I am a fan of the HBO series True Detective. I had a bit to say about the first season here and here, so I am a fan. The new season, Season 4, is out now, and so far, it is excellent, too.  I am not going to get into any spoilers here, but Jodie Foster is fantastic in this. Maybe some of the best acting of her career, and I have been a fan of hers forever. And Kali Reis is amazing so far.

This season, subtitled "Night Country," is a fantastic idea. It takes place in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska just north of the Arctic Circle. It is a detective drama, but there appear to be elements of the supernatural in it as well. Plus, it ties directly back to the first season of True Detective.

It also sounds a lot like what I wanted to do with my Valhalla, AK. 

Now, let's be honest here. The idea is a good one. Plus, I know there is really no way Issa López (showrunner, writer, and director) has read anything I have ever written here. It is just a great idea. Mine might have been a little closer to "Northern Exposure," though my Valhalla would be somewhere south of Ennis and a bit north of Cicely. 

While it is a great idea and one I have some fun with, I am not sure I could get away with building anything for it now for publication. Sure, I have the benefit of having my Valhalla predate Night Country and the first season of True Detective, but I am not sure I could really do it justice.

So, I am thinking of going back to my original idea and doing it as something for free here online. Something people can use in their NIGHT SHIFT games. Hell, if I throw in more alien abductions, then I can add in bits of Thirteen Parsecs, or other games from Elf Lair Games.  

Something I have been working on for Thirteen Parsecs is the fact that the barriers between the multi-verses are very thin here. People wander and get lost and end up in a different universe. One of those Earths is a planet called Gaia where history is like our own, but due to disease and runaway climate change, the population is only a 10th of Earth's, and the global temperatures have risen an average of 7-10 degrees Celius. Valhalla, AK, on Gaia, is much warmer and wetter than it is here. I mentioned some of this in the Night Companion book for NIGHT SHIFT.

I hope to develop more ideas and ways to use this weird little town in NIGHT SHIFT. 

Starting Adventure Seeds

The Last of 97s

In this seed there is a local gold mine. The mine has been shut down since the turn of the last century. Then, one night, a stranger comes to town with handfuls of gold he claims he has taken from the mine. His paperwork is all in order and legal for his purchase of the mine. He begins paying the locals in this gold. Soon he, his miners, and anyone he gave gold too end up dead by mysterious and brutal ways.

The Culprit: The ghosts of the dead miners from the failed rescue of the 1897 Mine Collapse do not want their gold taken away. Getting to bodies is difficult. The only way to quiet the dead miners is to return all the gold taken out.

Prophecy in the Petroglyphs

A cave with petroglyphs from the last Ice Age seems to be depicting scenes in the nearby town. Are these a warning from the past about the future or is history repeating itself?

The Culprit: Unknown as of yet. But it's likely something I can add to another adventure.

The Fur Trapper's Curse

An old abandoned fur trapper's hut is discovered along with the frozen remains of two Russian Fur trappers from the late 1700s. They walked over the frozen sea during one of the coldest winters of the last 400 years. They froze, and their faces were frozen in terror. But what else is there? A nearby cave, now uncovered due to warming temperatures, has the answer. 

The Culprit: A giant frozen bear that is a throwback to prehistoric times. It is bigger than any grizzly or polar bear recorded. Maybe it is an Amphicyon. 

The Wrath of the Wendigo

This one is obvious.

The Culprit: The wendigo!

The Strange Auroras

The Aurora Borealis are a common sight this far north. But not these. These auroras have strange colors and patterns; if you listen closely enough, you can hear them whisper to you. It is a strange language that worms into your mind, and you can't get it out of your head, no matter how hard you try.

The Culprit: Unknown as of yet!

Utopia

A reclusive tech billionaire builds a self-sufficient town in the Alaskan wilderness, promising a new age of peace and progress. But beneath the sleek surface lurks a sinister secret, fueled by technology and dark bargains.

The Culprit: You think it is the billionaire, and yeah, he is to blame, but it has more to do with the creature he has made a pact with.

These are just a few of the ideas I have. There are more where this came from.

 This one is important to me.  

Yesterday, I briefly introduced you to a character I mentioned around here but finally gave him a proper introduction: Nigel "Death Blade" Delamort. If he sounded like the sort of character a 13-year-old makes while trying to sound edgy, then yes, you are 100% correct. But he is part of a quintet, five aspects of my personality on paper as it were (remember I was just introduced to psychology and I was eating it all up). Today's character is the last of that quintet.

Briefly, when looking at psychoanalytic theory (and please keep in mind I am reducing a hundred+ years worth of thought into the size of a bubble gum wrapper), a person's personality can broken up into two aspects according to Jung (Anima/Animus) or three according to Freud (Id/Ego/Super-ego). I have already introduced you all to my Animus (Phygora), Anima (Larina), Id (Nigel), and Super-Ego (Johan), so all I need now is my Ego-self.  

My ego is Johan Werper, aka Retsam Elddir.

Wait. That doesn't make any sense. Here is what I am talking about. 

Again, I ask you to come back with me to the years between 1983 and 1986. I was in High School and playing a ton of D&D...or, more to the point, AD&D. We really tried to draw a very solid line between the two. When I was the DM, it was B/X D&D, and our world was "The Known World," later to be called Mystara. When my friend Michael was DMing, it was AD&D, and the world was Greyhawk. We would merge them, and that world became something like the Mystoerth that I use today.

Around 85-86 we were both working making new character classes and trying them out. Mine were the Healer, the Sun-Priest, a variant on the Necromancer/Death Mage, and my most successful one, The Witch. Grenda was not sitting by. He had created, sort of as a joke, a super-powered class of psychic adepts that had to hide their powers since at that time we said psionics were considered unnatural in a world of magic. That class was the Riddle Master, named after the Patricia A. McKillip book, The Riddle-Master of Hed. As it happened, he really loved the class. So much so that he wanted me to try it out.  So I said fine, roll up my stats and I'll come over.  He did and the stats for my new Riddle Master were the exact same as the ones Johan I had. So we thought this was the Johan of Oerth and not the same as the Mystara one I was playing. We were both high from the Crisis on Infinite Earths, I had also been reading Job: A Comedy of Justice by Heinlein and The Coming of the Quantum Cats by Pohl. So we decided that this new Johan was a "Quantum Cat" or multiverse counterpart (the current en vogue term is Variant) of my first Johan. Much like Superman of Earth 1 vs. Superman of Earth 2 there was a generational age difference.

We decided that this new Riddle Master character had to use a different name to avoid confusion in our inevitable cross-overs.  I did the only logical thing. I spelled his name backwards, much to the chagrin of Grenda. Of course I stole the idea from him. He had characters named Adnerg and Htaed.

Thus began the adventuring life of Retsam Elddir. He crazy powerful psionic powers and still made dumb mistakes. Like when he stuck his hands into a Gelatinous Cube (he wore gloves after that forever to hide the scars), he was best friends with Larina, married Heather, and killed the ancient vampire Mal Havoc. 

Later on, Retsam, using the name Scott Elders, would show up in Ghosts of Albion, WitchCraft, and even feature in a Star Trek game as a guest, then as the main PC. The AD&D version was a blast to play with but I also enjoyed the WitchCraft version a lot. It was the WitchCraft version that I used in my Vacation in Vancouver campaign.

Retsam has a lot of things in common with both Johan (Super-Ego) and Phygora (Animus). Like both of those characters, he is an occult/arcane scholar. Like them both he is an expert in magic. In Larina's library, there are books with blue covers from Johan, black covers from Pygora, and red covers from Retsam.

