It is somewhen in the nineteenth century… It is the dawning of a new age, yet the relationships of the past age linger… For centuries, the peoples of Scandinavia have lived side by side with the Vaesen, supernatural creatures who helped out on the farms, gave a hand when it came to calving, ensured that lost children would find their way home, and kept everyone alive during the harsh winters of Northern Europe, and in return would receive milk and grain from the farms. As Scandinavia is changed by war and industrialisation and revolution and urbanisation and migration and sciences, the once symbiotic relationship between the people and the vaesen has been driven asunder. The ways of the country have been forgotten, few knowing how to appease the vaesen, and in turn the vaesen have turned aggressive, bloodthirsty, and wicked—snatching children where they once would have kept a watch over them, wrecking houses when once they would have swept them clean, and burning barns when once they would have driven out the vermin. In their wrath, they grow stronger and volatile, and the supernatural seems to spread as streams run with blood, calves are born with two heads, children are lost in the forests, and faeries skip into villages to lure the young maid and the handsome man away with them. The vaesen—Mermaids and Wood Wives, Werewolves and Witches, Revenants and Mylings, Sea Serpents and Kraken, and more, have become a threat and for the good of all, a solution must be found to their pernicious activities!

Yet there are those who have not forgotten the vaesen. In fact, it was an encounter with vaesen, perhaps a werewolf under the full moon or a troll under that bridge, which gave them the gift of the Sight, the ability to see vaesen, and made them each a Thursday’s Child. Some of those with the Sight have gathered at the headquarters of the Society, the old and decaying Castle Gyllencreutz by the Fyris River in Upsala, a city noted for the size of its Gothic cathedral and power of the Church, its large university, and recent which devastated much of the city. The Society was a body of men and women which for centuries had dedicated itself to the study and understanding of the vaesen, whose last members have been missing or resigned for at least a decade. As members of the newly re-established Society, they will travel across Scandinavia, seeking out vaesen, not to hunt them or take them as trophies, but to understand them and to help them, so that they will stop preying upon the peoples of Scandinavia. It is not a matter of taking force of arms to stop the vaesen, but to research them, to identify their weakness, and to use it against them. And despite their courage, conviction, and ability to see the supernatural, this is not without its dangers for members of the Society. Exposure to and confrontation with the vaesen and their strange abilities and the secrets of Scandinavia, will scar members of the Society, perhaps even permanently. However, duty and the lure of understanding will drive members of the Society to confront the vaesen for as long as they are able…

This is the set-up for Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying, a roleplaying game of investigative folklore horror set in nineteenth century Scandinavia, based on Vaesen: Spirits and Monsters of Scandinavian Folklore as collected and illustrated by Johan Egerkrans, and published by Free League Publishing. It is an investigative horror game set in Scandinavia during the nineteenth century, using the Year Zero engine first seen in Mutant: Year Zero – Roleplaying at the End of Days, and subsequently a wide array of roleplaying games from Tales from the Loop – Roleplaying in the '80s That Never Was to Forbidden Lands – Raiders & Rogues in a Cursed World. Although suitable for oneshot scenarios, Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying is designed for campaign, the Player Characters expected to return from their investigations into the vaesen to Castle Gyllencreutz where they have the chance to recover from and ruminate on their encounters and discoveries, explore the castle and perhaps uncover its secrets and facilities, make friends and allies in the community at large, and hopefully ward off the unwanted attention and intrusion of the curious, the superstitious, and the sceptical… To that end, Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying provides the means to create characters, investigate and confront the vaesen, develop and explore Castle Gyllencreutz, details of the various types of vaesen with some twenty or so fully described, advice for the Game Master, and ‘The Dance of Dreams’, a complete introductory mystery.

A Player Character in Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying is defined by his age; Attributes and Skills; a Motivation, a Trauma, and a Dark Secret; a Talent and a relationship with another Player Character, a memento, and some equipment. Age sets the balance between Attributes and Skills, the Attributes of Physique, Precision, Logic, and Empathy being rated between two and five, Skills between one and five; Motivation explains why the Player Character is prepared to hunt down and confront vaesen, whilst Trauma explains why or how the Player Character gained the Sight; and the Dark Secret is something that the Player Character wants to keep. Each Talent is a trick or trait, such as Bookworm which provides a bonus to the Learning Skill or Nine Lives, which enables a player to switch the dice when rolling to determine what critical injury his character suffers. Talents are either tied to a particular Archetype or general, in which case, any character can select them later on in the game. A Memento is a possession which the Player Character holds dear, such as a dried red rose or a golden box from a distant land, and by interacting with it, help him overcome a Condition.

To create a character, a player has two options. The first is to choose an Archetype of which there are ten—Academic, Doctor, Hunter, Occultist, Officer, Priest, Private Detective, Servant, Vagabond,  and Writer. Each provides options for the player to choose from in terms of Names, Motivation, Trauma, Dark Secret, and Relationships, and lists the Archetype’s main Attribute and Skill, and suggested Talents and Equipment. The player also assigns points to his Attributes and Skills.

Our first sample character is Selma Nilsson, a middle-aged women who always wanted to be a writer, but her ambitions were thwarted by having to look after her sick mother, who also frowned on her desire to tell stories. Unable to complete any stories due to her mother’s influence, it was a great shock to discover upon her mother’s death that her mother had written stories herself. Not long after Selma published the first few of them, she was visited by a strange creature who cursed her for stealing its stories… And now she cannot complete any stories!

Name: Selma Nilsson
Age: Middle-Aged
Motivation: Revenge
Trauma: Cursed by a homeless vaettir to write a book in your own blood
Dark Secret: My life’s work is a lie
Relationship: Tries to win your appreciation (Doctor)

Physique 2
Precision 3
Logic 4
Empathy 5

Talent: Automatic Writing

Skills
Agility 0, Close Combat 0, Force 0, Inspiration 3, Investigation 0, Learning 2, Manipulation 1, Medicine 2, Observation 2, Ranged Combat 0, Stealth 0, Vigilance 2

Equipment: Writing utensils and paper, camera, pet dog
Memento: Gold jewellery worn by your mother

The other option is to create a character using the Background tables at the rear of the book. This covers everything from a Player Character’s Class, Upbringing, Profession—which determines his Archetype, to life events which can be rolled numerous times, aging the Player Character in the process. Both options are quick, but the Background tables add flavour and detail lacking in the simple method of picking an Archetype.

Our second sample character then is Oskar Dolk, a Vagabond whose strange capture and subsequent escape from a troll bag ultimately led him to the doors of Castle Gyllencreutz. Oskar Dolk is not his real name, but that of a fellow prisoner who Rolf served part of his sentence with. Rolf’s family were servants to the nobility, much put upon and unhappy in their lot, and after one too many beatings, he ran away and was captured by the troll. When he escaped and made his way home, his masters beat him some more and banished him from his former home. Forced to live on the road, he was first arrested for vagrancy, and then accused and imprisoned for theft. He later escaped, finding refuge with a former cellmate, Oskar Dolk, and when he died the next winter taking his identity.

Name: Oskar Dolk (Rolf Krabbe)
Age: Young
Class: Poor
Upbringing: Servant
Profession: Day Labourer
Motivation: Being liked
Trauma: Survived a week inside a troll bag
Dark Secret: Stolen identity

Relationship: Feigned gratitude (Hunter)
Life Events: Prison

Resources: 1

Physique 5
Precision 4
Logic 3
Empathy 3

Talent: Hobo Tricks

Skills
Agility 1, Close Combat 1, Force 1, Inspiration 0, Investigation 0, Learning 0, Manipulation 3, Medicine 0, Observation 2, Ranged Combat 0, Stealth 1, Vigilance 1

Equipment: Walking stick, knife, liquor, lockpicks
Memento: A scruffy cat

Mechanically, Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying uses the Year Zero engine, Free League Publishing’s house rules, which uses pools of six-sided dice. Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying uses a simpler version than first seen in Mutant: Year Zero – Roleplaying at the End of Days—so not Base (or Attribute) dice, Skill dice, and Gear dice, but simply Attribute and Skill dice, plus whatever bonus or penalty dice the Game Master awards, such as from the situation or a Talent. For a character to undertake an action, his player rolls dice equal to the character’s Attribute and Skill appropriate for that action. To succeed, all he needs to roll is typically one Success or six—though sometimes it may be more—on any of the dice. Extra Successes can be expended to gain various effects, such as gaining bonuses to further skill tests where the information will be useful in Observation tests or increase damage or inflict stress upon an enemy with Ranged Combat.

Where the Year Zero engine and Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying gets interesting is that if a player fails a roll, he can reroll or Push the test. A player rerolls everything bar the Successes already rolled to get more. In other iterations of the Year Zero engine, such as Mutant: Year Zero – Roleplaying at the End of Days and Forbidden Lands – Raiders & Rogues in a Cursed World, rolls of one in both the original roll and the pushed roll are kept and have negative effects upon the character, typically reducing temporarily, the Attribute used in the roll or damaging the item of equipment used. Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying does not use that mechanic and so there is not the degradation of Attributes or equipment as there are in those games. Instead, the character suffers a Condition if forced to Push a roll, the nature of the Condition depending upon if the action was physical or mental. So Exhausted, Battered, and Wounded are physical Conditions, whilst Angry, Frightened, and Hopeless are mental Conditions. The Condition only comes into effect after the dice roll has been made and its success or failure been determined. Each Condition of the same type reduces the number of dice rolled for the associated type of action and if a character acquires four Conditions of the same type, then he is Broken and cannot undertake any actions of that type.

For example, Oskar Dolk believes that the flop house he is staying in is haunted and the landlady knows what is causing it—he has determined that she is meeting something down in the cellar. He decides to creep down the stairs and spy on what is going on—this is what Oskar’s player states that his aim will be. The landlady has locked the cellar door behind her, but fortunately, Oskar has the late Rolf’s set of lockpicks. The Game Master sets the difficulty at one and Oskar’s player assembles the dice pool of five dice from his Precision Attribute and Stealth Skill. He rolls one, two, four, five, and five—so no Successes. His player decides to Push and pick up all of the dice again and rerolls them, this time rolling one, two four, five, and six, for one Success! However, Oskar also suffers a Condition, which will be a Physical one because Precision is a Physical Attribute. The Game Master selects Exhausted for him and suggests that he has not getting enough sleep and until Oskar addresses the Condition, his player will roll one less die on all physical tests.

