Witches of Appendix N: Robert E. Howard, Part 2: Horror Stories

 I am continuing on my journey through the titles of Appendix N, looking for the Witches that haunted those pages. This week, I have Part 2 of my overview of the Witches of Robert E. Howard, this time focusing on his horror tales.  As I covered in Part 1 of Howard, his DNA is deeply woven into the core of D&D. This is easy to see in Conan, the wandering mercenary (in many tales) having adventure after adventure. what I didn't expect was see so much, maybe even more, from his tales of horror.

Howard's horror runs all over the place.  He was obviously significantly influenced by Celtic history, especially with his Bran Mak Morn character, and a lot of these feed into his horror tales. There is a Conan-like character in his "The House of Arabu" doing battle with none other than Lilith herself and other demons. He even dips into Lovecraftian tales. Now, some people have called these "pastiches," but to me, they are nothing of the sort; they are original contributions to the mythos that are every bit as valid as Lovecraft's own and on par with Clark Ashton Smith. Where Howard shined, though, was "Southern Gothic"; he was to the south and south-west (esp. Texas) what Lovecraft was to New England. Many of tales are interlinked and there is some good opportunities for deep scholarship on how his tales link to each other and to his contemporaries (like Lovecraft) and even how his stories influenced others. I can't say for certainty, but his tale "The Haunter of the Ring" (already steeped in his own mythos connected to Conan) feels like it could have influenced Fritz Leiber's "Conjure Wife."  

What really surprised me was not that Howard was a good writer; he is full stop. But how great his horror stories are. Lovecraft himself sang Howard's praises, and he was worthy of them.

So who are the witches of Howard's Horror tales? Let's take a look.  Instead of going by witch, I am going to go by tale. Each witch is very much situated in each tale.

lets do part two covering Howard's Horror Stories.

These are the tales I want to cover:

"Sea Curse" (1928)

Moll Farrell is an archetypical "Sea Witch." She lives in an old hut near the sea, where the tide almost comes to her doorstep, with her daughter. She collects shells and mussels and everyone thinks she is a witch. She proves it by laying a deadly curse on the two men who raped and killed her daughter. The men die, more or less, at each other's hands.

The tale drips with old-world superstition, the inevitability of doom, and the slow, creeping vengeance of the sea. Moll is an agent of vengeance and could have been found on a different coast on the Atlantic in some Celtic dream-hidden past.

The best part of the tale is the Ghost Ship filled with sailors who have committed foul crimes coming up from Hell to take the souls of the men. The image is fantastic. 

"Rattle of Bones" (1929)

A short Solomon Kane tale involving a haunted inn, a skeleton that rises from its resting place, and hints of ancient sorcery. Our "witch" here is an ancient necromancer from Russia who comes back from the dead for his vengeance. Not explicitly a witch, but the tale feels like it was ripped right out of a D&D adventure. 

"The Hills of the Dead" (1930)

Another pivotal Solomon Kane story where Kane teams up with N’Longa, a powerful African shaman and necromancer. N’Longa gifts Kane the magical Staff of Solomon, a potent artifact used to destroy vampires. N’Longa’s magic includes spirit possession and resurrection.

N'Longa's magic is called "voodoo" but that word wasn't used in Kane's time. The religious practices that went into voodoo (Vodún) did exist. 

Again, no explicit witch, though N'Longa is a great character, this tale is great for the abandoned city of vampires.

"Dig Me No Grave" (1937)

What would you get if Howard decided to write about the death Aleister Crowley 10 years before he died? You might get something very much like "Dig Me No Grave."

This tale deals with the temptation of forbidden knowledge. A scholar inherits an occult tome linked to a demon-worshipping cult. The story is Lovecraftian in tone, but the ritual magic and descent into damnation echo the witch-pact trope.

"The Children of the Night" (1931)

This tale is filled with ideas that Howard would come back to many times. 

First, there is the dream/reincarnation story that ties modern characters to ancient, savage rites. In later tales he even he explicitly links Conan and Bran Mak Morn to modern day people. 

Secondly, it features the Serpent People and hints at sorcerous cults and blood sacrifice. The Serpent People are the literary creature from whence a lot of D&D monsters spring. The Yuan-ti and Ophidians are the obvious ones, but in truth, these creatures bear more than a little resemblance to the class D&D Troglodytes. It might be that these were the root of those creatures. 

Third, and this one is big, it contributes to the Lovecraftian mythos by introducing the "Unaussprechlichen Kulten" of von Junzt. This is it's first appearance in print. This is one of the reasons why I say that Howard is not an imitator of the Lovecraftian mythos, he is a bona fide contributor. 

Lastly, the infamous "Black Stone," which will feature in many of his tales in one form or another.

"The Black Stone" (1931)

Speaking of which. This tale also features the Black Stone and "Unaussprechlichen Kulten." 

Arguably Howard’s most Lovecraftian tale. A monolithic stone and the rites performed there by a degenerate cult speak to primal, prehistoric sorcery. There’s an implied witch-queen who led the rites.  The monolith is now located in a village in Hungary called "Stregoicavar," meaning something like "Witch Town."  

