Returning to Jackson, IL: Midwest Murder Mystery!

 My wife and I re-watched all of Stranger Things last month. I had forgotten how much I really enjoyed it. It also got me thinking about my setting for NIGHT SHIFT (or any other modern horror RPG) Jackson, IL. 

One of the great things about my Jackson, IL project is I get to involve some of the best occult and weird-things investigators I know; my brothers and sisters. 

Seriously. I talk about all the monsters my mom gives me all the time and all the bad horror movies I watched with my dad. Well, think of the stuff I write and now times that by five. We have this huge discussion thread that has been going for a while now where we talk about all the weird shit that went on in the town we grew up in. Even right now they are still at it while I am typing this and trying to stay caught up. 

I'd better get some of this all down here before they provide me with another year's worth of posts.

Up first is an Urban Legend I remember as a kid. This rumor involved a small Midwest town with two smaller colleges and how an axe murderer, or serial killer, or deranged student, was going to kill some students in the girls dorm.

Here is one article I was able to find that covers it. It never mentions any town by name, but my old home town fit all the criteria, as did a few others. 

Here is my revised version for Jackson, IL for use with NIGHT SHIFT and using my Weirdly World News introduced in the Night Companion. 

--

MIDWEST MURDER MYSTERY!

The Jackson College Prediction

As Told Since the Late 1970s

The story has been circulating around Jackson College for as long as anyone can remember, though every retelling changes a detail or two. It all begins with an article, if it ever truly existed, in a fringe tabloid called Weirdly World News.

No one has ever found a copy.

No librarians have ever seen it.

No archive lists it.

And yet, somehow, everyone has heard about it.

The Alleged Article

According to the rumor, Weirdly World News once ran a short, breathless piece claiming that a well-known psychic, sometimes named, sometimes not, foretold a tragedy in:

“a small Midwestern town with two colleges or twin campuses, where one women’s dormitory faces to the south and another to the west.”

That was the entire identifying description.

No town was named.

No state was noted.

No dates were provided beyond a cryptic warning:

“The danger comes due in a spring month with five Thursdays.”

Everyone remembers that part clearly, even if they disagree on everything else.

Why the Legend Stuck

Naturally, the description was generic enough to apply to more than one place in the Midwest… but it also matched Jackson, Ill, a little too closely for comfort.

The both campuses in town had women’s dorms. And in the murky, grainy way old buildings are remembered, it is easy to see one dorm as “facing south” and the other “facing west,” depending on which entrance a person uses or which direction the old architecture leans.

This vagueness kept the rumor alive.

The resemblance to Jackson kept it fed.

Spring Months With Five Thursdays

The legend only resurfaces during years when a spring month, March, April, or May, contains five Thursdays. Students whisper about it in the cafeteria. Professors jokingly warn their classes to “stay safe.” Campus security quietly increases patrols, though nobody ever admits it.

Some upperclassmen swear their older siblings heard the same warnings a decade earlier.

Some claim the psychic predicted:

a stabbing

an axe

a faceless figure

a student “losing control”

Others insist the warning was far more symbolic, mentioning only “moon-dark corridors” or “the hour of the fifth.”

All of this contradicts.

All of it circulates.

The Vanishing Article

Every few years, someone tries to track down the original Weirdly World News issue. Every few years, they fail.

Some say the tabloid never printed the article.

Some claim the article was retracted.

Some insist it existed only as a single teaser in the back pages of a spring edition.

A few swear their aunt or an older neighbor once had a copy taped to a fridge.

But when pressed, no one has ever been able to produce one.

What Actually Happened

Of course nothing.

No attacks, no tragedies, no unexplained disappearances.

And yet, each new generation of students tells the story again whenever a spring month carries a fifth Thursday… as if the warning might finally stick, or the shadowed threat might finally step out from where it has been waiting, just off the page, just past the edge of memory.

Jackson remains quiet each year.

But the legend, and the fear, continues.

--

Game Masters Note

Of course, the article is real in the Jackson, Ill, universe. And it will turn up, when the prediction starts to come true.

Mapping the Blogosphere - My Corner

 If you have not seen it, there is a great mapping of many of the popular OSR blogs put together by Elmcat. I found it via JB at B/X Blackrazor, who in turn found it from James at Grognardia.

