Character Creation Challenge: Rhiannon

Well, here we are at the end of another Character Creation Challenge, and I found a little treat. And I just counted and this will be my 40th character this month. Not too bad really.

Grenda and I shared a love of computers, bad horror and fantasy movies, Dungeons & Dragons, and music. ALL my D&D games had a lot of music associated with them, something my oldest has also picked up. Now, I don't play a lot of music while gaming these days (I get distracted) I used to. So it is no surprise really that we all had characters based on songs or bands (looking at you, "Molley Hachit").  Today's character is no exception.

I have one rule for witch characters in my games. If you play a witch, you are allowed one "Rhiannon." I did mine, this one is Grenda's. 

I know very little about this character. I think she was pre-gen for some game. There are a dozen characters just like her on notebook paper. 

She is AD&D 1st Ee. I do not recognize her god or land, but others I do as his big "rebuild" of all of his lands and gods to divorce them from Greyhawk, Greek and Norse gods. She has "Spell Points" so I am going to say this puts her between the time of 1988 and 1994 or so. Another character in this group is a Dwarven Wayfinder, which was an AD&D 2nd Ed kit, but the character is also an AD&D 1st ed character.

Rhiannon

Class: Witch
Level: 8
Species: Human
Alignment: Evil Twilight
Background: Scholar

Abilities
Strength: 11 (+0) 
Agility: 16 (+2) 
Toughness: 15 (+1) 
Intelligence: 17 (+2) A
Wits: 17 (+2) N
Persona: 14 (+1) N

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 36
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+3/+1
Melee Bonus: +1 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base)
Saves: +5 vs spells and magical effects (witch and scholar)

Arcane Abilities
Beguile, Precognition, Shadow Walking

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Magic

Spells
First Level (4): Black Flames, Chill Ray, Mystical Senses, Read Languages
Second Level (3): Eternal Flame, Invisibility, See Invisible
Third Level (3): Clairvoyance, Dark Lightning, Globe of Darkness
Fourth Level (2): Black Tentacles, Kiss of the Succubus

Gear
Bracers of defense, dagger of venom

If my Rhiannon is based on Stevie Nicks (and maybe then Arnell is my Lindsey Buckingham), then this Rhiannon is someone different. 

I have to admit, I kinda want her as a rival to Larina. They had the same spiritual mentor, my original Rhiannon. When she died, this Rhiannon took her mentor's name. 

I like it and unlike my other characters, Larina never really had a proper antagonist, and Grenda LOVED creating antagonists for my characters. I still can't say the name "Kirkroy" without saying "Fucking Kirkroy!" all the time. 

Wow. That is it. 

I still have another 100 or so more characters in his stack here. I might pull some out for a special occasion or if I need a quick NPC.  I also think I am going to come back to Rhiannon here more often. I think it is a good thing to do more with her. It would have been fun to have had some input on her from Grenda himself.

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

Character Creation Challenge: Enter the HIVE!

 I wanted to spend a week doing evil characters, but my week got away from me. I was supposed to do these yesterday. Plus I also have another reason for doing these. My oldest is building a bunch of NPC adventuring parties. In his current game these adventuring guilds are akin to the social media celebrities of his world. They are all ranked, with the ones with the highest ranks getting the best sponsorship deals and merchandising deals. Groups with signature-named weapons do better since the weapons can be sold separately for their action figures.  

The Hive here are not highly ranked. But that is fine since he needs a few of them.

I am not 100% sure about the origin of these guys, but the timing and the names of the characters remind me of my own "Spyder Society" I had made a couple years before them.  I don't think they were made to be NPCs, these look like characters he was going to play at some point. Plus a few have what look like "play notes" on them.

What REALLY stands out about these characters though is they were made for the Forgotten Realms. This is interesting because I didn't even know Grenda, a hard core Greyhawk guy, was doing anything at all with the Realms. But they all worship evil gods from the Realms. He also has his city, Rivendell (not the Tolkien one), placed in the Realms somewhere. If I use them, I'll change that to Waterdeep. Though I would have liked to have known where he put his city on Faerûn.

There is a nice variety here, but all are 1st level (or so) and all are fairly standard AD&D classes. So translating them into Wasted Lands is pretty easy.

Cobra

Class: Renegade
Level: 1
Species: Human
Alignment: Dark Evil
Background: Warrior

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

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 10
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +2/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +1 (base), 
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base)
Saves: +3 to Death Saves
Number of Attacks: 1

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-3 d6)

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: +1 to melee attacks

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Thug

Gear
Longsword, dagger, crossbow

Widow

Class: Renegade
Level: 1
Species: Dökkálfar
Alignment: Dark Evil
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 17 (+2) 
Agility: 18 (+3) A
Toughness: 17 (+2) N 
Intelligence: 18 (+3) N
Wits: 15 (+1)
Persona: 16 (+2) 

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 6
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +2/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +1 (base), 
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base)
Saves: +3 to Death Saves
Number of Attacks: 1

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-3 d6)

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: 1 Level of Sorcerer

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Trickster

Gear
Longsword, dagger, dart

Pi

Class: Renegade/Necromancer
Level: 1/1
Species: Half-Ljósálfar
Alignment: Dark Evil
Background: Cult