Combat in Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying uses the same core mechanics, but adds tweaks to both initiative and actions. Initiative is handled by both players and Game Master drawing from a ten-card deck, numbered one to ten. Initiative then proceeds in ascending order, though some Talent allow Initiative to be changed and players can swap initiative cards if one character needs to act before another. Otherwise it remains the same throughout a fight. In combat itself, a character can perform two actions—a Fast Action and a Slow Action. The first might be a dodge, a parry, a swing of a heavy weapon before an actual attack with a heavy weapon, run, aim, and so on, whereas the second might be a slash with an edged weapon, stab with a pointed weapon, a taunt or persuade attempt, and so on. Fast Actions typically do not require dice rolls, whereas Slow Actions typically do.

One major change to the Year Zero engine is that damage suffered in combat does not directly degrade a character’s Attributes. Instead, it inflicts further Conditions, and once a character has suffered four Conditions of one type—Physical or Mental—and is Broken, he also suffers a Critical Injury, which is rolled randomly. Tables are provided for both Mental and Physical Critical Injuries, and can be defects or insights, as well as potentially fatal. So for example, a Physical Critical Injury might be a Knee injury, a defect which causes a skewed walk and reduces the character’s Agility skill by one, whereas a Coma grants the insight of Prophetic Vision for up to six days and a bonus to the Investigation skill. When the character returns to his headquarters, he has the choice to heal both defects and insights suffered or make them permanent.

Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying is a horror game and so has a Fear mechanic. This is either an Empathy or Logic test rolled against the Fear value of the Vaesen or the situation being faced. For example, a terrible situation such as encountering a werewolf or discovering the corpse of a child, has a Fear value of two and this is the number of a Successes a player must roll to avoid becoming Terrified. If this happens, a character suffers Conditions equal to the Fear value and must either flee, freeze, faint, or attack—the player’s choice. Like the rest of the mechanics in Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying, the Fear mechanic is simple, fast, and effective, as well as enforcing the fact investigating the vaesen is a collective endeavour—bonus dice are awarded for the number of characters present when a Fear test has to be made.

There is also a sense of the collective when it comes to the most immediate element of the setting for the Player Characters, the crumbling Castle Gyllencreutz, the headquarters of the Society in the city of Upsala. There a sense of mystery to the place, with doors locked and keys missing and sections closed up, but the Player Characters have the opportunity to improve the castle each time they return home from solving a mystery. Here there is a marked difference between Mutant: Year Zero – Roleplaying at the End of Days and Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying. At the end of each session or scenario in both roleplaying games, the Game Master asks questions of his players, such as “Did you play in the session?”, “Did you go somewhere new?”, and so on, and for each positive answer, a Player Character earns a Development Point. In Mutant: Year Zero – Roleplaying at the End of Days, the Player Characters invest their time and skill in improving their community—their ark—but in Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying, the Player Characters invest Development Points, which might otherwise be expended to improve Skills and Talents. As a consequence, there are more questions to be asked and potentially, the Player Characters can earn more of them. Upgrades to Castle Gyllencreutz come in the form of facilities, such as Butterfly House and Séance Parlour, Contacts, from Banker to Psychiatrist, and Personnel, from the Butler Algot Frisk (he more or less comes with the castle though) and Stable Boy.

There is a delightful scope for roleplaying in this aspect of Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying. The connections to the Contacts and Personnel can of course be roleplayed, but so can the Facilities. Essentially, the Player Characters do not so much simply purchase them, but they might find them behind a hidden door or find the key to a locked door, and so be restoring them rather than simply building them. There is a potential downside to every upgrade though, in that the growing Society can be faced with Threat, which is rolled for, such as a Journalist intent on exposing the Player Characters’ secrets at any cost or a bank clerk who comes to collect on an old debt connected to the castle’s previous owner, providing further opportunities for roleplaying.

The history of the Society is given in some detail, from the involvement of the young scientist Carl Linnaeus through to its relatively recent dissipation and refounding by the Player Characters. Beyond the Society, Upsala is explored in some detail, taking in its high points and low points, from Upsala University Hospital—the most modern in Sweden, and Upsala Botanical Garden of Upsala University to the Poorhouse and Wellspring Street 59 ( a highly disreputable brothel). In comparison, the Mythic North is explored in broader detail, taking in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark, the social upheavals which wrack the region throughout the nineteenth century, such as between country and city, science and faith, and so on. There is very much an ahistorical feel to the background, which lets the Game Master set her campaign at any time throughout the nineteenth century.

At the centre of Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying are the vaesen themselves. This covers their nature in general, but not necessarily defining ‘exactly’ what they are, simply categorising them into five broad types—nature spirits, familiars, shapeshifters, spirits of the dead, and monsters. Their magic is also presented—Enchantments (animals being born with defects or terrible storms), Curses (inflicting a sense of self-loathing or making someone lame), and Trollcraft (altering age or transforming victims into animals), all powerful, but clearly stated as being story tools rather than means of eliminating the Player Characters. It is possible for Player Characters to learn magic, but each spell or cure is treated as an individual skill and cannot be simply studied. Vaesen are simply defined, and mechanically, their actions are decided by the Game Master to suit the narrative rather than her rolling the dice. Similarly, the Player Characters do not test their skills defeat or banish any one vaesen. Instead their players describe what they do. If it matches the criteria, then the attempt to banish the vaesen automatically succeeds. The conflict here lies in discovering what the means of banishment actually is, protecting or defeating those persons who have fallen under the vaesen’s sway, making the preparations, keeping the vaesen from attacking them, and so on.

Each of the twenty-one vaesen in Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying, from the Ash Tree Wife, Brook Horse, and Church Grim to the Werewolf, Will-o’-the-Wisp, and Wood Wife, is given a two-page spread. Along with some flavour text and a description, this lists its magical powers, the Conditions it suffers if the Player Characters do manage to hurt it, the ritual required to banish it, and a trio of example conflicts, essentially each one a scenario hook the Game Master can develop into a fuller mystery. This is in addition to hooks scattered throughout the book. As a side note, Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying looks at vaesen around the world, so that although no stats are given, a Game Master could set her campaign elsewhere other than the Mythic North with some effort. The write-ups of the vaesen are accompanied by an excellent guide to what makes up a mystery—atmosphere, clues, locations, the conflicts at the heart of the mystery, and so on, plus its structure and advice for the Game Master. The structure is broken down into a series of eight steps, from the prologue where the Player Characters can have a scene each in Upsala and an Invitation which gives them the reason to go to the country location where a vaesen is proving to be a problem, to the confrontation with the vaesen and its aftermath. Along with the good advice for Game Master, this is a solid chapter, and it even comes with suggestions as to how to make each mystery and a campaign, more like traditional fairy tales.

Rounding out Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying is ‘The Dance of Dreams’, a short mystery designed to start a campaign. It is a nice little haunting tale tied back into the history of the Society and its secrets, whilst also laying the foundation for scenarios and content to come.

Physically, Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying is simply lovely. It is richly illustrated by Johan Egerkrans, drawing on his Vaesen: Spirits and Monsters of Scandinavian Folklore, and gives the roleplaying game a consistently singular look throughout. The book is very well written, being engaging and easy to read throughout. The book also feels good in the hand, with a tactile cover and off-white pages which give it the look of a period tome.

There can be no doubt that Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying is a beautiful book, there being something mythical, almost lyrical and fairy tale-like in Johan Egerkrans’ artwork. It sets the tone and style for the roleplaying game, whose tried and trusted Year Zero mechanics have been tweaked to support its ‘monster-mystery’ style of play—a style of play that ultimately emphasises brains over brawn. Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying is a superb horror roleplaying game, one which takes a different take upon the genre and a different take upon the period, and one which begs to be played.

We now come to what be the most popular version of D&D ever published in terms of units sold and public discussion.  While the debate can be held on the relative popularity of 1st ed vs. 5th ed one thing is certain that 5e has outsold all other versions of D&D and has introduced a new generation to the game that has been unprecedented. 

The Game: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition

I have described D&D5 as being something akin to the "Greatest Hits" of D&D.  I see bits of 1st ed here, 2nd Ed there, lots of 3e, and even bits of 4e.

Released in August of 2014 we (my family and I) were not originally going to pick it up.  I still had a ton of 4e material and my sons were looking seriously at 1st Ed to give it a try, but we starting hearing more so I grabbed the "D&D Next" playtest materials and thought, ok, let's give it a try.  When August 8, 2014, rolled around the boys and I went out at midnight to get our copies (and tacos).

5e quickly became the home system here.  My oldest ran games for his friends from high school and then college, he even ran games with his gaming group that has been together since they all met in pre-school.  My oldest played and eventually started the Table Top Club at the local high school. Between the two of them, they must have gotten somewhere around 40-50 new players to the game.  Of course many had heard about it via Critical Role first but remained players to this day. 

The Characters: The Coven

right away I was asked if I was going to do a witch for D&D 5.  Certainly, there are a lot of good reasons for me to do one, but in truth I was pretty happy with a lot of the options that D&D 5 already gives me. Plus I wrote my Old-School witch only after years of playing, writing and playtesting. Even when I published my first OSR witch book in 2012 I had over 30 years' worth of playing under my belt and a few published books.  I didn't want to just knock together something and slap a 5e label on it.

Plus with the advent of the DMsGuild (and 5e adopting the OGL) there were and are plenty of witch options from others for 5e. I spent all of October detailing them. 

So instead of making a witch class, I worked on characters that were RAW but I could make witchier.

I worked out some ideas and called them "The Coven."  The idea here was to take a very basic old-school idea.  Take a class and play it how I like.  In each case, I took a by-the-book spellcasting class and took the options to make them feel more like a witch.  The idea behind this group of witches is they all met in The Library, each searching for a particular tome.  All six managed to end up at the same place at the same time and each one wanted the same book, the infamous Liber Mysterium.  As it turned out the author of the Liber Mysterium, my iconic witch Larina, was present. She took all six under her tutelage.  Each class is a magic-using, spell-casting class, and each one has some connection to learning or deeper mysteries.  They all adventure and make appearances in my games as information brokers. 