The map is based on linking, so if a blog doesn't link out to others or is not linked to, then its presence on this map is less. There are various clusters of blogs that are closer together than others. I am out in a region known as "Community 4."

There is a lot of value in this map, and I am quite impressed at the Herculean effort put forth here. 

The ability to see growth and decline over the years is rather amazing. I guess 2016 was a banner year here at The Other Side. Maybe I should go back and reread some of those posts!

The ability to see who links to you is great. Maybe they are praising your blog? Maybe they hate it!  It appears I link to a lot of "bigger blogs" (naturally, that is why they are bigger), but there are also a lot of lesser-known (to me) blogs linking to me. I am going to make an effort to link back to those blogs more. This includes blogs like Seed of Worlds, who is my top linker. As one commenter (@farmergadda.bsky.social) said, "We (bloggers) have GOT to get sluttier (link more)." 

While I feel we, OSR Bloggers, are a community as a whole, there are obvious sub-communities. In statistics and research design, we have a tool called Cluster Analysis. This is not that, not exactly, but we can draw some similar ideas from it. Namely, that various clusters have more similarity within than between. And these clusters can have themes or names. I don't think I'll offer up any names for these clusters, some are obvious. For example, the blogs in Grognardia's orbit tend to be more classical old-school, playing by the book or how Gary intended it, sort of blogs. The mini-cluster I am in tends to be old-school, but with a twist. There are a few blogs nearby that also add more elements, like horror, to their games. But that is a massive over-generalization.

It is all rather fascinating and a reminder that even while I am sitting on my own typing away at whatever nonsense comes up in my mind, I am not really out there alone am I? It's like the Police song "Message in a Bottle,"  "it seems I am not alone at being alone." Well, I never felt alone, but it is nice to be part of something larger.

Hopefully, we can use this data and excellent work by Elmcat to improve our community. 

To that end. Here are the top 10 blogs linking to me:

1. Seed of Worlds
2. THOUGHT EATER
3. Wasted Lands: The Official Blog of Elf Lair Games
4. B／X BLACKRAZOR
5. Dreams of Mythic Fantasy
6. Dungeon Fantastic
7. Tenkar's Tavern
8. CROSS PLANES
9. OLD Elf Lair Games Blog
10. Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal

The top 10 Blogs I Can't Believe I Have Never Linked To:

1. Age of Dusk
2. Numbers Aren't Real
3. Rise Up Comus
4. A Knight at the Opera
5. Ars Ludi
6. Whose Measure God Could Not Take
7. Throne of Salt
8. Coins and Scrolls
9. Goblin Punch
10. BASTIONLAND

I could probably keep doing this all day. But that is good for now. Will check more later on.

Magic Backlash!

Photo by Dima Valkov

Or,  Biting off more than you can chew, magically speaking.

In the AD&D rules (and really most D&D variants), a spellcaster can't cast a spell above their prescribed levels. As a rule of thumb, this is often a spell level of half their caster level. There are variations across classes and editions, but this is sufficient for today's discussion.

But what happens when a spellcaster tries to cast a spell of a higher level?

The 1st Edition DMG has some rules on pages 127-128 on scroll reading and failure, but nothing as far as I have found on similar rules for spellbooks. I am sure someone, somewhere, has said with all the authority a Rule Lawyer can muster that "I Shall Not Be Done!" and then quote something that someone else said somewhere else. Frankly, that is myopic and doesn't serve the players well. 

So let me see if I understand the logic here...a group of adventurers are going to risk life, limb, possiblly even their immortal souls and sanity, for a chance of gold and glory. But reading a spell of slightly too high a level is verboten? No. I don't think so. Granted, it should come with consequences.

Here some rules I have been picking at. They supersede the ones found in the DMG.

Casting Higher Level Spells

A spellcaster is typically prohibited from casting spells to which they have no mastery of. Higher level spellcasting is the domain of higher level spellcasters and the untrained mind can not recall the information adequately to even attempt a spellcasting, that is even when they can understand the arcane or occult formulae at all.

But there are times, dire times, in which a spellcaster might want to attempt the dangerous casting of a spell to which they have no knowledge or skill of. This maybe attempted by reading a scroll or directly from a spellbook. There is a high chance of spell failure, and a chance of unintended and catastrophic results. There is also a chance that the spell works as intended and desired. This could be the difference between life and death, or a fate even worse.