Howard gives us a lot of history with ancient rites and even connects this to Margaret Murray's work on the Witch Cult of Europe. The toad-god the witches are worshiping is likely CAS;s Tsathoggua, a creature who would appear again in "The Thing on the Roof."

The Necronomicon gets name checked here as well.

"The Thing on the Roof" (1932)

This tale features forbidden books (Unaussprechlichen Kulten) , temple ruins, and an occultist who ignores all warnings. 

There is even a pre-Aztec Lich worshiping evil gods (likely Tsathoggua, but only described as a toad-like thing), and evil rituals.

I included this tale and the previous two not so much for their witches, but for their cults and their connection to the Mythos. 

"People of the Dark" (1932)

A man relives a past life where he was involved in betrayal and murder. This tale our narrator, John O'Brien, is the reincarnated Conan, and he enters Dagon's Cave to kill a rival for the hand of a woman. This one features almost everything. Conan, Lovecraftian connections, and even the Little People/Children of the Night. 

"Worms of the Earth" (1932)

Bran Mak Morn allies with a banished witch named Atla to awaken the Worms, ancient subterranean horrors, to take vengeance on the Romans. The story is primal, grim, and unrelenting. 

The worms appear to be another name for the quasi-human Children of the Night. The more and more I read about them the more I am convinced this where the D&D interpretation of the Troglodytes came from. 

Alta, the witch-woman of Dagon-moor, is one of our very few named witches. She is half-human and "half-worm" or Children of the Night. The implication here is that the Children were human or at least akin to humans.  She is human enough that her price to help Bran is that he must spend the night with her. Likely meaning there is some new half-human descendant of Bran out there now. 

This also features the Black Stone. Are these pieces all part of the monolith of ancient times? Hard to say. The piece that Bran uses is small enough for him to carry. 

Dagon's Moor, Dagon's Meer, and Dagon's Barrow are all mentioned here as further connections to the Mythos.

"The House of Arabu" (1952)

This tale was also published as "Witch From Hell’s Kitchen" though that title doesn't do it any justice. 

This tale features Pyrrhas, who is Conan in all but name really. Our main antagonist (well...) is Lilitu (really summoned by one of Conan's, I mean Pyrrhas's enemies), she appears very much as does the Lilitu of ancient myth with her mate Ardat-Lili. Of course Ardat-lilî is also a female demon (like the same sources as Lilitu) so imagine my humor when Howard describes Ardat-Lili as male. I guess somethings were still a bridge to far when he wrote this.

There are spells and the most interesting thing to me is the Lilith - Tiamat connection. Something I have explored more on these pages. 

"Black Canaan" (1936)

Southern gothic horror meets voodoo-style witchcraft. The antagonist is Zekura, a beautiful and deadly sorceress who wields spiritual power and commands zombies. She’s both feared and revered.

Normally I don't comment on the racism of some of these tales, but this one seem a bit much even for the time. Or maybe I just know how bad it actually was. Apropos of nothing, Lovecraft thought this was one of Howard's best tales. 

"The Haunter of the Ring" (1934)

A ghostly avenger stalks the land after being wronged in life. The haunting is linked to curses and violated oaths. No witches, but damn, this feels like it could have influenced "Conjure Wife."

It does feature the Ring of Thoth-Amon, a magical artifact possessed by a spirit that can possess its wearer. A form of sympathetic magic, where the curse leaps through the ages. This ring has appeared in Conan tales before. 

"Pigeons from Hell" (1938)

Howard’s most famous horror story. Southern gothic with heavy voodoo and ghost-witch elements. A woman in the Blassenville family turned to witchcraft and exacts revenge from beyond the grave as a zuvembie. Features zombified servants and spectral appearances.

Stephen King called this Howard's finest tale.

--

So there is a lot to dig into here. Howard obviously had heard of or read Murray's Witch Cult Hypothesis, since so many of tales embrace the central themes. Where Murray saw a continuous line of ancient fertility cults in a positive light, Howard saw an ancient pre-Christian and degenerate religion honoring dark, forgotten gods. In reality both points of view are as real as the other, and both suit my purposes well.

Moll Farrell and Atla are his main "named" witches, and each serves her role well. Moll feels like a solid Sea Witch, whereas Atla is something else. I have been exploring the concept of "Dragon Witches" within a tradition I've coined the Scaled Sisterhood. I could include ideas from ancient serpent cults too. 

Again, no "Conclusion." I want to venture deeper into the tales of Kull, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn for Part 3.

Monstrous Mondays: The Monster of Censorship (Itch.io & Steam)

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

 This week’s "Monstrous Monday" post isn’t a spotlight on a new monster or a dive into old-school related myths. Instead, I will talk about something more urgent: censorship. And no, not the hand-wringing, moral-panic kind from the 1980s. I’m talking about what’s happening right now on platforms like Itch.io and Steam, where a right-wing, conservative activist group is working hard to reshape what creators are allowed to make and what audiences are allowed to see.

So let’s get some background.

Recently, Itch.io, one of the best havens for indie games, visual novels, and tabletop RPGs (including a wide range of weird, odd, and experimental content), published a troubling update. They announced new changes to their adult content policy, citing legal pressures and platform hosting concerns:

• Update on NSFW content - Itch.io

They were, as expected, dragged on Bluesky. 