Since I am doing six characters today I am going to link out to their sheets on D&DBeyond.

Tayrn Nix
Half-elf Warlock (Fey Pact)

Taryn was the first "witch-like" character I tried.  She is Larina's half-elf daughter.  She is a warlock, fey pact, and is my "embrace the stereotype" witch character.

Celeste Holmes
Human Wizard (Sage)

Celeste was a character I was planning on creating when I was going to go back to 1st ed before 5th ed came out.  She would have been a Magic-user but playing as a witch.  She was the first character I imagined going to The Library.  Felica Day is my model for this character.

Cassandra Killian
Human Sorcerer (Divne Soul)

With a backdrop of The Library, Cassandra became a no-brainer.  She is very obviously modeled after Cassandra Cillian from the Librarians played by the lovely Lindy Booth. She is also a nod to another character in my shared world. When my High School DM went off to college he created more of his world and a character named Killian.  Killian was major figure in his world and he created many adventures to go with it; Killian's Tower, Killian's Maze, Killians Dungeon, and so on. True old-school Gonzo affairs. 

For my Cassandra, I wanted someone whose magic felt like second nature to her. She didn't learn it so much as live it. So the Sorcerer seemed like the best route. Know of the great wizard Killian she took his name as her own.  She was the second character to enter the Library.

Jasic Winterhaven 
Gnome Bard (College of Lore)

Jasic is a character I have used off and on since my 3e days. I will admit he was created as a response to so many people I have gamed with saying how much they hate gnomes.  Jasic is a great guy.  He is a bard but I play him like a Benandanti witch.  He is also best friends with Taryn.

Sasha
Cleric (Knowledge Domain)

Sasha is an interesting one. She is a tiefling and claims to be the daughter of Glasya and is Taryn's Half-sister (same father, different mothers). She is a cleric, but again I play her like a witch priestess. I would suppose that the closest analogy would be if Sabrina (from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) was Rowena's (from Supernatural) daughter instead of Lucifer's.  She is wanted by all the key players in Hell's Hierarchy but she herself has no power or pull beyond what she gets from her Goddess Cardea/Hecate (clerical).  Cardea led her to the Library.

Áedán Aamadu
Human Druid (Circle of the Land)

Áedán is a druid pagan who is the son of my two druids from OSE, Asabalom and Maryah. They were great friends with Larina (that is they were all part of my OSE playtests and games in summer of 2019).  Áedán is a circle of the land druid that I play as a pagan. Yes his name is Irish, but he looks like Will Smith.  I am pretty sure that he and Taryn are going to have a thing. 

Each one brings something different to the table for me.  I can't wait to convert them back to Basic/OSE for my War of the Witch Queens!

Character Creation Challenge

Tardis Captain is the originator of this idea and he is keeping a list of places participating.  When posting to Social Media don't forget the #CharacterCreationChallenge hashtag. 

RPG Blog Carnival

This month's RPG Blog Carnival is being hosted by Plastic Polyhedra. They are doing Characters, Stories, and Worlds, so that fits right in with everything we are posting this month.

Check out all the posts going on this month at both of these sources.

1974 is an important year for the gaming hobby. It is the year that Dungeons & Dragons was introduced, the original RPG from which all other RPGs would ultimately be derived and the original RPG from which so many computer games would draw for their inspiration. It is fitting that the current owner of the game, Wizards of the Coast, released the new version, Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, in the year of the game’s fortieth anniversary. To celebrate this, Reviews from R’lyeh will be running a series of reviews from the hobby’s anniversary years, thus there will be reviews from 1974, from 1984, from 1994, and from 2004—the thirtieth, twentieth, and tenth anniversaries of the titles. These will be retrospectives, in each case an opportunity to re-appraise interesting titles and true classics decades on from the year of their original release.

—oOo—

It is often forgotten that in its first swashbuckling few years, that much of the background that we know of today as the Third Imperium in GDW’s first roleplaying game, Traveller, was developed in conjunction with other parties. Whole sectors would be parcelled out to third parties to develop and publish content about. For example, Judges Guild developed the Ley Sector, FASA the Far Frontiers Sector, and Paranoia Press both The Beyond and the Vanguard Reaches Sectors. Much of this content would subsequently be declared non-canonical, but in the case of FASA, it was where the publisher got its start in gaming before developing roleplaying games based on licences, such as Star Trek: The Role Playing Game and The Doctor Who Role Playing Game, and its own properties, such as BattleTech, Shadowrun, and Earthdawn. However, Traveller is where the publisher got its start and many of FASA’s titles for Traveller are still highly regarded—especially those written by the prolific J. Andrew Keith and William H. Keith, Jr. Perhaps none more so than the ‘Sky Raiders’ trilogy—The Legend of the Sky Raiders, The Trail of the Sky Raiders, and Fate of the Sky Raiders.

Published in 1981, the back-cover blurb for The Legend of the Sky Raiders reads, “The Sky Raiders... They pillaged a dozen worlds sometime in the distant past, then vanished. Who were they? A beautiful archaeologist leads a band of adventurers into the swamps of the planet Mirayn, searching for their secrets ... and their lost treasure hoard. Join the search ... the expedition seeking the truth behind ... The Legend of the Sky Raiders.” Then inside the front cover, the dedication reads, “To Indiana Jones, who would feel right at home here.” Raiders of the Lost Ark, the obvious inspiration for The Legend of the Sky Raiders came out the same year and it clearly put the Keith brothers in ‘Pulp Adventure’ frame of mind, for the adventure—and this is very much an adventure rather than a scenario—combines archaeological mystery with scurvy artefact smugglers and hot, sweaty environments. Another inspiration might well have been Chariots of the Gods? Unsolved Mysteries of the Past by Erich von Däniken which hypothesised that early human cultures were contacted by alien astronauts, for that is exactly what is hypothesised by archaeologists on the world of Mirayn in The Legend of the Sky Raiders.

The Legend of the Sky Raiders takes place on Mirayn, a non-aligned world in the Jungleblet subsector of the Far Frontiers Sector. This is a Tech Level 7 world, perpetually enshrouded in clouds, and ruled by a council of landowners who through its antiquity laws maintain a tight control on the planet’s two primary sources of income—tourism and archaeological finds. Extensive ruins left by an indigenous culture have attracted the interest of both tourists and scientists and with the right permits, parties of both have begun making trips into ‘The Outback’. Interest has grown recently with the publication of Hoard of the Sky Raiders by Jothan Messandi, Professor of History at the Institute for System Studies on nearby Alzenei. This suggested that the Sky Raiders, a semi-mythical band of raiders said to have pillaged planets across the Far Frontiers Sector may have originated on Mirayn and may have left a treasure hoard in the lost city of Tlaynsilak, when they disappeared some five millennia ago.

The set-up for The Legend of the Sky Raiders is simple enough. The Player Characters are down on their luck and find themselves stranded temporarily on Mirayn. With competition for work amongst freelancers tough, the Player Characters take the first job they can. This is to outfit and crew an archaeological expedition led by Lorain Messandi, the young daughter of Jothan Messandi who has followed in father’s footsteps and become an archaeologist, and wants to follow up on some of theories presented in her father’s book, Hoard of the Sky Raiders. The outfitting process is essentially a big shopping and hiring process, something that many roleplayers seem to enjoy, but is hampered by the Player Characters being on a budget—a budget out of which they also need to pay themselves, hire vehicles and drivers—the vehicles in this case being hovercraft, hire guides, and purchase supplies and equipment, and obtain the permits necessary to mount such an expedition; government interest in the expedition—such as bureaucrats checking their permits and soliciting bribes; and the potential interest of other smugglers and the criminal underworld. The Game Master has various NPCs, rumours, and encounters to put into the path of the Player Characters and so make their stay in the frontier town of Val Preszar, the primary jumping off point for expeditions into The Outback, interesting and challenging.

If the outfitting process and various encounters in the frontier form The Legend of the Sky Raiders’ first act, the second takes the expedition into The Outback following information provided by the expedition’s leader, perhaps backed up with clues discovered earlier in Val Preszar. Here the Player Characters have freedom to more or less wander looking for locations of note. There is chance here for the expedition to run into various forms of the local wildlife, but by the time the Player Characters have completed their explorations, they will have gained further clues which lead them into the third act and a strange encounter or three with another archaeological party, their capture—not once, but twice, and ultimately, revelations that hint as to who the Sky Raiders might have been.

Structurally, The Legend of the Sky Raiders feels like not one, but two sandboxes—one in Val Preszar, the other in The Outback. The first sandbox is very well supported with lists of equipment and supplies to purchase and hire, NPCs to hire, and rumours and antagonists to throw into the path of the Player Characters. The Game Master will need to judge where and when the Player Characters will run into them, but they serve to foreshadow much will occur later. The second sandbox is more open and for the most part player-driven as they decide where to go in The Outback, leavened with random encounters. It is difficult to describe the final revelation as being particularly astounding, it is at least interesting and it does serve to drive the plot onto the scenario’s epilogue and then into Trail of the Sky Raiders.

The Legend of the Sky Raiders is very well supported, both from a Game Master and a player point of view. There is the ubiquitous Library Data, which covers the world of Mirayn, its history, Sky Raiders themselves, the Hoard of the Sky Raiders, and more. This is supported by further details about Hoard of the Sky Raiders, essentially a handout. There is also an extensive equipment list, including various types of hovercraft and a portable, backpack computer which weighs twenty-five kilograms! A set of eight pregenerated Player Characters are provided should the players not necessarily want to create their own. For the Game Master, there is a wide cast of NPCs—potentially too many for her to handle effectively, and rumours and encounters to use.

The Legend of the Sky Raiders is richly appointed, certainly in comparison to the austerity of GDW’s ‘Little Black Books’ for Traveller. There is extensive artwork throughout, all of it by William H. Keith, Jr., and all of it good. Similarly, his full colour, pull-out map is also good, depicting the town of Val Preszar, the region of The Outback around the town, and the smaller area where the finale of the adventure takes place. Disappointingly, the lost city of Tlaynsilak is not given a map. Barring some minor issues, The Legend of the Sky Raiders is also well written.

