but I also have a lot of other games I enjoy as well. Here is one I have been playing around with for a little bit now. It is the newest from Jason Vey at Elf Lair Games. Cd8 Fantasy Role Playing.

Cd8 Fantasy Role Playing is described as a "beer and pretzels" fantasy RPG. Everything you need to play (minus paper, pencils, some d8s and some friends) is included in 32 pages.

It is designed to be picked up in an afternoon and have you playing right away. It is based on his previous RPG, Chutzpah! A Certain Je ne Sais Quoi. While designed as a bit of a joke and a design challenge, it turned out to be a very solid game. Cd8 Fantasy takes that same game design and applies it to fantasy. You do not need either game to play the other. 

You have the same attribute stats as Chutzpah, "Gumption," "Moxy," "Chutzpah," "Cut of My Jib," "Childlike Wonder," and yes, a "Certain Je ne Sais Quoi," and build your character. It is a point spread, so you are given 10 points to fill in each attribute. Minimum 1, max 3 with 2 as the human average. Then can go all the way up to 10 with experience.

You have your skills, 13 of them, and another 10 points to spend. Obviously, some of these are going to be 0.  

Rolls are a number of d8s equal to Stat + Skill or sometimes Stat + Stat or Stat x2. So, it is a d8 dice pool mechanic. Rolls of "6," "7," and "8" are called "Fist Bumps" or successes in other games. An "8" counts as having rolled 3 "Fist Bumps," and a roll of 1 takes one away.  

Let's say that you want to cast a spell. That would be your Childlike Wonder stat (we will say that is a score of 3) and your Magicking skill (say a 2) for a total of 5. Roll 5d8. You get 1, 3, 5, 8, 8. That two "8s" counts as 3 fist bumps instead of 2. But the die roll of one takes one away, so you have a total of 2 fist bumps. The God of Me (GM) says you need 2 fist bumps (above average difficulty) to cast the spell, so you got it!

That's it. That is the entire system! Granted, the next couple of dozen pages have more details, but you can learn the game that fast.

There are options to change the die from a d8 to something else to adjust the difficulties. There are options for fantasy species ("Elves and Dwarves and other Crap?") and examples of various monsters. 

Given this is an Elf Lair Games product, there are also conversion notes for Wasted Lands. 

To give your characters more depth or variety, there is an appendix on Benefits and Bugs, an advantage/disadvantage system. 

Honestly, it is a really fun game and simple to pick up.

Characters

Characters are terribly easy to make in this game. Over the weekend my oldest and I decided to try out the new D&D 5.5 system and make some characters. I will come back to that in a bit, but on the average it took about 15-20 minutes to make a character.  

With Cd8, I can create a character in about 5 minutes. This year, I will spend a lot of time comparing and contrasting a few characters. So here are a couple of my iconic characters. 

Johan Werper VII

For these experiments, I am going to start a new Johan. This guy is the son of Johan VI and Lana, mine and my wife's D&D 5.0 (2014) characters, respectively.  I did do a version of him for D&D 5.5 that I will detail later on.

Name: Johan Werper VII
Species: Human
Attitude: Do good things

Gumption: 1
Moxy: 2
Chutzpah: 2
Childlike Wonder: 1
Cut of My Jib: 3
A Certain Je ne Sais Quoi!: 1

Life Points: 12
Armor: 3 (Heavy)
Speed: 30 ft

Skills: Doctoring 2, Fighting 3, Magicking 1, Mythologizing 1, Running 1, Shooting 1, Sporting 1

Benefits/Bugs

Prodigy (Fighting): 1 (3pts)
Honorable: 1 (-3pts)

Weapons
Sword: 3 + FB

Not bad, really. I like it, a great starting character. 

How about a much more powerful one?

Larina Nix

Of course, I am going to try my witch in this. 

Name: Larina Nix
Species: Human
Attitude: Do witchy shit
Experience: 440

Gumption: 5
Moxy: 6
Chutzpah: 2
Childlike Wonder: 8
Cut of My Jib: 2
A Certain Je ne Sais Quoi!: 4

Life Points: 15
Armor: 1 (Light)
Speed: 30 ft

Skills: Doctoring 4, Fighting 1, Herbalizing 5, Magicking 8, Mythologizing 6, Performing 2, Researching 6, Running 1, Shooting 1

Benefits/Bugs

Enhanced Senses (Magic): 1
Prodigy (Magicking): 1 (3pts)
Psychic
- ESP

- TK
Resist Magic
Everyone I Care About Dies: -1

Weapons
Staff: 1 + FB
Spells

Again, very quick, and I like the results. I gave her 440 experience to spend. No idea if that tracks well with a 20th-level Wasted Lands character, but it feels right. 

Character Creation Challenge: Voyages of the USS Challenger

 I have mentioned a few times this Character Creation Challenge that there are a few characters in Grenda's stack here that are homages to or inspired by my own characters. That was a two-way street. I already talked about how I used his Yoln as the Big Bad in my Buffy games. Today, I wanted to talk about a character that wasn't lifted but was certainly inspired. That would be John Adnerg, Captain of the USS Challenger. 

