The Other Side

D&DGII The Black Forest Mythos: Sisters of the Dawn, Liebhaberin and Ôstara

ÔstaraTwo sister goddesses today who might, in fact, be the same goddess depending on who you talk to and when you talk to them.  I'll detail that more below, but let's discuss them as two separate Goddesses for now.

These Goddesses cleave closer to their ancient roots than their Norse ones. In addition to Roman and Greek influences, these Goddesses can be traced back to their Mesopotamian antecedents, with Astartē, Ishtar, and even Isis as their inspiration. Primarily, this is due to the vital importance Spring has had throughout time to an agricultural society.

Ôstara

She is the goddess of spring, rebirth, and the dawn. She is the daughter of Mutter Natur and one of the gods that has retained her old name.  Her title is "Geliebte," which means "beloved." She is celebrated on the Spring Equinox when she rises with the dawn to wake up the world from its long winter slumber. She goes to the underworld in the Fall and world weeps and sleeps, but not before her bounty is brought into the world in form of her harvests.

Ôstara is one of the overtly Pagan goddesses in this pantheon. She retains much of her earlier character and strongly aligns with Persephone/Proserpina in the Spring and Dionysus/Bacchus in the Autumn. 

ÔSTARA (Goddess of Spring)
Intermediate Goddess

ARMOR CLASS: 1 / -5
MOVE: 18" / 24"
HIT POINTS: 200
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d10/1d10 
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Radiance of Dawn
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Blinding Defense
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%

SIZE: M (5' 4")
ALIGNMENT: Neutral Good
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All (mostly Good)
SYMBOL: An egg or rabbit
PLANE: Himmel

CLERIC/DRUID: 15th level Druid
FIGHTER: Nil
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: Nil
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: 7th level Bard
WITCH/WARLOCK: 8th level Witch
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 17 I:18 W: 18 D: 20 C: 20 CH:24

Ôstara is the Goddess of Spring and Rebirth. She is the maiden that heralds the dawn and new beginnings. She is a peaceful Goddess but terrible to her enemies. She always appears as a young woman wearing a garland of flowers and dressed in bright yellows and blues.

She can charm any animal as per the spell with no chance of saving throw, they will all do her bidding to defend her if she but asks, even to the death. Afterward, she will raise them back from the dead to perfect health and maximum hp. She can also raise dead on any mortal once per day.

She prefers not to attack, but if she is she can cast her Corona of Dawn once per day. This power blinds all within 100' of her and deals 6d6 fire damage to those within 30' of her. Any who make their saves take half damage.  This power also acts as a shield, providing her with -5 AC.  She can also strike with a beam of searing light for 1d10 points of damage twice per round. 

While she would rather not attack any living creature, she has no such qualms against the undead or demons.

She is the wife of Jäger and sister to Liebhaberin. She is honored by druids and witches who look to the return of spring.

Ôstara grows the Golden Apples of Immortality. Her sister then will give them to gods or mortals of her own choosing. 

Sphere of Control: Spring

Animal: Lambs, Rabbits
Rainment: (Head) Bare (Body) Simple white garments
Color(s): White, Green
Holy Days: Spring Equinox
Sacrifices: Burning incense and apples.
Place of Worship: Any open area, fields of grains


Liebhaberin Liebhaberin

The goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality. Where Ôstara brings life back to the land, Liebhaberin brings it to young lovers. She is the ever-young, ever-beautiful goddess of spring. She is the morning star seen after the Spring Equinox. She has aspects of Aphrodite/Venus and aspects of both Freya and Iðunn. She, along with Ôstara, keeps the Golden Apples that keep the Gods forever young and immortal. No human (likely rendered "No Man") may eat of them. (To further confuse the myths here I am going to say that because of the "No Man" statement, a woman may eat of these apples and give them to a man. That's how they explain away Adam and Eve.) 

Liebhaberin is also the patron goddess of all nymphs and dryads. Her retinue is occupied only by the most beautiful nymphs. 

LIEBHABERIN (Goddess of Beauty, Love, and Sexuality)
Intermediate God

ARMOR CLASS: 3
MOVE: 18"
HIT POINTS: 220
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Emotional damage
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Charming 
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Pact of the Beloved (see below)
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%

SIZE: M (5' 6")
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All (mostly Good; lovers)
SYMBOL: The Morning Star
PLANE: Himmel

CLERIC/DRUID: 10th level Cleric
FIGHTER: Nil
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 4th level Illusionist
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: 9th level Bard
WITCH/WARLOCK: 6th level Witch
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 16 I:16 W: 18 D: 18 C: 20 CH:25

Liebhaberin is the Goddess of Beauty, Love, and Sexuality. She is the ever-young maiden. While her sister Ôstara stirs life back into the Earth and nature, she does the same for lovers.

She can appear as whatever the person viewing her most desires and can charm any mortal with no save. 

Due to ancient pacts between the gods and all living things, no mortal or immortal that has ever been loved can bring her harm in any way. This includes direct attacks and even area-of-effect magics. Since everyone has been loved by someone at least at one point, this effectively makes her invulnerable. Undead, constructs, and mindless elementals are immune to this. Demons are also immune to this and are enraged by this.

Like her sister she is loathe to engage in violence. She can touch a person and they feel whatever emotion she chooses. Her tactic is often to calm an aggressor or make them fall in love with her or someone nearby. She can also cause jealousy and rage; a common tactic when she dealing with a number of hostile mortals. 

She keeps the Golden Apples of Immortality, which are hers to give to whoever she pleases. 

Many Gods, Goddesses, and mortals claim to be her lover, and this is all likely true, but she can't limit herself to just one lover.

