Character Creation Challenge: Katherine Montblanc for NIGHT SHIFT

Moving on to one of my older witches, one of the first I did for Swords & Wizardry.

 The Aiséiligh, or "reclaiming" tradition, is pretty much my "Social Justice Witch" book. I never come out and say that, but that is what they are and what I was thinking when I wrote it.

While they are not 100% living up to their potential in Swords & Wizardry, they could shine in NIGHT SHIFT.  Especially in the "Nocturnumverse" and "Ordinary World" Night World settings. 

The Aiséiligh

These witches also have a strong connection to NIGHT SHIFT.  When I worked for Eden Studios and worked on the WitchCraftRPG line, I had a group of Wicce known as the Daughters of the Flame. I am sure if you are a long-time reader, you have seen them here before. The Daughters of the Flame were a coven dedicated to the Goddess Brigit. They started in my old AD&D 2nd Ed Witch netbook and were modernized for WitchCraft.

Well, when Eden opted not to produce more Unisystem books, I took those notes and let them stew on my hard drives.

The Daughters of the Flame were brought back as part of a new Tradition, the Aiséiligh. You can still be a member of the Daughters coven, but now there were other covens too.

The same notes would later go on become NIGHT SHIFT and my two Night Worlds, "Generation HEX" and "Ordinary World."

There was a quote I scribbled down in my notes back then.  It was for the Daughters, but it now applies to the Aiséiligh and explains what they do well. 

"The world is in peril.  The forces of evil in the guise of law and weal threaten all lands.
The people of good conscience scream out for champions.
The Witches of the Aiséiligh Tradition hear those cries and are charged by the Goddess to be Her hands and Her mortal representatives on this plane.

And the Goddess is angry."

In NIGHT SHIFT these are your activist witches. They are part of the movements for social justice. They are the ones volunteering at the Sanctuary houses to help others. These are the ones fighting for more LGBTQI+ representation. They are the ones making noise. That is not everyone's cup of tea, but for some it is exactly what they want. 

Arcane Powers from Occult Powers

The Aiséiligh are somewhat unique among my witches since they do not receive familiars by default. Instead, they are said to hear the voice of their Goddess directly. In the case of the Daughters of the Flame they look into the flames to get their insight and learn spells.  This has given them the somewhat joking nickname of "Campfire Girls."

Level 1: Healing Touch. The Aiséiligh witch can heal by touch. Once per day she can heal a 1d4+Level+Cha mod in HP.  She can parse this out to multiple uses, but not exceed that maximum. 

Level 4: Protection. Once per day, the witch can invoke Protection from Evil, 10'. This lasts for rounds equal to half her level.  

Level 7: Immune to Fear. The Aiséiligh witch is so focused in purpose she becomes immune to the effects of fear, either mundane or magical.

Level 10: Psychic Power. The witch can choose a psychic power.

Level 13: Mantle of the Goddess. Greater protection as described in the Aiséiligh tradition book.

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Katherine "Kat" Montblanc
10th Level Aiséiligh Witch

Strength: 14 (+1)
Dexterity: 13 (+1)
Constitution: 13 (+1) 
Intelligence: 16 (+1) S
Wisdom: 14 (+1) S
Charisma: 17 (+2) P

HP: 38
Alignment: Light
AC: 9
Attack: +

Fate Points: 1d10

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +5/+3/+2
Melee bonus: +1 Ranged bonus: +1
Saves: +3 against spells and magical effects

Witch Abilities

Arcana, Supernatural Senses, Spells, Arcane Powers

Arcane (Occult) Powers
Healing Touch, Protection, Immune to Fear, Psychic Power (Bio-Feedback)

Skills
Knowledge (medicine), Insight

Background
Trust-fund rebel

Spells
First Level(4): Burning Hands, Feel My Pain, Sanctuary, Sleep
Second Level(4): Augury, Calm Emotions, Evil Eye, Mind Obscure 
Third Level(3): Clairvoyance, Remove Disease, Witch Wail
Fourth Level(3): Discern Lies, Instant Karma, Remove Curse 
Fifth Level(2): Dispel Evil, Primal Scream

Katherine "Kat" Montblanc is one of the more notorious rebels in the Montblanc family. She wants nothing to do with her family at all except for when she can rub their nose in her defiance. An aspect of her personality she admits is a character flaw. She works as a social worker in her family's hospital but only accepts the salary paid to her by The Sanctuary, where she also does volunteer work.  She specializes in trauma inflicted by other supernatural types, though she will go on to say that some of the worst monsters out there are humans.