When The Legend of the Sky Raiders was published in 1981, it was a terrific adventure and it still is. It presents a Pulp-style—though not a cinematic-style—romp from a frontier town into the wilderness of The Outback, dealing with shenanigans and mystery, whilst also giving the Game Master plenty of NPCs to roleplay and some fun encounters to present. Now whilst its contents could have been better organised, the real issue with The Legend of the Sky Raiders is the poor handling of some the NPCs. There are a lot of them, and some are simply there to annoy the Player Characters and get killed as part of the plot, whilst the Game Master is advised to keep a number of them alive for Trail of the Sky Raiders, also part of the part. This may mean that the Game Master will have to force events if she is to keep them alive, which in terms of storytelling is clumsy.

—oOo—

The Legend of the Sky Raiders was well received at the time of its publication. In reviewing The Legend of the Sky Raiders in Different Worlds Issue 21 (June 1982), Tony Watson said of the scenario, “Suffice it to say that the adventure is interesting, with plenty of twists and turns, and the travelers should find it very challenging. The elements opposing the party are formidable, and the secret of the Sky Raiders, as much as is revealed in this adventure (FASA is apparently planning a sequel), is fascinating. Perhaps the only criticism this reviewer can level at the book is the fact that to retain the integrity of the scenario, the referee may have to be a little heavy-handed in his guidance of the course of the action. Still, it is an excellent adventure, well worth the time and effort.”

William A. Barton said  in The Space Gamer Number 50 (April 1982) that, “The details in LEGEND OF THE SKY RAIDERS are extraordinary – nearly everything a referee could conceivably need is provided.” before concluding that, “LEGEND OF THE SKY RAIDERS is definitely worth adding to your Traveller collection and, when run, should prove one of the more exciting adventures your players have yet experienced.”

Bob McWilliams reviewed not just The Legend of the Sky Raiders in White Dwarf No 31 (June/July 1982), but also Ordeal by Eshaar, Action Aboard, and Uragyad’n of the Seven, which together comprised the first four releases from FASA. He described all four as, “Well produced and with plenty going on, the designers have provided referees with as much help as can be fitted in booklets of this size, gone into details at points in the adventure where it’s necessary and not filled out with ‘chrome’. These comments apply particularly to the last two booklets [Uragyad’n of the Seven and The Legend of the Sky Raiders] – being so involved with Traveller on a day-to-day basis, it takes something above the average to get you interested, and these two certainly did that.” He awarded all four scenarios two scores each, based on their suitability for use by novice and expert referees. For The Legend of the Sky Raiders, this was eight out of ten for each.

—oOo—

At the time of publication, all that was needed to run The Legend of the Sky Raiders is the core Traveller rules, plus Supplement 4: Citizens of the Imperium, although Book 4: Mercenary, Book 5: High Guard, Supplement 1: 1001 Characters, and Supplement 2: Animal Encounters could all be used in conjunction with the scenario. Information on the Far Frontiers Sector was not necessary to play, but was not readily available then, and certainly is not today. There is certainly no doubt that The Legend of the Sky Raiders could be run using Mongoose Publishing’s version of Traveller, and it would be certainly helped by the inclusion of the expanded career options such as Scholar and Colonist, and expanded skills as the Archaeology speciality for the Science skill. Tracking down information on the Far Frontiers Sector would be problematic. In fact, it might be easier to simply shift the ‘legend of the Sky Raiders’ and the Sky Raiders trilogy to another Sector of space entirely, but then again, The Legend of the Sky Raiders would probably be easier to adapt to another Science Fiction setting or roleplaying game.

Forty years since its publication and there are other issues with The Legend of the Sky Raiders. One is the colonial/post-colonial aspects of the scenario, it being suggested that the description of Val Preszar be based on the coastal towns of the nineteenth century Africa, such as Casablanca or Stanleyville. Further, the indigenous species of Mirayn, a bipedal, hexapodid Tech Level 1—but previous Tech Level 3—race are called ‘Gogs’ by offworlders. Unintended at the time, in 2020, there can be no doubt that the term has the potential to offend, but it would be easy to change.

The Legend of the Sky Raiders always had the reputation as being a good adventure, and forty years on, it still is. It has a sweaty, jungle hot Pulp Sci-Fi feel to it, but without being over the top and with wearing its influences in the hatband of its fedora. The Legend of the Sky Raiders is an entertaining and nicely detailed classic.

Here’s hoping that everyone is okay…

Backstory: it’s January, we don’t have any distractions, and the plants need us. Therefore, it’s time to discuss methods to clean up carnivorous plants for spring. For details, go back to the beginning. All carnivorous plants have their distinctive charms, … Continue reading →

Like the editions before 3rd Edition had a long run, though maybe not as long.  Soon it began to get overwhelming to run a game what with the glut of d20 sourcebook, books from WotC and just an unprecedented amount of material available.  3e's greatest strength soon became it's greatest problem.  What is a publisher to do?  Simple. Reboot and start over with a new edition.

Thus in June 2008 Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition was released to much hoopla. While many people gave it a try, only a few would stick with it. Many went back to 3e or older games, a significant chunk went to Pathfinder, what many were calling 3.75 or "the real 4e" and some stuck with it.

The Game: Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition

This might be the most hated version of D&D ever made according to some or a misunderstood game by others.  I will say this, the vast majority of people complaining about or taking potshots at it have never actually played it. 

I have had friends comment that if the game had been called "D&D Miniatures Battles" then they might have liked it better. To be fair D&D 4 does require a lot of minis and battle maps.  But I am not here today to figure out the whys and wherefores of this game's successes or failures. Today I am here for a character and what is D&D first official witch subclass.

Player's Option: Heroes of the Feywild gave us more detail on the Feywild, the D&D land of the Fey.  Among those details are a proper witch class. While I thought it could use a little flavor it was a very good witch class and one I would have loved seen ported over to D&D 5.  But that is tomorrow's post.

The Character: Eireann

 My plans for 4e back then were to play in the Forgotten Realms (no kidding, I became a convert in the 4e days) and have a heavy influence from both the Shadowfell and the Feywild.  Well...that never quite happened, but a lot of those ideas came over to my Second Campaign for D&D 5e.

Eireann was going to make a show sooner or later.  My concept of her was going to be she was higher level and act as a literal "Faerie Godmother" to the party.  This is Eireann when she was first starting out.  She is Sidhe Lady (well, not yet, but getting there), Moon Elf Witch of the Full Moon Coven.  She lives in the Feywild and only comes out to the mortal realms when she has to.

D&D 4 gives you the options of rolling abilities, point-buy, or a standard array.  This is a 25-point, point-buy build.

Photo by Juliana Stein from PexelsEireann
1st level Female Moon Elf Witch (Wizard)
Unaligned

Abilities
Strength: 10 +0
Constitution: 15 +2
Dexterity: 10 +0
Intelligence: 18 +4
Wisdom: 15 +2
Charisma: 12 +1

Combat
Initiative: +0
Speed: 6 (30ft)
Hit Points: 25, Bloodied 12
Healing surges: 8, 6hp

Defenses
AC: 14
Fortitude: 12
Reflex: 14
Will: 15

Skils
Arcana +9, Bluff +1, Diplomacy +1, Dungeoneering +2, Endurance +2, Heal +2, History +9, Insight +2, Intimidate +1, Nature +2, Perception +2, Religion +9, Streetwise +1

Feats
Moon Elf Resilience

Powers (Spells)
At-will
Breath of Night, +4 vs Fortitude, 1d10+4 damage
Witch Bolt, +4 vs Reflex, 1d10+4 damage

Encounter
Burning Hands, +4 vs Reflex, 2d6+4 damage
Glorious Presence, +4 vs Will, 2d6+4 damage

Daily
Bewitching Charm, +4 vs Will (Charmed)
Sleep, +4 vs Will (Sleep)

Rituals
Gentle Repose

I had forgotten about the sheer amount of choice you have with characters in D&D4.  I could have made another 1st level witch that was identical, picked different powers/spells and had it come out very different. The books are also gorgeous to look at. 

Yeah D&D 4 gets a bad rap that it doesn't really deserve.  As the character levels up I could even take a feat to gain some Warlock or Druid powers, which would fit the concept of the character well.

There are also plenty of Paragon Paths I could take this character into such as the Legendary Witch or taking some ideas from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide a Silver Star would also work.

And of course, what I can only describe as "flirting" with me, the Epic Destiny for the witch is the Witch Queen. 

Combat in 4e is a slog though.  But still I'd like to give it another go sometime.

Character Creation Challenge

Tardis Captain is the originator of this idea and he is keeping a list of places participating.  When posting to Social Media don't forget the #CharacterCreationChallenge hashtag. 

RPG Blog Carnival

This month's RPG Blog Carnival is being hosted by Plastic Polyhedra. They are doing Characters, Stories, and Worlds, so that fits right in with everything we are posting this month.

Check out all the posts going on this month at both of these sources.

The Warlock! Compendium is the first supplement for Warlock!, the Old School Rennaisance-like Career and skills roleplaying game whose inspiration is a hybrid of Fighting Fantasy a la The Warlock of Firetop Mountain and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Published by Fire Ruby Designs, it complies the first four expansions for Warlock!, each of which adds flavour and detail to the core rules, particularly when it comes to Careers and magic. In turn, adds new Careers for the non-human races of the Kingdom—or wherever the Game Master’s campaign is set, new magic, rules for magic from old body parts, and rules for what happens if you entreat the unholy powers.

The Warlock! Compendium opens with ‘Part 1: Different Paths’, in particular, ‘Community Careers’. One of major omissions in Warlock! was a lack of Careers for Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings. ‘Community Careers’ amends that with an expansion of the Career table in the core rules, which a player rolls on to determine his character’s first Career. This table extension adds six more, such as Dwarf Inventor, Elf Kin Guard, and Halfling Gong Farmer, which when rolled determine both a character’s first Career, but also his Community. This does not necessarily replace a player’s option to choose his character’s Community, but rather means that the character will definitely be a member of one if the right roll is made. Some of the Careers, such as Dwarf Tunnel Fighter and the Advanced Careers of Dwarf Slayer, Elf Champion, and Halfling Burglar, all feel very much inspired by a certain British fantasy roleplaying game. Warlock! however, is not a fantasy roleplaying game in which one Community is mechanically any different from any other, but ‘Community Careers’ adds potential flavour without adding any undue mechanical complexity or advantage.

