Hey everyone!
May is winding down but there are still plenty of things to do here at the Other Side.
First things first.
I mentioned on the first day of the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia that I would donate all the money this site made to charity.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2013/05/blogfest-hop-against-homophobia-and.html
And the total is...$15.37 in affiliate sales and $5.90 in sales of the Witch for a total of $21.27.
Not bad for this site, I was hoping for some more. I will likely round it up to an even 25 or 50.
There is also the business of giving away a copy of the Witch!
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2013/05/bloghop-giveaway.html
Waiting to hear back from the winners (yes winners!) now.
I must be crazy because in June I am going to do some more giveaways.
Yes to celebrate 1,000,000 hits here I am going to give away copies of my books, gift cards and who knows what else. No contest. No promotion. Just me giving stuff to you as a thank you for supporting me over the years.
That's coming in June. So stayed tuned.
EDITED TO ADD: The winners have been notified. Rachel Ghoul and RQRobb both received a copy of the Witch!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
Blogfest: Towel Day Blogfest
Towel Day Blogfest
http://lgkeltner.blogspot.com/2013/04/announcing-towel-day-blogfest.html
This one is easy. I am going to talk about what is the best RPG to play a "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" game.
So what makes a good Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game?
Well it needs to have a lot of aliens, or at least the ability to make a lot of aliens. The weirder the better.
Faster Than Light travel is a must. Lots of different ways to get from A to B.
Things it doens't need. Details. Remember Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent didn't know how spaceships worked. Especially Arthur. They didn't care about the trillions of calculation Marvin could do. All Arthur knew was the ship's computer could not make a decent cup of tea.
So lets evaluate my choices.
Warhammer 40k
No. The HHGTTG is about fun and lighthearted romps through the universe. Warhammer is where fun goes to die. Not saying you couldn't do it, but it would break things too much. Though HHGTTG does have a Galactic Emperor who is also thousands of years old. Though he is in a state of perpetual death.
Traveller
Ah now we are talking. I like to ignore a lot of the tech in Traveller anyway. The publishing firm of Megadodo Publications of Ursa Minor Beta has some similarity to the Traveller's Aid Society, in that they are an organization that gives plot reasons to go all over the Galaxy. There are plenty of races in Traveller and I bet you there are online resources dating back to the Mainframe and FTP days of resources to play a Hitchhikers Guide-like game in the Traveller universe.
Star Frontiers
Another good choice really. In fact one of my SF characters was named Zaphod. SF though doesn't have enough aliens to fit the bill. Afterall this is a universe where mattresses are grown and not manufactured.
Star Wars or Star Trek (any Version)
In both cases there is too much emphasis on combat in these games. Star Trek at least has the exploration bits down. But really too much emphasis on combat really.
No there really is only one game perfect for playing in a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game.
Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space
The new Doctor Who game is perfect for HHGTTG. With it's easy to use (and easy to get out of the way) rules fits the tone of what I want. The rules also focus on the talkers and the runners not the fighters, so that helps us get past that issue. Also let's not forget that there is a strong Doctor Who/Hitchhikers connection. Douglas Adams was the script editor on Doctor Who around the same time he was working on Hitchhikers Guide. I also always felt his episodes were very much the model of the of the Hitchhikers universe. I always thought the Zygons and Vogons were the creatures or at least closely related. There is also the overt connection, the 10th Doctor after his regeneration refers to himself as being "very Arthur Dent" and commenting "now there's a nice man". Establishing that at least some version of Douglas Adams' worlds exist in Doctor Who canon.
All the characters can be created using the basic Doctor Who rules, Trillian for example is pretty much a Boffin archetype. Ph.D. in Math and Astrophysics? She is like a 5th Doctor companion. Ford and Arthur are easy and Zaphod...well Zaphod he is just this guy you know...
So I think my next Doctor Who game might end up being a little bit Hitchhikers as well.
I think I have a few characters I could even use.
http://lgkeltner.blogspot.com/2013/04/announcing-towel-day-blogfest.html
This one is easy. I am going to talk about what is the best RPG to play a "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" game.
So what makes a good Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game?
Well it needs to have a lot of aliens, or at least the ability to make a lot of aliens. The weirder the better.
Faster Than Light travel is a must. Lots of different ways to get from A to B.
Things it doens't need. Details. Remember Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent didn't know how spaceships worked. Especially Arthur. They didn't care about the trillions of calculation Marvin could do. All Arthur knew was the ship's computer could not make a decent cup of tea.
So lets evaluate my choices.
Warhammer 40k
No. The HHGTTG is about fun and lighthearted romps through the universe. Warhammer is where fun goes to die. Not saying you couldn't do it, but it would break things too much. Though HHGTTG does have a Galactic Emperor who is also thousands of years old. Though he is in a state of perpetual death.
Traveller
Ah now we are talking. I like to ignore a lot of the tech in Traveller anyway. The publishing firm of Megadodo Publications of Ursa Minor Beta has some similarity to the Traveller's Aid Society, in that they are an organization that gives plot reasons to go all over the Galaxy. There are plenty of races in Traveller and I bet you there are online resources dating back to the Mainframe and FTP days of resources to play a Hitchhikers Guide-like game in the Traveller universe.
Star Frontiers
Another good choice really. In fact one of my SF characters was named Zaphod. SF though doesn't have enough aliens to fit the bill. Afterall this is a universe where mattresses are grown and not manufactured.
Star Wars or Star Trek (any Version)
In both cases there is too much emphasis on combat in these games. Star Trek at least has the exploration bits down. But really too much emphasis on combat really.
