I have mentioned my Favorite Local Game Store, Games Plus, many times here.They have a games auction twice a year, in October and in March.


This year they are looking for some advice on how to run their October auction.While COVID cases are slightly down in Illinois, Cook County has seen some minor increases.  The state is generally going in the right direction, but things could change if people lose vigilance.
This game auction is often the source of all my rare and wonderful items I find.  
Why am I bringing this up to you all?  Well, one of the options includes a virtual auction that would allow you to bid from anywhere.   While I have absolutely no desire to have all the gamers that follow me bid against me, one of these options opens the auction up to people that have never been able to take advantage of the joy that is a Games Plus game auction.



So let them know what you think if you would like to take advantage of this.  

Sweetness is short, but harrowing investigation for use with Arc Dream Publishing’s Delta Green: The Role-Playing Game set on American soil. It can be played using the roleplaying game’s full rules or those from Delta Green: Need to Know—although there are similarities between Sweetness and Delta Green: Need to Know, which may mean the Handler may not want to run the two too closely together. The Agents are activated by Delta Green after the secret interagency conspiracy is alerted to the presence of a strange symbol on the door of the Bernier family of Tampa, Florida. Recently terrorised by a fire and weird graffiti, the local Police suspect that the Berniers, a multi-racial family, are victims of a hate attack, but one of Delta Green’s experts suspects that symbol on the door—carved with a horn or a claw and smeared with blood and effluvia—is the symbol of Kore, queen of the underworld, goddess of an ancient mystery cult. The agents are to get to Tampa, and once briefed, determine the origins of the mark and prevent any occurrence of it again from the same source or sources.

Sweetness can be roughly divided into three parts. First, is the briefing, which takes place in the middle of an estate agency seminar in a Holiday Inn. The utterly banal atmosphere of the briefing nicely contrasts with the horror to come, which will only come in the second part once the Agents investigative the Berniers and their home, which for the most part is quite mundane. The family is well-off, and consists of a married couple and two children, the youngest of whom is profoundly deaf, and each of whom will have a different reaction to the recent events. The family seems perfectly normal, and for the part really are—whatever the players and their Agents might suspect—but they are not without their secrets, and with a little questioning, these will be revealed. The husband divorced his first wife and mother of his children because she had psychological problems and was abusing both son and daughter, but there has been no contact in years, and then there might be something else stalking the rooms of the house. All of this will quickly become apparent with some questioning upon the part of the agents.

The second part will come to close once the agents have confirmed that there definitely is something strange going on in the house and the investigation switches to the first wife. This requires the investigation to switch to across country, from Tampa to Chicago, and once the agents locate her, it quickly becomes apparent that she is sick—both physically and mentally—and acting strangely. She is barely making ends meet and living in utter squalor without a care for her well-being. Although ultimately, she is the antagonist in Sweetness, there are good reasons for this, although the agents will need to dig into her background and history in order to uncover this.

Fundamentally, Sweetness is a good scenario, contrasting the ordinary with the outré, but it has a few problems which stem primarily from its length—or lack thereof. The Handler will need to do a little preparation before running the scenario, such as getting photos for the NPCs and writing up a quick handout detailing the family. There is no image of the monster given in the book, and whilst it would have been nice if one had been included,  the Handler will probably be able to get away with describing it from the details given. The bigger problems with Sweetness are twofold. First, there is no real advice on how to handle a dénouement between the agents and the wife, but second, and worse, it describes an action upon the part of the scenario’s ‘monster’, but abandons the Handler when it comes to dealing with the consequences of that action. Especially given that the action will escalate the investigation from a simple matter of a hate crime into a kidnapping, and so bring a whole heap of trouble down upon the agents. Which will be made worse by the fact that there is no way of getting the kidnapping victim back—or least no method is detailed in the book, so the Handler may want determine a method herself.

Physically, Sweetness is neat, clean, and tidy. Although it needs a slight edit, it is easy to read and the three pieces of artwork—one of them actually a handout—are excellent. The map is clear and easy to read, but could have done with a scale and some furniture as it would have also made for a good handout.

Sweetness is an easy scenario to add to a Delta Green: The Roleplaying Game campaign. Its short length means that it could be played in a single session and its conciseness means that it could be run with just a handful of agents—or even one for a one-on-one game. However, it needs a bit more preparation upon the part of the Handler in terms of handouts and in terms of what happens with regard to the potential kidnapping and how the agents confront the scenario’s antagonist. This should not be challenge to an experienced Handler, but to a less experienced one, it may be. Lastly, at just twelve pages, Sweetness may not appear to be good value for money—at least in comparison to other titles for Delta Green: The Roleplaying Game. However, it should provide the Handler and her players with at least one, if not two sessions’ worth of play, so the value for money is very much in the eye of the beholder.

Sweetness is a creepy, sometimes nasty tale of horror and mystery—though the agents will have to dig to bring out the true nastiness hidden in the scenario’s backstory. Nicely contrasting the mundane with the mystery, with a bit of work upon the part of the Handler, Sweetness should be a little ‘treat’ for her Delta Green: The Roleplaying Game campaign.

Copies of NIGHT SHIFT: VETERANS OF THE SUPERNATURAL WARS are going out to the Kickstarter backers AND people that pre-ordered on the website.

You can order your own hardcover version at the publisher's website, at https://www.elflair.com/nightshift.html.
You can also buy the PDF at DriveThruRPG.

One of the things that really motivated Jason and me while working on this is music.  Spend any time here and you know I am a big music fan.  


So I thought it might be great to share some of the music that reminded us of the stories we were telling with NIGHT SHIFT and the games we have ran.
Up this Friday Night Videoes are songs from my playlist.  Tonight, songs from "Welcome to the Academy of Magical and Paranormal Arts" for the Generation HEX Night World!

Since they’re now a regular Sunday event, calling the Sunday Flash Sales “flash sales” is a bit ridiculous, so expect a new, equally ridiculous name for the August events. In the meantime, the last July Flash Sale is this Sunday. … Continue reading →

Wednesday was my 25th Wedding Anniversary!  We had plans to be in Jamaica this year, but given how Americans are been told to stay in their own damn plague country, we settled for carry-out at our favorite seafood restaurant (Bob Chinn's FYI) and a nice walk (been walking 5k+ every night since COVID hit).
My wife and I are at an age where we don't really want a lot of things. For me, it was better to spend time with her, our favorite restaurant, and plate of sea scallops.  Besides we are also at an age where if there is something we need or want we just go get it. I didn't bust my ass in grad school for nothing.
BUT.  That doesn't mean I am not going to treat ourselves.While my wife is going to get a new garden shed for her hobby.  I went to my FLGS and grabbed something I have been wanting for 20 years. Consequently, it is also a 25 year anniversary item.

My FLGS has had the D&D 25th Anniversary edition boxed set in their "glass" case for some time.
It is a premium item and likely cost WAY more than it should have (and more than I should have spent) but it is something I have wanted, it was my anniversary and I had promised I was only going to buy local once everything had opened back up.
I got it and I am very pleased.
I knew of the contents of course, but it was so nice to have them in front of me.

While they are all reprints I didn't actually own the separate G series modules and my copy of S2 White Plume Mountain walked years ago.  All I have is a printed PDF.  So those are "new" to me.
The copy of Ravenloft is nice and a little different from my 1983 original.


The "new" material for me was the history book and Len Lakofka's L3 Deep Dwarven Delve.




With L3 in hand, I now have the complete Lendore Isle's Trilogy. (Yes, I DO know there are more on Dragonsfoot.)


The set is very nice and there is a lot of room inside for more.  But not everything belongs inside to be honest.   But I figure my Silver Anniversary Return to the Keep on the Borderlands would be fine.

I just need a good copy of Return to White Plume Mountain as well. (ETA I see there is a POD version up at DriveThruRPG!)
BTW Return to the Keep is seriously under-rated. I use it now whenever I want to run a Keep adventure. I just typicall show everyone the B2 module so they think they are getting the full "orginal D&D experience."
This set is a nice companion piece to my Arts & Arcana for D&D history.


So happy 25th anniversary to me, my wife and D&D (just 20 years late on that last one).