‘Part 2: The Grimoire’ is all about magic. It starts by adding advice for discovering spells—essentially research, research, research—and copying scrolls. The latter is particularly trying, costing a wizard stamina which cannot otherwise be recovered. Now whilst this can be done, it definitely feels as if the author is persuading the wizard against such a rash action, suggesting instead that he concentrate upon exploration and the search already completed scrolls rather than create his own. This is followed by some forty spells, from Beam, Bleed, and Curse to Tremor, Whisper, and Yearn. These all fantastically gritty and down-to-earth, such as Dry, which protects the caster and anyone nearby from the rain, but makes all incredibly thirsty, or Glamour, which grants a bonus to the target for all actions where beauty is involved, but makes the target ugly and repulsive for several hours after the spell’s effects have worn off! ‘Rods, Staves, and Wands’ cover a wizard storing spells in them, whilst ‘Rare and Wondrous Artefacts’ adds a handful of magical items, typically with a sting the tail, such as the ‘Boots of Striding’ which enable the wearer to leap great distances, but with the chance that one boot will be left behind, the other at the destination, and the wear equally as split! ‘Lost Relics’ provides rumours of a handful of missing items, whilst ‘Community Spellcasters’ adds Advanced Careers for Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings capable of using magic, such as the Dwarf Runeforger, Halfling Conjurer—street magicians who use illusion and beguilement, and Elf Druid—who can sacrifice of the blood of sentient species for a much darker version of the Druid typically seen in fantasy roleplaying. 

‘Part 3: Necromancy’ presents the dark arts of dealing with the dead and the undead, practitioners often beginning with contacting the spirits of the departed to learn their secrets and then it is a slippery slope to degradation and terrible power. Of course, in the Kingdom, the art is forbidden and outlawed. From Bind Spirit and Create Guardian to Spirit Speak and Summon Dead, some eight necromantic spells are given as well as detailing the dangers of necromantic miscasts and some necromantic artefacts.

‘Part 4: Corrupted’ covers the effects and consequences of the dark arts, another slippery slope to power for ambitious—or foolish!—wizard, but does actually detail how a wizard might take such a path. With the inclusion of the Cultist and the Death Knight—a sorcerer who has fallen under the influence of a demon, demonic marks and gifts bestowed upon such Death Knights, along with  demon swords, demon goblins, and descriptions of such demon masters as the Cthulhu-like Delock, Lord of the Depths and the demon lord of war, Pazaali, the Warlock! Compendium strays ever closer to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay in emulating its inspiration.

Physically, the Warlock! Compendium is a handy, digest-sized hardback. It is decently illustrated throughout, the occasional roughness of the artwork contributing much to the British Old School style and look that Warlock! seeks to evoke. The book is well written and an engaging read, and everything within its pages is easy to grasp and pull out into a game.

Although it offers a little more than that, the Warlock! Compendium is very much the magic supplement for Warlock!, adding new spells, magical Careers, necromancy, the dark arts, magical monsters, and so on. As useful a set of additions and expansions as they are, it is the six Careers—the Community Careers for Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings which feel the most useful addition in the Warlock! Compendium, for in giving them something that is intrinsically theirs, they flesh out the core game rather than just adding to it. Plus, they do it without adding to the rules or mechanics—just the setting. The Warlock! Compendium is overall, a solidly sorcerous expansion for Warlock!

The year is 2000. We don't have flying cars or stations on the moon, but we do get a new edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game.  Wizards of the Coast, known for Pokemon and Magic the Gathering, buy the cash strapped and deeply in debt TSR.  Soon TSR is folded into WotC and when D&D 3rd edition is announced, TSR is merely a memory.  Though WotC would go on to produce a hot new game that will still be played 20 years later AND set off a revolution in small press and fan publishing.

The Game: Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition

D&D 3rd Edition was by all accounts a revolutionary game.  It produced two (or three) direct descendants; D&D 3.5, Pathfinder, and Pathfinder 2nd Edition. It was the foundation for d20 Modern and the Star Wars RPGs from Wizards of the Coast. There was a Call of Cthulhu edition, a World of Darkness edition and not to mention thousands of games that used the d20 license and the Open Gaming License, and SRD.  The OGL and the SRD made so many other games possible including 90% of all the OSR releases on the market today.  D&D 3.x is also still widely played some 20 years later.

D&D retook the "Dungeons & Dragons" name, dropping the Advanced, to give D&D a single variant moving forward.  Basic and Advanced were no more. 

Of course, we also got the crowd of "never WotC D&D" forgetting that WotC gave out the SRD and OGL for free. Filled their website with free downloads and also created a very robust fan creation guideline that became the heart of the DMsGuild today, while TSR spent a lot of its early days on the Internet harassing BBSes, website owners, and AOL file areas as well sending C&D letters for anyone hosting Netbooks or fan-made D&D materials. 

The Character: Rowan McGowan

For this witch for D&D 3.5, I am going to use the sample custom witch class from the Dungeon Master's Guide.

The DMG witch class is a bit anemic really, it is just a reskinned Sorcerer with a new spell list.  But the goal for it was not to develop a full-blown witch class as I have done, but rather show how the classes can be altered for your own needs.   

Rowan continues my Celtic-themed named witches.  In 2000 I would have likely gone with Rowena, but I have a witch here already with that name.  She is "McGowan" instead of "nic Goibniu" because I want to represent her as being a little more "modern" than the previous witches.  Modern in the sense of rules updates.

Liliana Vess by Dopaprime, CC License

Rowan McGowan
Female Human Witch, Level 1 (DMG Witch)
Lawful Neutral

Abilities
Strength: 10 (0)
Dexterity: 11 (0) 
Constitution: 12 (+1)
Intelligence: 11 (0)
Wisdom: 12 (+1)
Charisma: 16 (+3)

Saving Throws
Fortitude: +1
Reflex: +0
Will: +3

AC: 7
HP: 8
BAB: +0
Initiative: +0
Speed: 30

Skills
Bluff +3, Climb 0, Concentration +5, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +3, Gather Information +3, Heal +1, Intimidate +3, Jump 0, Listen +1, Move silently +0, Ride +0, Search +1, Sense Motive +1, Spellcraft +5, Spot +1, Survival +1, Swim +0, Use rope +0

Feats
Scribe Scroll, Toughness

Special Abilities - Familiar
Familiar - Cat (level 1, 11 HP, 15 AC Attack +5)
Deliver Touch spells through familiar
Empathic Link (Su)
Share spells

Spells
Spell DC 13 + Spell level
Cantrips: Arcane Mark, Daze, Detect Magic, Mending
1st level: Burning Hands, Disguise Self

Not too bad, if a little light on options. 

Character Creation Challenge

Tardis Captain is the originator of this idea and he is keeping a list of places participating.  When posting to Social Media don't forget the #CharacterCreationChallenge hashtag. 

RPG Blog Carnival

This month's RPG Blog Carnival is being hosted by Plastic Polyhedra. They are doing Characters, Stories, and Worlds, so that fits right in with everything we are posting this month.

Check out all the posts going on this month at both of these sources.

Backstory: it’s January, we don’t have any distractions, and the plants need us. Therefore, it’s time to discuss methods to clean up carnivorous plants for spring. For details, go back to the beginning. For today’s cleaning exercise, we’re going to … Continue reading →

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition came on the scene to much anticipation back in the Spring of 1989.  I was in college at the time but I still managed to get the books very close on release day.  The game was largely an update and cleanup of the AD&D 1st Ed rules.  Gygax had been gone from TSR for a while at this point and the rules lacked his "voice" but they were a significant improvement in many ways.  

But today no one talks about the 2nd ed rules as much as they talk about the settings.

The Game: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition

There is no doubt that the 2nd edition made many improvements to the AD&D ruleset. While Basic-era D&D moved on with the BECMI series, AD&D came here.  With the streamlined, but not simplified, rules in place TSR focused on what they believed to be their cash-cow, settings.  And to be fair the settings are what we all recall today.  There were also tons of splat books and eventually an update that was called AD&D 2.5 by some, but never by the company.  

This was also the edition that caved under the pressure of the religious right and bowdlerized demons and devils right out of the system.  It would not be till later with Planescape that we got them back in the forms of Tanarri and Batatezu. 

Since the Splats and Settings are so important to the identity of 2nd Edition it behooves me to mention a couple and my relationship with them. Not to mention the witch options they gave me.

The Complete Wizard's Handbook

Among 2nd Eds features were the "Kits" or archetypes you could apply to various classes to customize them.  Sadly like many splat books you see power creep in these. The Complete Bard's Handbook was one of the worst offenders along with the Elves book. But today is not the day to discuss those. Today I want to talk about the Witch Kit.

The Witch-kit appeared in the Complete Wizard's Handbook and was a mere 3 or so pages, but it was the first official witch class in AD&D.  She got powers every odd level and had a lot of role-playing potential.  This might seem more powerful than your average wizard, but at the time everyone was assumed to have a kit of some sort.

Ravenloft

My world of choice in the 2nd Ed era was Ravenloft.  The gothic horror tropes were too much of a lure to avoid. Interestingly enough it would not be until Spring of 2000 when Ravenloft would get their first witch class/kit and by this time they were owned by Wizards of the Coast.

This class/kit gave us the Witches of Hala, which is a kit that any non-magic using class could use, so only Fighter and Theif. But the witches did gain some spell abilities.  To differentiate between the two witches Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium, Vol 3 calls the Complete Wizard Witch Kit the "Sorcerous Witch." To further distinguish them I took to calling the Witches of Hala "Hedge Witches."

Forgotten Realms

During the 2nd Edition years, Forgotten Realms was the undisputed King of the Campaign Worlds.  I largely ignored it.  I have made up for lost time since then and been spending more time in the Realms, but that is another post.  I did however know all about the Witches of Rashemen and Spellbound was one of the first Realms products I ever bought. This setting also uses the wizard kit and the Witches of Rasemaar kit.

Due to the amount of material I have here I am also going to do two characters.