To determine the chance of success, start with the Caster level.

Roll under chance of Success on d%.

Base Chance of Success = 5% per level

Table: Spell Casting Modifiers

Situation	Modifier
Spell is of caster's own class list	+10%
Spell is of allied Witch tradition (Classical, Craft of the Wise, etc.)	+5%
Spell belongs to a related arcane class (Magic-User ↔ Illusionist)	-5%
Spell belongs to a related occult class (Witch ↔ Warlock)	-10%
Spell belongs to an entirely different class (Divine/Cleric/Druid/etc.)	-15%
Spell is 1 level above caster's maximum	+5%
Spell is 2 or more levels above caster’s maximum	+10% per spell level
Spell of opposing alignment/Patron	-25%
Spell of opposing school (arcane only)	-10%

01 always succeeds.

00 (100) always triggers a Major Backlash (roll twice on the d100 table).

Failure results are detailed in the tables below. Scrolls and Spellbooks use different tables. Any casting, success, failure, or otherwise, results in the destruction of the spell being used.

Table: Scroll Spell Failure / Minor Backlash

d100	Result
01–20	Fizzle: Spell fails harmlessly; scroll turns to ash.
21–25	Harmless Surge: Hair stands on end; tiny sparks fly. No damage.
26–30	Minor Burn: Caster takes 1d4 damage.
31–33	Flashblind: Caster blinded for 1d4 rounds.
34–36	Reversed Spell: Effect targets caster.
37–40	Wild Targeting: The spell affects a random creature within 30 ft.
41–43	Spell Fragment: Only the first or last portion of the spell manifests (DM choice).
44–46	Partial Success: Spell works at half-strength, half duration, or half area.
47–49	Echo: The spell takes effect 1d4 rounds later.
50–52	Arcane Whiplash: Caster cannot cast spells for 1d3 rounds.
53–55	Magic Drain: Lose one randomly chosen prepared spell (or witch spell-slot) for the day.
56–58	Item Flare: A magic item worn must save vs. Spells or malfunction once.
59–60	Sour Ink: A random scroll in caster’s possession corrodes (save or be ruined).
61–63	Spirit Attention: A minor invisible spirit observes for 1 turn; 10% chance it interferes.
64–66	Vermin Sign: Normal vermin swarm briefly; 10% chance of ruining random gear or potions.
67–69	Etheric Disruption: All spellcasting within 10 ft suffers –2 to initiative for 1 turn.
70–72	Foul Omen: Caster takes –1 on all rolls for 1 hour.
73–75	Spell Echoes Elsewhere: The spell manifests 100–1000 ft away at random.
76–78	Vitality Leak: Caster loses 1d3 points of Constitution for 1 turn (fatigue aura).
79–81	Arcane Whip: Caster is knocked prone.
82–84	Shadow Flicker: Something mimics the caster’s shadow for 1 turn. Harmless but unsettling.
85–87	Planar Draft: A chill wind blows from nowhere; undead within 1 mile sense the caster.
88–90	Fail + Attract Minor Monster: Equivalent to a random monster roll.
91–95	Arcane Pulse: 1d6 damage to all creatures within 10 ft (save half).
96–99	Severe Shock: Caster stunned 1d4 rounds; lose 1d3 prepared spells.
100	Catastrophic: Roll once on the Major Backlash Table below.