Abilities
Strength: 17 (+2) 
Agility: 18 (+3) A
Toughness: 16 (+2)  
Intelligence: 16 (+2) N
Wits: 17 (+2) N
Persona: 15 (+2) 

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 7
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +2/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +1 (base), 
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base)
Saves: +3 to Death Saves
Number of Attacks: 1

Necromancer Abilities
Channel the Dead, See Dead people, Turn Undead, Protection from the Dead

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-3 d6)

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: Psychic Power: Telekinesis 

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Speaker to the Dead

Gear
Shortsword, mace, dagger

Wasp

Class: Renegade/Sorcerer
Level: 3/3
Species: Deep Gnome
Alignment: Dark Evil
Background: Cult

Abilities
Strength: 17 (+2) 
Agility: 18 (+3) A
Toughness: 16 (+2)  
Intelligence: 17 (+2) A
Wits: 16 (+2) N
Persona: 15 (+2) 

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 4
Vitality: 13
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +3/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +1 (base), 
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base)
Saves: +3 to Death Saves
Number of Attacks: 1

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-3 d6), Vital Strike

Sorcerer Abilities
Spell casting, Aracna (Enhanced Senses, Psychic Power Suggestion)

Sorcerer Spells
First Level: Chill Ray, Extinguish Light
Second Level: Invisibility

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: Psychic Power: Bio-feedback 
3rd Level: Luck Benefit

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Trickster

Gear
Shortsword, mace, dagger

Cottonmouth

Class: Renegade/Necromancer
Level: 1/1
Species: Half-orc
Alignment: Dark Evil
Background: Cult

Abilities
Strength: 17 (+2) 
Agility: 18 (+3) A
Toughness: 17 (+2)  
Intelligence: 16 (+2) N
Wits: 17 (+2) N
Persona: 10 (+0) 

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 8
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +2/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +1 (base), 
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base)
Saves: +3 to Death Saves
Number of Attacks: 1

Necromancer Abilities
Channel the Dead, See Dead people, Turn Undead, Protection from the Dead

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-3 d6)

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: +1 to melee attacks

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Assassin

Gear
Bastardsword, morningstar, dagger

"The Shadow"

No idea who this is. "He" appears to be their boss or handler.  His name appears on all their sheets under Patron. It is likely that one of his own characters relocated to the Realms.

I must admit. I am tempted to reuse these characters for my own Forgotten Realms expropriations. A great set of antagonists for my Sinéad.

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

Character Creation Challenge: Ander

Let's continue with the evil characters today with another of the Riddlemasters, this time a neutral evil "Shadowmaster." 

I don't know much about Ander. He was one of the Post "Dragon War" characters Grenda created. I don't think I ever saw this one in play, and I am sure I never DMed him. Shadowmasters, though, I do know. This class took features from other classes to make them the ultimate thief-assassin type. Thief skills, assassination abilities, magic to aid them, and, of course, a lot of psionics/psychic powers. Grossly overpowered to the point of silliness. 

Still. They were fun to play.

In a Wasted Lands game, they would be some sort of adept or mystic. A character dedicated to ascetic pursuits of mind and body. Again, with the various Riddlemasters I could rebuild them using the point buy system found in NIGHT SHIFT's Night Companion, or via multiclassing, I do have two other options.

The Mystic Martial Artist from the Night Companion is a good fit here, especially for Shadowmasters. The Mystic Warrior from Thirteen Parsecs is also a great fit, but maybe better for Riddlemasters proper. Mind you, this is the great strength of all the O.G.R.E.S. games; their inter-compatibility.  

After going over both classes I am convinced that Mystical Martial Artists are a perfect, and far more reasonable substitute for Shadowmasters. Sorry Grenda.

You will have to excuse the all "18s" in his abilities. I wasn't there when he rolled this guy up, but I am sure those numbers are legit.

Ander the Shadowmaster

Class: Mystic Martial Artist
Level: 3
Species: Human
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Background: Warrior 

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 18 (+3) A
Toughness: 18 (+3) 
Intelligence: 18 (+3) N
Wits: 18 (+3)
Persona: 18 (+3)

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 2
Vitality: 24
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +3/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +2 (base), +3 (STR)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Saves: +1 to all Agility and Toughness Saves, +2 to Toughness (Warrior background)

Mystic Martial Artist Abilities
Impossibly Agil, Martial Arts, Martial Arts Mysticism, Lightning Fast, Survivor Skills, 

Mysticism
Enhanced Senses, Innate Magic (Invisibility), Supernatural Attacks (melee)

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: Psychic Ability: Bio-feedback
3rd Level: +1 to melee attacks 

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Shadow

Gear
Longsword, dagger, short bow

Damn. I like this. I want to go back and redo ALL my Riddlemasters and Shadowmasters now. I should poke around and see if there are some more Riddlemasters in this stack and stat them as Mystic Warriors.

You can get 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.

Character Creation Challenge: Briana Highstar

After discovering yesterday's healer, I have to admit I went searching through this large stack of characters looking for a witch. I found one and she was not who I suspected she was going to be. So for this special Witchcraft Wednesday of the Character Creation Challenge, I give you Briana Highstar.