It is an undeniable truth that the Witch gets a lot of bad press. Not necessarily within the roleplaying hobby, but from without, for the Witch is seen as a figure of evil, often—though not necessarily—a female figure of evil, and a figure to be feared and persecuted. Much of this stems from the historical witch-hunts of the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeen, and eighteenth centuries, along with the associated imagery, that is, the crone with the broom, pointy hat, black cat, cauldron, and more. When a Witch does appear in roleplaying, whether it is a historical or a fantasy setting, it is typically as the villain, as the perpetrator of some vile crime or mystery for the player characters to solve and stop. Publisher The Other Side has published a number of supplements written not only as a counter to the clichés of the witch figure, but to bring the Witch as a character Class to roleplaying after being disappointed at the lack of the Witch in the Player’s Handbook for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition. Each of these supplements draws upon more historical interpretations of the Witch—sometimes to counter the clichés, sometimes to enforce them—and presents her as a playable character Class. Each book is published under the label of ‘Basic Era Games’, and whilst the exact Retroclone each book is written to be used with may vary, essentially, they are all compatible. Which means that the Game Master can mix and match traditions, have player characters from matching traditions, and so on.
The first book in the series, Daughters of Darkness: The Mara Witch for Basic Era Games is designed for use with Goblinoid Games’ Labyrinth Lord and presents the Witch as dedicated to the Mara Tradition, that of the Dark Mother—Lilith, the First Woman, the First Witch, and the Mother of Demons. The next book in the series is The Children of the Gods: The Classical Witch for Basic Era Games, which was written for use with Dreamscape Design’s Blueholme Rules, the retroclone based on the 1977 Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set designed by J. Eric Holmes, and which focused on not so much as ‘Evil’ or Chaotic witches, but upon the Classical traditions of Egypt, Greece, Phoenicia, Rome, and Sumeria. Again, Cult of Diana: The Amazon Witch for Basic Era Games, the next and third entry in the line presents a different take upon the Witch, whilst the fourth, The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition, presents another different and very modern—if slightly silly—take upon the Witch. The fifth entry again draws upon another tradition.

The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition is written for use with Old School Essentials: Classic Fantasy, Necrotic Gnome’s interpretation and redesign of the 1981 revision of Basic Dungeons & Dragons by Tom Moldvay and its accompanying Expert Set by Dave Cook and Steve Marsh. Like the other titles in the series, it starts by presenting the same version of the Witch Class as in Daughters of Darkness: The Mara Witch for Basic Era Games, The Children of the Gods: The Classical Witch for Basic Era Games, Cult of Diana: The Amazon Witch for Basic Era Games, and The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition. What this means is that from one book to the next, this Class is going to serve as a template for the rest of the other supplements devoted to the Witch from The Other Side. So the Witch is a spellcaster capable of casting Witch spells and Witch rituals—a mixture of arcane and divine spells, has Occult Powers including herbal healing, many are reluctant to cast ‘black’ or evil magic, many are of Lawful Alignment, and have answered the Call of their Goddess (or other patron).
The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition focuses on believers in ‘The Old Ways’, of ancient gods and practices. Primary community-based with a strong belief in the supernatural and a strong connection to the natural world and the cycle of its passing seasons, they see themselves as the guardians of the growth and husbandry of food, and much of their lives revolve around the sowing, care, and harvesting of seeds and plants. Their treatment is not of one tradition, but many, all of them drawn from real world traditions. Real-world inspirations for this tradition include Asatru, the pagan beliefs of the Norse and northern Germanic peoples; the Druidic-like beliefs of the Celts of Ireland and Scotland; the Hellenic tradition of the lands settled by the Greeks. Notably, unlike other traditions, this is not a literate tradition, but instead memorise their spells and rituals.

As with other Traditions, the Witch Class of the Pagan Tradition has a familiar, such as a cat, frog, hedgehog, or stoat, and knows how to use herbs to create healing balms. However, it differs in a number of ways. For example, this Witch Class gains ‘Herbal Healing’—this the brewing of balms, options, and philters above and beyond the use of healing balms; is ‘Of the Land’ and can hide herself and one or more companions in rural areas, typically either to hide from hunters or when actually hunting; and with ‘Alter Visage’ can use the spell, Alter Self, to change her appearance to anyone of that she has seen before—even if only once. 

Perhaps the biggest difference is the addition of ‘Cowans’, or essentially boon companions with a strong bond with the Witch, that is, more than a trusted retainer. A Cowan is a Pagan Witch’s protector and can be Fighters, Barbarians, Rangers, Thieves, and Assassins, but cannot be other spellcasting Classes like the Bard, Cleric, Druid, Illusionist, Magic-User, or Paladin. They can also be simple NPCs without a Class, but more importantly, they can be other Player Characters, allowing for instant relationships and roleplaying links. Of course, this limits the Player Character Cowan’s options in terms of Class.

Becoming a Cowan costs actual Experience Points—fifty for an ordinary NPC, a hundred for the Thief type, and two hundred for all Fighter types. Where exactly the ordinary NPC gains these Experience Points is another matter and it is not quite clear if the characters becoming the Cowan is expending the Experience Points, the Witch is expending the Experience Points, or both. In return, both Cowan and Witch gain a number of small benefits. A Cowan can learn Zero-Level Rituals and participate in Ritual spells of higher Level too, gains better healing from his Witch’s healing—spells and balms, and has a bonus to saves versus spells cast by other Witches. Both Witch and Cowan also share Saving Throws, so that both can use the best between the two. In return, the Cowan is the Pagan Witch’s protector, which again sets up a roleplaying relationship and possible story hooks.


Beyond this, some of what a Pagan Witch does will depend upon the type of coven she belongs to. The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition offers two options. The first is Bándrui, who worship the Great Mother Goddess and whose covens consist of Pagan Witches, Green Witches, and Druids, a Pagan Witch of this tradition gaining the Druid’s Animal Shape abilities. The other is Followers of Aradia, who believe her to be the first witch, and are granted the Light spell as a daily ability. Both tend to be Lawful or Neutral in Alignment, but like other Pagan traditions, may practice live, including human sacrifice where necessary, typically as fertility rites. Just the two covens given here is disappointing and perhaps The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition could have included one or two more options to provide a player with greater choice.

The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition also discusses life as a Pagan Witch. This is not her life as an adventuring Witch, but the classic village wise woman, midwife, and healer of old. It covers the typical tasks she undertakes, such as childbirth and antenatal care, the cleansing—or smudging—of homes to free them of evil spirits, divination, healing, and so on, as well as the monies the Witch can charge and the Experience Points she can gain. Here then is how a non-adventuring NPC Witch gains her Experience Points to expend on those Cowans! It also gives more for an NPC Witch to do and thus more for the Game Master to build her portrayal of an NPC Witch around. Included as well, are notes on the seasons and places of power, all of which will have an effect on a Witch’s powers throughout the year.

Thisbe Haunted
Second Level Pagan Witch
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Coven: Followers of Aradia

STR 09 (Open Doors 5-in-6)
INT 13 (+1 Language, Literate)
WIS 17 (+2 to Save versus Magic)
DEX 11 
CON 16 (+2 Hit Points)
CHR 16 (+1 NPC reaction, Max. 7 Retainers, Loyalty 10)

Armour Class: 7 (Leather)
Hit Points: 11
Weapons: Dagger, Staff
THAC0 20

Languages: Elvish

Occult Powers
Healing balms (1d4+1/three times per day), Light (daily)

Spells: (First Level) – Mending, Toad


Familiar: Weasel (+1 to Dexterity checks)

The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition includes some one hundred spells, almost thirty monsters, some forty magical items, and a quartet of NPCs. As in previous books in the series, there are relatively few spells  which can be used to inflict direct damage like the Magic-User’s Burning Hands. There are spells which can inflict harm, for example, Toad—which curses the victim of the spell to turn into a filthy toad, or Loosen Bowels or Blindness/Deafness. Many of the spells reflect the often helpful, useful type of magic used by the Pagan Witch. So spells such as the familiar Mending, Locate Object, and Light are joined by spells such as Salving Rest—which grants the subject a good night’s rest as he continues to take a god night’s rest, and Create Corn Dolly—in fact the Witch creates a poppet she can send out to spy on others. Various others, like Toad, take the form of curses and the like. As in the previous books in the series, the various spells are joined by various rituals spells. There is something quite endearing in the Cake and Tea Ritual which is used by fellow Witches to begin and then cement friendships, which is then continued with Bonds of Hospitality which discourages participants from attacking each other. Other rituals are more obviously powerful, but the supplement adds further rituals which are Zero Level. These can be participated in by anyone, most notably a Witch’s Cowans. These are Bless Fertility, Ensure a Successful Hunt, Merry Greetings, and Summon a Witch, and all four would work well with other Witch traditions.

In terms of monsters and magic, The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition shares a lot in common with the previous The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition. Although the monsters are new, from Amphiptere, Bánánach, and Brownie to Wind Wraith, Woodnose,and Bog Zombie, as in The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition they feel as if they should be mostly encountered singularly rather than in droves or packs. That said, the monsters have more the feel of the countryside, whether rural or beyond into the wilds. The inclusion of the Killer Rabbit may be a bit silly though... Which of course fits the Pagan Witch tradition rather than the Pumpkin Spice Tradition. The magic items include brooms and cauldrons as well as magical instruments, rings, staves, and swords, some of which are familiar, such as the Broom of Flying and Cauldron of Plenty, but others like the Witch’s Gown, which provides various degrees of protection as well as being able to change its appearance once per day. Rounding the supplement are four unique NPC Witches, drawn from both myth and history, the latter including a suspected poisoner.

Physically, The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition continues the series’ improvement in the style and layout over the books before it. The artwork is much better and much better handled, and includes some pieces by Larry Elmore. The spells are also back to being listed by Level, so much easier to find.