Meanwhile, Steam, the world’s largest digital distribution platform for games, began removing or suppressing adult titles, including ones that had been live for years. Devs have reported de-listings, warnings, and murky policy enforcement.

• Steam Tracker: List of games no longer available on Steam (click "Changed" to sort by date)
• Steam DB: Recent Events

At the center of this firestorm is Collective Shout (no, I am not going to link), an Australian evangelical anti-porn group led by Melinda Tankard Reist. This group openly brags about pressuring Valve (the company behind Steam), and even seems to be taking credit for Itch.io’s recent clampdown.

• Collective Shout's letter to the payment processors
• Wired: Steam and Itch Are Pulling Porn Games. Devs Say It's Censorship.
• Vice (archived): Group Behind Steam Censorship Has Powerful Allies*

(*Note: this is an archived article. Collective Shout convinced Vice to remove it.)

Collective Shout brands itself as a protector of women and children, but its tactics lean toward religious authoritarianism and a disdain for anything outside its narrow moral view. And their rhetoric? Let’s just say it’s unhinged enough that it would make Jack Thompson (you know, the Godfather of Censoring Video Games) raise an eyebrow. They’ve publicly accused creators of being “pedo-gamer fetishists” and cheered on the removal of queer, kink-positive, and sex-worker-inclusive games.

• PC Gamer: “Pedo-gamer fetishists” and censorship rules

Even Yoko Taro, creator of NieR: Automata, has weighed in, calling out how this sort of censorship affects global creative freedom.

• GamesRadar: “You can even censor another country’s free speech” – Yoko Taro

Let me be 100% clear: This isn’t about “defending porn.” This is about defending expression. Games, like books, films, and zines, explore all corners of the human experience, including sexuality, trauma, queerness, kink, power dynamics, and yes, pleasure. When we allow puritanical groups with political connections to dictate what stories can be told or which creators get silenced, we all lose.

Censorship doesn’t protect anyone. It punishes the marginalized, erases nuance, and sanitizes creativity until all that’s left is bland, corporate-safe pap.

More to the point, games (and really all media) that seem to be disproportionately targeted are ones with an LGBTQI+ point of view. 

• On itch.io, payment processors, and the developers and creatives affected

I have seen Collective Shout members described as TERFs (Trans-exclusionary Radical Feminists), but I can't confirm or deny that. 

Tabletop RPGs, like the ones hosted on Itch.io, have always thrived on the edges of queer voices, indie voices, outsider art, and strange ideas. If we let these spaces get steamrolled by a group with an agenda straight out of a 1980s morality panic or a 1990s purity pledge, we risk losing not just games, but an entire movement.

We’ve fought this battle before, whether it was Tipper Gore and the PMRC, Jack Chick and his satanic panic tracts, or TSR’s late-stage moral cleanup. And we’ll fight it again. Because games are worth defending. Art is worth defending. And freedom, messy, complicated, deeply human freedom, is always worth defending.

So what can we do?

No doubt, Itch.io and Steam caved to these internet bullies, but they were not given much of an option. The real fault lies with Collective Shout and the payment processors they contacted. But they could have handled it much better. 

Obviously, going after Collective Shout is precisely what they want people to do. These types of groups thrive on this and like to show how they are really the innocents, only thinking of the children, and the rest of the world is out to get them.  So, don't give them the satisfaction. They are not protecting anyone; they are just the next level of book-banners. 

• Support creators whose work is under threat. Buy directly when you can. Leave reviews. Share links. Seriously. This is the best thing you can do to help the creators.

• Push back on platform censorship. Write to Valve and other storefronts and ask for clear, fair policies that don’t buckle to extremist pressure.

• Contact Payment Processors. Pressure works both ways.

• Stay informed about groups like Collective Shout. Know what they really stand for.

• Speak up. Silence only helps the status quo, and that is how these groups win.

• Visit. https://stopcollectiveshout.com/ to learn more.

And please. Don't try invoking the 1st Amendment here. That is about protecting American citizens against having their speech impaired by the American government. This is a global situation. 

Full Disclosure Statement: I do not have any games on Itch.io or on Steam. This doesn't affect me at all, but that is not a good reason to stay silent. 

Witchcraft Wednesday: Fane-born (Occult D&D)

 Got some game time in my oldest last night. Instead of actual playing we rolled up a bunch of characters we might try out and discussed our various takes on the Forgotten Realms. My campaign, "Into the Forgotten Realms" vs. his "It's Always Sunny in Waterdeep." There are more differences than just tone, we talked about the assumptions underlying my AD&D 1st Ed, "Into" vs his D&D 5th Ed, "Sunny."

We also talked about my ideas for "Occult D&D" a little and how we can use it for either game. 

One of the characters I worked on combined a lot of these ideas. Her name is Tarjä and she is a multi-classed witch/assassin. She is not ready for posting yet, but her species is. Tarjä is a Fane-born Witch.

The Fane-born are an idea I have been playing with, off and on, for a long time. A species similar to humans, but separate. In the DC universe, they might be called Homo magi. They are a race deeply immersed in magic. 

Fane-born

Also known as: Changelings, Hag-born, Witch-kin, Hollow-Eyed

“There are children born under broken moons, with too-wide eyes and whispers in their sleep. We call them changelings. But they call themselves Fane-born, and they remember things we were never meant to know.”