No there really is only one game perfect for playing in a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game.
Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space
The new Doctor Who game is perfect for HHGTTG. With it's easy to use (and easy to get out of the way) rules fits the tone of what I want. The rules also focus on the talkers and the runners not the fighters, so that helps us get past that issue. Also let's not forget that there is a strong Doctor Who/Hitchhikers connection. Douglas Adams was the script editor on Doctor Who around the same time he was working on Hitchhikers Guide. I also always felt his episodes were very much the model of the of the Hitchhikers universe. I always thought the Zygons and Vogons were the creatures or at least closely related. There is also the overt connection, the 10th Doctor after his regeneration refers to himself as being "very Arthur Dent" and commenting "now there's a nice man". Establishing that at least some version of Douglas Adams' worlds exist in Doctor Who canon.
All the characters can be created using the basic Doctor Who rules, Trillian for example is pretty much a Boffin archetype. Ph.D. in Math and Astrophysics? She is like a 5th Doctor companion. Ford and Arthur are easy and Zaphod...well Zaphod he is just this guy you know...
So I think my next Doctor Who game might end up being a little bit Hitchhikers as well.
I think I have a few characters I could even use.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
1,000,000 Page Views!
I hit 1,000,000 pages views earlier today!
Not too shabby really!
Planning some stuff to celebrate! Keep an eye open.
Not too shabby really!
Planning some stuff to celebrate! Keep an eye open.
Zatannurday: More redesign
Here is a Zatanna redesign by Meredith McClaren.
http://iniquitousfish.blogspot.com/
I like her look here to be honest. The vest still pulls in elements of her old style. I would have made her pants pinstripes myself and of course given her a top hat.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Castles and Crusades: Liath and Bodhmall
I want to wrap-up my week on Castles & Crusades with a post of two of my favorite characters of Irish Myth. Liath Luachra & Bodhmall the Druidess.
One of my favorite stories is that of Fionn mac Cumhail. I used him as character in the very first Buffy RPG adventure The Dark Druid. The back ground of the adventure had Fionn coming to the 21st century and that the characters in the game were the new incarnations of people from his past. My conceit was that his foster mothers Bodhmall and Liath were Willow and Tara respectively. I expanded on this in my Willow and Tara based Buffy/Ghosts of Albion games. Episode 5 of The Dragon and the Phoenix expands on this and makes the connection well known to the characters. Episode 11 of Season of the Witch establishes that in the game world Liath and Bodhmall were also the founders of the Daughters of the Flame coven. So these are some characters with game history for me.
So whenever I need a "D&D Version" of Willow and Tara I turn to Liath and Bodhmall. This way I can direct their fates in new and different directions and not mess with my "modern age" versions.
I have stated them up for D&D4 here before. In fact I spent a lot of time on it since the D&D4 druid couldn't do what I wanted till Essentials.
Bodhmall as expected makes a better druid under the Castles & Crusades rules than she did under D&D4.
Liath though needs some tweaking. Ranger in C&C is a little different and not really what my mental image of what she is. It is very, very close, but missing the key ingredient. I have this mental image of the first time Bodhmall meets Liath. Bodhmall needs a protector/body guard while she is taking a babe to be fostered to the north. She sees Liath standing on a raised log. On either side of her on the log are her brothers. They are fighting with long staves and the men are trying to knock her off the log. She is more than holding her own. Her hair is long and braided and despite her young age is already graying; thus her name "The Gray of Luachair".
Some might balk at me taking two established mythological figures (however obscure) and making them same-sex lovers. In truth I wondered about this too. But I was doing research and I picked up a copy of Morgan Llywelyn's Finn MacCool and there was an interesting typo on the character pages. It listed Liath as being Bodhmal's wife. That clenched it for me.
Character Creation
If you ever made a character for 1st Ed AD&D then you can make for C&C in about the same time. If you have familiarity with 3e, then it might go even faster.
(Honestly I am wondering at this point if C&C should just be the AD&D game I play.)
I like the way the powers for the classes work out for the characters. I made the right choices.
Since I am using this with the Codex Celtarum, the characters both get a Fey power at 1st level, plus something special
Bodhmall
1st level Human Druid, Female, Neutral Good
STR: 10 (0)
DEX: 10 (0)
CON: 14 (+1)
INT: 14 (+1) P
WIS: 18 (+3) P
CHA: 11 (0) P
AC: 13, Leather Armor
HP: 7 (d8)
Staff +0, 1d6
Scimitar +0, 1d6
Nature Lore
Druid Spells
- First Aid, Light, Purify Food & Drink
- Entangle, Magic Stones
Second Sight (1), p. 93 CC
Anamchara*
Liath Luchara
1st level Human Barbarian, Female, Chaotic Good
STR: 13 (+1) P
DEX: 10 (0)
CON: 18 (+3) P
INT: 10 (0)
WIS: 16 (+2) P
CHA: 11 (0)
AC: 12, Leather Armor
HP: 13 (d12)
Spear +1, 1d6
Short Sword +1, 1d6
Combat Sense
Deerstalker
Intimidate
Primeval Instincts
Shapeshifting (Salmon), p. 94 CC (based on Morgan Llywelyn's work)
Anamchara*
All in all I am happy with those write-ups.
Of course I can't introduce Liath and Bodhmal and not have their Anamchara quality. It is what helps define them.
So here it is for use with the Codex Celtarum.