Sphere of Control: Sex, love, beauty
Animal: Rabbit
Rainment: (Head) Bare (Body) Simple white garments or bare
Color(s): White, Red
Holy Days: Mornings, Weddings
Sacrifices: Libations
Place of Worship: Any area of natural beauty, the bedroom.

One Goddess or Two?

One of the crucial things to consider when making a new pantheon, even one with historical basis, is that gods are not compartmentalized easily. For example, Apollo is the God of music, archery, and the Sun. Pan is also the God of music. Hellios is also the God of the sun. This is because we are looking back at these myths through our times. Apollo rose and fell (but mostly rose) in importance over the centuries. This is even more true of the Egyptian myths. Gods rose, fell, were merged, split apart, and more.  

What does this have to do with these two?

Simple, these two goddesses could have been one goddess. They could have been aspects of the same goddess.  They could be sisters, mother and daughter, or something else. Gods can be a lot of things at the same time that mortals can't be.  I had considered making them Divine Twins, but that role is being served elsewhere.

So, where does that leave me? Simple I go back to my rules. I follow what would work best for an AD&D game. I will keep them separate for now, but knowing full well, they could be combined into one goddess as time goes on.

I like my gods to be messy and have some unnecessary overlap. 

Plane

Until I come up with something better, the Plane these Gods all live on is called Himmel, the German word for Heaven. 

Where is Himmel? Well if you ask the worshipers, they will look at you strangely and point up. Beacuse where else would it be? 

Consequently, the land of the dead and the place of evil is Hölle (Hell, but it also sounds like hole).

Where either of these is on the Great Wheel cosmology is anyone's guess. I am not sure yet myself. I *like* the great wheel, but I am not beholden to it. At least I don't think I need to be even if not using it violates my Rule #1.

Links


This is another post for my RPG Blog Carnival Horrors, Gods, and Monsters.
RPG Blog Carnival

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 10, Room 5

 Beyond the River of Blood roams a Purple Dragon, aka an Arcane Dragon.  It is attracted to the necromantic energies here to feed. But it never misses the chance to snack on the occasional dwarf or human.

The Dreaded Arcane Dragon

There is a 65% chance that the dragon will not attack first, living creatures are a rare event here and it will be sizing the party up. Even going as far as stalking the party from the shadows. There is an additional 35% it will even talk with the party.

Regardless of attitude or outcome, it fully intends to eat the party. That is not to say it won't first seek out what the party can offer it.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Carnival of Souls (1962)

Carnival of Souls (1962) Carnival of Souls from 1962 was always "that one movie" for me. That one I had heard so much about. That one I had always wanted to see. I finally got around to it sometime after 2000 when  The Criterion Collection released their 2-DVD set of it. I have to say that it lived up to all the hype for me. Rewatching it again 20+ years after that, it still holds up.

It is also a perfect move for tonight's "What a Twist" theme.

Carnival of Souls (1962)

Mary (Candace Hilligoss, who is haunting in this) is in a street race with her two friends against two other guys. The guys, in an attempt to win, nudge the girl's car and they fly off a bridge into a muddy river somewhere in Kansas.  Hours later Mary walks out of the river with no memory on how she survived.

We followed up with Mary as she moved to Salt Lake City to get a job as an organist in a church. She has some minor, rather mundane adventures, except she keeps seeing this ghoulish-looking man everywhere she goes. Mary thinks she is going crazy and no one else can see the man. She is also oddly interested in a run-down old building that used to house a carnival, a building she has been told never to enter.

Finally, she can't help herself and she goes to the building where she sees not just the Ghoulish man and other ghouls, but a ghoulish version of herself dancing with the man. She runs off and is chased by the ghouls.

What a Twist: The last scenes are back in Kansas where the car is finally pulled up from the river. Inside are all three girls, including Mary, dead.

The movie is slow, but it is a slow burn creeping horror. Sure there is plenty of evidence that Mary is dead from the start, but much like "Sixth Sense" you don't notice it until the end. Indeed this movie is the spiritual ancestor of The Sixth Sense.

The vibe of this movie is also just really creepy. Everything seems slightly off and nothing looks or feels exactly right. There is a solid Twilight Zone feel to it. The fact that it is in Black & White only enhances this feeling. 

Worth noting is the haunting organ soundtrack throughout the whole movie. It adds to this feeling.

This movie is a classic for good reason. It might not be the scariest movie I have seen, but it is a very satisfying one.  


October Horror Movie Challenge 2023
Viewed: 5
First Time Views: 2

31 Days of Halloween Movie Challenge


Reviews: I'm Going to Hell!

 The Number of the Beast It's October, and my thoughts turn to scary things. And honestly, what could be scarier than a trip to Hell? There are a lot of great adventures to take your characters through. I can't review them all, but here are a few.

I DO still want to do my "A Barbarian in Hell" adventure sometime. These will help me out. 

So come with me. Let's go to Hell!

666: The Number of the Beast

PDF, 20 Pages, DMsGuild. $6.66

This one is fun. It's 20 pages long, and it takes its inspiration from both Dante's Inferno and Heavy Metal music. Sounds like my kind of mix, to be honest! This one also takes cues from a few different video games. This works if you imagine that your characters are already dead and in Hell and not traveling there as a "Soujurn in Hell."

This PDF sets up seven "boss battles" for characters in Hell. It can be used as described or as a supplement to an ongoing campaign in Hell, which is what I am using it for.

This is obviously for D&D 5e via the DMsGuild.

Nine Hells Adult Coloring Book

PDF, 48 Pages. B&W art (by design). $6.95 PDF / $8.98 Print

This is overtly a coloring book, but it is also a great resource for the Pathfinder version of Hell and stat blocks for the rulers of each level. Again this could be in the form of a "boss battle" or as a resource. Buy it for the coloring book, but stay for the backgrounds, lore, and stat-blocks.