Table: Spellbook Spell Failure / Major Backlash

d100	Result
01–05	Psychic Burn: 1d6 damage per spell level attempted; stunned 1 round.
06–08	Arcane Fever: –2 to all rolls, no spellcasting for 24 hours.
09–10	Witch-Marking: A permanent visible magical mark appears; –1 Charisma.
11–13	Memory Leak: Lose 1 prepared spell of each level. Highest levels first.
14–15	Reversal Cascade: Every beneficial effect on the caster reverses for 1 turn.
16–18	Wild Elemental Surge: Take 1d8 acid, cold, fire, or lightning damage (random).
19–21	Voice of the Spirits: Caster hears whispers for 1d6 hours. -2 on all rolls
22–24	Spirit Intrusion: Attempted possession (save vs. Spells or controlled 1d6 rounds).
25–27	Fates Displeasure: –1 to saving throws for 24 hours; omen appears.
28–30	Arcane Wound: Permanent –1 Constitution unless cured by heal, wish, or witch ritual.
31–33	Temporal Skip: Caster vanishes for 1d4 rounds and reappears confused for 1 round.
34–35	Spell Implosion: Lose all prepared spells of the highest level available.
36–37	Mana Scour: Drop to 0 spells; cannot cast for 12 hours. Spells return.
38–39	Grimoire Corruption: A spell in the caster’s book becomes unusable for 1 day. (Divine reroll)
40–41	Pain Curse: For 24 hours, all damage dealt to the caster is increased by +1 per die.
42–44	Aura Taint: Detect Magic/Good/Evil shows the caster as a random alignment for 1 day.
45–47	Attract Lesser Demon/Spirit (DM chooses): Negotiation may be required.
48–49	Blood Price: Lose 1d4 Strength for 24 hours.
50–52	Summoning Echo: A random outsider peers through briefly; 5% chance it steps through.
53–55	Arcane Feedback: Caster and all within 10 ft take 2d6 damage (save half).
56–57	Magic Reversal: The spell goes off but affects the absolute worst possible target.
58–59	Astral Flicker: Caster is partially astral for 1 turn; incorporeal but cannot act.
60–61	Possessed Insight: Gain a vision of the future, but also take 2d6 psychic damage.
62–63	Hexblight: Caster cannot benefit from magical healing for 24 hours.
64–65	Nightmare Veil: The next time the caster sleeps, they suffer a draining dream (lose 1d6 hp).
66–67	Witchfire Backlash: Caster burns with blue flame; take 1d6 damage and frighten nearby animals.
68–69	Feral Mind: –4 Intelligence and –4 Wisdom for 1 hour.
70–72	Undead Attraction: The nearest undead (within 1 mile) senses and seeks the caster.
73–74	Patron Claim (Occult only): The Patron asks a service (within 1 week). Refusal imposes -2 to all rolls. (Arcane/Divine reroll)
75–76	Contagion of Chaos: 10% chance for each magic effect within 30 ft to misfire.
77–78	Spell-Eater Aura: For 1 hour, any spell cast within 10 ft automatically fails.
79–80	Dimensional Shudder: Teleportation near caster is impossible for 1 day.
81–82	Grave Chill: Caster’s touch deals 1 cold damage per hit die for 10 minutes.
83–84	Shadow Doppelganger: A hostile shadow-copy of the caster manifests (HD = caster level –2).
85–87	Blood-Ink Words: Any further spellcasting today causes 1 hp damage per spell level.
88–89	Wards Collapse: Any magical protections on caster immediately expire.
90–91	Forbidden Knowledge: Gain a secret insight (DM chooses) but take 2 permanent hp loss.
92–93	Cataclysmic Surge: 3d6 force damage in 20 ft radius; save half.
94–95	Deathly Pallor: Caster appears undead to detection spells for 1 week.
96–97	Spellstorm: Roll a random spell of each level the caster can cast; all activate at once.
98–99	Arcane Rupture: Caster must save vs. Death Magic or die (success = 3d10 damage).
100	Grand Catastrophe: Roll twice more; both effects apply; the attempted spell explodes violently. Spellbook destroyed.

Any roll that results in an ability being reduced to 0 or below results in the death of the caster. Saving throw vs Death will instead place the caster in a coma until they are restored.

--

With the chances of death, destruction, and the potential loss of an entire spellbook, it is easy to see why many spellcasters treat casting higher level spells as something "they just can't do."

Attacked! By a Python!

Posting is likely to be a bit sporadic for a bit.

I started a new job and while I have expertise in SAS, SPSS, Statistica, and enough knowledge of R to get me into real trouble. My new gig needs me to know Python.

Like yesterday.

So I am battling a Python today.

I'll figure it out. 

Monstrous Mondays: Wyrdcat

Carla Bosteder from Pixabay

 I am working on another piece of something that may or may not involve my "The One Who Remains."  Think of this as a warm-up sketch an artist would do before getting into their main composition. 

As it turns out, this also makes a decent OGL-ready version of a Displacer Beast. This is based on a monster we used to use called a "Tessercat." 

Wyrdcat

Dimensional Apex Predator

“It isn’t invisible. It’s just in three places you’re not.”