- From the Journal of Larina Nix

The Fane-born are a mysterious and eerie race of humanoids born from the tangled roots of old magic, faerie mischief, and witchcraft. Some are said to be the offspring of witches and dark spirits; others are left in mortal homes as changelings or molded from magic in long-forgotten rituals. Their presence unsettles the common folk, and they are often driven away or feared as portents of ill fortune.

Yet among witches, they are honored, or at least tolerated, as strange siblings in the arcane bloodline. They possess a natural affinity for the occult, a strong spiritual presence, and an uncanny ability to see beyond the veils of the world.

Game Statistics (AD&D 1st Edition)

Level Limits

• Witch: Unlimited
• Warlock: Unlimited
• Thief: Unlimited
• Magic-User: Based on Intelligence
• Int 13 = Level 9
• Int 14 = Level 10
• Int 15 = Level 11
• Illusionist: Based on Intelligence
• Int 14 = Level 8
• Int 15 = Level 9
• Int 16 = Level 10
• Fighter: 6
• Druid: Based on Wisdom
• Wis 12 = Level 8
• Wis 13 = Level 9
• Wis 14 = Level 10
• Wis 15 = Level 11
• Wis 16 = Level 12
• Wis 17 = Level 13
• Wis 18 = Level 14

 (Cannot be Clerics, Paladins, Rangers, or Monks)

Ability Adjustments: +1 Wisdom, +1 Charisma, -1 Constitution

 Minimum Scores: Wis 13, Cha 13

 Maximum Constitution: 17

 Alignment Tendencies: Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, or Chaotic Good

 Height/Weight: 5’2" to 5’10", 90–140 lbs.

 Age Ranges: Same as human.

Racial Abilities

Innate Spellcasting: Choose one at character creation: Detect Magic, Read Magic, or Charm Person 1/day

Uncanny Presence: +2 bonus on saving throws vs. charm, fear, or possession

Occult Intuition: Can attempt to identify magical items on a roll of 1–2 on 1d6 after 10 minutes of focused examination

Ghost Sight: Can perceive into the Ethereal Plane or overlapping Faerie realms. Allows them to see invisible or ethereal creatures to 60'.

 Languages: Gains Faerie/Sylvan/Elvish as a free language. 

Cultural Notes

Origins: Some are born to mortal witches under eclipses; others are swapped at birth by fae creatures or raised by covens. Others still can be born to human parents exposed to powerful witchcraft. 

Society: Rarely form settlements of their own. Most travel between witch circles, shrines, and isolated steads.

Appearance: Unnerving beauty or eerie awkwardness; heterochromia, white hair at birth, overly long fingers, or no reflection. Some have small horns (can be hidden with hair styles), oddly proportioned limbs, or other odd appearances that can't quite be quantified at first, but lead to an unsettled feeling. 

Reputation: Seen as cursed, unholy, or dangerous. Even when doing good, their motives are questioned.

They have a bonus to Charisma and Wisdom to reflect their personal willpower and personality, but they are treated as having a Charisma score of 2 less (-2) for the purposes of reaction roles among humans and hiring human retainers.

--

Might tweak this some more as we play. Going to also convert them to 5e for my son's game. 

Happy Anniversary to me and my wife!

 No post today. Celebrating my 30-year anniversary! Wild that I have been married for 30 years. 

Here is my Facebook post for it. 

Mutants & Masterminds Monday, Part 2!

 I opened up my BlueSky to a real treat this afternoon!

Steve Kenson, the creator of Mutants & Masterminds, saw my post from earlier today and offered his version of Larina for the soon-to-be-released Mutants & Masterminds 4! I mean, really? How awesome is that? 

Here is what he did.

Nix the Witch Queen

Abilities • 40 points
Strength 0, Stamina 2, Agility 2, Intellect 5, Awareness 6, Presence 5 

Skills • 20 points
Insight 4 (+10), Investigation 5 (+10), Magic 7 (+12), Perception 6 (+12), Persuasion 6 (+11), Ranged Combat: Witchcraft 4 (+10), Stealth 4 (+6), Technology 2 (+7), Treatment 2 (+7)

Advantages • 6 points

Connected, Contacts, Fearless, Evasion, Improvised Effect: Magic, Well-Informed

Powers • 67 points

Warding Sigils: Array (6 points) • 11 points

• DAE – Sigil of Deflection: Enhanced Dodge 6
• DAE – Sigil of Fortitude: Enhanced Fortitude 6
• DAE – Sigil of Will: Enhanced Will 6

Witchcraft: Array (21 points) • 34 points

• DAE – Divination: Enhanced Senses 10: Detect Magic, Acute, Analytical, Ranged; Postcognition 3; Precognition 3
• DAE – Glamour: Hallucination 7
• DAE – Levitation: Flight 10
• DAE – Part the Veil: Teleport 5, Accurate, Extended
• DAE – Spellbind: Ranged Paralyze 10, Accurate
• DAE – Witchfire Bolt: Blast 10, Accurate
• DAE – Witchfire Ward: Protection 10, Hardened, Sustained

Witch’s Familiar: Summon 4: Cotton the Cat: Use the 20-point Cat archetype plus Insubstantial 4; Continuous, Heroic, Mental Link; Enhanced Danger Sense, Enhanced Insight 2, Enhanced Perception 2 for Nix • 22 points

Combat • 28 points

Initiative +2, Attack 6, Defense 8

Resistances • 6 points

Dodge 8/14, Fortitude 7/13, Toughness 2/12, Will 7/13

(base rank/maximum rank with power effects)

Complications

Motivation: Responsibility – Uses her powers to protect and guide those who are Gifted or lost in the veil.