I figured then that today, the anniversary of the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger, would make for a good time to talk about it. And of course a nod to the Character Creation Challenge's founder, Carl Stark the TARDIS Captain himself. 

My original USS Challenger was a Galaxy-class starship for FASA's Star Trek game using the Next Generation Officer's Manual. I gave it the registry NCC-62901, placing it a couple of years after the launch of the USS Galaxy and USS Enterprise-D.  The registry comes from the zip code of the city where I went to university.

In these games, John Adnerg had been promoted from Captain to Admiral and was handing the ship over to his former first officer, Johan Werner. That is until disaster struck and sent the ship to the Andromeda Galaxy (2.5 mly away). Yeah, a little like Voyager, but I had this idea in 1989.  Of these games, I only ran "The Ship on the Edge of Forever" and "Ghost Ship." These games obviously informed me of what I wanted out of Thirteen Parsecs. 

I don't know if the USS Challenger ever got home. I might need to revisit that someday. 

Adm. John "The Wizard" Adnerg

Class: Diplomat
Level: 14
Species: Human
Alignment: Light Good
Background: Scholar 

Abilities
Strength: 14 (+1) 
Agility: 15 (+1) N
Toughness: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 14 (+1) N
Wits: 15 (+0)
Persona: 17 (+2) A

Fate Points: 1d
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 7
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+2/+1
Melee Bonus: +4 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +9 to Mental (Diplomat and Scholar background)

Diplomat Abilities
Contacts, Languages, Lore, Mesmerize Others, Suggestion, Slicer Skills (Sneak, Open Locks, Bypass Traps, Sleight of Hand, Fast Talk, Disguise), Read Languages.

John Adnerg was the Captain of the Galaxy Class Starship Challenger until he was promoted to Admiral. Nick named "The Wizard" for his ability to find ways out of nearly impossible situations and come out on top.

Yeah. I like this version of him.

This is not the only USS Challenger I have in my collection. I also finished building an NX refit from the 2150s that I am calling NX-03 Challenger. Though when the Federation formed in 2161, the NX-refit was renamed the Explorer Class, and the Challenger became NCC-099, the retroactive "first" of the class of Explorer class scientific research ships with the USS Beagle NCC-100, USS Endurance NCC-101, USS Roebuck NCC-102, and the USS Victoria NCC 103, all named for ships of exploration in Earth's past. 

My other Challenger, NCC 2032, is an Excelsior-class ship I am working on. That one was in service from 2278 on.

You can get the Thirteen Parsecs RPG, the  Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Character Creation Challenge: The Ravenloft Weekend

Back in 1991, Grenda and I ran a weekend-long game of Ravenloft. We ran it as the "Dreams of Barovia" variant that combined adventure modules I6 and I10. He was the DM for I6 Ravenloft and I was the DM for I11 Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill. It was a lot of fun to be honest, the problem was I forgot to tell my roommates and girlfriend where I was! When I crawled back to my apartment at 2D Lewis Park, I got an earful. The game was fun, but kind of a hazy memory to be honest. We played from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening straight. I remember sleeping in my chair and eating a lot of Quatros pizza. 

I am presenting all the characters now to cover my next few days (1/17 to 1/21). But more importantly to me, can I use Wasted Lands with NIGHT SHIFT to play a Ravenloft-style game? 

The answer is, absolutely.

Ravenloft is quasi-Gothic horror. As I have mentioned in the past, it is not true Gothic Horror because the characters are still hero types. They have power, they have agency. The heroes of Gothic Horror typically do not have the same level of power D&D characters do. Out Hunters in Dracula only succeed because they have each other and make use of the "technology" of the time. The PCs can go toe to toe with most Gothic literature monsters.

Wasted Lands is Post-Apocalyptic Cosmic Horror. NIGHT SHIFT is Urban survival Horror. BUT that is just what they are on the surface. They are both toolkit games to add or subtract what you want or need from them. 

I would still give the characters some power, but make the setting "Gritty."

That means no Heroic Touchstones. 

Heroic Touchstones are a key feature of the Wasted Lands and will be part of Night Shift 2nd Edition. But for a game like Ravenloft? I would take them out. Well...maybe one at first level. I'll work on the characters to see. Thankfully, none of these characters have psionics or other "kewl powerz," and all the classes are normal ones. 

I would use all the fear and terror effects from NIGHT SHIFT. I'd use Degeneracy and Corruption rules from Wasted Lands. That might feel like I am stacking things against the characters. I am.

Unlike D&D (esp. post 2000+ D&D) Gothic Horror is not about balance, it is exactly the opposite of that. The Big Bad Guy has all the power. 

The Characters

I only have vague recollections of these characters. I was spending a lot of time trying to get into grad school, and my focus then was largely on that. Plus, these are really just one-shot characters. So while they do have some good background attached, they were only used (to my knowledge) for this adventure.