Kat does not get along with, nor trust, Katia Crane. The feelings are mutual. 

You can get NIGHT SHIFT in print and pdf.  You can get my Aiséiligh Witch book pdf here.

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Want to see more of the #CharacterCreationChallenge? Stop by Tardis Captain's Blog and the #CharacterCreationChallenge on Twitter for more! 

Character Creation Challenge: Tanith Winters for NIGHT SHIFT

One of the questions I have been asked is, can I use my various witch books/traditions with NIGHT SHIFT witches?

The short answer is YES!

The longer answer is still yes, but there are ways to do it. 

There are a few things to consider. My various witch books will not go up to the spell levels that NIGHT SHIFT does.  Even at the highest, my OSR witch books are capped spell level 8. NIGHT SHIFT goes to 9.  NIGHT SHIFT witches get to choose their powers at 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th levels (and every three levels after). My OSR witches get assigned an occult power at various levels, usually 1st, 7th, 13th, and more. 

So with this character creation challenge, I want to take on some particular examples. 

Since this is winter, let's start with the Winter Witch book.

The Winter Witch

The Winters family is mentioned (but not detailed) in the NIGHT SHIFT core. They are a rival family of the Montblanc family in my "Ordinary World" setting/Night World.

The Winters are Winter Witches, and the Montblancs are Family Witches. They are bitter rivals but keep their hostilities out of the open. 

When adapting the Swords & Wizardry-based Winter Witch book, you can substitute the powers the NIGHT SHIFT witches can choose with the Occult Powers of the Winter Witches.

Winter Witches gain the following powers in NIGHT SHIFT.

1st Level: Immunity to Cold.  The cold never bothered them anyway.

4th Level: Cool Demeanor. The winter witch adds +1 to all her cold-based attacks and spell rolls.

7th Level: Wild Form. Assume the shape of any winter animal.

10th Level: Pass Without a Trace/Free movement. The winter witch can move freely in ice or snow on foot. Never slipping, never falling, never leaving a trace of movement. Treated as having stealth skills in the ice and snow of a Survivor of equal level. 

There are other powers like "Hyperborean Apotheosis" that the Winter Witch can use, but that should be only granted at the 19th level. 

Photo by Darya Sannikova from Pexels

Tanith Winters 
4th level Winter Witch

Strength: 10 (0)
Dexterity: 12 (0)
Constitution: 14 (+1) S
Intelligence: 13 (+1)
Wisdom: 14 (+1) S
Charisma: 16 (+2) P

HP: 15
Alignment: Light (for now)
AC: 9
Attack: +0

Fate Points: 1d6

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +3/+2/0
Melee bonus: 0 Ranged bonus: +0
Saves: +3 against spells and magical effects

Witch Abilities

Arcana, Supernatural Senses, Spells, Arcane Powers

Arcane (Occult) Powers
Immunity to Cold, Cool Demeanor

Skills
Research, Insight, 

Spells
First Level: Detect Magic, Protection from Evil, Sleep
Second Level: Knock, Suggestion

Tanith Winters is a young witch already making a name for herself among the Winters family. She has even attracted the attention of the family matriarch, Grandmother Winters.  This can be a good or bad thing.

Tanith lives in West Haven, where she has already encountered the members of the rival Montblanc family. While the Montblancs have more money and Earthly power, the Winters are an older family with more powerful magic. So at the moment, they are avoiding direct confrontation with each other. 

Other versions of Tanith can be found here, here, and here. 

You can get NIGHT SHIFT in print and pdf.  You can get my Winter Witch book in print and pdf here.

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Want to see more of the #CharacterCreationChallenge? Stop by Tardis Captain's Blog and the #CharacterCreationChallenge on Twitter for more! 

Mail Call Tuesday: Witch Mountain Board Game

 Sometimes I have the impulse control of a toddler. 