Retsam Elddir / Scott Elders / Johan Werper

Class: Psychic / Scholar
Level: 20
Species: Human
Alignment: Light Neutral
Background: Scholar

Abilities
Strength: 15 (+2) 
Agility: 10 (+0) 
Toughness: 12 (+0) 
Intelligence: 15 (+1) N
Wits: 15 (+1) N
Persona: 19 (+3) A

Fate Points: 1d12
Defense Value: 5
Vitality: 120
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +8/+6/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base) +1 (touchstone) 
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Psychic Attack: +7
Saves: +7 vs Persona (Psychic), +1 to all (touchstone)

Psychic Abilities
Psychic powers: 5, Supernatural attacks, Supernatural power: Astral Projection

Psychic Powers
Bio-feedback
Psychokinesis
ESP
Telepathy
Temporal Sense

Sage Abilities
Languages: 15, Lore 95%, Mesmerize others, suggestion, Renegade Skills: 3rd level, Spells 3/2/1

Stealth Skills
Open Locks: 30%
Bypass Traps: 25%
Sleight of Hand: 35%
Sneak: 30%

Spells
First level: Arcane Dart, Damage Undead, Mystical Senses
Second level: Lesser Renewal, Unlock
Third level: Concussive Blast

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: First Level Spell: Black Flame
2nd Level: +1 to melee combat
3rd Level: Charm Power
4th Level: Favored Enemy: Vampire
5th Level: +1 to all checks, attacks, and saves
6th Level: Immunity to Undead Attacks
7th Level: Character ceases to age
8th Level: Persistent Luck
9th Level: Down but not out
10th Level: Time Slip

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Knowledge

Gear
Sword, Leather Armor

Retsam in the Wasted Lands

Much like Nigel this is where Retsam starts. In the Wasted Lands I would focus on his psychic abilities and his desire to hunt the undead, vampires in particular.

Retsam in NIGHT SHIFT

In modern times Retsam is using the name Scott Elders. NIGHT SHIFT works great (naturally) with the type of supernatural games I like to play/run. In this sort of game I can use Retsam/Scott as Prof. Scott Elders, an occult scholar and faculty at St. Andrews University. 

Retsam in Thirteen Parsecs

This Scott Elders was the Chief Medical Officer and then Captain of the medical starship Mercy. To have one system to be able to do all three of these different versions is fantastic. Especially one system that allows me to do this character so well.

ALL allow me to use the same character across different times, different places, and right up to the Solar Frontier.

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

 Back in the mid-80s, I discovered psychology. I thought it was a great topic and it really fascinated me. I started, of course, with the classics where most people start, Freud and Jung. Well, really, Jung and then Freud , I wanted to read Jung and, in particular, Synchronicity in the original German. It was not easy let me tell you. While both Freud and Jung are psychoanalysts, but Jung always more like philosophy to me.  One of his concepts was that of the Anima and the Animus side of your personality. Like a Ying and Yang. Similarly, Freud had his view of the Id, Ego, and Super-ego (das Es, Ich, and Über-Ich), which I think a lot of people at least have a passing knowledge of. 

You might be asking, great, but what does this arm-chair psychology have to do with characters? Well for this weekend, a lot. 

My exploration of psychology (which also led to my eventual career as a Psychologist) was going on at the same time as some of my most prolific character creations.  It is no shock, then, that I have characters that represent these psychoanalytic concepts. 

On the Jungian side (because I am still Jung at heart! Yes, I use that joke often) we have my obvious Anima in Larina. In fact, I may have identified her as an anima before she was a character. My Animus is Phygora. I have not explored him much because what is there to say? He is an academic, he has magic. Swap magic for science, and you have me.     

On the Freudian side, Johan I is very much my Super-ego. So, who are my Id and Ego characters?  

Ego represents you, who you are to the outside world. My Ego character is "Retsam Elddir" (yeah, I will explain that later).

Id represents all your unchecked desires and dark impulses. My Id is Nigel "Death Blade" Delamort.

Who is Nigel "Death Blade" Delamort?

Nigel was a 1st Ed AD&D character and I had a lot of fun with him. He is/was a Neutral Evil assassin that used to adventure in the same party as Johan II. I fudged it and said that both heard a prophecy that they would both be needed in a great war and they could not harm each other.  All BS of course, I wanted to have a LG Paladin and a NE Assassin at the same time. 

Nigel began life through a dirt-poor second son in Specularum, he tried to steal a dagger from a local blacksmith. Instead of turning the boy in the blacksmith trained him, until the blacksmith was killed by assassins.  I won't get into the details here, but suffice to say that he was a fun character who allowed me to live out a lot of violence (it is what my Id would do).  

He mellowed out over the years. Which is good because he was a bit of an asshole.

Through a series of events that are too long and complicated to get into here, Nigel was transported to the future so I could use him Star Frontiers. He would come back to help Johan in my big war at the end of High School with his spaceship, the Lucifer.  Along the way, he became immortal, or at least very long-lived, and he has been a galactic bounty hunter for hire. 

Nigel "Death Blade" Delamort

Class: Renegade
Level: 20
Species: Human
Alignment: Twilight Evil
Background: Craft (Blacksmith)

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 20 (+4) A
Toughness: 17 (+2) N
Intelligence: 13 (+1) 
Wits: 12 (+1) 
Persona: 8 (-1) 

Fate Points: 1d12
Defense Value: 2
Vitality: 119
Degeneracy: 1
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +8/+6/+4
Melee Bonus: +6 (base) +3 +2 (touchstones) 
Ranged Bonus: +6 (base) +4 +1 (touchstone)
Spell Attack: NA
Saves: +7 vs Death effects (Renegade), +2 to Toughness-based saves related to stamina and endurance (Craft). +1 to all (touchstone)

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-7 d8), Perception, Vital Strike x7, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

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

Stealth Skills
Open Locks: 95%
Bypass Traps: 95%
Sleight of Hand: 95%
Sneak: 95%
Climbing: 95%
Perception: 95%

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level:  +1 to melee attacks
2nd Level: Favored Weapon: Sword (+1 to hit, +2 Damage)
3rd Level: Level 1 of Warrior
4th Level: Level 2 of Warrior
5th Level: +1 to all checks, attacks, and saves
6th Level: Level 3 of Warrior
7th Level: Character ceases to age
8th Level: Level 4 of Warrior
9th Level: Down but not Out
10th Level: Level 5 of Warrior

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: War

Gear
Sword, Leather Armor, thieves tools, (later plasma rifle).

Nigel in the Wasted Lands

This is the starting point for Nigel, my D&D stand-in. When I had him move between systems I always had to restat him. Here he can move between the epochs with ease.

Nigel in NIGHT SHIFT

In modern times Nigel is something of a supernatural hunter. From his personal timeline this occurred after he spent his time in literal Hell. After coming back from the future he went back to Glantri. Here he followed his daughter's (Raven) killer into hell. Again like said above it is long and complicated. But after Hell, Nigel was a WitchCraft/Armageddon character.

Nigel in Thirteen Parsecs

This was right after "D&D" and here I used Star Frontiers for his stats. It was an interesting translation.  Then we tried a little Gamma World, then a little (tiny little) bit of Traveller. Each translation I felt something in the character was lost even if my knowledge of the games increased. Thirteen Parsecs hopefully will fix that for me. Nigel will be one of my first 13P characters.

ALL allow me to use the same character across different times, different places and right on up to the Solar Frontier.

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

 Ok I have three semi-related Kickstarters for you this week. None of them need my encouragement as they were all funded pretty quickly, but they are still fun.

Tarot, Witch of the Black Rose: LAST STAND

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jimbalent/tarot-witch-of-the-black-rose-last-stand?ref=theotherside

Jim Balent and Holly Golightly are back with another huge issue of Tarot Witch of the Black Rose. I am a massive fan of Jim and Holly. They are great people and put a lot of love into everything they do. Tarot is no different. I am woefully behind on my reading of these, but that's fine, I'll get caught up. 

Tarot and her allies (from the pic above, her sister Raven, her lover Jon "Skeleton Man" Webb, and more) are fighting a massive battle against the undead.  Sounds fantastic really.

