Back to Monstrous Mondays!  A quick update on where I am at with my Basic Bestiary.  Book 1 is done, I just have some editing and making sure my numbers are doing what I want them to do.  I am going back and increasing the Treasure amounts a little.  It has been pointed out to me that my Old-School games are rather light on the treasure.  I also want to make sure that my XP values are appropriate for the monsters' special abilities.  Book 2 needs a bit more work since I have a ton of undead, but I have a plan for that.  When I am done with all the "level setting" of Book 1, Book 2 will go much faster.

So what does that mean for you my good reader?  Well for the most part I am not going to post new monsters for a couple of weeks at least since I am not actively writing monsters.  That could change if I come across an entry that needs a top to down rewrite.

For a bit I am going to review some of the monster books I have here.  Not so much for the individual monsters, but for a feel of how they work together.  I am not looking for a unified milieu of monsters. On the contrary, the original Monster Manual was an odd collection of monsters of myth and legend and it is now my gold standard.  But at least how they can group together thematically.  Even if that theme is "fantasy roleplaying."

I am going to start with my newest one first.

Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse

Monsters of the Multiverse is the newest book in the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition line.  It has been eagerly anticipated since the announcement of a rules update coming in 2024 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of D&D.  The new rules are likely to be something akin to D&D 5.5 or even D&D 5r.  I am not expecting a full-blown 6th edition yet. But that is for another time. Today my focus is on this new monster manual because that is indeed what it is.

Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse.  288 pages. Full-color cover and interior art. Part of the D&D 5 gift set, available separately in April.

Monsters of the Multiverse is split into two large chapters.  

Chapter 1: Fantastical Races

This chapter covers the various races that can be used as Player Characters. All in all there are 30 races (33 with subtypes) that are available to use as characters or NPCs here.  Many have appeared in other books and most date back to the 1st Ed days.  In particular, there are the expected choices like Deep Gnomes, Eladrin, Goblins, Minotaur, orcs, and so on.  There are a few I want to focus on.

Fairy. This is fun class and one that began in official D&D books in 4th edition. They are a fun little character that has worked well in other non-D&D FRPG for decades.  D&D in finally catching up.   I converted my own Dirty Nell from Ghosts of Albion and she worked out great. 

Goblins are getting some lore updates tying them deeper into the Feywild.  Again, D&D started this in 4e but are playing catch-up here.  Now you can play a Labyrinth style goblin or even one like you find in GURPS Goblins (a completely underrated and underappreciated GURPS supplement).  Of course, there are still many, many evil goblins and they are likely the majority.  But PCs are of any alignment.  My character for this race is Nik Nak, by Chaotic Neutral Goblin Warlock.

Minotaurs go back to 1st Ed Dragonlance as a PC race.  Well, now they are back.

Satyrs are now a playable race.  They were back in 4e where they are a male-only race with hamadryads as their female counterparts. In 5e this is expanded, satyrs can be male or female.  Now if you tell me satyrs are only male I am going to remind you there is a reason why you failed art history.  There are plenty of female satyrs depicted in art over the last few centuries.  I might be playing the stereotype here, but my satyr character is a bard named Roan.  For the hell of it he plays the bagpipes.

If you must have a male-only satyr race, then by all means do that. There is nothing in the rules that say you can't.  I am still a HUGE fan of the Hooves and Green Hair article by Bennet Marks in Dragon #109.  I even commented in my This Old Dragon for #109 that they would make great races for D&D 5.

Shadar-Kai the S&M goths of 4e are updated again for 5e. They premiered in 3e as a type of elf. They are back to being elves here (they had been re-introduced as a race in previous 5e books). My "evil Wonder Twins" of Runu and Urnu are my goto Shadar-kai. 

No race has a default alignment. Indeed alignments for races are never mentioned.  

Chapter 2: Bestiary 

This section covers 250 of the total 288 pages.  Here we get over 250 (259 by my count) monsters for 5e. This is the most of any book aside from the Monster Manual.  This makes this book more akin to the Fiend Folio or Monster Manual 2.  

There are some duplications here. If you have other books then it is very reasonable to ask do I really need this book?  I can't say how much each monster was updated.  A few had some edits and some were largely the same.  BUT I can let you know what monsters are here and where they came from first.

I have created a Google Sheets spreadsheet with all the monsters from all the D&D 5 books except the Monster Manual.  I'll add that one later, but I wanted to focus on all the "new" monsters first.  You can see the duplicates and what books have which monsters.

Despite the whinging of old men online, all the monsters in this book do in fact have alignments. Even ones that have playable race options.  There are still plenty of evil creatures to fight and kill. It is true that the alignments are prefaced by "typically" but that is just saying the quiet part out loud.  That was true for 1st ed and it has been true for every other edition too.  5e is not getting rid of alignment.  

If I had a complaint it is that major unique characters such as Fraz-Urb'luu, Graz'zt and Geyron are not listed under demons or devils, but rather alphabetically by name.  Oh they are still demons and devils and they are still evil to the core, they are just alphabetized by proper name instead of "Demon, Graz'zt." A nitpick to be sure. I kept them like that in my list.  Dinosaurs are listed under Dinosaur, however.  There is a listing for a "Brontosaurus" as opposed to the "Apatosaurus" but I kinda like that to be honest.  Also, my all-time favorite, the Dimetrodon, is here even though it is not a dinosaur. 

Who should buy this?

Well, that is a good question. Largely it depends on much you play D&D 5e and/or how much do you love monsters?   I love monsters. So this is a no brainer for me.  This is D&D 5e's Monster Manual II.

If you play D&D and do not have the other books listed in my sheet then yes get this. 

If you are looking for insight into what might be in D&D 5.5/5r well there is little new knowledge here.

If you play D&D and want to try out these new races, then yes, this is a great choice. 

For me?  I love it, I think it is fantastic and worth the money spent.

Ok. Today's #FollowFriday might be seen as a little self-serving...and it is.  But that does not negate the fact that there are a lot of great things brewing over at Elf Lair Games!

Elf Lair publishes my original Witch class for Basic-era games and Eldritch Witchery for Spellcraft & Swordplay.   But most importantly They publish my newest pride and joy NIGHT SHIFT: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars.

There are a lot of great things coming from ELG so now is a great time to give them, well...us, a follow!

Elf Lair Games

• Website and Storefront
• The Grey Elf website
• Elf Lair Blog
• The Wasted Lands Blog, for Jason's home campaign
• Facebook Group
• Instagram
• Discord
• Twitter
• DriveThruRPG site
• Studio2 Publishing 
• Discussion Boards
• https://elflairgames.proboards.com/
• https://odd74.proboards.com/board/82/elf-lair-games

So be sure to check out all these sites and follow them on social media.

If you pardon the play on words here, the book Gods, Demigods, and Heroes holds a place of strange honor in the pantheon of D&D books.  It was the last of the Original D&D Supplements, Supplement IV. The next thing to come out would bring the split in the D&D product line, the Holmes Basic would continue OD&D in a strange OD&D/AD&D hybrid and the Monster Manual would start the AD&D product line.   In many ways, my personal "Ur-D&D" is a combination of Holmes Basic, the Monster Manual, Eldritch Wizardry, and GD&H.  My copy is the 7th Printing from 1976 so it at least mentions all the above books on the back page. 

The book was certainly making the rounds in my schools' various D&D groups and it was used EXACTLY as Mr. Kask told everyone not to use it as; a high-powered Monster Manual.  I have a distinct memory of hearing a conversation in my 8th grade D&D club about how someone's character was now the head of the Greek Gods because he had killed Zeus with Stormbringer.  It was a different time.