Now that name sticks out. Grenda was very, very careful with his family names. He had (and you have seen here) dynasties of characters. The Addingdales are the prime example. So when he names someone "Highstar" especially at the time when Morgan Highstar was such a prominent character of his, it means something. 

Sadly, there is not much here on Briana Highstar. She is listed as an NPC. She does not show up in our shared timeline, and I have not been able to dig up anything else about her. So, a witch (a class I made) related to his major Riddlemaster (a class he made). There is a story here!

I know she is one of my witches, largely due to the spells. I mean, yeah, he could have been using another witch class and my spells. 1993 is about the time I finished my first big "publication" draft that combined all my notes and handwritten playtest documents. I still have it here, I just printed it out on a "new" type of printer, an inkjet. 

So what can I speculate about Briana Highstar?

Her sheet says that she is a diabolic witch and her patron devil is Mephistopheles. She is Lawful Evil. That's about it.

Given Grenda's frame of mind at the time (2/11/1993) I'll make the following assumptions.

She is the younger half-sister of Morgan Highstar; they share the same father but different mothers.  I'll tear a page from Arthurian legends and have their relationship (at least the antagonism) be the same as Arthur and Morgan le Fey's. The attitude would likely be Briana feels wronged by Morgan and Morgan doesn't even know who she is.

To amp up this antagonism, I'd have Briana look a lot like Morgan; black hair, gray eyes. Hell, she might look a bit like Katie McGrath's Morgana from Merlin. I'll admit it, I am a fan of her's. 

Maybe her motivation is to destroy his School of Riddlemasters. Or maybe she just wants to avenge herself on him. I don't know yet. She is Lawful Evil to his True Neutral, so maybe her plans are more complicated. Maybe "her" plans are not her's but Mephistopheles' instead. Who knows, I would have to put her into play and see what she does.

Briana Highstar

Class: Witch
Level: 8
Species: Human
Alignment: Evil Dark
Background: Cultist

Abilities
Strength: 12 (+0) 
Agility: 16 (+2) 
Toughness: 13 (+1) 
Intelligence: 17 (+2) N
Wits: 17 (+2) A
Persona: 15 (+1) N

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 26
Degeneracy: 32
Corruption: 1 (eyes glow an unnatural way, like a cats)

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+3/+1
Melee Bonus: +1 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base)
Saves: +4 vs spells and magical effects

Arcane Abilities
Beguile, Precognition, Shadow Walking

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: Additional 1st level Spell
3rd Level: Favored Weapon, Whip
5th Level: Spirit Guide: Cat Familiar 
7th Level: Magical Recovery

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Domination

Spells
First Level (4+1): Armor of Earth, Black Flames, Chill Ray, Phantom Lights, Read Languages
Second Level (3): Eternal Flame, Invisibility, See Invisible
Third Level (3): Animal Summoning 2, Dark Lightning, Globe of Darkness
Fourth Level (2): Black Tentacles, Kiss of the Succubus

Gear
Whip

Briana has a vendetta against all Riddlemasters. She wants to kill them all, but that is an impossible task, so she will settle on doing as much damage to them as she can. Her Patron, Mephistopheles, is using her to strike a blow to Balance, the force that Riddlemasters represent. 

I will certainly be using Briana more in adventures. Don't worry Grenda, I'll take care of her.

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

Character Creation Challenge: Yoln Serpeus

 Every so often, there is a character who jumps off of the pages of their character sheet, and they take on a life of their own. They go beyond mere numbers, and listings and references to page numbers. They become a real character. Yoln Serpeus was one such character.

He began life as one of the main antagonists in our Great War/War of the Dragons. He was the head of Hell's Armies and a vassal to Mephistopheles. This was the campaign we were running then ended our worlds and a new combined world (which I would later equate with Mystoerth) was formed in the ashes. 

Honestly, I can still see it now. Yoln, clad in all jet back plate, riding his giant ware chariot being drawn by three dragons.  He had already killed many characters, including Morgan "Raven" Ebonflame and Johan Werper III. Though one of the survivors was Larina. (CY 813-818).

Yoln was defeated and he was pulled into the Hells, with Raven in tow it was believed. My other character, Nigel Blade, seeing his daughter pulled into Hell, vowed to follow him and kill him himself. 

I would not resolve that arc until 2001-2003 when Yoln became the primary big bad for my Buffy campaign, The Dragon and the Phoenix, as the "Hand of Leviathan." Nigel did not kill him, but Buffy did in "No Other Troy." Though I will admit, I forgot his last name and misremembered it as "Shadowreaper." But Yoln would use Worluk's nom de guerre.

Back in 1988, Grenda and I revisited Yoln in his earliest days as a human Paladin just prior to his fall in an adventure, "Where Evil Seeks," we were writing to submit to Dungeon Magazine. I have three different versions of that adventure here now. I might dust it off some day.  Anyway, in that "human" Yoln is only 13th level. That seems more reasonable.