- Notes from the Archives of Killian Mazior

The Wyrdcat is a predator from beyond the edges of known planes, not born of one world, but between them. It is not native to any reality, and perhaps not even alive by most definitions. When Killian’s Tower began drawing in unstable planar energies, the Wyrdcat slipped through. A wandering apex hunter, now trapped within the folds of fractured dimensions.

Though feline in form, the Wyrdcat is a thing of quantum uncertainty and temporal stutter. It appears as a sleek, panther-like creature with oily black fur, three shadow-laced tails, and eyes that glint in colors no one can name. Its form pulses with fractured reflections. At any given moment, it may exist in multiple nearby positions, flickering like an unsynced illusion.

It hunts with the precision and cruelty of a big cat; stalking, pouncing, toying with prey before the kill. The laws of space and time bend around it. Some say it sees not just where a creature is, but where it was and will be. Those who survive a Wyrdcat encounter speak of claws that cut through armor, wounds that reappear after healing, and psychic echoes that return in dreams.

Behavior

Solitary Apex Predator: The Wyrdcat hunts alone. It marks its territory across multiple overlapping realities. If another apex predator enters its distorted hunting grounds, it becomes immediately aggressive.

Reality Drifter: The Wyrdcat can manipulate its form to align with different versions of reality. This shift can cause localized changes in reality, resulting in distorted probability fields. (This results in the players needing to use different dice to roll for initiative, to hit, and damage. It can also cause the local "rules" to shift between editions of the game.)

Mirror Flicker: It always appears in three semi-distinct forms: one solid, two afterimages or preimages. Only one is real at any time, and it may shift between them without warning.

Dimensional Stalker: It may pursue prey even after they plane shift, teleport, or escape into another zone of the tower. It remembers where they will be.

Wyrdcat (1st Edition)

Frequency: Very Rare
No. Appearing: 1 (always solitary)
Armor Class: 2
Move: 15"
Hit Dice: 7+2
% in Lair: 5%
Treasure Type: Q (×10), X
No. of Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage/Attack: 2–8 / 2–8 / 2–12
Special Attacks: Surprise (90%), planar pounce
Special Defenses: Mirror Flicker (see below), +2 or better weapon to hit
Magic Resistance: 25%
Intelligence: Low (animal cunning)
Alignment: Neutral
Size: L (8–10' long)
Psionic Ability: Nil

The Wyrdcat is a sleek, black-furred feline predator from beyond the known planes. Though it resembles a panther or great jungle cat, the Wyrdcat’s form flickers unnaturally between overlapping dimensions, accompanied by afterimages that move out of sync with its body. Its three shadow-tailed limbs seem to lag or stutter through space, and its eyes shimmer with alien colors beyond mortal comprehension.

Wyrdcats are not native to any world. They are planar anomalies. Believed to be either accidents of cross-dimensional entropy or the predatory echoes of something far older and deeper. The creatures now prowl the fringes of unstable magical structures such as witch gates, collapsed covensites, and reality-warped ruins.

Though bestial in nature, Wyrdcats hunt with a cruel cunning. They stalk arcane spellcasters and dimensional travelers, and are particularly drawn to witches, warlocks, and those who have tampered with interplanar forces.

The Wyrdcat attacks via a claw/claw/bite routine common to large cat predators. Each claw can do 2-8 (2d4) hp worth of damage, while its bite can do 2-12 (2d6).

Mirror Flicker (Special Defense)

The Wyrdcat constantly flickers between three visible forms. It functions as if under a permanent mirror image spell with two false images. The true form randomly shifts every round. Attacks against the creature have a 66% chance to target an illusion unless the attacker has true seeing or similar magic.

Planar Pounce (Special Attack)

Once per encounter, the Wyrdcat may teleport up to 30 feet to attack as if using a dimension door. This grants it +2 to hit and imposes a -2 penalty on the target's surprise roll.

Edition Flux (Optional Rule)

Once per turn, the GM may declare that the Wyrdcat is using mechanics from a different edition (i.e., switch initiative methods, AC rules, etc.). Players must quickly adapt.