But I am not here today to comment on the various merits of the GD&H book.  I am here to talk about what it has to offer in terms of a One Man's God feature.

To do that I first need to at least see what Gods, Demigods & Heroes has in common with Deities & Demigods.  

The Gods, Demigods, and Heroes

I am going to compare my original Gods, Demigods, & Heroes to my original Deities & Demigods.  Both books would later have various mythos removed.

The books have the following pantheons/mythos in common (in order of appearance from GD&H):

Egyptian, India, Greek, Celtic, Norse (the largest), Finnish, Melnibone, Central American, "Eastern Mythos" (Chinese)

And the only Mythos unique to GD&H: Howard's Hyborea.

If you grab the PDF or POD versions of GD&H now there are no Melnibone or Hybora sections.

In many cases, there are more entries for various gods, heroes, and monsters in GD&H than in the D&DG.  Largely this is due to the much smaller statblocks and the lack of any art.  I could spend a lot of time going over the various differences, but I am sure that has already been done elsewhere online.  There are people that live for that sort of in depth D&D scholarship.

This is a One Man's God post, so to stay on topic I am looking for demons.

Deities, Demigods, & Demons

This will be a bit harder to tease out since many of the entries do not have an alignment listed.   Yes you read that correctly one of the oldest D&D books does not even use alignment for gods or monsters.

Also, the aim of One Man's God is to cast various creatures in terms of AD&D Demons.  AD&D only existed in Gary's head at this point. Though the demons did get a jump start in Eldritch Wizardry.  So for this posting, I am going to see what monsters here could be classified as Eldritch Wizardry demons.  This is appropriate since so many of the entries here have psionic abilities.

Egypt, Greek, Celtic, Melnibone, Central American, Chinese: No new creatures.

India: The section on India gives us three fantastic choices.  The Rakshasas will later go on to appear in the Monster Manual and Lawful Evil.  The related Yakshas, called "The weaker demons" and two other possible ones in the Naga (also in the MM) and the Maruts, or the Wind Spirits. Maruts are likely to be good-aligned. 

Norse: While I commented in the past that the giants of Norse myth take the place of other myths demons, there are some creatures that could be considered more demon-like.  Garm the guard dog of the Gate of Hel is literally a Hel-Hound. The Fenris Wolf and Jormungandr are both either demi-gods or demons.  But these last two do not meet all the requirements I set out to be AD&D demons.

Finnish: The Finnish myths get a lot of expansion here and if anyone is a fan of these tales then DG&H is a superior take than D&DG. Likely to due space reasons.

Hyborea

This one is getting special attention as it is "new" and tales from Robert E. Howard really shaped the look and feel of D&D.  Interestingly enough, these gods have no psionic powers.

There are few creatures here named demons; Demon of the Black Hands, Brylukas (neither man, nor beast, nor demon but a little of all three), Thaug the Demon, Khosatral Khel the Demon, the Octopus Demon, and Yag-Kosha.

This section is really written for people who already know all of these stories as there is not a lot of description given for anything.  I know some of these stories but I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination. 

For this, I would need to defer to the expert on Conan and how to use REH in OD&D, Jason Vey.  He has done enough about this to secure his place even the official accounts of the DG&H write-ups.

• The Age of Conan (blog posts)
• The Age of Conan: Secrets of Acheron
• The Age of Conan (PDF)
• An Age Undreamed of With Jason Vey's Free OD&D Booklet Age of Conan For Your Old School Campaigns

And with this epilog I wrap up the original purpose of One Man's God.  I have a couple of posts on Syncretism still to do and maybe a couple of other side quests.

I am a complete sucker for anything B/X.  While I have many games I love, it is B/X era D&D that really gets my nostalgia going.  So anything made for it gets my attention.  While the products, both official and fan-made, can vary in quality, I am rarely disappointed.  

One publisher that has delivered well on the nostalgia factor is Jonathan Becker of Running Beagle Games.  Becker, known for his B/X Blackrazor blog, "gets" B/X D&D.  He has demonstrated time and again that he gets how B/X is different that AD&D and indeed other Basic-era clones.  His B/X Companion remains one of my top 10 favorite books of the published OSR books.  So when he came out with a new book I jumped on it!

And...promptly forgot about it!  Ok, in my defense October is like my high holy month and I had a lot going on.   So now it is February and I figure I should come back to this one.

Comes Chaos

by Jonathan Becker.  64 pages, black & white art by Kelvin Green.  

Comes Chaos is a combination rules addition/setting for use with B/X era D&D.  It can be used with other versions of Basic D&D and the various clones, but there is a focus here.  That is appropriate for a few reasons I will touch on in a bit.

Like the Basic and Expert books of old, and his own Companion book, this is a 64 page book.  Printed with it's black and red cover it would look rather nice sitting next to the other books.  At this point Becker has enough material (Companion, Complete B/X Adventurer, and this one) for a reasonable boxed set.  Maybe one with a "3" in the corner.

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

Comes Chaos deals, naturally, with the forces of Chaos (capital C) and how to use them in your game.  There is an implied setting that can be used as-is or elements can be used in any game. 

The book is formated like that of the Basic and Expert (and Companion) books, so following the flow of information is straightforward.  The difference here is that these are alternate and additional rules. 

This section also introduces the "Four Great Powers" the Demon Lords ArjaDem, MorSolahn, SeiAhsk, and TeeGal.

PART 2: RUINED PLAYER CHARACTERS

Here we get alterations to the seven player characters classes. Clerics of gods of Law, for example, cannot use reversed versions of their spells. But their "Turning Undead" chart is not extended to include the demons of this game.  There is a new Magic-User "sub-class" (that word is not used) in the Chaos Sorcerer.  This class works a bit like the Sorcerer or Warlock of other D&D games. It uses Intelligence as a Prime, but I am going to change it to Charisma. 

The next part of this section deals with Corrupted characters and Chaos Champions.  Corrupted characters are ones that started out "good" and then fell into chaos.  Chaos Champions start out chaotic. These characters also gain the favor of one of the four powers. 

The four powers and their gifts are covered last. The four masters are unique to this book but remind a bit of the sort of creatures one might find in the writings of Moorcock. Not quite demons, not quite Lovecraftian horrors, but a little bit of both.  There is also a desire, and this might just be me, to link them up with the old AD&D Elemental Princes.  Maybe because there are four.

PART 3: TAINTED MAGIC

Magic gets some changes in Comes Chaos.  Both Clerics and Magic-users now have some restrictions on what spells they can normally cast.  We also get some new Dark Sorcery spells used by Chaos Sorcerers, Demons, and Chaos Champions.  Additionally, some spells are "patron" spells for three of the four Chaos Masters.  The other Master, ArjaDem, forbids their followers from using magic. 

The spells are in B/X format and there are eight per level for levels 1 to 6.  Some are repeats of other B/X spells. There are enough new spells to keep players on their toes when dealing with a minion of chaos. 

PART 4: EXPLORING THE WASTES

The Wastelands are areas that are corrupted by Chaos.  Spending time in these lands also leads to corruption and mutations in the living creatures here.  This section also has other hazards such as how long food and water will last, how much movement and time is changed, and what sorts of strange occurrences and creatures that can be encountered.   The section has a whole Colour out of Space feel to it. 

PART 5: BLOOD AND SOULS

This section deals with encounters and combat. Alterations are given for Champions of Chaos and demons as well as others dealing with these threats.

PART 6: BEASTS AND DEMONS

This is our monster section and it has 37 new monsters.  As expected 19 of them are demons and 4 are undead.  There are also corrupted versions of other monster types (elves, dwarves, etc) that can be used as guidelines for other corrupted monsters not listed.  