It is not an exaggeration that Yoln and the hunt for Yoln from 1987 to 2003 had a HUGE impact on what would become NIGHT SHIFT. So it only makes sense that I should do his stats for Wasted Lands, the "D&D of NIGHT SHIFT."

I am going to cheat here and give Yoln a heroic touchstone at every level instead of every other level. It's a bit much (every other level is a bit much), but he has earned them.

This Yoln is only slight human now. He is becoming an infernal creature and will soon lead Hell's armies. 

Yes. That is Yoln in 'City of Heroes.'

Yoln Serpeus

Class: Divine Infernal Warrior (from NIGHT SHIFT)
Level: 13
Species: Human (Infernal)
Alignment: Dark Evil
Background: Cult

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) A
Agility: 18 (+3) 
Toughness: 17 (0) N
Intelligence: 19 (+3)  
Wits: 17 (+2) N
Persona: 17 (+2) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: -1
Vitality: 64
Degeneracy: 33
Corruption: 7

Corruption Effects: His eyes glow, his body is decayed, and he must live inside his armor. Can't enter holy lands or buildings. 

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

Infernal Warrior Abilities
Sixth Sense, Cause Injury and Illness, Supernatural Attacks, Protection from Good, Command Undead (level 8), Spot Hidden (1-3 on d4).

Infernal Abilities
Takes x2 damage from Chosen Ones and Celestials. 
Arcane Powers: Beguile, Domination, Enhanced Senses, Incubus, Shadow Walking, 

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: Psychic Ability: ESP
2nd Level:+1 to melee attacks
3rd Level: Psychic Ability: Bio-feedback
4th Level: Unique Mode of Attack: Soul Sever (Persona)
5th Level: Favored Weapon, Sword
4th Level: +1 to hit with Soul Sever attack
7th Level: Extra Attack
8th Level: Favored Enemy: Chosen Ones
9th Level: Special Attack
10th Level: Smite
11th Level: Great Attack (Toughness added to Soul Sever)
12th Level: Great Smite
13th Level: Spell Resistance 20%

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Death

Gear
Longsword ("Pillager"), Full plate armor.

He is a monster. I mean, yeah, all these characters are charmingly Munchkin, but Yoln here is just plain scary. 

Yoln in the Wasted Lands

This is the starting point for Yoln, my D&D stand-in. This is the Yoln I stated above and one that Grenda and I created. Yoln belongs in the Wasted Lands, but he won't stay there for long.

Yoln in NIGHT SHIFT

In truth, Yoln is my first-ever NIGHT SHIFT Big Bad. Yeah, I ran him under the Buffy/Unisystem rules, but that game informed and shaped me to a point where NIGHT SHIFT became an inevitability.  Maybe one day I'll rerun "The Dragon and the Phoenix" as a NIGHT SHIFT adventure, but it has been 20+ years now.

Yoln in Thirteen Parsecs

Yoln was killed once by Morgan. He was killed again by Buffy. Could he still be around somewhere out near the Solar Frontier? Never say never I guess! Could his lifeless appearing armor be out there, floating in space, waiting on some happless ship passing by to bring it into their cargo hold? What happens when an ancient hell knight awakens and attack a crew armed with plasma rifles? I don't know.

Interestingly enough. While digging through my archives on this guy I found his Buffy/The Dragon and the Phoenix stats!

Yoln, The Pillager, The Pit Fiend, The Hand of Leviathan, The Shadowreaper

Yoln: So Slayer. You brought an army to defeat me? (another swing)
Buffy: No. (a parry. Then, wielding the spear with both hands, she swings and knocks Yoln back.) I brought two.
The army of demons continues running while a legion of angels flies up and over them to join in the attack.

Character Type: Human/Demon Big Bad

Attributes
Strength 9
Dexterity 8
Constitution 10
Intelligence 4
Perception 4
Willpower 12 

Ability Scores: Muscle 14, Combat 17, Brains 13
Life Points: 64
Drama Points: 10

Qualities: Fast Reaction Time, Hard to Kill 6, Honorable (Rigid), Nerves of Steel
Drawbacks: Adversary (just about everyone) 6, 

Combat Maneuvers

Name	Score	Damage	Notes
Dodge	17	-	Defense action
Grapple	19	-	Resisted by Dodge
Kick	16	14	Bash
Punch	17	13	Bash
Big Ass Sword	19	31	Stab/slash; two-handed

Damn. He was even a beast here.

Thank you, Grenda, for developing such a memorable character with me. Gods, this was a lot of fun to do this one. I'm listening to RUSH, Krokus, BÖC, and Ronnie James Dio in your memory tonight.

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

Character Creation Challenge: Tali Earlingstar II and Tyl Addigndale III

 Two more characters from the same campaign as Pathon and Torr Addingdale III, I am doing two again because I want to show off the flexibility of the classes in Wasted Lands / NIGHT SHIFT. How can I use the same class to achieve different results. 