The similarities between the two supplements—The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition and The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition—are not surprising since the traditions of the latter do draw upon the former. What The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition presents though is a rougher, wilder take upon the witch, one that feels more of a cliché because it draws upon more traditional depictions of the witch. This means that it has its darker aspects, not necessarily evil, but certainly darker. This is leavened by the role of the Pagan Witch as healer, midwife, and wise woman. If there is a disappointing feature of the book, it is that just two covens are not really enough options to choose from for the players, especially as it points to so many worldwide examples. Perhaps not as fully rounded as it could have been, The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition still presents plenty to to bring to a campaign.

One question I have been getting since I purchased both the Pacesetter BX RPG and Necrotic Gnome's Old-School Essentials is "which one is better?"
Truthfully I am not really interested in "better" but instead "which is best for me" and "which one satisfies it's design goals best?"
Well, lets have a look!

Before I start let's agree on some terms and shorthand.
B/X refers to the D&D Basic and D&D Expert Boxed Sets edited by Tom Moldvay (Basic) and David Cook and Steven Marsh (Expert). 
BECMI while it might not come up, refers to the Basic, Expert, Companion, Master, Immortal sets edited by Frank Mentzer.  Unless a distinction needs to be made I am always referring to the B/X versions of Basic and Expert rules.
OSE refers to the Old School Essentials set from Gavin Norman and Necrotic Gnome. In truth I also mean OSE and the Fantasy rules.OSE-Advanced refers to OSE with the Advanced add-ons; classes and spells.
BX RPG refers to the BX RPG by Bill Barsh and Pacesetter Games and Simulations.
The "Gold Standard" for any comparison is the B/X set.
I want to state unequivocally that I am very, very fond of all four of the above-mentioned games and they all have a place on my table.  Each one is used in my games. Sometimes separately, sometimes all at once.
Match 1: How well does the game emulate B/X?So our first match is how well does each game emulate the source material of B/X.  If we are talking "Rules as Written" then clear winner here is OSE.  If we are talking "Rules as played" then it can be a toss-up between OSE-Advanced and BX.  Both offer different takes on B/X + Advanced.  I can recall my first paladin character was made in a mix of Expert and Advanced rules.  Eventually, BECMI would give us a Paladin, but mine was pure B/X.  Both sets offer a paladin class (among others) and they are roughly equivalent. 


Match 2: Layout and ArtThe OSE game is a marvel of layout efficiency, modular design, and artistic expression.  There is not a ton of art in OSE, but what there is packs a punch.  Both OSE and BX feature "old-school esthetic" in terms of black & white art.  This is not a detractor, but rather a feature for me.My biggest issue with OSE's layout is that it is TOO efficient and sometimes that leaves it feeling a little bit sterile.  Efficiency and modularity are two of the set's design goals so it is hard to fault them here.BX RPG needs another round of QA check, but otherwise, it also meets their stated design goals.OSE edges out here. 
Match 3: OptionsOut of the box BX offers more options than core OSE. More classes, races, levels, spells, and levels. Here OSE's strength of emulation works against it.  If you have B/X and can play it without looking things up then OSE Core has little more to offer you.  Adding the OSE-Advanced options makes it more attractive to the current B/X player looking for more but not wanting to dive deep in the AD&D ocean.  Still, even with these options in place, BX RPG edges out OSE.Both games are promising even more options in the future so this one could be close for some time to come.
Match 4: PlayabilityOSE is so well organized it not only edges out the original B/X in this regard but even the well organized BECMI.  OSE though works best for players already experienced in B/X or any flavor of D&D. The modularity of OSE rivals that of 4e.  That is not a slight, but rather a compliment. The layout and modularity of 4e was a design masterpiece. BX RPG is less organized, but there is so much explanatory material that it is perfect for newer players or someone with no experience with B/X and wants to give it a try.Verdict? If you have B/X experience then OSE is best. If you are new to B/X then BX RPG.
Match 5: Price per ValueThis is much harder.  Both games are priced well. 
The physical BX RPG boxed set comes with books, adventures, and dice for US$50.  Though it is hard to tell exactly what is in the box from Pacesetter's website.  So I am not sure what is exactly in the box other than the rule books. This is just the physical books, no PDFs.
The OSE Boxed set can be configured in a number of ways on the Necrotic Gnome website. The Classic set, closest to the B/X game, is available in a box with hardcover digest sized books and PDFs for €60,00 (presently about US$68.50).  You can add on the OSE-Advanced options. 
OSE has a sturdier box and hardcover books and comes in a single volume option.BX RPG has good box with room for dice and adventures.
So lower price entry for the boxed sets for BX RPG.  More buying options for OSE.
Which one is for you?I hate to dodge this one, but that is really up to you and the games you are going to run.
For me? I am happy to have both systems. I think there is a slight edge on BX RPG for players and a similar edge for Game Masters for OSE.  The options of BX RPG make it more attractive to the player and the OSE-Advanced books work fine with BX and B/X (even BECMI).  The organization of OSE makes it a dream to run and find things.
One thing for sure for me, if I were to run either game I would invest in about four or five extra player books for the players.
BX RPG Player books can be bought here, PDF and Print.Old-School Essentials Classic Fantasy: Player's Rules Tome, PDF and Print/PDF.(Note if you are outside of Europe you might want to go with this site for OSE products.)

The usual state of retail: some days are raging, and some days are slow. This wasn’t and is never a problem: a relatively slow Flash Sale means that other plants (in this case, a large contingent of bladderworts in apothecary … Continue reading →

Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the  Jonstown Compendium is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Greg Stafford’s mythic universe of Glorantha. It enables creators to sell their own original content for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and HeroQuest Glorantha (Questworlds). This can include original scenarios, background material, cults, mythology, details of NPCs and monsters, and so on, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Glorantha Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Glorantha-set campaigns.

—oOo—

What is it?
White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga presents a campaign starter for the much-maligned Malani clan for use with RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha.

It is an eighty-eight-page, full colour, 21.69 MB PDF.

White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga is roughly presented and needs an edit.

Where is it set?

White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga is set amongst the lands of the Malani clan in Sartar in Dragon Pass.The illustrations are of variable quality.

Who do you play?

The Player Characters are members of the Namoldin Clan living along the Arfritha Vale. Six pre-generated Player Characters are provided, including a Humakti warrior, an Issaries trader, a Vinga warrior, an Orlanthi farmer, a Yinkini hunter, and an Odayla hunter.

What do you need?

White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga requires both RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and RuneQuest – Glorantha Bestiary. Much of White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga was created using Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes, but is not absolutely necessary to run the campaign.

What do you get?

White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga is not broken, but a ‘fixer-upper’, the first part of a campaign set in Sartar which needs some work and a bit of some love and attention upon the part of the Game Master to be made into something which she can run for her group. This is not to say that it does not come with everything necessary to get the campaign started—it has both background and setting, it has both a guide to creating characters for the campaign and a set of pre-generated Player Characters, its own Prosopaedia—a quick glossary of the gods pertinent to the setting, plus new cults, Rune and Spirit magic, a scenario, and various secrets. So there is a lot to White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga, but that is lot is perhaps lots of bit and pieces that are in themselves interesting and likeable, but together feel scrappy and not immediately relevant to each other.

White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga begins by presenting a history of the Malani Tribe and its relationship to the neighbouring tribes, before its focus grows tighter and tighter. First, on the Namoldin Clan along with its history and clan relationships, then on its tula circa 1620st and on the settlements along the Arfritha Vale and the Boranini River which runs down it, notably Famous Bell and Red Deer. There are some fantastic locations here and about, such as Dark Water Pool, home to an ancient freshwater turtle with a penchant for winning beards in riddling contests. Second, on the steads and notable features around Red Deer, in particular, Heldar’s Stead. This is the setting for White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga, and is home to the clan's richest farmer and cattle herder. Heldar himself is described as arrogant—arrogant enough to commission Long Tooth, an enchanted bronze-cast lumber saw, which actually kills plants on touch and tears through timber with ease. All the members of his homestead and the nearby village are described with many given full stats also.

Full rules are given for creating Namoldin Player Characters for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, including Passions, cultural weapons and skills, and suggested cults. Both Orlanth and Ernalda are given as default, but many of these are also tied to a character’s Occupation. However, these are not necessarily to the gods, but rather to particular aspects of them. Thus, not Ernalda for a Healer, but Bevara, a healing goddess of Ernalda, and for a fisherman, not Orlanth All Father, but Poverri, an Orlanthi fisher deity. Most of these aspects are given some explanation in the following Cults section, but not all, which is slightly problematic. Not necessarily for veteran Gloranthophiles, who may appreciate the degree of detail, but anyone new to Glorantha and RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, may be mystified by the level of detail and in places, the lack of accompanying explanation. However, the Cults section does include write-ups of some other cults for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, including the local Boranini River cult, Gustbran the Redsmith cult, Minlister the Brewer, Igruz Hardfrost, and Queen Bee, and these are accompanied by their associated spirit and rune magic, such as Igruz Hardfrost’s Ice Blade and Harden Liquor.

In addition, White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga provides rules for The Smithy—the  workshop home of Gustbran the Red-smith. Using these rules enables a Red-smith—whether an NPC or a Player Character—to cast weapons, to work out the costs of doing so, and possible outcomes. Craftwise this nicely adds to the world of Glorantha and not only shows just how much work goes into making the Player Characters’ weapons, but when combined with the earlier Weapon Naming Ritual Rune spell gives options for them to make or have made named weapons with interesting effects. As good as this, it does not really have any impact on the campaign, and it feels slightly out of place here.