Enemies – The Necromancer and the Refrigerator

Power Loss: Spellcasting – Incantations and gestures are required for spellcasting. If unable to do either, Nix cannot use powers.

Relationship: Cotton – Her familiar is bound to her soul; if destroyed, Larina’s Will is Impaired for a day.

Reputation – Known in mystical circles; feared by some, worshipped by others.

Secret – Her knowledge of other worlds and timelines is dangerous to certain factions.

Notes

This is Nix based on how Tim presented her for M&M 3e. Were I Tim’s GM, I’d ask if having Nix’s Mystic Shield and Flight in her Witchcraft Array was preferred to having them as independent powers she could use at all times, although either is a perfectly viable option. A few particular conversion notes:

The playtest draft doesn’t use 3e’s Dexterity or Fighting abilities, although the Attack ability subsumes some of their functions.

Nix’s skills are largely unchanged, apart from replacing Expertise with the Magic skill.

Advantages not present in the playtest draft were removed, so there’s definitely room to add some additional ones. Improved Effect replaces Ritualist. She might qualify for Fearless 2 rather than just 1 rank (1 is now Resistance, 2 is Immunity). Nix’s is a great candidate for the Impressive Superiority or Instant Counter reaction advantages, or replacing her Attractive ranks with more interaction skill ranks. Second Chance could be replaced with Resistance to Mental Powers (5 points) or Resistance to Will Effects (15 points).

I assumed all of her Array Alternate Effects were Dynamic; which gives her a lot of flexibility, albeit a lot to juggle and manage in the midst of play as well.

This version of Nix is 167 points total, just a few over the PL 11 starting amount, and a bit low for PL 13, but her listed traits only hit the PL 12 limits, and even that only because of her max Dodge + Toughness: Her resistances can’t all be at their maximum at the same time because they’re Dynamic Alternate Effects.

Compare and contrast Nix with the Origin Edition Mystic archetype for some similarities and differences!

I mean, how can I argue with any of that? 

When the Origin Edition draft for Mutants & Masterminds Fourth Edition is out next week and the full game is out later on, I'll come back to her and see. 

Yes. This is going to be a lot of fun. Hey, does this mean that Larina has been visiting Freedom City? I am looking forward to hearing what she did there.

Mutants & Masterminds Monday

 Something a little special today. ‪Steve Kenson of Green Ronin announced on BlueSky and YouTube that there will be a new edition of his best-selling Superhero RPG, Mutants & Masterminds. I have long been a fan of this game. It also seems timely since we are now ushering in a new DC Universe on the big screen. Ever since Green Ronin had published DC Adventures as their lead-up to M&M 3.0, I have been tying my own Mutants & Masterminds games more directly to the DC Universe.  

It has been 15 years since M&M was updated, and even a couple of years ago, I was asking for a new edition. So a new edition is long overdue. I am excited about it.  

The Hero Handbook will be the first book out and there will be a quickstart/playtest version out soon and a limited print run for Gen Con.

Honestly, it could not come at a better time. Like many RPG publishers, Green Ronin is getting screwed over in the Diamond Bankruptcy filing. 

I have been writing about and working on so much "Occult D&D" lately, I have not really had the bandwidth for any supers thoughts, that's one of the reasons why my "Countdown to Superman" posts were just movie reviews and not character write-ups as well. BTW if you want fun write-ups check out Pun's posts over at Halls of the Nephilim. 

I had a lot of fun exploring the Atlantean roots of Larina on Friday. I pulled out her M&M sheets and thought maybe I should update her. Afterall Steve Kenson is a witch, and Green Ronin recently re-released their 3rd Era/d20/OGL "Witch's Handbook" one of my favorite witch books, also by Steve Kenson. I have stats here for her for Prowlers & Paragons, Mighty Protectors, Superbabes, and DC Heroes.  This might give me more ways to explore A.R.T.E.M.I.S. as well.  

Larina Nichols aka "Nix the Witch"
(Mutants & Masterminds 2.0)

Concept: Multiversal Witch, Protector of the Gifted 
 Identity: Secret
 Power Level: 11
 Power Points: 165

Abilities

Strength: 10 (+0)

Dexterity: 12 (+1)

Constitution: 12 (+1)

Intelligence: 20 (+5)

Wisdom: 18 (+4)

Charisma: 20 (+5)

Saves

Toughness: +8 (+1 Con, +7 Force Field)
Fortitude: +6 (+1 Con, +5 base)
Reflex: +6 (+1 Dex, +5 base)
Will: +12 (+4 Wis, +8 base)