I don't know much about Tyl III, but I know Tali. Tali was a Ranger in my games back in the late 1980s, she was Grenda's character when I ran him through the Ravenloft elements of our Great War / The Dragon War. She became trapped in Ravenloft with a bunch of other characters and had to find a way out. Tali, like her daughter Tali II, was a ranger, but more than that she was a Swanmay; a Swan Maiden. Kind of nice to see her again. A bit like running into an old friend from College and discovering she is happy and has a grown daughter now going to the same school you both went too. Swan Maidens have been a lot on my mind recently too, having just reread "Three Hearts and Three Lions" for the first time in decades.

Tyl II died as a child, so this Tyl III is not his son. I'll have to dig up a family tree somewhere to figure out where he fits. 

Tali is a Ranger with some magic. Tyl is a Theif-Acrobat/Illusionist. Both are going to be Renegades. Also, we are dealing with another New Human in Tyl, but I am going to ignore that for now.

Tali Earlingstar II

Class: Renegade/Warrior
Level: 8/8
Species: Human
Alignment: Light
Background: Cult

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

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 80 (d4/d8)
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+3/+1
Melee Bonus: +3 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +3 vs Death effects (Renegade)

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-3 d6), Perception, Vital Strike x3, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Warrior Abilities
Combat Expertise, Improved Defence, Melee Combat, Master of Battle, Supernatural Attacks, Spell Resistance, Tracking, Masters of Weapons, Extra Attacks (x2), Extra Damage

Heroic Touchstones
Level 1: Favored Weapon: Sword (+1 to hit, +2 Damage)
Level 3: Luck Benefit
Level 5: Level 1 of Sorcerer
Level 7: Favored Enemy: Undead
Level 9: Level 2 of Sorcerer
Level 11: +1 to all checks, attacks, and saves
Level 13: Level 3 of Sorcerer
Level 15: Bestow Blessing

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Protection

Gear
Sword ("Shadowbane"), leather armor

Tyl Addingdale III

Class: Renegade/Sorcerer
Level: 10/10
Species: New Human
Alignment: Twilight (Evil)
Background: Sorcerous

Abilities
Strength: 17 (+2) 
Agility: 18 (+3) A
Toughness: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 18 (+1) N
Wits: 16 (+2) 
Persona: 17 (+2) N

Fate Points: 1d12
Defense Value: 2
Vitality: 60 (d4/d4)
Degeneracy: 4
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +3 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +3 vs Death effects (Renegade)

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-3 d6), Perception, Vital Strike x3, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Arcane Powers
Detect Thoughts, Enhanced Senses, Psychic Power Suggestion, Subtle Influence

Sorcerer Spells
First Level: Chill Ray, Night Vision, Command, Extinguish Light, Summon Familiar
Second Level: Invoke Fear, Invisibility, See Invisible, ESP, Beguile Person
Third Level: Blinding Speed, Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic, Oily Cloud of the Deeper Dark
Fourth Level: Black Tentacles, Improved Invisibility, Protection Against Death, Serpent Arrow
Fifth Level: Shadow Armor, Injure, Commune with Deeper Dark

Familiar: Bald Parrot "Jubilex"

Heroic Touchstones
Level 1: Psychic Ability: Psychokinesis
Level 3: Luck Benefit
Level 5: Favored Weapon: Short sword (+1 to hit, +2 Damage)
Level 7: Psychic Ability: Bio-feedback
Level 9: +1 to all checks, attacks, and saves
Level 11: Additional 1st level spell
Level 13: Additional 2nd level spell
Level 15: Additional 3rd level spell
Level 17: Additional 4th level spell
Level 19: Additional 5th level spell

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Trickster

Gear
Short sword ("Shadewalk"), leather armor

All the characters from this campaign appear to be cousins, some twice or more removed, and all descended from the Addingdale lines.

It appears, reading over the notes with the characters that Tali and Tyl were once close but are growing apart as Tali becaomes more good and following in her mother's footsteps to become a Swanmay (maybe she has been gifted her mother's cloak?) and Tyl went from trickster rogue to more evil in his intent. 

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

Character Creation Challenge: Adnerg Myrildean

 Every campaign needs a high-level wizard. Whether that is Elminster, Gandalf, Merlin, or Mordenkainen, a high-level wizard is good to know. In Grenda's campaign, this was Adnerg Myrildean.

Adnerg was a wizard supreme. He picked up some levels of fighter to stay alive, but he was a wizard through and through.

If I continue with my ham-fisted Freudian analogies here, Adnerg was Grenda's "Super-Ego." 

Adnerg was a great character. 

When my characters first met him, he was in a bar gambling. He was loud and boisterous and not at all like a wizard, until combat came around. Then he became the "nuclear option."

Notes about High Levels

Adnerg here is the third character from this collection and in many ways is the poster child for our games in the 1980s.

I have four character sheets for him at different parts in his career. The image above has hi at level 97 Magic-user / level 30 fighter. Yeah. I know. BUT there are good reasons for this. First off keep in mind that these characters are old. Adnerg here has a creation date of 8/14/1984. So they go a lot of play. I think for a while there I was playing every weekend and sometimes three or four nights per week in the summers. 

Also, there was BARDD. BARDD was our computer-based combat simulator for the TRS-80 Color Computer 2. We would put our characters in to the software and let it run. Our rule was that if the characters died in it, they were dead. This was the fate of my first and only half-orc character. Grenda put his characters in and let it run. His characters earned a lot of XP.