The art from Jacob E. Blackmon is excellent as well, and there are some pieces here that would be a lot of fun to color. Now, where did my kids leave their crayons?

Nine Hells Adult Coloring Book Emirikol's Guide to Devils

Emirikol's Guide to Devils

PDF, 246 Pages. Color art. $15.00

From Sean McGovern, of The Power Score RPG blog.  So right away I knew this was going to be a well-researched product. Sean has been one of the best at deep lore D&D research in the blogging scene for years. He is meticulous and encompassing on any topic he tackles.

This is a massive volume at 246 pages and covers the Hells and its inhabitants. It takes D&D lore from as far back 1st/2nd Edition (I noticed that details from "Politics of Hell" are not really included though, but everything else is) and tries to bring them all together. It leans heavily into the 5th edition versions of Hells (naturally), and the book is presented like many of the newer 5e books, with notes from Emirikol the Chaotic and Natasha the Dark. 

The information makes for a great read, and there are some details I really enjoy. I like how the author explains the shift from Demon to Devil to Fiend for Succubi. There are plenty of stat blocks, which is good if you don't have all the devils and Archdevils. And there are plenty of new devils and backgrounds on playing characters associated with devils and the Hells.

The art is a mixed bag, as with any DMsGuild product, and I am not 100% on board with all the lore choices made here.  But there is enough text and information here to keep me busy. Plus any choice I don't like I can simply say "well, Emirikol got it wrong" or even "This was from Natasha when she was younger and not yet Iggwilv."

In any case, it is good to have multiple points of view on something as complex as the Nine Hells.

I do wish there was a printer-friendly version. This would be nice in my big red binder of devil information.

Dalor's Guide to Devils & DemonsDalor's Guide to Devils & Demons

PDF, 127 pages, Color art. PDF $19.99 / Print $34.99

Now this one was a bit of a pleasant surprise to me.  It is for 5e so I was expecting something akin to the DMsGuild products I had been reviewing. But this one reminds me of the best of the OSR in terms of look and feel, with solid 5e design and layout. Really the best of both worlds. The vibe I get from it is like the old Mayfair Demons series.

This book gives you a ton of new demons and devils and plenty of background and lore for them. There is even a fiendish language and alphabet. I am a little surprised this one doesn't have more sales because it is just a treasure trove of great stuff.

There are new demon lords, new arch-devils, cults and contracts, and even a new class. A little bit of everything really. 

--

See you in Hell!

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 10, Room 4

 Across the Ghoul Plain, the party gets deeper into this nightmare level.  Here they encounter a river of blood. The river runs slowly, but constantly.

Room 4

The river taps into the horrors of the Abyss, and the Vampire Queen tapped into this evil in another attempt to increase her own power. This river is a side effect.

The blood is poison. Drinking it will require a save vs. poison of taking 4d12 hp points of damage or save for half.

The party will need to find a way to cross it. It is 10' wide. There are materials laying around where the party could construct a raft.  There is a point about 1000 feet down where they can cross. They can also teleport, fly, or dimensional door across. 


October Horror Movie Challenge: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Godzilla vs. HedorahTonight is an "Attack of Opportunity" Pluto now has a Godzilla channel and I love it.  I have seen this one many times, but since tonight is "Mother Nature Strikes Back" I thought it would be a great choice.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Also known as Godzilla vs the Smog Monster this movie is what you get when the writers of Godzilla start to worry about pollution. Now Godzilla has always been social commentary, but this one seems a bet heavy-handed, and the monster...well Hedorah is just silly.  Still, I had good memories of this one as a kid and the battles for the most part hold up.

The teens in this one seem like some nihilist hippies. Thinking the world will end due to pollution (we will burn ourselves up first!) and deciding to have one last party on Mt. Fuji. Plus we get a rare spotting of Godzilla's ability to telepathically communicate with children. 

No, it is not good, even by cheesy late 1960s, early 1970s Toho standards. But it is still fun.

I still can't get that "Save the Earth" song out of my head from the English dubbed version. I watched the subbed version and it has the equally ear-wormy original version, "Return the Sun."

Mother Nature Strikes Back: All of the Godzilla movies are this at some level.  After all The Blue Öyster Cult sang "History shows again and again, How nature points out the folly of men." in their song "Godzilla." This movie turns that message up. Hedorah is like a polluted titan rising up to attack those who harmed its mother Gaia. Honestly, when reading over the list of themes this is the movie I thought of for today. So this works out well.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2023
Viewed: 4
First Time Views: 2


31 Days of Halloween Movie Challenge



D&DGII The Black Forest Mythos: Unser Vater

Unser VaterKicking off the first of my posts about the gods of the Black Forest Mythos. For more details on this project and the background on who these gods are, please see the links section below.

Unser Vater

Unser Vater ("Our Father") is the chieftain of the gods. He is the father figure in both a spiritual and literal sense. He is the sky god and it is possible that this syncretic Norse-Roman god has a bit of other gods in his mix, including various Celtic and maybe even Christian beliefs. But make no mistake here this is a Pagan god.

This figure, like the Jupiter and Thor he is syncretized from, is the god of the sky, storms, especially lighting, and he is the one who defeated the Hüne (giants/titans) in the battle of the gods. 

He is temperamental and reacts more often than acts.

UNSER VATER (Father of the Gods)
Greater God

ARMOR CLASS: -2
MOVE: 12"/24"
HIT POINTS: 400
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 6-72 (6d12) (Thunderbolt)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 80% (see below)

SIZE: M (6')
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All (mostly Good)
SYMBOL: Lightning bolt on a grey sky
PLANE: ??????