The Character: Sinéad

Following my Celtic-influenced witches, I give you Sinéad.  Of course, she is named for Sinéad O'Connor whose album "The Lion and the Cobra" pretty much changed everything for me in 1988/1989.  

Sinéad is built using the Witch Kit from the Complete Wizard's Handbook. Now the witch kit says they can't be multi-classed, but the concept I want to try is. So I am going to do it anyway, but not choose a kit for the Bard class.  Some of the restrictions on this kit feel the same as the removal of the demons and devils; giving the players in-game reasons not to use it.

Sinéad is not a character I played back then, but this build is pretty close to what I would have created back in 1989 while living in Room 109 of the Wright I Hall Dorms.

Goodwife Sinéad
(Goodwife is how you address a witch whose marital status is unknown)
Half-elf 7th level Wizard (Witch Kit)/7th level Bard
Chaotic Good

STR: 12
DEX: 16
CON: 15
INT: 17
WIS: 14
CHA: 16

AC: 1 (Bracers of Defence)
HP: 50
THAC0 (Base): 17

Saving Throws
Paralyzation, Poison, Death: 12
Rod, Staff, Wand: 9
Petrification, Polymorph: 11
Breath Weapon: 13
Spells: 10

Weapons
Dagger

Proficiencies/Skills/Languages
Herbalism, Spellcasting, Artistic Abilities (Singing)
Climb Walls (30%), Detect Noise (40%), Pick Pockets (25%), Read Languages (90%)

Special Abilities
Half-elf: Resist Sleep (30%)
Bard: Spells, knowledge
Witch: Read Magic, Detect Magic, Secure Familiar (3rd), Brew Calmative (5th), Brew Poison (7th)

Spells
Bard: (1st) Light, Faerie Fire, Protection from Evil (2nd) Charm Person, Hold Person (3rd) Dispel Magic
Wizard (Witch): (1st) Audible Glammer, Magic Missile, Shocking Grasp, Identity (2nd) Continual Light, Spectral Hand, Ray of Enfeeblement (3rd) Lightning bolt, Fly (4th) Dimension Door

The Character: Nida

Nida is a character I have been playing around with for my War of the Witch Queens.  She is supposed to represent the "other" witches of 2nd Ed, the ones I didn't use but the ones everyone else did. That is the Witches of Hala and the Witches of Rashemen.  She is not a starting character because I need her to have some history.

Nida was a Rashmi girl born to poor parents.  She was playing when she was taken into the Mists and found herself in the lands of Ravenloft.  She became a thief to survive the world on her own until she tried to pick the pockets of a Witch of Hala. For the next ten years she trained with this witch and learned the secrets of Hala and her magic. One night she was hunting a particularly nasty Annis Hag when she found herself back in her homeland of Rashemen.  Unable to return, she tried to pick up her life before she left only to discover her family had long since died.  She began training as a Wychlaran, or a Witch of Rashemen.  Like the witches of her homeland she adopted a mask and changed her name to "Nida" which means "voice."

Note: Since Nida is a dual classed character, a Thief/Mage, there is no reason to assume she can't be a Thief (Witch of Hala) / Mage (Witch of Rashemen) even though the Witch of Hala can't be taken by a spellcaster (she is a thief at the time) and the Witch of Rashemen has to be a spellcaster (she is a mage at the time).

Lady Nida
Human 4th level Thief (Witch of Hala Kit) / 9th level Wizard (Witch of Rashemen kit)
Chaotic Neutral*
(Witches in Ravenloft can't be chaotic, but this is the character concept I have.)

STR: 11
DEX: 16
CON: 16
INT: 17
WIS: 13
CHA: 18

AC: 1 (Bracers of Defence)
HP: 48
THAC0 (Base): 18

Saving Throws
Paralyzation, Poison, Death: 13
Rod, Staff, Wand: 9
Petrification, Polymorph: 11
Breath Weapon: 13
Spells: 10

Weapons
Dagger

Proficiencies/Skills/Languages
Herbalism, Spellcasting, Artistic Abilities, Ancient History
Pick Pockets (35%) Open Locks (35%), Climb Walls (30%), Detect Noise (40%), Pick Pockets (25%), Read Languages (90%)

Special Abilities
Half-elf: Resist Sleep (30%)
Bard: Spells, knowledge
Witch: Read Magic, Detect Magic, Secure Familiar (3rd), Brew Calmative (5th), Brew Poison (7th)

Spells
Witch of Hala: (1st) Combine, Reveal the Weave, Luck (2nd) Arcane Insights, Master Coven Magic (3rd) Water Walk
Wizard (Witch of Rahemen): (1st) Circle, Alarm, Magic Missile, Shocking Grasp (2nd) Dazzle, Protection from Poison, Blindness, Tasha's Uncontrollable Hideous Laughter (3rd) Firelance, Lightning bolt, Suggestion (4th) Negate Magic Weapon, Magic Mirror (5th) Teleport

I like these builds. I certainly want to use Nida somewhere.  Maybe see what she is like with another system. Both are 14th level and have a similar range of abilities.

Character Creation Challenge

Tardis Captain is the originator of this idea and he is keeping a list of places participating.  When posting to Social Media don't forget the #CharacterCreationChallenge hashtag. 

RPG Blog Carnival

This month's RPG Blog Carnival is being hosted by Plastic Polyhedra. They are doing Characters, Stories, and Worlds, so that fits right in with everything we are posting this month.

Check out all the posts going on this month at both of these sources.

Backstory: it’s January, we don’t have any distractions, and the plants need us. Therefore, it’s time to discuss methods to clean up carnivorous plants for spring. For details, go back to the beginning. Now that you’ve mastered cleaning up after … Continue reading →

Backstory: it’s January, we don’t have any distractions, and the plants need us. Therefore, it’s time to discuss methods to clean up carnivorous plants for spring. For details, go back to the beginning. For the first cleanup project, it’s time … Continue reading →

Up until 2000 if you said "D&D" most people thought of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition.   Indeed it was AD&D that dominated the later part of the 1970s, 1980s, and with 2nd Edition the 90s. Though that is for tomorrow's post.

Today I take on the game that I played the most and the one that dominates the imagination of so many still today.

The Game: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

A lot of ink, both real and virtual, has been spilled on the whats, whys, and hows of the differences between Basic D&D and Advanced D&D, so I see no need to spill more here.  Suffice to say that they are different games, though we freely mixed them back in the day. 

The evolution of D&D from Original to 5th edition sees it's first divergence here. 

In the AD&D 1st Ed years there was no official witch class.  There were however many unofficial and semi-official witch classes.  I talked about the Dragon Magazine #43 witch yesterday but I used it for Basic D&D.  The class was famously, or maybe infamously, updated in 1986 for AD&D in the pages of Dragon #114.  It was, and maybe still is, one of the most popular versions of the witch ever made for D&D.

The Character: Rhiannon

Ah. If I had a dime for every Rhiannon I have run into over the years. 

Not that I can blame anyone. The Golden Age of AD&D was the early 80s and the Queen of the music charts was Stevie Nicks. "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac was released in 1975 on the album Fleetwood Mac. The second Fleetwood Mac album to feature this title, and their tenth overall, but the first with new couple Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.  But in the 1980s it wasn't this album or even the insanely good and popular Rumours or Tusk that grabbed me and my imagination. No it was Stevie's solo efforts Belladonna and (especially) The Wild Heart that began my deep, deep love affair with witches.

Rhiannon would be an old witch in my games today. Likely a relative or even a spiritual Goddess-mother to Larina.  But today she is the young Maiden who "rings like a bell through the night" and looks for a lover.  I can't help think of her as anything but the famous art Elmore drew in the Dragon #114 piece.  If she looks a little like Stevie, well, maybe Stevie looks like her.

Rhiannon
1st level Witch, Sisters of the Moon coven, High Secret Order
Chaotic Good

STR: 11
INT: 16
WIS: 13
DEX: 13
CON: 11
CHA: 15

AC: 9
HP: 3

Saving Throws
Witches use the best of Cleric & Magic-user Saves.

Poison or Death: 10
Petrification or Polymorph: 13
Rod, Staff, or Wands: 11
Breath Weapon: 15
Spell: 12

Saves +2 against other witch magic

Spells
1st (1+3):  Darkness, Mending, Seduction, Sleep

Equipment
Dagger, backpack, iron rations, water, 50' rope, staff.

Everything you need for a witch character in 1986

I think an updated, and more mature, Rhiannon will need to grace my War of the Witch Queens games sometime.

Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night
And wouldn't you love to love her?
Takes to the sky like a bird in flight
And who will be her lover?

Character Creation Challenge

Tardis Captain is the originator of this idea and he is keeping a list of places participating.  When posting to Social Media don't forget the #CharacterCreationChallenge hashtag. 

RPG Blog Carnival

This month's RPG Blog Carnival is being hosted by Plastic Polyhedra. They are doing Characters, Stories, and Worlds, so that fits right in with everything we are posting this month.

Check out all the posts going on this month at both of these sources.

It’s inevitable after the holidays are over: holiday buyer’s remorse kicks in, and we all look back regretfully on the things we did and the things we didn’t over the past two months. Those nights of ordering pizza because the … Continue reading →

Monday of the first week of the year and it is back to the day job for me.  Thankfully I planned an easy (for me) one today.  To continue with the editions of Dungeons & Dragons we are now up to Basic D&D. 

The Game: Basic Dungeons & Dragons 

I have told the tale here many times on how I began with Holmes Basic, but the first D&D I ever owned was the Moldvay Basic Set.  I played Basic D&D, just "D&D" to me then,  but soon I and everyone else, were mixing it liberally with bits of AD&D.  Sometimes I think of the days when a Blue or Red D&D Basic book was used side by side with the AD&D Monster Manual and modules.

Spend any time here and you will know of my love for Basic D&D. So there is little more I can say here.

The Character: Áine nic Elatha

The witch class I am pairing with this is the one from Dragon Magazine #43 and using the guidelines set out by Tom Moldvay on what a witch should be. 

Dragon Magazine #43 was published in November 1980; the high point of Holmes Basic, the start of AD&D popularity, and one year before Moldvay Basic was released.  The class is overtly designed for AD&D, but as I mentioned we used Basic and Advanced interchangeably.  I suppose if I am being true to Basic I should drop the bonus spells per Intelligence the witch gains.