We were both good at math, but I was better and calculated the XP tables and spell-progression tables for levels beyond 30. These skills served me well when I would later work on my witch class and Grenda would work on his various Riddlemasters (more on that later).

Like all good wizards, he had many names. He was also known as Erife'nur, the Rune Fire mage.

Adnerg "Erife'nur" Myrildean

Class: Sorcerer
Level: 20
Species: Human
Alignment: Twilight Neutral
Background: Scholar

Abilities
Strength: 9 (+0)     
Agility: 14 (+1)     
Toughness: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 20 (+4)  
Wits: 16 (+2) 
Persona: 18 (+3) 

Fate Points: 1d12
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 110 (d4)
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +8/+6/+4
Melee Bonus: +4 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Spell Attack Bonus: +10
Saves: +5 vs magic attacks and area effects

Arcane Powers
Astral Projection, Beguile, Polymath, Precognition, Shadow Walking, Telekinesis 

Spells
1st level (6+1): Arcane Darts, Black Flames, Gout of Flame, Luck Stone, Night Vision, Sense Death, Sleep
2nd level (5): Beguile Person, Conjure Flame, ESP, Lesser Renewal, See Invisible
3rd level (5): Concussive Blast, Conjure Fireworks, Dark Lightning, Dispel Magic, Fly 
4th level (5): Befuddlement, Conjure Fire, Globe of Daylight, Protection against the Deeper Dark, Serpent Arrow
5th level (4): Banishment, Command Winds, Elemental Wall, Summon Elemental
6th level (4): Dispel Evil, Evoke Weather, Move Earth, Part the Seas
7th level (4): Ball of Sunshine, Drain Life, Wave of Mutilation, Zone of Peaceful Conduct
8th level (3): Gaze of the Abyss, Mind Shield, Summon Other
9th level (3): Feedback Barrier, Orb of Imprisonment, Sleeping Village

Heroic Touchstones
Level 1: Additional First level spell
Level 3: Additional Arcane Power: Telekinesis 
Level 5: Additional Vitality Points
Level 7: Luck Benefit
Level 9: Spirit Guide: Hawk "Rynn"
Level 11: Level 1 of Warrior
Level 13: Level 2 of Warrior
Level 15: Magical Recovery
Level 17: Level 3 of Warrior
Level 19: Level 4 of Warrior

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Magic

Gear
Staff ("Lacham"), mace ("Shatterside")

Note, unlike the Addingdales, Adnerg has no psionics. 

This is a really great build and "feels" like Adnerg. It would be a pleasure to add him to the Wasted Lands RPG.

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

Character Creation Challenge: Aradia for Wasted Lands

 All month long, I have been giving you D&D characters of various editions I have converted over to the O.G.R.E.S.-powered Wasted Lands. Today, I am really putting my money where my mouth is and creating a new Witch Queen character native to the Wasted Lands' Dreaming Age. 

So I have presented several Witch Queens for my War of the Witch Queens campaign. The conceit is that every D&D-like world has a Witch Queen. I have presented several here and even converted a couple to Wasted Lands. But today's Queen began in the Wasted Lands and rose to power here. Will she be remembered later on? Obtain some level of divinity? Likely. The Witch Queen I am giving you today is Aradia, Queen of the Witches.

Aradia is an interesting figure. "Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches," was a book by American folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland. It makes the claim that Aradia was a historical figure from pagan Tuscany.  It is a similar idea that Margaret Murray's "The Witch-cult in Western Europe" would later adapt and adopt.

As fun as these ideas are, they don't hold up to the most basic academic scrutiny. Still, I like using them in my games, especially NIGHT SHIFT.  

Aradia is also great for Wasted Lands. 

Aradia, Queen of Witches

Aradia is described as the Daughter of the Roman Diana, who has many differences from her Greek counterpart, Artemis. Her father is Lucifer, who is described as a "Sun God" and is either Diana's son or brother. She seduces him and gives birth to their daughter, Aradia. In Leland's book, it is Diana, who is the Queen of Witches, and Aradia, who is akin to a witch Messiah. 

If we return to the Wasted Lands, Diana can be a Warrior/Sorceress from Minoa, and Lucifer would be a Warrior from Ashurii. Aradia learned her magic from mystics in Athenea and learned masters from Atlantis and Mu. She learned folk magic and the secret languages of plants and trees. She has traveled the world, learning magical practices. Her purpose is/was to spread beneficial magic, un-tainted by the Old Ones, to humanity. 

Aradia, then in the Wasted Lands, is the source of Witchcraft. 