CLERIC/DRUID: 14th level druid
FIGHTER: 25th level fighter
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 10th level Illusionist 
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: 10th level Bard
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 25 I:16 W: 18 D: 20 C: 22 CH:25

Unser Vater, "Our Father," is the chieftain of the gods. He rules because he is strong and powerful.  He keeps Der Hüne at bay and protects those who pay him homage. He tries to be good and just, but he has a temper that can rage out of control.  He can usually be calmed by his wife, Herde Oberin.

This god appears as a tall, muscular man in his late middle age. He has grey-white hair and blue-grey eyes. He has a quick laugh and an even quicker temper. His appearance is that of a former warrior turned father figure.

He attacks with his thunderbolts, which he can hurl twice per round. He knows many of the secrets of magic and can also cast spells as a 14th-level druid and a 10th-level illusionist. No weapon or spell hurled through the air can harm or touch him. He is surrounded by a whirlwind that acts as a 15HD air elemental. He can summon up to 6 (1d4+2) additional 10HD air elementals at will. 

Unser Vater makes few demands on his worshipers other than to honor his name and remember that even in peace, war is always nearby. His followers are most often warriors, farmers in need of the rain he provides, and sailors. Heads of the household, male or female, invoke his name as their authority over others. Rangers and any who hunt giants are also his followers. They invoke his name on their hunts, and there is a 5% chance (10% if on his holy days/times) that he will offer a boon of +1 to hit until the next sundown. 

Sphere of Control: Storms, Rulership
Animal: Eagle
Rainment: (Head) Bare (Body) Simple white garments
Color(s): White, Grey, Red
Holy Days: Red Sunsets, Thursdays
Sacrifices: After storms, goat
Place of Worship: Any elevated area

--

Notes

I obviously need to flesh this guy out some more. BUT I want to do that as part of some actual play. The original Deities & Demigods had the advantage of working with myths that were (in many cases) thousands of years old. My myths are less than two years old but build on some solid and even old, ideas.

I am still determining what their home Plane is in AD&D. The Greeks and Romans had Olympus, and the Germanic and Norse people had Asgard. I am considering these in terms of my Rules for this. I can stick to history, but it must conform to AD&D first, somewhere near Olympus and Gladsheim.  Right now, if you were to ask me what one of his Pagan worshippers would say, well they would just point up to the sky.  I will cheat and look into the Manual of Planes for these answers.  But in a future post. 

 Additions I have made to the classic AD&D D&DG's stat block are to include a "WITCH/WARLOCK" line for class level and the information from the table in the back of the book for other details. I had considered doing some other details from AD&D 2nd Ed and D&D 3rd Ed, but in the end, I dropped those ideas when it became obvious that AD&D 1st Ed style would work best for me. 

These gods will not have Psionic powers. I have nothing against them (I love them, in fact), but the notion does not fit well with them.  This is a case where my Rule #2 overrides Rule #1.

My goal is to have a PDF of all of the gods of this Pantheon ready by the end of the month in D&DG format.

Links


This is another post for my RPG Blog Carnival Horrors, Gods, and Monsters.
RPG Blog Carnival

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Golem (1920, 2020)

The Golem 1920It is not very often you can find two related movies that are 100 years apart. However, this is something that will become more and more common.  Today's Re-animated movies are the classic The Golem (Der Golem) and 2020's The Golem.

Both movie deal with the old Jewish legend of the Golem as a being made of clay and imbued with the word of Life/God to become a protector to the people. But if the Golem is kept around too long it also brings destruction to all those around it. 

The Golem: How He Came into the World (German: Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam) (1920)

This movie is a classic in every sense of the word. It is slow, black & white and silent, but worth watching. You can easily see some of the design choices that would later go into the Frankenstein movies from Universal Studios. 

In this one, the golem is created to protect the Jewish people of Prague. A warning is given that if the Golem is still animated when the planets enter the house of Uranus the evil spirit of Astaroth will take it over. 

There is a bit where the Rabbi who animated the Golem uses it to impress the Emperor and save all his people when his place collapses. As expected the Golem turns to evil and begins killing people. Well, he kills a knight of the Emperor who has been sleeping with a girl (Miriam) who the Rabbi's apprentice wants. In the end the Golem is "shut down" by a girl who removes the scroll from his chest (not mouth as in the legends).

The Golem 2020The Golem (2018, 2020)

This is an English-language Israeli movie set during the Black Death. We see Hannah visiting a healer where we learn it was 7 years ago when her child had died. She sneaks off to listen to the Rabbi preach about the Kaballah (forbidden at the time). Her husband knows, but while not exactly understanding he is supportive. During her sister's wedding men from a nearby village bring in a plague-stricken girl. They blame the Jewish people and their sorceries for the plague. 

Hannah decides to use the book her husband smuggled for her to create a Golem to protect the village from these men.  We are given scenes where the Golem, in the form of her dead son, just beat the living shit out of these men; especially a group that attack Hannah alone and try to hang her.

In this we get the same story where the Golem protects, but after a bit it begins to turn on everyone. Int this case it seems to be connected to Hannah, who can feel it when the Golem-boy gets shot and sends it (unconsciously) to kill the woman she thinks her husband it having an affair with. 

The men leave when the daughter of their leader gets better, but come back to burn the village down after his daughter dies. The Golem wipes them all out and Hannah asks the golem to stop so she can remove the scroll from it's mouth. 

It is a good flick but only horror in the broad sense of the word. Hani Furstenberg as Hannah was rather great, to be honest, and the movie rides on her performances.