In terms of adventuring content, White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga presents the short scenario, ‘White Stone Ruins’. It begins with the report of undead horrors being seen in the vicinity of ancient ruins in the forest that almost surrounds Heldar’s Stead, which will lead to exploration of those ruins and perhaps exposure of a secret cult operating in the area. This is primarily a combat and exploration scenario, and perhaps ‘The Missing Scythe’, a hunt for a scythe the brother to Long Tooth that has disappeared, is more interesting. There are also several other encounters and threads which a Game Master can work into the start of the White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga. Rounding out White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga is a full set of stats for various ‘Friends and Foes’ not given earlier in the supplement, as well as the pre-generated Player Characters.

White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga is rough around the edges and will need more effort upon the part of the Game Master to prepare and run than perhaps a more polished product would. It includes a lot of background material—which although interesting and good—which will be hard to bring into play, especially if the Game Master is new to Glorantha. The pre-generated Player Characters could have benefited from suggested ties and relationships to the community and inhabitants of Heldar’s Stead to better bring them into the campaign and perhaps the Game Master might want to create these prior to running the ‘White Stone Ruins’. Lastly, there are elements in White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga that a Game Master can extract and include in her own campaign—the rules for red-smithing, the new cults and spirit and rune magic, and more, could be used elsewhere.

Is it worth your time?

Yes. White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga is a decent, if scrappily presented campaign set-up in another part of Sartar which needs a bit of effort to work effectively, but which comes with background material and extras aplenty.

No. White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga is more background than campaign and its rough presentation and organisation make it challenging to prepare and run.

Maybe. White Stone Ruin: Part 1 of Red Deer Saga is more background than campaign and its rough presentation and organisation make it challenging to prepare and run. The background and extra rules are excellent and potentially worth adding to a campaign.

Shanghai—the ‘Pearl of the East’ has been a distant star in the Call of Cthulhu firmament. Yet since 1984 with its introduction as a chapter in the superlative Masks of Nyarlathotep, it has been an all-too far away, exotic destination, rarely visited beyond the confines of that campaign. Arguably, it was too strange, too difficult to research effectively, and in more recent years fraught with the dangerous possibility of portraying the inhabitants of the great city—whether natives or incomes—as stereotypes. That said, in more recent years, writers—both professional and amateur—have taken Lovecraftian investigative horror to Shanghai in scenarios such as Robin D. Laws’ ‘Shanghai Bullets’ from the anthology Stunning Eldritch Tales for Trail of Cthulhu, examinations of the original campaign in the Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion, and finally, in that campaign’s update, Masks of Nyarlathotep, for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition. Yet as these campaigns, scenarios, and supplements have in turn shed a light upon the forces of the Mythos and their activities in the city, there has yet to be a definitive supplement of Lovecraftian investigative horror which focuses entirely upon Shanghai. That is, until The Sassoon Files.

The Sassoon Files: A Sourcebook for the Call of Cthulhu and GUMSHOE Role Playing Games was published by Sons of the Singularity following a successful Kickstarter campaign. With the initial print run being infamously destroyed by the Chinese authorities, it presents an overview and history of the city, a campaign framework and four scenarios which take place between 1925 and 1929. The four scenarios can be run as one-shots or together they work as a rough campaign, and are in addition supported by factional campaign set-ups and drivers each of which would put a very different spin upon the four scenarios.

Written by members of the China RPG community, The Sassoon Files opens with an overview and history of Shanghai, focussing in particular upon the ‘Century of Humiliation’ suffered by China at the hands of the Western powers which saw the rise of the city from a small town located in a swamp near the mouth of the Yangzi River into a metropolis, rent geographically and politically. Geographically between Concessions and Settlements controlled by the Western powers, and politically between the Communists, the nationalists of the Kuomintang—by 1925 led by Chiang Kai-Shek, and the meddling Japanese. All whilst the Triad gangs, such as the Green gang, led by the infamous Du Yue Sheng, ‘Big Eared Du’, feuded for control of the city’s gambling, prostitution, and opium rackets. This includes a timeline which runs from 2050 BCE to 1949 CE, a list of notable locations and buildings in the French Concession, the Chinese City, and the International Settlement—a merging of earlier British and American Concessions, and a list of the dramatis personae to found in the pages of The Sassoon Files. The latter includes historical figures and figures fictional to be found in the supplement’s quartet of scenarios, but it is one of these historical figures who is key to those scenarios.

Sir Victor Sassoon, 3rd Baronet of Bombay, is an enormously wealthy businessman, a historical figure who owned large swathes of Shanghai and built the famous Bund. Not only is he aware of the Mythos, but he is both corresponding with Doctor Henry Armitage of Miskatonic University and looking to thwart its influence and its agents’ activities in the city. Thus he engages the Player Characters—or Investigators—into looking into situations and cases of note, which he and often his equally rich friends believe to be odd or inexplicable. Essentially, Sir Victor will act as the Investigators’ patron who will call upon their services again and again.

The four scenarios follow the same format. This is as a spine of scenes and clues as is standard of Trail of Cthulhu, laid out at least in the first scenario, as a diagram. Throughout each scenario—and the book as a whole—mechanical elements for Trail of Cthulhu are in black as is the rest of the book, whilst those for Call of Cthulhu are in red. This makes them a lot easier to spot. Where particular locations are referenced, excerpts of the main map are used, and since the Investigators will be visiting several of these again, these map excerpts appear more than once. Throughout the Investigators will encounter actual historical figures and the supplement does include notes for the Keeper on how to roleplay them. 

The first of the scenarios in The Sassoon Files is ‘Strong Gates, Hidden Demons’. A strange body and a supposed cholera outbreak lead the Investigators on a MacGuffin chase between the International Settlement and the French Concession, to the site of a bloody massacre and back again. This is a fairly straightforward scenario, but begins to pull the Investigators into the city and its atmosphere. However, the second scenario, ‘Let Sleeping Dogs Lie’ is a whole lot more complex, starting with a flashback, and then comes back to the present for an even bigger, even more complex Macguffin hunt—or hunts—as Victor Sassoon wants to recover a recent purchase at an auction house and find out why it was stolen from him. Although the scenario requires a little effort in terms of set-up, there is a bravura quality to it, involving as it does the last Empress of China and a lot of tea. This potential for some weird, creepy moments too and a ‘what the hell?’ moment once the Investigators and their players realise quite what is going on.

Inspired by a traditional Chinese folk song of the same name, ‘There is This One Girl’ also ups the action scene upon action scene as the Investigators are sent haring after a gangster who seems to be winning at the racing track and the card table with unerring accuracy, this time because friends of Sir Victor want to reduce their loses and cannot account for the gangster’s success. The scenario presents an alternate interpretation of a Call of Cthulhu entity classic to Shanghai, who may well not be inimical towards the Investigators, as well as the opportunity for them to potentially find allies in their efforts against the Mythos. ‘There is This One Girl’ is also really the first part to ‘Curse of the Peacock’s Eye’, the fourth and final scenario in  The Sassoon Files. This has a weird flashback and has a quite linear sequence which is repeated. Although ultimately, the Investigators have funny choices to make, which may lead to the end of the world or not…

In terms of tone, the four scenarios in The Sassoon Files are presented in Purist mode. However, some scenarios do push at the dividing line between Purist and Pulp modes, and it would be very easy for the Keeper to take the campaign into a Pulp style of play. Certainly, as a city, Shanghai lends itself to that and there is advice in places on how certain Pulp Cthulhu abilities would work in particular scenes. Doubtless, pushed into the Pulp mode of Trail of Cthulhu or run using Pulp Cthulhu, and The Sassoon Files could be run as a rip-roaring campaign in the ‘Pearl of the East’. Either way, the Keeper is advised to check the chase rules for whichever roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror she is running and probably prepare some obstacles suited to the streets of Shanghai.

Using The Sassoon Files is not without its challenge. Obviously its remote location means that its four scenarios are not easy to add to an ongoing campaign and the timeframe for those scenarios is fairly specific. The most obvious and the easiest way to use the supplement is a standalone campaign. However there are other possibilities. One is to run the scenarios as sequels to a campaign which has ended in Shanghai after playing Masks of Nyarlathotep. That campaign runs throughout 1925 and The Sassoon Files begins at the end of 1925, so there is crossover potential. If the Investigators decide to leave Shanghai after completing Masks of Nyarlathotep, then The Sassoon Files could be run as an alternate timeline, the final scenario in the quartet, ‘Curse of the Peacock’s Eye’, supporting that possibility.

Being spread out over the space of four years, the quartet of scenarios in The Sassoon Files make up a loose campaign, so there is scope for the Keeper to add other scenarios she had adapted or written herself in between the given four. The Sassoon Files is both helpful and unhelpful towards that end. Helpful because it includes ten scenario hooks which the Keeper will need to develop herself, unhelpful because it is not the definitive sourcebook for roleplaying games of Lovecraftian investigative horror on Shanghai and its environs, and so does not explore the presence of the Mythos in the city and beyond, leaving the Keeper to develop that her self.