The demons depicted here are not the Demons of the AD&D monster manual. Nor are they the demons of Earth myth and legends.  These are new creatures unique to this book.  There are some interesting ones here and again the feeling is not quite demons and not quite Lovecraftian horrors, but a combination of the two.

PART 7: UNHOLY TREASURES

This section covers the treasures you can find with these creatures or in the wastelands.

PART 8: DEMON MASTER INFORMATION

The person running these games is called the "Demon Masters" which is just a way really to use "DM."  This section covers how to deal with corruption, magical research and chaos magic, and how to design a wasteland.

There is another class presented here, the Witch Hunter, from the Complete B/X Adventurer. Despite the success and dare I say universal approval of his own Companion Rules, this class only goes to level 14.  Though it is mentioned that levels 15-36 can be found in the Adventurer book. 

In fact the next section covers using this book with the Complete B/X Adventurer and the B/X Companion. 

PART 9: SLAVE-LORDS OF CHAOS

This section covers how to run an "evil" game including unique experience point rewards.

Comes Chaos is a great extension to any B/X style game.  Especially ones where "Chaos" is more of a factor than say "Evil."

Chaos in Comes Chaos follows the implicit guidelines originally set up in Moldvay Basic.  Chaos is not just a philosophy or moral outlook, it is a force and "thing" that must be dealt with. I feel this book does a good job in trying to expand on this notion and make it something to use in your games.

The ideas presented here are not all unique; Lamentations of the Flame Princess and Dungeon Crawl Classics cover similar ground in terms of Chaos as a Force to Fight and Realms of Crawling Chaos for the Lovecraftian Chaos is a Force.  Comes Chaos though combines these ideas into something that is uniquely B/X.  Yes both LotFP and Realms of Crawling Chaos have strong B/X roots, but this is explicitly B/X.  

Given this, Comes Chaos should work well with Old School Essentials as well.  Though one gets the feeling that OSE is more like "The Hobbit" than it is "Colour Out of Space."  Though I am not sure it would feel the same for Advanced versions of the Old-School games since there is a focus on Good vs. Evil there as well. 

The art by Kelvin Green is great and having one artist to do all the work gives the book a united vision. 

It is available at DriveThruRPG where it is currently just under $14.  The rule of thumb I have adopted over the years is 10¢ per page, which would place this at $6.40.  The price is twice that, but I still feel it is worthwhile.  Again this is a rule of thumb, not a hard and fast rule. 

There is no print-on-demand option on DriveThru for this.  Though none of Running Beagle's books have this.  You can though get print copies of this and all their other books from their website.  Print copies of Comes Chaos are $27.99 and handled via PayPal.

Comes Chaos also is not released through the Open Gaming License.  Not an issue to be honest, but I look at it as a way the creator/publisher "gives back" to the community.  Generally speaking, OGL products sell better than their non-OGL contemporaries/counterparts. 

Comes Chaos is a fun supplement.  I used similar ideas when running my B/X games in the past I will adopt some of these ideas to use in my current OSE game.  I am not likely to use the four demonic princes, my game has a solid cosmology, but I might adopt them for a 5e game I am running that could use Chaotic Evil figures like these.  

Who should get this?  DMs that want to add a little chaos effects to their games but do not want to go the full Dungeon Crawl Classics route.  DMs that play/run B/X and/or OSE in particular. 

This is also for DMs that enjoy the classical roots of the game but whose interests lean more towards Moorcock rather than Lovecraft.

For me, the price and the lack of the OGL keep it from being a perfect addition to my games.

Time for another Featured Artist post.  I discovered today's artist, Brian Brinlee, in one of the fantasy art groups I frequent on Facebook.  He had a great style and something about his art made me think of some of the old D&D books from the late 90s.   So I got him to commission a piece for me I was calling "Tea with the Witches." It featured five witches from various D&D worlds and it takes place in The Simbul's castle in the Forgotten Realms.

Here are the witches pictured. Left to right (clockwise, never widdershins when dealing with witches):

Sagarassi the Sea Witch (Krynn/Dragonlance), Iggwilv the Witch Queen (Oerth/Greyhawk), The Simbul, Witch Queen of Aglarond (Toril/The Forgotten Realms and where this is taking place), Larina (my OC), Feiya the Pathfinder iconic witch (Golarion/Pathfinder).

They are playing Pentacles, a game played with five people using Tarroka cards.

I loved this one so much I wanted to share more of his art with you.

You can find Brian online on his Facebook, Instagram and DeviantArt pages.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Deviant Art

Thanks so much for sharing these with me Brian!

I missed a couple of days last week on this.  Busy at the day job.  But I am making up for it today, the last day.  Today I want to feature the witches of Motherland Fort Salem. 

Season 3 has not started yet and there is a huge push to get a Season 4.  While I do respect the creators to tell their story in a three-season arc, I would love to see more.

If you have not been watching then you are missing out. The show is fantastic really. 

Motherland gives us an alternate history where witches rose up during Salem and forged a pact with the then Colonies to protect the new country from their enemies.  There are fewer states in the US and a large portion, The Cession, was given back to the Native Americans in return for their help and magic.  

The series follows three new witch recruits, Abby, Tally, and Raelle, as they go through Basic Training and later War College and how they survive as a unit.   The show does a great job of featuring both their strengths and their weaknesses and how they work together to be a better whole. 

The show features a full cast of strong, interesting women characters.  The leader of the Army is General Alder, a 300+-year-old witch, their drill sergeant is a woman. Even the President is an African-American woman.  Men are either tertiary characters at best (the Witch-Father) or eye-candy (Abby's two boy toys).  Tally doesn't even see a man until one gives up his seat for her so she can fly from California to Massachusetts.  Not that men are put into a bad light.  The Witch Father is respected and well-liked. Raelle's dad is proud of his daughter and worries about her.  It's just their stories are not as important here.  That's a nice change of pace really.

The witches are also not a Ms. Pac-Man trope. They are warriors, witches but also women and they are allowed to be all three. It really is quite enjoyable and very different from what I have seen in the past. 

I can't wait for Season 3!

In the past, I have stated the witches of the Bellweather Unit/Sekhmet Company for OSR D&D, D&D 5e, and NIGHT SHIFT.  

So here they are again for another show overtly about empowered (and powered up) women, Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, and mixing in bits of Ghosts of Albion RPG. 

Since magic has a greater role in M:FS than it does in Buffy, I am going to use Ghost of Albion Magic Rules.

Since I missed four days, here are all the characters to make for it (with an extra one)!

Raelle Collar
(Taylor Hickson)

Hero
"I'm in this with you, and we're gonna figure it out together, okay? Whoever you are, whoever you were, I'm in. No matter what happens, no matter what anybody else thinks, I'm with you."