Aradia, Queen of Witches

Class: Sorceress (Witch)
Level: 20
Species: Human
Alignment: Twilight Good
Background: Sorcerous

Abilities
Strength: 10 (+0) 
Agility: 13 (+1) 
Toughness: 14 (+1) 
Intelligence: 17 (+2) N
Wits: 18 (+3) N 
Persona: 20 (+4) A

Fate Points: 1d12
Defense Value: 4
Vitality: 114
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +8/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +2 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Spell Attack: +5
Saves: +7 to Spells and Magical effects (Sorcerer), +2 to Wits saves (Sorcerous Background)

Sorcerous Background
Enhanced Sorcery +10%, Mystical Senses, Bonus Arcane Power: Precognition

Sorceress Abilities
Arcana, Arcane Powers (7): Empathy, Enhanced Senses, Beguile, Detect Thoughts, Teleknesis, Telepathic Transmission, Astral Projection

Sorceress Spells
First Level: Armor of Earth, Bless, Command, Glamour, Predict Weather, Sleep
Second Level: Animal Summoning, Conjure Flame, Invisibility, Lesser Renewal, Subtle Influence
Third Level: Clairvoyance, Cure Disease, Curse, Fly, Speaking Corpse
Fourth Level: Befuddlement, Conjure Fire, Plant Speech, Metamorphosis, Plant Speech
Fifth Level: Banishment, Cornucopia, Restore Life, Shadow Armor
Sixth Level: Dispel Evil, Evoke Weather, Invisible Servant, Reincarnation
Seventh Level: Ball of Sunshine, Call the Restless Soul, Wave of Mutilation, Widdershins Dance
Eighth Level: Mind Shield, Prophesy, Wail of the Banshee
Ninth Level: Breath of the Goddess, Feedback Barrier, Sleeping Village

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: Plus 10% to Spell Casting
2nd Level: Additional Spell: Damage Undead
3rd Level: Familiar: Raven
4th Level: Magical Recovery
5th Level: Grant Spellcasting
6th Level: Immunity to Spells/Magic
7th Level: Cult
*7th Level: Cease to Age
8th Level: Bestow Blessing
9th Level: Heal Corruption

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Magic

Gear
Staff, Dagger

Aradia in the Wasted Lands

This is the start of Aradia she was the first mortal witch, and her actions are the beginnings of witchcraft in the world. She will be remembered after the Dreaming Age end, and the Age of Humans begin. Later, scholars will claim to know of her, but those memories are something deeper and much older.

Aradia in NIGHT SHIFT

This is the Aradia that Leland wrote about and the one Murry wished was true. She is still a force in the modern world, especially when it comes to witches, whom she sees as her progeny. 

Aradia in Thirteen Parsecs

Will Aradia make it beyond the Earth and out into the Solar Frontier? Who is to say, but the Sisters of the Aquarian Order would argue that she is still a force to be reckoned with in their lives.

Aradia in Dungeons & Dragons

In my OSR/BX/D&D games she would be a Classical Witch, but she would also be a Witch Queen Patron to various Warlocks. 

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

Character Creation Challenge: Magnus Ulslime for Wasted Lands

 Heroes are often measured by the bad guys they have to face. If that is the case then Johan Werper and his line are true heroes indeed because their long time foe is a semi-immortal necromancer of the darkest dye. And you have seen him before.

Magnus Ulslime had several origin points for me that all seemed to collide at once. First there was Len Lakofka's Death Master class I saw in Best of Dragon Vol. III, a reprint of his class from Dragon #76. There was Ulslime the Chaosar (terrible name) from Module CM2 Death's Ride. And finally what I *thought* Module X6 Quagmire was about. All of these mixed in the same vat I was building classes in; my Healer, Sun-Priest, Witch, and Necromancer.  I saw my Necromancer as the moral opposite of the Healer and the Sun Priest.  Eventually, I would go to get my Profane Necromancer and Death Pact Warlocks out into the world along with my Witch.

Much like Larina is my test character for anything witchy, Magnus is my test for any sort of necromancer. Though I do not have as many versions of him as I do her.  I have featured him, though, as Necromancer for Spellcraft & Swordplay and as a Death Pact Warlock. I have also done his adopted children Runu and Urnu for both Spellcraft and Swordplay and Wasted Lands in the past. 

Magnus Ulslime

Class: Necromancer
Level: 13
Species: Human
Alignment: Dark Evil
Background: Cult

Abilities
Strength: 10 (+0) 
Agility: 13 (+1) 
Toughness: 14 (+1) 
Intelligence: 19 (+3) N
Wits: 16 (+2) N
Persona: 19 (+3) Z

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 5
Vitality: 87
Degeneracy: 33
Corruption: 7

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +7/+4/+3
Melee Bonus: +2 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Magical Attack: +2
Saves: +8 to Persona saves, -2 vs Corruption

Cult Powers
Commune with Deeper Dark (1/week), Familiar (small demon), Forbidden Knowledge 38%, Mystical Senses

Necromancer Abilities
Channel the Dead, See Dead people, Turn Undead, Protection from Dead x5, Summon the Dead, Vampiric Augmentation, Suggestion x2, Command, Vampiric Touch, Beguile Spirit

Arcane Powers
Detect Thoughts, Polymath (Sage Abilities: Level 1), Incubus (touchstone), Shadow Walk (touchstone)

Spells
First level: Black Flames, Night Vision, Glamour
Second level: Invoke Fear, Paralyze Poison

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: Arcane Power: Incubus (1d6)
2nd Level: Arcane Power: Shadow Walk
3rd Level: Class Level, Sorcerer 1
4th Level: Class Level, Sorcerer 2
5th Level: Class Level, Sorcerer 3
6th Level: Class Level, Sorcerer 4
7th Level: Character ceases to age

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Death

Gear
Death staff

Magnus in the Wasted Lands

These are great stats and I am amazed with how flexible and customizable this game actually is. There is just so much going on here. It is also the first time in a character write-up I was able to really capture his childhood in a Death Cult. The only thing I did not do here is capture his early adulthood as a druid. Maybe a couple of levels of Theosophist would cover that.