Each of the four scenarios in The Sassoon Files is accompanied by five pre-generated Investigators. These are okay for the most part. More interesting is the discussion of the factions involved in the four scenarios. These include the Locals—consisting of Sir Victor and his fellow expatriates and allies, the Communists under Zhou Enlai—later first Premier of the People’s Republic of China, and the Green Gang—Shanghai’s largest Triad gang, Japan’s Genyosha or Dark Ocean Society, and others. The discussion is accompanied by the options, hooks, and drivers for each of the four scenarios in The Sassoon Files for the players to roleplay members of the Communist party or the Green Gang, as opposed to allies of the Locals. The supplement also adds ‘Lore Sheets’ which provide both backgrounds and act as a resource or dice pool, equal to a couple of points, which a player can use to gain an advantage related to the Lore Sheet, each one of which is kept secret by its player. Although the end mechanical reward for fulfilling the objectives on the Lore Sheets feels bland, at the very least they provide more personal backgrounds for the Investigators and background information for their players.

However the publishers do miss a trick or two. For a supplement of this type, weirdly, there is no bibliography. Also, there are no maps of individual locations, which would have made the scenarios easier to run, and whilst as the scenarios proceed it becomes clear that they form a campaign, it is not clear at the outset, which again means they need more effort to prepare. Another issue is that whilst The Sassoon Files does provide a detailed overview of Shanghai, it is lacking when it comes to the kind of details and flavour which would help the Keeper portray the city on an ordinary, day-to-day basis. It is almost if the supplement needs a table of random encounters and events which would have helped the Keeper bring the vibrant and raucous hurly-burly of the city to life.

Perhaps the biggest trick missed by The Sassoon Files is when it comes to Investigators. First, there is a dearth of advice when it comes to the players creating their own, which may leave less experienced players of Call of Cthulhu or Trail of Cthulhu floundering for ideas and concepts. Second—and more disappointingly—the authors do not make enough of the Factions as playable options. Now yes, they are discussed and they do have their own section in the supplement, but not a single one of the pre-generated Investigators which comes after each of the four scenarios is from a different faction. All sixteen are essentially from the Locals faction, that is, the expatriate Europeans who serve as the Investigators’ patrons and their local allies, and as diverse a mix of ethnicities and genders as the represent, what this means is that there none from the suggested Triad gangs or Communist factions. For all that is made of the authors being part of the China roleplaying community and their being familiar with both the setting and the history, this really is a missed roleplaying opportunity upon their part.


Physically, The Sassoon Files is a generally well-presented book. It makes a great deal of use of period photographs and maps to present Shanghai, and is illustrated by some superb pieces of artwork. However, it is in places inconsistent in its layout and very much needs an edit.

There can be no doubt that Lovecraftian investigative roleplaying deserves—whether Call of Cthulhu, Pulp Cthulhu, or Trail of Cthulhu—a supplement dedicated to Shanghai. Unfortunately, The Sassoon Files is not the definitive guide to the Shanghai of the 1920s for any of those aforementioned roleplaying games. Yes, it presents a good, even comprehensive, overview of the city, but whilst this is enough to run the four scenarios in The Sassoon Files, it is not really quite enough from which the Keeper can develop her own scenarios or content without input from other sources. However, this is not to say that the background information will not serve as the spur or inspiration for the Keeper’s creativity.

Although far from perfect, and not really a definitive guide to the city, The Sassoon Files: A Sourcebook for the Call of Cthulhu and GUMSHOE Role Playing Games does something that no other supplement for roleplaying games of Lovecraftian investigative horror does, and that is present a campaign in Shanghai. It successfully combines both the history and noted inhabitants of the city with the Mythos for a quartet of entertaining and engaging scenarios.


—oOo—
Currently, Sons of the Singularity has a Kickstarter campaign underway for Journal d’Indochine. This is a supplement of ‘Horror and Intrigue in French Colonial-Era Vietnam in a campaign for the Call of Cthulhu TRPG’.

Coriolis Scenario Compendium 1 is an anthology of three scenarios and more for use with the Middle East-influenced Science Fiction roleplaying game, Coriolis: The Third Horizon. Published by Free League Publishing and distributed by Modiphius Entertainment, it takes the Player Characters to three different worlds and three different mysteries, ideally at the behest of their patron. They are in turn a missing persons case—of a sort, a lost contact mission, and a murder mystery. Each of the three can be roughly be played through in a session or two, and be slotted into an ongoing campaign with relative ease after the scenario in the core rulebook for Coriolis: The Third Horizon and then before or worked into the campaign, Coriolis: Emissary Lost. As is standard for the Coriolis line, the Coriolis Scenario Compendium 1 is presented in full glossy colour, with some fantastic artwork. However, these are not quite as straightforward adventures as they could be, in part because of their background, and in part, because of the extra preparation required upon the part of the Game Master.

The anthology opens with ‘The Tailor from Mira’, which takes place in the Icon City on Mira and has the Player Characters employed to find the Tailor – a ‘Bionic’ or surgeon – for a well-paying, noble employer. Since this is designed as an action thriller, it quickly transpires that the Player Characters are not the only ones interested, as several factions vie to locate him, and together the chase will take them to the pilgrim or prayer train that traverses the planet. This is a fun location which the Player Characters will have to finagle their way onto—but unfortunately there is no map of it for the Game Master to use or refer to. This is a problem which hinders all three of the scenarios in the Coriolis Scenario Compendium 1 and all too often the Game Master will need to develop maps or location descriptions herself.

The second scenario, ‘Eye of the Beast’ is set on the strange forest moon of Arzachel where a strange new element, levitanium, which seems to make the planetary inhabitants and wildlife larger, and in some cases, capable of flight. Unfortunately contact with a harvesting team has been lost and the Player Characters are employed to find it before the latest shipment of levitanium is lost. They will encounter strange beasts, watchful Humanite natives, and ultimately a dilemma that needs to be resolved if lives are to be saved. This is a classic faith versus science, ecology versus commercialism situation, but being written for Coriolis: The Third Horizon this will in part be influenced by the Player Characters’ relationship with the Icons. The scenario is quite simple, and it comes with some very well explained solutions, but it advises that the Game Master will need to help the Player Characters by summarising what is going on and what they know. However, whilst this summarising is necessary, it does feel as if the Game Master at this point is holding the Player Characters’ hands as she guides them to the several solutions offered and so points to the fact that the three scenarios in the Coriolis Scenario Compendium 1 do feel as they are underwritten and lack clarity.

‘Algebra of the Icons’, the third scenario is a murder-mystery in the city of Mehrabi over the petroleum fields of the planet of Lubau. Doctor Humina Ghabi, a data djinn—a computer expert (or hacker)—working for Industrial Algebra developing advanced ship intelligences, has been found dead and the Player Characters are brought in to investigate. This will be at the behest of their patron rather than because they are necessarily qualified to carry out such a task, but certainly a data djinn amongst the Player Characters will be useful in conducting the adventure. This is a classic cyberpunk murder mystery, so much so that it verges upon cliché and may well disappoint the players once they realise quite what is going on.

Rounding the Coriolis Scenario Compendium 1 is a scenario location. ‘The Mahanji Oasis’ is also located on the planet of Lubau, beside a series of Crystal Lakes. It is a classic frontier town replete with intrigue and tension between the natives and the incomers who have come to man the mobile platforms and drill for oil, along with strange ruins, a diving centre for the lakes, and various mysteries. It comes with a map of the surroundings, several NPCs, and a handful of events around which to build adventures. Like other adventure locations described for Coriolis: The Third Horizon, the Game Master will need to develop these herself, but the information given is a good start. It should be noted though, that both ‘Algebra of the Icons’ and ‘The Mahanji Oasis’ do wear their Middle Eastern influences on their sleeves, both being located on petroleum fields and it being suggested to the Game Master that the city in ‘Algebra of the Icons’ being described like Dubai.

Physically, the Coriolis Scenario Compendium 1 is well-presented, being an attractive, full colour book. However, the lack of maps in places may hinder both the Game Master’s preparation time and the players’ involvement in the scenarios, especially in ‘The Tailor from Mira’ which actually states that, “It can be challenging to draw up comprehensive map of the kilometre long train, but the GM is encouraged to give its layout some thought…” This is of the prayer train and given that this is the setting for the scenario’s climax, it seems absurd to leave such a daunting task to the Game Master. 

The lack of maps, the plots which verge upon cliché, and their often underwritten nature means that each of the three scenarios in the Coriolis Scenario Compendium 1 needs a fair bit of preparation upon the part of the Game Master and each may well need a bit more of an explanation or briefing for the players and their characters as who exactly is involved and what they want. Ultimately, the Coriolis Scenario Compendium 1 is just not the easy-to-run collection of scenarios for Coriolis: The Third Horizon it should have been.