I have supported many of their Kickstarters in the past, and they are always really fast in getting their material out. My general advice for these? Come to see what Jim is doing with Tarot, but also check out all the fun stuff Holly does in the stretch goals, add ons!

Moving on to other Supers.

Valiant Adventures Roleplaying Game

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/greenroninpub/valiant-adventures-roleplaying-game?ref=theotherside

Green Ronin, a company I adore, is up with a new set of Supers using their iconic Mutants & Masterminds system. 

I have been dying for some new superhero RPG rules, which should be fantastic. I know very, very little about the Valiant Universe, but I know it will be great. 

There are many options here, and there should be some level for everyone. They even have a free Quickstart that looks great, by the way. If this is how the full books look, then this will be a great-looking game. I also can't help but think I could use this with their own M&M 3 universe and the DC Adventures game they had out years ago. 

Tales of the Valiant Game Master's Guide 5E

Another Valiant, this time Kobold Press' 5e alternative. The look is something of a cross between 5e and Pathfinder 2r. Still compatible with 5th edition.

There looks like there is a lot of good stuff in this book and more coming. I am just not sure if it is for me. I bet my oldest would love it though.

 It is pretty late, and I thought I had a character lined up to go, but I guess I didn't. So, going through this big old folder of characters I have worked up over the years, I ran into an "oldish" friend.  

Content creator GinnyDi released three elf characters that anyone could adopt a couple of years back. I took an immediate liking to one, Morelia the Wood Witch. So much so that she makes a guest appearance in my War of the Witch Queen campaign. 

Morelia is such a fun character she was so much fun when I ran A Witch's Desire. She and her familiar Crimini showed up in place of the Witch of the Wild. Since then I have been dying to use her somewhere else again. I just wish I could pull off her adorable high-pitched voice!

So once again, with her (implied) permission, here is Morelia the Wood Witch. 

Morelia the Wood Witch

Class: Witch (Wits)
Level: 8
Species: Wood Elf
Alignment: Light Good
Background: Craft

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

Fate Points: 1d8
Defense Value: 8
Vitality: 45
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+3/+1
Melee Bonus: +1 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base) 
Spell Attack: +4 (witch) 
Saves: +4 to Spells and Magical effects (Sorcerer), +1 to Persona, Agility, and mind-affecting spells  (Wood Elf), +1 to Toughness (touchstone)

Elf Abilities
Nightsighted, surprised, saves, bonus spell*

Witch Abilities
Arcana, Arcane Powers (3): Polymath (Alchemy), Beguile, Subtle Influence

Sorceress Spells
First Level: Beast Speech*, Armor of Earth, Glamour, Read Languages, Mystical Senses
Second Level: Create Water, Invisibility, Locator Spell: Plants
Third Level: Cure Disease, Remove Curse, Slow
Fourth Level: Metamorph Other, Plant Speech

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: +1 bonus to Toughness saves
2nd Level: Luck Benefit
3rd Level: Spirit Guide: Cat "Crimini"
4th Level: Magical Recovery

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Crafting, Alchemy

Gear
Dagger, cauldron, very spoiled cat

Wasted Lands and Morelia

The spell selection here is bit less than what I would want with Morelia. I think this is largely due to the fact that I really liked her Basic-era/BX/OSE version a lot. But in truth there is nothing stopping me from gabbing a spell or two from one of my witch books and use them here. This is even more true if I am using Wasted Lands as D&D.

For the Divine/Heroic archetypes, I might swap out that 2nd level Luck benefit for an herbal healing one. Makes much more sense for her, really, but like the spells, I want to do it by the book first. 

Still, though, this character is a delight. I have decided that the next time my players encounter her she is going to be having a long and animated conversation with her herb garden. 

Morelia Links

• 3 Elf NPCs for your Tabletop Game (Youtube)
• Introducing Morelia (Instagram)
• Morelia the Wood Witch (Twitter)
• Morelia (World Anvil)

--

Don't forget to stop by the Tardi Captian's Blog to see all his character posts, and all the other participants.

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

 Today, I begin my journey into the Forgotten Realm properly. But even a journey as epic as the Realms needs to start out small and, for me, local. I have my guide. Now, grab some guidebooks. But which ones?  Well that part is easy. I will review the Forgotten Realms books I have on hand, literally and figuratively. I will just review the physical books and boxed sets I have here. I might buy more in the future, or I might not. I might seek out some books on purpose, others, well, maybe I found a reasonable price on them.

Up first will be a book I bought years ago (from Castle Perilous!) because I knew if I ever "did the Realms," this is where I would start.

FR2 Moonshae

by Douglas Niles, Print and PDF. 64 pages, full color, dual-sided map. 1987.

For this review, I considering both my original version and the PDF from DriveThruRPG.

Ok, why am I starting with a supplement and one not even from Ed Greenwood himself? Simple, the Moonshae islands were always that one bit of the Forgotten Realms I was really fascinated by. It was also where I knew I would set my native Realms in. It felt close enough to the Irish and Celtic myths I loved while still being "D&D" enough.  I knew enough of the history of this and the Moonshae novels by Douglas Niles to make this worthwhile to get. But I am getting ahead of myself here.

In the AD&D 1st Edition Players Handbook, Gary Gygax had this to say about Druids:

"Druids can be visualized as medieval cousins of what the ancient Celtic sect of Druids would have become had it survived the Roman conquest." - PHB, p. 21

The Moonshae Isles can be viewed as the British Isles if the Celts, the Britons, and all the rest had thrown Rome out in 55 AD.  We know that Douglas Niles was working on a Celtic-themed set of books and a new campaign setting in the mid-80s. He brought over his collection of islands, and Ed Greenwood tossed out what had been his Moonshae (or whatever was there) and used Niles' for the publication version of the Forgotten Realms. This book acts as an overview and a Gazetteer. 

The book is divided into three major sections, plus an Introduction and Appendices. 

Introduction

This covers a bit of fiction that connects it to the Moonshae novels, particularly Darkwalker on Moonshae. I started the novel a couple of times but never got through it.  You don't need to know anything about it, though, to use this book.

Moonshae Overview

This covers the Moonshae Isles and the sorts of characters and Characters, as well as the folk and Fflok, you will meet there. It makes a very good case for this to be the starting point of the adventures. Since, to my very limited knowledge, this is the western most point on the Forgotten Realms maps at this time. You can travel east and see the entire world. 

The races are AD&D standard, but I already feel some differences here from, say, Greyhawk.  There is a good section on common conflicts. This appeals to me since one on my favorite themes to deal with in games is the waning of Paganism and the rise of Monotheism in Western Europe. The Moonshae has this theme baked in with its Druids vs. Clerics and Ffolk vs. the Northmen.

Humans are divided up into the previously mentioned Fflok (think British pagans) and the Northmen (think Norse/Viking raider pagans). There is an uneasy truce here now. I can't wait to see if this boils over or if they take a page from our world and just settle down. One of the reasons you are reading this in English now. This is illustrated with a map of the political borders, which Elminster tells us are constantly in flux in the book. 

We get another map of trade routes within the islands and to the Sword Coast mainland. Some tables on weather (it's a lot like Chicago to be honest) and lots of great random encounter tables.

The Moonshae book effectively makes the "low level" adventuring interesting where a Giant Stag is big opponent, but you could also see goblins or a faerie dragon. The Celts book for AD&D 2nd Edition would do the same thing very well. Honestly that book could be used with the Moonshae with no problem whatsoever. 