Magnus in NIGHT SHIFT

If the Dark Druid can make it to the modern age, then Magnus could as well. I can see a cult trying to bring him back. I see it as sort of like a cheesy 80s movie where a bunch of teens play some record backward and summons Magnus, though I think to be true to his roots AND the 80s, he would have to be called "The Death Master."  Hmm. Maybe this is the missing piece of this 80s adventure I have been wanting to do.

Magnus in Thirteen Parsecs

I honestly have no idea if he will live this long. But maybe I will come up with something. The universe is a big and really weird place.  Though I will admit the name "Magnus" came to me while watching the Doctor Who serial "Talons of Weng-Chiang."  The bad guy in this one, Magnus Greel, was from the 51st Century. He even had a familiar of sorts, Mr. Sin.  I might have to name his quasit familiar Mr. Sin.

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

Character Creation Challenge: Darlessa for Wasted Lands

I meant to do this character earlier and kinda forgot. Well, today is the day I fix that. When it comes right down to it, no character really represents my shift from D&D to Wasted Lands quite as well as Darlessa the Vampire Queen.

Of course, everyone here knows Darlessa. She has been featured here many times and I already did her witch stats for Swords & Wizardry and her vampire stats for Basic-era D&D. She is also the central antagonist of my Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen. She is responsible for the death of my first character, Johan, and ultimately, the cause for him to be elevated to a Saint. She even has (or had) her own Dark Domain, Arevenir.

I am using the Night Companion again for her so I can get the rules for making her a vampire. She has always been a witch, but a good case could be made for her to be a Spirit Rider, too. Maybe I'll give her a level in that later on, but today, I wanted to compare apples to apples: my OSR witches vs a NIGHT SHIFT witch.

Darlessa, the Vampire Queen

Class: Witch (Persona)
Level: 13
Species: Human Vampire
Alignment: Dark Evil
Background: Sorcerous

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) (+2 from Vampire)
Agility: 18 (+3) (+2 from Vampire)
Toughness: 18 (+3) 
Intelligence: 15 (+1) N
Wits: 14 (+1) N
Persona: 22 (+5) A

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: -5
Vitality: 75
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +2 (base) +2 (touchstones) 
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base) +1 (touchstones)
Spell Attack: +7 (witch) +1 (touchstones)
Saves: +7 to Spells and Magical effects (Sorcerer & Scholar), +3 to Wits (vampire) +1 to All (touchstones)

Witch Abilities
Arcana, Arcane Powers (5): Succubus (6d6), Shadow Walking, Telekinesis, Beguile, Subtle Influence

Sorceress Spells
First Level: Arcane Darts, Black Flames, Chill Ray, Glamour, Object Reading, Armor of Earth
Second Level: Conjure Flame, ESP, Invoke Fear, See Invisible
Third Level: Clairvoyance, Create Zombies & Skeletons, Curse, Fly
Fourth Level: All-Seeing Invisible Eye, Black Tentacles, Improved Invisibility, Kiss of the Succubus
Fifth Level: Commune with Deeper Dark, Create Undead, Shadow Armor
Sixth Level: Instant Death, Zone of Death
Seventh Level: Wave of Mutilation

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: Additional Spell: Armor of Earth
2nd Level: +1 to Melee attacks
3rd Level: Spirit Guide: Undead Raven, "Lucifer"
4th Level: Favored Enemy: Lawful (Light) Good Clerics
5th Level: +1 to all attack rolls, defense rolls, spells, and saves
6th Level: Glamour at Will

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Power

Gear
Dagger

Wasted Lands Vampires

Ok! This Darlessa is much more powerful than previous versions. This is due largely to proper rules on how to make a character a vampire and how that adds to the character's power. But also Witches in NIGHT SHIFT and the Wasted Lands are a bit more powerful. Lets not forget those divine/heroic touchstones. Those add a LOT of power to the character. This is a version of Darlessa that should properly terrify a group of characters. 

Vampires in the Wasted Lands are also more akin to Akivasha of Robert E. Howard's tale The Hour of the Dragon than they are of Stoker's Dracula. Indeed, Darlessa is cut from the same cloth as Akivasha. Well same cloth, but dyed in the same dyes as various Hammer Horror vampires. 

But in native Wasted Lands, the world envisioned by Elf Lair Games' Jason Vey, vampires are more dangerous and closely tied to the powers of the Deeper Dark. This works fine for me since I have always seen Darlessa as shedding bits of her soul for power to whatever demon would grant it to her. Now, for a pure Wasted Lands game and for the publication of the Tomb of the Vampire Queen, I might go with a different name and slightly changed background. But it will be Darlessa all the same really. 

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