October Horror Movie Challenge 2023
Viewed: 3
First Time Views: 2


31 Days of Halloween Movie Challenge



Monstrous Mondays: D&DGII The Monsters of the Black Forest Mythos

Welcome to the first Monstrous Monday of October 2023. Monstrous Mondays are always a treat for me in October since I can really do some of my favorite monsters here. This October is special for a number of reasons.  First, we have five Mondays in October this year so that already feels like a bonus monster. Secondly, I am going to do monsters of the "Black Forest Mythos" for my speculative Deities & Demigods II project. And finally this is my first *real* entry for the October RPG Blog Carnival: Horrors, Gods, and Monsters.

Photo by Michiel Annaert on Unsplash

The Monsters of the Black Forest

A brief recap of what this project is. I speculated on a combined Roman-Norse Pantheon taking root somewhere in the Black Forest region of Germany in the 6th or 7th centuries AD. While there are some similarities between the gods I am working on and their Proto-Indo-European ancestors, I am not trying to recreate the PIE gods.  I am not doing archeology or comparative anthropology here. I am doing game design.

The goals then for this pantheon (and their monsters) are:

  1. It is for use in a game first and foremost, and AD&D 1st Edition in particular
  2. I want to stick as close to history as I can unless it violates #1 above. 
  3. I want to write this as something I would have written in 1985-6.

Why that last rule? I want to capture the feel of what I felt was peak AD&D 1st for me.  And since today I am talking about monsters, I have a fourth rule just for them.

  1. Monsters need to reflect the tales and fears people of this age would have had. 

Pretty simple, really. My idea is that the Romans fleeing the fall of Rome would have brought their gods and monsters, from house spirits to more horrible things. Same with the Germanic/Norse people. The monsters need to be scary but also fit the myths (#2) and be something that works in an AD&D game (#1).

Beware the Forest

I live in a huge metropolitan area (Chicago), I grew up in a small town, but it was still a town. My wife grew up in the country. We went to college near a very old forest (Shawnee National Forest), so I understand why people in late Antiquity and the Middle Ages feared the forest. It is where witches, goblins, and, worst of all, the Devil himself lived.  The people who made these myths lived in one largest forests in Europe, the Black Forest of Germany. I really want to lean in on that and capture WHY this is a scary ass place. Their gods are for solace in a changed world, the monsters though are a lot closer at hand.

I don't want this place to be scary. I want it to be terrifying.

Of Gods and Monsters

One of the things I loved about the Deities & Demigods was getting new insights to old monsters. Old in two senses. First, the obvious one, these were monsters from mythology. Secondly, old in the sense that they may have already been part of the Monster Manual and now get a new (or old as it were) version.  The best example of this is the Greek Myths. So many monsters in the Monster Manual (even true still today) came from Greek myths. Using them in context changes them a bit.  This was one of the things I explored in my One Man's God series

The same will be true here.  So to start off I want to revisit some monsters I have posted here and talk about how they fit into this new/old/different worldview. 

Aglæca

Ah. Now this one is kind of my poster child for these myths. The Aglæca, as I have built it, is the monster type that Grendel was. Grendel's mother then was an Aglæc-wif. Why poster child? Well back in grade school (pre-1980) I read this book of myths that I would love to find again. It had all the Greek myths, then Norse, and finally, it ended with Beowulf. In my young mind, there was a progression in these tales as time went on. One lead to the other in a mostly unbroken line. That isn't exactly how it happened, but for these myths I am going to assume they did.

Elves

Elves are tricky since they are an established AD&D mainstay. So there are light elves (the PCs) and there are "other" elves. 

Hag, Hyrrokkin

These hags are related to the giants/titans/Hüne.

Hüne

The Titans of Roman myth and the primordial Giants of Norse/Germanic myth. I created these just for these myths.

Kobolds

Kobolds are part of Germanic myth and the D&D interpretations have moved a bit away from their mythologic and folklore counterparts. Don't get me wrong, I like D&D Kobolds. I just like my versions as well. 

Sennentuntschi

No reason other than it is a cool monster.

Trolls

Trolls and Ogres will be smooshed into one type of creature called a Troll. They are the offspring of the giants (Norse ideas) and are fairly elemental (Roman ideas) in nature. Though like the trolls and dwarves of Germanic myths, they turn to stone when exposed to sunlight.

Others I am considering are: 

This is a good start. I have some new ones for the rest of this month and I think it will be a great project.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 10, Room 2

 This level opens up to a very wide area that is obviously a cemetery or some sort of open-air mausoleum. There are grave markers, but most of the graves have been disturbed and are empty of occupants.  There are also stone mausoleums here as well.

Room 2

This large expanse (600' x 600') is also the feeding ground for 4d6 ghouls. They are attracted to the scent of the party's blood.

The ghouls come from all over this expanse, so at least 2d4 will not show up till a round after the first batch. 

Searching the various tombs will turn up 2d12 x 10 GP worth of coins. 

October Horror Movie Challenge: Beber de tu Sangre (2020)

Beber de tu Sangre (2020) Let's get started!  My first movie of this 2023 October Challenge with a First Time Watch. My plan for this year was to watch nothing but Spanish-language movies this year to improve my Spanish.  I still might, but tonight's choice has me rethinking this. First, my grasp of Spanish is good and getting better, but not where I wanted it to be.  Secondly, tonight's movie was a bit dull.

Beber de tu Sangre (2020)

Beber de tu Sangre, or "Drink Your Blood" and called "Violent Delights" in English is a Mexican movie about vampires. I had pretty high expectations here for my first. Many of the movies from Mexico I have really enjoyed. This one also could be a stand-in for "Best Gratuitous Nudity." 

The plot, at least as far as I can tell is "What if you took the two couples from the first few minutes of The Hunger were given their own movie. Well...not exactly but the vibe is right.  Our couples are  Lizeth and Javier (human) and Alani and Gabriel (vampire).  These are not your typical vampires though as Alani wants a baby.