Deities of the Moonshaes

I will give Niles and TSR credit, they didn't stick a narrowly defined idea of what a god might be. The main Goddess of the Moonshaes is The Earthmother. We are told she is an aspect of the Goddess Chauntea who the rest of the Realms sees as an agricultural goddess. The Ffolk, though, do not see her like that. To them she is The Goddess. Embracing a bit of the revisionist views of British Paganism but I like it, and more to the point it works well here. If Gygax can say what he did about Druids above, then this logically follows. The Goddess has three children. The Leviathan, a gargantuan whale, Kamerynn, a large unicorn, and the Pack, a pack of wolves. All have been endowed with special qualities by the Earthmother and are her eyes and ears in these lands. There is also evil here in the form of Kazgoroth, the Beast. Who looks a bit like a wingless dragon. 

Specific Locales of the Moonshaes

This covers a dozen or so locations. Parallels can be drawn from many of these to locales in British and Irish myth and legend. And honestly, that is fine. It made figuring out where to start my grand adventure even easier. I mean I could be wrong but Callidyrr is our stand-in for Camelot, Corwell is Cornwall, Moray is like a smaller Ireland or a larger Ilse of Man, and so on. Now there are some interesting additions. What if the Vikings, when raiding, decided to set up in Scotland or Ulster and kicked everyone else out? Well, you might have had something like Norland.  I imagine the AD&D 2nd Ed Vikings Campaign book would be useful here as the Celts one was for the southern islands. 

Other areas are detailed like Myrloch, the large inland lake/sea in Gwynneth in the south and Synnoria, the land of the Llewyrr Elves. There is even Flamsterd, an island of Magic-users. You know I am heading back there sometime. 

The Appendices

Appendix A covers some campaign themes for the Moonshaes, not that I need any more at this point! But it does include a note on how to bring in the module N4 Treasure Hunt into the Moonshaes, which is great really. 

Appendix B gives us some unique items of the Moonshaes. 

Elminster's Notes

There are a lot of those here. If you were to take them out, there only be about 32 pages. But they set the tone of the book and the land well. We are new here but not new to D&D so Elminster's eyes are a perfect substitute for our own. 

The maps look great and should be compatible with the clear hex grid from the Forgotten Realms set. 

A much more pleasurable work than when I first read it way back in the early 1990s. The whole "Ffolk" thing with the two "f"s bugged me, but I got over it. You could build an entire campaign and never leave these islands. Which is not what I am going to do since there is so much more out there.

Sinéad's Perspective

So, I am going to look at the people and places of this product through the eyes of my bard Sinéad. Much like Greenwood does with Elminster, she will be the eyes and ears in which I see the Realms. But I am not going to give you long-winded journal entries. That's Ed's and Elminster's thing. 

Choosing the Moonshaes as my first product and choosing the Moonshaes as the home of Sinéad makes a lot of sense together. These lands feel familiar to me. I have read hundreds of tales of Celts and Celtic heroes and monsters. Nearly as many tales of the Norse and Vikings. Tons on the Rise, Fall, and Rise again of the very particular British form of British Paganism.  I have never been here, but I know it well. Much like Sinéad, I am leaving this place. Maybe it is too early, but certainly, I will have to come back here. 

Final Thoughts

I am not sure if it was planned or not, but this does feel like a perfect place to start your adventures in the Forgotten Realms. By today's standards, the book is a bit light on the crunchy game stuff. No new spells really or specialized sub-classes. But that is fine; the fluff more than makes up for it all. 

 I am switching gears today since I will get some of my reviews on the Forgotten Realms up. I want to start with the character first, though. When reading or playing games, we often view their world as they see, hear, and experience it. For me, that will be Sinéad. Not Sinéad Moonshadow just yet; that is much later down her road. No. This is 1st Edition AD&D Sinéad as I might have rolled her up back in 1987 when the Forgotten Realms were still new. 

Sinéad in 1357 DR

Sinéad in 1357 DR (the year before the Forgotten Realms Boxed set) is a girl living in the Moonshae Isles. I have always known this, but I never really had the details until now.

She grew up on the Island of Gwynneth in the country of Corwell. Her father was a reputable human blacksmith of modest means, and her mother was a Llewyrr (though now mostly moon elf) seer. Growing up Sinéad heard tales of other lands and places and wanted to visit them, but her parents told her the world beyond was full of evil terrors and the only place safe was here, closest to the Earth Mother's heart.  She grew up loving and fearing the Earth Mother and wondering about other places, other peoples, and other gods. It was around the time of 16th birthday when her latent magic began to flare up. She would spontaneously and randomly set things on fire (Rules: Burning Hands spell). This was kept under control until she had turned 19. The local Lord wanted her to marry his son for the prestige of a marriage with a Llewyrr and as compensation for all the damage she had been causing. One night during the early harvest festival, Sinéad accidentally burns down a barn and grain stores, threatening to leave her small village hungry for the winter. Her mother distracts the crowds who have come after "the witch" while her father gives her enough gold to get to a port and out of the Moonshaes to the Sword Coast.

And that is about all I have for at this point. She will meet up with Nida and others when she gets to the Sword Coast, but that is a bit off. She first has to cross her homeland to get to the port. She will encounter fae, a prophetic witch, and more.

For Sinéad, I am starting out with AD&D 1st Ed, the same as the Forgotten Realms boxed set. To make a stronger line between her starting adventure and her later ones, I used just the Player's Handbook, DMG, and Unearthed Arcana for her. I tweaked her abilities a bit to fit better. Also, since I am seeing her as a bard from the word go, I am using the alternate Bard from Dragon #56. I thought it would be a good fit given how Bards are in the Forgotten Realms and Moonshaes in particular.  Plus, I wanted her to be a bard from 1st level. 

Sinéad of the Moonshae

Level: 1/1
Class: Magic-user/Bard
Female Half-elf

Abilities
Strength: 13
Intelligence: 17
Wisdom: 13
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 16
Charisma: 17

Saving Throws
Paralysis Poison: 14
Petrification/Polymorph: 13
Rod, Staff, or Wand: 11
Breath Weapon: 15
Spells: 12

Resistances: 30% to Sleep and Charm
Infravision 60'
Languages: Common, Elvish, Gnome, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Sylvan, and Ffolk (there is no reason why she would know orc or gnoll. Halflings don't or should have their own language, and Goblin and Hobgoblin should really be the same one).

AC: 8
HP: 7
Move: 12"

Charm: 10%
Lore: 0%
Read Language: 0%

Dagger

Magic-user Spells Known (* memorized)
Burning Hands*
Magic Missle

Bard Spells
Speak with Animals

Notes on Sinéad

Originally I saw her more along the lines of a witch, but after playing the character in Baldur's Gate I have come around to thinking that she is actually some sort of Sorcerer with Wild Magic.  No way to really represent that in AD&D 1st, so I have to fudge it a bit. The only spells she has had access to are Burning Hands and Magic Missle, and I am saying she learned them innately. To get more she will need to adventure more. She has Sehanine Moonbow whispering in her ear (a holdover when I briefly wanted to try her as a warlock). 

I wanted the witch she goes and sees to be Larina, just because I can. Larina would have been 34 at the time, so not bad, really; it also corresponds to the time when Larina disappears into the Feywild. 

I did roll to see if she had psionics. She had a 4% chance, I rolled an 8. 

I like the Dragon magazine bard, and it helps make her feel different from my other bards. Looking forward to seeing how it stacks up.

--

Don't forget to stop by the Tardi Captian's Blog to see all his character posts, and all the other participants.

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

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

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

Darlessa, the Vampire Queen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Power

Gear
Dagger

Wasted Lands Vampires

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

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

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

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

Or at least the BE part of BECMI.  So many of you know I have been learning Spanish. I mainly use Duolingo, but I also print books and audiobooks from Audible. My progress is quite slow I will admit, but the journey is half the fun really. 

Back in 2023, I got copies of the Spanish Language D&D 5th edition books for my birthday and Father's Day.  But something I have wanted since 2020 are copies of BECMI in another language. I thought I might grab one in German (a language I can still -somewhat- speak) but they are always quite expensive.

So imagine my surprise when, after posting my search for Spanish language ones, actually came through!