Sir Beyrn Silverhelm

Class: Divine Warrior (from Night Companion)
Level: 13
Species: Human
Alignment: Light Good
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 12 (0) 
Toughness: 18 (+3) 
Intelligence: 12 (0) 
Wits: 15 (+1) N
Persona: 17 (+2) A

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 0
Vitality: 98 
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +5 (base), +3 (STR)
Ranged Bonus: +5 (base)
Saves: +5 to all Wits and Persona Saves, +2 to Toughness (Warrior background)

Divine Warrior Abilities
Sixth Sense, Heal Injury and Illness (13d6), Supernatural Attacks, Protection from Evil

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Protection

Gear
Longsword, Field plate armor, Holy symbol

Sir Beyrn is a quintessential Diving Warrior. His stats on his AD&D sheet look like they might have been cribbed from Johan II to be honest! Which makes sense. Looks like Grenda created all these characters in a couple of weeks while working and going to school.

Hile Augarin

Class: Archer (from Wasted Lands)
Level: 12
Species: Half-elf
Alignment: Twilight Good
Background: Elf (Wasted Lands) 

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 16 (+2) A
Toughness: 16 (+2) N
Intelligence: 11 (0) 
Wits: 15 (+1) 
Persona: 12 (0) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 2
Vitality: 92 
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +5 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +5 (base)
Saves: +6 to agility-based saves

Elf Abilities
Night Shifted

Archer Abilities
Improved Defense, Master Archer, Ranged Combat, Supernatural Attack, Improved Range Damage, Eagle Eye, Incapacitating Shot, Multi Attack x4, Careful Aim, Trick Shot

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: hunter

Gear
Longsword, Longbow, elven chain

I have used Renegades and Warriors in the past for Rangers, in this case Archer is the better choice.

Finneous Sevinhand

Class: Renegade (from Wasted Lands)
Level: 12
Species: Half-elf
Alignment: Twilight Good
Background: Elf (Wasted Lands) 

Abilities
Strength: 15 (+1) N
Agility: 17 (+2) A
Toughness: 16 (+2) N
Intelligence: 13 (+1) 
Wits: 11 (0) 
Persona: 10 (0) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 87 
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +4 vs Death effects

Elf Abilities
Night Shifted

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-4 d6), Perception, Vital Strike x4, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Thief

Gear
Shortsword, dagger, throwing knife, crossbow

Renegades have a different feel to me than survivors, though both can be used as thieves. 

Meroc Trothgard

Class: Survivor (from NIGHT SHIFT)
Level: 12
Species: Human
Alignment: Night Good
Background: Hunter/Gatherer

Abilities
Strength: 15 (+1) N
Agility: 17 (+2) A
Toughness: 17 (+2) N
Intelligence: 12 (0) 
Wits: 14 (+1) 
Persona: 13 (+1) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 2
Vitality: 90
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +4 vs Death effects

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-4 d6), Perception, Vital Strike x4, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Hunter

Gear
Longsword ("Trollslayer"), dagger, longbow

Mechanically, the Renegade and the Survivor are the same. But in this case, I add in the backgrounds to give them a different feel. With Meroc here, I also decided not to go with their multi-class Ranger/Thief and stuck with the Survivor.

Aristobulous Declan

Class: Sorcerer (from Wasted Lands)
Level: 13
Species: Half-elf
Alignment: Night Good
Background: Scholar

Abilities
Strength: 11 (0) 
Agility: 16 (+2) N
Toughness: 15 (+1) 
Intelligence: 17 (+2) A
Wits: 10 (0) 
Persona: 13 (+1) N

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 72
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +4 vs Magic

Elf Abilities
Night Shifted

Sorcerer Abilities
Beguile, Enhanced Senses, Exorcist, Subtle Influence, Telekinesis

Spells
First Level (5): Arcane Darts, Chill Ray, Gout of Flame, Mystical Senses, Sleep, 
Second Level (4): Conjure Flame, Invisibility, Lesser Renewal, See Invisible
Third Level (4): Concussive Blast, Dark Lightning, Dispel Magic, Remove Curse 
Fourth  Level (4): Conjure Fire, Improved Invisibility, Paralyze Undead, Renewal
Fifth Level (3): Banishment, Shadow Armor, Teleport
Sixth Level (2): Destroy Undead, Dispel Evil
Seventh Level (1): Ball of Sunshine

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Magic

Gear
Quarterstaff, Dagger, dart

Mages are Sorcerers. This one has a lot spells to help survive Castle Ravenloft.

Father Ercon Valeran

Class: Theosophist (from NIGHT SHIFT)
Level: 12
Species: Human
Alignment: Light Good
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 15 (+1) N
Agility: 18 (+3) 
Toughness: 16 (+1) N
Intelligence: 16 (+2) 
Wits: 20 (+4) A 
Persona: 19 (+3) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 87
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +2 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Saves: +5 vs Wits 

Theosophist Abilities
See Dead people, Turn Undead x2, Summon Dead, Channel Dead, Death Knell, Suggestion, Command the Dead

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Hunter of the Dead

Gear
Mace ("Skullcrusher"), Quarterstaff, shortbow, holy symbol.

I can't help but notice that Father Ercon's Patron Deity is St. Werper. Nice touch Grenda!

I should stat up Strahd sometime as well. But I think he deserves his own post really. 

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.