There is a weird sexual dynamic between the four with plenty of gratuitous nudity and sex, some weird vampire-like stuff. 

I can't tell if they wanted to do "The Hunger" or "The Last Lovers Left Alive" sort of avant-garde vampire movie or what they were looking for. 

Still, the worst part here is that the plot is all over the place, and in the end it goes nowhere.

Ah well. Still, I am going to get to some more Spanish movies this year for sure.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2023
Viewed: 1
First Time Views: 1


31 Days of Halloween Movie Challenge

ITS OCTOBER!! RPG Blog Carnival and Horror Movie Marathon

 It's October here at that Other Side, and you know what that means!

I have a TON going on, so let's get going.

//www.pexels.com/photo/lighted-jack-o-lantern-decors-619420/Photo by Toni Cuenca: https://www.pexels.com/photo/lighted-jack-o-lantern-decors-619420/

RPG Blog Carnival

It has been my pleasure to host the RPG Blog Carnival in the past, and I am happy to do it again this October the spookiest of all months.

This month my topic is Horrors, Gods, and Monsters

I am going to spend some time talking about monsters, myths, gods, and all sorts of horrors. Additionally, I am going to present my take on the Deities & Demigods II concept I have been working on.

While I have been doing a bit of work on all of them, I think the one I am ready to share is my Roman-Norse Pantheon in Deities & Demigods format. While I have not settled on a name for the pantheon just yet I am leaning into something like "The Black Forest Mythos" or "Der/The Schwarzwald Mythos."  Not exactly original, but it does capture the right feel. 

I have gods, and, yes, monsters to share for this project, and hoping that October will be my month to bring it all to light.

If you want to participate in the RPG Blog Carnival on this topic, just post what you want (that concerns this topic) and share your link below. Or share it on social media with the #RPGBlogCarnival hashtag, and feel free to tag me.  I'll do a round-up of all the posts in November.

RPG Blog Carnival


Horror Movie Marathon

This year, I am pleased to join the 31 Days of Halloween Movie Challenge from Pun Issac over at Hall of the Nephilim

31 Days of Halloween Movie Challenge

Here is the text version:

Daily Prompt

  1. First Time Watch
  2. Reanimated
  3. Mother Nature Strikes Back
  4. Foreign Language
  5. What A Twist
  6. Anthology
  7. Teen Angst
  8. Horror Comedy
  9. Slow Burn
  10. Body Horror
  11. For The Kiddos
  12. Black and White
  13. Inspired By True Events
  14. We Are the Weirdos Mister
  15. Pretty Blood Suckers
  16. Something Fishy
  17. Underrated
  18. Clown(s)
  19. Folk Horror
  20. Monstrous Blood Suckers
  21. Summer Camp
  22. Howl at the Moon
  23. Best Soundtrack
  24. Slasher
  25. Found Footage
  26. New Movie
  27. Favorite Horror Director
  28. Sci-Fi Horror
  29. Man is the Real Monster
  30. Remake Is Better Than the Original
  31. All Hallows Eve

 Alternates

  • Torture Porn
  • Blaxploitation
  • Video Game Movie
  • Cults
  • Best Gratuitous Nudity 

A few of these might be re-watches.  I wanted to do all Spanish language horror this year, but I might still get some in. I am not as far along in my Spanish as I had hoped.

This year the rules will be a little different for me. Instead of watching 31+ movies with 20 new I'll be following Pun's list above. 

Want to join us? Just watch some movies!

#Dungeon23

Still doing this! Interesting note. Nearly every room in this is based on something I have encountered in my day, typically on my walks with my wife every night. October is going to my "Temple of Really Bad Dead Things" month. If you know the reference, then you are doing good! And likely need to schedule your colonoscopy. 


#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 10, Room 1

 Coming down from Level 9, Room 15, the party will still feel the pressure of the overwhelming necromantic presence that is common to this level.

They head down a worn set of stairs that descend into darkness. 

Room 1

For this entire level, healing magic does one less than typical, even to healing 0 hp (if a 1 is rolled).

Spells that cast light (light, continual light, daylight, faerie fire) are reduced in range by 5' or reduced in duration by 1 turn or otherwise reduced to 80% of duration or range.  

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 9, Room 30

 This is the last tomb of the minor dwarven lords.  Inside though is a completely unexpected sight.

Room 30

Inside a gnome necromancer is having a heated conversation with his zombie wife. The gnome, says he has been locked up in here since the Vampire Queen took over. He had been working on a formula to grant eternal life to undead for the Vampire Queen. He stated he was so confident in his work he would try it on anyone first. So the Vampire Queen killed and raised his wife. When it didn't work she entombed them here.

Since the the gnome, he has completely forgotten his own name, has perfected his formula. He tried it on himself and it worked. But he ran out of material to also use it on his wife.

The gnome is more than a little senile and crazy claims all he needs is about 50,000 GPs worth of gems from the party to make the cure work. He is not interested in fighting. His wife is a normal zombie.  He says once he is done, he will present the cure to her most bloody majesty, Queen Darless the First and Only.  He has no idea how much time has really passed.

If the party spares these gnomes have them pop up in the next three levels, each time asking for something stranger and more outlandish.

Their only treasure is his book of spells he calls "The NecroGnomecon." It is not a spell book but a bunch of chaotic scribblings.

It is likely that if he does get all the ingredients he needs he will only succeed in finally killing himself and wife in a glorious explosion.

The exit for this level was in Room 15.

--

I got my Halloween decorations out!

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 9, Room 29

 This room is also the tomb of a minor lord.

Room 29

This room has been broken into and looted.