Wyrdcat (3.5 Edition)
Large Magical Beast

Hit Dice: 8d10+32 (76 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), planar pounce 1/day
AC: 18 (–1 size, +4 Dex, +5 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 14
Base Atk/Grapple: +8/+17
Attack: Claw +12 melee (1d8+5)
Full Attack: 2 claws +12 melee (1d8+5), bite +7 melee (2d6+5)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. with claws)
Special Attacks: Planar Pounce
Special Qualities: Mirror Flicker, Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, DR 5/magic, SR 18
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +5
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 19, Con 18, Int 6, Wis 14, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +8, Listen +8, Move Silently +12, Spot +8
Feats: Multiattack, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (claw)
Environment: Any extraplanar
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral
Advancement: 9–12 HD (Large); 13–18 HD (Huge)

The Wyrdcat is a sleek, black-furred feline predator from beyond the known planes. Though it resembles a panther or great jungle cat, the Wyrdcat’s form flickers unnaturally between overlapping dimensions, accompanied by afterimages that move out of sync with its body. Its three shadow-tailed limbs seem to lag or stutter through space, and its eyes shimmer with alien colors beyond mortal comprehension.

Wyrdcats are not native to any world. They are planar anomalies. Believed to be either accidents of cross-dimensional entropy or the predatory echoes of something far older and deeper. The creatures now prowl the fringes of unstable magical structures such as witch gates, collapsed covensites, and reality-warped ruins.

Though bestial in nature, Wyrdcats hunt with a cruel cunning. They stalk arcane spellcasters and dimensional travelers, and are particularly drawn to witches, warlocks, and those who have tampered with interplanar forces.

The Wyrdcat attacks via a claw/claw/bite routine common to large cat predators. Each claw can do 1d8+5 hp worth of damage, while its bite can do 2d6+5.

Mirror Flicker (Su): The Wyrdcat exists partially in multiple dimensions. It is constantly under an effect similar to mirror image, generating 2 illusory copies of itself. These cannot be dispelled normally. True seeing reveals the true form.

Planar Pounce (Su): Once per day as a free action, the Wyrdcat may teleport up to 30 feet before making a full attack. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Edition Flux (Ex): Once per encounter, the Wyrdcat may twist reality, forcing all initiative to be rerolled using d10 (2e style) or d6 (1e style), randomly determined. It may also alter damage reduction, attack styles, or magic resistance at the GM’s discretion.

Wyrdcat (D&D 5e)
Large monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 16 (natural armor, flickering defense)
Hit Points 95 (10d10 + 40)
Speed 40 ft.

STR 20 (+5)
DEX 18 (+4)
CON 18 (+4)
INT 6 (–2)
WIS 14 (+2)
CHA 10 (+0)

Saving Throws Dex +7, Wis +5
Skills Perception +5, Stealth +8
Damage Resistances force, necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks.
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15

Languages —

Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +3

The Wyrdcat is a sleek, black-furred feline predator from beyond the known planes. Though it resembles a panther or great jungle cat, the Wyrdcat’s form flickers unnaturally between overlapping dimensions, accompanied by afterimages that move out of sync with its body. Its three shadow-tailed limbs seem to lag or stutter through space, and its eyes shimmer with alien colors beyond mortal comprehension.

Wyrdcats are not native to any world. They are planar anomalies. Believed to be either accidents of cross-dimensional entropy or the predatory echoes of something far older and deeper. The creatures now prowl the fringes of unstable magical structures such as witch gates, collapsed covensites, and reality-warped ruins.

Though bestial in nature, Wyrdcats hunt with a cruel cunning. They stalk arcane spellcasters and dimensional travelers, and are particularly drawn to witches, warlocks, and those who have tampered with interplanar forces.

Mirror Flicker.

The Wyrdcat projects two illusory versions of itself, similar to the mirror image spell. At the start of each turn, roll 1d6. On a 1–4, the attack targets an illusion, which vanishes; on a 5–6, the attack targets the real creature. If all images are destroyed, they regenerate at the start of the Wyrdcat’s next turn.

Planar Pounce (1/Day).

As a bonus action, the Wyrdcat teleports up to 30 feet to a space it can see and makes a full multiattack.

Reality Flux (Recharge 5–6).

The Wyrdcat distorts the battlefield. Until the end of its next turn:

• All initiative rerolls use a d10 or d6
• Saving throws use the 3e categories (Fort/Ref/Will).
• AC is treated as descending (lower = better) for targeting purposes.

This affects PCs and NPCs alike. Creatures with truesight are unaffected.

Actions 

Multiattack. The wyrdcat makes two attacks with its claws and one attack with its bite.