They look great, even if I can only sort of read them at the moment. But I know what is in these quite well, so that helps.

It is also fun to compare them to the Spanish D&D 5e books I got last year.

I am NO WHERE near ready to run a game in Spanish D&D. But maybe I could play one later this year.

I might just stick with Basic and Expert. I have not seen a Companion edition out for a very long time. If the price of the German one I was looking at is any indication then it is way outside of my price range.

I also got copies of some adventures (in English) from Pacesetter Games.

I gave Venger's Final Wish to my oldest. He is working on taking his group through all the editions of D&D.  More on that later.

Of course, I am a sucker for anything about the Vampire Queen. So this is a nice addition to my collection.  Since the Vampire Queen adventure is for B/X then maybe a "Castillo de la Reina Vampiro" is in order. 

 Last week I heard of the passing of James Herbert "Herbie" Brennan, the prolific author of fiction and non-fiction as well as the RPG "Man, Myth & Magic." I don't have a lot to say on the matter. I have not read any of his books and my knowledge of him comes solely through my interaction with MM&M. But I did not want his death to go unremarked here.

While I have done other MM&M characters for myself, I thought for today I might revisit one I did a while back and fit both his game and Wasted Lands: Boudica, Queen of the Icini Celts.

I have a long relationship with Boudica. She was a figure I always found fascinating, especially during my time of reading an absolute ton of Celtic history, myth, and legends. Then I wrote the Ghosts of Albion RPG, and she was a central character of that franchise, though by then, she was a ghost.  So, given Herbie Brennan's fix of history and fantasy of his Man, Myth & Magic game, doing stats for Boudica was a no-brainer.  That is also true today.

Boudica for the Wasted Lands could have gone a number of different ways. Obviously, Warrior is a great choice (and what I went with in MM&M), but she didn't start out as one; she was forced into it by the Romans, who murdered her husband and raped her daughters. From NIGHT SHIFT, I could also say Survivor is good, but then again, so is Chosen One. In the end, though, the only real choice for me was to make her a Spirit Rider from the NIGHT SHIFT Night Companion and adapt that to Wasted Lands. Something the O.G.R.E.S. makes very, very easy. Trivial even.

The Spirit Rider is a person charged with the power of a particular place. Our archetype of this is Marie Laveau who is given magic by the "Spirit of New Orleans." Cú Chulainn is the Spirit Rider of mytho-historical Ulster as Fionn Mac Cumhail is the Spirit Rider of Éire. We have debated whether Merlin or King Arthur is the Spirit Rider of ancient Britain. 

Note: As an aside it never dawned on me until this moment that I *could* have Boudica as one of my Witch Queens. I mean she is not really a witch, but her Wasted Lands and Ghosts of Albion versions both have some magic.  Thoughts for another day.

Queen Boudica

Class: Spirit Rider (Briton) (from NIGHT SHIFT's Night Companion)
Level: 10
Species: Human
Alignment: Light* (*while she killed people and burned villages to the ground she was doing what she felt was right and correct. Removing an invading force from her home.)
Background: Barbarian

Abilities
Strength: 16 (+2) 
Agility: 13 (+1) 
Toughness: 18 (+3) N 
Intelligence: 12 (+0) 
Wits: 17 (+2) A
Persona: 17 (+2) N 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 5
Vitality: 70
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +2 (base)  +1 (Heroic Touchstone)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base) 
Saves: +4 to Wits and Persona saves (class), +2 to Toughness saves (barbarian).

Spirit Rider Abilities
Innate Magic (10), Arcane Powers (5), Commune with Spirit of the Land, Limited Power (outside of Briton), Magic Battery

Barbarian Background Skills
Perception, Danger Sense, Scale surfaces, Nature Lore, Any Weapons

Arcane Powers (used like powers)
Beguile, Shadow Walk, Detect Thoughts, Enhanced Senses, Subtle Influence

Innate Magic (used like spells)
First Level: Armor of Earth, Mystical Senses, Command, Sense Death
Second Level: Animal Summoning (usually large war dogs), Invoke Fear
Third Level: Curse, Impassible Thicket
Fourth Level: Forest Metamorphosis
Fifth Level: Shadow Armor

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: +1 Melee Combat: Spear
2nd Level: Luck Benefit
3rd Level: Powerful Defence
4th Level: Favored Enemy: Rome
5th Level: Divine Smite

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Vengence

Gear
Spear, armor, sword

Wasted Lands Spirit Riders

Spirit Riders might not fit well thematically with Wasted Lands RAW, but in Wasted Lands as D&D, it works great. I might tweak it a bit working with Boudica here for slightly less magic and more options for combat prowess. Given that I am saying that Cú Chulainn was also one then something like his Ríastrad or Battle Frenzy would be an option. Maybe call it something like "Caomhnóir" or Guardian.

It would be fun to try out that is for sure. 

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

 Working on moving to my Forgotten Realms characters for my upcoming deep-dive into all editions of the Forgotten Realms. I decided to try a few more of those this week. I have already done Sinéad, who will be my eyes and ears in the Realms, plus others that are likely to appear in my games, like Nida, Jassic, Kelek, and Skylla. 

Today, though, is something a little different. I wanted to do a monk character (or mystic if I was using the D&D Rules Cyclopedia), but I don't really have any I want to try! There was Kurtzen, the monk I made for AD&D 1st Ed way back when, but he isn't really all that interesting. Spoiler: I was trying for a Night Crawler (from X-Men)-like character, but I never got it to where I wanted. So instead today I will take on a character I "adopted" rather than rolled up. Keller the Silent.

I detailed Keller's story a bit back. She is a wood-elf monk (I said she was a Siswa from the adventure B7 Rahasia), and she joined my party in Baldur's Gate 3.

Now, I could do her sheets for a post-2000 game (3e, 4e, or 5e) where elves can be monks, but for now, I will stick to Wasted Lands and see what I get.

Keller the Silent

Class: Mystic Martial Artist (from NIGHT SHIFT's Night Companion)
Level: 4
Species: Elf
Alignment: Light
Background: Elf (Wood Elf)

Abilities
Strength: 16 (+2) N
Agility: 18 (+3) A
Toughness: 15 (+1) N 
Intelligence: 10 (+0) 
Wits: 10 (+0) 
Persona: 9 (+0) 

Fate Points: 1d8
Defense Value: 5
Vitality: 30
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +3/+2/+1
Melee Bonus: +2 (base) +3 (Agility) +1 (Heroic Touchstone)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base) +3 (Agility)
Saves: +1 to magic and spells (elf), +2 to Toughness and Agility saves.

Mystic Martial Artist Abilities
Martial Arts, Agile (+3 to Agility), Melee and Ranged Combat, Lightning Fast (+1 to Initiative), Powers: Danger Sense, Supernatural Attacks

Stealth Skills
Climb, Hide, and Move Silent as 1st level Survivor/Renegade

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: +1 to Defence
2nd Level: +1 to bare-handed melee attacks.

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Combat

Gear
Staff, Leather Armor, thieves tools

Wasted Lands Mystic Martial Artists

Now, this is a version of Keller I would have fun playing. The Mystic Martial Artist, while having its origin in Wuxa or Wire-fu cinema, makes for a great addition to my Wasted-Lands-as-D&D game. I admit I wish I could run my upcoming Forgotten Realms games using the Wasted Lands rules. It would be easier than moving through the various editions. 

I really had not considered using Keller in this at all, but this makes me want to. I have to figure out where she is from now and when she joins my little party of explorers. Also, I need to figure out how a character who has taken a vow of silence would work in my games.

On another note, I think I have settled on a Heroic/Divine Touchstone on every other level. It feels really powerful, but it also is a great way to customize characters. Maybe every three levels is also good.

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

 Yesterday I had the pleasure to introduce you to what I am now considering the Gold Standard version of Bodhmal. Today I want to introduce you to the what I think is the best version of Liath Luchara I have ever done. If I was happy yesterday, then I am ecstatic today. 