Anamchara
Level 6 Druid, 6 Witch
CT na D 10 rounds R self + one other
SV none SR none Comp n/a
“The only thing more frightening than meeting a Celt in battle is meeting a Celt in battle with his wife at his side.”
- Attributed to Pliny the Elder, 1st Century CE
Anamchara (“on-um-kor-ah”), or soul-mate, is the Gaelic term used to describe a deep and powerful bound shared between two people. This goes beyond mere companionship and even beyond love; the souls of the two people are connected at a deep and fundamental level. Some occult scholars even speculate anamchara share one soul between two physical people.
The anamchara (singular and plural) are often aware of each other on a preternatural level. While this not a full blown telepathy or even empathy it is beyond what the normal senses would allow. This manifests itself in mundane ways as two lovers humming the same song at the same time with no outside influence, husband and wife completing each others sentences, separated twins living parallel lives, or even one sibling knowing her other sibling is about to walk into a room before the event happens.
Anamchara can be, and often are, lovers, but they are not limited to that alone. Some anamchara can also be very close siblings or very deeply devoted friends. Sometimes the connection can be forged in battle, giving rise to a “brothers-in-arms” effect. The Anamchara can also have a deep connection resulting from life times of being together.
Extension of the senses (“I Will Always Find You”). This acts like a mild form of Empathy or a lesser Situational Awareness that extends only to their anamchara. This grants +2 to locate their anamchara via mundane, magic or psychic means. This also gives each anamchara a broad sense of the other’s health and well being.
Boost Morale (“I’ll Stand By You”). When anamchara are together even dire situations do not seem as grim. With a soothing word or even a knowing look a character can grant her anamchara +5 on any one test or roll. Best of all, she can do it after the player has already made this test. The granting character spends her round or turn explaining she is doing this to aid her beloved. This can only be done once per game session per character.
I am curious to see what the Castles & Crusades players think of this power.
I am also posting this as part of my giveaway for the Bloghop Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
Win a copy of the Witch and help me support the Trevor Project!
I have stated them up for D&D4 here before. In fact I spent a lot of time on it since the D&D4 druid couldn't do what I wanted till Essentials.
Bodhmall as expected makes a better druid under the Castles & Crusades rules than she did under D&D4.
Liath though needs some tweaking. Ranger in C&C is a little different and not really what my mental image of what she is. It is very, very close, but missing the key ingredient. I have this mental image of the first time Bodhmall meets Liath. Bodhmall needs a protector/body guard while she is taking a babe to be fostered to the north. She sees Liath standing on a raised log. On either side of her on the log are her brothers. They are fighting with long staves and the men are trying to knock her off the log. She is more than holding her own. Her hair is long and braided and despite her young age is already graying; thus her name "The Gray of Luachair".
Some might balk at me taking two established mythological figures (however obscure) and making them same-sex lovers. In truth I wondered about this too. But I was doing research and I picked up a copy of Morgan Llywelyn's Finn MacCool and there was an interesting typo on the character pages. It listed Liath as being Bodhmal's wife. That clenched it for me.
Character Creation
If you ever made a character for 1st Ed AD&D then you can make for C&C in about the same time. If you have familiarity with 3e, then it might go even faster.
(Honestly I am wondering at this point if C&C should just be the AD&D game I play.)
I like the way the powers for the classes work out for the characters. I made the right choices.
Since I am using this with the Codex Celtarum, the characters both get a Fey power at 1st level, plus something special
Bodhmall
1st level Human Druid, Female, Neutral Good
STR: 10 (0)
DEX: 10 (0)
CON: 14 (+1)
INT: 14 (+1) P
WIS: 18 (+3) P
CHA: 11 (0) P
AC: 13, Leather Armor
HP: 7 (d8)
Staff +0, 1d6
Scimitar +0, 1d6
Nature Lore
Druid Spells
- First Aid, Light, Purify Food & Drink
- Entangle, Magic Stones
Second Sight (1), p. 93 CC
Anamchara*
Liath Luchara
1st level Human Barbarian, Female, Chaotic Good
STR: 13 (+1) P
DEX: 10 (0)
CON: 18 (+3) P
INT: 10 (0)
WIS: 16 (+2) P
CHA: 11 (0)
AC: 12, Leather Armor
HP: 13 (d12)
Spear +1, 1d6
Short Sword +1, 1d6
Combat Sense
Deerstalker
Intimidate
Primeval Instincts
Shapeshifting (Salmon), p. 94 CC (based on Morgan Llywelyn's work)
Anamchara*
All in all I am happy with those write-ups.
Of course I can't introduce Liath and Bodhmal and not have their Anamchara quality. It is what helps define them.
So here it is for use with the Codex Celtarum.
Anamchara
Level 6 Druid, 6 Witch
CT na D 10 rounds R self + one other
SV none SR none Comp n/a
“The only thing more frightening than meeting a Celt in battle is meeting a Celt in battle with his wife at his side.”
- Attributed to Pliny the Elder, 1st Century CE
Anamchara (“on-um-kor-ah”), or soul-mate, is the Gaelic term used to describe a deep and powerful bound shared between two people. This goes beyond mere companionship and even beyond love; the souls of the two people are connected at a deep and fundamental level. Some occult scholars even speculate anamchara share one soul between two physical people.
The anamchara (singular and plural) are often aware of each other on a preternatural level. While this not a full blown telepathy or even empathy it is beyond what the normal senses would allow. This manifests itself in mundane ways as two lovers humming the same song at the same time with no outside influence, husband and wife completing each others sentences, separated twins living parallel lives, or even one sibling knowing her other sibling is about to walk into a room before the event happens.