Claw.

Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target

Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage.

If the target is a spellcaster concentrating on a spell, it must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or lose concentration due to the Wyrdcat’s disruptive phasing claws.

Bite.

Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target

Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) piercing damage.

If this attack reduces a creature to 0 hit points, the Wyrdcat may teleport up to 30 feet as a free action at the start of its next turn (Planar Reflex Surge).

WitchCraft Wednesday: The Hand Mirror of the Silver Witch

Photo by Esra Korkmaz

  I have a couple of threads of things I am developing at the moment. One has been my ongoing "Occult D&D" idea, which in itself grew out of my "War of the Witch Queens" campaign. The other is an idea based on my rereading of a lot of things I have written over the decades. Some of which I "re-discovered" recently, something I have been calling "The One Who Remains." 

This is the product of the intersection of many of these ideas and threads.

The Hand Mirror of the Silver Witch

This ancient handmirror is the final relic of the Silver Witch, who gave her life to halt the unraveling caused by The One Who Remains. In her last stand, the Silver Witch allowed herself to be unmade. Her memories, power, and will were drawn into the mirror she carried, preserving a single thread of her identity.

The glass is now cool and pale, like winter water. When the light strikes it just right it glimmers with a faint silver glow, as if the moon reflects upon it even indoors.

Only witches and warlocks may safely handle the mirror. Those who seek knowledge for selfish or destructive ends invite peril.

Description

The Hand Mirror is a finely wrought hand mirror of cold iron and silver alloy. Its back bears the mark of the Triple Moon. The mirror never tarnishes and cannot be cracked by mundane force. Looking upon the glass produces a reflection that appears slightly delayed, as if the viewer’s image moves a moment behind.

When held during a ritual, witches report a soft whisper like wind through winter leaves.

Primary Powers

The mirror grants the following abilities when properly attuned. Attunement requires one hour of meditation, incense, and a whispered invitation to the Silver Witch. These powers can be used by any spellcaster.

Second Sight: Three times per day the bearer may gaze into the mirror to cast detect invisibility, detect charm, or detect spirit (witch version). Each use requires one round of concentration.

Moonlit Guidance: Once per night the mirror casts a soft argent glow. While this glow persists, the bearer gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against magical fear, illusions, and enchantment effects. Duration: 1 turn.

Veil of the Silver Witch: Once per day the bearer may cloak herself in silver mist, as blur cast by a 10th-level magic-user. Duration: 5 rounds.

There is a cumulative 5% chance per non-witch use that the mirror becomes inactive in the hands of the user. Worse, echoes of The One Who Remains begin to seek out those who hold the mirror. (Treat as spectres).  

Greater Powers

The mirror holds deeper abilities tied to the Silver Witch’s sacrifice. These powers can only be used by a witch or warlock.

Memory of the Fallen Star: Once per week the bearer may commune with an echo of the Silver Witch. This functions as a limited form of contact other plane. The entity contacted is not a deity but the preserved remnant of Larina’s future self.

Answers are clear but tinged with sorrow. Each use risks emotional fatigue: after communion the bearer must save vs spells or be drained of 1 hp per level for 24 hours due to mental strain.

The Last Reflection: Twice per week the mirror allows the bearer to read a single moment from her own future. This functions as an augury, with a 75% accuracy rate. The glass reveals images of silver fire and shadow intertwined.

Mirror-Walk: Once per month the bearer may step through a reflective surface and emerge from another mirror within five miles. This requires full concentration and a quiet chant. The bearer becomes insubstantial for one round upon exit.

The Doom of the Silver Witch

The Mirror of the Silver Witch is powerful but dangerous. Within the artifact lies the remaining fragment of the Silver Witch’s mind. That remnant strives to protect others from the fate she endured, yet her presence is fading.

Each time a Greater Power is used, there is a cumulative 5% chance the mirror’s “echo” attempts to guide the bearer toward events tied to The One Who Remains. This influence is subtle. The bearer may feel prophetic dread, be drawn to gates of power, or suffer moonlit dreams.

If the chance ever reaches 25%,  the DM should require a saving throw versus spells whenever the mirror is used. A failed save means the bearer glimpses the Silver Witch’s unmaking and must roll a system shock check or fall unconscious for 1d6 turns.

If the chance reaches 50% the mirror loses one Greater Power of the DM’s choice, symbolizing the last of the Silver Witch’s memories fading away.