Briefly, Liath and Bodhmal are part of the Fenian Cycle of Irish myth and legend. They are foster mothers to a young Fion MacCumhail (Finn MacCool). They were a featured set of characters in my Dark Druid adventure.  

Liath is a warrior woman, but she also has a bit of magic about her. Capturing her properly in D&D-like games has been a challenge. I have tried various mixes of warriors, rangers, and barbarians. Nothing has been a great fit. Barbarians have no magic (even the 5e Wild magic one), and Rangers really have too much or not the right kind. So what am I to do? Well, once again, Wasted Lands to the rescue.

Liath starts out simple enough. She is a warrior. That is her calling, and that is how she is always described in the myths and legends, so who am I to argue. But she does have a bit more going on. So I am going with Wasted Land's secret weapons, Backgrounds and the Divine Touchstones.

Again this post is for my late friend Rebecca Joanne Ashling. She would have loved this.

Liath Luchara

Class: Warrior
Level: 10
Species: Human
Alignment: Light
Background: Barbarian

Abilities
Strength: 16 (+2) A
Agility: 14 (+1) 
Toughness: 14 (+1) 
Intelligence: 10 (+0) 
Wits: 16 (+2) N
Persona: 14 (+1) N

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 5
Vitality: 72
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base) +2 +1 (divine touchstone)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base) +1 +1 (divine touchstone)
Spell Attack: +1
Saves: +3 to all saves (Warrior) +2 to toughness (Barbarian)

Warrior Abilities
Combat Expertise, Improved Defence, Melee Combat, Master of Battle, Supernatural Attacks, Spell Resistance, Tracking, Masters of Weapons, Extra Attacks (x3)

Sorceress Spells
First Level: Mystical Senses

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: Arcane Power: Wild Shape (Liath was always becoming a salmon in the myths)
2nd Level: Additional +1 to combat
3rd Level: Sorceress level 1: Arcane Power: Arcane Bond (Liath)
4th Level: Divine Smite
5th Level: Great Smite

Barbarian Abilities
+2 to toughness saves, 

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Protection

Gear
Gáe Assail (great spear), Dagger

Wasted Lands Liath & Bodhmal

Ok. This is rather perfect. Again, Ranger had too much magic, and Barbarians too little. But this gives me a nice balance really. She has a barbarian background, but her divine touchstones have given her a bit more magical ability and ones she "earned" on her own. Game-wise, this feels like she was discovering more and more secrets. I have considered trying out an Archer or Divine Warrior, but those concepts, while great, were not a great fit for her.  She is not a "Chosen One" by any stretch even if there are some cool things going on in that class. Save that one for Fionn himself I think.

Getting Liath and Bodhmal together, they are far more than the sum of their parts. Their Arcane Bond is focused on each other, allowing them to boost each other's magic when needed and replacing the Anamchara quality as it is supposed to.  

It is one thing to design this all in mind, it is another to see it working and working far better than you imagined. Seriously, with Wasted Lands, I might never need "D&D" again.  Putting them in Wasted Lands also just feel right.

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

If you want to read more tales of Bodhmal and especially Liath then I highly and enthusiastically recommend Irish Imbas Books.

 As Casey Kasem used to say, "The hits keep coming."  Though when I say it, I usually mean something bad. And I do today as well. Lost another friend this past week, Rebecca Joanne Ashling. She had some health problems, but her death is still a bit of a shock.  Rebecca and I had known each other for about 22+ years. We talked a lot online and she was a huge fan of my witches and modern horror stuff. In particular, she loved my takes on Willow and Tara. She often provided me some critiques on various builds and let me know about new games that she thought I would like. It still feels a bit unreal since I still half expect to get a text from her when this post goes live.  So today's and tomorrow's characters are for her.

Today, I want to start with the druidess Bodhmal.

I am choosing her for all the reasons Rebecca would have liked. Bodhmal has a long history in my games, and her character helped drive my vision of NIGHT SHIFT and thus influenced The Wasted Lands. This version is a "conversion" of sorts of D&D 4th Edition, a game we both enjoyed and continue to enjoy. Plus, and maybe most importantly, Bodhmal, while a mythological figure from Irish myth, was also my "Willow" stand-in. Since I did her main antagonist (and grandfather), the Dark Druid, yesterday, she would be good for today. 

Bodhmal for the Wasted Lands

Bodhmal is not a goddess. Nor will become one. She is, though, a very important figure of the Fenian Cycle of Irish myth and legend. Because of this she fits rather well with the central conceits of the Wasted Lands.  I also wanted to try out another Druid, but one with a bit more mysticism about them. Or to be blunt, a druid that is becoming something akin to a witch.  She is the "last common ancestor" of Druids and Witches.

Like Fear Dorich, Bodhmal has been worked up for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, D&D 5e, Castles & Crusades, Blue Rose 2nd Edition, my Pagan Witch class, and today's experiment, D&D 4e.

D&D 4e had some nice quirks that allowed me to get to the version of Bodhmal I liked. I have to admit, Wasted Lands works even better.

Bodhmal nic Tadgh

Class: Sorceress (Druid, Witch or Ban Drui)
Level: 10
Species: Human
Alignment: Light
Background: Scholar

Abilities
Strength: 10 (+0) 
Agility: 10 (+0) 
Toughness: 14 (+1) 
Intelligence: 14 (+1) N
Wits: 18 (+3) A
Persona: 11 (+0) N

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 8
Vitality: 42
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +2 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Spell Attack: +5
Saves: +7 to Spells and Magical effects (Sorcerer & Scholar)

Sorceress Abilities
Arcana, Arcane Powers (4): Enhanced Senses, Arcane Bond (Liath), Wild Form, Telepathic Transmission

Sorceress Spells
First Level: Armor of Earth, Glamour, Mystical Senses, Sleep
Second Level: Animal Summoning, Conjure Flame, Invisibility, Subtle Influence
Third Level: Cure Disease, Dark Lightning, Staves to Snakes
Fourth Level: Befuddlement, Forest Walk, Plant Speech
Fifth Level: Miasma of Creeping Death, Telekinesis

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: Psychic Power: Supernatural Senses 
2nd Level: Additional Spell: Bless
3rd Level: Spirit Guide: Cait Sith
4th Level: Magical Recovery
5th Level: Grant Spellcasting

Scholar Abilities
1st Level Spell: Create Light

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Knowledge

Gear
Staff, Dagger

Wasted Lands Druids & Witches

I like this version of Bodhmal. She has her druid side and can take on a wild shape, but that is not the most important part of her character. She also sees everything. Mystical, Supernatural, and more. She can talk to animals and plants. She even has some offensive spells when she needs them.

More to the point, her connection to Liath is there via the Arcane Bond. 

I can see this Bodhmal as a druid who began a line of pagan witches. Liath is even there as her Cowan or witch guardian. This is perfect in my mind. I wish you all could feel this; how perfect of a fit she is for my concept of her. This is much better than any other system I have done. 

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

 Mad genius Mark Taormino is back with another Maximum Mayhem Dungeon!

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons #8: Funhouse of the Puppet Jester

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marktaormino/maximum-mayhem-dungeons-8-funhouse-of-the-puppet-jester?ref=theotherside

What can I say here? Mark does great work, and these adventures are always fun.

Click, check it out and pledge!

Mark: I am going to need a bigger box for the adventures now!

 I got to thinking about these experiments, and I realized that I had yet to try converting a druid. I am a huge fan of druids, both as a concept and as a character class, with the 1st Ed AD&D one near the top of my list. I have done more than a few Bards, but no druid yet.

This also got me thinking about which Druid to use. I have plenty, including a few that have never seen "print" on these pages. But in the end, I am opting for an atypical druid. I am going to build Fear Dorich, the Dark Druid. 