Life Points: 65
Drama Points: 15

Strength 2
Dexterity 4
Constitution 5
Intelligence 3
Perception 3
Willpower 2

Qualities
Attractiveness (2)Contacts (2, Amry, Spree)
Hard to Kill 9 (bonded with the Mycelium) Immortal (bonded with the Mycelium) Nerves of SteelSoldierWitch (Magic) (3)- Magical Philosophy, Fixer (Healer)

Drawbacks
Adversary (lots)Honorable (2)
Love, Romantic (Scyla)Obligation (3, Army)

Useful Information
Initiative +4
Observation +5

Height: 5'4" 
Hair:  Blonde
Eyes:  Blue

Skills
Acrobatics 1
Art 2
Computers NA (Tech seems to be about 1980 levels, but no computers)
Crime 2
Doctor 6
Driving 1
Gun-Fu 0 (I have not seen any guns in this universe)
Getting Medieval 4
Influence 3
Knowledge 3
Kung Fu 2
Languages 2 (English, Méníshè)
Mr. Fix-it 1
Notice 2
Occultism 4
Science 1
Sports 1


Combat
Maneuver Bonus  Damage  Notes Dodge / Parry     +8 - Defense Action                            Grapple +9 - Defense Action Scourge +8 7 Attack Action Windstrike +6 7 Attack Action Witch Bomb +6 Special Special
GearScourge, Salva

Raelle lived in the part of American known as the Chippewa Cession where the Indigenous Tribal Federations are.  She is a healer of great power like her mother was.  Her mother was reported dead by the Army and Raelle blames the Army and Gen. Bellweather in particular.  She doesn't want to be there and her plan was to get enlisted in the infantry and get killed as soon as possible.  Her attitude earned her the nickname "shitbird" from Abby.

Raelle attitude changed when she met and fell in love with fellow cadet Scylla Ramshorn.

She came in contact with the great mycelium network under Fort Salem and she has bonded to it. This makes her practically immortal.  She has a special attack dubbed "the witch bomb" which lays waste to all around her.  She is hesitant to use it.

--

Tally Craven
(Jessica Sutton)

Hero

"It's my duty to fight for this country. I think of it more as a privilege. A privilege we witches share."

Life Points: 37
Drama Points: 15

Strength 2
Dexterity 3
Constitution 4
Intelligence 3
Perception 5
Willpower 4

Qualities
Attractiveness (2)Contacts (1, Army)Fast Reaction Time
Hard to Kill 1 Nerves of SteelSoldierWitch (Magic) (3)- Magical Philosophy, Seer

Drawbacks
Adversary (lots)Honorable (3)Obligation (3, Army)Tradition Bound

Useful Information
Initiative +5
Observation +10 (+13 with magic)

Height: 5'6"
Hair: Auburn
Eyes: Brown

Skills
Acrobatics 2
Art 2
Computers NA (Tech seems to be about 1980 levels, but no computers)
Crime 1
Doctor 2
Driving 1
Gun-Fu 0
Getting Medieval 4
Influence 3
Knowledge 4
Kung Fu 2
Languages 2 (English, Méníshè)
Mr. Fix-it 1
Notice 5
Occultism 4
Science 1
Sports 1


Combat
Maneuver Bonus  Damage  Notes Dodge / Parry     +7 - Defense Action                            Grapple +8 - Defense Action Scourge +7 7 Attack Action Windstrike +7 7 Attack Action Sight +13 Special Special
GearScourge, Salva

Tally comes from the depleted Craven line. All her aunts had gone to fight in the Army and they all died.  She is the last of her line. She lived in the Matrifocal Allotment near Sacramento, California. She had not even seen a male until she answered her call of duty, an action her mother strongly wished her not to do.  Her power is to "see." She can detect disguised and hidden objects or people and might be one of the most powerful seers to come up in the ranks in a long time.

Tally is a sweet girl who loves with all her heart because that is what she knows.  She is fiercely loyal to her Unit.

She saved Alder's life when she volunteered to become a Biddie for a short time.  This has given her access to Alders memories.

--

Abigail Bellweather
(Ashley Williams)

Hero

"Obviously you're familiar with the Bellweather name..."

Life Points: 44
Drama Points: 15

Strength 3
Dexterity 3
Constitution 4
Intelligence 4
Perception 3
Willpower 3

Qualities
Attractiveness (2)Contacts (2, Army, Bellweather family)
Hard to Kill 2 Nerves of SteelResources (10)SoldierStatus (4)Witch (Magic) (3)- Magical Philosophy, Storm magic

Drawbacks
Adversary (lots)Honorable (3)Obligation (4, Army)Tradition Bound

Useful Information
Initiative +3
Observation +6

Height: 5'8" 
Hair:  Brown 
Eyes: Brown  

Skills
Acrobatics 4
Art 0
Computers NA (Tech seems to be about 1980 levels, but no computers)
Crime 1
Doctor 1
Driving 2
Gun-Fu 0
Getting Medieval 4
Influence 4
Knowledge 4
Kung Fu 3
Languages 2 (English, Méníshè)
Mr. Fix-it 1
Notice 3
Occultism 5
Science 1
Sports 1


Combat
Maneuver Bonus  Damage  Notes Dodge / Parry     +7 - Defense Action                            Grapple +8 - Defense Action Scourge +7 7 Attack Action Windstrike +7 7 Attack Action Maelstrom Generation +11 Special Special
GearScourge, Salva

Abigail "Abby" Bellweather, of the East Coast Bellweathers, is the leader of the Bellweather Unit.  She starts out in the show as an arrogant, if even spoiled, girl of privilege. By the end of the series she is the leader she was born to be.  Even her rivalries with Raelle and fellow East Coast witch Libba Swythe become something different as she accepts the responsibility of what being a soldier-witch means.

When the Camarilla targeted her family and killed her cousin she has dedicated her entire training to wiping them out. 

--

Scylla Ramshorn
(Amalia Holm)

Hero, Villan, Anti-Hero

"I like you, okay? I have feelings for you, and they're not something I'm used to having ... not something I'm used to dealing with. I'm a dodger, which means no attachments. Because things go away, we go away."

Life Points: 44
Drama Points: 15

Strength 2
Dexterity 3
Constitution 5
Intelligence 4
Perception 4
Willpower 3

Qualities
Attractiveness (2)Contacts (1, Spree)
Hard to Kill 2 Nerves of SteelSoldier (Dodger)Witch (Magic) (4)- Magical Philosophy, Necromancer

Drawbacks
Adversary (lots)Love, Romantic (Raelle)Obligation (1, Army)Obligation (4, The Spree)
Useful Information
Initiative +3
Observation +8

Height: 5'3" 
Hair: Brown 
Eyes: Blue 

Skills
Acrobatics 1
Art 1
Computers NA (Tech seems to be about 1980 levels, but no computers)
Crime 4
Doctor 2
Driving 1
Gun-Fu 0
Getting Medieval 3
Influence 3
Knowledge 3
Kung Fu 3
Languages 2 (English, Méníshè)
Mr. Fix-it 1
Notice 4
Occultism 5
Science 1
Sports 1


Combat
Maneuver Bonus  Damage  Notes Dodge / Parry     +6 - Defense Action                            Grapple +7 - Defense Action Scourge +7 - Attack Action Windstrike +8 - Attack Action Other magic +12 Special Special
GearScourge, Salva

Scylla is a "Necro" or a Necromancer.  Because their power makes others uneasy they are quartered in a different part of the base. We learn that Scylla's parents were killed when she was young.   She meets and falls in love with Raelle.  Later we find out she is part of the terrorist organization known as The Spree, responsible for hundreds of deaths across the country.  Her job was to recruit Raelle, but she actually fell in love with her.

Scylla was instrumental in discovering the location and leadership of the local Camarilla faction.  With her help Raelle got to see her mother one more time and now she, along with the Spree, are protecting the Bellwether Unit.

--

General Sarah Alder
(Lyne Renee)

Very Experienced Hero

"Honor me, make a place for me and my kind and we will win your wars."