(The Texas Triffid Ranch Occasional Newsletter and Feedlot Clearance Sale is a regular Email newsletter, with archives available on the main TTR site at least a month after first publication. To receive the latest newsletters, please subscribe.) Originally published on … Continue reading →

As always, the Texas Triffid Ranch Sunday Flash Sale continues this coming Sunday from 6:00 am to noon. Until then, it’s time for music.

It is an undeniable truth that the Witch gets a lot of bad press. Not necessarily within the roleplaying hobby, but from without, for the Witch is seen as a figure of evil, often—though not necessarily—a female figure of evil, and a figure to be feared and persecuted. Much of this stems from the historical witch-hunts of the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeen, and eighteenth centuries, along with the associated imagery, that is, the crone with the broom, pointy hat, black cat, cauldron, and more. When a Witch does appear in roleplaying, whether it is a historical or a fantasy setting, it is typically as the villain, as the perpetrator of some vile crime or mystery for the player characters to solve and stop. Publisher The Other Side has published a number of supplements written not only as a counter to the clichés of the witch figure, but to bring the Witch as a character Class to roleplaying after being disappointed at the lack of the Witch in the Player’s Handbook for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition. Each of these supplements draws upon more historical interpretations of the Witch—sometimes to counter the clichés, sometimes to enforce them—and presents her as a playable character Class. Each book is published under the label of ‘Basic Era Games’, and whilst the exact Retroclone each book is written to be used with may vary, essentially, they are all compatible. Which means that the Game Master can mix and match traditions, have player characters from matching traditions, and so on.
The first book in the series, Daughters of Darkness: The Mara Witch for Basic Era Games is written is designed for use with Goblinoid Games’ Labyrinth Lord and presents the Witch as dedicated to the Mara Tradition, that of the Dark Mother—Lilith, the First Woman, the First Witch, and the Mother of Demons. The next book in the series is The Children of the Gods: The Classical Witch for Basic Era Games, which was written for use with Dreamscape Design’s Blueholme Rules, the retroclone based on the 1977 Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set designed by J. Eric Holmes, and which focused on not so much as ‘Evil’ or Chaotic witches, but upon the Classical traditions of Egypt, Greece, Phoenicia, Rome, and Sumeria. Again, Cult of Diana: The Amazon Witch for Basic Era Games, the next entry in the line presents a different take upon the Witch, but instead this series of reviews leaps over that entry to review which presents a very different, even slightly silly take upon the Witch. This is The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition.

The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition is written for use with Labyrinth Lord and like other titles in the series starts by presenting the same version of the Witch Class as in Daughters of Darkness: The Mara Witch for Basic Era Games and The Children of the Gods: The Classical Witch for Basic Era Games. What this means is that from one book to the next, this Class is going to serve as a template for the rest of the other supplements devoted to the Witch from The Other Side. So the Witch is spellcaster capable of casting Witch spells and Witch rituals—a mixture of arcane and divine spells, has Occult Powers including herbal healing, many are reluctant to cast ‘black’ or evil magic, many are of Lawful Alignment, and have answered the Call of their Goddess (or other patron).

The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition focuses on the one Tradition of the Witch Class, that is, a Witch of the ‘Pumpkin Spice Tradition’. Which straight off sparks images of the ‘fall’—or autumn, Halloween, and coffee houses serving a limited time flavour of coffee, and so a certain commercialism in its treatment of Witches and the Witch drawn from an American idea of what the Witch is. This is essentially all present in The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition and the danger is that this supplement could have so easily tipped over into a crass mix of the commercial and the kitsch. Thankfully, it presents a modern, urban version of the Witch, one which would really work in an Urban Fantasy or horror roleplaying game or campaign setting. That means though, that tThe Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition is not really suitable for a traditional fantasy roleplaying campaign.
The first difference between the Pumpkin Spice Witch tradition and other traditions is that Pumpkin Spice Witches are limited in their choice of Familiars—bat, cat, ferret, rat, raven, owl, and so on. The only addition to this is a special Familiar, the Meowl, a combination of cat and owl, which also appears in the supplement’s bestiary. In terms of powers, the Pumpkin Spice Witch gains a Familiar, and knows ‘Things Man Was Not Meant to Know are Fire for Women’ and ‘Resting Witch Face’. The former grants a bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom checks related to magic and monsters for Witch who is making the check after a male Magic-User has failed to do so, whilst the latter in effect lets a Witch enforce a negative Morale on anyone attempting to talk to or approach her. This includes in combat! There is a certain modern, tongue-in-cheek sensibility to these powers, and whilst they do empower the Pumpkin Spice Witch, depending upon your point of view, may or may not stray into stereotyping.
Witches of the Pumpkin Spice Witch tradition are restricted in the choice of spells they can use, in general, not being allowed to use spells which inflict direct harm. They tend to favour a goddess as a patron and join small covens, often Sisterhood Covens, which sometimes may include Witches of other tradition, and also tend to be of Good or Neutral Alignments. Many also set up apothecaries, which are fronts for ‘Home, Hearth, & Heart’, a circle of black-market magic item shops!
Miranda TookSecond Level Pumpkin Spice WitchAlignment: Chaotic GoodCoven: The Sisterhood
STR 07 (-1 to hit, damage, and force doors)DEX 14 (-1 AC, +1 Missile Attack, +1 Initiative)CON 12 (-0 HP)INT 15 (+1 Languages, Literate)WIS 14  (+1 to Save versus Magic)CHR 14 (-1 Reaction Adj., 6 Retainers, Morale 9)
Armour Class: 7 (Padded)Hit Points: 7Weapons: Dagger, Bow, StaffTHAC0 20
Languages: French
Occult PowersHealing balms (1d4+1/three times per day)
Spells: (First Level) – Bad Luck, Bewitch, Control Face, Forget Me Knot
Familiar: Meowl (+1 Wisdom checks, Nightvision)
The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition includes some one hundred or so spells, a short bestiary of less than twenty monsters, some new magic items, and a trio of unique witches. Now although there are spells included which do inflict direct damage, like Prismatic Lightning, but most harmful spells for the tradition inflict harm in other ways. Thus, Agony inflicts pain, not harm; Babble confuses all verbal communication; and Eerie Forest makes an area of a forest unnerving, perhaps frightening those who walk through it. In general, the spells lend themselves to supporting effects, such as Calm Weather, Change Appearance, Create Wine, Find Child, Grandmother’s Shawl, and more, but at the same time, they give scope for a player to be inventive in how these spells can be used—not just mechanically, but also in terms of roleplaying. The other effect of the spells is to pull the Witch character away from traditional dungeoneering style play, and this is carried over into the monsters given in the bestiary. Most of those entries, such as the Autumnal Rider, Beheaded, Jack O’Lantern, Scarecrow Guardian, and more, all lend themselves to situations away from the dungeon and a ‘Monster of the Week’ style of play.
The range of the magical items given in The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition is inventive and fun. There are brooms, cauldrons, masks, and teas—for example, a Broom of Threshold Protection, Cauldron of Plenty, a Green Man Mask, and a Fortune Telling Tea. The miscellaneous items include the Bad Hair Day Hat, which always makes a witch’s hair appear to be perfect, a Luck Charm Bracelet providing a +1 to any roll several times a die, and Witch Bells, which ring loudly when an evil spirit enters a witch’s home. Lastly, the unique witches make up a coven, and range in Level from third to seventeenth, and may or may not be the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone.
Physically, The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition is slimmer than the other books in the line and shows an improvement in the style and layout over the books before it. The artwork is much better handled, and many of the new magical items are illustrated. One minor issue is that the spells are listed in alphabetical order rather than Level by Level. It makes spell selection just a little more awkward and slower.
The problem with The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition is twofold. First, there is the title. ‘Pumpkin Spice’ suggests silliness and superficiality, but the witch presented in its pages lends itself to urban and modern settings a la television series such as Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and the like. Played in that context, and the Pumpkin Spice Witch would work really well. The other issue is the potential problem of stereotyping. The Pumpkin Spice Witch could be interpreted as such, though this is not necessarily the author’s intention. Put these issues aside and it is clear that there is a lot of invention and fun that has gone into the writing of The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition, which should come out in play using the spells and magical items.

What about that June, huh? Go to bed with the place looking as if Hunter S. Thompson had been camped on your couch for the last month, and wake up to July. Most people would just look at the waves … Continue reading →

Richard McKenna / July 16, 2020

Mission Completed
By Future World Orchestra
Dureco Benelux, 1982

Sometimes it’s in ephemeral fragments of the culture that time travel lurks. We learn to tune out the looming monoliths of the zeitgeist the same way we learn to tune out the sky: its ubiquitousness would otherwise be oppressive. But sometimes a corner of the firmament reflected in a humble puddle brings it back to radiant life. Released in 1982, Future World Orchestra’s Mission Completed is that kind of puddle, capturing a small shard of its time in strangely vivid colors.

Future World Orchestra have the lot: gauche mustaches, a demeanor to which the word “goofy” does not do justice, digital watches, white ties with piano keyboards on them, wristbands, bizarre bespoke overalls, uncomfortable dance moves, and an even more uncomfortable relationship with the camera. But somehow, it’s not a pastiche—it is instead from the Netherlands, and its creators are the astonishingly-named Robert Pot and Gerto Heupink.