There is a hazard here (not a trap) but some of the mason-work is loose. There is 1 in 6 chance of it being spotted (2 in 6 for elves and dwarves). Anyone near the coffin has a chance of being hit. Roll randomly for all within 5' of the coffin area. Save vs. Petrification or be hit with falling stone for 4d6 hp of damage.

Dwarves will point out that had not the minions of the Vampire Queen not messed with the stone work it would have stayed in place until the end of time. 

This Old Dragon: Issue #57

Dragon Magazine #57 Time delve into the box under my desk and pull out an old, musty Dragon Magazine. Today we go all the way back to January 1982. Chevy Chase's "Modern Problems" is in the movie theatres, which is notable for the real acting debut of Broadway actor/singer Nell Carter. Olivia Newton-John is still dominating the airwaves with "Physical," and on the shelves in Waldenbooks and FLGS across the land is This Old Dragon #57.

Our cover comes from Dean Morrissey. I don't know much about it really. My copy doesn't even have it. 

Jake Jaquet's editorial mentions the first time he heard "Dungeons & Dragons" mentioned on TV; during an episode of "Simon & Simon," no less. 

Kim Mohan's Cover to Cover overview covers what we will see in this issue. 

Out on a Limb covers letters about previous issues' content. Typically, things the readers didn't like.

Classic Dragon MVP Ed Greenwood is up first with Modern Monsters. He gives us some AD&D (though I think it could all work for D&D too; this was the time when a distinction had to be made) stats for various modern objects like cars and modern weapons. Also, how *D&D characters can deal with with them with and without the magic they are used to.  This is a rather great article and one that should be referenced for "City Beyond the Gate" when it appears in Dragon #100. 

Nice ad for FGU's Space Opera. Well...the ad itself in nothing special, but the listing of game stores that carry it is. I find it interesting that my home state (Illinois) had more game stores than the others. This could have been because FGU was located in Chicago. Also, there was a game store in the town I now live in that is no longer there. It's now a Pizza place. 

Len Lakofka's Leomund's Tiny Hut is up with detailed information on shield and weapons skills in AD&D and what you can expect any particular group of humanoids to have. Very detailed, and while I appreciate this, I am (and was) of the mind to say "given them all swords and call it 1d6 of damage each."  Not as realistic I am sure, but certainly will get the job done. Len took this stuff a lot more seriously than I do. 

Not to be outshined, Gary is up with one his From the Sorcerer's Scroll with "Developments from Stonefist to South Province" for his World of Greyhawk setting. One day I need to do a retrospective all of his writings. I feel that something like this would have been done already.  In any case, it is a fun little look into the "current events" of Greyhawk. Something I think I appreciate more now than I did then. 

Moving from AD&D to Top Secret we have In Search of A James Bond by Mark Mulkins.  Or how the famous 007 would fit into the Top Secret game. Something I am sure EVERYONE playing Top Secret tried at one point or another.  A lot of this is particular to the game mechanics of Top Secret including how move Bond between agencies. 

Merle M. Rasmussen, as expected, follows up with his Spy's Advice column for Top Secret.  Top Secret always looked like a fun game but one I never got into. I am a little surprised we have not seen an OSR version of this game yet.

Pete Mohney has a quick on with Random Magic Items. A set of tables meant to aid the DM and supplement the DMG.

For DragonQuest fans, there is The Versatile Magician by Jon Mattson. This covers new skills for the Magician. It looks good and I'll add it to my big DragonQuest set of notes for if or when I ever get to play it again. 

Up next is one of my favorite series from the Classic Dragon days, Giants in the Earth. I know a lot of ink was spilled to tell us how D&D/AD&D was not a novel and visa-versa, but I did love seeing these literary characters get represented as D&D characters. In this issue we have C. J. Cherryh's Morgaine and Vanye from her "Morgaine Series" including the rather notorious (for its cover) "Fires of Azeroth." These books were a staple of the old Science Fiction and Fantasy book club. They were on my TBR pile forever. I really should give them a go. I have enjoyed C. J. Cherryh's other works. We also get Lynn Abbey’s Rifkin from "Daughter of the Bright Moon." This was also years before she would come to work at TSR.  And finally two from Robert E. Howard; Belit and Dark Agnes. 

Giants in the Earth, Dragon #57

Ok. The entire middle section of my Dragon is gone. Typical really, since it was an adventure, "The Wandering Trees."  I checked my Dragon CD-ROM and sure enough, that is what it is. BUT by the rules I have established for myself here I really can't go over it. I will say this though, it was the second-place winner, IDDC II (International Dungeon Design Contest II) the OSR Grimoire has more on that. It also looks like a fun adventure. I am kind of sad I don't have it.

Dragon #57 missing pages

Up on a Soapbox is next. We get a rare Brian Blume editorial about playing evil characters. He concludes that no serious gamer will ever want to. Meanwhile, a good amount of the 5.2 Million Baldur's Gate 3 players (according to Steam) are going to at least try the "Dark Urge" option at least once. BUT in principle, I do agree. All things being equal I would rather play a Good character than and Evil one.  Roger E. Moore is next with "Dungeons Aren't Supposed To Be 'For Men Only,'" an interesting bit of a slice in time. I am not 100% certain what the motive here is. Why? Well, it could be two equally valid things. Moore, or others, looked out at the vast demographic of D&D players and found the lack of women concerning. OR. They could have been responding to criticism. While I am NOT going to get into the personal views of the various creators of the game from nearly 40 to 50 years ago, I am going to take Moore at face value and say he is here (on his soapbox as it were) saying, yes women do, should, and can play D&D.  Thankfully, this is also not an issue these days and the years since this time have made great strides for more and more inclusion. 