Life Points: 88
Drama Points: 20

Strength 3
Dexterity 3
Constitution 9 (with biddies)
Intelligence 5
Perception 5
Willpower 4

Qualities
Age (3)Attractiveness (2)Contacts (4, Army, Governments)Fast Reaction Time
Hard to Kill 6 Nerves of SteelSoldierWitch (Magic) (8)- Magical Philosophy, War magic

Drawbacks
Adversary (lots)Honorable (3)Obligation (4, Army)Tradition Bound

Useful Information
Initiative +5
Observation +9

Height: 5'9"
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue 

Skills
Acrobatics 3
Art 2
Computers NA (Tech seems to be about 1980 levels, but no computers)
Crime 4
Doctor 3
Driving 3
Gun-Fu 
Getting Medieval 9
Influence 7
Knowledge 5
Kung Fu 5
Languages 3 (English, Méníshè, French)
Mr. Fix-it 2
Notice 4
Occultism 9
Science 1
Sports 1

Combat
Maneuver Bonus  Damage  Notes Dodge / Parry     +12 - Defense Action                            Grapple +13 - Defense Action Scourge +17 18 Attack Action Windstrike +17 18 Attack Action Other magic +21 Special Special
GearScourge, Salva

Sarah Alder was a survivor of the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th Centuries. She rallied her fellow witches at Salem, Massachusetts and presented the new government with a deal. Save us and we will fight your wars.  The US Government and the Witches have been allies ever since.  

Sarah maintains her youth with her select group of "biddies" or women that have sacrificed their own youth so she may remain forever young.  The biddies and Alder are all connected, much in the way a witch and familiar might be.  Thus Sarah can call on greater magics than her already high level has access to.

Alder appears to die at the end of the last episode of Season 2, but instead we see she has become part of the mycelium network.

--

Damn. Now I want to rewatch all of Season 1 and 2 again!

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

 Ok. The day job is really busy this week so this is going to be a complete drive by.  But here are three new Kickstarters I am excited about.

Tome of Beasts 3: Full Throttle 5th Edition Monster Mayhem

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deepmagic/tome-of-beasts-3-full-throttle-5th-edition-monster-mayhem?ref=theotherside

I make no secret of my love of monsters!  Kobold Press' Tome of Beasts are among my favorite 5e books and monster books.   This one should also be great!

SURVIVE THIS!! Dark Places & Demogorgons Class Compendium

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ericfrombloatgames/survive-this-dark-places-and-demogorgons-class-compendium?ref=theotherside

I mentioned this one a couple of weeks ago, but it bares repeating.  The Class Compendium is a great collection for DP&D game.  I highly recommend it.

And finally one from my good friend Jim Balent and Broadsword Studio.

Jim Balent's Raven Hex Saga

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jimbalent/jim-balents-raven-hex-saga?ref=theotherside

Raven Hex is the older sister of Tarot.  She is evil...sorta.  She really just wants a world where witches are not feared or mistreated.  The first Raven Hex book I picked up was a fun romp with Raven sick and feverish from a virus while Tarot read her bed time stories.  The comic was her fever dreams.  It was a lot of fun and very tongue and cheek and a lot of insight to two (Jim and Holly) super fans of Disney. 

There you have it!  Enjoy your weekend!

Grabbed the new Dungeons & Dragons Rules Expansion Gift Sets at my FLGS today. 

I have to admit I am a sucker for a boxed set.

Comparisons of the new books to the older ones.

The new book, Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, is the big star of course.  Lots of monsters from other books, but new ones as well.  I am not sure how many are new but I am happy to have them all in one place.  Kinda like a Monster Manual II for 5e.

I'll have to review the books in detail, but so far I like what I have here.

Nik Nak by Jacob Blackmon

I was waiting on today's Character Creation Challenge until I got my copy of Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse today.  While this collects a bunch of material for other books into one volume, I did want to wait to see what the options for new character races/species were.  And I can say I am not disappointed at all!

Personally I like having all these different options in my games.  Especially with the way I have been playing D&D 5 of late.  It makes me want to make my part of the world something akin to Elis Island of the Multiverse.  A place where everyone comes too on their way to new lands.

One of those places in my town of West Haven.  Once I settled on that then the choice of today's character was an easy one.

Nik Nak is a goblin fey-pact Warlock in service to the Goblin King.  I featured him a while back for my Swords & Wizardry Warlock book; which introduced both the warlock class and the goblin playable species.   Here he is in his D&D 5th Edition version.

He is a sneaky little goblin, but not completely evil really. He lives in the Goblin Wood where he is the local Boglebo (akin to a warlock/shaman for goblins) and alchemist.  He sometimes sells potions in the market.  He has learned that ripping off a customer is a good deal in the short term, but to sell what he has at a fair price brings in more money in the long term.  He is fond of urban life and would bring more money home if he didn't have such a taste for human alcohol. 

He is often found with his toad familiar, "Lady Patricia Blackwell."  A gift to him from his patron the Goblin King.

--

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

It's a month since Christmas, so I can buy things for myself again.  And this is what the mail has given me this week.

Vis Imperium Victoriana is a Victorian RPG using the same rules as Pendragon Chivalry and Sorcery Essence (thanks for the corrections!).  So you know I am excited for that!

Enoch's Wake is from Richard Ruane. Game designer, co worker at my day job, and all around great guy.  Can't wait to get into that as well.  I am totally planning on stealing ideas from this for my BlackStar game.

I got a League of Malevolence figures which include my favorites Skylla and Kelek.

They look pretty good and compare well to my HeroForge ones I had made a while back.

I also treated myself to a signed photo from Ginny Di as Tasha.

That one is either going to be part of my D&D5 DM's Screen or be part of my Tasha/Iggwilv/Zybilna character folder.  Either way I am happy to have it!

Happy...uh...January to me!!

I have to admit I rather enjoyed the old Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries.  I was more partial to Nancy Drew; having a crush on Pamela Sue Martin and later Janet Julian.  I  was quite excited on hearing there was going to be new Nancy Drew series staring Kennedy McMann.   So imagine my delight when the show went hard-core supernatural.  

The show is full of ghosts, possessions, family curses, witches fighting other witches, and yes lots of mystery.  In its 3rd season, it is one of my new guilty pleasures. 

Plus Nancy would be fantastic for any number of supernatural RPGs.  In the spirit of crossovers how about Nancy for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG.  After all, Buffy would not have been here had it not been for Nancy Drew.  And the Nancy Drew show would not have been on the CW had Buffy not been on the WB before it.

So here is Nancy for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG.

Nancy Drew
Experienced Hero

"Everyone loves a mystery"

Life Points: 33
Drama Points: 10

Strength 2
Dexterity 3
Constitution 3
Intelligence 4
Perception 5
Willpower 4

Qualities
Attractiveness (2)Contacts (3)
Fast Reaction Time
Hard to Kill 1Nerves of SteelPhotographic Memory Situational Awareness
Drawbacks
Adversary (1)Honorable (1)Love (Ex, Nick)

Useful Information
Initiative 5
Observation 10

Height: 5'8"
Hair: Red
Eyes: Blue

Skills
Acrobatics 3
Art 4
Computers 2
Crime 5
Doctor 2
Driving 2
Gun-Fu 0
Getting Medieval 2
Influence 3
Knowledge 4
Kung Fu 2
Languages 2
Mr. Fix-it 2
Notice 5
Occultism 3
Science 3
Sports 1

Combat
Maneuver Bonus  Damage  Notes Dodge / Parry     +5 - Defense Action                            Grapple +6 - Defense Action
GearNotebookFlashlightScarfKnit hatSunbeam Alpine Series III, light blue

--

You wont see Nancy getting into too many fights and she has never, in my memory, used a weapon.  Maybe a she has picked up a stick or used a supernatural weapon, but never a gun or even a knife really.  Her main weapon is her mind; her keen intelligence and her photographic memory.