Combat

Initiative: +3

Base Attack: +4

Ranged (Magic Blast): +8

Melee (Dagger): +4

Defense: 20/14

Hero Points: 1

Movement Base 30 / 60 /120

Skills

Bluff +13 (8 ranks)
Concentration +12 (8 ranks)
Diplomacy +12 (8 ranks)
Gather Information +8 (4 ranks)
Knowledge (Arcane Lore) +20 (16 ranks)
Knowledge (Behaviorial Sciences) +12 (8 ranks
Knowledge (Current Events) +12 (8 ranks)
Knowledge (Theology/Philosophy) +13 (8 ranks)
Notice +12 (8 ranks)
Sense Motive +12 (8 ranks)
Search +13 (8 ranks)

Feats

All-out Attack
Artificer
Attractive (2)
Attack Specialization (1)
Connected
Contacts
Fearless
Dodge Focus
Ritualist
Second Chance (Will saves vs mental effects)
Well-Informed

Powers

Magic Control Array (22 PP, Dynamic)
   Magic-based powers linked through versatile casting

Mystic Blast – Damage 10 [Ranged, Magic descriptor]
   Power Feats: Accurate 2 (+4 to hit), Dynamic

Glamour – Illusion 6 [All senses]
   Concentration, Resist: Will, Dynamic

Witchfire Ward – Force Field 7 (Sustained)
   Power Feats: Subtle, Dynamic

Spellbind – Paralyze 8 (Will save, Magic)
   Extras: Ranged; Flaws: Action (Standard), Dynamic

Divination – Super-Senses 6 (Postcognition, Precognition, Detect Magic – Ranged/Accurate/Acute)

Teleport (Mirror Walk) – Teleport 6 (600 ft)
   Extras: Accurate, Extended; Flaws: Medium (mirror or water), Dynamic

Familiar: Cotton (8 PP)

Summon 3 – Small incorporeal white cat
  Heroic
  Extras: Mental Link, Feature: Danger Sense (for Larina), +2 to Notice/Sense Motive when nearby
  Cotton may take Independent actions to warn or investigate

Complications

Motivation (Responsibility): Feels a duty to protect young witches and the magically gifted
Enemies: The Necromancer, The Refrigerator
Fame/Infamy: Known in occult and supernatural circles; mistrusted by certain agencies
Power Loss: Incantations and gestures required for spellcasting

Notes: I combined about three different write-ups here for her. I like her starting at PL 11, a nice nod to her stats in AD&D when I wrote my first Witch books (Magic-user 1/Witch 10 dual class). 

---

Larina Nicohols aka "Nix the Witch Queen"
(Mutants & Masterminds 3.0)

Concept: Multiversal Witch, Protector of the Gifted 
 Identity: Secret
 Power Level: 13
 Power Points: 197 (2 over)

Strength 0
Stamina 2
Agility 2
Dexterity 2
Fighting 3
Intellect 5
Awareness 6
Presence 5

Skills
Athletics  (+0), Deception  (+5), Expertise: Occult 7 (+12), Expertise: Magic 7 (+12), Insight 4 (+10), Intimidation  (+5), Investigation 5 (+10), Perception 6 (+12), Persuasion 6 (+11), Stealth 4 (+6), Technology 2 (+7), Treatment 2 (+7)

Advantages
All-out Attack, Artificer, Attractive 2, Connected, Contacts, Fearless, Evasion 1, Ritualist, Second Chance 1, Well-Informed, Accurate Attack [Arcane Blast]

Offense
Initiative +2

Defense
Dodge 14, Parry 7
Toughness 12 (Def Roll 0), Fortitude 13, Will 13

Powers

Witchraft (Magic)
     Witchfire Blast: Blast 10 [Accurate]
     Alt: Mystic Shield: Protection 10
     Alt: Part the Veil: Teleport 4
     Alt: Divination: Senses 6
     Alt: Binding Curse : Affliction 8
     Alt: Glamour : Illusion 6
     Alt: Call Familiar (Cotton): Summon 4
     Alt: Fly: Flight 7

Warding Sigils
     Warding Sigils - Dodge: Enhanced Dodge 6
     Alt: Warning Sigils - Fortitude: Enhanced Fortitude 6
     Alt: Warning Sigils - Will: Enhanced Will 6

Second Sight
     Second Sight: Senses 6

Familiar: Cotton
     Familiar - Cotton: Summon 4

Complications
Motivation: Responsibility – Uses her power to protect and guide those who are Gifted or lost in the veil
Fame/Infamy – Known in mystical circles; feared by some, worshipped by others
Power Loss (Silenced) – Incantation and gestures are required for spellcasting
Relationship: Cotton – Her familiar is bound to her soul; if destroyed, Larina suffers a -2 to all Will-based effects for 24 hours
Uncovered Secret – Her knowledge of other worlds and timelines is dangerous to certain factions
Enemy: The Necromancer, The Refrigerator

Notes: For 3rd edition, I bumped up her PL to 13.  I figured she gained some power.  Again this is the combination of about two or three (one was a version of the other, so 2.5) different versions of her. The two different editions are not continuous versions of her, but rather what I wanted to do at the time. 

That is one of the strengths of M&M, you can build a character so many different ways. That's one of the reasons I have so many different versions of her. 

Mutants & Masterminds 4.0 should be fun as well and I am really looking forward to it.