You know the saying, "Getting off on the wrong foot?" I feel like that is where I am with the Minaria series. This month is The Chronology of Minaria by Glenn Rahman. I mean I know it is for Divine Right, but I never got into that game so I have no context for any of this. Here is what I get from it now. The 80s were a fun time. To think that TSR would spend valuable page resources (four full pages) on this is either amazing or amazingly short-sighted. I can't tell which, but I can say it was a very, very different time and a different mindset. If I posted my HUGE timeline of my Mystoerth world I would not expect anyone to be that interested. Maybe some, but enough?  This was the last of the Minaria articles too. Since it would be two more years before I would buy a copy of Dragon at this point I am not surprised this series never contacted with me. 

D&D's War Game roots are showing here in this next article from Michael Kluever on The History of the Shield. It's a neat article that goes into some historical detail about the focused development of the shield. It covers 9 pages (with some half-page ads here and there). It is interesting but more than I need for a typical D&D game. Granted, that is me. I would get excited about a 9-page on the history of scrolls or something magical. So every time I get a "Politics of Hell" there is one of these. It is a good article, but no where near my personal interests. 

Reviews are up next. Tony Watson covers Star Viking a game I only sort of remember.  It is a sci-fi mini-game for two players, a Viking and a Federate. Where the Viking player tries to raid bases and other ships and the Federate tries to stop them. Watson enjoyed the game and played around with variant ideas. I could see this game being reskinned as Star Trek, Orions vs the Federation style game easily. Might be fun.  In what could be called an understated review, the brand-new superhero RPG Champions gets less than a half page (compared to the two given to Star Viking).  Though Scott Bennie does say that the game does a very good job of emulating it's genre and he gives it a "hearty recommendation" despite it's flaws. Also the game was only 56 pages back then. 

Simulation Corner by John Prados covers The Art of Illustration in games. I am not sure if I am missing something here but his thesis is "good art sells games and makes games better." Yes. But I think back to some of the art that was common prior to 1982 and maybe this was something that needed to be said. 

The Electric Eye from Mark Herro goes over the recent survey about computer use among Dragon readers. Here are some interesting insights. 

Age
Under 19: 63%
19-22: 9%
22-44: 25%
45+: 0%

Education Level
Students: 71%
Professional: 29%

This tracks and was expected for the time. 

Access to Computers

None: 6%
Apple-l I: 17%
Apple-l I+: 29%
Apple-l I I: 0%
PET: 0%
CBM: 9%
VIC: 3%
TRS-80 (Mod. 1): 20%
TRS-80 (Mod. 2): 3%
TRS-80 (Mod. 3): 9%
TRS-80 (Color): 6%
TRS-80 (pocket): 0%
North Star: 3%
Atari (800): 11%
Atari (400): 9%
APF: 0%
OSI: 0%
ZX80: 0%
Exidy: 0%
Heath/Zenith: 0%
S-100: 6%
Other: 20%

Again, this feels right to me given the demographics above. Apple dominated the education market followed by TSR-80s.  Atari was a popular home model and was in competition with the Vic-20/CBM and the TRS-80 Color Computer. This also makes me wish I had tried out the Atari 800/400 line more.

Only one reader had access too more than two different kinds of computers.

Most readers want more programs in the pages of Dragon, and all want articles on gaming-related topics. Readers were more or less equally divided on whether they buy, copy, or write their own programs. 

The Convention Schedule tells what is hot in the Winter of 1982. February 5-7 were the dates for Gen Con South. Something I think Gen Con could do again. 

Dragon Mirth has our comics. And we end with Wormy and What's New with Phil and Dixie! 

So a very interesting snapshot in time of what was happening in the world of Dragon magazine. Not a lot of insight into the world of RPGs, unless you count the Electric Eye article.

I am curious to know what people's thoughts were on the included adventure.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 9, Room 27

 The first of the smaller tombs appears to be for some sort of duke or lord (the lettering is wearing off) who was an uncle to one of the kings.

Room 27

This (and all the ones here) tomb is smaller than those on the main tomb entrances. It also appears to be less disturbed than the others.

It's occupant still rests, undisturbed. It's treasure is gone, but a close inspection (roll of 1 on a d6; 1-2 for elves and dwarves) will find a secret door under the sarcophagus.

Inside there is a an Axe +2. In the hands of a dwarf it is an Axe +3 and a Dwarven Throwing Axe. It can be thrown for ranges 20/40/80 and return to the dwarf that threw it.

Next Month: RPG Blog Carnival - Horrors, Gods, and Monsters

RPG Blog CarnivalI have been kinda quiet lately because I have a few projects I am working on. One will be ready for next month.

In addition to all the other stuff I do, I will have my Horror Movie Challenge as normal, this year hosted by the Halls of the Nephilim.  I am also hosting the RPG Blog Carnival

My theme for this year is Horrors, Gods, and Monsters.  

I am going to post my usual batch of horror related topics, but I am also going to present my take on the Deities & Demigods II concept I have been working on.

While I have been doing a bit of work, I think the one I am ready to share is my Roman-Norse Pantheon.  

I have gods, and yes, monsters to share for this project, and hoping that October will be my month to bring it all to light.

If you want to participate in the RPG Blog Carnival on this topic, just post what you want (that concerns this topic) and share your link below. Or share it on social media with the #RPGBlogCarnival hashtag, and feel free to tag me.  I'll do a round-up of all the posts in November.

To bring all my topics together, I am looking to do monsters on Mondays. Currently thinking about new versions of the Alp, Earth Troll, and Trow. Need two more. I am also looking for good horror movies that could have taken place in the Black Forest during 7th Century Europe, or conform to those basic themes. I can think of a few that fit right now, but they are ones I have already seen.

In any case I hope to have some great material for you next month!

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