She would really fit in well.  I mean Horseshoe Bay might as well be a Hellmouth with all the supernatural shenanigans going on. This Nancy Drew really is the spiritual daughter of Buffy, as much as Buffy is the spiritual granddaughter of Nancy Drew from the books.

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

Ever have one of those times when things seem to line up a certain way?  Yesterday I posted stats for Sherlock and Watson for the Doctor Who RPG, Adventures in Time and Space.  In particular the one for the 11th Doctor.  It's not a completely original idea, there is an entire sub-culture of fans for "Who-lock" out there. 

Also this week DriveThruComics is having their big Crossover sale now and I do love a good cross-over.  I picked up Army of Darkness/Xena Warrior Princess Volume 1, Sherlock Holmes & Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Red Sonja & Vampirella Meet Betty & Veronica (just because), and the Pathfinder: Worldscape  Vol 1 and Vol 2.    The Pathfinder ones are nice since they have Pathfinder 1st Ed stats for John Carter, Tarzan, Red Sonja, and more.  

I was thinking that some crossovers would be fun for the last week of this challenge. I have done a few in the past that were really fun. I have Xena and Gabrielle for Army of Darkness. Lots for Red Sonja.  Charmed and Buffy for both Dark Places & Demogorns and the Buffy RPG. And Willow and Tara for Doctor Who. 

One of my goals for NIGHT SHIFT was to be able to play any character I wanted from any modern supernatural horror franchise.  So I have been trying out a Buffy/Supernatural crossover with the Wayward Sisters and Willow and Tara. It has worked well. 

So I have been trying to come with ideas for other crossovers, and in particular ones I could do with NIGHT SHIFT.  The problem I am having is I have already done all the ones I was most excited about.  So I started looking for more.  I thought maybe an Expanse / Black Star crossover would be fun. The series ended and I was looking for more Expanse goodness.  I even looked into making a scenario where the MCRN Barkeith exits the Ring Gate and is not "gone" but ends up in the Black Star Universe. Given Admiral Sauveterre's attitude, he would likely fire on the first Erath ship he sees, which so happens to be USS Protector.  It will be a short fight.  The MCRN Barkeith is a Donnager class Martian Warship (in the books).  The Protector is a Mystic class experimental science vessel.  Though the Project can out fly, out maneuver, and out gun the Barkeith by several orders of magnitude.  I am not even sure the Barkeith's PDNs can even get through the Protector's navigation shields. 

But those are ships. Not characters. I was still at a loss of a character to do today.  That is until I saw an image from the 2022 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Calendar.

There is the 11th Doctor.  Not sure why, but I know a gift when I see it.

The photo behind Buffy's/SMG's head is one of the Dæmons from Doctor Who.  Which would also give a good reason for a crossover.  A Dæmon from the Doctor Who universe escapes to the Buffy universe where it is suspected of being a demon. 

So here is the 11th Doctor for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG.

The Doctor (11th Doctor)
Very Experienced Hero

"Hello, I'm the Doctor.  Basically. Run."

Life Points: 57
Drama Points: 10

Strength 3
Dexterity 5
Constitution 5
Intelligence 9
Perception 4
Willpower 4

Qualities
Age (11) (1100 years)
Attractiveness (1)Contacts (3)
Fast Reaction Time (Time Lord)
Hard to Kill 5 (Time Lord)NerdNerves of SteelPhotographic Memory Reduced Damage 3 (Time Lord)
Regeneration (6 Life Points per hour) (Time Lord)Situational Awareness (Time Lord)Time Lord

Drawbacks
Adversary (lots)Honorable (3)
Love, Tragic (River)
Useful Information
Initiative +10
Observation 9

Height: 6'0"
Hair: Brown (and still not Ginger)
Eyes: Brown

Skills
Acrobatics 3
Art 2
Computers 9
Crime 2
Doctor 5
Driving 4
Gun-Fu 0
Getting Medieval 3
Influence 4
Knowledge 6
Kung Fu 3
Languages * (Everything)
Mr. Fix-it 5
Notice 5
Occultism 1
Science 8
Sports 4
Wild Card (Time Travel) 10

Combat
Maneuver Bonus  Damage  Notes Dodge / Parry     +8 - Defense Action                            Grapple +9 - Defense Action
GearSonic ScrewdriverBow tieFez

--

Oh, this would be a lot of fun. The 11th Doctor is more in tune with the whole vibe of Buffy.  I'd have to work out the details on what the Time Lord quality is, but in truth The Doctor Who RPG does it so well.  

A fact, most of the playtesters for Doctor Who were also the playtesters for Buffy.   

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

ETA: My post did not go as scheduled Saturday morning, so I am re-editing it with Sunday's post.
I am a HUGE Sherlock Holmes fan.  Last week's post on Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson reminded me of that.  It also reminded me of this post.  I had been picking at it for a bit, though this weekend would be a good time to wrap it all up. 

I have read all the stories, seen most of the movies and nearly all of the classic BBC series with Jeremy Brett (whom I still feel is the definitive Holmes), and few-score other adaptations including non-canon books, movies, and plays. I also really enjoyed the Sherlock series from the BBC starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.

The show was created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. The same duo that worked on the Russel T. Davies re-start of Doctor Who and who helmed the 11th and 12th Doctor years. 
I know I am not the only one who would love to see a Sherlock/Doctor Who crossover.



But considering I don't have the time or the skills to edit together a clip like that, I'll settle for the worlds I can manipulate.

Here is the modern Sherlock Holmes for Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space (Eleventh Doctor Edition).
Sherlock Holmes
Story Points: 12

Attributes
Awareness 6
Coordination 4
Ingenuity 6
Presence 3
Resolve 4
Strength 3

Skills
Athletics 4
Convince 1
Craft 3
Fighting 2
Knowledge 6
Marksman 1
Medicine 2
Science 6
Subterfuge 4
Survival 1
Technology 3
Transport 0

Traits
Attractive, Boffin, Eccentric, Insatiable Curiosity, Photographic Memory, Selfish, Technically Adept, Voice of Authority

Equipment
Smart Phone
Home Tech Level: 5


John Watson, MD
Story Points: 12

Attributes
Awareness 3
Coordination 2
Ingenuity 3
Presence 2
Resolve 4
Strength 3

Skills
Athletics 1
Convince 0
Craft 1
Fighting 2
Knowledge 3
Marksman 4
Medicine 5
Science 3
Subterfuge 1
Survival 2
Technology 2
Transport 1

Traits
Brave, Code of Conduct, Face in the Crowd

Equipment
Cellphone, Revolver

Home Tech Level: 5

--

With many characters in different systems I strive to make mechanical or even closely mathematical equivalents.  With Sherlock here vs. Sherlock Holmes, I am more interested in staying true to the character and to the system.

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

Something a little different today.  I am interrupting my regularly scheduled Character Creation Challenge posts with a Kickstart Your Weekend style review.

The Kickstarter for SURVIVE THIS!! Dark Places & Demogorgons Class Compendium has begun and Bloat Games offered me a sneak peak.  I am providing a review of their new book, and a link for their Kickstarter.

The Kickstarter

I am a huge fan of Dark Places & Demogorgons. 

As of this writing the Kickstarter has made their initial goal. They are now heading to the next Stretch Goal of new art.  After this more stretch goals will be announced.  The lowest level to get in $6 and that gets you the PDF.  Not a bad deal really.

The Book

The current version of the book is all complete with layout and art.  Stretch goals will replace some of the art, but right now it looks great.

The book is digest sized, 210+ pages, color cover and black & white pages.  If you are familiar with any SURVIVE THIS!! book you have a good idea of how it looks on the inside.