I saw this game, Witch Mountain, featured in a post (Gen Con, I think), and I thought, "Damn. I need that." So a quick trip to eBay and I found one, cheap, and still in shrink wrap. Plus it says right on the box, a game with "Witches & Dragons."  Sounds like the RPGs I have been playing for the last 45 years.

A few days later, it was mine. 

I pulled off the shrink and was treated to the game inside. 

The game board is neat. The objective is to get your colored pawns into the center, "Witch Mountain" before the other players, and avoid the witches and dragons flying around. 

Gameplay largely relies on the luck of the dice roll. Though it does have the nicest dice rolling cup I have ever seen in a game. Nice hard plastic lined with cork. The board is sturdy, typical of the 1980s. The play reminds me of "Sorry!" The dice are colored sides with a mix of the player colors and an occasional witch or dragon. 

Given the date of 1983 I can't help but think the "Witches & Dragons" is an attempt to grab some of that fantasy game market.

Traveller Envy

In my ongoing obsession with adding some board game experience to my Fantasy RPG and Horror RPG experiences, I have been thinking about how to add this. Obviously the pawns are all rival witch covens who need to get to the top of Witch Mountain. The witches flying around are the current occupiers of the mountains and the dragons do their bidding.

Come to think of it. It seems odd to me that I have not codified a more permanent "Witch Mountain" in my games. One of the milestone events in my love of witches was the 1975 Disney film "Escape to Witch Mountain" and it's sequel "Return from Witch Mountain." Although I was disappointed that there were no real witches in it, despite many of the trappings, I still loved the movies. The 2009 "Race to Witch Mountain" was also good. I will admit that I have always given any witch character I play TK and telepathy/empathy of some sort as my nod to Tia, played by Kim Richards, in the first two movies. 

I do have a set of mountains outside of my West Haven setting called "The Broken Mountains," which is my homage to the Brocken mountain in Germany. Given it's, and Pendel Hill's,  importance to witch lore ([1] and [2]), I really should have something.

I do have the Montblanc Family, and they come from near a "white mountain."  Maybe they are the witches in control of the Hexenberg. I have always said they were a very old, and very rich, witch family. Having control of a few dragons is not really a stretch for me to consider. 

So I hope to come up with some more ideas for der Hexenberg. Or even an adventure featuring the Witch Mountain. I have been wanting to write more adventures.

Links

• Witch Mountain at BGG

October Horror Movie Challenge: Malenka / Fangs of the Living Dead (1968, 1969)

I am sure I had seen this one.  But like SO MANY Italian, French and Spanish horror films from the late 60s and early 70s plots, scenes and even whole movies were recycled.  I mean this one even has the same music as "The Night She Rose From the Grave" which I am getting too later and is on the same DVD as this movie.  Though that could even be because of the disk.

This movie has been known as "Malenka", "Fangs of the Living Dead" and "The Vampire's Niece" with various dates between 1968 and 1969.

Anyway, this one features Anita Ekberg, so that is a good reason to check it out.

The movie starts with a nice creepy, "Dracula's Guest", feel to it.  Sylvia Morel (Ekberg) learns she has inherited a fortune, a castle, and a new title.   Julián Ugarte plays the Count, Sylvia's uncle, Count Walbrooke.  Sylvia becomes the Harker stand-in and Walbrooke is Dracula.

I think I was getting this one confused with the Thirst from 1979. But while the beginnings are similar, they become quite different movies. This movie was the obvious prototype for Satan's Slave (also known as Evil Heritage) in 1976 and many Franco movies like A Virgin Among the Living Dead (1973).

We learn that Sylvia's grandmother was burned at the stake as a witch and she was able to turn her children into vampires.

The basic story cleaves very, very close to the Dracula tale. So nothing really new here.
Until the end, and there is a neat little twist. It really saved the movie for me.

Kind of a fun little flick really.

Watched: 9
New: 9

NIGHT SHIFT Content

So many of these movies have old cursed families with a suspension of witchcraft and vampirism.  

I think what I need, both for NIGHT SHIFT and maybe even my various witch books is a family of witches, in decay, whose members become vampires after death.  Not all are powerful vampires, some are little more than ghouls really, but a few.  Take notes from the Karnsteins and movies like this.