Fear Dorich has a history in my games. I stated him up once for Castles & Crusades for a previous Character Creation Challenge, and he was the main antagonist of the Buffy adventure The Dark Druid. He is a great character with quite a lot of history with me. 

Fear Dorich, and that is not his name, It means "Dark Man," is or was a normal Druid. But in my games he is fighting the rising tide of Christianity. So he has taken it upon himself to keep the worship of the new God to a minimum by killing all the new worshipers. It is a losing battle, we all know, but that is the character I am playing here.  So he is not about grabbing what power he can to achieve those ends.

Fear Dorich, the Dark Druid

Class: Sorcerer
Level: 5
Species: Human
Alignment: Dark
Background: Animistic

Abilities
Strength: 12 (+0) 
Agility: 16 (+2) 
Toughness: 14 (+1) N
Intelligence: 18 (+3) N
Wits: 17 (+2) A
Persona: 18 (+3) 

Fate Points: 1d8
Defense Value: 8
Vitality: 25
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 1

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +3/+2/+1
Melee Bonus: +1 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base)
Spell Attack: +3
Saves: +4 (+2) to Spells and Magical effects (Sorcerer), +2 to Persona saves, -2 to magic saves if far from a source of Radiance

Sorcerer Abilities
Arcana, Arcane Powers (2): Wild Form, Shadow Walk

Sorcerer Spells
First Level: Armor of Earth, Bless, Restore Food and Water
Second Level: Beguile Person, Invoke Fear
Third Level: Dark Lightning

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: +1 to combat, Scimitar
2nd Level: Precognition Power

Animistic Background
Animal Summoning 1
Speak with Plants and Animals

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Death

Gear
Scimitar

Wasted Lands Druids

This is Fear Dorich early into his career of killing members of the new faith. He already has a 1 point of corruption, and I am expecting a lot more.

Wasted Lands does an excellent job with druids; to be honest, you just have to choose your arcane powers and divine touchstones well.

He also fits in well to something else I am working on, but maybe more on that next week or even later down the line.

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

 I want to get some more Forgotten Realms this month, and this has me thinking about my *other* native Forgotten Realms character, Lady Nida. But maybe before she was a "Lady."

When I did stats for Nida a while back for AD&D 2nd Ed, I wanted her to be a combination of the witches that I didn't play back then: a Witch of Hala and a Witch of Rashemen. To be a witch of Hala, though, you have to start out in a non-spell-casting class. Fine! I wanted her to start out as a rogue/thief beforehand anyway, so that works. I also knew that Nida, along with Sinéad, were going to be part of a party of characters.  Playing Sinéad, though, in Baldur's Gate 3 changed some of my ideas about her.  So now some of these ideas that don't work as well for Sinéad are going over to Nida. 

I want to focus on her Rogue/Thief/Renegade side for this build in Wasted Lands. She has some magic already, which might be the reason Sinéad joins up with her band of adventurers, and also why Sinéad has part of her hair shaved off and wears a lot of black leather; she is emulating the friend she met when she first left home.  Maybe I'll even use a "Quantum Cat" version of Johan as the party's cleric. It would be a different version of course, but maybe the same as my Baldur's Gate 3 run.  Note: I DO have a Baldur's Gate 3 version of Nida as well, but I want to try out something different for her in another run, maybe.

But for now, her job is to be a bad influence on Sinéad. 

Nida

Class: Renegade
Level: 4
Species: Human
Alignment: Twilight
Background: Sorcerous (Grew up in Rashemen)

Abilities
Strength: 11 (+0) 
Agility: 16 (+2) A
Toughness: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 17 (+2) N
Wits: 13 (+1) 
Persona: 18 (+3) N

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 5
Vitality: 23
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +3/+2/+0
Melee Bonus: +2 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base) +2
Spell Attack: +0
Saves: +3 vs Death effects (Renegade), +2 to Persona saves (Sorcerous background)

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

Stealth Skills
Open Locks: 30%
Bypass Traps: 25%
Sleight of Hand: 35%
Sneak: 30%

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: Arcane Power: Detect Thoughts
2nd Level: Luck Benefit 1d6

Sorcerous Background
Bonus Arcane Power: Precognition

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Magic

Gear
Dagger, Leather Armor, thieves tools

Wasted Lands Renegades as AD&D Thieves

Nida here is not "Lady Nida" yet, but she is a good thief. In fact, the Wasted Lands Renegade stacks up well to the AD&D thief. Now, if I were in a min/maxing mood, I could have given her Sage and used the divine touchstones to improve her thief's skills. But that didn't ring true to who I think this character is. While she grew up in Rashemen, she is not a sage. She doesn't have spells just yet, but she will stop being a thief soon and switch over to being a Sorceress or Witch.

I'll come back to both Nida and Sinéad and whatever other characters I come up with for my Forgotten Realms exploration.

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

 Both the Wasted Lands and the "I" of D&D BECMI offer paths to godhood and/or immortality.  While the Immortal rules have some, well, issues they are still a fascinating glimpse into one possible end game for D&D characters.

The path to immortality is better defined in the pages of the Wasted Lands, but no less complicated for the character (the player has an easier time understanding). Indeed, there are very, very few characters that can make it to immortality. One of my own immortal characters, Johan I, got his forever-ever-after as a Saint. 

But I do have another immortal character, one that "went through the hoops" in BECMI to get there. Granted, not a Player Character but rather an NPC.  The Witch Kersy.

When my characters meet Kersy for the first (and likely last) time she is already an Immortal. She is from the adventure, M1 Into the Maelstrom, so I guess that makes her Bruce Heard's character, but even he admits she is just a thinly veiled version of Circe. That's where I come in. 

Kersy's Background

In the module, we are introduced to a nascent Immortal, Kersy.  She is using her human guise as a 30th-level magic User, and she is the ruler of the Island of Turkeys.  If you think she sounds a lot like Circe and her Island of Pigs, then you are correct.  But.  Doing some deeper research into Kersy gives me a stranger tale.   Over at the Vaults of Pandius, they have expanded on her background a bit more. 

She is described as the distillation of the would-be immortal Koryis's own unwanted thoughts, urges, and feelings.  

Koryis is the Immortal Patron of Peace.  While on his epic quest, he sought to purge himself of evil in impure thoughts. He was successful, and that "impurity" manifested itself as Kersy.

At least, that is what his mythology says. 

We learn from M1 that she is a "beautiful maiden" and a "30th level magic-user." But other details are scant. From the Vaults of Pandius, we learn that she is beautiful with long raven-black hair and amber-colored eyes.  She is the Patroness of Witchcraft and Charms.  Certainly, she is more than just some cast of skin of evil.

She is also described as having "milky-white skin" (boring!), but I have been looking for an excuse to use Vanessa Williams as a witch since 1997. 

Back in 2020 I got her stated up as a 31st level Witch, just on the cusp of her own immortality.

Today I am going to try her out as a starting witch with Immortality very, very far away. Now, in canon Kersy likely started out "life" as a 31st level witch or whatever it was that Koryis was. But here I recast her as a lower level witch and working her way back up to power. She has no idea who or what she is save she is drawn to the sea and to Koryis, whom she both hates and loves. 

Once again, I can only see a young Vanessa Williams as Kersy. Halle Bailey (from the live-action Little Mermaid) would also be great.