The book contains all the classes that have appeared in every Dark Places & Demogorns book, all in one place.  The new classes include  Archery Enthusiast, Badger Scout,  Horror Connoisseur, Hot Shot,  Snoop, The Source, Sweet Baby, Thespian, and new psionic classes, Animal Wrangler and The Forgotten. So 56 classes and 10 new classes for 66 in total.  There are also new spells for the magic using classes.

Most classes cover two to three pages.  Everything you need to know about each class, but no rules for play. You still need the core rules for that. I am reading through and the classes do look expanded.  For example the Goth in the core Dark Places & Demogorgons book tops of, as all classes do in that book, at 5th level.  The Goth in the Class Compendium advances to 10th level, and there are archetypes of the "Mopey Goth" and the "Supernatural Goth."

The new classes are fun with the Horror Connoisseur toping the list of my favorites.  Though I knew a lot of "Sources" back in High School and they would also be a fun class to play.  Though the Magic Classes are still my favorite.  So I am quite pleased to get a bunch of new spells.

Skills are also updated.  The game moved up and out from the core book so new skills need to be defined and there are revised skills as well. 

There is even some space given to fighting threats from "The Otherside."  I'll try not to take that one personally! ;)

Really is a fun book and a must have if you are playing Dark Places & Demogorgons.  It should even work for We Die Young to be honest. 

So yeah, this is a Kickstarter worth backing.

The Character

Again, I think I need to go with my Drosophila melanogaster of playtesting magic classes and see what my dear little witch Larina was doing in the 1980s (1984 to be exact).  She was my big experiment in my Modern Occult Horror RPGs post a bit back, but let's have a look at her in detail.  I am also including my NIGHT SHIFT character sheet as well.

Click to see larger. 

I love how these two games work well with each other.  Each providing me a a detail I did not have before.

Today's character could work with either my Victorian setting or Spirit of '76 for a lot of the same reasons.  

I have always been a big fan of Bruce Lee.  I first saw him on the old Batman series as Kato and then later in interviews.  I am not sure what the first Bruce Lee movie I saw was, but likely it was "Enter the Dragon."  Later I learned of his legacies of how Asian-American actors were treated in Hollywood, his invention of Jeet Kun Do, and his atheism.   He was in every respect of the word, an icon and all-around good guy. 

He was huge in the 1970s, especially after his death, and he was central, or at least he heavily influenced the TV series Kung-Fu.   That gives him an "in" to both eras I am gaming with this month.

So in the tradition of the series(es) Kung-fu I have a character idea that would work for both times.  This is an alternate world (NIGHT SHIFT) where Bruce Lee's "Jun Fan Gung Fu" (just Gung Fu from here on out) was a classical style (and totally missing the point of what Lee was trying to do I know...).  

Victorian Era

Here a young British Lord and his Chinese wife had a son, Lee Jun-fan.  But they were killed in the Taiping Rebellion. Their son, whom they feared would also be killed, was left with monks where he was raised to learn Gung Fu. Here he trains for his first 30 years of life.  He returns to his father's home in England where he deals with the racism of 1880s Victorian England.  He is protected by title and wealth, but still, things are not easy for him. He is also a master of Gung Fu and learns of the vast Occult Underground London has to offer.  

Think of it as "Kung Fu by Gaslight."

Spirit of '76

In 1976, Lee Jun-fan's great-grandson, also named Lee Jun-fan, but going by "Lee Young" (yes, I know Lee was a family name) now lives in America, but his legacy will soon be tested.

Here he is (both versions use the same stats) for Night Shift. NIGHT SHIFT is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).

Lee Jun-fan (Lee Young)
6th level Mystical Martial Artist (Human)
Archetype: Martial Artist in a Strange New World

Strength: 18 (+3) P 
Dexterity: 19 (+3) S
Constitution: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 13 (+1) 
Wisdom: 14 (+1) 
Charisma: 16 (+2) S

HP: 33
Alignment: Good
AC: 5
Attack: +3# Attacks: 2

Fate Points: 1d8

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +4/+2/+1Melee bonus: +3 Ranged bonus: +3Saves: +2 to Constitution and Dexterity saving throws
Martial Arts Powers+3 to Dexterity; Free Running; Instant Kill ("Gung Fu Death punch"); Lightning-fast; Danger Sense, Supernatural Attack, Pneuma Blast

Skills
Athletics, Steady Hands, Body Control, Insight

--

In both campaigns, the emphasis for this character is he is close enough to the world he living in at the time, but still an outsider.  But he is also an outsider with this amazing power.

In both cases, I would want to feature his sense of humor. Bruce Lee had a wicked sense of humor and my Lee Jun-fan would also.  I also want a character who despite all the hardships and reversals he has faced wants to believe that people, in general, are good and they act how they do out of fear.  

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

Going to a character today that was one of the first (though not the first) Spirit of '76 characters I came up with.  

Megan O'Kelly came to me from a variety of sources, but the main one was the idea of this college girl wearing a Led Zeppelin U.S. Tour 1975 t-shirt, oversized sunglasses, old hiphugger bell-bottom jeans, and carrying a burlap messenger bag where she kept all her witch gear.   She was a young, recent UC Berkely grad with a freshly minted degree in Psychology and she was going to change the world.

Until that is, she discovered the supernatural.  Or more to the point, the supernatural discovered her.

"Megan" began as "Stephanie" in an older game back when "Spirit of '76" was "Summer of Love" and took place in 1968.  I wanted to keep Stephanie where she was but I wanted to do the Summer of 1976 as well, so Megan was "born."  Eliza Roberts, the actress to "play" her, was suggested to me by my NIGHT SHIFT co-creator Jason Vey.   Megan would go on to have more adventures in other games, namely Chill (from last year) and the Buffy RPG.

Here she is for Night Shift. NIGHT SHIFT is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).

Megan O'Kelly
4th level Witch (Human)
Archetype: 70s Occultist Witch

Strength: 11 (0) 
Dexterity: 14 (+1) 
Constitution: 15 (+1) 
Intelligence: 18 (+4) P
Wisdom: 17 (+1)  S
Charisma: 17 (+2) S

HP: 14
Alignment: Lawful
AC: 8
Attack: +0

Fate Points: 1d6

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +3/+2/0Melee bonus: 0 Ranged bonus: +1Saves: +3 against spells and magical effects
Witch AbilitiesArcana, Supernatural Senses, Spells, Arcane Powers
Arcane PowersPrecognition, ESP (Clairvoyance)
SpellsFirst Level: Detect Evil, Detect Magic, Protection from EvilSecond Level: Cause Fear, Suggestion

Skills
Research, Insight, History, Science (Psychology)

--

Megan is my gift to that younger version of me that discovered witches in pop psychology books and magazines and always had crushes on girls older than himself. She is the "psychic witch woman" of the 1970s.  She has crystals, she always consults her horoscope, she has "feelings" about things, and she can be a lot more powerful than even she gives herself credit for.  

She has more history in my games later on, but this is college grad Megan. This is young Megan. She is excited, and eager and wants to take on the world. Her future is so bright right now that she needs those knock-off Marlo Thomas sunglasses.   Is it possible to love an NPC? Because I think Megan is great.  I almost feel bad for all the shit she later goes through by the time the 80s roll around.  Almost. Swords are forged in fire and magic is forged in pain.  But that's not till 1979 at least and Megan here has a lot to do before then!

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

Continuing my "Spirit of '76" mini-campaign I want to get some more details on who my "big bad" might be.  I say might, because I am not 100% sure yet what I want to do with her save for being the mastermind behind the plot.  I know I want to make what she wants to do sound reasonable and something that most people would want to support. That is if her plan didn't involve the death of millions. 