Anamchara can be, and often are, lovers, but they are not limited to that alone. Some anamchara can also be very close siblings or very deeply devoted friends. Sometimes the connection can be forged in battle, giving rise to a “brothers-in-arms” effect. The Anamchara can also have a deep connection resulting from life times of being together.
Extension of the senses (“I Will Always Find You”). This acts like a mild form of Empathy or a lesser Situational Awareness that extends only to their anamchara. This grants +2 to locate their anamchara via mundane, magic or psychic means. This also gives each anamchara a broad sense of the other’s health and well being.
Boost Morale (“I’ll Stand By You”). When anamchara are together even dire situations do not seem as grim. With a soothing word or even a knowing look a character can grant her anamchara +5 on any one test or roll. Best of all, she can do it after the player has already made this test. The granting character spends her round or turn explaining she is doing this to aid her beloved. This can only be done once per game session per character.
Combat Effects
The benefits detailed above have some application in combat as well. The extension of the senses translate into making the anamchara a particularly effective fighting team. In order to gain this benefit the anamchara actually need to train together in a fighting style. Players should decide which style (martial arts, medieval weapons or even magic) they will train together in. This training offers a +2 bonus to all attacks of that type and damage for each. Both can also effectively fight against one opponent with out penalty due to room. Anamchara naturally avoid each others weapons.
I am curious to see what the Castles & Crusades players think of this power.
I am also posting this as part of my giveaway for the Bloghop Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
Win a copy of the Witch and help me support the Trevor Project!
Guest Posting on A to Z: The Value of the Blogfest
I am guest posting over at Blogging from A to Z Challenge today. Here is a copy of my post.
Hello everyone and my name is Tim Brannan, some of you might know me from either of my two blogs The Other Side (gaming, horror and geek life) or The Freedom of Nonbelief (atheism, science and human rights). I also am one of a groups of bloggers at Amazon Princess and Red Sonja - She Devil with a Sword. I am guest posting at the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.
One of the reasons I first got into blogging was to expand my abilities as a writer and help build an audience for my various game books. I started my blog, The Other Side, as a design journal for my then WIP The Witch. Then something interesting happened. I became part of a community. Sure I had been part of an online community before, via message boards, chat and even going all the way back to BBSes and Telnet. But a blogging community is something a little different. I can say my bits here and then others respond, I respond back and there is the back and forth that is very nice. I then go to other blogs and repeat the process as a responder. Over the years I have integrated nicely into a community of other bloggers in both gaming and atheism. I continually get ideas based one what ever the topic du jour is.
I do not underestimate the value of community here.
That is one of the reasons why I feel the Bloghop or Blogfest is critical part of my blogging experience. For the month of May I am participating in seven different bloghops/blogfests. I am considering adding an eighth.
I enjoy participating in these for a number of reasons.
First off it exposes me to new bloggers. I get to read something new and potentially someone new to follow with each one. For the A to Z challenge I end following a dozen or so new bloggers. Likewise it exposes me to a new audience and potential followers to my blogs. There are a lot of blogs out there. There are even blogs out there that have similar interests to that I never saw before. Joining a Horror-related bloghop, for example, is a good way for me to find people with similar tastes outside my normal circles, but joining a "First Loves" bloghop really gets some diversity for me!
Secondly it stretches me a writer. So with all of these blogs you think I have a lot to talk about. Yet I have to admit that there are some days that I open up Blogger and stare at a blank screen. A good bloghop gives me ideas, and failing that it gives me motivation. One of the more obscure ones I joined was one dedicated to silent film star Mary Pickford. Now you might ask how a game-blog with an emphasis on old-school games and horror can have anything to say about a silent film star, but in truth there was a movie that had a huge influence on my future writing. Being able to share that with my primary audience (my regular readers) and my new audience (people in the blog hop) was great, especially since I needed to write from the point of view to satisfy both.
At this point I do want comment on not alienating your audience. I know there are some people, not a lot, but some, in my regular blogging circles that do not like blogfests, and the A to Z one in particular. I want to be cognizant of this. Not tailoring my involvement to the loudest minority mind you, but what it means to my primary audience. If I were for example were to spend the entire month of June doing nothing but talking about silent movies the people that come to my blog for gaming material will be turned off and leave. I participate in these bloghops/blogfests, but I have to make sure that anything I post would have been something I would have posted anyway.
I enjoyed being in the A to Z blogfest the last three years. Each year I do something a little different. I am thankful to all the mods, helpers and minions that made this years' run so much smoother. A real special thanks goes our to Arlee Bird for driving this Leviathan every year. This year I was more focused and did things that will end up in my next book Eldritch Witchery. Again, stuff I was going to write anyway and share. This time it ended getting more diverse feedback than say if I had done it in June.
In the end I guess these things are what make of them. For me they have been a great experience both as writer who happens to be blogging and as a blogger in a community of bloggers. Now if there was only a central place where all the blogfest and bloghops were advertised that would be great!
Maybe someone else can take that on. I have some posts that are screaming at me to write. ;)
About the Author: Tim Brannan is an author and blogger living in the suburbs of Chicago. He has worked on a number of games including the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, Ghosts of Albion, and The Witch. He is currently working on Eldritch Witchery for Elf Lair Games and Darwin's Guide to Creatures for Battlefield Press for the Gaslight RPG. When not working on game material or blogging he spends time with wife and two sons. During the day he designs curriculum for universities going online. Prior to this he was teaching Statistics at the university.