Given the time and this tantalizing promise, I can justify making it for a bastardized Basic/Advanced D&D.

Áine daughter of Elatha is a human magic-user (Basic after all).  She is "the path not taken" for me.  My first "witch-like" character was Luna, a cleric that worshipped an unnamed moon goddess. While she would later morph into something else, I soon created other witch type characters, Áine is what that character could have been if I had chosen Magic-user rather than Cleric.

Áine nic Elatha
1st level Human Witch

STR: 10
INT: 17
WIS: 12
DEX: 11
CON: 12
CHA: 11

AC: 9
HP: 3

Spells
1st (1+3):  Change Self, Cure Wounds, Light, Sleep

Equipment
Dagger, backpack, iron rations, water, holy water, darts (3), 50' rope, staff.

If you are doing this challenge as well please feel free to post on the Facebook group, I'd Rather Be Killing Monsters.

Also, this month's RPG Blog Carnival is being hosted by Plastic Polyhedra. They are doing Characters, Stories, and Worlds, so that fits right in with everything we are posting this month!

Do check them out!

For devotees of TSR Inc.’s Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel, 2020 is notable for the release of not one, two issues of The Excellent Travelling Volume, James Maliszewski’s fanzine dedicated to Professor M.A.R. Barker’s baroque creation. The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11 was published in April, 2020—available direct from the author or the Melsonian Arts Council—and continues his exploration of one of oldest of roleplaying settings heavily influenced by the campaigns he has been running, the primary being his House of Worms campaign, originally based in, around, and under Sokátis, the City of Roofs before travelling across the southern ocean to ‘Linyaró, Outpost of the Petal Throne’, a small city located on the Achgé Peninsula, as detailed in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8.

As per usual, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12 opens an editorial from James Maliszewski. This highlights the gap between this issue and The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11–or rather the lack of a gap, one facilitated by the periods of enforced isolation that beset many of us in 2020, as well as the continuing influence of the author’s ongoing House of Worms campaign. That can be seen in the first entry in the issue, part of the ‘Additions and Changes’ series which examines the various non-human races on Tékumel and makes them playable. ‘Hláka Characters’ adds the three-eyed, bewinged, and sharp-tailed species capable of actual flight. Like many non-human races, they do not acknowledge the Gods of Stability and Change, but when living amongst human civilisations, may adopt one or more faiths to fit in! However, they make for poor worshippers at any temple. Notably, they have a reputation for being skittish and cowardly, but this does not stop the militaries of the Five Empires recruiting them as scouts and even into legions, many of which are listed, solely comprised of Hláka and occasionally as aerial artillery. In terms of Profession, there is no limit in terms of their options, but they make better Warriors than they do Magic-Users or Priests. Alongside notes on Hláka names and homelands, the article includes discussion of Hláka clans—there are none. That is, except for the Blue Clouds of Joy Clan in Béy Sü, an extremely notable exception. Rounding out the article are rules for Hláka flight. This is another fine addition to the series, which with the inclusion of names, makes them both reasonably playable.
The second entry in the ‘Additions and Changes’ series is ‘Psychic Ability and Spells (Additions and Changes) which presents an adjusted table for rolling the Psychic Ability, and discusses the dangers of wearing metal—almost any metal, when casting spells and gives a table of results should a Magic-User attempt to cast a spell whilst wearing metal. Having discussed and presented the dangers of combining metal and magic, the article is rounded off with a discussion of what a sorcerer might actually wear instead of metal, pleasingly adding some colour.
‘The Warrior (Proposal)’ is the author’s suggestion to develop and add context to the Warrior Profession in Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel. It does this by dividing the skills in General and Soldier skills, so Spearman and Bowman are General skills and Drills and Logistics are Soldier skills. The aim here is to have General skills that any Warrior can learn, whilst the Soldier skills can only be learned by serving in the legions. Accompanied by the definitions of various skills, it nicely serves to individualise the Warrior Profession and a Player Character’s previous history.
The centre piece in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12 is ‘Sa’á Allaqiyár, the Many-Towered City’, a detailed description of the capital of the northern empire of Sa’á Allaqi. It is accompanied by an excellent map, and covers the history of the city, an examination of its major clans—several of which have been adopted from the other four members of the Five Empires, and its notable features. These range from a sizeable Foreigners’ Quarter and an extensive number of brothels to the Pyramid of Néngetl, the long looted tomb of the first Engsvanyáli governor and the Ancient Sealed Gate, the former entry to the city on its eastern wall which was bricked up upon the advice of the priests of the One of Light, who stated that it would bring their god’s blessing and ensure that ‘Sa’á Allaqiyár would never fall. Of course, this is not canon, but this is another excellent article, one which is more than serviceable until such times as there is an official version of the city.
‘The Roads of Avanthár (Part 2)’ completes the short story by David A. Lemire begun in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11. The story describes the discovery of a great book and the efforts by members of the military faction to get it to the emperor in Avanthár, and their own rivalries. Ultimately, the concluding part leaves questions unanswered and adds mysteries of its own, but is enjoyable nonetheless.
‘The Hollows of Gyánu’ is the adventure location given in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12, the hideout for a group of Kilalammuyáni bandits in the mountains of Tsolyánu’s Chaigári Protectorate, who have been raiding local caravans. The local governor has posted a reward for their capture or their demise, but unfortunately, something already has happened to them by the time the Player Characters arrive to investigate their cave hideout. There are riches to be found in the caves and the sinkhole they are clustered around, but also terrible secrets of the Five Empires’ religious past. It is a nicely done encounter, a mixture of horror and exploration, which is easily transferred to a location of Referee’s choice.
The third entry in the ‘Additions’ series is ‘Bestiary (Addition)’ and presents two creatures as an accompaniment to ‘The Hollows of Gyánu’. The two creatures are the Achayá, ‘The Blood of Gyánu’ and the Chagrúo, ‘The Frozen Dead’, two nasty monsters emanating from the Expanse of the Cold Dark, also detailed here. Rounding out The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12 is ‘Initial Encounters (Additions and Changes)’, the third entry in the issue’s ‘Additions and Changes’, which presents a replacement table of visitors who might be encountered in the city of Jakálla and the nature of their task in hand. Again, both tables are easy to adapt to other civilised settings and so have a wider use.
Physically, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12 is nicely produced, a sturdy little booklet in a thick card cover, pleasingly illustrated and tidily presented throughout. Both the illustrations and the maps are good too.
The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12 continues the author’s excellent support for Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel. It is a solid issue, packed with content and background that the Referee can readily bring to her campaign.

We got a chance to play the second full session of War of the Witch Queens today, our last day of winter vacation.  Today's adventure dealt with leveling up the characters to level 1 and giving them a slight boost in HP.  The characters also got the chance to buy some real weapons and armor.

All in the process they learned about the terrible Ruins of Ramat from the villagers of Wydfield Woodfield.

The party searched the ruined church and found their way down into the underground structure where the clerics had lived and trained.   

They still need to find the spear and use it to defeat the ghost above.  Hopefully, we can get a session in this week, even with work.

The players are learning a key feature of Basic-era D&D.  Sometimes it is better to run away.  

Since everyone is now level 1, I am allowing the players to diversify their characters.  One thief is now an Assassin from OSE-Advanced. The magic-users are splitting up into a Blood Witch, Sorcerer, and Wizard.  I am going to let them choose from a common spell list, and then also a spell list unique to each class. One cleric is going to focus on being a healer.  So I need to get that written up with some ideas. 

For this game, I swapped out my New Big Dragon Game Master's Screen for the Old School Essentials Screen.  Both work great.

The tiles are Dwarven Forge and the temple is from Reaper Minis.

Can't wait to see where we all go next!

On the tail of the Old School Renaissance has come another movement—the rise of the fanzine. Although the fanzine—a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon, got its start in Science Fiction fandom, in the gaming hobby it first started with Chess and Diplomacy fanzines before finding fertile ground in the roleplaying hobby in the 1970s. Here these amateurish publications allowed the hobby a public space for two things. First, they were somewhere that the hobby could voice opinions and ideas that lay outside those of a game’s publisher. Second, in the Golden Age of roleplaying when the Dungeon Masters were expected to create their own settings and adventures, they also provided a rough and ready source of support for the game of your choice. Many also served as vehicles for the fanzine editor’s house campaign and thus they showed another DM and group played said game. This would often change over time if a fanzine accepted submissions. Initially, fanzines were primarily dedicated to the big three RPGs of the 1970s—Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest, and Traveller—but fanzines have appeared dedicated to other RPGs since, some of which helped keep a game popular in the face of no official support.