The lens-flare cover and slightly bullish ring of the title might give a misleading impression of what Future World Orchestra are actually about, but as will become immediately clear upon watching any video footage of them, they’re very much not the high-fiving cock-jocks you might imagine. Rather, they meld a bouncy and vaguely unfashionable style of retro-pop with the elegiac electronics that had by then become an increasingly powerful element of the musical landscape: can you imagine a Frankensteinian welding together of, say, Jean-Michel Jarre, Genesis’s Tony Banks, and Neil Sedaka? Well, now you no longer need to try.

The record lays out its aesthetic manifesto on the first track, “I’m Not Afraid of the Future,” whose “Popcorn“-reminiscent arpeggios, hints of Hi-NRG, and upbeat vocal are shot through with a vague melancholy that runs counter to the song’s optimism—a sensation that underpins the whole record. I don’t know how to define this video of them lip-syncing to “Desire” except as punk chutzpah—a total don’t-give-a-fuck immersion in a personal aesthetic. Even though I love it, it makes me want to run out of the room screaming, so god alone knows what effect it might have on anyone who doesn’t like the music (though if you want more, have a slightly less uncomfortable version and a version from after they discovered coke). “Desire” mines the same kind of synthetic doo-wop shuffle of Andrew Gold’s wonderful “Never Let Her Slip Away,” a mood taken up later in a slightly less optimistic key in “Don’t Go Away.” “Airborne” hints at a kind of Schlager-trance, “Casablanca Nights” blends the “Popcorn” bubbling with an “I Feel Love” throb, while instrumental “Hypnos” is a Jean-Michel Jarre-ian monster. And aptly, Mission Completed ends with, yep, “Mission Completed.” Because it fucking was.

There are moments where the balancing act between something inspired and something awful falters—“Happy Moments,” for instance, would make perfect background music for a breakfast TV montage of Dutch pensioners visiting a petting zoo (and rips off 10CC‘s “I’m Not in Love” to boot)—but, all told, Mission Completed somehow manages to create its own beguiling futuristic world of mystery, excitement, and romance, all shot through with a vein of pensive melancholy. Is the undercurrent of angst a tacit admission that, for all of the album’s upbeat optimism, there was plenty about 1982 that actually was pretty frightening? Other groups, artists and authors that year certainly seemed to think so.

Apart from the obvious pop skill on display, I can’t quite put my finger on what it is about Mission Completed that I find so appealing. Is it the yearning that imbues the whole thing? The earnestness? Silly nostalgia for the time when I was still earnest myself? The record often feels a little like it’s straining against its own restraint, groping at new sounds and atmospheres and struggling to break free of the limitations of its own good pop manners. Perhaps it’s because I can see a bit of that in myself that it connects with me.

I’m not going to make any wild claims for Mission Completed as some neglected masterpiece, nor am I going to attempt to research its creators, because the truth is that I don’t really want to know: from the perspective of Mission Completed, even the iterations of Future World Orchestra performing the following year’s great and unexpectedly explicit anthem Captain Coke and Theme from E.T. are already so incomprehensibly alien that god alone knows where they went after that. I’m just going to hold it up as what I think it is: a charming collection of ironically elegiac pop songs, as frivolous as they are lovely.

Richard McKenna grew up in the visionary utopia of 1970s South Yorkshire and now ekes out a living among the crumbling ruins of Rome, from whence he dreams of being rescued by the Terran Trade Authority.

 

I love my Basic-era games, Holmes, B/X, and BECMI and their clones.
BUT I also love Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.  The games are similar of course, drawing from the same sources, but there are also a few differences. 
Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea (AS&SH) is more closely aligned with "Advanced Era" D&D, but its feel for me has always been more OD&D, though over the last few years I have been treating it as another flavor of Basic.  

I have mentioned in the past that I see AS&SH as a good combination of B/X and AD&D rules.  Essentially it is what we were playing back in the early 80s.  Where I grew up it was not uncommon to come to a game where people would have an AD&D Monster Manual, a Holmes Basic book, and a Cook/Marsh Expert Book.  The rules we played by were also an equally eclectic mix.AS&SH is like that. It favors the AD&D side more, but there are enough B/X influences that I smile to myself when I see them.
In fact, it works so well with Basic that I have featured AS&SH with other Basic-era books in previous "Plays Well With Others."

• PWWO: Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
• AS&SH and Magical Theorems & Dark Pacts: Plays Well With Others
• Classic Adventures Revisited: B1 In Search of the Unknown

I find the game that useful and that inspiring.
Class Struggles: Which Each Game OffersOriginally this was going to be a Class Struggles post, but with the inclusion of the monsters below, I felt it had grown beyond just that.  
If Basic-era D&D lacks anything in my opinion it is class options. Yes. I know the classes are supposed to be archetypes to play anything.  A "Fighter" works for a Paladin, a Ranger, a Barbarian, a Knight, and so on.  But I like a little game mechanics with my flavor.  I also like to have choices.
AS&SH achieves this in a beautiful way that can be adopted by any Basic-era game, but in particular, ones that cleave closest to the original sources and of course Holmes, B/X and BECMI.
So we are going to go beyond the Basic Four (Cleric, Fighter, Magic-User, and Theif) here.  I'll talk about demi-humans in a bit.
In AS&SH we have our Basic Four; Fighter, Magician, Cleric, and Thief.  Each also gets a number of subclasses.  Fighters get  Barbarian, Berserker, Cataphract, Huntsman, Paladin, Ranger, and Warlock.  The Magician has the Cyromancer (a new favorite of mine), Illusionist, Necromancer, Pyromancer, and Witch (an old favorite of mine).  The Cleric has the Druid, Monk, Priest, Runegraver, and Shaman (see BECMI).  Finally, the Thief has the Assassin, Bard, Legerdemainist,  Purloiner, and the Scout.  Each subclass is very much like it's parent classes with some changes. Every class goes to the 12th level.

Looking over at the Basic side of things we have a few more choices.  Holmes, B/X, and BECMI all cover the Basic Four in more or less the same ways.  BECMI gives us the additions of Paladin, Avenger, Knight, Druid, Mystic, and the NPC/Monster classes of Shaman and Wicca/Wokani/Witch.
Advanced Labyrinth Lord gives us the Assassin, Druid, Illusionist, Monk, Paladin, Ranger in addition to the Basic Four.
Old-School Essentials' Advanced options give us the Acrobat, Assassin, Barbarian, Bard, Druid, Illusionist, Knight, Paladin, and Ranger.  It also gives us the new race-as-classes Drow, Duergar, Gnome, Half-elf, and Svirfneblin.
The B/X RPG from Pacesetter has the Druid, Monk, Necromancer, Paladin, and Ranger along with the Gnome and Half-elf.  (Yes, a review for this is coming)

AS&SH classes go to the 12th level.  Basic classes, at least B/X flavored ones, go to the 14th level.  I like the idea of splitting the difference and going to the 13th level. 
Additionally, AS&SH has different cultures of humans to provide more flavor to the human classes.
All the Basic-era books have demi-humans that AS&SH lacks. Lacks is a strong word, the game doesn't need demi-humans by design, but they are still fun to have.  Combining these gives us the best of all worlds! Kelt Elves? Dwarf Picts? Lemurian Gnomes?!  This could be a lot of fun.
Plus the mix of cultures in AS&SH is second only to mix found in BECMI Mystara in terms of "let's just throw it all in there!"
I might let people choose one of the Basic Four and stealing a page from D&D5 allow them at 2nd or 3rd level to take "sub-class."  I'll have to see what the various classes all get at first level vs 2nd and 3rd level.
Monsters! Monsters!It's can't be denied that AS&SH has some great monsters.  Not only does it give us demons and devils (Basic-era is lacking on both) but also Lovecraftian horrors.  Sure, "At The Mountains of Madness" took place at the South Pole, who is to say there is not a similar outpost in the North? 
BECMI does talk about "The Old Ones" a lot and in the Core Rules is never very clear on who or what they are.  But it is not a stretch to think that those Old Ones and the Lovecraftian Old Ones have a connection.  

Oddly enough these things feel right at home in a Basic game.  If one goes back to the Masters and Immortals sets with the original idea that the Known World is our world millions of years ago this tracks nicely with some Lovecraftian mythology of our world.
I have talked about Demons in Basic/Mystara already, but AS&SH offers us "The Usual Suspects" and then some.  While Labyrinth Lord has always been good about opening the "Advanced" monsters to the Basic world, the monsters of AS&SH are of a different sort.
Maybe more so than the classes these require a bit more conversion.  Here is a monster we are all familiar with (and one I am doing something with later), drawing from the same sources to give us three or four different stat-blocks. 