Fantasy Fridays: Atlantis The Second Age

 Today's game is not something I am proposing as a D&D replacement, which is interesting given the game and the history of the games that led up to it. I was thinking about it after going through the Barbarians of Lemuria RPG a bit ago. These two games, though, are a good addition to your current Fantasy games. And maybe, for the right table, it is the game they need.

Atlantis: The Second Age

Morrigan Press Edition, 2005, 411 pages
Khepera Publishing Edition, 2014, 368 pages

Atlantis: The Second Age, both versions, is the spiritual successor of the classic Atlantean Trilogy and Talislanta by Bard Games, which, of course, were developed after the Complete Adventurer, Spellcaster, and Alchemist books.  Those books were written to be used with "any fantasy role-playing game," but the obvious choice was AD&D 1st Edition. 

The book is titled “Atlantis, the Second Age,” so it is Atlantis, after the Flood. A bit odd, but I’ll go with it. Plenty of information on the world, and despite the name, you could run it as a pre-flood/pre-sinking Atlantean empire. Tons of new races, spells, and magic, all pulled from the old Bard Games books and a variant of Talislanta’s rules. If you've played Talislanta before, you'll feel right at home especially since this is a spiritual descendant. 

The game uses the Omni System for the 2005 edition and the Omega System for the 2014 edition. I'll get to the Omni System after a bit, but both are very similar to each other. The systems are similar to True20, and can be used in conjunction with True20 with some adjustments. Well. Some radical adjustments, but it can be done. For a bit in 2005 I tried a short Atlantis based game using True20, it worked out well. 

The 2005 edition was originally published by Morrigan Press and is the one I was most familiar with. Though here on out I'll focus mostly on the 2005 Morrigan Press version, with bits from the Khepera Edition as they come up. Khepera Publishing, which is Jerry D. Grayson, published the revised and updated edition in 2014. Both editions are now published by Khepera Publishing. 

Atlantis

Let’s start with the world, because that’s the real star here. This is mythic prehistory, a time before the oceans swallowed everything, when man fought serpent-men and sorcerers whispered to gods that had no names.  These are set in the Atlantean Age world, which is similar to the Hyborian Age, but maybe a bit before it. It has a solid Conan-esque feel to it. Except there are a lot of non-human species here. 

Think Conan, but written by Clark Ashton Smith and Michael Moorcock and published in Heavy Metal.

What I like about this game is the Greco-Egyptian feel to this world. Obviously, this is due to the stories and tales of Atlantis. It also feels like a world out of mythology. If you never play this game, the background is something I keep coming back to time and again. I recall reading the Morrigan Press edition while holding my oldest son when he was a baby.  The Khepera edition is an improvement over the Morrigan Press edition, but both are great. There are enough differences between the games to warrant discussing them as different games, but enough similarities that I am keeping them together. The setting remains the same, and the basics of the rules are sufficiently similar.

Background

The game begins with a background familiar to many who have played D&D or read any of the Appendix N books. It is a Mythic Age before recorded history in a world that looks like ours. As I mentioned above it has a solid Conan/Pulp feel to it. Ophidians are the bad guys at the start of this and can be an ongoing threat. I also can't help but get a little Edgar Rice Burroughs / Mars feel from this. Lots of different species/races all living on the same planet. It feels like a Conan game, only with more Greco-Egyptian elements.

The 2005 Morrigan Press version has more background on the geography of the world, a little more than half the book to be honest. For this reason, it makes it a good buy if you want to play in this Atlantean world. The 2014 Khepera version has more historical background and a good timeline of events. 

The games are set up in similar fashions. Choose your background, race/species, and then select either a profession with some skills (Morrigan) or a set of skills with a profession (Khepera). Both get you the same places in the end. If you are familiar with the old Arcanum books, then you know what sorts of "classes" and species you have choices of.  While there are professions/classes of sorts, it is skills that really define what your character can do. 

The species, in particular the Andaman, are particularly fun. The Ahl-At-Rab make for a very playable Lizard Man species and this might even be the origins of my Saurian-Ophidian war in my current games. Feels right even if I can't fully recall it.  An aside: This is one of the main reasons I enjoy revisiting these older games; it's the memories they stir up in me. 

Of note. The 2005 Morrigan Press edition does have Elves and Dwarves. The 2014 Khepera Publishing one drops them in favor of focusing more on the unique species of the lines and adding the "First Born" the Djinn. All of these can be ported over to your favorite D&D-like with little effort. 

The Khepera Publishing version has their "Walk Life Paths," which help define who your character is since you are already starting out as a hero among normal humans. It is quite interesting to be honest, and easily adaptable to pretty much any game. 

Magic

While there are magical professions, there are also magical traditions. Witchcraft is one, as are shamans and practitioners of the Dark Arts. Both games have you build your spells based on the different Modes of spellcraft, and some traditions are better and worse at some modes than others. It this sounds a little like Mage and their spheres then you have the right idea, though it is not as complicated as that. 

It can be a dynamic system, and there are some example spells to get you going.

Omni & Omega Systems

The system for each is similar. Close enough that broad strokes will suffice. Both are d20-based systems. Roll a d20 add modifiers from abilities and skills, look for a target number. I mentioned they are both very similar to True20 in this respect since all you need really is a single d20. 