Since 2008 with the publication of Fight On #1, the Old School Renaissance has had its own fanzines. The advantage of the Old School Renaissance is that the various Retroclones draw from the same source and thus one Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG is compatible with another. This means that the contents of one fanzine will compatible with the Retroclone that you already run and play even if not specifically written for it. Labyrinth Lord and Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay have proved to be popular choices to base fanzines around, as has Swords & Wizardry.
Beyond the Borderlands Issue #1 is a fanzine of a different stripe. Published by Swordfish Islands LLC (but also available in PDF from the author), best known for publishing Swordfish Islands: Hexcrawl Adventures on Hot Springs Island, it is a systems neutral regional hexcrawl inspired by B2 Keep on the Borderlands, most recently implemented by Goodman Games’ Original Adventures Reincarnated #1: Into the Borderlands. It is the first part of a trilogy which will explore the overland region in this the initial issue, then the underground areas in the second issue, and lastly provide the bestiary for the previous two issues. The setting for the Beyond the Borderlands, like B2 Keep on the Borderlands before it, is the edge—or just beyond it—of the civilised lands, the frontier outside of which lies untrammeled wilderness, barbaric tribes, and Chaos run rampant. Here a solid fortress has been established as the last outpost of civilisation, to provide a degree of protection to travellers making the journey beyond and against the possibility of an incursion from the ghastly Goblins, horrible Hobgoblins, obnoxious Orcs, grim Gnolls, and more, which lurk just out of sight, ready to strike…
The setting for Beyond the Borderlands is the Wicked Palovalley. Here Stronglaw Keep defends the Western Kingdoms against invasions from the monstrous forces of the Wicked Palovalley. It is presented as a six-by-six, thirty-six hex hexcrawl, divided into six different regions, each one with its own theme, content, rumours, and random encounters. The issue begins though with a description of Stronglaw Keep, which stands at the mouth of the Wicked Palovalley. Stronglaw Keep is an independent outpost, a last settlement of civilisation, the law—rigidly enforced upon pain of death or banishment, and the Church of the Holy Sun. Stronglaw Keep itself is delightfully presented in a vibrantly colourful isometric style, easy to read and use, and accompanied by two sets of thumbnail write-ups. The first provides simple descriptions of each of Stronglaw Keep’s eleven locations—though there are twelve, whilst the second lists the ‘Loot and Stuff’ to be found at each of the first eleven locations. This provides a little more detail, whether the Player Characters are looking for tools, to make a purchase—whether of goods or services, or purloin an item of vale or two. The possibility of the guards reacting to any theft is covered in a short table. Lastly, the Notice Board lists twenty rumours, events, and employment opportunities which can serve as a spur to the Player Characters to adventure and the Dungeon Master to create adventures.
Supported by a simple set-up—the Player Characters come to Stronglaw Keep, introduce themselves, pick up a job or two, and then go explore, and some simple travel, weather, and encounter rules, the bulk of Beyond the Borderlands Issue #1 presents the six six-hex mini-regions of the Wicked Palovalley. From the Keep’s Domain to the Scarlet Forest, each is presented in a two-page spread. An isometric map of the mini region is presented on the left-hand page, along with a table of rumours and a table of encounters, whilst write-ups of each the six hexes are presented on the right-hand page. Each write-up includes a short description, plus two or three bullet points which provide further details. So in the Sludgy Bog, there are rumours of a carriage full of supplies which never reached the hunting camp and the bog is said to be inhabited by a monstrous people, and any brave adventurers which put foot into the squelchy swamp, they might run into Slug-Leeches or Frogmen, and perhaps follow a trail of shells to a reclusive Sea Witch or find a former keep, flooded, but still with stairs leading down into the water…
All of the maps in Beyond the Borderlands Issue #1 are presented in isometric format, which when combined with their bright, vibrant colours, make them leap off the page. The writing needs an edit in places, but everything is well organised and packs a lot of information into relatively limited amounts of space. The format of the two-page spread used for each location and mini-region makes the contents of Beyond the Borderlands Issue #1 very easy to run from the page. If there is an issue with Beyond the Borderlands Issue #1 as a physical object, it is that it lacks a sturdy card cover.
The twelfth location in the write-up of Stronglaw Keep is a ‘Mysterious Cave’. It is simply left as that, awaiting the publication of Beyond the Borderlands Issue #2 to be fully detailed. This is not the only such location left undetailed the next issue of the fanzine. These include the Bloody Ravine where the infamous Caves of Chaos are located, the Flooded Shrine, and the Caves of the Unknown, a randomly generated, mythic underworld. Now of course, the descriptions of these underground locations were always going to be in the second issue of the fanzine, and then the bestiary in the third issue, but that cannot prevent a sense of deprivation in the reader and potential Dungeon Master, not in the sense of not having that information, but in not having that information and in not being able to bring it to the table and run it right now.
So Beyond the Borderlands Issue #1 is not complete, but it will be with the publication of first Beyond the Borderlands Issue #2—when the Dungeon Master could supply the stats of the monsters and NPCs herself and thus run both the region and its dungeons—and then Beyond the Borderlands Issue #3, when the Dungeon Master will have the official stats. In a sense, Beyond the Borderlands Issue #1 is delivering the promise of a full scenario, one that is inspired by B2 Keep on the Borderlands, but richer and despite the lack of dungeons or stats, has much more going on than B2 Keep on the Borderlands ever did. The vibrancy of the colours used in Beyond the Borderlands Issue #1 evokes a Saturday morning cartoon sensibility to this take upon B2 Keep on the Borderlands, as if it was an adventure written with the Dungeons & Dragons television series in mind. Beyond the Borderlands Issue #1 is the beginning of a charming and engaging take upon the classic B2 Keep on the Borderlands, but will definitely leave the Dungeon Master wanting the second and third issues to be complete.

On the tail of the Old School Renaissance has come another movement—the rise of the fanzine. Although the fanzine—a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon, got its start in Science Fiction fandom, in the gaming hobby it first started with Chess and Diplomacy fanzines before finding fertile ground in the roleplaying hobby in the 1970s. Here these amateurish publications allowed the hobby a public space for two things. First, they were somewhere that the hobby could voice opinions and ideas that lay outside those of a game’s publisher. Second, in the Golden Age of roleplaying when the Dungeon Masters were expected to create their own settings and adventures, they also provided a rough and ready source of support for the game of your choice. Many also served as vehicles for the fanzine editor’s house campaign and thus they showed another DM and group played said game. This would often change over time if a fanzine accepted submissions. Initially, fanzines were primarily dedicated to the big three RPGs of the 1970s—Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest, and Traveller—but fanzines have appeared dedicated to other RPGs since, some of which helped keep a game popular in the face of no official support.

Since 2008 with the publication of Fight On #1, the Old School Renaissance has had its own fanzines. The advantage of the Old School Renaissance is that the various Retroclones draw from the same source and thus one Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG is compatible with another. This means that the contents of one fanzine will compatible with the Retroclone that you already run and play even if not specifically written for it. Labyrinth Lord and Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay have proved to be popular choices to base fanzines around, as has Swords & Wizardry.

After a four-year gap between the publication of The Undercroft No. 10 and The Undercroft No. 11 in August, 2020, it was something of a surprise to see the publication of The Undercroft No. 12 the following October. Although previous issues provided support for Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay, the new issue continues the move by the fanzine away from that retroclone towards a neutral position with regard to any one retroclone, such that its contents can be used with Old School Renaissance fantasy roleplaying game. Unlike the previous issue, The Undercroft No. 12 does not include any content for use with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. It does though, include four articles which are interesting and easy to adapt to the setting or retroclone of your choice.
The Undercroft No. 12 opens with ‘The Mountain That is a Man and Also God’ by Chance Philips. This really stands out in being in verse form, a format rarely employed in gaming. It describes a mountain that is between slumber and death, worked over and within by machine men, copper-wire brained and regimented into a strict hierarchy, who send out agents to walk among normal mortals, dressed in Halfling skin and hefty wigs, claiming to be Dwarves. It is a weird, ultimately creepy piece of verse, suggesting that all Dwarves might not be what they seem or at least, some of them, from this one single living mountain, are not what they seem.
Luke Le Moignan’s ‘The Legacy of Vazimak the Thanaturge’ introduces a new type of spellbook—the ‘Mnemocrypt’. This is a device or artefact which predates the use of spellbooks, an externalised memory palace which encodes and encrypts spells in a highly personalised fashion and dates from an ancient age of powerful arcane warlords. The Mnemocrypt of Vazimak the Thanaturge takes the form of a finely etched black sphere which can be studied. As the student learns more and more of its secrets, it increasingly becomes a burden and his mind becomes paranoid and he comes to see patterns in everything. The spells that the Mnemocrypt of Vazimak the Thanaturge grants all of a necromantic nature, such as Dreadful Osseous Vitality which animates and awakens the skeletons of the living, forcing the target to make a Consitution check lest his skeleton tear itself free and Bone Grenado which makes a nearby skeleton explode and potentially other skeletons explode in a chain reaction. Some nine spells are included along with notes on the Mnemocrypt of Vazimak the Thanaturge and others. The spells are all enjoyably inventive and nasty, especially for a villainous necromancer, and so could easily be added to his spellbook even if the Dungeon Master is not using Mnemocrypts. However, they are a clever idea in themselves, adding elements of longevity and research to an artefact. Hopefully, there will be more of them detailed in future issues of The Undercroft, or even more collected in a supplement from the publisher.
Daniel Sell’s ‘Dwarfen Trinkets and Artifacts’ is a table of one hundred items that might be found in a Dwarven home or purchased from a deal in such things. They include a lock of your mother’s beard, a Dwarven novel, a nest of copper and steel wires that is in fact a Dwarven map of the region, a bar of extra strong hair wax, and more. It is all rather mundane and intentionally so. These are a hundred mundane and ordinary items, diverse and engaging in nature, good for adding colour to a campaign with Dwarves, but at the same time, it does feel like filler—a bit.
‘Gallowsport’ by Sándor Gebei describes a dark and unforgiving harbour area beset by poverty, squalor, and organised crime, but contrasted by oddities that have come from abroad. Beginning with the features—sights, sounds, smells, buildings, and activity day and night—of the neighbourhood, it is detailed in table and bullet point fashions. There are tables for ‘Curios From Dark Seas and Distant Shores’, ‘Encounters’, ‘Rumours’, and more, as well as thumbnail descriptions of various landmarks and interesting places. So a curio might be a stiletto used in thirteen successful royal assassinations, an encounter with two beggars brawling whilst sailors look on and place bets, a rumour that a nearby abandoned lighthouse holds cursed treasure protected by giant crabs, and a ship in port might be the Venus, an infamous pleasure boat decorated in bawdy style. Together, the format and the fact that it is systems-neutral, make ‘Gallowsport’ very easy to use. A Dungeon Master can easily take this as is and drop it into the port city or town of his choice, using the roleplaying system of his choice.
The Undercroft No. 12 needs an edit in place, but is otherwise neat and tidy, and enjoyably illustrated. The cover, wraparound in full colour, is weird and creepy, full of eyes and eye-people as a thief looks on. 
The Undercroft No. 12 feels slighter because of the long list of gewgaws and knickknacks to be found in the centre of its pages. This is not to say that this list is not useful, but it is not necessarily as interesting or as immediately useful alongside the rest of the issue. The other entries in the issue are more engaging and will likely support play in a long term. Overall, The Undercroft No. 12 is a solid, serviceable issue.
The return of The Undercroft No. 11 is certainly welcome, and despite the shift to support for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition for some of its content, it still presents oddities and weirdness just as the previous issues did. Thus Dungeon Masters can use the oddities and weirdness just as much as Referees can for the Retroclone of their choice. 

It might be futile, but let’s see if we can set the mood for 2021, shall we?