Hello everyone and my name is Tim Brannan, some of you might know me from either of my two blogs The Other Side (gaming, horror and geek life) or The Freedom of Nonbelief (atheism, science and human rights). I also am one of a groups of bloggers at Amazon Princess and Red Sonja - She Devil with a Sword. I am guest posting at the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.
I do not underestimate the value of community here.
That is one of the reasons why I feel the Bloghop or Blogfest is critical part of my blogging experience. For the month of May I am participating in seven different bloghops/blogfests. I am considering adding an eighth.
I enjoy participating in these for a number of reasons.
First off it exposes me to new bloggers. I get to read something new and potentially someone new to follow with each one. For the A to Z challenge I end following a dozen or so new bloggers. Likewise it exposes me to a new audience and potential followers to my blogs. There are a lot of blogs out there. There are even blogs out there that have similar interests to that I never saw before. Joining a Horror-related bloghop, for example, is a good way for me to find people with similar tastes outside my normal circles, but joining a "First Loves" bloghop really gets some diversity for me!
Secondly it stretches me a writer. So with all of these blogs you think I have a lot to talk about. Yet I have to admit that there are some days that I open up Blogger and stare at a blank screen. A good bloghop gives me ideas, and failing that it gives me motivation. One of the more obscure ones I joined was one dedicated to silent film star Mary Pickford. Now you might ask how a game-blog with an emphasis on old-school games and horror can have anything to say about a silent film star, but in truth there was a movie that had a huge influence on my future writing. Being able to share that with my primary audience (my regular readers) and my new audience (people in the blog hop) was great, especially since I needed to write from the point of view to satisfy both.
At this point I do want comment on not alienating your audience. I know there are some people, not a lot, but some, in my regular blogging circles that do not like blogfests, and the A to Z one in particular. I want to be cognizant of this. Not tailoring my involvement to the loudest minority mind you, but what it means to my primary audience. If I were for example were to spend the entire month of June doing nothing but talking about silent movies the people that come to my blog for gaming material will be turned off and leave. I participate in these bloghops/blogfests, but I have to make sure that anything I post would have been something I would have posted anyway.
I enjoyed being in the A to Z blogfest the last three years. Each year I do something a little different. I am thankful to all the mods, helpers and minions that made this years' run so much smoother. A real special thanks goes our to Arlee Bird for driving this Leviathan every year. This year I was more focused and did things that will end up in my next book Eldritch Witchery. Again, stuff I was going to write anyway and share. This time it ended getting more diverse feedback than say if I had done it in June.
In the end I guess these things are what make of them. For me they have been a great experience both as writer who happens to be blogging and as a blogger in a community of bloggers. Now if there was only a central place where all the blogfest and bloghops were advertised that would be great!
Maybe someone else can take that on. I have some posts that are screaming at me to write. ;)
About the Author: Tim Brannan is an author and blogger living in the suburbs of Chicago. He has worked on a number of games including the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, Ghosts of Albion, and The Witch. He is currently working on Eldritch Witchery for Elf Lair Games and Darwin's Guide to Creatures for Battlefield Press for the Gaslight RPG. When not working on game material or blogging he spends time with wife and two sons. During the day he designs curriculum for universities going online. Prior to this he was teaching Statistics at the university.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Castles & Crusades Witch
The Castles & Crusades Witch
Castles & Crusades is often called the Rosetta Stone of RPGS. Actually that is not to bad of a claim. Here is my Witch class from The Witch, converted to C&C. I used the S&W versions and an old d20 version of mine to help fill in some of the blanks. As usual, the PDF version is available in the Box download area to the right.
Let me know what you think!
OGL Notice: The following text is considered OPEN under the Open Gaming License.
Section 15: "The Witch for Castles & Crusades" and "Faerie Tradition" copyright © 2013 Timothy S. Brannan.
Art is not considered open and copyright is retained by the artist, Larry Elmore and is used here with permission.
WITCH (CHARISMA)
PRIME ATTRIBUTE: Charisma
HIT DICE: d4 per level up to 10th level. At 11th level, +1 hit point per level.
WEAPONS: A witch may only use a dagger, staff, flaming oil, holy water, net, thrown rock, sling, and whip as weapons.
ARMOR: Cloth, Padded or Leather only, no shields.
ABILITIES: Occult Powers; witch spells, ritual spells, herb use.
! A Witch may take a ritual spell at 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th and 18th levels.
Witches are humans that have heeded the call of some other-worldly patron power. This power can be an ancient and forgotten goddess, a powerful being of the Faerie Realms, an ancient elemental Primordial or even a darker power from beyond our reality. They are trained in the use of potions, herbs, and plants as well as the more powerful forms of magic. They cast spells, perform rituals and learn more as they advance in levels. Witches have only the most basic training in arms and armor, having dedicated their lives to magic and the service of their Patron. The prime requisite for witches is Charisma.
Witch Class Abilities
Spell Casting: The witch owns a book of spells called a “Book of Shadows” this is similar to the books used by magic-users, but each book is unique to each witch. A Read Magic spell will not enable another witch or magic-user to learn spells from this book.
Bonus Spells: With a high charisma score, a witch gains bonus spells. If the character has a charisma between 13-15,she can memorize an extra 1st level spell. If her charisma score is 16 or 17, the witch can memorize an extra 2nd level spell, and if 18 or 19, the witch can memorize an extra 3rd level spell. Bonus spells can only be acquired if the witch is at a high enough level to cast them. Bonus spells are cumulative.