Texts, including the near-mythical Adnerg Codices (an artifact in it's own right), speak of even greater powers the Mirror once had. 

Destruction

The Mirror cannot be shattered, melted, or banished by mundane or magical means. It may only be destroyed if:

• It is placed at the center of a Witch Gate during a total eclipse,
• Seven witches of different traditions willingly break their coven-bonds for one night,
• And the bearer renounces her name while holding the mirror.

This ritual unravels the last thread of the Silver Witch. The mirror dissolves into silver dust. All memory of the Silver Witch fades from history unless preserved in text.

Larina Nix, The Silver Witch

Who Was the Silver Witch?

This is not something players would know, and it is certainly not in the histories of the mirror. But the Silver Witch is a future version of my witch, Larina. 

Back in January, I did TardisCaptain's New Year, New Character challenge where I took a lot of Grenda's characters and revised them for Wasted Lands. I mentioned before that in his stack of characters were a bunch of his versions of my characters. 

One of them was Larina. 

I didn't use her then because I was saving her for something special. But in my writings about The One Who Remains, I figured it out. Those versions of my characters? They are all gone. Unmade. Well, maybe one or two survived, but Larina, that Larina, did not. 

Why would I kill off one of my beloved characters? It was because of love that I did it. Or rather, that Larina's sacrifice. She loved her world enough to warn others via her Mirror. Since here she was an NPC her fate was entirely of my own design. Her world, a reflection of my own game world, was unraveled by The One Who Remains, or at least a part of him. Funny, I can hear Grenda in my head now saying, "You destroyed my version of your world, all because I am dead? What a dick!" 

That is the REAL power of the Mirror. Not the magics in it, those are just side effects. The real power is that it will fall into the hands of those who could do something about The One Who Remains and maybe, just maybe, prevent it from happening to their own world.

Who, or What, it The One Who Remains? Well. That is going to be a much longer post.

New Release Tuesday: Labyrinth Lord, Revised & Expanded

 Not mine, but I am excited for it. Labyrinth Lord: Revised & Expanded, aka Labyrinth Lord 2nd Edition, is now out from Daniel Proctor and Pauli Kidd.

Labyrinth Lord didn't start the OSR, but it certainly propelled forward. 

I have gone into this edition in detail yet, but there are some fun additions.

What does the book have?

For starters, this is Labyrinth Lord. Not Advanced. This is a good take, I think, with the recent announcement of Old-School Essentials favoring their "Advanced" variant. So this is for people who want a true B/X experience. Proctor mentions that the design goal of is really now an extension of the B/X rules, with First Edition material, "while making those rules closer to how we all played anyway." This has always been the appeal for me since the start. 

There is no OGL here. This is released using the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. 

Classes are the classic B/X race/species as class. There are some new ones and revised ones. Brownies and Cyclops are new classes. Burglers, Hobfolk, and Wizards are revised. Clerics, Elves, Dwarves, and Fighters are closest to their B/X forbearers. 

No new spells as far as I can tell. Some druid spells are added to the cleric lists.

There are some fun new monsters. Among them are: Baboon (Higher), Banther (love this guy!), Booglin, Cyclopean and Cyclops become two distinct but related types, Glastig, Goadt (love these guys too), Goat of Calamity, Hawkbear, and more. I won't list them all here, save the surprises.

The monster stats are presented in tables while their corresponding write-ups are separate.  It reminds me a little of how OD&D did things. It saves space on the page for certain.

There are still plenty of wandering monster tables and treasure. 

The biggest addition is the adventure from Pauli Kidd, "The Heart of Traviya" a min-campaign for 1st level characters. Not to give too many spoilers, but the idea the village has been split into three separate but connected worlds is a really fun one. 

We also have our map of the Known Lands from LL1 and a good index.

The layout is clean and sharp. It evokes B/X more than say OSE or ShadowDark does, and at least in terms of esthetics, it works as a successor to the B/X line. Not 100% a fan of the monster layout, but I can also see how it would work well in game play. 

I think Proctor's insight is spot on. A new retro-clone is a step backwards. To move forward the "clones" must evolve and provide something new. This new Labyrinth Lord is the platform for Proctor (and hopefully more Kidd) to do just that. 

Looking forward to seeing what is next.