In some ways the Montblancs in NIGHT SHIFT's "Ordinary World" can cover this. Maybe this is a direction I could take them.  The American Montblancs are an old family, but the European Montblancs are ancient and maybe a little more evil.  Combine this with my Byleth idea from last week.

Maybe that is how I separate them, the American Montblancs are featured in NIGHT SHIFT but the "European" Montblancs would be featured in my Witch books for Basic-era.   I would need to have a map for the run down, but still better than anywhere you have lived, Château Montblanc.

Character Creation Challenge: Katia Crane for NIGHT SHIFT

Continuing my series here on using my OSR Witch books with NIGHT SHIFT I am providing more detail and background to a character that only got a paragraph in the NIGHT SHIFT core rules.

The Green Witch

I will admit, the Green Witch is one of my favorites. It has a witch concept I really love and introduces both the Huntsman and Green Knight classes to use.  

While it works fantastic for Swords & Wizardry, it really gets to shine as part of NIGHT SHIFT.

I have discussed the idea of a Ban Drui or druid-witch in the past. The Green Witch comes closest to that idea.  In NIGHT SHIFT this can get even closer to my concept.  

Again, you can use all the spells from the Green Witch in NIGHT SHIFT. Some might need to be altered to fit your game or gaming style, but the idea is to give the Green Witch something more special about here above and beyond that of the average witch.  

Here is how I would redo her occult powers into arcane powers.

Level 1: Familiar. The Green Witch gets a familiar. This is a spirit in the form of a naturally occurring animal.  Use the familiar rules in the Green Witch book for the bonuses to the witch.

Level 4: Herbal Healing. Just like the Herbal Healing power in the Green Witch book.

Level 7: Speak to Plants and Animals. Again, just like the Occult Power the Green Witch gets at level 7.

Level 10: Green Walking. Just like the Shadow Walking power in NIGHT SHIFT, but the witch uses her natural surroundings to move.

Level 13: Pass Without A Trace. Same as the level 13 Occult Power for the Green Witch.

I have to admit, this works rather well. 

Katia Crane
8th Level Green Witch

Strength: 12 (0)
Dexterity: 13 (+1)
Constitution: 14 (+1) S
Intelligence: 13 (+1) S
Wisdom: 14 (+1) 
Charisma: 17 (+2) P

HP: 30
Alignment: Light (for now), Neutrality
AC: 9
Attack: +1

Fate Points: 1d8

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +4/+3/+1
Melee bonus: 0 Ranged bonus: +1
Saves: +3 against spells and magical effects

Witch Abilities

Arcana, Supernatural Senses, Spells, Arcane Powers

Arcane (Occult) Powers
Familiar, Herbal Healing, Speak to Plants and Animals

Skills
Knowledge (botany and plants), Knowledge (chemistry), Insight

Spells
First Level(4): Bless Growth, Detect Magic, Sanctuary, Sleep
Second Level(3): Bewitch II, Binding Earth, Command
Third Level(3): Bestow Curse, Fear (Greater), Remove Disease
Fourth Level(2): Call Lightning, Confusion

Katia Crane is an attractive witch in her early 30s. She has a young son, Henry, who she dotes over. She runs the local apothecary and herbal shop in the town of West Haven.  By all accounts, she is a pleasant person and no one, witch, supernatural, or mortal, seems to have a bad thing to say about her.  This is largely due to the fact that she plays her cards very close to her chest.

Katia is of the belief that witches should rule the world. She has no idea exactly how to make that happen, but she keeps tabs on all the witches in the area, particularly the Montblanc and Winters clans.  If she had a preference, she would side with the Winters; odd given her focus on plants and their focus on the cold, but she feels they are an older family more in touch with the "old ways."  She thinks the Montblancs are too used to their modern comforts. 

She never speaks about Henry's father, not even to say if they were married or not. This has led to some gossip that she had poisoned him. She did not, but she did have him killed. 

You can get NIGHT SHIFT in print and pdf.  You can get my Green Witch book in print and pdf here.

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Want to see more of the #CharacterCreationChallenge? Stop by Tardis Captain's Blog and the #CharacterCreationChallenge on Twitter for more!