For example, a 4th level witch with an 18 charisma receives four 0 level spells, two 1st level spells, and two 2nd level spells. No bonus 3rd level spell is acquired until the witch reaches 5th level.
Familiar: The witch gains a familiar at 1st level. This is a supernatural creature that often appears to be a normal animal such as a cat or frog.
Occult Power: At first level and every 6 levels hereafter the witch gains an Occult Power. These powers vary from Tradition to Tradition.
Ritual Magic: At 2nd level the witch may opt to choose a Ritual Magic spell. These spells have special requirements in terms of components needs and multiple participants.
Herb Use: All witches are knowledgeable in the use of herbs. A witch of 2nd level or greater can make a healing ointment, balm or poultice out of local herbs. The witch needs to make an Intelligence Ability check to find the herbs and a Wisdom Ability check to make the herbs into a useful balm. These balms heal 1d4 + half the witch’s level. So a 2nd level witch can heal 1d4 + 1 hp per use of herbal balm. A person (character, animal or even monster) can only take benefit of one such balm per day. The witch may only prepare up to 3 such doses of balms per day.
Coven: at 13th level a witch may leave her coven to form her own coven.
Faerie Tradition
The witch living in the deep of the woods is a powerful archetype; her story has been retold countless times in myth and tale. This type of witch is often a Faerie Witch. Faerie Witches appear to be living in solitude, usually in a sylvan setting. In reality, they often live in large communities of fey, serving as an ambassador to travelers moving through the area.
The Faerie Witch can appear as a beautiful SÃdhe princess, a matronly faerie godmother or even as a hideous hag.
The Faerie Witch’s clothing varies from character to character. Some of them choose to dress down, while others dress with a flair for the bizarre. Their homes appear welcoming, but also very unnatural in a forest setting. The homes are typically well kept with splendid gardens outside.
NPC faerie witches are usually Even or Half-Elven, since elves are native to the same geographical locations as the Faerie tradition.
Role: Faerie witches spend much of their time conversing with the local fey. They take care of the plants and animals near their home, building large gardens of flowers and vines in the surrounding area. As witches, their chief concerns are brewing helpful potions, studying the ways of nature and using their divination magic to watch the forest area they protect.
Faerie Witches easily form alliances with rangers and druids living in the same area. They will often inform these allies of local happenings and sometimes offer their magical services to them.
Joining this Tradition: Faerie Witches join this tradition in a variety of ways. A common way is when a small child becomes lost in the wilderness and an existing Faerie Witch finding the child. Another Faerie Witch may receive a vision from her patron to teach a Neophyte Faerie Witch the traditions. Other times, a person may become divinely inspired, and attempt to seek out an existing Faerie Witch to train under.
The Faerie Witch must learn Elf or Sylvan as one of their starting languages.
On the Vernal Equinox, Faerie Witch covens gather to celebrate the beginning of spring. These celebrations vary by coven, but are usually extremely joyous gatherings. On the Autumnal Equinox, Faerie witch covens become much more serious, gathering to prepare for the oncoming winter.
Like the Seelie and Unseelie Fae, Faerie Witches divide themselves into Summer and Winter courts. These alliances often have more meaning to them than alignment.
Leaving this Tradition: A Faerie Witch who ceases to revere and respect her homeland or betray the trust of the local fey will lose her powers, until she can atone. She loses any spells or occult powers she has learned.
Occult Powers: The Faerie witch lives in the world of magic, her connection to the “real world” can seem to be only tangential to her relationship to the worlds of deep faerie magic.
Least, 1st Level: Familiar. The faerie witch gains a familiar. This familiar will be of a creature that is common to the world of the fae. It can appear as a normal animal, but there could something different or off about it. Examples of these familiars might be winged cats or talking dogs. The “specialness” of the familiar in question will never be something great, but it will set them apart from others of their kind.
Lesser, 7th Level: Speak to Plants and Animals. Three times per day, the Faerie Witch may speak to plants or animals. The conversation is limited to the intelligence of the creatures involved, but the witch might still discover a great deal about the surrounding land.
Minor, 13th Level: Fey Shape. Once per day, the faerie witch can polymorph herself into any type of faerie creature and back. The creature in question must be of comparable size. So, a human faerie witch can change herself into a dryad, sylph or even a hag, but a pixie is not possible. The witch gains the powers of the creature and retains her ability to case spells, but she also suffers from that creature’s associated weaknesses. She retains her own hit points and level.
Once the faerie witch reaches this level, she gains the fae’s intolerance of cold iron. Any iron weapon (not forged steel like most weapons) will do an additional 1d6 points of damage to the witch if touched, similar in the way Holy Water damages undead or fire damages living creatures. Unless a weapon is specifically listed as being cold-forged iron, then assume it is not.
Greater, 19th Level: Witch’s Curse. The witch can place a powerful Curse on one creature once per day. The curse can be of any sort, but will usually bestow a -4 to all to hit rolls and -2 to any saving throw rolls. Witch curses are quite powerful and require the use of two (2) remove curse spells to be fully removed.
Special Benefits: Faerie witches often have many allies in Sylvan settings. Her ability to speak with the other fey races is often very helpful.
Special Restrictions: Faerie Witches tend to be more neutral, but no other alignment restrictions are clearly drawn.
Equipment: The tool of this tradition is the wand. The wand is often made from a branch of the oldest tree in the Faerie witch’s forest.