Given the name of the series, I figure she would fit in fine as the first person of European descent born in the colonies.  She is also the reason I have scrapped many of the ideas I had for Spirit of 76 (including other NPCs) in favor of newer ones.  Still planning on four adventures, but I only have the first two figured out.

I spoke about Virginia Dare briefly before. She is the immortal enemy of Valerie Beaumont. Though their relationship is quite a complicated one. She wants to kill Valerie, but Val doesn't really want to kill her.  I liken their relationship (as it is growing in my mind now) as similar to Holmes and Moriarty or The Doctor and the Master.  

Here she is for Night Shift. NIGHT SHIFT is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).

Virginia Dare
14th level Survivor (Supernatural, Immortal)
Archetype: Immortal Mastermind

Strength: 12 (0) 
Dexterity: 14 (+1) 
Constitution: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 19 (+4) S
Wisdom: 17 (+2)  S
Charisma: 18 (+3) P

HP: 77
Alignment: Neutral (?)
AC: 8
Attack: 4

Fate Points: 1d10

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +6/+4/+2Melee bonus: 0 Ranged bonus: +1Saves: +5 to death saves. +2 to all others.
Immortal AbilitiesImmortals regenerate 1d8 hit points every minute. +3 to Intelligence+5 to all saving throws against magic, poison, disease, and death-based attacks.Arcane Powers: Charm Person, EmpathyUnique Kill: Can only be killed by Valerie Beaumont
Survivor Abilities
Stealth skills; Climbing; Danger Sense (1-5); Sneak Attack +4, x2; Read Languages 80%, Ritual Magic

Survivor Skills (8th level)

• Open Locks: 145%
• Bypass Traps: 140%
• Sleight of Hand: 150%
• Move Silently: 150%
• Hide in Shadows: 140%
• Climbing 105%
• Perception: 105%

Skills
Research, Insight, History (x2) 

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Virginia Dare has survived some of the worst times this country has seen.  She is brilliant and her own special abilities to understand and charm others to get her into positions where she can leverage her intellect the best.  She learns what people want and she finds a way to get it to them, for a price.  

She prefers to work behind the scenes but she has amassed a powerbase that when she decides to play her hand it will have devastating effects. 

I just need to figure out what that is.  I have an idea, but not sure how to make it work just yet. Both in-game and for the game. 

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

Going forward in time to another campaign I have been tossing around for a while.  This one is set in the Summer of 1976.  I don't have much planned yet save that it involves an increased upswing in demonic and supernatural attacks and related phenomena.  

Ideally, I'd love to be able to use a lot of weird shit that made the 70s one of the best decades for occult happenings.  My goal here is to try to figure out what this campaign/set of adventures is all about.

So let's start with the character that made me want to do something in this decade;  Carl Kolchak, The Night Stalker.  Besides, it is the 50th Anniversary of the Night Stalker TV series.  

Here he is for Night Shift. NIGHT SHIFT is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).

Carl Kolchak 
3rd level Survivor (Human)
Archetype: Corespondent

Strength: 10 (0) 
Dexterity: 13 (+1) S
Constitution: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 13 (+1) P
Wisdom: 14 (+1)  
Charisma: 15 (+1) S

HP: 15
Alignment: Light
AC: 9
Attack: +1

Fate Points: 1d6

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +3/+1/0Melee bonus: 0 Ranged bonus: +1Saves: +4 to death saves. +2 to all others.
Survivor Abilities
Stealth skills; Climbing; Danger Sense (1-4); Sneak Attack +4, x2; Read Languages 80%

Survivor Skills (8th level)

• Open Locks: 35%
• Bypass Traps: 30%
• Sleight of Hand: 40%
• Move Silently: 40%
• Hide in Shadows: 30%
• Climbing 75%
• Perception: 50%

Skills
Research, Insight, Notice (x2)

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Wrapping up my tour of the Victorian era with the original dynamic duo of Holmes and Watson.  Today I focus my sights on the good Dr. John Watson.

John Watson is an interesting character.  By all rights, he would have been the star of his own serials; British Army officer, Doctor, not a bad detective in his own right and good with a service pistol.  He was also smart, just not as smart as Holmes.

Here he is for Night Shift. NIGHT SHIFT is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).

Dr. John Watson

6th level Veteran (Human)
Archetype: Chronicler and sidekick

Strength: 13 (+1) S
Dexterity: 14 (+1) S
Constitution: 13 (+1) 
Intelligence: 14 (+3) P
Wisdom: 16 (+2)  
Charisma: 14 (+1)  

HP: 33
Alignment: Light
AC: 8
Attack: +3 

Fate Points: 1d8

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +4/+2/+1Melee bonus: +1 Ranged bonus: +1Saves: +2 to all saves
Veteran Abilities
Combat Expertise, Improved damage, improved defense, Supernatural Attack, tracking

Skills
Medicine x2, Science, Insight, Notice

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Dr. Watson is a veteran with a lot of training in medicine. This covers his character rather well. 

I hope this gets me motivated for some more Sherlock Holmes posts. 

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

Today I want to wrap up my tour of the Victorian era with two of my favorite characters of the time, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. 

I have, sitting on my hard drive or a flash drive somewhere the stats for Holmes for every Victorian-era game I have ever played.   I keep meaning to post them and never get around to it.  So of course today is a set of stats I am coming up with now.

The issue with doing Holmes in many games, but modern occult ones, in particular, is that Holmes does not live in a magical world.  He lives in a world with predictable laws of science that follow predictable patterns.  This is what makes him so good at what he does, he can see these patterns and connections. Holmes works because the world is mundane and what he does looks like magic.

For NIGHT SHIFT there is no one class that would do him justice.  While I could get away with making him a 10th level Survivor (and I feel 10 levels is right) he is missing a couple of key ingredients. So time to try another multiclass.

Here he is for Night Shift. NIGHT SHIFT is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).

Jeremy Brett as Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes
6th level Survivor / 4th level Sage (Human)
Archetype: Consulting Detective

Strength: 16 (+2) 
Dexterity: 16 (+2) S
Constitution: 14 (+1) 
Intelligence: 18 (+3) P
Wisdom: 16 (+2) S 
Charisma: 10 (0) 

HP: 35
Alignment: Light
AC: 8
Attack: +3 

Fate Points: 1d10

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +5/+3/+2Melee bonus: +2 Ranged bonus: +2Saves: +4 to death saves. +2 to all others.
Survivor Abilities
Stealth skills; Climbing; Danger Sense (1-4); Sneak Attack +2, x3; Read Languages 80%

Stealth Skills (8th level)

• Open Locks: 85%
• Bypass Traps: 80%
• Sleight of Hand: 90%
• Move Silently: 90%
• Hide in Shadows: 80%
• Perception: 90%

Sage Abilities
Survivor Skills (factored in above); Mesmerize Others; Lore; Languages (18); Spells* (to Holmes they are not "spells" merely "advanced techniques.")

Spells
First level: Command, Detect Snares & Pits
Second level: Find Traps

Skills
Athletics (Bartitsu), Sleight of Hand, Research, Science, Insight, Notice

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Holmes combines a variety of class abilities and skills to create one investigator.  Would an "Investigator" class have been better?  Not really.  In this case, I feel the mix of classes and skills point to obscure training and thus a unique character.  Holmes is certainly that.

If you are interested in playing Sherlock Holmes in a game system more suited to the world he lived in then might I suggest both Victoria and Baker Street: Roleplaying in the world of Sherlock Holmes.  Both are very fine games.

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