Kersy, the Sea Witch

Class: Sorceress (Witch)
Level: 14
Species: Human
Alignment: Twilight
Background: Sorcerous

Abilities
Strength: 12 (+0) 
Agility: 16 (+2) 
Toughness: 14 (+1) 
Intelligence: 18 (+3) N
Wits: 17 (+2) N
Persona: 18 (+3) A

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 60
Degeneracy: 1
Corruption: 1

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +2 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Spell Attack: +7
Saves: +7 (+8) to Spells and Magical effects (Sorcerer), +1 to all saves

Sorcerers Abilities
Arcana, Arcane Powers (5): Beguile, Detect Thoughts, Enhanced Senses, Pre-Cognition, Subtle Influence

Sorceress Spells
First Level: Arcane Darts, Beast Speech, Command, Predict Weather, Sleep
Second Level: Beguile Person, ESP, Invoke Fear, Paralyze Person
Third Level: Breathe Water, Cure Disease, Curse, Dispel Magic
Fourth Level: Befuddlement, Control Temperature, Illusory Landscape, Metamorphose Other
Fifth Level: Comand Winds, Dominate Other, Summon Elemental
Sixth Level: Evoke Weather, Invisible Servant, Part the Seas
Seventh Level: Mass Metamorphosis, Widdershins Dance

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: 1st Level Spell: Glamour
2nd Level: Control Water, Minor
3rd Level: Mode of Movement: Water Walk
4th Level: Magical Recovery
5th Level: +1 to all checks, attacks, and saves
6th Level: Immunity to Spell damage
7th Level: Increased Glamour

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Magic, Witchcraft

Gear
Wand, Bracers of Defence

Wasted Lands as D&D BECMI

If I were to ever run a pure BECMI game again, I would use Wasted Lands as part of it. Much like Hyperborea yesterday, BECMI and Wasted Lands feel right together.

Kersy, here in this version, makes for a great Sea Witch and growing in her power on her track to immortality. For these reasons I gave her a Heroic/Divine touchstone every other level. 

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

 It's still cold outside. So another winter-themed character is needed, and nothing is more winter than the Winters family of witches and my current character, Tanith Winters.

Tanith is a great character to test for Wasted Lands. For starters, I have been playing her in both D&D/OSR clones and for three editions of Hyperborea. I also have used her in NIGHT SHIFT as part of the modern versions of the Winters family.

Wasted Lands and Hyperborea have similar DNA and can be used to play very similar sorts of games. The biggest difference between them setting-wise is that the Wasted Lands takes place in the distant past, and Hyperborea is in the far future.

Both games are solid in their Old-School sensibilities and feel. Both games are a lot of fun for that Dark Fantasy mixed with horror overtones with more than a little influences of Howard, Lovecraft, and Smith. 

Tanith Winters

Class: Witch (Sorcerer) 
Level: 12
Species: Human (Hyperborean)
Alignment: Neutral
Background: Barbarian

Abilities
Strength: 10 (+0) 
Agility: 12 (+0) 
Toughness: 14 (+1) N 
Intelligence: 16 (+2) N
Wits: 12 (+0) 
Persona: 16 (+2) A

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 5
Vitality: 53
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +1 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base)
Spell Attack: +6
Saves: +5 to Spells and Magical effects (Sorcerer), +2 to Toughness saves (Barbarian), +1 to Cold (Touchstone)

Sorceress Abilities
Arcana, Arcane Powers (4): Familiar: Owl Psychic Power: Cryokinesis, Enhanced Senses, Supernatural Senses

Sorceress Spells
First Level: Arcane Darts, Chill, Protection from Good/Evil, Armor of Ice
Second Level: Create Wated, Cool Metal, Lock, Unlock
Third Level: Slow, Dark Lightning, Dispel Magic, Curse 
Fourth Level: Control Tempature, Life Drain, Control Ice
Fifth Level: Blight, Elemental Wall
Sixth Level: Invoke Weather, Disentergrate

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: +1 Saves vs. Cold
2nd Level: +1 attacks w/ Cold
3rd Level: Magical Recovery
4th Level: Defense Cold
5th Level Ray: Ray of Cold
6th Level: Cold Immunity

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Winter

Familiar: Snowy Owl, "Beira."

Gear
Cloak of Winter

Wasted Lands & Hyperborea

Both the Wasted Lands and Hyperborea scratch a similar itch for me. I would have to say that I can play many similar games with both games. The tenor is different enough that playing the same sorts of adventures do feel different.

I'd love to try out a set of adventures, maybe even featuring the Winters family, in both Wasted Lands and then millions of years later in Hyperborea. 

Character wise, this version of Tanith is great. Hyperborea has a few more choices in spells than Wasted Lands, but there is also a big difference in size of the rule books. Granted, the spells are also largely interchangeable.  

Links

• Tanith,  Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 2nd Ed stats
• Tanith, Hyperborea 3rd Ed stats
• Tanith, NIGHT SHIFT stats

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

 It is frigid outside. But we are in the middle of winter, so I guess that is expected. It did get me thinking about a few of my winter-themed characters. So let's start this one off with one of my favorites, Jassic Winterhaven, the gnome bard/warlock.

Wasted Lands has rules for using characters other than the proto-humans of the Dreaming Age. I have done some elves and half-elves, but let see what we can do with a gnome.

Jassic here is a bit of fun character. In D&D 4e he was a test run of the hybrid class rules of a Bard and a Warlock.  Later on he became a more traditional Bard/Warlock multiclass in D&D 5e. Both worked remarkably well and loved how well Bard and Warlock work with each other.  I did do this in Baldur's Gate 3, but not as Jassic.

Wasted Lands does not have a proper Warlock class. Night Shift does. Also, neither game has a true bard. But there is the Sage, which so far has played very Bard-like.

So, who is Jassic, and how should I re-build him in Wasted Lands? Taking the Sorcerer and saying he has magic but needs to play an instrument to use it is easily done. No extra rules are needed. Sage would cover his languages and his lore and even grant his some extra spells as well as some Renegade/Rogue abilities. So that is all great. Perform? Well, that is a sort of Persona check. Bardic inspiration? Ah, that one is trickier. But let's see what I can do with some Heroic Touchstones.

Jassic Winterhaven

Class: Sorcerer / Sage
Level: 4/2
Species: Gnome
Alignment: Light 
Background: Gnome

Abilities
Strength: 12 (+0) 
Agility: 12 (+0) 
Toughness: 12 (+0) 
Intelligence: 14 (+1) N
Wits: 16 (+2) N
Persona: 18 (+3) A

Fate Points: 1d8
Defense Value: 6
Vitality: 23
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+2/+1
Melee Bonus: +0 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +0 (base)
Spell Attack: +2
Saves: +3 to Spells and Magical effects (Sorcerer), +1 to Wits and Persona saves (Gnome)

Sorcerer Abilities
Arcana, Arcane Powers (2): Beguile, Precognition

Sorceress Spells
First Level: Arcane Darts, Beast Speech, Prestidigitation
Second Level: See Invisible, Unlock

Gnome Abilities
Night Sighted

Sage Abilities
Languages (14), Lore, Suggestion, Mesmerize Others, Renegade skills at level 1

Sage Spells
First Level: Chill Ray

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: Bonus Skill: Performance
2nd Level: Luck benefit
3rd Level: Additional Luck
4th Level: Magical recovery

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Wanderer

Gear
Shortbow, shortsword, leather armor, 

Wasted Lands Bards

For starters, suggestion helps with some Bardic abilities. The Luck Benefit from the Heroic touchstones also gives a good replacement for Bardic Inspiration. I can have him take it again at higher levels for more use in the day.

I'd have to play this character some more to see how he works out. 

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

 It Sunday night. I have tomorrow off which is good because it is like -9° F with a  wind chill of -31° outside right now. I said I was not going to complain about the cold this year, but this is testing my resolve.

Instead of freezing my ass off, I am poking at my Deities & Demigods II.  I have all the text in the layout, but I am in a quandary.  I love the work I have done on it, but I can't in good conscience sell it anymore or even give it away for free using AI-generated art. 

I am going still play around AI art for personal fun, but not for publishing this particular project. 

This is an issue since the Black Forest Mythos has two dozen gods and a dozen or so monsters. I need to find some art.  I really don't want to spend a ton on art and not see a return on it. I am fine not making a profit for this sine I was doing it for fun (and potentially for free) but I would like to recoup any money spent on art now.

So. Trying to figure out my next steps.