Well. Not that different I guess. They are left to right, top to bottom, Advanced Labyrinth Lord, AS&SH, OSE, and B/X RPG.
AS&SH looks like a "best of" stats, combining features from both Basic and Advanced. Bite damage does a bit more on the average and the XP value is higher.  But nothing I am going to call game-breaking.
So the AS&SH monsters can be dropped pretty much "as is" into a Basic-era game. 
Anyone that plays these games should have no trouble with this really.
Putting it all Together and then Putting it in the NorthIt's settled then, AS&SH is part of my "Basic World" and where to put it is easy.In the Known World of Mystara, there is already a Hyboria. It is one of the features of both D&D (Mystara) and AD&D (Hyperboria, Oerth) just as Blackmoor is (Mystara, Oerth). but Blackmoor is a topic for another day.
While none of the maps can be reconciled with each other to make one perfect Hyperboria, the concepts certainly can. This is something I have been considering since I first got the 1st Edition Boxed set.I know that my family of witches, the Winters, come from the Hyperborean area.  Likely closer to more civilized areas, but not too civilized.  This became the basis for my Winter Witch book. 
BASSH is BornSo take what I love from AS&SH, mix in what I love from Basic and I have Basic Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, or BASSH.  Yeah. This will be fun.

Shameless plug time: Dallas has a lot of restaurants, ranging from the corporate to the ethereal, and one of our best draws for visitors is our only Canadian restaurant. I’ve hyped the Maple Leaf Diner for years: when the old … Continue reading →

Personal interlude: the summer of 1980 was my first summer in the Dallas area. For those either unfamiliar with the area or who weren’t around when that summer hit us all like the fist of an angry god, June 1980 … Continue reading →

Eve Tushnet / July 14, 2020

Assign teenagers to different socioeconomic classes and require the lower classes to perform humiliating rituals of obeisance to the upper. Give other students the power to enforce class boundaries and punish those who get ideas above their station. Make sure the artificial hierarchy affects the students’ friendships and grades. What could go wrong?

This is the setup for Gloria D. Miklowitz’s 1985 young adult novel, The War Between the Classes. But it’s also the premise of a real classroom exercise developed in the late ’70s by Occidental College Professor Ray Otero. Otero’s “Color Game,” in which students wear armbands whose colors indicate whether they’re upper-class, upper-middle, lower-middle, or lower, is one of many similar classroom experiments in which students take on new identities in the hopes of gaining insight into social dynamics. (You can watch a short 1983 feature on the Color Game here.)

Perhaps the experiment that had the greatest impact on ’80s pop culture was “The Third Wave,” a 1967 exercise intended to teach California high school students about the rise of Nazism. The experiment got out of hand, of course, leading to both a fictionalized TV movie and a novelization, The Wave, in 1981. The Third Wave has inspired everything from a Canadian musical to an episode of the children’s cartoon “Arthur”—and even a Sweet Valley Twins book, 1995’s It Can’t Happen Here. The story of the Third Wave has had a recent renaissance in Germany, with a 2008 film and a 2019 Netflix series, We Are the Wave.

Although Miklowitz’s novel did get a 1985 Emmy-winning television adaptation, the Color Game never managed the big pop culture footprint of the Third Wave. And the real-life game didn’t please everybody, especially once it moved beyond the control of its developer. Otero was sued in 1988 by the parents of a high school student who claimed her experience as a “lower-class” Color Game participant had traumatized her. But as an exercise for college students, led by an experienced teacher, the Color Game proved popular—and Miklowitz’s fictional version offers far more insightful social criticism than the usual YA “the game got out of hand!” cautionary tale. The Wave has two fairly simple messages: “The desire to belong will dull your conscience,” and, “Anybody will buy into fascism if you market it right.” The War Between the Classes is teaching subtler lessons about shame, solidarity, and meritocracy.

Miklowitz specialized in YA novels about social issues: cult recruiting, nuclear war, teen suicide, single motherhood. Her prose in The War Between the Classes is workaday, her dialogue often preachy; characterization is quick and simple, and the obligatory YA romance is useful to the plot, but predictable. That romance crosses both color and Color Game lines. Emiko Sumoto—always “Amy” at school—is a middle-class Japanese-American girl whose boyfriend, Adam, is a rich white bro. His first romantic gesture in the novel is a flower with a note: “To my exotic, inscrutable Amy….” This is about the level of subtlety the book aims for.

Amy ends up wearing the armband of the upper-class Blues, whereas Adam is relegated to the lowest class, the Oranges. This is no coincidence. In the novel, the fictional Otero rigs the game so that students of color are assigned to the upper strata and the white kids are more likely to end up in the lower. Meanwhile, the game also reverses their sex roles: in a twist taken from the real-life Color Game, boys (called “No-Teks”) must now curtsy to and otherwise defer to girls (“Teks”).

In fact, the game relies heavily on shows of deference. The novel’s Otero explains, “Oranges must always show their inferiority by bowing when they meet their superiors, all colors above them. Light Greens must bow to the Dark Greens and Blues… But the Blues, bless them, don’t bow to anyone. Why should they?” He continues, “Inferior colors may not speak with or socialize with superior colors. A superior color may address an inferior one, but not vice versa.” Otero throws in derogatory comments about the “lower” colors (“I wouldn’t want to confuse you… Especially you Oranges”) and warns them that a “spy network” of enforcers called G4s have the power to report and punish disobedience. “You can be fined, harassed, given lower status”; you can also gain status by “squeal—er, uh, reporting” on others who break the rules.

The students must keep a diary of their impressions of the game; they can be punished if they’re caught without an up-to-date journal—even outside of school. Oranges sit at the back of class and wait at the end of the cafeteria line. “Lower” colors must run errands at the command of “higher” colors. Even when they break the rules, Blues get warnings; Oranges get punishments.

Amy is sweetly conflicted about the taste of power the game gives her over her boyfriend. Her blue armband gives her the power to confront the racism of the rich white kids, and uncovers an anger she didn’t realize she harbored. Adam has a harder time: “I was rewarded yesterday. You know why? For being submissive when a G4 chewed me out. I feel sick just thinking about it!”

The most noticeable feature of the Color Game’s understanding of class is how heavily it relies on humiliation. That’s simple necessity, since neither a college professor nor a high school teacher can actually take away their students’ food or shelter, deny them health care, or force them to live in unsafe neighborhoods. And yet necessity becomes a virtue here, as the students confront how deeply poverty and inequality humiliate those who endure them. Americans often blame the poor for their poverty (this is true across class lines; poor people blame themselves as well as their neighbors). All forms of need are treated as personal failure. This is the aspect of poverty that the Color Game can best replicate, and so the experiment overturns the assumption that the worst thing about poverty is that you have less stuff. (Monks have less stuff and they’re rarely ashamed of it, to use just one example.)

The “lower-class” students quickly begin to experience self-doubt, feeling constantly scrutinized and vulnerable, even helpless. The scene where Brian, one of the enforcers of the game’s hierarchy, forces a Dark Green student to turn over her game diary so he can mock her private thoughts aloud is startlingly raw. This humiliation is deepened by the way the Color Game (in the novel) exposes the flaws in the meritocratic ideal. Tests are handed out in order by color, so the better your economic position, the more time you have. The “higher” colors even get easier tests. And of course the point is that even before the Game started, the intelligence and academic ability of the students didn’t define their worth—and their grades were never fair.

The recurring use of the diaries to humiliate offers a strange, painful nuance. Why are the G4s so intent on learning, and exposing, what the “lower classes” really think? In the novel it’s camouflage so that Otero can monitor whether students are learning from the Game; but there’s an unexpected parallel with 2017’s Get Out, in which privileged characters similarly hunger to both understand and control the experience of the oppressed. Over the course of the Game, the students who are privileged in real life begin to feel that they’ve been missing something—something important that they neither knew nor wanted to know. Only when they themselves begin to experience humiliation do they wonder if their previous experience of power has somehow damaged them.

In the 1983 video on the “real” Color Game, one participant, like the fictional Amy, broke the rules by bowing to her “inferiors” and got busted down to Orange. She noted, “There’s not much unification among the upper classes. It’s kind of everyone for themselves… When you become part of the lower class, you’ll notice there’s much more of a sense of unity. People band together, we help each other out much more.” Miklowitz captures this solidarity too—a solidarity that is even harder to find outside the game now than it was in 1985, as low-income families, communities, and institutions are even more fragile.

The novel ends happily, of course. Amy leads a cross-class rebellion against the Game. There’s a cathartic ceremony in which the students shed their armbands and embrace, even hugging Brian, the G4 who seemed to relish his work. Interestingly—and depressingly—the characters walk away with relations between the sexes more obviously changed than relations between the classes. Amy has learned to assert herself in her romance with Adam, and he’s learning to see that as a gain for himself rather than a loss. Friendships have been forged across IRL class lines, and we can hope that some of them will last. And yet these friendships don’t seem to impose any obligations of change, the way the shift in Amy’s self-understanding requires Adam to change.

Ultimately, the girls learn to assert themselves, but class relations don’t budge: it’s easier to figure out how a boy might listen to a girl than how a rich kid might relinquish his power. Despite the confrontations in the mall food court and kids who use “black jive,” in some ways The War Between the Classes feels painfully contemporary.

Eve Tushnet is the author of two novels, Amends and Punishment: A Love Story, as well as the nonfiction Gay and Catholic: Accepting My Sexuality, Finding Community, Living My Faith. She lives in Washington, DC and writes and speaks on topics ranging from medieval covenants of friendship to underrated vampire films. Her hobbies include sin, confession, and ecstasy.