Preferred/Barred Covens: Faerie witches tend to be a bit xenophobic, so most covens that a faerie witch will belong to are made up of other faerie witches.
Relationship to the Goddess/Patron: The Faerie witch views the Goddess as nature itself. As a Faerie witch takes care of the plants and animals around them out of respect to the Goddess.
Source/Views of Magic: Like most witches, the Faerie Witch views her magic as a manifestation of the Goddess. The source of her magic is the great forest. This obviously puts them on good terms with druids, who view their magic in a similar light.
Archetypes: Most Faerie Witches see little use in the Law vs. Chaos axis. Nature is both and neither, so why should they choose? Most tend towards neutral if for no other reason than good or evil acts attract attention, something they dislike.
Other: Faerie Witches tend not to hoard much wealth, but their homes are well kept, and some are ornamented with works of art. The yards of the Faerie witches’ homes are usually filled with lavish gardens, which may give the appearance of wealth, but more often than not Faerie Witches will have little to no money.
Castles & Crusades is often called the Rosetta Stone of RPGS. Actually that is not to bad of a claim. Here is my Witch class from The Witch, converted to C&C. I used the S&W versions and an old d20 version of mine to help fill in some of the blanks. As usual, the PDF version is available in the Box download area to the right.
Let me know what you think!
OGL Notice: The following text is considered OPEN under the Open Gaming License.
Section 15: "The Witch for Castles & Crusades" and "Faerie Tradition" copyright © 2013 Timothy S. Brannan.
Art is not considered open and copyright is retained by the artist, Larry Elmore and is used here with permission.
WITCH (CHARISMA)
PRIME ATTRIBUTE: Charisma
HIT DICE: d4 per level up to 10th level. At 11th level, +1 hit point per level.
WEAPONS: A witch may only use a dagger, staff, flaming oil, holy water, net, thrown rock, sling, and whip as weapons.
ARMOR: Cloth, Padded or Leather only, no shields.
ABILITIES: Occult Powers; witch spells, ritual spells, herb use.
| Witch Experience Table | Spells / Level | |||||||||||||
Level
|
Hit Dice (d4)
|
BtH
|
EPP
|
Occult Powers
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
1
|
1d4
|
0
|
0
|
Occult Power
|
4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
2
|
2d4
|
+1
|
2,601
|
Herb Use
|
4 | 2! | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
3
|
3d4
|
+1
|
5,201
|
4 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
4
|
4d4
|
+1
|
10,401
|
4 | 2 | 2! | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
5
|
5d4
|
+1
|
20,801
|
5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
6
|
6d4
|
+2
|
40,001
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 2! | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
7
|
7d4
|
+2
|
80,001
|
Occult Power
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
8
|
8d4
|
+2
|
160,001
|
5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2! | - | - | - | - | - | |
9
|
9d4
|
+2
|
320,001
|
5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | |
10
|
10d4
|
+3
|
440,001
|
6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2! | - | - | - | - | |
11
|
+1
|
+3
|
560,001
|
6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | |
12
|
+1
|
+3
|
700,001
|
6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2! | - | - | - | |
13
|
+1
|
+3
|
840,001
|
Occult Power
|
6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - |
14
|
+1
|
+4
|
980,001
|
6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2! | - | - | |
15
|
+1
|
+4
|
1,120,001
|
6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | |
16
|
+1
|
+4
|
1,260,001
|
7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2! | - | |
17
|
+1
|
+4
|
1,400,001
|
7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
18
|
+1
|
+5
|
1,540,001
|
7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2! | |
19
|
+1
|
+5
|
1,680,001
|
Occult Power
|
7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
20
|
+1
|
+5
|
1,820,001
|
7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
21+
|
+1 hp/level
|
+5
|
+140,000
|
7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
! A Witch may take a ritual spell at 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th and 18th levels.
Witches are humans that have heeded the call of some other-worldly patron power. This power can be an ancient and forgotten goddess, a powerful being of the Faerie Realms, an ancient elemental Primordial or even a darker power from beyond our reality. They are trained in the use of potions, herbs, and plants as well as the more powerful forms of magic. They cast spells, perform rituals and learn more as they advance in levels. Witches have only the most basic training in arms and armor, having dedicated their lives to magic and the service of their Patron. The prime requisite for witches is Charisma.
Witch Class Abilities
Spell Casting: The witch owns a book of spells called a “Book of Shadows” this is similar to the books used by magic-users, but each book is unique to each witch. A Read Magic spell will not enable another witch or magic-user to learn spells from this book.
Bonus Spells: With a high charisma score, a witch gains bonus spells. If the character has a charisma between 13-15,she can memorize an extra 1st level spell. If her charisma score is 16 or 17, the witch can memorize an extra 2nd level spell, and if 18 or 19, the witch can memorize an extra 3rd level spell. Bonus spells can only be acquired if the witch is at a high enough level to cast them. Bonus spells are cumulative.
For example, a 4th level witch with an 18 charisma receives four 0 level spells, two 1st level spells, and two 2nd level spells. No bonus 3rd level spell is acquired until the witch reaches 5th level.
Familiar: The witch gains a familiar at 1st level. This is a supernatural creature that often appears to be a normal animal such as a cat or frog.
Occult Power: At first level and every 6 levels hereafter the witch gains an Occult Power. These powers vary from Tradition to Tradition.
Ritual Magic: At 2nd level the witch may opt to choose a Ritual Magic spell. These spells have special requirements in terms of components needs and multiple participants.