The Omega system has characters that are slightly more powerful than a standard normal person. So more powerful than say a 1st level AD&D character, but maybe not as powerful as a 1st level D&D 5e character. The Omega system also features a lifepath system that helps to flesh out a character's background, providing them with a history and motivations from the outset. This also informs how your character moves forward, or maybe a better phrasing is how they could possibly move forward since the options are still up to the player.

Both systems, though, are easy to pick up. Morrigan Press still sells the Omni System as a separate generic system. 

Larina Nix for Atlantis: The Second Age

A dedicated witch tradition and a funky magic system? You know I am going to try that out. Though stating up Larina for an Atlantean game is really not a stretch. Back in college, in the last days of AD&D 1st ed, I ran an off-and-on "Atlantean" campaign. I would later supplement the lore with bits from the Talislanta RPG that was released later (90s). It was largely divorced from my high school game, except at two points. First, my necromancer "Big Bad" Magnus was there before he turned completely evil.  It was in a sense his big origin story. Additionally, the "very first" incarnation of Larina was also there. While her first version was my AD&D 1st ed version, I was coming up with the idea that she was reincarnated many times, and her first incarnation was a priestess or witch who died when Atlantis sank below the waves. I do not recall if I ever had Magnus and Larina meet in Atlantis. Nor even if I ever had planned them to meet. Magnus was always more an enemy of the Werpers and the occasional ally of my assassin. Magnus and Larina knew of each other in AD&D and beyond, but she avoided him. 

So yeah, I really just took a lot of late 70s Atlantic Lore about psychic powers, energy crystals, an episode of In Search Of, a cheesy documentary I had watched in the early 80s, and the Doctor Who episode The Time Monster. A heady brew to be sure.  The point is, if there was questionable scholarship about any sort of occult topic, I was going to try and add it to my games and somehow, somewhere, one of my witches was going to be there. 

Working through the character creation was a lot of fun and really shows where the  2014 Khepera edition grew. It also highlighted the similarities and the differences of the two systems. To be fair the differences are subtle and you could play either system and switch to the other with only a few problems. The differences are akin to Basic D&D and Advanced D&D 1st ed. My opinion that both games would work well together still stands. Each has something to offer the other. 

I don't remember everything about Atlantean Larina. I knew she was not an Atlantean native. I was using my own experience of going away to college to say she had also left her home to study magic at Atlantis. So I kept that bit and said she comes from Alba (England/Scotland). As I was generating her stats I opted to have her at age 25 for the 2014 Khepera edition and 35 for the 2005 Morrigan Press edition. I used 35 because that is how old I was when I originally created her stats for the Morrigan Press edition. I do remember she was in Atlantis when it finally sank beneath the sea, and she died with everyone else. Hey, death is a part of the life-death-rebirth cycle, and no one knows that better in my worlds than witches. 

I am taking scans of her sheets to show what they look like. I particularly like the 2014 Khepera version. It is colorful and there are page numbers on the sheet to help find where the rules for that section are. That is a rather nice touch. Click to see larger.

Khepera Publishing (2014), Larina age 25

Morrigan Press (2005), Larina age 35

I am rather happy with these. I have filled out everything, but you certainly can get the idea. She would be a good witch in this game. I am going to say in the 10 years she has been in Atlantis, she has picked up more skills and the Astrology and High Sorcery traditions of magic work. This is a subtle nod to the crazy 70s and 80s "documentaries" I watch on Atlantis, the Bermuda Triangle, and related topics. 

Given the image I created (thank you, Hero Forge!) I think that the Orichalcum pentagram she is carrying must be important. Maybe a quest for a different incarnation of Larina.

Who Should Play This Game?

There is not much here that can't be found in other games, really. Nearly every Conan game does something similar, and Wasted Lands does the best job of all. BUT that is not a reason for you not to play. Some fun things are going on in this game. The 210+ pages of geography in the Morrigan Press edition are engaging, and the history and backstory in the Khepera Publishing edition are also great. Together, they create a compelling world. 

The system is easy to learn and flexible enough for most gamers. 

Essentially, I have been using them both, along with my Bard Games Atlantis books and The Arcanum as another campaign world for D&D. This was my campaign world in the last years of the 1980s when I first went off to college. Both Larina and Magnus were prominent NPCs in that campaign. 

No one will leave D&D 5e for this system. But I can see people coming from 3e or even 1st ed to give it a try. 

Khepera Publishing has quite a few products for their version and the Morrigan Press one. I am still a fan of the Atlantis: Bestiary, even if it is full of creatures I have seen many times over. 

Both games are excellent Sword & Sorcery games of the old cloth. They were criminally underrated when they were new, and that is more true now. 

The Morrigan Press edition is largely a Fantasy Heartbreaker, albeit one with a good history and an interesting idea. The Khepera Publishing one elevates into something else above a heartbreaker.

It has been a decade since the last edition of this game came out, and from what I can tell, it is still supported. 

This one would be fun to see an update for, especially if Jerry D. Grayson continues the evolution of the game. In fact, I think we are overdue for an update.

Links

Khepera Publishing

• Main website
• Atlantis section
• DriveThruRPG
• Facebook
• Twitter/X