Herb Use: All witches are knowledgeable in the use of herbs. A witch of 2nd level or greater can make a healing ointment, balm or poultice out of local herbs. The witch needs to make an Intelligence Ability check to find the herbs and a Wisdom Ability check to make the herbs into a useful balm. These balms heal 1d4 + half the witch’s level. So a 2nd level witch can heal 1d4 + 1 hp per use of herbal balm. A person (character, animal or even monster) can only take benefit of one such balm per day. The witch may only prepare up to 3 such doses of balms per day.
Coven: at 13th level a witch may leave her coven to form her own coven.
Faerie Tradition
The Faerie Witch can appear as a beautiful SÃdhe princess, a matronly faerie godmother or even as a hideous hag.
The Faerie Witch’s clothing varies from character to character. Some of them choose to dress down, while others dress with a flair for the bizarre. Their homes appear welcoming, but also very unnatural in a forest setting. The homes are typically well kept with splendid gardens outside.
NPC faerie witches are usually Even or Half-Elven, since elves are native to the same geographical locations as the Faerie tradition.
Role: Faerie witches spend much of their time conversing with the local fey. They take care of the plants and animals near their home, building large gardens of flowers and vines in the surrounding area. As witches, their chief concerns are brewing helpful potions, studying the ways of nature and using their divination magic to watch the forest area they protect.
Faerie Witches easily form alliances with rangers and druids living in the same area. They will often inform these allies of local happenings and sometimes offer their magical services to them.
Joining this Tradition: Faerie Witches join this tradition in a variety of ways. A common way is when a small child becomes lost in the wilderness and an existing Faerie Witch finding the child. Another Faerie Witch may receive a vision from her patron to teach a Neophyte Faerie Witch the traditions. Other times, a person may become divinely inspired, and attempt to seek out an existing Faerie Witch to train under.
The Faerie Witch must learn Elf or Sylvan as one of their starting languages.
On the Vernal Equinox, Faerie Witch covens gather to celebrate the beginning of spring. These celebrations vary by coven, but are usually extremely joyous gatherings. On the Autumnal Equinox, Faerie witch covens become much more serious, gathering to prepare for the oncoming winter.
Like the Seelie and Unseelie Fae, Faerie Witches divide themselves into Summer and Winter courts. These alliances often have more meaning to them than alignment.
Leaving this Tradition: A Faerie Witch who ceases to revere and respect her homeland or betray the trust of the local fey will lose her powers, until she can atone. She loses any spells or occult powers she has learned.
Occult Powers: The Faerie witch lives in the world of magic, her connection to the “real world” can seem to be only tangential to her relationship to the worlds of deep faerie magic.
Least, 1st Level: Familiar. The faerie witch gains a familiar. This familiar will be of a creature that is common to the world of the fae. It can appear as a normal animal, but there could something different or off about it. Examples of these familiars might be winged cats or talking dogs. The “specialness” of the familiar in question will never be something great, but it will set them apart from others of their kind.
Lesser, 7th Level: Speak to Plants and Animals. Three times per day, the Faerie Witch may speak to plants or animals. The conversation is limited to the intelligence of the creatures involved, but the witch might still discover a great deal about the surrounding land.
Minor, 13th Level: Fey Shape. Once per day, the faerie witch can polymorph herself into any type of faerie creature and back. The creature in question must be of comparable size. So, a human faerie witch can change herself into a dryad, sylph or even a hag, but a pixie is not possible. The witch gains the powers of the creature and retains her ability to case spells, but she also suffers from that creature’s associated weaknesses. She retains her own hit points and level.
Once the faerie witch reaches this level, she gains the fae’s intolerance of cold iron. Any iron weapon (not forged steel like most weapons) will do an additional 1d6 points of damage to the witch if touched, similar in the way Holy Water damages undead or fire damages living creatures. Unless a weapon is specifically listed as being cold-forged iron, then assume it is not.
Greater, 19th Level: Witch’s Curse. The witch can place a powerful Curse on one creature once per day. The curse can be of any sort, but will usually bestow a -4 to all to hit rolls and -2 to any saving throw rolls. Witch curses are quite powerful and require the use of two (2) remove curse spells to be fully removed.
Special Benefits: Faerie witches often have many allies in Sylvan settings. Her ability to speak with the other fey races is often very helpful.
Special Restrictions: Faerie Witches tend to be more neutral, but no other alignment restrictions are clearly drawn.
Equipment: The tool of this tradition is the wand. The wand is often made from a branch of the oldest tree in the Faerie witch’s forest.
Preferred/Barred Covens: Faerie witches tend to be a bit xenophobic, so most covens that a faerie witch will belong to are made up of other faerie witches.
Relationship to the Goddess/Patron: The Faerie witch views the Goddess as nature itself. As a Faerie witch takes care of the plants and animals around them out of respect to the Goddess.
Source/Views of Magic: Like most witches, the Faerie Witch views her magic as a manifestation of the Goddess. The source of her magic is the great forest. This obviously puts them on good terms with druids, who view their magic in a similar light.
Archetypes: Most Faerie Witches see little use in the Law vs. Chaos axis. Nature is both and neither, so why should they choose? Most tend towards neutral if for no other reason than good or evil acts attract attention, something they dislike.
Other: Faerie Witches tend not to hoard much wealth, but their homes are well kept, and some are ornamented with works of art. The yards of the Faerie witches’ homes are usually filled with lavish gardens, which may give the appearance of wealth, but more often than not Faerie Witches will have little to no money.
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